Snack Happy (& Healthy)!

Today is day one of my paleo diet. Expect some delicious recipes from me in the future as I learn and figure out what I’m doing!

Check out my snack after work today. Yum!



Spinach, Eggs, and Happy Beets

To prepare the bed of green yumminess, I sautéed one cup of baby spinach with a teaspoon of virgin coconut oil. The eggs were simple! I kept it easy with pure, boxed egg whites, seasoned with light salt and pepper. The baby beets are by Melissa’s and come peeled and ready to eat :). The ingredients I used were organic… and, oh, so delicious! (This snack was only 83 calories.)

Another way to try this dish is to omit the egg whites and use a whole egg instead. Prepare them as over-easy or over-medium. With your first bite, the golden yolk will melt into the rest of your disk and serve as a decadent, all natural sauce! 

If you’re looking for a meal, instead of a snack, double (or triple) the recipe above :). I’m thinking that next time, I will forego the coconut oil, and will steam my baby spinach instead!

Happy eating! ❤️

A Step in the Holiday Direction

Thanksgiving was fantastic!

The family all gathered around the living room, the food.. Everything was just perfect :).

The spread: turkey, smoked turkey, traditional stuffing, sweet fruity stuffing, yams with marshmallows, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, rolls, sweet corn bread, pecan pie, pumpkin cheesecake, apple pie, and pumpkin pie. My mom really outdid herself this year.. Yummy!)

My cousin, Saman, and I baked pumpkin cheesecake pumpkin cheesecake and pecan pie. The pumpkin cheesecake was pretty easy (I’ve never made cheesecake before) and it came out phenomenally! It was really a hit with our family today :). The pecan pie, on the other hand, came out a bit sticky and chewy because we didn’t take it out of the oven when the contents of the pie (sugar) began to overflow onto the pan in the oven – lesson learned.

I hate the idea that people leave their families to go to work on Thanksgiving day, but if they’re working… Why not pay them a visit to shop, right? After lunch and dinner (more like grazing all day), Saman, Jerry, and I decided to drive to Houston Premium Outlets to do some shopping. Kate Spade had a fantastic 50% off sale, so I snagged a beautiful black leather cross body and a mini-wallet for when I carry small purses. I also got a really cute pair of purple and coral flats from J. Crew and Christmas gifts for my dad and little brother (they’re going to love them!). That being said, I’m really in the holiday spirit after today, and really want to wrap up my holiday shopping so I can wrap everything nice and pretty to put under our Christmas tree (which is up already)!

Time for bed.. It’s pretty late and were getting up to go shopping in the morning. Hubby was so patient tonight, that I’m being a good wife and driving him to an electronics store to get a few things he’s been wanting :).

Live. Laugh. Learn.
Roxana

Tonsillectomy and Septoplasty: Post-Op Day 8

Woke up in terrible pain today. Had a hard time sleeping last night, but I woke up with my mouth closed.. Which is a good sign that I breathe through my nose at night, now! Woohoo!

I think now that I can breathe with my mouth closed, I’ll heal much more quickly.. But we’ll see how it goes :).

Felt alright this morning.. I was able to easily get up and walk around a lot more today. I was also able to breathe and swallow a little more easily all day.

Called the nurse to get some advice on how to manage my ear/head aches. Originally, I was advised to take Tylenol… Turns out I was ill advised because my pain meds already include acetaminophen!! She told me to take a dose of ibuprofen every 6 hours. Because of this, I’ve felt great all day. Not much pain at all anymore… Just a little bit in my ears. The nurse also suggested doing saline rinses. She said most septoplasty and many tonsillectomy patients find comfort in them. I knew my nose would feel better afterwards.. But my throat? Wow! I seriously have not had pain in my throat since the rinse! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! I finally feel like I’m healing :)!

I whipped together a cold brewed coffee yesterday. I know I’m not supposed to consume much caffeine while recovering.. But I couldn’t help but take a tiny sip just to see how it turned out. I didn’t want to share the recipe unless it’s delicious.. Which it is! It’s pretty simple, and no special materials are necessary.

Cold Brewed Coffee

Materials:
2 medium/large bowls
Pitcher
Refrigerator
Mesh strainer
Cheese cloth (or paper towels)

Ingredients:
1 cup coarsely ground coffee (I used classic roast Folger’s)
5 cups water

Directions:
1. Combine coffee grounds and water in a bowl.
2. Mix the two together until there are no clumps. You want all of the coffee grounds submerged in water.
3. Cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap/foil and place it in the fridge overnight, or for at least 10 hours.
4. After at least 10 hours, remove the bowl from the refrigerator.
5. Place mesh strainer over your empty bowl.
5. Place cheese cloth or paper towels into the mesh strainer.
6. Very slowly pour your coffee mixture into the mesh strainer (over the cloth). It will slowly seep through and into your empty bowl.
7. Dispose of the caught grounds, and repeat step 6 with your first bowl (rinse and dry it first).
8. After straining a second time, pour your coffee into your pitcher (easy refrigerator storage).

To make a glass, flavor it to taste with cream, milk, simple syrup, coffee creamers, etc. It is so delicious! I flavored mine with hazelnut creamer, and honestly, it was better than any generic iced coffee I’ve gotten anywhere else. Maybe that’s because I made it myself and I was so proud :)! Cold brewing coffee allows the coffee to be less acidic, because the grounds are not exposed to the boiling water. It also allows the coffee to have a sweeter, less bitter flavor.

Try some for yourself! I’ve heard that there are cold brewing coffee systems.. But I don’t know if I’d ever invest in one, if I can make it on my own.

Live. Laugh. Learn.
Roxana

Tonsillectomy and Septoplasty: Surgery Day

So here we are, 5:30 in the morning, and I STILL can’t sleep. I’m awake because I had a tonsillectomy and septoplasty yesterday (Wednesday, July 17th), and am in a bit of pain. I woke Jerry up at 3:44 to help me with my pain medication.. And I’ve been up so long it’ll be time for it again in an hour :(.

My procedure took place at 7:45AM. I was told that the septoplasty usually takes 45 min.. But because mine is a revision, there are extra precautions that are taken, expand it will take closer to 1hr, 15min. The tonsillectomy, on the other hand, is quick – 20min.

Jerry tells me the doctor came out and confirmed with him that surgery went smoothly at about 9:15 and that I’d be awake within the hour. I woke up from anesthesia around 10:35 (if I remember accurately) and was very groggy. I felt a lot of pressure in my face and my stomach was a bit queasy (I hadn’t been allowed to eat anything since the night prior). I was immediately handed ice-chips.. Which tasted and felt oh so good! I munched on those until the nurse brought Jerry back. Soon, thereafter, I was discharged.

We got home, and Jerry tucked me into bed, where I took my antibiotics and pain medication and slept until past noon. When I woke up, it was time for another dose of my pain medication and my stomach was churning from hunger because I hadn’t eaten since 7:30 the night before. Being as sweet as he is, Jerry told me he has prepared a surprise for me, and ran off to the kitchen. He came back to our bedroom with two small bowls filled with fresh banana pudding he had made himself! Mmm… It was so delicious! (I have included the recipe he used at the end of this blog post – enjoy!) Because it was the first thing I’d eaten since surgery, I was nervous about eating anything I had to chew (softened Nilla Wafers and bananas), so I didn’t finish my bowl. I also ate a raspberry popsicle :). I slept for the majority of the day, getting out of bed around 6PM, because Mom and Dad came over for dinner (with Whataburger and fries for them and soup for me… boo!) I could hardly eat, and could only finish about half a cup of my delicious soup.

Revision Septoplasty
I’ve had a septoplasty once before I’m July of 2007. So I’m familiar with the recovery process, however, I feel like this time around I have more pain and discomfort. On a scale of 1-10 (10 bring the worst), I’d say my pain level for the septoplasty is 3/4. The splints I have I inside my nose, to keep my septum straight, is what is causing most of my discomfort. My stitches and minor bleeding don’t help either… :(. My head also feels very heavy, and I’ve had a headache since right after surgery. I elected to have a septoplasty again because my septum was deviated to the left, and I had an extremely difficult time breathing through my nose.