New friends...yeah, that's how to veiw it !

It seems that the ability to eat fish again is not only making me VERY happy, but seems to get the scale moving in the right direction once again. It's a win win kind of thing. Fish has always been my favorite food , and when the allergy came into existence , I felt like I had been removed from a big part of myself !

Yesterday was our usual "run to do grocery shopping" round, followed by chopping and then singing at the 4 pm service for Bob. We began the day with the new breakfast favorite ( eaten 7 days a week) , Overnight oats. Here is how I make it :

Overnight Oats

1/3 cup rolled oats
1 cup soy milk
1/3 pint fresh blueberries ( or can use chopped apple)
2 tsp Splenda
1 T cinnamon

Before bed combine all ingredients in a container. Place in the refrigerator
overnight. In the morning , stir and eat.

A note about Splenda- a lot of people , in an attempt to eat healthy and lose weight will start out using things like Splenda or Nutrasweet and then dump it in favor of things like agave syrup, Stevia or sweetening with fruit because it is perceived as healthier. Truth is agave is a HIGHLY refined product, and both it and fruit affect your blood sugars, plus add calories. Splenda and other artificial non caloric sweeteners do not. Using these can reduce the caloric count of your serving by 25-50 calories. And, if you have any reason to watch your blood sugars, they are an even more intelligent choice . This last issue became clear shortly after breakfast !

We had gone to Gatlinburg for vacation a few weeks back , and when we came back we started noticing odd rash things on us. The complex sent out a notice that we were being sprayed for bedbugs, but none of these bites looked anything like bedbug bites , and we had seen no evidence of bedbugs. Several of the "bites" had rings around them, and I have been vacuuming like crazy, looking for ticks, bedbugs, spiders or anything that could possibly be biting us. Also watching for any sign of fever or Lyme disease. It has been very nerve wracking to say the least. After we finished breakfast we were talking about the plans for the day and I looked down at Bob's foot and saw a water blister on his toe, and offered to put some antibiotic cream and a band aid on it for him. While treating his toe I noticed that he had Athletes Foot between the toes, so we added a stop to get some spray for it to the list. Bob has had a problem in the past with athletes foot and other things , and as a result has to wear certain kinds of shoes and socks. I noticed he had a lot of these ring bite things around his ankles, and I was concerned about an allergy to whatever had been biting us. While we were at the store I picked up a can of Lotrimin spray , was reading and the words "also affective on ringworm" literally jumped off the label and screamed at me. It dawned on me that we might be dealing with ringworm ! It's one of those things that you hear about , but never really watch for. Once we got home from shopping I did some research, and sure enough it seems we are dealing with ringworm, and most likely got it from the swiming pool at the motel. A generous souvenir if you will . So here we go with creams, a round of grapefruit seed extract internally and replacing the towels. We have gotten into a very bad habit of using the same towel over and over between the three of us ( air drying between uses) , and this has made the fungus spread like wildfire. We were also eating a lot of melons and high sugar fruits, so basically we made ourselves and our home a four star resort for the beasties. Low sugar or sugar free will be the way to go now.

Ringworm, incidentally, is not a worm at all, but a fungus. It got it's name from the ring like appearance of the eruptions. You can pick it up from animals, any damp surface, swimming pools, tanning beds and any place where infected human skin has touched. It can surface on just about every part of your body. Ringworm...bedbugs...urban life of today is nothing like urban life when I was younger !

While it sounds disgusting, there is great satisfaction in at long last knowing what you are dealing with and how to proceed. There is resolve, and progress can be made. By lunchtime I was feeling empowered !

Lunch was a grilled yellow fin tuna sandwich from one of our favorite sandwich places, Portillios. They have great burgers and sausages, but they also make this grilled tuna sandwich that is one of my favorite things to eat ! They serve it on a bun with lettuce, tomato, red onion and a thin coating of mayo. Not sure of the calorie count because they do not post the nutritional info, and to be honest I do not care ! This sandwich is to die for ! I also got an order of onion rings ( one splurge for the week) , and ate it with about 10 baby carrots, a pint of blueberries and a diet green ice tea. Yummy !

The afternoon was spent washing and cutting veggies and other kitchen duties. Dinner was going to be a combo of my two favorite things- fish and oriental food ! One of my favorite styles of cooking is oriental, and it has been a while since I had gotten to play. One of the things I love to make ( and the guys love to eat) is California Rolls- or sushi as my son calls it. Now that fish is no longer a problem, we can have it at home . Nick and I worked together to construct dinner- California rolls and Beansprout salad with Garlic and fortune cookies. Here is my plate, and I went back for seconds on the sushi !

Bean Sprout Salad With Garlic


2 tablespoons Black sesame seeds
3/4 pound fresh bean sprouts thoroughly washed- and drained
1/4 pound fresh Chinese pea pods thoroughly washed and drained
3 medium garlic cloves peeled and minced
2 medium scallions -- trimmed & minced
1 inch cube ginger root, fresh, minced
2 tablespoons oriental sesame oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Fresh bean sprouts are a must for this recipe . The canned variety don't have the
requisite crispness. Place the bean sprouts and pea pods in a large heatproof bowl and set it aside.
In a medium-size skillet set over moderately low heat, stir-fry the garlic, scallions
and ginger in the oil for 2 to 3 minutes, until they are limp.

Add all the remaining ingredients, increase the heat to moderate, then boil the mixture,
uncovered, for 1 minute to slightly reduce the liquid. Pour the boiling dressing over
the bean sprouts, toss well, then cover the bowl and chill the salad for several hours.
Toss again before serving.

California Roll

1 pk Nori sheets
2 cups brown rice
5 cups water
3 T rice wine vinegar
1 tsp Splenda
1 pk mock crab
1 avocado
2 or 3 carrots
2 or 3 ribs of celery

Cook the rice and water according to package directions. You want more water to make
a sticky rice. Remove from heat, stir in rice wine vinegar and splenda and let cool.
Cut Avocado, celery, carrots and crab into thin strips. To assemble, lay a sheet of nori on
a cutting board, pile on rice, wet your hands and press down to a thin layer so it covers
the nori sheet. Place strips of the above ingredients down the middle and roll up in a tight roll
and press all over to insure it sticks. Cut into 8 slices and put on a plate. Chill and serve.

We sat eating , talking and laughing at the fortunes ! It cost 89 cents for a bag of fortune cookies , and it may be the cheapest entertainment of all. We interpreted the meanings of the fortunes with a kind of dark , comedic twist and laughed. One that my husband got we decided was just a sign that the creator of the fortunes was just plain overworked

" Ask not what your fortune cookie can do for you, but what you can do for your fortune cookie "
???????????

Later we had dessert- homemade coconut ice cream ! I have been experimenting in the past with creating good home made ice cream. This one was inspired by something Culvers was offering for the flavor of the day a while back. The flavor is right , but it cures way too hard in the freezer.

Coconut Ice Cream

2 cans coconut milk
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup coconut
3/4 c splenda

Blend in a blender and then freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturers directions

Ice cream eaten in proper portion size will never hurt you. Proper portion size is 1/2 cup. It is only when you begin to treat a pint or a half gallon as a serving that you will get into trouble !