Since the new year began, I’ve had some highs and lows. Who doesn’t, right?! The lows have been outweighing the highs lately and so much so it had started to take its toll on me. What I am about to share may gross some folks out, so if you’d rather skip to the recipe below that’s quite all right.
A year ago I discovered a massive bruise on the side of my right breast. It was the strangest thing, I remember going to bed without it and the next morning it was there! It never hurt though from it’s black-purple color you’d think otherwise. After a few weeks it finally went away and I never gave it another thought as 2015 pressed on. Fast forward to February 2016…I’m used to funky things happening to me thanks to my PCOS. Honestly, most things never surprise me or gross me out anymore. I’ve learned to deal and move on, except when I woke up one morning with dried blood around my right nipple. You bet I thought what the heck! After a mild freak out I hit Bing search engine up for a possible explanation.
Now, I know what many of you are thinking, why haven’t you gotten your fanny to a doctor?! Well, a little thing called insurance…yeah, I don’t have it and not enough money to pay out of pocket at the moment. So, after spending an hour perusing the possibilities as to what it could be I decided to wait it out and see if could be the first option: hormone imbalance. For some women it can occur during their monthly cycles, I personally have never had that particular symptom happen before. I decided to give it four days to see if would go away on it’s own as per many online GYN’s had said it should…but it didn’t. I won’t lie, I did panic at first and my mind began to reel with the possibility of ‘what if’. What if it’s not just a clogged milk duct? What if this isn’t just a serious bout of hormone imbalance? What if I have breast cancer? That last thought scared me the most.
After talking with my parents, I came up with a plan to see if I could in some way alter certain symptoms. I have always shared on social media how cancer needs sugar and an acidic environment to thrive. Now it was time to start putting my own words to good use, live a low carb lifestyle and incorporate alkaline aspects(water, certain veggies, etc.). I knew it wasn’t going to be easy going cold turkey off of sugar, gluten, and dairy but with the idea of breast cancer hanging over my head as a major possibility I knew that once I start there would be no going back. No giving up. No starting and two weeks later giving up. It’s serious this time, and even IF it’s not breast cancer I ought to live as though it were.
So, for two weeks I have been living an extreme low carb lifestyle. No sugar. No gluten. No dairy. Increased my water to 2L a day, every morning I drink a small cup of warm lemon water sweetened with stevia. Cut my caffeine consumption back to half a cup a day. Increased my usage of turmeric, ginger, and cayenne pepper. I add it on EVERYTHING throughout the day. Yes I was a total grumpy mcbaggy pants last week, an absolute bear because all week I was craving doughnuts. I didn’t care what kind homemade, Krispy Kreme, Dunkin…If someone had brought in a dozen I would have eaten the entire box! But I didn’t cave in, I stayed the course and munched on pork rinds any time the craving hit. It helped! My chronic fatigue is improving, I still get tired during the day but I’m not crashing on the sofa every afternoon like I had been. Slowly things are beginning to improve which is good!
Even this morning I weighed myself and found that I’m 9 pounds down and the inflammation is lessening. Here’s a little tidbit of info for women with PCOS, dairy causes inflammation seriously consider reducing or cutting it out completely and notice an improvement to your overall health. I am starting to get around with better ease, my joints ache less, my lower back doesn’t hurt as much, and walking in general isn’t as tiresome. Turmeric and cayenne pepper have helped tremendously! I strongly suggest you start adding that to your daily diet and lifestyle.
I’ll just tell you this, only time will reveal if what I am doing is truly improving my health and putting a stop to these weird symptoms. All I ask from you amazing people is to please pray for me during this time.
Now, if I haven’t grossed everyone out with my health update, let’s move on to a fabulous lunch idea that’s full of good for you fat, will tackle inflammation, and is perfect for a ladies get together or brunch! 😉
You’ll need::
6 boiled eggs, peeled and mashed
2 leftover chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
1 c homemade mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp dried chives
1 avocado, peeled
Spanish Paprika
Cayenne powder
In a large bowl add peeled boiled eggs and use a pastry blender to chop it down as finely as you can. Set aside. Place leftover chicken breasts in a food processor and whiz it down until it resembles a fine texture, almost like a dry pate. Add to the chopped eggs. Mix with mayonnaise, salt, pepper, and dried chives. Cut a ripe avocado in half and carefully remove the seed with a sharp knife. You can leav the skin on if you wish, I prefer removing it. Fill each half with the egg chicken salad mixture, don’t be stingy! Sprinkle the top with cayenne pepper and paprika and enjoy!
This is truly a deviled dish! That kick of cayenne is amazing with the smoky flavor of paprika. You can serve this with a side salad, gluten free low carb bread and almond butter, add chopped bacon on top, and of course a tall glass of lemon lime water!
The carb count is low which is great for induction. You can use any leftover chicken, I just happen to have two pieces leftover from a low carb chicken paprikash that I made earlier in the week. Don’t be afraid to try new things and hope you all have a blessed weekend!
Night Owl Kitchen 