I know we all have challenges that we have to overcome every day. For some people it is finding the funds to meet all their financial obligations. For others is finding the strength to get up and to to work and deal with that annoying co- worker or boss. And for other is just finding the will and desire to get up from bed. For me today it was getting up from bed without feeling like my stomach was eating it's self. But after a few minutes and giving myself a pep-talk, I was able to get up and do some chores.
After that I had to tackle the task of calling the hospital to make payment arrangements and negotiate my health care bills. When you are on dialysis and have other health issues, the bills tend to start stacking up. But you know what the funny thing is, I have double insurance. I have Health Net and Medicare but still find that I owe money at the end of the month.
I think people are having a hard time with the new Obama health care bill, but I feel that it is important for every one to have insurance. How we should go about that, well I think every one should be able to make that decision on their own. The problem is that people are either not responsible or can't afford it. Do we need medicare reform; Yes. Do we need people to start taking responsibility for their health; Yes. How do we do it, we just do. The alternative can be devastating for families.
So today I am giving you a refreshing salad recipe.
Grilled Chicken Salad
For marinade:
Juice of 2 lemons
1 table spoon olive oil
1 tsp. fresh thyme
1 tsp. fresh oregano
2 chopped cloves garlic
1 tsp. seasoning salt
1/2 tsp. cracked pepper
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
Mix all the ingredients above and pour over 1 pound of boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs. Marinade for about an our in the refrigerator. Grill the chicken and top your favorite salad mix. You can add extra nutrients by adding tomatoes, cucumbers or any of your favorite veggies. The best salads are made with what ever ingredients taste best to you.
Dressing:
Juice of 2 lemons
2 garlic cloves grated
2-3 table spoons olive oil
1 table spoon mayonnaise
1 table spoon grated Parmesan cheese
salt and popper to taste
Mix all the ingredients in small food processor and dress your salad.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Hi every one;
Today has been a good day. I was able to visit my mother for breakfast and once we came home Liliana and I did our pool therapy. The weather in Castaic has been super hot and the pool just keeps calling. Unfortunately we had to stop after 30 minutes because there is a lot to do in the house and later today I have an appointment with the pulmonologist. I hope he starts to take me off the chemo and the Prednisone. Those drugs are killing my stomach. Every night I wake up once or twice while my dinner re-visits me. Not so fun. But I guess I just have to deal with it, breathing is important and those medications are helping.
One thing the Prednisone is doing is making me very confrontational Lily and Brenda said on Saturday that I was creating conflicts where there were none. They said it was like they were sitting on the ledge and then I came and kicked them off. That they could not stay mad because they would turn around and look at me eating my pizza like little cookie monster. Except with pizza and that made them forget being mad. I have to remember to tone it down a bit. I don't want them to remember me as the mom that kicks them off the ledge and then eats her way thru pizza.
Today I decided to roast a leg of lamb. I hope it turns out good.
The recipe is as follows:
1 leg of lamb approximately 6 pounds
1/2 bunch of lemon thyme
1/2 bunch fresh oregano
1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp seasoning salt
4 garlic cloves
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp. pepper
2 tablespoons soft unsalted butter.
Juice of 2 lemons
Blend all the above together in food processor to create a paste
Rub the lamb with the herb mixture and place in a roasting pan on a bed if vegetables. You can use what ever vegetable you enjoy. I used 24 oz of baby potatoes, baby cut carrots, 1 onion, 1 package of mushrooms and 2 celery stalks cut. Make sure you season the vegetables with a little olive oil and seasoning salt. Add 2 cups red win and roast in the oven for 30 minutes at 375 degrees. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees and continue roasting for an additional hour. Remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes covered with aluminum. Serve with some couscous.
Today has been a good day. I was able to visit my mother for breakfast and once we came home Liliana and I did our pool therapy. The weather in Castaic has been super hot and the pool just keeps calling. Unfortunately we had to stop after 30 minutes because there is a lot to do in the house and later today I have an appointment with the pulmonologist. I hope he starts to take me off the chemo and the Prednisone. Those drugs are killing my stomach. Every night I wake up once or twice while my dinner re-visits me. Not so fun. But I guess I just have to deal with it, breathing is important and those medications are helping.
One thing the Prednisone is doing is making me very confrontational Lily and Brenda said on Saturday that I was creating conflicts where there were none. They said it was like they were sitting on the ledge and then I came and kicked them off. That they could not stay mad because they would turn around and look at me eating my pizza like little cookie monster. Except with pizza and that made them forget being mad. I have to remember to tone it down a bit. I don't want them to remember me as the mom that kicks them off the ledge and then eats her way thru pizza.
Today I decided to roast a leg of lamb. I hope it turns out good.
The recipe is as follows:
1 leg of lamb approximately 6 pounds
1/2 bunch of lemon thyme
1/2 bunch fresh oregano
1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp seasoning salt
4 garlic cloves
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp. pepper
2 tablespoons soft unsalted butter.
Juice of 2 lemons
Blend all the above together in food processor to create a paste
Rub the lamb with the herb mixture and place in a roasting pan on a bed if vegetables. You can use what ever vegetable you enjoy. I used 24 oz of baby potatoes, baby cut carrots, 1 onion, 1 package of mushrooms and 2 celery stalks cut. Make sure you season the vegetables with a little olive oil and seasoning salt. Add 2 cups red win and roast in the oven for 30 minutes at 375 degrees. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees and continue roasting for an additional hour. Remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes covered with aluminum. Serve with some couscous.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Living With Dialysis
Sorry about not posting on Friday, but generally my husband is off on Fridays and I take the day off to be able to enjoy it with him. I find that every moment you spend with a loved one when on dialysis is worth millions. Yesterday I was able to accompany him on a couple of plumbing jobs. It was accutally nice. When we came home we did treatment and I was able to go to their Tahitian dance practice. It was actually really nice to be able to see all the beautifull dancers in action. It made me want to get back into shape.
Today Saturday, I got up and was able to do 30 minutes of pool therapy that my daughter Liliana helped me with. I was quite satisfied to know I was able to keep active for 30 miutes without having a loss of breath. No oxygen needed yet.
I think today I will be making grilled fish tacos with fresh salsa for my family.
Pico de Gallo Salsa
2 ripe tomatoes
1 medium onion
1 bunch cilantro
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
salt to taste
1-2 jalapenos to taste
Juice of 1 lime
Chop all the vegetables and mix in a bowl. Add salt, garlic, and the juice of the lime. Place in the refrigerator till need to top the tacos.
Marinade for fish:
Juice of 3 limes
1-2 tsp of seasoning salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 tbsp fresh thyme
1 tbsp fresh oregano
2 garlic cloves chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
Mix all the ingredients and add to 2 pounds of fish. Marinade for about 20 minutes and grill.
Chipotle mayo for fish:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 table spoons chipotle adobo, use your favorite kind.
1/2 lime juice
Mix together till smooth.
You can shred some cabbage or purchase a cole slaw mix without the mayo.
Now you are ready to assemble your tacos. Warm your tortillas, add some chipotle mayo, your fish, your cole slaw and top with pico de gallo. Enjoy.
Today Saturday, I got up and was able to do 30 minutes of pool therapy that my daughter Liliana helped me with. I was quite satisfied to know I was able to keep active for 30 miutes without having a loss of breath. No oxygen needed yet.
I think today I will be making grilled fish tacos with fresh salsa for my family.
Pico de Gallo Salsa
2 ripe tomatoes
1 medium onion
1 bunch cilantro
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
salt to taste
1-2 jalapenos to taste
Juice of 1 lime
Chop all the vegetables and mix in a bowl. Add salt, garlic, and the juice of the lime. Place in the refrigerator till need to top the tacos.
Marinade for fish:
Juice of 3 limes
1-2 tsp of seasoning salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 tbsp fresh thyme
1 tbsp fresh oregano
2 garlic cloves chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
Mix all the ingredients and add to 2 pounds of fish. Marinade for about 20 minutes and grill.
Chipotle mayo for fish:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 table spoons chipotle adobo, use your favorite kind.
1/2 lime juice
Mix together till smooth.
You can shred some cabbage or purchase a cole slaw mix without the mayo.
Now you are ready to assemble your tacos. Warm your tortillas, add some chipotle mayo, your fish, your cole slaw and top with pico de gallo. Enjoy.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Living with Dialysis
Good morning to all my friends. Today is the first day of my blog. You can look at my blog every morning where I will share my thoughts every day. Here you can learn what it is like to live with dialysis. For those of us who did not know what dialysis is, it is the process of removing toxins and fluid from your body with a machine. Normally your kidneys take care of these functions, but when your kidneys do not function, then you require dialysis to do this. There are several ways to do this, I use the NxStage system, where it can be done at home. This is ether done by Peter my husband or Liliana my daughter. The were both trained to do this.
Because they do my treatment at home, this gives me the liberty of not having to go into a center 3 times per week which would take an average of 5 hours of my day to accomplish this. At home I dialyse 2-3 hours but it is done at my convince at night. I am able to schedule work for my husband and have a relatively normal life. If you can call normal fitting in doctor visits, medications, and using 2 literes of oxygen when I get tired or short of breath. The breathing problems are not a result of the dialysis, but a result of vasculitis. This is an inflammation of the small blood vessels that damaged my kidneys and is now attacking my lungs. That we will save for another day.
I will also be posting some of my amazing recipes, as you know I am a great cook. Not too toot my own horn. So here we go. If my anemia was not so high I had actually had the energy to cook for my amazing family. I would be making for them today my Amazing baked potato salad with Prosciutto.
If you have kidney disease check with your dietitian to see how much of this you can eat. Potatoes are high in potassium and this is a concern if you are on dialysis. Because I do my treatment evert day and my potassium levels are within nomal limits, I am able to have a 1/2 cup serving as a treat.
The recipe as follows:
24 Oz. Baby yellow and purple potatoes cut in half.
2 Tbs. Good Olive oil
2tsp. Seasoning Salt
2 tsp. Fresh ground pepper.
2tsp. fresh thyme leaves.
Mix all the above ingredients and bake for 18-25 minutes until potato are crisp and tender.
For dressing.
1/4 lb prosciutto crisped up in the oven
1 bunch of scallions chopped
2 table spoons good mayo
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp pepper
2 garlic clove grated or super fine chopped
salt to taste
Mix all the ingredients together and add to warm potatoes so they may soak the dressing. Serve chilled or room temperature. If you don't have prosciutto you can substitute a good bacon.
Because they do my treatment at home, this gives me the liberty of not having to go into a center 3 times per week which would take an average of 5 hours of my day to accomplish this. At home I dialyse 2-3 hours but it is done at my convince at night. I am able to schedule work for my husband and have a relatively normal life. If you can call normal fitting in doctor visits, medications, and using 2 literes of oxygen when I get tired or short of breath. The breathing problems are not a result of the dialysis, but a result of vasculitis. This is an inflammation of the small blood vessels that damaged my kidneys and is now attacking my lungs. That we will save for another day.
I will also be posting some of my amazing recipes, as you know I am a great cook. Not too toot my own horn. So here we go. If my anemia was not so high I had actually had the energy to cook for my amazing family. I would be making for them today my Amazing baked potato salad with Prosciutto.
If you have kidney disease check with your dietitian to see how much of this you can eat. Potatoes are high in potassium and this is a concern if you are on dialysis. Because I do my treatment evert day and my potassium levels are within nomal limits, I am able to have a 1/2 cup serving as a treat.
The recipe as follows:
24 Oz. Baby yellow and purple potatoes cut in half.
2 Tbs. Good Olive oil
2tsp. Seasoning Salt
2 tsp. Fresh ground pepper.
2tsp. fresh thyme leaves.
Mix all the above ingredients and bake for 18-25 minutes until potato are crisp and tender.
For dressing.
1/4 lb prosciutto crisped up in the oven
1 bunch of scallions chopped
2 table spoons good mayo
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp pepper
2 garlic clove grated or super fine chopped
salt to taste
Mix all the ingredients together and add to warm potatoes so they may soak the dressing. Serve chilled or room temperature. If you don't have prosciutto you can substitute a good bacon.
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