Spaghetti Squash "Pasta" is Awesome

Pasta is my comfort food.  As my sister Ellen can attest, we used to come home from middle school and fix ourselves a "snack" of spaghetti noodles with butter and Parmesan cheese (the powdered kind from the green can!).  It is cozy, comfy, comfort food, Midwest style!
In the last few years I've switched over to brown rice pasta, which is almost as delicious, and a bit healthier, than the classic durum wheat spaghetti.  But even brown rice pasta is a processed food, and contains less nutrition than eating whole brown rice.  So I try to limit my consumption, although we still need comfort food every now and then.
With this pasta history in mind, you will understand why I was suspicious when I heard about spaghetti squash "pasta."

Hello again!

If you've been following our blog, you've undoubtedly noticed that we've taken a bit of a break from blogging (a LONG break!).  Since Ellen's pain has been extremely debilitating these past few months, it's been hard to remain inspired to continue the upbeat tone of the blog.  But we've discussed it and we do want to continue with the project.  After all, we weren't looking for quick fixes (although deep down, maybe we hoped for one??).  It's still about healthy living and sustainable (which sometimes means slow) healing.

All-Natural Teeth Whitening

I'm getting married in 2 weeks (AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!), and all of a sudden I've started panicking about all sorts of incredibly important details like my toe hair, my unfortunate gardener's tan, and the less-than-perfect whiteness of my teeth!  Really, I know this day is all about me and Darryl, and receiving love, advice, and support from our friends and family.  But in the midst of feeling so incredibly lucky and blessed, I have found a moment (or two) to worry about my teeth looking yellow against a white dress.

Sweet Nothings

Most days I love the endo diet.  Kale makes me smile; a perfectly ripe pear is an unbelievable gift; and beans keep my tummy feeling full and happy.
But then, every so often, there are those days.. like yesterday, when the puppy had to get up 3 times during the night and I was so tired my eyelids drooped through all of class.  Or when it's that oh-so-special time of the month, and all I want to do is lock myself in a closet with a giant chocolate bar.

Recipe: Quick Oat & Raisin Cookies

This recipe is my newest find in Carolyn Levett's Recipes for the Endometriosis Diet.  They are really crunchy and delightful.  I like to make a big batch and freeze them to have on hand for cookie emergencies.

Recipe: Endo-Tonic Tea

2 parts burdock root

2 parts pau d'arco

2 parts red root

1 part red clover

1 part red raspberry leaf

1 part wild yam

Getting Through the Tougher Times

I hope you all haven't given up on me since I haven't posted in quite some time.  I'm still here and I haven't given up on our project!  I just have become overloaded as the end of my semester approaches in grad school and my body is bombarded with a major pain flare up.  This is the worst and longest flare up I've had since beginning Endo Undo, and it has been interesting to try to compare to how things were before we began our project.  The trouble is, as many of probably know, pain is something that is nearly impossible to remember.  We can remember that we have been in pain, but our minds are incapable of truly recalling the exact levels--which would be helpful for a comparison--as a means of self-preservation.  Imagine if you could actually remember exactly how much everything in your life physically hurt it would essentially be a constant reliving of that pain, which would be unbearable.  Believe me, our minds are doing us a favor by not letting us compare.  This does make comparisons over time a challenge, though.