Fulenn's MS page New: before/after pics on page 15

[Nean]

Glad to hear that you continue to do so well.

I saw a great idea on You Tube - layer a giant rice paper (28cm ones) with collard green leaves and then fillings of your choice. Makes a giant salad roll that doesn't break like the plain collard ones do. I'm going to try it as an alternative to burritos.

[fulenn]

Glad to hear that you continue to do so well.

I saw a great idea on You Tube - layer a giant rice paper (28cm ones) with collard green leaves and then fillings of your choice. Makes a giant salad roll that doesn't break like the plain collard ones do. I'm going to try it as an alternative to burritos.

I like that idea! It would be great for work. Please let me know how it works for you and I will give it a try if you like it.

Fulenn

[lmggallagher]

Happy Spring Break Fuelenn:

So jazzed that you can mow a lawn again - it's a chore of great gratification when done and yes indeed fresh cut grass really is a spring summer smell that can't be beat.

[eri]

Fulenn! We were on spring break at the same time. Just popping by to say hey before bed. Hope you're doing great...it sounds like you are! *hugs*

[fulenn]

Michelle and eri! Thanks for stopping in and saying hi! Eri, was your spring break a good one, too?

Spring break was really nice, though the traffic and generally being unable to do a lot of things during SXSW was annoying. I really wish they would schedule it during a different week; every year we miss out on doing a lot of fun things with our own families in the city we live in because of the huge crowds that are attracted to Austin by the festival. The other issue is that prices skyrocket during spring break. sigh.

We still had a lot of fun. We went out to eat several times--Pho Saigon is a favorite with my daughters. We order a rice noodle soup in a vegetable broth with pieces of steamed tofu and veggies in it. So good! I have tried my hand at making veggie pho a couple of times, but the work that went into it was not worth the amount of time that it lasted afterwards. It tasted really good, but was gone as soon as it was finished.

I am eating a late breakfast right now--oatmeal! I am thinking I will make hash browns for lunch and pasta for dinner. I found asparagus at the store yesterday for 1.47 a pound and the stems were thinner than a pencil--bought two of them! I want to put them in pasta with freshly diced tomatoes, maybe a squeeze of lemon juice...

My husband is waiting to go on a walk with me, so I am going to sign off, finish breakfast, and get my shoes on.

Fulenn

[sksamboots]

You sound good! Keep on keepin on

[fulenn]

I stayed home sick today. Am already feeling better.

I am fixing baked potatoes for dinner tonight with roasted asparagus and brussels sprouts. I recently saw a post on Fat-Free Vegan where she made hummus and dipped roasted asparagus in it instead of bread...I have been thinking about making roasted asparagus ever since.

Hope everyone is having a good day,

Fulenn

[fulenn]

The roasted asparagus was great! I put raw asparagus and frozen Brussels sprouts into a large pan in a very thin layer and roasted it for about 30 minutes on 400F. It was so good! I am going back to the store for more asparagus today.

I made a LOT of cheeze sauce last week. The first batch got eaten, mostly by my children, in just under 24 hours. Then one of the girls friends told my daughter that she is no longer eating animal products. My daughter told her about the cheeze sauce and I was back in production the next day. She loves it! I told her to call me and come over after summer begins and I will show her how to make it and let her make-and-take a batch. Done! Then another girl said she wanted to stop eating animal products and would I let her come along to learn about it. Yep! Both of these young women are former students of mine and I have known both as intelligent and kind people; it will be a pleasure to share this with them and perhaps be an intro into McDougalling.

My oldest daughter and her boyfriend are coming tomorrow to join us for Easter. DH and I just decided to make it an hors d'oeuvres lunch. Roasted broccoli, hummus, cheeze dip, quiche bites (from ff vegan), grilled zucchini strips, pickles--not sure what else, but I will be thinking about it today. Feel welcome to post any ideas if you would like to. Otherwise, I will be spending some time at Fat Free Vegan looking around; I usually really like her recipes.

I have started walking with a neighbor and think it will be a good thing. Her spouse has not had the desire to walk with her and mine comes home from work so late and so tired that we have not been walking, either.

The MS continues to stay under control. Good energy for the most part. I have been tired a lot in the past couple of weeks, but I have also been feeling very stressed at work and think that is the problem. I was also drinking a lot of iced tea, so I have cut that out in case that has contributed to the problem. I feel fine now.

Have a good weekend!
Fulenn

[lmggallagher]

Hi fuelenn:

How wonderful about all the young women who are considering going animal product free. You are winning them over with your cheeze sauce - way to go!

Ah ice tea - love any tea - but it get's me too. Just a little caffeine even in other things like asprin products will get to me. First it will mess with my sleep and then I feel the fatigue. Such a bummer-- but so glad all other things MS are not an issue for you- well except the stuff that comes from work stress.

Have a Happy Easter Day and I know you'll all be eating great treats!

[Nean]

Your food sounds so good. Maybe I'll look for some asparagus. (and take a second shot at making hummus - first attempt )

[sksamboots]

Food sounds so good! Keep it up

[fulenn]

Hey Michelle! I know about the tea and should have just been drinking peppermint or chamomile, two of my favorites, but I just caved and took the easy way out. In other words, somebody else fixed it and all I had to do was drink it...

Nean, definitely try hummus again. My family and I really love it when we make it with fresh lemons, so if you have the choice, squeeze the juice yourself. The flavor really pops that way!

Boots, I really do like it when the fresh produce hits the farmers market again.

Okay, here is my final menu for tomorrow: roasted asparagus and green beans, cheeze fondue and hummus with bread and veggies, fresh fruit with vanilla cashew creme dip, tiny meatless balls on toothpicks with hot mustard dip, potato wedges, steamed rice, miso soup, stuffed mushrooms, black olives, pickled okra, and tiny pickled cucumbers. I still have to watch my weight as I am prone to overeating rich foods, so I will need to steer away from the fondue and towards the hummus, away from the cashew creme and towards plain fruit. I can do that!

I am adding this because I am watching PotatoStrong's interview with Dr. McDougall and realized that some of the starches are not obvious in our meal. The hummus is starchy because of the garbanzo beans, the mushrooms are stuffed with seasoned mashed potatoes, the potato wedges are starch for dipping, and the rice is a starch that I enjoy with these types of finger foods--I put the pickles and small amounts of other foods on top of the rice. Mmmm!

Now for the fun part of Easter around here: the kids are all old enough that they do NOT need to be coming home for egg hunts. Last year we had one person drive and set up a scavenger hunt throughout our local area. It was great! This year we are expanding the boundaries quite a bit and are looking forward to seeing how they do. If they finish the hunt, they get to split a small box of chocolates and a bowl of fresh strawberries.

Fulenn

[fulenn]

I brought brown rice for lunch today, but when the time came, I wanted something else. So I bought veggie spring rolls at the store and a box of blackberries. Perfect! The rice is in the refrigerator and should make a good lunch tomorrow.

Fulenn

[sksamboots]

You are doing great!

[fulenn]

Made the BEST pasta tonight! 2 pounds of different colored heirloom grape tomatoes, onion, garlic, red wine, basil, s&p. The tomatoes cooked down and mixed with the wine to make a really good sauce. Yum! I will probably pick up more tomatoes tomorrow at the store and make it again. The girls usually do not like it when I cook tomatoes like this, they prefer sauce; tonight they wanted more! Unfortunately, they will have to wait for tomorrow night.

Fulenn