Food!

Many of our readers have asked us to write a post about what we eat as a family, and especially what Matt eats. It is obvious to all who see him that his health has drastically improved over the last few months, and it is impossible for us (or his doctor) to separate that improvement from his dietary changes. But his diet isn’t just for people with Lyme. Even I, “Carbohydrate Corrie” have recently cut all grain out of my diet, and have seen a pretty drastic turnaround from my usual struggle with bloaty (sorry for the tmi), enhausted, middle of the day fatigue, constantly hungry, craving sugary snacks blechiness. Yes, I made up “blechiness”. 

This all began for us back in June. Matt was at that time reading about the incredible sustaining and healing value of raw milk, researching to make sure it was safe, where to get it fresh, and praying about it. It may sound a little weird that he was praying about it, we don’t pray about our diet changes as a rule, but in this case, raw milk is a huge investment, and I am really thankful that Matt wanted to check in with the Lord and lay that before Him. Matt told me later that he felt the Lord put peace in his heart to go forward with eating not only raw milk, but all the other foods I am about to tell you about. These lightly steamed veggies, pure milk, healthy meats, and power packed nuts are really a nod back in time to the way all people originally ate, and the way some of the healthiest cultures on earth eat today. Matt said he felt like the Lord said: watch and see what I can do in your body if you eat these foods that I have created. 

The following is an interview with Matt : ) about some of the main cornerstones of our diet, and some of the most common questions we have been asked.

What is so great about RAW MILK?

Matt: Where do I begin? Well, first it tastes amazing compared to pasteurized milk, and a lot of times it comes with some cream on top which is also amazing. Also when you have raw milk, you can make your own cheese, whey, kefir etc. I have read that it is about the closest thing to a “perfect food” containing fat, protein, carbs, vitamins, and minerals, and all in an incredibly easily digestible form. Some people have called it “white blood” because it is so easy to digest that you can imagine your blood just turning white it gets there so fast. So if you have digestion issues, it is great for your system. The thing that really separates it from pasteurized milk is that it still has all of its own enzymes and good bacteria alive and intact. Pasteurizing milk both jacks up the chemical structures of the protein, making it hard to digest or even for some people impossible to digest, as well as kills off all the bacteria and enzymes that help to heal your digestive tract, and that you need to digest milk even in its un-pasteurized form.  These are the same bacteria and enzymes that, when alive, work to fight listeria, ecoli, and salmonella. 

But isn’t RAW MILK unsafe?

Matt: There are more recalls and outbreaks on produce such as spinach than on raw milk. And while all raw food is susceptible to bad bacteria getting in there, raw milk is equipped to fight it off. I suggest checking out some of the informative articles on www.realmilk.com as that is where I have found a lot of information, or reading chapter 15 of a book I want called The Untold Story of Milk here: http://www.newtrendspublishing.com/PDFS/15MilkFinal.pdf.

What does KEFIR do?

Matt: Kefir is a cultured milk drink that you can find in many stores. It’s known for being a good source of probiotics. The brands found in stores has usually about 6 “strains” of probiotics (strains are species), and several billion individual organisms per serving. Homemade Raw Kefir made with Kefir grains (little clumps of yeast and bacteria about the size of a mustard seed) has around 30 strains of probiotics, and around 5 trillion organisms per serving. That is more than any probiotic supplement I have ever seen, and I’ve been taking probiotics for several years with really no noticeable effect. So basically it seems to me that it is among the most powerful of ways to heal your digestion, and to not only replenish good bacteria, but also it fights infections like candida and harmful parasites. When made with raw milk, Kefir also provides all of the benefits listed above! I feel like this has been a huge part of this turned corner. 

And what the heck is KIMCHI?

Matt: Kimchi is a primarily Korean dish made of fermented cabbage, carrots, green onions, garlic, ginger, salt, and crushed chili flakes. Those are basically all things known for being anti-bad-bacteria. I take those ingredients, smash them together until their juices start flowing a little, and then add Whey (which I made from raw milk) and let it sit out at room temperature for three or more days. It’s great vegetables, with great bacteria, and a pretty rocking zing if you are looking to clear out your sinuses! 

What are PASTURED EGGS AND CHICKEN as opposed to organic or free range eggs or chicken?

Matt: Organic means that the chicken is fed organic food, and doesn’t have antibiotics injected into it. Free Range is often also organic, but the chickens are allowed to walk around. But in both of these cases, the chickens are usually fed corn or soy…and not worms and bugs, which is what they want to eat. Pastured Chickens are not only organic and allowed to walk around, but they are literally out in a pasture eating bugs, worms, grass and roots. Eggs from pastured chickens have a much higher Omega-3 to Omega-6 ratio (which is good) as well as higher counts in all their vitamins. 

What is this weird “GREEN SOUP” we’ve been hearing about?

Matt: I started making green soup after being inspired by a book called Food is Your Best Medicine. The author is a doctor who treated many chronic diseases, and often prescribed a “soup” made of steamed zucchini, celery, and green beans all blended together with raw parsley and raw butter. The idea is that all those ingredients are all high is sulfur supporting the living, and the butter helps your body assimilate the nutrients. Also by having it steamed and then blended, it is much easier to digest, especially for someone whose digestive system needs help. The key is to only steam the veggies for a short while to help break down the fibers, but not long enough to begin killing off the nutrients. I have been making my own variations by adding any other green veggies that I feel like, including kale, collard greens, chard, cabbage, dandelion greens, spinach, and bok choy. I sometimes add a splash of raw olive oil, and I sometimes make it with homemade chicken or beef broth, and throw in a few raw egg yolks. I try to make a blender-full and then drink it for breakfast and then either lunch or dinner.

For those who are interested, here is a sample menu of a normal day around here:

Breakfast!

                All of us: Scrambled Pastured Eggs with some *clean* ham or turkey, spinach or zucchini (and on an awesome day – bacon!); a small glass of raw milk for each of us. Corrie may have some green or black tea. Rebecca has one piece of sprouted grain toast and some Greek or goat yogurt with honey. Matt has Green Soup, and kefir. Rebecca and Corrie are working on the Kefir : )

Lunch!

                Matt: Green Soup, wild caught salmon (usually canned), kimchi, raw sheep or goat cheese, avocado, milk, and nuts or almond butter

                Rebecca: Avocado, raw cheese, yogurt if not at breakfast, fresh fruit, olives, celery, and a little box of organic apple juice (only on the days we are at school). She also mooches mommy’s shakes (see below)

                Corrie: Matt makes an amazing protein shake that can fill me all afternoon. It consists of Coconut Oil, Almond Milk, Almond Butter, 100% Cocoa Powder, Honey, Pure Whey Protein Powder (with stevia rather than any sugars or fake sugars like aspartame), and ice of course. I love taking these shakes for my lunch, along with an apple and cheese, or a loaded salad with either balsamic on top or a homemade dressing that often make.

Dinner!

                Matt: Green Soup, raw milk, raw cheese, kimchi,

                Rebecca: steamed veggies, raw cheese, some raw milk, black or pinto beans.

                Corrie: Salad, steamed veggies, raw cheese

                               

Sometimes we have steak (I put mine on my salad) or lettuce wrapped burgers, and we are currently working on a few more recipe options. One thing that is great about eating like this is that it is not a lot of prep! And not a lot of dishes! Both wins in my book.

               

One thing that Matt and I have both heard is “I want to eat this way, but my husband won’t” or “We want to but our kids won’t” or when people are being really honest they just say “That doesn’t sound very yummy”. But if we really sit down and think about it, this must be a relatively NEW way of thinking…and even now it is an attitude only found in industrialized countries. Because if the little Inuit kid wearing his little fur suit, sitting in an igloo says “I don’t like seal blubber” then that kid is out of luck…because that’s all there is.

I say this not to come down on anyone at all…because as Donkey most astutely said to Shrek: “You know what ELSE everybody likes? Parfaits! Have you ever met a person, you say, "Let's get some parfait," they say, "H@## no, I don't like no parfait"? Parfaits are delicious!... Parfait's gotta be the most delicious thing on the whole d#$% planet!”

FOOD IS GOOD! ESPECIALLY THE KIND THAT IS BAD FOR US!!!!

Dang.

As incredibly hard as it is (and a little sad when those cookies are staring at you through the glass as you stand in line at Starbucks), it’s time to change the way we think about food. Hippocrates said: Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food. 

So many diets (gluten free, sugar free, even paleo diets) try so hard to disguise healthy food by making it taste a little bit like something else that we actually do like. But guess what? I have never NOT been let down just a little by gluten free pancakes. We have a recipe for hazelnut flour pancakes that are very good…but still not buttermilk or sourdough good. 

Let’s just let food be what it is…life giving, sustaining, healthful, nutritious, and filling… 

And throw out everything else. 

Because if you are like me, you will find yourself sitting on the couch watching How I Met Your Mother, and suddenly, like a zombie, you will stand up, go to the pantry and begin rifling around for something sweet and snacky – and in that deluded state, if it’s there, I am going to eat it. : )

We promise, after a few days or maybe weeks this healthier food will start tasting better, and you will find yourself not really missing dessert, or enjoying some grapefruit as your dessert. It’s not like it’s just terrible food forever. Your eyes will start to see food for what it really is, and what is more nutritious will start to look more appetizing.  I got downright excited at Megan’s wedding this last weekend when I noticed a kale salad! I piled it on half of my plate! And I only really felt like having a couple bites of the pie. Not because I am so great or have arrived at this mecca of health…I’ve got a ways to go believe me. But because I think we are making inroads toward training our bodies to crave what is good.  

I think that if we stopped worrying about our tongue, and started worrying about our gut, we may experience better health. I am my own guinea pig. 

If you have more questions about what we eat, please feel free to ask us!

Neee-vada!

We decided to relate the story of our trip as just that, a story. We will try not to philosophize too much. But we are the coupling of a Communications Major and an English Major….so pour yourself a cuppa! Cause we wrote a long post people!

Rebecca woke up on Saturday at 7:30 bright eyed, not even wanting to snuggle, sat right up and said “I’m ready! I’m ready to go on my chip!(trip)”  We left the house at 10am, our goal was 9. So far we were right on track.

2,486.17 feet later (google earth is so cool), at the second light on our way out of Scott’s Valley, our little back seat driver asked “Is this Nee-vada?”  She then proceeded to talk until we stopped for lunch in Folsom….three hours later.

We pulled into Carson City in the late afternoon, with enough time to hit Mills Park (where there is a PINK slide – a big deal for Rebecca) and have a fun family dinner downtown before bedtime. The next morning we got to attend church at Fountainhead Foursquare Church, where our new friends Louie and Peggy Locke are the pastors. You may remember from our previous post that we had met Peggy and Louie while up at camp during the district pastor’s retreat and they had invited us to join them when we came to Carson.

We were so blessed by their church. First, Rebecca was really excited/curious about what it meant to go to a different church and “meet new fends”, but for Matt and me, we were blessed and encouraged to be welcomed and feel like we had a place to go and friends who care about our journey, even when we are far from home.

After church we headed back up the mountain into South Lake Tahoe to our friend’s lovely cabin where we stayed for two nights. Their cabin backs up against a gorgeous little valley with a creek running through it. It is so peaceful. In the morning a coyote bounced around catching bunnies…he was really cute.

Monday found us heading back up and over the pass into Nee-vada (that is what we call Nevada now) for the doctor appointment. Rebecca and I dropped Matt off, and after five years of doctor’s appointments from Santa Barbara to Riverside to Connecticut and now Nee-vada, for some reason, this drop off was really hard for me. I think I was feeling very strongly the reality of being in a strange town, as well as the pull between wanting to be present for my toddler as we had fun around town, but really wanting to be sitting beside Matt. My thoughts were never far from him as Rebecca and I visited the Carson Children’s Museum, and then the Nevada Railway Museum. And at one point, when I realized my phone had died, those fears, which so often attack my mind came on strong. “What it they can’t get ahold of me?” “What if the injections react terribly in his body and they have to rush him to the hospital” (not even a side effect of these injections…just a ridiculous fear tactic) “What if something happens and you are ALL alone in Nevada! WHAT would you do???”

And then in the middle of Nee-vada, God’s peace washed over me, and He spoke into my heart. He didn’t say “that’s stupid Corrie” or “you are being ridiculous”, but He met me where I was, in my thoughts and said: “Corrie, if something went wrong, you would call Louie and Peggy. You have friends in Carson City now too. That’s why I led you to them.”

 And so Rebecca and I went down the tube slide at the museum, we played on the giant piano that you walk on (reminiscent of Tom Hanks in Big), I taught her how to play air hockey….and then we went to the train museum and stood on a train, and purchased a “talking Thomas” for Rebecca’s tracks at home. And all the while the Lord was meeting us, and meeting Matt. And I’ll now turn the story over to him. : )

Matt:

The first phase of my visit involved what’s called Bio-Energy Testing, which measures MANY different body functions/states all by examining your cells’ mitochondrial health.  The testing was non-invasive, but still…uncomfortable.  I had to hold a huge snorkel-like tube in my mouth that I felt made me look like some superhero or, more likely, supervillain.  

After the testing was over, I finally saw the doctor.  He watched as I walked toward him and his office.  Immediately I knew that he, known around the world for his expertise, had compassion on his individual patients.  As I passed him, he put his hand on my shoulder, and it was one of those moments that carries greater meaning than the simple gesture would imply.  It wasn’t an “OK hurry up buddy, I’m busy here,” or a “There, there now, it’ll be ok.”  It was more of a, “Wow, I see your pain, I see your struggle, I know it hurts and I understand…let’s tackle this thing together.”  In that simple hand on my shoulder, I sensed something of the heart of Jesus toward my sickness.

We sat down together in his office and he listened to my story with rapt attention.  He had many of his own opinions as to how he would treat me if he were my primary physician but was also mindful of the fact that he greatly respects our current doctor.  And as we move forward, he and or primary doctor will probably be collaborating on certain aspects of my treatment.

After we talked, he pricked my finger and looked at my blood under a dark field microscope, which was hooked up to a computer monitor.  We could see my blood cells in almost 3D floating around on the slide, and in his words, “It looks like you still have a lot of work to do.”  Apparently your blood cells are supposed to flow individually through your body rather than in clumps.  Well, nearly all of my red cells were in clumps of 10+.  This is caused by the osmotic pressure exerted on them by antibodies present in the blood.  The presence of clumping, and therefore antibodies, is a surefire sign of not only infection but also autoimmune response.  We also saw several white blood cells, just another confirmation in a long list that I do indeed have infections present in my body.

Finally, we got to the exciting part, the ozone joint injections.  After examining my knees and ankle he was confident that these injections would bring relief, since it appears that most of the damage/problems in those joints is soft-tissue rather than bone deformation.  Finances were very tight for us, so I asked him to clarify that the price per shot is in fact $250.  He said, “Well, since you’re getting both knees done, I usually give you a break and charge $350 for the pair.”  I thought, Great!, and told him to go ahead.

As he was treating my knees, the details of which could fill another blog post (with the needles poking way into the knee joints and such…yes, an appropriate reaction on your part is wincing and butterflies in the stomach), I noticed a cross on the wall, and a picture of an old man with hands clasped and two other hands reaching down to him.  In very small writing I thought it said, “Gospel of John” but wasn’t sure…so I asked.

He said, “Yes it does say Gospel of John.”  I took that as my cue to share a bit more of our story: “You know, right around the time I started getting better is when our church started praying for healing.”  And again, one of those moments passed that contained so much more than the casual observer would notice.  He simply said, “Wow!  Interesting.”  I don’t know if he is a believer, or if he simply respects the beliefs or what, but at the very least it seemed as if he was mindfully logging away my story as one more piece of the puzzle to take into account regarding this whole healing thing.

He then told me about a little girl he had treated once:  “She came in with some digestive disease that I had successfully treated many times.  Seriously, this was one of the easiest problems for me to heal people from.  I was thinking to myself, ‘This will be great, I DON’T fail with these cases.’  But she didn’t respond at all to anything I tried.  And after a time of frustrated failure, I finally referred her to another physician.  About a week later I spoke with her parents and asked them how she was doing.  They said she was totally fine!  I asked if they had taken her to the other doctor and they said that they didn’t need to.  They took her to their church where they laid hands on her, and she woke up the next day totally healed!”

It’s nice being treated by a doctor humble enough to allow for the Great Physician to heal also!  After this story, I asked him if he would also be injecting my ankle (the one that’s turned out).  After he said that he was, I asked him to give me a minute to do the financial math to make sure that we could afford the additional shot.  Immediately, he said, “Don’t worry about it.  I’ll throw this one in.”  I had to fight back tears right there in his office.  Really?  Are you kidding me?  This doesn’t often happen in the world of doctors.

Well, he finished with the injections and went out to give the paperwork to the front desk as I put my shoes on and made my way out behind him.  

 When I got to the front, he told me he'd see me next time, for round two of injections, and walked back to his office.  I turned to the administrative assistant, and she said, "Okay, your total for today is $175."

"Wait, WHAT?!"

"$175."

"Did you get the charge for the testing and the injections?!  Even with the break he gave me it should be more than THAT!"

"He told me that it was all included."

Wow!  So instead of leaving his office $1000 or more poorer, we were walking out only having paid $175 and knowing that the Lord is indeed meeting ALL of our needs.  We'll see the full benefits of these injections as the next few weeks play out, but regardless of the outcome, we were blessed immensely by this trip.

Thank you to all of you who helped make this possible through prayer, through giving in various ways, etc.  We can't do this alone, and we know, thanks to you all, we aren't alone.  May God bless you even more in the coming weeks.