Saturday, February 23, 2013

Scientific Salads 3: J's Bionic Salad ®

Greetings once again, Dear Readers,

So for all the kidney patients out there, and yes, the albeit fewer Microscopic Polyangiitis patients out there, but even for those suffering from chronic high blood pressure and taking meds that cause potassium to be retained, I thought I'd share some specifics of what I eat that is making this recovery process of mine go so well, so far.

First of all, today I did some math and was pleased to see that I'm coming in way under the typical lean protein requirements for a person with Stage 3 Chronic Kidney Disease.  I'm right on the cusp near to Stage 4 but since technically I'm not, I'll call myself Stage 3.  A patient in that category should be having no more than apparently .8 grams of protein per kilo of body weight each day and from what I've calculated, I'm doing well at likely about  50 grams per day, (last time I weighed in I was at 65 kilos). 

So yahooooo, this means I can up some of those levels sans-regret or worry once in a while and enjoy myself a sashimi night more often!  Something I rather love.  Sushi too, (but no rolls allowed as for those who don't know, the el cheapo wasabi most often served in restos and for take away has an astounding amount of sodium in it.)  The real stuff, the real expensive stuff most often safely guarded in Japan is a different story so if you can get your chop sticks on THAT, kudo's and ENJOY the purity.

I'm sitting by the fire here on a chilly wintery day as I write and I'm feeling better today than I have in well over 4 months, (now sleeping near normally for the THIRD DAY!).

I am amazed at how this diet of mine has allowed me to take such giant steps.  When I rewind and think of how I was for those first few weeks after coming outta the hellspital, it was well, pretty grim. An example would be getting winded and having to stop at just 3 stairs up to the 2nd floor.  Or leaning on Tony's withers to get up from any sitting position.  He was amazing then, totally and keenly aware of my compromised state, letting me lean as hard as needed to help me get up each time.  I love that dog so much it hurts.

So sure, my spirit may have been soaring like an eagle, my being so incredibly overjoyed to be outta that place, which certainly could have much been worse, but the ole bod was NOT in a good way at ALL.

That hospital was really--and how shall I put this?  Just NOT cool by any stretch of the imagination.  Especially those last few days when I was sharing my, (what was supposed to be a single room and remember with NO dividing curtains), with a post-transplant elderly woman who on my last day there had a red alert diaper blowout the likes of which I have never smelled and I will never forget it.  It was worse than a horse barn being cleaned out in mid-summer and hair-straighteningly potent!  The poor nurses were dawning masks, one ran outta the room for the bathroom even, and the process had me out in the hall the whole time griping the guard rails for what musta been over an hour before they got her cleaned up and re-diapered and the room aired.

Digressing, the point is that from about day two of my being home from THAT hella send off, I had enough mojo restored to return to my beloved little kitchen. 

And now that it's clean again, ("Prednisone Clean", heheh...), I now have likely a 3-4 kilo salad waiting to nourish me into nirvana for the next few days--that's IF Pascal doesn't get his eat-on to crazily with it as he had a taster before heading out to do errands today and was rather delighted with the results. 

So voila, here's the little darling, which I have called "J's Bionic Salad".

It's rather similar to that last one I posted but this time, the ONLY non-friendly kidney ingredient is the finely chopped sundried organic tomatoes.  But honestly at only 3 wee halves in the entire salad, it's influence is minimal as it's such a large salad.

Let's face it, the sundrieds TRULY make it shine taste-wise, and if yer food doesn't taste good, you're just not gonna stick to a regime.  When you're eating for LIFE, this is a key factor that must be heeded.

"J's Bionic Salad"

Onto the chopping block went, (everything raw, of course, organic when possible):

A cup 'n a half of frozen, (but thawed), green peas
2 cups of cooked green beans, cooled
1/3 head of broccoli
2 red peppers
3 halves of organic sun dried tomatoes
4 big cloves of garlic
1/2 of a head of red cabbage
2 large carrots
a bunch chives
a small bunch of fresh mint


The Bionic Dressing:

Juice of one lemon, (lime would also rock)
A healthy splash of organic apple cider vinegar
A ginger shake of organic paprika
Minimal ground black pepper
Pinch of Fleur de Sel, (which is hand-collected en France, merci-very-much ; )
2 tbs olive oil

Everything is chopped much finer than that last salad and really, this lil baby's gonna be a staple.

Bon app and bon weekend vibes,

: J

5 comments:

Jude said...

Congrats on sleeping so much better, sleep is the KEY to feeling better in so many ways spiritually, mentally and emotionally. So that rocks!

And kudos to your sweet Tony for being your crutch whenever you need. What an angel. :-)

Juanita Grande said...

Thanks, dear Jude!

And yes, that dog---sometimes it's just beyond words how I feel about him, really.

And he's sooooo soft too. Softest, cleanest-smellin' Lab I think I've ever met. I think it's due to all the petties as I never bathe him, just give him a brush down every month er two.

And on that note, seems I'm gettin' kinda peckish. Perhaps a little salad is in order? ; )

Enjoy your Canuckian Saturday, mon amie,

: J

StudioSlave said...

Sure was mighty fine & tasty! That's saying something, as I'm certainly not the typical salad nut...

Can't help but noticing the oven & stove pic, at least on this phone thumbnail, looks like some cross-eyed robot head... maybe the salad is starting to kick in! ; )

Juanita Grande said...

ROBOTIC-SALADIC-000110101000000111, HAHAHA!

So glad you liked it, P and that you're liking each new salad more!

It inspires the cook in me to no end.

beeeeesies,

: J

Anonymous said...

Hi there Deаr, arе you actuallу visiting this ωebsite ԁaily,
if so then you will definitеly obtain nice experiеnce.


My web page ... article directory submitter