Anti-Inflammatory Meal Plan #8
and I chopped through half of my thumb
In a wild turn of events, I almost chopped off part of my thumb two days ago. Celia was exhausted and only took a one hour nap so she actually went to bed really early. Which meant that Daniel and I had time to cook and eat dinner together without baby. We were making a stir fry and everything was done. Beef, done. Veggies, done. Whey rice, done. All that I “had to do” was run to the garden, pick some green onions, and chop those up for garnish. I had been using a pairing knife to prep some ginger and turmeric and I didn’t feel like dirtying another knife so I used that one. A knife that had JUST been professionally sharpened. So I’m chopping the onions, almost done, and then POW!
I CHOP my thumb. And I’m not talking like I gently cut the tip or anything. No, I CHOPPED my thumb.
Since my thumb was essentially on its side holding the onions I chopped through the side. Through the nail, the side, and we think it only stopped halfway because of the bone. I of course didn’t know how bad it was at first because I immediately dropped the knife, grabbed it, and squeezed. But since there was already a lot (a lot….) of blood right away I knew it was bad. It felt wrong. Daniel asked to see it and I said “I don’t want to show you because I don’t want to see how bad it actually is”. But alas, I had to. In that moment I saw that I cut through half of my thumb. We immediately start ~sort of~ panicking because we knew it meant we would have to wake up Celia, got to the hospital (urgent care was about to close), and do that whole thing. Until suddenly Daniel said “oh wait let’s just superglue it” HAHAHA. Genius, my genius man. And the craziest part was that we just cleaned out the garage the other day and found some brand new super glue - a little wink from God. At this point Celia is awake. She tends to fall asleep and needs to nurse frequently while she falls into a deep slumber; but with all of the chaos I couldn’t rush to her to nurse so she was wide awake. So I crawl into bed while still holding my thumb, blood everywhere. Daniel helps me lift my shirt, move my hair out of the way, and get Celia latched on. He then shifted gears into getting super glue and medical supplies. He walks back into the bedroom and says “you’re not going to like this, but we don’t have any peroxide - we only have alcohol.” I said “NOPE NO WAY WE’RE CALLING THE NEIGHBORS.” My dear neighbor and new friend answered immediately and offered to drive to our house so that I wasn’t left alone with a bloody hand and an infant. She didn’t have to offer to do that, she even has kids of her own to look after. But she did. And not only did she drive over with supplies, but then she came in and took care of Celia while Daniel and I attempted to clean the wound and superglue it closed.
Through the throbbing, shock, adrenaline, all I could bring myself to do was pray. And not necessarily pray for myself, while I did ask for peace and that if it is His will for my thumb to be ok then that would be super cool, but I just thanked Him for the lesson. The lesson that I need to slow down and be more mindful. I prayed for others, I prayed gratitude for this beautiful life I live, I prayed for continued guidance.
So while yes, it hurts super bad and I opted to take ibuprofen for pain and inflammation which I dislike doing especially while breastfeeding and I can’t definitively say that it’s ok because who knows what the next few days will hold… What I can say is that I’m grateful it wasn’t worse, people go through way worse than this. I’ve gone through way worse than this. But I think at the end of the day it’s been a beautiful reminder to slow down and be grateful for everything I have - including a superglued finger.
📚 WHAT TO READ: How many times can I say that I’m restarting Iron Flame? Early postpartum I breezed through Fourth Wing and got about half way through Iron Flame and then just stopped reading. I was renting the book through the libby app and since you only get 2 weeks to read I just kept running out of time before the book would be returned. Funny enough though I purchased the hard copy months ago with the intent of diving back in and never did. So here I am! Diving back in and even though I've forgotten some of the plot I’m still enjoying it.
📺 WHAT TO WATCH: Daniel and I are really into the show Alone and have been watching the Alone Australia season. Granted, the people are way less skilled and the terrain seems pretty desolate so there hasn’t been much action yet, but anyways pretty solid low stim show.
🎧 WHAT TO LISTEN TO: Celia loves listening to stories and we recently started playing these Dr. Suess Audio Books! They’re low stim and really lovely.
CHRISTIAN SUBREC: I’m at the point in my faith journey where I only want to listen to Christian music. I’m an all or nothing kind of gal and secular music just ain’t hittin’ the same anymore. So I started a playlist on Spotify called “Holy” and have been adding some of my favorite Christian songs. This isn’t to be confused with the Christian rap I listen to for workouts (I also still listen to Fred Again… sometimes). If you have other Christian music or podcast recommendations please drop them in the comments.
When choosing food to eat or purchase if you can’t 1. identify, 2. pronounce, or 3. find one of the ingredients in your home then THROW IT OUT OR DON’T BUY IT. Or finish it, but next time you go to buy it you purchase a similar product following the three rules above. Granted rule #3 can be hard if you’re not an ingredient house, but I mean you’d probably find salt in your house, but not yellow dye 6, Disodium Inosinate, Disodium Guanylate, etc. if you catch my drift.
I make these meal plans in mind for my husband and I. For reference my husband is 6’5” and 200something lbs and works out daily and I am 5’2” and 100something lbs and also work out almost daily but am breastfeeding so my caloric needs are very high right now. We also drink tons of water, take supplements, and have fun non alcoholic beverages (some caffeinated some not) through the day.
Don’t feel intimidated by the fully planned out list. Even if you just take a couple things of inspiration that’s better than nothing! I try to make these lists keeping in mind that most people don’t work from home, so if that’s you and this still seems INSANE please let me know.
And yes, groceries are expensive, but eating highly nutritious food at home is still cheaper than eating out for every single meal.
*DISCLAIMER: I am not a nutritionist or doctor of any kind. These are meals that make ME feel great and should not be used to treat or diagnose any disease, health issues, or symptoms and do not replace the need to seek medical attention. Always consult your healthcare team before starting any new nutritional protocol, supplements, or lifestyle changes to make sure you are meeting your own nutritional needs and taking care of your body. 🫶🏻
Monday:
Breakfast: “Egg-Ick” Yogurt Bowls
Plain full fat greek, sheep, or goat yogurt
Toppings:
Sautéed warm pears - chop 2 pears into chunks, add to a pan with 1 tbsp butter and a pinch of cinnamon. Cook, stirring frequently, on medium heat until the pears are fork tender.
Extra cinnamon
Warmed/chopped walnuts
Hemp hearts
Raw honey
Lunch: Beef patties with raw cheddar cheese, avocado, and sauerkraut
I like to add the beef to a pan with a little bit of oil set to medium high heat. Once super hot I add the beef and smash to get as much contact between the beef and the pan - cook undisturbed for about 5 minutes or until deeply browned. Flip, add cheese, and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
Snack: Canned Oysters and Crackers
Dinner: Lemony Dill Salmon with Bone Broth Rice and Cucumber Salad (make enough for leftovers for lunch!!)
Lemony Dill Salmon:
Preheat oven to 325F
Add salmon to a baking dish or cast iron and season with salt (and pepper if tolerated). Add some sprigs of dill and a couple slices of lemon around and on top of the salmon. Drizzle with olive oil and bake at 325F until it passes the flake test with a fork.
Bone Broth Rice - simply replace the water with bone broth
Cucumber salad - I would keep it super simple here and just slice or dice the cucumber, add some dill since you already have it, crumble in some feta, then squeeze some lemon juice and drizzle olive oil on top. A little salt and pep and you’re good to go!
Dessert: Sleepy tea with raw honey
Simple chamomile is lovely
This sleep blend from symbi is great and what I’ve been drinking lately