Simple Saturday

Food On Friday: Ezekiel Bread

/ healthbuddymelissa / Leave a comment

Updated 3/4/2023 this post is from 2019. I have not bought this bread in quite some time. With inflation it is just not economical to buy bread only one person in the house will eat.

Welcome to Food on Friday!  Today, I am going talk to you about, Ezekiel Bread.  The kind I buy is the whole grain kind.  There are other varieties, but this is the one I chose to start with.  This is my first time trying this bread.  This is not a paid post.

First, let me start by saying this is not the most delicious bread I have ever eaten.  Matter of fact it isn’t delicious much at all.  So, if flavor is super important to you, this particular bread may not work.  This bread is also the first Organic bread I have tried.  No one else will eat this but me, lol, at my house.

So, why did I buy this bread?  There are several reasons, and they are listed below.

  1.  I follow a low-sodium diet.  Most sandwich bread, or rolls, has at least 140mg of sodium per slice.  So just the bread for a sandwich would have at least 280mg of sodium.  So, I stopped eating bread, for the most part.  With Summer coming, and it is brutal in Florida, we don’t cook a lot with the stove or oven.  That means sandwiches are on the menu.  If I toast this bread, I like it even more, and it makes a nice sandwich for me.  One slice of this Ezekiel bread has only 75mg of sodium.
  2.  I like that it is Organic, very low fat, has a low glycemic index, a good amount of Iron, and Fiber per serving.

There are some downfalls, though.

1.  Besides flavor, this bread is kind of high in Phosphorus, 8% per slice.  So, one sandwich and I am at 16% for the day, and that percentage is for someone who does not have CKD.  So, I have to make sure I am paying attention to other Phosphorus I may get throughout the day.

2.  It is not cheap, but I don’t find most of the non Organic good bread is cheap either.  I can remember when bread was .25, that is how old I am, lol.

3.  It has to stay refrigerated.  This is a pain for me because it is just one more thing taking up space in the fridge, but I deal with it.

4.  Because it is Organic, with no preservatives, it has a much shorter shelf life.  In the Summer months this will not be an issue, because like I said we eat sandwiches.  But, I probably will not buy this in the Winter months, because I just won’t eat it fast enough.  Which brings me to the last point.  We live in Florida.  We get hurricanes, and even without a hurricane, losing power is always possible.  As such, we have had to evacuate once, in the 15 years we have lived here.  We had no power for a week.  This bread would most likely not survive that, as I wouldn’t be able to refrigerate it, without a generator.  I will be doing a post, probably next week about disaster preparation, for people with CKD.  I did one before, on my homeschool blog, but it needs updating, and lots of new info learned.  I can tell you there are not a lot of Organic foods I can stock-pile due to shelf life that are OK for CKD.  So, that has to be kept in mind.

You can read the rest of the info about Ezekiel Bread, by looking at the images below.

My disclaimer is short and sweet. None of the information I share on this blog is intended to be medical or nutritional advise. It is for informational purposes only and to spark a conversation.

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.
ezekial2
ezekekial1
ezekial

Advertisement

Aortic Calcification and Aortic Stenosis!

/ healthbuddymelissa / Leave a comment

For the rest of February 2023, because it is heart awareness month, I will discuss Aortic Stenosis. If you have CKD, like me, you are already at an increased risk for Aortic Stenosis just by the nature of the kidneys not filtering properly. This is not a disorder that should be ignored, or poo-pooed.

Aortic Calcification is just what it sounds like, calcium deposits build up on the Aortic Valve in the heart and cause the valve to become stenosed, or narrowed which limits the amount of blood flow going out of the heart to the rest of the body. The Aorta is the large blood vessel responsible for getting blood out of the heart to the rest of the body. As we age the valves in our hearts can become stiff and work less effectively. That also can cause stenosis, or narrowing.

Below is a short video that shows what this stenosis looks like inside the heart. It is a pretty cool video. I will discuss the anatomy of the heart and how it works, risk factors, symptoms, prevention, and treatment in future posts. But, I will also discuss the very complicated topic of health insurance and how people who are underinsured, or not insured at all have to cope with these medical issues with extreme stress and anxiety.

My disclaimer is short and sweet. None of the information in this blog is intended to be medical or nutritional advice. It is for informational purposes only and to spark a conversation.

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Menopause, Belly Fat, and Weight Gain

/ healthbuddymelissa / 1 Comment

Updated 2/4/2023

Hello, and welcome to another Self Care Saturday post. In the month of April, I am focusing on the topic of Menopause. If you did not see my first post, you can find it in the archives.

Menopause is a fact of life. It is part of the middle ages, and there are different aspects of it. Just like kidney disease, dementia, or really any other topic everyone’s journey will look different. But, there are some main topics that are more common to all women going through Menopause, and one of those is belly fat and weight gain.

I encourage you to watch the full video below. There are no gimmicks here, no easy, or fast ways to lose belly fat, but good sound discussion on the topic. I am not promoting the course that she is selling at the end, I have no idea if what she offers is good, or not.

There are a few things I would like you to pay particular attention to.

  1. NEAT- I have talked about this before via using a step tracker, and getting up and moving every hour. I have two dogs, and one way I increase my NEAT is to take them out every hour, when I am home, from 8 am to 8 pm, even if it is raining. They love this! My back fenced yard, around the perimeter is exactly 125 steps. When I first started this I would do 2 laps or 250 steps. I now do 6 laps every hour. It is really a habit now, and I just do it. My dogs are used to it and will remind me. We play ball and enjoy the fresh air. Sometimes, when the weather is super lovely, I do my laps and then I sit on my swing listening to all of the nature around me. It truly is a beautiful part of my day.
  2. LBT- Licks, Bites, and Tastes. You will see what she means.
  3. The amount of protein they are promoting. If you have kidney disease or may be at risk of getting kidney disease please be very careful about consuming this much protein. I have talked a lot about getting back to stage 2, and while there are many things I think have allowed my kidneys to heal, consuming a lower end, but quality, amount of protein is one of them.

All in all, I feel like this is a good video, and lines up with articles and studies I have read. They do not promote any particular kind of diet, supplement, or gimmick. They do promote weight training, and I have discussed that before and how important it is for women to do weight training. They do talk a bit about heavy weights, and I urge you to go slow, especially if you are over age 50, and especially if you are over 50 with kidney disease. Please consult with your doctor before lifting heavy weights over age 50.

Once you hit menopause, and your estrogen begins to decline and eventually disappear, the fat you carry will shift from your hips and thighs to your abdominal area. Note, that they state the abdominal area is the last place most women will lose weight. You can’t target it via abdominal work, or decreasing sugar. It is a process, and most likely you will see results in your face, and chest, long before your waist.

You also will not need as many calories as you age. This is just plain true. So, you may not even realize how much you may be overconsuming what your body needs.

If you would like to work with me as your health coach to conquer your health goals, send me a message via the contact form below.

None of the information on this blog is meant to be medical or nutritional advise. It is for information purposes only.

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Is It Still Possible To Create $5 Dinners With Inflation?

/ healthbuddymelissa / Leave a comment

Updated 1/28/2023: As I continue to edit older posts and get ready for new posts, this topic is especially popular. Living on a grocery budget with CKD is difficult due to the food limitations one might follow. We have in the last few months had to increase our food budget to $100 dollars per week. It is still difficult, but with some effort it is doable. It is hard when you have a family with others that don’t need to follow the same restrictions or even worse you have several people in a home on varying restrictions. I look forward to enhancing this topic in 2023.

Hello, hello. You may have noticed I have not written anything in like 10 days. I took a much-needed break from blogging. I still have not had time to take the new AKF Kidney Coach Class, but I hope by the end of May I will have it done. Then I can edit the old posts, and post the new slides. I have not been feeling great the past couple of days. My new job has a lot of mental stress and it is wearing me out. You know they say the grass is not always greener on the other side. I can say for sure that is true. While my old job had become toxic in many ways, there were things I appreciated about that job. Switching to a new job did not necessarily change some of those toxic issues. Health care is a very stressful, and mentally challenging profession these days. I hope to have my certification in Medical Billing and Coding by the end of the Summer, and I can begin transitioning into that.

Back to the topic at hand. Is it still possible to create 5-dollar dinners with inflation? In November of 2020, I did a blog post with a whole list of possible 5 dollar dinner ideas. So, I decided to try and recreate them to see if they can still be made for 5 dollars or less. The first one is Chicken Fajita wraps. I have no idea why Chicken Fajita Casserole is on the list because I don’t know as I have ever made that. I am going to straight-up say this may not be doable unless you can find a really good deal on chicken since it is so expensive right now. You can always use beans instead of chicken. Anyway, I searched all of my local grocery stores to see if I could find chicken on sale at a decent price. The only place that did, and it is only a 2-day sale was my local Hitchcock’s. They have chicken leg quarters for 98 cents a pound. So, if you bought 2 pounds it would cost $1.96. Flour tortilla wraps you can not get any more for less than a dollar. In my area, the Dollar Tree has them for the best price of $1.25. The Great Value brand of Fajita seasoning mix is .62. one green pepper is .72, and one onion is.78. If you want the cheese to sprinkle on a block of Great Value cheese is 1.86. We will use sour cream instead of cheese, at 1.16 for a smaller container.

The total if you use chicken and cheese would be $6.57 and honestly, I don’t think that is all that bad considering.

The total if you use chicken with sour cream would be $5.87

To keep it closer to 5 dollars use a can of black beans at .72 for a total of $5.25 with sour cream but no cheese.

You can always make your own fajita mix if you have the 3 main ingredients, cumin, oregano, and chili powder already on hand.

I am making these tonight for dinner with chicken and sour cream. I par-boil the leg quarters for about 10 minutes. This makes it easy for me to remove the meat from the bones, plus if you have CKD it will reduce the fat, potassium, and phosphorus in the chicken.

We are still sticking by our 75 dollar per week grocery budget, for 3 people, and while it is not as easy as it was, it is still doable. Meat is super expensive right now, and we have cut back even more on meat.

Have an awesome Saturday!

My disclaimer is very basic and easy to remember. I am not a doctor or a dietitian. None of the information I share is intended to be medical advice or nutrition advice. All information shared is my personal opinion, personal experience as some living with CKD, or information I found online.

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Simple Sunday Quote!

/ healthbuddymelissa / Leave a comment

I will leave you to ponder what this quote may mean to you. Leave me a comment and let me know. I suggest it will be different for everyone, the thought of what matters.

I am so much happier now that I left my job doing 12-hour shifts every weekend, to 8-hour shifts, 2 days a week. I can come home and cook dinner for my family, exercise, do a blog post, etc. Not just come home and go to bed because I am exhausted to just do it again the next day. This matters to me, money does not. If I had to work more, I don’t know that I would. I would much rather learn to live within my means as we spend money on stuff that is really not necessary. When I was diagnosed with CKD I decided life is too short to work my life away, and I meant it. I know people will scoff at that. I am blessed to have a wonderful husband who supported me in staying home to raise my kids because that matters to me. Some will scoff at that and say you are lucky. I wouldn’t call it luck, marriage is hard work and there is no luck involved. We both have had to work hard to make each other happy, and that matters. Reading, learning, training my dog, being with family and friends, gardening, relaxing in my pool, bird watching, photography, these things all matter to me, and I make space in my life for them. I do not enjoy entertaining, and I generally don’t even like company. But, I will meet my friends elsewhere to have friend time. I have always been that way and I don’t see it changing anytime soon.

Since my second child will be graduating this Summer, and I will be finishing up my classes, I may decide to work more hours, or I may not. I may get a work-from-home job. I have not decided yet, but I do know I am paying for these classes so I expect I will use them.

Don’t forget to leave me a comment about what you think of the quote for today.

Simple Self Care Saturday #1

/ healthbuddymelissa / Leave a comment

Welcome to Saturday! The weather is beautiful here in Florida today, and I hope wherever you are it is too. Now that I am no longer working every Saturday, nor doing 12-hour shifts, I am starting a new self-care series of posts. I totally believe in self-care that is simple, easy to do, affordable, easy to understand, and uncomplicated. Self-care is something you intentionally do for yourself. Keeping it simple will aid you with making self-care a habit. What is one type of self-care that I have made into a habit? Getting up and taking at least 250 steps every hour, while awake. Now that it is a habit I feel sad if I can’t do it. For example, this week I started my new job and it was all done on a computer, in an office. I could not get up and move every hour, or I guess I didn’t think to ask to do it, and I felt so lazy by the end of the day. Not all types of self-care will meet everyone’s definition of my time. For example, having my nails and hair done is not for me, but some people find it very relaxing and self-loving.

For this first simple self-care Saturday I would like to talk about Tai Chi. I am not a certified Tai Chi instructor, and I only dabble in it as a form of energy balance. I actually love Tai Chi and I like to incorporate it with my Reiki. I am trained in Reiki. Both are types of energy healing but Tai Chi is also more of a type of exercise or intentional movement. It can improve your balance, muscle strength, all while focusing on your breathing. The movements are very slow, so you focus on the movement and the breathing. The video below is 11 minutes long, but the Tai Chi session is only 5 minutes in length and it is perfect for a Simple Saturday, or any day of the week. I try to do this routine daily, but it is not yet a habit, so I often do it a few times a week. I find it is a great cool-down routine after exercise, or after a stressful day at work to relax. Once you learn her easy routine you won’t need the video, though you may want to play some soft music, or nature sounds once you have it memorized. Try it if you are in pain, anxious, worried, etc. Once you master this first video you may wish to try some more of her Tai Chi routines, or just stick with this simple one.

Leave me a comment if you try this. What is your favorite way to practice self-care? There are so many, but you need at least one, and then do it. If you would like to learn more about my Distance Reiki sessions, click the highlighted link above, or use the contact form below to send me an email for a free consultation.

Disclaimer

10 Ways To Be Happy For A Day!

/ healthbuddymelissa / Leave a comment

OMG, welcome back to another Self Care Saturday post. I have not done one of these in about 6 months, because I had been working 12-hour shifts every single weekend. More about how that was not making me happy below. You may have read my post last year on how to be happy for an hour. I think it takes work, to practice self-care, to be a little selfish once in a while. Studies have shown that Americans are not happy, and while everyone has their own reasons for not being happy there are some things you can try to help improve your happiness. Baby steps, from an hour of happiness, up to maybe a year. This article will explain some ways that are proven to help you be happier, but I think some of these are more long-term than just for a day. Below, are my ten ways to be happy for a day.

  1. Spend time with friends, especially friends you may not see often. This morning I went to a small local flea market with a friend of mine, and then we stopped at this cute little coffee shop to visit. It was maybe 2 hours tops that we were together, but it was lovely. I don’t generally like to spend money on only myself, but you know what, why not? I spent maybe 35 dollars total getting some awesome produce, some skin care products, coffee, and a banana muffin that we split. We even face timed some of our coworkers who are still working at the place we both left.
  2. Sit in the sun. I love the sun! Yes, I know you have to be careful of skin cancer and all that. So, for the first 15 minutes sit out with just bare arms and legs, if you can, and then apply sun screen if it is needed. The sun energizes me and makes me feel good. Plus, your body will make Vitamin D and you may not have to take a supplement. You might not sit there all day, but maybe you will.
  3. Take a dog for a walk. A nice hour walk is both good for you and the dog. If you don’t have a dog there are plenty of shelters and rescues that need dog walkers. Check them out. I promise you will be happier for it. You can even make extra money walking dogs. Check Rover.com, Craigslist, and Indeed for people looking for dog walkers. Walk several dogs, even better!
  4. The article states that just planning a trip, even if you never take it will make you happier. Bleh, no! I say plan a day trip, then take it! Whether you take it alone or with someone just take it.
  5. If you hate your job find a new one. Stress from our jobs is the number one cause of unhappiness in my opinion. You need to do something you love! Pick a day out of each week to start researching job openings, and then applying. If you need to improve your resume, or work on job skills, there are plenty of internet sources that are free that can help you. You will feel better about yourself and be happier.
  6. Learn to live within your means, or a minimalist lifestyle. What does that mean? Don’t buy stuff you don’t need. We are a junk driven society that thinks we need to have new furniture every year, and a new car every other. 50 outfits, with matching shoes, I mean it just isn’t necessary. All that stuff is not going to make you happy, so spend a day getting rid of anything that you don’t wear or use, and then commit to not buying more.
  7. Eat better foods. OK, I put this one her because I urge you to try to eat better for a whole day and then see if you feel any different. Eat whole foods, unprocessed, low salt, low fat, and low sugar. I think you will be happier with how you feel, and knowing that you are nourishing your body not just feeding it.
  8. Turn off social media. Yep, for a whole day no social media. Even better would to turn your phone off for a whole day.
  9. Do a craft, or a hobby. I don’t craft much anymore due to the arthritis in my hands, but this blog, and writing is a great way for me to find stress relief by helping others and ultimately that makes me happy. Each blog post takes about an hour of time, some longer, a few less. I also love photography, now that I don’t really paint anymore.
  10. Forgive someone. This one may actually have to be a long term goal if the hurt will take a long time to get over. But, forgiving others is for you, not for them. You will be able to have closure, resolution, and move on. Even if they deny they hurt you, or don’t accept forgiveness, you will have a weight lifted off your chest which will always make you happier. Choose a day to sit down and contemplate how you want to approach the person that needs forgiveness. Write it out and practice what you will say. Don’t worry about how they respond that doesn’t matter. That is on them. You can only control yourself.

I hope this list will help you find happiness for a whole day. Let me know in the comments, like and share if you will. If you would like to use me as a Health Coach to help you meet your wellness goals, send me a message with the contact form below to arrange a free consultation.

Disclaimer

Scary Saturday History!

/ healthbuddymelissa / Leave a comment

Hello, and Happy Saturday! I haven’t had a Saturday off in months. So, today is a rare treat.

Did you know there have been lots of other Epidemics and Pandemics in history? Some of them were pretty scary too, being that modern medicine is what it is. Even basic cleanliness and having soap was scarce for some of these historical illnesses. Imagine not being able to wash your hands, bleh! Without gloves, face masks, social distancing or even the knowledge to know to do these things, lead to a lot of deaths.

Be sure and watch the short video below to learn about some of these very scary times in History. Don’t lose any sleep over it though.

Sign up for my Mailchimp newsletter!

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

social media share saturday and sunday

/ healthbuddymelissa / 1 Comment

I have not done one of these in a while, so I thought it might be fun. Please read the rules before participating. They are not hard. I do moderate all comments because I get a ton of spam.

To participate in the Health Buddy Melissa Social Media Share please follow these rules.

  1. The sharing will run from 1 AM Eastern time on Saturday, until Midnight Eastern time on Sunday. That means when I get up Monday morning any links shared time stamped before midnight will be accepted. That gives people a whole day and a half to participate. For now this will be a recurring thing every weekend.
  2. In the comments you need to say if you followed any of my social media links below. Please state which social media you did for me and then a link to a social media for you that you want me to follow. This week is only for follows. I will not join new social media, so if you don’t use any of the ones that I share below, then this event is not for you. I will do other types in the future. If you follow more than one of my links, simply say so, and offer four links to yours.
  3. Please don’t say you did something if you didn’t, or remove it right after you say you did it. That is really just ugly.

These are my social media platforms that I use.

  1. https://www.pinterest.com/HealthBuddyMelissa
  2. https://www.facebook.com/Health-Buddy-Melissa-364320441037546 I could especially use Facebook follows.
  3. https://twitter.com/melissasjewelry My Twitter is an old account that I share a variety of stuff on, not just this blog.
  4. https://www.tumblr.com/blog/healthbuddymelissa

You can sign up for my Mailchimp mailing list below.

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

chronic kidney disease symptoms and self care management!

/ healthbuddymelissa / Leave a comment

Welcome to Self Care Saturday! If you read this blog then you know I have CKD, and that I had a recent experience with a shoulder injury and poor pain management. Symptoms when you have CKD, and poor management of those symptoms are a huge self care problem for kidney patients. While most doctors will focus on dialysis kidney patients want management of their symptoms long before they need dialysis. I found this video below from Canada where they are more focused on empowering Kidney Patients to self advocate for self care. The video is short but so worth watching. The lady at the very end had the most powerful question be sure and hear it. If you have stage 3 CKD you will see what I mean.

Reiki may help you with CKD pain, stress, relaxation, better sleep, etc. If you are interested I am now offering Distance Reiki Sessions.

Disclaimer

Join my Mailchimp mailing list to receive my weekly newsletter with discounts and lots of info.

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.