Another Day of the Lord's Grace and CompassionToday's Food Journal -- Tuesday 9-23-08
This is a typical food day for me except today I had more heavy protein than usual. And I usually start around 8 am instead of NOON! I slept in to try & recharge my batteries. Because of the increased stress and activity of running back and forth to the hospital and taking care of Neil, I thought my body might need the extra protein. I don’t know if that’s true, but I DID feel happier and more energetic, with a much more positive outlook than I had yesterday. I don’t know if the extra protein gets the credit, though. My Sweet Lord touched me repeatedly today. It was a good day all around.
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I eat just about the same thing every day, varying the kinds of beans, bean soups, & veg. I don’t eat much heavy protein anymore. I don’t crave it like I used to, so 3 ounces is a LOT for me in one sitting. I almost can’t choke it down (unless it’s a nice medium-rare steak – like THAT happens every day -- ha ha). Plus, it makes me really constipated for days after, no matter how much water and bean soup I have afterward.
Breakfast – NOON:
Cup of bean soup (I normally have a couple bowls of soup or one big bowl of lentils and some fruit. Just didn’t have time today.)
One cup of coffee, with skim milk
Popped lg. zipper bag of popcorn to take with.
Lunch in Hosp. cafeteria – around 3:00 pm?
Big piece of lean roast beef, fat along edges removed & gravy wiped off
Stewed Tomatoes with celery, onions peppers, homemade (by hosp.) May have had some sugar in it, but probably not much, if any.
Large Spinach Salad w/garbanzos, beets, peppers, baby pear tomatoes, cucumbers & sunflower seeds (I know, I know. Seeds are not allowed – but to my credit, I passed on the shredded cheddar cheese, full-fat cottage cheese (you can tell), canned mandarin orange segments, croutons and artificial bacon bits!)
Half regular & half nonfat Ranch dressing, mixed together. Dipped fork tines. Threw away ¾ of the, (maybe) ¼ cup I put into the little paper ketchup cup.
Few bites of popcorn
Unflavored Seltzer w/fresh lemon wedges
Dinner – 8 pm
Ate the whole kernel corn, unsweetened baked apple wedges and grapes Neil left on his (diabetic) tray. Tried a couple bites of the lean roasted pork loin, but it was really dry. Although, I confess, I would have eaten the whole thing if it had been as good as it looked. Good thing it wasn’t. In the days before LDL, I would have choked it down anyway, just to keep it from going to waste. I don’t like to brag about wasting food. I still hate waste, but now I find someone ELSE to eat it – even if it’s the dog or the birdies. THANK GOD for Let’s Do Lunch. OH -- and half a can of diet Mt. Dew. (Again, I KNOW. My giant mug of seltzer was gone & I was too tired to go all the way across campus and pay $1.25 for a bottle of water. Our tap water is not good to drink lately - they just did their big annual chlorine sanitation on the water lines & it takes a few weeks to dissipate. It's supposed to be safe, but...
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The man in the next bed was discharged & housekeeping came in to clean up the area. Turns out it was a woman I sang in the choir with at Countryside Christian Center (this
humongo pentecostal charismatic bible teaching church I used to attend before my family boycotted it and me for going there). Co-inky-dink? I think not. We spent an hour catching up & just loving each other in the Lord. I told her all about LDL and she promised to check us out and tell her son. (HI Karen T ... hope you see yourself here!)
Snack – 10 pm
Finally forced myself to leave Karen, & kissed Neil goodnight. Not hungry at ALL, just tired, needing to wind down & wanting to close out the day with something comforting in my tummy before starting the trek home. The cafeteria had some really excellent
minestrone today (they stay open for dinner until 3 am) so I got a bowl of that & added a
BIG scoop of garbanzos and a
fresh lemon wedge from the salad bar. I told the cashier & offered to pay extra for the “salad”, but she went, “pshhhht” and waved away the extra money.
That’s how you know God is watching over you – when people do random acts of kindness like that. How can you NOT count your blessings? Anyway, I enjoyed the minestrone (I picked out a few pieces of ziti pasta I didn’t realize were in there) ate some more of the popcorn and read my book for an HOUR while I waited for Michelle to pick me up. I started out being a little torqued at her for keeping me waiting so long, but God gave me a gentle little nudge and said, “Be honest, haven’t you enjoyed the hour of restful solitude?” Well DUH!
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Thank you again Jesus for a wonderful day, with my family, in your care.