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Weekly Menu Plan – Week of July 11

Before I get to my menu plan for the week, I want to share some rather exciting news from Sam’s appointment with his pediatric GI on Friday. We got the first “real” evidence that everything we’ve been doing over the past 5 months (since going to see Dr. Vikki Petersen and the amazing team at HealthNOW Medical Center) is WORKING! ๐Ÿ˜€

I shared in this post that Sam was again having severe constipation this past January and his GI prescribed 2 capfuls of Miralax a day in the hopes of getting him “moving” again…and if that didn’t work, he would have to have more invasive testing done to see if he had a motility issue (versus his doctor’s theory that he was “withholding” as the consequence of some traumatic bathroom incident).

A month later, we flew to California and Dr. Rick (Dr. Vikki’s husband) ran some simple tests that had not once been suggested by my boy’s local MD’s and the results blew my mind…parasites and poor intestinal bacteria (the “good” bugs).ย  Six weeks after treating Sam’s pinworm, adding a higher quality probiotic and some big time dietary interventions, Sam was going to the bathroom (without Miralax), twice a day.

So on Friday, I allowed Dr. N to examine Sam’s abdomen before I told him what we had discovered at HealthNOW and low and behold, he said his colon felt nice and soft…and that “Miralax has done it’s job well.”

Do you have any idea how HUGE the grin was on my face as I told him that I had actually pulled Sam off the Miralax a week after he prescribed it as well as the results from the blood and stool tests from HealthNOW (and the positive IgG Casein antibody test), and that his improvement came after addressing those underlying issues?

Okay, I may have been a little smug and self righteous, but we began our appointment with Dr. N telling my 7 1/2 year old son that he’s lucky that he doesn’t have celiac disease and doesn’t need to be gluten free at this time (never mind that he not only had symptoms, but he also had a positive celiac blood panel, a positive celiac gene test and his mother’s own history of atypical celiac).ย  I appreciate your view doctor, but I won’t allow my son to destroy his health in order to satisfy conventional medicine’s outdated and harmful protocol for an “official” diagnosis, so please don’t tell my impressionable child that it’s okay for him to eat gluten! ๐Ÿ˜ก

I will add that Dr. N redeemed himself somewhat when he appeared genuinely intrigued about the test results from HealthNOW (and he confirmed that dairy is one of the top culprits for chronic constipation), he even ordered a followup stool test to make sure the parasites are gone, as well as an IgE RAST for casein.

Just goes to show that it does pay to become your own personal health expert/advocate. ๐Ÿ˜‰

Meatless Monday:

Grilled Zucchini, Yellow Squash, Portobello Mushrooms and Onions using Kalyn’s marinade in her Very Greek Grilled Chicken recipe, Cucumber Tomato Basil Salad

Tuesday:

Marinated Steaks (I will use Gluten Free Tamari, but Coconut Aminos would be a great alternative for those with soy allergies.ย  I will also use my corn-free Worcestershire Sauce, but Lea & Perrins is also gluten free), Quinoa Salad with Artichoke Hearts (I’m VERY excited to have quinoa back in my diet!)

Wednesday:

Easy Herbed Grilled Salmon (I will use the new Egg-Free, Soy-Free Veganaise in place of the regular mayo), Lemon Walnut Green Bean Salad

Thursday:

BBQ Lime Chicken and Cole Slaw

Friday:

Pan-Seared Scallops and Shrimp (I omit the olive oil and butter and use Expeller-Pressed Coconut Oil from Tropical Traditions instead…this coconut oil has no coconut taste), Grilled Artichokes, Salad with Vegan Green Goddess Salad Dressing (recipe coming soon)

Saturday:

Applegate Farms Turkey Burgers (lettuce-wrapped for me and Taco Burgers for my guys, sans the cheese of course.ย  If you’re looking for a really good corn taco shell, my husband says the Bearitos Blue Corn Taco Shells are the best he’s ever tasted, light and crispy and made with organic corn) and Homemade French Fries.

Sunday:

BBQ Chicken with Olive Relish, Salad with Basil-Citrus Vinaigrette

The two winners of the Top Shelf Premium Cocktail Mixers Giveaway are:

#30, Amy

and

#7 Mendy

Congratulations ladies, I will email you for your shipping information! ๐Ÿ˜€

Comments

  1. Awesome news, Heidi! Smugness was definitely warranted I think. You may end up educating Dr. N very well. Curious if he had mentioned that dairy is a factor in constipation when he'd prescribed the Miralax. I think if many doctors would mention that alone, it would make a big difference to many. Sounds like a very yummy week at the Kelly house! And I know the winners will love their Top Shelf mixers. ๐Ÿ™‚ BTW, thanks for the link love on that post the other day. ๐Ÿ˜‰

    xo,

    Shirley

  2. thanks for posting the weekly menus, they really help the newbies around here. Good eatin

    Isn it grand tht we are alble to get second oppinions?

  3. on the left hand side of this blog is the recpes for the 'top nine'

    i tought this was glute free site?

    • Hi Doni,

      Yes, my site is 100% gluten free, and what you see is an ad from Foodbuzz (and I have no control over the content that pops up), but thanks for bringing that up, I should look into adding a disclaimer above that ad!

      Best,
      Heidi

  4. I am so happy that you were able to get Sam's issues under control. I have a niece who has issues with dairy (her mom says cheese only) and constipation but they would never think of removing it completely from her diet. They just don't think that way. Of course they are ones who still offered me wheat thins 10 years after my diagnosis!

    Thanks for the link love! That's a pretty nice and easy summer quinoa salad. One that I need to make again soon!

    Have a great week.

  5. Loved hearing about your appointment for Sam. I'm at that point where I'm debating finding a new pediatrician for my girls. Even though we've always loved ours, she's clueless about gluten issues. My 10yo has suffered with every single symptom listed on the Celiac disease PSA (well, except infertility) and I was always told she should eat less junk (she didn't eat any traditional junk food) and exercise more (4 nights a week of swim practice, lots of outdoor play, etc a regular part of her life). It was a fluke that *she* found the gluten issue on her own when I got super sick. Anyway, when I asked about testing for celiac, the ped refused a genetic test and 10 refuses to go back on gluten for a couple months to see if it's celiac or gluten sensitivity.

    Oh, and I LOVE your menu plans! I have very similar food issues and get so many wonderful ideas from you. Thanks!

  6. I just found out I have a parasite to. I was told to take Para-stat. May I ask what your son is taking. I read recently that if one person in the family has parasites, others may be infected. I'm wondering if I should treat my children to. Can I ask the name of the high quality probiotic? I've started probiotics and digestive enzymes. But, not sure if I bought good quality. Creeps me out having a parasite in my blood. Thank you for letting me know I'm not the only one. Love you website by the way. Thank you for the meal ideas.

  7. Hi Heidi,

    So glad to hear of your son's success! Goes to show you that sometimes you need to go outside the conventional system. What probiotics you are you using for Sam and what did you do to treat the pinworms? My son too had pinworms, yikes and all they did was topical treatment. I love your blog and glad you found the gfcfsf mayo from follow your heart. Their store is around the corner from my house. I was going to mention it to you, but I got sick and couldn't use the computer. Take Care, Tracy

  8. What were the "simple" tests?

  9. I want to come eat at your house!

    And it is nice to be vindicated. I felt similarly when I finally got a doctor who listened to me and sent me to an ENT for allergy testing. High five for being on the mend!