Gallbladder attack

So here I sit watching my husband rest in a hospital bed.   Could we have prevented this trip to the hospital on our vacation time?  Who knows but probably not that's just the way our luck runs.  His whole family has had some problem with this organ and he still had his until today.  So you ask what is the gallbladder and what does it do?  This is the skinny.

The gallbladder is an organ that is just behind the liver more toward the mid to right side of the body.  It stores bile from the liver.  Bile is an important substance that is made by the liver that is put into the small intestine through the cystic duct to break down and digest the food we eat. More importantly fatty foods.  If something blocks or stops the flow of this bile problems occur.

Symptoms of problems can be sever abdominal pain, pain when eating, heart burn, indigestion, vomiting, nausea, fever, jaundice and in some cases nothing at all. When it hits it can even be as scary as a heart attack because it can even cause chest pains.

The different symptoms may be caused by gallstones deep in the gallbladder, blocking the flow of bile from the cystic duct which is called choleltlithiasis.  Some people can have these stones for years and never know they are there if there is no blockage.

Biliary colic is what used to name severe bouts of pain that gallstones can cause.  Usually only lasting an hour or two.

Inflamed gallbladder or cholecystitis means that your gallbladder is inflamed which can be caused from gallstones, infection, excessive alcohol use or a tumor that causes a back up of bile.

When you have pains that are not normal always consult your doctor or if all else fails get to the hospital or call 911.  It is so scary when you are out-of-town but never take chances with your life.  For gallbladder problems can really only be detected by an ultrasound. 

There is no way to know when something will go wrong with your body but always check with your family for different traits they have.  Such as a family history of diabetes, do what you can to live to enable yourself to not get it or at least lessen your chance of getting it sooner than later. Lowering that risk as much as you can may be one of the ways that could work for you.  Maintain a healthy lifestyle and weight.  With my husband he did have a healthy weight but some of his food choices have been questionable.

Avoid rapid weight loss, or the yo-yo life of fat/thin, fat/thin routine. I do have done that.  I don't think my body knew what to do.   Slow and steady proves to be the best kind of weight loss. Once you lose it do what you can to maintain it.  Exercising with weight management could and many times works the best together.  Exercising can be as easy as a walk around the block, your house or just cleaning.  Do what you can to stay active.  

There is evidence that shows staying away from high saturated fats in foods that is found in fatty meats to be helpful for those that could have gallbladder problems in their family history.  Other items are butter and other animal products.  Add more fiber, fruits, veggies and nuts to your menu.  Cut down on those simple sugars and carbs. Always enjoy life with moderation.  Maybe we can all stay healthy for the year to come!

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" - Benjamin Franklin

WWW.everyday health.com/gallbladder

Special days - Nun Puffs for breakfast

The way I treat my kids for holidays is a simple breakfast treat, the quick and easy nun puff.  In the history of this delicious, delicate puffed goodness says that they we first called nuns farts.  They were dated back into the 15th century French cuisine.  There has been a few takes on this recipe from different places but I found it in my own Betty Crocker cook book.  From that of the Pioneer woman in 2007 and pass the pocky blog in 2009.  There is also variations that deep fry these tasty treats but my way seems to keep making them come back for more.

Here is how it goes:

Preheat oven 350 degrees

Bake time:  20-30 minutes depending on oven.

1/2 cup (stick) butter

1 cup milk

Pinch of salt

3/4 cup flour

4 eggs

Sugar to top

1.  Get out a 4 quart sauce pan add butter and milk.  Melt butter, pinch of salt with milk over medium heat until a slow boil.

2.  Add flour all at once and stir until it becomes a ball shape.   Remove from heat and set aside for 5 minutes.  

3.  Grease or "Pam" small muffin tin of 24 or muffin tin of 12 scup servings.

4.  Stir in each egg one at a time until all four are stored in to batter.

5. Use a table spoon to put the batter on each cup so they are all evenly filled.

6.  Sprinkle sugar on top of each one of the nun puffs.

7.  Bake for 20-30 minutes when sides and top are light brown and puffed up.

When done pull out and place warm puffs on cooling racks or plate.

Serve up something special for your family at special times to help make a tradition your own!

Food for Thought - POMEGRANATE

With this powerful little red seeds wrapped into a ball of  juicy deliciousness can inspire you to create.  

The pomegranate is actually a tree that is native to Iran.  The use of this little red seed has been used for centuries in different cultures for a variety of reasons.  It's written history of its curative qualities had been recorded back in 1500 BC for the treatment of tapeworm and other parasites. They are now cultivated in the Mediterranean areas, parts of the United States, Russia, Afghanistan, India, China, Japan, (WebMD)The shape of some fruits was thought of by the ancients to have symbolic meanings.  With the pomegranate, is round or womb-like and that was to help bring fertility to Turkish brides and they carried it for that reasons (Telesco, 2001).  The ancient Greeks stated that Aphrodite was credited with planting the first Pomegranate tree since some myths that the pomegranate is an aphrodisiac (Avey, 2014).  

The overall functional and medicinal effects of the pomegranate can include improved skin health, improved oral health, improved cardiovascular health, antitumoral, anti-inflammatory properties, antimicrobial properties, antioxidants and antidiabetic properties.  Take a read look at the comprehensive review from the Institute of Food technologist article I have found on this awesome fruit.

We all can have issues with the lack of sunlight so it is easy to get pretty down.  I love to plant in my garden, write, walk the dogs, exercise and just enjoy life but this darkness thing really gets to me.  I went to the grocery store the other day and saw one of my favorite foods, beautiful red pomegranate!  Our warehouse Club has them four to a box as well as the local supermarket had them 2 for $4.  Of course, I picked them up!   They are said to help creativity, which is a great blessing for me.  You can put them in salads, Jell-O, or just eat them plain.  The seeds are so packed with juicy nutrients they are a blast of flavor in your mouth.

There had been much folklore about what this little seed can help with in a person's life such as the relief of a sore throat (page 147 Jude’s herbal home remedies), canker shores & cold sores (page 209 Jude’s).  Keep the folklore alive and check with your family to see if you have any different ways to use products that are a natural high. 

This is the way the fruit stacks up!


48% Vitamin C (common cold, immune system, your eyes cardiovascular disease & skin wrinkling)
58% Vitamin K (helps blood clotting)
27% Folate (B vitamin that is essential for cell growth & metabolism)
22% Copper (good to keep anemia away)

18 Total Carbs (11 grams dietary fiber or 45% dietary fiber (we all need to stay regular) 39 grams sugar)

5 grams of Protein
There is more in them but this is the areas there was the most to see.

My thought is when your body tells you that a food is need it listen.  Need creativity try a pom!  It can help it did for me it may for you!

Avery, Tori. "Learn Why These 10 Foods Are Edible Aphrodisiacs." PBS. PBS, 10 Feb. 2014. Web. 06 Dec. 2015.

"Nutrition Facts." And Analysis for Pomegranates, Raw. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Dec. 2015.
 http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/2038/2 

Telesco, Patricia. Bubble, Bubble, Toil, & Trouble: Mystical Munchies, Enchanted Edibles, and Other Culinary Wizardry. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2002. Print.  

Viuda-Martos, M., J. Fernandez-Lopez, and J. A. Perez-Alvarez. "Pomegranate and Its Many Functional Components as Related to Human Health: A Review." - Viuda-Martos. Institute of Food Technologists, 2010. Web. 06 Dec. 2015.

WebMD Find a Vitamin or Supplement POMEGRANATE http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-392-POMEGRANATE.aspx?activeIngredientId=392&activeIngredientName=POMEGRANATE

Williams, Jude C., M.H. 1st ed. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 1992. Print. 3rd Printing.

Disclaimer:  As with anything always consult your family doctor when trying a new food, especially if you are on any types of medications.  There can be interactions that can happen.  Over use of any product or the use of a product not for its intended purposes.  I am not a medical doctor and have tried to use reputable websites and books.  This is written to information from the information that I have read and is available.

the glance

Walking tall amid the flames,
passion burns within the vanes.
Whispers to me, 
in the depths of a dream.
Engulfing my soul, 
as it would seems.

Enduring straight forward,
hands of tenderness.
Arranged together by chance
intermingled by the way
that luxuria glance.
Couldn't have imagined 
over sedation that took place,
with such a venomous combination.

Thirsty essences has drawn us near,
soul searching evidence,
has made it clear.
Closer to one another fantasies,
held close to ones core.
Wanting to be part of reality
needing the love, evermore.

Whole temptress plight *******from notes dating 11-3-02********

Whole within my heart

Pieces have fallen into the abyss of black

Feeling as if I can't go back 

Fixing what has been, done in the past

The future should be different

Special circumstances, other people, similar loves, 

Unspeakable evils,  those taken away in the night.

Forbidden as known to those who pray.

Liqueur induced, despise & deduced that

Thoughts of suicide always penetrate this life.

Pieces are missing, inside myself

Still same results, desire that derail into the inferno blaze

 Happy to unhappy trails lingering in the down of the buzz.

Other side of the tracks caused life with all that has been held back 

Til I write in a matter of gray and black

Always assuming the worse, holding growth seemingly forever back.

Don't know where all the roads go.

Looking for answers, none are the straight forward star of this show 

A beauty who's  friendless, the one is she, a threat of unendless hurt can it be

For you, it's she, in the mirror, its me, the soul that is burnt some days feeling beyond belief.

Too pretty or that attitude prevail all the while 

The fun those made, so alone and hurt, could have made her fail

As a friend, or a lover, a good person or that other

The one threat is the one inside 

Shiny the hair, sparkle of the eyes, the never ending tears

Holding on to the hope, dreams of the stars seen in the sky

Through the day and the night of one grief stricken plight.

Negative blessed temptress, blacked heart, exposed 

A whole ripped everyday apart, by the demons of the flesh and soul.