Little Odd Crowd: May 2012

Hiya, folks.
Nourishment has been on my mind a lot lately. It can be difficult to find and prepare healthy, whole food meals all day, everyday. If I forget to prepare a lunch for myself in the morning before I leave for work, I am left settling for the least offensive choice I can find. Depending on where you live, work and play, the choices available will vary, but prepared foods tend to be poor. My relationship with food has changed a great deal in the last year, and my frustration with heightened dietary needs has moved me to consider new avenues of exploration.
A wee bit of back story: I was diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) as a college freshman. However, it wasn't until a few years ago I began to show some signs of organ involvement. At first there were traces of protein in my urine, indicating my kidneys were affected by the disease. Then last winter I was faced with a serious flare. It's not clear why the flare was so aggressive, but suddenly my kidneys were unable to regulate blood pressure, which went through the roof. Climbing just a couple stairs was exhausting, I slept as much as I could, I had constant headaches and severe nosebleeds, my ankles were swelling, and I was losing an alarming amount of weight. I learned during the first hospitalization that I was experiencing kidney failure, and that my poor little kidneys had been damaged so severely that they would not recover. I will need a new kidney, but for now my kidney function hovers around a happy 30%, and with that I can live.
This is where nutrition comes into the story. I am on a special diet for folks with kidney disease. This includes a drastically reduced sodium allowance, as well as restricted potassium and protein levels. The most difficult part so far has been finding foods that fit my sodium requirement. Salad dressing, pasta sauce, bread, and soups all contain very high levels of salt. Grrrr. I want to learn to make most of my own food from scratch. It will be healthy, delicious and good for my kidneys. I have decided to highlight the process in a weekly post where I will feature a recipe, give it a try, and report back with results.

xKlara

CUT TO: Wednesday evening

This dish is simple, light, sweet and perfect for summer. The hardest part was peeling the orange. I doubled the recipe so I could enjoy the leftovers for a few days. The only suggestion I have to offer: make sure that you rinse your quinoa prior to cooking. The grain has a bitter coating called saponin, that doesn't jive well with the rest if the flavors. Enjoy!

*Recipe for the week of 5/28/2012*

Cool Quinoa

3/4 cup quinoa
1/3 cup diced red onion
1 Tbs. red wine vinegar
1 large navel orange
1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 avocado, diced
1/4 cup roasted unsalted sunflower seeds
1/2 tsp. kosher salt (optional)

Prepare the quinoa according to package instructions, then allow to cool. * Combine the onion and vinegar in a large bowl and set aside until the onion turns pink, about five minutes. * Cut the peal, pith, and outer membrane off the orange, then slice it. cut the slices into bite-size pieces. * Toss all the ingredients except the salt in the large bowl with the onion, then season with up to 1/2 tsp. salt (I will leave out the salt in my preparation).

Serves 4

(per serving (1 cup): calories 260; total fat 13 g; sat fat 1.5 g; protein 7 g; carbs 30 g, fiber 6 g; cholesterol 0 mg; sodium 250 mg with salt added).

My lovely readers (all two of you), hello! I have been distracted by procrastination and other weaknesses as of late. I have been as busy as a bee working on the house and yard. Most of my free time has been lent experimenting with gardening and landscaping. In our small backyard plot I planted several varieties of basil, cilantro, onions, beans, multiple rows of brussel sprouts, carnival carrots, heirloom tomatoes, white cucumber and a few types of squash. Adrian and I also plan to build a large raised vegetable garden in the front yard, where I will go overboard in planting everything that I see at Northwest Seed and Pet. Here are some highlights:

This is the "door" to our under-the-porch compost bin. Belle the dog decided that our compost is pretty amazing, especially the kitchen waste bits. To keep the little lady from making a mess, I bought this lovely old window at Brown building Supply and created a gate.