Nothing like a medical crisis to make me stay focused on eating healthy. UGH.
I woke up the other morning with the vision in my left eye partially obscured by a grey cloud. My eye ached ever so slightly and I decided to have it checked out. Initially I wasn’t too worried, because I have dealt with ocular migraines for years and figured my vision would come back like it always does.
This was not the case this time.
Turns out I had a “non-arteritic ischemic optic neuropath” event, or commonly known as a STROKE in the optic nerve of my eyeball. Apparently, the root cause is typically diabetes or high blood pressure, which I do not have. But hey! High cholesterol is a third cause and it seems I won the genetic lottery. Thankfully, I am not blind, but it could have easily happened. My eye may never fully recover, but I won’t know for several months.
<insert silent freak out!!!>
Solution?
A very low fat whole foods PLANT-BASED diet is the only thing that is scientifically proven to reverse cholesterol plague build-up in the arteries. I am thanking God, the Universe, Powers-That-Be that I stumbled into eating this way and only wish I had know about it years ago. I am fervently praying that a dietary intervention now will be enough to prevent potential BAD THINGS from happening in the future.
<crossing all my fingers, toes and eyes the dietary intervention is in time!>
If nothing else, remember to be good to yourself and your loved ones because we don’t know when our time is up!
So what did I eat today? Read on….
Breakfast: Good old oatmeal mashup with flaxseeds and blueberries
Lunch: Leftover veggie and chickpea curry with a HUGE bunch of raw power greens mixed into the soup as it was heating up.
Dinner: I stopped at Whole Foods on the way home from the eye appointment and picked up a few veggies. I saw a vegan dinner kit that looked interesting and was on sale, so decided I would try it. Frontera makes a Veggie Taco Skillet that is a simple heat-and-serve. I decided to add a can of black beans to it because it seemed too watery for tacos. I threw about half of the pan over corn tortillas I crisped up in a dry pan. Verdict? Not bad, but $9.99 is a lot for what is basically black beans and red bell peppers in a mild enchilada sauce. I can make that easily and with more spice/flavor for cheaper on my own. OTOH, it gave me a great idea for a fast dinner in the future. Yes!
Here’s a photo of the bag if you want to try it. Please, let me know what you think. Cheers!
