Posts Tagged ‘food’
Europe: Paris Day 2
Our first point of call today was ‘climbing’ the Eiffel tower. We had pre-bought tickets online so were the first ones in!
We took the lift up all three levels and it was a bit scary! It was foggy all morning, which was disappointing, but still a great experience.
The arc de triomphe was as crazy as it’s made out to be, and incredibly stunning. The lourve was equally as amazing. The art from so much of history is awe-some, but the building itself is incredible. Intricate designs in the architecture and paintings on the ceilings.
The Mona Lisa isn’t as small as people day it is. But it is constantly surrounded by people, so you end up seeing it from a little way away.
Food wise we knocked a few more French dishes off the list.
Last night we had escargot (snails), French pate and a raw beef tart. All French favourites. The raw beef was a but too much to handle, but the snails and pate were quite delicious. The pate was not what I expected. At home pate is like a spread and here it is just like hard pressed cold meat.
I had a chocolate crepe also and while it wasn’t as crispy or salty as I remember in Tunisia, it was delicious! Have it with chocolate, not nutella for a better crepe!
Today (Tuesday) we had French Onion Soup which was amazing. I haven’t had it before (as far as I can remember), and I was very impressed!
Of course, we had lots of bread as well !
-T
A blurry image:
Many wonders together.
Tired, aching feet
-L
Tips for travelers:
Most things in Paris aren’t well signed so keep this in mind.
The train is a really easy way to get around the city once you’re sick of walking!
Pre-book your tickets up the Eiffel Tower. It will save you a 50-100m line, even when you’re an hour early!
BTW the Eiffel tower is worth every penny (or euro cents as the case may be), even on a foggy day.
Thyroid Problems
Nearly three years ago I was over at my mother in law’s house and she noticed that my thyroid was enlarged. I was instructed to go to the doctor as soon as possible which of course, I didn’t do. Since then it has come and gone- sometimes very large and even itchy, other times looking completely normal.
I went to the doctors a few months ago, and she sent me for a blood test, which of course, I didn’t get (I HATE needles).
When I was listening to coast FM the other day they had a naturopath, Lisa Mitchell ND, speaking about the thyroid. Naturally I was interested, and on Saturday I went along to a seminar on the tyroid at the Myddfai Wellness Centre.
I really like the idea of a naturopathy- an alternative medicine that focuses on natural remedies and the body’s vital ability to heal and maintain itself. To me, as a christian, it makes a LOT of sense. I know from my work in education that the brain is an amazingly complex part of our bodies. It would make sense that, with the right support, our body would be capable of equally amazing things.
I wrote some notes while I was at the thyroid seminar and through I would share them with you here. 
Thyroid
1 in 5 women have thyroid disease.
Everybody is different and needs individual help.
Thyroid gland- makes hormones (thyroid hormones and calcium hormones) thyroid hormones dictate the rhythm of our entire body. Sometimes illnesses are misdiagnosed and it is really the thyroid that causes the problem.
Thyroid diseases: Hypothyroidism (low thyroid hormone) Hyperthyroidism (high thyroid hormone)
Low is more common then high.
When your thyroid is low: you might be slow, tired, dry skin, flaky nails, thin hair, sensitive to cold. Sometimes you might be puffy- holding fluid.
How to know if you have a problem: temperature check first thing in the morning. Take temp for a few mins.
36.5->36.9 regular temp. Should be between these.
Take temp on day 2-9 of menstrual cycle.
Tests you can get (from the doctor):
TSH: thyroid stimulating hormone. This hormone is produced by the brain, and makes more to wake up your thyroid. You can test to see if you do/don’t have this.
Free T4: This checks your T4 levels. Thyroxin. This doesn’t have a huge effect on our bodies becuase we have to convert this to T3 in our liver and kidneys.
Free refers to bound (to protein-not active) vs free. Free is active.
Reverse T3- incase of stress/ inflammation get this test. Might be accidentally making this.
Thyroid Antibody: ‘homemade’ antivirus. Immune system check. Immune system is cultivated a lot in our gut.
Vitamin D. Get from sun- you need this to help your tyroid.
Foods and thyroid health.
Thyroid hormones made of Tyrocine which is essentially protein. Eat more protein. Nuts, legumes, meat etc. in REGULAR amounts.
Iodine. Iodine important for brain, ovary function, breast tissue etc. You get this from FISH. Seaweed. Sardines, salmon etc. More ‘fishy’ fish.
Zinc- one of the most important. Helps convert T4 to T3. Eat: eggs, seeds, whole grains.
Affects our tastebuds etc.
Sallenium. Helps with conversion of T3/4. Best way to get it: Brazil nuts. 3-4 each day.
Avoid:
Goitrogens. If you have all the nutrients you needs these aren’t important to cut out. But you do need to cut them out while you’re building up your nutrients.
Brasicas: Cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale etc.
Soy: soy milk (whole soy bean not such an issue). Peanuts. When they’re raw and you’re nutrient levels are low it is bad.
Chemicals: fluoride and bromide. Similar to iodine and therefore compete with it.
Fluoride: Found most comonly in toothpastes. Choose Fluroide free toothpastes.
Fluoride protects our teeth is sweet/acidic environments. Better to avoid sugar/softdrink and not need the fluroide.
Bromide: flame retardants etc. Open the windows/doors so that they don’t build up. Indoor plants help clean the air. Anthuriums are v. good.
Less processed and more organic foods. Grow your own.
Tags: food, health, healthy, natruopath, thyroid
10 Things…
I feel so tired. Even just a night like tonight- Big Band Theory/Stargate, Thai Food and cuddles on the couch makes me feel tired. Not in a physical, “I need to sleep” kind of way, but more in a mental way I guess…
So, these are the Things I’ve been thinking about lately:
1a. I feel so tired. Maybe I’m not eating enough good, healthy food? Not sure what I can do to remedy this though because we already eat home cooked meals a lot… :-S (though ironically [??] not night…)
1b. I’ve been doing a lot of baking lately. Sweet, sugary, fatty delights. This had undoubtably been my downfall.
2. I’m feeling more and more convicted to eat non-processed/sugar free food. This morning I had subway for breakfast (NOT a regular thing- just a lazy, one off kind of thing), and I looked at the food I was eating and though, “Wow, The eggs don’t LOOK like eggs, and the ‘sausage’ looks like a pile of tiny tiny bits of brown stuff. It’s been cooked once and then HEATED and put on some bread with cheese and sauce.” Needless to say I closed my eyes and ate the whole thing up. 
3a. How does one stay on top of the washing up!? I hate the idea of washing up every day. I’m probably not a very responsible person in this regard??
3b. I wanted to particpate in this week’s My Place and Yours, but my kitchen is too messy with dirty dishes. 
4. I like having friends over. We spent a lot of our weekend with our good friends, lets face it, best friends, Rachel and Aaron. It was delightful.
5. I want to accomplish more.
6. It’s silly to think this- I acomplish HEAPS. Maybe I need to do the opposite and take time for ‘me’ which doesn’t involve projects?
7. I can’t really do that though, cause I feel like just sitting there watching movies/TV/reading books is a waste of time? (am I insane?)
8. My parents are back from Cairns tonight. I am SO glad that they had a good time. I am also really proud of myself for making everything run relatively smoothly at work while Dad was gone as well. I didn’t even have any sort of anxiety/panic attack either!
9. Hopefully this post isn’t completely idiotic…?
10. I’ve been watching parts of Masterchef online. I HAVE BEEN MISSING OUT!!!! Why didn’t somebody TELL me how awesome this show it!!???!!?!
Tags: cairns, dinner, food, lists, my place and yours, projects, ramblines, subway, Work
