I have that 50 Cent song in my head and it seemed appropriate for a title being it has been DAYS since my last update. hehe I’ll try to catch up right now though! 
Thankfully, Dustin is all better now, so we have been on the go since the weekend.
On Saturday we decided to order a variety of Asian takeout from our local restaurant. We got a little of everything. I didn’t want to totally blow my low sodium streak, so I ordered steamed veggies and steamed shrimp, no sauce. Most Chinese/Asian restaurants will do this for you if you ask, and a lot already have the option on their menu. If they refuse, I wouldn’t patronize that establishment. 
While Dustin went to pick up our order, I went to the condiment cabinet…
…and took out a few ingredients to make my own Asian-y sauce. Bragg liquid aminos is my favorite soy sauce substitute. It has 160mg sodium per 1/2 teaspoon, but the best thing is that a little goes a long way. So I made a sauce with:
- 1 TBSP sesame oil (120 cal)
- 10g Bragg liquid aminos
- 2 TBSP brown sugar (90 cal)
- Minced garlic (5 cal)
- 1 TBSP apricot Polaner All Fruit 40 (40 cal)
- 1 TBSP rice wine vinegar (5 cal)
- Green onion
Ok, this was NOT the best dipping sauce I have ever made. I whisked it together furiously, but it kept separating anyway. 
It needed some kind of binder, like corn starch or xanthan gum. I didn’t intend to use very much of it anyway, but I ended up using almost none due to it not staying together. BUT I was mainly interested in the sushi anyway. 
California roll with shrimp
Lobster roll and Dragon roll
I’m still new to sushi, so I like to sample different ones to see which I like best. So far I like California rolls best, followed by Philadelphia rolls. I don’t care for anything with sauce on it, like mayo sauces, nor do I care for deep fried ones. I like the simplest, freshest tasting ones. Creamy in the center, but dryish on the outside seems to be what I like best. I like smoked salmon inside of something, but I haven’t been brave enough to try any other raw sushi. I am very much about texture and being I don’t like smoked salmon on its own, I probably wouldn’t like raw fish. *shrugs* I could be wrong though, it might surprise me and win me over. 
Unfortunately, sushi doesn’t taste that great the next day, so a lot of this went to waste. I ate 2 shrimp, none of the rice and all of the veggies from my plate, but I was mainly interested in that fabulous sushi. 
Sushi fills me up VERY quickly! I don’t think I even had half of the California roll before I was full. 
I think the chopsticks slowed me down LOL. Maybe I should use them for everything I eat? 
What’s your favorite type of sushi?
On Sunday mom cooked dinner: Roast beef with gravy (using our food slicer), mashed potatoes, and string beans with real butter
My contribution was popping these Alexia whole grain rolls into the oven
I love string beans… especially the kind tossed in buttah! hehe Everything was delicious. Mom’s cooking is the best.
Monday we went out for some power shopping. I was so disappointed that I couldn’t find any Spring nightgowns! Stores didn’t have any to choose from, must winter leftovers. I couldn’t believe it. They had a lot of top and bottom sets, but very little of what I was looking for. Booo! I’ll just have to try again I suppose. I did find a lot of goodies at Mother Earth’s though!
Quinoa
Artichoke flavored pasta
Dairy-free, soy-free creamer; 10 calories per serving
Chocolate chip Weetabix! 
I’ve had it before and it’s fantastic. Calorie-dense at 210 calories per serving, but I like to eat half a serving for a treat.
SO Delicious coconut yogurt — low in protein (1g), but high in good fats.
Organic tofu. If you eat tofu, buy the organic kind. Genetically modified soy is rather scary.
Organic Bistro frozen dinners. The ingredients and nutritional facts on them are outstanding!
Sunshine patties, falafel flavor. These are so awesome! 10g soy-free, gluten-free protein per patty and 100% wholesome ingredients:
Oh, did I mention those little cookie hustler hit me up in the mall? How could I resist!
The box of Samoas was gone in 3 days flat. Didn’t they used to be square shaped or is that just my imagination? Either way, these are possibly my favorite cookie ever. I’m going to recreate them someday, just watch! 
I decided to start taking vitamins again. I do believe in trying to getting all of your nutrients from your food, but it can’t hurt to take some extras to be sure. I also wanted to try Vitamin B complex for energy during the day. I made the mistake of taking it on an empty stomach the day before yesterday. Ugh, it nauseated me. 
Lesson learned!
I’ve been hearing about nutritional yeast around the blogosphere for the longest time. Some say it tastes like cheese, even though it’s vegan. I forgot to pick it up at Mother Earth’s, so I went to the Asian farm stand to pick some up. I haven’t tried it yet, but I love the nutritional facts!
Wow! 8g protein, only 10mg sodium and 70 calories per serving. I cannot wait to try this in a sauce!! It sounds fantastic. Has anyone tried it before? What’s it like? Recipes, please!
Dustin and I went to the doctor yesterday. Dustin got a clean bill of health, but me, not so much. My blood pressure is high, as usual, and my heart beat is fast. I’ve had high blood pressure and tachycardia (fast heartbeat) all of my life–since infancy. They administered an EKG and it came back normal. They also took a urine sample, UGH I hate that. She wants to check my thyroid, but she’s thinking I might have a pituitary problem. I’m not surprised, I’ve suspected it for awhile, but haven’t wanted to open that can of worms. I can’t let it go on forever, I need to just have all of the appropriate testing done and see what’s going on. She gave me a refill for my diuretics and another RX to lower my blood pressure, but I’m not sure if I want to take it. Of course she advised me to steer clear of high sodium foods and increase my potassium. So I’m going to behave myself, sodium-wise, for the next 30 days in an effort to lower my blood pressure. The odd thing is, no one in my family has any of the symptoms that I have. My theory is that it’s because I was fed soy formula as a baby and everyone else in the family was breast fed. I think the evil soy triggered all sorts of strange hormonal problems in me. I don’t know, frustrating though.
Time to go make dinner. Dustin has been patiently waiting for me to do this update. Be back later!
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