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calorie-delivery, bow-hunting and sugar-fasts

2013 August 31
by Rachel Turiel

hunt

The Calorie-Delivery Sandwich.

While I’m at home with the kids, fending off scurvy and heatstroke and foot trauma by errant legos, Dan is in the cool high mountains, alone, eating peanut butter-cheese-bacon-chocolate sandwiches.

Which is to say, ye old month-long bow season has begun, and the last time I saw Dan he was thawing out bags of elk pee he’d collected in winter (scent-camo) and slapping together edible protein boluses. We all miss Dan, but also know he wouldn’t appreciate our evening huddles around netflix, snack-a-dinnering in bed.

Additionally, someone in the household has given up sweeteners (sugar, honey, molasses, agave, etc…) and grains for the next month or so (fruit and dairy supposedly next), which is a little too upsetting to expand upon. Single-parenting has always been most effective for me under the influence of beer and chocolate. However, it is interesting to consider what else to do those 23 or so times each day I reach for a small bit of something sweet.

But, we’re mostly coping well. Rose now knows how to make the morning coffee.

xo



24 Responses leave one →
  1. Amy Carney permalink
    September 1, 2013

    Hooray for Rose makin coffee……the kiddos are so eager to bring momma coffee in bed bless their hearts!

  2. September 1, 2013

    Mama, I’ve been absent over here and I’m excited to be back! Looking forward to reading through several months of your blog with blissed pour fury. I’d planned to do so under the influence of beer and chocolate but, in your honor, I’ll enjoy wine and cheese. Until next month when I might need some suggestions.

    Loving you, always.

    Nici

  3. September 1, 2013

    Hang in there… We are grain and dairy free here but I am holding on to my fruit, honey & maple syrup!
    Kiddo made coffee is golden!

  4. Alanya permalink
    September 1, 2013

    OMG — those sandwiches!!

    • Rachel Turiel permalink
      September 1, 2013

      I know! And Dan’s the kind of guy who will eat 6 of those a day for four days and lose weight.

  5. September 1, 2013

    OMG – hello beautiful sandwich. Get in my belly.

    I have such a sweet tooth. Our whole house does. If we had to give up sweeteners we might just end up killing each other.

    Good luck to you :)

  6. Sara Parks permalink
    September 1, 2013

    Hey, me too! No grain and cutting back on dairy and fruit. I just started 3 days ago. My muscles are tired, supposedly you get over that in a week. But otherwise I feel pretty good. Lost 4 pounds in water weight. Sleeping like a rock. So, so far so good. Good luck.

  7. Andrea permalink
    September 1, 2013

    You can do it!!!

    Although, I would have to give up the coffee without he sweetener. I have learned that I don’t actually like coffee itself, it’s just the gateway to more sugar!!!

  8. September 1, 2013

    i’m thankful for kids that know how to make the morning coffee. hope you survive sans grains and sweets!

  9. Rachel W. permalink
    September 1, 2013

    How did he collect the elk pee to start with?

    • Rachel Turiel permalink
      September 1, 2013

      Well. You see. Um. So. You smell it, that musky ungulate urine scent, when hiking. You scoop up some snow or soil (depending on the season) in which urine is deposited, pop it in your handy ziplock and sneak it down into the bottom of the chest freezer…more or less.

      • Susan S permalink
        September 2, 2013

        Huh. I thought maybe he drained it from the bladders of road kill elk or hunted elk. I learn something every day! :-)

      • Liz permalink
        September 4, 2013

        I can’t believe my husband hasn’t pulled this one on me!

        • Liz permalink
          September 4, 2013

          By that I mean-the elk pee in our chest freezer next to frozen greens and the beaver carcass that’s been in there for years.

          • September 5, 2013

            Ha! For us it’s the snake, badger and flicker caracsses that wink at me everytime I open the freezer.

  10. September 1, 2013

    oh boy! I hope you’re managing ok. I don’t know if I could do the elimination things you’re doing. I hope it’s going to help you.

  11. September 1, 2013

    hate to tell you, but with Col’s bright-eyed enthusiastic permission, ilg ate a morsel of Col’s elk ribs he brought to home school at our casa last week…hum SAH! potent! you know you live in Durango when a homeschool kid brings a rack of elk ribs as his snack! LOVE YOU!

    • Rachel Turiel permalink
      September 3, 2013

      Potent is right. I think all the wild meat I consumed while Col was in utero is partial reason for his success as micropreemie.

  12. Susan S permalink
    September 2, 2013

    Rachel, I’m really interested to hear more about your rationale for cutting out grains. I understand cutting out bread, pasta, basically baked carbs, but it seems like there’s a lot of good nutrition to be had in grains like quinoa, amaranth and farro. I also know that grains don’t pack much nutritional punch per square foot, so maybe that’s the motivation? Trying to live off what you can grow/gather/hunt, making the best use of your space? No criticism at all, you understand. Just curiosity. Really interested to know your motivation and how you make it work. Keep us posted, eh? Thanks! Oh, by the way–let me say it again: You have a beautiful family! :-)

    • Rachel Turiel permalink
      September 3, 2013

      Sweet Susan,
      Without going into too much description, lets just say there’s some yeast in the house. Yeast feeds on sugar. Grains convert to glucose (blood sugar). Trying to make the house less hospitable to yeast.
      xo

      • Susan S permalink
        September 4, 2013

        I TOTALLY get ya! Good luck and remember, lactobacillus!

  13. Melissa permalink
    September 2, 2013

    thank goodness rose can make the coffee!
    leeor has already warned me he has to go away for work in november and you can bet one of those delectable sandwiches that i will be indulging in all my favorite vices while home with 3 babes. but more power to you! i always feel so good after a cleanse, with pregnancy being the longest-lasting (and externally motivated) cleanse i’ve done.

    ps. if you heat almond milk and blend it with your am coffee (like, in the blender), no sweetener needed, plus it gets all frothy and delicious like a latte. does cinnamon count as a sweetener? just sayin’, if you need a little treat. xo

    • Rachel Turiel permalink
      September 3, 2013

      Melissa, that sounds like a lovely coffee drink. Cinnamon A-OK!

  14. September 4, 2013

    Hi Rachel! This elimination thing seems to be the trend lately (among my peeps anyway). I went vegetarian back in January and then went vegan in June… Now, I’m back to non-dairy pescetarian (vegetarian that eats fish). *sigh* All these silly labels. But, its all about good health, and I feel great (oh, and I lost 20 pounds, but you know, its all about health, right?) Anyhoo, you’ll notice how easy it is to not eat sugar when you don’t eat sugar – does that make sense? When you eat it, you crave it. When you don’t eat it, you don’t crave it! Besides, sugar suppresses your immune system, which we mamas certainly do not need!

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