Let's Get This Period Started and Roasted Beet Chips

(Beets have such beautiful color and patterns that I never even knew about!)

This may be kind of a TMI kind of post for some, but I am going to take a risk and publish it anyway!  I have not had a period for about 5 months now.  I have been trouble shooting every possible reason for why this might be happening.  I think my periods stopped around the same time I started running more to get ready for the 5K that I did in April.  It could just be because I have lost a lot of weight in the past 2 years.  Although, my weight loss has been gradual—definitely not speedy weight loss.  In fact, over the past year, my weight loss has slowed down a lot.  So I have done some different things and I have looked into different health options as far as trying to get my period started again and figuring this thing out. 

The first thing I did was go to an acupuncturist.  I have never had acupuncture before so this was a completely new experience for me.  Getting to experience the needles and the process of acupuncture was neat, but I only went twice for a couple of reasons.  Reason #1—when I told the acupuncturist that I was vegan, he immediately felt like my being vegan was why I was having problems with my period.  He tried to act like he supported my decision to be vegan, but I could tell that he thought this was the source of my lack of periods.  Reason #2—after two times of going to see him, I really couldn’t tell any differences with my body.  Now I will be honest, I am not very in tune with my body.  I don’t really notice subtle changes with my body.  So this is probably part of the problem, but since I wasn’t noticing anything, I decided to explore other options. 

Next, I went to see the doctor at the women’s health center.  I just wanted to know for sure that something more serious wasn’t happening with my health.  I also told her I was vegan.  She seems to think it’s because I’ve intensified my exercise and I have lost weight.  She said she didn’t feel like there was anything for me to worry about, but she wanted to get my period started with Provera.  She claims that this is a “safe” drug but check out the list of side effects here:  YIKES!  I decided to hold off on getting this prescription filled and see what else I could do.  The lab technician also took blood samples to test for thyroid issues and other things requested by the chiropractor (I will get to her shortly.)

Next up—I sought out help from the wise VB and an employee at Earth Fare.  These are some suggestions that have been recommended and I will note if I have tried them or not:

-Dong Quai (Yes-I drink it in my tea at night)--Although, I think it's kind of funny that something that is supposed to help the female system has "dong" in the name!  

-Raspberry Leaf Tea (Yes-I drink a cup of tea at night)

-Nettles (I bought some but since they are loose leaves, I need to prep them for tea.)

-1 TBSP of molasses a day (No-this was recommended by the acupuncturist (along with eating more root vegetables and denser foods) but I have not tried it yet. 

-Eat more root vegetables and other dense foods –I have been eating more beets and some sweet potatoes. 

-Vitex—This was another supplement at Earth Fare, but I have not tried it yet. 

This may sound a little crazy, but I have also tried “Deliberate Intent.”  R is reading a book right now called The Amazing Power of Deliberate Intent and she was telling me that thoughts can carry weight and be very powerful.  So I have tried thinking about my period and putting a lot of thought into it, but so far it hasn’t worked.  Oh well, this idea is free so I thought I would give it a try.  It never hurts to try! 

Last but not least, I visited a chiropractor.  She was highly recommended and I also had a free consultation card that a friend gave me.  So I thought, “Why not?”  I have met with her twice now.  During my first visit, she got a lot of basic information from me, looked at my tongue and also took some X-Rays of my pelvic area.  When I went back to see her yesterday, she showed me my X-Rays and also did a correction on me.  She feels like my lack of period has nothing to do with weight loss and exercise.  When looking at my X-Rays, she found that a section of my lower back was out of alignment.  That section affects reproductive organs, colon, groin and large intestines.  My Sacral area was also out of alignment and that also affects reproductive organs, bladder and some other areas.  The chiropractor also suspects my body is having a hard time processing glucose.  That’s why she wanted some additional blood work done to look at some different things.  She felt like we should spend some time trouble shooting before resorting to anything like Provera.  I couldn’t agree more. 

I guess I will just have to wait and see.  I plan to go back to the chiropractor and I am also crossing my fingers that my Pap comes out normal from the women’s clinic.  Hopefully, I can figure this out and get back on my normal cycle.  It’s so weird—I have always thought periods are such an inconvenience and a hassle and here I am now trying to do everything to get it started again! 

In the process of all of this and trying to eat more root veggies, I discovered how delicious roasted beets are!  I have always associated beets with the pickled beets my grandma would make.  I’ve never really been a fan.  So when I see beets at the farmers market and at the grocery store, I just walk on by.  But since beets are a root veggie and they are supposed to be a good iron source, I decided to try again and maybe have a corrective experience with them.  Now I can’t get enough of these roasted beet “chips!” 

This recipe is super simple and I feel kind of silly calling it a “recipe” but maybe there are some of you out there avoiding the beet because of thinking of pickled beets like I used to. 

Roasted Beet “Chips”

(Preheat oven to 400 degrees)

-As many beets as you like (I usually get about 3 or 4 good sized beets)

-oil

-salt

Peel the beets and then slice them as thin as you can get them.  The thinner they are, the crispier they get. 

Spray a cookie sheet with spray oil OR spread a small amount of oil onto the cookie sheet so that it’s covering the entire cookie sheet. 

 Place the beets on the cookie sheet making sure that they are all spread out like cookies.  Then spray another layer of oil (I use the Misto spray bottle) on top of the beets.  Then lightly salt. 

Bake for about 10 minutes and then flip them over and bake for another 7-10 minutes.  Just check on the beets periodically to make sure they are not burning.

(You can also clean up your "beet crime scene" while you are waiting for them to bake!)

The cooking time has varied for me each time I have made them.  Just make sure that the end result is that they are mostly crispy but not burned.  Once again, the thinner you can slice them, the crispier they will get.  The thicker slices tend to just cook but not get crispy. 

Take out of the oven and enjoy!