For regular readers of my blog, you might already know that my MIL just suffered from a GI Bleed and is recuperating. The first thing we needed to take care of was to increase her hemoglobin/haemoglobin after all the blood loss she had gone through. We were very successful in doing this naturally through iron-rich foods and I share my tips here for anyone else who might need this information.

1. Apples and Pomegranates Juice

The best and the first thing to work in the case of low hemoglobin levels was apple and pomegranate juice. We started with juice because it was recommended for our patient but if you are looking for solutions for someone able to eat fruit directly, don’t bother with taking out the juice all the time. For our juice, we used 2 apples, 1 pomegranate and a citrus fruit (they help absorb the iron in the other fruits properly). We alternated oranges and limes. If the patient is low on energy, add a couple of spoonfuls of glucose powder to the juice. This really caused her haemoglobin to shoot up.

2. Soup of Greens

A few days later, we made an addition to the iron-rich diet plan. Leafy green vegetables like spinach are a great source of iron and we started cooking them together with other nutritious vegetables like carrots and peas to prepare an iron-rich soup. Since ours was a case of post-GI Bleed recovery, we chilled the soups before serving.

3.  Prunes, Dates, Apricots and Raisins

After we were sure of the bleed being healed completely, we started regular food along with a daily intake of one of the above mentioned dried fruits taken as they are, or soaked overnight in water to soften them.

4. Whole Grains and Beans

As my MIL progresses with her recovery, we will start giving her whole grains, cereals and beans as an integral part of her diet.

“Lose Weight”.

Isn’t it funny how one resolution keeps topping our New Year Resolutions’ lists every year? Actually, it isn’t funny at all. Not for me, at least. I have been resolving this without fail every year and even making it possible by losing a good chunk of weight off my body. But then I seem to gain it all back by the end of the year (of even halfway). This is not a surprising scenario at all. In fact, I hear almost every woman I know saying the same thing. You will find personal blogs and message boards and forums ablaze with this topic.

I thought over this and finally decided to ‘tweak’ the resolution a little. Instead of simply saying ‘Lose Weight’, my resolution list now says ‘Lose Weight and Let it Stay Lost’. Easier said than done, I said to myself after making the change in words. Well, here are some tips I plan to follow to stick to my weight loss resolution that I picked up from an article ‘How to keep your Weight Loss Resolution‘ on Dot Com Women’:

1. Print out my resolution and hang it above my computer on my work desk. There is no escaping this spot.

2. Let my DH on in my secret (or not) resolution. He is just the person to help motivate me and help me stick to it.

3. Set more achievable weekly and monthly weight loss goals. That did work last year, too. I am able to lose some lbs and they motivate me to lose some more.

4. No more boring diets or exercise plans. Every morning, I will wake up and do something that I like. It could be a walk, some jogging, skipping on my rooftop, yoga or swimming or some strenuous household work. And I will try to keep my diet interesting too. Fruit salads instead of just cut-up fruits, salads with dressing, different whole grain breads etc. will make sure I don’t get sick of what I am eating.

5. I might take up a new sport or a hobby. It could possibly be some new forms of dancing. I love dancing and never tire of it. I am definitely going to give this more thought.

6. A Reward system - every time I achieve a goal, I plan to reward myself with a trip to one of the two places I love to shop at - the bookstore or a lifestyle shop. I know I can do anything to get to shop at these places. So that’s a good bait that I have set up for myself.

And of course, there are some more tricks that never seem to work. For example, a couple of dresses that I am sure I want to ‘fit into’. I think I’d better add those to my de-cluttering resolutions.