Really I think there are only 4  things that can be done when you have a bug/bacteria like the one we got.

1. Let it pass
2. Stay hydrated
3. Listen to your body – if something doesn’t feel right, DON’T eat it. Your body knows best what you need.
4. Rest

I was told at the hospital to stay hydrated with fluids such as gatorade. But when I spoke to my Guru Doctor, he explained that Gatorade has way too much sugar and chemicals and is not the best hydrant. The best hydrant is coconut water and it is pure. The vomiting also gave me severe heartburn and he suggested some aloe water also to coat my stomach.

Note: before I spoke to him, I was drinking the gatorade suggested at the hospital and I noticed that every time I drank a little cup, my heartburn would kick in again. I don’t really know why but it wasn’t helping. When I switched to the aloe water it soothed me much more. My doctor had also told me that I should replenish my body with a little protein. He suggested that I drink a tiny cup of (quarter cup) warm grass-fed milk with a little bit of raw protein powder. I plan to interview him soon so he can explain why he suggested this for me. But in any event I listened to him and it was what soothed my heartburn the most.

My mother came over as soon as I got home from the hospital and did the best thing she could ever do for my husband and I…she took care of the kids so we could sleep! My body really needed to recover and we slept and slept. She also made us some soothing chicken soup.

I got sick on Saturday evening. On Sunday I only had liquids…I didn’t feel my body was ready even for the chicken soup yet, so I sipped a little of the broth and put it away. On Monday, my vomiting and diarreah were gone but my stomach remained weak and vulnerable (as did Orlando’s). We both had some of my mom’s chicken soup for lunch and  stayed hydrated with coconut water and aloe water throughout the day.

I also passed by a great little place I love www.lifefoodgourmet.com and got myself a Wugup shake. I did this based on the assumption that I needed to replenish my body (and the baby) with protein and good stuff. This shake has protein, mamey, cacao, spirulina….all great ingredients that are mild enough for my stomach to tolerate a couple of days after the bug. I drank it with lots of caution and sip by sip but my body told me it was okay and slowly I started to recover.

By the end of the day, I had only had a little bit of that shake and chicken soup and Orlando had only had some soup. We both felt we needed vegetables at dinnertime but couldn’t imagine eating actual food. We wanted a creamy, silky kind of soup that would restore our bodies.

Something that came to mind was a potato leek soup because it had the consistency we were looking for…but Orlando wanted it to have more than just potatoes and leeks. He wanted lots of good stuff. So out of this virus was born Orlando’s Potato Leek Soup version which was exactly what we needed to get us back on track.

Here is the recipe: (This makes a huge crock pot of soup so if you don’t want to make too much, you may want to cut your quantities in half – but we’re a family of four so we make big portions)

• 1 head of Broccoli
• 5 medium Yukon gold potatoes
• 2 extra large leeks (or 3-4 small leeks)
• 2 large carrots sliced
• 1 basket of mushrooms chopped
• 1 inch of grated ginger
• 1 head of roasted garlic
• 1 stick of celery
• 1/2 onion
• 1/4 stick of organic unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup of organic grassfed buttermilk
• 1/2 cream of whipping cream
• 1 quart of vegetable stock (about 48 ounces)
• dash of cumin
• powder ginger
• kosher salt
• black pepper
• chives
• thyme

• Chop up leeks, carrots, celery, and onion- sautee in a large crock pot with a little salt and olive oil.
• After those are cooked through, rough chop the mushrooms and toss them in there with a little spray of olive oil and salt to coat them.
• Cube the potatoes and toss in with the broccoli – continue to sautee
• Add vegetable stock, bring to boil, and reduce to simmer, cover for 45 minutes.
• throw in about 6 cloves of roasted garlic, heavy cream and buttermilk. – dash of salt
• cover and cook for another 5 minutes.
• Blend the soup with a hand blender.
• Serve and sprinkle with chives