Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Waste.


My sweet friend, Rachel brought me a little treat and a copy of Whole Living magazine to read while recuperating. I hadn't heard of it yet but just seeing that it was a Martha Stewart publication, I knew I would love it. Martha just gets it and I have loved every one of her cookbooks. This magazine was one of those that you read from cover to cover and it actually had articles to read instead of just ads! I LOVED it and instantly sent in the little card for a subscription. You even get two for one right now so you can send one to a friend for free.

There were a couple articles in there that really sparked my interest. One in particular was about waste. It began with the quote:

     "As a nation, we throw 40 percent of our food, most of it perfectly edible, into the trash."

That is A LOT of food. The article states that the average family of four throws about $1600 per year of food in the garbage. I am sure we could all use a few of those dollars here and there. The article not only touches on the waste that could feed others, it also talks about the waste that fills our landfills and creates methane gas.

I know I have blogged about this before but I will do it again. For me, food is sacred. We need it to sustain life. It heals us. It nourishes us. I hate having to throw away food that was grown just for me, especially food that I grew. I do think about the fact that others are hungry when I am throwing excess away. I do my very best to use up the little scraps in the fridge. There is so much you can do with the little pieces but you have to take regular inventory of what is hiding behind the eggs and milk so you don't end up with containers of "green" stuff that is now inedible. Produce is a huge source of waste. It is real easy to forget about the last carrot or apple in the fridge. Even if it is a little bruised, it is still edible. I cleaned out my fridge the other morning and had a little pile of "odds and ends" in the vegetable drawer.


The carrots were a little on the ugly side but still firm up top. I had a little piece of potato, onion and zucchini. I could easily throw this in a soup stock with a few more ingredients and have a soup or grate it up and put it in a taco or omelet mixture. Or, I could let it go a couple more days and  have to throw it in the compost bin. There is part of a dinner there that would save me money if I just took the time to check the fridge and use the odds and ends. I paid for those. I surely wouldn't go around throwing dollars in my compost bin. I hadn't checked my fridge in a couple weeks and was sad that I had to throw away black beans, kefir, raw goats milk, old applesauce and a few other things. I needed this article to remind me to be a little more diligent. 

Go check your fridge, ladies. Look behind the yogurt and leftover dishes. What did you find? Can you use it in your dinner tonight? Get creative. You may have one tablespoon of jam left that could go into a dressing or  1/4 cup of plain yogurt that could be in a marinade. One bruised apple could go in a muffin recipe. Celery tops are great in soups. Almost anything can go in a smoothie! Freeze the leftovers that you aren't going to eat the next day and blend up the kale that is about to go bad and freeze it in ice cup trays for smoothies. 

Waste not, want not. 




Thursday, October 18, 2012

The end of the 30 days. Almost.

The 30 day project almost finished up. It was the best   I could do. I was a couple days short since I was in the hospital. All I ate for those two days was a cup of sherbet so there went the sugar. It was all I could keep down so I justified it. Anyways, 30 days is over. When I checked into the hospital, I was 10 pounds down. I felt great and pleased with the progress. Like I said, it was never about the weight but I have to admit, I sure liked how it felt and looked. I was a bit sad after the surgery from the swelling that my waistline was expanded again after all my hard work but it will go down again, I am sure of it. Thanks to everyone for their kind words, flowers, emails and meals. I feel loved. I really underestimated how I would feel and needed the help. Thanks.

As far as the 30 days, I am so glad I did it and think it would be a great idea to do it at least once a year. The sugar tastes way too sweet now although the chocolate my sister in law gave me was heavenly! I did stop at two squares though so there's progress. I don't crave it and that was the point. I did eat the heck out of some chips and tomatillo salsa my friend Kerri brought by. My stomach felt fine and my mouth was elated. I will continue to eat in moderation so that all all progress is not lost. I was sad that I had to have antibiotics in the hospital. Yeast loves that. I hope that my hard work didn't get destroyed after those three IV's. 

I have lots of recipes I am still sifting through that many of you sent. I can't wait to try them when I am up and going again. I am doing my best to take it easy right now so that healing will be quicker. I am not so good at holding still so this is the greatest challenge of it all but the payoff will be great! 

How are you all feeling? Did any of you stick with it? Did you see the results? Fill me in.

I have one gallon of Gold Label Coconut oil for $60 if you want it. I had a no show. 



Friday, October 12, 2012

Day 21,22,23.

There's not a whole lot to tell here. It is really rather boring. I didn't try any new recipes. I didn't make anything spectacular. We had ball games. Family gatherings. Debates to watch. Poison control to call (Tate helped him self to his iron supplement). Carpools. You know, all the regular stuff. I have so many things I want to make and try but who really has the time. I still make great dinners for my family but I just usually eat the sides. 

I have a new cow ready to be slaughtered so I have to use the last of my meat up in the freezer. I had a big prime rib hogging up the room so I cooked it up this week. It was a lot of meat. We had prime rib one day with herb roasted veggies, potatoes and salad. I used the left over meat the next day for stew. The biscuits were sorely missed. I didn't have time to try the gluten free variety and the big kids wouldn't have wanted them anyways. What did we eat the other day? I don't even remember.  I had lots of green smoothies, pancakes, eggs, crepes with applesauce (breakfasts are always easy) and a little bit of potato chips. I am such a foodie and I am sort of disenchanted with food right now. I really couldn't tell you want I want but I don't really care about food right now. It sort of bugs me to have that attitude. I am sure with a little more time under my belt my desire for great food will return. I want to go out to a crazy new restaurant, one of my favorite pastimes, but I don't trust what they put it in. I get inspired by new restaurant dishes but I am left with little to no creativity right now since I haven't been to one. 

Anyhow, it will all return, I am sure. The good side is that this diet is pretty easy since I don't really care about what I am eating right now. I am down about 8 pounds and I need to go buy some new pants. I will hold off in case this doesn't stick! My tummy feels very happy. My allergies have greatly diminished. My arm isn't itchy. My eyes aren't puffy. My objectives have been met. It has been worth it. It really is a very little sacrifice. If we fix our little issues before they become big illnesses, it is so much easier! If you wait until you have full blown diseases, you won't get over that in a 30 day cleanse! 

My son brought home some amazing looking pumpkin donuts and I smelled them. Oh my. I wait all year for pumpkin goodness and I had to pass it by. That was a little challenging but it passed and I made it. I am almost done. That doesn't mean I am just going to go out and buy a dozen donuts. It means that I will let myself have a little now and then. I don't really want the sugar at all but maybe just a little treat to usher in the pumpkin season! I do still want a good mango chicken taco! That will happen!

Monday is my surgery. I have a huge list of all I need to get done so that mom can check out for a little while. The clock is ticking and not much has been crossed off. The garden needs to be finished, showers cleaned, bills paid, kitchen stocked, toes painted and on and on. Tate has a Bday tomorrow and family is in town. I suppose life will go on if everything isn't done but I would feel better. I feel as healthy as I can be for surgery right now. I think my body is ready to take it. I did the work. I hope it is enough. With that said, this will probably be my last post for a week or so. I will finish off this diet. I will do my very best while in the hospital. I will report to you in a week to give you the final low down. I hope some of you are still on board and are feeling the benefits of eating clean. I wish I had more recipes to post. I will continue to post more allergy free recipes when I recover a bit. Just bear with me. 

Talk to you soon! Wish me luck!


Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Day 19 and 20.

First off, let me say how much I am loving the Floradix for iron! Wow! What a difference. Even though I have still gotten my usually 5-6 hours of sleep, I feel like I could go all day. I haven't felt this way in quite a while. I knew I was anemic but didn't realize how much it was contributing to how I felt. I feel like a new woman! I highly recommend it to you all!

Day 19 and 20 were easy. I made sure I ate enough and had good food to choose from so I didn't even think any naughty thoughts at all. I don't having any cravings for sugar whatsoever. How nice. I am sure it will come back with the first taste of sugar. I will do my best to keep that in check.

Breakfast: Day 19, homemade granola and unsweetened almond milk. Yummy! I haven't had cereal in a long time. The recipe I used was from the Green Smoothie Girl's 8 week menu planner cookbook. 


It was very mildly sweet but crunchy and delicious. 

Granola
by Robyn Openshaw

8 cups rolled oats
1 c shredded coconut, unsweetened
1/2 cup flax meal
1 1/2 c slivered almonds
2 tsp cinnamon

In a bowl, heat on a stove:

1/2  c raw honey
1/2  c maple syrup
1/2  c water
1/2  c coconut oil

Stir until melted and remove from heat. Add to oat mixture. Stir until all oats are coated. Bake at 250, stirring well every 20 minutes for 40-90 minutes or until dry. Let cool and store in pantry for up to 2 weeks. 

Day 20 was the usual Buckwheat Pancakes.

Lunch: I had some green smoothies, an apple with peanut butter, cucumber, etc. I don't even really remember lunches, honestly.

Dinner: Day 19 I had made a lovely dinner for my kids that I couldn't eat so I just cooked up some spaghetti noodles with marinara sauce and veggies for me. Nothing exciting there.

Day 20 I made a Southwest quionoa salad from The Green Smoothie Girl again, some roasted chickpeas and some of the skillet eggs and potatoes that I posted about in a previous post. I ate lots and was totally full and satisfied. Sort of a mismatched dinner but I enjoyed it. 



Southwest Quinoa

1 C quinoa, rinsed well.
2 C water
2 C cooked black beans
2 medium tomatoes, diced
4 green onions, chopped
1/2 C chopped cilantro

Dressing:

1/2 T. grated lime zest
1/8 C fresh lime juice
3 T. EVOO
1/2 T. maple syrup
1/2 t. sea salt
1/4 t. ground pepper

Whisk together and add to the quionoa mixture. I added avocados as well.


I like the roasted chickpeas and they will keep for a few days so don't make too much at first. You can season them anyway you want.

I cooked some chickpeas previously, but you can used canned ones as well. Rinse and let dry.

Toss them with some olive oil until they are all coated lightly. Sprinkle some salt and pepper and put them in the oven at 450 for about 30 minutes. Stir ever so often. Now add whatever seasoning you desire. I added some smoked chipotle seasoning and garlic salt. Stir and put back into the oven until crispy. I pulled them out a little early at first and they still had a soft interior. You want them totally crispy. When they are done, let them cool on the counter a few hours they seal them up and eat in a few days! Great protein and it is nice to have something salty and crispy that isn't a chip.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Day 17 and 18.

What a perfect weekend! We enjoyed lots of family time together and were blessed to listen to our LDS general conference on TV. The messages are always so inspiring and uplifting. The messages were loud and clear; we are here to help each other. We are to pray for guidance on who to help and to be obedient to the inspiration given. What if everyone in the world actually prayed to help one another? What a nice thought. You can listen to the conference messages here.

Saturday was a tough day on the diet for me. I think for the most part I just needed more food. I didn't eat enough and all I could think about was what I was missing. I just wanted a good bean burrito or taco. Sunday, we had a family gathering with Mexican food, and I had my fill with a good Mexican salad. I ate a good sized serving and was full! I woke up feeling much better and without guilty cravings. Moral of the story, fill up with the good stuff so you don't crave the bad stuff. It's sort of like going to the grocery store hungry; you will want more of the unhealthy stuff if you are hungry. 

I also have had a problem with Anemia this past year. A lot of it hopefully will be solved with my surgery next week but I have tried to just fix it with green smoothies. It has helped a little but it is not sustaining. I finally bought an iron supplement and I feel sooooooo much better! I don't feel like I have lead in my blood. I wish I did this much earlier. My naturopath suggested the liquid Floradix which I purchased at Sprouts. It works quickly. I highly recommend this to anyone who needs more iron. I don't like to rely on a supplement but sometimes we need a little extra help. It feels so much better when we do!

Day 17 and 18.

Breakfast: Apple waffles on day 17  and Almond pancakes on day 18. I was hoping that using almond flour would make the pancakes stick to my ribs a little longer and they did. There were filling and they didn't go right through me like the grain pancakes. 

Almond Pancakes

1 cup Almond Flour (Almond meal can be used but it will be a little crunchy!)
4 eggs
2 T. honey
1 t. vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda

Mix together and cook on a hot griddle. 

Lunch: I really don't remember lunches much on these two days. Saturday I ate very little, thus the reason I was craving tacos, and Sunday we had an early dinner so I skipped lunch.

Dinner: Day 17 I had coconut korma. It is vegetarian and delicious. I was lucky enough to have some in the freezer from a previous dinner so there wasn't any prep involved. It is easy, especially if you have a pressure cooker. 


You can find the recipe here from a previous post. Honey in place of the sugar or omit.

Day 18 was our extended family dinner. We each brought part of the Mexican salad. We had black beans, pulled pork, spanish rice, sauteed onions and peppers, tomatoes, guacamole, shredded lettuce and salsa. It was all gluten and dairy free! Thanks, family. 

I am getting lots of emails from those of you who are doing this with me. There are lots of good reports and I am so proud of you! Stay strong.

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Day 16.

What a day of emotions. My eldest child received his mission call to serve as a missionary for the LDS church. We had planned for this all his life but actually walking to the mail box and seeing the envelope made the flood gate of emotions pour out. I saw his name on it and immediately began to cry. I am so proud of him and want him to go but at the same time, this is my child that I am sending out into the world. He will be leaving me for two years. Our family will never be the same. He will be serving in the Manchester, England mission and he is very excited! Life is moving way to fast for me.

We have lots of family parties this week. We started off last night and there were lots of treats around. Honestly the hardest part was the chips. I wanted the chips and salsa really bad. I really wish I didn't commit to no corn. Really. I look forward to bringing that back soon, in moderation of course. Today I really wanted nachos with real melted cheddar on them. I don't really ever even eat those and haven't had cheese for a while but it just sounds good. Salty, crunchy, yummy. Oh well. I can be strong. 

I have had a few emails about yeast and about supplements. You can read my posts about yeast by clicking on the "yeast" topic under labels but there is also some great info in ebooks from My Feel Good Foods. Jonell Francis, the owner and creator, is a wealth of information and she has put together some wonderful ebooks to learn more. She has real life experience as she has healed herself from various health issues through getting rid of yeast. I love her products. They have helped me greatly and many others whom I know. 

Yeast is tricky. It is hard to get under control but it can be done. If you just want the magic pill, that won't happen. You can't buy the kits and still drink your sodas and eat your candy. You need to do the work. Anything sugary will feed yeast. That means and sweeteners, even natural ones, fruits, simple starches, etc. If you were hard core, you would get rid of all these things entirely in your diet. Since most aren't, including myself, I like to add the supplements to help with the rest. I need a little fruit and I need a little starch. 

What I always recommend is starting with the Feel Good Foods kit. It will give you about a two month supply. After that, I like to rotate in some other natural herbals. The three I rotate are Kolorex,  which you can get from Amazon, the New Beginnings yeast herbal pack, which you can get from me or from the New Beginnings website and simple garlic. There are many other options out there but these are tried and tested. Remember, you need to do your best to eat well or you will not get it under control. You also need a good probiotic to help fill in the prior yeasty areas with the good bacteria. 

Yeast is nasty, ladies. Get it under control. It affects everything. It is always good to do a good yeast cleanse even if you don't know for sure you have it. Generally, if you suspect it, you do. We all have some to a degree.

Day 16.

Breakfast: Oatmeal with a little unsweetened coconut milk.

Lunch: I am so boring here and my tummy was in knots from the mission call. I had a little more hummus with the Mary's Gone Crackers sticks and a cucumber. 

Dinner: Chicken Zucchini Salad


I had some leftover chicken so I made this in about 7 minutes. Honestly, I could have used a big hunk of french bread with it but it was filling.


Chicken Zucchini Salad

1/4 C. Olive Oil
1/4 C. Fresh lemon Juice
sea salt and fresh, ground pepper
Very thinly sliced fresh zucchini
1 lb. cooked chicken, shredded
8 oz  baby spinach
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
3/4 C. chopped pecans
(non dairy kids, 1/4 C. Parmesan cheese)

Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.  Add the zucchini and toss. Let marinate for a few minutes.

Add to seasoned, shredded chicken, spinach, onions and pecans. Serve immediately.



Friday, October 5, 2012

Day 14 and 15.

Man alive. Life is busy. Having time to actually be in the kitchen seems impossible. We have two baseball teams, football and soccer and that means lots of practices, lots of games and lots of nights away. Somehow we have been fed but I have had to have a few compromises lately on quality. The kids don't mind so much. I do.

There hasn't been anything real exciting to report to you. I am down about 6 pounds total and wouldn't mind three more. I feel good and that is the real payoff. If you eat right, you feel better. It is as simple as that. We really don't have any right complaining about our health ailments if we aren't doing all we can to make it better. We always have to do our part.

I am going to combine both days as far as food goes:

Breakfast: French toast with GF raisin bread using coconut milk, eggs and vanilla. YUMMY!

Oatmeal and green smoothie.

Lunch: I don't have time for lunch so it has been hummus, cucumbers, apples, rolled up ham slice (Applegate farms organic, uncured) avocado, smoothies,or whatever else is available.

Dinner: Day 14 we had the leftover chili and fries. Lots of fresh veggies with it as well.

Day 15 had a lovely dinner planned of grilled apricot Chipotle chicken but that got squashed when my daughters battery died and I had to make an emergency trip to Costco along with two baseball carpools. Ugh. Unless we wanted to eat dinner after 8, I had to take drastic measures. I bought the Costco Rotisserie chicken and made some sides at home. It is gluten, msg and dairy free but I don't ever buy them since they are not organic and have "natural flavors" . I suppose we won't die after one chicken.



iphone photos are horrible.

I made sauteed green beans with scallions and bacon. I also made some mashed potatoes with almond milk, garlic and Earth Balance butter. Skins were left on and the potatoes were just mashed, not whipped. We added some fresh fruit and it was a meal in 10 minutes. It would have been so much better with the Apricot chipotle chicken. That will have to wait. 

This next week is going to be challenging on the cooking. We have family coming in town and parties all week. Lots of goings on. Somehow I need to find time to create some good meals and keep it healthy and homemade. I can do it.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Day 13.

First off, my husband read over a few of my last posts and told me I have several typos and sentences that didn't make sense. Ya, I know. I type fast. I don't proof read and I probably won't go back and fix them. I am intelligent. It might not sound like it but I am just short on time. You understand. I will try to spell check a little better.

In the beginning of this little personal challenge, I was really thinking about the days. I would think about how many more days it was until I didn't have to think about everything I was eating. I would think about missing out on certain foods or going out for my favorite meal. There has been a switch flipped. I don't really want to go back to the way I ate before. I will eat some corn chips and corn tortillas now and then and some homemade sprouted spelt bread or soaked pizza dough, but really, I don't desire to go back to how it was before for the most part. Our food supply has been altered and we just can't tolerate what corruption has been done to our food, especially dairy and wheat. I am a little scared that once I eat a little, I will just slip back in to old habits but I hope I remember how it feels to eat the way we should. I have been a good eater for a long time. I keep it healthy for the most part but we can always do better. Better is better. 

The most important thing to do when you want to make a change is to study everything you can about why it is bad to eat/do certain things. To break the habit, you need to have a reason. I knew gluten was hard on the body and that wheat is a huge GMO crop. However, I have now read so much that it is a testimony to me. I understand it. I believe it and I know that if I want to remain in good health, I need to stick to the lessons I have learned. If you don't have a good reason to change, change usually doesn't happen. For many of us, change comes when we are forced to change like a health problem in the family. This is a blessing. Being compelled to change sometimes is the only way it will happen. I thank my lucky stars for Tate and all his gut issues. I am sorry he had to suffer but our family are all truly blessed because we were compelled to change.

Day 13 was yummy. 

Breakfast: Buckwheat and Brown Rice Blueberry pancakes and a very "healthy" green smoothie (code word for "didn't taste good").

Lunch: The last go round of the sweet potato salad, a cucumber and an apple.

Dinner: Vegetarian Chili Fries




My boys were tired of "lady food" (salads, veggies, etc.) My boys want man food. So , I decided to give them a hearty dish of Chili and Fries with a side of carrots and cucumbers. Unfortunately, when dinner time came, only the little man Tate and the princess child were home. Papa Bear made it just in time but the three who wanted the man food had to miss out. I enjoyed it. Maybe they will get the left overs today. 

You don't miss the meat in chili and I did the Yukon Gold potatoes and fried them in some coconut oil. Yukon golds are more nutritious and less starchy than Russets. 

I used pinto beans with black beans. Pinto's have been bothering my little tummy lately so I was a bit leery of eating them. I was pleasantly surprised when my stomach was perfectly content after a bowl. Something must be working.


Vegetarian Chili

**I really throw in whatever I have but here is today's ingredients:

1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced sweet peppers
2 garlic cloves, minced

Saute in some olive oil (I used jalapeno olive oil)

Puree a pint of whole tomatoes. Add it to the peppers and onions.

Add in a 15 oz can of diced tomatoes. I use Eden brand. No BPA.

Add in beans as desired. I used pinto and black but you can use whatever you like. I probably had around 4 cups of beans. Use more tomatoes or beans as desired.

I added in about 3-4 tsp of chili powder.
Sea salt.
Smoked chipotle seasoning, to taste

Simmer for a good 1/2 hour or more.

You don't need the chipotle seasoning but it makes the chili in my opinion. You can also add veggies like carrots and zucchini's or even cooked quinoa. 

Make extra to freeze!

A little treat: I made a little treat for Tate today that I was looking forward to sharing with him. I ate half of the cookie and I realized that the sweetness didn't even taste good to me and that I didn't want/need one. He loved them though and they are easy as pie. I think I have posted them before. They are from my friend , Kami's blog:


Gluten/dairy free Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup natural peanut butter
1 cup coconut sugar
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda

Mix and bake at 350 for about 9 minutes. 

Can't get much easier.I used up the last of my peanut butter that wasn't recalled. 










Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Day 12 and some gardening.

Day 12 was lovely. I played in the dirt a little. Not as much as I wanted because it is too hot to plant everything that I wanted. However, I do have some wonderful things growing:

Spinach. I am so happy you are back.



Little carrot seedlings popping up. This field is my multi-colors. Purple, red, orange and yellow. 



 Spicy little radishes. They popped up in only 3 days. 


I planted some romaine under my cucumber trellis and they came up great. Problem is, it became hotter again and these baby romaines are bolting. Chicken food. 


Still more cantaloupe. Several of them. I need to pull them up but how can I? They are so sweet and delicious. 



I have lots more growing and this month marks my goal of picking something every day for a year. It has worked. Never a day without something ready to be picked. Here's to another year. 

This year the bugs have been out of control at my house. Lots of ants, lots of crickets, lots of roaches and lots of garden bugs. A few years back, if you remember, I had my home sprayed by a pest control company and one day, they sprayed my garden and baby stroller. It was a tragedy. I cried all day. I cut off all ties with pest control at that point and have not had one since. Now, I am paying the price. My sister in law told me about a company our naturopath recommended called Lady Bug Pest Control. They use natural products like Eucalyptus oils and DE. I called them up and they went to work. I still won't let them near the chickens or garden but there are dead roach bodies as evidence of it's power. Thank you. I still don't like pest control, though.

Anyhow, on to me and what I eat.

It really is getting easy. Many of you email me that you can't do it. That you are totally addicted to sugar and baked goods. Believe me. You can do it. You can change your taste buds. Take it one day at a time. Start small. Just limit at first then cut it off. If I can, anyone can. I promise.

Breakfast: Fried egg, berries and GF toast

Lunch: Leftover sweet potato salad and hummus with some Mary's gone Crackers sticks. They are totally GF and organic and made with various types of seeds. I used the curry kind. It made a great dipping stick and was a welcomed crunchy snack. 

Dinner: I was still craving my pasta that I didn't get the other night at the restaurant. I have lots of basil in the garden so I made a quick, fresh dish.



I found the Brown Rice pasta in an organic version. I just love this pasta. It tastes just like the wheat noodles. 

Saute some garlic, zucchini and diced tomatoes in olive oil until barely tender. Add chopped basil and saute just until wilted. The tomatoes should get a bit saucy. I used about 5 tomatoes and one zucchini with about 3 cloves minced garlic and 1/2 cup basil. I added a little more olive oil to make it all stick. Season in up with some sea salt and pepper.

Toss in hot noodles and serve with some ribbon sliced fresh spinach. 

I made some GF Focaccia with tomatoes and basil on top and it went in the trash. It tasted like pizza gum. I hate tapioca starch. Why did I try it? 

My arm was itching the night before. I ate a little too much fruit at the party Sunday. I am pretty sure that activated the yeast which caused the itching. My theory. I am laying off a bit. A little a day is fine. 

Monday, October 1, 2012

Day 11.

Today was my hubby's bday so lots of desserts were flowing through the house for the guests. Lemon cake, berry pie, ice cream, etc. They looked amazing but it wasn't terrible passing them up. I certainly don't crave the sugar but the idea of eating it is was what I wanted. I ate a little extra fruit and called it good. 

As I have said before, food is psychological. We eat emotionally. We eat socially. Changing the way you eat is a study of the mind. You truly have to change the way you view food. You have to view food as lifesaving, nourishing, healing, powerful. Food is also beautiful and gracious. If you respect it, you are less apt to abuse it. Don't get me wrong, I love a good dessert and will be happy when I can have one again now and then but I enjoyed being at the party with my family and the fact that I didn't get the cake didn't ruin it. It has been interesting to me to see how this past 11 days has affected my thought process. I have done the  no sugar challenge before for 30 days. It was the hardest thing I have ever done. Now, I have added several other "no's" to the list and it has been easier. Why? Because I have changed the way I think. I reward myself with other sources of joy and love the way my body feels by feeding it nourishing foods. It is so worth it. I know this will be something I will always have to remind myself of. Food is just so addicting!

I have tried really hard to listen to what my body wants. When you are addicted to sugar, your body will be craving sugar but when you clean that out and reset the signals, you are better in tune with what it wants. At first, I craved more proteins; eggs and meats. Now, I am craving lighter foods and greens. Some mornings I need eggs. Some mornings I want light grains and smoothies. When I listen, I feel good. 


Breakfast: French toast oats, again. I love these! So easy and so filling. See the recipe on day 8. 

Lunch: Knowing we were having an early dinner, I went light with some hummus and cucumbers. I really was still full from the heavy meat the night before.

Dinner: Burgers would have been fine, sans the bun but I opted out of the meat. Instead, I enjoyed several tasty side dishes: 


My favorite thing at Liberty Market is the roasted sweet potato salad. Kara Bagley recreated this a few years ago and hit it dead on. I haven't made it since last Thanksgiving so I made a big bowl for my little treat. I ate it up! You can see the recipe here. I didn't have the chives but it was still great. 



My family loves coleslaw. I have always made it with raw milk and buttermilk but they didn't even say anything after it had been changed out with coconut milk and honey. There was a slight difference but still good. 

Dairy free Coleslaw

1/2 C. healthy mayo
1/4- 1/3 cup raw honey
1/2 C. coconut milk
2 1/2 T. lemon juice
1 1/2 T. white vinegar
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
8 cups finely chopped cabbage
1/4 C. shredded carrot
2 T. minced onion

Chop cabbage finely or shred. Combine mayo, honey, coconut milk, lemon juice, vinegar, salt and pepper in a large bowl and beat until smooth.

Add cabbage, carrots and onion. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate for an hour or two before serving.

I enjoyed a big salad with some fresh strawberries and some herb roasted potatoes as well. Side dishes are great for a meal. 

Thanks for the recipes you are sending me. I look forward to trying them out. Here's to a good week! It is gardening day for me. I will post about that tomorrow along with some pest control info. I'm getting a little bored with these diet posts!