The Problem with Elimination Diets

I once went for almost an entire year without chocolate.  I thought that I saw a correlation between chocolate eating and break outs.  It's possible that it made a difference, but in hindsight I believe it was more likely standard American chocolate that was the problem, not ALL chocolate.  I tell you this to convey the fact that I am not unwilling to consider that something I love is contributing to my unwellness, and cutting it out.

That said, I have felt like there's been a missing piece in my attempts to find the right balanced diet for me.  Despite numerous attempts at elimination diets, something just wasn't adding up.  I recently went to a new naturopath and she did a food intolerance test.  I feared the worst - that I might be intolerant to fruit, since I had eliminated pretty much every thing else out of my diet at one time or another (outside of a few select vegetables). I recently got back my results, and the big culprit was... dairy!  That, and peanuts as well as fruit combined with with sugar - which I guess makes those chocolate banana peanut butter smoothies I often crave and occasionally indulge in a giant no no!

"How could this possibly be?"  I asked myself.  I've eliminated dairy numerous times and never noticed any major issues when I reintroduced it.  I did start to suspect it was contributing to breakouts but then I concluded that it was just hormones.  I guess it was just too easy to rationalize any potential reactions away.

Here's the thing though, unlike food allergies, which I never tested positive for, food intolerances don't always have an immediate effect.  It can take up to two days to see an effect, and even then it might be subtle.  On even the best and most deliberate of reintroductions, you wait a few days between foods - maybe even a whole week for big stuff like gluten and dairy.  Still, when you consider stress, activity level, hormones and any number of other factors, what seems like a response to food, could be attributed to any number of thing and vice versa.

When I reintroduced eggs after the autoimmune protocol, I was convinced for a while that I had issues with eggs.  But then I had a few times I had them without issue. I figured out that the times I was trying eggs were on lazy Saturdays when I didn't get up to do much until the afternoon.  Seems the problem was more with getting going after a long period of inactivity than it was with eggs themselves.

Funny thing is, when I cut out dairy and had the occasional coffee indulgence, I would use almond milk and get an immediate negative reaction.  When I reintroduced dairy with my coffee, the immediate response went away.  This seemed further evidence to me that dairy was just fine. So when I got loose with my dietary restrictions, dairy was usually one of the easiest to go overboard on.

I was told the biggest obstacle against trying an elimination diet was that it was so hard to follow.  For me, though it was a challenge, with good preparation it was manageable.  The biggest obstacles for me were all the other factors that can influence my response to food.

I'm not saying that I didn't get anything from the elimination diets.  I still feel that I do better when I don't go overboard on grains, beans, sugar and even nuts.  When I overindulge, I tend to feel bloated and tired.  I tend to do best with something resembling the "Perfect Health Diet," which is another reason I thought dairy in moderation seemed OK.  I think it's really good to get a sense of how things make you feel and start to listen to your intuition about your body.  Just realize that there are so many factors involved and it's easy to rationalize your way into the wrong conclusion.

So, by all means, pay attention to what you eat and how you feel when you eat it. Try an elimination diet if you want to get more specific.  Just don't over rationalize it and consider that it might also be useful to try a food intolerance test (not just a food allergy test) to see if there's something your missing.

Broccoli White Cheddar Soup

And here's a tasty soup I won't be having again (though I may play with modifying it): 2 cups whole (raw) milk, 2 cups broth (beef), 12 oz broccoli pieces, 3 oz white cheddar, 1 t salt, 1.2 t onion powder, 1/2 t garlic powder, 1/4 t white pepper.  Blend in a Vitamix on soup setting (or heat in saucepan when ready).  Steam 4 oz broccoli florets.  Add and pulse a few times when done. 

Summer food highlights

Summer is rapidly coming to an end and I seemed to find myself busier than during the school year!  It's harder to keep in a good rhythm of cooking without routine, but I managed to fit in a few noteworthy meals.  

Impromptu Shepherd's Pie (Paleo)

Shepherd's pie is one of my go tos since I usually have ground beef on hand.  You can use any ground meat, and a combination of yam, sweet potato or cauliflower.

• Steam 1 head of cauliflower and 2 sliced large sweet potatoes.
• Brown 2 lb ground beef.
• Slice carrots and asparagus in food processor to make thin round discs (I kept the asparagus tips to cook tomorrow).
• Add carrots, asparagus and frozen peas to beef.
• Season with garlic powder, onion powder and Herbamare salt to taste.
• Top beef mixture with cauliflower/sweet potato mixture.
• Bake for 20 min at 350.
• Broil for 5 min on high.

Pork Stir Fry (Paleo)

Stir fry is one of the quickest ways to throw together a reasonably healthy meal.  In a pinch, I've heated up some precooked chicken and added whatever veggies I had handy.  

This one used ground pork with asparagus (left from the shepherd's pie) & mushroom seasoned with coconut aminos, Herbamare, powdered ginger, garlic & onion.

Modified Mac n' Cheese (Perfect Health Diet)

At the cousin's house, the kids asked for mac n' cheese.  They had some in a box, but I ran home to get some ingredients to make something that actually resembled food.

I used rice pasta, shreded yellow squash, ground beef and added some cheese and butter.  For a little added creaminess, I added some cottage cheese as well, and seasoned with season salt.

Vegetable Beef Soup (Paleo)

The boy asked for "San Diego Souper Soup" and I had to do some digging to figure out what that meant.  Turns out when he went to SD with his dad, they threw together some veggies with beef and broth. 

I browned some ground beef and added some chicken broth, carrots, yams and sweet potatoes and cooked until soft.  Seasoned to taste with onion powder, garlic powder, Herbamare, Basil and Marjoram.  

Marinara Squash Casserole (Paleo/Primal)

We had lots of squash to use up from the farm share, so I improvised. Summer squashes, carrots, chicken sausage, rice noodles, mushrooms, olives, chicken broth & a jar of marinara.  Top with cheese if desired.

Plum Banana "Ice Cream" with Chocolate Chips (Paleo - ish)

"Mom, it's yummy, so yummy! Probably the best thing you've ever had!"

• Food Process two frozen bananas until smooth.
• Add 1 chopped frozen plum.
• Add Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips.

Donut Experiment

The boy and his cousin wanted to make "healthy donuts" but wouldn't use a recipe, so I made my own. Theirs won out two to one!

My recipe was: Banana Maple Donuts

Their recipe involved instant oatmeal, squeezed orange, raisins, crumbled rice cake, water, and at my suggestion a bit of almond & coconut flour, baking powder, some coconut oil & eggs to make it stick together and not to the pan.  Held together better than I thought it would, but a little soft in the middle. 

Gluten Free S'mores with homemade marshmallows

Home made marshmallows from stuff I already had in the pantry - free. Having s'mores for a highly allergenic boy on our camping trip - priceless!

Paleo Marshmallows - I did this without a candy thermometer (just let the honey melt fully) and a hand beater. Used a silicone mini muffin tin sprinkled with arrowroot to get the shape.  They don't brown well in the fire, but they taste great otherwise - especially on top of hot cocoa (below)!  I think I'll try some on top of yams for the holidays!

Hot Cocoa with Cayenne & Homemade Marshmallows!

When I got back from our camping trip, I had some marshmallow fluff left over, so I used it in some cocoa.  I added a little cayenne for a kick.  I used real milk this time, but I've also been known to use coconut milk. 

Warmed milk with 3-4 spoonfuls of cocoa powder, one spoonful of maple syrup and a couple sprinkles of cayenne topped with home made marshmallows (above).

Eating well on the road!

I just got back from a nearly two week trip to San Diego to visit family and attend a 5 day life coach training at the Life Purpose Institute.  It was a fabulous trip and an amazing training, but I realized that traveling is an extremely hard time to keep up with developed healthy eating habits.  When I'm feeding myself, I do pretty well, but it's so easy to make exceptions when traveling and dining out.  I can't say I did stellar at this - I definitely consumed way too much sugar, coffee and ice cream.  I did, however, do some things before and during my trip that made it easier not to stray too far.

Prepare

Before my trip, I went on a dehydrating frenzy!

One thing that is a life saver for me to have on hand when traveling (or other times in general) is jerky.  The easiest way for me to do this is this Ground Beef Jerky recipe.  I usually use a jerky gun, but I couldn't find part of it, so I just patted it town thinly on the trays and broke apart when dry.  They turned out even better because they were so thin they weren't too tough for my son!  Next time I use the gun, I'll pat them down a bit as well.  I brought some of this with me on another trip when I was easing out of the Autoimmune Paleo protocol.  It was a lifesaver when I ended up at a party that was serving a vegetarian burrito bar, so the only protein was in grains and beans.  I pulled some jerky out and crumbled on top of a taco salad, and it worked like a charm!

I also love to have some good trail mix on hand, though I try to go easy on the nuts and dried fruit.  I dried apples and strawberries and added to unsweetened coconut flakes, cashews and sunflower seeds.  If I'd been really vigilant, I wold have soaked and dried my nuts and seeds.

I wanted something sweet to have on hand to curb my sweet cravings.  I also wanted to use up some grounds I had left from making Choffy and Coconut Milk.  I made these:

Chocolate Banana Dehydrator Cookies

Chocolate Banana Dehydrator Cookies
Grounds from 4 cups Choffy (about 8 T)
Grounds from 4 cups Coconut Milk (about 2 cups)
4 bananas
4 T sunflower seed butter

Spoon onto fruit leather sheets and dehydrate until firm.

Other things I packed included baby carrots, a bar of dark chocolate and some chili spiced mangoes.  Larabars and fruit leathers can also be useful, but I figured the trail mix was enough.

Not sure where my clothes fit!

Once arrived

Both of my aunts that I stayed with were kind enough to pick up some groceries for me, and since I had access to a fridge and cooking devices, I had them get a few staples that covered quite a few breakfasts and dinners, as well as a lunch or two.

The firs thing my son requested was almond butter and apples, and we had that almost every night!

For breakfast I had eggs most days, either hard boiled or with spinach (and occasionally cheese).

Lunch was harder when out and about, but some organic turkey wraps and carrots worked nicely.  I just wrapped some spinach and cheese with the turkey.

During my training, I had pretty much the same dinner every night.  My aunt thought I might want more variety, but I got enough from my lunches and snacks.  I had her get me a rotisserie chicken and some spinach.  Topped it off with some sliced almonds and craisins along with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  A couple of those days I also paired it with some of her home made gazpacho!

The little guy trying his first gazpacho!

All in all, though I didn't eat as well as I should have on this trip, I would have fared much worse without a little preparation.  I think next time, I might buy myself a portable blender so that I can make myself some smoothies!  That might help curb the sweet, creamy and caffeinated cravings I get when I travel!

I know what to do, so why can't I follow through?

As long as I can remember, I've been highly sensitive to my environment.  I remember feeling like an emotional roller coaster and would experience times where I'd be overwhelmed by a specific sensory input, such as sound.  I also constantly struggled to pay attention in school and learn "inside the box."  In early college I read about ADD, and thought "Aha!  That must be me!"  I went to a counselor to pursue a diagnosis, gathered original copies of my school files to give him and never followed up on an appointment to get "officially diagnosed."  I was never able to track those papers down since by the time I thought to look into it again, I could no longer find the practitioner.  I remember later taking a psychology class and learning about dendrites, which are your neuron's branchlike extensions that carry nerve input to the cells, and deciding that my problem was "overactive dendrites." Somewhere in there, I began experiencing the beginning of Fibromyalgia with Chronic Pain and Fatigue.  I always believed that these were all intertwined, but only recently has there been the beginnings of research to support it, such as this article, which connects them both as Autonomic Nervous System Dysfunction.

Executive Functioning and Chronic Pain

People with ADHD have difficulty with Executive Functioning, defined on Wikipedia as, "cognitive processes that regulate, control and manage other cognitive processes, such as planning, working memory, attention, problem solving, verbal reasoning, inhibition, mental flexibility, task switching, and initiation and monitoring of actions." In the educational setting, we often compare Executive Functioning to an "Executive Assistant" who helps to plan, execute and manage projects.  In Executive Functions, Self-Regulation, and Chronic Pain: A Review, they note that, "Chronic pain conditions may be associated with impairment in executive functions, which is not surprising given that the same brain regions are implicated in both."  In addition to the negative impact that executive function and self-regulatory issues can have on physical pain, physical pain can also have a negative impact in the other direction.  It was found that "self-regulatory strength is a limited resource that can be depleted or fatigued."  This presentation further supports the idea that chronic pain has a negative impact on persistence of self-regulatory tasks.

So what exactly does this mean for me?

In short, poor self-regulation skills can contribute to chronic pain and chronic pain can exhaust your stores of self-regulatory ability.  Almost all of the things we know to help increase wellness and decrease pain involve creating consistent positive habits.  Creating new habits requires a significant degree of self-regulation.  Well crap!  No wonder I've cycled through any number of diets and physical therapy programs without sticking to them! 

Unblocking the roadblocks on your path to wellness

I've been working on this question for years, but things have really started clicking for me personally in the last year or so.  I am embarking on a journey to research what works to help people with self-regulatory issues actively change their habits and make it stick.  In the mean time, I will share what I've learned from a personal standpoint that has really helped.

Find something that works

Now this may seem like a no brainer, but over the years I've noticed something about my self.  If I haven't noticed a significant change in two weeks - I am highly unlikely to keep it up.  This is especially difficult with fibromyalgia, since it is very hard to find something that is so quickly effective.  I'm not saying not to do things that you know will have long term positive consequences, but if you can find even one thing that has an immediate impact, it can increase your motivation to make the changes that don't. For Patricia Stephens, author of Reversing Chronic Disease, it took a diagnosis and medication for AD/HD to spark the healing process, then she went on to find natural ways to treat her issues without conventional medication.  I shared the things that have worked for me personally in my last blog post.  These things were so powerful, that it was easy to maintain them.  When I found stretches that stopped my chronic headaches in their tracks, it became much easier to do them than not to.  When I can see how eating grains can make me feel like I was hit by a mac truck in the morning, it takes almost no willpower to avoid the muffins in the staff room.  

Routine, routine, routine!

As a school psychologist, this is one thing that I encourage in all students with Executive Functioning issues.  For me, if it's not in a routine, I'm unlikely to do it.  Since bedtime is the one consistent part of my day, it helps to tie things to my bedtime routine.  This means it often takes me an hour to wind down for the night, but that process also helps to slow down my brain and prepare for sleep.  You can also plan routines around wake up, getting home, after meal times or any other natural transition in your day.  

Ditch black & white thinking

This is big!  When you lack self-regulation skills, moderation can be hard work!  For years, I would dive into something 100%, then fall completely out of it after one break. Food has been one of those things until very recently.  I'd try something that felt intuitively right, but never made enough of a difference to stick with it.  Now I realize that low carb diets felt good for me for a while mostly because I wasn't eating grains.  Now I've come to learn that I can eat more carbs and still feel good, as long as I stay away from most grains except rice.  I am finally able to make decisions about what I eat on a case by case basis.  If I'm tempted to eat something that I "shouldn't," I weigh the pros and cons.  Sometimes "but it's delicious" is a completely valid argument.  I sometimes acknowledge that I overindulged, but I never feel guilty about it or "throw the baby out with the bath water."

Listen to what your body has to say

When a grain of sand in the bathtub is extremely irritating to you as a child, you begin to learn to block things out.  When your body is constantly sending messages of pain and discomfort, you try your best to stop listening.  I have always said that I have a very low pain threshold, but a very high pain tolerance.  Having been through natural childbirth, I now know this to be true.  The thing is though, if you are ignoring what your body has to say, you might miss when something is starting to work.  More importantly, if you aren't paying attention to the signals your body is sending, you will likely persist longer in activities that aggravate your pain.  This is where the mindful moments I discussed in my last post can be useful.  Basically, set a reminder for yourself every hour to check your pain and tension levels.  This can take you a long way in awareness of what is going on in your body and how things progress.

Take care of the ones you love by taking care of yourself

For some of us, it may be much easier to do something for the sake of others than for ourselves.  My best persistence with self-care activities was when I was trying to get and stay pregnant.  Fixing my pain for myself was never enough, but fixing my body for the sake of even a future child suddenly became more motivating.  Partly for this reason, my pregnancy was the healthiest time of my adult life.  What I've needed to remind myself is that taking care of myself is the best thing I can possibly do to take care of the ones I love.  First of all, there's the concept of putting your mask on first before you put it on your child.  If you don't take care of yourself, you won't be as effective at caring for those close to you.  Also, those who love you are often pained at seeing you suffer.  Finally, if you have a child and want them to thrive, the best way of doing this is to be a strong role model for good personal care.  

Take time to plan your time

When you are lacking internal organization in your brain, it becomes imperative to create external structures to support organization in your life.  Plan time in your week to do the things you need to do to feel good.  If you don't schedule it, it is unlikely to happen.  I recently took a webinar with Marydee Sklar on her program, Seeing My Time.  In this program she walks you through the process of making the abstract concept of time more tangible by making it visual.  Some strategies she uses include using analog clocks to see the passing of time and always having your daily schedule in view.

I am continuing along this journey toward wellness and finding my way as I go.  Even if I don't always feel great in the moment, I am learning that every step I take toward self-awareness is a step in the right direction!

Things that have worked for me!

This isn't exactly about food outside the fact that changing my diet has been one of the single most powerful tools that has improved my well being.  Like many people with Fibromyalgia, Adrenal Fatigue and digestive issues, I have tried many things that haven't worked.  Add to that attention deficit/executive functioning issues which make it very difficult to start and stick to anything, and even things that might work in the long term are very difficult to maintain.  Turns out though, when something makes a serious and immediate impact, it is much easier to stick with!  I have had very few of these, but I thought it was worth sharing those things that have.  

Nutrition - I've tried all sorts of nutritional theories over the years and nothing really seemed to make a major difference until I tried eating Paleo/Primal.  I had gone gluten free before with no noticeable change, but cutting out all grains gave me more energy than I've had in my adult life for the first few weeks.  It went down a bit over the winter and with work stress, but as the sun has been out more, my energy has picked up more.  I've experimented with different foods, and discovered that the Perfect Health Diet has been the best fit for me so far, which includes white rice and is a little less restrictive.  When I had a ton of non-gluten grains and some legumes for my son's birthday, I felt like a mac truck hit me the next day.  I hadn't realized how much better my fatigue had gotten until I remembered having that feeling all the time!  If I have too much sugar I tend to get brain dead in the evening and just veg out.  I do plan on doing some experimentation with sprouted or fermented beans and non-gluten grains, but for now it's working for me pretty well. If I choose to eat something "forbidden," I don't stress about it.  I enjoy it with the awareness that it's worth it in the moment.  I'm not often tempted by most grains though, since it's rarely worth the way it makes me feel!

Acupuncture - I first started acupuncture about 13 years ago, and woke up for the first time pain free in years.  I got rear ended that day and it started to loose it's effectiveness.  I do believe that it was responsible for me getting healthy enough to have my son and a very healthy pregnancy.  In fact, it may have contributed to the fact that pregnancy was the healthiest time in my adult life.  I have had the occasional pain free moment following acupuncture, but not always.  It does, however, consistently reduce my tension and pain, especially when cupping or scraping is used.    

Myofascal Stretching - I was a chronic physical therapy dropout until I was trying to get pregnant and stuck to it until the physical therapist gave up on me.  At that point, I got referred to acupuncture.  However, there has been one stretching tool that made such a difference that I did them religiously for about 5 years.  These stretches targeted my chronic headaches that I had had about 50% of the time for at least a year.  The headaches stopped, and as long as I kept them up, they didn't come back.  After a while I got out of the habit, and it probably took another 5 years before the headaches came back.  Now I'm back to doing them every night.  I have searched online for something describing these stretches, but can't find anything that does.  I decided to share here what worked for me.

Fascia is the connective tissue surrounding your cells.  The way it was described to me, if you over stretch, the fascia can snap back like a rubber band.  Myofascal stretching uses micro stretches that you hold for a minute or so until you feel a release.  The ones I did focused on my neck tension.  It is important to note that the pictures below are exaggerated to show the difference in each move.  When I actually started doing them, you could barely see my head move.  The key is to stop the second you feel a slight stretch - not pain. Then hold for a minute.

Nightly headache prevention stretches:

1. Look down - hold

2. Tilt head to the side - hold

3.  Keep head tilted and look down - hold

4. Keep head tilted and look up - hold

5. Repeat steps 2-4 on other side

The above stretches worked most of the time and kept not only headaches at bay, but also improved my tendency to get car sick.  I have, on occasion though, experienced nauseous headaches or motion sickness.  The following stretches help with nausea so much that I stop and do them any time I feel it coming on, and they stop it in its tracks!

Anti-nausea stretches:

1. Lean head back with head support, either behind your head upright, or laying down (a towel behind your neck to support is helpful)

2. Look to one side - hold

3. Look to the other side - hold

This concept can be applied to other areas of tension by just passively stretching the area that is tense and holding for a minute or until released.  I have done this when my jaw is tight by simply holding my mouth open.  Just remember to stop and hold at a slight stretch sensation and before it feels like pain.  

Mindful Moments - When I learned the myofascial stretches, they also had me do another powerful exercise  which I like to call Mindful Moments.  I had a watch set to go off every hour on the hour.  When it went off, I just observed in the moment my level of pain and my level of tension.  This tool was very powerful in helping me observe my body as things progressed.  If I had a full blown headache, nothing outside of sleep could make it go away.  If, however, I could feel it creep up the back of my neck before it hit my head, I could stop and stretch and prevent the headache.  I'm actually thinking I need to do this again, so that I can observe how my body is reacting throughout the day to work tasks etc.

Movement - This has been something I get glimpses of every now and then, but with my past fatigue, it's been hard to get myself moving.  Now that I have more energy through diet, I'm getting into yoga.  I could see a difference doing hot yoga the last month, but as it's getting hotter outside, I haven't wanted to increase inflammation.  I'm working on finding good routines I can do at home, and hope I can maintain it since I'm starting to see the benefits.  I think the hot yoga was a good way to start for me, since it's a more immediate impact.  I do believe though that regular practice on my own will be a good thing.  Another thing that has helped when I do it is a daily 5-10 minute walk.  Recently, I've found a free app on my iPad called "Office Fitness" that gives a reminder at a set time of day to take a 5 minute guided movement break on an area of focus of your choosing.  I'm not using it every day, but when I do, I notice a difference!

In thinking about this post, I asked my friends "What healing approaches/techniques have had an immediate impact for you (difference within 2 weeks or so)?" Some of the answers I got included: Ancestralization/ Dagara Rituals, meditation, yoga, studying nonviolent communication, kickboxing, high dose vitamin D, crystals and stones, acupuncture mixed with cupping, compassion practice and mindfulness.

What strategies have had an immediate impact for you?  Comment below:

Pitfalls to Avoid on the Path to Healthy Eating

I haven't posted in a while because I have gotten into the idea of becoming a wellness coach to help other people find their own path to wellness and have been researching that.  I also started doing hot yoga, which hasn't killed me yet! After just three sessions, both my acupuncturist and massage therapist have noticed a difference in my back!  While I'm still eating whole foods and grain free, I've shifted my personal focus a bit on getting regular exercise and stress management.

I've also been reading a LOT about nutrition and wellness!

Over the last year, I've noticed a few pitfalls on the paths to healthy eating that I have tripped over myself.  I wanted to share with those of you looking to change your eating habits.  They are relevant to anyone wanting to eat healthier, no matter what that looks like to you.

Eating too much of one food - When I first tried paleo eating, I went overboard on nuts and eggs.  Nuts seemed like a great substitute for grains, but it turns out they were never meant to be consumed in the quantities that we eat grains.  In fact, if you think about what a caveman would eat, the time it would take to actually get to the nut would make it very difficult to consume more than a handful in a day.  Some of the reasons to limit your nut intake can be found on Empowered Sustenance, my new favorite blog!   I've also heard of people developing an allergy or sensitivity to a food when they eat too much of it.  When I cut out nuts and eggs for the autoimmune protocol, I had what seemed like a possible reaction to them when I reintroduced.  Now I seem to do OK if I have them only in moderation.  If you think about it though, we were meant to consume a variety of foods, so avoid going overboard on any one thing.

Excluding or severely limiting one macro-nutrient - I have always felt more energy on low carb diets.  Now that I realize I don't process grains well, I wonder how much of that was low carb and how much was cutting out high carb grains.  Now I'm finding that I may need more starches to help curb my sugar cravings.  I'm still working on that balance.  Matt Stone, in his book Diet Recovery, describes his experience of initial positive results on paleo, but then a general decline followed after an extensive period of low carb eating.  Most of his criticisms of paleo surround the low carb version and the overly restrictive dogmatic interpretation of it.  Recently, I've been reading about the Perfect Health Diet, which seems like a better balance to me.

Dogmatic thinking - We are all different, so it stands to reason that one diet approach will not work for everyone.  Most people can agree that we should eat more whole foods, but outside of that, opinions vary drastically.  Integrative Nutrition has a free e-book available that discusses the importance of bioindividuality.    As they say in their book, "Nutrition is the only science in which two parties can comprehensively prove two different theories that are diametrically opposed to one another."  Start with a diet plan that makes intuitive sense to you and then experiment mindfully to explore how different foods make you feel.

Black and white thinking - I have always been an extremist thinker and it's easy to approach things with an all or nothing mentality.  When I'd try low carb dieting, I'd loose some weight for a few weeks, but then I'd go back to whatever eating habits I had before when I'd inevitably "fall off the wagon."  If you restrict your diet so severely that any slip makes you start all over again, then you will never be able to maintain new eating habits.  If, instead, you consider each time you eat how it will impact you and how it will make you feel, sometimes a little "cheat" now and then is worth the results.

Forbidding indulgences - If you can never have the things you love, you will never stay on the path to healthy eating.  Find healthier versions of those things if you can, and limit them to a special treat.  If you don't plan you indulgences, you are much more likely to eat highly processed and unnatural treats when you have a craving.

Don't stress about it! -  While it might be helpful to start with a restrictive diet while you figure out how you react to things, consider it an experiment and play around with it.  Stress negatively impacts your digestion and puts you in a fight or flight mode.  What good is the perfect diet if you're not digesting your food well!

So, the bottom line is, vary your foods, find what's right for you and above all, have fun with your eating!

10 Fruit Sweetened Deserts!

I can't think of anyone who wouldn't benefit from expanding their arsenal of deserts sweetened only with fruit!  The nice thing about paleo friendly deserts is that, unless they have eggs, they are most often vegan as well, so many of them fit on almost any diet.  Most of these are super easy as well, so you have no excuse to give in to your sweet tooth with processed junk!

I've noted after the title of each one if it is vegan (V) or autoimmune (A) friendly.

Paleo Mug Cake - You heard it right, it's a mug cake, and it's paleo!  The first time I made it exactly as written with almond butter and it stuck pretty bad to the mug.  The next time I tried it with sunflower seed butter and it popped right out of the mug neatly, as pictured above.  I'm not a big fan of using microwaves, but sometimes it's so convenient.  I'm sure this would also work in muffin tins.

Avocado Banana (Chocolate) Pudding (V) (A if you leave out the chocolate) - This, and the banana "ice cream" are my absolute go-to deserts that kids love.  I've only made the chocolate one, and I found it needed more banana for sweetness, so now I do 2 bananas to 1 avocado and it's perfectly delightful!

Apple Sauce (A/V) - The first time I made apple sauce, I tried it without adding anything and was amazed that it was just apples.  It has a wonderfully buttery texture (for lack of a better descriptor) that you just don't get from store bought apple sauce.  I made mine with peeled apples, but you can keep the peels in as well.  I've also tried apple crumbles with a nut or seed flower mixture on top.

Paleo Everyday Cookies (V) - These are awesome!  They come from the "Eat Like a Dinosaur" book, which is a great resource for kids.  Since I seem to do better with nuts than seeds, I tried this with sunflower seed butter and pumpkin seeds.  They were a bit green, but tasty.  My nephew said they looked like something unappetizing, but then ate it up and asked for more!

Banana "Ice Cream" (A/V) - This is about as simple as it gets.  Freeze a banana, and put it in the food processor.  I like to add cocoa powder and frozen cherries!

Paleo Crepes with Banana - I tried this last weekend and it was pretty tasty, but I'm still not sure about eggs.  I might try adding a little more coconut flower next time so it's less egg-y and more flour-y.  It worked well with banana and nut or seed butter (if not autoimmune).

Fruit Rolls (V/A) - This is the one thing I haven't tried making yet, and I don't know why.  I guess it's because we like plain old dried fruit just fine, and it's one of the few fruit only sweetened deserts you can buy at the store (outside of fruit itself of course).  Still, it's a convenient thing to have handy.

Raw Truffles (V) - There are all kinds of raw date sweetened truffles out there that are good for a sweet tooth and a good compromise on sugar.  I'd go easy on them, but they are nice on occasion.

Macaroons (V) - This is similar to the raw truffles, but with coconut.  You could use carob powder to make it autoimmune friendly. I've also tried ones with fruit and coconut oil, but they needed a little honey to hold it together.

Fruit Popsicles (V/A) - These are great to have on hand in summer!  I just threw in whatever fruit I wanted in the blender and froze.  I added some veggies to mine according to color.  I believe the ones pictured included one that with avocado banana chocolate pudding, one with strawberries, banana, apples and carrot, and one with apples, banana and kale. Just make sure the veggies are good and blended so they aren't in chunks.  Fruit in chunks can be a fun surprise!

Playing with Food!

My first adventure with elimination diets started when I was nursing a colicky baby and thought that something I was eating might be contributing to his fussiness.  I went on the Total Elimination Diet, only at the time there were no potatoes, millet or lamb included, so there was basically one food from each food group I could eat.  I managed to stick to it successfully for two solid weeks, which was pretty impressive for a sleep deprived mom who was working full time.  It did nothing for the boy's colic!  I really saw no benefit from staying on it, so I went off "cold turkey."  That's when I realized it had done something - it moderately improved my own digestion, which I didn't really notice until I was eating everything again.  So, it didn't tell me what was bothering my son, or irritating my digestion.  What it did tell me was this: if I could stick strictly to a diet with one food from each food group for two weeks whilst staying up in the night with a screaming infant, working full time at a new job with several litigation issues and going through a divorce, I could do pretty much anything for two weeks!

Skip ahead three years and you'd find me at my fatigue rock bottom.  You'd think, how could I be more fatigued than when you weren't getting any sleep?  It's amazing the reserves of energy your body can produce to get you through the day when a baby is involved.  Last year, I realized that the Celexa I had been taking for anxiety was gradually sapping me of all motivation, and had made me gain a lot of weight. I decided to quit in the middle of the school year.  This was especially brave since it was my most stressful year ever, both personally and professionally, outside of the year described above.   I was exhausted both physically and emotionally and when I got home from work all I ever wanted to do was nap.  I knew I had to do something major to gain some healing momentum.

I started with an allergy elimination diet from Whole Life Nutrition, which I adhered to strictly, slowly introducing things until I finally reintroduced gluten after about 3 months.  I charted my energy level, my mood and all kinds of things you don't need to share with others on this Track & Share App. What it told me was SQUAT!  Nothing I reintroduced seemed to make any difference, or the difference it made was minor.  I concluded that it must just be stress and it didn't matter what I eat as long as it was moderately healthy.  What it did do for me though was teach me that I CAN make all of my own meals from scratch and to appreciate quality ingredients.  It also helped me to loose a lot more weight than what I'd started to loose on Weight Watchers.

Last summer, I learned that I have Adrenal Fatigue, which further corroborated my theory that it was "just stress" and not something I was eating.  I started a new round of supplements, but it was hard to tell if they were helping or if I was feeling better after a fantastically rejuvenating summer.  The first day back for the school year, I instantly regressed back to headaches and "brain fog" just at the association of work and the stressful year prior.  I'd been reading about paleo eating, and I decided I should give it a try (urged along by the fact that my pantry had been invaded by moths who infested all of my grains).

It's worth noting here, that I have done very little for my health that made an IMMEDIATE and DRASTIC change, or even a noticeable change worth continuing a consistent health habit.  This is part of the reason I have had notoriously bad willpower in the past.  When I started eating paleo, my headaches and brain fog went away immediately and I had more energy for the first few weeks than I can remember having in my adult life!  I planned on trying one cheat day a week, and indulged in a quality gluten free red velvet cupcake from one of my favorite healthy restaurants and almost immediately regretted it.  This told me that what was likely bothering most me was grains.  Of course the Whole Life Nutrition diet didn't help, since the whole first stage involves certain grains and small legumes for protein!  When I started paleo, I lost another 10 lb when I'd thought I'd settled in to a "comfortable" weight, loosing 40 lb in all.

My energy peak did not last forever due to a variety of factors.  Work got stressful, winter hit, I wasn't getting out and walking so much and I went off the supplements because they were too expensive for something I couldn't tell was helping.  I also believe that I may have gone overboard on eggs and almonds.  After the holidays, when I got a little more loose with my food, I decided to "reset" by trying the Autoimmune Protocol, which cuts out eggs, nuts, seeds and nightshades.   Once again, I didn't notice a huge difference, except (keeping it real here) for some reason I started getting some smelly gas (which is rarely an issue for me).  My best guess is from all the coconut I was eating in place of nuts etc.  After about a month, I jumped back into some of the forbidden food.  I also have played a bit with dairy, and though it doesn't seem to have an immediate digestive affect, I think it may be the cause of a recent breakout.  I'm not too sure about nuts (at least almonds), and eggs seem to be hit or miss (but I realized the miss times may have been hormone induced).

I'm still playing with my food to see how I react to things.  I've been researching to develop my own variation of a paleo elimination diet to see if there's something else bothering me.  Basically, there will be an Allergy Elimination Phase, an Autoimmune Elimination Phase and a Paleo Elimination Phase.  Stay tuned for details as I develop my plan!

Meanwhile, I'm avoiding grains almost entirely and most processed foods and sugar. I'm looking into the effects of different food preparation methods in reducing antinutrients in legumes, nuts and seeds.  I used to be "all or nothing" when it came to my diet, but now when I choose to eat something that's not "approved," I do it with full consciousness that the experience of eating it better be worth any result of eating something I shouldn't.  I believe that everyone is different in what works for them, and if you are thriving on the diet you're eating - keep at it!  If, on the other hand, you find that something is not quite right, keep playing with your food until you figure out what works and what doesn't.

Ten Uses for Shredded Chicken

A whole chicken is probably the cheapest way to get quality animal protein, but it can be a pain to use.  When I first joined C'est Naturelle Farms farm share and started getting whole chickens, I was ambitious enough to cut apart the chicken, use the breasts for chicken nuggets and grind the rest up to make sausages like these Chicken Apple Breakfast Sausages.  Then things got busier and I just started cooking a bird in the crock-pot about once a week.  Then I make chicken stock with the bones and 1 T vinegar and 1 t salt.  Usually I have a lot of shredded chicken leftover, so I decided to gather some ideas to use it more creatively.

Stir fry - This is my go-to option for a quick meal.  The other day when I was sick, I didn't want to think about dinner at all.  I swung by the grocery store to pick up a bag of pre-cut "stir-fry" vegetables and threw them in the wok with some oil and shredded chicken from the freezer.  Once they were almost cooked I added some coconut aminos, orange juice and a little flavored balsamic vinegar (Navidi's Honey Ginger Balsamic) and some seasoning salt.  Then I added a few mandarin oranges and heated through.  I was able to make a dinner that my son enjoyed and had time to do a few crossword puzzles with him between stirs.

Chicken Salad - I have literally just thrown some chicken in a dish, added some lemon juice and seasoning salt and eaten it on a bed of spinach.  If you want something more substantial, I'll be trying this Avocado Chicken Salad recipe that came highly recommended.

Chicken with Peanut Sauce - I made this tasty Zucchini Noodles with Chicken and Tangy Peanut Sauce recipe a while back and I'm not sure why I haven't made it since.  I wasn't expecting it to freeze well but it did.  It's also very pretty to look at.

Tacos/ Lettuce Wrap - I usually use ground beef in tacos, but chicken is a great option as well.  It can be as simple as throwing some salsa in with your chicken and putting it in a large lettuce leaf with olives, avocados and whatever else you like on your tacos.  I enjoy it on a bed of greens with some lime juice, but I'm eager to try making my own tortillas, such as these Primal Tex Mex Tortillas.

Pizza - One of my son's more frequent meal requests is pizza, despite the fact that we haven't found quite the right crust recipe yet.  Cauliflower only was a bit crumbly and coconut flower was way too dry. I recall almond flower was decent, but I've had to cut down on almonds recently.  I even tried a crust made mostly of cheese when I figured out that I do OK with dairy.  It was tasty, but didn't sit quite right - I guess I might have been pushing the dairy envelope on that one.  Today I tried one using cauliflower, carrot, kale and coconut flower.  I thought perhaps the combination of cauliflower and coconut flower might balance each other out.  It turned out way too floppy, so next time I'll try something with more dry flour than veggies.  I think that this was the almond flour recipe I used that worked pretty well: Gluten Free Thin Crust Pizza.  You can make it with pesto, marinara or make your own homemade BBQ sauce (which I plan on trying soon).

Fried "Rice" - I don't know how I've managed to get this far without trying cauliflower "rice." I've heard good things from friends about it, and I'm eager to try it soon.  This recipe looks like a good simple choice: Chicken Fried "Rice".

Chili - I modified this Pumpkin Chicken Chili with Garam Masala in place of some of the chili powder to make it less spicy.  It was a little heavy on the coriander, but it was pretty darn tasty overall and a good texture (I'd been leery of legume free chili recipes up to this point).  I will definitely plan on posting my final recipe once I work out the kinks!

Chicken Soup - You can combine your homemade chicken stock and leftover chicken into a tasty soup with just a few vegetables and seasonings.  I'd like to try something more adventurous like this Tom Kha Gai soup one of these days.

Cobb Salad - Make a salad with some chicken, egg, bacon, avocado and anything else that suits your fancy.  Use a vinaigrette dressing, or blue cheese if you eat dairy.

Squash Casserole - When we got a bunch of squash in the fall and I asked my son what he wanted to do with it, he said he wanted to make a squash casserole.  I hadn't really been making casseroles much since going mostly primal.  I used some chicken I had leftover and some homemade chicken broth and it turned out pretty well.  The boy wasn't too sure about it because he's not that big a fan of chicken, but it went over well at the potluck I brought it to.

4 cups winter squash
3 cups chicken
2 cups chicken broth
3 cups carrots
2 t salt
2 t cinnamon
1/2 t cloves
1/2 t nutmeg
Almond or other nut or seed meal

Cook at 350 until squash is soft - about 30 min.  You can add some almond meal or something similar at the end if you'd like to give it a bread crumb texture.

And so it begins...

If you told me a year ago I'd be making almost all of my own food from scratch and stop eating grains entirely, I might not have believed you.  After years with Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue and poor absorption of nutrients, I knew that I should eat better, but as a single working mom who has the time? Well, it turns out when you don't feel the need to nap all the time - you have a lot more time to cook! Plus with a little planning and the right equipment, it doesn't even have to take all that much time.

The problem I find when researching paleo recipes and meal plans is that they often seem way more complicated than they need to be.  Meal plans often expect you to make three meals from scratch in one day, involve multiple course meals and require special ingredients you need to go out of your way for.  Those things can be fun to experiment with when you can, but day to day most people can't sustain that amount of time devoted to eating.

I know a lot of people interested in reducing processed foods and learning more about grain free, paleo or primal eating, but they don't think they have the time or energy needed to start.  I've spent a lot of time learning about it myself, but I think in the end we can make things more complicated than they need to be.  My goal is to give tips to simplify the process of eating well.  For me, that involves cutting out grains and eating whole minimally processed foods.

The following meal plan is what a typical week might look like for me.  I often eat leftovers for breakfast and lunch and rarely cook more than one involved meal in a day.  They are also mostly one dish meals, since I find that the simplest approach to mid week meals.  I also like to make big batches and freeze portions for future meals on the go.  The recipes aren't always exact because I often play things by ear with what I have on hand and tweak them as I go.  Most of them are fairly flexible with the specific kinds of meat, veggies and seasonings I use.  They are also mostly kid friendly.  I kept them Autoimmune Paleo (AIP) friendly, since it's easier to add in eggs, nuts, seeds and nightshades in than it is to take them out.

Realistic Paleo Meal Plan - Autoimmune Paleo (AIP) Friendly

Prepare snacks for the week including lots of veggies and fruit, trail mix with dried fruit and coconut (add nuts or seeds if not AIP).  If you have a dehydrator, beef jerky (you can find a recipe here) comes in mighty handy for emergency protein.  Also, making your own kale chips (recipe here) can give you a nice crunchy snack without the expense of the store bought kind.

A note on breakfast - eggs are a nice option if you can eat them, but be cautious going overboard.  I believe I did early on so I  had to take a break from them and am still not sure about them for me.  Another great addition to my breakfasts are mini waffles like this one here.  I'm working on an autoimmune friendly one, but I'm still working on the right density combination.  I'll post the recipe when I've gotten it consistently fluffy.  Also, I drink homemade broth every weekday morning since it's supposed to be good for healing and I make a chicken in the crockpot most weeks.

Sunday

Breakfast - Yam or sweet potato hash browns and ground sausage (or other seasoned meat).  Brown 1 lb of meat then take out of the pan.  Melt coconut oil to coat pan and add 3 large shredded yams or sweet potatoes (a food processor saves a lot of time here).  Cook on medium until soft (about 20 min) and turn up a bit to brown.  Add the meat and season with seasoning salt (such as Herbamare) to taste. You can probably get the hash browns crispier by blotting some of the moisture out with towels before cooking, but I don't mind them a little soft.

Lunch - Tuna Salad on Spinach.  Combine tuna with diced pickles and add some avocado and seasoning to taste. I've also used a touch of coconut oil, or mustard if not AIP.

Dinner - Stir Fry.  Slice meat of choice thin and stir fry with veggies.  Broccoli and mushrooms are some of my favorite.  You can also add greens or cabbage.  Season with coconut aminos, garlic, and a touch of powdered ginger.  My son likes when I squeeze mandarin orange juice in and add some mandarin slices toward the end. (For an extra speedy meal, try a pre-cut veggie mix.)

Monday

Breakfast - Hash Browns

Lunch - Stir Fry

Dinner - Crockpot Chicken.  Throw a chicken in the crockpot the night before with chunks of winter squash or root vegetables.  Sprinkle with salt, garlic powder and onion powder or other seasonings of your choice.  Do not add extra water since the juice of the chicken will keep it moist.  Turn it on low in the morning. If frozen to start, check for doneness with a knife.  If it's still pink, turn on high for the last hour or so.  When ready to serve, pull the chicken out into a bowl so it doesn't fall apart in the pot.  Cut off what you need and let it cool to pull off the rest of the shredded chicken.  You can throw the carcass in with water to make broth and cook up to 24 hours with 1 T vinegar and 1 t salt.  If you don't have a crockpot, try roasting, but I recommend a crockpot to save a lot of time! (For an extra speedy meal, try baby carrots and/or a bag of pre-cut butternut squash.)

Tuesday

Breakfast - Hash Browns

Lunch - Crockpot Chicken

Dinner - Shepherd's Pie.  Brown ground meat of choice.  Add veggies of choice. I like green beans, peas, mushrooms, carrots and other shredded root veggies.  Season with garlic powder, onion powder and season salt, such as Trocomare, to taste.  Steam a head of cauliflower or three peeled and cut up sweet potatoes per lb of meat.  Mash with 1 T coconut oil and add garlic powder and season salt.  Top the meat veggie mix with mashed cauliflower or sweet potato and bake for 20-25 min at 350.  For a browner top you can brush with egg and/or broil for 5 min at the end, but make sure your dish is broiler proof.  (For an extra speedy meal, try a frozen veggie mix with peas).

Wednesday

Breakfast - Shepherd's Pie

Lunch - Chicken Salad - Mix shredded chicken with avocado and season to taste.  Eat over a bed of spinach or other green.  Garnish with other veggies such as carrots or bell peppers.

Dinner - Crockpot Roast - Same process as chicken - try different seasonings and veggies.  I'm still looking for my favorite roast recipe.

Thursday

Breakfast - Shepherd's Pie

Lunch - Crockpot Roast

Dinner - Taco Salad.  Brown ground meat.  Season with garlic powder, onion powder and salt.  Add to spinach or salad greens with olives, avocado and lime.  You can season with a little red pepper and add salsa if eating night shades.  This is a great option for group gatherings, since others can opt to add cheese, sour cream, tortillas etc. if they choose.  It's a game night favorite for me!

Friday

Breakfast - Crockpot Roast

Lunch - Taco Salad

Dinner - Ham & Pineapple Stir Fry. Heat about a half cup of chopped pineapple with juice then add 1-1.5 lb chopped ham.  Season with 1-2 T coconut aminos and 1 T maple syrup  When I made it, the boy thought it was too salty with 2 T coconut aminos, so I will only add 1 T next time. Add veggie of choice.


Saturday

Breakfast - Bacon and Sauteed Kale or Spinach (you can include egg if not AIP).  Season to taste.

Lunch - Sushi Salad - Chop cucumbers, bell peppers and mangoes and place on a bed of kelp noodles.  Add cooked shrimp and smoked salmon.  Season with coconut aminos and sushi vinegar or flavored vinegar (I use Navidi's Honey Ginger White Balsamic).  Top with ginger and sprinkle pieces of nori when ready to eat.

Dinner - Burgers, Broccoli Salad and Sweet Potato fries (or you can try parsnip fries).  I make the Big-O Burgers with bacon and mushrooms inside found in the Nom Nom Paleo app (burgers pictured here), but you can use any recipe with quality grass fed beef or ground turkey.  Combine broccoli with lemon juice or vinaigrette and raisins.  Cut sweet potatoes (or parsnips) in fry sized pieces, coat with olive oil and bake at 415 for 20 min, flipping half way.  Season with mustard or sugar free ketchup if not AIP.