Two months seems like a short amount of time and a lifetime.
I remember feeling that way about summer break when I was in school. When I planned out the summer and imagined all the things I would enjoy and accomplish, it seemed my two-month break was never long enough. By summer's end, though, I felt like a different person - as though all the things I had experienced helped me emerge with a refreshed mindset, ready to tackle a new year with new challenges and dreams.
As I began #myleapjourney with the MRT test and the ImmunoCalm diet protocol, I was just focused on the next day. If I looked too far ahead, it was daunting and full of the unknown. One of the things that helped me through the overwhelm was making a weekly plan. I created a template with fields for supplements, meal planning, and ingredient tracking which then helped me with grocery shopping, knowing when to thaw meat/veggies from the freezer in the fridge, and identify the best times in the day to prep food (having a 2-year-old often requires flexibility and creativity to get meal prep done!).
I am also in the habit of using two food-tracking apps which help me identify any major deficiencies: Cronometer and mySymptoms. Both of these apps require daily entry of ingredient-level detail for all meals. It's a bit tedious but very helpful!
Cronometer has a whole-food database which tracks over 60+ micronutrients and supports specialized diets. With just a few taps of the screen, I can see my macronutrient ratios (fat, protein, carbs), and also make sure I'm getting enough micronutrients such as calcium, folate, iron, etc., and it shows me where the amounts of these nutrients come from in my food consumption that day. I usually key in what I'm going to eat a day ahead so I can make sure I'm prepared for the next day and know I'm getting enough of what my body needs.
The mySymptoms app was recommended by my dietitian as a way to track not only food but any symptoms I experience along the way. The symptom-tracking ultimately helps the user identify trends in how they feel based on what they've eaten. The trick here is making sure to focus on one new item at a time over the course of 2-3 days since symptoms can take a little while to appear at times.
So back to the long and short of it. At this point, 60 days in, I would say 60 days sounds short but feels long. I can remember how I was eating before I started the protocol, and I remember how bad I felt and the severity of my symptoms. And yet I feel I've been eating according to the protocol for longer than 60 days. I've developed some systems and routines that help me get through and have refined some cooking processes that make food prep a shorter, more enjoyable process. I'll share some of these tips and tricks in another post.
Regarding my progress, it was slow at first - slower than the average - but I'm in a pretty good place right now. I can usually identify if a food is an issue for me (since some of my "green" - a.k.a. "non-reactive/allowed" - foods have been) and add it to my do-not-eat list. It's empowering to make those decisions for myself based on how I feel after eating a food. I used to just eat whatever sounded good/healthy/filling, but now I'm actually listening to my body. Sometimes it's disappointing, but I don't want to go back to the physical state I was in 60 days ago.
Next steps: I've got 30 more days on this rotation of "green" (non-reactive/allowed) foods. Then, I can begin testing foods that were not included in the MRT. I've got a list of foods I want to try such as plantains, sardines, acorn squash, pumpkin seeds, etc., so I'm looking forward to adding in some more diversity. I am supposed to wait closer to 6 months before trying any of my "yellow" (reactive) foods, so I will likely hold off until January 2019. I want to give my body plenty of time to heal...and I'll also need to decide which of those foods really are important to me to include in my regular diet. No sense adding something back in that I don't really care about if it has the potential to cause a flare.
Here's to the next 30 days in #myleapjourney!
Monday, August 6, 2018
Sunday, July 22, 2018
It's all about perspective
Has anyone ever asked you: What is the one thing you would choose to eat if you had to eat it every day for the rest of your life? What's your answer?
In the past, I've probably joked about how I could eat half a loaf of bread at a time (no, seriously...I used to do that) or a mountain of cinnamon oatmeal with almond butter.
In response to this question, some people might name a dessert like fudge chocolate cake or a decadent treat like truffle mac & cheese. For others, it's a bag of potato chips or a sleeve of Girl Scout cookies.
These days, I'm not eating the things I would have listed years, even months, ago. I don't have that luxury if I want to feel well. But to be honest, I'm really enjoying what I can eat. There is freedom within the constrains of the ImmunoCalm protocol.
Isn't that true with life? For example, God provided the Ten Commandments and other laws to protect us - to not only remind us that we are imperfect and desperately need Him, but also to show us how fulfilling life can be within the context of the standards He has set for us. When we know what to stay away from because it will hurt us, it gives us freedom to enjoy His creation and live our lives to the full.
I realize more and more how fulfilling (and filling) it can be to eat whole, fresh foods. For example, it takes a little time to cut up a zucchini, but choosing a variety of techniques really helps. Here are three different takes on zucchini, spices, and a protein:
Isn't that true with life? For example, God provided the Ten Commandments and other laws to protect us - to not only remind us that we are imperfect and desperately need Him, but also to show us how fulfilling life can be within the context of the standards He has set for us. When we know what to stay away from because it will hurt us, it gives us freedom to enjoy His creation and live our lives to the full.
I realize more and more how fulfilling (and filling) it can be to eat whole, fresh foods. For example, it takes a little time to cut up a zucchini, but choosing a variety of techniques really helps. Here are three different takes on zucchini, spices, and a protein:
Steamed spiralized zucchini with steamed cod, sprinkled with turmeric |
Coined zucchini roasted in coconut oil and sprinkled with turmeric, surrounding ground, grassfed beef |
Elongated, coined zucchini baked in a convection oven in coconut oil with basil and turmeric, surrounding ground lamb and basil meatballs |
When faced with my current diet limitations, I find it's more exciting and delicious to change things up. This is *big* coming from someone who is such a creature of habit like myself. I typically thrive off routine and consistency. However, I think I would be much less successful on this protocol if I did the same thing for each meal in the rotation.
I'm learning so much from this experience! Feel free to comment if you have other ideas for how to prepare zucchini - I'd love to try something new.
I'm learning so much from this experience! Feel free to comment if you have other ideas for how to prepare zucchini - I'd love to try something new.
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
When you can't eat breakfast
If 10 people were sitting in a diner ordering breakfast, I bet half of them would choose sweet and half would choose savory. Fruity oatmeal, nutty pancakes with maple syrup, a breakfast hash, or scrambled eggs with bacon. Or maybe something a little lighter like a hard-boiled egg and some tomato slices or even a small jar of overnight oats.
So what's a girl to do when she can't eat oatmeal, wheat (any gluten), potatoes, eggs, dairy or even almond milk?
This ImmunoCalm elimination diet approach has required much creativity when it comes to breakfast, and I simply do not have the options available to me to make a "normal" breakfast.
BUT, instead of getting frustrated, I chose to get cooking. Here are a few of my favorite breakfasts on rotation right now.
These turmeric coconut wraps are a special treat (read: expensive), but they help liven up breakfast into something more than just a pile of sauteed veggies. There's nothing wrong with sauteed veggies - it's what I'm surviving on! - but when you have them three times a day, a yellow wrap makes you feel fancy.
Homemade bone broth was a major win in my book, especially with these delicious leftover carrots and celery sticks. I'll be adding more to my next batch!
Many days, breakfast is green and brown (green beans or green peas or spinach topped with ground beef or ground lamb, or sometimes the occasional white fish like cod or tilapia).
This picture shows two ingredients I am now questioning. I think I may be sensitive to brussels sprouts or at least to this many of them at once. I've taken them out of my diet and may try adding back in a small portion in a little while, but for now I'm enjoying not having tummy pain.
Tilapia. So...I've been informed tilapia is not really a fish. That statement in general made me skeptical; however, there is concern about tilapia from China and what they feed on. I'm still researching but for now, I'll lay off the tilapia and focus on cod (found a great deal at Sprouts recently) and wild salmon.
To wrap it up, I'm learning not to put meals in a proverbial box. Breakfast doesn't have to be sweet or savory or "normal" - it can be leftovers, something fresh, a salad, a meat patty...whatever fuels you for the start of your day!
So what's a girl to do when she can't eat oatmeal, wheat (any gluten), potatoes, eggs, dairy or even almond milk?
This ImmunoCalm elimination diet approach has required much creativity when it comes to breakfast, and I simply do not have the options available to me to make a "normal" breakfast.
BUT, instead of getting frustrated, I chose to get cooking. Here are a few of my favorite breakfasts on rotation right now.
Turmeric coconut wrap from Thrive Market filled with sauteed peas red kidney beans, sprinkled with Redmond's real salt |
Steamed spinach along with boiled carrots and celery leftovers from making homemade bone broth (the texture and rich taste was amazing), topped with wild pink salmon from Costco. |
Grass fed beef patty atop green beans sauteed in coconut oil |
Brussels sprouts sauteed in olive oil with a side of tilapia, sprinkled with lemon juice and Redmond's real salt |
Tilapia. So...I've been informed tilapia is not really a fish. That statement in general made me skeptical; however, there is concern about tilapia from China and what they feed on. I'm still researching but for now, I'll lay off the tilapia and focus on cod (found a great deal at Sprouts recently) and wild salmon.
To wrap it up, I'm learning not to put meals in a proverbial box. Breakfast doesn't have to be sweet or savory or "normal" - it can be leftovers, something fresh, a salad, a meat patty...whatever fuels you for the start of your day!
Saturday, July 7, 2018
What I ate today
These types of posts are always interesting - to see what someone really eats in a day. I will make a disclaimer and say my portions are often bigger than what is shown (if there is more in the skillet than will fit on the plate or in the bowl), but the pictures show the complete range of foods I ate in one day. I may do a few of these, but let's just start with one.
My goals each day are to subscribe strictly to my ImmunoCalm protocol in terms of allowed foods and seasonings, eat enough protein, fat, and carbohydrates in proportion, and find a way to enjoy what I'm eating.
For me, I try to savor each process:
Sometimes this means waking up earlier to get food prep done or working on it during our son's naptime or when I could have some downtime in the evening, but it's worth it for me to find a way to enjoy the limited list of foods.
Breakfast: Today was a full bowl of ground lamb and basil meatballs atop a bed of green beans sauteed in the fat from the lamb. I have found using the meat fat to saute is one of the most flavorful ways to prepare vegetables! This is a new discovery for me - and probably one I would have balked at just months ago. Our society has shunned the word "fat" so much it leaves a bad taste in one's mouth (pun intended), but I'm learning so much about the importance of fat as fuel and brain function. This breakfast was delicious!
Lunch: Leftover roasted chicken and oven roasted zucchini with coconut oil and Redmond's real salt. Not shown: A whole tray of zucchini "coins" roasted until almost crispy. I ate two whole zucchini with this meal.
Snack: Organic, sprouted quinoa. Since my diagnosis of gluten sensitivity, I've learned a lot about grains in general. Here is a link to some information regarding why sprouted quinoa is more beneficial than conventional quinoa, including improved digestibility and nutritional availability.
Note: I prepared enough quinoa for my snack this afternoon plus my snack tonight at the same time and put a bowl in the refrigerator for after dinner.
Dinner: Roasted bok choy and green beans (with olive oil and Redmond's real salt) with lemon and garlic sauteed shrimp.
Snack: Banana, blueberry, and Malk's pecan milk smoothie, organic pecan pieces from Nuts.com, and more sprouted quinoa.
Over the years, I've developed a habit of snacking at night, so my body really wants to sleep on a full stomach. Plus, with this elimination diet plan, I have to be careful to make sure I eat enough, so a top-off snack at night is always on the menu. What better way to end the day than with a cool, refreshing smoothie?
I hope you've enjoyed seeing a day-in-the-life on this ImmunoCalm protocol. Each protocol is unique to the person and their sensitivities, and my understanding is that our sensitivities can change over time. My hope is to get to a point of more diverse food inclusion and then a good regimen of rotating foods so I don't develop new sensitivities and can enjoy a wide spectrum of foods!
My goals each day are to subscribe strictly to my ImmunoCalm protocol in terms of allowed foods and seasonings, eat enough protein, fat, and carbohydrates in proportion, and find a way to enjoy what I'm eating.
For me, I try to savor each process:
- preparing the food
- taking a picture of the food
- consuming the food
Sometimes this means waking up earlier to get food prep done or working on it during our son's naptime or when I could have some downtime in the evening, but it's worth it for me to find a way to enjoy the limited list of foods.
Breakfast: Today was a full bowl of ground lamb and basil meatballs atop a bed of green beans sauteed in the fat from the lamb. I have found using the meat fat to saute is one of the most flavorful ways to prepare vegetables! This is a new discovery for me - and probably one I would have balked at just months ago. Our society has shunned the word "fat" so much it leaves a bad taste in one's mouth (pun intended), but I'm learning so much about the importance of fat as fuel and brain function. This breakfast was delicious!
Lunch: Leftover roasted chicken and oven roasted zucchini with coconut oil and Redmond's real salt. Not shown: A whole tray of zucchini "coins" roasted until almost crispy. I ate two whole zucchini with this meal.
Snack: Organic, sprouted quinoa. Since my diagnosis of gluten sensitivity, I've learned a lot about grains in general. Here is a link to some information regarding why sprouted quinoa is more beneficial than conventional quinoa, including improved digestibility and nutritional availability.
Note: I prepared enough quinoa for my snack this afternoon plus my snack tonight at the same time and put a bowl in the refrigerator for after dinner.
Dinner: Roasted bok choy and green beans (with olive oil and Redmond's real salt) with lemon and garlic sauteed shrimp.
Snack: Banana, blueberry, and Malk's pecan milk smoothie, organic pecan pieces from Nuts.com, and more sprouted quinoa.
Over the years, I've developed a habit of snacking at night, so my body really wants to sleep on a full stomach. Plus, with this elimination diet plan, I have to be careful to make sure I eat enough, so a top-off snack at night is always on the menu. What better way to end the day than with a cool, refreshing smoothie?
I hope you've enjoyed seeing a day-in-the-life on this ImmunoCalm protocol. Each protocol is unique to the person and their sensitivities, and my understanding is that our sensitivities can change over time. My hope is to get to a point of more diverse food inclusion and then a good regimen of rotating foods so I don't develop new sensitivities and can enjoy a wide spectrum of foods!
Labels:
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Thursday, July 5, 2018
I'm not monkey-ing around
GUESS what ingredient I get to test out now? Bananas! Although I'll eat them fresh in a pinch, my favorite way to consume bananas is in a smoothie. Years and years ago, I decided I just didn't like the texture of smoothies with fresh banana and ice - the ice was always just too crunchy (maybe it was a cheap blender?). I tried freezing the bananas and not using ice, and voila! The perfect smoothie texture. So needless to say, I'm super-excited to have my smoothies again. My goal, as with other foods at this point, is to mostly have bananas (read: smoothies) every other day.
That smoothie hit the SPOT!
Confession time: Much of the time, I eat WAY more than pictured. For example, this lovely plate below...
...was followed by finishing off the skillet.
How else is a girl going to get full?
Also, one thing I've definitely been learning throughout this process is that breakfast does not mean we have to eat typical "breakfast foods." The above two pictures were my breakfast one day. Since I cannot eat wheat, oats, dairy, or eggs...I've basically wiped most "breakfast-y" foods off the list. It's actually kind of fun to get the skillet sizzling in the morning to caramelize brussels sprouts or steam peas. A change, but a good one.
Here is another savory breakfast I've enjoyed:
Okay, here is one of my favorite nighttime snacks: sprouted quinoa, fresh organic fruit, and organic walnuts.
This is what helps me sleep well at night. I used to eat 1-2 cups of oatmeal at night, along with a smoothie and a Quest bar, so my body is used to going to bed full. On the nights when I have quinoa, fruit, and nuts, I go to bed quite satisfied.
Last on the list for today is lemon basil zoodles and grass fed beef. No fancy sauces (since my ingredients are so limited), but these fresh, high-quality foods don't need much! Seriously, a little lemon juice goes a long way.
Happy eating and hopefully happy digestion!
Frozen banana, strawberry, and coconut milk smoothie, along with homemade coconut cookies and organic pistachios from nuts.com |
Confession time: Much of the time, I eat WAY more than pictured. For example, this lovely plate below...
Thrive Market turmeric coconut wrap with Edison Grainery's red kidney beans and steamed green peas |
How else is a girl going to get full?
Also, one thing I've definitely been learning throughout this process is that breakfast does not mean we have to eat typical "breakfast foods." The above two pictures were my breakfast one day. Since I cannot eat wheat, oats, dairy, or eggs...I've basically wiped most "breakfast-y" foods off the list. It's actually kind of fun to get the skillet sizzling in the morning to caramelize brussels sprouts or steam peas. A change, but a good one.
Here is another savory breakfast I've enjoyed:
Steamed spinach and mushrooms with Edison Grainery's red kidney beans |
truRoots sprouted quinoa, nuts.com organic walnuts, and organic strawberries and blueberries |
Last on the list for today is lemon basil zoodles and grass fed beef. No fancy sauces (since my ingredients are so limited), but these fresh, high-quality foods don't need much! Seriously, a little lemon juice goes a long way.
Happy eating and hopefully happy digestion!
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Tuesday, July 3, 2018
Time for something new!
Something(s) old, something new. As I continue down the path with these ingredients, I will say it makes shopping a whole lot simpler - I know exactly what I need to get! The trouble sometimes is not getting enough to fill up on. Also, one thing I'm struggling with mentally is the whole idea of rotation and the research saying intolerances often develop when we eat something too often or in too large of quantities. Although not required, I'm trying to rotate the few ingredients I have in a two-day schedule, but that means I end up eating very large quantities of each item on that day in order to get enough to eat. I'm still pondering this balance...which I hope will be remedied once I've got a wider range of foods.
Peas. Do you like them? I've usually been meh about peas. I would eat them if they were served to me, but I wouldn't order them. Since they are now one of my main vegetables, I'm learning to appreciate them. I found a crispy roasted peas recipe and tried it for the first few days. It's decent and adds a little bit of texture, but even after cooking for 45-50 minutes, I never really got *crispy* peas. At this point, I've decided to save the cooking time (and electricity) and just steam them on the stovetop with a little salt. They're fine (there's that word again!).
Strawberries! I'm so glad they are on my green list. Just before I started the ImmunoCalm protocol, I discovered a great recipe for homemade strawberry vinaigrette (I'd been struggling to find a good GF salad dressing that wasn't $$$ and figured I should try to make some on my own). For this diet, I did have to substitute white vinegar for the balsamic vinegar and maple syrup for the small amount of honey, AND I had to leave out the black pepper, BUT it is yummy and makes eating salad a very good option!
Brussels sprouts, anyone? Over the past year and a half or so, I've come to tolerate and then really like brussels sprouts - the frozen ones, specifically. I still haven't found great success with fresh ones, but thawing frozen ones and then sauteing in olive oil with salt until caramelized or roasting in the oven works great!
NEW INGREDIENT! Can I just say how much I adore roasted carrots? I have my friend Michele to thank for my now two-year obsession with these sweet orange delights. When roasted until soft and juicy, they seriously become vegetable candy. I have to be really careful with these, though. They came in middle of the road in my green foods list, and I do NOT want them to turn into yellows, so I'm making sure to not have them every day. Oh, but the days I do have them...are just delightful.
Hang in there with me to see what ingredients come up next!
Peas. Do you like them? I've usually been meh about peas. I would eat them if they were served to me, but I wouldn't order them. Since they are now one of my main vegetables, I'm learning to appreciate them. I found a crispy roasted peas recipe and tried it for the first few days. It's decent and adds a little bit of texture, but even after cooking for 45-50 minutes, I never really got *crispy* peas. At this point, I've decided to save the cooking time (and electricity) and just steam them on the stovetop with a little salt. They're fine (there's that word again!).
Ground lamb with basil nestled into crispy roasted peas with turmeric and salt. |
Spinach salad with shredded chicken, homemade strawberry vinaigrette, and lemon juice. |
Steamed tilapia with caramelized brussels sprouts and lemon juice. |
Hang in there with me to see what ingredients come up next!
Labels:
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Sunday, July 1, 2018
Making progress
Welcome back! At this point in the ImmunoCalm diet protocol, I've become a bit more familiar with my allowed ingredients and started having fun with presentation. I find when the food looks good, it tastes good! It's fun imagining what to do with these few ingredients and how to make them palatable. It has been said many people feel noticeably better after the first 7-10 days on the very limited diet, so I'm determined to stick to it.
Up first is a partial-win meal. Just before I started the diet, I'd begun a quest to conquer making my own hummus with a little mini-prep food processor. I had made a bit of progress and was starting to feel comfortable experimenting when I received the test results and had to set chickpeas aside for awhile.
Well, red kidney beans are red kidney beans. I don't know if you can roast them like chickpeas (maybe I should try that?), but I wondered if I could make them into some type of hummus. Seeing as how I couldn't have tahini or garlic, that made it tricky. I decided to try just kidney beans, olive oil, lemon juice, and a little salt.
The verdict?
It was fine! I use that word intentionally. My scale for taste goes something like this:
can't stand it --> if I have to --> decent --> fine --> pretty good --> more, please --> amazing!
Moving on, with the styrofoam taste and texture from the Wrapioca starting to grate on me, I was mildly interested when I heard about coconut wraps. Historically, I've never been a coconut fan. I faintly remember trying shredded coconut on some cupcake or other treat as a kid and firmly decided I did NOT like the taste or texture. When I was pregnant with our son, I tolerated the scent of coconut oil as a stretch mark preventing "lotion," but still didn't consume it.
In the past year or so, I dabbled a little with it in baking. I don't bake much (when we got married, my husband asked me to never bake so he wouldn't be tempted - suited me!). Then, when I faced the MRT results and my ImmunoCalm protocol options, I decided I should be an adult and give coconut (oil, milk, etc.) a try.
Gratefully, I've come to appreciate most of the options I've tried: virgin, expeller-pressed coconut oil (for baking) as well as organic, refined coconut oil (for roasting), coconut milk, coconut water, and now these turmeric coconut wraps from Thrive Market. They make eating a ton of veggies and beans for breakfast a bit more fun, and they hold together very well!
Another ingredient I didn't have much experience with -- I'd maybe eaten it once or twice -- was bok choy. I wasn't really sure how to use it. I'd seen recipes for stir fries that call for bok choy, but I definitely can't make a stir fry right now with my limited ingredients (what's a stir fry without some coconut aminos and GF teriyaki sauce??). I came across a recipe for roasted bok choy, and decided to give it a try. To my delight, the leaves got super crispy and the stems were palatable with a little oil and salt. My 2-yr-old son even snagged some leaves and told me they remind him of kale chips (which he really likes). So, bok choy was a winner!
This process is getting more fun! Admittedly, there are meals and even days when I'm stumped on ideas and tired of spending so much time brainstorming meals and preparing ingredients, but then I just allow myself to repeat a meal from two days ago so I can take a mental break. I also use meal prep time to listen to some of my favorite podcasts like Christian Parenting, Just Enjoy Health, Parenting on Purpose, Risen Motherhood, God Centered Mom, Focus on the Family, Well-Fed Women, Balanced Bites, and the Healthy Moms Podcast.
Come back next time to see what became of these ingredients: green peas, strawberries, brussels sprouts, and a mystery food...
Up first is a partial-win meal. Just before I started the diet, I'd begun a quest to conquer making my own hummus with a little mini-prep food processor. I had made a bit of progress and was starting to feel comfortable experimenting when I received the test results and had to set chickpeas aside for awhile.
Well, red kidney beans are red kidney beans. I don't know if you can roast them like chickpeas (maybe I should try that?), but I wondered if I could make them into some type of hummus. Seeing as how I couldn't have tahini or garlic, that made it tricky. I decided to try just kidney beans, olive oil, lemon juice, and a little salt.
The verdict?
It was fine! I use that word intentionally. My scale for taste goes something like this:
can't stand it --> if I have to --> decent --> fine --> pretty good --> more, please --> amazing!
Spinach salad with red kidney bean hummus and homemade strawberry vinaigrette Baked cod with a dash of salt on a bed of spinach |
In the past year or so, I dabbled a little with it in baking. I don't bake much (when we got married, my husband asked me to never bake so he wouldn't be tempted - suited me!). Then, when I faced the MRT results and my ImmunoCalm protocol options, I decided I should be an adult and give coconut (oil, milk, etc.) a try.
Gratefully, I've come to appreciate most of the options I've tried: virgin, expeller-pressed coconut oil (for baking) as well as organic, refined coconut oil (for roasting), coconut milk, coconut water, and now these turmeric coconut wraps from Thrive Market. They make eating a ton of veggies and beans for breakfast a bit more fun, and they hold together very well!
Thrive Market turmeric coconut wrap, sauteed zucchini, and red kidney beans. |
Another ingredient I didn't have much experience with -- I'd maybe eaten it once or twice -- was bok choy. I wasn't really sure how to use it. I'd seen recipes for stir fries that call for bok choy, but I definitely can't make a stir fry right now with my limited ingredients (what's a stir fry without some coconut aminos and GF teriyaki sauce??). I came across a recipe for roasted bok choy, and decided to give it a try. To my delight, the leaves got super crispy and the stems were palatable with a little oil and salt. My 2-yr-old son even snagged some leaves and told me they remind him of kale chips (which he really likes). So, bok choy was a winner!
Sauteed shrimp and roasted bok choy |
Come back next time to see what became of these ingredients: green peas, strawberries, brussels sprouts, and a mystery food...
Labels:
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Friday, June 29, 2018
Time to get creative
When I face a challenge, I find it best to 1) pray, 2) stay hopeful, 3) get creative.
If you read the last post, I bet you're not salivating from reading the list of ingredients I had to work with for the first part of this elimination diet...BUT I think you may change your mind after consuming with your eyes some of the meals I've eaten along the way. It's taken time, thought, and some research, but I'm settling into a new normal (albeit ever-changing as I start adding in new foods every three days or so).
As a reminder, here are some of the ingredients I had to work with:
Let's get real here: not everything tasted good or looked good! I'll share the good and the bad. Let's start with...a real bad one:
Looks like styrofoam and beans, doesn't it? So, I've actually NEVER tried tapioca before...EVER. I came across a product called Wrapioca on Thrive Market (it was a free add-on), and it claimed you could use these tapioca+water pearls to make a wrap by heating them in a dry skillet. Unfortunately, I never figured out how to get the Wrapioca to wrap and ended up making more of a styrofoam textured (and tasting) tostada (after this picture, of course, which was a complete cooking fail).
So...it can only get better, right?
I hope so! Here is a winner meal with the red kidney beans:
Ready for another visually-challenged meal?
This one tasted better than the styrofoam and beans, and I had an idea in my mind I ended up using later (stay tuned for a future post...), but it is definitely still lacking in presentation. At this point, though, all that mattered was I could stomach the food!
Here is an improved lamb meatball meal:
This one was a feast to both my eyes and my stomach!
By this point, do you think you could make do with kidney beans, ground lamb, quinoa, and zucchini? It's possible, and I'm living proof!
Next up? Cod, green beans, bok choy, a *coconut* wrap (much improvement over the Wrapioca), and a few more ingredients. Stay tuned!
If you read the last post, I bet you're not salivating from reading the list of ingredients I had to work with for the first part of this elimination diet...BUT I think you may change your mind after consuming with your eyes some of the meals I've eaten along the way. It's taken time, thought, and some research, but I'm settling into a new normal (albeit ever-changing as I start adding in new foods every three days or so).
As a reminder, here are some of the ingredients I had to work with:
Let's get real here: not everything tasted good or looked good! I'll share the good and the bad. Let's start with...a real bad one:
Looks like styrofoam and beans, doesn't it? So, I've actually NEVER tried tapioca before...EVER. I came across a product called Wrapioca on Thrive Market (it was a free add-on), and it claimed you could use these tapioca+water pearls to make a wrap by heating them in a dry skillet. Unfortunately, I never figured out how to get the Wrapioca to wrap and ended up making more of a styrofoam textured (and tasting) tostada (after this picture, of course, which was a complete cooking fail).
So...it can only get better, right?
I hope so! Here is a winner meal with the red kidney beans:
Steamed zoodles with red kidney beans, a drizzle of olive oil, and a dash of salt. |
Ready for another visually-challenged meal?
Ground lamb and basil meatballs with steamed zucchini and a dash of salt. |
Here is an improved lamb meatball meal:
Ground lamb and basil meatballs on a bed of lettuce cushioned by sprouted quinoa and sauteed mushrooms (I was able to add mushrooms in after the initial 7ish days). |
By this point, do you think you could make do with kidney beans, ground lamb, quinoa, and zucchini? It's possible, and I'm living proof!
Next up? Cod, green beans, bok choy, a *coconut* wrap (much improvement over the Wrapioca), and a few more ingredients. Stay tuned!
Labels:
#LEAP,
#MRT,
#myleapjourney,
EnteroLab,
food sensitivities,
GI,
gut,
inflammatory,
LEAP,
MRT,
pray,
SIBO,
sick,
test results
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
Rotation, rotation, rotation
Picking back up where I left off...
Thankfully, there are a number of "green" foods I enjoy. It's not an incredibly broad mix (120 foods and 30 chemicals tested is not really all that many when you see the list), but it is do-able. The lab provided me with a 4-week diet (which Susan later split into two, thankfully allowing me a bit more variety) which started with a strict, limited diet for the first 7-10 days, followed by gradual, systematic reintroduction of all the green foods. The goal is for me to ultimately test all the green foods once I've calmed my system down with the strict 7-10 day limited diet and wind up with a reasonable long-term *rotation diet of green foods. After 3-6 months, I can attempt to add back in untested items and some of the yellow items and see how my body responds.
*Rotation. This word stuck out to me big time in the literature I received along with my results. I don't know about you, but I am a creature of habit. I've always had my go-to meals and snacks, eating the same thing at the same restaurants and the same snack routine at night. Easy to plan, easy to shop for, easy to prepare.
According to research from doctors who specialize in treating food sensitivities, patients often unknowingly eat their reactive foods at almost every meal, which is why they are always sick! Doctors also noticed that some food sensitive patients develop new sensitivities if they eat non-reactive (i.e. "green" list) foods too often. What's a girl to DO?
Well, in order to prevent new sensitivities from developing, doctors came up with a method of limiting exposure to the same foods while still providing a balanced, varied diet. Hello, rotation diet. Although research is still mixed, it seems the best results are experienced when we follow a three-day rotation diet. Basically, I received a chart with all my green foods split out among three days with the goal of not eating the same food two days in a row. Below is a picture of the original rotation diet I received.
The problem with this plan is the testing center did not incorporate that I am gluten free and dairy free due to the other tests, so I need to rework the plan with those things in mind.
But first, I need to make it through the 7-10 day limited diet and then reintroduce all the green foods I can eat, which will take almost 4 months. This is where it gets fun. I'm going to show you some of the meals I came up with using the limited ingredients I was given for the first part of the diet plan. Here's a teaser list of ingredients, and I'll let your imagination run wild with possibilities (haha) then come back next time and show you what I came up with.
Labels:
#LEAP,
#MRT,
#myleapjourney,
EnteroLab,
food sensitivities,
GI,
gut,
inflammatory,
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rotation,
SIBO,
sick,
test results
Monday, June 25, 2018
MRT test results
Okay, I'm back...refreshed and ready to share the results of my MRT test. After receiving the results, I worked with Susan Linke, a Certified LEAP Therapist (CLT). Check out the videos on her website where she describes food sensitivities, testing, and the healing diet protocol. I've included a few of her notes below since she articulates so clearly.
- 60-80% of your immune system is in your gut. Your immune system is as unique as a fingerprint, and what it determines is “friend or foe” is different than anyone else’s. You can have an immune reaction to just about anything except salt, baking soda or carbonated water. You can react to “healthy” foods like salmon, apples, cinnamon, vanilla, bell peppers, celery and even olive (oil). You can even react to chemicals – naturally occurring chemicals like solanine (found in potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, bell peppers, etc), or stabilizers like guar gum, carrageenan or laboratory produced chemicals like BHA and BHT added to cereals, nitrites added to lunchmeats, citric acid, etc.
- Food sensitivities have unique characteristics such as delayed reactions and dose dependency. For example, although some reactions occur shortly after consumption, you can also react to a food 72-96 hours after eating it, often making it hard to establish cause and effect. In addition, unlike allergies, food sensitivities are dose dependent. For example, you might eat 1/2 cup of strawberries and feel fine, but if you ate 1 cup you might not.
- What is LEAP? LEAP stands for Lifestyle, Eating, And Performance. It is an effective protocol that combines the Mediator Release Test (MRT) with the skills of a Certified LEAP Therapist to produce a patient-specific anti-inflammatory diet designed to lower inflammation, and by doing so, reduce or eliminate your symptoms.
- What is MRT? The patented Mediator Release Test (MRT) is a blood test that measures your immune reaction to 120 foods and 30 chemicals. We use those results to identify a safe list of foods to eat that will not trigger inflammation, so your symptoms can improve.
- Most patients experience significant improvement within the first 10 days on the program. Symptoms then continue improving during the next 4-6 weeks.
Super-interesting, right? I had NO idea our bodies were so very unique and complex. God created us in His image, and yet made each of us unique... but learning this information gave me a whole new level of understanding how differently we were all created. I thought I ate a pretty healthy diet, and I did...but perhaps not the best diet for me.
Some of my favorite foods I consumed frequently, if not daily, included:
- sweet potatoes smothered in almond butter
- sweet potatoes or butternut squash with coconut oil and cinnamon
- raw almonds
- almond milk
- avocados (I like them even just straight out of the skin!)
- roasted cauliflower
- honey balsamic roasted cabbage
- scrambled or hard boiled eggs
- kale chips or kale salad
- fresh pineapple
Guess what foods showed up as reactive/inflammatory on my MRT test? (see foods highlighted in yellow and red below)
Depressing, right? Yes and no, I guess. It was so hard to think of giving all these foods up without knowing whether I could ever have them again, and yet it gave me hope to think I might feel better if I did. My goal in all of this testing is to figure out how to be the best "me" God created me to be so I can serve Him and my family.
The results came back in categories of chemicals, beans/legumes/nuts/seeds, vegetables, fruits, flavor enhancers (spices, etc.), seafood, dairy, grains, meats/poultry, and miscellaneous with the following three reaction types:
- Green: lowest degree of reactivity
- Yellow: reactive/inflammatory (must be strictly avoided)
- Red: highly reactive/inflammatory (must be strictly avoided)
Here are my fruit results just to show how the results are displayed.
Within each of these three categories, there was also a spectrum of results. So within the green category, I could have anywhere between 0.0 - 1.9 degree of reactivity. This means the higher the green number, the closer it is to becoming a yellow, reactive, inflammatory food for me and the lower the number, the safer it is.
Okay, that's enough information for now. I will share more specifics about the diet in a future post. For now, happy eating!
Labels:
#LEAP,
#MRT,
#myleapjourney,
EnteroLab,
food sensitivities,
GI,
gut,
inflammatory,
LEAP,
MRT,
SIBO,
sick,
test results
Saturday, June 23, 2018
It was time
Have you ever convinced yourself you're not sick when there really is something wrong? You make excuses:
- I probably ate something unsettling - I'll feel better in a few hours.
- Yeah, I don't feel good, but I can't go to the doctor because...(work, busy, finances, don't like needles, afraid there actually IS something wrong, etc.).
- Maybe other people feel the same way, and I need to just tough it out.
It's easy for me to list the excuses because I've made them all. I can't even pinpoint the time when I started experiencing discomfort because it was a subtle, slow, downhill slide. All I know is the symptoms increased to a point where I could not brush them aside any longer.
In January of this year, I finally decided it was time to take action. I reached out to a friend of mine who is a P.A., and she recommended a G.I. doctor. Being a fairly meticulous note-keeper, I gathered all of my notes on symptoms, along with medical history, and prepared for my first appointment.
While I could sit here and type out a wordy dissertation on all the events that occurred between the first appointment and today, I think it makes the most sense to list the highlights - for your sanity and mine.
- 11 vials of blood to test for celiac disease and other levels
- 2 fat malabsorption tests
- Endoscopy and colonoscopy
- Bone density test
- Parasite test
- EnteroLab test for gluten, casein, soy, and egg sensitivities
- Breath test for SIBO
- MRT blood test for food sensitivities
Curious about the results? Here we go...
- Test: blood tests for celiac disease and other levels
Results: high liver and kidney numbers; negative celiac blood panel - Test: fat malabsorption
Results: 2.5x normal - Tests: endoscopy and colonoscopy
Results: no significant abnormalities but indications for further testing - Test: bone density
Results: osteoporosis (ongoing from early college) - Test: parasites
Results: negative - Test: EnteroLab test for gluten, casein, soy, and egg sensitivities
Results: non-celiac gluten sensitivity (G.I. doctor said the gluten results were high enough to say "celiac" if it makes things easier), and sensitivities to casein, soy, and egg. - Test: breath test for SIBO
Result: negative - Test: MRT blood test for food sensitivities
Results: sensitivities to so many foods I eat on a regular basis
It's overwhelming, isn't it? I think it's time to take a break - just typing it all out is exhausting! I'll come back and go into more depth on the MRT test results and how they have changed my life so far.
Labels:
#LEAP,
#MRT,
#myleapjourney,
EnteroLab,
food sensitivities,
GI,
LEAP,
MRT,
SIBO,
sick,
test results
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