No-grain, no-sugar diet - Day 5

What I ate -

Breakfast:
shake (with rice protein, ground flax seeds, almond butter, cocoa nibs, and soymilk)

Mid-morning snack:
sunflower seeds
green tea

Lunch:
Greek chicken (take-out)
cauliflower
mustard greens
sauteed eggplant

Afternoon Snack:
none

Supper:
omlet (with kalamata olives, tomatoes, green peppers, nitrate-free pepperoni)
salad (with 1 slice roast beef, spinch, arugula, olive oil, and lime juice)

How I felt -
Much better than yesterday.  Kinda blah though. 

No-grain, no-sugar diet - Day 4

What I ate -

Breakfast (4 pts):
1 egg, fried in olive oil
Baked butternut squash w/cinnamon (I just can't seem to get enough of this breakfast!)

Mid-morning snack (2 pts):
4 parsley lemon-pepper shrimp

Lunch (5 pts):
Homemade chicken soup

Afternoon snack:
none

Supper (8 pts):
2 rice cakes
almond butter
green tea

Total pts = 19

How I felt -
Terrible! Had a headache all day that turned into a migraine in the late afternoon.  Couldn't eat much b/c of the accompanying nausea.  I gave in and had the rice cakes b/c it was the only thing I could bring myself to eat.  Will get back to the no grains thing tomorrow. 

No-grain, no-sugar diet - Day 3

What I ate:


Breakfast  (4 pts.):
1 egg, fried in olive oil
baked butternut squash with cinnamon
(It was so good yesterday that I had to have it again.)

Mid-morning snack (3 pts.):
handful of pumpkin seeds

Lunch (5 pts.):
salad with spinach, arugula, 2 slices of roast beef, olives, palm hearts, roasted red pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice

Afternoon Snack (10) pts.):
1/2 avocado
2 slices of turkey
2 vinegar-free pickles (I like Bubbies Pure Kosher Dills.)
flax seed crackers
almond butter
green tea with soymilk
(I was starving when I got home!  Apparently, that salad wasn't filling enough.)

Supper (8):
grass-fed steak (fat cut off)
creamed spinach


Total:  30 pts.


How I felt:
MUCH better today!  I had more energy than usual and had a very productive day.  (I notice I don't need a nap when I stay away from wheat.)

No-grains, no sugar diet - Day 2

What I ate -

Breakfast (4 pts):
1 egg, fried in olive oil
baked butternut squash with cinnamon (I baked it last night.)
Green tea w/soymilk

Mid-morning snack (2):
plain, homemade yogurt

Lunch (5):
homemade chicken soup
Green tea w/soymilk

Afternoon snack (5):
flaxseed crackers with almond butter
dandelion tea w/soymilk

Supper (12):
Turkey patties
salad w/olive oil and lemon juice dressing
1/2 avocado

Total pts = 28

How I felt -
Crappy.  It's sugar withdrawal symptoms.  It takes about 3 days for sugar to get out of your system.  The last time I gave up all sugars, I felt like I had the flu for 3 days.  This time, it's not as bad but I did have a headache and nausea all day.  I can tell you from experience that the first 3 days of giving up sugar is the worst.  If you can make it 3 days, then it becomes a lot easier.  You feel better and you won't have cravings.

Day 1

Today is my first day of being back on my diet of no grains or sugars.  (No fructose or lactose either.)  My weight today was 178 pounds.  (Blerg.  Up from 165 in June.  :P)  I hope to track my success with my blog.  Plus, for those of you out there that want to try it, you can use my meal ideas.  (*Note:  I was on Weight Watchers for years so I still add  up points in my head when I do this diet.  The points listed are my estimates.  Nothing official or anything.)

Breakfast (I estimate about 8 Weight Watchers points):
Shake:
1/4 cup almond milk
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 T rice protein powder  (The starch has been removed and the protein extracted.  You can find it at health food stores.  Whey protein would be an alternative.)
2 T flax seeds, ground  (I grind them in my coffee grinder.)
1 T cocoa nibs, ground
about 1 t of chopped fresh ginger  (this makes you almost feel like there's some kind of fruitiness to it.)
1 T almond butter  (I can tolerate small amounts of nut butters, but not nuts themselves.  Strange.)

Blend with a splash of water and ice in a blender.

Mid-Morning Snack (I estimate about 1 Weight Watchers point):
4 sauteed shrimp with lemon pepper and parsley (I got them pre-prepared at Whole Foods, then froze them in tiny, individual tupperwares so they're ready to go.  If you can tolerate nuts, I say eat nuts as a snack!  They travel well.)


Lunch (I estimate about 8 Weight Watchers points):
Salad with arugula (rocket), 2 slices of turkey, 1/2 avocado, roasted red peppers, kalamata olives (vinegar-free), palm hearts, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt.
Green tea


Afternoon Snack (I estimate about 3 Weight Watchers points):
1 hard boiled egg
2 T black bean dip
celery sticks
Dandelion Tea

Supper (about 5 points):
baked fish (cod)
steamed broccoli
artichoke leaves
olive oil dip:  with lemon, parsely, oregano, salt, and garlic

Total points = 25

So far, so good!  :-)

A Yummy, No-Grain Supper

When you're on a gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free (and lately grain-free) diet, people always ask:  "What's left to eat?"  Well, here is one meal idea for supper.

• Grass-fed Ribeye steak (I use my friend Dot's recipe on her blog.  It's so delicious, I only cook steak this way these days!)
• sauteed mushrooms
• green salad with homemade dressing (olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, fresh herbs, and salt)
• Mockarita  (scroll down to bottom of page)

Leave off the mushrooms, and you've got a yeast-connection-diet-friendly meal too.
Happy eating!

Breakfast of Champions

Here's a new healthy breakfast idea I came across:

Scrambled eggs and kefir with ground flaxseeds.
It provides hunger-fighting protein, a dose of probiotics, fiber, and omega 3's in one meal. 
I had it yesterday and today.  Yummy and yay!

A Good, Lowfat Way to Cook Chicken

Years ago when I was about to get married, I was bamboozled into going to a cooking demonstration.  They made it seem like I had won a prize and I would get a free vacation just by going to the thing.  Also, they said there would be free food there.  (Silly me, I believed them.)

Anyway, I dragged a friend and my mom to this thing and it turned out to be a sales tactic for really expensive pots and pans.  We sat through the demo, got a bite of chicken, then got the hard-sell before they gave us our coupon for a free two-nights stay in any motel 6 in the country.  (Hardly a vacation!)

I did not buy any pots or pans from them.  I was mad at them for wasting my time!  The one useful thing I got from this is I learned a really good way to cook chicken breasts with no oil.

Here is the technique:
Heat up a frying pan to medium heat.  Place the chicken breasts in the pan.  (however many will fit.  I usually do 4 at a time.)  The chicken breasts will stick to the pan.  Salt the chicken and put on whatever spices you want.  (I use garlic and oregano).  Cover with a lid.  As the chicken cooks, the fat will melt which will unstick the chicken from the pan.  When you are able to lift them, turn them over.  Again, they will stick.  Cover and cook.  When they unstick, that means they are done.
They really do come out good.  Nice and juicy and not dry at all.  (I guess the lid keeps in the moisture.)

The pot and pan people told us that you could do this technique with ONLY their pots and pans.  Whatever!  I tried it at home with my own pan  and it worked great.  I like to serve this with roasted asparagus and/or creamed spinach.

Rotating Menus

Another tip for finding allergies?  Rotate your menus!  What I mean by this is have a set menu for each day of the week and stick to it for several weeks.  For instance, I always eat nuts as a snack but on Mondays it's Brazil nuts, Tuesday is almonds, Wednesday is pumpkin seeds, Thursday is walnuts, Friday is sunflower seeds, Saturday is pecans, and Sunday is hazelnuts.  (Yeah, it was expensive to buy all these raw nuts at once, but  they have lasted several months now.  I keep them in the fridge.)  I write out my menus for the week and keep it on the fridge.  That way, I never have to guess what I'm eating and it helps me when I'm making the grocery list too. 

I also rotate my meats, veggies, and grains.  Once  you write out your whole menu, it's not hard to implement it.  There is a book called "If This is Tuesday, It Must Be Chicken".  I haven't read it, but I was told it has some helpful ideas about how to rotate your food.

The benefit of doing this is that it helps you identify other, less-common food sensitivities you might have.  For instance, this is how I found out I had a problem with chickpeas.  I eat Greek food every Friday for lunch (as a treat), and I used to eat the hummus with my meal.  Every Saturday morning, I had a splitting headache and had to be in bed for most of the day.  (Boooo!)  I knew it had to be something I was eating on Friday so I replaced one thing at a time.  Once I stopped eating hummus, bingo!  No Saturday headache! 

For the past 3 weeks, I have been having a headache every Tuesday morning.  (Today was no exception.)  I haven't figured out what I'm eating on Monday that causes it, but I suspect Brazil nuts (which is sad because I LOVE them!)  Next Monday, I'm going to eat macadamia nuts instead and see what happens.

Oh, I forgot to mention to keep a food journal.  I write down what I eat in one column, and how I felt in another column right next to it.  (I do this during the commercial breaks when I'm watching TV at night.)  That way, you can see what works and what doesn't.  I found that eating salmon and broccoli makes me feel fantastic while eating corn makes me feel bloaty. 

I know this is a lot of trouble, but it can be done and it's not forever.  I think of it as an investment.  Invest some time now, so you can feel good and focus on other, more fun things later!  Of course, if you feel okay all the time, you probably don't need to do this.  I'm just SO tired of feeling like crap all the time and am really motivated to do all this stuff!

Party Food Ideas for the Dietarily Challenged

What can you serve at a party that's gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free that your guests will also want to eat?  That was my challenge for today since I am hosting an Oscar party tomorrow night.  I think I did okay!  (Thank goodness for Whole Foods!)

Here are some things I came up with:

1.  Rice crust, no cheese veggie pizza

 

I also got some regular pizzas for the other guests but this pizza is delicious enough to serve anyone.  You don't miss the cheese (well, almost) because the caramelized onions make it taste so good!  It's also sugar free because they use agave syrup instead of sugar in the crust.  (It's not yeast free however, but I suppose I can bend the rules a little bit for a party.)

2.  Popcorn

I found these cute little popcorn bags at a party supply store and am planning on serving popcorn in them.  

3.  Black bean hummous and guacamole are great party foods, served with some chips and baby carrots for dipping.  These rice chips taste delicious! 

Also, you can't go wrong with Terra chips.  They look beautiful (like potpourie!) and taste good too!

4.  Olives - I found some that have no vinegar in them.  (They are in salt water and citric acid instead.)  Stuffed with garlic and jalapeno peppers, they are sure to be a hit!


5.  Roasted nuts -  Get an assortment of raw nuts (brazil nuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds, almonds, walnuts, are my favs) and drizzle them with a little olive oil.  Then, you can sprinkle them with whatever spice you want (curry, paprika, or cinnamon) and roast on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Yum!

5.  And for dessert......black bean brownie sundaes!  I love this black bean brownie recipe.  (I promise, you'll never taste the  black beans!)  The only modification I make is that I use olive oil instead of butter.  (This makes it dairy free and it's still super  yummy!)  I top the brownies with some sugar-free coconut milk ice-cream.  This is my favorite (it's the Cherry Amaretto flavor):

Any other fabulous party food ideas out there?

What Do I Eat in a Restaurant?

Sometimes, you just gotta go to a restaurant.  Here are some safe options that work for me:

1.  Chinese Food - The big ironic thing is that Chinese food got slammed for having MSG in it several years ago.  Since then, most Chinese restaurants have cleaned up their act and proudly boast "No MSG" on their signs.  Steamed rice with stir-fried veggies with shrimp or chicken is the way to go.  (Avoid the fried foods and sweet sauces.)

2.  Greek/Lebanese Food - Lots of choice here!  I like to get the chicken shwarma meat with several vegetable side dishes.  (Sauteed eggplant, pan-fried cauliflower, and mustard greens are my favs.)  Other good options:
-stuffed grape leaves (get them to hold the yogurt sauce though)
-mujadrah (but only if it's with lentils and rice.  Not the cracked wheat!)
-stuffed bell peppers or squash
-any kind of meat with rice pilaf
-hummous and veggies (avoid the pita bread)
-lentil soup

3.  Japanese (*Note:  I am reconsidering this option for me b/c of the MSG content from seaweed.  Avoid the seaweed-containing items if you think you have trouble with it.) - miso soup, edamame, seaweed salad, sushi rolls (yes, I know they put a bit of sugar in the rice, but I figure it's not terrible to have it as a treat every now and then), sashimi, salmon, scallops, cucumber salad, etc.
Avoid the tempura.

4.  Thai - I love Tom Yum soup!  (lemongrass soup with shrimp and mushrooms)  Also, I usually get the Pad Thai because it's made with rice noodles.  Again, lots of options here.

5.  Indian Food - Love it!  You can get poppadoms (like crackers but made with chickpea flour), breads made with lentil flour, and many variations of meat, veggies, and rice.  Avoid the naan breads, fried foods, and cream sauces, but you'll still be spoiled for choice.   

6.  Any restaurant will have some kind of fish with vegetables.  That's my default option.  Also, steak-houses are good (if you're non-vegetarian).

Again, if you have any other ideas, I'd love to hear them!

Ideas for Lunch on the Go

Since my quest for health led me to do away with fast and pre-packaged food, I had to come up with some easy and quick ideas for lunch.  I work full-time, so they had to be portable as well.  An insulated lunch box with an ice-pack makes life easier.  Also, when I can, I go ahead and put leftovers from supper into a tupperware to have for lunch the next day.

Here are some ideas:

1.  Salmon and broccoli:
-a can of salmon (they have "pop-top" ones these days)
-a half of a lemon
-frozen broccoli with sea salt and oregano

(Note:  Frozen veggies are life savers!  No need to prep.  I put them in a container and put them in my lunch box.  They keep the food cold as they slowly melt.  By lunch time, they've thawed out and you only need a minute to heat them up.  Genius!)

2.  Hummous and avocado sandwich with tomato and cucumber on rice bread.  I like to have grapes and carrot sticks with it.

3.  Soup  (You can either make it and freeze it into 1 serving portions, or get healthy canned soup.  Make sure there are no preservative or MSG though.  I like Amy's soups.) 

4.  Salad:
-whatever greens and veggies you want
-whatever protein you want (beans, sardines, turkey, nuts, hard-boiled egg, etc.)
-dress with olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt, and oregano
 

After lunch, I like have hot tea with either soy or almond milk.  I bring it to work with me in a thermos.  Sometimes I have it with some nuts.  I'm not going to say it's as good as a dessert, but it eliminates my craving for one!

(Note:  Actually, nuts are another life-saver!  I always have a small container of them on hand in case I get hungry.  It saves me from caving in and eating something I shouldn't.  Brazil nuts have really grown on me lately.)

Any other ideas out there?  I'm all ears!