Chocolate, Compliance and Motivation

"So what's up with the chocolate and lactose?"  says doctor Jeff after he does my muscle testing.

I swear I did not tell him about the 2 pieces of cheese over the weekend or the daily chocolate I've been having. (This applied kinesiology/function of muscle testing really works!)  Other than that I'm pretty clean.  But interestingly enough, I also feel heavy, literally and figuratively and I have more inflamed acne than I care to admit (which was gone when I was eating completely clean).  I've been non-compliant.

Speaking of non-compliance, recently the gastroenterologist told one of my patients to cut out dairy. I have a strong sense he won't do it. Instead he'll take prednisone rest of his life and not address allergy or food sensitivity that is potentially the underlying cause of the persistent eczema he's struggled with these past 2 years.

What is it that drives our decisions to be "compliant" patients... to do the things we know aren't good for us...?

People want to talk about motivation, but I think it's more than that.  People (and professionals) want it to be some sort of drive or deep seeded thing leftover from our parents that has us making the choices we do. 
I think each of us has patterns of thinking, processes that we may not be aware of ourselves, that inform the choices and behaviors that we make.  Sometimes we have blind spots that no amount of meditation or self-reflection can see. 

This is why we need other people in our lives - spouses, partners, family members, friends, therapists, coaches, bosses, mentors - to shine some light on our blind spots. To help us root out what trips us up.  Of course quiet time, prayer and meditation also help us start to notice things about ourselves, patterns.  But it is through relationships, with ourselves, God, others, our pets, That help us become the next best version of ourselves.

So, about that chocolate...

Day 120... Eating, Med School and a Household Notebook

 Kale Pesto with Chicken and Gluten Free Pasta

Eating...I had my 120 day visit last week with my doctor (Eastern Medicine, Homeopath, Chiropractor) and tested as clean as I ever have.

Dr. Jeff Robinson then tested to see which multivitamins my body "liked" the best.  I have had trouble with getting nauseous and throwing up with vitamins my whole life, but the herbs and supplements that I get from Dr. Jeff (from Thorne) have never given me a problem.  I can even take them on an empty stomach, which has always been unheard of for me.


Med School...I am also venturing into the territory of getting my last pre-reqs to apply to medical school.  My first two classes are summer term courses which means I'm in lecture and lab 4 days/week.

This leads to another level of doing life in a new way.  For the last four months I've been the lion's share of the cooking, as I've needed to try new recipes and modify them.  With me going back to school, my partner and I will need to share the cooking duties.

Hence, I started a Household Notebook (it's actually a 3-ring binder).

It has a section for weekly menus, shopping lists, freezer and pantry inventories, monthly chore list and seasonal project lists (e.g. trim/thin trees before monsoon season begins in mid-June).  I found printable calendars and such, here.

We're starting by planning dinners, and I've added a pocket folder to store recipes needed for the week.

Anyone else have resources for planning life and food?  Please post 'em or send me the link - I'm happy to link up.


Grateful...I am grateful to have taken the last four months to really figure this out, to feel EONS better and to launch into a new way of life. I think there are many people out there like me with sensitivities and many more with major food allergies. If that is you, then the points below are probably very similar and parallel to what you do each day to navigate your life. If you're curious, here are a few of the things my 'new' way of life involves:

1. Navigating life without caffeine.  I started drinking coffee as a teenager, and probably haven't know how much sleep I truly need my entire adult life. Turns out my body likes 8-9 hours of sleep per night, which has been tough to comply with so far.  
2. A lot of new recipes at home.  (See previous posts and the new Recipes page of this blog)
3. Struggling to order anything besides salad and meat at restaurants when out with friends or celebrating
4. Being very "planful" about taking snacks that I know I can eat everywhere to avoid blood-sugar crashes.(see the new Snacks page)

Big No-No's:

• Dairy
• Combination of dairy & wheat
• Caffeine
• Solanines (Solanaceae Family: potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant and all things called "pepper" - cayenne, chili, (Not black pepper), green pepper, hot pepper(sauce), paprika, pimiento, red pepper)
  

Major Caution:

• Wheat
• chocolate

To Avoid, if possible:

• Eggs
• Corn

Day 30 - New, clean way of eating AND Chicken Wild Rice Broccoli Soup

Day 30 - I made it!

Out of habit I got up and started pre-thinking what to make for dinner. I have found it takes more "brain power" to think of what to eat/cook/prep when all my foods are whole and fresh (and pretty much every snack food is OFF the menu).

I will say that it has started to become just a way I do things, which is encouraging!

Out of habit I chopped and prepped a chicken wild rice soup this morning with a base of pureed broccoli, onion, carrot and mushroom (recipe is below).

My partner asked if I could add anything back in what would I add: coffee, cheese, wheat, wine?

I pretty much know coffee, at least the caffeinated kind is totally OUT for good and I have a sense that wheat and dairy will go the same way.

I go for my follow-up visit to the doc today, as well, and I'd really like to know if I get to add some things back in - specifically things like garlic, tomatoes and peppers.

Verdict is still clear skin, clear headed thinking, anxiety is gone, PMS symptoms completely reduced and I'm down 7-8lbs.

The way forward is not clear, but things are looking up and I am feeling good. Thank you god!

______________________________________


Chicken Wild Rice Broccoli Soup

2 c. raw wild rice
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion chopped
1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms, chopped
2 lbs. broccoli, chopped
3 carrots, finely chopped
4 c. chicken broth
2 c. cooked, diced chicken
salt and pepper to taste

Cook rice according to directions. In heavy pot, heat olive oil, add onion and mushrooms. Saute for 5 minutes or until vegetables are cooked. Add broccoli, carrots and chicken broth. Simmer until vegetables are tender. Use immersion blender or food processor and process vegetables until smooth. Add chicken and wild rice. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Gluten & Dairy Option: Add 2 tbsp of flour and 2 c. light cream before adding chicken and wild rice to thicken and cream the soup.


Recipe adapted from The Best of Wild Rice Recipes by Beatrice Ojakangas.

Halfway Point Update: Attempting a new way of (clean) eating

See below for the halfway update and two new recipes!

It's day 14 of 30 of my attempt at cleaning up my diet. I checked in with Dr. Jeff to update him on how it's going:

I've been off all dairy, solanines (tomato, potato, eggplant, paprika, tobacco, gogi berries, ashwaganda, peppers - all but white and black), fungal foods (sweeting juice, dried fruit, vinegar, alcohol, soy sauce, Miso, cheese, yeast), gliadin foods (foods containing wheat, rye, barley, spelt, kamut), caffeine and garlic.

After the caffeine withdrawl headaches ended (about the first 3 days), the detox symptoms lasted for another 3-4 days.

I've lost about 5 lbs and the intense sugar cravings are gone. I've noticed that my night sweats have totally subsided and my skin is much clearer of break-outs. (Yes!)

I have also noticed my Raynaud's symptoms are less hyper-reactive, which I can only attribute to the healing going on.

Anything I should keep in mind or you think would be important for me to know at this point?

Dr. Jeff's response:

Glad to hear you are sticking to the diet. It obviously is working for you. Congrats, it is not easy but the payoff is huge.

• Increased water intake and fiber (ground flax seeds) are great ways to accommodate detox.
  
• Check out Chia seeds too, they are an excellent thing to add that detox and reduce hunger.

30 days of my life doesn't amount to much in the long run.

Two new recipes from the food adventure are below - YUMMO!


Curried Quinoa with Sweet Potato and Black Beans
Courtesy of Tia Salmela Keobounpheng
serves 4-6

1 cup Quinoa
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, chopped (again, I used shallots - EH)
1 large onion, chopped
1 extra large sweet potato, sliced in "sticks"
1 can black beans
2 heaping tsp cumin
2 heaping tsp garam masala
2 heaping tsp curry
1/2 c currants (wasn't able to add these on my diet. Tastes great w/o them, but sounds DELISH with them, too!)
Salt to taste
Oil for sauteeing (grapeseed, olive, etc...)


-Use broth to make the quinoa, as direted on the package
-Saute garlic, onions and the sweet potato in a pan with some grapeseed or olive oil,
-Add the curry/cumin/garam masala spices & salt towards the end of the sautee time.
-Add the cooked quinoa to the pan, along with the black beans, and mixed it all up until everything is coated (and colored) with the curry.
-Add extra oil at this point to assist in the even coating of flavor and to keep the "salad" from getting too dry. -Taste and adjust to your liking (more spice or more quinoa depending) ....
-Last step, add the currents and do one final toss/mixing and it's good to go!

Great, served both warm and cold.


Original recipe is here.


Spicy Mustard Greens
serves 2-4

• 1 bunch mustard greens, stem removed and leaves chopped
• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
• 3 large garlic cloves, chopped - As my diet doesn't have garlic right now, I used shallots - EH
  
• 1 Tbsp ghee or coconut oil - I used EVOO - EH
  
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• red pepper flakes or aleppo pepper, to taste
• unrefined salt, to taste
• juice of 1/2 lemon

Heat ghee in pan over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic, and saute until translucent. Add mustard greens. Cover pan and let cook for 2-3 minutes, then remove cover and stir. Replace cover and continue to cook for 3-5 minutes until greens are tender and vibrant green, adding a splash of water as needed. Remove cover and add cumin and red pepper flakes. Add lemon juice and salt, to taste. Serve.

Original recipe (and other delicious and modified diet recipes) found here.

Taking a stab at a new (clean) way of eating...

As it turns out, I may have a sensitivity to a bunch of things, including wheat, caffeine, vinegar, potatoes, tomatoes & peppers.

I knew about the caffeine, as I had cut down to mostly decaf coffee in the mornings, but for the next 30 days, on the recommendation of my doctor, this month I'm taking a stab at a new, clean way of eating and cutting all these things out.

Today is day 10 of 30 and I already feel less cloudy, less sluggish and my sugar cravings are gone (whew!). I'm also watching my break-outs diminish and have not experienced any night sweats either.

One of my new favorite recipes is a quinoa taboule (fromBobs Redmill package):


2 cups cooked and cooled Bob's Red Mill Quinoa
1 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup chopped scallions
2 tbsp. chooped fresh mint
1 garlic clove or shallot minced
1 tbsp minced fresh basil
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Toss together all ingredients. Chill for 1 hour or more to allow flavors to blend. Makes 6 servings.