Day Eighty-eight

Today was kind of rough. I woke up at 4 am and couldn't get back to sleep -- until 7:00 and it was time to get up, then all I wanted to do was sleep. When I got up, I had vertigo really badly. Driving to work, I felt like I was going to fall asleep every time I stopped at a light. I was wondering what I was going to do when I got to work. I finally admitted to myself I had to have some coffee. Contemplating options -- Starbucks is a total no-go for me -- since I absolute can't stomach black coffee. At work there is not sweetener or creamer that I can have, so I made a pit stop at Whole Foods. I went to their coffee counter and had them make a blended coffee with unsweetened almond milk and some unsweetened dark cocoa powder. It wasn't bad, and it woke me up, but of course I had heartburn all day. Then this afternoon I felt like I was going to have a panic attack. By the time I got home at 6:00, I had to have a nap. I intended to lay down for ten minutes and get up and fix dinner, but I slept for an hour and a half.

So I just had the coffee for breakfast. Then I sat on hold with a state office for five hours, afraid to go in the kitchen to get lunch -- only to find out that the state offices weren't open today because of Cesar Chavez day. A little bit of frustration. I did finally run in and grabbed a leftover turkey burger from last night. Then on the way to mechanic shop to get my brakes done, I took half a meclizine, and I swear it seemed like it made the vertigo worse. Oy vey.

When I finally got up at 7:30, I put a NY strip on the grill, roasted some rutabaga, and sauteed some zucchini -- all seasoned with salt, granulated garlic and garlic-chive spread. It was all delicious.

Day Eighty-seven

So for breakfast this morning, in addition to my usual blueberry smoothie, I ate some raw veggies (broccoli, carrots, celery, and sugar snap peas) with just a bit of plain hummus (maybe about 2 tablespoons). I don't think my body liked the hummus. It's not a bad reaction, but my tummy is definitely grumbly, I've gone to the bathroom twice and will definitely go again before bedtime, and I'm just on the edge of being crampy. I guess I will save the hummus for those days when I need to get things moving.

For lunch I made a foil packet with a chicken breast, the last of the broccoli and carrots, and a touch of garlic chive spread, along with the second half of the acorn squash with cinnamon and maple. Yumminess.

Then for dinner, we got home late, so I just tossed together a turkey burger with sea salt, garlic, and fresh basil. I wrapped it with some fresh red chard (from my garden), and added a bit of brown mustard (mustard seed, tumeric, and acv). Then I had some frozen blueberries with maple syrup for dessert.

Day Eighty-six

I had to take a meclizine last night because my nose was so stuffy I could barely breathe. I think it was probably from being in the garden and doing all that weeding. I felt pretty good when I woke up this morning -- I just never found my get up and go. I think it got up and went yesterday enough to last a while. So I've just had a lazy day in my pj's today -- did pretty much nothing physical at all, which is good because I'm sore from overdoing it.

I had my paleo pancake this morning and I topped it with a cinnamon maple blueberry compote. I also had a couple slices of uncured bacon and a 1/2 cup of organic coffee with unsweetened chocolate almond milk and some maple syrup to sweeten it. I had some itching after and a tiny touch of heartburn. I suspect the banana, but I think it's happening because my histamine levels were already really high from being in the garden yesterday. So I have make a note, I can tolerate a bit of banana once a week IF my levels are not already topped out.

I never really had lunch, I snacked on a couple of rice crackers with the last of the olive tapenade. Then for dinner made a chicken stir fry with sweet potato, frozen broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots, garlic, ginger, sea salt, and coconut aminos garlic sauce. I put it over steamed basmati rice. I realized this evening that I've been eating a lot of rice and rice products this week I have to cut back on that. My goal is to only have a small amount once a week or every other week and that's all.

Day Eighty-five

I got up this morning and scarfed the left-over pork chop and mashed sweet potato before I ran out to do errands all day.

This afternoon we spent a couple hours at the garden, (I have a plot at a community garden) weeding mostly, trying to get it ready to plant. At one point, I started getting really bad vertigo, I thought I was going to pass out -- so I sat down and drank some water. I didn't get the plants in the ground, so I will probably go back out early tomorrow, before it gets too warm, just long enough to plant. I did harvest a HUGE mess of red chard. Two grocery bags full, and that was only half of it.

As soon as I got home from the garden, I had to eat right away. I think my blood sugar had dropped as I was shaky and slightly homicidal. So I ate a couple of bites of olive tapenade with some rice crackers, a couple of drinks of unsweetened chocolate almond milk, and some blueberries. Plus a big glass of water. I felt way better.

Then I hit the kitchen and cleaned and cut up most of the chard, blanched it, bagged it up and put it in the freezer. I kept a big baggie of the tender baby leaves in the fridge to use in salads, and I had a batch of it with dinner tonight. I ended up with 4 gallon size baggies in the freezer.

That took another couple hours, so then we were ready for dinner. I had cut an acorn squash in half and put some cinnamon spread, maple syrup, and sea salt in the middle and put it in the oven while I was cleaning the chard. I kept the last batch of chard and simmered it with some sea salt and granulated garlic. Mike came in and made burgers, mine was seasoned with sea salt, garlic, fresh basil, and fresh dill. Everything was delicious. Now I just have to find the energy to go take a shower before I fall into bed.

Today was a good day.

Day Eighty-four

I had a bottle of Naked Blue Machine for breakfast. A mixed greens salad with chicken strips for lunch. Then I stopped for a snack between jobs this afternoon. I got an apple and a bottle of Suja Green juice -- it has apple, celery, kale and several other types of juice. It does have a bit of lemon and spinach near the bottom of the list. It also has chlorella and spirulina. It felt healthy while I was drinking it, but it is making me itch.

I'm definitely paying for the splurge yesterday. But even though I'm definitely flaring, I'm really not stressing about it. I knew I was making a choice, and I knew there would be consequences. At least I know exactly what caused it and how to avoid now. I've pretty much accepted that my eating patterns are going to have to be for the rest of my life -- this is just how I eat now. And if I splurge on occasion and have to suffer for it for a day or two, then at least I'm making that choice consciously and can decide if I think it is worth it or not. In the meantime, I'm going to take a meclizine to hopefully let me sleep tonight.

For now, I just need to get back on track and clear this out of my system this weekend.To that end, I sauteed some dandelion greens with garlic, salt, and just a tiny amount of tumeric. I sprinkled a bit of coconut aminos to try to cut the bitterness (it didn't work). I also made some mashed white skinned sweet potatoes with a bit of maple syrup. And I grilled a pork chop with sea salt, granulated garlic, and a bit of garlic chive spread.

Day Eighty-three

Had an apple with some sea salt for breakfast, and a mixed green salad with some baked chicken for lunch.

I had a really good day, except all week I've been really spacey and when I first woke up this morning, I had vertigo really bad. I'm pretty sure it's airborne allergies because everyone has them right now -- and I periodically have sneezing fits as well .Also, around 2-3 in the afternoon I get so sleepy I can barely keep my eyes open. But if I can even manage to close them for five to ten minutes, it's better. That's all I need is a brief power nap.

This evening we took a friend out for his birthday dinner. He opted for the buffet at Red Hawk. I mostly looked for meat and veggies that didn't have any sauce or nightshades. I do think the broccoli and the green beans both had butter on them. And the ribs did have a very thin coating of bbq sauce. They had some veggie sushi, I had that with some wasabi and fresh ginger. For dessert I has some melon, pineapple, and pears. I also had a cup of chamomile tea. Everything was delicious, I took a meclizine when I got home just to be safe. So far so good. and my friend won $300 playing slots.

Day Eighty-two

It's been an intensely emotional week. First the news about my grandmother. Then the Rabbi's son passed last night (he's been sick for a while, it wasn't unexpected, but still so difficult). Finally, I spent the evening with a friend who recently lost a beloved pet and is very much in mourning.

I was thinking today that so many souls are leaving all at once. I wonder if it portends some huge shift that's coming. Something is about to happen, I just hope it shifts in a positive direction -- though the fact that so many are leaving doesn't really portend a positive shift. I shall do as I always do for such things -- hold on for the ride.

This morning I had an apple for breakfast. I've missed apples. It's the day before payday and -- having not received the money I expected last week -- the cupboard is quite bare. Mike had a couple apples on hand so I decided to try it out. I seem to be doing fine with it. In fact, the allergies that I've been dealing with all week actually seem to be doing better today.

Then I had left over pinwheel for lunch. It was still good the second day. Mmmm.

Finally, I knew I was working late this evening, and I planned to just eat a late dinner. But in between massage patients, at about 6:30, I was absolutely starving and I knew the next one would be intense (the friend who lost the pet), so I made a pit stop at Sprouts for a lettuce wrap. What I ordered was a turkey lettuce wrap with cucumber, pickle, sunflower seeds, and a touch of yellow mustard. Apparently the person making it had some trouble with the lettuce wrap concept because what I got was this:

What you can't tell from this picture is that the lettuce underneath is not cut up at all. It's large lettuce leaves laid in the bowl with all the stuffing laid on top. Oh well . . .  it tasted good (once I figured out how to eat it) and it filled me up with no reactions. What more could I want for $3.99?

Day Eighty-one

I never got around to breakfast this morning, and just had a sweet potato for lunch.

My allergies are flaring today. My sinuses are clogged and I feel  -- not really itchy, but just on the verge of itchy. Kind of . . . raw. I don't know how else to describe it. All my nerve endings just feel raw.

For dinner, I made a stuffed flank steak and salad. Then I sauteed chopped zucchini, shredded carrots, fresh basil and fresh cilantro in a bit of garlic chive spread and olive oil. While that was cooking, I pounded out the steak and spread a thin layer of the garlic chive spread and sprinkled it with sea salt. After the veggies and herbs were cooked down, I spread them on the steak. rolled it up, and secured it with skewers. I browned it in the same skillet, and then popped it in the oven at 395f to finish.

I also roasted a red potato for Mike. I cubed it, tossed it in olive oil, and sprinkled it with sea salt, garlic, and dill and put it in the oven with the steak.

Then I tossed a salad of mixed greens, shredded carrots, cucumber, blueberries, and raisins, topped with a bit of balsamic and olive oil.

Crazy awesome!

Day Eighty

Blueberry smoothie for breakfast, left over chicken and rice for lunch.

I'm felt much better today. It rained last night and cleaned all the allergens out of the air. Still had a bit of a sore throat, but my sinuses were better.

Then this afternoon, I learned that my grandmother isn't doing well. She has alzheimer's and has been in assisted living for about a year and a half. But apparently she fell down a couple weeks ago, and broke her arm in two places. Then she stopped eating and walking. They are moving her to the advanced care ward. I feel really bad because the last time I talked to her, I kind of hurried her off the phone. And now I probably won't get to talk to her again (she's back east). I've known this was coming, but my heart is breaking in slow motion.






For dinner I did a mixed green salad with chicken strips sauteed in the garlic chive spread. I added fresh blueberries, cucumber, carrot, pecan pieces, raisins, and fresh cilantro with balsamic dressing.

Day Seventy-nine

Woke up with an upset stomach, stuffy face, headache, and sore throat this morning. I didn't feel like breakfast, so I had a half cup of coffee with hemp milk and maple syrup, and a handful of almonds. Then I just sat and did homework all morning.

This afternoon, I cut up a sweet potato, tossed it with olive oil, sea salt, and granulated garlic, added a couple of dots of garlic chive spread and roasted it. While it was roasting, my guy fixed me a couple slices of bacon and an egg to go with it. I did take some cold medicine as well. I felt a little better for a while, but my sinuses are really bugging me. I don't know if I'm fighting a bug or if it's the chemicals from the flea bombs.

For dinner, I steamed some white rice with some sea salt, garlic, and a dab of garlic chive sauce. I sauteed some chicken with zucchini, green onion, shredded carrot, and fresh ginger in the garlic chive spread of course. I stirred in the rice, threw in a handful of fresh cilantro, and sprinkled some coconut aminos over it. It was delish!

Day Seventy-eight

I did things backwards this morning. I had left over salad with chuck roast for breakfast, then I ran down to the farmer's market to pick up some more of the garlic chive spread, and I got a cinnamon spread as well. So then I came home and made paleo pancakes with cinnamon spread and bacon for lunch.

I had to bomb my house this afternoon because the fleas were getting the upper hand, so I had to leave for 4 hours. While we were out, we stopped at Pho #1 and had an early dinner. I had the chicken pho with mung bean noodles, broccoli, carrots, cabbage, celery, fresh basil, fresh cilantro, green onion, and bean sprouts.

I knew I was taking a bit of a chance, but I seemed to be doing ok. However, after dinner, I got some bad financial news -- someone who owed me some money that I was counting on to get me through the week didn't come through, so now I'm stressing about finances and I'm really very annoyed and irritated that this person let me down. Especially when I've see them spending money the last couple of days on very frivolous items, and now they don't have enough to meet the obligation they made.

So all-in-all, I'm a little bit itchy, slightly twitchy, and very very bitchy, and I don't know if it's the pho, the stress, or the chemicals in my house  -- or a combination of the above. I hope tomorrow is a better day.

Day Seventy-seven

Blueberry smoothie for breakfast, mixed green salad with grilled chicken strips for lunch.

Busy day, a little stressful, but I felt good. Allergies seem to be less, the spaciness was not as bad.

For dinner I made a mixed greens salad with basil, cilantro, dill, carrots, blueberries, raspberries, cucumber and roasted sweet potato. For a protein, I put a chuck roast in the pressure cooker with carrots, rutabaga, green onion tops, granulated garlic, sea salt, ginger, and a splash of coconut aminos garlic sauce.

Day Seventy-six

I added a Vega One protein powder to my smoothie this morning. It tasted awesome, but I have been totally spacey all day. That's the only symptom, so I don't know if it's connected to the shake, especially since airborne allergies are up. But I'll leave it for a while and come back around to try it again later.

For lunch I finished the plantain wraps with grilled chicken, I didn't do the tapenade this time and I added some salad greens with a drizzle of balsamic. I also forgot the granulated garlic and sea salt. It was still tasty, but not nearly as good as last night.

Tonight, I worked til 9 pm, so I had to get dinner on the go. I stopped at Whole Foods and got a chicken lettuce wrap with artichoke hearts, cucumber, and olives and a cucumber/mint spa water. It tasted good and I felt really good after I ate. I noticed that I've been craving salt lately, and I've had that afternoon crash around 3 pm. I think my adrenals are depleted, and I need to get them back on track. Time for some more research I guess.

Day Seventy-four

I had a mixed berry smoothie for breakfast, and left over burger for lunch.

This evening I was so looking forward to some corned beef and cabbage. I put some rutabaga, carrots, cabbage, turkey broth, and corned beef in the pressure cooker. Then I went to double check the ingredients in the spice packet -- that's when I realized that the beef was cured with nitrites and I couldn't eat it. So I went ahead and started the pressure cooker for Mike.

Then I cut up a couple more rutabaga and set them to boil in some turkey broth. I cooked some uncured bacon, and chopped some cabbage. I cooked the cabbage in the bacon grease. While that was cooking, I put some carrots in a sauce pan with just a little bit of turkey broth and set it to simmer. When the rutabaga was tender, I mashed it with a bit of the broth and added some of the garlic chive spread to make it creamy. I mixed it into the sauteed cabbage and let it simmer a bit longer.

Everything was actually ready all at the same time (except the bacon). Mike loved his and mine was delish!

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Mine

Mike's

Day Seventy-five

I had my blueberry smoothie for breakfast, and leftover colcannon and carrots for lunch (it was even better today!)

This afternoon I felt snacky, and a friend gave me some dried cranberries. They were really good, but they probably had sulphur dioxide and were probably sweetened. Wow! I felt like I was about to have a panic attack. The bad part is that I was doing a massage at the time. It forced me to stay calm and breathe through it, but I felt like time was going really slow. But it passed pretty quickly.

For dinner, I couldn't decide - even as I was cooking -- what I wanted. I was torn between tacos, chicken wraps, and pizza. I knew I wanted plantain wraps, and frozen chicken tenders is the only meat I have in the house right now. So I made the plantain wraps on the griddle and put some chicken tenders on the grill.

When the wraps were done, I spread them with the garlic chive spread and olive tapenade. I chopped up the chicken and added some fresh basil and fresh cilantro. I put them in the oven just for a few minutes, then I said to heck with it and pulled them out and ate them like tacos. OMG! They were AWESOME!! Seriously divine.

Day Seventy-three

Today I had leftover sauteed sweet potato from yesterday for breakfast instead of my usual blueberry smoothie. For lunch, I had some of the stir fry with brown, red, and black rice that I had frozen from dinner on Saturday.

For dinner, I had intended to make stuffed zucchini, but I kept wanting a burger instead. So that's what I made (there are some perks to being a grown up).

First I sliced the zucchini up to make zucchini fries. I tossed them in oil and spread them in a baking dish, sprinkling them with sea salt and granulated garlic. I put them in the oven at 425f.

While that was cooking, I put carrot, basil, and cilantro into the electric chopper and minced it finely. I stirred that into some grass fed ground beef with some granulated garlic and sea salt. Then I formed 6 thin patties, making an indentation in 3 of them. I put a little dollop of the garlic chive spread in the indentation and then covered it with another patty -- so that I had three thick patties with a bit of the garlic chive spread in the middle. I fried them in the iron skillet. Then I served it on a bed of mixed greens and drizzled it with a bit of balsamic.

The zucchini fries were mushy, I think maybe there was too much oil. But the flavor was good and the burger was delish!

Day Seventy-two

I made sweet potato hash sauteed in the garlic chive sauce with a soft boiled egg on top, and a half cup of coffee with unsweetened almond milk. That garlic chive sauce is my new favorite thing ever! I put it on everything.

For dinner, I boiled some baby back ribs in a marinade with garlic, salt, balsamic, and I also added some onion for flavor, although I threw them out after rather than cooking them. I also put a chicken breast in to marinade as well. Then I took them out and put them on my new counter top electric grill (I found it at the thrift store for $20 and it looks to be brand new -- it's just like the one I looked at recently for $90). I also prepared a sweet potato hassleback style. For Mike's I added bbq sauce and an ear of corn, but for mine I topped it with some of that yummy garlic chive spread -- on the meat and the potato. I didn't realized until I was well into prep that I was totally out of green veggies. :-( But everything was delicious.

Mine

Mike's

Day Seventy-one

I went to the farmer's market this morning and discovered that my one of favorite vendors, The Cultured Kitchen, was back after a long hiatius. I was so happy to see them! They make a lot of raw, vegan products. A lot of them are cashew based, so those are out, and some of them are fermented, so those are out as well. But I they have some sunflower based spreads that are really good. I got a garlic chive spread and an olive tapenade. I came home and had some of the tapenade on rice crackers. I had a bit of itching and then I was really sleepy, so I think my bf will finish the tapenade. But I used the garlic chive spread when I cooked dinner, and it was AMAZING!

So for dinner, I sauteed carrots, butternut squash, rainbow chard, chicken and ginger in the garlic chive sauce and some olive oil. I added more granulated garlic, some sea salt, and a sprinkle of coconut aminos. Then I put it over steamed brown, red, and black rice. I packed away the leftovers in the freezer so I can take them to work for lunch on Monday.

Day Seventy

I had a blueberry smoothie for breakfast and added a bit of unsweetened almond milk. It was ok, but I think I like it better without the almond milk. I've never been a big fan of milk in smoothies anyway.

Then I met my daughter and grandson for a bit of lunch and shopping. We went to Togo's and I got a farmer's market salad. I had them leave the croutons off and picked off the onion and peppers. But I ate some of the feta and fresh tomato, plus the fat free honey mustard dressing. I thought I got away with it, but by 5:00 i was having hot flashes, and by 7:00 the itching had started. But after I ate dinner it settled down a bit. I am a bit bloated, but other than that, I'm ok. It was totally worth it.

For dinner, Mike really wanted Blaze pizza, so I went next door to Jack's and got a salad. It had mixed greens, artichoke hearts, peas, sweet potato, beet, cranberry, and carrots with balsamic dressing. I also added some grilled chicken on top. 

Day Sixty-nine

Blueberry smoothie for breakfast, another salad with chicken for lunch. I was really hungry today -- probably because the salad processed quickly.

Tonight for dinner I decided to go back to the basics, ribeye, mashed rutabaga (with a little bit of almond milk), and sauteed red chard -- all seasoned with just sea salt and granulated garlic.

It's been 10 weeks, and there have been a couple of setbacks, but overall -- even with the surgery happening right in the middle -- I still feel so much better than when I started. I definitely still have some healing to do. This week has been difficult with headaches and brain fog and achy joints. I'm not sure if it was a virus or airborne allergies, but when it rained yesterday, I started to feel a little better, so I suspect allergies at this point.

I haven't done a great job with reintroductions so far.`I haven't followed proper protocol to reintro. But I have only brought back the things I was fairly sure were safe, Although I have reacted to a couple of things, I've kept things simple enough that it was easy to track them down. As I start to move into testing the things that are more iffy, I will be more careful about introducing them. If the allergies keep up though, it's going be a while before I can get to them.

I think the most important thing I've done with my diet is completely eliminating the grains, the processed food, and the refined sugar. And while I have reintroduced a couple of grains (rice and quinoa) and I've done well with them, most of the grains I won't bring back until near the end (although I'm thinking of testing gf oatmeal). I miss corn, but I highly suspect that it's an issue, as well as tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, peppers, and dairy, so all of those will be late additions.

So far I'm good with celery, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, hemp, peas, artichoke, lotus root and ginger,

I know I can tolerate small amounts of rice, quinoa, almonds, coconut aminos, balsamic, pineapple juice, eggs, cinnamon, vanilla, banana, figs, beets and coffee,

I'm a no on ghee, coconut, fish sauce, peanuts, daikon, and kohlrabi,

I'm questionable on cassava/yucca and prunes,

Day Sixty-eight

Frozen blueberries and 2 figs for breakfast, leftover paleo lasagna for lunch.

Overall, I'm feeling better -- except I'm totally exhausted. I actually laid my head down on my desk and napped for ten minutes before I left because I was in no shape to drive. I'm not sure if it's a virus or allergies at this point because it comes and goes.

For dinner I decided I really wanted a salad. So I put mixed greens, fresh herbs, cucumber, celery, and dried cranberries (I know, I know) with some baked chicken strips. The dressing had olive oil, a bit of balsamic, some pineapple juice for sweetness, and Italian herbs. It was scrumptious.

Day Sixty-seven

 Blueberry smoothie for breakfast, Left over lamb for lunch. I had a really bad headache this afternoon and it got worse every time I went outside.

For dinner, I wanted to a make this recipe I saw for paleo ravioli with caulifredo sauce. However, I couldn't find the mandolin and didn't feel up to an exhaustive search, and I couldn't slice the squash thin enough with the knife -- so . . . I made it into a lasagne instead.

I browned some ground turkey with sea salt and garlic and put it in the food processor with some fresh basil and fresh cilantro. I processed it until it was finely chopped. While the turkey was browning, I sliced two yellow squash length-wise as thinly as possible. Then I layered the squash with the ground turkey in a baking dish. Then I steamed a head of cauliflower until it was very tender, and I put it in the food processor with some chicken broth, almond milk, and granulated garlic. I added a splash of cooking sherry (because I LOVE sherry in my alfredo sauce) and blended until smooth. I topped the lasagna with the sauce and baked at 425f for 30 minutes.

A couple of tweaks I will make if I make this again -- first, I would sautee the squash and drain it first, because it released a lot of liquid. second, I would add a dash of nutmeg to the caulifredo sauce to give it some depth of flavor. Also, if you can tolerate onion, I would definitely recommend adding that to the meat -- and season heavily. I thought I put a lot of seasoning in it, but it definitely needed more. Finally, I would bake it without the sauce for 20 minutes, drain off any excess liquid, then add the sauce for the last five to ten minutes just to heat it through. The flavor really got muted with the baking. 

Day Sixty-six

I just had some prunes for breakfast, and 2 chicken strips with kale for lunch.

I was just exhausted all day, my eyes are itching, and I have a slight cough.

For dinner, I wanted to make shepherd's pie, but my sweet potato that I was going to put on top was bad. So I improvised and put mashed carrots on top instead.

So I browned ground lamb with shredded broccoli, carrots, and cabbage. I added some sea salt, garlic, and ginger. While that was browning, I boiled the carrots with some garlic and ginger. Then I mashed them with some maple syrup and put them on top of the lamb mixture. I baked it for 20 minutes at 425f to brown the top a bit. It wasn't shepherd's pie, but it was really good.

Day Sixty-five

I love lazy weekends. I felt better today, but still didn't do much of anything. Just kicked back -- I needed the down time. 

For brunch, I had a left over burger from yesterday and topped it with an egg over easy. I also had a half cup of coffee with some unsweetened almond milk and sweetened it with a bit of maple syrup. It was actually pretty good, and I did fine with it -- but it will be a Sunday brunch treat only.

Then for dinner, I made pork egg rolls with yucca root wrappers and coconut aminos garlic sauce for dipping. I fried half of them and made the other half on the griddle (though the oven would work just as well).  

For the wrappers: boil down a yucca root, drain it well (save the water) and put it in the food processor with a quarter cup of oil, a pinch of sea salt and some granulated garlic.Procces it until it forms a ball of dough. Set the dough aside to cool while you make the filling.

For the filling: dice carrots very small and shred some cabbage.Boil them in the yucca water, Dice up a good sized pork loin chop and cook it with the carrots and cabbage, sprinkled with a bit of coconut aminos garlic sauce. When cooked, drain thoroughly.

Spread a thin layer of oil on your cutting board. Divide the dough into 8 pieces (depending on the size of the eggrolls you want). With a small of oil on your fingers, spread the dough thin (but not paper thin). Fill with a tablespoon or two of filling (depending on the size), Fold up the sides and roll the eggroll and seal. 

If frying, make sure the oil is very hot or they will stick to the bottom. If preparing on the griddle or in the oven, preheat first to 400f. Cook until brown and crispy 

Note: frying makes them crispier, but I like the baked ones better as they are far less greasy. The ones on the left were made on the griddle, the ones on the right were fried. 

Day Sixty-four

For breakfast I wanted muffins. I was about to settle for paleo pancakes, but then I remembered when I made the cauliflower crust for my pizza, the texture was very bread-like. So I blended the banana and egg, added some cinnamon, sea salt, and vanilla. I poured it into a well oiled baking dish (I used olive oil because that's the only fat I seem to tolerate, but coconut oil or ghee would be even better). Right before I popped it in the oven, I scattered a handful of blueberries over the top then baked it at 350f for about 25 minutes. It was very good.

Then for dinner tonight, I made plantain wraps (note: if the plantain is ripe, use less liquid!!) The wraps didn't firm up very well, and they were rather chewy and very oily, but the flavor was good. I added basil and granulated garlic to them. Then I made burgers with grass fed beef, garlic, sea salt, and carrots, topped with chopped olives (both green and black), fresh cilantro and fresh basil. I had to eat it with a knife and fork, but it tasted really good. On the side, I made some root chips of sweet potato, beet, and taro. They came out so good it made up for the plantain wraps.

Day Sixty-three

I woke up this morning still itchy, twitchy, and bitchy. And it continued on and off all day, in between I just felt defeated. 

I had my blueberry smoothie for breakfast and some turkey cutlets and sweet potato fries for lunch. 

By the time I left my first job, I just felt totally frustrated and overwhelmed. I kept trying to pick a fight with my boyfriend but he wouldn't play along. He knows me too well and recognized that no matter what he said, he was gonna lose, so he just kept changing the subject. Then he finally told me to quit bitching about everything -- and I couldn't say anything because I knew he was totally right and that's what I was doing.

When I finished at the second job, I was just utterly exhausted and I just wanted to go home and curl up in bed in and stay there all weekend. My joints are all achey and I know I'm inflamed. HOWEVER, I no longer think it is just a reaction. I think I'm fighting a virus, because Mike has it too. So . . . I came home and made chicken soup for dinner.

I just put some chicken strips, baby carrots, frozen kale, granulated garlic, sea salt, a drizzle of coconut aminos, and some homemade chicken broth from the freezer in the pressure cooker. Quick, simple, safe, comforting, and healing.  

Now I'm going to sleep, and I may just sleep straight through til Monday. (actually I would hate that, I don't wans to miss the weekend!

Day Sixty-two

This morning I had a blueberry smoothie and a scrambled egg. I've been really hungry recently, I think because the weather has gotten colder. That always increases my appetite. I must run some bear medicine, because when the weather gets colder, all I want to do is eat and hibernate. 

For lunch, I baked a couple of chicken strips and sliced up a sweet potato to go with it. I sprinkled them both with salt and dill. I also had some figs in the freezer and ate two of those. 

By 4:30, I could barely keep my eyes open. Not sure what that was about, but I was exhausted. 

Then it was another late evening. It got to be 8:00 and I hadn't made it home dinner yet. I couldn't face another lettuce wrap or plain burger, so we went to Noodles & Company. I got the Pad Thai made with rice noodles, carrots, cabbage, egg, bean sprouts, fish sauce, and peanuts. It also came with a slice of lime to squeeze, but I figured with the fish sauce and peanuts, the lime would be pushing it. I got the smallest order even though I was starving, because I wanted to be frugal. It still filled me up though -- probably because of all the rice in the rice noodles. But so far so good. I'm still exhausted, but that was happening before dinner. 

I'm a bit frustrated at eating out three times this week. It is definitely not a pattern I want to fall back into. It's been difficult because we only have one car, and by the time I get off work and go pick up Mike, if we have any errands to run we either have to eat on the go or not have dinner til 9:30 at night. However, Mike is getting a car in the next couple of weeks, so hopefully I can get back to cooking healthy real food again. I look forward to it!

Day Sixty-one

I never actually got around to breakfast this morning. I started the day all stressed out, had some pain in my tummy and felt kind of nauseated. It calmed down a bit by lunch, and I had leftovers from dinner last night. 

I felt a little itchy this evening, but it was bearable. I'm sure it was just from the stress. We had errands to do, so it was dinner on the go again -- which meant another chicken lettuce wrap. We went to Beach Hut Deli, and it wasn't nearly as good as the last two. That's because the only thing they had that was safe to top it was sprouts. I also added pickle, which I probably shouldn't have since I was already itchy, but I needed some flavor with it. 

I will add a picture when my phone battery is charged. 

Day Sixty

I picked up some raw hemp granola at the co-op yesterday, and had that for breakfast this morning. For lunch I had grilled lamb steak with broccoli and carrots for lunch. I felt really great and focused all day.

Then I came home and was feeling snacky, so I had some of the cassava cake. Just a really small serving. I started itching almost immediately, my sinuses clogged up and I felt like I was fighting a cold. I have to admit that I can't do coconut -- even a little bit. I'm really sad about that because I really like coconut. However, I seem to be ok with coconut aminos -- perhaps because it's made from the sap of the tree rather than the fruit.

To test that theory, for dinner I tossed some carrots, rutabaga, baby bok choy, fresh ginger, and chuck roast in the pressure cooker and added some garlic sauce made from coconut aminos in the pressure cooker. I didn't add salt because I wasn't sure how salty the garlic sauce would be. It was a bit bland, but once I added some celtic gray salt, it was much better.

Day Fifty-nine

I'm paying for the coconut. That cassava cake I made yesterday was good, but I've been itching all day today. :-(

I had some figs for breakfast. Then I paired the leftover zucchini & mashed sweet potato with some chicken strips for lunch.

After work, a friend called with car issues, so we ran down to give him a ride home -- which was on the other side of town. By the time we got done, it was 8:30 and we were starving. So we stopped at the Natural Foods Co-op downtown. I got a chicken lettuce wrap with cucumber, sprouts, and mixed greens with some olive oil and a sprinkle of balsamic, and had a mixed green salad with carrots, beets, peas, and quinoa on the side. It was yummy and I'm sooooo full right now.

Day Fifty-eight

Had a paleo pancake for breakfast, and left over meatzza for lunch. Didn't do much today, sat around, tried to do some homework but my heart wasn't in it.

For dinner I made sauteed pork chop with sea salt and granulated garlic, suteed zucchini, and garlic maple mashed sweet potato. It was yummy.

I created a dessert of cassava, jackfruit, red cactus pears, cocconut cream, maple syrup, eggs, and almond milk. It's kind of an adaptation of the filipino recipe for cassava cake.