Day 19 - Day 21: The End!

Today is my last day of being on the very restricted diet. This weekend proved to be a challenge, though. Friday evening I had a bit of a breakdown and ended up eating some Chinese food. While I ordered grilled chicken with veggies and cashews, the whole dish was dripping with a sauce made from soy sauce. Saturday I had a flour tortilla and fries. I was a very bad girl, but somehow I still managed to avoid everything else and still not have my Pepsi. I have been impressed with myself that I have avoided caffeine for so long. In the past I have told myself I am not going to drink caffeine and that last oh about a day and then I am right back to nursing my habit. In the last 21 days I have had a Pepsi twice. That's incredible! I have never gone that long before - 19 days with no caffeine! I am awesome!

People have been asking me if I have noticed a difference since I started this diet and I have noticed a few things. As far as my energy goes, it seems to be a progressive thing. Before I started this diet, getting out of bed was an absolute challenge. I would literally cry because it was so hard to get out of bed and face the day because I was exhausted even after sleeping 11 hours the night before. Since I have started, getting out of bed hasn't been nearly as difficult and I am not so ornery about it anymore. Also, my best friend and my boyfriend have both caught colds within the last week and I haven't gotten sick because of all of the Vitamin C and Zinc I have running around in my body as a result of the supplements the doctor has me on. I have a swollen spot in my left leg that just seems to be always swollen and since I have started this it has gone down in size. It isn't gone but it is a lot smaller than it used to be. And a lot of my digestive issues have seem to have resolved as well.

As far as my diet goes, yesterday (Sunday) was the best day I had all weekend. I ate very well and avoided everything I can't have and didn't cheat at all. YAY! I did actually drink a glass of almond milk all by itself with nothing added to it and I do like it, but the taste on it seems to be backwards to me. When I drink cows milk the flavor of the milk kind of comes to me as I am swallowing and has that satisfied taste. With the almond milk, the flavor came first and then it didn't taste like anything as it went down. I just wanted more to the flavor. I am also drinking Unsweetened Almond Milk so that may be part of the problem. While I plan to incorporate Almond Milk into my diet going forward, I still love my cows milk.

Tomorrow I get to start eating the other foods I mentioned in a previous post. I am thinking tomorrow I will be adding tomatoes back into my diet and see what happens. If I am good there, then I will be doing eggs and so on. Maybe one day I will be able to have cows milk again.

Day 18: Almost There!

Three days, people! Three days! While I know next week I won't be able to go back to eating whatever I want, I do know it will be a little easier just for the fact I will be able to have a little bit more variety in my diet. One of my favorite breakfasts of all time is hashbrowns, sausage, and fried eggs. Well, I have been able to eat chicken and turkey sausage and the potatoes, but no eggs. Starting next week I can have eggs! I crave protein in the morning more than any other time of the day. I don't want carbs - I just want protein. In fact if I go out to breakfast to like IHOP or Denny's, I will always be the one at the table that orders the all meat and egg breakfast - bacon, sausage, chicken fried steak - all the meat and eggs! It's really the only time I am a huge meat and protein lover!

So, this is why I am glad I will be able to have eggs again. Eggs are so versatile and you can do so much with them. I know there are a lot of people out there who don't think eating eggs is right because it is an animal product, but if a chicken doesn't lay her egg she will die as I have witnessed first hand. You also cannot leave the unfertilized eggs with the chickens or they may get cracked open and if a chicken tastes the egg they go crazy! They will do anything in their power to get the other eggs and eat them - they basically get Mad Chicken Disease and have to be removed from the rest of the flock or put down. So this is why I am not opposed to eating eggs and this is because I have seen firsthand why it is important for the hens to lay their eggs and secondly why they need to be removed. The eggs I eat come from free range chickens. The eggs themselves cannot be considered organic because these chickens do not eat organic feed and they also eat all of the fruit and veggie leftovers my mother has. I think since my father got chickens my mother has not had to throw away and fruit, veggies, or bread away. The chickens eat it all!

I am also looking forward to eating tomatoes as well. One of my favorite things to make is my own fresh salsa - well I like tomato based salsas better than any other kind of salsa, so I am very excited about having salsa again and marinara sauce. I will be able to make meatballs again now that I can have eggs. I make these awesome Italian inspired meatballs and I have tried other things to get them to stick together and nothing really works better than an egg.

I also found a recipe online for buckwheat flour drop biscuits which I am itching to try. That would make a delicious breakfast option. Serve some of those bad boys up with almond butter and a slab of turkey sausage - yumness!

I keep talking about how I crave protein for breakfast in the morning - well, today was an unusual day. As I getting ready for work I found myself craving a bowl of fruit. So I stopped and a local bakery and cafe here on my way to work and ordered their bowl of fruit. It had cantaloupe, honey dew, pineapple, and red grapes in it. It was delish! Once in a while I crave lighter fare, but most of the time I like meat!

Have a great weekend everyone! I know I will!

YAY For New Foods!

I spoke with the doc this afternoon and I discussed with him what foods I will be allowed to eat when I am done with this diet in four days! I will for the most part still be continuing this diet, but the goal is to slowly figure out what foods my body can handle and which ones it cannot. So, starting next week I will be allowed to have eggs, tomatoes, and beef again. I am most excited about the eggs and tomatoes part! So, starting next week I won't be nearly as miserable. I still can't have dairy or gluten, but where I can have eggs, I can make some batters with my almond milk and buckwheat flour for like pancakes and stuff. So, happy day! Maybe I can even get my grandfather to make his famous pancakes using my buckwheat flour and almond milk. . . .hmmm. . . .

Day 17: Bacon Burgers Are Better With Cheese!

I tend to like to celebrate little occasions when I can. I don't necessarily need to celebrate them in a big way, but I don't like them to pass quietly into the night. So yesterday was my two month anniversary since I started dating the boyfriend and I wanted us to have a special dinner. Well, everything that we would have normally done could not be done because of this diet, so I had to get creative.

In the booklet thingy the doc gave me there are recipes and one of the recipes was for bacon burgers. I decided to do those. I also purchased some sweet potato fries from the grocery store and made sure they were okay to eat. They were good to eat and since I baked them I didn't have to worry about any oils or anything like that as well.

So for dinner, I cooked up some turkey hamburger patties and then also cooked up some turkey bacon as I could also eat that as well. After the meat was done, I took the patties and put each one inside a big lettuce leaf and then topped it with some bacon. I then put chipotle Tabasco sauce, cucumbers, and a couple of fries on my bigger and then wrapped the rest of the lettuce around the burger. My boyfriend did the same but also added mustard and onion to his as well. We then served the burgers with the fries. All in all things tasted fairly well, but the while I was eating I kept thinking that it would taste better with a big fluffy bun, cheese, tomatoes, and ketchup as well.

It's nice to know that when we hit the three month mark in our relationship, I should be able to eat more things again. I have four full days left in addition to today, and I am very much excited to be done. Today when I speak with the doc I am hoping to find out what they would like me to add back into my diet starting next week. The end is near!

I shall continue to blog about this because I find it has helped me a lot. I suspect that if I hadn't had this blog, I probably would have failed all over the place. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read my words and support me in this endeavor quietly. It has been very much appreciated!

Day 15: I Can See The Light At The End Of The Tunnel!

In many ways I am very glad I started this diet right before the holiday season! Why, you ask? Because the less money I spend on take-out and other eating establishments means I have more money to spoil people for Christmas! :-)

But really I am glad I am working on this diet during the holidays because this time of year is always accompanied with good food and a lot of it! Cookies, cake, ham, turkey, and all those other yummy things we all love to eat during this time of year! I am thankful to be on this diet because I am learning how to enjoy different foods and not feel deprived. I can honestly say that I have not felt deprived on this diet. I thought I would feel deprived but in all honesty I have not. I get chocolate every day which is very important and with my almond milk and my frozen bananas, I can make fabulous smoothies that are almost as good as my beloved oreo shakes!

This diet has also allowed me to develop my cooking skills even further. I have been getting creative as of late with my meals too! So if anyone needs healthy yet delicious ideas for meals, let me know. I have had some real winners as of late such as roast chicken and carrots, stuffed peppers, and mashed sweet potatoes.

I will admit, though, that I am so glad the light at the end of the tunnel is getting closer, because I am looking forward to having a few more things back in my diet. What I am mainly hoping for is to have dairy and eggs back in my diet and pork too. The gluten I honestly won't miss as there are other things out there to replace that and I am also hoping to be able to have rice back in my diet too. I love rice and hope I can eat it again as well as tomatoes. How I have missed my salsa and ketchup!

Overall, I am not feeling any sicker or worse than I was before. I don't necessarily feel any better, but I don't feel worse and I am thankful for that.

Today I have another appointment with the doc and we will see if anything is going to be changing. We may even discuss my custom diet plan a little today. I am hoping so, because I plan to eat something fantastic after this diet is over, but I also will not eat anything that could screw up all of the work I have done either. But if he says I can have dairy, I am so celebrating with some sugar free frozen yogurt!

My First Attempt At Steak

Last night I made Flank Steak with Baked Tomatoes Stuffed With Egg. This was my first attempt at cooking a steak on my own and I also got to use my new outdoor grill for this as well! I also invited some girlfriends over for dinner, because this was a dinner that wouldn't have done well as leftovers!

The steak was quite simple to prepare. I cut the fat off of it after it came to room temperature (you should always bring steak to room temperature before cooking as it cooks more evenly), then I put some olive oil and salt and pepper and through it on the grill. When I pulled the meat off the grill, it had only made it to about medium rare -- the recipe called for that. I sliced the steak, then I served some of it to one of my friends as she likes her steak mooing. I turned the broiler on and finished cooking the steak to a medium well. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the steak. It was nice and juicy.

On the side we had a watercress "salad." I use the term lightly because in my opinion salads should have more than one thing in it. Needless to say, the watercress was quite tasty with the lemon and olive oil dressing. It was very light and simple. I just wouldn't have called it a salad.

Also on the side were these tomato baked eggs. Basically what I did was hollow out four tomatoes and then I cooked some onions (the recipe also called for fungus aka mushrooms, but I didn't put them in there) and stuffed the tomatoes with them. I then cracked an egg on top and put them in the oven. I loved this! I didn't think I would, but I really enjoyed it. The egg was poached from the oven and the moisture in the tomatoes. It was quite tasty! I may just make these again for a quick breakfast or light dinner! So last night's venture was enjoyable. I had good food and good company to enjoy it with! Next up is an onion, pepper, and sausage pizza and I can already tell you it is going to be delicious!


Flank Steak, Tomato Baked Eggs, and Watercress "salad":

A Dish To Make Sam I Am Proud!

So you know the book Green Eggs And Ham by Dr. Suess? Remember how Sam I Am kept trying to get his friend to try the Green Eggs and Ham? Well, this is how I feel about this dish. For dinner tonight, I made Cashew Pasta Pesto. I must be honest in saying that unless the food is green naturally (i.e. ex. lettuce, green beans, asparagus, etc.) I don't usually care for it. There is something about green food that kind of grosses me out.

I have always wanted to try pesto sauce, but I never have before because it is green. Well, tonight, I put my personal food color prejudices aside and decided to try this pasta pesto. I was not disappointed. Just like Sam I Am's friend, I have found a new appreciation for a green food. Most pesto sauces are made with pine nuts, but I like that this one had a twist. Instead of pine nuts, this pesto sauce had cashews in it. Cashews are like my favorite nut ever (next to pistachios as we all found out in an earlier post) and so I was happy to see cashews in this recipe! The pesto also had parsley, lemon juice, garlic, and Parmesan cheese in it! Oh, I must take a moment to say that thanks to the Christmas monies my grandparents gave me, I was able to buy a new toy -- a food processor! I have always wanted one! So, I used my food processor tonight to make the pesto sauce! I think I enjoyed making it a little too much as I got to use my new toy today! Without the food processor, this dish would not have happened! I also was hesitant to try pesto, because unlike most pasta sauces, this one is served cold. The warm pasta warms up the sauce, but I just don't it is the same thing. In combination with the roasted tomatoes and pasta, the pesto was quite pleasant. I know a lot of people don't like nuts in things because of texture, but with the nuts being chopped up and mixed into the pesto, you could hardly tell there were nuts in the dish. The nuts had the same texture as the garlic and parsley. The olive oil really brought everything together nicely in the food processor. The only thing I may have changed up a little with the pesto is that I would have added more cashews. I couldnt' really taste them and I would have liked the flavor of the cashews to come out a little more.

I also loved the tomatoes in this recipe. The grape tomatoes were roasted separately and then mixed in with the pasta and pesto at the end. The roasted tomatoes would be so good on their own or mixed into a different recipe. To those of you who do not like tomatoes on their soft tacos (and yes, I mean you!), I encourage you to try these tomatoes. Be like Sam I Am's friend and take a chance! You may be surprised! Don't knock it before you try it.

The pasta in this dish was Farafelle, or bow-tie pasta. I liked the bow-ties because they held onto the pesto really well and complimented the tomatoes. With any pasta, the bow-ties must be baby sat when cooking so they don't get overcooked. The biggest mistake most people make when cooking pasta is they walk away and forget about it or they think it is done when it sticks to the wall. In both of these cases, the pasta is WAY overcooked. Pasta turns out best when you stay near the pot and can check it for the right texture. If your pasta sticks to the wall, you have cooked it too long -- trust me. The starches start to break down and create a sticky mess!

I am excited to have the leftover pasta for lunch! I have been trying to eat a little more healthy and this dish definitely is healthy. To change up this recipe, you could add a protein to it such as chicken, but I think it stands on its own fairly well!

Cashew Pasta Pesto:

Easy Peasy Chili!

This time of year I tend to turn to foods like chili, soup, and really anything that is designed to warm you up! Chili is one of my favorite things to eat and it is a very easy thing to make. This post is more like a recipe post, but I have had people ask me how I make my chili.

I do know how to make chili from "scratch" but why when there are many more easier alternatives out there? There are brands of chili you can buy at the store that are really good and taste almost as good as homemade, but I have discovered a trick from my mother. With a few extra ingredients, you can disguise the store bought chili and make everyone think it is homemade.

So, this is what I do. I buy Stagg brand chili. Stagg brand is, in my humble opinion, one of the best brands of canned chili out there. It has chunks of meat and different kinds of beans and just the right amount of flavoring. I also recommend Nalley chili as well, but I prefer Stagg.

Depending on how many people you plan to serve depends on how many cans you need. I used two cans of Stagg chili for a group of about 12 or so. I put the chili in a crock-pot and then I added a can of diced tomatoes and I did not drain the tomatoes when I put them in so there was a little bit more moisture. I then added a can of drained red kidney beans. I mixed it all together and added some salt, pepper, and some chili powder. I like my chili a little on the spicy side, so I added quite of chili powder. Add the chili powder to your taste. I put the crock pot on low and the let all of the flavors combine and marry! When I served it, everyone thought it was homemade. Nope! It was dressed up, but not homemade.

To make this chili even more tasty, I would serve this along side some corn bread, and have some grated cheddar cheese and onions for mixing into the chili. I didn't add these things when I made it because it was being served along side other good things to eat. You could even do this chili for Navajo tacos, chili-dogs, or really anything that has chili in it. I have posted the "recipe" below.

Easy Peasy Chili:

2 Cans of any brand chili (recommended is Stagg or Nalley brand)
1 Can of red kidney beans, drained
1 Can of diced tomatoes, undrained
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Chili Powder, to taste

In a crock pot mix all ingredients together. Put on a low for a few hours. Check flavor after about an hour. Add more salt, pepper, and chili powder if needed. Serve immediately.