Granola I Can Eat!

TheePirateWrench shared her candida friendly granola recipe and I made a batch yesterday afternoon.
It went like this:

• 4 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup organic virgin coconut oil
• 1 tsp. alcohol-free vanilla extract
• Desired spices/salt (I put in a few good dashes of cloves, about five good dashes of cinnamon, and one dash of sea salt)
• Stevia to taste (I put in two really good dashes)
• 1 cup of nuts (I used 1/2 cup chopped almonds & 1/2 cup sunflower seeds)

Mix everything except the nuts in a bowl. Transfer mixture to a 9x13 baking dish, and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Stir in nuts, and bake for another 15 minutes. Allow to cool, then transfer to an air-tight container.

I picked up the ingredients at WF and cut the recipe in half since it was a first try. For nute I went with sliced almonds and chopped walnuts.  We did have some nuts added back to the diet this week since he and I both were struggling with protein.  Also, we were given the green light on greek yogurt, which is AWESOME.

The granola turned out well.  You can taste the Stevia, but it's something I think we're both going to have to get used to.  I've been using Truvia, which has a much more sugar like taste and texture, but it's only part Stevia and part fruit-derived sweetener, which is a no for now.  We just did cinnamon and nutmeg, no cloves. I was very pleasantly surprised. It's not the same as my beloved sugar-laden store bought granola, but this will suffice.  I think using maple syrup would be a good sweetener.  Also, it will be perfect when we have fruit back.

Definitely a win for long-term solutions.

Food Week 2

The first week was all new and shiny and filled with cheerleaders: "You can do this!!!" but now I'm tired of boring food. And salad. And no dessert.  :(
I know I've been doing great- I'm feeling better, I'm not craving constant sugar, and the physical side effects have gone away.
Week two was getting into the routine of eggs and some other carb-ish substitute, salad for lunch and a concoction for dinner: turkey chili, stuffed bell peppers, vegetable soup.  My husband is awesome because he makes the great meals that I come home to. Unfortunately for him, he's having a harder time than I am.  Apparently his pre-workout supps had sugar. As well as the Stevia substitute we were using. Whoops.  So it has really drawn this out for him, and made it much more challenging than it should have been.
So I'm tired of healthy foods, but we're really working for variation. For some who already eat broadly, that may not be so challenging.  But for this meat and potatoes girl, it's pretty lame.
Week 2 was easier physically, but harder mentally. Sticking with it when it isn't new isn't as much fun, but I know there's a lot more variation to be had.  We'll see what I can come up with...

Lemonade Weekend!

Day 7-9 we had this mix of maple syrup and fresh squeezed lemons, that we could alternate with maple syrup and 100% cranberry juice.  It was 3/4 cup juice, 1/4 cup syrup and then fill the bottle with water- probably something like 36oz.
That sweetness was heavenly.
The first few days really weren't that bad. I'll admit that it was kind of nice not eating some version of veggie egg scramble for breakfast and a salad for lunch.
Gross TMI alert: Dude, how many days can stuff keep coming out of your body when you're not eating? My answer: three.  OMG ew.
I was definitely surprised to learn how my body works, though.
I couldn't hack day 3.  Okay, maybe I could, but I caved to peer pressure when someone else started eating the night before and then convinced me I needed a salad when I got hungry at 2pm on day 3.
So that was as far as I went.  I definitely think it was a good thing for me.  Some of the meds I take for my migraines wreak total havoc on my digestive system and I'm sure they had something to do with everything getting so out of whack.
At least we're over that hurdle.

Time Outline

This is a five week journey that looks something like this:
Days 1-6: Eat greens/ poultry or fish/ brown rice or quinoa/ eggs with greens representing 2/3 of your diet.
Days 7-8: Same as above, eliminate animal meat
Days 9-11: "Lemonade days"
Days 12-13: Greens/ grains/ eggs, no meat
Days 14-22: Greens/ grains/ eggs/ meat
Days 23-35: Same as above, one piece of fruit per day.
"approved" protein shakes throughout, as needed.

Probably the most important part of the detox is the supplements. We take a handful of supplements to support the process, as well as organ support supplements specific to our needs and testing.

I know this isn't for everyone and sounds kinda crazy, but it's the right thing for us.  With my lifelong sugar addiction, it's a move in the direction of living a balanced and healthy life.  I've tried no sugar for thirty days a few years ago, but it wasn't enough.  We're really hoping to incorporate many pieces of this into our diet long-term.  With each positive change and effort we've made over the years, we've come out making better choices and notching our health up one more bar every time.  Hopefully I get a few notches out of this one. ;)

Food week 1

While I'm not technically through the first week, today is day 7.
I'm doing a helluva lot better than my counterpart- poor guy.  That definitely wasn't the case in the beginning, though.
Within 24 hours, my body started rejecting anything that wasn't sugar.  I could feel it, and knew I was eating good food- but couldn't keep it down.  I'm really amazed at the control of sugar over the body.
I started on Thursday and struggled through Friday.  Saturday K went to work, so I was home alone. All day.  In a house that still has ginger cookies on the shelf and mixed nuts and cinnamon rolls in the outside fridge.
AND I DID IT!!!! I cut up veggies in the morning, snacked on them when I was sad, and drank a few protein shakes to try to ease the cravings.  
I have no idea where the self control came from, but it was obviously not there the week before when the girl scout cookies mysteriously landed on my desk.  :/
So now I'm eating disgusting food, daily, and telling myself it's good for me (gag) and choking it down.  I do feel better about myself and it's much easier just fighting psychology over the physical pain.
After seeing what "other" people are going through bc they don't want to give up their pre-workout shake with sugar in it that's drawing this whole thing out, I don't want to be there.  And someone has to be level-headed here.

How the caffeine is doing

It was easier in the beginning because I was so motivated. Yay me! I'm awesome!  But then that faded, and now I miss coffee.  A lot.
In the mornings I'm warming hot water with a few leaves of peppermint off my plant just to make myself feel better.
I still want to cry at 2pm.  Going to have to work on that.
I really think it's half psychological and half addiction.  There's really a lot to be said for your brain clinging dearly to habits.
Watch out in the afternoons- I'm ridiculously crabby and it's all I can do not to curl up under my desk with Snickers and Diet Coke, clinging for dear life.

Goodbye, Caffeine

Knowing what's coming, I'm trying to make it a little easier on myself by cutting out caffeine in advance of everything else that's leaving the daily diet.
I drink a cup of black coffee every morning before getting ready for work. Except Starbucks Fridays, as mentioned previously. If I have an afternoon carb crash, I usually just have some tea.  And sometimes (okay, usually) there's caffeine at lunch.
Last semester when I overworked/ schooled, there was a lot more caffeine involved.
So this past weekend, I had 1/4 cup black coffee Sat and Sun. Monday I had a Starbucks decaf bc I had a free grande that was going to expire in two weeks.  I had an ugly carb crash yesterday afternoon that lead to a lingering headache that was still there this morning (Tues). So I had a couple sips of K's decaf and was out the door feeling better.
We'll see how tomorrow goes without coffee again, as I'm feeling much better this afternoon.
t-minus a day and a half.

Typical Week of Food

I have no idea what the average American eats. Fast food every night? Frequent pizza delivery? Soda? Square meals three times a day with milk at the dinner table?  Beats me. I have no idea how to compare myself to "average" so here's a week in my current food routine:

During the work week I eat a piece of fruit or two in the car on the way to work. If K makes eggs and toast, I'll eat that before I leave. Then I eat anything I can find bc I'm starving and hour after I get to work- sometimes I have mixed nuts at my desk.  This is all a recent evolution from eating oatmeal every morning at my desk for a year that I stopped in December.  

I bring a frozen lunch a few days a week (preservatives give me a headache, so it's always Kashi or Amys).  and then one day I'll go to Whole Foods- this can mean pizza or salad bar- it's a toss up.  The other few days I go out to eat randomly- usually a burger from PTerrys (wheat bun) or Home Slice Pizza or soup and salad. Basically, slightly healthy leaning, but not legitimately healthy.  I either frink water, or have a Diet Coke, depending on what I'm eating. See? There's no way of knowing if it'll be awesome or the worst lunch ever.

In the afternoon sometimes I try to control my carb crash with a hot tea at my desk. Other days are ugly and involve Diet Coke or Snickers.  There's a lot of sugar in the afternoons- frequent chocolate bars float around the office.

Dinner is usually an awesome home cooked meal by the hubby that involves good, real food. Think: chicken chili or Quorn burgers on those sandwich flats that are whole grain/ low carb.  Sometimes we eat out, but it's typically decent chain restaurants like Cheddars.

On the weekends it's more home-cooked good food with awesome breakfasts- lots of eggs and whole grains- tuna fish sandwich lunches and good dinner. When K's not home- not so much. That looks more like snacking all day- peanut butter toast, yogurt with granola, Starbucks and a pastry at Target.

Oh- Starbucks! I stop there every Friday morning for a grande mocha w/ one pump mocha, one pump caramel brulee, no whip. And a warmed pastry- usually a muffin- apple bran or zucchini walnut. I feel better about myself saying that, even though they probably have the same volume of lard as the apple fritter.

Sooo, I think I'm semi-healthy, but definitely not legitimately so. It's more half-assed and not working.  The only thing I have going for me is my food allergies (crap only) and awesome husband. Big girl pants- here I come.

Launching Point

In the last year I've had a little time between school and work to start learning about the effects of food on health. Not just the big picture (of course vegetables are good for you, duh), but I've been focusing on the impact of gut balance to overall health. I can't link, but watching Natasha Campbell-McBride on the Mercola channel on YouTube was my launching point.
I have semi-frequent migraines. Probably a few a month. Fortunately they're pretty controllable with medication, but I can't seem to make them stop. I can't tolerate preservatives, sulfites/ates, food coloring, or beer on certain days.
As much as I want to consume every single book on gut health out there, I don't have that kind of time to take away from my school work, and I'd like to start making changes sooner rather than later.
So I went and saw a nutritionist. She isn't as intense as McBride, but she was recommended by my friend who has read all of the books and has taken her family to the far reaches of healthy lifestyle. I don't see myself going there any time soon, but I think it's pretty awesome what she has taught herself and accomplished for her family.
So anyways, the nutritionist. K and I went in to do our evaluations and then meridians. (Hello, awesome!) She tested our meridians and gave us the diagnosis. It's hard to 100% be on board with the whole meridian thing, but the diagnosis is candida overgrowth. Thanks to Dr Google, I am on board with the assessment. It's where I have been going with the research as well.  The 35-day diet is essentially brown rice or quinoa, greens and chicken or fish protein, with veggies representing 2/3 of the diet.  I kind of don't care whether the meridians are accurate or not- I really feel like this is something I need to do for my body. I've been way too stressed the last year, and I need to give it a break and force myself to stop eating crap all the time. Going through this with a nutritionist who is telling me exactly which organic supplements to take just makes it that much easier. It's pricey, but that seems to be the theme for not having time to do it myself and still making sure it gets done right.

So here we go. I cut caffeine first, and the diet starts in three days.