Days 11 and 12

Day 11: Up early, so that I could go to the Farmer’s Market before heading to Tiguex park for some fun FYI bootcamp movement. I had my usual protein shake before taking off. Upon return I made some Elimination Diet pancakes but this time, we topped them with sautéed strawberries and raspberries. Pretty Good! :-) For lunch and dinner we cooked some black eyed peas and put a spaghetti squash in the oven.

Spaghetti Squash Dinner:

Spaghetti squash halved, rub inside with coconut oil, cover and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour or until flesh pulls away easily with a fork into spaghetti like strands.

 

I topped the spaghetti squash with organic marinara sauce and some red chile sauce, cilantro, chopped cashews, and onion. Tonight we served it with black eyed peas, mustard greens and nopales con chile (cactus with chile).

                                         

Tonight we went to the neighbors for a party and we had some hot apple cider. It was a good thing we ate well before we went, or we would have been more tempted by the goodies. I tried to stay out of the kitchen area and in hind sight, I guess we could have brought something to snack on, so we didn’t feel left out.

Day 12: Another workout in the park this morning and a protein shake. My lunch and snack were leftovers from yesterday. We watched the Steelers win an awesome game against the Patriots, YEAH! Dinner was a nice bowl of Lentil soup, grilled veggies, and a salad. Would have been great with a nice glass of wine….soon…9 more days and we can start adding foods back. By the time Thanksgiving comes, everything will taste SO GOOD!

12 Days into the Diet

It's getting harder.  I miss coffee in the morning, and I miss wheat.  I would probably not have stayed strictly on the diet without Angel's help!  Having enough food on hand has been the key.  My advice to anyone entering into this diet is to prepare well and make sure you keep loads of good food in the fridge-- rice, quinoa, veggies, chicken -- make sure there's something to grab when the urge hits!

Day 8

Today’s Menu

• Breakfast: Protein shake
• Snack: Apple, Celery and Almond butter
• Lunch: Brown Rice Wrap with hummus and veggies
• Snack: Applesauce bread
• Dinner: Baked Cod with roasted eggplant, peppers, and onion, sweet potato, and salad
• After dinner: Cinnamon tea

Today I made Applesauce Bread from the Elimination Diet recipes, it isn’t very sweet but it’s pretty good and pairs well with a cup of cinnamon or herbal tea. Here is the recipe:

Applesauce Bread

• 1 cup teff flour
• 1 cup oat flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 1/2 cup brown rice syrup
• Egg replacer = 1tbsp ground flax mixed with 1/3 cup water and let sit 5 min.
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3-4 Tbsp. apple butter (this is the only thing I didn’t have, so it was omitted)

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl, set aside. Combine wet ingredients in a small bowl and mix into the dry ingredient. Pour into 9 inch square pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Days 6 & 7

Finishing out the first week, YEAH!
Both yesterday and today, breakfast was the usual Protein Shake and a leftover pancake with almond butter. Lunch has been leftovers and a brown rice wrap with hummus, veggies and hot sauce. Dinner last  night was Pollo Pipian with black rice and salad. Tonight dinner was leftovers. Snacks have been celery and apple slices with almond butter and a rice cake with almond butter and fresh raspberries.

I am feeling great, lots of energy, less cravings and a little less hungry than usual. I still woke up and had to blow my nose, but I think that’s because of Ziggy, our long haired cat, who lays on the bed.
Recipe for Pollo Pipian:

4-5 Chicken Breasts (skin removed)
Chicken broth, about 4 cups(see the vegetable soup post if you want to make your own chicken broth)
4-5 Garlic cloves
1/2 cups pepitas aka...pumpkin seeds (shelled)
1/2 lb. bag Spinach or any other leafy green
4 Poblano Chiles (chop, seeds removed)
8 tomatillos (husk removed)   

Pan sear Chicken pieces, add chicken broth and bring to a full boil, continue to boil over medium high heat until done (no pink left). Let the chicken cool and shred into bite size pieces.
In a separate frying pan, toast pepitas sightly until light golden brown. Set aside. *No oil is needed, just a dry hot pan will do.
In the blender add spinach, poblano pieces, tomatillos, pepitas, garlic and just enough broth to blend easily. *This will have to be done in 2 or more batches.
Pour sauce over chicken pieces and simmer for about 10 min.

Top with sliced onion toasted pepitas. Serve as is or with rice, potato, steamed vegetables or quinoa. Tonight we served it with black rice and salad.

Day 5

Elimination Pancakes
with Sauteed Pears/Apples

Today I woke up with the most energy that I have had in a while. I was still a little congested, I often wake up and have to blow my nose, I am curious if that will change at all on this diet or if it is just due to having a cat in the bed?

 

I made my berry protein shake and headed to the park for a workout. When I got home, I decided to experiment with some pancakes. And I have to say, that I was very impressed with how good they tasted and each pancake has 5g of fiber, which is very good for gluten free cooking! Here is the recipe:

 

Elimination Pancakes

Combine dry ingredients and set aside:

• 1/2 cup gluten free oat flour
• 1/2 cup all purpose gluten free flour
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup teff flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

EGG:  In a separate bowl make the Egg Replacer by combining

• 2 tbsp ground flax seed and
• 1/2 cup water and let sit 5 minutes

 

MILK:  In another bowl mix

• 1 1/2 cup coconut milk with
• 1 1/2 tbsp white vinegar

Let sit 5 minutes

Combine the above egg and milk with

• 1/4 cup apple sauce with
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil.

Stir in dry ingredients. Do not over mix. You may need to add water for desired consistency.

Serve with sauteed fruit of your choice. We used pears and applesauce. Other options would be to top with sprinkle nuts or almond butter. This recipe made about 13 pancakes, enough for us to have fast easy leftovers for b'fast tomorrow.

Lunch today was leftover beans, cabbage and yak.

Afternoon snack was apple slices, granola and pecans

 

Dinner today was Delicious Pan Seared Salmon with sesame seeds, thyme and lemon, served with creamed parsnips, steamed cauliflower and broccoli and sliced tomatoes. I will let Mom elaborate on that recipe, that was all her.

 

I am feeling really good at this point. I really think that planning ahead is key in making this diet work. Leftovers make great lunches or can be frozen and saved for another day. I also advise to start slowly stocking the pantry with some of the baking items, flours, nuts, etc. before starting the Elimination Diet because it can be expensive to go out and buy it all at once. Prepare to plan and Plan to prepare, this IS totally doable!

Protein Shake



Shake ingredients

It is important to get enough protein in the morning and throughout the day to keep energy levels stable and allow for fat loss, not muscle loss, should you experience weight loss on this program. The protein shake works well for breakfast and at anytime during the day as a snack. Feel free to make variations, but this is the basic recipe:

• Scoop of Organic Rice Protein powder
• 1-2 cups Berries; fresh or frozen
• Coconut, almond, oat, rice milk, or water—enough to make it blend to desired consistency
• 1 tbsp. Flax seed oil

I like to mix my tsp of glutamine in a couple of ounces of water and then combine it with morning shake

Glutamine with a little water

Mix the Glutamine with the Shake

Shake it up baby now
Shake it up baby
Twist and shout
Twist and shout!!! 



Dinners the Last Few Days (This is a Diet??)

Sunday, 10/23:

Salmon, Parsnip Puree, Steamed Cauliflower and Broccoli, and Sliced Tomatoes

 

Saturday, 10/22:

Pumpkin stuffed with Yak, Garbanzos, Carrots, and Quinoa,

Sautéed Cabbage, and Kidney Beans

 

Friday, 10/21:

Tinga over Lettuce, Chayote squash, Beats, and Garbanzos