Returning to GF/Paleo: Days 2 and 3

Welcome back!  If you missed the first 2 posts of the series, you can see them here and here.

Day 1 was rough.  I felt like I was hungry all day long.  I need to start eating more raw veggies to fill up, but if they don't sound good, I can't eat them, or I get nauseous and won't be able to eat anything for quite a while, which is not okay with me.

I want to take a minute to talk about meat.  I'll be honest and say I don't concern myself with the fat content of most meat I purchase.  We eat a lot of uncured bacon, and we've been eating quite a bit of the 1/4 + 1/8 of the organic, grass-fed beef that's in our freezer.  Chicken is something we used to eat a ton of, but only have once or twice a week at this point.  Firstly, because of the cost.  And secondly, because it's so much more convenient to cook the beef we already have.

That being said, if I spot a deal, I SNAP IT UP!  Thankfully, we have a flex budget every paycheck that allows us to go beyond our usual cash grocery budget if need be.  I went shopping yesterday to round out a few things we needed for the coming week and scored a huge deal on free-range, organic chicken.  It was nearing its expiration date, but since we keep it in the freezer until the day we use it, I'm not worried about it going bad.  I grabbed 5 packs of chicken breasts, 6 packs of thighs, and a whole chicken, each pack marked down around 30%.  I also found some uncured breakfast sausage links, which are a rare treat for us, and a package of uncured spicy Italian sausage that will be perfect for the next time I make zuppa, also with a 30ish% mark down.  If you really want to be on top of great meat deals, ask the department what day/time they mark the discounts, that way you can be there for first pick.

All that out of the way, here's what I ate on Day 2.  I'm still including how often I'm drinking water, to give you a good idea of just how much you can get in during the day.  I keep my handy-dandy Dirty Girl water bottle with a straw-like spout with me at all times, so it's easy to just sip on it all day long.

Water

Scrambled eggs with broccoli and bacon
Coffee with coconut creamer
Water
Banana
Water
Greek yogurt with chocolate chips and pecans
Water
Chicken with sliced cucumbers (I kept one of those packs of chicken thighs out of the freezer to bake for a late lunch.  It was perfect!  The cucumbers, however, just tasted like chemicals, despite being organic, washed, and peeled.  Very disappointing.)
Water

Carrot

Water
Gf pizza (I used Bob's Red Mill GF Pizza Mix.  For sauce I just used some organic crushed tomatoes and seasoned it myself with red pepper flakes, garlic, and oregano.  Topped the kids' with cheese, uncured pepperoni and black olives while Captain and I had cheese, uncured pepperoni, spinach, mushrooms, pickled jalapenos, and black olives.)
Water

After dinner we scooted off to a ping-pong social with Captain's work friends.  We had Pirate Booty and some GF cookies for a snack.  With water, of course.

Here we are at the end of Day 3.  It was an odd day, since I spent half of it out of the house, but with a little preparation I was able to still make good choices!

As usual, I started the morning off with water and then my coffee with creamer.  I packed myself an apple, a bag of mixed nuts (almonds, walnuts, and macadamia), a to-go cup of chocolate almond milk, and a banana, then my local bestie picked me up and we headed to the Dirty Dash!

I had the apple and nuts before the race, for carbs and fat, but stopped drinking water about 40 minutes before the run.  There was no chance of me trail-stopping for a pee break.

Apparently, that's my "Look strong" face.  Yeah.

My dad's response to this picture was that we needed to go play outside.  What a funny guy.

Immediately after we finished I grabbed some water and a banana.  I rinsed off a teeny-tiny bit, then we headed over to grab a smoked turkey leg (They gave me 2!  What, did they think I needed the extra calories or something?) and I drank my almond milk before playing get-changed-without-anyone-seeing-my-goodies in the woods.  I think we were successful. 

On the way home I had water, my banana and a GF Cliff bar that they were handing out at the Dash.  Here's what I've had since cleaning off 3 layers of mud:

Water

Yogurt with chocolate chips and walnuts

Water and a 3 hour nap.

A carrot (and the first ripe pea from my garden!)

Water

Dinner: Grilled flank steak, mashed sweet potatoes (with butter and a touch of coconut sugar), roasted beets, and green salad with some dressing. With, you guessed it, water to drink.

Now I'm sitting/laying (it's really hard to type while laying on your left side, btw) in bed, trying to discourage contractions!  Whee!!  I do plan on sneaking down for a cookie, or maybe a piece of super dark chocolate once the kids go to bed.

Tomorrow is Sunday, which is Captain's day to sleep in, so I'll be making one of our favorite grain-free pancake recipes tomorrow and hitting the Farmer's Market for some local produce!

First Dinner, Preparations, and First Full Day- Returning to GF/Paleo

If you missed the preface post to this one, you can read it here: Double Whammy.

So, you're all caught up on WHY I'm returning to a gluten-free/Paleo/Primal lifestyle.

Here's how we're getting started.

Thankfully, I've kept quality meats at the top of my grocery priority list, even at my laziest.  We have grass-fed, organic beef, free-range chicken, and a bit of wild caught fish in the freezer along with a few cuts of pork and loads of uncured breakfast meat like bacon and chicken sausage.

I had plans to roast a chicken to go with the fettuccine alfredo I was craving like mad, so I had a thawed chicken in the fridge when I learned that my switch to gluten-free had to be immediate.  Scrounging around the cupboards, I found rice, organic crushed tomatoes, and canned coconut milk.  CREAMY CURRY TIME (recipe will be at the end of the post)!

We already use olive oil, butter, lard, or coconut oil to cook everything, so that's not going to be a hard switch.  I made our grocery list after dinner, keeping in mind what we have discovered works for our family and what doesn't, and hit the road.

I happily took my time perusing the shelves for what I wanted.  As I was leaving, this happened...

May have just yelled 'Slug Bug Yellow' in the grocery store parking lot for my kids. I went shopping by myself. #AlwaysMom #ISwearImNotCrazy
— Jessica Cobb (@DomesticPirate) June 20, 2013

Going from what I brought home and what we already have, this is the plan for the next few days (all of it is gluten free and as much as possible is organic).

• (Alongside my coffee with coconut hazelnut creamer) Breakfasts will consist of:

Gluten free steel cut oats once or twice a week
Eggs with veggies (either broccoli or kale) and bacon/sausage most mornings
Hard boiled eggs on lazy mornings (read: mornings I don't have to cook Captain's post-workout breakfast)
On weekends I'll make Paleo pancakes or waffles

• Lunches:

Leftovers from dinner
Tomato soup
Tuna/chicken salad with kraut and cucumbers
Hard boiled eggs with salad or black olives

• Snacks:

Fruit
Nuts
Kettle Brand potato chips (Kettle Brand, NOT Lay's Kettle; non-GMO is important!)
Homebrewed kombucha

• Dinners:

Spaghetti with meaty marinara and salad (from my garden!)
Beef with roasted red potatoes and beets
Roast chicken with lentil soup

• Treats:

Greek yogurt with pecans and Enjoy Life chocolate chips
Almond shortbread cookies
Silk Dark Chocolate Almond Milk

It's important to note that during the first few days of a dietary change, your body will rebel.  HARD.  I feel like I am starving today, so I'm allowing myself to eat as much as my body thinks it needs, even if it's trying to trick me.  I'm also drinking copious amounts of water to help flush as much gunk out of my system as possible.

Today, I had:

• Water with my cranberry and spirulina supplements.
• Coffee with coconut creamer and 2 hard boiled eggs.
• Water.
• Water.
• Cookie.
• Water.

Lunch: leftover roasted chicken breast, half an avocado, and a handful of black olives.

• Water.
• Kettle chips.
• About 8 oz. kombucha
• Water. 
• Water.
• Greek yogurt with pecans and chocolate chips.
• Water.
• The leavings of the kids' mango.
• Water, water, water.
• GF spaghetti with meaty marinara and salad greens from our garden with a touch of dressing.
• Water.
• Chocolate almond milk.
• And more water.

Yes, I had lots of treats today and not many veggies.  No, I'm not worried about it.  Like I said above, my body is rebelling against the changes I'm making and I'm doing what I can to cope with alternatives.  I'm hoping all this water will not only flush out some of those SAD toxins, but help me deal with the allergies that are making me want to claw my eyes out right now, too.

  Now, on to the SUPER easy curry recipe!!

Sautee diced onion in coconut oil in a large pan.  Add diced zucchini.  Season generously with curry seasoning, paprika, garlic, and salt.  Add cans of coconut milk/cream and 12 oz. crushed tomatoes.  Simmer until it begins to thicken, then add half of the roasted chicken (I do exactly half, mixing white and dark meat), torn into bite sized pieces.  Let it simmer a few more minutes, taste to decide if it needs more curry or tomato, then serve on top of steamed rice or riced cauliflower!  If you can, steam your rice in half water and half chicken broth for a flavor AND nutrient bonus.  The best thing about this recipe is you can add whatever veggies you want to customize it to your family's tastes.  I LOVE sweet potatoes and cauliflower in my curry, but the Pirate Crew does NOT.  We also like this recipe without the tomatoes, and we add large chunks of bell peppers to the onions.  It is great the night of, but I love it even more reheated a day or two later!
 
Don't forget to clean the other half of the chicken and keep the meat for leftovers or tomorrow's dinner and SAVE THAT CARCASS, drippings, and giblets to make some chicken broth!

Dump all of those chicken remains (skin and everything!) into a crockpot, dice up an onion (carrots and celery tops are great, too) to toss in, cover with water, and let simmer on low for at least 12 hours.  This stuff is gut health GOLD!

If you try the curry, please let me know what you think! 

Double Whammy; The news that shook me out of my SAD diet stupor.

Being pregnant is hard.  Being food conscious is hard, too.  Being pregnant AND food conscious?  SUCKS.

My body has been craving simple carbs like mad.  Know what's full of simple carbs?  Crap.  Conventional, boxed, overly processed CRAP.  In a battle between hormones, sciatic pain, pelvic pain, and food cravings, the cravings are the easiest to take care of.

So instead of being our usual 80/20 selves (80% Primal, 20% not Primal but mostly clean with an occasional cheat thrown in), we've been more along the lines of 50/50 (50% crap, 50% whatever healthy thing I can manage to scrounge together).

The kids and Captain are LOVING it.  We've had crackers and cookies, bread for sandwiches, noodles and rolls with dinner, and take-out and fast food MUCH more than I am willing to admit.

I've been struggling.  Feeling guilty about allowing my family to eat this junk, feeding my family this junk, and every night I resolve to do better the next day.  Then, the next day rolls around and it's the same story.

Until yesterday.

**History break.  During each of my pregnancies my blood platelet count has dropped low.  Low enough that I hemorrhage after delivery and need intervention in the form of a clotting injection.   Anything less than 100 can cause extra delivery complications.

Yesterday my platelet count came back much lower than it has previously been at this stage in my other pregnancies; at 29 weeks my count is at 105.  Group F Strep was also found in my urine samples, meaning I have a urinary tract infection; not from e Coli, as most are, but from strep, pointing to an imbalance in my gut flora.

Low platelets AND a UTI.  Fun.

My doula picked the brains of a few colleagues and informed me that there are some inconclusive studies out there linking gluten to low platelet counts during pregnancy.  There are also a few connections between chlorella consumption and increased platelet count.  

So begins an experiment.  I'm officially going back to a strictly gluten-free diet, and at the same time falling back into a mostly Paleo lifestyle, with the exception of rice, red potatoes, and quinoa for simple carbs and Greek yogurt for extra protein and probiotics.  I'm also taking an spirulina supplement for chlorella and cranberry extract, to see if it helps my UTI in conjunction with focusing on gut healing foods.

In the spirit of camaraderie, I thought I'd share what we're eating the first few days of our re-adjustment, in case there are others out there needing some easy ideas, or a sympathetic ear.

If you live a gluten-free, Paleo/Primal, or clean eating lifestyle, what revelation(s) made you start?  Have you had any stops and restarts?

Check back tomorrow for the next post, which will include a curry recipe, meal plan ideas, and preparations for the first few days.

Easy Peasy Gluten Free Lunch: 6-Toothed Toddler Approved!

Peeled, shredded zucchini in scrambled eggs, served with organic ketchup and avocado on a corn tortilla.

 

Notice how the tortilla ended up, veritably untouched, on the table?

This one demanded seconds.  His tortilla also ended up being cast aside.

I happened to like my eggs wrapped up nicely in the tortilla.  And they never noticed the zucchini.