AIP - DAY 1

Okay so for real today I started the autoimmune protocol (paleo-style), from here on out known as AIP. The weekend was just practice. My diet already takes a lot of planning (paleo) but adding AIP into it really makes it harder. I was already avoiding grains, seed oils, most dairy except for butter (of which I normally eat tons) and sugar, as well as eggs as I suspected a problem with those. Now I am adding to that list nuts, nightshades, and all dairy. No nuts is especially hard because nuts are such a convenient snack although I do tend to soak them and then dehydrate them which isn't time consuming but takes planning. This removes the phytic acid which can be irritating for those on a gut healing protocol, which is what I am basically trying to do with this - heal my gut. Anyway, today went well. I skipped lunch as I had nothing prepared and you cannot take shortcuts on this diet. I had had 3 sausages, leftover roasted butternut squash, and sauerkraut for breakfast so skipping lunch wasn't so bad. I felt a little iffy in the late afternoon but then my body sort of adjusted and I was ok. Dinner was amazing, I bought Mickey Trescott's autoimmune paleo cookbook -- which is where last night's butternut squash recipe came from -- and so far it is great. I spent the afternoon making homemade coconut milk (can't have the guar gum in the canned stuff and anyway it bugs my stomach), a cream of broccoli soup recipe from her blog which was very good, lamb meatballs with olives, spinach and garlic, and roasted sweet potatoes. And what is always good is that I have some leftover for tomorrow. Over the weekend I also made coconut butter from the cookbook, something that I have always bought in the store. I did not realize how easy it is to make yourself -- just blend up a bunch of coconut until it is a smooth paste. It is so wonderful to demystify the processes behind all these packaged things we purchase at the grocery store for so much more money than it costs to make yourself. Of course we don't all have time to make these things for ourselves so we pay to have it done for us --- and that is essentially how we become disconnected from food, what it is, how it behaves, and so on. The photo is of one of yesterday's snacks: banana slices with coconut butter and cinnamon on top. Yum.

All of this is certainly a lot of work but it will be interesting for me to see how I feel after a couple weeks, and also what happens when I add these foods back in. I think a lot about my relationship to the domestic world, and the time it takes to take care of ones self, even if you are not on some special diet. The fact is shopping for and preparing food - and the constant stream of dishes and messes it produces -- is a large job that can take up an enormous amount of time. I feel a lot of tension between my need to feed myself and my family well and tend to matters of the home and other work I want to do outside the home. I am happiest when making films or deeply involved in some journalistic or creative endeavor, and there just is not much time in the day, or in life. I also believe in the importance of sleeping enough, of getting your circadian rhythms straightened out. I am chronically sleep deprived. Once my child goes to sleep at night I want to dive into books and research and all the things I think about doing. It is very difficult to balance all these things. It is, in fact, impossible.

More tomorrow. 

Oops.....

I messed up -- I was all on track with this AIP thing and then today I got out some beef liver pate that I made recently. It was frozen. I was very hungry and had little in the house for lunch that I could eat on this diet. About halfway through eating it I remembered that it had butter in it. So day one will be tomorrow. It was delicious, though, and made me feel pretty good. So stay tuned!

The Autoimmune Protocol: Week One

Today I started something called the autoimmune protocol, which is a set of dietary protocols for people suffering from autoimmune symptoms. Since I have so many suspected autoimmune symptoms, I am going to give this a shot. Most of what I know about this approach comes from reading The Paleo Mom and Autoimmune Paleo, both of which I highly recommend. Basically the diet is similar to what I am already doing, except in addition to no grains, legumes, or processed sugars, I will also eliminate nuts, seeds, all dairy (even ghee!), eggs (which I barely eat now due to sensitivity) and members of the nightshade family. Fortunately since I am already accustomed to doing paleo, this won't be TOO difficult. I am going to do this for 30 days and see how my symptoms change, if at all. Slowly I will add back in each of these foods and see if there is any reaction. I am just really sick of these lingering symptoms and want to do everything I can to eliminate them and feel even better.

On my first day of this diet I had homemade applesauce with coconut oil and some bananas mixed in for breakfast. I don't usually eat this much fruit for breakfast, and definitely not without some protein or something less sweet, but that is what I was craving and it did not bother me. For lunch I had my homemade breakfast sausage patties (beef sausage with sage and AIP-compliant spices), sauerkraut, and some steamed cauliflower with peas, topped with garlic and olive oil. For dinner, some chicken veggie soup, apples wrapped with prosciutto, and throughout the day sipped chamomile lavender tea and water. My hormones are not treating me too well right now ;) so I am hoping to feel better tomorrow. Will report throughout the next 30 days on how this all goes!

Moses' Roses

At the Portland Rose Garden, August 2013

I can touch both trees!

Down the garden path - ready to see (and smell!) more roses

Mmmmm....this one smells like a banana!

Tossing rose petals into the fountain

Wearing Mommy's hat!

Funny face!

Contemplating a rose found on the ground

Lentil Soup for the Soul

Okay, so this picture on its surface has nothing to do with lentil soup, except that it's me, yesterday, when I was feeling totally drained of all energy. It felt like someone had literally sucked all the life out of me. I don't know why I felt this way -- could be allergies, or just that I need more sleep, or maybe a deficiency of some sort, possibly zinc. I think extended breastfeeding can really take a lot out of a person, and there are just some days when I really feel out of it. Anyway, I've been craving a lot of nutrient-dense soups lately, and have been generally drawn to eating a bit lighter now that summer is here. I wanted to share a delicious recipe for lentil soup I recently made (and am still enjoying every day for breakfast while it lasts!). I made this soup with homemade bone broth made with beef marrow bones, simmered for 48 hours. When cooled, this broth is quite gelatinous so very rich and nutritious. Making soup with this broth is a great way to get a lot of nutrition in in a way that is easy on the digestion, good for people who are healing or depleted in some way.

Here's the recipe, modified slightly from Sally Fallon's wonderful book, Nourishing Traditions:

Roman Lentil Soup (this recipe left me plenty for leftovers to freeze).

Ingredients:

• 3 medium onions, peeled and sliced, or 3 leeks washed, trimmed and sliced (I used leeks!)
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 tbsp butter (I used ghee here)
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 quarts of homemade beef or chicken stock, or combo of filtered water and stock (I used all stock except for one cup)
• 2 cups red or brown lentils, rinsed and soaked for 7 hours (don't skip the soaking!)
• several sprigs of fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp dried green peppercorns (I used mixed peppercorns)
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• sea salt or fish sauce, and pepper
• creme fraiche (you can use good-quality sour cream if you can't find creme fraiche) 

In a large, stainless steel pot, cook onions or leeks and carrots gently for about 1/2 hour in butter and olive oil. When the vegetables are soft, add stock and lentils and bring to a boil. The lentils will produce some degree of foam -- be sure to skim this off. Reduce heat and add thyme, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Simmer, covered, until the lentils are tender, about 1/2 hour. Remove the thyme and bay leaves.

Puree soup with a handheld blender (or a regular blender is fine too). If necessary (it wasn't for me), thin the soup to desired consistency with water or more stock. Reheat slightly and season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls, adding lemon juice and creme fraiche on top. Yum!!!

I am telling you people, this is an amazing soup recipe. The bay and thyme smell heavenly while the soup simmers. But you have to use homemade stock -- that is what makes it. Do not use store-bought stock or boullion cubes. It will not be good. Good stock is also what turns it into a meal, as opposed to an appetizer. The creme fraiche isn't imperative, but it definitely puts it over the top. You could also use yogurt, that would also be really good. Another option is to chop up some fresh herbs like parsley or chives, and mix in. To make stock is simple: put chicken (whole carcass) or beef marrow bones from organic (and preferably pastured) animals into a pot with some crushed garlic, peppercorns, and about 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar per 3 lbs bones. Add filtered water and simmer for 24 hours for chicken stock, and 48 for beef. It's good to use a slow cooker so you don't have to watch it or worry about the stove being on while you're out. You can also add some chopped carrot or leftover herbs, and/or onion (don't peel if organic), but it's not necessary.

So for the picture: I included it partly because I wanted to post and didn't have a pic of the soup to include. But also because I have been trying to figure out not only what to eat, but what to wear with this new Portland lifestyle I've got going on here. It's been challenging adapting to this climate (very wet for much of the year), and this lifestyle of biking everywhere. I have sold off to thrift stores I'd say probably 2/3 of the clothing I owned in New York. Not only did most of it not fit post-baby, but most of it was just stuff that is not compatible with being a stay-at-home, work-from-home mom and basically biking everywhere. Anyway, I liked this outfit - simple shades of grey (save the shoes!). I considered it a success relative to certain other days where I wake up and stare blankly into my closet. I think I have figured out how to dress here without completely abandoning some sense of style, and without looking like a walking advertisement for REI (nothing against REI - I love it, but there are people who walk around with this sort of gear on all the time).  It's a very tricky marriage of utility and comfort with style. Sometimes I wish I could just go back to M. Dumas and Sons in Charleston, where we used to shop as kids, and pick up some Dickies, Lee jeans, and some of those preppy leather mocs we always wore. On another note, WHEN did Dumas turn into a men's-only shop????

Cilantro-Cauliflower "Rice" with Spiced Ground Beef and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

The title of this post speaks for itself. But a word of explanation on the "rice": I have completely stopped eating grains, after a lot of diet experimentation over the years, and after having done a lot of research on the effects of grains on health. It sounds like a radical, even crazy move, to a lot of people, but it's one of the best decisions I ever made regarding health and diet. Not everybody is like me, obviously, and some people will have a better tolerance for grains than me perhaps. But for me it has been a life changer and all for the positive. My naturopathic doctor once said to me that he believes giving up grains is one of the best things you can do for your health. From personal experience, I now believe that that statement was totally reasonable and correct.

I'm not going to say a lot about what the issues are with grains because that has been written about extensively already. But some of my influences are the Paleo style of eating, as well as something called GAPS, which is all about healing your gut as the root to other problems. The more I read about gut health the more I am convinced that it is at the root of a lot. Anyway, I also find Mark Sisson's blog, Mark's Daily Apple, to be a great resource, both for health and for recipe ideas. Oh, and I cannot forget the brilliant Gary Taubes, who is basically my hero, both journalistically and dietarily speaking. 

But just to say a few brief things about grains: the biggest issue is the carbohydrate load they represent in the diet. I have been tracking my carb intake using something called "fatsecret," a free online program (there are lots of these out there), and I was amazed to find out that 3 cups of sliced apples has the same amount of carbs as a cup of brown rice (I would have thought apples would have more). The point is carbs cause your insulin to spike, which sets off a whole host of bodily reactions, and this is something I am trying to minimize. I am very insulin-sensitive at this point, and have always been very sugar sensitive, so I REALLY FEEL it when I eat excess carbs. Not everybody does -- though I will say that I notice my reaction to sugars and excess carbs a lot more than I used to because being off of it makes you see it more. It's actually kind of scary - now I'm like, wow, was I really feeling that shitty all this time? Anyway, I think carb reduction/restriction is a good idea for most people, and essential if you are trying to lose weight. I am giving an extremely superficial discussion here about why grains are not great for you -- but check it out there is tons on this out there and it is really compelling.

I am going into all of this because as you will note I don't include grains in these recipes. And no dairy -- because I am too sensitive to it, as well as eggs. So you will find here recipes that include meats, fish, poultry, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and oils/fats. That is basically my diet. Anyway, it doesn't really matter because the recipes are all really good and family members have been asking me for them so....

This post is about something I recently cottoned to - of course it is once again an idea partly gleaned from Practical Paleo. I've seen several recipes for cilantro-cauliflower rice (there is one in the book) - it is a wonderful rice substitute -- better than rice in my mind. So in this dish you make up some CC rice and then saute some ground beef with a little onion and a spice blend. Practical Paleo has all these awesome spice blends you can make yourself for different dishes. I made this one with the curry spice blend - but I skipped the curry powder cause I thought it sounded good without. So it had cumin, cinnamon, onion powder I think - that was basically it. Then I roasted some cherry tomatoes in oven (yet another recipe from PP) -- and topped it off with these and it was DELICIOUS. There are endless variations on this, you could use ground lamb, or turkey, and instead of tomatoes put in some olives or parsley or avocado, or steamed carrots, or anything really! This is excellent if you want something fast and don't have any brilliant ideas. I love it because it's for some reason something I like to eat for breakfast - and breakfast can be a challenging meal if you don't eat eggs, grains, or dairy. Those are basically the ingredients that define the American breakfast. But I am super used to eating stuff people would normally eat for lunch or dinner for breakfast. If I roast some salmon one night, I will eat the rest of it for breakfast with whatever veggies are leftover, or with some berries or grapefruit. Yum!

The Most Delicious Dinner

Okay so I know the photo isn't that pretty (I'm no Susie!), but seriously folks this is one of the most delicious dinners I have ever had. It's lamb meatballs with a fig and balsamic compote, served with roasted cauliflower and steamed asparagus. It was freakin' amazing. I felt a little funny after I ate it but I think it was just because I am a little sensitive to balsamic - the compote was a little sweet for me, I guess. But it was amazing and I highly recommend it. It was, of course, from Practical Paleo, the book I am really into right now. I promise to move on to other stuff soon and to post more actual recipes, but for now I am just really into trying all the recipes in this book -- they are that good! One thing about the book that I love is that the recipes are all really pretty easy. So again I highly recommend. I would eat this for breakfast!!!

More soon! Happy eating!