Christmas Temptation

I had Christmas Eve dinner with my parents. My dad was craving a non-traditional meal.  We had a Middle Eastern spread that included chicken and lamb kabobs, rice, falafel, pita bread and hummus. We also had an Indian dish called malai kofta, which is a potato based vegetarian dish. I made kale chips as a green vegetable option.  It was all delicious and gluten-free with the exception of the pita bread, which I did not eat.  For dessert, my parents had Georgetown cupcakes and ice cream while I had my homemade gluten-free, sugar in the raw brownies.

My Christmas meal involved a bit more temptation. I went to my cousin's house for dinner. She had a buffet style dinner consisting of meats, rice and beans, vegetables, casseroles, sweet potatoes, rolls, biscuits and macaroni and cheese. Of course the gluten filled mac 'n' cheese, rolls and biscuits were calling my name!  I managed to stay focused and chose turkey breast, green beans, collard greens, sweet potatoes, rice and beans and broccoli casserole. The broccoli casserole was a good decadent option that distracted me from the mac 'n' cheese and now that I look at the list of foods on my plate, I realize I had plenty of satisfying options. Whenever I consider eating a gluten filled food, I remind myself that the end result will not just be a stomach ache.  I remember digestive issues have caused me inflammation, lack of vitamin absorption and lowered immunity and it's all very serious. 

On to temptation number two, dessert, my ultimate weakness. There was a table full of pies, cakes and cheesecake.  I knew before-hand I would be tempted to indulge in dessert more than the food so I came prepared with a dessert option that I could eat. I brought a cherry pie from Whole Foods that was gluten-free and refined sugar free.  I have to say I was still challenged to avoid the chocolate fudge cake, homemade cheesecake and my all time favorite, yellow cake with chocolate icing, which looked homemade.  I did have my gluten and refined sugar free pie but I spent the rest of the evening pondering whether or not to have just one slice of cake. It felt like I had an angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other. What a long night! Sigh. I reminded myself that even if I were willing to deal with brain fog as a result of the refined sugar which I could avoid in upcoming days, the gluten would take a larger toll on my overall health and right now my body needs to heal. I also planned to make a cake that I could eat the next day, so I just needed to hold on. I made it through Christmas without doing damage and woke up the next day clear-headed and energetic making staying on-track worth it.

Brown Rice

This week I've been focused on eating whole grains. I've learned very quickly that eating the right grains will keep you full and satisfied for hours.  I have been craving eggs lately and decided to make myself scrambled eggs with goat cheese and chicken andouille sausage.  I was in the mood for brunch but it was Friday afternoon and I also didn't want to debate about whether the meal I would order is gluten-free and refined sugar free.  As I was preparing my homemade brunch, I decided to mix in some cooked brown rice.  Not only was it filling and satisfying but I was not hungry again until 5 hours later!  That's not even happened with the largest brunch buffet meal I've had in the past. 

For a couple of days I've been craving a creamy, cheesy casserole. I decided to make a brown rice and black bean casserole. I also added the chicken andouille sausage, which is my alternative to predictable grilled chicken, green chiles, cream of chicken soup and cheddar and monterey cheese.  It was super easy to make and was delicious and since I added so many flavorful ingredients, it didn't require a lot of seasoning. I have leftovers for the next few days (that I actually want to eat) so no cooking for me! I intended to add some steamed broccoli to the casserole but I forgot so I had kale chips on the side which actually added a nice crunch.

Energy!

After a couple of weeks without gluten and refined sugar plus the addition of green vegetables, I have so much of energy!  I've gone out late with friends during the week and on Sunday without feeling like I need to drag myself out or say no because I need to rest up for work the next day.  This is all very interesting, I am not moody, and actually very happy and excited to the point where I am staying up way too late (which I need to curb as that will surely cause other problems).  I now realize that I've limited myself from enjoying activities in the past due to fatigue and fear of being even more tired the next day.  Who knew that a diet adjustment can possibly improve your quality of life?!

I had my cupcake and champagne party this weekend, which was a blast!  I ordered my fav Georgetown cupcakes for my friends.  I have to admit after one look at those picture perfect cupcakes, it crossed my mind to just have one little innocent gluten and sugar filled cupcake.  However, once I thought about the possibility of losing this high that I've been on the past two weeks, I quickly turned to my gluten-free, sugar in the raw cake that I baked so that I too can have some cakey goodness to enjoy...and all was well. :-)

By the way, I found this spread in Whole Foods that is made from honey, cocoa, butter and milk.  It has a flavor that reminds me of caramel but more subtle.  I used this on my cake as an icing and it turned out well.  I'm not a fan of caramel and would prefer a more chocolate flavor, but in small doses this spread works for me and until I can find a good replacement for typical sugary icings, it remains an option. 

Green Vegetables

I began focusing on my gluten-free and refined sugar-free diet the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  I was pleasantly surprised by the quick results. Monday I returned to work after a two week vacation where I traveled to Europe and celebrated Thanksgiving with family. Normally, I would have felt like I was run over by a Mack truck, feeling fatigued and cranky but instead I was energetic and my mind was clear, no brain fog.  It is amazing that I can feel so great after omitting my food triggers for two days!  Very eye opening!

I met with my nutritionist this week and the topic was greens. I really enjoyed this session because it reminded me of the importance of eating green vegetables. I know we have always been told to eat our vegetables but I have completely overlooked their vital benefits. I don't dislike vegetables, broccoli is my fav, but I also don't crave them and never deemed them necessary to function. I rarely eat them, maybe once a week which is clearly not enough. So out of the list of benefits, blood purification stood out to me the most. I cringe thinking about damage done by having toxins in your blood. Another benefit that stood out to me was improved liver, gall bladder and kidney function and considering my issue of a congested liver, I see that I have not done my body good!  Of course cancer prevention is a huge benefit that we all should acknowledge.

My assignment is to have two green vegetables a day and to prepare 3 in a way that I've not done before.  I was initially intimidated by this challenge since I don't cook, I'm usually exhausted after work and I am lucky to have a veggie once a week.  Well this week was perfect, I'm not traveling and I'm able to work from home so it was perfect timing for me to get started right away.  Excited about already feeling great since I omitted gluten and refined-sugar and looking forward to feeling even better after receiving the nutrition from green vegetables, I ran to whole foods the next day and grabbed asparagus and broccoli rabe. That evening I decided to prepare the asparagus to go along with my leftover Thai food and a Whole Food green cold-pressed juice (Emerald River: kale, broccoli, celery, lemon, apple and ginger).  Even though I was starving and could have easily warmed up my Thai food in a minute and be satisfied, I stayed committed to my asparagus.  I decided to roast them by placing them on a baking sheet drizzled with olive oil, Himalayan pink sea salt and lemon juice. At about 450 degrees, it cooked up in 15 minutes. I admit it was very easy and quick to prepare.