There is just something so soothing about a bowl of good soup. It becomes beyond soothing when you have been without food or drink for two weeks as I had been when hospitalized. I should add that the two weeks got rounded out with a few hospital food meals which might be even worse (but does that count as real food?). I was so ready to go home when I finally got released from the hospital. I missed my bed and my dog. I starting crying when Continue reading
PC: McLovin 2.0
I find myself doing A LOT of cooking on this RepairVite / AIP diet. Here’s the thing, I love cooking, but on this program, it does seem to take up quite a bit of my day. I have completed five full days of the program (not even a third of the way through the food elimination phase). My DH asked me today if we were almost done. He is doing a modified version of the program. He eats dried fruit and nuts as snacks. He is also drinking coffee (with sugar!). I introduced him to coconut sugar today. He had it in his coffee, but I don’t think it’s going to stick.
Thankfully some days we do plain ol’ leftovers—nothing fancy. However, we had unexpected guests on a leftover day, so we ordered out. It (the food) was a nice change for me/us. My DH and I ordered a rotisserie chicken and a green salad from our local Mediterranean restaurant. It worked! And it was easy and yummy. And we were able to have our guests order whatever they wanted meaning we didn’t have to submit them to our no-this no-that diet. It was a win-win situation. It was such a great experience that it got me thinking, “where else could we order food from and stay within the diet’s parameters?” Continue reading
Vegetable Root Chips are great on the go!
A lot of things went wrong today. I went to my rheumie appointment by myself. I haven’t gone by myself in months. But I have been feeling better, and the only appointment available didn’t work with my DH’s schedule. So off I went. Traffic was bad, and the carpool lane wasn’t an option as it usually is. I called the doctor’s office to let them know I’d be about 10-15 minutes late. What I thought was a professional courtesy did not work in my favor. The receptionist said that I would have to reschedule and that he was cancelling my appointment for the day. What?! I couldn’t believe it. I reiterated that I was calling to let them know I was going to be late not to reschedule. Ha! And he just reiterated right back—I needed to reschedule the appointment; they wouldn’t see me today since I was late. Ugh! I was incredibly frustrated. I told him I’d have to call him back when I could access my calendar (i.e. not driving). So what could I do? I was already across town. I might as well make the most of it. So, I went shopping–Whole Foods shopping that is. I grabbed a few ingredients and headed on out. The plan was to go to Whole Foods after my appointment and have lunch there, but no appointment, so I was there early. I decided to pass on WH’s lunch and just eat at home. Plus, it was before noon.
I hopped on the freeway and bam! Complete. stand. still. You know the kind that only happens after you get on the onramp? Here I was stuck. And then the worst thing happened. Continue reading
Today was my first day on the elimination diet. It went well for the most part. I woke up early (but later than I had planned) to make our turkey-sage sausages and sweet potatoes. The plan was to bake the sweet potatoes, but I got so caught up in making the sausages that I sort of forgot about the baking. I improvised and made sweet potato hashed browns (hashed oranges? No, that doesn’t work.) instead.
And speaking of sweet potatoes, I would be remiss if I continued without letting you know that I am actually talking about Continue reading
Tomorrow is the day I say no to sugar, no to gluten, no to soy, no to dairy, and YES to a healthy gut. I will be starting my food elimination diet for the next 3 weeks+. My naturopath describes the RepairVite program as a cross between the Paleo and Autoimmune Protocol diets.
It should be known that I had a s’mores with breakfast and an ice cream sundae for dessert tonight. Seven thirty p.m. was my cut off time. Not only am I starting this crazy gut-repairing diet tomorrow but I also have to go in for labs first thing in the morning. I have to fast for 12 hours. The fasting is a piece of cake; I can drink water. But the piece of cake that I will no longer be able to eat for three weeks will be missed…I think. I hear that a lot of people who give up sugar actually don’t crave it anymore. I am pretty sure I have a sugar addiction which is dangerous because Continue reading
My doctor gave me a bunch of sample menus for my RepairVite program (food elimination diet). My job this weekend is to plan out the first week’s menu and make the grocery list. I am going to go through the sample menus and start marking the recipes/items that sound good and doable. For instance, smoothies are definitely going to be on our list. Deli meat (Applegate) snacks are also going to be on my list. I will use the recipes that I have for the first week, and then I will start pursuing my books and the net for other permissible recipes. Right now, I am obsessed with the snack options. I think I am so obsessed with snacks because I always get the munchies in between meals. And with this program, I am supposed to put something into my mouth before I get the munchies. My doc told my DH, if I am cranky because I am hungry,
“This Program is not for the faint of heart or weak-willed. It’s definitely one of the hardest “diets” I’ve ever been on, but, in the end, it was the beginning of a transformation of my entire way of eating, how I look at food, and how I listen to and treat my body.”
I’ve been doing a bit of online research about this diet I am going to be on, and I ran across the above quote about the program I am about to start. The “hardest ‘diets’ I’ve ever been on” scared me a little bit. But, you know what? The “not for the faint of heart or weak of willed” got me pumped. I may have an autoimmune disease that has the potential to attack any of my organs on any given day, but guess what? Continue reading
I asked my rheumie if diet could help my condition (i.e. lupus symptoms, quality of life, inflammation); I explained that I knew there wasn’t a cure for lupus. I was just wondering if diet could help. He said, no. He said no studies have been done to support this idea. I wasn’t surprised by his answer. He’s a very good doctor, a very good old-school doctor. However, my DH and I believe that what you put into your systems has a direct correlation to your health. We decided it was time to see a Naturopathic doctor–a state-licensed medical doctor who combines conventional medicine practices with an array of natural and holistic treatment approaches. Here is a recount of our first meeting.
