Why I am no longer sugar free...

Hi, I have abandoned this blog as I am no longer sugar free...and I've never been happier or felt better!  If you'd like to know why, see my first blog post at my new blog here:

http://pleaseaddsugar.blogspot.co.nz/2013/11/why-i-turned-away-from-sugar-free-paleo.html 

Ang

Elimination diet - month 2, reintroduction phase

So, a few developments;  I can definitely tolerate the coconut milk yoghurt (even a whole cup!).  I've also successfully reintroduced carob, which means I can make a type of yummy faux chocolate with coconut oil and pure stevia extract (super yummy when I add a few drops of orange essential oil, cinnamon and cardamom!). I am probably eating way too much of this though...it's so easy to have in the fridge to grab when I'm hungry, but some-times I overdo it and feel a bit yuck.  I need to figure out more things to have in the fridge to grab and go.  I'm pretty hungry most of the time, with so few carbs in my diet...especially since I have cut down on the carrots (because my skin is turning orange!!). 

 

I also seem to be okay with a small kiwifruit and strawberries (not at the same time though, I have to watch my fructose intake).  I am also good with hemp protein and pine-nuts (which are seeds). 

 

Broccoli seems to be a no-go at the moment (and I love broccoli!) :( .  Sauerkraut is okay in moderate quantities.  

I'm planning to re-read through the recipe section before shopping day this week to get a little inspiration...my diet is very repetitive and I'm worried I'm overdoing some things (like coconut yoghurt and oil).  

The eczema under my eyes is looking a lot better this week (hooray!!)...still some redness but the skin is a lot smoother.  Haven't lost any weight (it's not my goal with this diet, but I always hold out hope...)

This week I'm going to try blueberries (yum!), kelp noodles and some new vegetables...maybe lettuce...would be nice to have to cook everything all the time!

Till next week...

Elimination diet - end of month one!

Well, it's been a month of ups and downs.  I've been through periods of being totally fine with my diet, and a few days where I've just really struggled, and messed up.  

Here is what I've tried re-introducing so far

Egg yolks - I can handle these digestive-wise, but it seems to flare up my facial eczema, so it's a no for now. 

Dairy - I knew I was pushing it with this, but I tried reintroducing kefir-fermented cream (because I love it and it's so healthy!)...but again, eczema flare up

Almonds & Cashews - soaked and dried nuts...I can digest these fine, but they do seem to cause an eczema flare up as well.

Banana - I can tolerate 1/2 a banana per day (hooray!), which makes a nice change from all the meat and veges, and gives me some much needed carbs (the only other carb I can eat ATM is carrots, and I've been eating too many...my skin has a light orange tinge!).  

Kale - I have really enjoyed adding another vegetable to my restricted diet...the other veges I can eat are zucchini (too expensive to buy at the moment!), spinach and green beans (which I'm totally sick of!).  I'm not sure if it's maybe giving me a little gas or not...I've added some new probiotics and fermented foods at the same time (I know,  I'm not supposed to add more than one thing at a time!) so it could be my body adjusting to that.  Kale chips are the bomb!! 

Coconut Milk Yoghurt - Had an epic fail on this recipe the first time around...was completely runny, even with the gelatine.  I've now sourced a brand of canned coconut milk that only has coconut (60%) and water, without all the stabilizers, emulsifiers and preservatives, which is what effected the ferment the first time around.  I used 1 TBS of gelatine (dissolved in half a cup of hot water - then cooled) mixed into the can of coconut with two probiotic capsules (I used this one which is the Bio-Kult GAPS diet recommended formula).  It tasted great, but I used way too much gelatine, so I'll try 2 tsp next time.  I fermented it for 10 hours in an electric yoghurt maker. I added stevia and ground vanilla beans (yum!).  Unsure if I tolerate this or not yet (too soon to say, I only ate it today!) as I don't tolerate regular coconut milk at all...I'm hoping the fact that it's fermented and without all the additives will mean I do...fingers crossed!

So, my list of confirmed NO's:

• Coffee (including decaf)
• Chocolate and cocoa
• Eggs
• Nuts
• Dairy

So, all in all, just enough success to keep me motivated (I'm SO appreciating anything I can add in at this point!!) and enjoying my food.  Of course, I'm disappointed about the egg yolks, nuts and dairy, but I'm not surprised, and I'd rather have the red, irritated eczema under my eyes gone!  

Thanks for stopping by and reading my ramblings! ;)

 

Bone Broth Healing Fast - Elimination diet - 3rd week

 

 Image from: http://www.eat-real-food-paleodietitian.com/gut-healing-bone-broth.html

So, I'm into my 3rd week now...only 6 more days until I can start reintroducing foods!  

I've decided to step things up a bit for my last week and I'm doing a liquid only fast for a few days (until I can't stand it any more and need to chew something!) with bone broth, and hot chai style gelatine drinks with virgin coconut oil and ghee, white and oolong tea (only before 2pm), or rooibos (red bush) tea, cinnamon, ginger, black pepper and stevia.

I can't find much info online about bone broth fasting, and the only article I did find was a proper, virtually calorie-free fast with only bone broth (fat removed) for 4 days.  I'm considering doing a day or two of broth only, without the gelatine/coconut oil drinks...but I don't much like being hungry, so we'll see how I feel tomorrow.

Today is day 2 of my liquid fast.  Haven't really been hungry...not sure how many tablespoons of coconut oil and ghee I've been having, but enough to fill me up anyway!  The 20oz (591ml) tub of virgin coconut oil I got on Monday is almost gone (it's Friday)...so I guess I've been averaging nearly 120g a day, plus at least 3 TBS of ghee.  Hmmm, I wonder if that's why I'm still having diarrhea!  It's either that or the turmeric, which I have reduced to 1 capsule plus 1/4 tsp in my morning chai. 

My thoughts behind doing this fast, is to give my digestive system a break and really nourish my gut.  I'm not committing to doing any particular number of days at this point...I'll eat tomorrow if I really feel like it, otherwise I'll do another day or two.  I'm a big believer in listening to my body and not pushing things that don't feel 'right'.  

Off to grab another cup of broth...thanks for stopping by!  

Edit: About two hours after writing this I decided that I needed to eat some actual food!  I was thinking that the fact that I have had diarrhea probably means that my digestive system is not happy with so much coconut oil and isn't getting a 'rest' at all.  Some-times you just need to listen to your body ;)

Elimination diet - days 10 - 13

 

Well, things are looking up since I last posted!!  All my bloating is GONE!  It got much worse in the first week of elimination and I was feeling pretty discouraged going into the second week!  My crazy cravings have gone again (praise the Lord!), and I have dropped nearly a kilo along with the bloating!  This has coincided with me starting to take turmeric (and now turmeric standardised 95% curcumin capsules) so I believe that it is healing the inflammation in my gut. 

I can't tell you how awesome it is to be free of the bloating!!  It makes the last two weeks all worth while, and gives me motivation to continue on my healing journey.  I'm also pretty excited about dropping a little weight...it has been nigh on impossible for me to lose at all (and I only want to lose 5 - 7kg!) with my digestive issues, so I'm pretty stoked!

Okay, gotta dash and pick up my 3 year old from kindy...thanks for stopping by! 

Elimination diet - days 7 - 9

So, this is were it starts to get hard...and it probably doesn't help that it's that time of the month...I feel like stuffing my face with everything crunchy and salty and sweet and chocolaty....pretty much everything I can't eat!  Just about going out of my mind!

BUT...I am totally committed to seeing this though (and seriously...I have to do this!)...I don't want to be dealing with IBS and multiple food intolerance's for the rest of my life...but it's hard when you still have to cook for other people and have all sorts of things in the house you can't eat. 

Okay, so that's my pity party over ;)

How I'm feeling:

Apart from wanting to stuff my face with contraband food...I had to cut out the pureed carrot "treat" I was making...it's really not good when you eat over 1kg of carrots within 24 hours...my tummy was NOT happy and it didn't stay in me long... ;) 

The eczema I've been getting under my eye, hasn't improved at all yet.

My bloating has reduced a bit today (probably the diarrhoea, ha!).  I have realised that I need to go easy on the green beans and the carrots, so reducing those has helped. 

I've also been having a lot of turmeric (up to 1 TBS per day) in turmeric chai lattes, and I think that is what's causing the diarrhoea I've been having for the last few days...not nice!  Thankfully I have some turmeric capsules coming on the courier tomorrow, which are concentrated to 95% curcuminoids (the good stuff in turmeric), so I won't have to take so much to get the intestinal and anti-inflammatory benefits.  

I've been reading that turmeric is also beneficial for weight-loss, so that's a bonus...might help with all the fat I have to eat at the moment (my body does not want to lose weight on extreme low-carb/high fat diets), I seem to need moderate carbs and moderate fat (more of a balance), which makes sense when I look at body type diet recommendations for my type of figure.

Okay, so I'm off to find something to do, to take my mind off my stomach!  Ugh...I'm hungry again!

Eliminiation diet - day 5 & 6

I am thinking now that it is going to be much too boring to post every day, so I think I'll just post every few days from now on instead!  

I am still feeling pretty good...the bloating is starting to subside now, and I'm not waking up bloated any more, which is nice!  

I'm eating the same stuff, but I've started adding 2-3 Rooibos tea, gelatine and coconut oil drinks per day.  They are actually very nice, as well as being super-foods for the gut.  

Frappe

4 tsp of gelatine (soaked in 1/3 cup cold water for 5 minutes)

1 cup of brewed Rooibos (Red Bush) tea (cooled).  

1-2 TBS Virgin Coconut oil

Cinnamon, cardamon and ginger to taste or a cap-full of natural essence/extract like banana or orange

A sprinkle of stevia 
Ice-cubes - 1 - 2 trays

*Optional* It emulsifies better if you add 1/2 tsp of guar gum in with the tea to thicken, but I'm not able to eat this at the moment.

Put the warm (but not hot) tea into the blender with the soaked gelatine and blend together to fully dissolve the gelatine.  Add coconut oil and blend again until melted.  Add one or two trays of ice-cubes (depending on size).  Blend on ice crushing mode (or keep turning on and off until the big chunks are broken up).  Blend until smooth.

This will thicken up on standing, so drink quickly or eat with a spoon!

Chai tea

Make as above, in the blender, but add a little extra boiling water instead of ice (maybe 1/2 cup).

Today I added a teaspoon of turmeric to my hot chai (I put it in with the teabag and then strained out).

Turmeric is extremely good for reducing inflammation and also for intestinal healing (among other things).  Read here for more info on Turmeric and a nice Turmeric Chai Tea Mix recipe.  

Thanks for stopping by!