Recipes

My Adventure with an Elimination Diet!

Every since we have been using oils, I’ve been getting a little more health conscious. As you may know, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder about twelve years ago. When looking up what to eat I would see anything from go paleo to cut out everything except water (that’s an exaggeration, but it sure felt like it). I wanted to know what I needed to do for MY BODY. About a year ago I was listening to a webinar from a friend of mine and she mentioned seeing a nutritionist and how much that helped her. Ever since then, it has been something I have really wanted to do. Last month, I finally got the nerve to set up an appointment with one! We started some test that would give us a better reading of my gut health and well as my eating habits.

My test included an Expanded GI Panel, Symptom Burden Report as well as a Mediator Release Test. I know, I’m exhausted thinking about it! Here is what the test showed

Expanded GI Panel:
* Many yeast present in the gut (not surprising since that is a symptom of an autoimmune disease)
* Heavy growth of Proteus Mirabilis- not really sure what exactly it is, but it can cause kidney stones!! Cue the flashback to having one removed last summer!!
* Positive for being sensitive to Milk (casein)- which means no milk products….ever again…. not even butter.

Symptom Burden Report
* I scored in the high priority of EVERYTHING (expect for the male only section)
* But the main thing to work on was healing the gut!

Mediator Release Test– blood test which measures if you are sensitive to certain foods
* On the line for Non-Reactive and Moderately Reactive (only eat once or twice a week): Leek, Watermelon, Asparagus, Green Pepper, Sweet Potato, Wheat, Beef
* Moderately Reactive (take out of diet for 3 months): Benzoic Acid, Fructose, Tyramine, Candida Albicans, Cow’s Milk, Cheddar Cheese, Garlic, Basil, Pineapple, Corn, Crab, Clam, Chicken, Tapioca, hazelnut, Garbanzo Bean
* Reactive (take out of diet for 3 months): Yogurt, Amaranth

In addition to these restrictions, I have an anti-fungal diet list to follow because of the yeast overgrowth. Also since I have an autoimmune disorder, she is advising me to adopt a gluten free lifestyle.

For the most part this is only a 3 month reset and then I can closely start adding foods back in. But milk is gone for good and gluten if at all possible. I’ll post my Week One meal plan later!

Clean Eating: Weekly Recipe Roundup Week One

I have been trying to eat cleaner and healthier. I’ll be honest fried chicken fingers and sweet tea sounds A LOT better then grilled chicken and roasted veggies. But I know it’s not the best for me! So .. I’ve been taking a stab at creating healthy meals that have taste. Thank goodness the Golden Drop Society has a Fit and Healthy Facebook page where members can post workout videos and recipes! I’ve been inspired by the members of this facebook group and their awesome recipes (or talent for finding awesome recipes) So, I decided to do a weekly round up each Friday of some of my favorite things I cook during the week, in case your struggling like me!

Here are some of my favorites from this week!

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No Bake Energy Bites from Gimme Some Oven
+ I subbed Almond Butter for the Peanut Butter, They came out a little gooey but still taste amazing!
+ These are the perfect bites if you’re craving something sweet!

Healthy Mexican Chicken
+ My friend Lesley shared this on her instagram account (which is amazing for healthy ideas). It’s actually from another friend, Ashley Cribb (also a wealth of knowledge for healthy recipes) There really isn’t an exact recipe. I added in a coupe chicken breast, sliced onions, taco seasoning, salsa, and a can black beans. Stick it all in a crock pot and Enjoy!
+ Add some rice or anything else to complete your Mexican dish (avocado, chips & salsa)

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Italian Orzo Tomato Soup from Little Spice Jar
+ This soup is sooo good! I did change it up a little, but kept most of it the same
+ I left out the spinach and pesto. And since we are doing gluten free, I used White Arborio Rice
+ This makes A LOT of soup so I also didn’t add the rice to the soup while it was cooking. I made the soup and then sectioned them out, some into freezer bags and some into containers to put in the fridge. When adding the rice I did 1 part water to 1 part rice. I let that cook for 10 minutes. Then added the amount of soup I wanted to the pot and let it cook for another 10 minutes.

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Cauliflower Fried Rice from Little Sweet Moments
+ If your craving friend rice, this is a good substitute. No it definitely don’t taste like the friend rice from my favorite local Chinese restaurant, but the crunch of this dish does tool your taste buds….a little
+ I cooked this on the stove instead of the oven. I also used coconut amnions instead of soy sauce and olive oil instead of sesame oil.

Go-to-soups

There are two things I like about winter. 1) Winter time makes for really cute clothing 2) It’s a perfect time for soups. There are a couple of go to soups that I pull out on chilly days. Here are two of them (excuse the bad pics, A photographer I am not)

Granny’s Rice and Tomato
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My Granny made this all the time. I can remember being at her house and she making this, us sitting in the living with TV trays watching T.V, eating rice and tomatoes and drinking diet Mt. Dew. I use to call her all the time in college because I never could get it to taste like hers. I’ve adapted the recipe throughout the years.

Ingredients:
1 cup of rice
1 can Rotel diced tomatoes and green peppers ( or just canned tomatoes)
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
Meats (optional)
Salt and Pepper

Directions:
Bring water to boil and add rice
Let rice cook 3/4 until the water is almost evaporated
Don’t drain-Add in canned tomatoes ( and meats if your using some- chicken and sausage work great)
Salt and Peper to taste
Heat to desired warmness

Mrs. Terri’s Corn Chowder
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This stuff is great. But I will warn you, the onions do smell up the kitchen. It is easy to make because it can be done on the stove or in the crock-pot.

Ingredients:
2 cans of potato soup
2 cans of whole kernel corn
1 can of French Onion Soup
1 container of half and half
1 pound of bacon (I left out the bacon)

Directions:
Mix everything together. You can either cook on the stove or in the crock pot.
For the stove; heat and let simmer for about 30 minutes.
I used the crock pot and let it cook on low for about 5 hours and then turned in on warm. (If it is too thick you can add milk but whever I cook it, it always turns out nice and soupy).

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