AIP Flatbread... really!

I am so excited…. I mean SO excited about this post today. I was a 100% skeptic when I found the recipe on Pinterest, but I made it, sampled it last night, and will be making more for yet another weekend roadtrip. When you search “AIP recipes” on Pinterest, you get about 10 results. You have to do some serious web browsing to find what you want (dessert, breakfasts and snacks are completely lacking and quite a challenge). This, however, I found because it’s PALEO – so I look at Paleo recipes to see if they’re actually AIP accommodating as well. So many people have Paleo Boards these days, it’s worth looking into.

This recipe is from Purely Twins. I didn’t have much time last night to look at their blog much, but I liked what I saw.

Ingredients

• 1 large green plantain
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 T coconut oil
• 1/2-1 teaspoon sea salt (depends on salty you like things)
• I added a sprinkle of basil for some seasoning. Rosemary, garlic, pepper, dill would all be excellent additions.

Instructions
1. Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees.
2. Get a 8 or 10 inch pan. (I used a round cake pan!)
3. Place 1 tablespoon coconut oil in pan.
4. Peel your green plantain. Cut into slices and toss into a blender (I used one of those hand-held wands and it worked like a charm).
5. Next add in your water.
6. Blend.
7. Next add in your sea salt and any other seasoning you want.
8. Continue to blend till smooth.
9. Place your oiled pan into hot oven for a few minutes to get warm.
10. Remove pan from oven and pour in your plantain socca batter.
11. Place pan back into oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes.
12. Let cool a little before removing from pan.

Calories per WHOLE flatbread: 221
Carbs: 29g
Fat: 13g
Protein: 1g
Fiber: 2g

Optional uses for bread:

There’s no way I was scarfing down that whole thing last night, as you can see I just sampled a wedge. A few variations to this I’m going to try are sweetening them a bit by taking out the salt, adding cinnamon and once it’s poured in the pan I will place apple wedges in them to make it more like an apple cinnamon pancake.

Also, you can also use it as a wrap for sandwiches, make a “pizza” or focaccia bread with it, and plenty of other things I will try and tell you about. I’m so excited about this discovery!

I wanted to give a brief update now that I am four days into the HARD CORE AIP Paleo plan. I've been hungry, and I've been eating. As much protein, veggies, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, as I want. I've also lost 4 pounds. Yes, four. I haven't been working out as much as usual because I have been slighty under the weather with the season change, and I definitely am not doing this to lose weight, it's just a side affect of clean eating. I am looking forward to something as simple as a glass of wine or a spoonful of almond butter, but in the mean time, I can say that I am quite content. Feel free to ask ANY questions you might have about this (it is scary, extreme, but also possible and helpful). In the words of my best friend, Shannon, "cheers to health!"

The AIP Diet - Food to eat

It seems that with all of the misinformation out there, it's important to get some guidlines as to what you can eat, and what you cannot. The chart I refer to most came from the site Autoimmune Paleo. This really is a great resource for me. There are foods in my Nutrition section that I cannot eat for these thirty days.

I work well with visuals. I like to have all of the information out there in one place, easy to view, understand, and digest. She also lists other links that I use as resources as well at the bottom of her page. Here are a couple of my favorites:

The Paleo Mom
Phoenix Helix

Also, some of my favorite recipes can be found on my Pinterest site.

This is new to me, and I know there are other people out there that might benefit from it. I might only be back on it for a little while, but even with a couple of the accidnetal cheats last week, i still notice myself feeling dramatically different. If you think you might have some sort of inflamation or reactions at times of day or to certain foods, give it a try! What has really helped me, aside from a great support system, is planning my meals out by weeks. That's only 4 different plans. For a weekly planner, that's really not bad at all!

Easy Crockpot Chicken

As I’ve mentioned, I like to cook in bulk. In the Follicular Phase, we love our chicken. I’m not entirely sure why we do, but just go with it. This is delicious and can be used in just about anything (which I promise to give you some uses if you cannot think of any!). What I love about it is that it’s so easy, you do not need to be home or around, and you really just need a crock pot.
This chicken pulls apart very easily, stays juicy, and cooks evenly. I have used it in soups, salads, wraps – you name it.

Ingredients:

6 Chicken breasts (really try to go organic here, you are what your food eats. But I understand it’s expensive, I’m not able to do this quite yet, but if you can, do it!)
2 C fat free chicken or vegetable stock
1 onion
2 T minced garlic
Dill, basil, salt, pepper, chives, or a basic poultry season is great (beware of nightshades! Crate and Barrel’s spice rack comes with a good one)

Directions:

In a crockpot, layer in your onions, trimmed, rinsed chicken breasts, stock, garlic, and then on top seasonings. Set the crockpot to high for 5-6 hours (or low for 8 hours). After, the chicken will easily fall apart for shredding purposes. You really cannot go wrong here! Try to keep the lid on the crock pot for most of the time, opening it too much will let the steam out drying out the chicken.

Pork Roast, Mashed Cauliflower, and Kale

So I announce I’m going AIP, and then I leave you hanging with one lousy recipe. Truth be told, with my research came some differences in opinion. I had been doing some things for my diet I should not have, so I took the weekend to really plan and gain further understanding, savor my last spoonful of Trader Joe’s Almond Butter, and started with a bang Monday morning. I’m blessed and have a girlfriend who did this before, and felt so amazing, that she is doing it again with me. Support systems make all the difference in the world.

Next week I’m supposed to go out to see some girlfriends I haven’t seen for ages, and of course a dinner and cocktails sound fantastic! But I can’t eat anything on three of the menus, and the stuff I can (side of broccoli, protein, etc) likely are made with butter… a big no-no. So I’m making myself a dinner, and a snack to keep in my purse in case I feel tempted. It’s okay, I won’t need to spend $30 to catch up with friends, and I know I’m keeping my diet.

So this weekend I went on a cooking binge. I mean it. Pork roast, sweet potato chips, kale, broccoli, AIP Pumpkin banana “muffins,” apple crisp, and chicken breasts. What on EARTH does one girl need this much food for? Well, my breakfast consists of chicken breast and avocado (I really need to find a protein-packed breakfast alternative… which I’ll be doing next week!), pork for lunch (which is the recommendation from the FLO living) and a white fish for dinner with sides (also FLO).

For a nice, hearty meal that makes you feel cozy when you want to curl up under a blanket (since it’s that time of the month), you need a roast. Pork is Alisa’s recommended protein for this time, and since grains aren’t going to be a part of your diet, onions, carrots, and sweet potatoes definitely are! I paired my roast with mashed cauliflower and kale (also in the FLO chart!). Everyone at my office looks a little jealous when I have this for lunch. Also, I’m on a budget – I don’t have a giant income or anything, so when it came time to choose the cut of meat, a pork tenderloin (my specialty) was around $10 on the low end for a tiny piece, or a pork roast was $5 to feed me lunches for four days. Cauliflower is around $1.99 a head, tops, and precut kale at Trader Joes is $1.99 a bag. So… that put my lunches at about $3.50 a day – for a feast. Not too bad!

Pork Roast

Ingredients for the roast:

1 pork roast (mine was about 2 lbs for 4 servings)
½ large onion chopping in 1 inch pieces
3 large carrots peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 sweet potatoes (optional; cut in 1 inch cubes)
½ C water (3/4 if not using wine)
½ C red cooking wine (optional, it’s AIP because the cooking burns off the alcohol. I like Trader Joe’s $2.99 Charles Shaw Merlot)
1 T coconut oil
1 T minced garlic
Salt, pepper, basil, rosemary, if you want to add a sprinkle of cinnamon, I think it really brings out the wine flavor

Directions:

Quite possibly the shortest directions ever needed.
Place onion, carrots, and sweet potatoes on the bottom of a crock pot. Place the pork on top, add your liquids, then your coconut oil (atop the roast), garlic and seasonings on top. Set on low for 6 hours – voila! It’s done.

Mashed Cauliflower
Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower
1 T coconut oil
½ large onion, diced
3 stems of green onion/chives
¾ T minced garlic, or 2 pieces of garlic diced
Sea salt and peppercorns to taste

Directions:
Cut up the cauliflower, mainly the tops. I steam my vegetables with a steamer on the stove top, which requires boiling water in a pot, the steamer, and a lid – it will take about 10 minutes. If you do not have that, in a microwave-safe bowl, place your cauliflower and cover with saran wrap. Place in the microwave on high for 2 minutes (I like to give the bowl a little break in between heats), and then another 2 minutes. Check for a cooked, soft consistency.
In a small pan, use your coconut oil to sauté the onions and garlic. Add this to the cauliflower bowl and mash with either a potato masher or a fork (it’s so much softer than potatoes, a fork will suffice!). Add salt and pepper to taste, then top with your chives, cut into small pieces for a garnish.

KaleKale doesn’t need to be broken out into ingredients and directions, especially if you’re using the Trader Joe’s bag I told you about! In a large pan, use 1 T coconut oil, sauté the kale on medium heat, covered, for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally.

Nutrition facts for 1 serving of the ENTIRE meal:
Calories: 375
Fat: 19 g
Carbs: 24 g
Protein: 31 g
Sugar: 10 g
Fiber: 13 g

Stuffed Acorn Squash

There’s probably a reason why I’ve always had such fond memories of fall… the food instantly gets about 50% better. My mother would always make acorn squash, which of course I would drown in butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Though I love all squash, this has remained a favorite for me. Since I do not have the side of rice that I once had on the side of my plate, I needed to find a meal that still incorporated some of the sweetness of the squash, minus the sugar, and add in more savory – make a meal out of it!

So before I went AIP or Paleo, I would do this same recipe but include grains, or top with candied pecans. Not to make you all drool or jealous, because I’m right there with ya, none of those things are in this!

This is a very warm, fuzzy, filling meal with a little sweet and a lot of savory (and my lunch today!), that only takes about 20 minutes start to finish to prep and cook!

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Ingredients:
1 whole acorn squash, cut horizontally in two halves

2 servings (5 C) baby spinach

2 servings of raw kale (pre-washed from Trader Joe’s is my favorite)

½ lb of ground turkey 93% lean (or grass fed ground beef)

¼ yellow onion

1.5 T coconut oil

1 t minced garlic

Cinnamon, salt, pepper, garlic, basil

Directions:

Cut acorn squash in half and scoop out the seeds, then place halves in two microwave-safe bowls, inside facing up like a bowl. Put ½ T of coconut oil in each of the halves. Sprinkle a few shakes of cinnamon over each, add salt, pepper and basil to taste. Cover the bowls with saran wrap and place in the microwave for 5 minutes on high.

While that’s going, dice up your onions, putting in a large skillet with ¼ T of coconut oil. Add minced garlic and stir until onions become softened just slightly. Then add your ½ lb ground turkey to the mixture and season with salt, pepper, and basil. Cook thoroughly.

In another skillet, place the last ¼ T of coconut oil, kale, and spinach, cooking on medium heat. Add a little salt, pepper, basil, and put a lid over this (or foil) so the steam cooks the kale. Stir occasionally for 3-5 minutes until either soft or a little crispy.

When the acorn squash in done in the microwave (CAUTION: EXTREMELY HOT!!!), use a fork or spoon to touch the squash to make sure it is soft, and easy to scoop out. If it is, remove from microwave carefully (I use hot pads), or if not, continue cooking for 1 minute intervals until reaching desired texture. Place your veggies on top, and ground turkey over top of that, and you have you meal! It sounds basic, because it is! I would let this all sit for about 5 minutes to cool before eating.

Nutrition facts:

Serves – 2

Calories per serving: 305

Carbohydrates: 34g

Fat: 17g

Protein: 27g

Sugar: 10g

Fiber: 5g

Apple Pumpkin Crisp

When you first go on the AIP diet, you have one of two approaches: 1) “this is going to suck and be a miserable 30 days,” or 2) “I can’t wait to start looking up recipes for everything I CAN eat!” I started in the first for a couple of hours, but eventually my love of cooking took over and I went to town. I looked up every recipe for hours, used up all of my data on my phone with a week left until a new month starts (damn you, Pinterest!), and before I knew it I had been to Beyerly’s, Target, and Trader Joe’s all in one evening trying to recreate a dessert I saw that said “AIP friendly”. After swelling up like a bee-hive, looking 5 months pregnant (weight 120), and starting to get the shakes… something wasn’t right.

I text my friend Alex immediately saying I followed the directions and everything! Coconut cream (said from a website to be AIP friendly), raw, unsweetened coconut, coconut flour, and some crushed up dates, cinnamon and unsweetened cocoa powder. The culprit? Coconut cream. It’s not dairy, but it turns out there are only 1 or 2 brands that you can use to make it qualify… or you can make your own. Canned coconut cream has additives like Xanthium Gum which could be why I reacted. So, the bad news is my mother was right when I was ten years old: “you can’t believe everything you read on the internet.” The good news (that had to be pointed out to me by Alex) is that my body is able to tell what it likes and what it doesn’t. So… beware. But there are fun things to do instead… I prooomise!

We need more dessert, don’t we? Well as I mentioned in my last post, my boyfriend and I currently have about 8 lbs (at least) of apples in my kitchen, so I started out baking some with cinnamon. Then I was really craving an apple crisp, but clearly with sugar and oats, it’s just not for me.

So, we need to improvise. I call this “Pumpkin Apple Crisp”, and it sounds strange, but if you’re like me and just DYING for a yummy gooey dessert, this will help.

Pumpkin Apple Crisp

Ingredients

3 apples, sliced in wedges – remove skin if you like, but I enjoy the extra fiber (not too thin so they get gooey)
1 C pumpkin
2 T coconut oil
2 ½ T Cinnamon
4 T unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the inside of an 8x8 pan with coconut oil (Trader Joe’s has coconut oil spray, like Pam, just double check the ingredients to make sure it’s JUST coconut oil in there). Place your apples in the pan and sprinkle with 1 T of cinnamon; it doesn’t have to be organized! In a separate bowl, mix coconut oil, cinnamon, and coconut. First lay the pumpkin on top of the apples (dollops work, then spread around evenly), then top with the crumble. You will bake this for 30 minutes. Remove and let cool for 10-15 minutes.

I can’t wait to go home and make this tonight! Enjoy!

AIP Pumpkin, Sausage, and Veggie Soup

Did someone say pumpkin? It’s FALL! Everyone is saying pumpkin, but it is usually in reference to a Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks, pumpkin bread/muffins/cookies, or pumpkin cheesecake… so basically all things that I cannot enjoy. So, I’ve decided to stock up on the pumpkin and come up with as many recipes (sweet and savory) that I can for this Autoimmune Protocol Paleo diet.

I can’t lie, I was extremely disappointed going into this weekend that I started the AIP. It was the Iowa vs. Iowa State football game where my boyfriend and I would spend the weekend tailgating with his family. If you’ve ever tailgated, you know it means more foods that are not AIP-friendly. But, I prepped food in advance: avocado and canned chicken (tasted just like chicken salad… but better), sweet potato fries, a ton of baby carrots, and other various vegetables that I could eat raw. While everyone spent $20 on pizza deliveries, I spend $10 on a giant steak that was on sale and broccoli.

I survived. I never cheated. And I felt amazing.

Fear was the biggest part. But preparation is the number one way to beat fear. Although I may have looked like I went grocery shopping for this trip, it was totally worth it. I didn’t have the typical food coma like everyone else.

So anywho, back to pumpkins. This recipe can easily be made vegetarian – just sub out the “sausage” for mushrooms, tofu, or some garbanzo beans. I should also mention that I went apple picking this weekend, and needed uses for apples, too. Plus, apple + pumpkin + beef = delicious.

Pumpkin Sausage soup

Ingredients:
1 C canned pumpkin puree (Libby’s is great!)
2 C unsweetened coconut milk (I used Trader Joe’s)
1 C vegetable broth
1 lb grass fed ground beef
4 handfuls (2 servings) of Baby Spinach
2 C frozen chopped broccoli
½ Yellow Onion
1 medium apple (a little sour is best)
2 T coconut oil
2 T Basil
1 T Sage
2 t rosemary
1 T minced garlic
1.5 t Cumin
2 t cinnamon
Sea Salt and Peppercorn medley (or pepper is fine, but the medley adds a nice kick!) to taste
(add garlic sea salt if you need more salt)

Directions:
Dice up apple and onion, sauté in a pan with 1 T of coconut oil and ½ T minced garlic and season with a few sprinkles of cinnamon.

In a larger soup pot, add all of your liquids and the seasonings and ½ T minced garlic and cook on medium until it starts to bubble, then reduce to a low temperature and remember to stir occassionally. Add in the broccoli and spinach. When the onion and apples are softened, pour them (and the liquid) into the soup pot.

In the same sauté pan (save yourself dishes), cook up your ground beef seasoning with sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin (seasoning the beef separately will help it maintain its own flavor in the soup). When no longer pink, add the beef to the pot of soup and let sit on low heat for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Voilà! You’re done. Soups are so much easier than they seem, and I love them!

Nutritional facts:
servings: 5
Calories: 229
Carbs: 8
Fat: 11
Protein: 20
Sugar: 5
Fiber: 3

Spaghetti Squash and Turkey Meatballs

I grew up with pasta; angel hair, lasagna, fettuccini, (homemade) mac n’ cheese, tuna noodle casserole was a favorite of mine (I was an odd child). Well when you find out you have a gluten intolerance, and that every time you eat pasta or gluten you’re actually making your situation worse, you begin to go through withdrawals. If you cannot find a nice replacement, all you want to do is binge on bagels and cookies and cake.

Thankfully, Martha Stewart is a frequent stop for my internet surfing, and I learned about Spaghetti Squash. Then I told my boyfriend about my discovery, and it turns out his mother grows it on their farm – thanks for the tip, bro! But good news is: I now know about it, and have made plenty of mistakes so I’ve pretty much perfected it. Spaghetti squash is quite possibly the easiest way to replace pasta. No mandolin required (even though I love my mandolin board from Target ©!), just an oven, large knife, and fork. Ta-dahh, you have “pasta”.
Spaghetti Squash and Meatballs (or just a fabulous homemade meat sauce) are one of my favorite ways to make it, but you can pretty much do anything with this delectable squash. So, here goes!


Ingredients:
1 Spaghetti Squash (look for sales, they usually are purchased per pound, and that can get pricey. Also, they range quite a bit in size. 1 small-medium squash will easily be 5-7 servings)
2 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1T Coconut Oil (or another T of olive oil)
1 lb of lean ground turkey (Jennie-O 97% Fat free) or grass fed ground beef (90% lean or more)
¾ large Yellow Onion
1 large (32 oz) can of diced tomatoes
1 small (8 oz) can of tomato paste
¼ C Egg whites of 1 whole egg
¼ C gluten free flour
1 bag of baby spinach
1 T diced garlic
1 C red cooking wine (Trader goes Charles Shaw merlot is my favorite to cook with)
Salt, pepper, garlic powder, basil, oregano, thyme, red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F). Using a fork, puncture the outside of the spaghetti squash (whole) and microwave for 2 minutes on high. This is just to soften the squash so it is easier to cut. When done (be careful, it’s hot!), remove from microwave, cut off the tip (stem) and horizontally slice the squash in half. Soup out the bit of seeds and membrane in the center. Drizzle your olive oil over the squash, then sprinkle your salt, pepper, basil, oregano lightly over the open faced squash. In a deep baking dish (I prefer glass, but any will do) place the squash face down on the pan and bake for 35 minutes.

In a large skillet, cook the onions, raw garlic, and coconut oil on medium until soft. Pour 2/3 of this pan into a large pot, and pour the other 1/3 into a large mixing bowl. In the large pot, pour the cans of tomatoes in, and season with about 1.5 T basil, .5 T oregano and .5 T thyme, season with salt and pepper to taste. If you like a little heat like I do, add about .5 T of red pepper flakes (add more towards the end if you need more of a kick). Pour in your cup of wine (water will also suffice, but know the alcohol in the wine will burn off by the time you eat!). Cover and let this cook on medium until starting to bubble, then reduce the heat to low for the remainder of the cook time.

In the mixing bowl with the cooked onions, add your ground turkey or beef, egg whites (or egg), flour, salt, pepper, garlic, and basil. Mix this all together well – I usually just use my hands! It will feel sticky, which is good, that means the bonding agents (eggs and flour) are doing their job. On a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, scoop out a rounded tablespoon of your mixture and roll into a ball in your hands. Place on cookie sheet. Repeat this until you run out of the mixture. This will go in your oven for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, check the meatballs with a fork to make sure they are thoroughly cooked through the center.

How to know your spaghetti squash is done:
Using a fork, poke the skin of the squash. If it puncture easily, it’s done. If it’s resistant, keep it cooking until the fork can go through the skin without much resistant (but not TOO easily because you don’t want a bowl of mush). Remove from the oven. Here is the last and final test: Using your same fork, begin scraping out the squash from the skin. If it comes out with a pasta texture and shape, if it done. At this point, you can make it as cooked or al dente as you would like!

Scrap out of the skin, and place a cup of squash in your bowl. Sprinkle with salt and add a handful of baby spinach to the squash mixing in well (it will soften the spinach). Place four done meatballs over the squash, then top with 2/3 cup of your sauce. If cheese is a part of your diet, parmesan is one of the best cheeses for you, so mix that on in. Feel like you’re in Italy yet? Maybe not… but it will at least kick your pasta craving for the day!


Nutrition Facts:

Servings prepared: 7
Calories per serving: 289
Carbs: 28g
Fat: 9g
Protein: 19g
Sugar: 11g
Fiber: 7g

Update: Autoimmune Disease

If you have read the “About Me” section of this blog, you know I recently went to a nutritionist. They were great, though forking over the one-time cost of getting a food sensitivity test was unpleasant, but having answers is always great – even if they’re not great answers. So while she was running some holistic tests (no pricks, no pain, very easy!), where they check how the body reacts to different metals (or that was my understanding), she said it was quite clear that I have some sort of autoimmune disease.

Is there good news there? No, not really. However, I had no clue what that meant, and I’m sure she plans on telling me more about it in the next visit when I get my actual sensitivity results. So in the meantime, my friend Alex who is in love with and the most passionate person I know about how food impacts our bodies for the good and bad told me what to do. He had me start my B-12 vitamin, Rhodeola (which I got a pat on my back from my nutritionist for), and the introduction of more healthy fats to my diet. He also has a blog and is a phenomenal resource.

No one wants to admit that they have a disease, and if they do, it’s quite an adjustment to walking around just thinking you have another stomach ache while you chow down on your burger, fries, and milkshake, to now actually having to pay attention to what you eat. It’s no longer about looking great and overall feeling somewhat better; it’s about actual healing your body from the inside out. It became quite clear over the last week that I have ‘Leaky Gut’ which is by far the most disgusting name for a disease I can think of – but it is to the point. It is exactly what it sounds like. Your body is inflamed, making the pores of your intestinal lining more open and leaking toxins into your body. You feel bloated, swollen, tired, crabby, constipated, and possibly battle depression or achy joints. You’ll notice food not being digested wholly from solids in stool, or after eating something you suddenly feel 5 months pregnant. So the signs were clear.

After a few months of doing some of the things he as suggested, I went the complete opposite direction wanting to resist everything he would tell me I should be doing. Why? Because I’m a brat who doesn’t want to acknowledge the fact that I have a problem, and the only person who can make it better is me. Pills do not fix this, it’s 100% lifestyle adjustments. Finally, after having to swallow my pride and apologize for being a giant B (can I blame the depression and mood swings from my disease?), I gather my resources he has provided me and research intently. After all, if I’m going to do something 100% I like to have ALL of the facts I possibly can.

My major frustration in everything with nutrition is that everyone seems to have a different opinion. Why isn’t there ONE answer?! Oh yea, because I’ve said a million other times in this blog: WE’RE ALL BUILT DIFFERENTLY. So what does this mean for me? 30 days, one month, of being Paleo AIP (Paleo Autoimmune Protocol). You’ve probably heard of the Paleo Diet, but this is like the Paleo Diet’s big brother – we’re not messing around. Paleo is great for the people in their Cross fit (not me – I believe in grains and healthy eating! Not removing entire food groups! I run, we NEED carbs!), but AIP is just plain crazy. And by “crazy,” I mean 100% necessary.

When your body is inflamed and reacting to the “poison” you put in it, you don’t feel well. Unlike Paleo, AIP’s don’t get cheat days. The point of AIP is to remove all of the possible inflammatory for 30 days (it takes 30 days for your body to adjust/heal/something), and test what you can actual have in your diet. This is such an overwhelming thought, I can’t even tell you; hence my resistance to listen to my friend and actually give this a shot. His wife, who happens to be my best friend, did it. She might have even gone longer than the thirty days. But after years of being on over 15 medications for depression and other things, she is now prescription-free. Yes, that’s right, ZERO medications for that lady. She is my hero. That’s being self-aware if I’ve ever seen.

To be honest, if she hadn’t been my cheerleader and showed me that it’s possible, I would probably still be looking forward to my weekend “cheat day” burger. Yesterday afternoon I didn’t do much work, I did research. I wanted to cry… oh wait, I DID CRY. And then I got home and looked in my fridge to figure out what I could make instead of the chili I was so looking forward to having.

Here is a site that tells you what you CAN and CANNOT eat on AIP.

Here is the Paleo Diet. I’m giving you Wikipedia because everyone out there has a different opinion about the diet in general.

My recipes might be tweaked a bit for the next thirty days of blogging, but I promise to still incorporate the things that I cannot eat for you (while starring what those are for actual AIP go-ers). I had a DELICIOUS dinner, and breakfast, and snack, and I’m feeling BETTER. Only day 2, but feeling better, and I’m sure most of that is mental. So, here we go. 30 days of hell… I mean healing my body, getting happy, stable, and fully functioning! It is all about attitude after all.

Salmon Corn Cakes

When I was growing up my mother would not buy boxed, frozen, processed food, so I learned to love the creations and concoctions that came out of the kitchen. They were usually healthy, warm, hearty, filling. I rarely threw tantrums for pizza or McDonalds (of course now I’ll throw a tantrum pizza… since I’m not supposed to have it; dairy/gluten!) So I grew up with a love of well cooked broccoli, fish sticks and shrimp were some of my favorites, and rice. One thing I remember her making on occasion was salmon patties (or substitute with tuna). It’s basically like a crab cake, but with salmon.

I never had the urge to splurge on canned salmon at the grocery store in college (when you’re little you do not realize that they can fish… ick!), but it has since become a great addition to my pantry and teeny tiny budget that does not usually allow for delicious Alaskan Salmon Fillets from Whole Foods for $19.99 per lb! So how can we get some grain (to keep us feeling full during an incredibly hungry time of month – our body is busy ovulation after all!) in our meals, but in a healthy way?

Corn, that’s how! It’s perfect for summer or fall, when corn is in its peak season. You can likely make these salmon “burgers” by making them larger, adding ketchup and a bun, but for my gluten and health purposes, this is a CAKE (no bun).

Ingredients:

1 T Coconut Oil
1 can of salmon (12 oz)
¼ medium onion
¼ C sweet corn
2 T Egg whites (1 whole egg would be too much for this small of a serving. If doubling amount, use 1 egg!)
1/8 C gluten free flour
3-4 drops of lemon juice, or ¼ lemon squeezed
Garlic powder, salt, pepper to taste
(if you feel like tweaking, a little paprika, chili powder, or basil/oregano are great additions)


Directions:

In a small pan, use ½ T of coconut oil to grease the pan and sauté the onions – diced. While cooking, drain the can of salmon, put in a bowl with corn, flour, lemon juice, egg whites and mix. Add in your seasonings with the softened onions and keep mixing with hands or spoon until the texture is a little like paste.

Keeping the pan on medium, put the remaining coconut oil in the pan. Your mixture should make 4 medium – large patties. Quarter out the mixture, then roll into a ball with your hands. Flatten slightly like a hamburger patty and place in pan. If you have a lid, that will help it cook more evenly throughout. Cook for about 3-5 minutes on each side. Check half way through to make sure they aren’t burning on either side!

Nutritional Info:

Makes four cakes
Serving size = 2 cakes (if you’re hungry, eat all four!)
Calories per serving: 220
Carbs: 16.5
Fat: 8g
Protein: 22.5
Sugar: 1.5 g
Fiber: 2 g

I like to put this over a bed of baby spinach or a side of asparagus and Brussels sprouts. Really, eat it however you’d like! Brussels sprouts are nice and filling and a great source of fiber during this time of the month when you are hungry for what seems like no reason, and then feel bloated. Drink a lot of water with all of the fiber! It will help flush out the bloating!

Cocoa Quinoa Pudding

In the last two days I wanted nothing but chocolate.. Probably because you're allowed to eat some in the ovulatory phase. You might also notice yourself incredibly hungry. I am. So in looking at my fridge this morning, with not much other than omelette fixings, I had to get creative.

A nice warm breakfast with a little sweet sounded like perfection on this cool fall morning. So here is what I have come with, and it was just as good as I hoped. It is similar to a rice pudding texture.

Ingredients:

2/3 C of quinoa

1 1/4 C of Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk

1 T unsweetened cocoa powder

2 T Bob's Redmill flaxseed

1/2 C frozen strawberries and raspberries (use fresh if you have those, but I usually keep frozen on hand at all times)

1 packet if stevia
1 t cinnamon
1 t honey (optional to drizzle on top of each serving)

Directions:

In a pot, pour in quinoa, almond milk, cocoa, stevia, cinnamon and bring to a boil. You want to make sure to cook this slowly because you don't want to burn the milk. Once boiling, reduce heat to low (2-4 on an electric stove).

Add the berries and flaxseed stirring occasionally. When the texture is thick and pudding like, it is ready to serve!

Servings: 3

Nutritional Facts:
Calories - 217
Fat- 5.5 g
Sodium- 71.4 mg
Carbohydrates- 34.4
Protein- 6.4g
(For extra protein, replace cocoa and stevia with chocolate protein powder. Note: It will change nutritional info significantly - more calories, sodium and protein)

Thai Curry Lentil and Shrimp Soup

Nothing is better to me than sitting down on a fall evening after a long day with glass of red wine and bowl of soup in lounging clothes (after a workout of sorts). Looking at the leaves changing, I can no longer worry about the bathing suit season for another 6-9 months! However, pizza, chips, and cookies do not exactly make anyone feel better. Looking at the Ovulatory Phase, where it says chocolate and moderate alcohol and coffee are acceptable, that’s really all you need to get through this week.

That doesn’t work for lunch or dinner. So while the first NFL football game is on last night, and talking about Thai food for the last month, I decide to take a look at some options to satisfy everything I want. I come up with a soup that is spicy, savory, filling enough for me… and my boyfriend. I threw some things that I had in the fridge and freezer and came up with a surprisingly delicious meal! He went back for seconds! If you use less liquid, this could also be served on a place of quinoa.

Thai Curry Lentil and Shrimp Soup

Ingredients:

4 servings of frozen Jumbo Shrimp (about 32)
2 T coconut oil
4 C of light coconut milk
2 C fat free vegetable broth
3-4 T of curry powder (I love my Trader Joe’s curry seasoning)
1 t chili powder
1 t cinnamon
3 T of minced garlic
4 handfuls of baby spinach
1 C frozen sweet peas
1/3 C Red Lentils
2 stalks of celery
½ large white or yellow onion
Salt, pepper, garlic salt


Directions:

In a pot, pour in your lentils, ½ the amount of garlic, onion, liquids, celery and seasonings. **Note: if you’re not used to spicy food, or do not like it very spicy, start with ONE tablespoon of curry and work your way up tasting along the way – it will get spicier the longer it sits. Let this come to a boil, cooking on low-medium for about 40 minutes.

Rinse and thaw your shrimp. Be sure to NOT rinse with hot water because you do not want the shrimp to cook. In the pan, use the remaining garlic and coconut oil heating on medium. Add the shrimp. Salt and pepper to taste. This will need to cook for about 5-10 minutes, and stir often making sure they all get coated in the flavor and cooked evenly.

Add the frozen peas and spinach to the soup pot. Let this cook for the last 10 minutes of the soup cooking time. Then add everything from the shrimp pan (oil, garlic, all of it!) into the soup pot, let sit for 5 minutes, then serve!

**Curry additions: if starting with 1 T, taste after about 15 minutes of cooking. If you need more seasoning/spice, add another at this point. 15 minutes later, if still not spicy enough add the third T. At this point, you may need to add another shakes of cinnamon so that flavor is not hidden. If you love coconut, add some coconut flakes on top!