Funky Town

Do any of you remember that old song called ‘Won’t you take me to Funky Town’? I remember like yesterday the year I got that record for Christmas. Yes, that was before the beloved CD’s, i-pods etc. I loved playing that record on my good ol’ fashion record player. Some of you may be too young to remember that song, but it was a huge hit back then.

So, this past week I have been in Funky Town! Now, I’m singing ‘Won’t you get me out of Funky Town’?!! I have had NO desire to blog or be transparent with anyone (except a lovely fellow blogger who has been SO kind to let me e-mail her with my woes ). What can I say? Holidays are HARD! It seems like everything is centered around food–and food has not felt like my friend lately. I have been trying to follow the Anti-Candida Diet and was very successful–for 11 days. Then, I got on a slippery slope that I have had trouble getting off of. Eleven glorious days of NO cheating and then BOOM! What happened? I have no idea, other than sugar won Ricki, I think I am back to day 1 !

Now, it’s time to get back on the wagon and hang on for dear life! This Anti-Candida thing is a wild ride that I would much rather NOT go on, but I don’t really have a choice. Who knew that yeasty beasties could be SO stubborn. I’m pretty stubborn, but I think this takes the cake–literally! I would love to have a piece of cake!!

This slippery slope has led to another slippery slope that I MUST get off of–NOW!! You see, I have this pattern. I try REALLY hard to do the right thing, I fail, I get angry with myself=restricting. My rational thinking this week has been ‘It is better to not eat at all than to eat and take a chance on the sugar/gluten monster winning’. Restricting can make everything seem under control–for a moment.  Problem is, my gut starts SCREAMING for food, I get light headed, I get depressed, I get angry because I’m hungry etc.

So, what do I do when I am really not loving food but am surrounded by it everywhere I go? I just have to do the best I can. That’s all I can do. I don’t know what tomorrow is going to look like. I don’t have a clue if I’m going to be able to fight the cravings when they come. I don’t know what to take to eat when I go to gatherings. I don’t know if this yeast will EVER go away!  About the only thing I DO know is that God gave me grace to get through 11 days and HIS grace does not run out!  I have to cling to that with everything in me. I have NO hope apart from HIM!

I hope you all are enjoying this Holiday season. Remember, it’s NOT about the food or the gifts! The only reason we can celebrate this Christmas is because Christ was born to come and save us from ourselves! I need HIM everyday. I am a hopeless case without Him

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Everyday Should be Pancake Day!

I have decided that pancakes are in order, not just on Sundays! I have had pancakes for the past three mornings!

My first set of pancakes was on Saturday:

Coconut Flour pancakes with Sweet Almond Sauce

The Sweet Almond Sauce is on Ricki’s blog, here. The recipe for the coconut flour pancakes is:

1/2 cup canned coconut milk

2Tbs. coconut oil

2 eggs

1/2 tsp. vanilla (I never use it because I don’t care for it much)

1/8 tsp. salt

3 Tbs. packed coconut flour

1/8 tsp. baking soda

Warm coconut milk and oil a little if your coconut oil is solid. Then I simply throw everything in the blender and give it a whirl. Easy Peasy! Fry as usual.

I couldn’t find the blog that I originally found this recipe on. It was called Starch Free Recipes, but when I went to look it up, it was not found. So, I figure it’s okay for me to go ahead and share it with you with much thanks to the original blogger!

Then on HEAB’s traditional pancake Sunday, I had these:

Heather's protein pancakes with carob Sunbutter sauce

Heather’s Protein Pancake recipe is here and pretty yummy I might add. I   always look forward to seeing what kind of pancake creation she will post each Sunday. This time, she posted (a day early) pancakes with Mole sauce. I had every intention of making the Mole sauce, but I didn’t have any instant coffee. I ended up making Carob Sunbutter sauce. DELISH!!

I basically followed the Mole sauce recipe without the coffee. I added unsweetened almond milk to make it the consistency that I wanted. That looks like a ton of Sunbutter on my pancakes, but it only had 1 TBS. in the sauce–not that I’m worried. It just looks like half a jar of nutbutter there

Today I had:

Pecan Flour pancakes with eggs

That isn’t the best picture, but trust me these pancakes were REALLY good! I got the recipe on Diet, Dessert and Dogs. The original recipe called for almond flour, but I don’t do well with too much almond flour or almond butter. I had pecan flour on hand and they turned out great! I just topped these with a little Smart Balance and had eggs on the side.  Just a side note here–I used to have this horrendous fear of eggs!! Back in the ED days, I was SO afraid of the fat in them. Now, I am eating them (1 egg + 2 whites) almost every day! LOVE them and they make me feel GREAT Anyway, these pancakes had the perfect amount of lemon taste. Next time, I may add poppy seeds and have lemon poppy seed pancakes!

The cool thing about all of these pancakes on this post is that they are ALL sugar free and grain free!! WooHoo!! They fill me up and keep me satisfied for hours!

What is your favorite pancake recipe? I think next on my list may have to be German Chocolate pancakes like I saw near the bottom of this post on Cindy’s blog Mmm, can’t wait!

Yummy Eats

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone and I have been loving some new recipes! First of all, I am happy to say I made it through the holiday without even sniffing gluten or sugar! Yay me I was a little lot worried that I would not be able to resist all the traditional food. So, I made sure to take my own and basically stayed away from the large table of food at my mom’s. I have been learning more about the anti-candida diet and really prayed hard that God would help me stick to it! He answered my prayer

My Thanksgiving day started off with a yummy HOT breakfast–southwestern style. I have realized that I do much better with a BIG HOT breakfast–not cold and raw (more about that later). Here are a few I have been enjoying.

1 egg + 2 whites, cooked peppers, onions and black beans over spinach

More eggs, peppers, onions and black beans over spaghetti sqaush

Coconut flour pancakes with Sweet Almond Sauce--OMG!!

Did I mention I have a new BFF? I don’t think she knows it yet, but Ricki at Diet, Dessert and Dogs is saving my life with this Anti-Candida thing!! Thanks a million Ricki! I still have SO many more recipes to explore! The recipe for the Sweet Almond Sauce is here and it is to die for!!

Lunch on Thanksgiving day was:

Kale Salad with Sweet Potato Fries

These recipes were also on Ricki’s blog I’m afraid sweet tators may be out for me for a while though–they make me crave sugar! UGH!

Dinner on Thanksgiving:

Anti-Candida Stew

Yet another wonderful recipe from Diet, Dessert and Dogs! I used quinoa instead of rice and I did put the sweet potato, but will probably leave it out next time. I took this with me to my mom’s and didn’t touch anything else. I KNEW if I took even ONE bite of the traditional food, my taste buds would go BONKERS and I would be in trouble!

Dessert on Thanksgiving:

Tofu Carob Pudding (sugar free:)

I’m still not sure that tofu works for me, but it was certainly better than eating sugar and gluten. Tofu doesn’t make my stomach hurt, but I have noticed some unpleasant reactions to it. I think it is worth eating occasionally, but I couldn’t eat it every day.

So, basically, Ricki saved my Thanksgiving. I LOVE the blogging world. We have never even met and yet blogs are SO helpful!

Just a quick note about the raw diet in my life. I went to the ND the other day and she and I both think it is best if I just concentrate on staying away from sugar and gluten. With my past eating history, too many rules was REALLY freaking me out! Food was VERY quickly becoming my enemy and I just can NOT go there again. So, I will eat raw when I want (like kale salad) and cooked when I want. I’m sure it will be more cooked than raw and that has to be okay–if for no other reason than to keep my sanity! Eating disorders are a powerful form of bondage that I don’t want any part of–EVER AGAIN!! I have to see food as fuel and as my friend,and I wasn’t seeing it that way when trying to follow so many rules. I am feeling MUCH better emotionally since coming to this place with my diet I know there are rules to follow on the anti-candida diet, but I think it is easier than trying to do mostly raw. I’m not much into raw eggs, but have been loving them scrambled for my breakfast!

Better run now. I think my daughter and I are going to try to go to a movie today and maybe do a little window shopping Hope you have a blessed weekend!

Who Could Resist…

This Face!

Meet Samson

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that my sweet Eli passed away back in October. I have missed him terribly!! I have been going to the pound over these last several weeks just waiting to see if the right dog would come along for me to rescue. I went last Saturday and they had gotten in SEVEN Cocker Spaniels! They think it was some back yard breeder who decided they didn’t want to fool with the dogs anymore. It is really sad! Anyway, I don’t even want to get into how cruel and pitiful it is to take dogs to the pound! As you can see, one captured my heart:)

Samson is around two years old and scared to death. The poor thing evidentally has not been given much attention. He needs LOTS of love and a feeling of security. Hopefully, I can give him that:) I just got him yesterday and he is already beginning to realize that he is not going to be hurt.

I encourage anyone looking for a new dog to check out their local shelter. Lots of lives could be saved and lots of love can be given to these dogs that are just left for dead!

Now, for some food drink! As I’ve been typing this, I’ve been enjoying a HEAB’S inspired pumpkin smoothie. It is so NOT raw, but oh so good!

My smoothie contained:

1 cup light soy milk

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup pumpkin

packet of stevia

1 scoop PlantFusion

cinnamon

nutmeg

This whole raw thing is hard! I do really well for about 3-4 days and then I just want to eat whatever and not worry about whether it’s raw or not. I guess that’s okay though. As long as I’m still getting a lot of raw, I think having a day every now and then that I have less raw should still give me the benefits of raw that my body needs. Okay, that was a confusing sentence! Anyway, trying not to stress on the days I want less raw:)

Hope you all have a fabulous Saturday! I have lots of house work/laundry to do and lots of loving on my new baby to do:) Any big plans for your Saturday?

Learn Something New Everyday

Here are some things I am learning:)

1-I need to start a strict anti-candida diet! The ND is going to have me do a test that we send off that tells how bad it is and what strand of yeast I have. We can then proceed to treat accordingly with herbal/natural supplements. Main point-I have severe candida!!

2-I learned today that green monsters without ANY fruit are REALLY nasty!! ‘Nuff said! That also means I learned that breakfast on high raw, anti-candida is going to be tricky! Any ideas?

3- I learned that I like raw rutabaga blended with garlic, olive oil, salt etc. These were supposed to be patties, but didn’t quiet work the way they were supposed to. So, I learned that they make great croutons!

This is my salad I packed for lunch today. It had:

romaine, english cucumber, yellow pepper, cherry tomatoes, carrots, sprouts, sprouted black quinoa, and broken up rutabaga “patties”

4-I learned that raw broccoli is NOT my friend. I didn’t take a picture. For snack today, I had raw broccoli with some black bean dip.

5-I learned that I LOVE Gena’s BEST. SOUP. EVER.!!

I do not typically like raw soups at all, but this one, well it was a different story!

6-I then proceeded to learn that butternut is probably not good for candida. Not sure about that though. Raw foods have less sugar and carbs than cooked food. Any info. here?

7-I learned that chia pudding has a very weird texture that I’m not sure I like.

Raw cocoa chia pudding

I tasted this and stuck it back in the fridge. Will taste again later:)

8-I learned that this is my favorite raw meal so far:

Raw bread with tomato, sprouts and raw cheese with coleslaw

9-I learned that cheese is a no-no for anti-candida diet:( I rarely ever have it, but it’s nice every once in a while. So long cheese!

10-I learned that functioning on VERY little sleep is TORTURE when you have to go clean someone’s house!! I NEED SLEEP!!!

There– I learned at least TEN new things today!! Never too old to learn!:)

Have you learned anything new today? I also learned that I can’t spell or type very well today!LOL!

Raw Fun

If you read my last post, you will remember that I was not too thrilled about going back to a high raw diet. I am doing this at the request of my ND, although I do feel better eating this way. Anyway, it has been 5 days since I went back to high raw and I’m not dead yet:)! I have actually found some recipes that I really like and am feeling more satisfied. I’m trying not to worry about doing everything perfectly and I think that is helping. I am also trying to plan ahead a little better. I just wanted to post a few of the things I have been enjoying over the last few days.

First, is my first attempt at raw bread! I really was surprised that I like it-a lot! Today, I had a piece with a little raw almond butter and frozen blueberries.

I got this recipe out of this book. I changed a few things and don’t even remember exactly what, so I’m not going to attempt posting what I did. All I know is it is much better than I anticipated!

Next up is a yummy coleslaw out of the same book. This is currently my new favorite book by the way:)

Sorry the picture is VERY dark–oops! I loved this slaw! I pretty much followed the recipe except for one thing. The recipe called for cumin–which I LOVE–but I also added a touch of cinnamon. If you have never paired those two spices together, you should give it a try.

Next up, a treat from my hubby:) We were at the health food store the other day and he was so kind to buy me some raw cocoa powder. I wouldn’t buy it for myself because I see it as not essential, but it sure is nice to have a treat.

You may be wondering what I made with some of this yummy stuff. Well, I was SO pleased today when I found a whole page of Low-Sugar Treats on Gena’s blog. THANK YOU, THANK YOU GENA!! I think you have saved my life! I made Carob Cocoa-Coconut Sweeties(on the Low-Sugar Treat page).

Now I have a low-sugar version of Katie’s fabulous looking Fudge Babies!! Oh, SO excited! Don’t forget to stop by Katie’s blog to help out with Operation Chocolate-Covered Kindness!

Other than these new treats:

I have been eating lots of salads, juicing, green smoothies and some cooked spaghetti squash and a little cooked quinoa. I know I said here that I was cutting out ALL grains, but the ND wants me to try quinoa some.

All in all, this high raw thing hasn’t been so bad after all. I just need to stay positive, plan ahead and try new recipes:) I am trying to focus on what I CAN have, not what I can’t have. And just a little side note–I AM feeling a little improvement in my gut and my energy levels. My stomach has NOT been hurting these last several days–YAY! Hopefully, the better I feel, the more motivated I will be to eat right:)

Have you ever tried something new that you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving it (a.k.a. like me with the raw bread:)?

P.S. I don’t know why the lighting was so bad in all of these pics! Will try to put more appealing pics next time:)

I think I’m Bi-polar!!!

Warning: This post may be a little confusing and dreary.

Well, I don’t think I’M Bi-Polar, but my body sure is! I went to the ND the other day-Tue. I think. It had been longer than usual between visits just because life has been crazy lately. So, from the time of my last visit until this visit, I have been on antibiotics TWICE. I think that was in a matter of about 5-6 weeks. Antibiotics are NOT good for the GUT and especially when you already have an extremely fussy gut! Before this most recent visit on Tuesday, I had started noticing a decline in how I was feeling. My chronic fatigue is back, achy joints and muscles is back and I can feel depression just waiting to pounce! Before I saw the ND this time, I started thinking about what I had changed that might affect how I’m feeling and seemingly reverse the progress I was making. I need to make it clear that I WAS making tremendous progress and beginning to feel so much better than I have felt in a long time. Now, I feel like it’s back to square one.

So, what have I changed? MY DIET!! I am NOT happy about this either. I was trying to give myself room to listen to my body but at the same time feel satisfied and enjoy food. Well, I have been enjoying my food more, but if I really listen to my body and how it is feeling–this is not working! I don’t want to go back to the fatigue, achiness and depression. Not to mention, I have been waking up with stomach pain a lot lately–NOT cool! I recently did this post about what I was TRYING to follow as far as diet and now I feel like it is all just blown to pieces!!

So here’s the deal–I saw the ND, she put me on natural remedies for immune system, gut healing and depression AND pleaded with me to try high raw again. UGH! I told her I don’t really LIKE high raw! But, I also CAN NOT deny that I had more energy, my stomach didn’t wake me up in the middle of the night and I didn’t feel depressed in the slightest. I just feel like SCREAMING because I just want to eat and enjoy it and feel good all at the same time. I’ve been asking myself–“What is most important to me–eating what I want, or getting well and feeling good?” I would have to say feeling good is more important. I KNOW eating more raw gives my body a chance to actually digest and absorb what I’m eating. It has been proven to me by how I feel that high raw is easier on my body. It takes less energy to digest and gives me more energy.

There for a while, it seemed like the high raw diet was going all around the blogging world. I became curious and thought that maybe it would help my health issues and I decided to give it  a try. I was honestly hoping that it WOULDN’T work!! I REALLY wanted to prove to myself that following yet another diet would not make a difference in how I feel. I now stand corrected and have to admit that it DID make a difference. The only problem is, I have a hard time following it. It is not my favorite way to eat. And, I think it is hard to plan ahead enough to always have things handy to eat–besides salads:) I feel like I am back to square one, although the ND is so positive and trying to remind me that I HAVE made progress. I’m just tired–tired of fighting illness, tired of always having to think about food to the extent that it is nearly making me crazy, tired of feeling like a lunatic because things can change so much from one day to the next, and yes, even tired of always stressing about my weight! There, I said it! Stress REALLY brings out the old sinful eating(or not) pattern in me. I am not starving myself, but there are days I think that would be easier. But, I know it’s time to buck up and DO what I (and the ND) think is best–at least for now–whether I like it or not!

I am trying to think of what the obstacles are to me following a high raw (NOT all raw) diet. Here are the main ones followed by some ideas to help:

1-cooked food is much more appealing to me/I can still have some cooked food along with the raw

2-I am hungry all the time when eating high raw/haven’t figured that one out yet. I can eat more, but still seem to get hungry very soon after wards.

3-sometimes I don’t have the energy to prepare things ahead of time/haven’t figured that one out either

4-my health is costing us a small fortune!!/PERIOD!!

I don’t really know why I wanted to share all of this, but if you are reading this–thanks! I’m sorry this is such a depressing post. I will be much better tomorrow I think.

Psalm 73:26–”My flesh and my heart may fail, but GOD is the STRENGTH of my heart and my portion forever.”

I am making my first raw bread and will let you know how that turns out:) In the meantime, keep me in your prayers. I will continue to put one foot in front of the other and work on training myself to be satisfied with whatever food I CAN have. I know you all probably think I’m crazy– and maybe I am, but I’m really trying to get well–whatever it takes!

A Fine Line and a Fine Dressing

Okay, so I have been on the computer a lot more lately. Why? Well, basically because when I  am not feeling well, I just veg out on the computer. It beats lying in bed all the time:) My lovely B-day present (a.k.a. bladder infection) is still hanging on for dear life! I’m some better, but not 100% and the meds. make me feel puke-ish (sorry). So, here I am on this lovely rainy Tuesday morning:)

In one of my recent post, I was sharing my new eating plan that included cutting out grains and high starch foods. Well, that is all fine and good, but I am finding that getting enough carbs is tricky. There is a fine line between too much and not enough. With no grains and low GI fruits etc., I have to be careful that I don’t let my sugar drop. I have had terrible experiences with low blood sugar and it is quiet scary! So, I am going to try (that is the key word:) adding a little more banana and maybe some higher starch squashes to my plan. I also think more beans might help. I have black beans cooking now that I soaked for over 24 hours (changing the water frequently). I love black bean soup!

So, in trying to find that fine line between too many carbs and not enough, I would love to hear if you have any tips or ideas! Are any of you low-carbers? If so, how do you keep your energy up? I am not calling myself low-carb, but basically when you can’t eat grains and sugars–well, that kind of makes it low-carb:)

Okay, on to the fine dressing! I finally tried tahini dressing! I got the link from the lovely Heather and I’m so glad I did! I think she got the link from Mama Pea, who got the recipe from I forget where! Oh, here it is at Cheaty Monkey! Anyway, thanks to all involved:)

I had the fine dressing over stir fry veggies with edamame beans, served over spinach. It was SO yummy and satisfying. I didn’t even need a piece of chocolate after lunch!GASP! Don’t worry, the chocolate came later. I had to leave the vinegar out of the recipe because I don’t do well with vinegar, but it was still very tasty. I found it interesting though that I didn’t really care for the tahini on it’s own and I didn’t like the dressing just on baby carrots. LOVED it on my salad though!

I finally felt like getting on the treadmill this morning and then did a 20 minute yogadownload. They have some new classes to offer that you might want to check out if you like yoga.

Also, check out Katie’s Operation Chocolate-Covered Kindness! Not to mention, she has some yummy babies all over her blog:) The more you click on her blog, the more money she can raise for charity–SWEET! Heather is also having a give-away that involves Katie’s efforts. Check them both out!

I want to leave you with something funny that may gross all you foodies out! My daughter was helping my mother-in-law clean this past weekend. She always finds it amusing to count how many cake mixes etc. that her granny has. Here are the stats:

57 cake mixes

11 boxes of brownies

47 jars of peanut butter

25  pounds of powdered sugar

30 cans evaporated milk

20-30 bags chocolate, peanut butter etc. chips

tons of splenda

I’ll stop there–but, HOLY MOLY!!!! Does that just make you cringe:)? If they ever got snowed in, they could just live on cake and peanut butter!

Have a great day!

Apples and Eggs?–Who knew?

I tried a new grain free concoction yesterday. I found this recipe on the SCD web-site and then changed a few things. I have never really thought to put apples and egg together before, but really liked it. You can find the original recipe here. Here is what I did though:)

–cooked 1 green apple cut into small pieces (cooked in a little coconut oil-I also added a little water to the pan to help soften up the apple)

–added cinnamon and 1/4 tsp stevia

–after apple cooked until soft, I added 2 eggs and scrambled it all together

–when done, place in bowl and top with a dollop of yogurt and pecans

Another favorite of mine lately is this:

I have been loving homemade coconut milk yogurt with frozen cherries and blueberries and then topped with pecan pieces. All I need to say about this is–YUM!

I did get to go skating last night. I still didn’t feel the best, so I would skate a little and rest a lot! Had a good time with my kids and hubby though.

Here are some pics of the fun!

Me with my oldest son

Me with my other young'uns

My hubby and me-again:)

Oh, this was pretty funny. When we paid to go in and I was letting the lady put the arm bracelet on me, she said “You’re going to be brave and try to skate?” Uh, hello–I may be 40, but I’m NOT dead yet!! I DO know how to skate. The most challenging part of the skating was having to go to the bathroom–with skates on:)! My mom’s friend said I must be having a really hard time turning 40 because I wanted to go skating! What is wrong with these people? Am I supposed to stop having fun just because I turned 40? Good grief!!

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend! Did you do anything fun? I’m learning that life goes by too fast to not enjoy it!

By George, I think I’ve got it!

Hello all you lovely bloggers/readers! First of all, I am officially 40!! My B-day wasn’t exactly what I had planned because I woke up with a TERRIBLE bladder infection! Wow–talk about PAIN ALL day long! But, I was able to go to a really cool vegetarian restaurant for dinner. By the way, this post will be picture-less because my camera battery is DEAD and I didn’t realize it until it was too late to charge it:( Anyway, I was a little a lot concerned about my hubby going to this veggie place. He is all about the meat and tators! After looking the menu over, he decided to get grilled Salmon with asparagus and roasted sweet potatoes–there’s his tators. He ended up LOVING it!! He just went on and on about how yummy it was. Well, he didn’t exactly use the word ‘yummy’, but he raved about it none the less. I got a tofu and veggie dish that was to die for! The waitress made sure it was gluten free and I ordered it without the rice. It had this amazing sauce that had kind of a peanutty taste but was a little spicy too. All I can say is YUM! I thought I might try to recreate a dish similar to this at home. I’m pretty sure Heather has a sauce recipe that would be great–like tahini:)

Okay, on to the ‘I think I’ve got it’ part of my post. I have been taking a break from blogging a bit lately. Part of my reason was to have more time for other things, but I have also really been trying to figure out what works for my body. Sometimes, when reading a lot of other blogs, I can get a little sidetracked from what is best for ME. I tend to follow the crowd more times than not and it was getting me in trouble. So, after less blogging/reading, I think I have a semi-plan that will work for ME. Here are the basics:

1- I have finally accepted the fact that my body can NOT handle grains of any kind! I know grains are not bad themselves and carbs are not bad. But, MY body does NOT like them no matter how much I tried to make it conform to what I wanted! Therefore, I am now on a totally grain free diet. I could tell a difference in TWO days of cutting them out:)

2- I have also learned that I can not do sugar of any kind–no agave, honey, etc. I have only been using Stevia and am a-okay:) I can have really dark chocolate though!!:) YeeHaa!

3- Fruits: cherries, blueberries, strawberries–okay all berries, green apples(tart), and very small amounts of banana every few days.

4-Veggies: all veggies except potatoes, yams, and corn. Do NOT do well with starches! Veggie choices are endless and I LOVE trying new ones!! Still juicing some and making sure I eat some raw veggies every day.

5-Dairy: the jury is still out on dairy! I have started introducing homemade yogurt that is fermented 24 hours the SCD way. Once it ferments that long it is virtually lactose free. I do a little Parmesan and other than that, that’s about it for now. I have mostly been making homemade coconut milk yogurt, but hopefully can handle the organic cow milk some too.

6-Protein: I have decided that a vegetarian diet is what feels best to me. I will have eggs occasionally because I feel like my body needs them. I have been back and forth about the whole soy debate and have decided that a little soy once or twice a week should be fine. I also do really well with beans that have been soaked 24 hours and had the water changed several times during the soaking. Soaking breaks down a lot of the starches and they are a good source of protein.

7-Nuts and seeds: Nuts and seeds are also good sources of protein. I have found that I can do pecans and a smidgen of almond butter every now and then. I can make grain free bread from pecan flour that is really yummy! I also do well with sunflower and pumpkin seeds–and of course, LOVE sunbutter!

8-Fats: nuts/seeds, coconut milk, coconut oil, olive oil

9-Exercise: Can’t forget exercise! Yoga is what I LOVE best, but have found that I also like doing walking/running intervals. Nothing too long or strenuous, but enough to get my heart pumping. Usually, thirty minutes on the treadmill 3-4 days a week is what feels best to me. More than that really seems to bring me down physically.

I think that about covers it! I know this was really long, but it helps me to get it on ‘paper’. Hopefully, I will start posting some yummy grain free recipes soon:) Have a lovely weekend! I’m hoping I get to go skating tonight since I didn’t feel like it on my B-day.

P.S. Thank you SO much for your comments and support over the loss of my dog:) Still missing him like crazy!