What I’ve Been Eatin’

Today has been a long day. Despite my best efforts, I haven’t been getting to sleep early enough the past few days, and it’s caught up to me. I have several oral lesions and I’m exhausted. I’d call it a mini flare. I’m still able to eat normal foods, it just takes a bit more time and effort. Planning on knocking out early tonight. Hoping that’ll jumpstart the healing process.

Here’s what I’ve been eating lately:

Coconut butter is a new discovery for me. The Artisana brand is super delicious and way smoother than what I can make in my own food processor. Spread it on some pear slices- fantastic AIP snack.

This was breakfast, but it would work any time of day. Sautéed sweet potatoes with garlic and spinach, and my very own AIP meatloaf patties. I always make a double batch and freeze extras for quick meals when I’m tired or rushed (or sick). Love ’em!

This was my plate of food from a recent party. I brought a salmon salad for me and a dish of roasted garlicky broccoli to share so I’d be sure to have something to eat. But it turned out that there was more food that was AIP compliant at the party. My husband’s grandfather made a delicious baked yuca dish, and my mother-in-law smoked a brisket (she only used a tenderizer on it, which wasn’t ideal for my diet, but not a huge deviation from it). It was soooo delicious. And really fun to enjoy eating with a large group (without having my own “special” food). There was a lot at the party that I couldn’t eat, but I was full on this stuff. So it didn’t matter.

I’ve been having this for breakfast most mornings. AIP meatloaf patties made into an actual meatloaf, alongside mashed cauliflower or fermented cabbage (pictured here). And a big ol’ mug of bone broth.

This works as a snack or light lunch alongside a smoothie. Smoked salmon and olive rolls. The brand of smoked salmon that I use (Echo Falls) has only wild caught salmon, salt, and natural hardwood smoke as ingredients.

Off to bed! Hope the little one cooperates!

Pumpkin Pie, Y’all! (and an awesome AIP pie crust)

We went to the pumpkin patch yesterday to get our pumpkin. Last year, I discovered that I am a masterful pumpkin carver. Seriously. I am. Our jack-o-lantern had my daughter’s name for a mouth. I think I’m gonna have to dig up a picture to prove how awesome it was. Yes, yes I am.  Here it is.

Anyway, she’s been obsessed with having pumpkin pie ever since we got home from the pumpkin patch. So I decided to come up with a version that was delicious and compliant with the Autoimmune Paleo Protocol, so that we could enjoy it together.

One of my favorite new ingredients that I’m finding to be extremely versatile is the plantain. Green plantains make yummy chips or tostones, yellow ones are delicious baked or fried in coconut oil. Green plantains are a great binder for savory dishes, such as this recipe for AIP meatloaf. Super ripe, black plantains are great for sweet dishes, such as this AIP friendly pancake recipe. So when I was trying to decide what to use for the crust, and just happened to have an almost completely black plantain in the pantry, I knew I had to try it.

I’ve also been making a lot of homemade coconut milk using unsweetened dried coconut, and saving the “milked” coconut in the freezer. Today I blended some of that back in with a bit of coconut oil and honey to make a pretty close approximation of coconut butter. Mixing this “coconut butter” with the mashed plantain made a perfect pie crust. And Little Miss got to help! She’s a great plantain masher and crust spreader.

We baked the crust for 40 minutes in a 375 oven until it was brown and toasty. I love how the ridges left by spreading it with a fork toasted up, making it crispy and flaky, like a conventional pie crust.

Then we made and poured on this recipe for pumpkin pudding. It seemed a bit runny at first, but after chilling in the fridge overnight, the gelatin set and gave a nice, pumpkin pie texture.

Time to cut into it and see if it holds up like pumpkin pie… It does! Beautiful!

But something’s missing. I can’t pass up the chance to whip up some super-easy, wholesome chocolate sauce! Spoonful of carob powder and a splash of pure maple syrup, and…. Voila!

Right now, as I’m typing this, I’m having a big slice with a cup of tea. So perfect.

Here’s the recipe for the crust.

Ingredients:
1 super-duper ripe almost completely black plantain (blacker=sweeter)
1/4 cup coconut butter
2 tablespoons raw, local honey (this brand is ok, but local is always better)
Pinch of himilayan sea salt
2 tablespoons coconut oil

Directions:
Have the nearest toddler mash the plantain with a fork. You may need to help with the big chunks. They will want to use their hands. Let them. Then mix in the coconut butter, honey, and salt, continuing to mash the plantain to get it smoother and smoother. It doesn’t have to be completely smooth, just not totally lumpy.

Grease a pie plate with the coconut oil, then spread the crust mixture into the pan as evenly as possible, filling in any holes. Bake in a 375 oven for 40 minutes or until golden brown and toasty.

Let the crust cool completely, meanwhile blend up this recipe for pumpkin pudding. Pour over the pie crust when it is completely cool. You will have some extra pudding leftover, so have some dishes available to put it in. I love these little plastic containers for pudding. They’re bpa-free, and perfectly sized for a single serving.  They remind me of the super convenient pudding cups at the grocery store. But by making your own, you can avoid the sugar, modified corn starch, partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, sodium stearoyl lactylate, and artificial flavors. And that’s the one that doesn’t have any high fructose corn syrup or preservatives! Ugh. Disgusting.

Anyway, let the pie sit overnight in the fridge, and by morning, you’ll have a delicious, healthy pumpkin pie!  Yay!

Double Chocolate Pudding (with hidden pumpkin and avocado)

My kid loves chocolate, and she loves a good pudding (as long as it’s smooth, not “bumpy,” such as the tapioca-like chia pudding I often made before eliminating seeds on AIP). She loved a chocolate pudding I made a while back using avocado. I’ve long since lost the recipe, but thought I’d try a variation on it today. I also love sneaking veggies and super-nutrition into baby girl’s “treats”.

I’ve been looking for an excuse to make that chocolate sauce again, anyway. Turned out awesome.

Double Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients:

The pudding-
2 avocados
1 can of organic, BPA free pumpkin
1 tablespoon coconut butter
2 tablespoons raw, local honey
2 tablespoons cocoa (or carob powder for AIP compliance)
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Pinch of salt

The sauce-
Equal parts pure maple syrup and cocoa (or carob) powder, mixed together until smooth. (May need to sift the powder to avoid lumps- mine was still kinda lumpy).

Blend all pudding ingredients together until smooth. Top with the chocolate sauce.

My first original recipe: AIP Meatloaf Patties

Grass-fed or pastured meat patties are a staple in the Autoimmune Paleo world.  Even given the severe restrictions of the diet, there are lots of options for seasoning and enhancing a meat patty.  Herbs, veggies, non-nightshade and non-seed spices.  So I found it frustrating when the first couple of recipes I followed didn’t turn out that great.  Sure, I may have overcooked one batch a bit, but I am far from a perfectionist in the kitchen.  Perfection is just never going to happen for me.  Sometimes, the oven timer goes off and I don’t get there to take out whatever’s baking until half an hour later.  Thank goodness my oven automatically shuts off when the time’s up, otherwise I probably would’ve burned the house down by now.  But my point is, grass-fed ground beef is typically leaner and seems to be slightly more finicky than conventional meat, meaning a few minutes overdone yields a rock hard meat patty.  But there is a very simple, and extremely nutritious solution… add tons of veggies!  Finely diced onions, grated carrots and zucchini, minced garlic, chopped mushrooms, pureed squash or plantain… anything that has it’s own moisture will impart all that nutritious juicy-ness to the meat patty, whether it’s a hamburger, a breakfast sausage, or a meat loaf.  This revelation led me to create my first original recipe.  I guess it’s not TOTALLY original, because the foundation for the tomato sauce ingredients came from Against All Grain’s Tomato-less Meat Sauce Recipe.  Once I figured out how to make a nightshade free “tomato” sauce, adding it to the meat patties along with a plantain “binder” (since I can’t use eggs or any type of breadcrumbs) to make it all taste like tomatoey meatloaf goodness was just intuitive.  So, without further ado….

Autoimmune Paleo Friendly Meatloaf Patties (can also be made into muffins or an actual meatloaf, just increase cooking time)

Ingredients:

1 small or 1/2 large beet

2 carrots

1 green plantain

4 cloves garlic

1 onion, chopped

1 pound of grass-fed ground beef

salt to taste

 

Directions:

For the “tomato” sauce, add the beet, carrots, plantain, garlic, and salt to a vitamix or other high powered blender or food processor.  Process at low speeds, using the tamper tool (or stopping to scrape down the sides often) to get all bits incorporated.  Some small chunks are OK.

Mix the sauce with the ground beef and chopped onion.  I use my hands.  There’s just no easier way to get it all mixed in.  The mixture should be very moist.  

Form into 12 patties and place on a cookie sheet or muffin pan.  Bake at 415 for 40 minutes.  (or 350 for about an hour, or 400 for 40 minutes, or any of these temperatures and times and then just let them sit when the timer goes off until you can finish cleaning the pee off the floor from your potty training toddler and hopefully remember to wash your hands before removing your dinner from the oven).  You could also easily cook them in a frying pan on the stovetop.  No matter what you do, these patties will be moist and yummy!

Serve on a bed of mashed cauliflower with a side of broccoli, or on a bed of salad greens with a side of sweet potato fries… or for breakfast along with a green smoothie.  Here it is on spring mix salad greens with rutabaga fries. This is my comfort food.  Mmmmmmm.

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If you don’t like beets, this is a great way to sneak them in.  My husband hates beets.  I don’t get it.  They’re sweet and earthy and delicious.  But I know they take some getting used to, and apparently some people, like my husband, don’t ever get used to them.  But he gobbled up these meatloaf patties and wanted more.  I don’t think he even realized there were beets in there.  Beets are an AMAZINGLY nutritious vegetable and have LOADS of health benefits.  Check out this link for reasons to work beets into your diet.  Along with the carrots and plantain, these patties become extremely nutrient dense.  And you don’t even feel like you’re eating a vegetable!  Can’t beat that!  

Going strong on Autoimmune Paleo Protocol

It finally feels like autumn around here. My daughter got to wear her winter boots and a hoodie to school this morning. Though I’m sure she’ll be sweating in those boots by this afternoon, this little taste of what’s to come is nice. (Baby Girl (3 years old) is convinced all the leaves on the trees will fall off by tonight. That doesn’t happen around here until, oh, maybe January?) At any rate, I am happily blogging from our hammock on the back porch- with a blanket! Lovely!

I have been feeling really, really good. Not amazing. But really good. I have been nearly 100% compliant on the Autoimmune Paleo Protocol. I accidentally ingested nightshade extracts in the ham I was eating. And there are flax and chia seeds in one of the detox supplements I’m taking this week. But I’m ok with that for now. I intend to follow AIP until I stop getting lesions, or for 3 months (which would be until January- right through the holiday season- eeek!) whichever comes first.

My recent focus has been on getting better sleep- higher quality and more of it. I’ve come to realize that, as I continue to heal, I really need closer to 12 hours of sleep per night. That may not always be possible, but I need a bare minimum of 10, and need to get as close to 12 as often as possible. Considering that I have historically slept about 7-8 hours a night, I’m looking at potentially 5 fewer hours of consciousness each day. That seems nuts! But I’m hoping my increased energy and more vibrant health will help me be more productive during the 12 hours I’m awake, so no one will notice that I sleep all the time.

Last night was the first night I accomplished this goal. I’ve been working toward it for weeks, but with a co-sleeping 3 year old who vehemently dislikes being unconscious, it’s been tricky. What I’ve done to make this happen: eliminate her afternoon naps, start dinner earlier (5:30/6), and start our bedtime routine earlier so that we are in bed, reading a book before 8pm. Lights are out at 8, and we listen to e-audiobooks that I download free from the library. We are currently listening to the first Harry Potter book. Baby Girl also loves the Fancy Nancy series, which is fantastic (“which is a fancy word for great”) for building her vocabulary. I’ve also eliminated all nightlights, so we are sleeping in near-total darkness. (I’m basically still afraid of the dark, so this was a big step for me. It was no problem for the toddler. Lol). We have been working backwards from our previous typical bedtime of 11pm/12am. So this is kinda huge. Last night, we were in bed and read 3 books before 8pm. Lights were out by 8 and we were asleep by 8:30. I did wake up a few times during the night, but was able to go back to sleep rather quickly. We didn’t wake up until 7:30 this morning, so that’s 11 full hours of glorious sleep. And I feel great! Over the past couple of days, I’ve been dealing with a few lurking lesions and thrush- all of which were significantly diminished overnight. I need more of this amazingly effective disease treatment! And it’s free!

A few other things I’m doing that I believe are helping in the sleep arena… I’ve been taking a calcium/magnesium supplement forever, but I recently started using topical magnesium oil. This stuff burns when I spray it on my body, so I’m only using it on my feet and covering with socks a few nights per week, but I think that, along with a few Epsom salt baths per week, is really boosting my magnesium levels. And magnesium is extremely important for relaxing muscles and inducing healthy sleep patterns.

I stopped taking all my regular supplements this week except pregnenolone, and added in a 7-day detox formula from Garden of Life. I haven’t changed anything else about how I’m eating because AIP is restrictive enough and I can’t risk losing any weight. I’m just trying to stay really well hydrated and doing more Epsom/baking soda baths to assist with toxin elimination.

And this is some of what I’ve been eating this week:

Bananas, pears, and kiwi topped with the most delicious homemade coconut yogurt. (Coconut cream from 2 refrigerated bpa free cans of coconut milk, mixed with 2-3 good probiotic capsules and cultured in an “off” oven with the light on for 24 hours). Super easy and so rich and tangy!

What I thought was a great AIP breakfast. (Darn those sneaky nightshade extracts that contaminated my ham!) Applegate Naturals ham, roasted asparagus, and avocado with a salty mug of chicken bone broth (very healing for the gut).

One of my new favorite snacks: smoked salmon (beware of ingredients!) with coconut yogurt and capers. There was some sugar listed on the salmon ingredients, but from what I understand, the sugar is mostly eliminated during the curing process. And that was the only questionable ingredient in this brand. I checked several other brands and they all had funky stuff in them. I’ve thrown out the package now, but I’ll post more info on this next time I get more smoked salmon.

Nice AIP lunch… Applegate turkey (boo- carrageenan!) wrapped around homemade fermented carrots (yay- probiotics!) and avocado, with pear slices.

Pan-fried tilapia (seasoned with only salt) on a mound of mashed cauliflower with a side of sweet, ripe plantains. Yum yum yum yum yum!

Ingredients for delicious and seasonally appropriate pumpkin pudding. Super easy and AIP friendly. The only potentially tricky part is the gelatin. (This is not conventional store-bought gelatin by the way.  You will NOT find this stuff next to the jell-o at Publix.  Don’t eat that!  This is grass fed and has no added nastiness.) Put all other ingredients in a blender. Put 1/2 tablespoon gelatin in 2 ounces of water and let it “bloom” for 5 minutes. Then add that to the blender as well. Blend everything until smooth, then pour into individual serving cups and refrigerate until “set” (a few hours or overnight). As you can see, it was a hit with my little one. I put these in her lunch for school as a treat, and I feel good about all the vitamins she’s getting from the pumpkin, the amino acids and protein from the gelatin, and the healthy fat from the coconut. And there’s nothing in this “treat” that would be likely to irritate her gut or compromise her immune system in any way (as is the case with most treats!). Totally win/win.

I have been eating a LOT of canned tuna lately. It’s just so convenient. Good thing it’s wild, sustainably sourced, and BPA free. For this tuna salad, I was out of coconut yogurt, so I added some olive juice for flavor and moisture, along with some olives, chopped celery, and homemade fermented carrots. Turned out quite good. I put some on whole wheat bread for my husband and just ate mine plain with a fork.

Something else I’ve been eating a LOT of lately- these AIP meatloaf patties. I’ll post more about these later, because this is my first notable, original recipe. Super exciting! It may be the only one I ever have, but it deserves it’s own post. Here I had them on a bed of greens with a side of rutabaga fries.

And, finally, a recipe that was truly a revelation for me this week. I have scoured grocery and health food store shelves for a wholesome chocolate sauce. It may be out there, but I haven’t found it. During my flirtations with raw veganism, I found a recipe for chocolate sauce that was delicious, but a bit complicated and time consuming for something that I would only enjoy on occasion, and even then, only a small bit at a time. I saw this combination as part of a larger recipe and the lightbulb that went off in my head was blinding. I can’t believe I never thought of this!

It’s so incredibly simple! I can’t have chocolate on AIP, so I had to use carob powder. But the potential variations are mouth-watering! I can’t wait to do a Mexican chocolate sauce: a little raw cacao, vanilla, and cinnamon mixed into that maple syrup. Wow! This sauce can be used as a topping or as a mix for hot chocolate or chocolate milk. This has opened up a whole new world for me. Still gotta be careful, because nobody wants the sugar rush that would follow too much maple syrup, but this will add an easy, decadent layer to lots of dishes.

Such as this one. Plantain pancakes topped with coconut cream and chocolate sauce. (Husband and kid went NUTS for these!) Two ripe (mostly black) plantains mashed up with cinnamon and fried (1/4 cup scoops) in coconut oil. Topped with unsweetened coconut cream and super sweet chocolate sauce. We had this for breakfast, but it really should be a dessert. It’s THAT decadent.

Sorry for the crazy-long post! Now that I’m getting my energy back, I have a lot to say. Probably need to be posting daily to get it out in a more manageable format. I’ll work on that! 🙂

The medical community’s odd view of health and an AIP version of an old favorite.

My husband and I took an online health assessment for our insurance company and got $100 each toward our HSA after speaking to someone over the phone about our assessment results. Part of the conversation I had with this person (the HealthMatters Professional, hereafter dubbed HP) struck me as funny.

HP: Do you limit your consumption of red meat?
Me: No.
HP: Do you limit your consumption of fatty foods?
Me: No.
HP: Do you limit your consumption of sugar?
Me: Yes.
HP: Do you eat 5-8 servings of fruits and vegetables each day?
Me: Yes.
HP: Do you plan to take steps to improve your diet?
Me: Ummmm, based on my research, it doesn’t get much healthier than what I’m eating. So, no.

And then later, after explaining my hospitalization and struggle to get off medication and continuing struggle with autoimmune disease, the lady tells me, “Well, you’re obviously very healthy.” Ummmm, what? I constantly have lesions in my mouth that sometimes make it impossible to eat, I struggle with extreme exhaustion and debilitating feverish aches and painful skin sensitivity during flares. I was hospitalized for this condition in the not-too-distant past, and had a close call in the even-less-distant past and was only kept out of the hospital thanks to a quick thinking doctor and a high dose steroid injection. But I am “obviously” very healthy. What kind of standards are we using here? In what definition of “healthy” would that apply to me? This comment stood out to me because I’ve heard it before from my family doctor, the one who treated me in the hospital in January and gave me that high dose steroid injection a few months ago. Once I was beyond the crisis situation, he told me, “Well, you’re quite healthy. I don’t need to see you back until it’s time for your yearly physical.” Granted, I don’t want to see him for anything other than crisis situations and a yearly physical, but to say I’m healthy? Constantly on the brink of a physical melt down is healthy? I’m getting healthier every day and I’m certainly healthier than I would be if I wasn’t paying such close attention to what I put on and in my body. And I WILL be truly healthy soon. But I’m not there yet. And it blows my mind that conventional health professionals would consider me “healthy”. That’s just crazy.

Anyway, I’m still feeling pretty good on this 5th day sans prednisone. Had a moment this afternoon where exhaustion just hit me like a load of bricks and I had to stop what I was doing and go relax for a couple of hours. It was nap time for my daughter, so it worked out nicely, but I can’t wait for the day my adrenals and hormones are balanced and I have strong, steady energy from sun-up to sun-down.

Here’s what I’ve been eating…

Tuna salad (BPA free, wild caught tuna, raw sauerkraut, and homemade coconut yogurt) and garlicky plantain chips. Perfect dipping partners.

Didn’t think it existed, but here’s an AIP compliant spaghetti and meat sauce. Without grains and nightshades, I thought our old staple would be inaccessible to me until my gut heals. This takes a little more work, but totally hits the spot left empty by Italian comfort food. I veered from the original recipe because I didn’t have some of the ingredients (and didn’t want to use butter or wine due to AIP restrictions) but you can see Against All Grain’s original recipe here.

Zucchini noodles made easy thanks to my handy-dandy spiralizer.

Onions, garlic, carrots, and beets go into the pot with a bit of Applegate Farms ham. Then added lots of homemade chicken bone broth.

It’s all puréed with an immersion blender, then you add the meat (I used ground buffalo) and fresh herbs (I used sage, rosemary, and oregano from the garden). Throw in the noodles for the last few minutes of cooking, top with parsley, and voila…

Super delicious AIP friendly spaghetti and meat sauce. (Non-paleo husband and kid approved.)

Taking on Full Autoimmune Paleo Protocol and dealing with a possible Herxheimer reaction

Feeling pretty good on this fourth day without prednisone. I have a few lesions, nothing major. But I do have quite a bit of thrush, which is odd. It’s nearly covering my entire tongue. This usually doesn’t happen unless I’m having a bad flare. The thrush on its own isn’t painful, just annoying. And I’m thinking it may be a reaction to detox, since I’ve been really strict on AIP the last few days. The last time I experienced thrush like this (without a bad flare) was when I did a 3 day juice cleanse. “Fuzzy tongue” is a pretty common side effect of detoxing. I think it has something to do with toxins released as bad bacteria and yeasts in the body die off. I’m surprised that this would happen to me, since AIP isn’t a huge jump from what I was already eating. But I guess it’s possible that nuts, seeds, eggs, and nightshades really were wrecking havoc in my system. I hope that’s the case, because it would mean I’ve found another big piece of the puzzle. Nuts, seeds, and eggs were also the mediums through which I ingested quite a bit of sugar (dates/honey) in the form of grain-free baked goods and (my favorite treat ever) date/nut “cookie dough” balls. Those changes may be starving the baddies in my gut of the sugar they thrive on. That would elicit some die-off, and might help explain the thrush.

I’ve gone full-AIP now. So in addition to the typical Paleo restrictions (no grains, legumes, or dairy) I’ve also eliminated nuts, seeds, eggs, and nightshades (tomatoes, eggplant, peppers). So what I DO eat is lots of fruit and vegetables, grass-fed beef, organic chicken (I don’t have access to pastured chicken right now), humanely raised pork, all with no nitrates/nitrites or preservatives, and now I CAN’T eat any pre-seasoned sausages, hot dogs, jerky, or deli meats since they almost always use spices derived from nightshades (like paprika). I am also eating lots of fish. I found some great BPA free and wild caught canned tuna and salmon. Plus, to avoid losing weight on this diet, I’m including lots of healthy fats: extra virgin coconut oil, ghee, extra virgin olive oil (not for cooking, though- olive oil deteriorates quickly at high temps and becomes inflammatory and toxic). I’m hoping to work in some healthy animal fats from good sources (like lard) for cooking, but I haven’t tracked down those sources yet. And I’m not about to use conventional lard from the grocery store. Yuk!

PUMPKIN SOUP with COCONUT SOUR CREAM
I blended a can of organic, BPA free pumpkin purée with some homemade bone broth (chicken stock) and a clove of garlic, in the vita-mix for about 7 minutes until it got hot. Super easy. The coconut sour cream is actually homemade coconut yogurt, but the taste works perfectly for this. I mixed the coconut cream from 3 refrigerated cans of organic coconut milk with a powdered kefir starter and left it in my oven with the light on for 24 hours. The oven is off during this process, but the light creates enough heat to facilitate the culturing activity of the probiotics. Once it’s refrigerated again, it’s thick, creamy, and tangy, and LOADED with probiotics. Blended with something sweet, it tastes like yogurt. On something savory, it tastes like sour cream. Either way, it’s delicious.

That same coconut sour cream/yogurt worked beautifully in this tuna salad. I also mixed in some raw sauerkraut, making this dish a probiotic powerhouse. I would’ve loved to add some olives, but my daughter has decided that she doesn’t like them and we were sharing.

These are allergy-free breakfast cookies from the Against All Grain cookbook. Bananas, applesauce, dates, coconut flour, plus dried fruits and spices. Good stuff.

Applegate beef slices wrapped around my homemade fermented carrot sticks. Yum! And more probiotics! Now that I’m thinking about all the probiotics I’ve been eating, that could be another explanation for the Herxheimer (die-off) symptoms. Hopefully the good guys are crowding out the bad guys in my belly.

Smoothie time! A banana, coconut milk (leftover from all that coconut cream), frozen blueberries, and 2 huge handfuls of spinach. Alongside some Applegate turkey slices, it makes for a satisfying AIP breakfast.

The turkey slices do contain carrageenan, which weirds me out. But it’s certainly healthier than most other super-convenient protein options, and it doesn’t contain any nightshade spices, so I’m not going to worry about it for now.

Tapering Success!!! And setting new goals.

Well, yesterday was (potentially) my last day on prednisone. I say potentially because I am leaving the option open to take a mg or a half anytime this week if I feel like I need it. But, honestly, after what I’ve been through the past 3 months with the taper, I can’t imagine it getting bad enough that I can’t push through. Now it’s time to dig into some REAL healing.

My plan is to give myself a couple of weeks to adjust to life without prednisone. My adrenals are screwed up and I know my hormones are out of whack. I’m focusing on getting better quality sleep (and getting to sleep by 10pm). And working in some light exercise. We went kayaking (3 miles) yesterday, and though I passed out in the car on the way home, I didn’t feel particularly fatigued during the trip. And had enough energy later in the day to host a backyard movie night. Well, I didn’t do anything besides make some popcorn (which I didn’t eat), but just having the energy left to socialize after such a busy day is an improvement over the recent past.

We’ll see how the next couple of weeks go, but once I feel like my body is getting itself together again, I want to detox. Probably a modified AIP (autoimmune paleo) solid foods plus juice cleanse, with a 7 day detox supplement from Garden of Life. We’re on a super-tight grocery budget, so it might get tricky, but it should be doable. I’ll re-evaluate and determine new goals after that.

My goals have been so centered around getting off the medication. Now that I’m pretty much there, I already feel like I’m floundering a bit. (The pitfalls of being extremely goal-oriented.) My ultimate goal is complete, medication-free remission. But there will be a few more mini-goals between here and there. I’m just not sure what they should be. I need to make an appointment with my integrative doc. He’d probably be extremely helpful with this process.

At any rate, I’m EXTREMELY grateful and happy to be OFF OF PREDNISONE!!! And I feel like I dodged a bullet by avoiding the methotrexate all my conventional docs were pushing on me. Physically, I feel pretty good. Having a minor flare that’s been going on since last week, but it’s nothing compared to what has been the “norm” over the past 3 months. It’s barely worth mentioning.

Here’s some examples of what I’ve been eating lately.

A quick, one-pan, AIP dinner: tilapia and Brussels sprouts with red onion, lots of garlic and lemon juice.

Organic chicken sausage (non-AIP), yummy kale chips, and sautéed sweet potatoes. (This was breakfast. Yeah- since eliminating eggs, grains, nuts, and seeds, breakfast looks a little different. Takes some getting used to.)

Strawberry smoothie with coconut cream. (Totally fills in for the strawberry frappuccinos with whipped cream that I used to consume in a former life.) The smoothie has frozen strawberries, homemade coconut milk and coconut kefir (awesome probiotics!), and dates. The coconut cream is the cream from the top of a refrigerated can of organic coconut milk mixed with a scant tablespoon of agave nectar. It’s denser than whipped cream, so a lot of it sinks into the smoothie. But I bet if I made the smoothie thicker (with more strawberries or by adding ice) more of the cream would sit on top.

And this has become one of our favorite salty crunchy snacks. My daughter loves these. She’d always get a little package of seaweed snacks when we’d go to the health food store. But they often have questionable added oils and some spices I may need to avoid on AIP. Plus they’re expensive! So I just get regular old nori sheets and fold them into smaller, snackable size squares.

Now I’m off to get myself and my little one ready for bed. We have a strict bedtime! 😉

AIP Breakfast and Dinner, plus a Buttermilk Pie Smoothie (vegan and AIP-friendly!)

I’m on day 2 of 1 mg prednisone. Getting so close to the end! Planning to drop to .5 mg next week by splitting the pills in half. No major issues so far this week, though it may still be too early to tell. I’ve been really tired (despite getting a full 8 hours of sleep, I’ve been taking 2 hour naps in the afternoons, too). My skin has been sensitive-feeling, and my bottom lip seems to be taking its time healing. But the inside of my mouth is in great shape. Only one tender spot. I can’t remember the last time my mouth was this healthy. Certainly before I started the taper, so it’s been months.

I have not been super-strict about following the AIP (autoimmune paleo) protocol, but I still feel like I’m experiencing some benefits. For one, I’m having less cravings for sweets. And when I do have sweets (such as the buttermilk pie smoothie below) I’m quickly satisfied with just a bit of sweet fruit, like bananas or grapes. There have been several occasions where I’ve added a small bit of honey to something out of habit, and then found it to be wayyyy too sweet. I know that prednisone can affect the body’s ability to properly process sugar, so that may be having an impact as well.

Here’s a recent AIP friendly breakfast we had. Beef breakfast patties with baked apple slices (baked in coconut oil with cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and cardamom) topped with coconut cream (from the top of a refrigerated can of coconut milk, and mixed with a bit of vanilla and raw honey). Served with a mug of chicken bone broth (very healing to the gut with all those minerals and gelatin).

And an AIP friendly dinner: oven roasted lemon tilapia and veggies. I made a bed of red onions and sliced lemons, then layered on frozen tilapia fillets seasoned with Himalayan salt, turmeric, and garlic powder. Covered and baked for 20 minutes at 400, then uncovered it and poured on a layer of frozen Brussels sprouts and baked for another 20 minutes, turning on the broiler for the last 7 minutes. Only dirtied up one dish and got a quick (under an hour) nutrient rich dish, where many of the ingredients were cooked directly from frozen.

I’m reading a book that takes place in the south, and they mentioned buttermilk pie. Being a southern girl, this is one of my all-time absolute favorite desserts. It’s not quite cake, but not quite pie, and I’ve never been able to decide if it’s better warm or cold. But it’s crazy delicious, and the mention of it in my book sparked a vicious craving. I satisfied it with a smoothie.

I made vegan/AIP friendly buttermilk by combining coconut milk and apple cider vinegar (any acidic medium will work, such as lemon juice) and letting it sit for 10 minutes. Use about a tablespoon acidic medium per cup of milk. Then I poured it in my vitamix with a frozen banana, pinch of salt, splash of vanilla extract, and dash of cinnamon. Perfection. Sorry no photo. I was in a crazed state for my buttermilk pie and it didn’t last long enough for a picture. It would be really nice served with a spiced version of my date/nut cookie bites. But AIP doesn’t allow nuts and seeds, so I’ll try that later.