Day 2, and Why I Do Paleo

In conversations with friends, there have been lots of questions about the specifics of this fast. What does “paleo” really mean (other than eating a bunch of meat like a caveman) and why subject myself to something so restrictive? And why only liquids on Wednesdays?

So let me try to explain some of that here.

I’m not going to go into how the paleo diet helps to heal/manage autoimmune disease. There’s a lot of resources out there that explain it well. In my opinion, one of the best available is The Paleo Approach by Sarah Ballantyne. Here’s a link to the kindle edition where you can “try a sample” and see what I’m talking about. http://www.amazon.com/The-Paleo-Approach-Reverse-Autoimmune-ebook/dp/B00I44JHTE

From my own experience and working with an integrative doctor on my healing process, I know that my body has a hard time processing toxins. I know that the proteins in wheat and dairy can cross react with the molecular structure (or whatever) of my own cells and confuse my overzealous immune system. I know that my body is sensitive to fluctuations in blood sugar, and this is exacerbated when I consume caffeine. And even though I rarely experience digestive discomfort, I know the root of my most serious health concerns lies in what’s happening in my belly.

Paleo helps alleviate these issues. Consuming only liquids during the day on Wednesdays will give my digestive system even more of a break so healing can take place more quickly. But this part has spiritual implications as well. The idea is that in denying physical desires, and focusing on things of the spirit, one can weaken the flesh (sinful nature) and strengthen the spirit. I believe this concept can easily be taken too far, and I don’t believe that fasting brings anyone closer to God. But I think it’s a helpful tool to use as I work on growing more mature in my faith.

I don’t intend to get too deep into the prayer part on this blog, but I can tell you, on day 2 of this fast, God is already making moves on my heart. He’s digging into my perceptions of my role as a mom, and drawing some pretty interesting correlations between my relationship with my daughter and His relationship with me. Heavy stuff, but so, so good.

I also do not intend to post every morsel of food that I put in my mouth (as I have in the past). It’s time consuming and unnecessary. But I do want to show a realistic view of how to execute a healing diet, and keep myself accountable, so I’ll post as many of those meals as I can. I’m making very little effort on presentation these days, so the food may not be pretty, but it’ll be paleo.

For example, breakfast… 2 eggs fried in uncured bacon grease over raw, fermented sauerkraut, with bananas and a chai latte (with almond milk). Nothing fancy there. But it’s quick, and it works.

This soup, however, is pretty impressive. It doesn’t look like much. But it’s freakin’ delicious. And gets even better over time as it sits in the fridge- kinda like chili. It’s a Thai-ish chicken noodle soup.

Sauté onions, garlic, and ginger in coconut oil at the bottom of a soup pot. Pour in some coconut aminos (paleo version of soy sauce) and fish sauce (Red Boat brand is good). Then add chicken stock, carrots, celery, and chicken. After a while, add coconut milk and tons of fresh herbs- whatever you’ve got. I used cilantro, thyme, basil, oregano, and rosemary. When you’ve got about 20 minutes left of cooking time, add a bag of kelp noodles. They’re super nutritious and are a perfect grain free noodle option in any Asian-inspired dish. In the last 5 min, add lime juice, zest, and my secret, unnecessary, but super delicious ingredient- a drop or 2 of lemongrass essential oil (therapeutic grade, like Young Living). While I’m sure any medicinal qualities of the oil were probably cooked out, it really gave the soup a fresh, unique flavor.

I only ate 2 official meals today, but probably consumed about 700 calories in Justin’s Maple Almond Butter. By the spoonful. Right out of the jar. That stuff is ridiculous.

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! 🙂

Friday

Lesions/thrush continue to improve. I haven’t typically gotten lesions on my lips until recently. Right now I have 2 on my bottom lip. TMI gross alert: when I wake up in the morning, it’s like my lips are glued together. I have to go to the sink and slowly put water on my lips to ease them apart. If I force it, it’s pretty painful and bleeds. As gross as that sounds and as uncomfortable as it is, I’ll take lip lesions over tongue lesions any day. They’re more visible and unsightly, but don’t affect my ability to eat as much.

Breakfast: an avocado fruit bowl. Strawberries, pear, orange, lime juice, hemp seeds, and unsweetened shredded coconut.

The morning juices: alkalizing greens, spicy ginger lemonade, and a sweet beet concoction.

Had lunch at my parents’, where my dad made an awesome salad and lightly steamed veggies. Totally forgot to take a photo.

Dinner was leftover and frozen shrimp fried rice. There’s a couple of problems with this meal, but it was late and I was starving. So, I’ve incorporated eggs back into my diet now, so that wasn’t a problem. And though I haven’t officially started the Maker’s Diet yet, I intended to ease into it and avoid the “unclean” foods, which includes shellfish. I’m also not sure if I made this dish with tamari or soy sauce or bragg’s liquid aminos. So there’s some potential for gluten and soy there. I made it back in May, so I’m just not sure. Anyway, it tasted good. Hope it doesn’t set me back.

Also had a carrot juice and almond milk with dinner.

Had an odd pain in my shoulder earlier in the day. Put my last drop of PanAway on it and that helped tremendously. I’ve got to get some more of this stuff. Also, fighting off a mild headache tonight. Made an Epsom salt bath of clove and peppermint, and rubbed helichrysum, wintergreen, and peppermint on my shoulders, neck, and temples before bed. Plus drank 32 ounces of water. Advil? No, thanks. 🙂

Thursday

Had a weird feeling in the back of my throat/sinuses for most of the day. Felt kind of swollen, like I might be getting sick. It’s been there for a couple of days, but seemed worse today.

Doing a sort of modified juice cleanse for the next 3 days. The last time I did the cleanse, I lost weight. And that is NOT something I want to do. So I’ll continue to eat healthfully as usual, just incorporate the detox juices.

For breakfast, I had an alkalizing greens drink, ginger lemonade, red beet elixir, and dandelion root tea. Plus homemade granola with strawberries and almond milk.

Did a yoga class today. Relaxing and centering. Didn’t feel like much of a workout, but we’ll see if there’s any muscle soreness in the next couple of days. Sometimes yoga surprises me like that.

Lunch was navy beans with rice, greens, and chow chow. And leftover purple potatoes and Brussels sprouts, plus a pineapple carrot juice.

Dinner was an Amy’s gluten free dairy free frozen burrito. I didn’t even dress it up with fermented veggies. But I did drink another green juice with it. And celery sticks with cashew butter. And an almond milk drink with stevia, vanilla, and pie spices.

In an attempt to combat this weird sinus inflammation, I’ve been taking colloidal silver a few times a day and added extra vitamin C to my supplements. I’ve also been using a neti-pot, even though there’s really no congestion to speak of. Did it 3 times today. I have a jar of salt in the medicine cabinet to use for this purpose, and I added a drop of high quality frankincense oil to the salt. Hoping that will help boost my immune system and clear out that inflammation. I’m still feeling it tonight, but it seems better than this morning.

Saturday

Still planning to drink all the usual juices today, but I’m going to eat normally as well. Decided to continue as before for now- including grains (except wheat) but moderating them a bit, and minimizing animal products, with the focus being on finding pastured, grass fed, organic products.

Breakfast was 16oz signature greens, gf toast with coconut spread, and fruit.

Lunch was 12oz ginger lemon aid, 12oz red beet elixir, and Kashi cereal with kefir.

My daughter’s art activity while I was juicing- she painted with leftover juice foam. This stuff is versatile! Nourishes our bodies and our creativity!

Got a massage today (thanks, Mom!) So I’m drinking LOTS of water to flush out any additional toxins that stirred up along with the detox. I feel great. One tiny lesion coming up as the last one fades away. I could totally go the rest of my life with one lesion at a time. Though it lets me know I’m not quite in balance yet.

Had 2 Larabars as a snack while health food shopping with my mom. Coconut cream pie and peanut butter chocolate.

Had frozen leftovers for dinner. I intended to eat all 3, sharing them with my daughter, but she didn’t eat much, so we didn’t eat the shrimp dish. Just the stir-fry and broccoli soup. Plus carrot cake juice and almond delight.

Made my first attempt at homemade toothpaste. Baking soda, xylitol, coconut oil, thieves oil, crushed up calcium/magnesium tablets, and a pinch of himilayan sea salt. From what I’ve read, this should do a good job of remineralizing our teeth. The coconut oil, xylitol, and thieves oil all have antifungal, antibacterial, or otherwise anti microbial properties. The baking soda and sea salt will polish, and the calcium/magnesium tablets and sea salt will remineralize. It tastes pretty good. I didn’t follow an exact recipe. I found a bunch of different recipes on Pinterest and kind of made up my own thing based off of those.

If we like this toothpaste and use it long term (never to buy conventional toothpaste again?) I’ll find a better container to keep it in. Possibly something that we can squeeze it out of. In the meantime, an old baby food jar will work.

It’s driving me nuts that I spelled thieves wrong on the label. In an exercise against my perfectionist tendencies, I’m purposefully not correcting it. I mean, who cares, right? We’ll see if I make it through the night without fixing it.

Had 2 squares of 70% chocolate and dried apple rings as a late night snack. I’ve had well over 64 oz of water today and I still feel thirsty. I normally have a hard time making myself drink water, so I’m glad it’s been easy today. Wonder if it has anything to do with the detox process and/or the massage. I hope it’s flushing out toxins! I want that crap outta my body!

Friday

Day 2 of juice cleanse. Feeling good. Digestive system seems to be working normally, as though there’s no difference in what I’m eating. That seems weird to me. I wouldn’t think there would be much to “eliminate” since I’m only drinking juices and eating a few bites to take medicine. And I’ve got some thrush going on my tongue. But with only one small, healing lesion, I’m not concerned about a potential flare. I think this is the typical detox tongue and is actually a good sign. Also, as of this morning, I’ve already lost the 3 pounds I gained last week. That makes me a bit nervous, because I desperately want to detox, but I really don’t want to lose weight. And if I keep losing at that rate over the next 2 days, I’m definitely going to need to make an adjustment to my plan and increase calories somehow. Just gotta keep an eye on it, I guess. I need a little cushion in case I get sick and CAN’T eat again.

I posted a pic of the greens juice ingredients yesterday.

Here’s the ingredients for the lemon ginger aid.

And the red beet elixir.

“Carrot Cake” is carrots, pineapple, vanilla, and pie spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice).

“Almond Delight” is unsweetened vanilla almond milk, stevia, and pie spices, plus extra cinnamon.

I feel like I’m getting a wide range of nutrients, and as long as I don’t have to watch other people eat, I really don’t feel too deprived. I’m confident that this is very good for my body, and it isn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I’ll definitely be doing some version of this on a regular basis going forward. Maybe once a month? Or once a season? Or just when I feel like I need it?

I weighed myself around 7pm and had lost 2 additional pounds. Sooooo, I decided to start eating again. I was hoping to use this as the beginning of a sort of elimination diet, and either go forward without grains OR without meat and dairy. But I can’t decide which direction to go.

So I broke my “fast” with a big bowl of raw cream of broccoli soup (broccoli, celery, cashews, sea salt, dill, nutritional yeast, water). I couldn’t eat the whole thing, though. The juices are really filling.

Thursday

Going to try a juice cleanse today. I’ve modeled it after O2 Living’s juice cleanse. They recommend you start the day with warm lemon water, then drink a juice every 2-3 hours, along with 64 ounces of water throughout the day. There are 6 bottles of 5 different juices for this cleanse, 16 ounces each. I mimicked the juices based on the listed ingredients. My parents are going to try it, too. And we’re aiming for 3 days. This should be interesting.

Here’s what the juices look like. Almost a pretty little rainbow.

You’re supposed to drink them in order from left to right: signature greens, lemon ginger aid, red beet elixir, signature greens again, carrot cake (I had to modify this one since I couldn’t find golden beets), and almond delight.

Here’s what’s in signature greens. Fennel, kale, parsley, cucumbers, lemon, himilayan salt, and celery (not pictured).

Never juiced fennel before. It’s pretty good. And the bulb is full of good liquid.

I’m going to have to eat something today to take my medicines. (I never learned to swallow pills, so I have to trick myself by popping them in my mouth just before I swallow food. Weird, I know.) But I figure if I stick to raw fruits/veggies and avoid nightshade foods and higher glycemic fruits, it shouldn’t affect the detox too much.

As of noon today, I’ve consumed 40 ounces of lemon water, 16 oz signature greens, and close to 20 oz lemon ginger aid. I’m slightly hungry, and have had to pee a lot. I ate dried apples to take my meds, but no more than absolutely necessary. Trying to remind myself that the whole point is to give my digestive system a break, so the hunger is a good thing.

By evening, I was feeling about the same. Still hungry, but only slightly. It was hard to watch other people eating, but the feelings passed as soon as they were finished eating. I used a larabar (cashew cookie- ingredients: dates and cashews) to take my nighttime meds.

Overall, feeling really good. I feel a bit lighter and I think I have just a bit more energy than usual.