I Did the Unthinkable....I Threw Out My Leftovers!

Those who know me well, know that my favorite part of going out to dinner, besides not having to clean dishes, is having leftovers! I love leftovers. Forgetting my leftovers at the restaurant or having someone else eat mine can seriously ruin my day! 

Last night Steve and I went out to one of my favorite Italian restaurants. Usually when we go out for Italian, I order sauteed spinach and tilapia with a tomato sauce. I seriously order the same thing EVERY time. However, our main motive for going out last night was strictly health related.  My doctor wants to run some tests because she is concerned about the digestion/ IBS issues I have been having lately. She told me I had to add some things back in my diet before the test, like wheat. Let me tell you, she really had to twist my arm. So out we went. (I rested all day in preparation for our date night!)

Before we placed our order, I sipped my water and watched Steve dive in to his first piece of bread. Wait, I thought, for research purposes only, perhaps I should have a piece of bread. So I poured some olive oil on my bread plate and dipped a piece of bread in.  We ordered a small pear salad with gorgonzola cheese to share and then for my entree I ordered my absolute fave, penne with vodka sauce! This is a meal I used to typically order when I was healthy. Well I noticed that I wasn't even halfway through my meal and I was stuffed. I'm just not used to eating such a heavy carb load.

I was expecting to be happier after eating my favorite meal. Instead, I felt overly full, bloated, and had stomach pains. I don't know if those symptoms are caused by the foods I ate or the fact that I ate too much. My doctor thinks I may have food sensitivities that could be causing some of my symptoms. This could be true because last spring I was feeling better when I was gluten free, grain free, sugar free, fruit free, dairy free, etc. This past fall I added some things back into my diet and felt worse. I really don't know what the answer is. I don't think that eating the right foods will cure me, but I do think that it will help me. I did notice that I didn't really have joint pain or body aches when I was on the strict diet. I'm really curious what these tests will show!


So when I went to fix my lunch today, I saw my leftovers staring at me in the fridge. As much as I wanted to eat them, I didn't want to relive how bad I felt last night. So I did the unthinkable and threw them out. Instead, I fixed myself a big salad. After which I didn't have that full, bloated feeling. 

I'm still standing

Week one of no sugar, grains, legumes, dairy, alcohol or caffeine wasn't really that bad.  I wasn't tempted to cheat at all because I was so motivated with how I felt on this diet before.  The first few days I felt pretty bad. I think my body was angry about the lack of chocolate and oatmeal. I didn't try to do much on those days except rest. But on Saturday when I woke up I noticed a difference. I didn't wake up with my usual body aches. I felt a little more alert and not as foggy. I also lost a few pounds which is always a plus! (I've gained about ten pounds over the course of my three years with CFS.)

However, I am already starting to get sick of eggs again. I need to come up with some new creative recipes for breakfast. I was thinking I could make a breakfast stir fry with veggies and meat or heat up some leftovers. My menu for the week was simple. Basically, I would have eggs with vegetables and half a grapefruit for breakfast, a BIG salad with chicken, vegetables and my homemade salad dressing, a snack of nuts, green apple and almond butter, or cold chicken, and for dinner a protein and vegetable. Last night for dinner I roasted a chicken and brussel sprouts. I also had fish two nights this week with sauteed kale and chard. I'm definitely getting my green on!

One success of the week was making homemade bone broth. Since I was still getting over a cold and most food didn't appeal to me, I decided to make some homemade chicken broth. Didn't grandma always say that chicken soup is the perfect remedy for colds? I did some research on bone broths and discovered that there are numerous benefits! Homemade broth is rich in calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and other trace minerals. Plus the minerals in broth are easily absorbed by the body.  Bone broth even contains glucosamine and chondroiton.  Bye bye joint pain! Also, homemade bone broths are often rich in gelatin which brings food into contact with digestive juices and soothes the intestinal wall. Lastly, they are super easy to make, which is a big plus for me! I really feel that having some broth each day helped me get over that nasty cold. Since the health benefits are so great, it's something that I'm going to incorporate in my diet on a regular basis.  

Despite giving up some things I love; I'm still standing. In fact, I even went to a regular beginner yoga class. (Not a gentle class!) It was hard, but I was able to keep up! Now I'm resting with some knitting to catch up on, chicken broth simmering on the stove, and am filled with hope that tomorrow will be an even better day!

Goodbye chocolate! Hello kale!

I hate to say this, but I think my CFS symptoms get worse when I eat sugary foods and large amounts of carbs. (Even if my carbs were gluten free grains, starchy veggies like butternut squash, fruit, and legumes.) As much as I love my dark chocolate, I have to say: so long Dagoba! Ever since I started getting more lacks with my diet, my symptoms increased. It was fun at first to eat whatever I wanted, and it was good for my mental health. However, I added in so much at once, I can't identify the culprit.


The new year seems like a good time to examine my diet more carefully. I want to make changes gradually and not shock my body. My plan for this week is to start with the serious offenders (also known as my favorite foods). I have eliminated sugar, grains, dairy, caffeine, and alcohol (I haven't had a drink in over a year, but I thought I'd throw that in the list since I'm continuing to give it up!) I really don't want to give up grains because I can get bored of eating eggs for breakfast every morning, but nevertheless... In a week or two, I'm also going to give up fruits, nuts, and starchy vegetables. At that point my plan will be to go pretty restrictive for a few weeks and see if I feel any better. I know I can live on a super restrictive diet because I've done it for a year. If I do feel better, I'm going to challenge foods one at a time and see what I can handle. I was looking back at my planner in August 2010 and noticed I was taking an hour long regular yoga class once or twice a week and walking 20 minutes a few days a week.... I want to get back there!!


The doctor I've been working with did a bunch of tests and discovered that my digestive system is very weak. I have low, low amounts of beneficial bacteria. He put me on some digestive aids and probiotics. I hope that by adding these supplements and changing my diet, I'll feel better. He is actually a doctor/nutritionist and one of the things he told me was to eat large amounts of leafy greens. I have found sauteed kale/chard/beet greens is a good alternative to break up the monotony of salads. It's the perfect side along with any protein. Tonight for dinner I had sauteed kale and wild salmon. It was a healthy, tasty, and colorful dinner. Here is the recipe so you can give a try!


Sauteed Greens with Garlic (2 servings)


Ingredients:

Medium bunch of kale, green or red chard, beet greens

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2-3 garlic cloves, sliced
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Celtic sea salt
Juice of half a lemon


1. Remove the stems and midribs from one medium bunch of kale , red or green chard, or beet greens. Cut any stems or midribs into half inch pieces. Coarsely chop the leaves. Rinse well, but do not dry!
2. Put a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes and heat until the oil is fragrant and the garlic is just beginning to color.
3. Add the stems and ribs and season with salt. Cook stirring occasionally, until nearly tender, about 2 minutes.
4. Add the leaves and cook, partially covered, until both the leaves and stems are tender, 3-5 minutes more.
5. Season with huice of half a lemon. Taste again for salt.

If you are what you eat...

Then I should be the picture of health! I mean, seriously! I eat healthy! I have tried every diet out there hoping it will heal me and give me my energy back. I recently went a whole year without sugar, grains, fruit except lemons, starchy vegetables including butternut squash, potatoes, and carrots, legumes, dairy except ghee, alcohol, vinegar, and caffeine. You're probably wondering, well what did you eat? I ate pretty much the same thing each day: eggs for breakfast with herbal tea, a BIG salad for lunch with protein usually chicken, lots of different vegetables, nuts or avocado, a homemade salad dressing of lemon juice, garlic and olive oil, and for dinner I'd have protein (pork, chicken, fish, etc) with a salad, and a veggie (broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts,etc), and for snacks I'd munch on raw almonds.

Well as you can imagine, that diet got VERY old! I actually loved my big salads and still eat them all the time. But I really was getting bored of eggs. And something about just having a spinach omelette without cheese and toast is not very satisfying. It was also very hard to go out to eat or socialize. If I was invited to a wedding, instead of a clutch, I would have needed to bring a cooler filled with my salad and hard boiled eggs! (Luckily, I never had to do this!)

I didn't just wake up one day and decide to torture myself by cutting out my favorite things such as red wine, chocolate, bread, pasta and cheese. I, like all people who suffer from CFS, researched thoroughly and was constantly looking for the cause of my illness. I was convinced that my problem stemmed from a systemic candidiasis. I took the candida questionnaire and found myself answering yes to a few of the questions (I feel sick all over, was on the birth control pill for a few years). However, there is no accurate test that can confirm this problem. Instead, through diet, probiotics, and antifungals, it will just go away.

Well I originally started on a less strict candida diet, which included some low sugar fruits such as green apples, grapefruit, berries, and some dairy such as yogurt, sour cream, and cream cheese. When I wasn't finding results, I decided to keep going stricter. I researched and found that some people with candida can't tolerate any dairy or any fruit. And so it began...

Well in September, a year after I started this strict diet, I threw in the towel. One of the reasons was because my cholesterol was way too high. Also, I just was so sad about foods that I couldn't eat. So at first I added in some green apples, a little bit of quinoa, some hummus... Oh it was so good to be back. It was fun to add variety to my diet. I still ate very healthy. I continued with my salads for lunch, but also added in healthy homemade soups. I even went out to eat with Steve and ordered something right off the menu (without giving the waiter five alterations to my meal). On my birthday, in early October, we went out and I had BREAD and CHOCOLATE! I was really living it up.

A few weeks after I changed up my diet; I started to feel worse. I was also very busy and not exercising as much. In the summer I was actually taking a regular yoga class, and now I'm back to gentle yoga. Also, in the summer I had gradually worked up my exercise program. I was walking 22 minutes a few days a week. So what happened? Am I supposed to go back to eating nothing but roast chicken and broccoli? Is there really anything wrong with having a bowl of oatmeal? Or is it that I stopped exercising on a regular basis? Or is it beyond my control?

As much as I hate to say it, I mean need to go back to my strict diet for a few weeks. Then gradually add things in one at a time and pay attention to how I feel. I really don't want to do this. After all the chocolate is gone after the holidays, my home may once again be a sugar free zone.

Transforming Thanksgiving leftovers into something new

I consider myself a “foodie.” I love trying new recipes and different cuisines. I used to eat whatever I wanted when I was healthy. I never was a person who dieted. I pretty much just ate healthy for the most part, but definitely enjoyed my wine, bread, cheese and chocolate.  I have tried out a variety of diets since I’ve had CFS—no gluten, no dairy, no sugar, Candida diets, raw diets, etc. I’m not sure if any particular diet really helped. I do know for sure that there are certain things I should avoid, such as caffeine, alcohol, gluten, and sugar. Sigh!

Cooking can be very exhausting especially on a day when I have to do errands. So I love, love, love leftovers.  I especially love to recreate my leftovers into something new and exciting. Today I took some leftover turkey from Thanksgiving and transformed it into a tasty salad. I found a recipe on realsimple.com  for a Turkey Waldorf Salad. I changed it up a bit to fit my diet. I do this often with recipes. I’m still trying to avoid things with many ingredients and things that contain sugar. So instead of using mayonnaise, vinegar and sour cream, I used 0% fat greek yogurt with a splash of lemon juice. I was very pleased with how it turned out! Also, I added dried cranberries for a little extra color and flavor. The dried cranberries I get are from Whole Foods and they are sweetened with apple juice which has less sugar than Craisins! This will also be a great salad to make with leftover rotisserie chicken!

Turkey Waldorf Salad (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

·         Few tablespoons of Greek Yogurt (I prefer Fage Total 0%)

·          Splash of lemon juice

·         Celtic sea salt and black pepper

·         1 cup shredded roasted turkey (or chicken)

·         1 celery stalk, sliced

·         1 green apple, cut into ½ inch pieces

·         2 tablespoons chopped toasted walnuts

·         1 tablespoon dried cranberries

·         1 small head of red leaf lettuce, torn in pieces  (or I just used Earthbound Farms mixed baby greens)

·        
Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix the turkey, celery, apple, walnuts, and cranberries. Add the greek yogurt, lemon juice, Celtic sea salt, and pepper to the bowl. Mix it together and taste it to see if you need more or less of anything. Then place some lettuce on a plate and place some of the turkey mixture on top. Enjoy!       (Also, I used the leftover turkey salad mixture for my husband's lunch the next day..  I toasted two slices of bread, put a little mayo on,  and then a scoop of the turkey salad. I hope he likes it as much as I did!)