The Maker's Diet: Round 2

So we are officially embarking on The Maker's Diet again starting tomorrow! And I'm holding myself to it by blogging it again. It's interesting that it's about the same time as we started last year. There must be something about spring time that makes us want to get back on track and "spring clean"!

So, here is my plan for this week as we cut out all grains, most sugars (including most fruit), all beans, and all processed foods:

Breakfasts (some combination of these ideas)

Scrambled eggs, turkey bacon and blackberries

Frittata w/ chicken sausage, green onions, spinach (and eggs b/c that's why it's a frittata!)

These grain-free blueberry muffins and turkey bacon

Smoothies (coconut milk, frozen berries, ice cubes as needed, 1/2 tsp vanilla)

plain goat yogurt with berries (blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries)

These grain-free waffles w/ turkey bacon

Lunches

Tuna salad over lettuce w/ tomato, avocado, cucumber and green onions

Chicken salad w/ veggie dippers

Turkey hot dogs (nitrate/nitrite free) w/ fruit and green salad

Big green salad w/ grilled chicken

This REALLY good slaw salad! I also add chicken in to make it more filling or sunflower seeds

Dinners

*Taco salads/bowls (lettuce, tomato, red onion, avocado/guacamole, shredded goat cheese, plain goat yogurt) w/ this dressing

*This Chicken and Cabbage Stirfry

*Barbeque w/ friends (turkey burgers w/0 buns or chicken breasts) & Salad

*Grilled Fish w/ steamed veggies

*These Stuffed Bell Peppers w/ guacamole

*Leftovers

*Eat out

Great Link

Today's post on Kitchen Stewardship is full of great resources for the grain-free lifestyle. You can check it out here.

Monthly Menu Planning

As a new month is on the horizon, I've begun gathering recipes to menu plan for June. I usually begin with gathering the recipes, then move to looking at our calendar to see what days we might be out of town or might need a quick meal. Then, I move to actually entering menus for each day. At the beginning of each week, I'll look through the menus for the week, tweaking here and there to tastes and grocery sales.

So, to start off for June, here is my recipe collection:

Mexican
Tacos
Taco Salads with some variation of this dressing
Chicken Fajitas
Black Bean & Sweet Potato Quesadillas (recipe to come)
Southwest Chicken Salad
Layered Taco Bake

Asian
Baked Teriyaki Chicken with stirfried veggies & Sesame Noodles
Asian Chicken Salad -- some variation of it :)
Fried Rice -- using chicken instead of pork & adding in pineapple
Chicken Stirfry -- this recipe was great, except I left out the honey -- OJ made it sweet enough!
Peanut Butter Chicken

Family Favorites
Turkey Burgers
Asian Meatballs
Jambalaya
Roasted Sausage & Veggies with penne pasta
Dijon Chicken
Chicken Tetrazzini
Pizzas
Baked Tilapia
Roasted Chicken & Veggies
Greek Kabobs
Sausage & Pesto Pasta Salad (recipe to come)

New Recipes to Try
Curry Chicken
Grilled Chicken with Lemon Pasta
Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Sweet & Sour Chicken

Favorite Summer Recipe

I LOVE this recipe! It's great as a dip with Scoops chips or as a side dish to grilled chicken...really good as a summer lunch or easy to make a batch to take to a BBQ. So yummy!!

Black Bean & Corn Salsa
Mix together in a large bowl:
1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
1 can garbanzo beans (pinto or Great Northern can be substituted), drained & rinsed
1 small can corn (or half of a regular size can), drained
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
3/4 mango, peeled & chopped
1/4 red onion, chopped
handful of cilantro, remove large stems & chop

Heat in a saucepan, until bubbly & incorporated:
1/2 cup oil (I use olive oil)
1/2 cup vinegar (I use apple cider)
2 Tbsp brown sugar

Pour sauce over bean & veggie mixture. Add the juice of one lime or 1/2 lemon. Add enough salt

& pepper to taste.

It's best if you marinate it at least several hours or overnight.

New to Us Recipes

I tried some new recipes this week, and after tweaking them a bit to better fit our family, I have some new favorites!!

"Glazed" Chicken Stirfry (based on this recipe)
Chicken breast strips -- about 12 strips
1 Tbsp raw honey
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 Tbsp orange juice
2-3 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp oil
4 cups cut-up vegetables -- I used sugar snap peas, carrots, squash and mushrooms

Mix honey, vinegar, orange juice, soy sauce and cornstarch in a bowl. I marinated the chicken strips in the sauce.

Heat oil in a skillet; add chicken (not the sauce) to the skillet and stirfry until no longer pink. Add vegetables and enough of the sauce to glaze the stirfry to the skillet. Cook until vegetables are tender but still slightly crisp.

Serve over rice, noodles or sauteed cabbage.

This Dijon Chicken Marinade was really good. I left out the cayenne pepper since I was serving it to the kids as well. It had a great flavor!

Kid-Friendly Snack Chart

In an ever-continuing effort to teach my kids about healthy snacking, I posted a "Healthy Snack Chart" :) They can choose a snack off the list pretty much anytime they would like throughout the day as they are all healthy options. If they would like something that's not on the list, then they need to ask Mom for permission.





What's on the list?

-boiled egg
-carrot sticks
-celery sticks
-avocado slices
-black beans
-peanuts
-almonds
-pistachios
-berries (strawberries/blackberries/blueberries/raspberries)
-apple
-yogurt
-cheese

In addition, I keep a bowl of fruit on the table (usually small apples and/or bananas) that they can grab if they are hungry.

I do not mind snacking throughout the day as long as it's a "mini meal" and not empty calories! I found when we did The Maker's Diet that if they were not filling up on cereal/crackers/bread throughout the day, then they ate SO much more real food!! So I'm trying to continue that, but in a more long-term manner. So far, I see them check the list pretty much anytime they are hungry. They talk about the various food groups, and they know what is healthy and what is not (for the most part). So, we'll see how it goes...

Menu Plan Monday: May 10, 2010

Monday: Chicken Tetrazzini

Tuesday: Honey-Glazed Chicken Stirfry

Wednesday: Black Bean & Ground Turkey Tostadas

Thursday: Dijon Grilled Chicken

Friday: Sausage Pesto Pasta

Saturday: BBQ

For more menu planning ideas, visit http://www.orgjunkie.com/!

Kids' Favorite Breakfast

I thought I'd share the kids' favorite breakfast lately -- super healthy, about as easy as pouring cereal & healthy -- my kind of breakfast!!

Yogurt "Parfaits"
bowl of plain goat milk
mix in 1 Tbsp flaxmeal to each bowl
maybe 1/3 cup rice Chex cereal gently mixed in
fresh or frozen berries mixed in
original/plain coconut milk Kefir poured over the top

I usually add a couple of pieces of turkey sausage or bacon, and they are full!

Menu Plan Monday: May 3, 2010

After 4 weeks of following The Maker's Diet, we are entering Phase 3 and adding grains back in! We will still use gluten-free grains and use them as a side dish rather than a large portion of our meal. I am still amazed at the variety of foods that our kids eat after cutting out grains for 4 weeks! I will definitely be offering protein, vegetables and fruits before offering a lot of grains. So, here is our menu plan for this week...complete with some added grains :) And as usual, I will post the main dish and will add in green salad, fruit or whatever vegetables I have on hand (unless the main dish includes enough!).

Monday: Baked Tilapia with Quinoa Salad (adapted from this recipe)

Tuesday: Peanut Butter Chicken with Rice Noodles

Wednesday: Black Bean & Sweet Potato Enchiladas

Thursday: Chicken & Wild Rice Bake

Friday: Quiche

Leftovers over the weekend & eating out for Mother's Day!

The Makers Diet Day 19: Phase Two

After my frustrations this week, I'm accepting the fact that we can't completely change our lives overnight :) The pollen this season is exceptionally bad, and it's just seasonal allergies. So, really it's not that big of a deal :)

I came across this article in the Mercola newsletter this week that discusses one of the main reasons why we wanted to do The Maker's Diet in the first place: 80% of your immune system is in your GI tract. [The article does advertise quite a few supplements...I'm not supporting these particular supplements...I just think that the information is exactly what I've been running across in many sources.]

The Maker's Diet is essentially a 5 week plan to allow the gut to rest and heal. The first two weeks take out all foods that generally "back-up" the gut and potential allergens that would be harming the gut. I've read that the intestinal lining regenerates itself every 3-8 days. So if you give it two weeks of rest time (Phase 1 of The Maker's Diet), then it should be able to fully heal.

Our intention in trying out this diet was mainly to allow our "bellies to heal" as the kids say and to hopefully strengthen our immune systems in the process. As we add back in foods, we should also be able to see if there are any foods that cause a reaction in our bodies as well. It's really a form of an elimination diet as Phase 1 is so restrictive and most of the allergenic foods are eliminated for 2-4 weeks and then slowly reintroduced.

Since I did not chronicle much this week, here's a look back at our dinners this week. Breakfasts & lunches have been much stayed the same.

Sunday: Rotisserie chicken, green beans, cantaloupe

Monday: Lemon chicken for the adults; salmon patties for the kids

Tuesday: Deer steaks; green salad

Wednesday: Meatballs with marinara sauce

Thursday: Hubs and I had a dinner out; kids had Tuna salad

Friday: Taco bowls

Saturday: ?? maybe go out

The Makers Diet Day 17: Frustrations

So, five days ago we were flying high...feeling good, in a routine on the diet. Then a rainfront moved through, so I felt terrible over the weekend and the first part of this week. And something different must be blooming (thus, different pollen), because both kids are sneezing and the 3 year old woke up with a stuffy nose! They were both outside last night just before going to bed... hubs actually feels really good right now!

The only thing different we've done this week is eat some black beans on our taco salads on Sunday and we've eaten a few more corn products this week but not many at all. The five year old ate corn taco shells on Sunday, and they both have had some corn Chex this week. But, I really don't think that has anything to do with the sneezing & stuffy nose... they've had a few corn products off and on through this diet, because of snacks at school and the church nursery. It really is more like seasonal allergies. But, it's frustrating, because you would think with the diet and the ACV tea and all of their vitamins they might be strengthened!

I know that nothing happens overnight, and that this might still be doing really great things...still frustrating though! So that's where I've been for the past five days.

We did enter Phase 2 of the diet on Monday. Phase 2 adds in more nuts/seeds, some beans/legumes, many more fruits and corn/sweet potatoes/yams. So that broadens our diet considerably!

I will try to get back into the routine of chronicling our foods and where we stand. Phase 2 lasts for two weeks, and then we enter Phase 3 which is pretty much back to where we were and where we will stay. So, we're getting there. Like I've said before, if nothing else this diet has broadened the foods that the kids eat and has broken all of our reliance on grains. We will definitely have to be careful not to go nuts when we reach Phase 3 though :) But, honestly we don't crave them anymore at all! I think that it will be fairly easy to not make grains the largest portion of our diet from here on out.

The Makers Diet Day 12: Benefits of Coconut

This second week has flown by! We've really settled into this diet, and I have not had to really plan out meals nearly as much as last week. Hubs said yesterday that when we started this diet, he was afraid he wouldn't get full or stay full. But, he's found plenty of things to eat and he's doing just fine :) It's really true. We both agreed that even after two weeks of this diet (really after 10 days), it had broken our reliance on grains to make up a really large portion of our diet (rice, crackers, bread, etc). We were eating many more real, nourishing foods (vegetables, fruits, good fats, chicken/fish). I've been amazed at the kids! We ate healthy before embarking on this diet, but the kids still heavily relied on (gluten-free) dry cereal, crackers, bread, rice for most of their snacks and a large portion of their meals. Now they are filling up on nutrient-rich smoothies, carrot sticks with homemade Ranch dressing, green salad, fish, etc. Even at the end of this diet, I see us gradually adding in grains as a side dish and not as the main portion of our meals.

One addition that we have all enjoyed is coconut. I blogged a few days ago about the coconut flour waffles and the coconut flour cupcakes that were both huge hits around here! I think I also mentioned using coconut milk as creamer in my coffee or drizzled on berries or in plain goat yogurt for a delish dessert!! And we've been putting coconut oil in the smoothies, which makes them more filling and tropical :) Last night I "breaded" chicken strips with coconut flour and unsweetened finely shredded coconut -- I baked them in the oven and they were a huge hit with the kids!

Here are some resources on the benefits of coconut oil:

*Mercola--
promotes heart health
promotes weight loss if you need it
supports immune system health
supports a healthy metabolism
provides an immediate energy source
helps keep your skin healthy
supports proper function of your thyroid gland

*Weston A. Price Foundation/Mary Enig--
dated from 2000, but a good overall look at coconut oil's effect

*Passionate Homemaking--
various uses for coconut oil
lots of great recipes using coconut oil on her blog

*Nourishing Days--
lots of coconut oil recipes

*The Nourishing Gourmet--
many health benefits of coconut oil

The Makers Diet Day 10: Still Here :)

The pollen around here is horrible right now...worst we've seen it! My 5 yr old is very sensitive to it and we usually end up having to give him a Children's Claritin so that it doesn't get really bad and turn into a sinus infection. We had given him a few around the beginning of pollen season, but we have not even needed to since we've been on this diet!! I can't remember the last time we gave him one, but it definitely has not been in the last week! He sneezes sometimes, but no watery or red eyes, no sniffing and rubbing on his nose...nothing that looks like he's really reacting to the pollen! We're so hopeful that since they are so young and we've been so diligent for the last 4 years with our food choices and delayed vaccinations and limiting toxic chemicals in the house, etc that this diet might "reset" their systems.

My husband has been really, really feeling this pollen season. He's had to take a Claritin D every day to stay on top of the congestion so that he doesn't have to get an antibiotic (and he still ends up with an antibiotic during this season when it turns into a bad sinus infection). He has much more of a history of health issues to deal with, so I think it will take longer to reset his system. He's been very strict with this diet so far, and I know that yesterday he did not take any Claritin. We'll see how the next few weeks play out.

As for myself...I usually have a really bad headache every day, and that has been much better. I have a slight headache if at all...much improved! I've lost about 4lbs, so that's an added bonus. I wouldn't say I have bounds of energy or that all of my symptoms are gone. But, I'm feeling pretty good and hope to improve in the next few weeks as well.

The quote of the morning:

K (3 1/2 yrs old): "Mom, can you make me some oatmeal for breakfast?"
H (5 yrs old): (shocked!) "NO, K! We are not eating grains right now! Oatmeal is grains! We'll eat that again after our bellies heal." (and then he sighs, like..."whew, took care of that") LOL!

So, the kids are doing fine on our "diet." I think we're on day 5 of their morning "tea," and they are doing very well with that...no complaints at all now...just drinking it down :)

We had to restock on goat cheese (in a block that tastes like Cheddar, not the really tangy soft goat cheese)...raw almond butter & berries. Those have been staples around here for the last week and a half.

Here's our menu plan for today:

Breakfast:
Deer sausage, scrambled eggs (5 yr old traded his eggs with 3 yr old for more deer sausage!...too spicy for her), fresh blackberries, morning "tea" (warm water, ACV, honey)

Lunch:
Everyone has something different today.

Dinner:
Chicken Stirfry (chicken, sugar snap peas, carrots, mushrooms, onions, soy sauce, chicken broth), green salad, fruit

The Maker's Diet Phase 1 Menu Planning Ideas

Here is a consolidated list of menu ideas for Phase 1 of The Maker's Diet. I also previously posted a "shopping list" for Phase 1 here.

Breakfast:
*Anything with eggs: scrambled, fried, poached, boiled, crustless quiche, omelets (stuffed full of veggies...onions, mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes, peppers, cilantro, goat cheese, etc).
*Turkey bacon (no pork)
*Turkey or 100% beef sausage or deer sausage (no pork)
*Smoothies (spinach, goat yogurt, raw almond butter, coconut oil, flaxseed meal, chia seeds, fresh or frozen raspberries/blueberries/strawberries, water)
*Goat yogurt (plain) with strawberries/blueberries/raspberries/blackberries
*Grain-Free muffins or Grain-Free Waffles
*Veggies sides to any of the above: sliced tomato, sliced avocado, salsa, sauteed spinach & onions

Lunch/Dinner:
*Tuna salad over lettuce with tomato, avocado, celery, cucumber, etc.
*Chicken salad over lettuce or with veggie dippers
*Green salad with lots of veggies and leftover chicken/beef/boiled eggs/fish/etc -- easy dressing: olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, herbs whisked together -- add a little plain goat yogurt to make it creamy
*Fish patties (you could also use canned salmon or tuna)
*Turkey or 100% beef hot dogs (preferably nitrate/nitrite free)
*Baked or roasted chicken and veggies (carrots, onions, squash, zucchini, etc)
*Grilled chicken and veggies/Greek Grilled Kabobs
*Taco Salad/Bowl (seasoned ground turkey or ground beef, lettuce, avocado/guacamole, cilantro, tomato, shredded goat cheese, plain goat yogurt, salsa, onion, etc)
*Chicken or beef fajitas (without the tortilla) with sauteed peppers and onions, guacamole, salsa, plain goat yogurt, shredded goat cheese
*Baked or grilled fish with steamed/grilled veggies
*Chicken (or beef) stirfry (use soy sauce or tamari sauce instead of a bottled high-sugar stirfry sauce) with lots of veggies (sugar snap peas, snow peas, carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, onions, squash, etc)
*Meatballs: Asian with chopped spinach & tamari sauce/soy sauce or plain with spaghetti sauce served over them or meatballs/meat sauce served over baked spaghetti squash (the "meat" shreds like noodles)
*Bunless hamburger patties with toppings (lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, etc)
*Any other meat besides pork grilled/roasted/baked (grilled steaks, baked roast, grilled lamb chops, etc)

Snacks:
*Fruit (fresh or frozen): strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, cherries, grapefruit
*Raw nuts/seeds (soaked/dried): pumpkinseeds, almonds, sunflower seeds
*Smoothies
*Plain goat yogurt with berries
*Carrot & celery sticks with guacamole
*Grain-free muffins/waffles
*Trail mix: raw nuts/seeds (above) with Just Veggies (dried peas, blackberries, blueberries)
*GoRaw Flax crackers or chips (check ingredients for correct Phase 1 foods)

The Makers Diet Day 9: Coconut

We are still going strong. I feel like my cravings for grains have really subsided (almost nonexistent, except for chips & salsa! I could always eat those). But, I am not missing bread, rice, quinoa, oatmeal, cereal, etc at all. And I really think the kids are doing fine as well. They've been asking for more fruit (esp bananas) more than anything. But, I added clementine oranges and some apples in this week, so they're satisfied as well.

I found a link to a great blog post about the benefits of coconut here on the Broccoli Cupcake blog :) I used coconut flour in these delicious cupcakes...I use coconut milk as creamer in my coffee (I use a lot too and it's so good!) or drizzled on top of berries as a dessert...and we use coconut oil in our smoothies. If you look at the fat content in the coconut products, it looks really high. But, it's good fat...and I can vouch for actually losing weight while eating a good bit of coconut products. I've lost 4lbs now since starting The Maker's Diet! Hubs has not lost any weight, but he didn't need to lose. So, I really think that if you're hanging onto extra weight, then it will come off eating this way. Otherwise, it will just stabilize your health.

So far, the only foods from phase 2 we have added in are clementine oranges & apples on a daily basis. We all had black beans on our taco salads on Sunday, and the kids and I have had a bit of corn products in taco shells for the kids on Sunday and corn chips for myself Friday night. Other than that, we're still fully eating phase 1 foods.

Breakfast:
Kids: 2 turkey sausage links, 2 Grain-Free Blueberry Muffins (they asked for the zucchini ones this morning, but I had run out of zucchini!)
Hubs: 1 egg, 2 pieces turkey bacon, 1 blueberry muffin
Myself: 2 pieces turkey bacon, 1 blueberry muffin, coffee with coconut milk

*The kids are still drinking their cup of "tea" in the mornings (1 Tbsp of Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar with 1 Tbsp raw honey in warm water), and I've been drinking 1 Tbsp in a cup of water...sour without the honey!!

Lunch:
Teriyaki Turkey Meatballs (with spinach added in...the kids don't mind it at all) with fruit & leftover veggies

Dinner:
probably Turkey hot dogs with quick sides (we're going to a baseball game at dinnertime)

Menu Plan Monday: April 12, 2010

We are entering week 2 of The Maker's Diet. You can read more here about the "diet" and why we are doing it. So, here is our menu plan for the week:


Sunday: Greek Chicken Kabobs with Greek Salad

Monday: Baked Tilapia

Tuesday: Asian Meatballs

Wednesday: Chicken Stirfry

Thursday: Taco Bowls/Salads

Friday: Turkey Burgers

Saturday: Leftovers

Breakfast (rotating): with fresh fruit
Smoothie (spinach, berries, almond butter, coconut oil) with turkey sausage
Scrambled eggs & turkey bacon
Grain-Free Muffins with turkey sausage
Squash Pancakes with turkey bacon

Lunch (rotating): with fresh fruit
Meatballs
Coconut Chicken Nuggets ("breaded" in finely shredded unsweetened coconut)
Tuna Salad
Chicken Salad
Turkey lunch meat roll-ups

Check out more menu plans at http://www.orgjunkie.com/!

The Makers Diet Day 7: One Week Down!

We've made it to the end of Week 1 of The Maker's Diet! While some foods are becoming repetitive, it's amazing in this past week how much we all have branched out of our normal foods to find other satisfying foods. From the Grain-Free Muffins & Waffles made with almond meal to Coconut Flour cupcakes, there are plenty of alternative tasty treats out there! Just six days ago I looked at our cleaned out pantry and wondered how in the world I was going to keep the kids (much less my husband and myself) full and satisfied on the phase 1 limited food list. But, with plenty of fresh berries available and the addition of coconut oil/milk to smoothies, we really have stayed full and satisfied.

I've seen my cravings for chips subside (although that's partly due to the fact that I did eat a few when we went out Friday night!), and I've seen the kids really branch out to more than sandwiches for lunch and more than pasta/rice for dinner.

Here is a great article entitled "Spring Clean Your Body with Real Foods." She suggests as spring approaches to take a 4-10 day break from foods that overload our bodies and allow our bodies to take a rest. Through the winter, we store up and eat warming foods, so it makes sense to allow the body to take a break as spring and summer approach. She suggests taking a break from the following foods:
*Sugar
*Caffeine
*Dairy
*Gluten
*Grains, beans, nuts, and seeds
*Animal flesh

Phase 1 of The Maker's Diet follows this same logic, although it allows for a small selection of nuts and seeds (preferable raw and soaked/sprouted to break down the enzyme inhibitors, allowing for better digestion) and meat/poultry (preferably organic as to not overload the body with more toxins).

As we move into Week 2, I will probably add in a few foods from Phase 2: black beans, apples, clementine oranges, and raw walnuts.

Here's our food list from today:

Breakfast:
scrambled eggs & turkey sausage for all
Apple Cider Vinegar & honey "tea" for all (the kids are doing so well with this!...day 3 today)

Lunch:
We ate out at a Mexican restaurant...grilled chicken taco salads for hubs & myself; grilled chicken tacos for the 5 year old (his first corn/chip of the week!); grilled chicken for the 3 1/2 year old (ready for a nap...not too hungry)

We need to head to Whole Foods this afternoon to restock some items for this coming week...more yogurt and raw almond butter for sure.

Dinner:
plan to grill kabobs: chicken, zucchini, squash, red onion, mushrooms
*a clementine orange for the kids' dessert :)

The Maker's Diet Day 6: Adding in "Tea"

Our taco salads at the Mexican restaurant last night were great!! (And my addition of a few corn chips were really good as well!).

Back on track today...I've added in a new addition for the kids (and a more regular addition for myself...hubs has been using this regularly for several months now): Apple Cider Vinegar "Tea." You only get the benefits from using real Apple Cider Vinegar, such as Bragg's. Here are some of the benefits:

*rich in natural minerals, vitamins and enzymes
*helps the body eliminate toxins by binding to them
*fights bacteria and fungus (esp Candida)
*breaks up mucus throughout the body
*cleanses the lymph nodes to allow the lymphatic system to work better
*aids in digestion if taken before meals

My husband takes a Tbsp or so in the mornings along with warm lemon water. I've started putting some in a glass of water before each meal (aiming for 1 Tbsp/day). And the kids are now drinking a cup of "tea" each day -- warm water with 1 Tbsp ACV and a little honey.

Breakfast:
Kids: green apple, 2 zucchini muffins each, 1 piece turkey bacon each, bowl of plain goat yogurt with fresh strawberries
Not sure what we're having for breakfast yet...not super hungry yet. I've had one piece of turkey bacon so far :) -- made smoothies and some more turkey bacon for hubs and myself.

Lunch:
"Bunless" turkey burgers with avocado slices, lettuce, (tomatoes & onions on mine) Bubbie's dill pickles and fresh blackberries.

Snacks:
Raspberries + goat cheese + turkey rolls for the 3 year old
Dried blackberries for the 5 year old
Sunflower seeds + almonds for hubs
a turkey roll for myself

Dinner: (birthday party barbeque)
Turkey hot dogs
Deer sausage
Fruit
These AMAZING cupcakes!! (without the frosting)

The Makers Diet Day 5: Keeping the Pace...

We're still keeping the pace...no more detox symptoms, feeling good. The kids woke up this morning asking for cereal or oatmeal and made faces at me when I told them we were still not eating those foods :) But, after offering to make another batch of Zucchini Muffins they were happy! I definitely have to be ready and creative to keep the pace with the kids. But, it still seems to be working out fine.

Hubs and I are going out to eat tonight with some friends at a Mexican restuarant, so that should be interesting. I know we should be fine with a grilled chicken taco salad (omiting cheese, sour cream and whatever else we can't eat!). I've decided I'm adding a small quantity of corn in (a phase 2 food) tonight (aka: CHIPS for the salsa) -- ha! But, I still think we'll do fine with the taco salad...and a small amount of chips :)

So, here is the plan for today:

Breakfast:
Kids: 2 zucchini muffins each, turkey sausage, fresh strawberries
Hubs: turkey bacon, 1 egg, 1 zucchini muffin
Myself: turkey bacon, fresh blackberries, 1 zucchini muffin & cup of coffee (no, I haven't dropped it but I have been using coconut milk in it instead of any sort of creamer...my blood sugar does not drop doing that & it is filling)

Snack:
3 year old: fresh blackberries, goat cheese, 1 boiled egg

Lunch:
Kids: turkey lunch meat, fresh blackberries & raspberries, raw sprouted pumpkinseeds, raw seed "crackers" & smoothie (spinach, frozen blueberries, frozen raspberries, almond milk, coconut oil)
Leftovers for Hubs
Greek salad (cucumber, tomato, red onion, dried dill, dried parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, salt & pepper) with tuna & a smoothie for myself

Dinner:
Leftovers for the kids (chicken salad, chicken/apple sausage, carrot sticks, fruit)
Adults out to eat!

The Maker's Diet Day 4: Detox

I shared that yesterday morning hubs was feeling some detox symptoms...well, I woke up at 5:30am today feeling some major detox symptoms as well (nausea, heart beating fast, thirsty, etc). After downing a bunch of water and eating some applesauce, I went back to sleep and felt much better later in the morning (enough to spend 3 hours at the zoo with my 3 year old!). I've felt these same symptoms before when detoxing, so I'm pretty sure that's what it was.

I'm also thinking of adding some phase 2 foods into my and the kids' diet right now. The Maker's Diet consists of 3 phases, and if you complete each phase you do so in 40 days (2 weeks on phase 1, 2 weeks on phase 2 and then finishing out on phase 3). However, Rubin states in the book that you can start on any phase that you choose. He says, "If you are significantly overweight or obese, or if you have health problems, I recommend you start on phase one. If you are extremely healthy and want to stay that way, or even improve your health, you may start on phase three....However, I believe it is a good idea for everyone to start on phase one at least for a few days in order to restart your metabolism and attack the three i's (insulin, infection and inflammation)."

I feel like we are full enough, but it also feels very repetitive at this point without a whole lot of choices of foods. I don't forsee us sticking completely with phase 1 for another 10 days for sure! I have lost about 3 lbs, which is nice :) ...and added bonus for sure! And I feel like my head is clearer (not as foggy as many people with Fibro would describe their norm). And I also have not had the really bad headaches that I get almost daily (not migraines, but I usually have a bad headache nearly every day). I'm not feeling wonderful, but I do feel some improvements. I'll take that!

As I look over what we have been eating for the past few days, I feel like I want to add a few foods from phase 2 into our diet, namely lunch meat (and I always buy nitrate/nitrite free anyway), green apples (apples come in at phase 2 but green apples are lower on the glycemic index), black beans and possibly a sweet potato or two (or the puree in muffins). I feel like we need just a bit more, and then we can stay there for a few days and reassess.

Breakfast:
1 zucchini muffin each for the kids; 3 pieces turkey sausage; handful of fresh raspberries & 1 piece each of turkey bacon (rushed morning!)
an egg & 2 pieces of turkey bacon for hubs
smoothie for myself (plain goat yogurt, raw almond butter, coconut oil, fresh strawberries, frozen blueberries)

Snack:
green apple

Lunch:
kids -- turkey hot dogs; strawberries/raspberries; goat cheese for the 3 year old
chicken salad; guacamole on lettuce; strawberries & green apple for myself
leftovers from last night's dinner for hubs

Snack:
trail mix for the kids (raw/sprouted sunflower seeds, dried peas, dried blackberries)

Dinner: (t-ball night)
organic chicken & apple sausage links; green peas/green salad; fruit (a throw it together night)