Tag Archives: Paleo

Diabetes Blog Week 2013 Day 5-Freaky Friday

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Just like in the movie, today we’re doing a swap. If you could switch chronic diseases, which one would you choose to deal with instead of diabetes? And while we’re considering other chronic conditions, do you think your participation in the DOC has affected how you treat friends and acquaintances with other medical conditions?

Super easy question for me: I’d choose celiac disease. I am so incredibly passionate about health, overall wellness and food. I’m such a foodie, and I love finding new ways to reinvent staple dishes, create new ones, and experiment, using healthier, different and a variety of ingredients. I love cooking for friends and family. I have a bumper sticker on my fridge that says, “Love People, Cook them Tasty Food.” I’ve been living the Paleo lifestyle for almost 2 years now, so I am gluten free as a result of that. There is nothing that I love more (okay, maybe a couple things) than being in the kitchen cooking and having fun with food. I find it so utterly calming and relaxing-which is apparent in the way my blood sugar reacts, it plummets as soon as I start getting the ingredients out 🙂

It’s my thought that with anything chronic, it isn’t about what you can’t have, but what you can, and working with that.

Yes and no; I don’t think the DOC specifically has affected the way I treat friends or acquaintances living with other medical conditions. Are you familiar with the color personality tests, where someone is designated one of four colors based on certain characteristics? I’m blue to the core, and always have been. Nurturing, trusting, empathetic, sensitive and always put others above myself, so I have always been probably over-sensitive and extremely observant to others needs. However, what the DOC has provided me, is an appreciation that we all come from different backgrounds, with varying life experiences that help shape who we are. When I didn’t have healthcare at diagnosis-who was there? The DOC. Having a chronic medical condition isn’t something to be ashamed of, but something to fuel you to help others, network and connect. I have some friends in the DOC that I consider close friends, that I know are there if I need them, and I haven’t even met them in person. This is pure awesome.

Sprout me! Maybe?

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I love brussels sprouts as much as anyone. I could literally eat them everyday, in a multitude of ways. Roasted, tossed with different things, as a side, as a meal, shredded, baked, whatever. However, they take so long to properly wash and clean. Wash, cut, clean, dissect, etc. I’ve mentioned this to a few friends and they’re like, “oh, just eat them whole,” or, “it doesn’t take me long…?”

Sprouts, as much as I love them, are wormy. They have a lot of little crevices for worms to hide. This is why I insist on pulling them apart and cleaning them well. The same friends that I mentioned above I’ve shared this knowledge with, and so they too have started pulling them apart (some for the first time), and they came back to me and said, “omg, so gross, we had no idea!” Almost every single batch of sprouts I make, I find worms or little gray spider-like bugs inside. Last night was no exception-I found 4 worms, 2 of which were alive and well.

Clean your sprouts, peeps!DSC_0684DSC_0686

Cabbage Salad

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I’ve been working late, and have had meetings after work-so by the time I get home I throw together whatever random concoction I can from what I have on hand (this is why I try to ensure at the start of every week, I have on-hand, things that I can use or be creative with, that are easy and quick). I got home last night around 7 and was craving a salad so much, but no lettuce. I did have shredded cabbage though, so I thought, well, let’s make a cabbage salad!

Cabbage Salad

  • 1/2 bag shredded cabbage
  • 1 apple
  • 2 avocados
  • 1/4 red onion
  • Olive oil
  • Kosher salt/pepp

I poured the cabbage in the bowl, cut 2 avocados (they add the best creaminess to salads, and a healthy fat!), diced 1 apple, and loosely chopped the red onion. Then I drizzled olive oil and sprinkled with kosher salt and pepper. It was fabulous! I love cabbage. I also love spicy red onion with sweet red apple.

Lessons learned here: things you wouldn’t normally throw together can actually be really tasty, thrown together 🙂 Yay for random simplicity!Cabbage SaladCabbage Salad 2

Elimination Station, right here!

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Phew! Things have been so busy that I’ve rarely been on the computer at all, and sometimes I just want to go home and hibernate (am I the only one that wants to do this? Go home and escape the rest of the world? I can’t be.). In addition to busy, I’m still really struggling with digestive issues, so I’m trying to work through those the best I can and still remain positive.

This last Monday I decided to get more strict for 30 days and see if it helps, so here’s what I’m doing:

  • No coffee
  • No alcohol
  • No dairy
  • No nuts
  • No eggs (SAD)
  • No artificial sweeteners (read: gum)

Coffee has been no big deal (much to my surprise). I think I like the idea of coffee more than the actual coffee itself. Alcohol, I miss my glass of wine, but it’s fine. Dairy, I’d already eliminated most anyway (except for occasional cheese or grass-fed butter), so not a big change there. No nuts has been fine. I miss a little almond butter in the morning with my banana, and I occasionally used nuts as an easy go-to snack or fat/protein, so maybe I miss the convenience more? Eggs. I miss them. I really do. I was eating a lot of them, and they’re my go-to protein on a late dinner night, for breakfast, etc. They go with everything and are fabulous. I miss chewing gum too…but I think that’s just a habit.

In addition to the eliminations, I’m eating less fruit (fructose can be hard to digest for some), more veggies and protein. I’m drinking my home-brewed kombucha regularly (I still can’t believe I’m continuously brewing my own kombucha!) and making a batch of bone broth weekly that I drink daily (it’s so good and comforting and warm). I’m also getting a lot more sleep, which is wonderful.

So far, my stomach has been better, but it’s only been 3 days. I remain cautiously optimistic 🙂

Taking all this into consideration, I still cook something everyday! I’ve been cooking pretty simple (but yummy!) things. Last night I sauteed onion, broccoli and cauliflower in some coconut oil with garlic, and then drizzled a little balsamic vinegar on it. I paired it with a turkey burger and some bacon.DSC_0674DSC_0678

Coconut Apple Cabbage

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Not sure what it is about the combination of these three ingredients that not only makes the entire house smell like butter, it tastes super buttery too. Not going to complain. I threw this together last week, with apples that weren’t crisp enough to eat alone, and I made it again last night. Super easy.

Coconut Apple Cabbage

That’s it. Melt the coconut oil in the pan, toss in the cabbage and diced/chopped apple, season with kosher salt/pepp if preferred. Eat alone, save for leftovers to bring to work, pair with some protein, whatever works!

SO BUTTERY.

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