Week Three: Energy

By week three I am amazed by the amount of energy I have. In the past I have complained to doctors that I feel tired a lot, or that I take naps a lot, or that I just plain need 10 hours of sleep per night. A few months back I started taking B12 vitamins which helped immensely. I noticed such a difference (and so did my partner, Justin.) Suddenly I could stay up later, wake up earlier....I had so many more hours in my day I didn't know what to do!

So the fact that week three had brought me to feel even MORE energized than that...well, I just don't know what to say. Maybe I can finally join the society of awake and productive people. OR, maybe I can have a lot of energy and I don't need to consider eating meat (which I am still not doing.)

Week three also brings us the ever-important and breakfast-changing CRISP!

I am pasting the recipe below, but you should really go to the source because the site is called Celiac Chicks, and that's just cool. Also I obviously omitted any foods I tested sensitive to, so mine did not have coconut oil for instance. I have found few omissions to really be a problem. And thank Earth for barley flour, which has been such an awesome flour replacer! (And healthier too, so I've heard.)

Apple Cranberry Crisp

INGREDIENTS

7 apples, unpeeled, (it's easier!) cored and chopped; use a few more if they are small apples

4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 vanilla bean cut into bits; or use 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3/4 cup fresh cranberries (optional)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup quinoa flakes, or gluten-free oats
1/2 cup coconut oil

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Put the apples in a 9x13x2 inch Pyrex casserole dish. (If you don't have a dishwasher, like me, then you'll appreciate the fact that you don't have to dirty another mixing bowl. I experimented with this the second time I made this.)

Sprinkle the lemon juice over the apples.

Sprinkle the cut vanilla bean, or extract over the top of the apples.

Stir the mixture around a bit with a spoon.

Combine maple syrup, cinnamon, and quinoa (or gluten-free oatmeal) in a bowl. Cut in coconut oil.

Sprinkle mixture over apples.

Bake 45 minutes or until topping looks crisp.

Week Two: Craving Sugar

During week two I discovered the book Simple Treats. It has egg-free, dairy-free, wheat-free desserts, and they are actually edible. I mean really delicious. The crumbcake (with blueberries) is sooooo good, I could not believe it. It's a funny thing to realize how much refined sugar we eat each day. Actually it's in everything, even sushi rice! So it was important to me to have great desserts around (also something the doc warned me about...she's so smart!) so that I didn't feel deprived or start resenting this diet.

I also learned how to make a stirfry. I know, I should have learned that BEFORE age 25.Up until this point I had been eating alone. Even when I was next to someone else, I still felt alone with my meal. There's just something lovely about sharing a meal with another person, and I had been missing it. I made this stirfry with my friends Susie and Nathan, and I was ecstatic to share the cooking and eating with company. It felt so nice to be doing something healthy for ourselves that was also fun and social. And there you have it, the mind-body connection. The stirfry and the company complemented each other, and in a gestaltish kind of way, the night made me feel really good.

Week One: Julie Learns to Cook

Week One highlights include apricot potato curry, Japanese eggplant, and a peach blueberry smoothie. I have already amazed myself by how many things I can make at home (since going to restaurants won't be possible anytime in my near future).

Apricot Potato Curry! Weird but GOOD!

Source: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=28691.0

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

1 Onions, Sliced

1.5 Tablespoons of your favourite Curry Powder or Paste

2 Cups Apricots, Halved

1/4 cup and1/2 cup Cups Apricot Nectar

1/2 lb Potatoes (skins on, people!!), Chopped Roughly

Chilli (Optional)

Oil, for frying

Water

Directions:

In the Oil, Fry the Onions and Curry Powder/Paste until fragrant.

Add Apricots and Apricot Nectar. Cook for 5 Minutes.

Add Potatoes and Chilli (Optional) and Cover with Water.

Simmer on Medium until Water is gone and it is stew-like.

Serve!

Makes: 6 Serves, Preparation time: 10 Minutes, Cooking time: 30 Minutes

Japanese Eggplant with Quinoa

Amazing smoothie. Never underestimate the power of natural sugars.

Blueberries, peach, banana, apricot nectar. That's it. Amazing.

The Test

I took the EAV test for food sensitivities with the hope that I could eliminate food stressors that may have been contributing to my migraines. My doctor recommended another Naturopathic Doctor (ND) in my area (Portland, OR) who had the equipment to administer the test. It cost about $150, and would have cost a bit more if I wanted to test environmental sensitivities as well. There are about 200 food (and food combinations) included in the test. Out of those, here are the ones to which I tested sensitive:

Fish
Halibut

Dairy
Cow's milk (skim)
Blue cheese
Cheddar cheese
Cottage Cheese
Buttermilk
Kefir
Lactose
Yogurt

Eggs/oil/vinegar
Chicken egg yolk
Turkey egg yolk
Corn oil

Grains
Corn
Spelt

Nuts
Coconut
Pistachio

Vegetables
Pumpkin
Tomato

Sugars
Corn syrup
White sugar
Sorbitol
Xylitol

Additives
FD&C Blue
FD&C Green
FD&C Red
FD&C Yellow
MSG
Phenol
Benzoic acid
Formic acid
Sodium nitrate
Sodium nitrite
Sodium sulfite

Caffeine
Coffee (regular)
Coffee (decaf)
Chocolate
Cocoa

Fruits
Strawberry
Mango
Cantaloupe
Watermelon

Alcohol
Beer
Grain alcohol
Kahlua
Wine (red)
Wine (white)
Tequila

Combinations
Wheat and soy
Grain and tomato
Meat and Tomato
Egg and tomato


Whew! So, what does all this mean?

1) The doctor told me that the two main inducers of migraines are usually dairy and wheat. So even though I did not test sensitive to all the items in those categories, for the experiment's sake, I have avoided all dairy and wheat.

2) The doctor also told me that I was the only one she's ever tested who tested sensitive to spelt and not wheat (read: I'm very special). This shows that the test is an indicator, but not perfect. That's why the reintroduction part of all this is key. For example, after my body "forgets" what dairy is for six weeks, I will be able to reintroduce dairy and get a reaction that actually reflects how my body feels about dairy.

3) The idea is that our body can only hold so much stress. So if I am eating 5 things that stress my body with minimal or no symptoms, a 6th stressor could be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Or in my case, the stressor that gives the camel a migraine.

4) Oh, the irony! I am a vegetarian and I didn't test sensitive to any meat.

"so what ARE you eating?!"

This is the number one question I have been fielding for the past few months. After unsuccessfully trying to figure out the source of my migraines for 5 years, my doctor (who is an ND) recommended I get tested for food sensitivities. I took the EAV test and soon entered the life-changing world of eating for food sensitivities.

If this "experiment" seems overwhelming or unattainable to you, here are a few things to keep in mind:
1) I have never been good at cooking.
2) I was at the end of my rope and willing to try anything to get rid of these migraines.

For six weeks I eliminated the foods to which I tested sensitive. The big categories were:
-dairy
-wheat
-corn
-refined sugar

Then there were obscure ones like tomatoes, halibut, and mango.

After those six weeks, I reintroduce one food per week and see how it makes me feel. I am keeping a health journal of all of this so I can track each food and every symptom.