Move over cumin, there's a new sheriff in town!

This stuff, Crofter's Just Fruit Spread is my saving grace this week on the elimination diet.  It's the end of day 14 and it's not getting any easier.  I looked up some recipes in the Almond Flour Cookbook because I was missing the routine of eating desert.  Who doesn't love dessert?  My husband eats 2 rounds of dessert each night and it was getting to be a challenge to find will-power every night during each round.  Generally, I think I have pretty good will-power, but think about it; 2 desserts a night x14 days = 28 sessions of dessert to watch.  It gets tough for me!  So I decided to try to make something out of the Almond Flour Cookbook and I found a recipe for raspberry bars.  The challenge was finding fruit spread that didn't have added sugar, cane juice, etc.  I finally found it and it didn't cost and arm and a leg.  Since I discovered this about a week ago, I have make these raspberry bars 3 times.  Now, I can sit on the couch and have dessert, just like I did before this detox began.  It makes me feel more normal and as though I am not giving something up that I routinely do.

Finished product, pure yum

Tomorrow marks the half way point.  I'm still just as committed however, I did think that this would get easier.  The other night I had 2 different dreams that I cheated.  In one dream, I ate a bag of Lays potato chips, the kind that come in the the yellow bag.  I hardly every eat potato chips.  Especially Lay's.  Then I woke up and went I fell back to sleep, I had a more vivid dream.  I dreamt that I knew I was cheating and although I was hesitant, I was all in, ready to eat forbidden foods.  And of all things, I ate a McDonald's fillet of fish and fries.  Honestly, I cannot remember the last time I stepped into a McDonald's or even considered doing so.  What does that mean?

I've lost another pound, I'm at 133 now.  My stomach is way less bloated and I do feel better. I like the idea of making my own food and generally enjoy it most day, however, spending so much time in the kitchen preparing for 1 meal gets tiring.  However, there are some easy and fast recipes on the Well Fed blog and Elena's Pantry website.

I got some new and amazing knives for the wedding which makes slicing and dicing so much easier and quicker.  However, there has been a price to pay, these suckers are SHARP.

Second thumb wound

Tonight I sliced my left thumb and last week I sliced my right one.  This one is pretty long and deep.  I need to get more savvy with these knives.

I think that if I were really training for something, this would be much much harder.  I'm still exercising about an hour a day but I think if I was training for a 100 miler, I would be going nuts.  But for now, this is great timing and a really great learning experience.

2 more weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cumin is my new best friend

Week 1 of the elimination is is OVER.  About 3 more to go. Since I've discovered the value of cumin, my meals are tasting better and better.  I pretty much have been putting it in everything.  Thanks to the recent comment on the last post, I've been tuned on to a new website; http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/
Just tonight I made a variation of this recipe: http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2012/03/08/tropical-chopped-salad/
I couldn't find a good mango so I substituted with a tomato.  I even made the homemade mayo and Owen, who loves mayo, tasted it and thought it was so delicious that he put down his store bought mayo and used the homemade stuff.
My thoughts on this first week of detox are these.  I'm becoming less and less drawn to things I never usually eat or crave.  I have been to the grocery store every day this week and when I walk down aisles that have such food as pretzels, rice pudding, cheese, crackers and chips, I feel drawn to eat these things.  The cheese, crackers and chips are things I would usually eat  so I'm not that surprised that I am drawn to consume them,  But they are not things that I overindulge in, so I'm interested why it is these things I am wanting to inhale.  However, I rarely ever eat pretzels and rice pudding?????  Rice Pudding????  Basically, rice pudding is sugar and dairy.  And although it is delicious I can't remember the last time I actually ate some.  So my cravings are becoming less and less obvious, but they are still there.  I am getting used to spending more time grocery shopping, which I have never enjoyed, and cooking.  It just takes time and money to eat this way but it is worth it.  I feel lighter and cleaner.  I seem to feel satisfied after I finish a meal or snack and don't get hungry like I did the first day or two.  However, when I get hungry, it hits me quick.  This is when I really need to be prepared so I am not tempted to get into the chips and cheese that Owen is keeping for his own consumption in the cupboard.  I am enjoying trying new recipes and I have been baking some "sweet" things that have no sugar.  I am missing my maple syrup though however I am used to not having sugar in my coffee now. I don't know if I will go back to putting sugar in my coffee after this is done.
My weight is pretty much the same, I'm 134 now as compared with 135 last week.  I started exercising again, but an hour a day, if that.  So in terms of my energy level with exercise, I don't have an accurate reading on that one.  However, I do plan to ramp up the exercise a bit these next few weeks.
Overall, this has been a good experience thus far.  It really is a challenge, the "challenge" in 30 DAY CHALLENGE is no joke.  I am really glad that my co-worker decided to do this as well.  I felt like CHEATING so bad this weekend.  My mother-in-law had a birthday and everyone was eating homemade vanilla cake with butter cream frosting, one of my favorites.  They lit some candles and sang happy birthday then cut the cake.  Arg!  I really wanted some with some creamy coffee.  But, I brought some dates and I sat at the table with everyone and ate a few dates with my black coffee.  I thought about my co-worker and just couldn't cheat.  I'd recommend to anyone who is interesting in taking on the challenge to have some support, it has helped me.  Even if my husband is eating all the foods I want to eat right in front of me every day, he always asks me if it's ok to eat this or that in front of me.  I wonder what would happen if I said...NO!  Ha, just kidding, I would not say that!

Elimination Diet- 30 day Challange

I am lucky to have a good friend who is a nutritionist.  Her name is Deb and this is her website: http://www.debsholisticnutrition.com/Home.html
She is awesome.  She practices what she preaches, is very knowledgeable and is a kick ass athlete.  I went to her a while back with questions about my multiple digestive issues and she recommended I do the elimination diet for 30 days.  It sounded like a real challenge.  Even though I think I eat fairly healthy, the thought of eliminating sugar, dairy, grains and legumes seemed hard.  I was talking about this with a friend of mine at work and she said it sounded like something she needed to do as well,  So, as of Monday, October 15th, Roxanne and I have begun the elimination diet.
I stocked my fridge Sunday and made a big pan of roasted vegetables.  I cut up broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots and zucchini and tossed them in some olive oil with salt and pepper and roasted them at 400* for about an hour.

After the roasting

Also on Sunday, I ate a bunch of peanut butter, because it is one of my favorite foods ever and to be honest, I have eaten almost the entire jar of peanut butter in one sitting.  I was full for the rest of the day but it was so good I couldn't put it down.  Then I drank some wine and ate some chips and yada yada yada....just stuffing my face with all the things I wouldn't eat for 30 days.  

I weighed myself Monday morning and was 135 lbs.  I'm curious if my weight fluctuates.  However, I have not been running or exercising since the surgery last week so it;s not like I'm burning a ton of calories.

Monday went well although I did feel hungry.  So I got some beef at Whole Foods and toasted some acorn squash, pulled out the insides and stir fried the insides with the ground beef, garlic and kale.  It was pretty good actually and filled me up.  I only used half of the acorn squash so the other half I mixed with a few eggs, coconut flour, and garlic.  I made little pancakes with these and topped them with cucumber salsa.   

These were ok....I should of used less egg.   But I'm finding that I can't eat a ton of beef, chicken and turkey kinda of grosses me out and pork, well, pork is tough because although I love me some bacon, I just think of those cute and smart pigs and well, I just can't eat them.  So, I'm limited to eggs, fish, shellfish and beef for sources of substantial protein.

I went a little crazy the night I made the acorn squash pancakes and tested out my new food processor to shred carrots and apples to make Morning Glory Muffins which are awesome and filling.  

Trying out the food processor, it's incredible

20 mins away from hot muffins

We'll see what tomorrow brings.  This is a real challenge mostly because I don't know how to cook this way and make it taste good and fulfilling.  But I think it will be better with time and I am really interested in seeing this through and see how things manifest in the body.  

Stay tuned for more recipes and updates!

WEDDING! HONEYMOON!

What more can I say?

Yep, it's true.  Owen and I got MARRIED!  It was truly the most fantastic day of my life!  How can I put into words the feeling of joining 2 lives into 1 with the love of my life!  it was a great party with family that came as far as New Jersey and friends that came from a wide variety of places in the US.  

My dad and I, a very special moment

Vows and ring exchange

I now pronounce you husband and wife!

Only 2 minutes of being a married couple, still smiling!

CAKE!

First dance!

Just a few photos of the parts of the ceremony and reception.  It was so much fun.  Everyone says you don't remember the actual day or the ceremony/reception.  I tried my hardest to just stay in the present and take everything in.  I feel I remember most of it! 

We got married on a Sunday and on Monday we hang up with out of town family and friends.  Later, we packed and got ready for our honeymoon, in Kauai!  Neither of us have been to Kauai before and we were excited about checking it out!  We arrived on a Tuesday and found our place to be more than what we had expected.  

This was the view from our condo.  Drinking coffee here every morning was fantastic!

See what I mean???  Fantastic!

O and A!?!?!!?  How did they know we were coming?

Our first full day was spend snorkeling on the north shore by Ke'e Beach and Tunnels.  One of the first things we saw was this O+A engraved in the rock on the beach.  Pretty cool.  We saw some colorful fish and were able to dive through the "tunnels" to check out the reefs and where some of the fish like to hang out.  We saw a Monk seal on the beach before I had done any reading about what you might expect on the beach and thought maybe it was injured.  I spent a bit of time wondering what to do, who to call and worrying about it.  Owen kept telling me that the seal was resting.  I couldn't let it go.  Then I saw some people putting some signs out surrounding the seal warning people not to touch or fed it b/c it is endangered and just taking a rest.  It would soon go back in the ocean.  Well, Owen was right, I was wrong and relieved that this cute seal was just sunning himself as we were.

The following day we decided to head out to Waimea Canyon.  We had read about a hike/run you could do to to get to the bottom of the canyon so we ventured out to try to find it.  We drove along a windy road for many miles that made us both car sick but eventually we found were we were headed.  There aren't a lot of signs in Kauai, most directions go by milepost markers.

Start of our first run as a MARRIED COUPLE!

Little Grand Canyon

Bottom of the canyon, mosquito-ville

Headed back up the canyon

We ran down to the bottom and on our way we saw a pack of small wild goat that moved with with such ease through the very technical terrain.  I was surprised how small they were, like the size of a small dog.  Honestly, when we got down the the canyon floor, it was a bit creepy and a lot like Deliverance, the movie.  We originally set out for a 12 mile out and back but we found we could not go on any longer, it was as if the trail disappeared and that was that.  So with that and the creepy factor, we called it good and headed back.  Once we got back to the car and headed down the windy road, we stopped at Jo-Jo's, the infamous Jo-Jo's for shaved ice.  This place is apparently the best place to get shaved ice on Kauai.  It was a shake with no windows inside and also reminded me of Deliverance, but the shaved ice was indeed delicious so we ate it and then hit the beach to cool off and take an afternoon nap on the warm sun.

The next we thought we'd do some boogie boarding.  There was a storm rolling in and the waves were getting bigger.  We decided that we would rather have a fun day boogie boarding that a really hard day **trying** to surf.  So we rented some boards and fins and off the beach we went.

It's all you need for fun in the waves

Coming in for a rest

We were out there for a while and then we took a rest.  It was about 4 PM and the waves were really ripping.  We decided to head out one more time.  I started going out and went to duck dive and WHAM-O, I don't know what happened, but I wound up in a world of hurt.  I thought for sure I broke something or tore my rotator cuff.  I got to the shore and grabbed my arm while thoughts swirled in my head future tripping that I broke or tore something and the honeymoon was over,,,,blah blah blah...

Owen brought me home and gave me some ice and Aleve.

Good pouty face

We wound up going to the Urgent Care and met a really funny Dr who shared the same birthday as me.  He told me sprained this and strained that and to wear a sling for a few weeks and then I would feel better.  

Nice Dr. who is the medical director for the Kauai marathon

The next day and the days remaining were still just as great as the ones before I hurt my shoulder.  I was on my honeymoon for crying out loud, so of course I'm going to have fun!

We saw see turtles the next day with Eric and Michelle Barnes who were also in Kauai, went to a fancy  restaurant, hiked/ran the Na Pali Coast trail and hung out on various beaches.  So, a bum shoulder didn't really impact the honeymoon, turns out.

Sea Turtle Beach, must have seen 10!  

Na Pali Coast trail waterfall

Na Pali Coast trail

More Na Pali Coast trail 

Beware, lots of people die on this trail!

The week in Kauai was amazing!  I would go back in a heart beat.  If anyone is thinking of going, we used this sign hawaiiforless.com and it was true to it's word.  I totally recommend it. 

As for running?  Well, we ran here and there and since we've been back, we've been running here and there.  I just had surgery on Tuesday and I am healing up.  Should be back to some easy jogging next week.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the surgery works and I can run pain-free again.  The Dr said that if it didn't work, then the next step is to cut part of the nerve leaving my upper quad permanently numb.  I really hope that doesn't happen.  So I'll give it a while next week.  Also next week, I am start the 30 day elimination diet and I'll be documenting that.