The Low Carb Whole Food Gluten Free Foodie

chronicillnesscat: [Image: 6-piece blue colored background with...

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 01:47:00 -0400

[Image: 6-piece blue colored background with a Siamese cat.Text reads: “1 day of cleaning. 1 week of recovery”]

chronicillnesscat: [Image: 6-piece blue colored background with...

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 01:43:34 -0400

[Image: 6-piece blue colored background with a Siamese cat.Text reads: Pain too much to cope with / Cry and eat cookies]

chronicillnesscat: [Image: 6-piece blue colored background with...

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 01:17:40 -0400

chronicillnesscat:

[Image: 6-piece blue colored background with a Siamese cat.Text reads: “you got to lay around all day?! OMG you’re so lucky!!”]

There is nothing fun about lying around in terrible pain. There is nothing fun about a RA flair. You healthy people think of lying around as what you do on a rainy sunday. Well this is a whole other ballgame. Its not fun and I am anything but lucky.

Same goes for fibromyalgia - most people think I live a life of leisure, that I’m trying to con everyone into thinking I’m feeling worse than I actually am. Well, you know what? You get to be the expert on you. Who knows better than you how you feel, how you think, what you’re able to accomplish. It follows that I get to be the expert on me. So could everyone just stop pretending they know better than I do when it comes to my illnesses?

chronicillnesscat: [Image: 6-piece blue colored background with...

Sat, 04 Aug 2012 01:47:01 -0400

chronicillnesscat:

[Image: 6-piece blue colored background with a Siamese cat.Text reads: “suffer from short term memory loss. “oh that’s normal i forget a lot of stuff, too.””]

Three words for y’all:

Kiss. My. Ass.

paxamericana: brkfstschmrkfst: Various plants (in no...

Fri, 03 Aug 2012 00:49:49 -0400

paxamericana:

brkfstschmrkfst:

Various plants (in no particular order) that you can regrow from the food you already have! Woot! Way to reuse and recycle! I constantly have green onions and celery growing. (And potatoes/sweet potatoes but that just because they decided to do that in my pantry) Do you guys regrow any of your food?

Apples- http://www.ehow.com/how_2135774_grow-apple-seeds.html

Tomatoes- http://www.ehow.com/how_5581958_grow-tomatoes-fresh-tomato-seeds.html

Potatoes/Sweet Potatoes- http://www.gardenguides.com/117543-plant-cuttings-potatoes.html

Green Onions- http://www.17apart.com/2012/02/how-to-grow-green-onions-indefinitely.html
http://tipnut.com/nifty-food-plants/

Leeks- same technique as green onions

Carrot Tops- http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/children-in-the-garden/grow-carrot-tops.htm

Pineapple- http://www.rickswoodshopcreations.com/Pineapple/pineapple.htm

Romaine Lettuce- Same technique as celery

Cabbage- Same technique as celery

Celery- http://www.17apart.com/2012/02/growing-celery-indoors-never-buy-celery.html

Avocado -http://www.thehungrymouse.com/2009/09/09/how-to-grow-an-avocado-tree-from-an-avocado-pit/

Lentils- http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2009/02/19/how-to-grow-sprouts/

Pumpkin- http://pinterest.com/pin/98375573080950437/

Ginger- http://www.gardenswag.com/2011/12/5-foods-you-can-grow-from-kitchen-scraps/

Garlic- http://www.gardenswag.com/2011/12/5-foods-you-can-grow-from-kitchen-scraps/

Bonus: Bok Choy - http://www.17apart.com/2012/02/how-to-regrowing-bok-choy.html

(via The Healthy Hybrid - A life in transition)

I haven’t bought green onions in months because of this and I use green onions in like 70% of the things I cook.

This is awesome! Totally works with the green onions and I can’t wait to try it with the leeks.

Vegan Mashed Cauliflower with Marinated Mushrooms or Mushroom Spinach Marsala - How I Learned To Live Without Take-Out, Part 3

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 18:24:09 -0400

When I began to convert the take-out recipes I loved to low carb, my initial attempt was Mushroom and Spinach Marsala. I was weaning myself off of the take-out, but was still relying on the few low carb options available in Berkeley, CA. One of these was a grilled chicken breast topped with mushroom and spinach marsala. While I couldn’t be certain, I suspected the restaurant had prepared this dish using corn starch and/or white flour as thickeners. I didn’t even want to guess what other ingredients might be involved so I started researching marsala recipes on the internet. It was easy enough to convert the recipe substituting xanthan gum as the thickening agent. A small amount yields the same results as the other thickeners, with fewer calories and net carbs.

When I stopped eating meat, I kept the veggies and the sauce because the taste is really great - in fact, it can stand alone as a side dish, but I wanted to pair it with a side dish to turn it into a main dish. It has a distinctive and rich flavor so you’ll want to pair it with some thing relatively bland. You can pair it with cauliflower rice, but I decided I wanted to focus on perfecting a vegan cauliflower mash recipe. After trying just cauliflower, a mixture of cauliflower and celery root (which was pretty good), I came up with the idea to add nutritional yeast with mashed cauliflower. Lo and behold, the recipe achieved the desired texture and tastes wonderful. I use it as the base for the marsala and it also works well with a simple marinated mushroom recipe, which I’m including in this post.

Mashed Cauliflower with Nutritional Yeast (LC/Vegan/Gluten Free)

Ingredients:

200 g cauliflower florets (or you can also use 150 g cauliflower)

10 g nutritional yeast

1 clove garlic, forced through press

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

*Steam cauliflower florets for about 6 - 9 minutes. Remove from steamer and using paper towels, gently squeeze out the excess water. Put cauliflower in a medium-sized bowl and using an emersion blender, pulse the vegetables until smooth. Stir in garlic and nutritional yeast until well blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 1-2 serving and has 126.5, 5.5 net carbs, .5 g fat, 8 g fiber and 8 g protein.

Mushroom & Spinach Marsala (LC/Vegan/Gluten Free)

Ingredients:

1 clove garlic, forced through press

3 oz sliced mushrooms

1 T olive oil

1/4 C mushroom broth ( can substitute water for broth)

1/4 C dry Marsala wine

2 oz raw spinach

sea salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/8 tsp xanthum gum

Preparation:

*Heat oil in a large skillet over a medium-high heat. Add garlic and mushrooms and sauté for about 2-3 minutes.

*Add wine and mushroom broth to the skillet and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for another 2 -3 minutes. Add the xanthum gum and stir well. Add spinach and and stir until just wilted. Remove from heat and eat immediately. Can be served over cauliflower rice or mashed cauliflower.

Makes 1 serving and has 216.33 cal, 6.7 net carbs, 13.6 g fat, 1.33 g fiber and 3.83 g protein.

Marinated Mushrooms (LC/Vegan/Gluten Free)

The great thing about this dish is that you either grill or saute´ the mushrooms, or keep them raw.

Ingredients:

3 oz white or crimini mushrooms, sliced (you can also use sliced portobello mushrooms)

1 T cold pressed olive oil

1 T balsamic vinegar

Optional:

1 clove garlic forced through press

Preparation:

*Mix together olive oil and balsamic vinegar (and garlic, if you’re using it).

*Place mushroom slices in a bowl and pour the oil and vinegar mixture over them, stirring making sure they’re well-coated. Allow to sit for an hour. If you’re doing the cooked version, heat a grill pan (or any skillet) and saute´ for about 4 - 5 minutes. Serve over cauliflower mash.

Makes 1 serving and has 155 cal, 7 net carbs, 13.5 g fat, .1 g fiber and 2.5 g protein.

healthiie: I’m sorry, you said you needed to have what kind of...

Sat, 21 Jul 2012 01:56:21 -0400

healthiie:

I’m sorry, you said you needed to have what kind of body to do yoga?

chronicillnesscat: [Image: 6-piece blue colored background with...

Sun, 15 Jul 2012 01:45:55 -0400

chronicillnesscat:

[Image: 6-piece blue colored background with a Siamese cat.Text reads: “’But you don’t look sick’ - And you don’t look like a wizard, yet here you are diagnosing illness with nothing more than your eyes! Fascinating.”]

chronicillnesscat: [Image: 6-piece blue colored background with...

Sun, 15 Jul 2012 01:38:29 -0400

chronicillnesscat:

[Image: 6-piece blue colored background with a Siamese cat.Text reads: “Start to feel a little better. Can’t enjoy it because you know it’s temporary.”]

I’m experiencing less pain and more energy and all I can think about is how it’s not going to last.

This one’s mine.

chronicillnesscat: [Image: 6-piece blue colored background with...

Sun, 15 Jul 2012 01:28:20 -0400

chronicillnesscat:

[Image: 6-piece blue colored background with a Siamese cat.Text reads: “In my day we just got on with it. Thanks for that. I never thought of doing that.”]

fibromyalgiaproblems: I made this for that facebook group i...

Sun, 15 Jul 2012 01:27:57 -0400

fibromyalgiaproblems:

I made this for that facebook group i posted about yesterday, because we were talking about this :)

chronicillnesscat: [Image: 6-piece blue colored background with...

Sun, 15 Jul 2012 01:27:27 -0400

chronicillnesscat:

[Image: 6-piece blue colored background with a Siamese cat.Top text reads: “Medication leads to confusion” Bottom text reads: “Wait, what?”]

All the time…

chronicillnesscat: Stuff Healthy People Say To Sick...

Sun, 15 Jul 2012 01:19:30 -0400

chronicillnesscat:

Stuff Healthy People Say To Sick People

Guys look what I found.

Photo

Sun, 15 Jul 2012 01:15:30 -0400

Roasted vs Raw

Sun, 15 Jul 2012 01:12:20 -0400

So, I’ve been educating myself about the raw food diet (some people refer to it as “live food”). I’ll get into what I’ve learned and its relevance to my health and well-being later, but I feel it’s time for a general health update.

As of today, I’ve been gluten-free for about 18 months and dairy-free for almost 5 months. Let’s start with gluten-free: before I began this particular experiment, I knew that it could take 6 months to a year for the benefits of a gluten-free diet to kick in. I must say that it’s incredibly difficult to embark on a journey involving a great deal of sacrifices, without any certainty that you will reach the desired outcome. But I stuck with it. I was 10 months in when I noticed I was feeling more achy and sore than ususal, which lasted for about 2 months. And while I can’t back it up with facts or data, in retrospect it felt like my body was going through the final stages of gluten detox.Then, as if by magic, I started feeling better. My mood and energy improved and my chronic pain went from severe to moderate. As a result, I was able to start exercising regularly; I have these wonderful exercise DVDs from the Oregon Fibromyalgia Foundation (http://www.myalgia.com/) which are designed specifically for people living with chronic pain. They offer 4 DVDs: gentle aerobics, upper/lower/core strength and balance training, stretching and relaxation, and their newest addition, a yoga/pilates routine. I’ve also begun to use a “Pilates for Inflexible People” DVD from http://www.bodywisdomdvds.com/.

Let’s move onto the return of the plant-based diet. When I tried to do this before, I made the mistake of including 3 servings of psyllium husks a day, which ended up being way too much fiber and caused way too much gastric distress. This time around I omitted the psyllium husks and that made a big difference. But I was still dealing with constipation and I’d been hearing about probiotics for a while, so I decided to give it a go. Fortunately, you can purchase probiotics in powder and capsule form without having to resort to eating a certain yogurt product (which I will not name here) 3 times a day. Almost immediately I attained regularity (it’s wonderful and I highly recommend it) and I’ve been taking it regularly for about a month.

As a result, I’ve been able to reach my goal weight of 150 LBs (I started out at 265 LBs) and have moved on to the third stage of the low carb regimen made popular by Dr. Atkins - pre-maintenance. According to Atkins, pre-maintenance involves increasing your carbohydrate intake gradually until you get to the point where you stop losing weight. How many net carbs (and calories) it takes per day to maintain your healthy weight varies from person to person, so there’s no magic number out there - you need to figure what works for you, personally. I used this opportunity to delve into the world of raw food and began to substitute various raw food staples for certain low carb standards, particularly in the area of fruits and sweeteners.

During my research I’ve discovered that the law governing the specifics of a raw food diet are not universal. According to Wikipedia:

”Raw foodism can include any diet of primarily unheated food, or food cooked to a temperature less than 104º F (40º C) to 115º F )46º C). The most popular raw food diet is a vegan diet, but forms may include animal products and/or meat. Raw foodists can be divided between those that advocate raw veagansim or vegetarianism, those that advocate a raw omnivorous diet, and those that advocate a 100% raw carnivorous diet.” (source)

Since I’m already vegan, I think you can figure out which group I belong to, but not all vegan raw food diets are alike. There are variations between what kinds of food - such as oils, vinegar and other condiments - are acceptable. When it comes to using a dehydrator for cooking, there are some raw foodists who believe that it’s OK to increase the temperature to 140º F. According to the really wonderful raw food website Rawmazing, the food throws off water and stays cool during at the beginning of the dehydration process so that temperature of the food temperature itself doesn’t actually go above 115º. I’m not certain that this is true, but dehydrating like this saves time and may prevent fermentation.

So why go raw? Well, according to Ani Phyo, author of Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen, unheated fresh foods (AKA living foods) are are full of enzyme activity. According to Phyo:

“Enzymes help you digest food and are the catalyst for for every metabolic reaction in your body. Without these enzymes, there can be no cell division, energy production, or brain activity.

[…]Only uncooked and unprocessed foods can provide us with the full range of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, oxygen, fiber, and other nutrients our bodies require to run like a well-oiled machine.”

In spite of the differences between the ideologies of the various raw food factions, they all seem to agree on one thing: that a raw food diet will help you reach a state of optimal health. Which is, quite frankly, the only reason why I even considered yet another set of dietary restrictions. I have read many personal accounts of patients whose Fibromyalgia symptoms have vastly improved after changing to a raw food diet and I needed to be abe to say that I tried every possible angle in my attempt to optimize my health - both physically and mentally. Now that I had the energy, I owed it to myself to try it at the very least.

In an attempt to make the transition, I took three recipes that I love and prepared each of them in a regular oven and in a dehydrator, to get an idea of how they compared. As far as my palate is concerned, the three vegetables, asparagus, zucchini, and kale, taste great when cooked, but are pretty much inedible when raw. I discovered that dehydrating them didn’t do much to improve their flavor. In addition, it takes several hours to make most raw food dehydrator recipes which probably isn’t very energy efficient. So, while I may use the dehydrator for certain recipes, like raw crackers and cookies, I don’t see myself using it for preparing vegetables. I’m including the dehydrator temperatures and times in the recipes below, if you want to give it a try, but for my own personal consumption, the raw veggies I’m sticking to are things like carrots, spinach and celery. I’m not going to be able to maintain a full-on raw diet, either because I can’t stomach the taste or because many raw food staples (like agave syrup, medjul dates, and bananas) aren’t compatible with my low carb diet. I found several recipes for raw bread and crackers I wanted to try, but they rely on flax meal, which I had to eliminate from my diet - flax contains phytoestrogens which wreak havoc with my menstrual cycles. But as a whole, I’ve decided to include more raw food in my daily diet, such as raw nut butter and homemade nut milk, and to a few things I’ve come to depend on, such as canned products like coconut milk and tomatoes. I’m not sure how much of a difference it will make, but I believe I’m doing what I can to improve my health without turning my meals into miseries.

Roasted Zucchini Fries

Zucchini is a an incredibly versatile vegetable and shows up in a variety of low carb recipes. I’ve seen it used as a substitute for potatoes, pasta and even chickpeas in a raw hummus recipe. It’s a good source of fiber, antioxidant vitamins C and A, and, in addition to calcium and magnesium, it contains a trace mineral called manganese which helps the body metabolize protein and carbohydrates.

Nutritional yeast is called the “vegetarian’s proteins.” It is considered a complete protein , with 18 amino acids, and the reported health benefits include: maintaing an ideal intestinal ecology, improving blood production, helping to maintain optimum cholesterol levels and improving the health and functioning of the liver. In addition, it’s a rich source of vitamin B-complex, which helps in managing stress levels, maintaining a healthy metabolic rate, and promoting healthy skin. Nutritional yeast also contains chromium, which is useful in managing diabetes, low blood pressure and fluctuating blood sugar levels. It also contains such trace minerals as manganese, copper, vanadium, molybdenum and lithium (source.)

It’s great for sprinkling on salads, adding to soups, and in the case of Zucchini Fries, serves as a coating in the place of breadcrumbs. I love the taste and it really makes this recipe stand out as one of my favorites.

Ingredients:

1 small/medium zucchini/ 150 g

1 T cold pressed olive oil

1 clove garlic, forced through press

pinch sea salt

pinch black pepper

1/2 T/5 g nutritional yeast (optional)

Preparation:

*Preheat oven to 425º.

*Cut zucchini into pieces ( about 1/2 x 1/2 by 4 inches)

*Combine garlic, olive oil, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper in a medium sized bowl.Toss the zucchini until it is evenly coated. Place in a baking pan and roast for 15 - 20 minutes.

*Put prepared zucchini pieces on Teflex sheets and dehydrate for 30 minutes at 140º, then an additional 4-5 hours at 115º.

Makes 2 servings and each has 77.48 cal, 2.37 net carbs, 6.88 g fat, 1.27 g fiber and 1.77 g protein.

Roasted Asparagus

Asparagus is a member of the lily family and can be steamed, roasted or eaten raw. It’s rich in potassium, vitamins A and K, and is a good source of fiber. I prefer to use thinner stalks - they’re more tender and take less time to cook.

Ingredients:

90 g trimmed asparagus (just break off the ends of the tough stalks)

1/2 T cold pressed olive oil

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

*Preheat oven to 450º.

*Place asparagus spears in a baking pan and drizzle with olive oil. Season and roast for 10 - 15 minutes, until tender when pierced with a fork.

*Place asparagus spears on Teflex sheets and warm in the dehydrator for 30 minutes at 140º. Drizzle with olive oil and season and warm for another 2 - 4 hours at 105º.

Makes 1 serving and has 79.5 cal, 2 net carbs, 6.75 g fat, 2 g fiber and 2 g protein.

Baked Kale Chips

Kale belongs to the Brassica family of cruciferous vegetables, which includes cabbage, broccoli and Brussels sprouts. It is a green, leafy vegetable that comes in three varieties: curly, ornamental, and dinosaur ( I don’t know why it’s called dinosaur, but it’s my favorite, mainly because the leaves are flatter, making it easier to coat evenly with oil and seasonings.) In addition to being a good source of minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium, kale is rich in antioxidant vitamins A, C, and K.

Ingredients:

1/4 bunch/75 g kale, washed and dried

1/2 T cold pressed olive oil

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1/8 tsp sea salt

Preparation:

*Preheat oven to 275º.

*Remove stems from kale, either cutting them out with a knife or tearing the leaves from the stem. Tear the leaves into pieces and toss with olive oil and seasoning. Arrange in a baking pan so no pieces overlap. Bake for 10 minutes, turn leaves and bake for another 10 minutes.

*Place kale pieces on screen trays and dehydrate for 4 -5 hours at 115º.

Makes 1 large serving and has 77 cal, 2.8 net carbs, 6.75 g fat, .7 g fiber and 1.05 g protein.

I've been away for a while - now I'm back with a brand new post!

Sun, 15 Jul 2012 00:53:47 -0400

environmentaa: Great idea! The next time you have green...

Sun, 15 Jul 2012 00:31:05 -0400

environmentaa:

Great idea!

The next time you have green onions, don’t throw away the white ends. Simply submerge them in a glass of water and place them in a sunny window. Your onions will begin to grow almost immediately and can be harvested almost indefinitely. We just use kitchen scissors to cut what we need for meals. I periodically empty out the water, rinse the roots off and give them fresh water.

from SustyQ - Cultivating Community by Anandi A. Premlall

I’ve done this for months and it works great!

This works really well - cuts down on waste and saves money.

How are you feeling?

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 01:28:07 -0400

Not too bad, all things considered. Thanks for your response - it really helps to compare stories. I’m considering a guaifenesin protocol but I really feel like I should do 3 months of (mostly) raw food to prepare myself. I’m going to need to be as healthy as possible - you know it’s working because your symptoms get worse and may stay that way for several months. *Sigh* The things we do to try and get healthy! Sorry it took me so long to respond - it’s been one of those weeks. Thanks again - I really appreciate it.

Caesar Salad (the yummy raw vegan one)

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 01:24:58 -0400

http://www.rawguru.com/raw-food-recipes/casear-salad-by-callie-england.html.html

I don’t have miso or kelp powder but I am sure they would be yummy as well. :) I do add nutritional yeast to the dressing. The “parmesan” is a topping I now keep in a jar and use on all my salads and pastas.

I don’t have miso or kelp either, but I do love nutritional yeast. Thanks!

hopefullyraw: yummy! raw vegan Caesar salad for lunch! I think I am going to make that for baby...

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 00:43:20 -0400

hopefullyraw:

yummy! raw vegan Caesar salad for lunch! I think I am going to make that for baby hobbits birthday dinner Monday and not tell my mom that it’s raw vegan until after she’s eaten it! :)

Do you have the recipe? Caesar salad used to be my all-time favorite, but I’m vegan, mostly raw and gluten free now. Thanks!