Week ???

Oh, my. It seems I’ve been remiss in my blogging duties. The end of February and the entire month of March have been…interesting. The family has had several medical emergencies (including a very bizarre snowboarding injury on the part of my dear brother, and a trip to a Vancouver hospital for my sister) and for myself, no luck at all in my “quest to digest.” In fact, it’s gotten to the point where food and I give each other dirty looks. I’ve discovered that strictly paleo eating is not quite sufficient for me, though the high-protein content gives my brain an awesome boost. No, it seems that some bland hardcore carbs are required for my system to experience “less pain”, for reasons I don’t comprehend. So, rice it is. Also, bulghur wheat in the form of a mostly-veggie tabouli salad, which actually sat rather nicely in the ‘ol stomach. Don’t hate me for going to the dark side, paleo peeps 😉

But, never fear, fellow C. Diff. survivors, I continue to experiment! For the last week, I’ve reduced my portion sizes to about 3/4 of a cup at a time, and eaten more frequently. I’ve also changed my habit of drinking a lot of water with my meals, and drink small cups of it in between instead. The goal of all this is to induce as little actual expansion of my stomach as possible at any given time, while preventing starvation. This has resulted in the occasional reduction of abdominal swelling, but not much reduction in pain. It has also resulted in my being very thirsty all the time, since I haven’t yet figured out how to get enough water into my body in between frequent tiny meals – I always seem to have an unquenchable thirst for water, even if I’ve already downed what common knowledge says should fulfill my daily requirement.

And on the 30th of April, I finally have an appointment with a general surgeon. Hopefully he will decide to do a little laparoscopic exploring, or SOMETHING more helpful than an x-ray, which is all anyone has done so far. With a diagnosis, I may be able to find a treatment – wish me luck!

Also, for those of you who are Canadians, I’ve heard rumors of a new study being put together on the long-term effects of C. Diff. infections. I’ve told my doctor I’d like to be enrolled if I qualify, but he’s away for a few weeks, so I haven’t had any news on that front. If you’re interested, ask your doc – I couldn’t find any info about it on the net, but the docs seem to be in the know.

Cheers, friends.

Week 4

Week four has been a bit of a disaster. A stomach bug has gone through the whole house and we’ve all been miserable. Cooking has been about as appealing as a root canal, and eating high-protein meals with any regularity has been impossible. I’ve been eating mainly veg and fruit with a little dairy, and admit that I’ve broken into the soda crackers. Yesterday was the first day that I made a real effort at paleo protein-eating again. It left me feeling pretty dreadful, but no more dreadful than any other day this week. My suspected “food intolerance” seems to include even water this week. I’m hoping to beat this bug, and that next week will be better. I do find I am able to concentrate on my thesis-writing much better on the days I eat a lot of protein, and am less drowsy.

On another note, I’ve decided to name my swelling abdomen. My sister told me I should “name my baby” so I’m calling it Prudence, in the hope that it will start to show some prudence and sensibility in its behaviour. I’ve also started to measure my abdomen every morning and evening, to track the differences. At the same time, I’m jotting down daily pain levels and a super-quick list what I ate during the day. I’m hoping this little bit of monitoring will reveal a pattern of some sort that will allow me to change anything that results in greater swelling. If not, well, I’ll just have a really bizarre journal for posterity, and can laugh when I think about the looks on my descendants’ faces when they find it some future day!

Mostly-Paleo Chocolate Covered Strawberries

It’s almost Valentine’s Day. As a kid, this meant the appearance of pink-frosted cupcakes, Hershey’s Kisses, Conversation Hearts candy, and Cinnamon Hearts, not to mention red licorice and heart-shaped sugar cookies. Some of these things are still making an appearance lately as other adult family members indulge a sugar cookie craving. For me – a self-described sugar addict – this makes life hard. Confections just look soooo good. And I miss chocolate covered marzipan a lot. So I’ve come up with an idea of how to treat myself.

Most followers of a Paleo lifestyle will tell you they occasionally indulge in things like honey, agave nectar, and very dark chocolate (at least 70% cacao). A little indulgence now and again, and in moderation, does no harm. The difficulty is that I find dark chocolates with very high cacao concentrations very bitter and sour. The solution, I decided, was to make a mostly-paleo version of chocolate-covered strawberries.

Find strawberries that are fresh and not frozen, and which do not need trimming. Wash them and place them on paper towel. Allow them to dry from their little bath.

Melting chocolate can be a hazardous experience. Burning and lumpiness occur with alarming regularity. Thus, the best way to melt chocolate is in a double-boiler. Basically, this is a wide pot with hot or boiled water in the bottom (about an inch of water), and another pot or steel bowl (wider than the first pot) placed over it. Actual double-boilers can be bought, but I have found that a steel bowl slightly wider than the pot works fine too.

Once you have your water warming, place chunks of high-quality dark chocolate into the upper bowl or pot. Using a high-end dark chocolate usually means fewer additives will already be in the chocolate. Add a little butter – this makes the chocolate a little softer. As these melt, mix them together. They should melt slowly, and you should stir often. Beware of the steam from the pot below. Once everything seems melted, sir in a little honey or agave nectar (which, in small amounts, won’t spike your insulin levels like cane sugar does). Then add a tiny splash of heavy cream (about a teaspoon). Whisk this well. This results in a mostly paleo-version of sweet chocolate.

Now remove the bowl from the bottom of the double-boiler. Using your pre-washed fresh strawberries, hold onto the leafy top and dip each one about half-way into the warm chocolate mixture. Set each one on parchment or waxed paper to harden. Once they’ve hardened, arrange them on a plate and cover them with plastic-wrap and keep them in the fridge until you serve them, so the exposed berry doesn’t wither or dry out. While it’ll be pretty unlikely you’ll have leftovers, if you do, eat them the next day. These don’t keep very long without withering.

This can be done with fresh cherries too. Truthfully, I’d rather have these than cupcakes or candy anyway! Enjoy.

Paleo Breakfast Quinoa

Paleo Breakfast Quinoa

Eating meat and eggs in the morning is something I find difficult to do. I have never in my life been a morning person, and the thought of breakfast is not something I typically look forward to. My unhappy stomach is currently making the situation worse. Breakfast, however, is considered to be very important to a paleo lifestyle for reasons that make sense to me. First, it sets the tone for your body: give it lots of good protein and healthful fats in the morning, and it’ll decide to operate off of that for the rest of the day. Also, a good breakfast helps to maintain even insulin levels, gives your body a good fuel source, and causes the body to feel more satiated throughout the day.

Still…I miss my little bowl of steel-cut oatmeal and cinnamon in the morning. Mild, a little sweet, and not resembling an animal’s body part in the remotest sense, oatmeal was really nice.

So I’ve decided to compromise: breakfast quinoa. Quinoa looks like oatmeal, but contains complete proteins and lots of minerals. A little of this grain-and-gluten-free food cuts down on the amount of meat or egg I need to eat at the beginning of the day and makes for a more gentle start for my stomach. And it’s very simple to make. Here’s how I do it:

•  Take one box/bag of your favourite pre-soaked, pre-rinsed pure quinoa.
• Follow the directions on the package to cook your quinoa on your stove-top, but substitute 1/2 of the water required with coconut milk.
• Once you’ve added your quinoa to the pot, add a handful of diced dried fruit (apple, mango, raisins, apricot, cranberries, cherries, blueberries – whatever you like and have on hand).
• Also add 1 or 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon, depending on how much quinoa you are making.
• Let all that cook as normal, and let your quinoa sit covered for the normal amount of time.
• Then, serve it hot with a little honey drizzled over the top and an extra dash of coconut milk, or skip the dried fruit during the cooking process and top your little bowl with fresh fruit.
• Enjoy.

Bad Dog

Is Dove soap for sensitive skin paleo? I mean, it seems sort of paleo, given the traditional composition of soap (though I have no idea what is actually in soap today…). Just wondering, because I found my dog chewing on a bar of it. After being discovered, she had a sneezing fit, writhed on her back in the hall for several moments, and went back to bed, where she glared. I don’t think the paleo soap experiment was a success, in her opinion.

Paleo Curried Quinoa

Curried Quinoa

I admit, when I first encountered those tiny little spheres of quinoa, rolling about a bowl in their uncooked state, I was flummoxed. What to do with this? I had heard it could have a bitter taste; I certainly did not want that. I had a box with basic cooking instructions, so I decided to follow those. But, being me, I also decided to “lovely” it up a bit. I was missing the easy access to ethnic foods I had enjoyed while living in Edmonton, and had a particular little Indian restaurant in mind that night, so I decided to make my quinoa curried.

Before cooking the quinoa, I threw the following into a small skillet and sautéed it until it was cooked through:

• Diced onion (about 1/2 cup)
• Finely chopped fresh parsley (just a handful)
• Cauliflower chopped quite small (about 2/3 cup)
• Diced mushrooms (about 2/3 cup)
• Sliced carrots (about 1/2 cup)
• A dash of olive oil

I let these get a little browning on them. When this was done, I set them aside, away from the heat. Then I added:

• Diced roasted red peppers (the kind you can buy in a jar) – about 1/4 to 1/3 cup
• Finely diced sun-dried tomatoes (also the kind you can buy packed in olive or sunflower oil in a jar) – about 1/4 cup

To cook the quinoa, I just followed the instructions on the box, bringing 2 cups of water to boil and then dumping in the quinoa and reducing the heat. I also added the following into the pot of cooking quinoa:

• 2 teaspoons yellow curry powder (or to taste)
• 1/4 teaspoon of garlic (or to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon of Hungarian paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric
• About 1 teaspoon of saffron flowers (just to make it pretty)
• 1/4 teaspoon of dried dill
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 2 tablespoons of fresh butter

I mixed all this about, put a lid on it and simmered it, and when it was done cooking I removed it from the heat and let it sit, covered, for about 5 min.

Before I let it sit, however, I added in all the veggies I had previously sautéed (with the diced peppers and tomatoes), along with a tiny dash of coconut milk (TINY – we don’t want soggy quinoa).

The Result: I have to say, it turned out quite well. It was very tasty, and the quinoa, when cooked, still has a crunchy quality that I found I really liked. I paired it with a little roasted turkey breast.

So there you go: Paleo Curried Quinoa. And since I added in all the extra veggies and ate it as a side-dish, I didn’t feel it was necessary to worry about too much carbohydrate or “glycemic load”.

 

Quinoa: Paleo or Not? The Debate Rages On…

Definitively, quinoa is a seed, not a cereal or grain. Biologically, it’s closely related to beets and spinach. There seems to be much debate about whether or not quinoa is paleo. This is due, mainly, to it’s pseudo-grain reputation: it’s often referred to as a “whole grain” for commercial sale, though it’s actually a seed, and closer to a fruit than a traditional grain. Adding to the debate is it’s position on the glycemic index. But it is also a complete-protien source, high in fibre, and high in iron, B-vitamins, phosphorus and magnesium. It’s also gluten-free and (when the saponins that coat it naturally are removed) easy to digest.

Curious about all this debate, I recently compared a banana with quinoa on the glycemic index, and here’s what I found ( http://www.glycemicindex.com/index.php ):

Quinoa (cooked): 150g serving size. Glycemic Index: 53. Carbohydrate value: 25. Glycemic Load: 13

Banana (raw): 120g serving size. Glycemic Index: 58. Carbohydrate value: 23. Glycemic Load: 13

Just to clarify, the average banana weighs 120 grams. 150 grams of cooked quinoa is about 2/3 of a cup.

To me, this means quinoa is perfectly paleo, in moderate amounts. I mean, not many people would sit down and eat 5 bananas, nor does it make much culinary sense to sit down and eat 3 and 1/3 cups of straight quinoa (which is roughly equivalent to 5 bananas).

In the end, however, what paleo is, is simple, unprocessed foods that are not grains or processed sugars. Beyond that, what counts as paleo seems to be a matter of interpretation and personal experience and preference. To me, quinoa seems simple and unprocessed enough to be healthful (not to mention all that great complete-protein and iron). This is what it looks like in its natural state, growing in South America:

 (Thanks to Wikipedia for this photo)

Lovely, isn’t it? Once the quinoa plant flowers, it forms little fruits about 2 mm in diameter. These are the fruit/seeds that are harvested as quinoa. Once these little gems are harvested, they still have a bitter coating on them called saponin, which has to be removed. The bitter taste prevents the seeds from being completely eaten by birds and wildlife. Usually, unprocessed quinoa is soaked in water for a time and mixed and rinsed well to remove the saponin. Most quinoa you can buy here in North America has been pre-soaked and washed. The package may suggest one further rinse, but often does not even require this.

If you’d like to try quinoa, I suggest buying a boxed variety such as PC Organics Pure Quinoa.  It comes from Bolivia, is pre-soaked and washed, and has easy cooking instructions on the box. I will post two recipes for quinoa dishes, and I can say that I have found quinoa easy to digest and quite delicious, though I have always paired it with spices and other additions.

Paleo Pumpkin Pudding

I’ve seen recipes for paleo pie crusts, delicately made from nuts and coconut. But I have absolutely no patience for pie crusts at the best of times, paleo or not, so I decided to convert pumpkin pie (which I love) into a baked pumpkin pudding. The result was phenomenal – I like the pudding version even better than pumpkin pie! Also, it was pretty quick to make. Here’s the recipe…

Paleo Pumpkin Pudding

• In a large bowl combine:

-1 large can of pure pumpkin (about 795 mL or 28 oz)

-5 or 6 free-run eggs

-1/2 cup of pure liquid honey or pure maple syrup. If you like your pumpkin pie quite sweet, increase this to 2/3 cup (I prefer the less sweet version)

-1 and 1/2 cups of half-and-half cream (or full-fat coconut milk, if you’d like to avoid dairy)

-3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

-1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

-1/4 teaspoon ground clove

-1/4 teaspoon salt

-1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I prefer Mexican vanilla)

• Whip all of this together with a whisk or electric beaters, until it is very well mixed and is slightly frothy.

• Spoon this mixture into small ramekins until the ramekin is about 3/4 full. You can also use a large shallow bakeware pan, such as a 9×13, but your servings will look messy as this pudding does not slice nicely.

• Top each ramekin with crushed nuts (I like pecans, walnuts or macadamia nuts).

• Put all ramekins on a baking sheet and bake in the oven at 400° F. Depending on the size of your ramekin or baking container, baking these can take anywhere from 15 to 40 minutes. You can tell when they’re done by inserting a toothpick into the centre of the ramekin. If the toothpick comes out clean (not goopy or wet) then your pumpkin pudding is done. When they’re done, the top will  look browned.

• Let your puddings cool a bit.

• Serve your puddings warm in their ramekins, and feel free to top each with one of the following:

-A dollop of unsweetened whipped heavy cream

-A dollop of Greek Yoghurt drizzled lightly with honey

-A dollop of the following mixture: 1 part cream cheese, mashed up well, and 1 part Greek yoghurt. Whip these two together (until very smooth) with a little honey or maple syrup to sweeten to taste, and place a spoonful on top of each ramekin.

• You’re done!

• If you have any leftovers, keep them in the fridge. This baked pudding also freezes well, so you can make them up ahead and freeze them for serving at special occasions – just remember to thaw them well before you warm them in the oven again.

Week Three

Week three has been…weird. I’ve been experimenting on myself again and have tried eating Paleo for most of the day, and having a little unleavened bread (like a pita) once during the day to see if it helped to control some of the stomach-acid problems I experience, like reflux. Paleo food just doesn’t seem to “soak up” stomach acid very well, and a lot of Paleo food is very acidic in itself. Also, having had a stomach virus for most of the week, meat, eggs and nuts have just not been very appealing and I’ve been having to work hard to get proteins into my body. I’m definitely not getting enough, and I’m really feeling the energy loss.

Soooo, that tells me one thing: the huge increase in protein and good fats that comes with eating Paleo has an equally huge effect on my energy levels and alertness. It appears my brain really likes meat and fats. With this discovery, I have been subjecting my poor sister (who insists on eating strictly vegetarian, and who has epilepsy) to a dietary fat-increase. I’m sneaking olive oil into her food, butter into her sandwiches, and high-fat dairy into her shakes and mochas. I have heard before that studies have found a correlation between a “deficiency” of fat in the brain and diet, and epilepsy. My sister’s epilepsy is so severe, however, it’s difficult to see if any difference is being made, and I suspect any positive changes would only show up after a more long-term dietary increase of fats and omega-3.

As for the swelling issues (this directed towards my C. Diff. survivor friends) there appears to be no rhyme or reason to it this week. All-natural unsweetened applesauce and a glass of water has made me look six-months-pregnant, while a pita wrapped around chicken and cucumber sat very well, thank you. I think there’s some interference going on with the stomach bug, but I’m also wondering about delayed reactions. Usually, I swell directly after eating – it’s a pretty clear cause-and-effect. But I’m beginning to wonder if the swelling that shows up later in the day and evening (when I haven’t eaten) is a delayed reaction to foods still being digested. Very difficult to say. I have an X-ray appointment tomorrow, though I have no idea what that’s supposed to show, if anything. I guess it’s just so the docs can rule out things like gall-stones and kidney-stones and other weird, mineralish items the body likes to grow. If the X-ray comes back clear, I’ve read that the next step would be a CT scan, or top-scope of my stomach, or a barium-swallow and scan, and if those don’t provide any definitive answers, exploratory laparoscopic surgery. Good times!

I’m thinking of experimenting with tincture of White Willow Bark, if I can find any. It’s where aspirin came from, and is a very effective and gentle anti-inflammatory. Worth a shot!

I Used To Be A Vegetarian

Well, I was. For years, in fact. Oh how far the mighty have fallen! I tried to spare all the lovely little animals and ate a lot of soy. Then my body said “absolutely no more” and I had to start eating meat, or stay really ill and anemic. And I developed a serious soy allergy. So I ate meat once or twice a week, and only white meat or fish at that. Now I’m a meat-eating paleo monster, and it’s making me feel very conflicted. I look at my all-natural oven-roasted turkey breast and feel very guilty. I am a guilty omnivore 😦