Since we've gone dairy-free and gluten-free in the past, the changes haven't been too drastic. The hardest part really are the eggs and garlic. Many of the Paleo or gluten-free cookbooks use lots of eggs. If you go out to eat, garlic is included in EVERYTHING! Those both have been tricky for finding good foods to make at home and what I can eat when we go out. I also don't want to get into a snack rut, like having a Larabar everyday. Yes, they're yummy and fit my restrictions, but part of this for me is to get away from the processed foods also.
Now, I'm more serious about these changes than I have been in the past. In the past, we've "tried it out" for 30 days but aren't completely committed during that time and don't have the intentions of continuing after the 30 days. This time is different for me because of the health implications. I just want to feel better all around!
This is from my "everything to get started" shopping trip:
This past week, I've had a few "discoveries" to help make my week, and future weeks, easier. The discoveries consist of morning shakes, two easy-to-prep foods, and two eating out wins. I'm using the word "discovery" loosely because these all weren't too hard to find!
Discovery 1 - My JuicePlus+ morning shake has been such an easy "go to" and fits all of my criteria! Almond milk, JuicePlus+ Complete, chia seeds, and a little Starbucks Via Iced Coffee (I use 1/3 to 1/2 a pack) has been amazing. It gets me going and is easy to make in my shaker bottle. If I want something fancier, I throw it all into the NutraBullet and add frozen or fresh fruit, spinach, and/or carrots. There are so many options! I used to put Greek yogurt in my smoothies for the extra protein but can't use that anymore. I was using coconut milk yogurt (which tasted good!) until I realized there is 0 protein in it. Whoops! Next, I'm going to try goat milk or sheep milk yogurt.
Discovery 2 - I found a recipe for an easy snack to make ahead of time that's a grab-n-go snack and delicious. I ate one while driving the other day! Easy peasy, and I'm sure it's even easier without a 4-year-old helping!!! Coconut Bonbons!!!
Discovery 3 - Grilled Chicken Patties - I found this recipe in my snack Paleo cookbook to create 12 mini-patties with 1 pound of ground chicken. I thought it would help me a lot more if it was burger-sized and I could have it with spinach for lunch. Yummers!!!
Discovery 4 - I found something I can eat at Willow Street Pizza and was very excited!!! This is a "go to" restaurant for our family, and I was a little worried because I typically order pizza or pasta from there. Our server was nice and helpful and helped me to pick a winner. This is the Summer Steak Salad with Grilled Peaches. The goat cheese on it is fine for me, and the dressing it typically comes with has garlic in it, so I swapped it out for a simple balsamic vinaigrette. It was delicious and filling!
Discovery 5 - I found something I can eat at Aqui, a regular Ladies Night hang out! Aqui makes it SO EASY for people with food intolerances/allergies/preferences! First, the server supplied a gluten-free and vegan (2 separate) menus to me. The menu included a description of how they make their food and in which dishes you may find typically "food intolerance" type foods. This was a great place for me to start. From there, I asked our server specific questions about the food - Does this sauce have dairy in it? Does this sauce have soy sauce (gluten) in it? Etc. She had a laminated menu with ALL OF THE INGREDIENTS of each dish. It was amazing! It took a few questions, but the lemon chicken bowl was a winner! It was brown rice with chicken, broccoli, papaya, cantaloupe, and a lemon sauce (no dairy or garlic!) It was super yummy, and I was so happy to find a dish there I can regularly eat.
Oh yeah, and I lost 2 1/2 pounds this past week! Woo hoo!!!
