UPDATE: Detox Symptoms... GO AWAY!

Sorry I have been away so long, my best friend & her husband, along with their furry child came to visit us for the weekend! I absolutely love spending time with Hannah. We are identical in so many ways (however, we look nothing alike), it's kind of scary, I guess that's why we get along so well. There aren't many things that go undiscussed when they are around, just another thing I love. It's healthy to have friends (especially a couple) that you can be yourself around and not be judged or taken too seriously! Thankfully they know what I am going through, medically and with my diet. They are healthy eaters so it was fun to entertain with some paleo meals! I will post some of those things at a later time.

I guess the "dreaded detox" has set in and it's pretty bad. I feel like I have a stomach bug. Every thing I eat or drink makes me nauseous, but not eating makes me more nauseous... No win situation! All of this started Sunday Morning around 5am. I had symptoms similar to a hangover or stomach bug: headache, chills, nausea, diarrhea and I just wanted to curl up in a ball and sleep. I thought for sure I would wake up today and feel better... But I felt the exact same way! Ugh. As if having UC isn't uncomfortable enough. My mom brought me some nausea medicine tonight after what little dinner I was actually able to stomach, and finally some relief! I was actually able to join my husband and son on a walk to our neighborhood park to play for a bit! And an added bonus... I didn't even have a crampy colon or stomach while we were there (that's always a concern when I go on walks.. what if I have to use the restroom and can't make it home 😳).

Once this detox stage is over, I will sit down at the computer and post some new recipes. But until then I am going to lay on the couch (or on the back patio in the sun!) and let my body get rid of all the garbage that has been packed into it over the past 27.5 years! YIKES. Am I really going to be 28 this year?

Did you experience detox symptoms? How long did they last?

Love to All,
Terri

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups done RIGHT!

Just let me start by saying that I have acquired a SEVERE hatred for Coconut Oil and Coconut Flour.  They overpower any and everything that you mix them with.  I also have a huge sweet tooth... or maybe an entire mouth of sweet teeth ;) so I was determined to find a recipe that did not call for coconut anything.  FAIL!  After searching for what seems like an entire day, I gave up and decided to create my very own recipe.  The best part? They are Paleo, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free & Dairy Free! Oh, and of course... DELICIOUS!  As you know, I am a very picky eater.  Textures and tastes have to be perfect for me to like them.  I promise, this recipe will not fail you.  If you like chocolate chip cookies, you will like (maybe even LOVE) these!

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups 

Makes 12, 3/4 inch thick Cookie Cups

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups   Almond Meal Flour

1/2 cup       Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips 

1/3 cup       Honey

1/3 cup       EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

1/3 tsp        Baking Soda

1/3 tsp        Sea Salt

2 tsp           Organic/All Natural Vanilla Extract 

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine all ingredient in a medium bowl (it will have a slightly strange looking texture, pic below).  Once combined, spoon into a 12 cup cupcake pan.  Because of the EVOO included in the mix, there is no need to grease the pan! Bake for 12 minutes for slightly chewy middles.  Let cool before removing from the pan.  Once cool, I used a butter knife and went around the edges and they easily popped out!

This is what they looked like right before going into the oven, as you can tell they are kind of chunky looking.  Once they bake, the texture is very similar to "normal" chocolate chip cookies.  

Recommended Pairing:

Since I can't have milk, I decided to slice up a banana to go along with it to give me the creamy taste/texture that the milk would have added.

Happy Baking & Love to All!

Terri

Fried Chicken Tenders... Paleo Style.

For dinner tonight, Ryan decided to make Fried Chicken! Great idea.  Even better execution!  He has done it again folks... he has yet to make a meal that I haven't liked.  Along with our chicken, we had homemade ketchup which I found here. It tastes a little more like marinara, but for paleo... I'll take it!

Almond Flour Fried Chicken

Ingredients:
Organic Free Range Chicken (2 Breasts - Sliced into Strips)
1 cup Almond Meal Flour
2 Organic Free Range Eggs
1/2 tbsp Garlic Powder
Salt & Pepper
EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

Combine 1 cup of the Almond Flour with 1/2 tbsp of Garlic Powder, Salt & Pepper.  On the S&P you can tailor it to your liking, I love me some pepper.  In a bowl, whisk the 2 eggs.  Place chicken strips one by one into the egg and then roll in the flour mixture.  Fill your frying pan about 1/2 an inch with EVOO, and let oil heat up (we cooked on level 5 on our gas range).  Once its nice and hot, place the coated chicken strips in one by one, you may have to do 2 batches if your pan isn't big enough.  Cooking time will vary with each stove, but we cooked them a couple of minutes on each side until they are nice and golden brown.  Let cool a few minutes before eating them, and voila!

We paired ours with fresh steamed green beans, and some egg noodles (they aren't paleo, but my doctor approved them for me to eat!).  If you are on a strict paleo diet, I would suggest some garlic fauxtatoes (made from cauliflower), actually I think I will suggest we make them next time instead of the noodles!

Happy Eating & Love to All!
Terri

Lunch!

Breakfast & Lunch are by FAR the hardest meals for me.  This is when I would typically eat a bagel, sandwich, cereal or things like that... but not anymore! 

Today I decided to make a stir-fry meal, the picky paleo way.  And it was D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!!
Here's a picture: 

Yummm! I scarfed it down in about 5 seconds like a pig! 

Here's my concoction! (This is only one serving)

Ingredients:
1/4 lb.      Organic Ground Chicken
1/2 cup    Chopped Broccoli
1/2 cup    Sliced Thin Carrots
1               Navel Orange (Squeezed)
                 Honey
                 Coarse Ground Pepper

To Cook:
I used a small skillet (I was just cooking for myself this time) and greased it with some good ole' pasture raised butter (this is what my doc recommended I use, even though it is dairy).  Put in the chicken and let it get a little cooked, and then add in the pepper.  I just eyeball it because I can kind of tell how much I like.  Then add in your carrots & broccoli.  Let them all sizzle for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the honey! (I make sort of a bullseye around the pan) Stir again & then squeeze the orange into the mixture.  You can add more honey or pepper to your liking.  Put in a bowl & serve! 

Hope you enjoy!! 

Love to all!
Terri

My [LONG] Story...

Right after I turned 16 I got really sick.  The kind of sick where you literally think you are dying.  I couldn't keep anything in my body, not even ice.  I lost tons of weight, and I was bleeding... bad, in a place you should be bleeding.  I was scared, and didn't know what was going on.  A few weeks later I was hospitalized; they ran tests upon tests, drew blood, and did a colonoscopy.  Talk about a bad way to start off your Sweet Sixteen! I will refer to it as the Sucky Sixteen.  After seeing a few different specialists in the hospital, they decided that I had an Auto-Immune Disease called Ulcerative Colitis.  WHAT? Well that explains the bleeding... I had ulcers in my colon that burst and caused major discomfort.  They also told me I would be on medication for the rest of my life.  At this point, I could have cared less, I just wanted to go back to my normal teenage life.  After a while, trips to the doctor and lots of medicine... I was in remission.  It sounds so scary, people with Cancer go into remission... not ME?  Thank God for my amazing parents who found me THE best Gastroenterologist in the area.

Are you still with me? I hope so.

Fast Forward 12 years....
I am 27, going to be 28 in a few months and I have had ongoing flares since right before I found out I was pregnant with Mason (almost 2 years).  All of a sudden the medications that always worked before stopped working, and I am desperate to find a new method.  To be honest, the older (and wiser) that I have gotten, the more scared I have become of these medications anyway.  All the scary side effects are enough to make anyone quit taking them.

My best friend, Hannah, recently started working for a Doctor in Tulsa that does Alternative & Holistic Medicine, and told me about what Dr. Chad does/believes and most importantly how he has been able to help so many people get completely off of their medicine.  SIGN ME UP!! So that, she did! I had my first appointment at Revolution Health & Wellness last Wednesday and let me tell you, everyone who works there is so incredibly nice! No wonder Hannah loves her job! So for the details of my appointment:  I got lots of blood drawn (which I HATE!) but the nurse was so gentle I hardly felt it! Major score.  They are sending all of my precious blood off to a lab to be tested for about a million different things: hormone levels, vitamin deficiencies and lots of other good stuff.  I should hear about my results at my follow up appointment May 15th, and I can't wait!  In the mean time, Dr. Chad put me on a Paleo, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Red Meat-Free diet............ Hit the brakes, I am THE pickiest eater, EVER! What am I going to eat?! I'm going to starve.  He also sent me home with a bunch of supplements, vitamins & super powerful probiotics to take daily along with my standard medicine.  Back to the diet.... WHAT am I going to do?! No quinoa (my newest obsession), no cheese, no peanut butter, no bread... what is left? So maybe I overreacted a little.  It was emotionally difficult the first two days because everything in the pantry & fridge was haunting me... and grocery shopping? I was a mess the whole car ride home, crying like a baby because all I wanted to eat was everything that I couldn't.  It's been almost a week and even though I am still dealing with my flare up, I feel great! I have found a new love for cooking, and my amazing husband is having fun putting together new meals for us.  In our house we both cook, and we are enjoying this new challenge.  

I hope you will continue to follow me throughout my journey, and offer up any tips/pointers you may have for someone starting out paleo! 

Love to all!
Terri