What I Eat

After I go through the list of foods I need to avoid to stay well, more than a few dear friends who want to cook for me ask, “So, what do you eat?”

Long story short, I eat a modified Specific Carbohydrate Diet. Often, Paleo recipes work, but even SCD (Specific Carbohydrate Diet) recipes give me trouble because they include things that I have found to be big problem foods for me.

Here is a list of foods I eat and a couple of recipes.

• Meat — especially just a simple hamburger (no bun)
• Black beans (They’re the ONLY beans I can have!)
• Vegetables — Basically it’s only potatoes that I can’t have 
• Fruit — just steer clear of citrus fruits (oranges, lemons, limes & pineapple) 
• Honey
• Nut products (almond milk, for example)
• Coconut products
• Butter

A Typical Breakfast:
An apple with sun butter or almond butter and a few pieces of turkey bacon. Maybe a banana for a snack later.

A Typical Lunch:
Salad — baby spinach, romaine, spring mix, whatever I have on hand — plus whatever veggies I have on hand. My faves are cucumber, red/orange/yellow pepper, shredded carrot, & mushrooms. The dressing is usually some kind of vinaigrette since I can’t have dairy and, therefore, can’t have ranch.

Dinner Ideas: 
There are so many possibilities here! One of which I’ve already blogged about here.
Turkey or Beef Burgers are always quick and easy!
Baked Fish (so good and so good for you!)
Steamed Green Beans or Broccoli, and Roasted Butternut Squash are all good ideas.
Chili (just stick to meat and steer clear of the beans)
Chicken Soup (just without noodles)
Butternut Squash Soup

Dessert:
Dark Chocolate, fair trade is my favorite 🙂 

Snacks:
Lara Bars (Cherry Pie is my favorite!)
Celery & nut butter
Homemade Jello without sugar! (It’s a real thing and it is SO good!)

Grape Jello Recipe

• 1 package of unflavored real gelatin (make sure ingredients are simply “gelatin”)
• 2 jugs of Welch’s 100% Grape Juice (without calcium added)

1. Grab a large tupperware container and pour in 1 cup of cold water.
2. Put in 4 packets (1 tablespoon each) of gelatin.
3. While the gelatin is dissolving for a few minutes, heat 3 cups of water to a rolling boil and pour it into the bowl while it is still rolling.
4. Stir everything really well until the gelatin is well dispersed.
5. Pour in 4 cups of the Welch’s 100% Grape Juice.
6. Mix the juice in well.
7. Place in refrigerator to set up.

 

AVOID THESE:

• Eggs (I tolerate them well when they’re cooked into a baked good, but I steer clear of egg-heavy dishes like egg casseroles, scrambled eggs, omelets and deviled eggs)
• Dairy (milk especially, though butter is okay!)
• Grains (wheat, rice, barley, corn, etc. If it says gluten-free, it’s probably still a no-go for me.)
• Starches (potatoes, quinoa, beans)
• Sugars (the only sweetener I can have is honey)
• Citrus (oranges, limes, pineapple, limes–though I love limes and usually break the rule to enjoy them in something now and then)

Let me know if you have any questions! 🙂

Being Attractive Fixes Everything

Subconsciously, I have believed for most of my life that being more attractive, being thinner for sure, would fix all of my problems–or at least most of them. Recently, this belief reared its ugly head as my ex-husband and I went through a separation and then a divorce.

“If I were more attractive, he wouldn’t have cheated, or at least he wouldn’t have fallen out of love with me,” says a scared, self-doubting inner voice.

That is the logic that my subconscious mind is clinging to. This is what I am now talking myself out of believing. Because, first of all, I don’t want a life partner who is that superficial. I mean, really?! I want someone who will wake up next to me, laugh about my bed head hair, and then kiss me. Perfection isn’t attractive. Flaws and vulnerability is, in my opinion.

Secondly, beauty and attractiveness don’t make for a good relationship. There are lots and LOTS of other factors.

There are so many points that I could make, but I am just going to leave it with this: the facts don’t add up. Beautiful, attractive people do not have easier or happier lives. There are lots of examples of beautiful, attractive people whose romances do not work out and who are more than a bit of a mess. Just look at Hollywood.

Looking differently than I do today will not save me from pain tomorrow. I know this is 100% true. But my hurting self wants some sort of safety net to save me from this happening again, to save me from further pain and sorrow. However, there really is no such thing. 

Thankfully, I have been through pain and sorrow before and I know that this too, I shall heal from. It’s just that I am impatient. I don’t want to call my friends crying, asking them questions that have no answer, like, “Why can’t people just love you and stick by you?”

But like the song says, you can’t always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need. Thank you to The Rolling Stones for that gem!

So, thank you dear friends for sending a card, or a text. Thank you for giving me a call or for answering my call. I could not have survived the past several months without you. Seriously. Thank you for being patient, caring and a very big part of my healing.

And as far as this being more attractive thing goes, this is what I have to say about that:

Funny story:
My ex doesn’t like peaches.