Brewer5: A Fresh Start

[Brewer5]

See, I thought about just doing something like that.  We bought a 100% baking bar WAY back when we first switched over to Paleo, and the kids about died.     I could totally eat that now.

[Brewer5]

Happy to report that this stupid thing on my face is shrinking, shrinking, shrinking!  

 

My husband and I actually got to go OUT (!) to a Mexican restaurant last night.  He pigged out on chips, salsa, and choriqueso, and we shared the meat & veggies from the fajitas.  He stuffed himself and was miserable.  

 

I, on the other hand:

 

~was not hungry on the way there, even though "it was time" to eat.

 

~was not craving a single thing.

 

​~had literally zero trouble staying out of all the things I didn't want to eat.  No, really, the chips might as well have been napkins.  The cheese and salsa could have been silverware.  They did not even register with me as available food.

 

~ate only the chicken, some green bell peppers, and the small pile of guacamole -- and was completely satisfied.  Happy.  Not sleepy.  Not yawning.  Not miserable in any way.  I would go so far as to say "energetic", even.

 

The only downside to this evening is that my stomach clearly objected to something I ate, a little while later while we were Christmas shopping.  This leaves me wondering if I am highly sensitive to the oil they use on the fajitas, or what.  I even picked around the onions because I know they cause me trouble.  So this was frustrating.  I know that I have trouble with a lot of FODMAPs -- so I am not ruling out the guac -- but it really was a small pile.  

 

Thankfully, we don't go out to eat much.  This trip -- we snuck and didn't even tell the kids.  LOL  But if we get to go there again, I will have to ask them what sort of oil they use on those fajitas.

[Carlaccini]

I notice I am extremely sensitive to corn oil, soyabean oil and yes canola oil.  Corn oil has to be the worst tho.  Uncomfortable stabbing pains in my stomach.....

 

Soyabean oil and canola oil just show up on my face - rosacea flare.

[Carlaccini]

Super happy to hear that you cyst is getting smaller - time do a happy puppy dance

 

[Brewer5]

Carla, I went through SO many years of digestive issues..............  I mean, basically my entire life.  I've made improvements here and there over the years, did a lot of guesswork, really pinpointed a few things in the past few years, and I'd say I've done a lot of healing.  

 

So when something comes on all of a sudden like it did last night -- it's noticeable.  Since you shared your experience with these oils, that confirms it for me even more.  I can eat some onions, guacamole, etc. and not have my stomach react like it did last night.  

 

It was a good reminder of how bad things used to be, and how far I've come.  I am SO happy to say that that is no longer my "norm"!     Because it definitely used to be.  It was awful.

 

And yes, yes -- yes!  Happy dance!  I know all about the downsides of dairy, but somehow we let ourselves forget these things over time.  Well, apparently I do, anyway.    Thanks again for helping me turn that lightbulb back on in my brain.  I really wasn't getting it because I couldn't imagine being that sensitive to ghee.  But I must be!

[Carlaccini]

I think I noticed the oil thing after my second whole 30 (it was cut short at 27 days)

 

I ordered an omelet with bacon onions, and peppers at a  restaurant - I didn't check cooking oil, dairy in the omelet etc - but oh my goodness I hadn't experienced pains like that since my run in with E. coli (I was a very lucky girl - I am one of the first childhood survivors).  I was in pain for HOURS.  I didn't know what caused this pain at the time.  But I knew it was something I ate.  It wasn't until I tried a fried pepper that my MIL made - that I put two and two together.  Same pains.  I asked my MIL what she used to fry the peppers - Corn oil.  

 

I have issues with FODMAPS as well.  I love onions but I have learned to limit them.  I was very slow to catch on to that one.  I have noticed that I can consume some FODMAP vegetable along with a "safe" vegetable.

[Brewer5]

6 days into my "No Dairy" experiment -- seeing nothing but positive changes so far.

 

This morning, I saw the first YELLOW I've seen on my Ketonix......  well, maybe since last January?  I haven't measured ketones consistently at any point since then (until now), and I doubt that the way I was eating would have produced yellow anyway.  I joked and told the kids that I thought this thing was broken and only able to do green ~ so I'm glad to know that's not the case.   

 

Fasting blood glucose is down -- so far -- but I know that this can also vary with stress, hormones, sleep, activity, etc.  STILL ~ happy to see it averaging down, and if it continues for a month or so, I think that will confirm my suspicions about my personal reaction to dairy.  This week I'm sitting at an average FBG of 85, which makes me very happy.

 

The mountain on my face is down to more like a plateau, and no longer itching and hurting.  I've thought to myself:  "Okay, so if I can make this thing go away -- do I test my theory a month from now and add dairy back in?"  But I gotta say......  I really have no desire to do that at this point.  We were dairy-free for years before I started reading about Paleo/Primal... then we started eating some grass-fed butter and ghee, and somehow ended up letting cheese back into our lives.  While I know we've seen a ton of positive changes over the past few years, I think that was one fork in the road where I should have just put my blinders on and kept on truckin' forward.

[Brewer5]

Today was the first day that my Ketonix started to turn colors like, as soon as I started blowing.  Pretty cool.     4 yellow -- I'll take it!

 

My son -- who really wanted to stay low-carb between Thanksgiving and Christmas -- hasn't been doing so well.  I've let him make his own choices, and I've stayed out of it -- after all, we ALL have to take personal responsibility and learn how we feel best in life.  

 

Well, he's had enough.  Last night he had a headache that he described as "like my head is going to split open" and "behind my eyes" -- and he felt nauseous.  Doesn't that sound like a migraine?  Anyway -- he had started his day with potato in his eggs, had an orange a little later, had some pineapple rings later with his burger, ate almost an entire bag of cooked carrots on his own, then made himself a Hawaiian pizza using Udi's gluten-free crust, BBQ sauce, pineapple rings.....  Well, you get the idea.

 

I hate that he's feeling badly, but I love that he is able to make the connections.  He really wants that mental clarity and steady energy that he has experienced before, and I told him -- there's only one way to do it.  You just gotta do it.  So I believe today he will be committed for real.  

 

Part of the problem is that when Dad's home...  Well, Dad craves dumb stuff.  He is gone for work a lot, and able to indulge in ~whatever~ without anyone around to be a part of it.  He actually told me the other night that he has thought about being "required" to text me and tell me what he eats while he's gone!      I told him I would be happy to be that accountability partner for him -- and I certainly understand the need for it when you are trying to get back on track -- but that I hope he can get back to a place where he no longer needs it.  I think he sees the accountability/support I have here (and have had on another site with my lifting questions and workouts in the past), and how much it has helped me improve.  ...He's a guy that needs a goal.  He has said, "If I don't have to take my shirt off for swimming or something, then, it's just like, whatever."  And on one hand, I want to schedule a trip to Great Wolf Lodge so that the poor guy has a goal -- and on the other hand, he needs a different goal.

 

So, the point of my rambling is simply that I am feeling the pressure of trying to feed 5 people and a dog in the very best way possible every day.  I'm not too stressed out about it -- I mean, this is always my intention.  But I know I can do better.  

 

I got an Instant Pot on a BF deal (finally!  I have looked at these for years!) -- now I just have to figure out how to work it.  Probably taking it out of the box would be a good next step.  

 

I purchased Well Fed on Amazon with a 25% off book code, and I am excited to look through that.  I have Well Fed 2 -- but it is a digital version I got on one of those Paleo/Primal package deals.  Boooo.  Not the same as having the book in my hand.  Not. the. same.  I never even look at it anymore.  Way too much zooming, scrolling, messing around involved.

 

And....... drumroll..........  I bought my FIRST entire chicken.  Well, actually, I had 2 in my freezer years ago that I never got around to cooking because I didn't know what the heck to do with them.  ...I know, dumb, right?  Well, if mama didn't teach you....  Sigh.  So many things I have to teach myself.  I guess that's life.

 

[kirkor]

He's a guy that needs a goal.  He has said, "If I don't have to take my shirt off for swimming or something, then, it's just like, whatever."  And on one hand, I want to schedule a trip to Great Wolf Lodge so that the poor guy has a goal -- and on the other hand, he needs a different goal.

I dunno, that can be a pretty good goal. The media is always talking about body image issues for girls, but us guys get a lot of pressure as well.

I purchased Well Fed on Amazon with a 25% off book code, and I am excited to look through that.  I have Well Fed 2 -- but it is a digital version I got on one of those Paleo/Primal package deals.  Boooo.  Not the same as having the book in my hand.  Not. the. same.  I never even look at it anymore.  Way too much zooming, scrolling, messing around involved.

Word. As you know, I'm a Kindle fan, but I can't even imagine using it for a cookbook. Over Thanksgiving my niece was using her tablet for a recipe, and the screen was big enough that scrolling wasn't needed, but still, between worrying about knocking it off the counter, handling it with messy fingers, etc., just seemed like a big hassle.

[Brewer5]

So, do you think I should schedule a GWL trip every winter? Serious.

[kirkor]

I mean, sure, especially since I think there's value in an annual family trip like that for lots of reasons.

[Brewer5]

Well, we do take at least one big trip per year and also several mini camping trips (we own a travel trailer).

I guess I feel like his goal should be his health. Wanting to stop being a slave to cravings. AND wanting to look good with his shirt off. If the goal is always for a trip -- that means when the trip is over, it all goes off the rails again. I'd like him to just change his habits, you know? Eventually you come to a point where you realize that the potato chips are controlling you. And that the craving is never truly satisfied, because it just makes you want more potato chips the next day, and the next. You know?

So that's what I meant when I said he needs a different goal. A long-term goal... Maybe in addition to short-term goals. Maybe that is the key.

[kirkor]

Ok ok, *monthly* trips to the water park!

[Brewer5]

Have you ever looked at their prices for a family of five?! :I

[Kmlynne]

I started my journey with just a desire to look better - to just not be fat anymore.  As I have "grown" in this food journey, I have come to realize (though triumphs and defeats) that it is more about feeling better.  Of course it helps that as I feel better, the weight comes down too.

 

Maybe a goal like this is a good place to start.  Then, when he likes how he looks, he might start realizing how he feels.  That's when the big changes happen.

[Brewer5]

Well, I guess that's part of the "problem"...  He actually looks pretty great.       Weight is not an issue at all, and he's built quite a bit of muscle in the past few years of heavy lifting.  The only area where he is self-conscious is his gut.  ...Which means that now I have to schedule monthly GWL trips.  GREAT.     hahaha

 

I just wish he'd keep his junk at work and not at home -- but we all know that when you are addicted to foods, you want them all the time.  Not just when you happen to be at work.  So he really just needs to lose the junk.  (Again.  He did GREAT with Carb Nite for several months.  Way better than I did!)  

 

It's not a huge problem...  I just had a good talk with the teenager about how we don't have to have those things just because Daddy is...  And I told him that if we are united in our low-carb plan, he will most likely catch on and follow along.  He really is an agreeable fellow, and will do just about anything to make me happy.  

[Brewer5]

Today he came home from work and was planning to make his "little smokies"...  "But I gotta go to the grocery and get BBQ sauce", he says.

 

I told him that was fine, but that teenager is NOT eating the BBQ sauce.  I had already told him of the headache & the teenager's resolve to feel better.

 

He ended up just going down the street to Dollar General, who did not have his usual brand of BBQ sauce -- so he got some other crappy brand.  When he got done eating, he said, "Well I don't know if it was the smokies, or the BBQ sauce, or both, but that pretty much sucked."  

 

See... we just have to ruin things for him, one at a time.  

[Brewer5]

I did it -- I cooked an entire chicken in my instant pot!

 

I would post a picture, but it got destroyed/inhaled before I could even think of it.      

 

Best part:  We got a bonus chicken neck, liver, heart, gizzard for Rocket to have.

[Kmlynne]

I did it -- I cooked an entire chicken in my instant pot!

 

I would post a picture, but it got destroyed/inhaled before I could even think of it.      

 

Best part:  We got a bonus chicken neck, liver, heart, gizzard for Rocket to have.

Where's the LOVE button?

[Brewer5]

...And I am eating 100% Baker's chocolate with my macadamia nuts.  Thanks for the push, kirkor.  I needed it.  

 

It IS more bitter than the 90% (of course) -- BUT:  I cannot say how much I love how our taste buds change, because... it's not bad.  It works!

 

Also:  The brussels sprouts that went in the instant pot with the chicken were so cooked -- they tasted like mashed potatoes or something... almost like a dessert item.  LOL

[littleg]

Yeah instant pot!  

 

My favorite in there are beef shanks and brisket.  The beef shanks will look like you should feed them to the dogs when they are done in the IP, but if you let them cool a bit and take off the connective tissue (or eat it if you want - saves money on gelatin - but I think big mouthfuls have a bad mouth feel) and then sear the meat in a pan with some ghee... holy moly.  SO good.  I've gotten in the habit of cooking all my meat in there for 2 hours.  I usually have cheap cuts - stew beef, shank, heart, brisket, etc so I think the 2 hours helps tenderize them well.  

[kirkor]

See... we just have to ruin things for him, one at a time.  

"Did you ever drink so much of a certain type of alcohol that you get so sick that you can never drink the same kind again ? I've decided that's how I'm going to quit drinking. One-at-a-time."

-- Doug Stanhope

[ladyshanny]

 

And....... drumroll..........  I bought my FIRST entire chicken.  Well, actually, I had 2 in my freezer years ago that I never got around to cooking because I didn't know what the heck to do with them.  ...I know, dumb, right?  Well, if mama didn't teach you....  Sigh.  So many things I have to teach myself.  I guess that's life.

Here you go.  http://zenbellycatering.com/2012/03/18/perfect-roast-chicken/

 

Fail proof.  I always spatchcock it (cut the spine out and "flatten" the chicken into a pan) because I find it cooks quicker and is easier to take apart.  Don't skimp on the coarse salt on the skin!

[Brewer5]

Here you go.  http://zenbellycatering.com/2012/03/18/perfect-roast-chicken/

 

Fail proof.  I always spatchcock it (cut the spine out and "flatten" the chicken into a pan) because I find it cooks quicker and is easier to take apart.  Don't skimp on the coarse salt on the skin!

 

Hey, thanks, ladyshanny!

 

See, that is so easy... now I feel dumb.  

 

Haha -- just kidding.  I already knew it was dumb that I hadn't cooked an entire chicken yet.  I've been feeding THREE boys for the past NINE years!

 

But did you see my follow-up post?  I did it!    

 

I did it -- I cooked an entire chicken in my instant pot!

 

I would post a picture, but it got destroyed/inhaled before I could even think of it.      

 

Best part:  We got a bonus chicken neck, liver, heart, gizzard for Rocket to have.

 

I removed the little packet with these items ^ in it, held onto that dear bird and gave her a good rinse.  I put her in the instant pot with a box of Costco's organic chicken stock, some brussels sprouts I had lovingly prepared to surround her, and I sprinkled garlic salt, onion powder, and pepper in there.

 

Push the "poultry" button, set timer to 25 minutes, and walk away.  What I did learn is that this thing has quite a preheat cycle -- it's not like you push the button and it is DONE in 25 minutes.  I think it warmed up for ~15 minutes or so before the timer actually popped up and started counting.

 

Next time I will go with a little less time...  It was fall-apart awesomeness, but so were the brussels sprouts.  Maybe it will always be that way with the vegetables in there, I don't know.  But this chicken was so falling apart, I know I could go with less time.

 

------------

 

And I just want to take this opportunity to say, that I was reflecting last night about the food issues I had growing up.  I remember not wanting to eat things that were different to me.  My family made fun of me for the careful trimming of the fat I did with every piece of meat.  Fat grossed me out.  Raw meat I could deal with, but had a really hard time touching it.  

 

I have come a long way in a few short years.

 

Seeing the whole bird in my hands, it made me really thankful for her life.  That may sound cheesy, but I'm putting it out there anyway.  

 

We humans have become so disconnected with our food.  We are so wasteful.  We believe that things in boxes on a grocery store shelf are "normal" and that anyone who doesn't eat that way is "weird".  

 

 I am the odd one in the family for feeding my dog MEAT.  Not just meat, but RAW MEAT.  Yes, I gave Rocket the chicken neck last night, and guess what?  He devoured it.  He knows how to recognize food!  It's programmed in all of us, but to look around at the state of things, you'd have no idea that's the case.

 

-------------

 

And I can't tell you how thankful I am for each of you who pop in here and share in the discussion.  I hope you all have a wonderful day!  

[Carlaccini]

I'm getting an Instant Pot for Christmas - so Yayyy for the Instant Pot!  Happy to hear your experiences.

 

Just a comment about Rockets food... My mom will complain that her little guy, Pepper (Shih-Tzu / Maltese) will become a supper picky eater when I am visiting.  It's cause I feed him all sorts of table scraps, and have him lick the fat off of my plate, etc. He's getting real food from me so he starts turning up his nose at his regular store bought food.  My mom complains that I've turned him into a picky eater - I've always replied is that he naturally knows what's good for him.  She generally rolls her eyes at me - but I realize that it's probably pretty true. He does know what's good for him.  Although she hasn't gotten the concept yet that dogs, like people, need fat.  She keeps on complaining that I will make him fat by feeding him too much fat.  Nope!  He needs it.