Carol

Just about every mass-produced ice cream contains carageenan, which would not be permitted. Perhaps try making your own? This way you know what goes in to it http://www.lemontreedwelling.com/2016/07/no-churn-cherry-vanilla-ice-cream.html

This is a tough stretch of days! You see the end, but its still some time away. So close and yet so far. The closest I came to quitting was Day 23. But to know that I came thiiiiiiiiis close to falling off the wagon and DID NOT DO IT has become a major source of strength, even though I still feel a little sheepish about it. You're a realistic person, it seems. Perhaps one reason why you don't feel successful is that the 30 days isn't up yet. The goal isn't met, there is still work to be done. But you'll get there. And I bet once you reach the goal you will feel differently. This is Day 30 for me

I have made mayo in my Vitamix blender for quite some time. I toughed through a couple of failed batches before I got my process locked in. I've been very consistent with the ingredients, and have seen consistent results. But, before W30, I also used storebought mayo -- Kewpie mayo from Japan being my favorite. But Kewpie isn't compliant, so back to the Vitamix I went. I prefer to make homemade mayo out of MCT oil. At $24/quart, it's not cheap, but I love the results -- especially the neutral flavor. I'm hesitant to use larger quantities of MCT oil on food for people (other than my BF), so sunflower oil is my backup for mayo in other dishes. Sunflower oil isn't a W30 favorite, but I have a very good source. I know of a farm about an hour away -- they grow the sunflowers on their farm, cold-press the seeds by hand, bottle it and sell it on site at their farm store. I don't buy it often -- partly because the farm is so far away, and partly because the oil is $16/pint -- 150 percent of the cost of my MCT oil! But given how labor-intensive it is to make the oil, I understand why it is priced the way it is. Just after St. Patrick's day, I sat down to make two batches of mayo. First batch with the MCT oil? Three quarters of the oil added, then....failed. I stepped back through my recipe. I forgot to add salt. Could that have made the difference? I couldn't bear to pour the MCT oil down the drain, so I poured the mix in to a mason jar and stashed it in the fridge. Cleaned the Vitamix. Started the second batch with sunflower oil. Almost identical results -- most of the oil added...then....failed. ARRRGH!! I'm guessing both emulsions failed because, even though the Vitamix was on the lowest speed, the friction started to cook the eggs. The friction appeared to be cooking something -- I was seeing bits of solid-ish white-ish material sinking to the bottom of the jar of oil, which had turned bright yellow. Its been awhile since I had a failed batch, and I was kind of in shock. And if I thought about the kind of money that I spent on the oil, well, let's just say that was not a pleasant thought. The following day, I ran a spoon through the failed mayo. There was definitely a settling of eggs on the bottom. I spooned out as much egg product as I could in to a bowl, added the egg whites I reserved yesterday, added an extra whole egg, and it seemed to combine well. I then added corned beef that was leftover from St. Paddy's, some parsnips, and made a scramble out of it. The flavors came together very well. BF enjoyed it a lot, although he joked that he would have liked his scramble to contain more eggs. A couple days later, I spooned out the egg product from the other jar. This time I scrambled it with 3 or 4 whole eggs and more St. Paddy's leftovers. The flavor again was very good. There were no leftovers. I knew the jars of oil in my fridge wouldn't keep for much longer, due to the raw egg components blended with the oil. I strained the contents of each jar and used the remaining oil for cooking that week. Much of the oil went to sauteeing garlic and onions in portions I could freeze and use later. So far we've had one batch of chili that was cooked with the garlic and onions I made this way, and it tasted quite good -- perhaps even better than my usual olive oil sautee. When I returned to the farm stand where I bought my eggs, I told the farmer about my failed mayo experiments. The farmer said the eggs weren't his, they were from a neighboring farm (which I knew). He said that many hens, including some of his, stop laying entirely over the winter. He wasn't sure how the hens were doing on his friend's farm, but said the transition to spring is always that -- a transition. The eggs may be a little different. It may have been just different enough to throw off my mayo. Mother Nature does these things her way. While I'm glad I found a way to use the expensive oils instead of pouring them down the sink, I don't want to experience this again. I have since purchased an immersion blender.

That's funny you say that. Box dinners were what sent me down the Paleo road many years ago. I was on the night shift at work. When people get out of work, they often want to eat dinner. I did too, even though it was usually 1AM. Very few retailers in NH are 24/7. No supermarkets keep those hours. A few gas stations/convenience stores do. Maybe a couple Dunkin Donuts drive thrus. Exactly one Wal-Mart. I was driving home, and I was very hungry. I knew I had nothing in the house to eat. I didn't want an 8 hour old hot dog from the convenience store. I drove to the Wal-Mart and went to the frozen food section. Some manufacturer's "Kids Meal" was on sale for 99 cents. I bought a bunch of them. Brought them home, zapped 1 in the microwave, for 4 minutes. I gobbled it down, and felt even hungrier than before. I put a second dinner in the microwave and found that I was *angry* because I had to wait the 4 minutes for that to be cooked. That was the point where I knew I had to make changes. Something was terribly wrong.

There is sugar in so much stuff that doesn't need sugar! Why does bread have to be sugared up? Yeast doesn't need THAT much sugar to start reacting. And why oh why do ADULTS need Gummy Bear vitamins?

Ducktrap River in Maine has smoked fish without sugar -- but which ones escape me at the moment. Their Kendall Brook Salmon comes to mind but I don't have any around at the moment. Will try to snap a photo when I'm at the store next.

Just a suggestion -- there is a brand of coconut milk (and coconut cream) from the Philippines called Aroy-D. They sell cans of coconut milk. However, what is more interesting is that they also sell aseptic cartons of coconut milk. There are important differences. One, the aseptic contain NO additives. 100 percent coconut milk. Another -- the very nature of canning cooks the contents of its food for preservation. The asceptic processing is more high tech and commonly involves the packaging being created and then filled in the same sterile environment. This means the food product going in to the asceptic packaging only needs to be heat pasturized for 5-10 seconds, rather than several minutes. The science is amazing. Since the product does not need prolonged exposure to high heat and pressure, more nutrients are preserved. Plus, it tastes better. MUCH better, much fresher. There is no coconut milk in a can anywhere that tastes as good as this stuff. Minor drawback? The food in aseptic cartons have a shorter shelf life. So if you're prepping for a zombie apocalypse -- or even a big storm -- don't stash aseptic cartons of coconut milk in the cellar, expecting them to be good 12 months from now. But if you buy from a store who turns over their stock regularly, it might be good 3-6 months from now. Right. Coffee. We were talking about coffee. I never liked canned coconut miilk in my coffee. But I LOVE this milk in my coffee. Sometimes I thin it out with some water or almond milk, but I usually just drink it as is. It also freezes very well. 100% coconut milk, 100% compliance, and delicious. WIN!!

Impossible to say without knowing the ingredients. Many commercially packaged legume products such as peanut butter or hummus contain not only legumes, but other banned ingredients such as soy, soybean oil, or corn oil. The 30 days may be up, but the importance of scrutinizing an ingredients list and minding your compliance still holds true for re-intro.

Hello Friends, Has anyone had issues with bone broth spiking their blood pressure? I'm an old member of the forum returning as I've started another W30 challenge, and I've hit this problem. 6 months ago, I purchased an Instant Pot. I've been making a lot of bone broth since then. It's so easy, and the gelee formed by a good chicken or beef broth is delicious enough to eat cold. I noticed since the holidays, I've been feeling a bit...off. This winter, I had a respiratory infection, and went in to see the nurse. BP was higher than normal -- stage 1 hypertension level. This was unexpeced, as my BP has typically been normal or just a few points above. Nurse said the jump could be from the infection, and said that my doc would revisit the matter at my physical, which was 6 weeks later. Went to my physical, and my BP was up even further -- stage 2 hypertension level. Yikes. Doc approved of going with a low carb diet as long as I watch my sodium intake. She also asked that I do a few other things, such as take my BP at home, and keep an exercise log. I have two follow up appointments scheduled, I'm taking this very seriously. After several home measurements, I'm now understanding that the "off" feeling occurs when my BP is up in the Stage 2 zone. I have also noticed that consuming bone broth spikes my blood pressure within a 6 hours or so. I did some reading online, I found one study stating that controlling dietary collagen may be key to controlling blood pressure. Another mentions bone broth is high in glutamates. But nothing that equates one with the other. I've decided to stop making broth until my BP situation is straightened out. But I'm curious if anyone has experienced similar, or is aware of any studies along these lines? Thanks all!

The noodles are actually not sweet potato, nor are they starch. In Japanese, they plant is konyakku, which typically gets anglicized to konjac. The konjac noodles are often referred to as "yam noodles" because they come from a tuber that is similar to a yam, but is actually a different plant (sweet potatoes are not yams, either) The noodles are processed so that they are essentially all fiber...and here's where the trouble lies. The noodle has been processed in to something that is not at all natural to eat. It can cause some digestive trouble. Konjac has been used many years as a way of making a Japanese candy, sweetened with fruit juice. That same candy has caused some folks in North America to suffocate and die (literally)...as it does not dissolve in the mouth from body heat or saliva, it can only be broken down by chewing force. This is why some EU nations have banned Konjac. Your food shouldn't kill you.

Another problem with packaged iced teas is how the teas are made. Packaged teas are typically brewed in large batches than spray dried...meaning, they are blown by hot gases until most of the liquid (largely water) evaporates and a powder of the tea remains. This process creates an unfavorable change in how the tea tastes. An artificial additive called maltodextrin is often added to the tea powder. Maltodextrin is essentially a set of simple sugars made from processing the heck out of corn starch. It serves two purposes...one is to provide just enough sweetness to the palate to balance off any acrid taste that was accrued by the spray drying of tea. The second is to facilitate mixing the tea in cold water. Maltodextrin sucks up water in to its molecules like a sponge, literally, which helps the tea blend in water. The maltodextrin additives provide a particular issue for diabetics as it is absorbed like glucose. And because food manufacturers are essentially allowed by the FDA to tell little white lies about calorie and carb content, it is included in teas (and other products) that may say zero calorie or zero carb on the label. Certainly, there are not a lot of carbs in the unsweetened iced tea -- it is, after all, supposed to taste like unsweetened tea -- they are nonetheless there. They create a glycemic index where there doesn't have to be one.