Moving right along!

[Ramonax]

Galaxigrl - so glad you could visit with your Gram. It sounds like a very special relationship, and must be so great for your son to get to know her. I'm sorry she is leaving. Your poor heart! Based on your description, I'm betting she will be visiting again.

 

I am going away for five days to a conference today. First time I've been away from my son (he just turned 2). I use to travel a lot on my own and I LOVE it. But feeling pretty anxious.. he really loves his dad and I'm irrationally worried he will forget about me and/or hate me when I return. Which is ridiculous I know, and one of the reasons I never wanted children was because I knew my job and my life are important to me - so I'm a bit surprised by how clingy I feel to him right now and not all "I'm an independent businessy business women doing my businessy business things". I'm always getting surprised by myself. I AM looking forward to the night of sleep, in my own bed, without anyone waking me up. (I'm jinxing myself. Now there will be a fake fire alarm at 4:00 this morning or something) But the other worrisome thing is this: the conference center is known for it's food. they have an all you can eat sundae buffet. oh dear.

[katieblue]

Galaxigrl, thank you!! I appreciate the confidence. And yes, I think it's actually been like 7 weeks of Whole30 now, considering I was mostly cooking and eating compliant in the 10 days or so in between the two! I'm afraid that I will totally struggle with eating well because I won't have time for cooking! I'll really have to lean on the man of the house for that, which doesn't always work well for independent-woman me. So I'll be searching for some easy peasy recipes, too!

Olives make everything better! I've also seen recipes where you toss pineapple chunks in it, which I'd love to try, too.

Sorry about your Gram leaving! Goodbyes are always the worst. But it's wonderful you have such a good relationship with her that you'll miss her when she goes! Hang in there!

 

Ramonax, I know it isn't exactly the same, but the first time I had my own pet and went away for a weekend, I was freaking out in the same way, so I can kind of understand the anxiety! I know nothing we say will actually make the stress go away, but I can tell you not to worry!! I work around kids, and I know they will remember you, especially since you have never been away from him before for a whole two years!

Ugh, a sundae buffet, talk about torture... maybe just, like, don't go in that room... ever...

[jen c]

katie, congratulations on the new job!  It sounds like the perfect set-up with being close to home and getting benefits!  You'll power through the next six weeks and will be amazed by your strength and stamina.  How's that for a pep talk??  Lol.

 

ramonax, I wish you good nights of uninterrupted sleep while you're away.  Your son will be so thrilled to see you when you get home again! 

 

galaxigrl, I'm sorry your gram has to go home but am thankful you have such a sweet relationship with her and that she's had some good time to spend with your little one.  She sounds like someone you really aspire to be like and it's wonderful that you have her as a role model. 

 

My latest introduction . . . wheat + me = bleh.  The meatballs last night left me very gurgly inside.  The wheat cereal I had for breakfast (with a little coconut milk, not dairy) has sat so high in my stomach all day.  I've been burping, feeling nauseated, have indigestion and an awful metallic taste in my mouth that I can't get rid of.  I think I have enough information to go on to not make myself have wheat at a 3rd meal.  It's lunchtime now and I'm not hungry, but am going to eat something anyway just to try again to get rid of this icky taste.  I feel like a science experiment this month. 

[galaxigrl]

Ramona: How are things going with the conference and being away from your baby and resisting the food?  Even when I go out with my friends directly after work and come home after my baby is asleep, I get a little sad I didn't see him awake that evening.  I did go away for a night, though, back in the fall, and I didn't miss him nearly as much as I thought I would.  

 

JenC: Sorry the wheat didn't work out for you!  I definitely don't miss bread and pasta as much as I thought I would, but I do like them occasionally.  Although if they made me feel like you were feeling, I could do without!  I didn't feel well after eating my Gram's pierogies the first time, but then I ate bread with no problem, so maybe I don't have an issue with wheat, and it was just overeating?

 

Thanks to everyone on your comments about my Gram.  Took her to the train station this morning.  I'm a little sad, but I managed not to cry when the train was pulling away!  At least I have a fun dinner out with my friends planned for tonight, so I don't have to go home to her not being at my house.

[jen c]

galaxigrl, I'm impressed that you can say goodbye without tears.  That's hard to do!  Enjoy your dinner out tonight and think about the good visit you had with your gram. 

 

Oh. my. gosh.  This wheat thing is so blah.  When I went to bed at 11:45 last night, I was still having stomach pains and that awful metallic taste, and that was 16 hours after I'd eaten the wheat cereal for breakfast.  Although I slept really well, after my alarm went off at 6:25, I ended up pushing snooze 4 times.  I never do that!   Today I'm SOOO sleepy and sluggish.  I feel as drained as if I had the flu, but without the sick flu symptoms.  I put some wild orange and peppermint in my essential oil diffuser hoping that will give me an energy boost.  Wow, this is so much more intense than I anticipated.  I wish I could go back to bed but am afraid that if I do, I won't get up for the rest of the day and I just can't do that today.  I have a Cub Scout field trip this afternoon and a campout tomorrow night to get ready for.  If I wasn't the den leader, I'd skip it all.  On the up side, this is exactly why I did the W30 . . . to find out what's been making me feel so sick for a long time.  Now I know and I'll be reminding myself of that throughout the day.  I'm really going to miss bread but going forward, I can't think of a time when I'll consider it to be "worth it" to eat again.  I'm so glad to know this and when I'm less tired, will do a happy dance.   

[katieblue]

Jen, thanks for the pep talk!! Haha you girls have me all pumped up.

I'm sorry that the wheat made you feel so crappy! BUT I can tell you, as someone who has been largely gluten and wheat free since 2010, you won't have to miss it as much as you think. They have really made a LOT of really good gluten-free substitutions for wheat products. There are lots of yummy pasta and bread options, both for home and when eating out! You'll be okay. And at least now you know.

[jen c]

katie, thanks for the encouragement!  One good thing . . . thanks to the kiddos, I already have about a dozen allergy cookbooks on my shelf.  I have plenty of gluten-free recipes on hand for when I need them. 

[katieblue]

The options are really endless!! I mean, I do miss actual pizza (I've never been able to find a gluten-free substitute that is the same), but that's pretty much the only thing I've never found a suitable substitute for! Even just regular bread and rolls, grabbed from the freezer section of the supermarket, are awesome when you warm them up - you can barely even tell the difference anymore! And I've fooled many people into thinking that my gluten-free baking is made with just regular flour...

 

I'm really excited to be going out to the Paleo restaurant again tonight!! My boyfriend and I had such a good time on a date night last week that we scheduled another one for tonight. And seeing as I am Whole30ing, we don't have too many options to get dinner - which is TOTALLY okay by me, because Cave = Love!! They still haven't responded to me about the sweet potato salad recipe, so I guess I'll just have to ask them in person. And I'm going out with my girlfriend on Saturday night, too, and we'll be going there again. So happy!! So little cooking in my immediate future!! (Although I do have the Reuben Rolls on the schedule for Sunday... complicated recipe, but one of my favorites, so I wanted to make sure I made it again before I am sucked into full-time work).

 

Last night I did take some of the leftover extra BBQ sauce from the ribs, and I baked some chicken, pulled it, tossed it in the sauce, and put it inside a baked sweet potato. Then I stuck it in the oven to warm it up and broiled it for a few minutes at the end to get it caramelized and yummy. It was great, and really, really easy - especially if you have the sweet potato baked and the chicken pulled beforehand (which may need to become staples at my house). I used some of the extra pulled chicken to make chicken salad with chopped up celery, raisins, and pecans, which I will promptly be placing into lettuce wraps for lunch ASAP.

[galaxigrl]

jen c: It was hard to not cry, but I had makeup on and had to go back to work, so I was trying my best.  It actually helped that we ended up having a short goodbye when she was getting on the train.  It's the goodbye that usually gets me!  I'm so sorry to hear that your reaction to wheat is so awful, but I'm glad you now know that it doesn't agree with you and can avoid it!

 

katie: Yay for the Paleo restaurant!  I so wish we had one here in Charleston!  It would be nice to have somewhere to go out to dinner (that's not Chipotle) where you can be doing W30 and not have to ask a million questions.  That's just not my style, which is why I mostly avoided restaurants when I did it.

 

Question for all of you: What's the best way to cook plain chicken breasts to not have them turn out dry?  I consider myself a pretty good cook, but I have not mastered cooking chicken breasts.  And I've tried multiple ways.  And when I say "plain," I don't mean no seasonings at all, but the kind of chicken you'd use in katie's recipe above or in chicken salad, something like that - sauce-less chicken .

[katieblue]

I can only hope that the Paleo revolution brings you some restaurants out your way soon!! At least you get gorgeous weather, while it's still cold here. It's a trade-off.

 

I generally bake my chicken breasts for that purpose, rubbed down with EVOO or ghee and salt and pepper. Yesterday I did the thin-sliced cutlets at 400 for 10 minutes, flipped them, and then 10 more minutes. Some of the edges turned out a little dry but most of it was fine! And if you're pulling it, or chopping it, for chicken salad, then you can always toss any of the edges if they got too hard for you!

[Ramonax]

conference going well - last night I had a steak. It was amazing. and a small dessert. I picked food consciously and ate it mindfully and really enjoyed it. They brought me a basket of bread, which I didn't touch. The desserts are tiny and I savoured it. For breakfast scrambled eggs and steamed spinach, lunch I had a giant giant giant salad and veggies and a piece of fish (all buffet) I only went to buffet once, didn't eat any gluten and mostly have eaten compliantly. So I feel pretty good so far. I miss my boy, but it isn't intolerable. 

[katieblue]

Ramonax, way to go!! It sounds like you're doing absolutely awesome with eating well and mindfully! I'm actually kind of jealous of your self control, especially since I know you were stressed going into it! You'll see your kiddo soon, hang in there!!

 

I keep waking up in the middle of the night and just staying awake. I blame my stupid anxiety, argh. Somewhere in my mind, I know that I have so much homework to be doing, so I just wake up at 2 or 3am and my mind is racing and I lay there trying to get back to sleep but can't, so I just get up and go do homework. This happens to me at least once or twice a week. I will be SO happy when I'm done with grad school... only a little over a year left...

 

Dinner was awesome last night - we tried wild boar ribs and zucchini noodle bolognese. I freaking love this restaurant. The wild boar was pretty tasty, not like anything I have ever had before, but had a lot of gristle. We agreed it wasn't worth the $36 for two ribs. But it was cool to try it!! And the bolognese was to die for. I have no idea how they got their zucchini noodles the pasta consistency they got. Mine always taste and feel like zucchini! Lol. I wonder if it's just my little cheapo handheld spiralizer.

I'm bringing my girlfriend back there on Saturday. They have tilefish and roasted quail on the specials this week, neither of which I have ever tried but both of which I am curious about! And a mango habanero gazpacho with roasted prawns - I have never had prawns, either.

[Ramonax]

Katie, for sleeplessness - they talk about magnesium supplement (Natural Calm) in the book. I haven't taken it (can't find it here) but do take magnesium in general before bed and find it helpful. I have also read that diets too low in carbs lead to insomnia, and having a bit of starch before bed, or in evening helps. I know you love yam, so it might not be an issue for you. I know it is stress from school, but Insomnia is terrible and I hope it soon resolves!

[galaxigrl]

Katie: Thanks for the chicken cooking tip.  Maybe I need to make sure my pieces are an even thickness.  That might be part of my problem.  I'm sorry to hear about your insomnia.  I'm usually a pretty good sleeper, but I've had some trouble waking up in the middle of the night and having a hard time going back to sleep since my son was born.  Not enough sleep really messes with your head!  The more you talk about Cave, the more jealous I am!  I really can't believe we don't have a Paleo restaurant here with all of the great restaurants we do have.  The weather has been pretty nice, though, until a few days ago.  And today it's just rainy and gray .  But should be nice by tomorrow afternoon!

 

Ramona: Glad to hear you're doing amazing with eating and not missing your little guy too much!

[katieblue]

Thanks, Ramonax! I've seen the Natural Calm mentioned but don't know too much about it... I'll have to look into it.

I don't know if starchy carbs have much of an effect on my sleep or not, but maybe I could try upping the amount that I eat and seeing if it helps. I do know that I only had one baby yam with dinner and a handful of carrots over my lunch salad yesterday, so maybe I just have to kick it up a notch... I've got some potato salad leftover still from the ribs dinner so I'll try that tonight.

 

Galaxigrl, I definitely think the even thickness to the pieces is important! My mom says that once you have kids your whole sleep pattern changes, so I can absolutely see that... something instinctive and motherly in you, I guess.

Maybe someday I will move down there (I was aiming for Savannah, but hey, I'll take anywhere warm and near the ocean!) and we can start a Paleo restaurant, since we're so knowledgable now! Not that I want to be cooking as a job as well as at home, haha. I'm totally cooked out.

[ksea]

katieblue - That paleo restaurant sounds awesome!  I've never had boar, quail, or tilefish, but I do love me some prawns.  A spot prawn fishery is just starting up here, I can't wait to get my hands on some!!  

Have you ever tried salting your zucchini noodles and letting them sit?  It draws moisture out of them and makes a huge difference in the texture!

I hope you can start sleeping better.  Definitely look into that magnesium supplement.  I don't want to sound all hippie-dippie, but have you ever tried meditation?  I know when I'm super stressed, taking a few minutes and clearing my mind (which can be SO hard when there's a million things pushing their way in, I know!), focusing on breathing, relaxing every muscle starting from my head, and being in the "present" can really help.  There's a lot of studies linking meditation and mindful practices with a reduction in stress and anxiety.  It won't make any of the stressful things in your life go away, but maybe it can help you cope a little better?

 

galaxigrl - I'm following this method from the Kitchn for making a scoby.  But then I saw this article from Food Renegade, and I'm thinking I might just need to get a scoby from somewhere else.  It's been almost 2 weeks, and there isn't as many bubbles, and the film isn't getting very thick.  I'm going to put it in a warmer spot and hope for the best!

Reading about saying goodbye to Gram made me think of my husband's grandparents.  The grandfather passed before I was with my husband, but I got a chance to spend time with the grandmother.  They came to the US from Spain (they're both full Basque) in the 60's, and my father-in-law moved to Alaska in the 80's.  When the family went down in Boise to visit,  on the day everyone was leaving the grandfather would basically lock himself in his room and wouldn't speak to anyone.  He didn't want to say goodbye.  So sweet.  The grandmother is a wonderful woman, she would cook up a huge lunch for everyone 3 times a week, and the whole family would come over and eat, drink, and be merry.  We spent a winter in Boise, and I would go over early on those days and learn some of her dishes.  Those were some amazing days for me.  We're hoping we can make it down there this fall to see her!

 

jen c - That's good you pinpointed gluten as a food to avoid.  Sounds like there's a lot of good gluten free options these days, too!  Hope you're getting your energy back.

 

Ramonax - I'm sure your son will be so happy to see you when you get home!  I didn't think I was ready for a child yet, because I had that independent attitude too.  But I miss my boy if I go to the store by myself for 30 minutes.   That's awesome you are being so mindful of what you are eating!  

 

I made that Ginger Pineapple Pork the other day, and upped the liquid smoke to 1 Tablespoon.  I didn't write down the recipe when I made it the first time, so I just kind of guessed.  I followed the recipe I wrote on here (besides adding more liquid smoke) and it turned out yummy!  I think it would be better with a can of crushed pineapple, though.  When I re-heated some in the oven for lunch yesterday, there was some pieces that got nice and toasted, so good!

I was in the store and saw some tins of sardines, and got a sudden craving for them.  I was looking up things to do with them, and found this recipe for a Simple Sardine Salad.  For some reason the website is down at the moment, but you basically take a tin of sardines in olive oil (drain the juice off), half an avocado, some salt, pepper, and lemon juice, and mash it all together with some grated carrot.  I ate it with sliced cucumber rounds, and it was so surprisingly delicious!  Like oceany guacamole.  If you're not sure if you like sardines or not, this recipe is one to try.  It was super easy and sardines are so nutritious.  I tried it again with sardines packed in olive oil and jalapeños yesterday, and it was awesome!

[katieblue]

I've never had prawns at all, do they taste like shrimp? (I'm picky with shrimp, sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't...)

But the tilefish has been replaced with corvina, which I have also never tried, and am so so very curious about (especially because it's advertised as Jamaican style and I tend to love Jamaican spices!)

It's REALLY excellent to be able to go out to a restaurant where I have a LOT of choices, as opposed to Chipotle where it's like, well, at least I get to pick my salsa... But it's super pricey, so this is definitely not a place that we could afford to go to all the time once this Whole30 is over.

 

Speaking of, ksea!! We made it halfway through!!! Day 16!!! How have you been feeling this time around? I feel like everything is becoming pretty much second-nature to me!

 

Also, I haven't tried salting the zucchini noodles, but I have done it with eggplant and spaghetti squash and it has definitely changed the texture. Thanks for the tip, Miss Chef!

I have actually tried meditation before, my mom is a practicing Shaman and she is really into a lot of new-age methods like that. I find it really challenging unless I have a guide talking me through it, because it's so hard to turn your brain off and make it stop racing! But my chiropractor also suggested this to me, he said even on my lunch break or something, just sit and be quiet and turn off for, like, five minutes. That's actually why I wake up at 5 when I go to the gym even though I don't actually leave the house until 5:45. I give myself about twenty minutes to sit with my cup of coffee and read, because it's the best quiet time I can manage.

I am helped by the fact that I know it's only temporary; I just have to get through getting my degree and then I can have a normal, compartmentalized life where I get to go to work, come home, and then spend my time how I choose, rather than being forced to find all this extra time to do homework, you know?

 

I love the story about your husband's grandparents!! So sweet.

 

Also, I'm making that pork shoulder on either Friday or Saturday this week!! I'm stoked to finally get to try it. Thanks for the update on the liquid smoke!

 I did get the crushed pineapple as per your suggestion! And your idea about the toasting pieces makes me think maybe we should pan-fry it to get it crispy after it's pulled, like we did with the carnitas! What do you usually serve it with as a veggie?

 

Tomorrow we're having the cabbage rolls again, and I'm making it in steps this time (made the mayo and the Russian dressing yesterday, going to boil the cabbage leaves ahead of time today, then cook the roast tomorrow and throw it all together once its' done.) It's way less time consuming this way! Trying to decide if I should cook some carrots and potatoes in the slow cooker with the meat, or just make a side of mashed potatoes (I'm not doing the colcannon this time, too much work and too many high-FODMAP veggies in it!).

And I've never tried sardines, but a Whole Foods just opened about 20 minutes away from our house (!!!!!) and on our way back from date night on Thursday, we stopped in to check it out (you can tell I'm tired since I totally forgot to mention this). And they had sardines, and I ALMOST got them. If Rob hadn't been there, I probably would have, but luckily he was there to keep me from just handing them all of my money. Whole Foods is AMAZING, oh my gosh. And so many things at the food buffet that we could actually eat on Whole30!!!

[Ramonax]

There is a show I love called Broad City (you need a certain sense of infantile humour) and in one episode a character is high on painkillers after surgery. She wanders down the street to the whole foods and shops, gets to the counter and the bill is $1400 or something. It cracked me up cause that is always my experience in whole foods too. You can't help it. so many weirdo delicious things!

 

My conference is done. I did pretty good. I had some pizza today and will feel gross - but was running for plane and it was available. Other than that, it was veggies and meat. I passed up some desserts because I was already full and made the decision that the existence of the dessert wasn't reason to eat it. If I was hungry and it seemed like the best thing ever, then I would have. But it was a table of buffet desserts and was just so so looking and I was full. So while I didn't stay compliant, I did remain mindful. All part of the process. The conference was amazing. Was held in Banff Alberta, which is gorgeous!

[ksea]

Shrimp and prawns are basically the same thing, besides a slight difference in claws and gills.  Some species of both are definitely better than others, and I've always been disappointed by farmed.

It makes sense that a paleo restaurant is kind of spendy, seeing that the plates are devoid of the cheap, filler ingredients like pasta and such.  Meat and veggies drive up the food cost for the restaurant, for sure.  I know we spend more on groceries eating this way, but it's so worth it.

 

I've been feeling amazing this time around, and I agree, it's becoming second nature.  One new NSV for me: we decided to have burgers last night, and my husband suggested we steam a cabbage head slightly and use the leaves as a wrap for them.  They were just pliable enough to wrap around the burger, but still had a little crunch to them.  We topped them with tomato, avocado, caramelized onions and peppers, and blueberry BBQ sauce, with potato salad for a side.  While we were eating, my husband said "who needs buns? These are awesome!"    This coming from a bread addict.  I'm still trying to get him in the habit of eating breakfast, but I hate trying to tell him what to do.  I wouldn't like it if he tried to tell me how to eat, you know?  But he's slowly making small changes like the cabbage though, and it makes me happier than a clam at high tide!

 

Quiet time is so very important, especially for someone as introverted as myself.  Do you know your MBTI personality type?  I just took this test and it confirmed I'm an INTJ type, which was the result on the last test I took a few years back (I took a different test last time, but can't remember which one).  Then I read Quiet by Susan Cain, and it totally changed my outlook.  Now I'm able to embrace the fact that I'm introverted, rather than view it as a disadvantage!

 

I'm glad you are reminding yourself that all this craziness in your life is temporary.  One day you'll look back and remember how dedicated you are right now.  You should be very proud of yourself! 

 

Let me know how the pork turns out!!  I would brown it at the end, for sure!  I served it with this Pad Thai (with no chicken or coconut aminos) and some sautéed yam greens (very similar to spinach).  My husband came home from work late and shoveled it in his mouth cold, and he said the Pad Thai was the best thing he's eaten in a while, and requested more for lunch the next day.  Last time I just served it with baked sweet potato and roasted broccoli and green beans.  Enjoy your cabbage rolls!!  Yum.  I need to find some corned beef and make those.

I'm so jealous of you having a Whole Foods so close!  I would probably give them all my money too, though.

 

Ramonax, good job on not indulging in desserts just because they're there.  It's also nice you were able to enjoy a dessert the other night and not awaken your sugar dragon.  Hope the pizza doesn't treat you too horribly.  Sounds like you had a good trip, have a safe journey home!

[katieblue]

Ramonax, I seriously get how that $1400 bill would be possible at Whole Foods!! I stopped there again yesterday on my way back from dinner because I wanted to get a bottle of Tessemae's, just so I could finally try it, and I took a box full of a few scoops of different things from the prepped sides bar because I was so excited that a lot of them were compliant. And it cost me $30 for one bottle of dressing and a couple of sides. I mean, I know prepared side dishes can get pricey anywhere, but I was like "Gah!"

I'm SO impressed with your ability to stay mindful through all the temptations and stress that the conference brought you!! You did it!! Passing up on desserts is so tough, but it sounds like it wasn't that bad at all for you! And I'm glad you had such a good time in a beautiful place! What's the verdict, does your little guy remember you?

 

Ksea, so glad you're feeling so good - and congrats on the NSV with your hubby!! My boyfriend still prefers his bread to lettuce wrapping anything, but I've decided I'm not buying any more of it and if he wants it he can go get it, after this round runs out. I think cabbage/lettuce wraps are fabulous - I had tacos in romaine lettuce leaves at Cave last night and I didn't miss corn tortillas AT ALL. And you just feel so much better! It's awesome that he's getting on board with the ideas.

Did you already share the recipe for the blueberry BBQ sauce? If not, would you mind? Blueberries are my favorite fruit and I've had a sugar-coma-worthy blueberry BBQ sauce just once at a restaurant, it would be fantastic to be able to have one that doesn't give me a headache now! Lol.

 

Also, so funny that you mention the personality types - I actually took a whole class dedicated to the Meyers-Briggs/Kiersey temperament types, and wrote my senior thesis on Communication Challenges between Introverts and Extroverts in romantic relationships! AND I'm an INTJ, too - which is great because we're supposed to be super rare, yet I seem to meet a lot of us... maybe we just attract each other! But it has definitely changed my life, too, to understand what it means to be an introvert and how important it is to make sure we get that alone time. We still rock, just in a more quiet way.

 

The pad thai looks amaaaazing! I was thinking of maybe putting it on sweet potato "buns", but now I'm wondering if I should try my hand at that cold sweet potato salad...

If you can't find corned beef, you can always make your own out of a brisket and some spices! I could give you the spice mix recipe that I used, if you want it. It was super easy, and Rob said it turned out just like regular corned beef.

[Ramonax]

Weird - I'm an INTJ too and I want to try cabbage leaves as wraps.

[ksea]

Ramonax and katieblue - That's so funny you two are INTJs too, I find this stuff fascinating!

 

katie, your senior thesis sounds interesting!  I'm pretty sure my husband is an ENFP, although I haven't gotten him to take any tests yet.  People would ask us how a husband and wife can spend all day working together in the net loft, and fish together, without being at each other's throats!  There's definitely some communication challenges at times, but I think we both appreciate how we bring different things to the table because we're so different.  I'm curious to see what type our son grows up to be!  I'd love to take a class all about this stuff.  For a myriad of reasons, I didn't continue on to college after high school.  I just took a 10 month culinary arts course, and while I love where I'm at now, sometimes part of me wishes I went to "real" school.  I really respect what you're doing!

 

Here's the recipe for Blueberry BBQ sauce I used.  I added extra vinegar, spices (I think I upped the chili powder, and added ginger, paprika, clove and cinnamon), and added date paste and liquid smoke.  I followed the recipe as written, then just added those things until it was tangy/sweet enough for me.  I'd love your spice blend for the brisket!

 

Last night I made this Carrot Cardamom Soup.  I added extra ginger, turmeric paste for some curcumin goodness, and hit it with some lemon juice at the end.  It was simple to put together and turned out delicious!  My husband added some quinoa and beets to his bowl, because he doesn't like pureed soups, but I love the silky texture!  

Tonight we went to my parents house for dinner, and I made some crescent rolls and a german chocolate cake to bring (they were requested).  My dad made a turkey dinner spread, just like thanksgiving!  All that was compliant was turkey.  I figured there would be roasted veggies or something, since my dad was asking all sorts of questions this morning about what I was eating.  When we were dishing up he was like "there's just a little milk in the mashed potatoes"  and "just a little flour in the gravy".  I think he felt kind of bad I didn't eat anything but turkey, he said he didn't even think about how he could have left a sweet potato aside for me.  I wasn't worried about it, and while it all looked good (stuffing was always my favorite!) I didn't feel like I was depriving myself of anything.  Especially when I think about how crappy I would feel after a dinner like that where I would go back for seconds and thirds.  

I had some green beans and sweet potato when we got home, which wasn't too incredibly long after we ate since baby was super tired and was ready to crash.  I can feel some teeth bumps on his middle bottom gums!  I think it's been bugging him a little because he's been taking extremely short naps during the day, and wants to gnaw on stuff when he wakes up.

[Ramonax]

ksea - Culinary Arts School! That is something I would love to do. You obviously have a passion for cooking and add that to the skill/technique I'm sure you learn at school and no wonder everyone of your posts makes us all want to live with you! 

 

So I fell off the wagon. OMG. I ate that stupid pizza on Saturday and it wasn't that good and I didn't sleep and woke up bloated and gross. I had another day of travel and not a to of food options - so I had toast with eggs at the airport, then came home and my husband had made bread and there were no groceries. So I had bread for lunch (it was good) and then a piece of chocolate and then popcorn last night. I kept saying "I'll get back on track tomorrow". Which I will - but it is that thinking that that always trips me up. 

 

And my son remembered me and he was happy to see me and gave me a big hug. phew. 

[katieblue]

Ohmygosh, Ramonax, you too?! That's too funny! Do you know what your husband is?

Now I'm honestly analyzing in my head if there might be a connection between these personality/temperament types and people who do Whole 30's. I could totally see how introverts and thinkers would be more likely to discover/engage in it because we're so introspective. I want to do another study!! Haha.

 

The thesis was a LOT of work but it was really interesting. I identified a few potential areas of challenges between the two based on their needs, and then interviewed a lot of E/I couples to see if I was right. Turned out that most of the issues came when the extrovert was too overwhelming and the introvert just shut down and didn't want to talk to them, and communication fell apart. Or the extrovert wanted to keep going, going, going and doing things and the introvert needed to sit and be quiet and stay home. But overall, most couples had learned how to make it work just fine! It's great that you and yours can get along so well. Mine is an introvert, too (I think he's an ISFP) so we're good there, but sometimes, being a 'feeler', he drives me up a wall with wanting to be mushy and romantic when I'm like, 'hello, I'm working here, cuddling is not an efficient use of our time!'

You don't have to go to college to take a class on it! They offer workshops online and things, you'd just need to make sure you found one that was from an authority.

Also, I'm with Ramonax -- the culinary school explains a lot! Lol! I'm actually kind of jealous; I loathe college, but I have to do it to be a librarian.

 

Thanks for the BBQ sauce recipe!! It looks to die for; I may have to make ribs again just so I can use it! Or maybe on some pulled chicken.

The brisket was very simple, just put 3-4lbs in the crock pot with 1 1/2 - 2 cups of water and beef broth, respectively. Then I add 2 tablespoons pickling spice, 1 teaspoon allspice, 1 teaspoon ground mustard, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Cook it on low for 8 hours (ish, depending on your crock pot) until it's tender. I also added potatoes and carrots this round when there were 3 hours of cooking left, and they came out deliciously salty and spiced! Then you just chop it up and add it to the rolls!

 

Kudos to you for resisting the Thanskgiving spread, oh my dear, that is my favorite meal of all time (I requested that we have a Friendsgiving for my birthday this year - AND that's why I went so nutty on Easter with overeating) and so easy to make compliant if you're careful. But so hard to resist if it's not!! It's so great to hear though that you could stay so mindful of the potential consequences if you ate any of that food.

Teeth!! How exciting! Haha. How old is your little one?

 

Ramonax, it's crazy how it seems to have a domino effect like that! You keep saying you'll get back on next time, but until you make next time THIS time, it's so easy to just keep pushing it off. But I know you're on it. And so glad your son was so happy to see you!!

[jen c]

Hi Ladies,

 

I've not been here in a while.  That wheat really knocked me down for a few days and then I followed that with a Cub Scout campout Friday night, in which I learned there are train tracks just 1/2 mile south of the camp.  Seven trains went by during the night.        So . . . no sleep that night.  Feeling pretty well recovered from everything now though.

 

I completely enjoyed my Olive Garden dinner:  sirloin steak, mashed potatoes, and broccoli.  There was a little dairy involved, but otherwise was compliant.  I'm finally eating non-compliant foods without the guilt that the first couple of weeks brought.  My son asked if I was sad that I couldn't eat a bread stick.   Yes, I was a little sad because I knew it would taste so good for a few minutes.  But I would be really sad at feeling lousy for the next 3 days.  From a psychological standpoint, it's interesting to observe my kids' response to my new wheat restriction.  They've had food restrictions their whole lives, but now they're learning what it's like to be able to eat what someone else can't.  Quite a role reversal and we'll all learn more about compassion and understanding as we continue to adjust. 

 

I have a whole stack of cookbooks on the counter that I'm going to donate to the library.  With dairy, egg, sesame, nuts, peanuts, and now wheat to avoid, any regular cookbook is going to have very few recipes to make without a lot of substitutions.  It just doesn't seem worth it to have them taking up shelf space now.  I'm feeling overwhelmed at taking on another food restriction.  With the boys' allergies, there are always phases of increased stress and settling into adjustments, and that's how this will be too.  It's just another up and down on the same roller coaster ride.  I'll settle into it, but the stress of the newness is pretty high at the moment. 

 

Glad I'm in such good personality company here!  I'm an INTJ too and so is my husband.  It works perfectly for us to be the same type because we approach and process decisions so similarly.  We rarely differ in opinion but when we do, there's a strong respect and understanding for the process each has gone through to reach a conclusion.  We don't do high drama, both crave the quiet space of home, and our kids are very much like us.  ksea, it will be interesting to see what your baby's personality tends to be like.  I'll have to look for the Quiet book you mentioned.  I've not read that one yet.  Dr. Elaine Aron's books about high sensitivity were life-changing for us.  High sensitivity can be interesting to look at with each of the personality profiles too, but it's much more common in introverts than extroverts.  I think katie is right that something like Whole 30 would appeal to INTJs due to the analytical nature of it.  I believe that online forums and blogs are also appealing to INTJs because we can interact on our own terms and comfort level, coming and going as we please.  I hope that doesn't sound snobbish or high-headed, but given that you all are INTJs too, I think you'll understand what I mean.