January '08 GRAIN-FREE Traditional Food diets thread - Page 3

[JustKiya]

Originally Posted by LionTigerBear

Happy 2008, everyone!



Here's the new thread . . .

Why don't we start with quick refresher intros?

P.S. Here's the original thread.

Hiya, I'm Kiya, and no, it's doesn't rhyme. Married for almost four years, TTC #1 for a little under a year, slowly weaning off of the SAD diet. Was on Atkins years ago, had great sucess, but stalled out - partially frustrastion that even with additional exercise, I couldn't lose any more weight - no matter how strict my eating was, and having a DH who could eat 50-100 carbs a day and drop 2 pounds in a week did NOT help.
Have been reading about TF for a while, and I want to be healthy not only for me, but also so that I can give our babes the best start in life possible.
I'm going grainfree & sugarfree - including fruit & honey for the first month or two....and I'm using as many TF items as possible - but I'm REALLY new to things....

Originally Posted by erin a

A question for you all - when you are invited over to someone's house for a meal do you tell them you're grain free or do you just eat it and deal with the consequences after? I'm finding it difficult to know what to say. When I was veg and told people it was generally accepted (you know most people think that being veg is a great thing for health and environment) but what do I say now - that I don't eat grains or pasteurized dairy or your gross hormone-infested 'meat'? Don't think that'll go over too well kwim?

I pick and choose. Usually, it's pretty easy to avoid the grains, it's the sugar thats a killer.....

Originally Posted by barose

Question for all: how does your DH/SO eat? Does he/she eat the same meals you do, or is it a divided household when it comes to food?

Thankfully, DH and I are mostly on the same page. He's not really interested in going strictly grainfree (he 'needs' his sandwiches), but that's an easy addition to a meal. I'm going to try to make coconut flour bread that we can turn into breadcrumbs for other things, like meatloaf and fishcakes.

Originally Posted by LionTigerBear

Oh, Periwinkle-- I meant to mention that my full-fat dairy-free smoothie can be made the night before and put in the fridge. when you take it out in the morning, it has a yummy, thick, creamy custardy texture. Mmmmmm . . . .

Full-fat smoothie:

3 egg yolks, raw, no white
about an ounce of mangosteen juice
about 4 tablespoons of coconut oil
a heaping tablespoon of softened butter
2 bananas
cinnamon to taste
a dash of salt

no sweetener needed! ETA: amounts are approximate, tweak to fit your needs and preferences.

If you can tolerate nuts or berries this smoothie is simply divine with either some frozen blueberries or blackberries or cashews ground in . . . But I just eat it plain, like above.

Oooh, that sounds FABULOUS!! Breakfast is always the meal I struggle with - I simply cannot DO solid food in the morning, and the rare mornings that I wake up hungry, it can't be greasy/fatty at all....

Originally Posted by Periwinkle

My must-have list:

* Small crunchy (usually local) apples, kept in a big bag in the fridge
* A jar of soaked, raw almonds and walnuts
* Mini-sized (4 oz.) cups of cottage cheese
* Cheese sticks (those individually-wrapped mozzarella sticks)
* Hard-boiled eggs
* Some sort of sandwich salad, such as wild salmon, egg salad, chicken salad
* Mini carrots or carrot sticks, and assorted color bell pepper strips (already washed and cut), plus a sugar-free & NT-friendly dip (usually hummus or tzutziki (sp?; a Greek yogurt dip made by Fage))

If it were just me and dh, we might go with a larger container of cottage cheese, a big block of cheddar cheese (i.e., as opposed to cheese sticks), or not worry about cutting the veggies into strips ahead of time... but my kids are allowed to get their own snacks and so the smaller-sized portions are really key for their use and also, to be honest, our convenience.

Can't wait to hear what others keep around!

Yum!!! That sounds great! Peanut butter isn't NT, is it? DH and I like to snack on Cashew or Peanut butter on celery, and once fresh fruit is around again, I'm going to start drying fruit for snacks as well...

[Periwinkle]

Originally Posted by cristeen

I will probably be eating this way for life... with occasional grain treats.

: Same here.

But I do know that ANY grain I eat will HAVE to be TF/NT grains (such as real whole grain sourdoughs, sprouted whole wheat bread such as Ezekial, soaked steel cut oatmeal, etc.). I tolerate traditionally-prepared grains in small amounts very well and expect that I will continue to eat a serving or two every several days.

[barose]

Progress

For the first time in about a year and a half, my cycle was 33 days long! I have not been charting (frustrating to do so when your cycles are 60 days long) so I didn’t expect to see AF anytime before February. I guess I’m doing something right!

cristeen - Thanks for the tips. He does make great salads, steam his own veggies and so forth so I can get him to help a little bit more, even if its just for himself. There are things I can do for the both of us; sometimes I just end up adding butter, etc to my plate anyway.

[crunchy_mama]

Originally Posted by Periwinkle

My must-have list:

* Small crunchy (usually local) apples, kept in a big bag in the fridge
* A jar of soaked, raw almonds and walnuts
* Mini-sized (4 oz.) cups of cottage cheese
* Cheese sticks (those individually-wrapped mozzarella sticks)
* Hard-boiled eggs
* Some sort of sandwich salad, such as wild salmon, egg salad, chicken salad
* Mini carrots or carrot sticks, and assorted color bell pepper strips (already washed and cut), plus a sugar-free & NT-friendly dip (usually hummus or tzutziki (sp?; a Greek yogurt dip made by Fage))

If it were just me and dh, we might go with a larger container of cottage cheese, a big block of cheddar cheese (i.e., as opposed to cheese sticks), or not worry about cutting the veggies into strips ahead of time... but my kids are allowed to get their own snacks and so the smaller-sized portions are really key for their use and also, to be honest, our convenience.

Can't wait to hear what others keep around!

thanks for the list. dh does do nuts and loves cheese. I haven't been buying cheese as luke and I don't eat it. However, that would be a much better option than a lot of things he is eating. The thing is he like so many americans are accustomed to the feeling of fullness that grains gives you- so he has a hard time feeling full with other things. I just need to make more of my supper dishes so he has leftovers. The other problem with that though is the cost of good meat as he doesn't eat a lot of the veggies. Hopefully he will harvest another deer so we have some more venison.

[crunchy_mama]

Originally Posted by Shazer

I generally pick through the available food and eat what I can. I'll eat meat for certain and veggies if they are plain, but otherwise I don't sacrifice my good health to make the hostess feel OK. For instance, for Christmas Eve dinner, we went to DH's grandmother's house and she had quite a spread: ham, roast turkey, melon salad, some raw veggies, and then oodles of desserts. She "made specially for me" some boxed frozen veggies with a cheesy sauce. I took one look and said, "I'm sorry Grandma, but I can't eat those. I can't have dairy or wheat." With her, I've explained my diet many times. Although she was slightly annoyed, she dropped it and I ate turkey and melon and some raw veggies.

this is generally what I do. eat what I can, plain veggies and meat. I try not to make a big deal about things- they probably just think I am dieting.

[crunchy_mama]

Originally Posted by LionTigerBear

Who is eating this way for life, and who is eating this way for now until they feel healed? Or something else? I am expecting to eat this way (more or less) for the next couple of years, and then add in healthy starches, and some small amounts of properly prepared grains and healthier sweets in moderation. We'll see what happens.

I expect that we will be switching to df/gf for life. I see it as a process. I am getting better at avoiding. But I am still weak. Our eating has changed so much it is hard to see where we were before. I am going through a bit of a mourning though. I think if I want to look at the facts we do not need these foods in our diet period. If they are harmful in a large scale there is likely to be small damages continually occuring with the little amounts still in the diet. I don't know if I am fully ready to admit this. I think we need to get some tests done . However, I know from symptoms that these foods don't make me feel good. I was bloated up HUGE yesterday- like 4 mo pregnant. Before I always attributed it to wheat or gluten- however yesterday this was after having cheese for the first time in a many, many months. I had been off it for my baby but some little amounts I had hadn't seemed to affect her- I thought perhaps she had outgrown this- so I tried cheese- guess I was wrong.

[kallyn]

Originally Posted by LionTigerBear

That brings me to another question: Who is eating this way for life, and who is eating this way for now until they feel healed? Or something else?

I plan to eat this way for life. No question. I think that so many chronic diseases are either caused or exacerbated by eating these relatively new foodstuffs that it just doesn't make sense to eat them if I have a choice in the matter.

Originally Posted by cristeen

Egg Custards - per 1 c custard:
2 eggs
1/2 c milk/coconut milk
2 Tbs honey
fruit/nuts/extract/spice

Thanks for that custard recipe!! It looks great. I'm always looking for ways to get some eggs into DH (he absolutely can't stand eating them plain, he would rather starve).

[barose]

Originally Posted by LionTigerBear

That brings me to another question: Who is eating this way for life, and who is eating this way for now until they feel healed? Or something else? I am expecting to eat this way (more or less) for the next couple of years, and then add in healthy starches, and some small amounts of properly prepared grains and healthier sweets in moderation. We'll see what happens.

This is for life. With PCOS, hypothyroid, GI issues and food intolerances, I don’t see myself going back to the way it was eating. I don’t see the point in getting better sabotaging myself. Those foods (even in moderations) is largely what got me into this mess in the first place.

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by crunchy_mama

The thing is he like so many americans are accustomed to the feeling of fullness that grains gives you- so he has a hard time feeling full with other things.

The two things that really helped my DH with this... more fruits/veggies and more fat. My DH's lunch (today) is: meatloaf (beef and pork) and mashed cauliflower (with cream cheese), high fat yogurt with cherries, an apple, a mandarin, a banana, carrots, piece of cheddar. If I put blue cheese dip in for his carrots, then at least 1 piece of fruit comes home uneaten. He also has nuts in his bag to snack on if it's not enough food. As far as actual MEAT is concerned, he only gets a small amount at lunch and a larger portion at dinner. He would happily eat a meal of nothing but meat, but I always make sure to give him a generous serving of veggies, since he'll eat what I put on his plate before asking for more. Since I started giving him more veggies (with fat on them), he actually has started asking for seconds of meat less often.

[JaneSmith1010]

It is a little hard to feel full sometimes, if you're not big into making nut dishes. I also support adding more fats if this is an issue. Nut butters, cheeses, full fat yogurts, meat fats and even cod liver oil supplements help.

I have not been checking in regularly and so have missed alot of new posters' stories. Hi people!

Well, I have been on SCD for about a month now and my usually very broken out skin has cleared up. Yay! I am not as oily as usual and not tired all the time either. No stomach problems to speak of anymore, however I have gone from 121lbs to 127lbs. Not a huge jump and still a healthy weight for me at 5'7" though. I'm running out of meal plans and DH and I have been eating seperately b/c of this, he doesn't know exactly what I can have anymore.
More recipes to be posted would be great.

Oh and any of you who have children with behavioral disorders or autism that have tried these diets please share. I have a friend with family issues like this and I let her borrow my diet book.

[cristeen]

Ok, Kallyn... here ya go. Just FYI, this is the recipe with my changes. I've made this probably a dozen times, slightly different each time, and it's always fabulous. I've added fresh feta to the meat mixture with great success.

This supposedly serves 6-8, but it usually is more like 10 meals for us (served with a green salad).

Pumpkin Moussaka
2 butternut squashes
3 Tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1/3 cup raw pine nuts
1 1/2 pounds ground red meat (beef, lamb or buffalo are all great)
1 1/2 Tbs tomato paste
1/4 c water or stock
1 large tomato, chopped
1/4 c chopped dried apricots
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbs finely chopped fresh parsley
salt & pepper to taste

5 Tbs butter
2 c milk
2 Tbs starch (I've used flour, oat flour, potato starch, whatever you're comfortable with)

1/4 c grated white cheese (I use an Italian or Greek 4-cheese blend, but plain parmesan or romano would also work)

Preheat oven to 325F. Cut the squashes in half and clean the seeds out. Place them cut side down on a greased baking sheet and bake until tender, about 60-75 minutes.

When the pumpkins are cool enough to handle, peel off the shells and cut into 1/4 inch slices. Place a single layer of squash (slightly overlapping) in the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish (I never grease my pyrex dish, but if yours is metal you probably should). Sprinkle with salt and 3 Tbs butter.

Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and pine nuts and saute, stirring until the onion is soft but no browned, about 8 minutes. Add the meat and brown, breaking up the meat with a fork. drain off most of the excess fat.

Dilute the tomato paste in the water, and add to the meat mixture with the tomato and apricots. Cook until the apricots have softened, 8 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the spices, parsley, salt and pepper to taste (be generous).

Preheat the oven to 325. Place the meat in an even layer over the squash in the casserole dish. Arrange the rest of the squash on top of the meat (I usually have a little squash left over). Bake for 30 minutes.

While the moussaka is baking, prepare the sauce. Melt the remaining 2 Tbs butter over low heat. Add the starch and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Add the milk, whisking vigorously until the mixture is smooth. Add sal and pepper to taste and simmer, stirring until thick, about 10 minutes.

Remove the moussaka from the oven. Increase temp to 375. Pour the sauce over the moussaka and sprinkle with cheese. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 15 minutes more. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

[kallyn]

Wow! That looks fantastic!! Thanks so much for typing it all up, I will definitely be printing this out and putting it in my recipe collection. :

[crunchy_mama]

you ladies have been an awesome help today, you don't know how I have been so depressed and struggling. - I won't even tell you the foods I have been eating the past week.

The tips for dh are something to get my wheels turning. He does love yogurt, but so far only that is very sugary and flavored from the store. I need to just discuss them with this and make sure he is on board and I am not forcing him. Of course him eating his lunch and supper meals gf would be a great start for him. I have such a hard time with him for breakfast as he doesn't like traditional breakfast fare- hates eggs, oats, smoothies, does like rice though which is better.

re: meal planning

I was thinking about signing up for krankedyann's menu mailer as it is gluten free/dairy free. Although it does have grains just not gluten containing ones. From the sample menu it seems that they are not a major part of the menu. This would be a huge relief for me just to not have to think about things. If anyone else knows of menu planners that take this into account I am all ears.

re: behavioral issues. My 3 y.o. doesn't have any diagnosed issues, however I can tell a huge issue with behavior when he consumes dairy- I think gluten is causing issues as well, but I haven't pinpointed that one- trying to get that figured out.

[crunchy_mama]

cristeen- that recipe sounds fabulous I am wondering could nut milks or coconut milk be substituted in the recipe?

[Panserbjorne]

My oldest two were diagnosed on the autism spectrum. The SCD got them "officially" taken off. It was a huge change even in the first month.

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by crunchy_mama

The tips for dh are something to get my wheels turning. He does love yogurt, but so far only that is very sugary and flavored from the store.

My DH was a huge sweetened yogurt fan when I met him. What I do now is I take a 1 c tupperware dish, put a handful of frozen fruit on the bottom, drizzle with honey, top with my homemade full-fat yogurt. By lunchtime, the fruit has defrosted and it's a "Fruit on the bottom" kind of thing, a quick stir and it's ready to eat.

Originally Posted by crunchy_mama

cristeen- that recipe sounds fabulous I am wondering could nut milks or coconut milk be substituted in the recipe?

Absolutely! You're just making a white sauce, so any milk sub would work.

[jamie79]

Just wondering what you all think of nut milks? I cannot have dairy(at this point) and have been using either coconut milk or almond milk or hemp milk (once) in my smoothies.

Also, how do I up the protein (if needed) in a smoothie when I cannot have eggs, either :? I am not sure if it is protein or fat that I need more of. I generally use coconut oil, some type of nut milk, some fresh green juice, raw honey, and half a banana. Unless I am forgetting something, that is it. What do you think?

Jamie

[Chicharronita]

What an interesting thread! And very timely for me. I just had a bunch of relatives and friends staying for the holidays, and couldn't believe how many start their breakfast with packaged cereal and/or or bread! UGH. The ones who are the biggest grain devotees are (not) surprisingly overweight, but it seems to go hand-in-hand with drinking/eating low-fat dairy products, and other nutritionally-void foods. One was proud of their "healthy" bread, which came in a nice bag featuring an old-fashioned oven, but the second ingredient was sugar.

It was hard for me to not say anything, but in the spirit of the season I let a lot go. I actually did indulge in some non-WAP goodies, but I think because I make protein and fat the mainstay of every meal, it didn't affect my waistline much.

[Shazer]

Originally Posted by LionTigerBear

That brings me to another question: Who is eating this way for life, and who is eating this way for now until they feel healed? Or something else?

I have to do this as a way of life, otherwise I know I could get a return of the PCOS symptoms I eliminated. Also, terrible diseases run in my family and I know if I stray too much that I could be plagued with heart disease, colon cancer, or diabetes. I'm sure I'll allow myself the occasional treat, but not while I'm breastfeeding since DD is hyper-sensitive to everything.


Question for all: how does your DH/SO eat? Does he/she eat the same meals you do, or is it a divided household when it comes to food?

DH has tried Atkins, but never the right way and he has only had marginal success. He has gout flare-ups which make him quit any diet he's tried. I think he is finally to the point of trying to eat better. I've been telling him to cut out the gallons of Diet Coke he drinks as a start. I make food for him, but since he doesn't like my plain and simple food, I usually make something out of a box because those are his favorite foods. Maybe someday he'll do better.

[Shazer]

Originally Posted by barose

Progress

For the first time in about a year and a half, my cycle was 33 days long! I have not been charting (frustrating to do so when your cycles are 60 days long) so I didn’t expect to see AF anytime before February. I guess I’m doing something right!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!