Today is my first day that I had no grains at all.
I'm still stumped on what to eat for breakfast. I'm not one to eat leftovers of dinner the night before. I'm not sure about eggs for me, so I'm not eating them. Friday, I ate some organic blueberries and didn't run to the bathroom afterwards, but I'm pretty sure I didn't digest the skins. So far, I don't eat breakfast.
For lunch, I eat plain turkey meat. We bake a turkey breast and slice it and freeze it into individual servings. Am I allowed to use salt? One site I read said no salt. I can't imagine this turkey without salt, it's already pretty bland.
Snack, a good sized spoonful of almond butter I ate slowly with the spoon.
For dinner, I had salmon (with 2 Histame capsules beforehand) and boiled carrots. I felt like I was eating in a 5 Star restaurant. So far, so good, no problems 4 1/2 hours later.
I'm really trying to give this a go. Other than carrots, I'm not sure what other vegetable to try. Tomorrow we're making a simple beef stew with carrots, celery, and bok choy in the crockpot. All low histamine and low on the FODMAP scale, too.
I miss crunching while eating. No chips and I'm not ready for whole nuts yet. But I am on my way into this new adventure.
Giving Paleo A Try
Moderators: Rosie, JFR, Dee, xet, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh, mbeezie
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TooManyHats
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Giving Paleo A Try
Arlene
Progress, not perfection.
Progress, not perfection.
good luck Arlene with your paleo experiment, I hope it will work out. In my alternated version of Paleo, breakfast is the only non-paleo mail, I tried with 100% fruit, fruit with sunflower seeds and nuts. But without success. It's not a MC reaction, that it encourages the inflammation. My gut just can't digest these food items (yet). That is still what I find the biggest problem with the paleo diet, the food is good and diet is okay, as long as you can digest all kind of fruits/vegetables, nuts and seeds.
According to Loren Cordain's vision on Paleo diet, you are not allowed to add salt to your food.
According to Loren Cordain's vision on Paleo diet, you are not allowed to add salt to your food.
"As the sense of identity shifts from the imaginary person to your real being as presence awareness, the life of suffering dissolves like mist before the rising sun"
Well, I'd never get too far without being able to add some salt. I do use unrefined salt. At least that still has all the minerals in it that they remove during processing so I feel that unrefined salt is healthy. Maybe I'm all wet about that.
Love, Shirley
Love, Shirley
When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber"
-- Winston Churchill
-- Winston Churchill
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TooManyHats
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Arlene,
Good news about the Histame and salmon!
I'm not a purist and do use sea salt (and pepper too). Unless you have another health problem where salt would be problematic, I say go for it!
Breakfast is a little tricky to figure out. Mainly because we are used to high carb or high fat ones. Actually, paleo people likely ate a piece of meat/fish along with some fruit for breakfast (according to Cordain) and this is a far healthier way to start the day than our traditional American breakfasts. Believe it or not, it is not too difficult to make this transition. Whenever I bake/grill meat or chicken, I make extra portions to freeze for breakfasts. Or I make up some patties from ground chicken or turkey to freeze. Gloria makes "turkey sausage" this way. You can experiment with spices like sage/parsley to get good flavor. I also like a salmon patty for breakfast. A little maple syrup or honey on top of the "sausage" tastes great.
How about a baked sweet potato ? They nuke easily in the microwave. (They are allowed on paleo but not white potatoes). You can mash it and mix in some pineapple, raisins, apple pie spice, etc. For breakfast or a snack, you can slit a date and slip in a walnut or pecan. Yummy!
Have you tried any other root veggies? (Besides sweet potatoes.... rutabagas, parsnips, carrots, turnips). You can cut them up, drizzle EVOO over them and roast them in the oven. You can make a filling soup using root veggies cooked in chicken broth (about 2 lbs. of veggies to 6 cups of broth) and then blending it. Of course, if you start the soup by sauteeing onions and garlic in EVOO, it is even better. It is creamy and delicious! Soups are great for breakfast......especially hearty soups with lots of cabbage in them.
Smoothies are great for breakfast. I usually use 1/2 banana, a generous handful of berries and a tiny bit chilled juice, like all-natural apple juice. Any fruit (incl. canned) can be used instead of the berries. You can add some ice if you like. You don't need any "milk" to taste creamy - the blender does the job. BTW, I bought a Magic Bullet on sale at Macy's for $39.95 as per Mary Beth's recommendation. It is perfect for making individual smoothies (and grinding nuts into butter, too). BTW, have your ever had a frozen banana? Tex introduced me to them. You cut it into pieces and freeze them. Defrost until less hard and then enjoy it as pieces or mash it and add raisins, nuts, etc. It's like a sinful dessert! And tastes great for breakfast on a hot morning. Apple slices dipped into a seed or nut butter is yummy for breakfast.
I hope these ideas help. Cordain has a new book out "The Paleo Diet Cookbook". It is pretty straightforward, i.e. nothing too new or exciting. You might want to check it in the library first to see if you want to buy it.
Good luck, fellow cavedweller. And welcome to the cave!
Love,
Polly
Good news about the Histame and salmon!
I'm not a purist and do use sea salt (and pepper too). Unless you have another health problem where salt would be problematic, I say go for it!
Breakfast is a little tricky to figure out. Mainly because we are used to high carb or high fat ones. Actually, paleo people likely ate a piece of meat/fish along with some fruit for breakfast (according to Cordain) and this is a far healthier way to start the day than our traditional American breakfasts. Believe it or not, it is not too difficult to make this transition. Whenever I bake/grill meat or chicken, I make extra portions to freeze for breakfasts. Or I make up some patties from ground chicken or turkey to freeze. Gloria makes "turkey sausage" this way. You can experiment with spices like sage/parsley to get good flavor. I also like a salmon patty for breakfast. A little maple syrup or honey on top of the "sausage" tastes great.
How about a baked sweet potato ? They nuke easily in the microwave. (They are allowed on paleo but not white potatoes). You can mash it and mix in some pineapple, raisins, apple pie spice, etc. For breakfast or a snack, you can slit a date and slip in a walnut or pecan. Yummy!
Have you tried any other root veggies? (Besides sweet potatoes.... rutabagas, parsnips, carrots, turnips). You can cut them up, drizzle EVOO over them and roast them in the oven. You can make a filling soup using root veggies cooked in chicken broth (about 2 lbs. of veggies to 6 cups of broth) and then blending it. Of course, if you start the soup by sauteeing onions and garlic in EVOO, it is even better. It is creamy and delicious! Soups are great for breakfast......especially hearty soups with lots of cabbage in them.
Smoothies are great for breakfast. I usually use 1/2 banana, a generous handful of berries and a tiny bit chilled juice, like all-natural apple juice. Any fruit (incl. canned) can be used instead of the berries. You can add some ice if you like. You don't need any "milk" to taste creamy - the blender does the job. BTW, I bought a Magic Bullet on sale at Macy's for $39.95 as per Mary Beth's recommendation. It is perfect for making individual smoothies (and grinding nuts into butter, too). BTW, have your ever had a frozen banana? Tex introduced me to them. You cut it into pieces and freeze them. Defrost until less hard and then enjoy it as pieces or mash it and add raisins, nuts, etc. It's like a sinful dessert! And tastes great for breakfast on a hot morning. Apple slices dipped into a seed or nut butter is yummy for breakfast.
I hope these ideas help. Cordain has a new book out "The Paleo Diet Cookbook". It is pretty straightforward, i.e. nothing too new or exciting. You might want to check it in the library first to see if you want to buy it.
Good luck, fellow cavedweller. And welcome to the cave!
Love,
Polly
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.
Glad to read that you didn't react to the fish, Arlene. I hope the Paleo diet does the trick for you. You've been working pretty hard to get things under control.
Perhaps once you have a few days of a calm gut you can test eggs. It's pretty difficult to test anything until you have some good days.
Gloria
Perhaps once you have a few days of a calm gut you can test eggs. It's pretty difficult to test anything until you have some good days.
Gloria
You never know what you can do until you have to do it.
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TooManyHats
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Thank you, Polly! I thought sweet potatoes were a no-no! I LOVE sweet potatoes! I don't know why I thought this, probably just newbie-itis. I could definitely think of something with sweet potato for breakfast.
I have multiple issues to deal with (or I think I do, so far). I know for a fact that I can't digest high fructose corn syrup. I figured that out 15 years ago when I was having issues with terrible long term diarrhea and was told by the GI I was seeing at the time to stop drinking soda (pop for you mid-western people LOL). As soon as I stopped drinking soda, the diarrhea went away (it does make me think that I've been dealing with MC for a much longer time than I previously thought). So I've been picking fruits low on the FODMAP list, but also have to watch fruits that are high in histamine (bananas). It limits my choices. Blueberries and cantaloupe are 2 fruits that I think I can have. I hope Mary Beth corrects me if I'm wrong here.
From your lips to God's ears, Gloria. Being able to eat eggs would really make things easier, but I'd probably have to use the Histame with them.
BTW, Norman made an appearance at my house this morning.
I have multiple issues to deal with (or I think I do, so far). I know for a fact that I can't digest high fructose corn syrup. I figured that out 15 years ago when I was having issues with terrible long term diarrhea and was told by the GI I was seeing at the time to stop drinking soda (pop for you mid-western people LOL). As soon as I stopped drinking soda, the diarrhea went away (it does make me think that I've been dealing with MC for a much longer time than I previously thought). So I've been picking fruits low on the FODMAP list, but also have to watch fruits that are high in histamine (bananas). It limits my choices. Blueberries and cantaloupe are 2 fruits that I think I can have. I hope Mary Beth corrects me if I'm wrong here.
From your lips to God's ears, Gloria. Being able to eat eggs would really make things easier, but I'd probably have to use the Histame with them.
BTW, Norman made an appearance at my house this morning.
Arlene
Progress, not perfection.
Progress, not perfection.
Arlene,
Congrats on the Norman!
The fact is, salt is essential to our survival. The ingredients of salt, sodium and chloride, (together with potassium), are mineral electrolytes, and they combine with water to help distribute nutrients to the cells of our body. Because electrolytes have electrical charges, they can move easily back and forth through our cell membranes, and this enables them to carry other nutrients into the cells with them, and as they move out, they carry out waste products, and excess water. Electrolytes also regulate our blood pressure and our heartbeat rate. Obviously, since the ingredients in salt are essential to our very survival, salt has always been a part of the human diet. Why on earth, would anyone try to claim that salt was not a part of the paleo diet?
The fact of the matter is, the natural world contains numerous salt licks that have been frequented by indigenous animals ever since they first began to roam the surface of the earth. It is not only naive, but downright stupid to assume that human ancestors did not also visit those salt licks, for their needs. (And let there be no doubt about it, when you're out there chasing down prey species on the African plain, in the blazing sun, on a hot summer day, you absolutely have to have salt, to replace what is lost in perspiration, if you don't want to wind up with a heat stroke. Trust me, our paleo ancestors not only visited salt licks, but they probably learned early on, to take some with them, for convenience. Salt cure was one of the early methods for preserving meat, and it made the process of curing meat by dehydration even more effective.
, pork skins are probably as "paleo" as most foods that are available today, that are claimed to qualify as part of a paleo diet.
Tex
Congrats on the Norman!
I have to respectfully disagree with Dr. Cordain, (and all the other well-intentioned, but misguided health fanatics who use the paleo diet as a weight-control, fitness diet). Remember, Loren Cordain is a fitness instructor, by trade, and the pursuit of "healthy" eating is his goal, even when it doesn't necessarily fit the paleolithic record. For some unknown reason, most health "authorities" tend to categorize salt as "unhealthy". It's not. Like everything else, salt has to be used in moderation.Arlene wrote:One site I read said no salt.
The fact is, salt is essential to our survival. The ingredients of salt, sodium and chloride, (together with potassium), are mineral electrolytes, and they combine with water to help distribute nutrients to the cells of our body. Because electrolytes have electrical charges, they can move easily back and forth through our cell membranes, and this enables them to carry other nutrients into the cells with them, and as they move out, they carry out waste products, and excess water. Electrolytes also regulate our blood pressure and our heartbeat rate. Obviously, since the ingredients in salt are essential to our very survival, salt has always been a part of the human diet. Why on earth, would anyone try to claim that salt was not a part of the paleo diet?
The fact of the matter is, the natural world contains numerous salt licks that have been frequented by indigenous animals ever since they first began to roam the surface of the earth. It is not only naive, but downright stupid to assume that human ancestors did not also visit those salt licks, for their needs. (And let there be no doubt about it, when you're out there chasing down prey species on the African plain, in the blazing sun, on a hot summer day, you absolutely have to have salt, to replace what is lost in perspiration, if you don't want to wind up with a heat stroke. Trust me, our paleo ancestors not only visited salt licks, but they probably learned early on, to take some with them, for convenience. Salt cure was one of the early methods for preserving meat, and it made the process of curing meat by dehydration even more effective.
It may sound unhealthy, but believe it or not, fried pork skins are a "safe" crunchy snack for most of us, (depending on the oil used to fry them). While I doubt that paleo people did much deep frying,Arlene wrote:I miss crunching while eating.
, pork skins are probably as "paleo" as most foods that are available today, that are claimed to qualify as part of a paleo diet.Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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TooManyHats
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Thank you everyone. Obviously, I'm over the moon about Norman.
Has anyone been able to tolerate strawberries? It shows up on both the low FODMAP list and the low histamine list. I'm going to try Polly's idea about infusing water with them. I'd be concerned about all those little seeds if I just ate them though. What do you think?
I had blueberries this morning. I know I didn't digest the skins the last time I tried them because yesterday wasn't a very good day, so it'll be interesting to see if everything continues to go well.
Has anyone been able to tolerate strawberries? It shows up on both the low FODMAP list and the low histamine list. I'm going to try Polly's idea about infusing water with them. I'd be concerned about all those little seeds if I just ate them though. What do you think?
I had blueberries this morning. I know I didn't digest the skins the last time I tried them because yesterday wasn't a very good day, so it'll be interesting to see if everything continues to go well.
Arlene
Progress, not perfection.
Progress, not perfection.
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TooManyHats
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Breakfast - Blueberries (amount the size of a small orange)
Lunch - Turkey meat with sea salt
Dinner - Beef stew with carrots, bok choy, and onion (which I tried to pick out as much as possible)
Snack - Leftover stew (Yum-it was good!) and a few pieces of cantaloupe
I have a sweet potato all baked and some real maple syrup ready to go for tomorrow's breakfast. Thanks for the suggestion, Polly!
Lunch - Turkey meat with sea salt
Dinner - Beef stew with carrots, bok choy, and onion (which I tried to pick out as much as possible)
Snack - Leftover stew (Yum-it was good!) and a few pieces of cantaloupe
I have a sweet potato all baked and some real maple syrup ready to go for tomorrow's breakfast. Thanks for the suggestion, Polly!
Arlene
Progress, not perfection.
Progress, not perfection.
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TooManyHats
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That smoothie sounds wonderful! I have to make sure the cantaloupe is more ripe than the one I cut last night. It was much too firm so I was afraid to eat much. That is definitely on my list of things to try!
So far, so good. I'm hungry a lot because I'm trying to watch histamine as well as FODMAP and I'm not too sure of what my choices actually are. But I think I'm making progress. Anything besides the D I had before is progress in my book.
So far, so good. I'm hungry a lot because I'm trying to watch histamine as well as FODMAP and I'm not too sure of what my choices actually are. But I think I'm making progress. Anything besides the D I had before is progress in my book.
Arlene
Progress, not perfection.
Progress, not perfection.