What I Ate Week 4
It's been quite the month. I am so proud of this AIP journey. I have never once said I was perfect on this protocol, but I did the best I could to stay on track throughout the month and I absolutely learned how to clean up what I cook again and rethink how I fuel my body. It isn't about weight loss, but overall health and I think I am learning to find a good balance. I have also learned the hard way that dairy and gluten are for sure triggers. When I have been exposed or eaten anything my symptoms get significantly worse in the evenings. I still have not tried incorporating any eggs yet. My plan is to stay egg, dairy, and gluten free for the foreseeable future.
This week was hard because nothing sounded good. I basically had to force myself to eat anything which is very unlike me.
One night I grilled Salmon, broccoli, mushrooms, summer squash, and zucchini. I had marinated the salmon in Caribbean jerk marinade from Walmart (just the generic brand, nothing fancy) for two days prior and that added great flavor to the salmon.
I also made tartar sauce with vegan mayo, pickles rough chopped, and crushed black pepper, but we didn't end up using much which is also a good sign because we love that.
Wednesday night we were meeting my family for a pizza on the farm night at our local farmers market. This was the first night I really struggled not eating what everyone else had. I had prepped myself a crust-less pizza which probably would taste great on any other day, but that night it wasn't hitting the spot seeing them enjoy their wood-fired pizza goodness.
I made the veggies on Monday evening and let them marinade until Wednesday.
1 can of spinach drained
1/2 jar of marinated sun-dried tomatoes rough chopped
1 can of artichokes rough chopped
Portabella mushrooms chopped
1/4 an onion rough chopped
I chopped all my veggies and threw them in a bowl. I drizzled some of the olive oil from the marinated tomatoes and a healthy drizzle of balsamic vinegar. I let them marinate for a couple days until I was ready to prep my meal.
Then day of I browned some Italian sausage into the mixture. I put it in a tupperware and added some spaghetti sauce and topped with a sprinkle of cashew mozzarella cheese.
I was hesitant to try it again, but again I was to a point where I was just not going to eat at all and I knew that wasn't a good choice, so I broke out a couple of frozen gluten free pizza crusts for lunches. They tasted so good and I didn't have a reaction either time I ate it.
First pizza was pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, cashew milk cheese, and red pepper flakes.
Second combo was tomato sauce, Italian sausage, mushrooms, and a sprinkle of cashew milk cheese.
We had dinner with my Step Grandma and grilled marinated chicken breasts, had a lettuce salad with Italian Dressing, my favorite dill pickles, and some cucumber onion salad. And plain strawberries for dessert!
One of my "treat" meals this week was a bowl from one of my favorite bbq places. This was an easy stop for me on a busy travel work day.
I do build my own bowl. Base half rice half coleslaw, pulled pork, quick cukes, pickled onions, jalapenos, corn, cheese (this was almost immediately regretted) and I top it with apple cider vinegar sauce.
This weekend we escaped up north for a quick weekend away and tried a new restaurant called Krewe in St. Joseph and I honestly can't say enough great things about the lunch we had. We went all out and enjoyed every single bite. They have great gluten free, dairy free, and vegetarian options.
We had crab cakes, Shrimp Jambalaya, craw fish estouffe, and key lime pie for dessert.
I hope these recaps are helpful for you. I will keep doing them as I continue this journey. I am so proud that month one is officially in the books!