A Big Deal About Food

As I said before, Brandon and I have started an elimination diet with the hope that if we eat a completely clean diet for a while, of only foods that most people are tolerant of, we can make sure our bodies aren't constantly in a state of irritation and inflammation.  You know, for our organs. This means that for a few weeks anyway, we aren't eating stuff like bread, milk, eggs, red meats, citrus, and nightshades (potatoes, peppers, and tomatoes).  Don't worry though, this doesn't mean we are starving.  The foods we can eat, like beans, sweet potatoes, vegetables, rice, quinoa, fruits, turkey, chicken, fish, and lamb, don't come from the drive through window, but they do taste delicious!   The photo above is last nights dinner.  We mixed some chopped onion and summer squash with ground lamb and cooked burgers in olive oil in a cast iron skillet, and served it with a bed of salad greens covered in black beans, avocado, and some home made dressing made from apple cider vinegar, olive oil, salt, honey, and basil from the garden.  We had fresh fruit salad topped with raw honey on the side.  

The night before, we had a big salad full of fruit, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds, with chicken sausage made by putting organic boneless chicken thighs in the food processor with an apple, onion, and some herbs from the garden.  We cooked them in the skillet with some coconut oil.  It was so good!  Like a giant chicken nugget, for adults.  

For breakfast this morning we had quinoa cooked with raisins, and topped with sliced banana, strawberries, and a drizzle of honey, plus a giant glass of fresh juice made from apples, celery, carrots, beet, and kale.  Lunch is left over lamb burgers from dinner the night before, plus beans and salad.  Snacks are fruit and dried fruits, plus salad and beans.  

This is only day three of the elimination, but so far the challenges are just what you would expect - the amount of time it takes for food preparation, planning ahead for lunches away from home, numerous trips to the grocery, and the cost of all those organic ingredients.  I've kept the instant pot going constantly, making chicken broth and beans cooked in the broth.  Which means I'm trying to always have the next round of beans soaking so they will be ready to cook as soon as the instant pot is free. 

I think we can do this.  We're finding new rhythms in the kitchen as we work together.  Brandon works hard, physically, every day, and tends to crash when he gets calorie deprived, so it's a challenge for him because he can't grab a quick bite from a restaurant or make a sandwich when he's running low on energy, but he's figuring out how to prepare for his day.  He said he feels like all we think and talk about is food, and that this is more of a challenge to his identity and his emotions than he expected it to be.  Food is a big deal, isn't it?