What I Consume (and don't)

Below is a breakdown of what I am doing regarding my diet.  Okay, for the record I LOATHE the word "diet", with the way our society uses it. It has become such a sad and restrictive word. And when I use it for myself it makes me want to run in the other direction and stuff a dozen donuts down my throat. But I am using it literally, as in FOOD CONSUMED. My dietary habits. There.

Before I share I feel it is important to talk about WHY some things should be organic / grass-fed / free-range. Here's the thing: I love saving money--especially on something that will be gobbled up within a week. I shop at places like Aldi for the great prices on certain things that I or my family can eat, and usually go to Sprouts or shop on Amazon for the rest. Sometimes I feel silly for being "one of those" crunchy people buying all (or mostly) organic stuff in my little cloth bag (okay but seriously cloth bags just rule). BUT! I am trying to rid my body of toxins, and that includes chemicals found in some produce (refer to the dirty dozen / clean fifteen lists), lousy food (or in some cases, hormones or antibiotics) fed to animals, or stress imposed on animals who were not raised properly. I feel like what I put in my body should be as "pure" and integral as possible. *Side note: I understand that people who follow a vegan diet may disagree with some of my choices, and that is okay with me. I do and will post some recipes which are vegan, but there will be plenty that are not. I followed a vegetarian diet for 2 years and it left me even more sick and anemic than I started. There are plenty of plant-based foods I love and that have helped me get better, but I have not found a way to supplement ALL of my dietary needs with plant-based foods only, and on the contrary have found many animal products that have helped me restore my health.*

Since everyone's body is different, some things that I should or should not eat may be different for someone else (for example, carrots--even cooked down to mush--mess me up BADLY!), but this is the plan I am following (I intend to write more on the "whys" in the near future):

The No-Nos

-NO processed sugar or sweeteners (<<possibly the most important piece)

-LITTLE natural sugar (trying to keep it between 25-30g per day)

-NO dairy, EXCEPT plain yogurt with no ADDED ingredients (just cultured milk & cultures) and Ghee

-NO grains (for now…may incorporate cultured/soaked/sprouted down the road)

-NO legumes--including peanuts (here’s why I don't do legumes, but DO eat nuts [in moderation)

-NO nightshades, with the exception of SOME dried spices in moderation (list of nightshades <<and why)

Things I like to eat (a lot of):

Bone broth

Eggs (cage-free/free-range, organic)

Avocados

Coconut everything (organic; e.g. milk, oil, butter, meat, flour, water)

Kimchi juice

Steamed veggies (certain ones; namely, cruciferous vegetables)

MEAT! (fatty kinds--like pork or some red meat--in moderation only)

Hemp everything (CBD oil, hemp oil, hemp protein powder, hemp seeds [shelled)

Chocolate (cacao) everything (organic; non alkali-processed)

Collagen peptides

Beef gelatin

Non-grain “bread” (I will share some recipes in the future!)

Ginger

Turmeric 

Things I eat in moderation:

SOME fruits (SMOOTHIES ftw! - will share recipes in the future)

Almond everything (preferably sprouted; sometimes I cheat and buy store-bought)

Nut/seed butters (preferably sprouted, sometimes I cheat and buy store-bought)

Plain yogurt (organic/grass-fed)

Ghee (organic/grass-fed)

Coffee (organic; I love it strong, but drink it weak...because I'd rather have SOMETHING than no coffee at all)

***Sugar replacements (IN MODERATION!): date paste (my go-to), ripe bananas, honey, maple syrup

Supplements I take:

1. Probiotics (at breakfast and dinner) - to feed good bacteria in the gut

2. Digestive enzymes (with every meal) - to help break down foods

3. Candibactin AR (1-2x daily) - to rid of candida in the gut

4. Women's multi-vitamin (1x daily) - when food alone doesn't provide enough

5. B-complex (methylated! 1x daily)) - energy, immunity & anti-inflammatory

6. Vitamin D3 (1x daily) - absorption & anti-inflammatory

7. Omega 3-6-9 (1x daily) - anti-inflammatory & healing

8. L-glutamine (with breakfast and dinner) - healing

9. Slippery Elm (with breakfast and dinner) - gut coating and healing

There are 3 very important days in the week if you are trying to stick to a diet plan:

-Meal planning

-Grocery shopping

-Meal prepping

MEAL PLANNING

I plan for one whole week of breakfast, lunch, & dinner PLUS snacks.  I focus on high protein, low sugar.  About SNACKS...I always keep snacks around. Lots and lots of snacks!!!  Because the truth is if you're hungry, and the healthy stuff isn't around, I am more likely to grab anything in sight!  Some of my favorite things to keep on hand are boiled eggs, sweet potato pancakes, almond butter, coconut ice cream, or bone broth (<<that one is not exactly an IMMEDIATE solution, but if you don't mind waiting 5 minutes for it to heat up...).

GROCERY SHOPPING

I try to make sure every detail is on my list so I don't veer from it and get junk I don't need.

I mostly shop at Aldi (they have some things I can eat there on the cheap, but mostly I get other things for my family that they can eat) and Sprouts (they have great variety AND supplements for cheap-ish--kind of).

MEAL PREPPING

I usually set aside anywhere from 2-4 hours to prep and store my food.  Lots of it gets stored in the freezer, but some in the fridge.  Of course, there are some meals that must be made fresh.