My (Revised) Eating Habits: Pregnancy Edition

Hello! Two good things have happened since the last time I blogged. 1) I survived a crazy work week (and should be rewarded with gifts) and 2) I regained my appetite. Due to how sick I've been feeling since I discovered I was pregnant, I pretty much tossed my yeast free / Paleo way of eating out the window. Unfortunately, I was only able to keep down foods that were definitely not Paleo, but I figured some nutrients were better than none at all and took my eating cues from my body. I was repulsed by any kind of meat, eggs, and most veggies (and water)! Which is basically all you eat when you follow a Paleo lifestyle! Needless to say, it was frustrating. 

But this weekend I really felt like I regained my appetite, and things that sounded repulsive before actually sounded tasty!

I was able to eat eggs, bacon, salmon, and even steamed broccoli! And although I'm not 100% back to how I had been eating the 6 months prior to my pregnancy, I feel like I'm slowly making my way back.

For now, potatoes and rice really calm my stomach if I'd had a particularly nauseous day, so I allow myself to eat that anytime I'm feeling ill. And sometimes, red meat still makes my stomach roll. So if I'm not feeling it, I steer clear! 

I know nutrition is so important, especially when you're pregnant, but I feel that for now the most important thing is to listen to my body. I've simply been rolling with the punches when it comes to my pregnancy, and although that often means using non-gluten free rice in a stir fry rather than my substitute cauliflower "rice," or heck, just opting for a bowl of Cheerios for dinner the third night in a row, I'm eating what I can keep down! 

Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies

It has been challenging for me to let go of my rigid eating guidelines (I think that again this points to my extreme type A tendencies), but it feels good to eat a full meal and not throw up! And it feels even better to have some energy! Throwing up is already exhausting for your body, but throwing up when you hardly have any nutrients to begin with inside of you is just depleting. 

So hello to my regained appetite and finding my way back to healthy eating and hello to accepting that sometimes the best thing to eat is whatever stays down. And an even bigger hello to accepting that fact rather than beating yourself up over it. Hello!

Almond Flour Biscuits (gluten-free, dairy-free, and delicious)

I've been blogastinating. You know, procrastinating on all my blogging duties (such as posting this scrumptious almond flour biscuit recipe I promised so many of you that I would post last week!). So finally, a week late (but who's keeping track), I give you these amazing gluten, dairy, and yeast free biscuits!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
1/4 cup agave nectar
2 lare eggs
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:
Preheat over to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, salt, and baking soda. Ina medium bowl, whisk together the grapeseed oil, agave, eggs, and lemon juice. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry mixture until thoroughly combined. Drop the batter, in scant 1/4 cups 2 inches apart, onto the baking sheet.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown. Let the biscuits cool briefly and then serve warm.

These delicious biscuits make it impossible to eat just one! We like them in the morning with our eggs, but they are also great with some strawberry jam! You may be surprised by the texture if you make these. They aren't dry and flaky like white flour biscuits, but rather moist and soft. They are definitely a healthy and delicious alternative if you're trying to cut gluten or dairy out of your diet (or just trying to eat more "clean" in general!)

You can find this recipe and other yummy treats made with almond flour in Elana's cookbook!

Healthy Tastes Good

I haven't talked much lately about my "yeast free" eating habits and thought it was time to give you readers an update! If you're new to this blog, you may not know that back in February my husband and I decide to participate in a 30 day yeast free challenge. Basically this meant no grains, dairy, sugar, or fermented drinks for 4 weeks. During that time, I lost 11 pounds and experienced many other significant health benefits (you can read about those here)! The changes to my body, both external and internal, amazed me so much that I decided it was in my best interest to extend this 30 day challenge for the next 70 or so years. This commitment resulted in my husband and I adapting a yeast free/Paleo lifestyle, and other than marrying Steven and adopting Huckleberry, this has definitely been the best decision of my life!

Almond Flour Drop Biscuits

Spaghetti Squash Pasta w/ Homemade Turkey Meat Sauce

Paleo Chocolate Cake

The most common question I get concerning the way I eat is, "how do you have the time to prepare all these healthy dishes? I hardly have time to heat up a microwavable lean cuisine!" Well, why does one have time for anything?? It's because they've made that thing, whatever it is their spending their time on, a priority.

For the first time in my life, I've decided to make my health a priority. It's not always easy, but because it's a priority it usually get's done. I turn off the TV and turn on the stove, I spend less time reading blogs (gasp!) and more time researching recipes that meet my dietary needs.

Spicy Ground Turkey w/ Butternut Squash

But with all that said, do I think this lifestyle is for everyone? Probably not. But it works for me and I think it may possibly work for many others.

Paleo Lemon Bars

To date, I've lost 14 pounds and two pant sizes. My skin is clearer, I'm sleeping better at night, and most importantly, I feel good. And at the end of the day, I think that's ultimately what I was striving for when this all began 4 months ago.

All photos are my own taken of dishes I've prepared since eating yeast free/Paleo. To see their recipes (and read more of my experience) go here!

Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have made these cookies on two occasions and both times they were devoured in an alarmingly short period of time. Because, well...they are awesome. So if you want to fill your face with delicious, comfort food goodness without all the guilt associated with GMO infested goods, I suggest you make these cookies pronto!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup grapeseed oil

1/2 agave nectar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup dark chocolate (73% cacao) I used these gluten, dairy, nut, and soy free chocolate chips.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, salt, and baking soda. In a medium bowl, whisk together the grapeseed oil, agave nectar, and vanilla extract. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until thoroughly combined. Fold in the chocolate and then refrigerate for 20 minutes. Spoon the dough onto the baking sheets, pressing them down with the palm of your hand to flatten, leaving 2 inches between each cookie. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes or until lightly golden. Let the cookies cool and then serve warm. Makes about 18 cookies.

Recipe from the Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook.

I confess. I ate way too many of these cookies, but the great part is I didn't experience any of the stomach pains that usually arise after I eat sweet treats. Gluten, dairy, and refined sugar free desserts are surprisingly delicious and most likely won't upset your stomach if you have a sensitive system like myself. You can still enjoy sweets without the setbacks associated with gluten and dairy intolerances! My story is proof of that! If you haven't read about my yeast free/paleo journey yet, you can do so here. Enjoy!

Yeast Free pt.3: Q&A

Paleo Spaghetti 

Today I just wanted to take the time to answer a few questions I've received since I first posted about my yeast free cleanse. A lot of the questions I pretty much answered in part 1 and part 2, so make sure to read those posts if you don't see your question below!  

Here we go!

Q: Did you experience any "die off" symptoms (such as headaches) when you first started the cleanse?

A: In short, yes! But not in the form of headaches, low energy, etc. About one week after starting the cleanse, Steven noticed a rash on the back of my neck. I'm not going to lie, it was pretty gross. Basically, it was a localized breakout. I had a feeling it was due to the cleanse, but I waited until my Dr. appointment a week later before putting anything on it just in case. She confirmed that it was in fact from my cleanse and gave me a herbal cream to put on it twice a day. 

Here's the interesting part...our bodies naturally release toxins in the form of waste, but the Dr. told me that when you are killing off toxins faster than your body can eliminate them, your body begins to use your skin as another means of elimination.  So in a nutshell, I was killing off the yeast cells and other harmful bacteria so successfully and so quickly that I stated detoxing through my skin --causing my nasty breakout. 

The doc's advice for my "die off" symptom was to wait it out. I did use the cream, but it didn't seem to help much. After about 3 weeks my rash went away and my skin has never been clearer in my life.

Q: How do you handle eating out?

A: The first two weeks is when this cleanse is the strictest, so we avoided eating out for the first two weeks. After that it was pretty easy! I usually order chicken or fish with a side of seasonal veggies or a big salad and ask them to hold the cheese and croutons. I do order a dressing for my salad, but a vinegar based one rather than mayonnaise based.

Q: What's the difference between yeast-free and Paleo?

A: I've gotten this question a lot and the answer is not much! Both lifestyles include no sugar, no dairy, and no grains; however, the yeast free (better know as the Candida diet) is a little stricter when it comes to natural sugars. On yeast free, you avoid maple syrup, raw honey, and some fruits that are highest in sugar content (i.e. bananas) even if they are organic. On Paleo, organic maple syrup, honey, and all fruits are acceptable. Now that I'm done with the 30 day cleanse I more closely follow Paleo guidelines.

Q: I want to give yeast free a try! Any tips to help me stay motivated?

A: Have an accountability partner! I don't think I would have lasted the first two weeks if Steven wouldn't have done the cleanse with me. It can be a significant other, a best friend, or your mom! But find someone who is willing to give this cleanse a try with you and keep you accountable!

Also, about a week into the diet I watched the documentary Hungry for Change and let me tell you...It. Changed. My. Life! Seriously, it's that good. You will never look at food the same again. I watched it on Netflix, but if you don't have Netflix you can also rent it on Amazon. If you need motivation, watch it! That is all.

Q: I've noticed you've been baking a lot recently. Is that allowed on this cleanse?

A: On the cleanse, no, not really. But I've been done with the cleanse for almost a month now. For the 30 day cleanse I refrained for all sugars, except for fruit after two weeks. I'm no longer "cleansing," I'm simply living a new way of life...and let's be real, a life without chocolate is not a very happy one! However, when I do bake I only use all natural ingredients (including organic chocolate!). No more gluten infused grains or refined sugar, etc. 

Look at the ingredients I used to make lemon bars to get an idea or what sort of flour and natural sweeteners I use to bake with. 

That's all for today! If you do have any more questions feel free to leave a comment and I'll get back to you through email! And if there are a lot  more questions I'll post a follow up Q&A! 

Happy Wednesday!

Paleo Lemon Bars

I made these Paleo lemon bars for Easter and I'm not exaggerating when I say they were divine. Divine, people! This was my first experience with a Paleo dessert, and since then I have kinda been on a baking spree (if you follow me on Instagram you've seen evidence of this). If you're worried about making the switch to a Paleo/yeast-free lifestyle because you hate the thought of sacrificing taste, I encourage you to make these. I think you'll be surprised just how tasty being healthy can be.

This recipe is from the Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook. I doubled the ingredients below and used a 9x13 baking dish.  If you use the recipe below use an 8 inch baking dish.

Ingredients:

CRUST

- 1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour

- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

- 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil

- 1 tablespoons agave nectar

- 1 tablespoons vanilla extract

FILLING

- 1/4 cup grapeseed oil

- 1/4 cup agave nectar

- 3 large eggs

- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:

- Preheat the over to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 inch baking dish with grapeseed oil.  

- To make the crust, combine the almond flour and salt in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk together the grapeseed oil, agave, and vanilla. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until thoroughly combined. Press the dough into the prepared baking dish.

- Bake for about 15 minutes or until lightly golden.

- While the crust is baking, combine the grapeseed oil, agave, eggs, and lemon juice in a blender. Process on high until smooth. 

- Remove the crust from the oven. Pour the topping evenly over the crust.

- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until topping is golden. Let cool for 30 minutes, then refrigerate for 2 hours to set. 

- Cut into bars and serve. 

Enjoy!

Paleo "Spaghetti" + A Misfit Squash

Being Italian, pasta lies near and dear to my heart, and this weekend I was definitely craving some Italian cuisine. Browsing yeast free/Paleo recipes on the interwebs, I've discovered that a lot of people substitute spaghetti squash for noodles in their pasta. Awesome, I thought. I'll give that a try, I thought. Easy, I thought. 

So to the grocery store I went. And there was one squash there. Only one stinking squash. And this squash had three stickers on it, one labeled "summer squash," one labeled "organic," and the last one labeled "Mexico."(Fishy, I know.) Not being very knowledgeable in the squash department, I decided to believe those stickers and assume summer squash and spaghetti squash were interchangeable, and I bought that squash.

Turns out, that squash was not a summer squash at all, but a winter squash (Butternut to be exact). And I highly doubt it was "organic." I'm thinking the only properly placed label was "Mexico." 

Moral of the story?? Shop at farmer's markets when possible and Google image spaghetti squash before you head to the grocery store.

Luckily, that misfit squash was tasty.

Ingredients:

- 1/2 butternut squash

- 1/2 onion

- 4 garlic cloves

- pine nuts

- red chili peppers

- parsley

- ground turkey/beef (optional) - we used ground turkey

- salt to taste

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, cook ground turkey until no longer pink. Drain fat and set aside.

2. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan on medium-high heat. Dice 1/2 onion and garlic then add to saucepan. 

3. Cut the butternut squash down the middle. Scoop of the seeds and then julienne the flesh to get even, thin stripes. Add the squash, pine nuts, red chili peppers, and parsley to the saucepan.

4. Cook for 10 minutes or until squash becomes al dente. (Cook longer if you like your pasta noodles soft.)

5. Add the cooked, ground turkey. Add salt to taste.

Yummy "spaghetti" that your body will thank you for! Yeast free, gluten free, diary free, and exceedingly delicious!

You're welcome ;)