Coaching women out of "survival mode" to recreate their lives and families
Justin and I got a wild hair to do an elimination diet.
Here’s our video on what it is, what we’re hoping for, how we’re starting, how we intend to make fun of it and an invitation for you to join us. 
(P.S. The wind dies down and the audio syncs a few moments into the video. And if anyone can fix this dang iMovie out-of-sync thing once and for all I’ll kiss you.)
Links:
Downloadable PDFs on which foods to eat when.
Some recipes for the elimination diet
I’ve been really off my gluten-free diet lately, but I shared this gluten-free oatmeal pancake recipe with Sara recently and thought I should share it with you guys, as well.
This recipe is not only for those with gluten-sensitivity, it is also for you Real Foodies and Weston A. Pricer’s who know the benefits of soaking grains and pastured eggs.
Oats are technically gluten-free but will affect some gluten-sensitive or celiac folk, mostly because of cross-contamination in processing. There are certified gluten-free oats, such as Bob’s Red Mill, if you are extremely sensitive but I use regular oats with no problem.
4 cups whole oats, ground (preferably not the quick cook kind)
4 cups plain yogurt (I’ve also used whole raw milk)
4 tablespoons melted butter
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2-4 tablespoons local raw honey (optional)
Olive oil or butter for cooking (optional)
I grind my oats in the blender. You can also use a food processor. You want it ground as fine as you can get it.
Thanks to Amy for giving me this recipe months ago! She also told me you can substitute the butter for coconut oil and the milk for water plus 2 T whey, lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, but it will affect the taste.
Usually these turn out fluffy and light; sometimes not. I think it depends on how finely the oats are ground, and how long or in what they were soaked (using alternatives to yogurt tends to affect the results the most). They also work well as sandwich bread or hamburger buns, too! I don’t feel they save well for longer than a few days; they tend to get denser as they age.
As I’ve said, I’ve been off my gluten-free diet lately. Have any yummy recipes to get me back on track?
1 1/2 cups dried pinto beans (or any other beans)
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium diced yellow onion
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, to taste
up to 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
Three 15 oz cans of Trader Joe’s Fire Roasted tomatoes with green chilies
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced very small
Approximately 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth, more only if needed
Crock Pot Version:
Soak the beans overnight. In the morning, cook the onion and garlic with the olive oil. Then throw everything in a crock pot on low for the day.
But I busted my crock pot. So I did this instead:
1. Soak the beans overnight. Wake up late and scramble to throw them in a large pot, covering them with extra water and cook them on medium until they’re soft. The water should be mostly gone by now; if not, drain most of it out. Or you can buy a can or two of beans, if you prefer.
2. In a small pan, add the olive oil and onions; cook until tender, then add the garlic and other spices and cook for another minute or so. Throw those all in the large pot of beans.
3. Add the tomatoes and sweet potatoes. (Note: The smaller you dice the sweet potatoes the less you’ll taste them, making it more likely your 10 year old will approve of their inclusion in his chili. Also, the faster they will cook.)
4. Add enough broth to get the consistency you’d like. Cook until the sweet potatoes are tender (about 30 minutes if diced small).
Gluten-Free Skillet Cornbread
This is a traditional recipe, grainier because it lacks any flour. In the original recipe, it lacked any sweetener but what fun is that?
2 cups 100% organic cornmeal
2 cups whole milk or buttermilk
2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
3 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons organic shortening (butter might also work)
1. Around the time you start the beans (or several hours before you start the chili), mix the cornmeal and milk or buttermilk and let it sit. This seems to soften the grain a bit, making it a lighter texture. You could even soak the cornmeal overnight.
2. Once the sweet potatoes are cooking, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Put the shortening in a 9 inch cast iron skillet and place it in the oven to melt it.
3. Add the salt, baking soda, eggs and honey to the batter and mix well.
4. When the shortening is melted, spread it as evenly as possible around the pan and pour the batter into the skillet. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes, until top is golden brown and a fork comes out clean. Top with lots of homemade butter!
It’s not something I’ve really blogged about because it’s been something I haven’t wanted to focus on myself. But it’s one of those constantly infiltrating facts in all I do.
I don’t feel good. Increasingly so over the past few months. And the excitement of moving has really drained me empty. I wake up exhausted, I spend my day with little energy, then I can’t fall asleep. No appetite, moody, body aches and pains. Not. Good. At. All.
Long story short: I do not want to spend a year or more traveling the country, meeting interesting people and experiencing new things or investigating possible new homes with no energy or not feeling well. So I went to my homeopath a couple weeks ago who did some tests and told me the following:
These are the things I’m doing right now to help:
Changing my diet has been the hardest, of course. I never realized just how many of our meals rely on gluten. Gluten-free grains don’t really excite me. And Justin and Zeb don’t want to be subjected to the same diet (Well, we’re already corn-free because of Zeb’s sensitivities. He self-moderates and chooses his own level of comfort in eating corn or corn products but in family meals we choose corn-free options.).
My first gluten-free meal left a lot to be desired. Grilled cheese and tomato soup. The GF bread was so dense the cheese wouldn’t melt and the soup was tasteless. However, I have found Tinkyada’s Brown Rice Pasta, which Justin now prefers over regular pasta and I’m compromising with corn tortilla’s because brown rice tortillas…leave something to be desired. But overall I think my success is going to rely on very few gluten-substitutes.
Once I’ve been gluten-free for awhile I’m going to give a slow-rise sourdough a try, as explained on Weston A Price’s website.
It hasn’t been easy. In fact, there have been at least a few moments of such complete frustration and anger over the matter. BUT after only three days, I woke up with energy and felt energetic all day! I can’t honestly recall the last day I felt so good. It didn’t last long but it’s been a huge motivation to keep going, even if rather slowly.
I just keep telling myself that it’s a choice and I’m choosing one day at a time. I can choose whatever I want and change my mind whenever I want.. And right now, I just want to feel good.
In my maddening attempt to [...I don't know what to call it, eat locally? Homecook from scratch? Save money on bulk foods and menu plans? Drive myself mad?...] I’m embarking on a new mission. Because I can never have too many projects, right?? Actually this is something I really need to do anyway (cook and eat, that is) so while I’m in the kitchen I may as well attempt to make it easier. And maybe by the end of this, I’ll enjoy the process a bit more.
[Insert dramatic music here.]
The Mission (should you choose to be reading):
To find a minimum of 30 meals for each season that fit my criteria to create a total arsenal of 120 recipes to be used year-round.
The Criteria (if I haven’t lost you yet):
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I feel confident, as I always do when embarking on a new idea. And I’m really hoping that blogging about it will keep me accountable to completing my mission. Here’s my first recipe to share:
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Minestra Di Ceci from Fix-it And Forget-it Recipes For Entertaining
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1 lb dry chickpeas (garbanzos)
1 sprig fresh rosemary
10 leaves fresh sage
2 TB sea salt
1-2 large garlic cloves, minced
olive oil
1 cup small dry pasta (I used macaroni – Update: I now use gluten-free pasta)
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1. Wash chickpeas. Place in slow cooker. Soak for 8 hours in full pot of water, along with rosemary, sage and salt.
2. Drain water and remove herbs.
3. Refill slow cooker with water to 1″ above peas.
4. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours
5. Saute garlic in olive oil in skillet until clear.
6. Puree half the peas, along with several cups of broth from cooker, in blender. Return to slow cooker and add garlic and oil.
7. Add pasta to slow cooker and continue cooking on high until pasta is tender but not mushy (took me about 20 minutes).
Criteria Met:
✓ Local, seasonal, natural ingrediants
Simple To Cook
✓ Simple To Clean
Tasty
✓ Vegetarian/Vegan
My notes:
I’m going to call this a winter recipe. It’s warm and hearty and easy to make from preserved foods and herbs. I might translate it though, because foreign language isn’t a strength of mine.
This recipe originally called for cooking the pasta seperately but the use of the saute pan and a blender where already pushing my patience for a crock pot recipe. There were also quite a few steps and I really prefer to “fix it and forget it” like the book promised. Psha. It also called for cooking on low for 5 hours but since I forgot to soak the chickpeas overnight, I had to soak them in hot water from 8-2p, then cook on high for 3 hours. Other than those (successful!) modifications I really followed the recipe, even measuring things and weighing the garbanzos. Apparently there is something to that after all.
Despite the headache in making this recipe (and overcooking the garlic), it really was soooo good. It’s turned what I find to be pretty blah garbanzos into something I really couldn’t get enough of. Justin enjoyed it also, but Zeb wasn’t a fan of the chickpeas at all, so it doesn’t earn the Tasty title. Justin and I both agreed it was similar to potato soup and even though we don’t eat pork, bacon would probably be a suitable addition. Justin added more salt and freshly ground pepper, but he does that to everything. I didn’t feel it needed anything extra. Well, maybe bread but I haven’t figured that out yet.
*Special shout out to Jeannette O. who contributed this recipe to the book. You rock, sista.
I'm Tara Wagner, life coach and creator of the Digging Deep process, where I coach women out of physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual survival mode.
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