The last week has been full of big changes around our house. The Friday before Easter I got my blood test results back on a food allergy panel I had done. After 12+ years (as I can't really remember when they started) of dealing with chronic digestive issues (that I thought was just me and had become normal) I decided enough was enough and I needed to get a blood test done so I could eliminate what is hurting my body and heal. The last two and half years in particular is what has brought me to this point in that I began dealing with first Aubrey's bowel issues and then Raelyn's. Reading and researching and elimination while nursing them left me wanting answers on what specifically needed removed from our diets and the results are finally in. My test showed that I am sensitive to cow's milk and casein as well as (now here are the strange ones) green beans, kidney beans, pineapple, brewer's yeast, and a few other random things. After reading the book Allergies: Disease in Disguise I was convinced I needed to go on a strict diet for 6 weeks to try to heal my body from my sensitivities. Then I learned about the Paleo diet which fits with the strict diet that the author of the book called for. When I asked my naturopathic doctor what he thought of doing a Paleo diet he thought that is exactly what I should do for six weeks.
So here I am...1 week into my very strict Paleo diet. What's a Paleo diet? A Paleo diet is very simply lean meats, vegetables, nuts and seeds, and a small amount of fruit. The challenge diet which is actually what I am doing is called
Whole30 and you can read more about it if you click the link. The idea is to cleanse your body of toxins and give your body time to heal by not eating the foods that often cause problems for people. So here is the NO list:
*NO sugar or artificial sweeteners or natural sweeteners of any kind
*NO grains
*NO legumes (beans)
*NO dairy
*NO processed food
*NO white potatoes
*NO alchol
Is it tough? YES! Will it be worth it? Right now I can say I think so! But in six weeks I hope I will know so! I am still having my digestive issues, and have added many other signs of food allergy to my list of complaints such as eczema, head pain, joint pain, lower back pain, fatigue (hard to tell if this is from having little kids or food allergies), moodiness, etc. So I am not feeling better yet, but I hope by the end of next week I will be feeling better and then the next 4 weeks I will be healing and feeling good! That is the hope at least.
Hans has been (mostly) doing the diet with me which is nice. And the kids well for the most part they have been eating what we have with a variation they still get grains, and dairy (and some sugar), but hoping that over the next 5 weeks I will be able to reduce that in them as well.
So to complicate things on day 3 after upping my intake of eggs as they are allowed on the Paleo diet and I showed no sensitivity to them. I found that it seemed that Raelyn was still being bothered by something so it had to be the eggs. So unfortunately I have removed eggs from ok list for at least the next week to see if it helps Raelyn get better. I am fairly sure Raelyn is not bothered by dairy as I had eliminated it for 3 weeks shortly after she started to have trouble and it actually got worse not better. Aubrey on the other hand hasn't really been on the diet. I am still just watching her and trying to decide if I will have her tested in the near future. I don't believe dairy is her issue, but I am not 100% sure, and I think it still could be eggs for her.
So here is what we have been eating around here...
Lots of salads with homemade dressing (this is my lunch of choice).
Kale chips...Yep they are pretty good and a really healthy snack!
Sauted sugar snap peas and peppers and cauliflower rice.
Roasted butternut squash! So yummy!
And I have been getting the girls involved! They love chopping and spent this morning chopping celery and carrots for me for our chicken curry we cooked in the crock pot for dinner.
It definitely takes a lot more time to plan and prepare meals, but all the food has been really yummy and satisfying. Hoping all the hard work pays off in the coming weeks. I know that although we may not remain 100% Paleo once the 6 weeks is over that we will be trending towards reducing our over consumption of grains in particular wheat and reducing dairy especially processed dairy and hopefully moving towards more raw dairy. Also we will be making more from scratch and really trying to keep the processed foods at bay!! It will be tough, but our health is worth it!!
