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Day 8 – what to eat next

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I have what we like to call Food Emotions. And they are strong!  A well done meal or perfectly poured drink can make my day just as much as sub-par food brings out my worst. It doesn’t take long for hungry to escalate to hangry, and if you’re not careful it can quickly deteriorate to whiney.  Knowing all of that, I’m pleasantly surprised how few moments like this I’ve had: “pout..pout…so sad I can’t have the neighbor’s home smoked salmon/free pinot/chocolate truffle… Pout pout.” I’ll attribute it to being distracted by a mild addiction to food photography, and a new-found love for dates.

Lately, my biggest food struggle is how long to go raw, no avo, no oil, no nightshades. I’m not consuming much if any fat and I’m eating less protein than normal. I don’t feel bad, per se, but I’m tired and my skin doesn’t seem to be getting healthier. And the whole point is to BE HEALTHIER!  I’m worried my adrenal system isn’t getting what it needs, but I really don’t want to fall short. Since I’m going through all this effort I want to make it count! I want to stay as clean as possible, but not at the risk of sacrificing the larger goal which is to have the healthiest happiest system. I need to decide which food to add in and when. So how do I solve this dilemma? I think I’ll use my hippie science skills.

Protein

My naturopath (the one who told me to eat celery and originally found the gluten problem) doesn’t think I do well on a plant based diet. I’m not absorbing enough protein, specifically glutamine, which is known to boost the immune system and protect the digestive system and esophagus. I’m wondering if the mal-absorption is due to a unhealthy gut that I could hopefully “cure” in this process through raw fruits and vegetables. OR… it could be that I need additional aminos to supplement my body as it heals, so broth is what I need. Spinach, Parsley and Cabbage have glutamine, but probably not enough. So confused

Vegans typically get protein from beans, nuts and grains (in addition to greens), but I’m not eating any of those.  So how much protein am I getting? I should be getting .36 grams per pound of weight according to the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI). For me that’s a little over 46 grams. Broccoli, spinach, kale, bean sprouts, peas, brussel sprouts, asparagus, snap peas and cauliflower all have high protein (3-5 g per serving). That means I need 10-15 cups of those vegetables per day (translation – that will need to be juiced).  I’ll be adding green peas , broccoli, Kale and asparagus to my juices. As an added benefit, asparagus juice is a good liver detoxer.

Even if in general I need more protein than the average bear, I should be OK with this plan as far as protein intake. I want to add Bone Broth for the additional glutamine and the extra healing benefits of broth, which is less of a trigger food for me than legumes so it seems like the safer bet.  In the meantime, I’ll make a killer Liver detoxifying protein juice!

Broccoli, Asparagus, 1/2 Pear, 1 Apple, handful of Parsley // Juiced

Lipids

The recommendation is 32-64 grams of fat per day. So how much am I getting? Here are some foods that I am eating with lipids:

  • Coconut flesh: 45 g in 1 piece (2x2x2).
  • Dates: .6 g per cup
  • Figs: .3 g per 100 g

Until today I’d eaten maybe two servings of coconut flesh. So that’s the daily recommendation 2 times spread over the whole week. I need more fat! Fat contributes to good skin, hair and nails. It is required for your heart to function and your brain needs it to process information and think! While everyone can stand to lose a few pounds, I don’t have enough extra fat to supply all of those functions for the next 3 weeks, and today I felt like I didn’t have enough to support a healthy healing body for another week.

So, I think I’ll add in avocados first, starting tonight, followed by bone broth later in the week.

This is a journey in health and the means will have to shift based on how I’m feeling and what my body is saying. The end game remains a healthier, less-allergic me.

About Alicia

I love cooking almost as much as I love eating so I try to make sure I feel good about what I'm eating. I believe it's always a good occasion for some bubbly and I also love feeling healthy and being outdoors. I try to buy, cook and eat whole nutritious foods that promote a fun active lifestyle.

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