Day 1: Coconuts and Cauliflower
Entry 1
Day 1 (Monday, January 7th):
I awoke on Monday feeling excited, I’m trying something new and sticking with a New Year’s Resolution! I bounced out of bed (or dragged my tired ass out of it) and, after feeding the dog, turned on the pot for some boiling water. I had a fridge full of delicious, tasty and good for me food. This was going to be a good week.
I spent most of my Sunday in a supermarket and at home prepping for what I was hoping would be a great start to my AIP (autoimmune protocol) week. I thought that this would finally help me solve some of the lingering issues I had with my Rheumatoid Arthritis and I could continue to live a happy, healthy life.
By 1 o’clock Monday, I didn’t care if I was hit by a bus! (That’s dramatic, I would care because it would hurt a lot, there is no way I would bounce back a la Regina George.) I felt awful, hungry, tired, and, honestly, foolish.
I realized I made several missteps along the way. I prepped my breakfast of Fluffy Plantain Waffles, with the hopes that it would make my morning easier. Well, I didn’t try the waffles while making them and realized quickly on Monday morning that I don’t like them. I choked the waffles down anyway, because I literally had no other food to eat that wouldn’t take me an hour to prep and cook.
But let’s go back to the beginning. As I drove to Whole Foods, grocery list on my clever Evernote app, it dawned on me that I have never tried, or heard of, many of the ingredients I needed to buy. I had to restock my pantry. This was not only a pain in the ass, it cost a lot of money. My budget was blown and I still had half of my shopping list. Now, keep in mind, these ingredients will last for more than a week, so I won’t be buying them regularly, but still…
As I tried to hunt down chicory and dandelion root for my new caffeine free coffee, to no avail by the way, I decided to just buy herbal tea and the AIP gods would just have to deal with it. I never found it and didn’t want to search high and low for chicory root, so I abandoned that plan with the plan I could survive without caffeine.
Next up, I realized EVERYTHING has coconut in it! Some form of coconut made it’s way into almost every single dish. Now, I don’t hate coconut, I eat it. But to literally eat coconut something for breakfast, lunch, and dinner was going to be difficult. I don’t love coconut. I avoid cooking too much with coconut oil and here I am, buying $6 bottles of Coconut Aminos. Ugh, why can’t you return half used bottles to the grocery store like you can make-up at Sephora??
So for breakfast, I had the Fluffy Plantain Waffles. I ate three, they did not fill me up and my biggest mistake was going to work with a grumbling stomach knowing I couldn’t run to the bakery and grab something to stop it. At this point, I’m out of money anyway.
I watched the clock as the hours ticked by, at exactly noon, I jumped out of my desk chair and warmed up my Tumeric-Ginger Soup and grabbed my No-Fail (mine failed) Tumeric Tortillas, which I had baked to make into chips. Don’t get me wrong, the soup tasted great. However, I did feel like I was trying to swallow baby food. And before I knew it, lunch was devoured and I was still hungry.
By 2pm, my hunger headache had began. I concentrated on work and tried not to think about what I was going to make for dinner. Mostly because I wasn’t all that excited for my dinner prospects.
Around 4pm, I caved and ate the broken pieces from Blue Corn Tortillas Chips and a mandarin orange. My headache subsided for all of five minutes before I was hoping it would be 5:30 and I could just go home.
Dinner was finally here, and I had forgotten to marinate my chicken for the Honey-Lime Chicken, so I threw the marinade on top and rushed it to the oven. For a side I decided on cauliflower. Now, I know there are a lot of people who swear they can make it taste good, but I can’t figure it out. I added garlic, salt, even some kale and it still tastes dreadful. I tried to tell myself it was like cous-cous. It’s not. It’s wet and grainy and bland. So another unappetizing and dreadful meal.
When I first looked at the AIP cookbook I got, I was excited. So many of the recipes looked delicious and easy to make. One thing that has surprised me through out are the portions. Many of the recipes I cut in half, mainly because it says ‘Serves 4-5’ and I only planned to eat it twice. Well, here I am about to eat all my chicken so I have no leftovers for lunch tomorrow :( Guess it’s back to baby food soup. Truth is, I need real solid food and a decent portion. I can’t spend my days hungry, head-achy and exhausted.
They say it takes our bodies time to get used to any new type of diet. But I’m already arguing with myself that I can add back in rice or tea. Maybe, I took the leap too quickly and should have eased into it. I’m going to keep trying, keep all the bad stuff (gluten, nightshades, caffeine, chocolate, sugar) to a minimum.
No-Fail Tumeric Tortilla - never got the dough consistency right, resulting in broken tortillas
