Hello, again!

Bob and I took the summer off! We did this for several reasons:


-I lost a lot of weight January-May on the unprocessed diet. I burn at least twice as many calories in the summer months as I do in winter and eating healthy is a commitment in cooking. When I work 13 hour days, I don't have time to cook OR even to eat. I've mentioned before just how much eating I do on an unprocessed diet- A LOT of eating to get the calories I need. Not having time to get that calorie intake would have been both stressful and detrimental to my health as I only had about another 10lbs between me and an unhealthy weight. In the off months, I've maintained a weight about 3lbs over what I weighed on the diet, which is just right.


And...


-Summer food is fun. Summer is a fun time for food. Not only is there an abundance of fresh local produce, but there's carnivals, parades, vacations, and -for us- birthdays and anniversaries. We LIKE cupcakes and cheese curls, fresh bread and funnel cake. Part of my goal in going unprocessed was to strengthen my digestive system so I COULD indulge every now and then without incident.




So...What did we eat?
We're still a soy-free household both because my allergy still affects me and because we believe in a soy-free diet, but GAPS cut out all grains, all starches, all processed sugars. We love hummus, and guacamole, and salsa- so we finally started eating them with corn chips again! I LOVE to bake which means fudge, and cupcakes, etc. reappeared. Usually, I take half a batch of anything I make to work and share it there so there isn't just a whole pan of fudge on our counter. French fries and mashed potatoes were definitely missed. We also joined a CSA (Crop Share Agreement) in which we pay a membership fee that helps support a local farm, and each week we pick up a box of fresh produce. This runs May-October so we've been receiving it since we went back to traditional eating.


How are we eating NOW?
We both agreed that while there are great benefits to an unprocessed diet, we like moderation. Our general diet is farm-to-table scratch cooking. If baked goods are there, they are homemade with control over ingredients and portions. We still don't eat soy, and we generally don't eat things from a bag. However, we're allowing ourselves organic cornchips for dipping in all those yummy dips, and there is no limit on produce (potatoes, sweet corn, green beans, etc are all back on the table). During our time off, our local grocery store started carrying organic and nitrate free meats which we are super thrilled about. We still take the same digestive aids (fiber, probiotics, enzymes, gelatin).


I've started a new blog, The Copper Kitchen, following our new lifestyle. When I find a new favorite recipe, I post it there and try to mark them as paleo, vegetarian, etc. ALL of it is delicious!


Follow us in our new lifestyle- which we are hereby dubbing "Scratch!" eating!