Getting Enough Calories on an Unprocessed Diet

In a previous post, I mentioned that I've lost more weight than I wanted to. I'm not sickly, but I was an appropriate size when I started this diet and I've lost 10lbs which means my pants are too big. I would like to add some toning exercises to my life (pushups and squats) but am afraid of burning more calories when I'm already having trouble keeping up. Whether I add more exercise or not, I spend ~8hours a day on my feet as a waitress speedwalking at least an hour of that time. In the summer I spend closer to 12 hours a day on my feet speedwalking around 8-10 hours a day, which means like it or not, I'm going to need to find more calories.


I started pre-cooking chicken breasts and leaving them in the fridge as a grab and go option when I don't have time or don't want to cook. everytime I make soup, I make 4 servings and freeze half. I also keep uncured, nitrate-free deli meats in there (pepperoni and salami) and cheese. I keep cups of pudding and pot de crème in the fridge beside the chocolate. I have freeze-dried fruit and nuts around the house, but I'm still hungry a lot, so I've been adding smoothies (mango, banana, juice, and flax) and a paleo friend suggested adding healthy fats (olive or coconut oil) to my smoothies to up their fat content without adding bad cholesterol. I'm using the coconut water left from the pot de crème once a week too.


The obvious truth is that eating well takes a lot more effort, not just in grocery bills and prep times but in the amount of food you need to consume to get the same calories you got from grains and starches. Having easy access to immediate calories is helpful, but I still have a long way to go.

Acorn Squash Soup

Roasted squash has the texture of mashed potatoes and the sweet nuttiness of pumpkin pie. This was my first foray into Acorn Squash and I found it surprisingly easy. Start by cutting your squash in half, scooping out the seeds and roasting it cut side down at 400* for ~30-40 minutes. Let it cool for 20 minutes.


Scoop your squash into a medium-large saucepan with a spoon. *If you do not have an immersion blender (I bought mine for $15 on amazon and I love it), put these items directly into a food processor instead of the pan. It should scoop out very easily and leave you with a clean shell. Top with 1 carton of chicken stock (we buy organic and read the ingredients labels, but you can make your own or use veggie stock). Add 1 tsp cinnamon. We also added 1/2 tsp cayenne for a little kick. Use your immersion blender to puree til smooth. This is going to be very thick on its own. If you'd like a bisque, you can add cream but it really doesn't need it. Heat through at medium heat and reduce to a simmer. Serve whenever you're ready to eat it.

2 Months- What I've learned

yesterday was my 8 week mark and Friday is my 2 month mark, so I thought I'd summarize some of the ups and downs on my journey.


I am hungry ALL the time. And I eat ALL the time. I am officially down 10 lbs since the beginning of this diet and that really wasn't my goal. Some of my pants are too big. I can pinpoint those last few pounds to this past weekend. Work was really busy- I left around 1:30am each night and had very little time to eat so my calories out v calories in was way unbalanced. Working on ways to address this. One of those ways is that I intend to start adding smoothies to my mornings. ADDING not in place of anything. I think I'm also going to start keeping some pre-cooked proteins in the fridge in addition to hardboiled eggs.


My system is healing!!! We've mentioned here that I have "cheat days" a couple times a month because my goal is to be able to partake in food life, not have to abstain from it. Ultimately, I intend to maintain a healthy gut lifestyle with weekend cheats. Some things that I used to react badly to pre-diet were jalapenos and beer. I am happy to report that jalapenos no longer affect my system at all and beer has a much much lessened effect. The 2 month cheat was pho (Vietnamese beef noodle soup) and summer rolls. The grain here is primarily rice which is the easiest grain. I could only eat about half of my normal order, because I was full very quickly. DH had no problem with his usual order but mentioned that he could probably switch to a smaller size. I am a fan of cheat days, because you don't feel as regretful about giving up little things when you get to have bigger things. I do, however, have cheat rules:

1.  Don't bring your cheats home-cheats are supposed to be special occasions and bringing it home may make you want to do it all the time
2. Don't cheat at work- I work in a restaurant and am used to buying myself dinner, but I don't let myself cheat at work because that is a slippery slope to step onto
3. If you have obsessed over the same cheat item for more than 20 minutes, just eat it- it's not worth messing with your psyche over.

It seems like more coconut than it is. Everytime I see a recipe calling for coconut milk/cream/butter, I tilt my head and think, this much coconut does NOT seem like moderation to me. At the beginning of this diet I bought a 12-can case of coconut milk. In 2 months, I've used about 8 cans if you include the 2 I bought before the case, so about 1 can/week. Not as big of an overload as I thought. I don't bake a lot on this diet and on cheat days (like cupcakes for st. pattys day) I still bake with wheat flour (sorry but nut flours just aren't the same). Nut flours have definite flavors and textures and I have to report that coconut flour just doesn't behave the way I want it to. it has an obvious coconut flavor and texture, and is highly absorbent of fluids. When choosing for a recipe, I definitely pick almond flour over coconut flour any day. So as it turns out, my coconut consumption isn't that crazy. I don't bake a lot in general, but because I use almond flour for baking, I choose other nuts (cashews, pistachios, walnuts) for my snacking. Moderation, my friends

Pudding/Flan/Panna Cotta

I've been craving pudding lately, but haven't really been keeping liquid dairy in the house (I didn't eliminate dairy for my healthy gut diet, but I have primarily cut it back to cheese with very occasional yogurt, sour cream, or butter) and if you've ever made real custard- the whole egg thing is kind of a pain in the ass. I was a big fan of instant pudding pre-diet so I wanted something just as easy as instant pudding, if not as fast. I adapted this Coconut Panna Cotta recipe for my pudding and was pretty pleased with the results. It uses gelatin (remember how great gelatin is for you! healthy amino acids and anti-inflammatory properties!) and texture-wise comes out similar to flan.

• 1 can of Coconut Milk (I actually used the whole can, but you could just use solids)
• ~1tsp Gelatin (I use grass fed gelatin but I wouldn't stress over that too much)
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1-2 tsp of Honey

Dump the coconut milk into a pan and sprinkle the gelatin over top. You can stir or not stir but let it sit while the gelatin softens. (I don't stir because gelatin always kind of glops at this stage and I prefer the glop floating on top rather than sticking to the bottom). After 5 minutes, turn on the heat, stir it all together, add in the other ingredients (I also like to add cinnamon which gives it a bread pudding flavor) and stir until everything is melted and incorporated and STEAMY. Turn off the heat and let it sit for about 10 minutes before pouring it into containers (this recipe is about 3-4 quarter cup servings. I like to pour it into mason jars because they have their own lids). This does take several hours to chill so you don't get to enjoy it right away like instant pudding, but it tastes great and would make an excellent custard pie poured over fresh berries.

Crackers

One of the things I crave the most is salty crunchy stuff. I've adapted this recipe for crackers with great results.


In a food processor:

• 1 cup Almond Flour
• 1/2 Tbs Olive Oil
• 2 Tbs Cold Water
• 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
• 2 Tbs of textural seed such as: sunflower, hemp, flax, or mustard seed
• Cayenne Pepper and Garlic Powder to taste

1 Flavor profile of your choosing from below:

• ~3-4 sundried tomatoes with 4-5 big basil leaves
• 1/4 c grated cheese (these will take longer to bake and are generally chewier)
• 3-4 Dates and 1 sprig Rosemary
• 1 tsp of cumin or curry

Blend everything in a food processor and remove sticky dough. Form into a ball and roll it out between sheets of waxed paper to 1/8" thickness. Place on a baking sheet and use a knife to score out a grid of squares on the dough. Bake at 350*F for ~15 minutes turning halfway through. Remove to a cooling rack and let cool for approx. 10 minutes before breaking apart.

Garlic Shrimp & Broccoli

1 Tbs Olive Oil
1 Tbs Butter (because nothing quite tastes like butter)
2-3 cloves of Garlic-minced (you can also use garlic powder)


Melt Butter and Oil in a pan. Toast garlic until fragrant. Add in:


1 small bunch of broccoli florets


Add 1 Tbs of Water, cover and steam for ~5-7 minutes until broccoli is cooked through.


Add 1lb of shrimp (for 2 people) or substitute another lean protein, like diced chicken. Cook 3-5 minutes until done. Serve topped with cracked black peppercorn

Thai Lettuce Wraps w/ Cucumber Salad

*If you aren't allowing yourself peanut products (because of an allergy, or because they're a legume, you can leave them out and everything will still taste spectacular.)

 

For The Wraps:
Time to prepare: ~15-20 minutes

• 2 large lettuce leaves per person (I use iceberg, but romaine or bib would work too)
• 2 Tbs of Cooking Oil (For thai food, I love to start with Ziggy Marley's Coco'Mon coconut oil in ginger lemon)
• 2 Tbs julienned carrots
• 2 Tbs shredded cabbage
• ~ 1/2 tsp Garam Masala seasoning from my Curried Squash recipe
• 1/2 tsp honey(or to taste)
• 2 Tbs cashews or peanuts
• 1 Chicken Breast per person, diced
• 1 Tbs Chopped cilantro
• 1 Tbs Chopped Basil

Melt the oil in a large skillet. Add seasoning and sautee til fragrant. Add in honey, nuts, carrots, and cabbage. Cook for 1 minute to start veggies to soften. Add chicken, Coat in sauce (which is oily to keep it from sticking to the pan) and cover, letting it steam, stirring occasionally until cooked thoroughly. Lay out your leaves on a plate, 2 leaves deep to help with tearing issues. Pile Thai chicken in the center and garnish with basil and cilantro. Wrap it up and devour!


Cucumber Salad
Time to prepare: ~5-10 minutes. I prepared this while the oil was heating and while the chicken was coking. it was finished before I filled my wraps

• 2 cucumbers, spiraled or slices (I spiral mine on basically an apple-corer-peeler-slicer)
• 1 Tbs peanut butter- melted
• 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil (I keep this in the cupboard because I love Asian cooking)
• 2 Tbs Apple Cider Vinegar

Toss all ingredients together and serve immediately. You can also use this sauce for "Asian slaw" with cabbage and carrots