Sweet tooth.

This post is not about decorating for Valentine's day,
but I pulled some photos from my blog archive to honor this sweet holiday.

Anybody who's followed my blog knows that I have a sweet tooth.

Mmmmmmm.  Buttery, sugary, melt-in-your-mouth caramels.

Chocolate is my favorite.

Eating a gluten free and dairy free diet hasn't cured me of my hankering

for something sweet.  In fact, I've concocted a few recipes without

those ingredients that are mi-t-fine, if I do say so myself.

The holidays are especially difficult for me.   It's a slippery slope when baking and

cooking for others.  This year I lost all self-control and found myself

gobbling down cookies, fudge, candy, chips..........you name it, I ate it.

A few weeks ago I went in for my yearly physical.  Eating a modified Paleo diet

 for almost 3 years has all but cured my IBS, but I still have a number of 

inflammatory/autoimmune symptoms that are troubling.  My doctor told me my lab numbers

 are excellent, but then she asked me the million dollar question.

How much sugar do I consume?

   Ehem......I had to fess up.

I eat a lot of sugar.

So, she challenged me to do The Whole 30.

 

30 days.

No sugar.  No artificial sugar.  No natural sugar.  No bacon or sausage cured with sugar.

No butter.  No grains.  No corn.  No legumes.  Yada yada yada.

I've already given up most of the prohibited foods, because I've found they're

my IBS triggers.  My lunch and dinner will remain relatively the same,

but breakfast is another story.  I tried the Whole 30 a few years back

but I failed miserably because although I love veggies,

I can't quite get my mind around eating them for breakfast.

What that means is,

....no more Cheerios for breakfast!!!!!

Well, I've started the Whole 30.

On day 3, I was in tears trying to choke down my veggie egg bake

with 5 (yes 5!) veggies.  Spinach, broccoli, zucchini, and red and green peppers.

For breakfast!

I was ready to call it quits.

Then,

  I noticed that after only a few days of no Cheerios (the only grain in my diet)

my stomach was almost flat. I really thought I was okay with eating gluten free cereal,
but obviously not.   Maybe I  can do this!

I entered day 4 with a new attitude.  In desperation, I found a Whole 30

compliant sweet potato and apple dish with eggs and coconut milk that

when eaten hot with almond milk, is similar to oatmeal.

(I undercooked my sweet potato for more texture.)

Delish!
The recipe can be found here.

A half serving of this makes my half serving of
Oscar's Mean Green Compost Casserole (what I call that thing on my plate)

almost palatable.

Almost.

 ( The recipe can be found here. )

I try to avoid chewing it, which is against all rules,

but it's the only way I can force it down. A cup of coffee helps, too.

Black coffee and tea are allowed.
Whew!

I'm not doing the Whole 30 as a fad diet, although weight loss is a fringe benefit.

I truly hope I reap enough benefits to keep me on track

 with healthy eating habits for life.

It's not easy, but I'm taking it one step at a time.

I guess you could say I'm my newest fixer upper.

9 days down and counting!

Thanks for visiting and Happy Valentine's Day!

Vickie

If you've got issues of your own,

here are a few books I've read to help me on this journey:

A special thank you to my life coaches, Julie and Megan,

for inspiring me and helping me to see the humor

 when I get overwhelmed by it all.

xxoo, Mom