Day 6 – less joint pain?

I am reading “It Starts With Food” by the Whole 9 people and it is very interesting.  I think I might have started to become more fat adapted as I am snacking less, find it easier to go 4 hours without eating and have been eating more fat and less carbs.  I must admit I find it easier to control my appetite throughout the day if I have a cooked breakfast rather than a smoothie.

 

Breakfast: breakfast hash made with leek, mushrooms, cabbage, pork mince, grated butter-nut squash and a seasoning blend I had already made up. Pictured below.

Snack – 1 banana and 4 prunes

lunch – Thai yellow curry with meatballs, broccoli, butter nut squash and celeriac noodles.  Pictured below.  Also had 1 blood orange.

 

Dinner: 1 slice of ham, sweet potato fried baked in the oven with beef dripping.  Guacamole with carrots and celery.  Forgot to take a picture.

 

Joint pain has been very low today, hardly anything, although I did not walk much so it’s hard to tell if the pain is decreasing.

Day 5 – easy meals for a busy day

I have had a busy few days so have forgotten to take pictures of all my meals again, not so busy next week so should manage to take a few pictures of delicious food!  I cooked simple food today, thrown into the pan!  I managed to eat protein at each meal too, which meant I didn’t snack too much (apart from in the afternoon which is always my most likely time to snack).

Breakfast – hash made with pork mince, leeks, cabbage and grated sweet potato

Lunch – leftover nomato bolognase and celeriac pasta

Snack – some coconut chips (so good), a banana, 4 prunes

Dinner, bun-less burger with sautéed bacon and onions, guacamole, salad, kimchi and sweet potato fries baked in the oven with beef dripping.

Knee pain was moderate in the afternoon, other joint pain was there all day but low.

Day 4 – Thinking about starch

Starch is an interesting thing – there are a lot of different diets out there that cut out starch and people with completely different conditions have benefited from this change.  I have 3 books aimed a different groups of people that are similar

a) IBS low starch diet

b) GAPS (Gut And Psychology Syndrome) diet (mainly aimed at people on the autistic spectrum)

c) SCD (Specific Carbohydrate Diet) aimed at people with Crohns and Colitis

What so bad about starch that people with completely different conditions benefit from drastically reducing their consumption?  Must be to do with the gut flora, makes you think about how amazing they are if they can affect such a wide range of conditions.

Anyway, that’s enough “blah blah blah” from me, what did I eat and how did I feel?  Lets get on with it.

Breakfast: Green smoothie same as a couple of days ago

Snack: Apple and 7 prunes

lunch: leftover stir fry veg from last night, smoked salmon, kimchi.  Also I made these amazing toast coconut chips.

snack: 1 blood orange

Dinner: I made this but I served it with fake tagliatelle made with celeriac and added some liver to the sauce.

Joint pain was similar to previous few days, I also woke up with an itchy throat but not as bad as previous night.

Day 3 – thinking about coffee

Joint pain seems a little less today, hard to tell at this early stage though.

I forgot to take pictures of my food today as I have just had a piano delivered (I have saved up all my spare cash for over a year) and all I can think about is playing it.

I miss coffee.  I am still drinking black tea and I did not drink a vast amount before so it’s probably not caffeine withdrawal symptoms.  I think it’s more psychological.   The reason I gave it up is because I like it a bit too much.  It wasn’t a case of drinking it and thinking “Mmm, nice tasty coffee”  it was more like “wow, that’s heaven in a cup”  or ” that’s better” which seems wrong, it should just be nice, not INCREDIBLE!

Anyway:  Here’s what I ate today

Breakfast:  bacon and swede onion hash

Snack: 2 muffins (as yesterday) and an apple (I was so hungry!)

Lunch: Leftover roast turkey dinner from yesterday

Snack: muffin, banana

Dinner: Roast belly pork with crackling (yummo) with a stir fry of carrots, broccoli stalks, onion and red cabbage.  I then ate the last muffin as it was saying “please eat me Chrissie”  and now it’s gone it can shut up.

 

I woke up at 2.30am that night with a really itchy throat, maybe try a few days with less baked goods/less fruit?

Day 2 of my experiment on me!

I really like taking pictures of my meals, it’s fun!  Also useful to look back on when I can’t decide what to cook.  Today I felt like having a bit of a treat so I made Chunky Monkey Muffins from the Paleo Parents blog, I substituted coconut cream concentrate for the almond butter and used tapioca flour (not cocoa powder).  I also added some currants (not raisins as “The Boy” has scoffed them all).

My hairdresser was telling me all about the Millionaires Shortbread she had made and I told her she had to stop when she started telling me about all the butter.  I think butter is the most difficult food to live without, at least there is still bacon in my life,  looks like I know what I’m having for breakfast tomorrow!

Breakfast:  Green smoothie made with spinach, banana, pineapple and coconut milk

Snack: Chunky monkey muffin

Lunch: Cup of bone broth, spinach, home-made kimchi, smoked salmon, sweet potato with beef dripping and salt

Snack:  Another chunky monkey muffin, banana

Dinner: turkey with broccoli, braised red cabbage and roast carrots/celeriac

Joint pain was similar to yesterday, hand pain in the evening

Swede (Rutabaga) Breakfast Hash

This is so easy and can be made very quickly in the morning if you have the swede grated in a container in the fridge.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• Fat of your choice, I use goose or beef dripping
• Half a swede, grated coursely
• 1 small red onion, sliced
• salt

It’s so easy!  I put 1 tablespoon of the fat in a large frying pan and when this is hot add the red onion.  Sauté until slightly browned and then add the swede and a pinch of salt.  Continue to sauté until the vegetables are golden brown and softened.  If you are serving this with bacon you can add the bacon when you add the swede, put it round the edge of the pan with the hash in the middle.

Day 1 – so it begins…

I am making a start today with this record of my diet and joint pain symptoms to see if there is any correlation.  I will not record drinks, I drink black or herb/spice teas, no coffee while on the protocol : (

Breakfast – swede and onion hash with bacon (above)

Mid morning snack – a blood orange

Lunch – Leftover turkey with gravy, carrots, swede, butter nut squash and pork stuffing

Snack – pineapple and 4 dried apricots

Dinner – Thai yellow curry (home-made paste) with turkey, carrots, mange-tout and broccoli (above).  I then ate a packet of coconut cream concentrate.

In the morning my foot pain was moderate and in the afternoon my knee pain started to increase a little.  No pain in any other joints.