My Elimination Diet Experiment

If you are following my blog, you know that I started Weight Watchers two weeks ago and have lost exactly 1.5 pounds.  Sigh.  I am following the point system, but obviously this is going to be a slow program for me.  As I also reported last week, I gave up gluten, sugar and dairy a few week before going on WW.  I have to say that although I have lost almost no weight as a result of any of this, I feel much better and I swear I have lost inches.  My skin looks better, my waistline smaller, and I don’t feel bloated.  Plus, the best part is that I do not crave any of the things I am not eating.  I used to eat bread, bagels, crackers, pizza crusts without thinking and finish it off with cookies.  Now, I can sit in front of a huge plate of pasta and not eat it.  Okay maybe that’s a stretch, but I really don’t crave sweets and food just tastes a million times better. If I am hungry after dinner still, I can eat an orange and it tastes like the most delicious orange I have ever tasted.  I am just more satisfied overall and I have to think it’s better for me to be filling my body with tons of fruits, veggies, lean meats and whole grains.

I am not against gluten, dairy or sugar and I let trace amounts sneak into my diet, but I can’t help but think it’s not a bad thing to find replacements, as long as the replacements aren’t bad.  So instead of sugar, I am going for the natural sweets of fruit, maple syrup or honey.  I am not so into stevia, xylitol or other artificial yet natural sweeteners, because they are just processed.  It’s how I feel about tofu-maybe a healthy sounding item, but processed nonetheless. Instead of white flour, I am trying things like millet, chickpea flour and buckwheat.  I love it when I find something like chickpea or buckwheat, which aren’t grains at all.  I love brown rice, amaranth or millet, but if I eat a big bowl of any of those, I am tired afterwards.  Oats are not my friends, they bloat me and give me stomach cramps, so I avoid oatmeal altogether, but some people love it as a morning treat. As for dairy replacements, hey I love cheese, so I will indulge in fresh mozzarella, as I did the other day and it was well worth it.  It was literally coming out of my cheese monger’s fingers and into my mouth.  I’m going to say no to that?  No.  However, in general I am using coconut milk, almond milk and rice milk.  If I do have cheese, I’ll try to have sheep’s milk instead of cow.

Time will tell if all of these experiments work.  I still drink coffee, wine, beer and spirits, none of which could be good for my liver and I expect I will take a break from those soon, but not yet.

One of the tips I have to eating satisfying foods is to branch out and try flavors from around the world.  This week I am featuring recipes inspired by our friends from south of the border. Here are some recipe ideas that have worked really well in keeping me satisfied on my journey.

- My Creamy Herb Salad Dressing: In a blender I mixed handfuls of basil, cilantro, a scoop of Vegenaise, juice of two limes, a touch of EVOO and salt, pepper.  Whizz away until smooth.  This sounds decadent with the mayo substitute, but when you figure you can dress a whole head of lettuce with it and your portion will only be about 1/4 of the dressing, it’s not bad.  It’s so flavorful and rich, I am in love with it.

-Pickled jalapenos.  I made these and have been adding them to everything under the sun, or straight out of the jar.  I followed RR’s recipe for Pickled Red Onions, only I added sliced jalapenos to the jar and instead of sugar, I used honey. The photo above shows Rachael’s Pulled Pork Tacos, a great and flavorful meal idea which uses both pickled red onions and jalapenos.

-Speaking of pickled onions and jalapenos, I am doing alot of corn tortillas with various fillings.  Guacamole is incredibly healthy in moderation, and you can make all kinds of salsas at home, which taste a million times better than store-bought.  Fill shells with homemade refried beans or sliced grilled chicken or ground turkey for healthy options.  I always serve a plate of sliced cabbage or lettuce for extra crunch and lots of lime wedges.

-I make a vegetable soup of some sort almost every night.  It fills me up and there can’t be many calories in there that I worry about anyway.  I love a Posole, which gives a boring soup a real kick or Rach’s Tex Mex Minestrone.

-If I am making a bean soup, I’ll stick a slice of bacon in there to flavor it, even turkey bacon which is less greasy, and then I pull it out when the soup is done.

Tune in next week to see what other healthy food discoveries I have made!

Rosemary Maggiore is our Last Minute Lady. A single mom of two kids plus a full time job (she runs this website!) keep her busy and usually pushing things to the last minute. Somehow she manages to keep her cool and her sanity while she enjoys good food, wine, friends and most importantly, family.

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