Lifeguard of Love

I've been away from the Minimalist/Declutter Blog World for awhile. Cutting and pasting HERE (where you'll see pretty pictures representing my filthy rock & roll side), and I spent 10+ days away from the internet when I visited my relatives in Illinois in the middle of September.

Now I'm doing something that I think I might like to blog about, so I'll give it a shot and see if it sticks.

For 6 weeks, which started October 1, I'm doing a food allergy test diet, as recommended by my naturopathic doctor, which eliminates corn, wheat, dairy, and (most sadly) beer/alcohol.

But it is SO EXCITING! Immediately I became enamored with cooking new things, which I haven't done in a long time, tending to make the same meals when it was my turn to cook. Conveniently, it's squash season, and we loooooooooooooooooooove squash at my house! I am choosing foods and eating more mindfully. I feel really great, but it's only been about a week, so I don't know if I'm really feeling a *difference* or not. Probably, I just feel a difference because I'm so inspired about cooking and eating!

Almost everything I've made so far is vegan, except when I've used chicken stock, haha.

• Cajun Spice Potatoes & Apples, (home made) Tempeh Sausage, black beans, diced tomato
  
• Sweet Potato, Pear, Kidney Bean, and Kale soup (chicken stock)
  
• Buckwheat cakes with blueberry syrup (just frozen blueberries and 2 tbsp Grade A maple syrup)
  
• Bitchin’ Hummus
  
• Acorn Squash with Millet, white beans, onions, shallots, garlic, dinosaur kale, miso tahini dressing
• Hot and cold cereals with adzuki beans and brown rice or millet, applesauce, soy milk, fresh fruit, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and ginger powder
  

Of course I've eaten other stuff, but that's what I've cooked. This past weekend my husband and I were representing the company we work for at Wordstock in Portland, so I didn't have my own kitchen comforts. We ate twice at Laughing Planet, where I had the Steamed Veggies, Rice and Beans bowl, which is freaking amazing, and once at The Paradox Cafe, where I had a tofu scramble on seasoned potatoes with steamed veggies. (That is one thing I love about Portland - YOU CAN HAVE STEAMED VEGGIES AT A RESTAURANT. I don't think that is ever an option in Olympia - veggies are fried in grease only!). On our way home, we ate at the Whole Foods deli in Vancouver. When we weren't eating out, the food front was kind of a bummer for me. During the day at the event, I subsisted on instant lentil soup (it shouldn't be so hard to get hot water at a convention center!) and rice cakes and rice crackers with peanut butter. I can't really complain, but it just wasn't satisfying. I had kind of a calorie deficit and/or low blood sugar, and I got cranky. (Kaden found me a food co-op near our hotel and I got almond milk and a funny chocolate wheat-free cookie).

I've made a commitment, and I'm dedicated to it. I don't know if I'd have been able to do it a couple years ago - I probably wouldn't have tried, because I didn't know how to cook much or create my own meals. Now I am surprised by how easy it is to keep my commitment. I don't feel tempted to eat outside my restrictions, only maybe a little bummed when Kaden is eating an expensive artisan loaf with poppy seeds. I intend to try my hand at some vegan, gluten free baking this week!

If anyone wants any of these recipes, I'd be happy to post them. I'm kind of thinking of trying out a food/recipe blog, since I tend to think the meals I invent are pretty fucking exciting. I almost never use a recipe without at least modifying it!