Healing with Food

Since learning I was allergic to dairy 5 years ago, and probably had been allergic all my life which explains a lot of symptoms, I finally decided in the Fall of 2014 that I was no longer going to "cheat".  By cheating I mean eating baked goods with dairy in them due to having an easier time digesting the dairy, or so I thought.  I've put on weight and haven't been able to take if off no matter what I do.  Heading into menopause I thought it was hormonal weight gain and eventually hopefully I would lose it.  Another reason for wanting to try something completely different.  I started looking into a different workout regime and signed up for a Body Transformation class starting in September.  Yet I knew I needed something more, and I had noticed a co-worker has lost a lot of weight over the summer.  I asked what she'd done, and discovered The Fast Metabolism Diet by Haylie Pomroy.  Since I was going on vacation at the beginning of September I thought I'd start the diet when I returned.  Although during my vacation I did start drinking 1/2 my body weight in water to prepare for a lifestyle change. 

This isn't a diet, it really is Did I Eat Today with lots of clean foods, no dairy, no wheat, no corn, no soy, no alcohol and no sugar.  The no sugar doesn't mean using artificial sweeteners like Splenda or Sugar Twin, it means using stevia or xylitol instead.  The diet is 28 days, the length of time it takes to create new habits.  I did the plan three times to completely heal my gut, and I lost weight.  Mostly I wanted to heal my gut, I didn't want to be bloated or feel uncomfortable in my skin anymore.  I felt swollen or like there was a heavy blanket wrapped around my real shape. 

I borrowed the main book and purchased the cookbook.  I thought having the cookbook would help with meal planning.  This plan is about learning to cook at home again, it is about planning your meals and there is a lot of chopping.  Since we grocery shop on Sunday my Sunday nights were spent chopping vegetables and using our crockpot to make some meals.  Delicious meals!  I even experimented having brown rice or quinoa for breakfast.  There are three (3) phases to the eating plan, Phase 1 is grains, protein and fruits for two (2) days, Phase 2 is meat and vegetables for two (2) days and Phase 3 is protein, vegetables, fruit, grains and healthy fats for three (3) days.  I discovered I lost the most weight on Phase 1 and Phase 2, the first 28 days and gained a pound back on Phase 3.  The next 28 days I didn't lose as much as the first round, discouraging at first until I read that plateaus happen when your body is healing.  After a week I started to drop a pound or two again.  In the third round I really started to lose weight and in all three Phases.  My body was healing and I felt fantastic. 

On December 12 I finished round three and was two pounds below my goal weight.  With the holidays coming up I was worried about the temptation of chocolates and cookies.  One day to treat myself I had a peppermint tea latte with sugar free vanilla syrup and it tasted horrible!!!  I noticed fruit tasted sweeter, actually everything tasted different, better, with more flavour.  I was still eating clean and wasn't tempted at all. 

On the final day of the Body Transformation class on December 5th my final measurements showed an overall loss of 16 inches.  My thighs had more muscle definition and I looked like myself again.  I was heading towards having the body I'd had when I'd started working in the office 15 years ago.  This was proof that dairy caused inflammation in my body and inflammation made losing weight harder.  Something I had problems with regardless of exercising or cutting out snacks and having only three meals a day.  The biggest insight was the sugar I ate in muffins from the coffee shop, the treats at work and my favourite Westcoast bar was the main culprit.  Cutting out the refined sugar in the first week had me losing the most weight in the first round.

I didn't gain any weight with Christmas dinner, or the week afterward and I ate Phase 4 (all three Phases combined) switching it up by having grains with breakfast and lunch but not with dinner, or having lots of vegetables one day for every meal and only fruit at breakfast and lunch.  The only time I gained weight over the holidays, two pounds, was after New Year's Eve when I drank wine and weighed myself the next morning.  Those pounds came off a few days later. 

Almost three months later, I'm still between 2-3 pounds below my goal weight.  I've even gotten within 1 pound of my dream weight three times.  It really depends on what I've eaten.  I find eating two pieces of fruit a day is the best for me and a lot of vegetables, along with protein for my main meals.  I still drink 1/2 my weight in water every day.  If I eat a treat, I use it for my snack, bake it myself or buy it at a raw food café.  I drink lemon water in the morning.  I use spices for not only flavour but for their healing properties.  I rotate my food choices every week and don't get into the habit of having the same meals. 

I've had friends tell me I glow, and not just my skin.  My nails and hair are much healthier.  I don't get bloated anymore.  I have digestive problems rarely, except with the usual things like beans, a problem I'm learning to solve.  I've discovered a few things about my body, for example I can eat a banana occasionally, trying to eat two in a week caused me to bloat and having one the following week caused me digestive distress minutes after eating it. Grapefruits help me to drop a few pounds, along with cucumbers and daikon radish. 

I've also discovered wonderful recipes and new favourites, along with new cooking methods.  I love oranges with cinnamon sprinkled on them.  Berries are my low GI go to fruit and are what I use the most, especially blueberries.  I've discovered tamari. I've sautéed using water and continue to use this method.  I like a lime squeezed into sparkling water.  I like the bitterness of cacao nibs. Chili pepper on mangoes or pineapple is an amazing taste experience.  I've discovered new vegetables such as daikon radish, jicama, cabbage tops and arugula.  I like kombucha and recently found a local brand, Saltspring Kombucha Co. available at Ingredients Health Food or on tap at Freshcoast Health Foodbar

Now on maintenance I use raw local honey, coconut sugar and xylitol depending on what I'm making or baking.  Stevia leaves a back taste in my mouth and the only brand I've found I can handle is New Roots, so I haven't added it to my pantry yet.  I enjoy chopping vegetables and loading up the fridge for the week.  I make my lunch the night before now.  I am maintaining my weight loss. I don't want to eat crap anymore. 

All I can say is Haylie Pomroy has touched the lives of many people who are asking themselves "Did I Eat Today" and answering YES!!  I'm just one more success story.....

Book Review: The Salmon Recipes

This week, I've been reading the best cookbook to come my way in years: The Salmon Recipes. This is a recipe book for anyone wanting to get a West Coast taste into their meals. More than just a list of recipes, this book has short notes from the contributors on their experiences living on the north coast of British Columbia, as well as their memories.

As it says on the back cover: "In this book the people of the north coast reach out in celebration of our rich culture of food in a bountiful region that has supported the gathering and sharing of sea resources since the beginning of time."

The recipes include many ways to prepare salmon as well as other kinds of seafood. But that's only one part of this book's appeal. Taken in series, the paragraphs and stories on pages facing the recipes are a heartfelt invitation to understand more about the lives of people living on the coast. The many colourful and informal photographs alone are worth the cover price!

Many of the stories involve beachcombing or going out in small boats. I particularly liked the story "One of his eight arms" by Luanne Roth:
Once in our prawn trap there was a small octopus holding a prawn. He was a bit scared and disoriented, but the whole time we had him out of the water, tipping the trap to have a better look as he pulled himself around, he kept one of his eight arms outstretched with the end carefully holding his prawn.

The Salmon Recipes: Stories of Our Endangered North Coast Cuisine
by the Prince Rupert Environmental Society
New Society Publishers

www.saveourskeenasalmon.org.
Check here on Facebook for news about their book launch and possibly more news in future.

Victoria Public Market

Finally the Victoria Public Market http://victoriapublicmarket.com/ opened on September 14 and 15.  We attended the first day of opening. On the Friday night as we drove by we could see that the space still didn't look ready to actually open.  Correct, many of the vendors weren't present and although we have returned there are some spaces that still have not opened.

Congratulations are in order to Silk Road Teas who participated in the opening in grand style and had the booth that seemed the most crowded.  It is nice to have a second location of my favourite place for tea and I'm sure they will be very successful.  For those of you who don't venture downtown to the main location on Government or to the new location in the Hudson, Fairways does carry Silk Road Tea as well.

Can tell Victoria Pie Co. is very popular.  Haven't been able to try a pie as they are always sold out.  Must be delicious!  Hoping to have an opportunity to grab a pie one day.

Sutra and Roast both tempt me but I haven't tried them either.  Very busy locations which I'm hoping will settle once the novelty of the market wears off.
Did buy a wonderful croissant for my partner at The French Oven.  I wish my friends from France, Karin and Bruno were still living here because they would finally find a good baguette!!  If I could eat cheese I'd add some Salt Spring Island cheese to the baguette and make a delicious French lunch.  Maybe with some balsamic from Olive the Senses to drizzle over the whole concoction.  Sigh....oh dairy allergy I hate you some days.

Wednesdays is the farmer's market outside the Hudson, at the back of the building.  Unfortunately it only runs from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.  I don't work downtown and miss out on this wonderful market.  Here you will find the Doughboys who make delicious doughnuts.  Maybe not working downtown is a good thing, I'd be craving these far too much.

Looking forward to seeing what events and offerings the Victoria Public Market will dish up in the very near future!

Happy Birthday Julia Child

Happy Birthday Julia -- you'd be 100 today!  Your legacy lives on in those of us who cook with passion!

Mo:Le Revisted

John and I went whale watching on Monday August 6 as the kick off to our staycation.  This was a Groupon we had for whale watching on July 13th but winds prevented us from going.  We had rebooked to go during our August week off.  The whale watching was with http://5starwhales.com/  and photos can be seen at www.kayakyak.blogspot.ca/2012/08/hanging-with-j-pod-again.html After the whale watching we had plans to have lunch at The Joint Pizza http://thejointvictoria.com/  but they had closed for BC Day.  So we wandered around along Johnston Street (aka LoJo) trying to decide if we should have breakfast lunch at Jam Cafe http://www.jamcafevictoria.com/   We do love Jam Cafe bacon!  Along the way we noted Mo:Le which we hadn't been inside for a year or longer.  John being very hungry by this time and needing to eat couldn't drag his body any further and Jam seemed faraway.  We succumbed to delicious food smells and were provided with a table for two without any waiting time.

We hadn't eaten a large breakfast as we were going to be on the water and we have found eggs cause upset stomachs.  By the time we got off the boat and wandered around it was now almost 2pm. Last food we'd eaten was at 7am and by now we were well into the famished stage.

First we ordered drinks -- John had his usual diet Coke and I had a soy milk chai latte.  Soy, almond and hazelnut milk is offered, as well as gluten free bread, options available for those of us with allergies. We ordered the basic breakfast, with a side of bacon each.  Everything was tasty, the homemade hot sauce is really good and the pesto pan fried potatoes are the best part of the breakfast.  My latte was a bit cold though.    The service is attentive, we were checked on by the serving staff several times to ensure we had drinks and food.

Nice to revisit Mo:Le and have a meal that is consistent a year or two later.

Cabin 12 for Breakfast and Cabin 12 for Dinner

John and I have been on vacation this week, or rather staycation as this time we did not leave Victoria to take advantage of a Groupon coupon vacation. This meant we got to find fun things to do around Victoria.  Based on finding a 2 of 1 coupon in the Saanich News that is good until August 15th we decided to try Cabin 12 http://www.cabin12.ca/ for lunch, only we discovered and were told by our friendly waiter, the lunch menu isn't as extensive in the burger offerings as dinner.  We had breakfast for lunch instead.  Our eggs were done to our liking, the requested crispy bacon was done to perfect crispiness, the toast was good and the hash browns were the regular fare offered at other locations, such as John's Place http://www.johnsplace.ca/     Good but nothing to write home about.

We returned to Cabin 12 on Thursday for dinner to use the 2 for 1 coupon.  The burger selection is extensive and deciding wasn't easy.  John had the Enforcer -- one juicy burger with salami on it.  He said he would never have thought of putting salami on a burger but it was a damn fine idea.  I had the Big Kahuna -- delicious beef (yes I had beef) with a teriyaki sauce and a grilled pineapple ring -- messy but OMG!  My green salad was very nice, with peppers and lettuce other than iceberg, plus I gave points for getting the dressing on the side without having to ask for it that way.  The dressing was excellent.

Obviously we enjoyed our dinner because I've clipped the coupon in this week's Saanich News to have dinner there again this coming week after my chiropractor appointment.  Going for the vegetarian Birkenstock burger.

Two Salad Dressings

Not being a huge caesar salad fan I still wanted to find a dairy free one that I could have in my recipe collection to present to guests.  I found one online, really what isn't online these days, and made it without having all the ingredients called for.  Again improvising a recipe to compensate for my dairy allergy. I've indicated the original and then noted what I did with the recipe from what was available in my fridge.

Caesar Dressing -- Dairy Free

2 Tbsp of mayo -- vegan
I used fat free Miracle Whip which contains egg yolk no other dairy

2 Tbsp mustard

1/2 the juice from one lemon

2 tsp worcestershire sauce
I used BRAGG instead as it is dairy and gluten free

2 zested garlic cloves
I used 1/8 tsp of crushed garlic and then a bit more to taste

salt and pepper to taste

Stir all ingredients together, taste and adjust.  Remember that it will taste a bit different the next day.  I used a bit more Miracle Whip after I stirred it all together.  On a taste test with my partner he said it was like Caesar salad dressing.

Dressing #2 was inspired by receiving fresh basil in the food box.  Fresh basil smells wonderful and begs to be used in a pesto.  As I've cut down on eating pasta to almost not at all I decided a dressing for a salad of tomatoes and cucumbers would be perfect.

Fresh Basil Dressing

1 cup of fresh basil

2/3 cup of olive oil

1/3 cup of lemon juice

1/8 tsp of salt

Put basil in a blender, with the lid on the blender but the center lid off, gently pour in the oil as you blend the basil.  Add the lemon juice and salt, blend until mixed.  Store in a glass jar until ready to make the salad.  I like to leave dressing overnight or make them earlier in the day so the flavours have time to blend. 

On a side note, I was surprised the basil and oil didn't go all over my kitchen walls.  I think I will use less lemon juice next time.  Otherwise I really like this dressing.

1 cup of fresh basil