Sunday, February 15
Brown rice
Pico de gallo a la Danae
Lunch at Golden's:
Fried chicken breast (again not a good choice, but Golden's is like Picadilly in their lack of healthy options)
Lima beans
Corn
Beef & potato stew--saw palmetto mixed in
Apple
Strawberries
3 pretzels
Water--5? cups
Supplements--selenium, zinc, saw palmetto blend (I skipped the cod liver oil today since I had had two servings of fish on Saturday)
Monday, February 16, 2009
Wanting sugar
Saturday I struggled some with wanting something sugary. In the beginning of the week, I had bought two slices of chocolate cake from Kroger before deciding to try this experiment. I had eaten one, but left the other. It sat there on the counter, calling to me.
Also on Saturday, my friend Jonathan came for dinner, and fixed some sweet tea to drink. I had water. The tea pitcher sat there by the chocolate cake, making me think of how delicious it would be.
I resisted. I told myself that I couldn't falter now, not when I've just started trying to heal myself. One sugary snack could undo whatever progress I've made. I sent the last piece of cake home with Jonathan, and am going to ask my sister to finish off the tea. Or I will pour it out. Tea and cake will still be around when my eating experiment is over. If Jesus could go 40 days in the desert without any food, surely I can go 40 days without sugary stuff.
Also on Saturday, my friend Jonathan came for dinner, and fixed some sweet tea to drink. I had water. The tea pitcher sat there by the chocolate cake, making me think of how delicious it would be.
I resisted. I told myself that I couldn't falter now, not when I've just started trying to heal myself. One sugary snack could undo whatever progress I've made. I sent the last piece of cake home with Jonathan, and am going to ask my sister to finish off the tea. Or I will pour it out. Tea and cake will still be around when my eating experiment is over. If Jesus could go 40 days in the desert without any food, surely I can go 40 days without sugary stuff.
Day 3
Saturday, February 14
Banana
Chick-fil-A Chick'n Minis (they were free)
Antioxidant tea (see below)
Salmon
My version of pico de gallo (see below)
Apple
Piece of multi-grain bread
Tilapia
Brown rice
Salad--green leaf lettuce, tomatoes, pears, dressing--olive oil, lemon juice, salt & pepper
Water--4? cups
Supplements--cod liver oil, selenium, zinc, saw palmetto (I mixed it with the brown rice)
My pico de gallo--I call it that, but in addition to the diced tomatoes and onions, I also added chopped chayote squash and a little avocado. I would have put in more avocado, but the one I cut open had brown streaks all through it. My online research told me that this sometimes happens to fruit from young trees, but that the rest of the avocado is edible. I didn't have much "rest of" to work with, unfortunately. I hope the other avocado I got at the same time is in better condition. These came from Walmart.
Antioxidant tea--I picked up a pack of tea bags of the brand Yogi Tea at Kroger. I like this blend because it has a slightly sweet aftertaste, so I don't have to add any sweeteners to it.
Banana
Chick-fil-A Chick'n Minis (they were free)
Antioxidant tea (see below)
Salmon
My version of pico de gallo (see below)
Apple
Piece of multi-grain bread
Tilapia
Brown rice
Salad--green leaf lettuce, tomatoes, pears, dressing--olive oil, lemon juice, salt & pepper
Water--4? cups
Supplements--cod liver oil, selenium, zinc, saw palmetto (I mixed it with the brown rice)
My pico de gallo--I call it that, but in addition to the diced tomatoes and onions, I also added chopped chayote squash and a little avocado. I would have put in more avocado, but the one I cut open had brown streaks all through it. My online research told me that this sometimes happens to fruit from young trees, but that the rest of the avocado is edible. I didn't have much "rest of" to work with, unfortunately. I hope the other avocado I got at the same time is in better condition. These came from Walmart.
Antioxidant tea--I picked up a pack of tea bags of the brand Yogi Tea at Kroger. I like this blend because it has a slightly sweet aftertaste, so I don't have to add any sweeteners to it.
Day 2
Friday, February 13
Whole wheat pasta & chayote squash with marinara sauce--saw palmetto mixed in
Oven fried sweet potato fries
Dinner at Picadilly:
Coconut fried chicken breast w/ honey mustard sauce (not a great choice, but Picadilly is not known for its healthy food options)
Green beans
Corn
Whole wheat roll
Water--3-4 cups
Supplements--cod liver oil, selenium, zinc, saw palmetto blend
So today I tried mixing the saw palmetto with my pasta, and it worked really well. I didn't taste the saw palmetto at all.
Whole wheat pasta & chayote squash with marinara sauce--saw palmetto mixed in
Oven fried sweet potato fries
Dinner at Picadilly:
Coconut fried chicken breast w/ honey mustard sauce (not a great choice, but Picadilly is not known for its healthy food options)
Green beans
Corn
Whole wheat roll
Water--3-4 cups
Supplements--cod liver oil, selenium, zinc, saw palmetto blend
So today I tried mixing the saw palmetto with my pasta, and it worked really well. I didn't taste the saw palmetto at all.
Day 1
Nectarine
Banana
Mix of golden raisins & nuts
Homemade beef stew (had beef and potatoes, and a little pork broth, but I didn't make it, so I didn't have control over that.)
4 slices multigrain breadstick
Salad--iceberg lettuce, sprinkle of cheddar cheese, dressing--olive oil, lemon juice, honey, salt & pepper
Sweet tea--1 cup
Orange
Water--5 cups
Supplements--cod liver oil, selenium, zinc, saw palmetto blend
I have read that gelatin (such as is used for gel cap pills) can aggravate acne, so I didn't want to swallow the cod liver oil and saw palmetto pills. I decided to cut the cod liver oil open and just squeeze it into my mouth. I was afraid it would taste bad, but it just tasted like cod. Not my favorite fish, but okay. The saw palmetto bottle said you could make it into a tea. I quickly saw that it doesn't actually dissolve, so I had to keep stirring the water to get the powder into me. But the taste was okay--just kinda like dry husks ground up. The zinc and selenium are tablets, so I had no qualms about swallowing them.
Banana
Mix of golden raisins & nuts
Homemade beef stew (had beef and potatoes, and a little pork broth, but I didn't make it, so I didn't have control over that.)
4 slices multigrain breadstick
Salad--iceberg lettuce, sprinkle of cheddar cheese, dressing--olive oil, lemon juice, honey, salt & pepper
Sweet tea--1 cup
Orange
Water--5 cups
Supplements--cod liver oil, selenium, zinc, saw palmetto blend
I have read that gelatin (such as is used for gel cap pills) can aggravate acne, so I didn't want to swallow the cod liver oil and saw palmetto pills. I decided to cut the cod liver oil open and just squeeze it into my mouth. I was afraid it would taste bad, but it just tasted like cod. Not my favorite fish, but okay. The saw palmetto bottle said you could make it into a tea. I quickly saw that it doesn't actually dissolve, so I had to keep stirring the water to get the powder into me. But the taste was okay--just kinda like dry husks ground up. The zinc and selenium are tablets, so I had no qualms about swallowing them.
The Plan
I have been doing a lot of reading recently about eating in a more healthy, back-to-basics way. Michael Pollan's book "The Omnivore's Dilemma" pushed me to take seriously the things I had heard for a while, but not worried about much--that refined sugars and flours are bad, processed food is bad, that our food animals are being raised in ways that make them unhealthy food for us, and the average American needs to eat a LOT more fruits and vegetables. There's a lot of other good stuff in there, too, but those are some of the main points.
One thing that I think he mentioned, and that I've seen discussed in other places, is how diet affects the disease of acne, as well as many other diseases. After looking into this some more, I decided to try a 40 day "eating experiment" where I will avoid or heavily cut back on the foods that are most commonly thought to contribute to acne (and other health problems) and see if it helps my complexion. I've had a troublesome complexion since high school, but have never tried helping myself through my diet.
So, here is the plan in a nutshell. I plan to list the "whys" of the different parts in another post.
I will avoid or severely cut back on:
Sugary foods
Highly processed foods
Dairy
Vegetable oil
Shellfish
Pork
Caffeine
Grains (avoiding all refined grains, and cutting back on whole grains)
I can freely eat:
Fruits
Vegetables
Meats & fish
Eggs
Nuts (not roasted, and not too many at a time)
Olive oil or other fruit oils (coconut, avocado, grapeseed, etc.)
I am trying to drink the recommended 8 cups of water a day, and I'm taking the supplements saw palmetto, zinc, cod liver oil, and selenium.
I am trying to get a good amount of sleep each night, since sleeping contributes to healing.
I also am working toward buying organic fruits and vegetables as much as possible, and getting meat and eggs from pastured animals (ones that have eaten only grass, not fed grains.) There are a couple of farms within 15 minutes of my house that can really help with this, and I like the produce selection at Publix. Their prices on produce seem to be better than Kroger, too. I usually shop at Super Walmart for regular grocery items, but their produce selection is paltry compared to Publix.
So that's the plan, and I will be posting each day's meals along with other thoughts and resources that seem appropriate. I hope this blog can be helpful to others who want to improve their health by putting good food into God's temple.
One thing that I think he mentioned, and that I've seen discussed in other places, is how diet affects the disease of acne, as well as many other diseases. After looking into this some more, I decided to try a 40 day "eating experiment" where I will avoid or heavily cut back on the foods that are most commonly thought to contribute to acne (and other health problems) and see if it helps my complexion. I've had a troublesome complexion since high school, but have never tried helping myself through my diet.
So, here is the plan in a nutshell. I plan to list the "whys" of the different parts in another post.
I will avoid or severely cut back on:
Sugary foods
Highly processed foods
Dairy
Vegetable oil
Shellfish
Pork
Caffeine
Grains (avoiding all refined grains, and cutting back on whole grains)
I can freely eat:
Fruits
Vegetables
Meats & fish
Eggs
Nuts (not roasted, and not too many at a time)
Olive oil or other fruit oils (coconut, avocado, grapeseed, etc.)
I am trying to drink the recommended 8 cups of water a day, and I'm taking the supplements saw palmetto, zinc, cod liver oil, and selenium.
I am trying to get a good amount of sleep each night, since sleeping contributes to healing.
I also am working toward buying organic fruits and vegetables as much as possible, and getting meat and eggs from pastured animals (ones that have eaten only grass, not fed grains.) There are a couple of farms within 15 minutes of my house that can really help with this, and I like the produce selection at Publix. Their prices on produce seem to be better than Kroger, too. I usually shop at Super Walmart for regular grocery items, but their produce selection is paltry compared to Publix.
So that's the plan, and I will be posting each day's meals along with other thoughts and resources that seem appropriate. I hope this blog can be helpful to others who want to improve their health by putting good food into God's temple.
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