Into Week 3!

So here I am, third week in to my 30 day FODMAP challenge and it’s been going great!  I have found it pretty easy to make some massive eliminations from my diet and have actually really gotten into meal planning and trying out new and exciting things, like yogurt-making!  For the most part, I think my energy levels are better and even my attitude has been up (most days). I’m able to think more clearly about what my future is going to look like in the next year, which is a personal issue I’ve been struggling with a lot lately.  My stomach is definitely better, which is really all that I’m asking for.  I have found giving up gluten really easy and probably the only thing that I’ve needed a few mini cheats has been chocolate.  Probably my next mini cheat would be a fun cocktail, kind of have missed a little alcohol here and there 🙂

The only kind of weird thing is that I have felt like my appetite has been HUGE, I’m just super hungry all the time!  And not even with specific cravings, like I am missing sugar or something, just that I’m starving and need to eat.  A friend asked if I was weighing myself through this and I said no because that wasn’t the point, but since I feel like I’ve been eating more I did want to make sure I haven’t GAINED weight lol!  That certainly wouldn’t be my intention either!!  So far I’m normal, so I guess that’s good.  Would have been nice to see a pound or two loss from removing gluten and most sugar, though!

Despite having class this weekend, I still made some time to try a few new foods, including using my homemade yogurt to make Greek yogurt!  It was easy, I just put it in the cheesecloth that came with and hung it over the sink overnight.  It was very thick, so I think next time I wouldn’t hang it for quite so long.  I used it to make these Pumpkin Oat n’ Honey muffins.  I used 1/4 cup of maple syrup and a 1/4 dextrose instead of honey and added chopped pecans and shredded coconut.  Oh and use a food processor, not a blender, my blender definitely did not work for this!

GF pumpkin oat-yogurt muffins

Next up, I made these yummy looking Oatmeal Pumpkin Pie bars!  I haven’t had a chance to try one yet because the recipe said they were best after sitting overnight in the fridge.  I plan to freeze some since it made a 13X9 pan.  Adjustments I made included using the GF flour mix I bought instead of spelt flour, I used more pumpkin instead of applesauce, dextrose instead of coconut sugar, and milled chia instead of flaxmeal.  Oh and I sprinkled some shredded coconut on top!

oatmeal pumpkin pie bars

I also made another round of the Baked Carrot Cake Oatmeal because it was so yummy!  The main change I made was that I blended fresh spinach with the coconut milk, so it’s a lovely shade of green this time lol!  I just missed knowing that I was getting some veggies in the morning since I usually add spinach to my smoothies, so I thought this would be a way to add it to my oatmeal.  Turned out good, does taste a little “greener” but not terribly.

And finally I made up burgers inspired by these Paleo Sun-dried Tomato & Spinach Burgers and homemade ketchup.  The burgers are a funny story, I kind of went overboard on the spinach, so I ended up adding a half pound of ground turkey.  They still just seemed boring, per the recipe, so I decided to spunk them up with some garlic-infused olive oil, coconut flour, grated cheddar cheese, and spices including smoked paprika, ground mustard, and tumeric.  Thankfully, despite my random additions, they turned out great, including husband approval!  For the ketchup, I followed the recipe pretty much exactly except that I warmed it on low on the stove (I didn’t think the brown sugar would blend properly otherwise) and added only a tiny bit of cayenne pepper.  Tasted great, though it makes a lot, so I hope I can use it up before it goes bad.

spinach & sun-dried tomato burgers

mm ketchup

lotsa ketchup!

At the end of the weekend, I had to laugh at my recycling pile: FOUR cans of pumpkin and an entire container of oats!  That’s totally normal, right???  Guess all I can say is: I LOVE PUMPKIN AND OATS!  😀

pumpkin everywhere!

DIY Coconut Milk & Flour

I decided to tackle making my own coconut milk after seeing this post on pinterest:
DIY Coconut Milk

I’ve been buying coconut milk from Trader Joe’s for a long time now because it is a pretty reasonable price and I have always liked that it is shelf stable, so I can stock up on a whole bunch and not worry about crowding my fridge.  Well, even at good ol TJ’s, there are some not so great additives in the coconut milk The only way to buy a more “pure” coconut milk is to buy the canned kind, which can get pretty pricey if you’re drinking it a lot!

So I thought I’d take a stab at making it myself.  I bought organic shredded coconut from the bulk aisle at Hy-Vee, I got 0.7 lb for about $4, which ended up being about 3.5 cups.

I soaked 3 cups of the coconut with 6 cups of water for two hours.

Coconut soaking

Then it was time to blend it!  I had to do two batches in the blender.  I bought a “nut milk bag” and strained the coconut milk using this, making sure to squeeze out as much moisture as possible because the leftover bits can then be used to make coconut flour!!  I ended up with 1.5 pitchers, each pitcher being 41 ounces, so my estimate would be probably close to 50 ounces of milk.

coconut milk!!

Then I spread out the coconut leftovers on two sheets and baked them at 170 degrees for over an hour (the blog said 45 mins but I didn’t think it felt dry enough).

soon-to-be coconut flour

Once this seemed dry enough, I put it through the food processor and tada, coconut flour!!

coconut flour

All in all, it was a fair bit of a work (especially when I made a few messes *ahem*), but I am pretty pleased with what all I got for $4!  Especially knowing that there is nothing funny added to any of these products- just organic coconut and water!