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!

Testing out the diet

Yesterday I woke up feeling like total crap.  I had two thoughts: is this the flu? Or was it something I ate last night?  Either way, I declared it a sick day and went back to sleep till 9.  I felt a bit better after a few more hours of sleep, but still a touch nauseous.  So I moved downstairs and contemplated what would be the best way to move forward as far as eating.  I started with some watered down 100% Grape Juice and turned on the TV, delighted that a Law & Order: SVU marathon would be keeping me company (gotta love USA!).

I decided making some homemade jello would be a good next step, so I used some plain gelatin and did half water, half 100% Grape Juice and let that set.  I was feeling a bit better, so decided to make up the whole chicken for dinner that I bought for this week.  At this point, I started to actually feel a bit hungry, so I decided to give the FODMAP diet a test run!  Since my jello wasn’t ready, I thought about what I could make from scratch and decided on oatmeal.  I used plain rolled oats and cooked them with my homemade coconut milk, then added a swirl of maple syrup, ground cinnamon, and a small handful of chopped pecans.  It was sooo tasty and really hit the spot!  I also got to peeling and chopping carrots and celery for both the chicken and for snacks.  The carrots I cooked and mashed, since that was recommended for the “intro SCD diet,” I figured it couldn’t hurt to have some of those this week.

For the chicken, I cooked it in the crock pot following this recipe (minus onions/garlic per FODMAP): Crockpot Chicken
I came across this recipe first because of her entry about the benefits of bone broth, so I bought the chicken with the end purpose of also making bone broth!  The chicken was very tasty and the broth is currently simmering.  I also chopped up and baked some butternut squash with just some olive oil, s&p and powdered ginger and it was yummy- definitely buying some more of that to have on hand!

For a late lunch, I made up very plain turkey burgers, again getting the idea from the “intro SCD diet” but expanding a bit to make them not too boring.  I really just made up what to put in it based on what sounded good and fit in to the FODMAP restrictions:

FODMAP Turkey Burgers
1 lb ground turkey
1 cup frozen spinach, thawed and water squeezed out
Smoked paprika
S&P
Ground sage
Ground mustard
A few tablespoons of my homemade coconut flour

I mixed all of this and formed five patties, then dusted the outside with a little more coconut flour, then slapped them on the George Foreman for three minutes.  I thought they turned out great, a little dry but I wasn’t really surprised by that.  The one thing that dawned on me as I was eating it plain was that with the FODMAP diet, I can’t have ketchup because of the fructose!  Booo I love ketchup!  I promptly hunted down a DIY FODMAP ketchup recipe, so I hope to give that a go sometime soon.

My hunger grew throughout the day, so when I got hungry in between meals I had my grape jello, and for dessert I added some blueberries.

All in all, I’m feeling MUCH better today!  Today I’m still trying to be careful about what I’m eating, I still had my usual smoothie because it is mostly FODMAP friendly (aside from the yogurt, but I feel like it is pretty low lactose..).

I gotta say though, I was pretty disappointed with my coffee today.  I brought some of my homemade coconut milk mixed with a good bit of maple syrup to add to the coffee and it just wasn’t enough.  I only got through about half the cup and had to toss it because it was just too bitter for me.  So it looks like I’ll probably be giving up coffee for awhile, which isn’t such a big deal really.  Aside from the fact that I have like 20 k-cups hanging out in my drawer.. might just have to donate those to co-workers!