The Olive Oil Controversy

Reblogged from Adventures of an Allergic Foodie:

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Soon after my extensive food allergies diagnosis, I visited a nutritionist.  At the time I was eating mostly fruits and vegetables and rice, but I was still sick.  Fearful I was developing even more allergies, I kept a food journal.  After reviewing the very short list, the nutritionist asked me what type of oil I was cooking the veggies in.  I assured her I was using olive oil (absolutely no soy, corn or vegetable).

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Pretty ridiculous... if you're buying 100% olive oil, it may still have corn, soy, peanut, canola, sunflower, safflower, or hazelnut oil in it. If you have food allergies make sure to look into your brand of olive oil!

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A New Battle: Corn

An interesting thing happened to me last night, and I can only assume that since I’ve essentially eliminated corn (and corn products) from my diet, and I have been feeling 1000x better than I had in the past, that my intolerance for corn became all the more obvious.  Every once in a while we will make a small bag of popcorn (take a paper lunch bag, add 1/4c popping corn, and put in the microwave for approximately the same amount of time as store-bought microwave popcorn).  Last night we did just that, and after only a small handful of popcorn my stomach started cramping a little bit.  In the past I had probably just put it off as I was having bowel issues, but since I don’t have problems like that anymore it was almost shocking to me.  I ate a little more and stopped since the cramping didn’t go away.  I then ate some homemade guac (2 ripe avocados, juice of 1 lime, 1/4 chopped sweet onion, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1/4 c chopped cilantro) and my stomach started feeling better.  Weird.  I went to bed feeling okay… some bloating, but I figured it was just a food baby in my belly.

This morning I woke up tired, cranky, having felt like I hadn’t slept particularly well, with MAJOR brain fog.  I should tell you that I was diagnosed with ADHD before starting on the Paleo diet, but I have found that the Adderall only works well sometimes.  I didn’t know why before, and I kept trying to find information online (most people say not to eat for a few hours after you take it, don’t eat anything with citric acid, etc.) to ensure that it would always work.  So, even after taking the Adderall, I am sitting here with major brain fog.  Almost feeling hungover or something (and no, I did NOT drink any alcohol yesterday and I always drink plenty of water).  Oh, I can’t forget to tell you about my totally not normal IBS-like symptoms this morning…

So, after my experience yesterday, how I’m feeling today, and doing a little research on corn intolerance this morning, I’m thinking that corn may be the culprit.  I had never heard of having a corn intolerance/allergy before today, so I’m feeling a little like a hypochondriac, but I know my body and what’s normal for me (now) and this popcorn experience definitely is NOT.  Anybody else have experience with this or have some kind of “weird” intolerance/allergy?

 

How to Become a Great Paleo Chef

Some people think that eating paleo is hard, time-consuming, and leads to big messes in the kitchen. I disagree with all of those except for one–I almost ALWAYS make a big mess in the kitchen.  When I’m looking for my food inspiration, it always starts with the type of animal I want to eat.  Then I narrow it down to the cut.  Usually I have a taste for type of fare I want to eat (summer always gets me on a big Mexican/spicy kick with lots of limes) and the magic starts happening.  Some spices, some cooking liquids, and random things start coming out of the fridge or cabinets… sometimes my meals are based off of what I haven’t used up yet, sometimes I have a taste for a meal I see on paleo blogs, and sometimes I have no idea what to do with my meals and look for inspiration from other recipes.

I hardly ever actually follow a recipe, but I do look for guidance in regards to complimentary spices, cooking methods and temperature.  Sounds fun, doesn’t it?  It’s kind of like Pinterest, if you will.  People pin things that inspire them and maybe they follow exact directions for the DIY projects the first time (because they’ve never done anything like it before!) but most people deviate, or personalize the project.  Who wants to have the exact same decoration as someone down the street after they’ve put all the time and energy (and cursing) into it as they did it themselves?  Some of my greatest kitchen achievements have happened when I didn’t have specific ingredients, when I paleo-ized a standard recipe, or just winged it.  So, for those of you who think it’s too hard and time-consuming, just think of each time you cook as a new experience.  Over time you will get better and better at just throwing meals together, but, especially if your pre-paleo “home-cooked” meals consisted of mac&cheese and Lean Cuisines, it may take some time to find your confidence in the kitchen.  Don’t get discouraged, nobody is great at something their first time out… unless, of course, your name is Chuck Norris.

Cayenne-rub Sirloin Tip Roast, Kale Chips, Kohlrabi Fries, and Jalapeño Roasted Tomatoes

Salsa Shrimp

-shrimp
-tomatoes
-garlic
-onion
-lime
-cilantro
-dash of salt

Can you tell I’ve been on a bit of a Mexican kick lately?

Easy “Taco” Salad

-Butter lettuce
-Tomatoes
-Avocado
-Jalapeño
-Feta Cheese (optional)
-Cilantro
-Lime Juice
-Ground Beef
-Spices (I used kosher salt, black pepper, paprika, onion powder, and garlic)

Weekend Wrap-Up

This weekend was pretty great.  Friday I got in an awesome workout which made for a very happy Liz.  Saturday was more of a lazy day.  The girls, hubs and I hung out outside (the girls played in the bounce house we got them recently–what a great buy!), we did a little cleaning, and then had some friends over for a delish dinner of steak and chicken kabobs.  The great thing about these particular people is that they are super smart (they are both finishing up their PhD’s in medical research-type subjects) so conversation with them is always stimulating.  There’s a great Eleanor Roosevelt quote “Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people.”  These people definitely have great minds.

Sunday was another fairly relaxing day; we went grocery shopping, hung out, and then my older daughter, H (3 1/2), and I went to the MN Lynx game with a friend and her niece.  So much fun!  H was excited for all the “good” food (and yes, I let her experience a lot of it in small doses: cotton candy, mini donuts, hot dog in a pretzel bun).  Unfortunately, they didn’t have cheese curds (my favorite event cheat!).  Our seats were phenomenal–we were seated right on the floor behind one of the baskets right next to the Lynx bench.  We could actually hear what the players were saying!  I’ve never been that close to the action before in my life.  Obviously, the Lynx won, and when we got home hubs had homemade jerky going in the dehydrator (which, btw, made fantastic breakfast this morning).

H and me at the Lynx game

View from our seats