I didn't plan to start the AIP journey right now, but I did it anyway. Yesterday I ate full aip. I already had most of my special foods in the house. So much of the prep has been emotional, just gearing myself up to give up more food for an unknown length of time.
Today I feel nauseous. I could be fighting off a bug, or i could be reacting to some supplement. I was sick Sunday as well. This is the kind of stuff my new diet is supposed to clear up by healing my gut. I hate having to think so much about what to eat.
More later.
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Sunday, March 20, 2016
Canning chicken broth
I will start the Autoimmune Paleo (AIP) diet soon to help heal my gut and help heal my Hashimoto's. Most of the information can be found with The Paleo Mom. I gave up gluten over a year ago and my health remained unchanged. That led me to give up nightshades (all peppers, potatoes, eggplants). That was tricky since many gluten-free products contain potato starch. I have been able to work around it. I don't like it, but I do it. I hoped my digestive issues would go away after giving up gluten and nightshades for a time. Then I started reacting to dairy. That was awful. I love cheese, raw milk, yogurt, and cream. They make all the spice-less non-gluten food a bit better. I gave up milk and began seeing a holistic doctor in Mt. Pleasant. They discovered I had Hashimoto's thyroiditis, an autoimmune disease where the body attacks the thyroid like a foreign invader. Many people use the AIP diet to put their autoimmune diseases into remission by healing the gut. After the gut is healed, foods are added back into the diet to see which ones cause a reaction.
AIP eliminates all grains, legumes, dairy, nightshades. Those I have already been doing since January. I miss grits and corn tortillas.
It also eliminates all nuts and seeds. This is a new problem. Homemade cashew milk is a very good replacement for regular milk in my blender drinks. Cashews are now out. So is most chocolate since it comes from cacao seeds. My doctor says i can have raw cacao power even though it is not technically allowed. It tastes different than cocoa powder, but I am getting used to it.
Another big elimination is eggs. They are actually a pretty allergenic food. They were also a quick and easy lunch or breakfast.
I am already tired of not eating the same food my family is eating as I transition to this new, hopefully short term diet.
And now to canning chicken broth.
Bone broth is a very nutrient dense healing food. I make it from all out leftover chicken and turkey bones. When I started the latest batch, I realized that it contained black pepper (a seed) that is not AIP. Charlie went to the store and bought some chicken backs and a couple of whole chickens. I cooked them, picked the meat off, and made broth from the bones. I don't think I have ever actually bought chicken to make broth. It's practically a free food since we use the leftover bones.
I canned 5 qts of AIP broth and 8 qts of regular broth. That gives me a bit of broth to use while I wait to get a big enough stash of AIP bones in the freezer to make more "free" broth.
AIP eliminates all grains, legumes, dairy, nightshades. Those I have already been doing since January. I miss grits and corn tortillas.
It also eliminates all nuts and seeds. This is a new problem. Homemade cashew milk is a very good replacement for regular milk in my blender drinks. Cashews are now out. So is most chocolate since it comes from cacao seeds. My doctor says i can have raw cacao power even though it is not technically allowed. It tastes different than cocoa powder, but I am getting used to it.
Another big elimination is eggs. They are actually a pretty allergenic food. They were also a quick and easy lunch or breakfast.
I am already tired of not eating the same food my family is eating as I transition to this new, hopefully short term diet.
And now to canning chicken broth.
Bone broth is a very nutrient dense healing food. I make it from all out leftover chicken and turkey bones. When I started the latest batch, I realized that it contained black pepper (a seed) that is not AIP. Charlie went to the store and bought some chicken backs and a couple of whole chickens. I cooked them, picked the meat off, and made broth from the bones. I don't think I have ever actually bought chicken to make broth. It's practically a free food since we use the leftover bones.
I canned 5 qts of AIP broth and 8 qts of regular broth. That gives me a bit of broth to use while I wait to get a big enough stash of AIP bones in the freezer to make more "free" broth.