Sunday Week In Review -

Happy Canada Day Weekend Everyone!

This week was busy with school winding up and us madly searching for a nanny and/or daycare for when I go back to work in September. We have had a couple of leads but nothing has come of it. Aghhhh. Its very stressful but I'm trying to just relax and convince myself that it will all work out. Like I'm really good at that. Not.

I have also been busy driving around to various health food stores and some major grocery stores looking for gluten/egg/dairy free options for my daughter. We are having to completely re-think how she eats. Its a  lot of work. But we are making progress. We are finding things she likes. I'll do a post soon on what products are helping us the most in making the transition to gluten, egg and dairy free (not to mention soy, peanut, sugar and yeast) in case anyone else is in the same boat and needs ideas. If you are trying to change your diet and are frustrated with the amount of work it takes - hang in there. I have been through this a couple of times now - when I first went clean/Paleo"ish", when I started to the Candida diet and now with my daughter's food sensitivities. It gets easier. It just takes some education, shopping and experimenting. And it can be a bit costly at first as some recipes fail and purchases get the thumbs down. But before you know it you get into a new routine and it gets easier and less costly.

In the meantime my Candida battle wages on. I would say this week was a bit of a set back. Not a full set back but I've had some ups and downs. My moods have been okay but my sweet tooth is really doing a number on me. Hence the blueberry crumble twice this week. And I'm pretty hungry all the time. Again. I'm struggling a bit with keeping myself fed with tasty and satisfying foods - which takes lots of time and effort in the kitchen - because I'm busy with my daughter's food issues. The result is me not keeping enough Candida friendly food in the fridge and on our dinner plates to make sure I can keep it going. But I think I have stocked up our pantry and I'm getting enough of a handle on the dairy/egg/gluten free thing to switch my focus back to my Candida battle. So hopefully I have a bit of a better week. 

I did figure out that DAIRY is not working for me. Under my version of the Candida diet I am actually allowed to have a small portion of certain cheeses a couple of times a week. But given we were cutting out dairy for my daughter I hadn't had any for a while. Then I had a small portion of cheese for dinner and again for lunch the next day. Yikes - my body did not like that. I had a really bad stomach ache and felt really off and tired. I even had to take a nap yesterday. 

Yep - after my big post on Friday about the 5 ways to cure insomnia I broke my own rule and took a nap. But I guess it reinforces rule number 2 - EAT CLEAN. And my body is telling me that eating dairy is not eating clean for me. Lesson learned. Done with the dairy. Some people can tolerate it but actually not many. Are you one of them? Are you sure?

Oh, I also spent lots of time shopping for clothes for the five of us to where to my brother's wedding next weekend. It is a ton of work dressing 5 people in formal (semi) wear. Geez! But we are so very excited. I can't wait. He is having a vintage theme and I have a vintage surprise for him...........

Hope you have a great long weekend and enjoy lots of clean eats this week. Keep trying to figure out what your own body considers clean and listen when it tells you what it doesn't like..............

My new recipe for Blueberry Crumble (which was egg, dairy and gluten free) was AMAZING considering all the restrictions on the ingredients list. I made it twice this week. I ate way too much of it though. I should be really trying to eat the Xylitol and treats in moderation. But my darn sweet tooth is acting up again. Why does it haunt me? 

I baked these eggs in muffin cups in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes. I used a piece of sliced Nitrate free turkey breast, a piece of Swiss Chard from the Farmer's Market, a free-run egg, green onion, Sun-dried tomato, S & P and Italian seasoning. And a small dab of butter on top. Made these for the in-laws as they were staying in for a couple of days. They are really just eggs reinvented in a different way. But they end up looking so fancy that you get daughter in law brownie points for looking like a bit of a gourmet cook. Nice. 

A chicken, broccoli, onion stir fry for lunch. If you are on the Candida diet you can still make a decent stir fry with coconut amino's instead of soy sauce and arrowroot instead of flour or cornstarch. I also usually add a bit of chicken stock, fresh or ground ginger, garlic and S & P. And if you top it with sesame seeds it looks so much fancier. 

I made these turkey burgers with Cilantro glaze for dinner one night with roasted veggies. It was delicious. Sometimes turkey can have a strong flavor but it turned out perfect. And no eggs, dairy or gluten so good for the whole family. If I could ever get the girls to try this. Baby loved it though. 

Another stir fry. Same concept. Different vegetables. Except this time I marinated and grilled the chicken thighs on the barbecue to take it up a notch. I used my Candida diet friendly Grilled Chicken Thighs with Coconut Amino's and Ginger recipe. Yum. 

Okay - I saw this tip on Pinterest and it is brilliant and simple. Slice up banana's (ripe or overripe). Put on a piece of wax or parchment paper. Freeze. Once frozen throw them in a ziplock bag. Voila - you have frozen banana's ready for smoothies or blender icecream. My kids have been loving this. If only I could eat banana's - I haven't had a banana in over 2 months now - since I got my IGG tests back. Pity party. Yep.

Pancake batch number 1. These were some pancake concoction. I always know my sweet tooth is acting up when I do my Sunday in review and had pancakes more than once. Sigh. 

Salad for lunch. With Chicken. Shocking. I know. I got crazy and put some almond milk in my dressing to change things up. Wild.

I made "taco salad" for dinner one night. I made an avocado/tomato/lime/cilantro/onion salad to go on top. I ate about 7 gluten free corn chips with it. That's a cheat but a pretty innocent one. 

My daughter finished Kindergarten this week. CRAZY. What an awesome year she had. The kid LOVES school. She wishes it went year-round. I hope this continues. That's what I handed out for teacher's gifts - a little "clean eating starter pack". Because her teacher was asking what the heck I was sending in her lunch. If you are just trying to switch to gluten free the thin rice cakes make a great bread substitute for "sandwiches". Sunflower seed butter instead of peanut butter is nut safe. And some organic jam. Simple changes that the kids love - just need to think outside the box........or the bread bag. And I threw in a can of Zevia - pop that's sweetened with Stevia. I don't drink it but if you HAVE to have pop this is your best alternative. 

Here's my second blueberry crumb cake topped with an almond yogurt/coconut milk topping.

Twice baked cauliflower. Yummy but I think my body is telling me that dairy is not cool anymore. I didn't feel great after this meal even though I barely had any cheese.  If you can tolerate dairy this is an amazing recipe. Swap out your white potatoes. Try it. Everyone loves them.

Another batch of  "salsa". This time I added sun-dried tomato's. Darn that is good. So simple and fresh. And tasty.

My outdoor workout station. Got up early yesterday morning and worked out on the side of my house. What a beautiful day. Why not enjoy it instead of driving to and from a gym. I'm going to try doing this a couple times a week when the weather cooperates and I'm up early enough. I actually tried a Jillian Michaels SRED workout from YouTube. It was actually easier than my usual plyometric Tabata workouts but it was fun. Plus its good to change things up and get new ideas for exercises so you don't get stuck in a rut. Oh yeah - plus I scored this AWESOME STEP BENCH at the salvation army for $6. Its super sturdy. I have been looking for one for a while. I'm addicted to the Salvation Army. 

Pancake Batch #2 - Vega One Berry  Protein pancakes.  These looked better than they tasted. 

A hemp topped salad for lunch.

I took my daughter out for a Mommy and Daughter shopping date. We went to the gluten-free bakery to find things she can eat that are egg, wheat and dairy free. While we are out I had hubby whip up my Insanely Good Spaghetti Squash Pizza. Let me tell you - it was quite an undertaking for him. He does not know the way around our kitchen anymore - I have totally taken over cooking duties since I'm on maternity leave and on this clean eating adventure. Things are going to have to change when I go back to work. But he got it done (very slowly) and I think it actually tasted better than when I made it. 

An egg, dairy and gluten free "sub melt" for my daughter. We bought some fresh gluten-free hot dog buns at the bakery. I spread some coconut oil and garlic on top, slices of nitrate free ham and some dairy and soy free "imitation cheese" from the health food store. Look how nice it melted. She loved this. I think I am going to figure this gluten/egg/dairy thing out. Its just going to take some investment of time, shopping and re-thinking our pantry. Again.

I've gotta go get some banana bread out of the oven. I'm in baking mode this morning............some great new recipes are coming this week!