Spinach Basil Pesto

For all of you out there who are in the middle of your own Elimination Diet, I've got something you are going to LOVE. You are just going to want to give me the biggest hug after you try this. Hey, even those of you who aren't doing the diet are going to love this!

Homemade Pesto! 

Those of you who haven't made your own pesto will be surprised at how easy it is. And it tastes SO much better than any of that canned stuff you buy at the grocery store.

Here's what you'll need . . .


Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of baby spinach
3/4 cups of fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup toasted sunflower seeds (the kind that have already been taken out of the shell.)
2-4 cloves of garlic (depending on how spicy your garlic is and your personal taste.)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup of extra-virgin olive oil


Extras:
Brown Rice Pasta
Red Onion
Peas
Extra Sunflower Seeds


This is a Spinach-Basil Peso sauce.

I got the recipe off of one of my favorite websites All Recipes. The original recipe is here. As you can see, I've altered it just a bit to fit my place in the elimination diet. I didn't use any Parmesan cheese. And instead of pine nuts, I used sunflower seeds. You don't have to make these changes, but this is how I did it.

You'll be using your food processor, which makes it super easy.

I started with the Spinach and the Basil. I'm not sure if I used the exact amounts that I was supposed to - I might have added a bit more basil, but that's just because I couldn't get enough of the smell! Is there anything better than basil?

Add your sunflower seeds. Like I mentioned above, the original recipe called for pine nuts, but since I wasn't to the point in the diet where I could add tree nuts, I used some sunflower seeds that I found in the cabinet. Mitch bought them earlier in the week as a snack, and they happened to work perfectly for this recipe. They give the pesto just the right texture.

And Garlic. The great thing about All Recipes is that you can read other people's reviews of the recipe. The original recipe called for 4 cloves of garlic, but some people out there found that 4 cloves was way too much. Of course, this all depends on your garlic and how much of that garlic flavor you love.

Mitch and I love garlic, but I didn't want it to be too over-powering, so I added the garlic in slowly. I ended up using about 2 1/2 cloves. It definitely had some kick, but it was delish!

Salt, Pepper, Lemon Juice and Lemon Zest are all next. I got to use my fruit squeezer that y'all know I LOVE! Also, I don't have a zester, but my peeler has a kind of grater on the other side of it so I worked with what I had! It all came out the same.

You want to throw all these ingredients in with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Process it until it's nearly smooth. At this point you can test your mixture with the garlic- add more if you think it needs it.

Keep adding little bits of olive oil until you get a nice smooth consistency.

We used this pesto to make a yummy pasta salad. I used brown rice pasta which I found in the gluten-free section of my grocery store. It made an odd consistency in the noodle soup I made a few days ago, but it was perfect on it's own. Just make sure to drain it well, and rinse it off well too. Normally I wouldn't recommend rinsing off pasta, but with rice pasta it's a must.

And look at how weird the water draining from it looks! It's like a gel!

Anyways!

Add some peas and finely chopped red onion to your pasta.

Then add your pesto!

I also had some Sunflower seeds left over so I threw the rest in with the pasta.

And oh my goodness is it delicious!

I'm not a pasta person. Especially since I changed my diet last year. But this was a great lunch for us while on this diet. Mitch even added some chicken breast to it later and it was perfect.

Give it a try. I swear it's easier than you think, and it tastes so fresh and wonderful. And you have control of the flavor, to change it however you like, which is something you can't do with pre-made pasta. Love!

Love love love!

Happy Thursday, readers!

A Look Inside

The other night Mitch and I watched a movie called Catfish. I don't want to ruin it for anyone because it was a great documentary and I highly recommend it, but the basis of it leaves you thinking about social networking sites and how much information we put out there for the world to see. Some people worry that what they put on websites like Facebook could be seen by anyone and everyone, and possibly used against them.

And here I am . . . pouring out details on my life on my blog in hopes that I could connect with some strangers. Does that worry me? Not yet! I love my readers and so far the people I've gotten to know have turned into a wonderful support group. I love that my blog has helped others out there to not feel so alone in their struggles with RA. Keep on reading and I'll keep writing!


So . . . struggles with RA. Today I had a particularly exhausting morning. A large portion of this exhaustion came from a trip to see an orthopedic surgeon. I've put off blogging about this because we weren't sure what was going on . . . and we're still not sure! But since it's taken up so much of my energy I figure I should talk about it.

A few weeks ago, I went to my doctor with complaints about my right knee. This wasn't the usual, dull pain that I was used to. This was sharp, stabbing pain.

Doc, what's wrong with me?!

Waaaaa!

Doc Wiz sent me off to get x-rays and dollars later they came back with a lil surprise . . .

You have a calcified loose body in your right knee.

. . . WHAT?!

I wish I had the x-ray on my computer to show you. I was surprised when I got to see it. A big chunk of something was located near my kneecap.

Ok, that's not an x-ray of my knee. 

Just trying to give you an idea of where this little sucker is.

I've tried finding out more about loose bodies and arthritis but it's been difficult. Everyone is different. Doc Wiz said most people with loose bodies don't have much pain, though the loose bodies aren't usually in the front of the knee like mine.

So he recommended me to see an Orthopedic Surgeon. 

And that's what I had to do this morning. . . .

I was hoping that I would go to the surgeon, he would say something like . . . 

Yep, that's what's causing your pain. Let's take it out right now! 

 Let me just go get my tools . . .

Unfortunately, that's not how it went. 

First of all, when Mitch and I got there, I was surprised that I completely didn't think about the fact that the doctor would want to examine my knee. I had to change out of my cute little outfit into a pair of ratty old shorts given to me by the nurse. So I sat there waiting for the doctor in my "peter pan colors" with green shorts and brown socks. HOT!

Dr. Surgeon came in and we went over my history with my knees, recent issues, examining my knees, and checking out my x-ray. He explained more about calcified loose bodies and everything I thought I knew about them went completely out the window. I guess I was wrong about most of it.

The big question for Dr. Surgeon was: Is this really a loose body? If it is a loose body, that would mean it would be movin' around my knee wherever it feels like going. That could cause some definite pain. If it stays in the same place, that means it's not "loose" and therefore could potentially not be what's causing me pain. Especially if it's padded by the fatty part of the knee.

And what else could be causing the pain? Well, there could be damage to the meniscus - not like a meniscus tear that your average athlete could have, but caused by the arthritis (sometimes age). It could also be from damage to the back of my knee cap (patella), or the NON-Loose body could be simply interfering with my knee cap.  

So what did the second x-ray look like?

Yep. The same. 

I personally think the last theory is what's going on here. My pain is exactly in the spot where the little frowny-face is hanging out in my knee. Which makes me think that this little sucker is just being a jerk.

How will we figure out what is really the problem?

An MRI.

Next week I have an appointment for an MRI to get a more detailed picture of what's going on in there.

Fun, right?

After that we should have a better idea of what is causing my pain. Also, Dr. Surgeon will be able to tell where this funky thing came from.

I'm exhausted. It's been a tiring day and I am currently on a big chair, wrapped up in a comforter. I don't have plans to leave this spot any time soon!

I have a feeling this will be the first installment of a multi-part series . . .

Luckily I have this little guy to take care of me!

The Challenge Begins

I started to explain more about the Elimination Diet to a friend of mine this morning. It ended up taking a big chunk of space in her own blog, and I figured I should just explain where I am on my blog! Bless her heart, she was worried about me getting enough food to supply the energy needed, especially for working out!

Just a note to all you worriers out there (mom), I'm eating PLENTY! Even though I have cravings for bread that I've never had in my life, and when I want something sweet I tell Mitch that I'm wasting away to nothing, it's all fine.

Anyways, back to the plan!

This week marks my fourth week. (wow, really?!) That means I'm entering the Phase 3 stage of the plan. I get to start introducing more yummy foods!

Yesterday we grabbed our list of Phase 3 food list and prioritized based on what we wanted to eat/what we actually were excited about eating. Each food needs to be separated by a couple of days to test my body's reaction. Here's the order we came up with . . .

1. Soy Products
2. Bananas, Papaya, Pineapple
3. Nightshade Vegetables: Peppers, Tomatoes, Eggplant, Potatoes
4. Beans
5. Tree Nuts (No Peanuts)
6. Turkey

Ok, this might seem confusing at first. Let me explain . . .

Soy products are the first on the list, because this weekend we added in soy sauce a couple of days early when we had sushi for dinner. It's been a couple of days and I feel alright, so I think I can check that off of the list of OK Foods.

Next on the list is Banana, Papaya and Pineapple. I'm not running to the store to grab a fresh papaya or anything, but I did happen to pick up some organic bananas the other day in preparation for this day. What can I say, I was excited!

Bananas are high on the list because they're an easy thing to test. I normally eat a banana alone so in theory it should be easy to tell if I have any reaction to it as it would be the only food in that particular meal/snack. I had one this morning for breakfast and it was beautiful. Do you realize how good bananas are?

Yeah, that's what I thought.

Go get a banana right now! I'll wait.

The next group is the nightshade vegetables. Another exciting addition! I love me some peppers! So peppers will be the first of the group. I can't wait to throw some bell peppers in with my usual dish of roasted veggies. That will be a good night.

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Then tomatoes. How to add those. . . tomato sauce? I can see us adding some homemade tomato sauce to some chicken and quinoa/rice pasta. YUM!

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Eggplant . . . we don't eat so much. Maybe I'll find something to do with an eggplant. And potatoes . . . we don't eat those either. Perhaps if I'm desperate I'll eat a potato. Only if I have to.

Beans? No brainer. Black beans are another fav. Mitch, please tell me we can figure out how to eat Black Bean Burgers without the bun by this point! 

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Then what? Tree nuts? Eh, whatever. I'll find some to snack on at some point. And who knows when I'll eat some freshly cooked organic, no pre-packaged turkey. If I have a desire to eat turkey then I might go there.

At this point in the diet you would normally add organic chicken and wild fish. But since we added that weeks ago, that might be why I'm not thrilled about adding turkey.

And that's where we are. I will be sure to let you know how the week goes as we keep adding. Until then, I'm gonna eat another banana!


Check out this link for more details:
Whol Life Nutrition

It's One Of Those Days

It's one of those days where it's a little on the rainy side . . .

and the last thing I want to do is get out of bed.

It's cold outside and my bed is warm. All the awaits me out of my bed is chores, errands and the gym.

I could spend my day snuggled under my comforter, reading a book and sipping hot tea.

 

There's no way I could possibly make it out of this bed. Let me just say here all week!

What's that Mitch? You'll make me bacon? And pancakes? OK I'm up!

Sigh. I only wish.

I Have A Confession . . .

I have a confession.

Last night I did the unthinkable.

I ate something outside of my diet.

gasps from the crowd.


Last night we went out for dinner with my in-laws, who are in town this weekend. Having people visiting while being on this diet has been a challenge. One of my favorite things to do is to go out to dinner. I love it. And I especially love when I can take my friends and family to a great restaurant that they have never been to. I'm all about getting people to experience different foods! (And drinks! Like the time I bought my girl Melissa a Tom Collins . . . and then the next time she ordered one herself! Makes my little heart smile.)

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We did great on our elimination diet, deciding to add in soy a couple days early so we could enjoy some sashimi with soy sauce. (Contemplated bringing our own Tamari sauce, but decided I didn't want to bring the bottle in my purse for fear it would explode. . . or whatever.)

Did I ever tell you how much I love sushi? LOVE sushi? It's a favorite. In Salt Lake, we were a couple blocks from an amazing restaurant, Takashi. I know what you're thinking . . . good sushi in Utah? While I could not find a good piece of salmon no matter how hard I tried, I found one of the best sushi restaurants I have ever been to in my life. Takashi was serious about having fresh fish flown in daily in order to have an amazing meal.

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So last night we took Mitch's parents to a nice little Asian bistro here in town. Nothing fancy, but it's walking distance and their sushi is good. They also had about a million other dishes that the in-laws could choose from, since they aren't "sushi people" (gasp).

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The meal came and went, and my belly was happy. That is, until the dreaded bill.

No, it wasn't the dollar amount that scared me.

It was the fortune cookie.

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Why they brought us fortune cookies, I can't tell you, but they did. Everyone opened up their cookies to read their fortune (Mine: something about accepting the next proposition you're given). Fortunes were read and while joking over some funny story that I can't even remember now, I broke off a piece of cookie . . .

. . . and ate it.

Oh the humanity!

I continued to eat half of the cookie without realizing it. Then, when I looked down and saw crumbs, I panicked. AFTER ALL THIS TIME, I RUINED MY DIET WITH A FORTUNE COOKIE?!

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Ok, maybe "ruined" is a bit extreme. Laughter came from the rest of my table, but I was somehow heartbroken. How could I have blindly eaten a stale fortune cookie? I always thought if I was going to ruin my run on this diet it would be with something at least a little more decadent!

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But no. It was a crummy ol' fortune cookie.

This morning I told my father that if I break out in an arthritic attack, I must be allergic to fortune cookies. He responded with: "or even worse . . . sugar"

*shudder*

I can't even repeat my nightmare last night of being allergic to sugar and then attempting to bake sugar-free desserts. And then finding that they all tasted like dirty socks.

Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

And please forgive me, dear readers!

Breakfast For The Elimination

Breakfasts have been especially difficult while on this elimination diet. In the morning, most people go for cereal, eggs, oatmeal, etc. So one big hurdle I think many people have with this diet plan is what to eat for breakfast.

Me? I've been known to go off my paleo eating and snack on some cereal, but normally I would eat fruit and leftovers for breakfast. Meatballs from dinner last night? Perfect breakfast! Roasted Sweet potatoes left over? YUM! Of course, a favorite is eggs and some sort of breakfast meat. Delish. Whatever we have in our kitchen that will give me enough energy to get through the day is perfect for my breakfast.

This morning? My breakfast consisted of left over chicken breast and brown rice.

Sounds plain and bland, huh?

Well you're WRONG!

It was delicious.

Mitch and I had a conversation about this the other day. It's interesting that with this diet, subtle flavors have become more enticing. People often have so much flavoring on our foods that the idea of eating plain chicken and rice with nothing extra seems so boring. Perhaps this elimination diet has changed how food tastes!

Other breakfast ideas?

A little while back, Mitch cooked up some toasted quinoa. For breakfast we added some cooked apples and flax seed.

More recently, though, he's been making his quinoa with coconut milk instead of water. It turns the quinoa into more of a creamy texture and adding raisins and apples makes a perfect breakfast!

Coconut oil is also a great tool to use for cooking for breakfast. Last week I made a pan of sweet potatoes and other veggies and instead of cooking with olive oil I used coconut oil. The coconut oil adds a sweetness that makes it great for the morning.

Our applesauce makes a great light breakfast as well, for those people who might not be used to eating much in the morning (though you should change that habit! . . . although who am I to talk? I snack throughout the day.)

And as for leftovers? Well it still works for me!

This might not look appetizing to you, but that's just because it's a big mash of leftovers. Earlier this week I mixed together some wild rice, adzuki beans and some curry chicken that we had made the night before. It worked! I was able to go to the gym and have a serious work out with plenty of energy.

With this plan, you have to be really creative about what you eat. Adzuki beans and brown rice alone could only get me so far. Adding some chicken and switching things up every couple days helps to keep from getting too used to one thing.

Now my belly is smiling and I'm ready for the day! Here I come, Day! Just look out!

Post-Workout Chicken Feast

Two blog entries in one day? This must be a special one.

Oh it is!

Little Homemaker Lyda made a delicious Roasted Lemon Chicken!

Seriously.

And it turned out perfect.

I swear!

It was crispy, moist, delicious, all good things that roasted chicken should be!

I'm still in awe of this chicken. How did I turn out such a great meal on my first try? It was all luck!


Mitch did you think I would have ever made a roasted chicken from scratch before?

Maybe that you would buy a roasted chicken from the store.

Obviously you didn't marry me for my cooking skills

I knew you had potential! 


Thanks Mitch.

Alright, so how did I do this? I'm still trying to figure it out. Well, I started with a chicken that I asked Mitch to bring home the other day.

What a cute little chicken.

First thing to do is to take the gizzards and all the funky stuff out from the middle. Disclaimer to any readers out there that might be vegetarian/vegan and grossed out by meat.

Yeah I took a picture of it. Yum

I knew I wanted to make a lemon chicken, so I used the most amazing olive oil to coat this baby.

I gave this girl a nice lemon olive oil massage. Then went on to the spices.

I used a big mix of a bunch of different things in my cupboards, including pepper, garlic salt, herbs de provence, oregano, etc.

From the advice of multiple blogs out there, I made sure to season this thing really well. Made sure to get all sides and all the corners and insides.

I remembered my lemon on the other side of the counter. I cut it in half and used my lemon squeezer again on this chicken. I probably should have used this before adding my seasonings, but I made sure that it all was patted on nicely.

I threw some thin lemon slices on it to make it look pretty (ha! yeah there's part of me that will never go away, no matter how much I cook and bake and clean!)

The chicken went in the oven at 375 degrees. Some bloggers liked to place the chicken on a rack, some didn't. I chose to use a rack, just because it was my first chicken and I wanted it to be super crispy on the outside.

Also, a lot of blogs differed slightly about cooking times. It was usually somewhere around 2 to 3 hours. We based it on our thermometer. Maybe it was the size of the chicken, maybe it was our oven, but it was done after about 2 hours.

I'm still in shock looking at these pictures. I MADE THAT! Yeah! It was crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, everything a chicken is supposed to be like.

We made a feast of it with sweet potatoes and an amazing salad with an olive oil and lime dressing.

And you better believe we feasted.

Oh we feasted big time.

We're saving every bit of this chicken beast. We're gonna eat all we can and then I'll make a broth out of the extras. Oh yeah baby!

I'll be sleeping well with a full belly tonight!