Chicken and broccoli

Thank goodness for having an AMAZING husband!  Although I have really been wiped out for the last few weeks, our food has not suffered because my husband has stepped in and really created some more delicious and new meals.  Yesterday, after beginning a new and increased thyroid regimen, I managed to plug through the day but around 6 p.m. I was out.  He woke me up to a wonderful and different chicken dinner, and the preparation was pretty easy. 

Here's your shopping list:

• White onion
• Rice Vinegar
• Garlic powder
• Poultry seasoning
• Sherry
• Carrot
• Celery
• Sea salt
• 3 chicken breasts
• White rice (1 serving per person)
• Butter
• Broccoli steamer bag

First finely chop about a fourth of an onion and 1 stick of celery.  Warm (on low-medium heat) 2 Tbsp of butter in skillet with 1/2 teaspoon of rice vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1/2 tsp of poultry seasoning, 2 Tbsp of sherry, a pinch of sea salt, carrot, and celery; once warmed add in chicken.   Steam broccoli.  Prepare rice.  When the chicken is fully cooked add in the broccoli and rice.  Stir until even and serve.

This was a great meal, but it ended up being too much food for our family of six (by about 4 servings).

I am giving this meal an 8/10 for prep time, nutrition, and taste. 

Make it hotter with cayenne.  My husband added a tiny amount of A1 for a tangier taste.  The kids loved it as it was :)  If you want to use less sodium, add it after cooking (cooking brings the flavor of salt down).

Primal Chili

We are not really soup people but we LOVE chili.  Bean less chili is pretty much just meat and sauce right?  No, not ours.  It's delicious, filling, and nutritional!  Definitely a family favorite and a quick fix!

 

Shopping list:

• Ground meat (1 pound or more)
• Avocados (2)
• Garlic
• Onions
• Cumin
• Tomato paste
• Dehydrated peppers
• H2O
• Sea salt (the good stuff where you can actually see the minerals)

Brown your burger, with diced garlic and onions add a little cumin and dried peppers.  Dice up the avocados.  Once browned add in a pinch of sea salt and tomato paste and water (to preferred consistency).  Once all is good and hot, add in your avocados and you are done! 

The avocados give a great bean-like consistency full of healthy fats and yumminess!  The avocados also really bring a filling quality to the chili, so this is a great meal that is relatively inexpensive for being primal!

I like it hot, so I add in a ton of cayenne!  We also like it chunky so sometimes we add in tomatoes or chunks of green peppers.

Maybe later I will have about 30 minutes to make some, if so I promise a picture!

The Affects of Thyroid

I saw the wonderful doctor today!  Over the past few months I have kind of been through a whirl wind of energy and depletion.  Before I went on the Primal Diet I was completely wiped of energy.  After beginning it my energy level improved immensely and I began losing weight!  YAY!!!  When I went to see an allergist and immunologist we spoke about my past medical history and he decided we should probably look at autoimmune disorders as a cause for the incredible weight gain and speed I had.  He found that I have hypothyroidism.  It looked pretty mild at first and we treated it with a relatively low dose of Cytomel. 

I began to lose weight even more rapidly, I had energy, I was able to think more clearly and was no longer misplacing myself, and best of all I no longer felt at all depressed.  (Had I not gone to some pretty progressive physicians, I may have never gotten treatment though.)  After being on Cytomel for awhile, I was switched over to Armour thyroid; and within a very short period of time I lost the energy I had built up, got foggy and disoriented, gained a whopping 12 pounds in one week, and I definitely was beginning to feel overwhelmed and depressed again.  Thankfully, today it was decided I most probably have Hashimoto's disease (the most prevalent cause of hypothyroidism), and we are increasing the dose.  It always makes me feel better to know that there is an improvement coming :)

My suggestion is that if you have these symptoms and have not had a lot of luck with physicians or felt a little bit discriminated against due to weight with physicians you have seen, you should search around town for a few very progressive physicians and/or an immunologist or low-carb physician.  Being obese is not always caused by overeating; however, finding a doctor that will look beyond saying eat less and exercise more can be difficult.   


Common symptoms

• Hair loss
• Fatigue/sluggishness
• Cold intolerence
• Confusion/mental fog
• Depression
• Weight gain
• Dry skin
• Puffy face
• Hoarse voice
• Elevated cholesterol
• Muscle aches, tenderness, stiffness, primarily in your shoulders and hips
• Pain and stiffness in your joints
• Swelling in your joints
• Muscle weakness, especially in your lower extremities
• Excessive or prolonged menstrual bleeding (menorrhagia)

So what exactly is Hashimoto's disease?  It is an autoimmunity to thyroid.  Your body will actually kill off its thyroid production by producing antibodies that attack the thyroid.  This process also causes inflammation much like how the body responds when fighting off any infection.

The good news is that after going primal there is a good chance that your thyroid will begin to regulate itself a little bit better :) 


For more information - Mayo Clinic

Gluten Free Pumpkin Pancakes

Alright so, here's the nitty gritty on the pumpkin pancakes.  They are not gritty AT ALL.  They also are not light and fluffy... What are they?  Delicious and filling!  These are amazing, but you must know they take a lot longer to cook up than regular pancakes. 

So how do you make them?  It is really quite simple.  After making the pancakes I listed yesterday we got down to half of the batter, then I added in a can of Libby's Pumpkin Pie Filling (naturally gluten free!) and all spice, cinnamon, and nutmeg (I did not measure or use much of these, just to taste since I did not use eggs.  If you do not feel comfortable doing this but want that pumpkin pie taste Libby's also has an already seasoned can).  Then, you add water a half a cup at a time until it is thin enough to pour and cook. 

Please note, the reason I said these take a long time to make is because they have to cook at a pretty low temperature.  Cook them too high and they stay mushy (my kids kind of like them that way, but not me).  Anyway, there were way too many for us, so there will probably be way too many for you.  I love the KeePeez lids, just popped one over the top and I am ready for tomorrow!

Breakfast - Smoothies

Being Primal threw the toast and cereal out the window!  Because we are allergic to eggs we needed to come up with an alternative idea.  Now we make green smoothies everyday.  I have found (with the various blenders I have used over the years) that the Blendtec blenders are the best choice. I use mine several times a day.  They do not have to be green (generally they are still pink in color); however you want to keep the carbs as low as possible. Generally, we use about 60% spinach (to increase our iron) and 40% fruits - mainly berries. 


Today's Smoothie
I filled my Blendtec with:

• Approximately 60% full of spinach (you won't taste it).
• About 30% full of strawberries.
• About 10% full of mango.

Then I added these around it:

• 1 Tbsp of Lemon Cod Liver Oil/per person (you will only taste the lemon flavor
• 1 Tbsp of cinnamon (to decrease insulin response)
• Flax seed approximately 1/10 of the smoothie size
• About 1 cup of water ( or milk, coconut milk, juice, etc.)

Blend and you're done. 


Cod liver oil can lower blood pressure, lower anti-inflammatory status, improve brain function, and improve cholesterol.  That is why we commonly use it.  Flax seed does a lot of the same and has protein and fiber.

If you want to add protein, add some protein-packed nuts!


Ratings on a scale 1-10, ten being best:
Kids rating: 10
Adults rating: 9


Have a blessed day!

Primal Recipes

This is where we will list our personalized Primal Recipes.  We will give a rating from the adults in the house and a second rating on the kids opinions too.  Please take note that our primal recipes purposely have abandoned several recommended primal foods due to food allergies.  Feel free to add in beef, pork, eggs, and any vegetable or fruit you may desire for a little twist!  You may also choose to use dairy in moderation; however, my recipes will call for alternative ingredients.  Watch this page for a minimum of weekly updates!