Over the years I found myself getting more and more unhealthy. In 2000, my life really changed when I started to research food for healing. Prior to that I just ate what I wanted and wondered why I felt sick all the time. I've had every test done on my digestive system, had my gall bladder removed, and eventually found out if I ate healthy...food that doesn't come in a package...I am very good. I have followed Dr. Mercola (www.mercola.com) for years and more recently Dr. Wahl (The Wahl Foundation) out of Iowa City.
Now...let me be clear...I have my vices.... chips, cheese, chocolate, coffee with cream and sugar, and chips...and chips again...I love my chips. And sometimes I get a little too out of control with those things so I reel it in and eat really clean. We juice. We make amazing protein smoothies. We use coconut oil, grass fed beef, and farm fresh eggs. I eat liver! Yes, liver...and lots of kale..... preferably kale chips that I make.
Bakery Boy has been on this journey with me. A lot of the time he has not liked it because he is a very, very, very picky eater...... very! Until the last few years. Now he probably eats healthier than I do. He likes his scotch and he eats a few bites of liver. Most importantly his attitude has changed and that is the biggest key.
Eating healthy is a lot about having an open mind and a great attitude. Yes, texture can be an issue. But it takes eating something a few times for your brain to create a craving for it. So every now and then Bakery Boy will say he wants something unusual for him...to which I reply, "Who are you?"
Our blood tests come back perfect and the way I'm eating actually is at a minimum keeping my autoimmune diseases from escalating and flaring. I am not thin but I am healthy.
So in an attempt to get my chips under control after Christmas I decided to go very Paleo...Bakery Boy was supposed to be gone on training for a month...easy time for me to do this.
Last night I made what I call Chicken Curry Soup...he wanted Chicken Noodle but gluten free noodles are not paleo. I said...chicken vegetable. He agreed as long as I put cabbage in it...? He has only added cabbage to his diet in the last six months...we are 48 years old...huge change..never say never.
Here's the picture:
Chicken Curry Soup
3 large cans of white meat chicken..gluten free... crazy I know (or boil a chicken)
1 yellow onion chopped
half a green cabbage chopped
3 carrots peeled and sliced
1 bag frozen green beans
1 can corn (corn..love it..not paleo..it is a grain..Dr. Mercola hates it...I put it in)
3 stalks of celery cleaned and sliced
Opt.salt (Himalayan pink sea salt)...Herbox is salty so you may not need it
pepper (fresh cracked is the best)
1 tsp curry
1 tsp turmeric (this is a powerhouse spice)
water to cover all
4-6 TBSP Herbox chicken boullion (it is powdered and gluten free..no msg)
Put all in large stock pot and cover. Bring to simmer and cook until carrots are tender..about 20 minutes. You could also put this all in a crock pot. I cook to taste so just adjust amounts for the size of your pot. Make it more healthy by boiling a chicken and making your own stock. However, you will still need to add a little Herbox (IMHO). This is adaptable and changeable to whatever spices or veggies you have in your house.
Then Bakery Boy came in the kitchen and said, "Could we add kale?" Ugh. We bought a huge bag of frozen kale to throw in our smoothies. I can't taste it in smoothies. My compromise was to sauté' it in some olive oil and sprinkle garlic on it...a fresh clove of garlic would be wonderful. I figured if I liked it out of the pan I would like it in the soup. I do not like kale stems and this frozen bag has them. Yuck. So I picked them out and topped my soup with kale. Eventually, I stirred it in the soup and just ate it. Big huge spoonful by spoonful.
You can eat as much of this soup as you want but you will fill up quickly....YUM!
I had a second small helping, some fresh blueberries, and I did have a nice glass of Chardonnay.
This week I have eaten very clean..all paleo, lots of raw, healthy proteins first and then all the veggies I want. I keep fruit to a minimum. Check out Dr. Mercola to see why. I dropped four pounds this week without even thinking.
I will be having chips and more chips during the Super Bowl. But not until then...
Love,
Veggie Girl
Being Kind, Faithful, and Fearless
