One Month Down …

Happy that we have made it this far on our low carb Gaps diet. The first week was frantic for me but now that I am into the schedule of cooking and have a few trusted recipes up my sleeve it is a little easier. We are on this diet for health so I am monitoring what we eat and any reactions. I am also trying to write down everything we consume which is not easy at the end of the day when I am tired. There have not been any major changes in health problems since commencing (and days where our bodies have been detoxing have been pretty miserable) but I am still hopeful.

So what are we eating?

Firstly the no’s: No grains, no unfermented dairy, no high starch vegetables eg potato, parsnip etc, no processed foods at all so no soy sauce etc, no sugars but little honey occasionally.
Now what do we eat: Eggs, non-processed meats, vegetables, a little fruit and nuts. And a basic for all is home fermented sauerkraut.

So what are the major impressions of our first month:

• I am spending hours in the kitchen now. Cooking 3 meals a day from scratch means that I need to spend 3 hours a day in food prep etc just to get by. I am trying to get ahead but have not yet been able to do so.
• Carbs are filling, we miss them and we still crave rice. You need much more food to satisfy hunger. I am struggling to fill growing teens.
• There is always a pot going on the stove or otherwise my slow cooker is cooking up a bone stock or soup. In everything I cook I make as much as the saucepan will hold.
• Only one of us has lost weight and then just a kilo. I cannot believe that people go low carb to lose weight. I gained 1kg my first week and one of the girls has gained 2kg. Supposedly the carb cravings should start to disappear soon. I hope so.
• I am learning to be more creative in cooking. With limited ingredients, I am really trying to make meals taste different. But how many ways can one cook cauliflower?
• Home made ferments are fun to make and taste great. I especially love my pseudo kim chee, carrot and ginger and cabbage/garlic/onion sauerkraut. Yum.

Here are some photos of a recent meal. Middle Eastern flavoured lamb stuffed capsicums. These were good.

Enjoy your week!

Needlepoint

It is such a joy to be able to stitch again after laser surgery on one of my eyes. First reading and now Needlepoint. My photos for today are included in the following layout which uses products from Studio Ztampf! at Scrapbook Graphics. Click on image for credits.

 

When I decided to go back to stitching, I found that I had already bought all the wools for this design years ago. I love the design by Candace Bahouth. In her book she explains the meaning of all the flowers selected which makes the tea cosy extra special.

Paislee Press is the featured designer for this months Artisan Notebook. She has generously given everybody who purchases the June issue this BEAUTIFUL kit!

Liz is also be sponsoring a challenge to create a 2 page layout using at least 2 items from this kit. She has some ideas on how to create 2 page layouts easily. Please check out this thread at the Guild for full details.

This is my layout:

For details on Guild membership and how to pick up copies of the Artisan Notebook follow this link.
Be sure to also mark the following date in your calendar for the chat with Liz at the Guild. And please bring some virtual cake as this will be my birthday! Actually apple struedel would be better...

Enjoy the rest of your week everyone. I’ll be posting tomorrow with an update on our diet as this will be the completion of 2 weeks.

June Guild Kit