A Day of Grain-free Eating

Hey, everyone! I hope you all are feeling happy and healthy. I, myself, have been feeling a lift in spirit lately because it's finally Spring here in Indiana! I have my two little tomato plants doing well out on the deck (I named them Delila and Drake, haha), and I've been enjoying more walks lately. I can't wait until the farmer's market is open and set up outside! Anyway, sorry to ramble. This post is actually just to give you guys a quick peek at what a day of grain-free eating looks like. This is the diet that I stick to right now, with the occasional cheat days. I notice an improvement in my physical health and digestion when I stick to this diet, and my inflammation shown in my blood work went down significantly after just two weeks. There's no sign of my Crohn's visibly in the gut, nor in my blood work any more. Hooray! Ideally I would also eliminate any non-fermented diary from my diet as well, such as milk. And generally I do, though I sometimes use lactose free.

The guidelines for this diet are fairly simple in premise. Eliminate all grains from your diet. This includes corn, wheat, rice, all pastas (except for quinoa), etc. I also eliminate most legumes, such as beans and peas. The exception to that right now, for me, is peanut butter. Yes, peanuts are, in fact, legumes, and not nuts. This is a relatively new diet adventure for me, so it's not perfect right now. My focus at the moment is eliminating grains/gluten, because I really believe we're not meant to eat these things. They weren't commonly available to our ancestors, so I don't think our body is set up to properly break these things down during digestion.

Without further ado, here's a peek at today's grain-free eating:

I didn't eat breakfast. Instead I just had some Mandarin Orange flavored distilled water made by Simple Truth. I just wasn't hungry; This is not a "skip breakfast everyday" thing.

Lunch: Pan-seared chicken with garlic and onion green beans.

For the chicken, I seasoned it with seasoned salt, smoked paprika, and onion powder. I seared it in a bit of coconut oil in a non-stick ceramic pan, then finished the cooking process in the oven. While it baked, I sauteed some green beans (which had already been steamed) and sliced red onion with a bit of coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil blend. I seasoned with garlic powder, onion powder, and sea salt. Here's the finished dish:

Snack #1: Greek yogurt with 100% dark chocolate chips and toasted almonds.

Snack #2: Banana-Chocolate "ice cream" or smoothie. I listed how I make this in my post about smoothies, here. Today I really wanted something extra chocolatey (thanks, hormones), so I added a teaspoon of Nutella. No, it's not the healthiest thing, but this homemade chocolate ice cream is a better alternative to other similar sweets. I looked at the nutritional info the other day for a chocolate muffin. 600 calories for one stinkin' muffin! And tons of fat. With no nutrition. We were grocery shopping and my sister was looking at these muffins, when I told her that they were probably super bad for you. Out of curiosity, she check out the label. She didn't buy the muffins. Haha. ANYWAY. The Nutella really gave the flavor a little extra something, and I quite enjoyed this treat.

Dinner: Baked potato with bacon and cheddar cheese. This could have been healthier and more filling if I had opted to bulk it up with some veggies. I actually love broccoli on my baked potatoes, but I was spending time with my significant other and didn't want to take the extra time (we hadn't had any time together in while). Yeah, I'm guilty of this too.

And there you have it, my grain-free foods for the day!

If you're tired after eating, suffer from bloating/gas, stomach aches, etc, then give this grain-free change a try! Check with your doctor or medical provider (or use your own judgment; you know your own body) before embarking on any change in diet, though. And keep a food journal! That's the best way to keep track of how you feel. Remember, everyone is different.

So, what is off the table when eating a grain-free diet? Whether whole grain or refined grain, neither are included. Remember, it's grain free. It means no:

• Corn (corn chips, tortillas, corn on the cob, popcorn anything made with corn)
• Wheat (whole wheat or refined bleached wheat like white flour)
• Rice
• Oats (oatmeal, granola made with oats, etc)
• Bulgur
• Barley
• Millet
• Rye
• Durum Wheat
• Fonio
• Kamut
• Semolina Wheat
• Sorghum
• Spelt
• Teff
• Tritical
• Wild rice

And what's acceptable? Well, lots of fruits, veggies, and protein. I also include dairy at the moment, but I avoid milk. Fermented dairy like yogurt has many health benefits. There are also some healthy, protein-rich grain substitutes that are often mistakenly categorized as grains, because they can be used like a grain. These are sometimes called "pseudo cereals". These things are ok to eat, as they are not technically a grain:

• Amaranth
• Quinoa
• Buckwheat
• Chia seeds
• Acacia seeds

What makes the first list a true grain, while the second list isn't?

A grain stems from the grass family and is a small edible fruit bore on a plant.
A seed is an embryonic plant, with a hard seed coat whose contents are edible.

So a grain is the fruit of a plant stemming from the grass family, whereas a seed is not produced as the fruit of a plant, but rather it's a plant in its embryonic (unborn) state.

And now you know grains from seeds.  :-)

I hope you guys have learned something from this post!

Until next time, everyone!