Healthy Balls Recipe!

The best part about the 28 day elimination diet thus far has been the balls. I am a fan of the nut ball. Big fan. Big. Huge.

Now, if you are like me, you are giggling at the memory of Alec Bladwin doing his "Schweddy Balls" sketch on SNL. Its become a household joke. Can you grab me a nut ball while you're in the kitchen... These gals can't wait for some Schweddy Balls... Classic.


Anyhoo. Back to the balls. These babies are the best. They are naturally sweet, and are the perfect fix for an afternoon snack. I make a batch Sunday and eat them all week long. I adapted this recipe from my whole life nutrition cookbook. Get yours here. Best $23 I have ever spent.


Nut Balls (Raw Energy Balls)
1 cup Raw Almonds
1/2 cup pitted dates
1/4 cup raisins
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom
Sea salt
1/2 cup Almond Butter
Shredded unsweetened coconut


Toss the almonds into your food processor and process until they are smooth. There will still be some larger pieces -- thats okay. Add raisins, dates, cinnamon, cardamom and sea salt. Continue to blend until smooth. I had to do this part bit by bit to ensure everything got sufficiently mixed. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add almond butter. Using a wooden spoon, thoroughly stir the almond butter into the mixture until everything is gooey and yummy. Use your hands to form the mixture into small, bite sized balls. Roll the balls in the coconut. Store in the fridge for up to a week.

Photo Tour of my Fridge

While on this elimination diet, many people have asked what I eat, how I make it work when I can't eat meat, dairy, wheat, refined sugars... Really, what CAN I eat? So, I thought I would take you all on a little photo tour of my refridgerator, and showcase its contents this week.

Our fridge is adorned with lots o' stuff - its the center of info for our house. We plaster the fridge with dog and horse photos, quotes, old cards, funny sayings, and leave notes for each other here. Its more than just a place to store food. Its a constantly changing being.

My cousin's boyfriend lives with us and though he supports our Elimination diet, the no drinking, no sweets and no caffeine bit, he doesn't want to partake. Plus he is allergic to lots of things that we love to eat. This is his shelf (with the exception of my left over smoothie).

We try to premake our foods for the week over the weekend so we aren't rushed for time. I find I am more likely to eat unhealthy if I have no time, and am scrambling to get out the door. This way, everything is ready to go - quick and easy! Here are more examples of the foods we premake: this week we did Black Bean Chili and Lemon & Lentil Soup (look for this on tomorrow Tasty Tuesday!). We always make some sort of raw nut/date ball for quick nutritous snacks that satisfy our sweet tooths! Also, our veggie drawers have never been so jam packed. We buy obscene amounts of kale, chard, and collard greens each week for smoothies and salads.

Lastly, 100% Black Cherry and Blueberry Juice for when I just can't drink more water, carrots, and mint for smoothies.

What's in your fridge?

All this produce is making me poor.

I seriously think I am singlehandedly contributing to the success of the Kirkland PCC Natural Market. Who knew that VEGETABLES could cost so much money. I try to live by a food budget of $50/week, and I am having a very hard time while on this elimination diet. Healthy foods break the bank. For example, check out a reciept from Friday, February 26th:

I bought broccoli, collards greens, chard, carrots, kale, romaine, green onions, and bulk rice and lentils. $42.30?!?!?! Are you kidding me? Plus, Jenn spent about that buying apples, pears, lemons, limes, and avocados from Costco. I think she definitely got more for her money. Because today, less than ONE WEEK later, the only vegetables that remain in the crisper are the broccoli and carrots. But I am making broccoli soup tonight, so I can kiss that goodbye. At least we still have an abundance of fruit hanging in the basket... Oi vey.

I cannot wait for spring and summer. I am joining a local Community Sustained Agriculture this summer. I can't not at this point. Its just $30.66 a week to buy a share, and you commit to do this June - October. It works out to about $650 for the 5 months. A share size a familyof 2-6 people depending on their eating habits. They have a schedule that gives you an idea of what you'll get each week. Also -- and this is my favorite part -- each week you can go pick herbs from the garden, herbs from the field, FLOWERS!, and greens... hello sunny flowers in the house, lots of kale & chard, and fragrant herbs.

Until June rolls around, I need to find a way to keep the cost down. A few of the more specialized things I will still need to buy at PCC or a natural food store, but I am thinking I can get the produce cheaper somewhere. I am going to stop in at Fred Meyer on my way home and see.

Where do you guys shop? Any suggestions on grocery shopping to save some money? If so, please enlighten me!

Tasty Tuesday ~ Emerald City Salad

Its been really tough while doing this elimination diet to eat any food that was not prepared by my own two hands. I love to cook, and thoroughly enjoy learning new recipes and tweaking them to suit me, but life is anything but predictable, and sometimes I am unable to walk out the door at 5:30 in the morning with my Elimination Diet-friendly lunch in hand. On these days, I pop up to PCC for a bag of carrots, a head of broccoli and some dried fruit. While I know I can't partake, I always peruse the deli counter to see what tasty delights they have that day.

A few days ago, a co-worker offered my some of his "Emerald City Salad" - a PCC staple and crowd favorite. I had to turn it down because of the red bell peppers, but it got me to thinking... I could recreate the salad at home and still be on track! Its a basic salad, but packs a flavorful punch, AND offers a great base for mixing things up - I can't think of anything that wouldn't be good on this salad. I changed it up to meet Phase 2 requirements, and will continue to add more as I can incorporate more into my diet. This recipe makes a big bowl, I usually just put it in smaller tupperwares and pack it for lunches throughout my week.

Emerald City Salad

1 cup uncooked wild rice

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp salt

1/2 black pepper

1/2 bunch kale

1/2 bunch Chard

2 red chard leaves

1/2 fennel bulb, thinly sliced

1 bunch green onions

1/2 cup chopped parsley

Optional Additions

Diced red or yellow bell peppers

Diced red onion

Diced cucumber

Grape tomatoes

Sunflower seeds

Avocados

Dried cherries or cranberries

Bring 3 cups of water to boil, add rice. Bring rice to boil, cover, reduce heat to simmer and for about 60 minutes (when all the water is absorbed, remove rice from heat and let cool).

Whisk together the olive oil, lemon, garlic, salt and pepper for the dressing. Once rice has cooled, toss the dressing with the rice.

Remove stems and ribs from the green and chiffonade. Combine greens with fennel and green onion (add any other veggies at this point if you choose to do so).

Just before serving, toss greens with the rice/dressing mixture.

Enjoy!

I heart lemons and limes.

Before I get into how awesome citrus fruits are, I wanted to thank Ali from The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen for mentioning us in a recent post. I am currently on day 15 of their 28 day Elimination Diet. Check it out and find some great new recipes!

Back to lemons and limes. Pretty much, they are the fruit of the gods. Absolutely divine. Being able to eat lemons and limes for the past few days has almost been as good as Christmas and Easter combined. I am finally in Phase 2 of this Elimination Diet I am tackling. I had lemon water last night... so refreshing. I sat down with chamomile tea (with lemon!) this morning to look over my cookbook bible for dressings and sauces I can have now that I can incorporate some citrus. Over the weekend, Jenn made a delicious Lemon and Lentil soup that finally gave us the feeling that we were eating "real" food. As difficult as this trek has been at times, I know that my body loves it. I don't know if its the absence of alcohol, caffeine, processed sugar, wheat or what, but my skin has never looked this good, and I don't think I have ever slept this good in my life.

Prior to this adventure, I would classify myself as a crappy sleeper. It would take me hours to fall asleep at night (too much caffeine perhaps?!) and it was so difficult to get my booty out of bed in the morning. I always felt like I was in a fog, would wake up feeling like arthritis had attacked my hands, and perpetually had dark circles under my eyes. 15 days into this elimination diet and my skin is glowing, the dark circle are gone, I fall asleep moments after my head hits the pillow and able in a great mood in the morning. I don't know if this is all attributed to the change in my diet, but I am experiencing such great results, I am hesitant to go back to my usual ways.

I think that one of the best thing to come of this entire process thus far is I finally know my own strength. My work is littered with junk food. They stock the cupboard with Pop Tarts, chocolate chip cookies, cheese, fun sized candy bars, and my own personal Achilles Heel: peanut M & M's. Even back when I was on track and eating healthy, I was still unable able to resist a handful or two a day. I would rationalize that I ate less calories that day so it was okay. Or I logged an hour on the treadmill rather than my usual 45 minutes. This is all bullshit. An excuses. I was weak. I couldn't say no. I couldn't stop. While on this 28 day journey, I swore to myself I would follow it to the 'T.' No cheating anywhere. I am amazed at how easy it is to bypass the candy.

I have decided that even as this elimination diet runs it course, I am going to stick with a lot of it. I am going to view snacking on candy as cheating - not just cheating my diet, but cheating myself. I am better than that. I am going to limit my alcohol consumption... I think allowing myself a day a week to have some wine or go out and live it up is good. That's enough. I honestly cannot afford to do more than that - monetarily or health-wise. I am going to stick to the tea, maybe allowing myself an Americano every now and then, but by no means will I go back to my 6 or 7 cup a day habit. I am going to try to be dairy free. I am going to incorporate seafood back into my diet, but continue to avoid red meats, chicken and pork.

I am going to change my way of life. This elimination diet has opened my eyes to the way things could be. And they could be pretty damn good.

Are there any changes you could make today that will make life better? Try changing it -- its easier than you think. You may just surprise yourself. I did.

Tasty Tuesday - Nori Rolls

Today's recipe has quickly become an Elimination Diet favorite for both my cousin and myself, and I suspect we will both continue making them for the rest of our lives. I love sushi - it is practically a food group in my eyes, and even though I have to make a few concessions on the elimination diet... no ahi, no salmon, no crab, no anything that is traditionally involved in a great sushi roll. Well, other than seaweed and rice. I love these rolls because you can pretty much put anything inside of them. I am currently rolling them with a homemade pesto garlic sauce, carrots, avocado, green onions, red cabbage, celery and cucumber. If you have the rice all cooked up, these babies are a breeze to throw together and wrap up nicely to be taken as lunch the following day. In fact, I will be enjoying a roll today for lunch.

I got this recipe from the Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen blog - I love their cookbook, their blog, I'd even like to get my shit together enough to go listen to one of their seminars/classes up in Bellingham. Plus, the site is a terrific resource for anyone with food allergies. They have link to other blogs that are vegan, gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free and raw food only. Its such a fantastic resource, I whole heartedly recommend spending some time perusing their site.

Okay, on to the recipe. Please note, I made my rolls with sweet brown rice, but they can also be made with quinoa if you choose to do so. You will need nori sheets (these can be purchased at almost any grocery store, I got mine at PCC Natural Markets), sweet brown rice, and fresh veggies. You will also want to purchase a sushi rolling mat - these can also be found at the grocery or World Market has some great one for $4.00.

We'll start with the sauces:

Garlicky Pesto Sauce

1 cup pine nuts

Basil Leaves (I used 2-3 bunches)

5 garlic cloves

1/4 water

1/4 EVOO

Put all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth.

Ginger Plum Sauce

1 tbsp kuzu (found in the international foods area of grocery store)

1/2 cup water

4 plums, pitted

1 cup 100% apple juice

1 - 2 inch piece of ginger
1 tsp sea salt

Place plums, apple juice, ginger and sea salt in blender and blend until smooth. Dissolve kuzu and water in small pan (not on heat yet). Whisk blended plum concoction into the pan with the kuzu. Turn heat to medium high and let simmer for 10 - 15 minutes.

Nori Rolls

1 cup sweet brown rice

2 1/2 cups water

pinch of sea salt

Nori sheets

Avocado, thinly sliced

Cucumber, julienned

Carrots, julienned

Red Cabbage, thinly sliced

Green onions, thinly sliced

First, bring water, rice and salt to a boil in a medium sized pot. Cover, reduce heat to simmer and let cook for 45 - 50 minutes, or until all water is gone. Set rice aside. Lay a Nori sheet out on your bamboo mat. Spread rice over the nori, leaving a a two inch portion at bottom without rice. Spread pesto sauce on rice at the top, arrange vegetables on sauce. Tightly roll the sushi up starting at the vegetable end. You can 'seal' the nori to itself with a by running a little bit of water on the edge.

I am super excited for Phase 3 and getting to add salmon to these babies. But for now, I will just have to settle for vegan Nori's. They're still delicious!

What's YOUR favorite type of sushi?

Do you have any rolls you make at home?

Elimination Diet: Intro and Day 7 Update

Hello readers! Sorry we have both been so absent, but you know how life is - sometimes things are out of our control. But both Ally and I have been keeping up with our Starfish goals, and working hard towards a better us. We've both embarked on some fun things (soccer, basketball, elimination diet) recently so we can't wait to tell you all about them!

I mentioned it in an earlier post, but never really explained the Elimination/Detox diet that I (along with my cousin, Jenn) started last Monday, February 15th. Its a grueling 28 day "cleanse" during which time you abstain from caffeine, alcohol, all refined sugars, meat, dairy and pretty much anything else that tastes delicious. It's strict but everyone who has done it claims it so worth it. Essentially, its a 2 day smoothie fast followed by three phases in which foods that are irritating to your system are slowly introduced back into your diet. The goal of this is to allow your body time to create a decent healthy base by only consuming hypoallergenic foods and then to introduce the foods that have potential to cause reactions back into your diet to gauge your bodies response to the particular foods.

During the first 2 days you can only drink green smoothies comprised of apples, pears, kale, collard, cranberries, blueberries, ginger, cabbage, mint and parsely. Smoothie for beakfast, lunch and dinner. And lots of water and herbal tea. By the start of day two, you really want to eat something chewy, but no dice, just keep drinking the smoothie. Yum. Days one and two sucked.

During Phase 1 (which lasts from day 3 - 9), you can freely eat fruits and veggies (except citrus fruits and nightshades... I miss tomatoes....) and you can't have nuts. And still no meat, dairy, wheat or anything along those lines.

We are currently on Day 7. I am stoked I have made it this far. The hardest part thus far was the caffeine, or more accurately, the lack of it. By the end of Day 1 I had a raging headache (and can't take any OTC headache pills -- caffeine in those), and Day 2 was horrific. For 24 hours, my head/body yearned for caffeine, and practically throbbed because of the lack of it. But... I made it through. I drink copious amounts of herbal mint tea throughout the day and chamomile at night. Its actually quite pleasant. It makes me think it I should probably always be abstaining from caffeine, or at the very least, not drink the gallons daily that I do.

As we progressed into eating real food, my cousin and I had a blast trying new recipes and finding things that we could eat and still be compliant with the rules in Phase 1. I bought the Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook to aid us in this "quest," and it has turned out to be such an amazing resource. Its written by Ali Segersten and Tom Malterre (both Bastyr grad's and Bellingham residents -- Go Washington!), and it will forever be my kitchen bible. Its more than just recipes... Its a way of life. Honestly, the best $25 bucks I have spent in a long time. They also have a great recipe blog where they are constantly posting new, healthy and delicious recipes, as well as tips and tricks to get through their elimination diet. Many of my past "Tasty Tuesday" recipes are from their site.

So, we're onto Day 7. We eat a lot of brown rice, quinoa and greens. Yesterday I made a yummy pesto from scratch, its got a great garlic kick, and its been a great substitute for ranch or hummus with veggies (we can't eat garbanzo beans yet, but homemade hummus is definitely in my future when we get to Phase 3!!). Today's menu consisted of: smoothie and teff for breakfast; broccoli and carrots for a snack; Apple, Avocado and Seaweed Salad for lunch; and I am making Nori sushi rolls (with avocado, carrots, cabbage, green onions and cucumbers) with a Ginger Plum sauce I made. I love love love these Nori Rolls for dinner. I will be sharing the recipe with you all tomorrow, so you can enjoy it as well!

Other than the fact that we seriously have to plan meals and exercise self restraint when it comes to morning lattes and glasses of wine after work, I am so happy with this detox so far. I feel great, have much more energy that normal, and have lost 6 pounds in 7 days. AND I didn't ride or get to the gym last week because I tweaked my back and spent a few evenings getting acupuncture and chiropractic adjustments, so I am even more excited to see what the next couple of weeks brings as I start riding 5 nights a week and working out in the mornings again.

Wish me luck!