What Is Left To Eat? -- a Food Journal by Laura Bracken

Greek Salad with Beans One large organic cucumber, peeled and chopped ½ pint organic cherry tomatoes, sliced in half 1 can of organic pinto beans, drained and rinsed 3 slices of organic onion, chopped up a bit 4 oz of sheep's milk feta (Rodopa from Costco, no link) 10 Kalamata olives, sliced in half 1/8 cup Laura's Vinaigrette (or more, to taste) No real directions.  Just add them all together.  Mmmm Laura's Vinaigrette ¼ cup organic extra virgin olive oil ¼ vinegar (I use 1/8 cup organic apple cider and 1/8 cup organic balsamic) 3 large garlic cloves, minced ( I can't live without this tool ) 7 twists of freshly ground pepper 1 Tbls organic Dijon mustard (optional) salt Sometimes I prefer to salt my plate individually. I put all these ingredients into one of these plastic containers , close the lid and shake like crazy to mix the ingredients together.  You know how quickly and easily oil and vinegar separate again.  I love these...

I was remembering the other day that one of the reasons I wanted to try the elimination diet was that I seem to lack energy. I went to Mexico last June and while there I didn't stick to my elimination diet.  I ate what most people would call healthy (no fast food, no sugary snacks, etc), but when I returned from vacation I realized I was really lethargic. That's when it dawned on me that PRIOR to going to Mexico (and two months into the elimination diet), I apparently had started to lose the daily feeling of being tired all the time.  But I guess it's one of those things you don't notice or think about unless it's present.  Once it's gone, it's like out of sight out of mind.  I've noticed a few other symptoms that have disappeared that I didn't notice until I strayed from the diet and they came back. Just thought I'd mention. Oatmeal My oatmeal takes on a few variations that are dependent upon how much time I have, how much trouble...

This is one of my staples.  I don't think I even tasted cauliflower until I was in my 50's.  Roasted cauliflower could easily be one of my all time favorite foods now. Half a head of cauliflower is what I make for myself to eat at one sitting.  I'm not a fan of this stuff as leftovers, so I only make what I can eat at one meal. If there two or more of you, use the whole cauliflower head (and double the oil, turmeric, and salt). Roasted Cauliflower ½ head large organic cauliflower  2-3 tsp organic extra virgin olive oil  1 tsp organic turmeric powder ½ tsp salt I use a toaster oven so if you use a regular oven, you may need to adjust things. Preheat the toaster oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit with a steel broiler pan in the middle of the oven. Cut the cauliflower into large bite-size pieces and put them in a colander, rinse, then place in a bowl. Drizzle the olive oil over the cauliflower, sprinkle the turmeric powder and salt over...

In my previous post, I explained a bit about my journey to get to the point where I am today.  And in this blog post I'm explaining the reason I started this blog. I've had a stressful month as far as tasks on my plate (not my dinner plate.... just stuff that I have to do in work and home life).  I need to eat healthily but I don't have time for fancy food preparation.  And one can live on almonds and apples for only so long. I went to Pinterest and typed in "Keto easy fast recipes".  (You'll understand why later... sorry I'm in a rush... always in a rush... ugh!). I start perusing the recipes. Keto Bacon Ranch Chicken  -- I don't like eating meat.  I don't like the taste too much but I do eat it.  I just don't want it at every meal, I don't want it to be the center of the meal, and I don't want it every day.  I certainly don't need it doubled up in a recipe.  And finding sugar-free, nitrate-free, and ethically raised and sl...

I used to pride myself on being the super low-maintenance person in almost all respects and particularly at restaurants.  I'd make faces when one of my companions became "that person" who asked the waiter a dozen questions and asked for this on the side and that on the side and "make sure they don't use oil" and "I want romaine not ice berg" and then they'd still take 30 minutes to decide what to order.  Ugh! But life has a funny way of throwing things back in our faces.  I am now "that person".  Not that I go to restaurants anymore, really, but let's start at the beginning... Last April (so it's been a year now, wow!), I decided on a whim to do an elimination diet.  If you're not familiar with that, google it, there's tons of info. What's the point or goal of an elimination diet?  To find out if there are any foods that maybe you shouldn't be having.  A certain food or food group could be an allergy for ...