Remember this our plan to heal our gut. Consult your doctor before beginning any program. Adjust to your own body and needs. We have done our own research and have come to these steps to help us in our journey to heal our stomach issues. Please do your own research before starting anything new. We are not really sure how long we plan to do this program. And over time we might be changing things depending on how our bodies are doing. We plan to share just about everything as we heal, so we apologize now if some things are TMI. We want to be honest as we are using our blog as our journal.
Since we both went to bed really late Saturday night, we enjoyed sleeping in and having a casual morning. We just love Sundays, do you?
20 minutes of Tara Stiles Yoga DVD plus 5 minute plank and 2 minute bridge
We both loved this strength and flexibility flow. It made us realize we need to focus on our flexibility more through our practice of yoga. One flow at a time.
Recap of our Sunday Eats:
Michelle:
probiotic and 1/2 tsp fermented cod liver oil
3 pieces of bacon with 2 eggs fried in the bacon fat with cooked spinach with 1 heaping tbsp of coconut oil and lots of coffee 😉
Finally used new juicer – made some vegetable juice for mom and me
Juiced celery, cucumber, carrots, fennel, apple, romaine and kale
Loved the juicer compared to old one we had. Â This one was fast, easy to clean and the juice was so smooth! Looks like the Breville Juicer was a good investment after all.
A banana is the perfect snack when you are rushing out the door.
Sipped on a kombucha while I prepped me food for the week.
This week I will be in Orlando working at the Disney Marathon expo, so I thought it would be a good idea to make some food and freeze it for me. Planning to succeed even as I travel 🙂  I kept the meals on the bland side as I will add more fresh spices when I eat them during the week.
Here is what I made:
I steamed up broccoli and cauliflower. Oven roasted butternut squash and parsnips.
Broccoli shallot mash:1 whole broccoli head steamed and 1 whole shallot cooked in a skillet in coconut oil. Blended in Vitamix blender with some dried parsley and oregano spices.
Cauliflower leek mash: 1 whole cauliflower steamed and 1 whole leek cooked on skillet with coconut oil. Blended in vitamix blender with cinnamon, rosemary, and thyme spices.
Parsnips fries (love these things!) 1 whole bag of parsnips, peeled and chopped into strips. Toss in coconut oil and sprinkle black pepper. Bake at 350 in oven from 20-30 minutes.
Butternut squash mash: 1 whole large butternut squash, skinned and remove seeds, chopped into cubes. Tossed in coconut oil with cinnamon, cardamom and turmeric. Bake in 350 oven for 35-45 minutes.
I then blended the butternut squash in Vitamix until creamy. I went ahead and pre-measured this out into mason jars to be part of my breakfast this week. I have two jars that are 4 oz and two jars that are 4 1/2 oz.
This is my first time freezing mashes like this, so hope it works. Fingers crossed.
Before dinner I took – digestive enzyme, l-glutamine, quercetin
Dinner was leftover grilled veggies, 9 pieces of shrimp and the same sardine avocado mash that I showed yesterday. Topped with 1 heaping tbsp coconut oil.
Enjoyed Drank peppermint tea. I am not a tea drinker (well besides kombucha) so this was hard for me to get down. I did add 3 drops of stevia to help, but still hard for me. Hopefully over time I will get used to it.
Chia seed coconut flour coconut oil mush – 1 tbsp of each with some water. Weird, yep! Delicious, yep!
Remembered to rub magnesium oil on legs and took some magnesium pills plus l-glutamine (I forgot to take it in the morning)
Michelle: Day 3 recap –
Bathroom: no success
Energy: pretty tired (which I know is due to staying up past midnight)
Gas: did not have gas, just some bloating (especially after having kombucha which happens to me from time to time when I have it, but I still love it )
Skin: barely itched my skin today
Water intake – 10 cups (including kombucha but not juice)
Lori:
probiotic, 1/2 tsp fermented cod liver oil and took l-glutamine.
First meal I enjoyed was 2 whole eggs, with sautéed kale (about 2 cups), 1 tbsp coconut oil and 3 pieces of bacon. With black coffee. This meal kept me pretty full which I was surprised.
Mid-afternoon enjoyed a fresh beet juice. I juiced 1 small beet, 4 small carrots, 3 celery sticks, 6 leaves of romaine, 1 inch fresh ginger. Perfection! So excited to have fresh juices again in my life!! Â Made about 10-12oz juice.
Late afternoon snacks were a banana and kombucha while I cleaned the house. Gary and I were so productive yesterday it felt great to get so many things done!
Before dinner I took – digestive enzyme, l-glutamine, quercetin, licorice
Dinner was 5oz grilled salmon, one sardine, half avocado, spoonful of sauerkraut, about 1/2 cup chopped turnips, about 1/2 cup artichoke/red onion/zucchini mix, small handful of lettuce, mustard and 1 tbsp coconut oil.
After eating this dinner I still felt great. No extra gas or bloating afterwards. I think I actually chewed my food (one thing I am trying to do is slow down when I eat, especially my dinner).
Gary made a fire as we watched a movie (Last of Mohicans) and made myself peppermint tea. Little bit later I made another mush – 1 tbsp liquid coconut oil mixed with 1 tbsp coconut flour and 1 tbsp chia seeds. The chia seeds really helped give this mush some crunchy texture. Since usually this mush is not really smooth, so I felt the chia seeds helped.
Rubbed magnesium oil on legs and took some magnesium pills before bed and cleaned my back.
Bathroom: no success
Energy: pretty tired (which I know is due to staying up past midnight) but still managed to be very productive!
Gas: no gas, no major stomach complaints
Skin: my calves were very itchy, but besides that nothing else has really changed. My back skin rash is slowly starting to look less inflamed.
Water intake – 10 cups (including kombucha but not juice)
Make sure to check out the comments going on from our first and second day of recaps. A lot of you brought up some great things! Thank you. If there is anything you want to know more about, let us know 0r email us!
Have a wonderful Monday! Be back later with our new plank workout video!
26 comments
yum! all those different mashes are on my to make list. they look like they would also be much easier to digest than plain cauliflower or broccoli?
Danielle that is the plan 😉
I know everyone is different, but I don’t want you guys to lose hope just because you had no bathroom success on the 3rd day. It took 4 to 5 weeks for me to “regular” doing everything you are doing. Don’t expect years of eating the way you did before to be erased in just a few days. 😉 I know you girls don’t feel this way, but I’m just reminding you just in case you have those moments. Trust me, I had those moments. 😉 My GI tract is still not the way I think it should be, but it is a hell of a lot better than when I started. When I went to Diane’s book signing for Practical Paleo, she said that it might take 6 months to a year to heal my gut depending on how damaged it is. Good luck!
Nicole oh no girl!! we are not giving up at all, we are just documenting as honestly as possible. the truth what is going on. sorry if we came across of having no hope, because we do! we actually are better than ever 😉 we know it will take time for our bodies to sort things out, but thank you for the reminder!! hope your healing going well!! xoxo
You didn’t come across as that, but I just remember I how felt when I started this journey. 😉 2 weeks in I was wondering why I wasn’t going everyday. That’s all. You girls are probably more patient than I am so you probably won’t have those thoughts! 😉
awe thanks girl!!! I am sure we will have those thoughts from time to time 😉 but know it will be worth it!
your guy’s meals look so yummy! i’m doing to paleo auto-immune protocol,7 days in, so in addition to what your doing, no eggs, nuts, seeds or fruit and i’m really struggling with the variety, plus i’m an apple addict so thats been tough… my only saviour is making mass quantities of guacamole and dumping it on everything I eat :).
Hope you continue to see improvements!
Thanks Simone! Ya when you cut things out it is hard to get variety, we feel that way with our eats sometimes. Oh yes guacamole is the best – we are avocado lovers!! A must in our daily life!
Ooh so glad you like the juicer! I am DYING to start using ours once we’re back from vacation!
Thank you so much for sharing your personal healing (gut) journey and for being so honest.
You are intelligent, brave, and good role models because you are truth to who you are. Thank you.
In many ways my healing journey is at a similar place as yours ( in terms of food choices). It`s so inspiring to read your daily eats and it has really given me a new “boost” in terms of improving my own diet ( I haven`t been honest to myself about different things, like how much chocolate I really eat every day…). Of course everybody is different (as you say), but it`s great to get advice and inspiration from one another. Thank you!!
Are you planning on doing green smoothies when healing your gut?
I also have a question about excercise if you allow me? (cause you are my fitness heroines!!!!). I have a tendency to bulk up on my thighs and butt, and I want to find excercise forms that gives me a lean physique. Any program/instructor (on you tube/DVD) that you would recommand in particular?
(I`m sorry my English is not perfect. There are som many things I would like to say to you, but it just doesn`t come out right…).
Best wishes for you two lovely ladies, Marianne
thanks Marianne!!! yes we are all here to support and inspire each other 🙂
we do plan to have green smoothies from time to time during our healing journey.
In terms of your workouts – we love zuzana light (youtube) – which is high intensity workouts which we love, we also love the tone it up girls (toneitup.com) for inspiration for cardio and weight lifting, Physique57 dvds are really good for fine toning your muscles, and Amanda Russell (youtube) for more quick and fast workouts that get you in shape. We love doing a mix of all these forms/instructors workouts, as we like to make our body keep guessing. Making it work hard in the sense as each day – each workout is different. xoxo
Hey girls! Just a question. Do you eat lunch? Or just a snack in the afternoon? Because it looks like just breakfast and dinner and snacks between? Just curious!
And no worries, I used to gag at the thought of tea, but now I’ve been more adventurous and found ones I love (and ones I most certainly will never sip again).
So, I’ve told you this before, but I’ve been struggling with hormonal/adult acne and it’s been killing me for years now. I’ve tried just about everything and it has made my skin super sensitive. I tried the “oil cleansing” I saw you were doing and it really started to work for me! I was super excited and still try to do it every night! But, if you’re interested in another product (I’m sure you’re overloaded with suggestions), I have finally had extreme success with GLAMGLOW Super-Mud Clearing Treatment mask! I literally used it for 20 min, washed it off and went to bed, then the next morning my skin looked brighter and clearer! I used it again 2 days later and my skin was so clear that my fiance stopped and stared at me for the longest time…it made me SO happy! It’s kind of pricey but I was willing to try anything for clear skin! I hope you try it and it works!!
Best of luck!! Love you girls!
Melissa, haha some of the days it looks as if we do not really ‘eat’ a lunch. that is not planned, just how our day is going. at the moment we are still trying to figure out what we want to eat as in terms of lunch. right now it is usually a juice, fruit or more veggies, maybe even a smoothie we are thinking of trying. Thanks for the face idea – we will have to look into that product! So happy to hear that it is working for you and that your skin is getting better! YAY
hugs
I just want to say thank you for sharing your experiences with us so honestly. You are both so relatable and motivate others to face personal health and esteem issues with courage and strength. Please keep sharing! You have taught me a lot :).
I’m not a tea fan but have been trying to drink more of it and less coffee and picked up some of that same peppermint tea. I put a little unsweetened vanilla almond milk in it and that seems to make it taste a little better. Good luck!
Michelle! I just read you will be at the Disney Marathon Expo! I will be down there as well running 🙂 I assume you will be working a booth? Will have to stop by!
Heather I will be at the expo working with Raw Threads Booth 433. Stop by if you can 😉
I plan to be there on Saturday and will look for the booth! Thanks! I may just have some questions for you too.
I love reading about your journey! Curious: are you eating more fats that you were before? Are they supposed to help you “go”? I’m curious bcause I’m thinking about trying a higher fat diet and was worried I’d not be getting enough fiber… and I love nothing more than a good AM poop. 😉
Laura no we are eating about the same fat we normally would during this. We are taking new supplements that help heal the gut, so really using that to help us. Also we are still eating veggies and sweet potato and things that have fiber. If you have high fat, you should still be able to get fiber in 😉 Hope this helps! Yes nothing beats a good morning poo!!!
I UNPACK MY STEAMER TODAY!!!
so excited 🙂
Hi ladies! I don’t know if you follow Angela at ohsheglows.com, but this interesting post came across my email this morning. http://ohsheglows.com/2013/01/07/carrageenan-in-our-food/ Carrageenan is food additive found in dairy and non-dairy products to thicken or emulsify. This additive causes GI inflammation and lesions. Hope this helps you with your journey to heal you gut!!
Hi ladies! I have a suggestion for you tummy troubles after reading over your diets. Try adding a big raw, leafy green salad around lunch time. I think this can help you get in your coconut oil, too, as a dressing. Ruffage has helped me to not have constipation issues in my life. Just make sure to eat a big ole BIG bowl of the green stuff. Hope my suggestion helps 🙂
Thanks Cherie for the idea. lately we have been juicing and loving it, but oh yes coconut oil as dressing on salads is a must 😉
Bacon?!?! *Gasp*! hehe. I remember eating bacon for the first time in 14 years… soon after I started eating animal products and a friend of mine who also used to be raw is a great chef made a meal which included some nitrate free bacon and it was fabulous!
haha Heather, we were the same way when we first ate bacon again 🙂 HUGS