Egg Drop

Things are a little crunchy time-wise around here, but I wanted to drop by with a quick update.  After 6 weeks on the elimination diet, we have added eggs.

[First egg in 6 weeks!  For breakfast, with millet and turnip greens.]

Interestingly (and surprisingly, to me), I saw a difference in my skin.  The biggest change I’ve noticed during the elimination phase is that my skin got much clearer.  So, it was easy to detect that the day after I ate my first egg, I started to break out a little.  It’s definitely not a bad reaction, as far as food reactions go, but I decided to back off on eggs for a while so that I have a clean ‘palate’ to notice differences from other foods.  It’s less, “Oh no, I have a pimple because I ate an egg” and more that I’m curious if anything else will have a similar effect.

In the future, I will definitely be eating eggs.  It’s not a bad trade-off..

[Sweet potato with a fried egg, garlicky cauliflower puree, avocado/cilantro sauce, and hemp seeds]

But how my body reacts to the foods that I eat feels like a cool knowledge to have.

Chicken Visit

Here we are, in the final week.  (Okay, final half week… I’m a little late; the beginning of this week was kind of hectic.)

[Side note: This kind of experience/experiment really makes you think about time.  I’m feeling both ‘wow, 6 weeks already?’ and ‘wow, that thing I did after just starting the elimination diet feels like it was so long ago!’]

Actually, there’s a plot twist, because Mer’s doctor told her to continue this way of eating for another month.  So, the plan from here is a little up-in-the-air.  But one thing we do know is we’re trying eggs this Saturday!

Speaking of eggs, I’d like to introduce you to Winnie Jr.  She came in for a visit Monday night because her crop (the section of a chicken’s gastrointestinal tract at the base of the esophagus where food is stored prior to digestion) was empty (meaning she hadn’t eaten) for the second night in a row.  We are especially sensitive to this because we just had a chicken die, and we aren’t sure why, but she was emaciated when we discovered she was sick.

[Winnie Jr. and observer, Buddy]

Winnie Jr. had a healthy appetite, so perhaps the reason she hadn’t eaten that evening (nor the evening before) was due to some sort of pecking order bullying?  We aren’t sure.  One thing’s for certain: she’s cute.

The variety in protein options will be great to have.  I’ve been eating more fish than usual, which is probably good for my health, but bad for the environment…

 [Salmon salad, pre-mixing.  Canned salmon, mustard, celery, carrot, olive oil, S&P]

[Salmon salad on kale.]

Speaking of kale, I’m going to go full nutrition lady on you.  Would you look at these micronutrient stats?!!

Way to go kale 🙂  It’s foods like this which are why a vegetarian diet can provide plenty of iron and protein (the main nutrients people tend to express concern about for vegetarians).  Green leafy vegetables are key (it’s always going to be true).

I think I’ve been getting more iron on this diet than I would be on my usual diet, since I have replaced dairy (which does not contain iron) with other proteins like beans, and am eating more grains like amaranth and quinoa.

I’ve posted about puffed amaranth here before, but probably haven’t done it since that post!  (It’s another technique I learned from Ashley at Edible Perspective).  We’ve made cookies with puffed amaranth in them, as well as just eating it like cereal.

[Puffed amaranth with walnuts, cinnamon, and cherries]

The texture is so light and fluffy.

I’ll be back next week, with eggs!