dani lately

I've neglected updating because I've been super busy lately. I have to finish two human resources classes (but just got an extension on one!!) and also am still doing the clinical nutrition schoolwork, and I had a lot of stuff to do at work. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. It's life, I just didn't have time to update. It feels awesome to have gotten the extension and to have finished a lot of stuff at work. Anyway, so here are some recent eats. I made almond bread (from the Gut and Psychology Syndrome book). I topped one piece with mustard, safflower mayo (not ideal, I admit), red onion and organic turkey, and the other with butter and an egg. Fermented sauerkraut on the side. It's so important to eat fermented foods! Gotta get that gut flora in check!

Not the best pictures.

Here's a dude on the side of the road playing guitar.

I made my tomato bisque recently. I cut in half and deseeded about 10 tomatoes, put them in the oven on 400 for about 10 minutes. They then looked like this:

I pureed this in the blender with carrot and onion I had cooked down in butter. I added basil, a little bit of spaghetti sauce and raw cream.

On the side was white rice bread with gouda and avocado, as well as mushrooms I had marinated in liquid smoke and worcestershire.

I cooked the mushrooms on 400 for about ten minutes also. Scott said they might've been the best he's ever had.

I also juiced a lot. I've gotten back into this because it's so essential! It's really detoxifying for the body.

Scott and I have been getting up early to go to a 9 AM brunch at Founding Farmers. I got salad with organic eggs and bacon, which is really an ideal breakfast. This was so good, and I was happy that their side salad wasn't skimpin' on veggies. It even had avocado.

So that's the food as of late. I'll post more later.

food log

A random food log. I actually did not record everything I consumed, but you get the idea.

So, as an assignment for school I have to document everything (every. single. thing) I put in my body for five days. I figure this will also help me stick to my guns with my usual eating habits, even though it's currently 9 AM and I really want sushi. I considered going to the cafeteria in my building to get it, but am going to stick with my usual eggs instead. Maybe I'll get it for lunch though, since I only have a chicken leg and cauliflower, both of which I ate yesterday, and the latter of which tastes like effing dish soap. Back to the point.

Wednesday 2/29:

Supplements: two total mineral tabs, two krill oil pills, 1 500 mg folic acid and 1 acidophilus probiotic pearl

Breakfast: 2 hard boiled organic/pastured eggs with mustard and detox tea with some kombucha (75% of which spilled in my purse, so about 8 oz)

Lunch: 1 salmon avocado roll, 1 tuna avocado roll, both dipped in rooster sauce

Dinner: a bowl of mussels in tomato broth from Busboys and Poets and a salad (plus one bite of Jennifer's brie cheese sandwich), with three glasses of organic cabernet sauvignon, plus water
Late night: kinda tipsy from the wine, got a burger with lettuce, onion and tomato from Elevation, so it was grass-fed but I forgot to tell them no bun (which I took off myself), I cut off about 1/4 of it and ate it with some fries that were fried in olive oil and organic ketchup
Before bed: one glass of raw milk
Drank a 24 oz bottle of water with some kombucha and 3 drops of grapeseed extract before getting home around 5:30.

Thursday 3/1:
Breakfast: 1.5 glasses of raw milk (due to wine consumption I decided to fast until lunch)
To drink: super anti-oxidant green tea and pau d'arco tea with 3 drops of grapeseed extract, total about 24 oz (just missed my mouth and spilled this down my shirt)
Supplements: two total mineral tabs, two krill oil pills, 1 500 mg folic acid and 1 acidophilus probiotic pearl
Lunch: rest of grass-fed burger with LTO and fries, plus a salad
Drank 24 oz of water with 3 drops of grapeseed extract before getting home
Dinner: grass-fed filet mignon with a side of sprouted/organic corn enchiladas- filled with organic peppers and onions and organic monterrey jack/gouda cheese topped with guacamole
More water, half glass of cabernet and five bites of organic vanilla ice cream

Friday 3/2:
Breakfast: Two pastured eggs from the farm cooked in grass-fed butter, with a bit of parmesan sprinkled on top and a few bites of raw grass-fed yogurt and raw honey
Supplements: two total mineral tabs, two krill oil pills, 1 500 mg folic acid and 1 acidophilus probiotic pearl and 1 vitamin D pill
24 oz of throat coat tea with grapeseed extract
10:30 snack raw yogurt with raw honey
Lunch: two enchiladas from night before, 4 pieces salmon sushi, two pieces of raw salmon
4pm snack: two pieces salmon sushi, two pieces raw salmon
24 oz water
Dinner: gluten-free rice pasta with mushrooms and carmelized onions in a crushed tomato sauce with splash of cream (from Pappa Razzi in G-town) with one glass of cabernet plus water

Saturday 3/3:

Breakfast: grass-fed steak, three eggs I didn't finish, two tomato slices and a small amount of hash browns, plus carrot juice, oh and a side of organic bacon

Supplements: two total mineral tabs, two krill oil pills, 1 500 mg folic acid and 1 acidophilus probiotic pearl

Lunch: grass-fed burger (no bun, used lettuce wrap) with cheddar, bacon, lettuce, tomato, onion and a side of fries cooked in olive oil with organic cheddar on top

Drank: glass of cabernet

Dinner: mussels, shrimp and scallops in a Thai sauce with white rice

Drank: glass of cabernet, one hard apple cider beer (gluten-free)

 

Sunday 3/4:

Breakfast: one pastured egg with grass-fed beef cooked in butter with onions, tomatoes and mushrooms, topped with gouda

Drank: raw veggie juice made with my juicer (kale, beets, carrots, lemon)

Lunch: gluten-free pizza (only ate half) with mushrooms, peppers and onions

Snack: 2 gf pizza slices

Dinner: tomatoes with basil and burrata, topped with olive oil, and a bunch of veggies (carrots, onions, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower) cooked in organic spaghetti sauce and topped with grass-fed beef with organs mixed in (liver, tongue, heart)

 

*I didn't list all the water I drank because I forgot, I carry a 24 oz water bottle and refill it throughout the day

wrawp

Chipotle wrap! When I made the raw wrap, or wrawp, I didn't really follow the directions entirely. This is why I'm bad at baking. I like to do my own thing! I ain't tryin' to follow no direction. I was glad raw food and the dehydrator were forgiving about this. So instead of making it a BBQ spiced wrap, the seasonings I used were chipotle and garlic powder. Much more suited to my tastes. Filled with organic turkey, safflower mayo, tomatoes, gouda and onions. And it was so good. I was happy to get an extra serving of veggies from the wrap. I wasn't sure a raw veggie wrap would satisfy my craving for a real, wheaty wrap in all it's refined and insulin spiking glory. But it did a really good job. And I impulse bought avocado oil tater chips.

Close up. Speaking of taters, I was talking to my bff Eden (what up E!) about particular diets being suited to particular blood types and we ended up talking about certain cultures being able to better digest certain foods. For example, I said that Asians probably better digest rice, Scottish digest oatmeal better, and Russian digest potatoes better. The latter is true of me (Joanna is Russian, no idea what dad is). I don't often eat them and I am partial to cauliflower mash, but when I do eat them they don't seem to give me any issues. No bloating, I'm still regular, no lethargy or anything like that.

I also had this for lunch. Bomb!

Kony 2012

To anyone who reads my blog, I'm begging you to watch this video. It's about a rebel leader in Uganda named Joseph Kony and his crimes against humanity. To quote: "...turning girls into sex slaves and boys into child soldiers. He makes them mutilate people's faces and forces them to kill their own parents."

Food stuff:

I successfully made raw veggie bread in the dehydrator! Finally! I'd previously not been so successful, but those damn dehydrator sheets really make a difference. I used a recipe for BBQ wraps from Sweetly Raw. I really adore that blog. I know I sound like a total creeper, but Heather is so great. Her blog is honest and creative, she has great recipes and I love the vibe. Super chill with and she has such a vibrant life! She recently started eating meat after being a raw vegan. So her blog is really great for me, lots of raw recipes and ideas (need to eat more raw veggies) with meat mixed in. I love her travelling posts too. But enough about my blog-crush. Raw wraps! So great.

I also made almond flour bread. I used the GAPS recipe found in the GAPS book. I'm currently reading it and it's just amazing so far. Did you know that celiacs have a higher rate of schizophrenia? The gut-brain connection is so important! If ya don't know, now ya know. I'm unsure why the below picture looks so miniature, it isn't.

And for dinner I had salmon in butter, peas in butter and almond flour bread topped with butter. I ate all the peas and salmon, they were pretty bomb. Couldn't finish the bread.

And yesterday I had Chipotle for lunch. Which is always wonderful, and the absolute best fast food. So I figured I'd show you a picture of it.

the weeknd

This weekend, I got back into juicing. Mostly because Scott has a cold, and juicing helps your body with literally everything.

He wasn't the biggest fan, but he drank it. For a bright and early brunch at 9AM, we went to Founding Farmers. I love FF, so I was slightly disappointed by their brunch. I asked for eggs benny sans bread, which I got. See below:

But the eggs were barely cooked at all. I mean, once I cut into the egg its contents just fell all over the place in all its watery and slimy glory. So I did something I never do, I sent it back.

And got steak and eggs, with my eggs over medium. But they were still way too runny. The waiter was great and kept checking if my eggs were okay. Even though they weren't, I didn't want to send them back again. Can't win 'em all. The bacon and carrot juice I had on the side was awesome though.

And Scott said it was his favorite vegan scramble in DC. So that's a plus.

Later in the day we went to Elevation Burger. I got a burger wrapped in lettuce, Scott had fries topped with organic cheddar.

On Sunday we had a Scout Mob for half off Comet Ping Pong, so I got some gluten free pizza.

It did not make my stomach feel great. Scott got reg pizza. He's normal. Mostly.

Isosceles.

Sunday night dinner was tomato, basil and burrata (so good!). Plus unpictured veggies smothered in organic spaghetti sauce and meat (for me) and tempeh (for Scott).

Anddd that was the weekend. I forgot to take a lot of pictures of stuff, but whatever. Thumbs up if you get the title of this post. It's ain't a typo! 



enchilada night

Enchilada night!! My enchiladas were shaped more like tacos because of the small size of the sprouted corn tortillas I used. I don't eat grains too much but if you are going to eat grains or legumes they should be sprouted, soaked or fermented. This makes them more digestible. So I sauteed peppers, onions and cilantro, put that in the tortillas with some black beans (protein for Scott, and I soaked the beans) and topped with monterrey jack and gouda cheese. Plus enchilada sauce.

I had to have filet mignon with mine. First, because it's one of the best things I've ever eaten and probably could've cut it with a spoon. Second, for the protein, vitamins and minerals from a piece of grass-fed steak. Oh, we also had guac on the side. I may or may  not have eaten half an avocado with my fingers earlier in the night (primal, baby!).

Barely cooked steak. Easier to digest, enzymes intact.

Scott being Scott.



For lunch just now I had two leftover enchiladas. I also bought some salmon sushi because the enchiladas had very little protein. I'm assuming it's because I ate grains, but now I am exhausted. About to fall asleep at my desk. And it's not like I didn't sleep well last night. So, my point is: when eating things you don't normally eat, pay attention to how your body reacts to them. From there you can decide if the food you just ate is actually doing you any good.

lady time

Last night I went to Busboys and Poets with Jennifer. I LOVE getting my girl time in. I started out with a glass of organic cabernet sauvignon (I ended up getting 3, which is why I'm fasting until lunch). I couldn't really decide on dinner so I  got a small salad:

And some mussels:

I love B&P's mussels so bad. They come in a garlic tomato broth, which is more like a soup. A really, really delicious soup. Mussels are amazing for you and I recently discovered they have more Omega 3's than any other shellfish. They are also high in B12, iron, phosphorous, selenium and zinc. You can read more about how awesome mussels are here. Plus a healthy dose of lycopene from the tomatoes.

We ended up chatting for quite a while and I had two more glasses of wine. At that point I was pretty tipsy (what's up, lightweight!) so I decided to stop across the street at Elevation burger. Not the best decision, but at least they have grass-fed meat. I got a burger and fries (fried in olive oil). I ate about 1/4 of the burger and half of the fries. I forgot to tell them to wrap it in lettuce, so I had to take the bread off myself. And now I have leftovers for lunch today (I'll probably also buy some salad upstairs at work, they have organic greens here!).

Tonight Scott and I are making sprouted/organic corn tortilla enchiladas! I'm having filet mignon with mine. More about this tomorrow.



food journal

A random food journal from a couple of months ago.

Tuesday 12/27

Breakfast- two hard boiled eggs with organic mustard, detox tea and green tea with ginger

Snack- hard boiled egg with mustard

Lunch- leftover steak salad (grass-fed steak, lettuce, maters, blue cheese, onions, balsamic)

Dinner- Meatza and an egg and tomato atop almond flour biscuit, covered in hollandaise

Wednesday 12/28
Breakfast- two poaches eggs with smoked salmon served atop almond flour biscuit

Lunch- meatza and carrots in hollandaise

Dinner- several pieces of sole with onions, peppers, tomatoes and garlic sauteed in coconut oil and GF soy sauce and an avocado

Plus one Bob's Red Mill GF cookie that I made with coconut oil. (I do not like eating these and rarely do, but Scott likes them and he's going to eat cookies either way so I figure at least if I make them it's the lesser of two evils.)

Thursday 12/29
Breakfast: detox and green tea with ginger, two hard boiled eggs
Lunch: one piece of meatza
Snack: hard boiled egg
Dinner: half of a gluten-free pizza with mushrooms and onions at Comet, one green salad split with Scott, one chicken wing (grilled, not breaded) and two glasses of red and one Bard (gluten-free beer).

Friday 12/30
Breakfast: two eggs with onions, all sauteed in coconut oil. Plus two different kinds of organic throat coat tea (stolen from Scott, I left my teas at home).
Lunch: the other half of the gluten-free pizza

you totally have time

Last night was the last time Mike and I will ever pick up our farm food from Dan. I will devote an entire post to this, but in short, he lost his case against the FDA and was forced to shut down his farm. Despite absolutely no history of contamination. Ever. Mike gave me one of the filet mignon steaks from the ten pounds he ordered. I cooked it barely at all, and had some butter with it. Still cold in the center. BOMB.

This morning I woke up at 6:45 and was in the kitchen at 6:50. I spent ten minutes boiling water for tea, then put eggs in water to boil, then seared these chickens in butter and coconut oil, before throwing them in the oven on 400.  By 7:03 I was upstairs again getting ready for work.

At 7:20 I was finished getting ready, and prepped the rest of my food. I had some cauli sauteed in butter leftover from my steak dinner last night. And some grape tomatoes that I added an avocado and gouda cheese to. Gouda cheese is vitamin K, baby! So, the point is, this was very little effort. I had breakfast, lunch for today and lunch for tomorrow all done before heading out the door at 7:40. It ain't that hard. Just a little extra effort with a lot of payoff.

update update update

I haven't felt like posting for the past couple of months. I guess I've been busy, and it sort of lost its luster. I go in and out of feeling like this. But now I feel like posting again, and I'm stoked. Here's some food:

Food from Slaviya in Adams Morgan. Seriously amazing. Some of the best food I've eaten in a while. Simple, Eastern and dank.

They even had veg stuff for Scott.

Homemade almond bread with eggs and smoked salmon.

Fish and veggies from Bangkok Joe's.

Salmon, avocado, and mashed cauli and carrot (to the style of mashed potatoes).

Scott and I in Panama! Should write a separate post about this...

Homemade chicken bone broth. LIQUID GOLD, BABY!

A super rare steak, taters and this really awesome mushroom.

Scott and I went to LA! And Long Beach, Newport Beach, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Santa Monica, Malibu and Manhattan Beach. This is the latter.

We ate delicious Mexican. These are corn tortillas, not wheat.

We went to True Food Kitchen, whose menu is based off of Andrew Weil's anti-inflammatory diet. Which is actually really, really stupid (even though I liked some of the options on the menu). The diet is actually pro-inflammatory, with the base of the diet recommending 3-5 servings of grains a day, pasta 2-3 times a week and beans and legumes 1-2 times a day. He also advocates 2-3 of soy A DAY. And fish only 2-6 times a week. The diet also promotes canola oil. So in short, it's a completely ridiculous diet. Scott got gluten-free pasta, above. I got gluten-free fish tacos, below.

The portions were really small, especially for the price. Another reason this diet wouldn't work for anyone, super small portions that don't fill you up often leaving you craving food later, and chances are you'll reach for junk. If only because it's more convenient and you already shelled out $20 for appetizer portions.

We drove up a mountain in Beverly Hills. My crappy camera phone does no justice. We left the digi cam at home.

View of Santa Monica from the ferris wheel! One of my favorite parts!

View of the ferris wheel from the pier!

Some oysters I got in Newport on our last night.

And saw raw, dehydrated beet chips I made with the dehydrator Scott got me for my birthday!

So, that's just an update. Hopefully I'll get back into writing more posts. We'll see.