I haven’t written in a few months now. I would love to say all is well and that I have no symptoms and my diet’s going great! Reality is, I’m still playing around with my diet, trying new supplements, seeing a naturopath etc… Things are still improving and I’m very hopeful to be completely health one day, but my journey’s not over yet.

I finished up my Master’s degree and started a job in September. The transition wasn’t as stressful as I expected it to be. I was going from working at home on my own time, to being in an office 40 hours a week. All I could think of was how am I going to have time for cooking when I’m not home, how am I going to keep up with making sure I have enough food! Well it has been going really well. I have been using my crockpot A LOT and it has been saving me! 5 minutes in the morning and I have dinner for that night and lunch the next day. I’m slowly learning to cook in bulk, prepare snacks and yogurt on weekends when I have time, and how to buy in bulk. Being at work 40 hours a week has been really nice. When I’m there, I can’t even THINK about cooking or what I’m eating, because 1) I can’t cook at work and 2) I have certain food I brought and that’s what I’m eating for the day. It feels like freedom! Plus having a gym on site is quite nice. I work out with weights 3 times a week and do yoga once a week.

One thing I have gotten really into this summer is the farmers market, and consequently, buying in bulk directly from farmers. I have been buying grass-fed beef from a local farmer for a while. I usually order about 25 pounds worth per order. I decided to buy about 20 pounds of lamb from a farmer at the market. Other things I buy individually but from one farmer who ends up giving me a bit of a discount for placing a large order. I’ve been getting pork chops, goat stew meat, whole frozen chickens, duck, eggs, and liver pates. I found a good source for frozen wild salmon at my health food store and sometimes they even have scallops. Needless to say, my freezer is full for the winter coming up! And it’s so nice to not have chicken everyday! (And probably healthier..)

I have been relying on getting fresh produce from the farmer’s market as well. This winter I plan on buying some frozen organic produce from grocery stores to keep me going until spring when the farmer’s market reopens (it closes this weekend). I like juicing carrots and celery, so getting those fresh this winter may not be easy.

I’m really loving this way of eating. All fresh produce, meats raised properly, local honey, etc. And it hasn’t cost me extra, you just have to be aware of the deals and how much you really need. I used to buy lots of produce and throw out half of it. Now I run out!

My diet still follows SCD but I’m leaning more towards the GAPS version of it. I’m trying to eat lots and lots of broth, organ meats, and even started fermenting some vegetables. I’ll post some of those that I’ve tried soon. I haven’t introduced much in the way of new foods, but I’m getting so many different types of meat in my diet so that is really helping me enjoy it.

I will be posting more often so keep checking back. I have some recipes to update and the fermented stuff to include.
That’s all for now,
Kat

I ate beef yesterday! This may sound completely boring and normal but for me it was quite an awesome experience. I haven’t eaten any red meat for about 2 years now. Since starting the SCD diet and cutting out grains and potatoes, I’ve had some success adding some foods back into my diet. Beef and whole eggs so far, and I will be making some homemade yogurt soon (as soon as I get my yogurt maker).

I had been on the ‘bland’ diet to help digestion by eating plain rice, pasta, bread, light meats like chicken breast and fish. Well I ate beef stew yesterday and felt completely fine! And I’ve been enjoying eggs too, makes for a nice breakfast change

Thought I would take this opportunity to talk about the quality of meat. Now the beef I had was your regular grocery store bought beef, which is most likely from a cow who has been on a high grain diet, given antibiotics and hormones to help them grow, and kept in a pretty small enclosure. Not the healthiest of beef choices.

Nowadays we’re seeing more ‘organic’, ‘hormone free’, or ‘no antibiotics’ labels on beef. This is an improvement over regular beef, but no guarantee that what you’re eating is really that healthy. I would buy this over unlabelled meats, but there is something better.

‘Grass-fed’, ‘pasture-raised’, or ‘free-range’ are all terms used for meat from an animal which has been allowed to eat naturally it’s whole life and run around like it should. For someone wishing to make the humane decision, this is it. But also for someone who wants the healthiest meat possible, this is the best option. It has been proven that meat from animals who have been fed a grass diet (instead of grain, or worse grain and animal products), have a lower amount of fat overall and have a higher amount of Omega 3 fats. I used to think only fish could have Omega 3s, but actually most natural meat does. Also, grass-fed animals have meat with higher concentrations of vitamins and minerals. I will definitely be looking for a source near me for grass-fed or wild meat.

Now with fish, we assume all salmon has these good Omega 3s, but actually farmed fish who are fed grain or other mixed feeds have a lower amount of them than wild fish. So if you’re buying fish, wild is best. Canned tuna and salmon which say from a wild source are just as good too.

Choosing these types of meat can greatly benefit overall health. More vitamins, minerals, and good fats all contribute to a healthy body. Having a healthy ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 fats is also a big health topic. Maybe I’ll touch on that in a later post.

Get out there and find your (grass-fed) beef!