I am writing this post to inform you that you will begin to see posts on this blog as of June 6. And, I did say that posts will start coming out of this website sometime between June 1 to July 1...
And I am so glad that I am starting this endeavor early on to record what I am eating with all of you! It has been hectic to get ready for such a transition to being nightshade free, but after preparing for this transition for weeks, I am very excited to be officially nightshade free.
Or rather, to be honest, I have been nightshade free for sometime now. Today has been the 9th day since I have officially stopped eating nightshades. Nightshades, in my case, that I am not allowed to have are tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, bell peppers (of any kind), and goji berries. With this restriction, I am not allowing myself to have any product that has "potato starch" or "potato flour" listed as an ingredient. Or "Vitamin A Palmitate" as it is derived from potatoes.
The results so far have been both amazing and shocking. I am starting to experience withdrawal symptoms from potatoes. The withdrawal symptom, for me, has been intense cravings for them, both in what is inside potatoes themselves as well as the gluten free foods and flours that use "potato starch" in them. Now, to me, this is shocking as my body becomes very ill when it eats a lot of potatoes. It creates a great amount of intestinal discomfort, especially when I would have potato chips with any kind of oil. Even the bag of potato chips with olive oil from Trader Joe's would get me sick and not feeling good, but nothing compared to a small bag of Lays potato chips coated with cottonseed oil, canola oil, or soybean oil.
I also have been greatly stressed. Partially, I am in the process of looking for employment at the moment, which is troublesome. I also moved into a new apartment, which has caused a lot of stress for me too as I am trying to get everything arranged and moved too. However, the way I have been dealing with my stress has been more proactive than reactive. While I attribute my current experiences and desperation partially for this increased proactiveness, I will also say that I have been able to deal with a lot more situations more actively.
There were also moments before I went nightshade free where I would have intense episodes of what I call "mental shutdown." Essentially, when I am stressed to a certain point, and the threshold is different everyday, I do not move, I lose consciousness of the situation, and my throat hurts so much. After half an hour or so, and lately prior to being nightshade free the episodes would go on for 40 minutes sometimes, my throat would still be in intense pain, but I could get up and write and explain the pain that I was having. Now? None of that. My way of handling the situations I am in is more proactive, and I feel that I will become more proactive with time. I will say, however, that because of my current search for employment and because of issues with the apartment, I have been getting frustrated more often. I hope these stressors go away soon, however.
I have had no cravings with bell pepper, tomatoes, or eggplant. My body doesn't crave those things, including the spices. The only issue has been that of social interactions as it feels odd to be at a table with other people who are not nightshade free or people that aren't even gluten free, dairy free, or soy free. On the weekend that I moved into my apartment, I went out to Buffalo Wild Wings only to find moderate digestive discomforts in response to chicken wings coated in the dry seasonings. Fewer in the salt and vinegar seasoning, the most in the Chipotle BBQ seasoning.
I have been relying on grains a bit more than usual, but I am hoping not to rely on them as much once everything settles down.
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I would like to start each week with a post that explains what meals are going to be cooked for that week. This is to provide more concrete information for those who are looking for ideas in meal planning. My girlfriend and I plan each meal that we are going to have each week along with the amounts of different foods that we will need each week. I will provide a link to each day here once the posts actually become available.
With these considerations, here are the meals for this week:
Honey Garlic Chicken Wings
Bacon-Beef Liver Pate with Rosemary and Thyme
Southern Fried Apples
Nightshade-Free Shepherd's Pie
Blueberry / Strawberry Fudge
Sweet Potato Fries w/ Homemade Horseradish Sauce
Socca
Vietnamese Lettuce Cups
And...
Scrambled eggs, smoothies, sandwiches made with lettuce, and I forget what else.
And I am so glad that I am starting this endeavor early on to record what I am eating with all of you! It has been hectic to get ready for such a transition to being nightshade free, but after preparing for this transition for weeks, I am very excited to be officially nightshade free.
Or rather, to be honest, I have been nightshade free for sometime now. Today has been the 9th day since I have officially stopped eating nightshades. Nightshades, in my case, that I am not allowed to have are tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, bell peppers (of any kind), and goji berries. With this restriction, I am not allowing myself to have any product that has "potato starch" or "potato flour" listed as an ingredient. Or "Vitamin A Palmitate" as it is derived from potatoes.
The results so far have been both amazing and shocking. I am starting to experience withdrawal symptoms from potatoes. The withdrawal symptom, for me, has been intense cravings for them, both in what is inside potatoes themselves as well as the gluten free foods and flours that use "potato starch" in them. Now, to me, this is shocking as my body becomes very ill when it eats a lot of potatoes. It creates a great amount of intestinal discomfort, especially when I would have potato chips with any kind of oil. Even the bag of potato chips with olive oil from Trader Joe's would get me sick and not feeling good, but nothing compared to a small bag of Lays potato chips coated with cottonseed oil, canola oil, or soybean oil.
I also have been greatly stressed. Partially, I am in the process of looking for employment at the moment, which is troublesome. I also moved into a new apartment, which has caused a lot of stress for me too as I am trying to get everything arranged and moved too. However, the way I have been dealing with my stress has been more proactive than reactive. While I attribute my current experiences and desperation partially for this increased proactiveness, I will also say that I have been able to deal with a lot more situations more actively.
There were also moments before I went nightshade free where I would have intense episodes of what I call "mental shutdown." Essentially, when I am stressed to a certain point, and the threshold is different everyday, I do not move, I lose consciousness of the situation, and my throat hurts so much. After half an hour or so, and lately prior to being nightshade free the episodes would go on for 40 minutes sometimes, my throat would still be in intense pain, but I could get up and write and explain the pain that I was having. Now? None of that. My way of handling the situations I am in is more proactive, and I feel that I will become more proactive with time. I will say, however, that because of my current search for employment and because of issues with the apartment, I have been getting frustrated more often. I hope these stressors go away soon, however.
I have had no cravings with bell pepper, tomatoes, or eggplant. My body doesn't crave those things, including the spices. The only issue has been that of social interactions as it feels odd to be at a table with other people who are not nightshade free or people that aren't even gluten free, dairy free, or soy free. On the weekend that I moved into my apartment, I went out to Buffalo Wild Wings only to find moderate digestive discomforts in response to chicken wings coated in the dry seasonings. Fewer in the salt and vinegar seasoning, the most in the Chipotle BBQ seasoning.
I have been relying on grains a bit more than usual, but I am hoping not to rely on them as much once everything settles down.
--------------
I would like to start each week with a post that explains what meals are going to be cooked for that week. This is to provide more concrete information for those who are looking for ideas in meal planning. My girlfriend and I plan each meal that we are going to have each week along with the amounts of different foods that we will need each week. I will provide a link to each day here once the posts actually become available.
With these considerations, here are the meals for this week:
Honey Garlic Chicken Wings
Bacon-Beef Liver Pate with Rosemary and Thyme
Southern Fried Apples
Nightshade-Free Shepherd's Pie
Blueberry / Strawberry Fudge
Sweet Potato Fries w/ Homemade Horseradish Sauce
Socca
Vietnamese Lettuce Cups
And...
Scrambled eggs, smoothies, sandwiches made with lettuce, and I forget what else.
