Friday, October 12, 2007

groceries, lentils, almond milk

Today is day three of the elimination diet. Like before, I feel hungry a lot of the time even when I just ate . . . side effect of not eating whatever I want. It is hard to watch cooking shows and I have to leave the room when Jared eats something that I love but is not on my plan. To make sure I do have a lot of options, I stocked up on some groceries. I got raw/blanched almonds, mango, dried lentils, dried pinto beans, quinoa flakes, sunflower oil, peppermint tea, napa cabbage, bananas, watermelon, baby bok choy, sugar snap peas, green grapes, cucumber, pears, sweet potatoes and fresh thyme.
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I think the things I have missed most in my cooking have been onions and garlic. I made these lentils today that had carrots, celery, brown lentils, fresh thyme, sea salt, sage, rosemary, oregano and basil, on top of steamed jasmine rice. I think a lot of people would enjoy this dish but I think it would have been a lot tastier with onions.
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With the raw/blanched almonds, I made almond milk. With my immersion blender, I ground up a cup of the almonds with about 1/2 cup of filter water until smooth. I then added 2 tsp of maple syrup and a sprinkle of cinnamon along with 4 more cups of filtered water. I strained out the ground almonds through a very fine strainer. I think next time I will leave out the cinnamon, use less water and use a bit more maple syrup.
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15 comments:

Monika K said...

I've been cleansing for about a week now and feel your pain. I've been drinking copious amounts of water (which explains why I feel like visiting the restroom every 15 minutes (-:) and am often going to bed with an empty tummy. But it's good to know my body is getting healthy nutrients and is purging out the bad stuff. Hang in there - I think your groceries all sound like great future meals.

Anonymous said...

do you have a link or anything to the elimination diet?
though i can't do any "diets" of sorts at this point since i'm nursing, i'd like to do something like that after d is weaned. i eat a LOT of wheat and i sometimes wonder if it is the reason i have digestive problems!

Pink Theory said...

I just read your last two posts. I'm interested to see what you find in the coming days (weeks?). The homemade almond milk looks really good!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

I do hope you will begin to feel better, so that your elimination diet isn't so painful! :0(

the lentils and the almond milk look quite delicious - I hope that those foods are making your diet more manageable.

KellytheCulinarian said...

What a tasty bounty!

Don't Get Mad, Get Vegan! said...

mmmmmm...lentils....and almond milk, all in one post.

two of my favorite things, neither of which have i had in too long.

you've inspired me!

The Little Mama said...

I totally admire you for this! I've been meaning to do it for a while, but I have too little willpower (funny, coming from a vegan!). Good for you!

Anonymous said...

I know what you're saying about cooking without onions and garlic. It's the two first ingredients of almost any recipe and they're there for a reason. A little bit of onion makes everything taste just a little better.

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

That lentil dish looks and sounds so much like a lentil-barley stew I LOVE to make... maybe next time I will leave out the barley and put it over rice, as it looks really good your way!

aTxVegn said...

I think every dish needs onion and garlic. Whenever I've had to give up certain foods, I just think of it as a new avenue of cooking to explore. I think your lentils look fantastic!

Anonymous said...

your almond milk looks like the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. good luck with the "diet"!

Vegan_Noodle said...

I used to really hate onions, I think it was the texture. But now, I agree, onions and garlic add lots of flavor. All of your groceries look so healthy! I am in desperate need of a grocery run after being out of town, hopefully this will inspire me to buy more veggies than soy products...I need a detox now after eating too much!

Emilie said...

Nothing like fresh almond milk! Yours looks fantastic--hopefully subbing some new tasty things like that into your diet will help make up for the missing stuff. Good luck.

urban vegan said...

I've always wanted to try making my own nut milk...looks so tasty.

Good luck with eliminating.

Theresa said...

It looks like you're eating quite a healthy variety, even if it is a specific diet. Hang in there... when you're done, garlic and onions will seem all the better!