As I mentioned in my last post, this recent flare-up has sent me down a rabbit hole of research. Call it an odd coping mechanism, but when I feel overpowered by something, I research – I try to figure out what I can do, what I can control. Ultimately I know that changing my diet will not…
then again…
I’m back after a nearly 3-year hiatus from this blog. Why? Well, let me fill you in on what’s been happening since June of 2014. Life has been pretty good. It’s not be amazing in terms of my health, and I’ve made little progress on my PhD thesis because of it (more on that in…
my new favourite thing
While on the 21-day sugar detox, I developed a love of virgin coconut oil. The stuff I have has a distinctive coconutty aroma and taste, and I’m really enjoying it. I’ve used it principally for cooking curries and in baking, since the flavour combinations work well together. My favourite of favourite combinations is cinnamon raisin…
reflections on a failed experiment
I’ve moved on from Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma to In Defense of Food. I’m not very far in, but it already has me thinking. In the introduction, Pollan overviews the evolution of ‘food science’ in the past century and its impact on the so-called Western* diet. He writes: We are becoming a nation of…
21-day sugar detox: pumpkin spice smoothie
Pumpkin Spice Smoothie 1 banana 1/4 cup (or more) unsweetened pumpkin purée 1 cup unsweetened almond-coconut milk 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, or make your own Now, I’d like to take this opportunity to discuss milk alternatives. Until recently, I had been drinking almond milk because I like the neutral taste. But given my desire…
The Omnivore’s Dilemma
I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to get around to reading this book. I fear this is a case of me hearing so much about it via the media (social and news) that I felt as if I already knew the gist; I was sold even without intimate knowledge of Pollan’s argument. Now…
21- day sugar detox: salmon bowl with ginger sesame sauce
I’m attempting to eat solid foods again, and as such, I’m choosing foods that have generally done well with my grumpy gut in past. So, for lunch today, I made one of my favourite dishes: a bowl of veggies (and sometimes rice or soba noodles) topped with salmon. I usually include sweet potato with the…
21-day sugar detox: bananocado smoothie
Bananocado Smoothie 1 banana 1/2 avocado 1 cup (or more) unsweetened almond or coconut milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond) Fresh grated nutmeg A dash of cinnamon And, yes, I recognize that using almond milk breaks my promise to not consume nuts. It’s simply that I have a container of it open and in the…
21-day sugar detox: my new resolve
I woke this morning feeling confused, overwhelmed, and frustrated by alllll of the information I’ve gathered about diet, inflammation, and Crohn’s disease, how none of it is proven, none of it is ‘scientific’, and some of it is, in fact, conflicting. All of this info is made more complicated by the fact that my feelings…
21-day sugar detox: one week down
Today marks one week into the detox. My beau, CK, is holding strong but I, sadly, am struggling. This isn’t so much because I’m having cravings or disliking the food – far from it – rather, my gut has been nothing short of angry with me the past few days. As I mentioned in my…
shay's kitchen 