My Journey to the Autoimmune Protocol

It has been a really long time since I updated my blog! After we came back from (and even while we were on) our Wild West Winter 2015 Trip (post coming soon!), I was feeling awful. I was bloated, achy, tired, and I wasn't sleeping well. I had put back on all the weight I had lost over the last year and nothing fit right.

My husband and I had done the Whole 30 before, and since he was not feeling great after a few months back on the SAD (Standard American Diet) either, we decided when we got back that it would be another Whole 30 for us... except he took it up a few levels and decided to do a Whole 60! This is a link to another post I did during my husband's first Whole 30. It has some general info and some links to books on the topic.

That would be 60 days of strict paleo eating, no treats! I committed to 30 days and on January 3rd, we dove head first into what would be his 4th round of Whole 30(60) and my 3rd round.

As soon as I got back, I started trying out some new recipes. Of course my best friend, Pinterest, and my other social media love, Instagram, helped me find new and delicious things to try! I'm not going to go through each recipe, but here are two of the boards I worked on during this time:






Both the Whole 30 board and Paleo board have various recipes that I have tried, however the Whole 30 board has no treats, sweets, or paleo baked goods on it. Whole 30 bans these for the 30 days as a way to form healthy habits. Each Whole 30 I've done, I've gotten better and better about understanding my habits and dietary needs. I always lose some weight, but this time something was different...

I go to my see my awesome chiropractor at least twice a month (though she's on maternity leave right now... enjoy that new little squish, Dr. Santiago!!!). I mentioned to her--maybe two years ago--that I was having some pain in my wrists, but over the last few months it had been building up and I was getting concerned. I thought that by cleaning up my diet, and losing some weight, I could help relieve the pain as well, but after my Whole 30, even though some of the weight was gone, I still had that ache in my wrists.

What else could I do? I already took a huge step in removing all the junk from my diet and eating clean for 30 days...

I enjoy browsing the new books section of my local library. I just look for things that catch my eye and I take them home, because hey... they're free! This book caught my eye:


The part that looked most interesting, other than the fact that it was another book of paleo recipes to try out, was that bottom left corner that said that these recipes help fight auto-immune diseases... hmmm... Rheumatoid Arthritis is an autoimmune disease...

So I read the first part of the book and it sounded like Whole 30 on steroids!!! In addition to no grains, dairy, legumes, sugar, alcohol, soy, processed food, or refined seed oils, I'd have to give up EGGS, POTATOES, TOMATOES, seeds and seed-based spices and oils, nuts, ANY KIND OF CHILE, including paprika, jalapenos, bell peppers, etc. Oh no!

DEAR LORD, WHAT IS THERE LEFT TO EAT!

I spent a couple of days weighing the pros and cons. This sounded awful. "What the hell am I going to eat?" was all that went through my mind. But I also thought about my pain...

There were signs that things weren't going so well for my weak little wrists. It was most apparent when I struggled to open things, like jars, bottle tops, the bottom of the humidifier to refill it with water. It hurt my wrists to massage my husband's back. or pick my growing son up to change his diaper. Yoga was no longer relaxing and meditative. It was brutal and embarrassing. Downward dog had to be done on my elbows.

I thumbed through Rachael Bryant's Nourish and decided that I could do this. I decided on trying it for 60 days. I had already done a Whole 30 and was still following the guidelines for over a week afterward.

I could do this.

Today I'm on day 57. Here's my board (so far):


The first week was probably the most difficult. I am not much of a planner and it bit me in the butt right away. I was scouring Safeway on my break at work for ANYTHING I could eat. It was so hard and I went home hungry and grumpy that day.

With practice, and a little planning (okay, a lot), I got better and was able to be prepared at work and out in the world for eating. Eating out is still kind of awful, but I'm managing.

While I am so eager to get back to my beloved paleo diet and just stick with that (now Whole 30 seems like a treat, though I have gotten to add honey back in!), I want to do things right. I have read a couple more books to help me on my journey.

The first book I recommend reading, which is like the bible of the autoimmune protocol, is Dr. Sarah Ballantyne, PhD's The Paleo Approach. This book is incredibly complete with all of the science and answers to why this all works the way it does and why certain foods can lead to an inflammatory response in the body. It also discusses the nutritional value of a myriad of foods and explains why a comprehensive approach includes more than just diet, but adjustments to lifestyle, including sleep, activity, stress management, and more. Check out The Paleo Mom blog by Dr. Ballantyne for more information and check out her Instagram and podcast, The Paleo View, with Stacy Toth who blogs at Paleo Parents.

I, of course, highly recommend Nourish, by Rachael Bryant. Her recipes have kept me going when I thought that I couldn't do it anymore. I've found some new favorite recipes in that book and have posted a few on my Instagram. Follow her on Instagram, too, and check out her blog, Meatified. She has even been really supportive when I've Instagramed the meals I've made and has given me some hope and courage through her kind words.

Tonight's dinner included last night's chicken with @meatified's Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with Lime and Crispy Shallots. Why haven't I eaten these before?? In love! #paleo #primal #whole30 #whatimeating #IAmWHOLE30 #aip #autoimmuneprotocol #autoimmune #autoimmumepaleo #clean #brusselssprouts #love #healfromwithin

A photo posted by Victoria (@lsgtorie) on Feb 18, 2016 at 8:54pm PST

Now this isn't meant to be a forever thing. As I said before, I'm aching to get things back that are completely Paleo, but potentially autoimmune triggering, so I need to go through the process of reintroduction. This is where foods are challenged one at a time to test for reactions. I am eager to get started but also a little terrified of messing it up. 60 days is a long time to invest into a healing protocol. Screwing it up in a matter of weeks is not what I have in mind. I have a better relationship with food now, but still crave the macaroni and cheese I make my toddler (which he proceeds to refuse and break my heart at the same time. Uneaten macaroni and cheese?! Sacrilege!).

Made @grazedandenthused's AIP Red Sangria and it delivered! Actually steeped the cloves and cinnamon with all the fruits for 5 days! AIP Day 50 after a Whole40... no easy task, especially when it inconveniences others, but I'm putting my health first for awhile. I'm loving the positive changes I'm seeing in my health and that makes it worth it 😊 down 20lbs since January and 60+ down since the little was born. Still have more to go, but more positive I'll get there since other things have improved, like my arthritis, joint pain, and insomnia. Looking forward to reintroduction soon! Would love some #aipreintro advice from those who've done it! #aip #healthy #autoimmune #autoimmunepaleo #autoimmuneprotocol #paleoeats #paleoliving #paleolife #paleodiet #paleolifestyle #paleogirl #aipeats #healthyliving #healthyeats #healthymom #primal #sangria #paleomami #paleomama #gains #weightloss #iamwhole30 #whole30 #wholefoods

A photo posted by Victoria (@lsgtorie) on Mar 26, 2016 at 9:57pm PDT

Today I downloaded and read Reintroducing Foods on the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol by Eileen Laird. This book is short and simple and gives some great tips on getting through the reintroduction phase. She explains that it might take anywhere from three to six months, and while that is slower than I'd like to go (deviled eggs haunt me), it seems like the right thing to do. I have my little moleskin journal ready for day 61 and will start with egg yolks.

Dinner tonight: Crispy garlic shrimp with lemon and honey atop a bed of fresh cabbage and avocado! Like a deconstructed shrimp taco... but with honey, because #honey. #paleo #primal #autoimmune #instayum #instayummy #clean #cleaneating #autoimmuneprotocol #autoimmunepaleo #paleoeats #paleodiet #paleolife #slowfood #paleogirl #aip #shrimp #healthyliving #healthy #paleolove #healthyeats #healthyeating #deconstructed #shrimptacos #dinner #nutrition #wholefood

A photo posted by Victoria (@lsgtorie) on Mar 16, 2016 at 7:38pm PDT

Whether you found this post randomly, or by clicking on a link from me because you are my friend, I could use some encouragement or words of advice in the comments below! If you have any questions, though 60 days of this is nowhere enough time to become an expert on the autoimmune protocol, I do know a thing or two and would be happy to share what I know. Hopefully this can inspire someone to begin their own journey of healing and health.

SB&J Burgers

Okay, so this was the first thing I was actually nervous about trying in a very long time. All the ingredients I love separately.

Burgers? Delicious!

Strawberries? I grew up in Santa Maria, California. We live strawberries.

Sunbutter? Awesome.

Together? Ehhh... Yep, that's right! Hesitation.

This is what I pinned:


The Sprout and I took a trip to the farmer's market today and then went to get the usual groceries. After the little guy went down for a nap, I decided I was hungry and started poking around a copy of Well Fed 2 I borrowed from the library to see if anything looked good. I couldn't believe it when I thumbed over this recipe from The Clothes Makes the Girl's Melissa Joulwan. Sunbutter and Jelly... ON A BURGER? Woah.

I had all the ingredients... Why not? Besides, it's Whole 30 compliant and I've got a day and a half left to go!

I started by washing and cutting up our fresh strawberries. I ended up only using one of those lemons, but I think I probably could have gotten by with a half a little lemon.

I added in the ginger powder and set this bowl aside. I got the burgers made with the salt and pepper and got them in my pan. In the recipe, it says to grill your burgers, and I'm sure that tastes 10x better! They still came out pretty good.

While those were cooking away, I dumped my strawberry mixture into a small skillet and got to stirring! I didn't want these to burn, especially because all of the fruit sugar, so I kept a close eye on these berries.

Teaser video for new blog post coming out tonight! Making SB&J Burgers from @meljoulwan! So excited, but actually a bit nervous. Going to take a bit of bravery to eat this one, but I have a feeling it will pay off...

A video posted by Victoria (@lsgtorie) on Sep 6, 2015 at 7:38pm PDT

So everything got all bubbly and delicious! I put the mixture into a bowl and set it aside to cool. I popped a bit of the Sunbutter into the microwave for a few seconds to get it all soft and easy to pour.

A quick tip about green onions: try putting them in a cup of water when you come home from the store. They will last a lot longer, and they'll keep growing! You'll get way more for your money! Just change the water every other day. I use my kitchen shears to cut off just what I need.

And... they were pretty darn good! I think that I could make two improvements. 1. I would put less lemon in the strawberries. I got a little too lemon happy. Hazard of not being a person who measures. 2. I would try to get the hubby to grill these bad boys up. I was not down to clean the grill tonight, so that will definitely be happening for round two... YES! Round two! These are just weird enough to be really, really good! Melissa also has a variation on her recipe that's called "Fat Elvis". That's exactly what it sounds like; a burger with banana, bacon, and Sunbutter (or almond butter)! 

That has to happen.

Almond Milk

So my darling husband has decided to do his first Whole 30! The Whole 30 is a kind of detox where you do nothing but eat whole, non-processed foods, while eliminating food groups known to irritate the gut, so that your body has time to heal from any inflammation that your current diet is causing you. After the 30 days, you then begin reintroducing foods one at a time to see what it is that causes any kind of negative reaction in your body. It's pretty darn awesome, and can be a challenge, but I'm helping him out. Mostly by eating up all the cheese and wine in the house, but you know, some cooking, too!

Some of the foods you have to eliminate on a Whole 30 are dairy, grains, legumes, added sugar, alcohol, oils like vegetable, canola, and corn oil, baked goods and sweets (even paleo treats!). One of the things you've got to eliminate is carrageenan and that is found in most almond milks and has been linked to digestive issues and intestinal problems. So what's a Whole 30er to do?

Here's what I pinned:

To make this recipe I headed off to pick up some raw, organic almonds and cheesecloth. That's pretty much all you need to get. You've got to start by soaking the almonds for 24 hours. This serves two purposes. One is to get them nice and soft and easier to blend. The other reason is that by doing this, you remove much of the phytic acid, which makes the minerals in the almonds not useful to our bodies. Soaking them also releases some really good stuff. like the enzyme lipase, that helps us digest fats.

Here are my 1 cup of almonds and some water, all ready for their soaking! I just rinsed them, then added enough water to cover them. They're going to expand a bit, so put a little extra water. You'll be getting rid of it anyway.

I left them on the countertop for the 24 hours with a glass plate on the top and a note CLEARLY stating this was an almond milk project, not to be disturbed! 

They really puffed up! I was expecting them to get bigger, but not as much as they did, and not to take up as much water as they did. Cool! The water that they had been sitting in had turned a bit brown, so I dumped all that out, gave them a rinse and got on with the next part.

I don't have a Vitamix. I want one! I really do. But the Ninja is what I've got... and it's not even a new Ninja. But it works and it worked out for this recipe. So if that's all you've got, don't worry. Just don't try to cut corners and soak them for less time. You're going to need the almonds as soft as can be.

I decided that since the Ninja didn't have the most powerful motor that I would only do half of the almonds and water at a time. The recipe calls for 4 cups of filtered water, so I put about two in with half of the soaked almonds.

I blended them up for about a minute and a half. I wasn't sure how the Ninja would take it, so I started with pulsing the almonds, but the second time around, I just went straight to blending. They were soft enough and the Ninja handled it like a champ.

Next came the straining and this is where it got tricky. Now, if I had three arms, this would not have been a problem. Being that I don't have three arms, I tried a couple of different things to hold the cheesecloth on to my pot so that I could still use my "free" hand to pour the almond milk through. 

I did manage to get one good picture of what it looked like while I was straining the almond milk. This took some creative posturing, elbows, my chin and a very dexterous hand to get this shot for you. I really need an assistant.

After I had gotten the first batch through, I gathered up the cheesecloth and pushed what I could through, so that I got the most I could out of my creation. The cheesecloth I used was spent, so I cut another piece to use. 

The second batch was easier to whip up, due to my extensive experience. However, that false sense of confidence got me in trouble. Some of the non-strained milk fell into the pot, just when I was about to be done! So I had to strain the whole batch one last time. I cut another piece of cheesecloth and decided to strain it back into the Ninja pitcher. I tied the cheesecloth onto the handle and held the other side. I could then use my actual free hand to pour the almond milk through the cheesecloth!

I learned a lot while making this batch. This wastes a lot of cheesecloth. I tried looking for a nut bag at New Seasons Market, kind of like a mini Whole Foods, but they didn't have any. I should have just ordered one in advance, but I was anxious to try this out. I plan on ordering one soon, because cheesecloth will not happen again. I'm probably going to get this one since it has some really great reviews on Amazon. 

There was also a lot of almond pulp left over and supposedly you can dry it out in your oven at it's lowest setting (about 200 degrees Fahrenheit) and turn it into almond meal. I saved it and will try it out. It was late when I made this though and was too tired to cook anything else.

The Sprout LOVED the almond milk! He hates regular milk (I don't blame him!), but this was a hit! He asked for a second serving! He even got a little almond milk mustache, just to make him even cuter.

I'll continue to document our Whole 30 recipes. Pinterest has been a great help, but I am going to pick up the books. There's two that you might consider if you're thinking of doing a Whole 30 yourself.

It Starts With Food is the original book to come out not only explains the Whole 30 in detail to you, but helps you understand the reasons behind each of the things you'll need to eliminate from your diet and how to reintroduce foods once you're done.
It Starts With Food: Discover the Whole30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected Ways

The newest book on the Whole 30 hasn't even hit the shelves yet, but is available for pre-order. It will be released on April 21st, and if you've ever pre-ordered anything on Amazon before, you know that you may even get it a day early! No guarantees, but it will at least arrive by it's release date.
The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom

Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Copycat Recipe

I would be lying if I said that this is was the first time that I attempted this recipe. I fell in love with this soup in my high school days and as soon as I knew enough about cooking on my own, I tried it. Back when the internet was shiny and new, I looked online to see if I could find a recipe that would at least come close to the soup I knew and loved. I did find a few different ones, but very few. Today, the internet is saturated with recipes and you can find a huge number of variations on this soup. I distinctly recall finding this recipe and not knowing what kale was! Oh, the days before kale became a thing... times were simpler then... but they're tastier now!

Here's a pin to a recipe that's similar to the one that I first found:

Here are the ingredients I gathered for this attempt:

In this photo you can also see my original recipe card that I wrote down, stained with many different versions of this soup! If you want my version of this recipe, here it is:

1 lb. spicy Italian sausage, crumbled

1/2 lb. smoked bacon, chopped

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed (or use the pre-chopped kind in the jar!)

1 qt. water

2 - 14.5 oz cans chicken broth (or you can sub boxed broth for this, I usually do now.)

2 large russet potatoes, cubed (organic potatoes are all I buy now, and so they're usually small, use 3 or 4)

2 cups kale, chopped (Be generous with this! Eat your greens!)

1 cup heavy whipping cream

salt and pepper to taste

And in the picture there is my Blue Moon First Peach Ale... my cooking companion for the night. Delicious! There's also a can of biscuits that will not be making an appearance in this blog post. They were burnt. My bad. Ordinarily these Immaculate Baking Company Buttermilk Biscuits are an excellent companion to this soup. Don't burn yours.

I do most of my shopping at Sprouts Farmers Market, simply because I can buy all of the basics there and some of the specialty stuff most people go to Whole Foods for, and not have to take out a home equity loan to pay for it. I picked up some of their Hot Italian Pork Sausage and got to work on cooking it up!

You can get the bulk sausage if it's available or just use the link sausage. Simply remove the casing if you want to use the links. It cooks up pretty quickly, so keep an eye on it.

Meanwhile, cut your potatoes up into cubes... Or cube-ish shapes. I'm no prep work master, so this is my translation of cubed:

After your sausage is cooked up, put it on a paper towel to drain (If you skip this step, you'll have a bunch of unappetizing grease floating on the top of your soup. It won't be inedible, jut not as pretty). Then cook up your bacon, let it drain on paper towels, then chop it up and try to not eat up too much of the delicious bacon goodness! 

Saute your chopped onions until they're translucent, toss in the garlic and let it get aromatic. Then toss in your broth (or stock. Stock tastes gooooood.), water, and potatoes. Bring it to a boil, then turn down the heat and let it all simmer until the potatoes get tender (about 10 minutes).

After the potatoes get soft (but not mushy) add in the bacon and sausage and let it simmer for another 10 minutes. Then add the cream and kale, stir, then serve it up! 

This soup hits the spot every time. It's one of my favorite cold weather soups, but who am I kidding...I love it in all weather! Olive Garden soup in my yoga pants at home with my Hulu subscription, because I'm classy like that. Enjoy making your own Zuppa Toscana. Experiment with hot/sweet Italian sausages, different kinds of potatoes, kale, etc. It's always good. Just don't use bacon bits. That's a damn shame. Make some bacon.

Paleo Chicken Tortilla-less Soup

Ever since I began to lose weight a couple of years ago, I have been working on changing my diet to include more whole foods and less processed junk. It's tough... mostly because hamburgers and fries, but that's a story for another post.

I pinned Paleo Chicken Tortilla-less Soup. I remember one of the first things I cooked for Orlando was Tortilla Soup. He gave me his highest compliment by saying, "My mom would love this!" Oh - still be my heart! So now in an effort to live longer, here we are. No vegetable oil and certainly no tortillas! Not to say that those don't occasionally slip into my diet, but compared to how I was eating four years ago, it's much better.

I was excited to find this pin, mostly because the picture looked delicious and I was totally hungry, but I wanted to recreate a bit of that tortilla soup magic for the fam!


I happily headed to my favorite grocery store, Sprouts, and picked up all of my ingredients. Chicken breast was on sale for $1.99! Score!

So I got these chicken breasts home and they were huge! I needed them to cook quickly, because... well... I was hungry! So I gave them a couple of quick slices and that was that! I topped them with a bit of melted ghee and sprinkled on a mix of "taco seasoning" that I mixed together based on personal preference.

Here's what I came up with:

(measurements approximate...)

1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Just adjust the seasoning to your liking then sprinkle it all over that chicken. There was some leftover so I just tossed it in the soup at the end. I like it spicy.

After this short departure from the recipe, I pretty much followed the directions on the blog. Cut up your onions, saute them down, then put in the peppers and garlic. Saute that up a bit, then add the roasted tomatoes and chicken stock (this is when I put the extra seasoning in). I even blended some of the soup up before putting the chicken in, like the blogger suggested. A little salt to taste at the end is a must. It came out great! It tastes best with a bunch of avocado, cilantro, and lime at the end. Tapatio is a great addition, if you like it extra spicy like me! Even my little guy approved! A Pinterest success!