AIP week 1

I made it through my first week on the AIP diet, and to say this week was hard would be an understatement. It was really hard. Trying to plan meals around my very limited diet was difficult. I had a couple wins….and many losses.

Last weekend, Hubs and I went shopping to purchase a bunch of AIP-friendly ingredients, so I was well prepared to start day one on the right foot; but, unfortunately, I was in so much pain from something I ate on New Year’s Day that I was not able to eat much throughout the day. I did, however, make a phenomenal dinner that I was able to enjoy later that night! Braised chicken with oregano, olives, onions, and oranges. Absolutely amazing! It was so good that I made it a second time this week, but, since I ran out of more oranges, I used a lemon instead, and it was equally delicious! I braised the chicken in white wine in my Le Creuset Dutch oven, and when the chicken was nice and tender, I shredded it and mixed it back in with all its winey, citrusy juices. Oregano pairs impeccably with citrus fruits, and with the addition of salty, briny Kalamata olives to balance the sweet notes of citrus, this dish was a perfect merriment of flavors. You can even eat the whole slices of lemon or orange, as they lose most of their pithy bitterness when cooked down, and they become extremely mellow and tasty. I served the chicken over a split roasted sweet potato with a side of green beans drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. And for dessert, I indulged myself in some shredded coconut with sliced apples and pears.

On day two, I was able to eat breakfast. My go-to after a workout is usually a full blender-size chocolate protein shake made with pea protein, unsweetened cocoa powder, maca powder, banana, almond milk, and ice; but, since all of those aforementioned ingredients, except banana, are not AIP-friendly, this obviously was not going to work. I also like to eat oatmeal on the mornings when I don’t go to the gym, but again, oatmeal is off limits for now. So, with a bit of inspiration from some fellow AIP bloggers and web sites, I concocted a cauliflower porridge. Yes, I know, it sounds bizarre, and somewhat off-putting, but when your ingredient choices are limited and you need fuel, you get creative. I heated up frozen organic cauliflower in the microwave, then pureed it in my food processor with a banana. I poured it into a bowl and mixed in a generous amount of shredded coconut and topped it off with cinnamon. I gave the porridge a final warming in the microwave so it was piping hot. It was actually delicious, but not very filling. I could have eaten three or four bowls of that porridge to finally find some satiety, but I didn’t…..that might have been overkill.

I ate my cauliflower porridge for breakfast the next few days in a row, along with my nightly dessert of fruit and coconut, not realizing that the stomach pain I began to experience building to a crescendo was resultant of one of my new “safe” foods. I had never been a big fan of coconut, so I never really ate much of it before going on AIP, but since coconut is a great source of energy, especially for those on the AIP diet, I knew I would have to force myself to eat more of it. Coconut in all its forms, meat, water, milk, oil, manna, etc. is a main staple in the AIP diet, but I discovered the hard way that coconut is not my friend. No more shredded coconut for me…..at least for now, until my gut heals. I may still try including coconut oil and coconut milk into my recipes, but I will proceed with caution.

Completely discouraged by the fact that I have to eliminate yet another food item from my diet, I have to revamp my breakfast and dessert. I am still researching and brainstorming some alternative breakfast ideas, so I hope to have some new ones for next week.

And since I was not feeling well throughout most of the week, forced lunches for me consisted of a roasted sweet potato with a whole avocado. It’s never fun when you have to force yourself to eat food, but if you have to, you might as well make it wholesome and delicious. Avocados make an excellent topping for sweet potatoes!

One other win this week though was my baked salmon with green beans and spiralized parsnips. I love using my spiralizer, so whenever I have spiralize-able veggies on hand, I crank out some veggie ribbons. I baked the salmon simply, with just salt and black pepper, then served it over top the steamed spiralized parsnips and green beans on the side, all of course drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.

Below are my recipes from this week. As I mentioned before, I’ll be needing to tweak my cauliflower porridge to omit shredded coconut, but the recipe is still delicious and worth posting for those of you who can eat coconut. Enjoy!

Braised chicken with oregano, olives, onions, and oranges (makes enough for 3-4 meals)
1 lb. chicken breasts
1 navel orange, thinly sliced OR if using lemon, 1 lemon, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. dried oregano
1 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1 cup pitted Kalamata olives
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper

Preheat the oven to 325F. Place the chicken breasts in a large Dutch oven, such as a Le Creuset pot. Season with salt, black pepper, and oregano. Pour in about 1 cup of white wine. Toss in in the thinly sliced onions, oranges (or lemons), and Kalamata olives. Cover the pot with the lid and place in the oven. Braise the chicken for about 30-40 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches about 165F. Remove from pot the oven. Shred the chicken while still hot, and place the shredded meat back into the pot with all the juices and caramelized onions and oranges (or lemons). Serve a generous heaping of the chicken over a roasted sweet potato, drizzled with olive oil, and a side of olive oil-kissed green beans.

Cauliflower porridge (makes 1 serving)
2 cups cauliflower, frozen or fresh
1 large banana
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2-4 Tbsp. shredded unsweetened coconut (to your taste)

If using fresh cauliflower, steam 2 cups on the stove, using a steamer or sautee pan and water. If using frozen cauliflower, heat 2 cups in a microwave-safe bowl for about 2 minutes. Place the hot cauliflower in a food processor, along with a large banana (if you only have small bananas on hand, you might want to use 1.5 or 2 bananas). Puree until smooth and creamy. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and stir in the shredded coconut. Top with cinnamon. Reheat in the microwave if you want the dish hotter to eat, or enjoy it luke-warm.

Sweet potato-avocado boats (1 serving)
1 sweet potato
1 avocado, diced

Roast a sweet potato at 350F for about 1.5 hours, or until the sweet potato is fully cooked through and moist. Split open the sweet potato and top with the diced avocado.

Baked salmon with parsnip spirals
2 (6-oz.) fillets of skin-on wild salmon
salt and black pepper, to taste
2 large parsnips
3 cups green beans
3-4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, more as needed

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with foil and place the salmon fillets on the foil. Season with salt and black pepper. Bake the salmon for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, as the salmon bakes, prepare the parsnips. Spiralze the parsnips using a spiral veggie slicer. Place the parsnip strings in a pan with about 1/4-inch water and steam with the lid on for about 6-8 minutes. Simultaneously, steam the green beans in a separate pan. When the veggies are finished cooking, remove from the pans and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Serve the salmon over top of the spiralized parsnips with the green beans on the side.