Organic Products

Here's some favorites I've been consuming lately.

Lollipops aren't necessarily on my Maker's Diet list of approved foods (especially due to the fact I'm only allowed sweeteners of 3 tbsp. honey and small amounts of Truvia each day).  But man, these pops are awesome!  They are so fruity and flavorful!

Coconut oil is great for cooking (good saturated fats), weight loss, and a great skin/hair/nail conditioner.

Yummy yummy Herbamare is a substitute for the everyday table salt.  It's a bouquet of dried herbs and sea salt with less sodium than regular salt.  And you don't have to use as much as you would with table salt thanks to it's great salty flavor.

Kefir is similar to drinkable yogurt but contains more probiotic goodness.  I've had plain and added fresh cut blueberries or defrosted organic strawberries and I've had the raspberry flavor.  Very delicious and serves as a great snack or addition to your morning breakfast.

I had no idea that Flaxseed oil is also called Linseed oil.  Linseed oil was a major medium I used in oil painting back in the day.  How funny?!  But back to flaxseed oil......it has great Omega-3 fatty acids and is great is tuna and chicken salad.  Just use 50% flaxseed oil to 50% mayo.  Delicious and beneficial!

Maker's Diet - Phase One - Days 15-22

Been another busy week in the world of Cindar.  So I'm just now updating my blog.  So I've moved on to Phase 2.  I still can't have carbs (bread, rice, crackers) but I now get to add beans, lunch meat, a few more fruits and veggies, all-natural dressings, and cow's milk products!  yippee!  It really is a big deal after the first two weeks being really restrictive.  I'm sure the exercise has helped but I think the 6.5 lbs that I have lost has been bc of the Maker's Diet.

Here are a few of the meals I've been enjoying.
BREAKFAST

• hard-boiled egg w/ blueberries
• scrambled eggs w/ onion, goat cheese & turkey bacon
• cow's milk kefir w/ blueberries, stevia, and honey.  cow's milk raspberry kefir
• cow's whole milk french vanilla yogurt 

LUNCH

• apple/cinnamon tuna salad or natural-nitrite&nitratefree turkey lunch meat over a bed of baby spinach salad w/ sliced blueberries & orange-cranberry viniagrette
• Zoe's greek salad w/ grilled chicken & onions & oil and vinegar dressing
• egg drop soup
• homemade chili & salad
• homemade apple/cinnamon tuna salad & celery sticks

SNACK

• celery sticks or cherries dipped in raw almond butter w/ a swirl of honey
• raw almonds & blueberries
• cow's milk kefir w/ blueberries, stevia, and honey.  cow's milk raspberry kefir
• cow's whole milk french vanilla yogurt
• clementines & granny smith apples

DINNER

• homemade chili
• scrambled eggs w/ mushrooms, onion, goat cheese & turkey bacon
• chicken fajitas (minus the rice and tortillas)
• baked tilapia, mexican corn, green lentils

BEVERAGES

• water
• natural sparkling water
• coffee w/ half-n-half & stevia
• Pablo's Cantina banana margarita (you gottah treat yourself sometimes!)

Maker's Diet - Phase One - Days 8-14

Wow, it's been a hectic week.  Part of that has been my recent engagement.  Bam!  Can you believe it?!  I can't!  I am truly blessed to have my fiance (wow, first time typing fiance) Jason in my life.  And the outpouring of love and encouragement from friends and family has been awesome.  I never thought I would get to this point in a relationship after all the drama in my life......but here I am.  Thanks God, for keeping your promise that you would get me through some tough times in love to where I am today.

This past week has been a toughy in terms of the Maker's Diet.  I finally finished the book and discovered that folks that are exceptionally healthy don't necessarily have to do all three phases of this nutritional makeover.  Jordan Rubin suggests those that are overweight or have health issues due to obesity or digestion complete the full 14 days of Phase 1.  Those that don't necessarily need the full 14 days of detox should at least do a few days to get their body rebooted.  Well, after reading this Jason suggested I go ahead and move on to Phase 2.  But I decided that since I had gotten this far I met as well finish the phase out.  Now of course, financially and taste-wise, I did certain things to cut corners.  For instance, eating local honey as opposed to raw honey, cow's milk kefir instead of goat's milk kefir, etc.  But I must say I'm pretty proud of my progress and dedication thus far.  Jason and I went to his family reunion yesterday and as Jason said, "you get a 2 hour leave from your diet/fast."  I think he was right in saying that because I needed a breather from feeling restricted.  I enjoyed some of the best fried garlic mushrooms I've ever had, an onion ring, grilled tilapia w/ a ginger-sesame glaze, black-eyed peas, green beens, a hushpuppy, and um..............a slab of strawberry cake w/ cream-cheese frosting!!!!!!  woo hoo

Here's some of my random eats from this past week.
BREAKFAST

• hard-boiled egg w/ blueberries
• scrambled eggs w/ onion, goat cheese & turkey bacon
• cow's milk kefer w/ blueberries, stevia, and honey

LUNCH

• poached chicken over a bed of baby spinach salad w/ sliced blueberries & home-made mustard-vinaigrette dressing
• Zaxby's grilled chicken caesar salad (minus the bacon and croutons) w/ home-made vinaigrette dressing
• Zoe's greek salad w/ grilled chicken & onions & oil and vinegar dressing
• homemade coconut chicken soup
• homemade chicken salad

SNACK

• celery sticks or cherries dipped in raw almond butter w/ a swirl of honey
• raw almonds & blueberries
• cow's milk kefer w/ blueberries, stevia, and honey

DINNER

• homemade coconut chicken soup
• homemade chicken salad scooped up with celery sticks
• scrambled eggs w/ mushrooms, onion, goat cheese & turkey bacon
• poached chicken over a bed of baby spinach salad w/ sliced blueberries & home-made mustard-vinaigrette dressing
• chicken saag (no rice, no naan) at Silver Coin indian restaurant

BEVERAGES

• water
• natural sparkling water w/ lime
• coffee w/ half-n-half & stevia
• hot mint green tea w/ honey

Maker's Diet - Phase Two - Foods to Enjoy

Phase II: Foods to Enjoy (2 weeks)

Meat
All meats listed in phase one

Fish
All fish listed in phase one

Poultry
All poultry listed in phase one

Eggs
Fish roe or caviar (fresh, no preserved)

Luncheon meat (organic and nitrite/nitrate free is best)
Turkey, sliced (free range, preservative free)
Roast beef, sliced (free range, preservative free)

Dairy (organic, grass-fed is best)
Homemade kefir from raw or nonhomogenized cow’s milk
Kefir from pasteurized, nonhomogenized cow’s milk
Raw cow’s milk hard cheeses
Cow’s milk cottage cheeses
Cow’s milk ricotta cheese
Cow’s milk plain whole-milk yogurt
Cow’s milk plain kefir
Cow’s milk plain sour cream
Raw goat’s milk

Fats and oils (organic is best)
Expeller-pressed peanut oil

Vegetables (organic fresh or frozen is best)
Sweet potatoes
Corn
Yams

Beans and legumes (soaked or fermented is best)
White beans
Black beans
Kidney beans
Navy beans
Tempeh (fermented soybean)

Nuts and seeds (organic, raw, soaked is best)
Walnuts (raw)
Macadamia nuts (raw)
Hazelnuts (raw)
Brazil nuts (raw)
Pecans (raw or soaked and low-temperature dehydrated)

Condiments, spices, seasonings (organic is best)
Ketchup (no sugar) [I get Westbrae brand, fruit-juice sweetened]
All-natural salad dressings (no sugar/corn syrup, no preservatives)
All-natural marinades (no sugar/corn syrup, no preservatives)

Fruits (organic fresh or frozen is best)
Apples
Apricots
Grapes
Melon
Peaches
Oranges
Pears
Plums
Kiwi
Pineapple
Pomegranates
Passion fruit
Guava

Beverages
Raw vegetable juice (beet or carrot—maximum 50 percent of total)
Coconut water

Sweeteners
Unheated raw honey (up to 3 Tbsp. per day)
Stevia

Maker's Diet - Phase One - Days 4-7

Work has been pretty busy so I haven't really wanted to be on my home computer that much.  So here is a general list of what I've been chomping on the past few days.

I have decided that goat's milk products are not for me.  Other than *soft goat cheese, the other products pretty much taste like a sweaty sock out of someone's gym bag.  There's an odor and taste left in your mouth that I just can't get past.  Thank goodness I'm not allergic to cow's milk because I don't know if I could get used to goat's milk.  *Soft goat cheese is great in scrambled eggs.

I've had a morning or two where I've woken up feeling a little nauseous; which I guess is the toxins fighting their way out of my system.  But a cup of 'joe on the way to work gets rid of the feeling.  Then today I had a big drop in energy about 2:30pm and had to nap for an hour or so.  I have the occasional separation anxiety from bread/starches.  But if I can get past my 14th day I'll be able to add some favorites back in (cow's milk products, sliced turkey, sweet potatoes, corn, beans, store bought all-natural salad dressings, and more fruit options).  One thing I haven't gotten into yet, since I still have some pages to read, is the daily prayer and one partial fasting day.  So I'm hoping to finish up my reading and start that Sunday.  Plus, I think I would enjoy the biblical essential oils (breathing them in each morning/massaging into palms or feet).

BREAKFAST

• hard-boiled egg w/ apple-chicken sausage & blueberries
• scrambled eggs w/ mushrooms, onion, goat cheese & turkey bacon

LUNCH

• tuna or salmon salad over a bed of baby spinach salad w/ cheddar goat cheese & home-made vinaigrette dressing
• Chik-fil-a grilled chicken salad (minus the cheese) w/ home-made vinaigrette dressing
• Zoe's protein plate (slaw, grilled chicken breast, oil and vinegar dressing, and feta-which is probably not on my food's to enjoy list-ha)

SNACK

• celery sticks dipped in raw almond butter w/ a swirl of honey (so yummy!)
• raw almonds & blueberries
• goat's milk plain yogurt w/ honey, stevia, vanilla extract, frozen strawberries (gross!  nothing could make this stuff good to me.  so i had it one day and swore it off after that)
• cow's milk kefer w/ blueberries, stevia, cinnamon, vanilla or almond extract, honey (amazing!!!!  sure cow's milk kefer is not on my list to enjoy until Phase 2.  but I couldn't find goat's milk kefer.  and i'm worried about not getting some calcium these first two weeks.  kefer is between milk and yogurt.....think smoothie consistency)

DINNER

• stir-fry veggies
• tuna salad scooped up with celery sticks
• scrambled eggs w/ mushrooms, onion, goat cheese & turkey bacon
• panzanella salad (minus the bread) and coconut chicken soup

BEVERAGES

• water
• natural sparkling water w/ lime
• coffee w/ half-n-half & stevia

Maker's Diet - Phase One - Day 3

Woke up feeling mildly icky today.  It was that "something doesn't feel right" type of feeling.  But I was good after a little coffee during my drive to work.  This must be those "detox" feelings you get when your system is being cleansed.  Oh well....I survived Day 3!

Proverbs 3

Trust the LORD

 ¹ My son, don’t forget my teaching, 
but let your heart keep my commands; 
² for they will bring you 
many days, a full life, and well-being. 
³ Never let loyalty and faithfulness leave you. 
Tie them around your neck; 
write them on the tablet of your heart. 
⁴ Then you will find favor and high regard 
in the sight of God and man. ⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own understanding; ⁶ think about Him in all your ways,
and He will guide you on the right paths.


Breakfast:
coffee w/ half-n-half and stevia
two hard-boiled eggs & fresh blueberries

Lunch:
coconut chicken soup

Snack:
raw almonds & almond butter (i know, redundant)

Dinner:
Dinner at Taste of Thailand (minus the rice)  sooooo yummy!

Maker's Diet - Phase One - Day 2

Today was better on the "i miss bread" front.......but about mid-day I realized that no bread and low amounts of sugar make for a grumpy and irritable cindy.


Breakfast:
coffee at work (i set the delay time wrong on the home coffee machine so i had to go commercial)
apple-chicken sausage & fresh blueberries

Lunch:
Chik-fil-a grilled chicken salad  (minus the cheese) w/ home-made viniagrette

Snack:
raw almonds

Dinner:
home-made coconut chicken soup (yum!)

Maker's Diet - Phase One - Day 1

-I miss bread.
-Straight carrot juice is not as yummy as I would like it to be.
-Goat's hard cheese smells like stinky feet.
+My fridge is over-flowing with fresh produce.
+Cooking with coconut oil makes my kitchen smell like Tom Kah soup.  yum
+Water, water, water.

Breakfast:
coffee w/ half-n-half and stevia
scrambled egg w/ onion, spinach, goat cheese

Lunch:
tuna salad over a spinach salad w/ goat cheddar cheese, carrots, & home-made vinaigrette

Snack:
raw almonds

Dinner:
apple-chicken sausage & string beans/carrots

Maker's Diet - Phase One - Foods to Enjoy

Phase 1 is very restricted in order to cleanse the body of toxins.

Phase I: Foods to Enjoy (2 weeks)

Meat (grass-fed/organic is best)
Beef
Lamb
Venison
Veal
Buffalo
Elk
Goat
Meat bone stock/soup
Liver and heart (must be organic)
Beef or buffalo sausage or hot dogs (no pork casing—organic and nitrite/nitrate free is best) (Use sparingly in phase 1.)

Fish (Wild freshwater/ocean-caught fish is best; make sure it has fins and scales!)
Salmon
Tuna
Halibut cod
Scrod
Brouper
Haddock
Mahi mahi
Pompano
Wahoo
Trout
Tilapia
Orange roughy
Sea bass
Snapper
Mackerel
Herring
Sole
Whitefish
Fish bone soup/stock
Salmon (canned in spring water)
Tuna (canned in spring water)
Sardines (canned in water or olive oil only)

Poultry (pastured/organic is best)
Chicken
Cornish game hen
Guinea fowl
Turkey
Duck
Poultry bone soup/stock
Chicken or turkey bacon (no pork casing—organic and nitrite/nitrate free is best) (Use sparingly in phase 1.)
Liver and heart (must be organic)

Eggs (high omega-3/DHA is best)
Chicken eggs (whole with yolk)
Duck eggs (whole with yolk)

Dairy
Goat’s milk yogurt (plain)
Homemade kefir from goat’s milk
Soft goat’s milk cheese
Goat’s milk hard cheese
Sheep’s milk hard cheeses

Fats and oils (organic is best)
Ghee
Goat’s milk butter
Cow’s milk, butter, organic
Avacado
Extra-virgin coconut oil (best for cooking)
Extra-virgin olive oil (not for cooking)
Flaxseed oil (not for cooking)
Hempseed oil (not for cooking)
Goat’s milk butter (not for cooking)
Raw cow’s milk butter, grass fed (not best for cooking)
Expeller-pressed sesame oil
Coconut milk/cream (canned)

Vegetables (organic fresh or frozen is best)
Broccoli
Asparagus
Squash (winter or summer)
Beets
Cauliflower
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Celery
Eggplant
Garlic
Okra
Cucumber
Pumpkin
Onion
Lettuce
Spinach
Mushrooms
Peppers
Tomatoes
Peas
String beans
Artichoke (French, not Jerusalem)
Leafy greens (kale, collard, broccoli, rabe, mustard greens, etc.)
Raw leafy greens (endive, escarole, radicchio, arugula, frisse, etc.)
Sprouts (broccoli, sunflower, pea shoots, radish, etc.)
Sea vegetables (kelp, dulse, nori, kombu, hijiki)
Raw, fermented vegetables (lacto-fermented only, no vinegar)

Beans and legumes (soaked or fermented is best)
Small amounts of fermented soybean paste (miso) as a broth
Lentils

Nuts and seeds (organic, raw, soaked is best)
Almonds (raw)
Hempseed (raw)
Pumpkinseeds (raw)
Flaxseeds (raw and ground)
Sunflower seeds (raw)
Hempseed butter (raw)
Almond butter (raw)
Sunflower butter (raw)
Pumpkinseed butter (raw)
Tahini, sesame butter (raw)

Condiments, spices, seasonings (organic is best)
Salsa (fresh or canned)
Tomato sauce (no added sugar)
Guacamole (fresh)
Apple cider vinegar
Celtic sea salt (or Real Sea Salt by Redmond)
Mustard
Herbamare seasoning
Omega-3 mayonaise (Spectrum)
Umeboshi paste
Soy sauce (wheat-free), tamari
Raw salad dressings and marinade (recipes in book)
Herbs and spices (no stabilizers)
Pickled ginger (preservative and color free)
Wasabe (preservative and color free)
Organic flavoring extracts (alcohol based, no sugar added), i.e. vanilla, almond, etc.

Fruits (organi fresh or frozen is best)
Blueberries
Strawberries
Blackberries
Raspberries
Cherries
Grapefruit
Lemon
Lime

Beverages
Purified, nonchlorinated water
Natural spring water, no carbonation added (i.e. Perrier)
Herbal teas (preferably organic)—unsweetened or with a small amount of raw honey or
Stevia
Raw vegetable juice (beet or carrot juice—maximum 25 percent of total)
Lacto-fermented beverages (recipes in book)
Certified organic coffee—buy whole beans, freeze them, and grind yourself when
desired; flavor only the organic cream and a small amount of honey.

Sweeteners
Unheated, raw honey in very small amounts (1 Tbsp. per day maximum)

Miscellaneous
Goat’s milk protein powder (Goatein by Garden of Life)

Maker's Diet

Getting ready for my 40-day adventure that starts tomorrow. I chose to change my eating lifestyle for our church's 21 days of Prayer & Fasting that we do at the start of each new year. Unfortunately, the route I chose will last 40 days! I'll be doing the Maker's Diet. It's not a diet weight-loss plan but a plan to get back to the foods and ways of eating God intended for his creation. I'm hoping this adventure will make me more mindful of all that God's provides me with and that it's His desire for me to bless myself through prayer, emotional well-being, exercise, and nutrition. Also, I'll be blessing the earth by supporting farmers of natural and organic practices.


http://www.makers-diet.net/