Thursday, November 24, 2011

I'm thankful for the SCD! :)

Our 2 pre-roasted salted & peppered chickens; one brined with roasted garlic, lemon juice, bay leaves,  salt, pepper, & olive oil. AMAZING!

Our organic veggies before we roasted them. Lots of chopping/prepping to do beforehand!! 

Our cheerful heart-warming dining room. :) 

The finished product!!! :D Absolutely phenomenal!

My SCD plate of deliciousness. :) 

The desserts my darling mom & I slaved over. All made from scratch! I know they were good; they were made with lots of love. 
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!!! :) I hope your day was full of chopping, cleaning, slicing, chomping, devouring, roasting, baking, gawking, overindulging, smiling, laughing, loving, & wishing. Wishing that the day would never end! This was my first turkey day on the SCD & it was a huge success!!!! Every one of the ten individuals sitting around our dining room table left satisfied & astronomically happy! How was your dinner on this heart-warming, appreciative evening? Hugs to you all & to all a good night! :) 


...I'm off to the couch to rest. SO much chicken!!!!!! ;) 

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Gone in 60 seconds

I kid you not, these are three of my most favorite meals since starting the SCD. I ate every last morsel. No napkins were involved in the killing of the buffalo wings either. I dove in headstrong, hands at the ready, tummy eager to be fed. I came out a winner in the end with bones from 14 wings leftover; I tied with my dad. He thought he could eat more than me... HA! What a bunch of bologna. 


As for the toast you see pictured here, there was a little bit of heaven in each crunchy bite. INCREDIBLE!!!!! First slices of toast in years. It was like a kid in a candy store to say the least. Then to go & place an egg with a perfectly runny yolk on top, you've hit the jackpot. You've reached the peak of Mt. Everest. You've swung a home run. You've landed the manager position at work. You've just made the impossible possible!! Its deliciousness will not go unnoticed, I will tell you that much. 


Don't fret, they're both easy to make as well. The recipes are posted below. Make it a date this Friday!! Cook yourself up some blanched almond butter bread & a copious amount of buffalo-style chicken wings. Your tummy will thank you for it. :) 


Absolutely the best bread I've ever had. 
Look at those slices... Whoa!
A little maple leaf of butter on a dainty piece of toast. How precious
Bring it onnnn!!!!!! It's wing timeeeee!!!! :D
Toast, a sunny-side up egg with salt & pepper, a dream come true.  
I recommend taking a triple bite with toast, egg white, & a dunk into the rich creamy egg yolk. It's the BEST!
Bread 5.0 as I like to call it (thank you darlin' from Z's Cup of Tea!)
*I used blanched almond butter instead of regular* 

Unforgettable Buffalo-Style Chicken Wings
  • 2 packs of organic (if you can) buffalo-style chicken wings & drumsticks, about 28 total 
  • the juice of about half a lemon
  • 2 cloves of fresh crushed garlic
  • 3 tbsp. organic cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
  • a sprinkle of himalayan pink sea salt
  • a heaping amount of organic ground oregano & basil 
Place all your wings & drums into a deep container to marinade them in. Squeeze your half a lemon directly over the chicken so as not to lose a single drop of that zing! Press your garlic over the top as well, scraping off the stubborn bits that stay behind on the kitchen utensil. Generously drizzle your 3 tbsp. EVOO next!! Go ahead & add your dusting of himalayan pink sea salt. Lastly & most importantly, slowly incorporate all your ground oregano & basil. Take your hands & mix those wings & drums thoroughly to evenly coat them with the kickin' flavors in the container. Pop a lid on the container & let the chicken befriend those potent kicks & punches for about 7-8 hours. Once they've become best friends, lie the wings & drums on a broil pan on the grill at medium-high heat for 8 minutes each side. BAM!! Push everything white aside, the messy chicken's comin' through. I hope you enjoy!!! :)  

~Allie~

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Another milestone on the SCD!!!!! :D

7 MONTHS ON THE SCD TODAY!!! :D YAY! I cannot express my happiness for this life-changing diet enough. It's been nothing short of a miracle (no, seriously). 


Today was an especially  phenomenal day though. Not only am I feeling a thousand times better but I'm also back in school & doing well. I had two tests today & I'm confident that I aced them both!! My brain is BACK! I have proven to myself that I can go to school & be healthy at the same time. This is a feeling of accomplishment I never thought I'd experience again. I'm the student with the psychotic amount of study material & no life outside of her textbooks; I'm perfectly okay with that! I'm the student who gets the recommended hours of sleep the night before the test because she's not panicking & cramming at the last minute like she did before when very ill; definitely not going to reject that new groove. I'm the test-taker who walks out of the classroom full of contentment & doesn't look back; what a treat! I've never been that person before & so far, I have thoroughly enjoyed very minute of it. 


I also met with a darling counselor today & signed up for three classes next semester. Will I end up taking all three? I'm not entirely sure yet. If within the first week I find that my load is too heavy & I'm not ready to do the SCD with three college classes, I'll drop one. I've allowed myself to have that wiggle room but still push myself to see if I can pull through. I've got my fingers crossed!! :) 


There's still some tweaking to be done to the diet as well. Right now I'm experimenting by removing dairy from my food repertoire to test my theory of a casein issue. I'll have a clear answer by this weekend once all the dairy has left my system. The best part about this is that if it actually ends up being an issue with casein, then I can probably reintroduce some fruits back into my diet! Banana pancakes: YAY! Pear sauce: even BETTER! :) I'm eager to see results. Look out for a verdict within the next two weeks. 


So my dear friends, readers, fellow bloggers, family, & other SCDers, I thank you for helping me succeed on this life-changing diet. You have shown me that anything is possible if you trust your heart & follow your gut. Cheers to you all. :) Well, I'm off to plop onto my comfy couch in the basement that sits next to a little warm "fire place" & throw a movie in the DVD player to relax & enjoy the moment. I have several recipes to post within the next day or two so stay hungry! 


xoxox, Allie
p.s. check out these photos. WHOA! That's all there is to say.  


Me at senior prom BEFORE I got extremely ill, crashed, & burned. Thin but practically starving myself: weight is about 124.
Right in the THICK of it away at school freshman year. Absolute nastiness. Puffy, bloated, tight, miserable, felt ugly, in pain, sicker than I'd like to think. :( Heavy but exercising a ton & still eating very little. 
On the greener side of life. 7 months into the diet, 22 lbs. lighter bringing me back to my original weight (122), feelin' pretty, loving feeling healthy, exercising mildly, & best of all, EATING MY HEART OUT! :) Rockin' a new do, too!!

Saturday, November 5, 2011

The Souper Powers of Chicken Soup


Feeling hungry? Have chicken soup.
Feeling happy? Have chicken soup.
Feeling silly? Have chicken soup.
Feeling cold? Have chicken soup.
Feeling sick? Have chicken soup.
Feeling lonely? Have chicken soup.
Feeling mad? Have chicken soup.
Feeling frustrated? Have chicken soup.
Feeling stressed? Have chicken soup.
Feeling blue? Have chicken soup.
Feeling anxious? Have chicken soup.
Feeling worn out? Have chicken soup.
Feeling lucky? Have chicken soup.
Feeling thin? Have chicken soup.
Feeling fat? Have chicken soup.
Feeling dry? Have chicken soup.
Feeling energetic? Have chicken soup.


Feeling like you want to have a souper douper day? Have chicken soup. :)
~Allie~