Hi friends! It’s almost the weekend! I love weekends!

After last month’s post on my quest for healthier food and my inability to cook, a sweet friend suggested that I look into The Autoimmune Paleo Cookbook.  I will be honest . . . the title of this cookbook scared me.  It makes me think about all of the fried chicken that I can no longer have.  It makes me think about satisfying my salty cravings with kale chips. But, because I have an autoimmune disease, and because I am always on a mission to learn how to cook healthier food, I bought it! That makes cookbook number 47 in my pantry.  I should probably give some away.

When this book arrived, Reid got to it before I did and marked all kinds of yummy looking dishes he would like us to try (read: me to TRY to cook). I had to admit, the recipes do look amazing, healthy, and pretty easy!  I have made a few things already from this cookbook.  AND . . . SUCCESS!  All recipes have been edible.  All recipes have been eaten by EVERYONE in the family. Including the picky ones! Please see the text chain between me and Reid earlier this week.  I had made Garlic-Sage Chicken Patties for dinner one night, and then had a late meeting after he got home.

Hilarious! I am moving in the right direction here people! And, the broccoli slaw I made was from a Trader Joe’s kit.  I finished the entire thing for lunch yesterday.  SO GOOD!

The author of this book has Hashimoto’s and Celiacs, and struggled for years with finding an approach to food that made her feel normal and healthy.  Through researching the Autoimmune Protocol and experimenting with a Paleo approach, she created this book.  The Autoimmune Protocol is a variation of the diet now recommended to those that have an autoimmune condition.  It works to reduce inflammation throughout the body, and allows people to heal their “leaky gut”.  It is gluten free (which is easy for me at this point), but also takes out some inflammatory foods (i.e nightshade vegetables, nuts, etc.).

I have talked to SEVERAL friends in the last month that say they aren’t feeling 100% anymore.  Either they are going through infertility (and that messes with you enough!) or they just feel “off” and are having a hard time with decreasing energy levels.  I am such a believer that diet is the key to all of this! If you are struggling with feeling “blah”, you are trying to get your family healthier, or just need some great new receipes, I would highly recommend this book! I will be making Sear Roasted Halibut and Cauliflower “Fried Rice” next Monday night.  Yum!  Want to come over for a bite? I can only give a 50% promise that I won’t mess it up!

I know that I joke about my “quest” for a healthier way of eating, but it is something that I research regularly.  I do love my wine, Mexican food, and Fritos, but also know I am at my best when I eat healthy.  When we lost Sophie, we had all types of tests run to see what had happened to her.  She was 100% healthy, and it was diagnosed as “just one of those things”. Lovely, right? Then, when we lost the little boy in November, we ran the same tests.  Again, he was 100% healthy.  I was hoping that SOMETHING had been wrong with them so that could have helped me heal.  Hearing they were perfectly fine just didn’t make sense to me.  I started researching pregnancies and autoimmune disease.  There is a ton out there that says undiagnosed autoimmune disease (especially Celiacs) can cause miscarriages.  I was diagnosed with Celiacs AFTER we had Jackson, and I believe that I do a pretty great job of managing.  After talking with my doctors, doing a ton of research, and just knowing my body, I truly believe that my having an autoimmune disease is why I lost these two, sweet babies.  There is no medical research to confirm this theory, but my doctors all agree that this could be a possibility.  We still know so little about autoimmune diseases and why certain people get them.  It is possible that while my body was attacking itself over something I ate or did, it just attacked these babies as well.  That is why I am trying to figure all of this out.  That is why I am on my “quest”.  I just need to break up with Mi Cocina . . . but I just can’t! Ugh! If you see me sitting on the patio at Mi Cocina this weekend, take the chips away from us! Praying for willpower this weekend!  And, I put my Central Market find on Instagram yesterday.  These are amazing.  They are gluten free.  And, I probably shouldn’t have them.  Any bets on how long they stay in my freezer? Ha!

Have a great weekend! XO