Suzie Carpenter - Cook With Love

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Purple Cauliflower Rice 💜

March 21, 2019 by Suzie

Purple is one of my favorite colors. So when I first discovered purple cauliflower with its radiant and rich hue of purple – all natural, real and fresh from the ground – it was like a dream come true. Its very existence is evidence of super power magic, God’s magic.

While I love plain cauliflower rice, purple cauliflower rice is like the icing on the cake. Purple cauliflower has a sweeter more mild flavor than white cauliflower and is less pungent smelling too. And like many rich colored fruits and veggies, it’s deep purple color signifies added benefits in the form of antioxidants. In this case anthocyanin, which is also find in purple cabbage and red wine. Purple cauliflower also contains 25% more vitamin A than plain white cauliflower.

When I first made cauliflower rice, it was at a cooking class I was teaching long before cauliflower rice became a thing. There were about fifteen ladies in the class, and I made cauliflower rice from scratch. Needless to say with that many people it was quite a feat! I had to use several cauliflower heads and riced them in batches in my food processor.

Although these days white cauliflower rice is available in the freezer section of most grocery stores, I still usually make it from scratch because I enjoy the process.

Purple cauliflower is a stunningly colorful addition to salads, veggie trays and can also be used to make purple mashed potatoes. One of the most beautiful ways I’ve seen it used was in a dish where the chef pureed the purple cauliflower and used it as a layer underneath some grilled scallops. It was absolutely gorgeous, a feast for the eyes.

Cauliflower Rice Stir Fry

1 head cauliflower
1-2 tablespoons coconut oil or ghee
1 onion, peeled and minced
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced 

Cut florets off the head of cauliflower and discard the stems. Put florets into bowl of food processor and pulse until grated. Take grated cauliflower and lay it on a double layer of paper towels. Roll it, wrapping it up in the paper towel and gently squeeze out the excess water by applying pressure to the towels.

In a large sauce pan, add oil and onion. Sauté until onion is tender, for about 3-5 minutes. Stir in the grated cauliflower and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes adding more oil or liquid as needed. Season with salt and pepper.

Filed Under: Dinner Ideas, Lunch Ideas, Side Dish, Vegetables Tagged With: cauliflower, cauliflower rice, gluten free, gluten free rice, grain free rice, low carb, paleo, purple, purple cauliflower

Roasted Cod with Tomato Basil Sauce

August 26, 2018 by Suzie

End of summer is bitter sweet. Tomatoes are sort of like the icing on the cake. As they ripen and pump on the vine, it’s time for some juicy transitions. Happy transitions, like back to school, back to routine and back to you. 

There are so many creative ways to use tomatoes in recipes or as sides. This is one of my favorites.  Hope you like I too! 

This recipe is quick and easy but will surprise you with it’s rich flavor. Cod is typically a somewhat bland fish but the addition of the buttery rich topping takes it to a whole new level. 

Roasted Cod with Tomato Basil Sauce
2 pounds wild cod or haddock loin
2 tablespoons ghee
2 ripe tomatoes, diced (optional remove skin and seeds)
1/4 cup fresh slivered basil
1-2 teaspoons blackened fish seasoning
Coconut oil spray

Preheat oven to 400. Place fish in a baking dish. Spray with coconut oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and blackened fish seasoning. Roast for 15-20 minutes until fish begins to crack and is firm to the touch.

While fish is cooking, melt ghee in a small sauce pan. Add tomato, stir and cook for 3 minutes. Turn off heat and add basil. Stir and set aside.

Remove fish from oven. Top with tomato basil mixture. 

Serve immediately

4 servings 

Filed Under: Dinner Ideas, Main Course Tagged With: cod, fish, healthy dinner, paleo, roasted fish, tomato basil sauce. basil, tomatoes, white fish

Roasted Sunny Side Up Eggs

April 9, 2017 by Suzie

For years, I couldn’t eat eggs because of a food sensitivity to them. Kelly couldn’t eat them either for the same reason. My reaction showed up as heart palpitations and eczema. Meanwhile, Kelly would simply throw up. Thankfully, we are now past that.

During the past year, reintroducing eggs has been like opening up a whole new world in the kitchen. It’s made such a huge difference to be able to use them in baking. Finally, bread, cookies, muffins and cupcakes all have their poof back – meaning they are fluffy instead of dense and drooping.

Another exciting re-discovery is that eggs really do make the best breakfast. After eating 1 or 2 eggs for breakfast, my belly is satisfied for hours, which is such a good feeling. So, since I’ve been eating eggs more often, I decided experiment with roasting them. Actually, I got the idea from a photo I saw on Instagram. They turned out surprisingly beautiful and super tasty too.

Roasted Eggs and Asparagus
2 whole organic eggs
1 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed
Avocado oil spray
Coarse sea salt

Preheat oven 400. Place asparagus on a baking sheet. Spray with oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Crack eggs into a bowl, then gently pour one at a time over the asparagus.

Roast in oven for 7-9 minutes until egg white is cooked, or to your liking. Me, I like my eggs sunny side up with that delicious yellow yolk that runs into the rest of the meal 🙂

Filed Under: Breakfast Tagged With: eggs, paleo, paleo breakfast, roasted aspargus, roasted eggs, sunny side up eggs

Turkey Tettrazini (Dairy and Gluten Free)

November 29, 2016 by Suzie

img_2730Some people love leftovers, some hate them.

I was always one of those kids that turned my nose up at the sight of leftovers. My aversion to them even crept into adulthood. It was mostly a texture and smell issue for me, and I believe this sensory response accompanied some of the toxic issues I was having in my gut.

Fortunately, with gut healing and the commitment to a clean healthy lifestyle, I can now embrace the ease of leftovers and enjoy finishing a meal the following day without gagging or forcing it down. Of course there is also the added benefit of not wasting and the sustainable repurposing of the food which is a rewarding accomplishment in and of itself.

This recipe is the perfect example.

Growing up, my mom used to make turkey tetrazzini with the leftover turkey from Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. With a family of seven to feed, this was a perfect recipe for a post holiday dinner. She’d mix the turkey with a béchamel white sauce, cheese and noodles then bake it in the oven. The sauce definitely did a good job of dressing up the leftover dry turkey, but I still didn’t totally dig it.

This Thanksgiving, we had a ton of leftover turkey and green beans. While staring at the leftovers, I remembered mom’s turkey tetrazzini. Along with the memory of the food, my mind wandered to all my fond memories of our time together as a family in Vermont where we spent the holidays. So when I thought of the turkey tetrazzini, I felt all warm and fuzzy.

Inspired by my walk down memory lane, I decided to reinvent her recipe using dairy free and gluten free ingredients. I searched for a paleo recipe and found one that I adopted. I used red lentil pasta and the leftover green beans, some sautéed onion and a coconut milk cream sauce, no cheese. The result was actually quite tasty.Cappello’s linguine would be awesome for this recipe, but I didn’t have any on hand  or zucchini noodles would also work well.

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The sauce was slightly runny and settled on the bottom of the pan while the casserole cooked. So next time, I plan to mix all the ingredients before putting in the baking pan and perhaps may add a few more tablespoons of flour to help thicken the sauce (the recipe below has been adjusted for that).

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The day after it was even better – the leftover leftovers, ha!

Even if you don’t make this until next thanksgiving its worth the wait 🙂

Paleo Turkey Tettrazini

2 pounds of leftover turkey meat
4 cups of cooked grain free pasta
1 pound steamed green beans
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced in to thin moons
1 tablespoon olive or coconut oil

For the Sauce:
2 cans full fat coconut milk
Juice of one lemon, about 3 tablespoons juice
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 organic eggs
1 1/4 cups coconut butter
1 clove garlic, peeled
4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/3 cup arrowroot powder (I’ve adjusted this amount from my initial recipe)

Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the box. Once done, drain and set aside. In a large sauté pan, cook the onion with the oil until tender and translucent.

While the onion is cooking, make the sauce. Place all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a large baking pan. In a large bowl mix the noodles, vegetables and sauce. Pour into the baking pan and bake for 30 minutes or until heated through and the sauce is bubbly. May need to stir a few times during cooking to keep sauce from settling to the bottom and drying out the top.

Filed Under: Dinner Ideas, Main Course Tagged With: casserole, dairy free, dairy free cream sauce, gluten free, green beans, leftover turkey casserole, leftovers, noodles, paleo, pasta, thanksgiving, thanksgiving leftovers, turkey

Best Meatloaf Ever!

October 24, 2016 by Suzie

meatloaf3It was 5:30 pm on Tuesday.

I’d come home from Pilates at 4:00 so I’d be ready and waiting when Kelly walked in the door from school at 4:30.  Leftover roasted chicken with a baked potato and some sautéed zucchini was what I prepared for her dinner.

Still dressed in my workout clothes with my hair stuffed in the baseball cap I’d placed on my head early that morning, all I really wanted to do was shower and finish up a few work emails.

But those things would have to wait.

For starters, we had no toilet paper, and the list of things I needed from Target was long. Knowing this, I’d promised Kelly we’d go there together after she finished dinner.

Before we left, I threw a meatloaf in the oven using the ground beef I’d taken out of the freezer the night before. It was a flurry of ingredients that I mixed together using my bare hands.

As I patted the mixture into an oblong shape in the pan and programmed the oven for it to cook while I was gone, I realized I wasn’t even sure if I’d put everything I normally do in the meatloaf.

Oh well, it will still be delicious…and at least it will be done when I get home! I reassured myself knowing I looked forward to dinner with my husband.

meatloafraw2When Kelly and I got home from Target an hour later, I finally showered and then put the finishing touches on dinner.

The meatloaf was done cooking and had shrunken to a little less than two thirds it’s original size. The pan was full of juice, or rather fat, rendered from cooking the beef. Before placing the pan in the oven, I’d covered it with tin  foil, something I don’t normally do, hoping that it would prevent the meat from drying out if it over cooked while we were gone. That in effect steamed the meatloaf releasing all those juices and fat and had me worried that maybe despite my attempt to avoid it, the meatloaf was going to be dry.

When I took a bite of the meatloaf, the results were beyond my wildest dinner dreams. I was shocked by how unbelievably delicious it tasted. I’m talking food orgasm good. It may be the best meatloaf I’d ever tasted. Scott, my husband, agreed wholeheartedly.

I felt grateful and proud.

In the end, taking the 10-15 minutes of prep time to pull the meatloaf together was well worth every second and our meatloaf dinner was much more satisfying than a bowl of cereal, scrambled eggs or a simple salad would have been. Not to mention we got to enjoy it for several nights. Comfort food for the soul, the very best!

The Very Best Meatloaf

3 pounds of organic grass fed beef
2 eggs
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon coconut or olive oil
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon Herbs de Provence
2 tablespoons Fish sauce
1/4 teaspoon red chill pepper
1/3 cup almond flour
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Saute onion with oil in a small pan over medium high heat until tender and translucent. Remove from heat and stir in herbs de provence, chili pepper, fish sauce and tomato paste. Set aside. In a large bowl combine the meat with the eggs and almond flour. Stir in the onion mixture. Grease the bottom of a 9×11 or similar size baking pan, I use pyrex pans. Pour meat loaf mixture in to the pan and form in to a large loaf, smoothing the top as you go. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes or until no longer pink inside.

Filed Under: Dinner Ideas, Main Course Tagged With: dinner ideas, family dinner, ground beef recipe, meatloaf, paleo

The Great Pumpkin Seed

October 15, 2016 by Suzie

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Pepitas are my new favorite snack.

You know that feeling right before dinner when your belly starts grumbling, begging you, “Feed me now!”?

But you are still busy cooking or finishing a project. You try to wait until dinner is ready because you don’t want to fill up on junk or carbs. Meanwhile, your blood sugar is plummeting and you really can’t wait….

These roasted pumpkin seeds are the perfect solution. Salty and crunchy but light and filling.

Pepitas or pumpkin seeds are actually quite beautiful with their dark green exterior and tear drop shape. I’m talking about the ones you buy in the store not the ones you scoop out of a pumpkin. The ones that come out of the pumpkin actually have a shell or hull which is why their exterior is white and the texture is quite different than the store bought seeds. When you are roasting pumpkin seeds, use the green ones without the hull for optimum flavor and a natural delicate crunch.

Besides being super fun and satisfying to munch on, pumpkin seeds are little gems of goodness. One ounce of  these cuties contain 7 grams of protein. Combine that with healthy omega 6 fats, pepitas are the perfect combo to satisfy a grumbling belly. Plus, they are an excellent source of antioxidants and minerals, like magnesium and manganese, that will calm your mind and stabilize blood sugar.

There are so many ways to enjoy pumpkin seeds. Toss them in salads, sprinkle them over sautéed or roasted veggies, stir into granola, use as a topping on soup, grind them in pesto instead of nuts, or stir into your favorite oatmeal raisin cookie dough!

When toasted with some coconut oil, then tossed in spices, pepitas are a finger licking good treat. Guys, this is a super easy recipe that is well worth every second of effort. I promise!

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Roasted Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon coriander
1/8 teaspoon cardamom
1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1 tablespoon Coconut oil

On the stove, over medium heat, swirl oil around in a large sauté pan. Add pumpkin seeds and spices. Stir well and cook for about 5 minutes until pumpkin seeds start to brown, stirring frequently. Can also be roasted in the oven at 325 for about 10 minutes. Just watch carefully so that they don’t burn!

Remove from heat and let cool. Store in an airtight container, if they last that long!

Filed Under: Snacks Tagged With: paleo, paleo snack, salad topping, salty snack, sunflower seeds

World Famous Gluten Free Bread

September 10, 2016 by Suzie

img_2410When I gave up gluten, one question everyone always asked was, “How do you live without bread?”

Back then, almost fifteen years ago, there weren’t many options for gluten free bread, and what was available to purchase was dry and tasteless. Not to mention that I was not only gluten free but also grain free, following the Specific Carbohydrate Diet with my daughter, and we also needed to be egg free, so truly bread was not an option.

Thankfully, this past year, we’ve been able to reintroduce eggs, and it has opened up a whole new world of culinary delight. Now, I’m busy experimenting – baking bread, cookies, cakes and brownies where before I was just resigned to living without.

It’s a very exciting time actually, not just for me but for so many, because of the growing popularity of a similar lifestyle to ours, the Paleo diet.

This bread recipe is adopted from the beautiful and genius grain free cookbook author Danielle Walker, another pioneer in the Paleo movement. In her cook book, Against All Grain, her bread recipe requires whipping the egg whites which is a little laborious. The recipe also calls for coconut flour which I am trying to avoid at the moment. So I decided to tweak the recipe.

Here’s my version of Danielle’s world famous sandwich bread. It is a morning breakfast staple for me – sliced and toasted, topped with sunbutter and jelly or avocado and fried eggs or slathered with beaten eggs and sautéed in coconut oil to make french toast. Like it’s name states, the bread also makes wonderfully moist sandwiches. Use a high speed blender, and this bread is super easy and relatively quick. Most of all, it is way more delicious than any bread you can buy, gluten free or grain free or not 🙂

Grain Free Sandwich Blender Bread

6 large organic eggs
1 3/4  cups raw cashews
2 tablespoons melted ghee or coconut oil
1 tablespoon honey
4 tablespoons nut milk, I use cashew
1/4 cup cashew butter
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 325. Grease a 9″ loaf pan.

In a high speed blender, place the eggs, cashews, ghee or oil, milk, baking soda, and honey, in that order. Blend until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add cashew butter and apple cider vinegar, blending again until combined. Pour into pan and immediately place in the oven. Bake for 35-45 minutes.

Store in fridge up to 5 days or freeze.

Filed Under: Bread Tagged With: blender bread, bread, gluten free, gluten free bread, grain free, grain free bread, moist bread, paleo, paleo bread, sandwich, sandwich bread, slicing bread, toast

Avocado Toast 101

May 23, 2016 by Suzie

FullSizeRender-2It’s so simple. So easy.

If you like – or better yet – love avocados, then avocado toast is a no brainer.

Some people have been eating it for years and to some it’s all new.

Either way, avocado toast never gets old!

Really avocado toast is just another way to eat toast.

Avocados are full of healthy fats and detoxifying nutrients. With more potassium than a banana and much less sugar, maybe it’s time to rethink your pre-workout snack. Avocados also contain a substantial amount of fiber and are excellent for heart health. Add avocado to your routine shopping list, and I guarantee you won’t regret it. I always keep several avocados on hand to add to salads, as a topping for veggies, to make chocolate pudding, or of course, avocado toast.

Better than butter, better than jelly or cheese, mashed avocado will dress up your toast in a most delightful way and best of all, it will leave you satisfied for hours.

Get creative add some sliced tomato, sunflower seeds or crushed hazelnuts, a fried egg or smoked salmon.

Makes a wonderful breakfast, snack or easy lunch option. Try it and let me know what you think 🙂

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Avocado Toast with Bacon

1/2 ripe avocado
1 tablespoonBody Bio oil (Kelly calls it magic oil because it makes her feel so good)
Sea salt
1-2 slices organic bacon
1 slice gluten and grain free bread (this bread is to die for!)

Mash avocado with oil in a small bowl. Spoon on toast and top with sea salt (optional) and bacon.

Note: I buy my bacon from a local organic butcher who cures it with salt only, no sugar. The flavor and crunch is truly unbelievable. It is the best tasting bacon ever! Years ago, I asked the butcher why bacon always has sugar in it, and he said that was the only way to cure it. But then he found a way to omit the sugar and wow, it’s amazing. Of course, no nitrates either 🙂

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: avocado, Avocado toast, dairy free, gluten free, grain free, paleo, toast

Grain Free Buddha Bowl

October 15, 2015 by Suzie

CLS_Image_10_09_15A few weeks ago, I did a cooking demo at an event called Guts and Glory, a labor of love by a local gastroenterologist with the mission of raising awareness around healthy eating.

The tricky part was that I wasn’t the only one doing a cooking demo and only had fifteen minutes on stage. Usually my cooking classes are an hour and a half long, and I make three recipes!

A week before the event, I thought about what I could make in fifteen minutes that would be appealing to the crowd, wanting it to be both inspirational and helpful.

Then it hit me  – a buddha bowl. Fun, delicious, colorful, and easy to make.

That was it, I’d make a colorful symphony of spinach, purple cabbage, roasted sweet potatoes, avocado, spicy crispy chick peas and tahini dressing.

After the demo as I was walking to my car carrying my buddha bowl, a young girl, her mom and a few friends asked me where I got my buddha bowl. They’d missed my demo.

I explained what it was and Jasmine, the young girl, asked if she could try some. “Sure if you don’t mind using your fingers!” I said happy to share.

She smiled, “Sure.” Then with her fingers, she picked out pieces of roasted sweet potato drizzled with tahini dressing and spicy roasted chick peas all of which I’d made ahead of time in my kitchen. Her hand kept reaching back into the bowl for more. She loved it.

Later her mom emailed me about how Jasmine had recently been diagnosed with celiac disease and needed to go gluten free. But she was having real challenge cutting out her beloved carbs. I wanted to help.

Jasmine was the best part of the whole day, and why I love what I do – connecting with people sharing good food and love feeds my soul.

Grain Free Buddha Bowl

1-2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
1/2 -1 cup chopped or shredded purple cabbage
1/2 ripe avocado
Roasted Chickpeas
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Tahini Dressing

Peel and chop sweet potato into half moon slices or chunks. Toss with 1-2 tablespoons olive or coconut oil and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Roast in 400 degree oven for 25 -30 minutes depending on size of the pieces. Let cool.

To make the buddha bowl, simple layer spinach, cabbage, sweet potato and avocado. Sprinkle with chickpeas and drizzle with tahini dressing. Before eating, pause for a moment of gratitude.

Spicy Oven-Roasted Chickpeas

1 15 ounce can organic chickpeas
2 tablespoons of melted coconut or olive oil
2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¼  teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
pinch ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 400°F. Pour the chickpeas into a colander and rinse well under running water.  Set on paper towels to dry.  Place oil and spices in a bowl and stir to combine.  Add chickpeas and toss with the spices until the chickpeas are evenly coated.  Pour onto a large baking sheet.

Roast for about 35-40 minutes or until brown and crispy, stirring every ten minutes so they don’t burn.  Let cool and store in an airtight container.

Lemon Garlic Tahini Dressing

1/4 cup Tahini
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, usually 2 lemons
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

In the bowl of a food processor or a blender, add everything but the water.  Blend until smooth adding water as needed.  Can also whisk all ingredients together.

Makes about one cup dressing.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Buddha Bowl, grain free, paleo

My Journey from Paleo to Vegan and back to Paleo

October 7, 2015 by Suzie

IMG_6090Fifteen years ago there was no internet.  No one was talking about gluten free or Paleo diets or even clean eating. That was when my daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease and over 25 other food intolerances.

Reluctantly, I committed to eliminating gluten and the other foods from her diet.  Several times I challenged it by allowing her to cheat. Her dramatic reaction showed me the powerful role food played with her symptoms.

As I began connecting the dots, I became unwaveringly convinced this was a way of life she needed to live by no matter what. If she didn’t follow her new diet, she’d regress and life would suck even more than having to cook every meal from scratch.

We were alone. No one else around us knew what I was talking about or why I was all of the sudden freaking out over crumbs on the counter or ordering out at restaurants.

A few years later, when her functional medicine doctor, Dr Sidney Baker, recommended the Specific Carbohydrate diet (SCD), I became her partner.

I had been diagnosed with ulcers and acid reflux in my early twenties.  I also suffered from constipation my whole life.  So, I was hopeful it could help my symptoms as well as hers.

SCD is a science based approach to healing the gut by removing inflammatory offending foods like all preservatives, additives, and sugars other than monosaccharides. It was (in the beginning) all about lists of what was legal and illegal according to the science of Dr. Haas and Elaine Gottschall, author of the book Breaking the Vicious Cycle.

Really, it was what today we call a Paleo diet except that SCD allows certain types of dairy and some legumes.  So in essence, we were eating Paleo without knowing it.

Today, the Paleo approach is embraced by many because they feel so much better on it and typically are able to lose weight and keep it off. What I love about the Paleo movement is that it is opening up so many new ideas for people with food sensitivities who want to follow a clean eating plan.  Paleo has made allergy free eating cool.

In 2009, when I attended Integrative Nutrition in New York, I began to question the role of meat in my diet, and it’s impact on my digestive difficulties.  I wanted to know if eating less or no meat would improve my digestion even more than what I’d been doing.  So after eight years of being Paleo, I went vegan (while my daughter was still eating Paleo).

At first, I had more energy without animal protein in my diet.  Though I removed meat, I continued to eat gluten free, grain free and sugar free.  Beans began to taste like magic, and I enthusiastically embraced eating plants.  The more veggies the better.  And the more I ate plants exclusively, the more it bothered me that we kill animals for food (and it still does).

After about five years of being vegan, my doctor recommended I add meat back into my diet because I wasn’t getting enough nutrients without it.  I resisted for a year then finally began reintroducing meat.  I started slowly with the addition of bone broth and then small portions of a variety of animal protein.

When I read Dr. Terry Wahls story, it was much easier to accept the shift back to Paleo. Dr Wahls was a vegetarian most of her life. Only after reverting to a Paleo diet did her Multiple Sclorosis go into remission and she went from riding in a wheelchair to riding a bike.

Nutrition is such a critical component to our health. Yet, often there is conflicting information around food which can frustrate even paralyze those interested in making change. Interestingly, right now we have two very strong movements that are opposing forces in the nutrition world – Paleo and vegan.  Both claim to be the magic ticket to health and happiness.  How do you know what is right for you?

What they both have in common is vegetables. Make vegetables your main course and you can’t go wrong. For example, the Wahls diet recommends 9 cups a day  – 3 of leafy greens, 3 cups of brightly colored fruits and veggies and 3 cups of sulfur rich vegetables.

Here’s what I think at this point in my journey.  What I love about Paleo is that it removes all the most common food triggers – dairy, gluten, grains, soy, corn, processed foods and sugar – without making a big deal about it.  Referring to it as this is the way our ancestors ate for millions of years is relatable.

What I love about vegan is the concept of eating lots of plants.  Plants are beautiful wonders of the earth.  The color of rainbow swiss chard or flavor of cilantro both remind us of the magical creation of our food.

So, I’ve shifted back to Paleo and am loving it.  It’s what’s right for me now.  The thing is that we tend to hear what we want to hear.  Honor your journey but be open to change and learning from others.

No matter what you do, keep it simple, cook with love and just eat real food 🙂

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: diet, paleo, vegan, vegetarian

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"A compelling memoir! Every mother should read this book." - Liz Feld, President, Autism Speaks


Hi I'm Suzie. I love food. Simple, delicious, clean food. Mostly plants, some meat, usually organic. As a health coach I specialize in happy bellies and yummy recipes without hidden food triggers like gluten, dairy, soy and sugar.

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