Disney World Paleo Style by Kelly Miller

 

So, yes, I am a self-professed “Disney snob”.  I can’t help myself…I’m addicted to a mouse.  We go several times a year.  Well, about two years ago, I got sick and tired of living on caffeine and Imodium, while waiting for my Fast Pass time to come up.  My two children used to say that my favorite ride at the parks is the bathroom! 

I started doing research and discovered that gluten was causing my autoimmune issues to take over my life.  During this research, I also discovered that I have sensitivities to nearly every food on the planet.  What? No Mickey ice cream on a stick?  I wasn’t going to stand for this, but I was also not giving up the mouse!  I would cook at home every meal, everyday, if I could just enjoy that little rodent!  Thankfully, I’m on the email list for about 15,000 Disney websites that are chockfull of information.  Can you tell I have a flair for the dramatic?  What I have learned is that, beyond my own kitchen, Walt Disney properties are probably the safest, and most delicious, places to eat and maintain a Paleo lifestyle or eat within food allergy/sensitivity boundaries.  I look forward to the food as much as the rides and entertainment!  What?  I’m from New Orleans, eating is what we do! 

Let me tell you how I do this:

1. Plan where you will eat. I like to plan my trips ahead of time.  Which parks will we go to on which day?  From that point, we start looking at restaurants.  I personally like to chose a sit down restaurant without a buffet because I pack half of my food in a container and Ziplock bag in my backpack so that I can have it in the room for breakfast the next day or later the same day.   However, sometimes at buffet restaurants they cook food especially for you and would rather you take the leftovers with you than throw it away.

2. Plan what food you are avoiding. Before you make reservations, sit down and decide which food items/additives you are really going to avoid.  Remember you are on, possibly, a once-in-a-lifetime vacation, and you will probably make allowances for certain food items. (Yes, I will have a Mickey-on-a-stick on my last day!)     Either bring NOLA PALEO Restaurant Cards with you, they are FREE and can be customized to your exact needs!  This will solve any communication issues that could arise with wait-staff. 

3. Time to make reservations.  Although it is easier online to make reservations, if you call the dining reservation number, you will be able to specify right away what specific “food allergies” you have, and the cast member you speak with will be incredibly helpful in noting exactly what you cannot have.  Please keep in mind that the restaurants in the various countries are a bit more difficult when it comes to food allergies because of the language barriers.  They ARE NOT impossible.  I have eaten safely in most of the countries. 

4. Time to go!  Pack your snacks!  They are expensive and that’s probably the one place where I really wouldn’t bother to try to find something that perfectly fits within your guidelines.  That, however, is a great time to enjoy some fruit, nuts, or boiled eggs you brought with you.  They sell fruit and nuts, but why pay triple the price!  Also, every quick service vendor must give you a cup of ice water if you ask for one.  Bring refillable water bottles with you.

5. Want a quick service meal?  Go for it!  Skip the line and go straight for the first cast member you see.  Tell them you need to see the “allergy book” and speak with the cast member responsible for special needs.  It is usually the manager and he/she will cook your food themselves in a specially designated area so that you won’t get glutened.  And, don’t forget the turkey legs.  They are a great meal or a snack for you to share.
   

6. If you want to do one of the dining plans, that’s okay too.   Keep in mind though that dining plans are a lot of food.  Pack a leak-proof container with a Ziplock bag in your backpack for leftovers.   Every meal you get will come with dessert.  Don’t sweat it.  If you want dessert, they will come up  with a gluten-free creation that is usually delicious! (My daughter just avoids gluten right now, and thinks she is a Disney princess when she eats because of the extra lengths they go to.)  At quick service restaurants, they will offer you a packaged gluten-free brownie or you can get fruit or an extra bottle of water instead of their desserts listed if you let them know of your needs.  Keep in mind if you are just avoiding gluten, most (if not all) of the eating establishments offer gluten-free products now.

7. Your dining reservation is here, now what?  When you check in, remind the host/hostess that there are food allergies.  They should have your reservation ticket stamped bright red with the word “allergy”.  If not, remind them again.  Once you are seated, remind the wait staff if they don’t mention it.  Once your drink orders are taken, the chef will come out and discuss your options.  Browse the menu and see what protein and vegetable items are available, and think about what you would like to eat.  Once you do that, tell the chef what you feel like eating.  (You get the pick of the menu, pretty much!)  Even though I can only eat a handful of items, sometimes I don’t know what I feel like eating.  I will often let the chef make a suggestion.  They so rarely get to “create” something off the menu that they really create wonders when given the freedom to do so.   And ASK, ASK, ASK if you want something!  They can often make a version of it for you.

Finally, remember, you are on vacation.  Try new things; don’t sweat the small things if they aren’t going to make you physically ill.  I know that if I start the trip with anything sweet, that I will be on the “sugar roller coaster” the rest of the trip, not being able to get enough of the stuff.  I wait until all of our bags are packed to go home, we run to the gift shop in our hotel, grab a Mickey Mouse ice cream, and sit on our balcony as a family and enjoy it.  Just a moment to enjoy our treat, talk about our trip, and get ready for the long ride home.  We know the ice cream will come at the end of the trip so it’s not a week of hearing “can I have…?”  It will come! 

Who is Kelly Grose Miller? I am a stay-at-home mom of two children, ages 6 and 12.  I spend my time working in the church preschool, teaching parenting and family classes, cooking, and trying (miserably) to grow vegetables.  I love my family, and their health and wellness is my primary job in life!  I spend my spare time working to expand restaurant options  in New Orleans for the NOLA PALEO group.  And if you are looking for me and can’t find me, I am either in Disney or watching a Saints game!

This is a collaborative blog

and each post is the opinion of the person submitting it.  

Not everyone will agree with every post, but our individuality is 

one of the things that makes our group great !

Please checkout www.nolapaleo.com for the full blog and website.

Join the Facebook group of 360 members: 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/nolapaleo/

Pressure Cooking Bone Broth

I love to cook and I love bone broth, but I don’t love smelling it for days. I found a way around this!  You can easily achieve a flavorful bone broth with nice gelatin in about an hour using a pressure cooker!

First and foremost, FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS ON YOUR PRESSURE COOKER.  If the instructions differ from what I have done, follow the manufacturer's instructions! Trust me on this one!  :-)

Ingredients:

2lbs of quality bones (be sure to throw in a few chicken feet or joint bone to ensure a good gelatin)

8 cups of water (enough water to cover the bones but no more than ⅔ of the pressure cooker capacity)

1 Onion

2 Carrots

4 Stalks of Celery

2T of Apple Cider Vinegar

1 bunch of parsley

1T Sea Salt

1t Peppercorn

Possible additions:    

Ginger root

Garlic

Fish sauce in place of the salt

Instructions:

If you are using raw bones, you might like to roast them to add a richer flavor.  Put them in a pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. 

Give your veggies a rough chop and toss everything into the pressure cooker.  Unlike your normal bone broth, you’ll need to babysit this one since it’s in a pressure cooker.

Set the pot to high heat and watch closely.  Once the pot indicates the pressure is high, you should lower your burner heat to the lowest setting while maintaining the high pressure on the pot (usually the burner will be turned to the lowest heat at this point).

Set a timer and cook for 30 minutes (50 minutes for meatier, dense bones). Remove from heat and let the pressure release on its own.

Once the pressure is down, release the lid.  Strain the bones and the veggies.  Let the broth cool completely.  

I freeze the broth two ways. Half is poured into freezer bags and laid flat on baking sheets until frozen.  Be careful not to fill the bag more than about ⅓ full.  It makes it easier to defrost and less likely to leak.  Then once frozen, move frozen flat bags into one freezer gallon-sized freezer bag.  To defrost, I typically take a bag out of the freezer and put in a bowl in the fridge. If you’re doing a quick defrost, be sure to add it to a second bag first.  The frozen corners are sharp and can easily put little pin holes in the bag.

The other half is frozen in ice cube trays.  Once frozen, I also store the cubes in gallon sized freezer bags.  I love having these cube readily available in the freezer. They are perfect addition to most veggie dishes.

Please help promote us by "pinning" the recipe to Pinterest!  :-)

Paleo Frozen Blueberry Balls!

Need a super quick dessert? This is my favorite dessert when I have unexpected company, even that non-paleo kind.  You will be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn't love this dessert.  My 6 year old calls them "Frozen Balls".  I snicker a little every time she says it.  And there too many other reasons why I can't name them Frozen Balls!  But they have a very similar taste to ice cream but without regret later. 

One habit I've gotten into is always having a can of coconut milk in the fridge. It always seems to come in handy.  Mostly I add it to my coffee but I'll leave that for another post. 

Ingredients:

Frozen blueberries

Cold canned (full fat) Coconut milk

Honey  ( you can cheat with vanilla stevia if you'd prefer)

Vanilla Extract

The coconut milk will seperate while in the fridge and the cream floats to the top.  It's the cream you're after here. Pour a little coconut milk in a small bowl and add some honey and a 1/2t of vanilla extract. Stir.  Have a spoon ready before getting the blueberries out of the freezer. Stir the blueberries into the coconut milk so the milk freezes around the berries. Serve immediately. YUM!

You can use this recipe for almost any fruit but since we have great blueberry farms so close to New Orleans.  I always have a gallon bag (or 7) in my freezer. I WILL NOT run out of blueberries, LOL!

Check out Dannemann Farms in June and STOCK UP on the perfect paleo treat. They provide the pail and you pick them yourselves. This year they sold for $7 per gallon.

A Crapatarian's Migraine Solution - Tamara Warren

Please disregard the Oompa Loompa!  :-)

My life has changed drastically in the last few years.  Until four years ago, I had been a vegetarian for 22 years.  Well not exactly a vegetarian, I was more like a carbotarian.  I stayed sick and my weight steadily increased.  I lived from one weight watchers meeting to the next. I read labels and counted calories. I ate those little 100 calories packs and sprayed the margarine spray on everything.   There is no way I was eating more than 1200 calories a day.

Apparently, I wasn’t reading the right part of the nutritional label.  I had been jumping from one neurologist to the next trying to deal with my daily migraines.  I was taking meds to stop the migraines then medicine for the side effects.  I also had special “booster” meds for those migraines I couldn’t shake within the typical four days (after I had maxed out all other medication).  I desperately wanted off the drugs.

I was miserable in almost all aspects of my health.  I felt like I lived in a fog and had to write everything down on notepads.  I wasn’t sleeping.  My skin was riddled with cystic acne. I seemed to have constant sinus infections and never ending belly issues.

On a mission, I was willing to see every neurologist in New Orleans, if nesseccary.  The third neurologist told me that I wasn’t going to like what he had to say, but I was miserable and open to anything!  He said that I was my own worst enemy. He said that I probably had a food allergy, but he couldn’t follow me around and watch everything that I ate.  He said it especially gets difficult when you eat nothing but processed foods that have so many ingredients.  It makes it almost impossible to  narrow down to the problematic ingredients. 

I honestly didn't believe that I was allergic to anything.  How can you discover an allergy in your mid-thirties? I've had these migraines since I was in elementary school. I don't even have seasonal allergies!

His suggested I only eat meat, veggies, nuts, seeds and fruit.  He even suggested that I give up the flour until I could rule it out.  I had nothing to lose and still convinced that I wasn’t allergic to anything! I was determined to prove it to him so I followed his instructions. I still was apprehensive about eating meat but gave in quickly.  Without the bread and the pasta, I couldn’t continue for long.  I honestly thought I was going to starve to death on veggies alone!  LOL! The transformation was pretty quick.  Within a few days, I noticed my migraine lifted until they were completely gone.

I continued to follow the neurologist's instructions for three week before reintroducing items back into my diet.  I didn’t get past the first day before I ended up with a severe migraine.  Come to find out, I’m allergic to MSG and most things hydrolyzed, modified, or autolyzed. 

Life began to change. My weight fell off. My skin cleared up.  My head colds disappeared.  I began to sleep deeper and become more satisfied with my food.  

I can't imagine ever going back to a SAD (Standard American Diet).  Of course, my cravings outweigh my better judgement at times, but I pay the price every time!  I need those occassional bad days to realize what I've really given up.

I researched the Paleo diet and decided that was how I was going to live the rest of my life. It was hard at first but got easier and easier over time.  The only down side to my new paleo lifestyle was I felt so alone in New Orleans.  I wanted to connect to other paleo people who understood,  who knew I wasn't going to die from lack of those "heart healthy grains". 

I joined an inactive group on Meetup and pushed for get-togethers.  I then moved the group over the Facebook and it took off! We started with 10 of us and now the NOLA Paleo group has over 300 member and steadily climbing.

My new mission is to push the Paleo movement as far as I can in the New Orleans! I want people to know that with the right support, this lifestyle can be easy.  And if we join together we will be a force that local restaurants in New Orleans won't be able to ingore. They will have to acknowledge our paleo, primal, and gluten free lifestyles. 

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Tamara Warren, founder of NOLA Paleo

Email: nolapaleogroup@gmail.com

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nolapaleo/ (please join us!)

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/NolaPaleo

Website: www.nolapaleo.com

2013 Dirty Dozen and Clean 15

 

Each year they release the Dirty dozen and Clean 15 Lists. These produce items have shown to have the higest levels of pesticide residue (even after being washed and peeled).  So if you're on a tight budget and can't afford to purchase all  organic produce then learn these lists (in order of importance). 

Here's the 2013 Dirty Dozen -spend extra money for organic on the items below:

1.  Apples

2.  Strawberries

3.  Grapes

4.  Celery

5.  Peaches

6.  Spinach

7.  Sweet Bell Peppers

8.  Nectarines (imported)

9.  Cucumbers

10. Potatoes

11. Cherry Tomatoes

12. Hot Peppers

There are two additional items they are calling the Dirty Dozen Plus.  You should also consider purchasing organic whenever possible:

1. Summer Squash

2. Leafy Greens (Kale and Collards)

Here's the 2013 Clean 15 List.  These items were found to have the least amount of pestisides. If you are on a tight budget then the Clean 15 can help save your money by buying conventional produce. 

1.  Sweet Corn (I wish I could take this one off the list. Most corn in the US is genetically modified (GMO).

2.  Onions

3.  Pineapple

4.  Avocado

5.  Cabbage

6.  Sweet Peas- Frozen

7.  Papaya

8.  Mangos

9.  Asparagus

10. Eggplant

11. Kiwi

12. Grapefruit

13. Cantaloupe

14. Sweet Potato

15. Mushrooms

Seven Steps to Regaining My Health, Jodi Stewart (www.knowgluten.me)

This is a collaborative blog

and each post is the opinion of the person submitting it.  

Not everyone will agree with every post, but our individuality 

is one of the things that makes our group great!

The last four years of my life have been tough on my health. My daughter was born in August of 2009. That Christmas we moved to Canada. Then in April 2010 I became a "grass widow" for a year and a half while my husband worked in Pittsburgh. Then we moved to Thailand.

When we left for Thailand I was a healthy, very toned146lb P90X grad. When we came home a year later, I was a 172lb ball of mush that could barely climb the stairs, fully equipped with a newly diagnosed Auto-immune thyroid disorder, and a stomach so big it took up it's own space in bed.I was retaining so much water I couldn't even see my ankle bones. It's amazing what just one year can do to your health. It was a stressful year, full of financial and family worries, I existed mainly on rice, fruit and popcorn in order to avoid gluten in products with ingredients I couldn't read and in restaurants where I couldn't communicate. Wow. Stress and sugar will ruin your life.

It's been a year since we've moved back to the US, but I've finally gotten a handle on my life and my health. I've been gluten free for a decade, but I've needed to make even more, very drastic changes to turn things around. I needed to take a totally different approach to diet and health. Here are a few things that helped, they're not in any particular of usefulness, they all made a pretty fantastic difference. This isn't medical advice, but if you're in really bad shape like I was, some of these suggestions may help you too.

Following a Paleo Diet:

Already being gluten free, I realize the huge effect diet can have on health. When I returned to the US, I started to cut out more and more of the foods that trouble me. I'm not the strictest at maintaining a Paleo diet, but I've found that drastically reducing my intake of grains, dairy, sugar and legumes has been life changing. I have more energy (as in, I only need 6.5 hours of sleep to totally rock my day), I have less pain, and way more flexibility. (Hey toes!! How's it been! Long time no see!) I notice a huge difference when I cheat. I can maybe get by with one Ghirardelli square, but a bowl of ice cream or a slice of gluten free bread causes fatigue, pain and stomach problems for a couple of days.

Seeing a Doctor who is also a Naturopath:

I found an MD who is also a naturopath. She's amazing. She ran tests I didn't know existed. It turns out that in addition to hyperthyroidism, I have a couple of other things going on including some pretty severe vitamin deficiencies. She's working with me to manage my autoimmune problems and heal the damage I've done to my gut.

Taking Supplements:

Instead of giving me medicine to fix my symptoms, my doctor prescribed supplements to help heal the problems. She's focusing on repairing my gut, boosting my immune system, and replacing all those lost vitamins. I actually didn't realize how much intestinal distress I was having until I started taking supplements to fix it. And I can honestly say that my stress level has gone down since upping my vitamin intake.

Juicing:

When I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism I remembered an article I had read about a woman who caused hypothyroidism by eating too many cruciferous vegetables, in her case, bok choy. I decided to try it with broccoli. Honestly, t's hard to eat that much broccoli so I started juicing it. I drank broccoli juice every single day. It's not nice. Not even when disguised with a bunch of other vegetables. But it got my thyroid numbers back down to normal! My last test, after months of drinking broccoli juice, showed that my thyroid is no longer hyper. I've been juicing for my thyroid for a year now, and I can tell when I need to add more or less broccoli in order to deal with my symptoms.

Bullet Proof Coffee:

I'm really not sure why adding 3 tablespoons of fat in the form of coconut oil and grass fed butter to my coffee every morning made such a difference, but it did. I was finally able to eat a meal with out the immediate ten pound weight gain, my water retention started to go away. But even more amazing than that, my brain became super charged. It's fantastic. Ideas never stop. Writer's block doesn't exist. I can help my kids with math like never before. I think it might be that my brain was so sugar-logged that it rejoiced at the chance to use ketones instead.

Losing Weight Gradually:

In the past when I've gained a lot of weight in a short time, it's been because of a pregnancy. And when I wanted to lose weight, I just hit the gym, exercised way too hard and ate nothing (literally) for a couple of weeks. Easy Peasy. This time has been different. The fasting thing isn't working (probably because the fasting thing ruined my metabolism). I'll get down ten pounds, but when I eat, I gain it all back. In one meal. No joke. It frustrates me to tears. I've had to take another approach. I have twenty pounds left to lose. I'm aiming for a pound a week for the next five months. Slowly, gradually. No heavy exercising, no fasting. I've been doing half of a workout video and walking a mile a day while following a paleo diet. Fingers crossed. I'm not sure how it will work, but I know that a gradual approach has changed my perspective and my expectations (and reduced the tears!). It's also made me committed to sticking with it instead of expecting instant results.

Getting Support:

I haven't done any of this alone. I've found support through groups and blogs. I'm so thankful to have found NOLA Paleo. I love that it's such an active community and offers support and advice so willingly. NOLA Paleo has been so helpful as I've changed my approach to health and diet and regained my life.

How about You?

How has Paleo and a natural approach to health helped you? Do you have any tips to offer that could help me on my own journey?

Jodi's Bio

Originally from Canada, Jodi is a former nomad and humanitarian worker, living all over Canada, the US and in Africa and Asia before finally settling down in Denham Springs just outside Baton Rouge. She began blogging in 2009 to chronicle her adventures, but when she discovered that many of her readers were interested in her gluten free recipes, and wanted more information on going gluten free, she started Know Gluten - A gluten free beginner's guide to share her ten years of gluten free experience.

Jodi is married to her high school sweetheart Scott, homeschools her four amazing kids ages 4-16, slides down the slides at Kidz Korner Playland, and puts Tabasco Chipotle Sauce on everything. In her spare time, (or when she's avoiding housework) you'll find her reading Sci-Fi on her Kindle and drinking a bullet-proof coffee.

Find Jodi Online:

Blog: http://knowlguten.me

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/KnowGluten

Twitter https://twitter.com/knowglutenjodi

Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/nextmalawi/

IG http://instagram.com/knowgluten

G+ https://plus.google.com/100436970902545253948/posts

Tumblr http://know-gluten.tumblr.com/