Turkey Day on the Paleo Diet

Thanksgiving is here, and I can't eat most of the wonderful items I love about Thanksgiving dinner.

No dressing, no potatoes, no green bean casserole.  Sigh.  So, I decided that the turkey had to be the absolute best, since it was the main dish.  Usually, I can pass on the turkey.  You cover it with gravy and cranberries because, well, it is basically tasteless.  The challenge was that I had never, ever, roasted a turkey myself before.

Really, it's true.  64 years old and this is another first for me.

 I started by brining the turkey for 24 hours.  It's a small turkey, only 13 pounds, and it fit nicely in one of our coolers, which we kept on the front porch.

 In preparation, I studied up on roasting turkeys.  This cookbook was a wedding gift to my Mom in 1946.  You can tell it is well used.  This is my go to cook book for all things.  It is The Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking.

 I was less than thrilled with the tiny giblets that came with my bird, so I bought two turkey drumsticks and roasted them the day before to add to my stock.

Terry read to me about making stock or broth from the Joy of Cooking.  Good information.

 Here is my stock after the meat, bones and veggies have been removed.

 Since I can't have dairy, I've been using this margarine.  I started using it when my son became vegan and I needed something on hand he could use.

 It's really good, and as you can see, it comes with many credentials.  

I used the margarine to mix with fresh herbs from my garden.

 Here we have Rosemary, sage, thyme and savory.

 I found this handy gadget at the grocery store.  It strips the leaves from the stem of the herbs.  It's okay.  I can't recommend it as a must have.

So, after retrieving the turkey from it's salt bath, I put the margarine and herb mixture under the skin. Then, I massaged her with a mixture of olive oil and poultry seasoning.

The book said it would take 3 to 4 hours to roast, but it was ready in 3.

I didn't get a picture of the cooked turkey, because we were busy getting ready to put it on the table.

I usually use arrowroot as a thickener for my gravies, but I was out, so I found success with Xanthum Gum.

Believe me, this was the best turkey I have ever eaten.  Moist and flavorful.

So, you folks on a restricted diet, especially those with Hashimotos Thyroiditis, here is how to make a celebration dinner enjoyable.

The Paleo Leap

For three weeks, I am on a diet for those with autoimmune disease.  This diet, The Paleo Leap, will help me to determine which foods are causing my symptoms and making my life miserable.  After three weeks, I will slowly add back in the foods that I love, such as eggs and tomatoes.  I will have a negative reaction if it is a no no.

You can find information about eating Paleo at www.paleoleap.com.  This however, does not include the instructions for the diet I am on.

I cannot eat:

corn

dairy

sugar

grains

legumes

nightshades, which includes tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, chilis and all peppers.

alchohol

coffee.

nuts and seeds

Sigh.

Yes, it is a lot of work, but so worth the effort.  Since you are limited by what you can eat, you need to make the best of what you can.  The diet recommends the Breakfast Scramble for breakfast each morning.  Well, when I think of scramble, I think of eggs with all kinds of good things added.

NO EGGS.

You cook some ground meat, beef, pork, veal, lamb, turkey or chicken with vegetables and spices.

We have learned to really love these scrambles.

I keep a good supply of chopped carrots, onions and celery as well as bamboo shoots and water chestnuts in plastic containers that we get at Cash and Carry.

I start by sauteing the veges in olive oil until tender.  My basic three are onions, carrots, and celery.  Then I  brown the meat.  The recipe calls for 3 ounces of meat per serving.

Then, I add mushrooms and greens.  As many as I want.

I have found that Italian Seasoning makes this a very flavorful dish.  Today I also used celery seed

This dish included spinach and arugula.

Served up with some fresh fruit, who could ask for a tastier start to their day?  There are usually leftovers, which I will store in the plastic deli containers, are make a soup from.

My husband is supporting me all the way on this endeavor, following the diet along with me and even taking the supplements that my ND has prescribed.  So far, 10 days into the diet, we have each lost 7 pounds.

The Incredible Journey

Quite honestly, this is a rant.  I am furious.

I think I have suffered from low thyroid for 24 years.

Unfortunately, your traditional doctor doesn't look at the numbers the same way that a Naturopathic doctor does.  I don't want to go through my long history of symptoms, but they are numerous.  When I go to see my doctor, there is a sign that says she can only address one complaint at a time.

This year, I finally had insurance, thanks to Obamacare, and I started going every 2 weeks.  The worst symptom, which came on in March, is edema throughout my body.   My abdomen looked like that of a pregnant woman in her 8th month.  The pressure on my lungs and ribs was extreme, making breathing difficult.  It was very uncomfortable and even painful.  Finally, a trip to the ER resulted eventually in a diagnosis of Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.  This is an autoimmune disease which results when you are not property treated for low thyroid.  If left untreated, it can result in death due to the edema putting pressure on the heart and lungs.  I am convinced this is what my mother died of.  I thought of her constantly as I watched my own decline.

So, I found an incredible Naturopathic doctor who specializes in Thyroid.  She has me on a plan and says there will be a 6-8 week recovery.  She said she was sorry, that seems like a long time, and I said, are you kidding?  After 4 years of trying to get a doctor to listen to me, this seems like a Christmas present!

I was talking to another woman one day who had a similar story.  It took her about 4 years to get a doctor to prescribe thyroid meds.  She had waited two months for an appointment with an endocrinologist.  During her appointment, while she was describing her symptoms, he says to her:

"You know, I am really busy.  You are lucky to be here"

She was shocked.  And, she walked out.

This is what happens to so many of us.

So, enough of that.

Here is a picture of all of the supplements I am taking.  I have low adrenal function, my hormones are all messed up and I cannot control my body temperature, and my mineral and vitamin levels are extremely low.  Oh, yeah, I'm also losing my hair.

One of the things that goes wrong with an autoimmune disease is the inability to absorb nutrients in the digestive tract.  This makes a gluten free diet very important.  Through testing, I also found out I am sensitive to dairy and some fruits.  (pineapple and bananas).

On Sunday, I started the Paleo Leap Diet.  I only have to do this for three weeks, and can then start adding back in foods that are normally allowed to see what my reactions are.

The foods that I cannot consume for three weeks are:

eggs

Dairy

Sugar

Alchohol

Grains

Legumes

Nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and any spices from peppers)

Corn

Nuts and seeds

You might say, what can you eat?  Well, a friend taught me to concentrate on what I CAN eat.  Make a list, and you will be amazed.

Last night I made crab cakes with no crumb filler, no egg, no mayonnaise, and no panko crumbs for coating.  They were delicious!!

I think next time I will make a sauce with some orange juice.

Of course, I have become quite a good cook the past year, and working with gluten and dairy free, I've had a bit of an indoctrination.

I will be blogging about my healing and my cooking for awhile.  More and more people are coming to realize the impact of gluten on their bodies, and I will be sharing recipes that have been successful for me.  So far, I can't seem to make a decent pie crust.