...and what's next.
In April of this year, i set out to try different diets to see which one made me feel the best and had the most positive impact on my microbiome. When i started a high-fruit, (mostly) raw vegan cleanse, some friends were concerned about what would happen to my blood sugar because of the amount of sugar and carbs in fruit. Now, 6 months later, i can report that my fasting (first morning) blood sugar has gone down by about 10 points. It has been in the upper 80's versus the upper 90's when i first began. [This post shows my progress at day 37, and my bg had come down to the lower 90's by then.]
How my body reacted to this diet may differ from the way your body would react to the same diet. It all comes down to what microbes are ruling the roost.
My experience while on a mostly fruit / raw diet was overall good. I had plentiful energy, my mood was good for the most part, my µbiome seemed to be shifting in a good direction (although i can't know for sure since the SmartGut test i sent to the lab in May somehow didn't make it there, so my gut wasn't sequenced then. I'm currently awaiting a much later test). This study shows outstanding microbial shift potential in the vegan diet which is what propelled me forward into doing the raw diet (again).
However, as i experienced on an all-raw diet in the late 1990's, things began to feel a little off, and i felt i was lacking something. Eventually, i added back very small amounts of pastured eggs, grass-fed meats, (including organ meats) and raw whole-milk home-fermented kefir. "Traditional" diet proponents, like that of the Weston A. Price Foundation, recommend "clean" animal products in our diet, and i attest that i do feel better when i consume small amounts on occasion. As fall approaches, i feel pulled toward heartier, warmer foods and less toward fruit, so we'll see where that takes me. Perhaps more toward a hunter/gatherer diet, which seems logical and evolutionarily sound to me, and is possibly my body's yearning to reconnect with a time lost to us in our modern age of convenience.
Cool fall evenings have led me back to baking, but not the yeasty breads of my past. Lately hash-brown crust quiche has been my warmth and my comfort. Potatoes, high in fiber and other nutrients, are good for the gut. Eggs, when pasture-raised (the fewer grains in the chickens' diet, the better), are high in Omega-3 fatty acids, which are good for the brain, mood, heart, immune system, and liver (among other things). Added veg = added nutrition, as well. Try the recipe (below).
Hashbrown Crust Quiche
Ingredients:
4-5 med organic yellow or red potatoes (i like the buttery taste of yellow)
6 organic, pasture-raised eggs
1-3 T organic, grass-fed butter and/or extra virgin olive oil
splash of organic heavy cream (or whole raw milk)
sauteed veggies of your choice (onions, zucchini, spinach, etc)
wild-caught Alaskan salmon (optional)
salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 425 F
Butter or oil a pie pan (i use glass, avoiding aluminum and non-stick, both of which are detrimental to health).
Shred potatoes, squeeze out excess liquid, mix with 1 tsp butter and/or olive oil and 1/4-ish tsp salt. Line the pie pan with the potatoes, pressing them into place. Bake at 425F until the edges of the crust begin to brown (~15 minutes), then remove from oven.
While crust is baking, saute your choice of veggies.
Adjust oven temp down to 375F.
Place sauteed veggies (and optional salmon) into the bottom of the hashbrown crust.
Beat 6 eggs, a splash of heavy cream or whole milk (dairy intolerant, just use water), salt and pepper (you know how much you like :) and pour it over the veggies in the crust. It's okay if the mixture goes beyond the crust - it'll form its own crust.
Bake until set, ~20 minutes.
Let cool 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
Enjoy!