At the end of the Clean Gut diet (or any elimination diet), one experiments with potentially problematic foods (in particular, dairy and gluten grains), one at a time, while keeping the rest of the diet basically the same. This allows a person to experience with more clarity whether a certain type of food is causing trouble. For the next three days, my husband and I experimented with eating dairy products (but without muddling up the issue with sugar or grains). Fermented dairy products like yogurt and cheese are often better tolerated than fresh milk, and-- since we buy lactose-free milk for some of our household use-- I also wanted to see whether the effects were measurably better than those of regular milk.
May 4-- dairy, day 1 (plain Greek yogurt, cheese)
Breakfast: lemon water (yes, I did that again), green tea, shake made from coconut milk (the thin kind from the carton), plain Greek yogurt, cashew butter, hemp protein powder, frozen strawberries, fresh strawberries, and kale. The yogurt gave the shake a tart flavor that was not entirely pleasant without sweetening. On the other hand, there was something more satisfying about it than our nut-milk shakes (the protein content, probably). If I were to do it again, I would use less yogurt-- there was probably at least 1/2 c. in each smoothie.
Lunch (at home after work, 2:30): aged cheddar cheese, hard-boiled egg, smoked trout, 3 strawberries, cashews. For some reason this seems like WAY too much food. Is dairy really that filling?
Shopping (Whole Foods): Lactaid 2% milk, prunes, roasted unsalted almonds, can coconut milk, travel-sized hand lotion, organic olive oil, lemonade, whole milk, unsweetened quinoa milk, NY strip steak, chicken breasts, brown eggs, smoked salmon, gooseberries ("golden berries"), bunch organic carrots, organic parsley, bunch organic red onions with stems, broccoli, basil, organic cilantro, mint, asparagus, 2 organic portobello mushrooms, organic shiitake mushrooms, organic celery hearts, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, baby heirloom tomatoes, organic ginger root, 3 avocados, organic garlic, berry granola. $132.
Dinner: plain Greek yogurt with mixed berries (strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries); eggs scrambled with kale and pea shoots. I really don't care for plain yogurt. I like it sweet. I was hoping I'd like it more, now that I am weaned off sugar, but I don't. But it is only one day. The eggs mixed with spring vegetables had a nice, fresh flavor.
May 4-- dairy, day 1 (plain Greek yogurt, cheese)
Breakfast: lemon water (yes, I did that again), green tea, shake made from coconut milk (the thin kind from the carton), plain Greek yogurt, cashew butter, hemp protein powder, frozen strawberries, fresh strawberries, and kale. The yogurt gave the shake a tart flavor that was not entirely pleasant without sweetening. On the other hand, there was something more satisfying about it than our nut-milk shakes (the protein content, probably). If I were to do it again, I would use less yogurt-- there was probably at least 1/2 c. in each smoothie.
Lunch (at home after work, 2:30): aged cheddar cheese, hard-boiled egg, smoked trout, 3 strawberries, cashews. For some reason this seems like WAY too much food. Is dairy really that filling?
Shopping (Whole Foods): Lactaid 2% milk, prunes, roasted unsalted almonds, can coconut milk, travel-sized hand lotion, organic olive oil, lemonade, whole milk, unsweetened quinoa milk, NY strip steak, chicken breasts, brown eggs, smoked salmon, gooseberries ("golden berries"), bunch organic carrots, organic parsley, bunch organic red onions with stems, broccoli, basil, organic cilantro, mint, asparagus, 2 organic portobello mushrooms, organic shiitake mushrooms, organic celery hearts, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, baby heirloom tomatoes, organic ginger root, 3 avocados, organic garlic, berry granola. $132.
Dinner: plain Greek yogurt with mixed berries (strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries); eggs scrambled with kale and pea shoots. I really don't care for plain yogurt. I like it sweet. I was hoping I'd like it more, now that I am weaned off sugar, but I don't. But it is only one day. The eggs mixed with spring vegetables had a nice, fresh flavor.
  |   |
Snacks: 1 cup orange spice herbal tea, 1 cup green tea, 1 cup rooibos tea with coconut milk, 2 scrambled eggs with chili paste (at work), glass of coconut water.
Nobody had any immediate ill-effects of the fermented dairy products. This is good, because they are our favorites.
May 5-- dairy, day 2 (lactose-free milk)
Breakfast: lemon water (probably for the last time), green tea, shake made from Lactaid milk, hemp protein powder, canned coconut milk, frozen strawberries, fresh blueberries, fresh strawberries, and kale. The lactose-free milk tastes so sweet compared to all the various nut milks and such that we have been using. In general, lactose-free milk tastes sweeter than regular milk, I assume because the sugars are pre-digested into simpler ones that our tastebuds are more sensitive to.
Lunch: 2 fried eggs, smoked salmon, smoked trout, raspberries, gooseberries. I couldn't wait to eat this meal.
Nobody had any immediate ill-effects of the fermented dairy products. This is good, because they are our favorites.
May 5-- dairy, day 2 (lactose-free milk)
Breakfast: lemon water (probably for the last time), green tea, shake made from Lactaid milk, hemp protein powder, canned coconut milk, frozen strawberries, fresh blueberries, fresh strawberries, and kale. The lactose-free milk tastes so sweet compared to all the various nut milks and such that we have been using. In general, lactose-free milk tastes sweeter than regular milk, I assume because the sugars are pre-digested into simpler ones that our tastebuds are more sensitive to.
Lunch: 2 fried eggs, smoked salmon, smoked trout, raspberries, gooseberries. I couldn't wait to eat this meal.
Dinner: Madhur Jaffrey's Spanish-style Grilled Portobello Mushrooms, giant roasted bone-in chicken breast, roasted asparagus. Lots of olive oil on everything. The mushrooms were good because they are mushrooms, not really anything special about the recipe. Asparagus was good because it was asparagus. The chicken breast was enormous and I could barely get through it. That must've been one huge chicken.
Snacks: 2 cups rooibos tea with Lactaid milk, 1 cup green tea, almonds, 3 strawberries.
We still feel all right.
May 6-- dairy, day 3 (regular milk)
Breakfast: green tea, a tiny bit of shake made from whole milk, hemp protein powder, avocado, strawberries, and kale. We didn't quite have enough ingredients for the morning shakes, and then I gave most of mine to my kid, who had AP testing this morning and needed some extra breakfast. I also ate some carrot and celery sticks with cashew butter, as well as a small glass of additional whole milk.
Lunch (after work, 2:45-- brought home from the restaurant): grilled teriyaki chicken, 2 fried eggs, roasted nori seaweed, broccoli. This was my version of the "all-day breakfast," with substitutions. I ate this while reading/watching local news on the internet: while I was at work and my kid taking the AP exam, a shooter had been running around our county, shooting six people (and killing three) at two different shopping centers and a school. As of kid being released from school (early, after the exam) and my being released from work, this individual was still on the loose. Kid had blithely gone off to the movies with their friends. Fortunately, while I was eating my lunch, the police finally captured him. Oh, America.
Shopping (Co-op): frozen blueberries, spinach, shower gel, toothpaste, strawberries, maple almond butter (oops! meant to get regular almond butter. Will save this for later). $38.
Dinner: My focus for tonight was the Indian mint-cilantro chutney from Cooking Without a Net, which we ate atop quinoa and yellow split peas with vaguely Indian seasonings, with a side dish of roasted acorn squash sauteed with baby red onions. My chutney differed slightly from the recipe in that, while toasting the coconut, I forgot about it completely and burned it to tiny coconut charcoal. So I just left that out. The chutney didn't seem to suffer. Tasted on its own, it was wildly hot and intense, and I had my doubts about applying it to food in any quantity, but it mellowed tremendously once added to the split peas and quinoa. In fact, I kept adding a little bit more. The flavor is refreshing and complex, and I really loved it. With dinner, we had tall glasses of whole milk, for experimental purposes. I never simply drink a glass of milk, but it was pretty good.
We still feel all right.
May 6-- dairy, day 3 (regular milk)
Breakfast: green tea, a tiny bit of shake made from whole milk, hemp protein powder, avocado, strawberries, and kale. We didn't quite have enough ingredients for the morning shakes, and then I gave most of mine to my kid, who had AP testing this morning and needed some extra breakfast. I also ate some carrot and celery sticks with cashew butter, as well as a small glass of additional whole milk.
Lunch (after work, 2:45-- brought home from the restaurant): grilled teriyaki chicken, 2 fried eggs, roasted nori seaweed, broccoli. This was my version of the "all-day breakfast," with substitutions. I ate this while reading/watching local news on the internet: while I was at work and my kid taking the AP exam, a shooter had been running around our county, shooting six people (and killing three) at two different shopping centers and a school. As of kid being released from school (early, after the exam) and my being released from work, this individual was still on the loose. Kid had blithely gone off to the movies with their friends. Fortunately, while I was eating my lunch, the police finally captured him. Oh, America.
Shopping (Co-op): frozen blueberries, spinach, shower gel, toothpaste, strawberries, maple almond butter (oops! meant to get regular almond butter. Will save this for later). $38.
Dinner: My focus for tonight was the Indian mint-cilantro chutney from Cooking Without a Net, which we ate atop quinoa and yellow split peas with vaguely Indian seasonings, with a side dish of roasted acorn squash sauteed with baby red onions. My chutney differed slightly from the recipe in that, while toasting the coconut, I forgot about it completely and burned it to tiny coconut charcoal. So I just left that out. The chutney didn't seem to suffer. Tasted on its own, it was wildly hot and intense, and I had my doubts about applying it to food in any quantity, but it mellowed tremendously once added to the split peas and quinoa. In fact, I kept adding a little bit more. The flavor is refreshing and complex, and I really loved it. With dinner, we had tall glasses of whole milk, for experimental purposes. I never simply drink a glass of milk, but it was pretty good.
Snacks: 1 cup peppermint tea, 1 cup green tea, 1 cup rooibos tea, 2 scrambled eggs with chili paste (at work), I think some berries and almonds, but I am not really sure.
All this milk-drinking did cause, ahem, a digestive slowdown for both of us that was notable. I personally have no plan to continue using much milk, except in baking, soups, etc., but my husband drinks a ton of the stuff and he may need to cut down.
All this milk-drinking did cause, ahem, a digestive slowdown for both of us that was notable. I personally have no plan to continue using much milk, except in baking, soups, etc., but my husband drinks a ton of the stuff and he may need to cut down.