Matrices and Carnivores

I don't eat enough protein. I never have. I don't do it on purpose, it just happens. So for the last many many months, I've been supplementing my diet with protein shakes. It took me a long, long while to find a protein powder that I liked: Syntrax Matrix. I liked it because it isn't full of sugar (which can be problem with protein powders) and it tastes good.

But alas, it has soy, in the form of soy lecithin. The bane of my existence.

I almost gave up on finding a replacement protein powder, until this week:

Carnivor. It's beef protein; not whey, soy, or egg like most other protein powders. The taste is.... different. If you like dark chocolate (Brint loves it) this is great. But it has a.. dark, almost burned, hint.

I tried to like it, I really did. But based on my recent discovery that I can handle a little soy a few times per week - I'm back on the Matrix. Brint is happily consuming the Carnivor.

But if you have no tolerance for soy and don't want to buy expensive beef collagen gelatin (heavy on protein, used in confections), this could be a pretty good alternative.

The hiatus is over

I'm back, finally. I've ignored the blog for the last two weeks (as if you don't know that already) due to Midterms. Plus a project meeting with my graduate committee.  It's been a rough last couple of weeks, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I'll go ahead and schedule another two-week hiatus at the beginning of December. Finals and all, you know. Consider yourself warned.

Summarizing the last two weeks in a sentence is pretty easy. I am still pain free, even without the birth control pills. It's wonderful. I've learned that I can eat a little soy (trace amounts, think barbecue sauce or a hotdog bun) without pain. As long it's only one meal and I am careful to avoid soy the next few days, I'm just fine.

That's good to know, because as I've said before - there will be times in the future when I cannot avoid it. There are plenty of conference and trade show boxed lunches in my future, I'm afraid. But at least I know how to eat and not hurt. It's pretty amazing.

Winter is Coming!

I detest winter. I'm not even that far North, but it's as far as I want to go. But I love fall. I love all the bright colors, the cool breezes, the lack of humidity, and the crunch of leaves under foot. It's just wonderful.

And I love pumpkin. Pie, bread, cheesecake (although that is but a far and distant memory). So today I've been baking sugar pumpkins, and washing and baking seeds for snacks. I'm scouring the internet for soy-free pumpkin recipes. I'll try to post more on those later this week. 

I'll also be posting on using fresh pumpkins instead of the nasty canned pumpkin that's full of chemicals (and probably soy, though I haven't verified it. Just a guess.) and artificial colorings. The real thing tastes so much better, and it's so easy I'll never use another can of pumpkin again.

Plus, a fresh sugar pumpkin (the small kind, maxing out at 5lbs) will last up to 6 months in a cool, dark location. That means pumpkin goodies at Easter! Or you can do as I do, and freeze the fresh pumpkin puree to use whenever you have a hankering.

Just a thought.

Sorry for the lack of pictures, but I promise I'll have plenty of pumpkin pictures soon....

The Life Sentence Is Over

Well it's been a month since I gave up soy in an attempt to overcome endometriosis-related pain. There have been a couple of instances where I know I've had trace soy, but for the most part I'm sans soy. The results? Glad you asked.

• The obvious one: I'm pain free. Even after dropping the birth control last week, I'm back to pain free. I don't think I can put coherent sentences together to describe just how happy and elated I am. But I finally have my quality of life back. It's pretty amazing.
• I've lost 4 pounds in a month. I know I'm not breaking any weight loss records with that one, but coming from someone who has lost and gained the same 2 pounds since January, it's exciting. 
• An aside: soy is known to inhibit thyroid activity. I've had my thyroid checked 4 different times in recent years because I always had so many symptoms of hypothyroidism, but the bloodwork always came back clean. Perhaps the soy was interfering with enzyme receptors.... this would explain the symptoms and lack of of affected bloodwork. Just thinking out loud here...
• I've also lost 2.75 inches this month, from all over, lending to the idea that the weight loss was mostly attributed to de-bloating. Know how when you get your period you bloat? Well that is attributed to elevated estrogen. So now that all of the soy-related estrogen is out of my body, the bloat has gone away. Thank goodness. Maybe more will follow.
• My skin looks great. I haven't changed my moisturizers or grooming habits, but my skin looks brighter. Before it was dry and drab. Now it's much smoother, and my skin tone has really evened out. I've never really worn make up, but now I feel like I can legitimately get away with it.
• I sleep better. For the last several months, sleep was an effort for me. I would either lay in bed for hours unable to fall asleep, or toss and turn in a barely asleep state of restlessness. Now I sleep through the night. And I'm asleep within an hour of going to bed.
• I have more energy. Clearly, this is likely correlated to the better quality of sleep. But it's still an improvement in my life. I don't get run down at 3 in the afternoon anymore.
• There are other improvements, but since my Mom reads this I think I'll keep them to myself. Just know that Brint is very supportive of my new lifestyle, and for good reason.

Originally I said I'd give this thing a month, and re-evaluate. Having done so, I can confidently say that I'll be making this a permanent lifestyle change. And I can't wait to tell my doctor, so hopefully she will pass the word on to her other endo patients.

The life sentence of endometriosis has not won.

Cream cheese, anyone?

I think I may have found the first item that I will have to give up absolutely.

Cream cheese. This includes cheese cake, cream cheese cake icings, and spinach artichoke dip (a stab in the heart). Why? Because I have yet to find a cream cheese that is soy free. Every one I've looked at has xanthan gum (which is yet another code name for soy).

I'm not exactly sure what xanthan gum does, or is... but it's there.

I've been able to substitute or make my own replacement for soy filled staples, and I've been trying to find ways to make my own cream cheese, but no dice. I don't think it's going to be as easy as making my own bread if I do find a recipe.

And I just realized that my grandmother's famous pound cake has cream cheese in it as well. Rats.

Well here's to you, cream cheese pound cake, cheese cake, cream cheese icing, and spinach dips: we had a good run, but I'm afraid the fun is over...

C'est la vie...

Marinade Escapade

Most ready to use marinades are full of soy, usually in the form of natural flavors and/or xanthan gum. Not a huge issue since Brint prefers to make his own marinades and rubs, except when it comes to pork. And I was very happy to learn that our go-to pork marinade is sans soy.

Here's the ingredients list:

Very nice. We've never tried it on poultry but I'm sure it would be good. We threw in some golf ball peas (I've called them this since childhood, and probably always will) along with mac and cheese:

Very yummy.

And a pain update: since I've dropped the pill (3 nights ago), I've had some definite discomfort, usually in the evenings. I've been running to the ibuprofen at the first sign of trouble, so I'm not sure if it's better or worse than before. The discomfort is in conjunction with spotting, so I'm thinking this is just my body's pitiful excuse for a period. We'll see!

I totally expected this, though. I know my body is going to have to re-adjust to the new level of hormones, so I'm going to be patient. And I'll continue to run to the ibuprofen. As long as 2 pills are continuing my normality in lieu of 6, I'm pretty darn happy.

Sweet Nothings

Did you know most ice creams, frozen yogurts, and other frozen sweet treats all contain soy? Yep. Soy lecithin is an emulsifying agent used in the production of ice cream, not to mention the added ingredients like chocolate and caramel.

That's pretty disappointing, considering ice cream is my usual go-to when I have a sweet tooth. No longer.

But not to worry. I've got a replacement, courtesy of Hershey and their delectable fudge. You'll find the recipe here. Notice the warnings not to double the recipe or alter it in any way because it's an advanced recipe and is therefore easy to muddle? Well, I've made this recipe 3 times, following it to a T, with 3 different outcomes.

First time? It was perfect. If not I probably wouldn't have tried again.
Second time? It tasted great but stayed the consistency of chocolate sauce.
Third time? Perfect again. A richer chocolate taste, perhaps, but still very good.

I consider those to be pretty good odds, so I wanted to share the recipe here. Here's the progression:

This was just starting out...

Here it is boiling, but it hadn't reached 234 Fahrenheit yet....

Letting the butter and vanilla hang out until it cooled...

Make sure it's soy free butter! (i.e. unsalted...)

In a parchment paper-lined baking dish...

It only took about an hour to fully set, but it tastes better the next day (if you can wait that long!)