In short, my roommate at the time up and left, without paying rent and causing my lease to be ended prematurely. It was super stressful and I had to pay two months double rent and find a new apartment in 2 weeks. With the rushed circumstances, I moved into a studio with a very small kitchen and barely any room for my belongings! Although it was located in my community, walking-distance from work, and an affordable apartment in downtown Montreal, it was really hard to live there for the 15 months. On top of it all, my building was treated for bed bugs monthly from September to the end of January, which was also incredibly stressful.
Out of necessity, I became accustomed to eating out and stopped meal-planning since it was nearly impossible to make food at home. I think that I pulled out my slow cooker once, and had to balance it on my stove because there was no counter space. I would still try to eat things that were low dairy, low grains because I could feel my stomach get agitated, and feel my joints and muscles getting sore.
This fall, my schedule changed from 5:30am-2pm, to 3pm-11:30pm which feels like moving time-zones. Sometimes, I worked a combination of opens and closes, or worked in other cafes which had their tole on my stress and sleeping schedules. Plus I moved stores twice, adapting to a new team and new leadership. I also moved apartments, though this has been a mostly-positive experience. Not surprisingly, I have been sick three times and I feel pretty low right now. With all of this, I have continued eating out, stress-eating, and not sleeping well. I'm getting pretty fed-up with always feeling exhausted and congested.
So, I have decided to take the first 15 days of December to do a Whole30-AIP blended diet. I will include honey and eggs, but exclude coffee, nuts, and nightshade vegetables (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant).
The Plan:
- Braised spicy-ish chicken and vegetables packed from last night's dinner
- Roasted beef and yams, with fresh celery and cucumber
- Eggs/omelette, mushrooms, and steamed greens Saturday and Sunday brunch
- Breakfast soup to make over the weekend
- Paleo haemul pajeon (chives, green onions, mixed seafood, in caseva-coconut flour batter)
- Green tea for caffeine, kombucha for carbonation, ginger-lemon-honey for health
- Snacks: fruit (1-2/day), dark chocolate(?), fried plantains, vegetable chips, kale chips... herein lies my weakness!
I think that this will carry me to Monday-Tuesday. So I need to make something else tomorrow or Sunday to carry me through until Thursday!
My biggest challenge is finding the energy to make food which will give my energy rather than increase my symptoms. And avoiding all of the coffee/pastries at work! I have found myself eating banana bread without realizing it because it's so readily available.
