It has been an awesome 2 weeks researching and planning out my next set of foods. I know people think I am crazy but I say it’s awesome because I am amazed at how much information is out there. A little background on my and my last 2-3 years will hopefully explain this.
Back in 2012 I was hospitalized for severe stomach pains after many tests the doctors stated that I should have my gallbladder removed (I did not have stones or anything they just said it wasn’t working). So I had my gallbladder removed and since I work in Healthcare IT I really wanted a copy of my medical record just so I can go through it all. I was excited to read the Operative Note since I wanted to see how the surgery actually went. Then I read the words that changed my life:
The patient is a morbidly obese male.
Wow I knew I was over weight (5’10 270lbs back in 2012) but I had no idea, those words still haunt me to this day. It was that statement that motivated me for the following year. Through proper eating and exercise I was able to get myself down to 230lbs by the end of 2012. I was happy with that progress but then work became overwhelming and I stopped. It was single handily one of the worst decisions I have made in my life. Not only did I stop eating correctly but I also stopped exercising . This continued and then I had another really bad stomach attack in March of 2013. I ended up in the hospital again for another week and this time the doctor told me he believed I had SOD dysfunction (I talk about that more here). At the time I went and got a second opinion and it was pretty much confirmed but I did not want the surgery that the doctor told me I should have. During this time of not exercising and not eating clean I gained back some of the weight I lost, it was demotivating to me at the time and I just let it continue. Fast forward to 2014, I still was not exercising and I cleaned up some of my eating habits but most of them were still poor. Between January and February I had 2 minor stomach attacks and 1 major one. It was at that last one that I was just sick and tired of being lazy and letting everything pass me by. My son had just started Teeball and I am really enjoying sharing the coaching experience with him and I decided that if I want to be here to watch him graduate or my daughter get married I needed to change some big things in my life. Hence I started reading and researching the best lifestyle changes for my stomach disorder and this is what led me to Paleo. The more I read and research the stronger I believe that I am capable of doing this. With people supporting me through this process I truly feel that I can succeed, in the end though the decision for failure or success will always be on my shoulders and no one else’s.
-Norm
Today I am using a recipe that I found on Brittany Angell’s blog for a paleo friendly homemade cereal. If you have not ever seen her blog I would highly recommend it she has some amazing things!
The link to the original recipe can be found here but to keep things simple I have copied it here.
Paleo Cookie Crisp Cereal
Ingredients
- 1 packed cup of blanched almond flour
- 1 cup tapioca starch
- 1/2 cup coconut palm sugar
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon baking power (I use double acting)
- 1 teaspoon oil or melted butter
- 2 Large Eggs
- Mini chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life brand)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix together the cookie dough ingredients, leaving out the chocolate chips.
- Put the cookie dough into a piping bag. Squeeze rows of tiny "candy dots" sized cookies (about an 1/8 of a teaspoon) onto the cookie sheet, leaving a little space between each cookie. (Not much space though, as they will only spread a tiny bit!)
- Stick 1-2 chocolate chips into each mini cookie.
- Bake 6-7 minutes until firm and lightly golden.
- Repeat with two more trays (3 trays total).
3.1
http://www.tiltedfork.com/2014/02/paleo-cookie-crisp-cereal/
