Benjamin Gardening: A Year Of Eating Locally Meal Plan + Food Costs

A Year Of Eating Locally Meal Plan + Food Costs - week of July 22, 2018

our new kitchen minus the cabinets

I shared, some time ago, that I eliminated all dairy products from my diet because I'd heard (time and time again) that dairy could be contributing to my ongoing seasonal allergy pain and symptoms. I ignored the advice (I mean who can give up cheese????) until finally I was so sick for three months that I waved the white flag and decided to try it. For 30 days. On day 25 I was still not noticing much relief and could not wait to have cheese again in five days. And then day 28 rolled around and it happened. I felt much less congested, my head was clear, and the mucous was minimal.

And then I had to figure out how in the world I was going to adopt this lifestyle for good. It's been challenging, but worth it.

While dairy elimination hasn't completely alleviated sinusitis or seasonal allergy flare-ups, it has absolutely toned down the issues related and has made it all very manageable. That being said, I still get headaches with changes in barometric pressure, and I still have days when the pollen and/or mold count are high, that I am in pain. We can't sleep with the windows open or I am a congested mess in the mornings.

I've heard, for the past couple of years, from different sources, that eliminating nightshades completely from your diet would help alleviate seasonal allergy issues. So I go back to my dairy dilemma of giving up cheese.....who can give up peppers, potatoes, and in-season FRESH
tomatoes??? Well, I did. I couldn't take it anymore and last week I altered my meal plan to completely eliminate all nightshades. My goodness is it hard. I think it's actually more difficult than dairy. It's so easy to reach for tomatoes (sauce, crushed, fresh, etc.), or peppers (including any spices with peppers in the mix) because I cook with them all of the time. And paprika is in EVERYTHING. If something states "spices" I have learned to assume paprika is one of those spices. Well, it seems so many things either include either paprika or "spices".

So, I continue to try and figure out my meals minus nightshades.

I also, at the exact same time, decided to cut out gluten temporarily because of some digestive issues. Bad move. If I'd been able to eat potatoes it wouldn't have been so hard but without any potatoes, no way. I was so hungry and getting so frustrated as to what I was going to eat that would be fulfilling. Gluten is back in my life (hallelujah!) and all is now well. What does seem to be working, however, is the elimination of nightshades. I really do feel a difference. I'll continue through to a full 30 days to make sure it's not just a coincidence, but I have had no headaches with all of the barometric pressure changes over the past week and I feel really good.

Super bad timing, though because the tomatoes in our garden are ripening like crazy and are sooooo delicious! Now J is being force fed them. (joking, of course......kind of....)

So, this week's meal plan, for my meals anyway, is a bit of a work-in-progress as I figure it all out.

I would love to hear from any of you who have also eliminated nightshades and/or eggs as part of an autoimmune diet.

If you’re just tuning in, this is our 1 year challenge in which I share our weekly meal plan as we try to eat primarily locally grown food. You will see that I often I make 2 different meals because I am primarily plant-based and my husband is not. Most of what we eat is made from scratch and any boxed, canned and/or frozen products follow the Real Food guidelines. Meal planning is my way of controlling the grocery budget (read as a LOT of dollars saved), ensuring there is no food waste for the week, as well as saving time. You can read more about meal planning here.

Read the entire series here.

I purchased peppers from the grocery store to use in J's dishes this week. Ours are still just a tad small and I haven't seen them show up at the farmer's market yet.

I have no photos of the veggies I purchased this week. It's been a very rainy, humid, and downright miserable weekend/week so photos did not happen. Instead, I am sharing a photo of my jam-making session part 2. I made blueberry jam and blueberry-maple jam with our berries we picked last week. Note that the doors are removed from our upper cabinets. This is temporary.....I await their painting and return.

On to the meal plan!

Weekly Meal Plan:

Sunday

Breakfast - Breakfast Tacos

Lunch - Veg & Pasta Salad

Dinner - Squash, Corn & Green Bean Sauté, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, (J) Mississippi Pot Roast

Monday