My Antiinflammatory Pantry

In 2018, I overhauled my diet. For the most part.

Toward the end of 2018, I also ran a marathon, and my antiinflammatory eating ways more or less went out the window because I was ravenous during training, and I’ve never met a loaf of bread I didn’t like.

The holidays followed the marathon, and I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions per se, but with January came a lack of excuses for why I couldn’t recommit myself to stuffing my face with foods that curb my pain and make me feel better overall.

Luckily, this hasn’t been terribly difficult because this time, it isn’t an overhaul. I’m well set up to go back to giving my body what it needs to feel better.

To recap, I don’t consider this a “diet.” I literally have only been on a diet for one hour of my life. Rather, to me, antiinflammatory means cutting the shit you already know is bad for you (sugar, alcohol, processed crap, etc.) and filling your plate with lots of produce and whole foods, preferably of the organic variety. I don’t want to say it’s a “lifestyle change” because all diets say that, but it kind of actually is.

I am the LAST person to preach to anyone what they should eat. I strongly believe that there is not one diet that works for everyone. Different people have different sensitivities and triggers, and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. If there was, duh, no one would be sick or at an unhealthy weight.

But I do think eating this way can’t HURT you. And I also know that research shows chronic inflammation is at the core of a lot of our problems from depression to Alzheimer’s to chronic pain. Of course, speaking of chronic pain, endometriosis is an inflammatory disease, so junk food is literally pain-inducing for some women with endo, like myself.

When I embarked on eating this way, I felt totally overwhelmed. But once you get your pantry in order, from there, it’s fun! You pick what you want for your meals and buy the fresh foods you need to cook them. The hard part is replacing all the old shit you’re used to with more antiinflammatory choices.

So today, I’m taking the guesswork out of it for you, and telling you about how I stock my antiinflammatory pantry. (Note about where to buy: I get most of my pantry items through Thrive Market, which is stocked with organic, non-GMO, ethical, natural brands at a massive discount. I find it’s quite easy with Thrive to find some of the more obscure items, but Trader Joe’s is the BEST brick-and-mortar for organic, all-natural, and affordable, and TBH, Target is really stepping up their organic/all-natural game lately.)

• Oils: Ditch the canola and vegetable oil for olive, avocado, coconut, and sesame oils. These are frankly tastier anyway. Canola and vegetable oils are not as healthy, and many are cut with soybean oil (and since soy is estrogenic, it’s important for endo sufferers to avoid soy). And speaking of oil that is, um, less than pure, I learned in an episode of one of my favorite podcasts, Gastropod, that a ton of the olive oil we eat in the States isn’t entirely olive oil and is actually rancid because we are basically a trash people. My favorite sanctioned olive oil is from California Olive Ranch. Another hot tip? If you’re cooking with coconut oil but don’t want your dish to taste like coconut, go for refined; Trader Joe’s makes a great triple-refined coconut oil.

• Ghee: Ghee is clarified butter; in other words, it’s butter without the milk solids. Therefore, you get buttery goodness without the inflammation of dairy.

• Flours: There are so many types of flour out there that stand in admirably (and sometimes better than) white flour, which usually involves gluten and is typically stripped of anything nutritious the wheat may have once had. I’ve been baking with almond flour, gluten-free flour, coconut flour, and oat flour. Like everyone else, I had a major hankering for cookies over the holidays, and some of the healthy cookie recipes I tried held up well. Try these Erin Lives Whole paleo snickerdoodles or these Kale Junkie lemon coconut cookies. I threw some blueberries in mine and the lemon/blueberry combo is doooope.

• Oats: I like oatmeal and it’s an easy way to get my seed cycling seeds in when the weather is too cold for smoothies. But even if you don’t like oatmeal, you can make oat flour with oats and a Vitamix or other food processor within seconds, and there are also some other amazing recipes out there like these vegan oatmeal raisin cookies by local blogger the Health Mason or my favorite pre-run breakfast, the Eat Fast Run Slow superhero muffins (I sub ghee for their butter).

• Seeds: In addition to trying to slip in chia seeds whenever I can, I also eat pumpkin seeds and flax seeds during the first two phases of my cycle and then sunflower seeds and sesame seeds during the second two phases. The science behind doing this is that the nutritional properties in these seeds help support and balance the hormonal shifts you experience at different parts of your cycle. I’ve been doing this for several months now, and when I skip my seeds, I definitely notice a difference in my cycle — PMDD symptoms, pain, shorter cycles, etc. It sounds crazy, but it is pretty easy to do and works. Pumpkin and sunflower seeds are good on their own, but all these seeds are easy to grind and slip into oatmeal, cereal, smoothies, and more.

• Seed butters: When I complained to my friend Caitlin of Frugal Nutrition recently that I was struggling to get in my seeds without the benefits of smoothies (hello wintertime), she recommend seed butters. She said it’s best to eat the seeds freshly ground, but butters are better than nothing. I ordered some no sugar-added sunflower butter (which is SO much better than almond butter honestly) and I’ve already been on the tahini (sesame seed butter) train for some time. And guys…Kale Junkie is NOT kidding when she says these tahini chocolate chip cookies are life-changing. I’ve made them like every other week since the first time.

• Nut butters: Peanuts are not exactly antiinflammatory, so I have been shying away from my beloved peanut butter, and I have to be honest. No nut butter stacks up. BUT cashew butter is pretty good in and of itself, and almond butter is pretty decent in smoothies.

• Coconut aminos: While this maybe isn’t SPECIFICALLY antiinflammatory, it is a great alternative to soy sauce, which as previously mentioned, is bad news for people with estrogen-dominant diseases like endo. It is a bit sweeter than soy sauce, but it also has more umami flavor if you ask me, and I like it with my sushi more.

• Coconut butter: I guess this could technically go under nut butters but do we really consider coconuts nuts? SEMANTICS. This is a great healthy fat to slip into smoothies, or if you’re into that bulletproof coffee thing but not into butter, this goes well in your coffee, offering up some creaminess without the dairy.

• Collagen: Because so many protein powders are whey-based (i.e., dairy-based) or loaded with sugar, I really like to use collagen peptides as my protein powder instead. It also dissolves well into coffee or soup and also is easy to slip into smoothies. I particularly like that it is easy to find flavorless collagen peptides, because I find that in an effort to keep protein powder low-sugar, companies use flavoring from stevia, which I personally think has a garbage aftertaste.

• Chickpeas: These are SO antiinflammatory, packed with protein, and they take on the taste of however you flavor them, which is pretty easy to do because unless you are specifically sensitive to a certain spice, most spices are perfectly healthy and often even beneficial to consume. Spices are, um, literally the spice of life. I love to snack on chickpeas after roasting them and dousing them in garlic powder. They crisp up on the inside and stay soft in the middle. So delish.

• Sweeteners: Speaking of sugar, I think we all know by now that refined sugar is public enemy number 1. It’s super inflammatory and also just generally wrecks your hormonal balance by forcing your organs to work overtime to get your blood sugar leveled off. Science! But don’t get me wrong. Sugar is hard to cut out for a reason. If you follow me on Instagram, you know no one loves a plate of pastries more than I do. Luckily, if you have a sweet tooth like I do, there are some great natural alternatives that more whole than refined sugar, come with health benefits, and have lower glycemic indices. I’m taking about coconut sugar, raw honey, and Grade A maple syrup. Coconut sugar does not taste like coconut; in fact, it smells almost like honey to me and looks like a finer brown sugar. Raw honey is just downright delicious in tea (and basically everything else) and is loaded with antioxidants and other nutritional goodies. And maple syrup is just fucking good and not as bad for you, so what more do you want? All three alternatives are plenty sweet, so a little goes a long way. And don’t forget if you need a chocolate fix, pure cacao powder isn’t loading with sugar, milk, and preservatives like the prepackaged chocolate you find in the candy aisle. I ALWAYS throw cacao into coffee smoothies.

What about you? Have you tried antiinflammatory living? What are your pantry staples? Tell me in the comments or on Instagram!

xo,
S

*Note: I learned most of what I know about antiinflammatory nutrition from WomanCode by Alisa Vitti and The Antiinflammatory Diet Cookbook by Madeline Given (also a source of really delicious, easy, quick recipes).

Eating for Endo: An Update

As you know, I started experimenting with some dietary changes back in April. And I haven't written an update since then, and it is already the end of July!

Time flies like money in an organic grocery store.

Since then, the way I approach eating to support my body has shifted and evolved. I've learned a lot. For starters...

I started planning my grocery trips around my menstrual cycle.

Yes, you read that right. If you're new here, you should know I am fully onboard the Womancode train. For instance, I try to plan meals that incorporate shellfish or pork during my period, make smoothies that include raspberries and strawberries when I'm ovulating, snack on chickpeas in my luteal phase. I started that about a month after I started using my antiinflammatory cookbook. It actually helped me branch out and try new recipes rather than making the same ones over and over (but WOULD I ever really get tired of coconut shrimp?). 

Overall, I started to feel better immediately. Less sluggish, less bloated. It didn't help my period right away, but all my research said to give it three to four months, and I *have* noticed some exciting changes...

It's not a full solution, but it's doing something.

Not long after I started focusing on antiinflammatory eating, I noticed a pretty big change in the two weeks or so before my period (roughly the ovulatory and luteal phases). I did not see any hormonal acne. ANY. My skin looked better than it's looked in ages. It fucking glowed and I didn't use a single overpriced mask.

And PMS? My PMS comes in an unpredictable combination of three flavors each month -- a desire to punch everyone, a hopeless feeling of oppressive sadness that everything is just WRONG, and/or persistent paranoia that everyone I care about hates me or is angry at me. IT'S A GREAT FEELING. But before my last two periods, I didn't even notice PMS except for one mood swing featuring anxiety the night before each period. Mood swings are never pleasant, but one a month is quite a bit more manageable than feeling like the world is ending and I can't stand myself for about 10 days a month.

And interestingly enough, when I went to my last acupuncture appointment, my acupuncturist told me my tongue looks the best it has looked in THREE YEARS (the shape and color of the tongue can tell you things about the states of your visceral organs). I don't know if that has more to do with my eating, lifestyle changes, or stress levels, but it's a good sign nonetheless, and I am sure a healthy diet can't hurt. 

The biggest goal, of course, is to get myself to a place where I have painless periods. Ah, my white whale. I am not there yet -- days 2 and 3 are SUCH a bitch. But last month I was able to manage only with Advil, essential oils, salt baths, and my heating pad -- i.e., NO prescription painkillers. HOLLA.

That said, it's damn hard to be perfect.

My goal is to eat in a way that supports my endocrine system and fights inflammation on weekdays and be a little more lax on the weekends. It's just HARD to stay totally on track when you're going out to eat, and I for one LOVE to go out to eat and try new things. So I guess this is the 80-20 approach (stay on track 80% of the time, indulge the other 20%). I don't go crazy, but I also work hard not to beat myself up if I have a drink or can't stop stuffing free dinner rolls into my face.

In fact, July has been hard. The Fourth of July was in the middle of the week, which meant drinks and picnic food, I transitioned to a new job which threw me out of my eating routine, and there have been a few social engagements involving alcohol and charcuterie. But I've actually learned a lot from this. The day after consuming processed meats and cheese from said charcuterie board, my skin showed it. Drinking more than usual has wreaked havoc on my sleep and therefore my energy. And junk food definitely has taken a toll on my mood -- PMS has *not* been a piece of cake this month.

I try not to beat myself up, but sometimes it's hard (especially when hormones are wreaking havoc on my brain). It's a vicious cycle to blame yourself when you already aren't feeling well, so I try really hard not to do that, and my partner and my best friends know to talk me down when I'm not feeling at my most rational. I try to limit stress because that has a more intense negative impact on my cycle than bad food does. And I try to remember that this is all helpful information; I know I don't have allergies or intolerances to gluten, processed sugar, or dairy, but I also know my body doesn't like them as much as it likes healthy produce -- as evidenced by my skin and mood.

Substitutes remain key.

I was overwhelmed when I started changing the way I eat. A long-time devotee of meal delivery services like Blue Apron and Plated afforded me the opportunity to not think about grocery shopping or plan ahead about recipes, so making the switch and learning what was and wasn't supportive of my body was a little bit of a process.

But after a few weeks of experimenting and restocking my pantry with healthier substitutes, I don't feel like I am on a "diet" per se. I don't feel like I've cut anything major out, and I don't feel restricted. I personally am skeptical of any diet that eliminates an entire macronutrient (whether it is carbs, fat, or protein), and eating in an antiinflammatory, endocrine-supportive way doesn't do that.

Mixed berry cobbler for July 4? Don't mind if I do.

My favorites are:

• Coconut aminos is slightly sweeter than soy sauce, but the difference is hardly noticeable when you're dipping your sushi in it.
• Who needs canola and vegetable oil when olive oil is already amazing and avocado and sesame oil taste equally great?
• Oat and almond flour are gluten-free alternatives to regular flour, which is also more or less devoid of anything of nutritional substance.
• Coconut sugar has a lower glycemic index than processed sugar, and I prefer the richer smell and taste (it reminds me of brown sugar). Raw honey and pure maple syrup are also preferable unprocessed sweeteners.
• I think "zoodles" are trash, but I can't tell the difference between pasta made from chickpeas and regular pasta. And chickpeas are loaded with protein and antiinflammatory factors.

I won't lie to you though -- almond butter and cashew butter got nothing on peanut butter.

This microbiome shit is for real.

If you haven't heard more and more research coming out about the importance of your gut health, you will soon. I am convinced that sometime in the future, the microbiome (consisting of all the "flora and "fauna" that live in your gut) is going to be the answer to a ton of our problems and people will look back on this period of time like "Wow, I can't believe those people thought antibiotics were a good choice," the way we look back and think "Wow, I can't believe those people thought leeches were a good choice."

I am not a microbiome expert and I want to learn more, but here is what I do know -- a healthy microbiome is connected to damn near everything. It supports immunity and clear, healthy skin, and if you've ever gotten a yeast infection from antibiotics killing all the "good" bacteria in your system, then you know it means keeping certain systems in your body in balance. What I learned most recently from Womancode though is that the microbiome also supports your mood. Serotinin doesn't just exist in the brain; 50 percent is produced in the intestine. WHAAAAAAT?!

There are several ways to support your microbiome. The first is taking probiotics, but something that has been sitting on a grocery store shelf for who knows how long can only take you so far. I also support mine by trying to vary my diet as much as possible; one easy way to do this is to change up a smoothie every day with different fruits and vegetables.

I also started incorporating something fermented into my diet at least once a day. Fermented foods have live active cultures, reintroducing thousands of good bacteria strains back into your stomach. I love Baltimore's Wild Kombucha (that watermelon hops flavor tho) and Hex Ferments. Both have several awesome kombucha flavors, and Hex also makes a great chickpea-based, soy-free kimchi. This last weekend at the farmers' market, I also sampled Hex's "glow kraut," a turmeric sauerkraut mix I ended up buying. Noms.

Eating this way is self-care, even though it doesn't involve a #kbeauty sheet mask.

Chickpea pasta FTW!

Inconvenient fact: Not all self-care is fun or exciting. Sometimes self-care means deep-cleaning your apartment so you can bask on the sofa in a clean space for like an hour before bed. Sometimes self-care means making your bed so that it's nice and tidy when you're ready for sleep. Self-care isn't always bubble baths, manis, and face masks. When you have chronic illness and a limited amount of energy, sometimes self-care is managing to just take a shower.

I never used to like cooking or baking, and I always thought I was *bad* at it. I learned a lot about cooking with the previously mentioned meal delivery services though, and I've come to enjoy the process of planning what to shop for each week and then preparing it for myself. As I ate that cilantro jalapeno hummus, I imagined all the good cleansing properties cilantro has for my liver, helping it eliminate the excess estrogen that causes me pain. As I snacked on that entirely vegan, antiinflammatory cobbler, I thought about the antioxidant, antiinflammatory effects of the berries. As I ate my chickpea pasta, I thought about how it would combat any inflammation in my body and help power my muscles.

When you have endo and chronic pain, a lot of it feels out of your control, but being mindful about what I put in my body gives me a sense of control and pride for treating it as something to be cherished and supported (rather than as the broken machine I usually consider it to be).

Bonus -- it was all fucking delicious.

xo,
S

Antiinflammatory Eating: Week 1+

I've never been one for dieting. Every time in my life that I've wanted to lose weight, I've either doubled down on working out or just complained but did nothing and continued to self-loathe.

I've always loved food too much to restrict myself, and since I know myself well enough to know I am a bit on the obsessive side, I know counting calories and reading nutritional labels constantly could lead me down a potentially unhealthy spiral.

The one time I tried a diet honestly doesn't even count as trying. One year in college when the Atkins diet was blowing up, my roommate bought the South Beach diet book, and I read a bit of it. I decided to try it with her in solidarity and lasted approximately one hour before I decided I wanted a chocolate chip cookie and simply could not go without one.

Willpower has never been my strong suit.

I ate pure garbage throughout college and never gave much thought to it. After school, when I was cooking for myself for the first time in my life, I started to pay more attention to what worked for my body and what didn't.

Like many women, my focus in my 20s was more on how I looked than how I felt. I never went low-carb again, but I did discover that eating a lot of protein made my workouts stronger and made me leaner. Because I hated grocery shopping and meal planning, I started getting meal kit deliveries. I'd focus on eating relatively healthily during the week and then eating (and drinking) whatever I wanted on the weekends. I'd say this worked relatively well for my physique, but over the past two years especially, how I look has taken a FAR backseat to how I feel.

It seems stupid looking back on it now, but until I really began to learn about my endometriosis and its pathology, I really never made any connections between it and the food I put on my body. When I thought about how food made me feel, I thought about it more in terms of "When I drink I feel like shit for two days," or "When I eat a full meal of fried food, I get heartburn and want to die." It never occurred to me that what I was eating could be exacerbating my endo symptoms.

But I've since learned there are two main tenets of how to eat while keeping my endo in mind. The first is to avoid soy, since it contains phytoestrogens (plant estrogens) that alter your body's natural estrogen balance. Since estrogen is directly tied to endo symptoms, this is obviously something I'd want to keep in a healthy, natural balance. The second is to avoid foods that cause inflammation -- sugar, dairy, processed foods, alcohol, etc. -- since endometriosis is an inflammatory disease and inflammation = pain.

So I'd say I started down this antiinflammatory path on a soft rollout. As it is, I am already not a big drinker; I probably only have two to three drinks per month, if that. I started making lunches more often than relying on Lean Cuisines which are easy and low-calorie, but processed. Rather than buying canned soup, I started making my own (partly because I got an Instant Pot for Hannukkah, and it is AMAZING and I want to use it all the time). I looked for some of the "cleaner" recipes available through Blue Apron.

But then this month some flip switched in me. After experiencing a particularly painful March cycle, I decided to just go full out and try some new things with the start of my next cycle. A wonderful friend of mine bought me an antiinflammatory cookbook for my birthday, and as I read through it, I learned more and more about not just what to restrict to avoid inflammation, but what to ADD into my diet to to reduce it. Some things might seem obvious, but here is what I've discovered over the last week and a half.

By Madeline Given

First of all, this book is awesome.

It is not specific to endometriosis, and I have more research to do on that, but I've learned a lot from this book, and the recipes are legitimately good.

I've had some hits and misses (the misses are more likely due to user error, not the recipes themselves), but it is true, these recipes are actually doable inside of 30 minutes and are really good. 

What I like about these recipes is I don't feel like I'm missing out on foods I like because there are substitutes that actually taste great. For instance, I cannot taste the difference between the processed butter I grew up on and ghee, which is clarified butter. 

This antiinflammatory banana oat pancake brought to you by coconut oil!

Coconut is quite the renaissance man (nut?).

So you know how I said soy is an absolute no-no with endometriosis? This was a real mindfuck for me for a while. Like during a particularly sensitive moment before my last endo surgery, I actually broke down into tears to my boyfriend at Bonchon over Korean fried chicken because of soy. It's not that I love soy milk or tofu or any soy products like that, but I do really, REALLY love all manners of Asian cuisine, and I really didn't want to give it up knowing soy is used in preparing quite a lot of it.

My boyfriend found liquid aminos for me as a substitute for soy sauce (he even bought me a bottle of a sriracha-flavored one to go with my birthday gift...awww). And Given's cookbook calls for coconut aminos in multiple Asian-style recipes. So I bought a bottle of it, and I think I actually like it more than regular soy sauce! I personally think it has more of an umami flavor rather than straight salt. It is delicious, but comes from coconuts rather than soybeans. I am probably now going to be one of those people who carries a bottle of sauce in my purse, especially when going out for sushi.

Another coconut substitute I found? Coconut sugar. It is still sugar, yes, but from what I understand, it has a lower glycemic index than the regular white sugar we're all used to. Also! Coconut oil. Because coconut oil is high in saturated fats, it's a good fat for your heart (it lowers cholesterol). Hot tip though -- if you buy it unrefined, it tastes and smells like coconut. That might be a plus for you, but as much as I love coconut, I actually prefer the triple-filtered coconut oil from Trader Joe's which is virtually flavorless.

This poke bowl is truly the best thing I've made (possibly ever), but I don't even want to tell you how much money I paid for the Wegmans sushi-grade Ahi tuna.

Buying organic requires a new way of food shopping (at least for me).

In the quest for antiinflammatory foods, organic is king. So as you might imagine, you want to get as many fruits and vegetables into your diet as possible. I have found that Given's recipes make that surprisingly easy.

What isn't easy for me are grocery stores.

Holy shit, I do not like grocery shopping. With the exception of going to Trader Joe's, which is a true wonderland, grocery stores, especially massive ones like Wegmans and Whole Foods, give me anxiety. Of course, places like Wegmans and Whole Foods are where you'll find the best selection of organic products, and organic products = antiinflammatory.

So what to do?

Since I was in the neighborhood of a Wegmans a couple weeks ago, I decided to give it a shot. Granted, I went on a Sunday, which was of course a poor choice, but I thought I'd only need a few things.

I was so overwhelmed, and everything was SO expensive.

I did get some great organic produce and proteins, but honestly, I don't want to ever go back. So when I can't make it to Trader Joe's (which is far from where I live), I'll be aiming to get my produce from the Baltimore farmer's market (now open, yay!), proteins from Target (which shockingly has a good selection of quality organic meats and poultry), and everything else from Thrive.

Both Given's book and another antiinflammatory cookbook I paged through recommend Thrive. For an annual fee, you can get organic items at steeply discounted prices (cheaper than Target, even with a Red Card).

I did the first month free trial and found it so much easier than trolling the aisles of Wegmans since obviously you can just type and search for what you're looking for, then compare prices side by side. I've done two orders so far and everything came very quickly, so I think when my free month is up, I'll be paying the subscription fee.

Every day is taco Tuesday, let's be real.

Finding balance is going to be a work in progress.

During the week I was so pleased with how well things were going. I was genuinely enjoying cooking and eating, and was pleasantly surprised to find that the heaviest day of my period not only didn't require a prescription painkiller, but I didn't even need Advil! This could have been a coincidence...but maybe not! Who knows? We'll see, and I'll keep you posted.

But by the end of the week with weekend plans looming ahead, I started to stress about how to tackle eating over the weekend, particularly when eating out. I have no intention of giving up going out to restaurants and trying new foods. It's too great a joy in my life.

So I did what any good millennial would do, and I took to Instagram to find out what everyone else does. I got a lot of great tips about balance -- cheat meals, 80/20, be good during the week and do whatever you want on the weekend, etc.

When I went out for Mexican, I thoroughly enjoyed my tacos. Were the flour tortillas antiinflammatory? Doubtful. Was there soy in my Korean shortrib taco? Probably. But I had an awesome meal and a great night out. 

I felt like crap for a few hours afterward, but if I'm being honest, that was probably a result of the amount I ate rather than the particular foods I ate. It is impossible for me to stop eating tortilla chips when they are right in front of me...even if I'm already full.

---

Now I'm in Florida visiting my boyfriend. He's been supportive, looking for ingredients he can substitute for some of the more harmful ones, but since I'm only here for a few days, it's not like I'd want him to overhaul his pantry with coconut products. 

This weekend will probably be a bit of a challenge since we do love the occasional all-pastry breakfast from the local bakery, and we're also planning a theme park day. And who doesn't want a drink on the beach? What I keep trying to remind myself though is that this lifestyle change isn't just about what I'm cutting out, but what I'm adding in, and that makes it much more manageable in terms of balance.

So come find me on Instagram and tell me about your own food journey. This is new for me, and I want to know what other people have discovered. How do you stay balanced? Are you on the endo diet or an antiinflammatory diet? FODMAP? Gluten-free? What makes you feel good?

xo,
S