Paying the Price for Pizza
Last night we were busy and we were both craving pizza. We haven’t ordered a pizza in a long, long time. It sounded so good to us.
Today I am paying the price. Not to be indelicate… Let’s just say my daily constitutional was not forthcoming.
I’m also very groggy, I’m sneezing, and I have post-nasal drip.
And I’m CRANKY! I’ve been snapping at Seth all morning.
Wow, if a couple of pieces of pizza affected me this way, just think what it does to our kids. No wonder the autistic and allergic children have tantrums.
I was wondering if it was sugar or if it was wheat. Clearly it is wheat. Actually I’m sure it’s both because I ate a little maple syrup with yogurt the other day and had the same reaction (fatigue and excess mucus — not constipation though).
So I’m going to be doing GAPS for quite a while until my gut heals again.
I was thinking about the whole constipation issue… I used to pretty much always be constipated from eating bread and crackers and the like. And the way I solved it was to eat more fiber — usually in the way of high-fiber cereals. That was the only way I could “keep things moving”.
According to Konstantin Monastyrsky, author of Fiber Menace, taking fiber supplements or eating high-fiber cereal in order to move large stools is dangerous. It can cause much more damage to the digestive tract — everything from diverticulitis to hemorrhoids.
Konstantin’s website is really worth checking out. It’s full of great information about digestive health. His page on nutrition for longevity is especially interesting.
Here is an excerpt:
It’s quite ironic that our emblem of healthy nutrition is called the Pyramid Food Guide, considering that the pyramids were the tombstones for dead pharaohs — and that fraudulent schemes based on the complicity of many participants are called “pyramids” too.
This “healthy nutrition” is carbohydrate-heavy because grains, fruits, vegetables, and processed dairy are cheap and plentiful, while meats and fish are expensive. The original RDAs were formulated for people in prisons, orphanages, and on public assistance, hence the reliance on cheap food. Source
Did you know that? I didn’t! I learn something new every time I go to his website. His book is worth reading, too.
I’m not saying pizza is bad for you. The cheese and tomato sauce is good — and the toppings. It’s the dough that’s made from unfermented flour that’s bad. I know you can get cheese-less pizzas… maybe next time I’ll try ordering mine without the crust! Ha!
It’s funny… I sometimes wonder if it’s really worth it to go to so much trouble to avoid breads and pastas made with unsoaked/unfermented flour. But this brings it all home. This reminds me why we eat the way we eat.
Plain white flour may look harmless but it is NOT digestible! Not unless it is properly soaked/fermented. Ever see bread rise? Well, that’s what is happening in your gut. Unless you give that flour time to rise before you eat it, it’s clogging up your intestines.
Sorry to be so graphic. I’m still cranky. Hopefully I’ll feel better tomorrow.
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10/09/2008 at 4:01 pm Permalink
Ann Marie,
I’m so sorry you are feeling bad but I have to admit as I almost threw up eating my billionth bowl of soup this morning on Day 3 of Gaps, I saw you had ordered pizza last night and was so jealous. You have inspired me to stay on track. I’ve got my nuts soaking as we speak, we need something to snack on!
10/09/2008 at 4:39 pm Permalink
LOL! Yeah I guess you’re not jealous anymore!
I’m still sneezing my head off. Ugh!
Tonight I’m making a nice salad with some soup.
10/09/2008 at 4:48 pm Permalink
Loved the meercat….
10/09/2008 at 6:12 pm Permalink
Hi Ann Marie,
I have been reading your blog and new site for the past 2 weeks. I found you through the Weston A. Price yahoo group when I was searching for info on the home made baby formula. I have a 7 month old and have been giving her the formula for the past month or so (not enough breast milk). Your sight has been a great resource to follow for feeding babies. I love to see what you feed Kate and am just now starting to feed my little one (Sienna) solids. She’s been doing the egg yolk for more than a month and loves it. I’d love to know what first foods you gave to Kate.
Anyway, it is really ironic that you had pizza last night, because my husband and I went to a birthday party at B.J.s pizza last night and indulged in pizza ourselves. We are both feeling horrible today. I just had to laugh when I saw the picture.
Obviously he and I both have food issues. Not sure if it is GAPS related, but we definitely don’t eat like that very often.
Hope you feel better.
Hillori
11/09/2008 at 10:04 am Permalink
So sorry you aren’t feeling well! I’ve read your post from today and know that you have a cold to boot.
I was wondering if there are any resources for using fermented flour for baking. Do you have any links or recipes to recommend?
Get better!
11/09/2008 at 10:36 am Permalink
Hi, Spinner – here you go:
http://www.creatingheaven.net/eeproducts/eesfc/about_sprouted.html
Ann Marie
11/09/2008 at 10:43 am Permalink
Hi, Hillori,
I’ll try to post more about feeding babies — it’s something everyone wants to know about!
From 6 mos to a year, I fed Kate runny cooked egg yolk and grated frozen raw beef liver every day for breakfast — with a little sea salt. I also gave her bone broth daily, or vegetable soups made with bone broth, and she got chicken liver pate (recipe in NT) at least every other day. I also gave her cooked ground meat — like ground grass-fed beef. I’d often add beef liver to that.
Those were the staples — in addition, she got fruits and vegetables which I stewed if necessary and pureed and then added good fats.
For example:
Stewed peaches and cream
Applesauce with coconut oil
Mango or papaya with cream
Fermented yams (recipe in NT) with butter
Avocado with sea salt
I also gave her bananas and hunks of raw cheese to feed herself when she was ready. Oh and I started giving her kefir and diluted kombucha when she was about 8 or 9 months old.
There’s also a great recipe for baby custard in NT — I haven’t tried it yet — for some reason I missed it. I plan to make it soon!
Ann Marie
11/09/2008 at 1:32 pm Permalink
I used to be a pizza-baker extraordinaire, back in my high-carb, “20 pounds overweight & gaining” days. My New Basics Cookbook was cracked in the binding from overuse of the pizza section. So I do miss pizza now and then. But pizza crust runs my blood sugar up much too high, so it is off my menu.
Now I make Meatza! Have you tried that? The “crust” is made with ground meat, sort of like a flat meatloaf (but no need to wait for dough to rise!). There’s a recipe in Dana Carpender’s 500 Low Carb Recipes and there are lots of versions online (easy to find with a search engine like google, etc.).
I still use the pizza sauce recipe from New Basics Cookbook (takes 30 minutes to cook, uses a large can of tomato puree, and leftovers freeze well) because I like it far better than jarred commercial pizza sauces (too sweet, usually too watery, and taste too much like spaghetti sauce), which is awful on pizza). You can mix up a very large batch of Meatza! “crust” and freeze it in pizza sized portions for future use, too. If you freeze it already spread out on a pan, it will defrost in no time, for those dinners that are running late.
My entire family likes Meatza! very much, and like conventional pizza, I love chilled leftovers for breakfast. My son likes it for school lunch.
12/09/2008 at 11:09 am Permalink
We love pizza *shrugs*, homemade I can tolerate, but not store bought or from a pizza joint. I once read a horrible blurb on what Pizza Hut sprays on their crusts to get that shine and crunchy crust.
I have a great recipe for a cauliflower/cheese pizza crust. We do this about every other time we have pizza and it turns out great!
Anna ~ I love the idea of a meatza pizza also, haha!! I will have to look more into that one.
15/09/2008 at 9:20 pm Permalink
Anna, the Meetza sounds delicous! I will definitely try that!
Erica, what do they spray on it? Now I’m curious…
Also, Erica, can you share your recipe for cauliflower/cheese pizza crust? That sounds yummy, too!
15/09/2008 at 10:39 pm Permalink
I posted the recipe just the other day, just for you. I figured you may ask, haha! You will have to try it and let me know how you like it. It’s got a ton of cheese in it though!
I will have to search for that article I read. Hopefully I can still find it!
15/09/2008 at 10:41 pm Permalink
Ah! GREAT! That’s awesome!
Thank you!
I haven’t been reading my blogs the past few days since I’ve been so busy. It’s all I can do to keep up with posting and commenting!