inside out.

I had my digestive system rebuilt when I was 23 after three and a half years of horrible suffering. The surgery fixed an isolated problem and I was later diagnosed with IBS and Crohn's disease. 

I was on medications for a few years that would fix the problem but had bad side effects (headaches, dizziness, lethargy . . . ).  I quit the medications and eliminated all carbohydrates, sugar and dairy from my diet. It made a world of a difference. I stuck to that diet for years and had very few remissions. During my pregnancy I started craving toast and sandwiches. After Hannah was born we would have pasta and pizza from time to time. I left the carb/sugar and dairy free life behind me and I've been suffering for the past few months with the past three weeks being the worst.

So I'm back. I'm back on track and looking after my insides. I'm starting off by kick-starting the plan with the Wild Rose Cleanse. I prepped veggies last night, made hummus today, grilled salmon to have at home and have steel cut oats cooking in the rice cooker right now for tomorrow morning's breakfast.

You'll see a bit of a change in recipes I post for the next little while. No dairy, no refined flours but for the most part things will stay the same. First up - hummus, with a twist.

Edamame Hummus or as Matt calls it Hummamame 

2 14oz cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 cup cooked and shelled edamame

1/3 cup tahini

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup olive oil

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 tsp salt (less if canned chickpeas have salt)

3 green onions, finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 tsp sumac optional or 1 tsp smoked paprika

pepper to taste

In a food processor blend chickpeas, edamame, tahini, water, olive oil and garlic into a relatively smooth consistency. Add salt, green onions, parsley and sumac or smoked paprika. Blend until well combined. You may want to add more olive oil to get a creamier consistency, I like a thick hummus - so it's up to you!

I drizzled mine with a bit of olive oil and sprinkled sumac on top before serving.

This makes a lot of hummus, I like to do big batches and prep celery, cucumber and peppers so that I have easy snacks ready to go.