Blueberry-glazed chicken for Day 1

I think I've hit a milestone on the rotation diet. I no longer have to look at my rotation foods guide when I'm deciding what to eat on a particular day. This way of eating is definitely coming naturally to me now. It also has been beneficial to me. It's helped me uncover some foods that were the cause of some of my symptoms. It's forced me to eat some foods and try some recipes that are actually quite tasty and healthy.

I've also discovered that you don't have to be completely rigid about this plan. After all, we live in a real world and sometimes your family or friends want to go out to eat. Sometimes you screw up and forget to buy a particular ingredient(s). Sometimes you're just craving something that's not on the rotation plan for that day.

It's really all right to bend the rules a bit. Don't get stressed out about this. Use the Oreo philosophy: just curl up in a red pillow and chill. With Oreo's philosophy in mind, I've decided to alter my rotation of proteins to make it easier for me to remember and manage. Now, I rotate chicken, fish, turkey, fish in that order. Keep it as simple as possible. Same thing with nuts, seeds and oils. I can't eat nuts or peanuts (allergic) so I do sunflower and pumpkin seeds/oil one day, then olive oil, safflower oil, and finally sesame/tahini and avocado in that order.It's not perfect and not quite what the plan lays out but at least I'm getting those healthy mono unsaturated fatty acids.

Keep that in mind if you're considering using a rotation plan. The idea is to vary what you're eating, not to make yourself a prisoner to what you're eating. Your ultimate goal is to keep your body from deciding to launch its defenses against a food that it perceives as the enemy.

Here's a great recipe I discovered for Day 1. It uses blueberries and chicken as the main ingredients. I served potatoes (purple, yellow, white or red) and steamed zucchini on the side. My family loved it even though they're not on a rotation diet.

Blueberry-glazed chicken

1 cup blueberries
1/4 cup red cooking wine
3 T. maple syrup
1 tsp. dijon mustard
3 T. pomegranite juice
optional for seasoning the chicken: garlic powder, paprika, parsley (1 tsp. each)
1/2 tsp. salt and black pepper


Preheat over to 400 degrees. Bring the first five ingredients to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer for up to 30 minutes. Rinse chicken breasts and pat dry. Combine desired seasonings from list above and sprinkle on the chicken. Place on a roasting pan.

Wash and quarter potatoes. Toss with cooking oil and salt and pepper. Spread on a baking pan. Roast both chicken and potatoes at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Pull the chicken out and baste with blueberry glaze. Return to oven and roast an additional 5-10 minutes. Serve chicken with additional blueberry glaze plus roasted potatoes and steamed zucchini on the side.