A wonderful thing has unfolded over here recently.  My husband has taken up cooking.  Turns out he is good at it! He has much more interest in putzing around with recipes than I tend to and has made some great dinners.  Sunday dinner has been handed over.  He cooks and I play sous chef and clean as we go.  It has made for something of a weekly dinner date. 

A little backstory probably helps here.  About a dozen years ago, after many years of struggle, we left the military medical system and I was blessed to have a respected physician connect the dots of my medical history.  He ran tests and sent me to specialists and so many puzzles were straightened out.  He was a conventional physician who was also interested in complementary and alternative care options. Together we cobbled together a holistic approach to my healing which included a starch and later dairy free diet.  A dozen years ago this was a radical idea.  People were sometimes outright horrrified when it came up.   I kind of kept it low key to see how it played out. It played out really well. 

Turned out though I wasn't the only one getting better. Unbeknownst to me countless other people were also thriving on similar plans.  Books started to come out.  One after another.  Suddenly my diet is a familiar household term and resources abound which is definitely a happy surprise. 

For a long time I was making my own meals alongside my family's.  Although they were always real food and made from scratch the carbs were not without consequence.  My husband gave paleo a trial run for a month last year and lost 20lbs and felt great.  Then lapsed.  Before the new year he decided he was ready to make another go at it.  Same experience.  The weight is dropping off.  He is breathing easier.  His road race training is back on track. 

The nicest perk is that this woman who doesn't love to cook, is now making one kind of dinner each night. That has freed us up to try more complicated recipes and make up more interesting sauces and dressings.  My interest in and appreciation for food is returning, maybe for the first time, since food has always been a challenge for me – either making me sick or making extra work.  

Since this is not a renegade idea anymore and other families are making low carb, nutrient dense meals more often, I thought I'd share more of what we are enjoying. Tonight it was Reuben Pork Chops from Maria Emmerich's 30 Day Keto Cleanse.  We have been cooking through this book in January and now feel the need to buy everything she ever wrote.  SO good. I don't even like the separate components of this recipe but agreed to take one bite of the whole dish before eating my plain chop.  That was a good call.  Together it was delicious.  

This whole experiment has been delightful.  He is loving cooking.  I am loving him cooking.  Win win lol. It is so nice to have support in the kitchen and do some role reversal.  We are expanding our palates considerably in the process.