I cannot get enough of this Veggie Pad Thai.

And I felt like today was the most appropriate day to update and republish it.

Darling, come lean in quick while I show you something I deal with on an almost-weekly basis.

I’ll Unfollow You

This is the message I woke up to early this morning. 

And you can also see my interaction and response to the message. But here is what I want to share about that message and my response today because she is right. My voice does matter:

1. If you’re following A Gutsy Girl (the blog or any of my social platforms) for highly personal thoughts on race, religion, sex, then following me is not the best use of your time. I am here to serve women with IBS and/or IBD who are looking to heal their guts in order to heal their lives. And, in fact, when this website was a mis-mash of all things gut and personal, I was hardly able to help people. You didn’t want the merge. So I listened. But dropping the personal stuff was hard for me. I struggled with doing it for probably a couple years. In the end, I made the decision to move all personal stuff to A Thyme for Milk and Honey. And you know what? It’s created far more work for me. I do A Gutsy Girl for you; A Thyme for Milk and Honey for me. So if you really care to peek inside my thoughts on George Floyd….
2. My son, Isaiah (who is a 5-year-old African American boy), watched the whole event on TV. And then I wrote about it in, There are No Words. 

I do not believe that silence is violence, so if you really want to know what I think about her message above and where I stand, you can read it today via Is Silence Violence HERE.

Moving on to Veggie Pad Thai. 

I made this recipe for the first time in 2017. It’s been almost 3 years, and still delicious as ever. 

Dabbling in More Variety

For several years I lived off of meat, fat, broth, and minimal fruit and veggies. And when I say I lived off those things, I really mean to say that 85% of my diet was meat, fat, and broth.

I would never take those years back or wish for any foods different than the ones I consumed on a daily basis because it all contributed to massive gut and overall healing. (Okay, I lie. I might have done things a little differently knowing what I know now. On the whole, though, no.)

But at some point, I started having some aversions to meat. I was still totally cool with fat and broth so don’t worry. 

It began with reheated meats. I struggled with the taste and texture. And then it became more of an everyday thing. The thought of loading up my plate with meat grossed me out. Just sometimes, not all the time, but enough of the time where I was forced to really start playing with all different kinds of foods – branching out in ways I haven’t in years.

And here’s the thing, it’s not like I ever wanted to live off of meat, broth, and fat. 

Eating “Normally”

Darling, I love food, but having undiagnosed SIBO for years made me so fearful of food. [Food fear is real.]

I go back and look at food journals and see how “normal” I was eating, but how sick I was every single day. A bowl of gluten-free oatmeal and apple for breakfast would leave me bloated, stinky, and miserable all day long, but a bowl of ground beef and broth left me feeling incredible.

It’s hard to desire eating normally when the proof was in the pudding (er – meat and broth) with how I felt.

And then it happened. I healed, at least healed to the point where I could eat almost anything again, but by this time I had forgotten what it felt like to eat without fear. 

Living Again

Sure, I started to begin living life, but I would be lying if I didn’t tell you that fear was so often in my shadow.

Until, of course, I began to have these meat aversions and I had no other choice but to get creative with food again, and just eat.

That’s how I know how healed I truly am. 

I am eating far less meat and way more anything and everything. And I am not just surviving, but I am thriving!

Please don’t misunderstand this post. I am in no way, shape, or form Vegetarian or Vegan or even desiring to become any of those things. My body needs the meat. It also needs and wants the fat, and all the other things I have been so afraid of for years (like noodles, beans, every last vegetable and fruit on earth, etc.).

There is no one diet that works. Well, at least not for me, and I’m certain you are the same.

I do believe that strict diets serve a purpose, but I do not believe that they serve that same purpose forever. If they did that means you are not healing, and the goal is to heal. And to live. 

Remember,

Heal your gut. Heal your life.

Back to the veggies, to the food, to the real life and amazing eats….

This Veggie Pad Thai is incredible. 

It’s filled with all the things, and none the meat.

You can add meat (maybe grilled chicken, ground turkey or beef) on the back end if you want. I was careful and selective with the ingredients that made up the sauce, which is the bread ‘n buttah of this dish (don’t even try to skimp on the Fish Sauce, Red Boat is where it’s at). 

Enjoy!

Veggie Pad Thai

Click HERE to save this recipe for later.

If you liked this post you might also enjoy:

1. Paleoish Pad Thai with Creamy Cilantro Sauce
2. Carbs and SIBO
3. Summer Pad Thai Noodle Salad

Xox,
SKH

Sarah Kay Hoffman

You will heal. I will help.