Artichokes and dip

Dip: canola/spectrum mayo, turmeric, lemon juice, and dill

Butternut crepe with buffalo spinach "Spinach Rollups"

Recipe from pecanbread.com: 

Spinach Roll Ups Link

I added butternut squash to the eggs and put a little goat cheese on it at serving time. Next time, I want to make a mango salsa to go with it. Mango salsa would perfect the dish!

My homemade cashew caramels, SCD legal!

Happy lunch! Buffalo Burger w/ Goat Cheese and Barbeque Sauce, Carrot Fries, and Kale Chips

Lookin' legal (no problems for me)

We don't play around, we produce in bulk!

Cocoa butter apple cinnamon honey homemade frozen yogurt yummy-ness

Food Pics

 Awesome Banana Pancakes

 Two dishes at once: Chicken curry and the beginning of a Shepard's Pie SCD style

 Crockpot chicken for chicken broth and using the chicken in a casserole

My first batch of homemade ice cream... it was really good, but my second batch... heaven!

Lessons learned

So I first learned that there are stages to this diet. The book  Breaking the Viscious Cycle  is not very clear on how to start the diet and what and when you should increase allowed foods into your mouth. However, my lessons may help others and therefore, pronounce them I will. I cut out nut flour and nut butter products for awhile. I feel like they were causing flare ups. So I have reduced my nut intake to nut milks for awhile. I feel a whole lot better. I also am holding back on the spaghetti squash for awhile. My stomach was not a fan after I included it in a few meals.
    Once I eliminated those items, I am feeling much better. I do always feel hungry, which is quite the crutch, but I'm sure it will reduce overtime once I get the hang of it. I really love banana pancakes. Just a mashed up banana and an egg over some coconut oil and heat. SOOOOO delicious!
   I've also found a lot of awesome blogs about the SCD diet and joined the pecanbread yahoo group. It's very informative. I feel a little inadequate as a blogger when I see these amazing blogs of SCD folks. But perhaps they are not trying to get a doctorate and working while trying to do this diet and blog. I must admit the desire to just cook all day is soooooo tempting. It's fun to experiment, especially when the goods turn out right! Oh well.... my phone was messing up so I haven't posted many pics lately, so I'm going to upload some from my computer from the days past.

My regular breakfast these days

Coconut flour

So I learned a big lesson on coconut flour last week. That is, don't use coconut flour in the beginning of this diet. I used it to make muffins and peanut butter cookies and it did a number on my stomach, which took several days of recovery. Luckily, it was the only source of havoc. Coconut flour has a TON of fiber in it, which I think was the problem. It's nut flour for this girl for awhile.

Baked apples with breakfast

Lunch 10/19/2011 bison burger with homemade pesto and brussel sprouts

Dinner 10/19/2011 pizza

Spaghetti squash for lunch!!

First Mistakes

 So my first mistake was muffin making. When they say grind nuts to make the "flour" using nut flour instead is NOT okay! They do not form in the consistency of dough, you have to add a lot of juice to make them the consistency of dough and then they don't cook properly and fall apart. Awesome pants. Lesson learned.

Also found out that the unsweetened almond milk I was using has different types of gums as ingredients, making this illegal. Bummer.

Another bummer: I have been using Native Forest Coconut milk. in the first can it said only coconut under the ingredient. When I went to the store again the ingredients are full of illegal gums. Bummer #2

Delicious peanut butter cookies from BREAKING THE VICIOUS CYCLE except I used coconut flour instead of almond flour

I'm feeling

I'm feeling really good right now! My stomach only hurts when I eat too much (mostly its the stuff made out of nut flour, that I have to remember to eat in small quantities). I haven't had nightmares in two days, which is amazing, because my husband isn't home and that usually increases my anxiety. I must say the prune juice, glutamine powder, and frozen banana is one of the greatest remedies for any stomach pain or if I feel hungry before bed. I should say that I am not eating the yogurt the diet suggests, simply because I don't have time to make it. For those of you not familiar with this diet, you can't have any liquid milk or store yogurt, but you can make your own yogurt because you culture it long enough for all the lactose to be split. So good for now, and seeing what tomorrow brings!

P.s. Part of my recent stress has been my extremely difficult midterms. This is also the reason for my lack of posting lately.

After dinner snack and cholesterol buster!! Artichoke with olive oil, garlic, and vinegar

Dinner October 9th, 2011 Shepard's pie with cauliflower instead of potatoes

Hot beef salad

Dinner October 8th, 2011 STEAK!

Three days in...

My abdominal pain has been reduced. I've been nauseous within an hour of waking up until mid-morning the last two days. Energy is moderate to normal, but this was resolved with last treatment of antibiotics and extreme fatigue has not returned. Mild nightmares lately. Joint pain is the same perhaps reduced but time will tell if that's true. I'm very excited about the simple concoction I came up with last night after my exercise. Prune juice, glutamine powder, and a few ice cubes. I will post a pick later. I am hoping that this combo will increase my fiber content since I'm no longer able to eat buckwheat groats for breakfast or flax seeds, as well as help with joint pain and small intestine repair. Staying positive and hopeful.

Snack October 6th, 2011 blueberry muffins made from nut flour, lemongrass green tea with honey, and pears

These muffins are delicious!! Came from the recipe in Breaking the Viscious Cycle, pg 119

I found that using multiple nuts makes it more delicious. I used walnuts, almonds, and pecans. I use raw honey, because it's not as messy and supposedly has more enzymes and nutrients. However, the book specifies that you need to have a "clearer" honey. I assume that means the darker colored honeys are out.

Husband said, " put that in your iPhone and blog it" Dinner 10/5/11 Chicken Vegetable Curry

Kiwi

 A snack I can buy! This is getting easier!
This item can be purchased from Amazon's Subscribe and Save Program.

Simple Carbohydrate Diet

On October 3rd, 2011 I started a new journey in my health. I have spent the last five years researching and trying different therapies to alleviate worsening symptoms caused by mal-absorption and gastrointestinal imbalance. Many things have helped, but nothing has solved the underlying issues. I have been on a gluten free, lactose free diet for four years which has helped a great deal, but did not rid me of symptoms. One of my personal training clients told me about this diet, because it has given her great relief from her autoimmune disorder. After reading about SCD, I decided it had sound scientific reasoning and became excited to try it. I hope it will work, like I've hoped that many things will work. At the end of the day my mantra is to enjoy the present, to never stop working towards optimal health, and to share as much as I can bear it with others. I've decided to blog this experience. Perhaps write nutrition tidbits I learn, share photos, recipes, and whatever else comes up. Many of these photos will be the product of my husband's great skills in the kitchen.

 October 3rd, 2011 Dinner: Vegetable Turkey meatloaf, with kale and mushroom sauce

 Breakfast October 4th, 2011: Chicken sausage, red bell peppers, spinach, and egg omlette

Dinner October 4th, 2011 Left over meatloaf with squash and onions