SCD Friendly

What To Do With Ten Pounds of Tomatoes: Make Super Awesome Ketchup

2012-09-22T00:53:00.000-07:00

We get the bulk of our produce from a local organic farm through a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program. Once a week, we go to the farm and pick up our share of veggies, fruits, and berries. We get different things each week, depending on what's in season and what's available. I love it. We've gotten things we never would've tried otherwise, and before we started this diet, the desire to eat things before they were wasted got us to eat more vegetables.

This week, I was picking out tomatoes and one of the workers explained that the pretty red tomatoes were the ones available for CSA members, not the less-pretty heirloom tomatoes. She said the heirlooms were being boxed up to be sold for making sauce. They were the blemished, the scarred, the rejects. They were $15 for 10 pounds.

That's $1.50 a pound. For organic, heirloom, super fresh, locally grown tomatoes. I couldn't pass that up, so I brought a box home.

Even blemished, they were beautiful. I should've taken a picture. There were reddish-purple tomatoes, green tomatoes, orange tomatoes, yellow tomatoes.

I spent one night, after Shelby was sleeping, peeling and deseeding all the tomatoes. I decided to use some to make a sauce to go with some chicken, and to make ketchup out of the rest.

The next night, I wasn't feeling well. We'd gone to the fair, and it's safe to say that none of us made wise food choices. But it's the fair! It only happens once a year, and what's a fair without fair food? I complained a bit about how icky I felt, to James. Then apologized, because it doesn't seem right to complain about my fairly minor gastrointestinal distress to someone who experiences much worse, much of the time. And then I said, "I'm not doing anything with those tomatoes tonight because I don't feel good." Complete with pouty face and everything.

I heard myself say that, and I thought, what a bunch of crap. James never feels good, and he doesn't sit there doing nothing. He doesn't even make a pouty face about it.

So instead of doing nothing and feeling sorry for myself, I went ahead and pulled out the tomatoes I'd need for the sauce, got the vinegar soaking up some flavor for the ketchup, and pureed the rest of the tomatoes.

And since we have no food mill, I pureed the tomatoes by hand, with a little baby food grinder that is older than I am. Seriously. My mother used it to make baby food for my older sister.

Obviously, I like to torture myself.

Anyway. Tonight, I took the vinegar and the pureed tomatoes and made a bunch of ketchup. I didn't take pictures, but I thought I'd at least share how I make it, because it is TASTY. I'm not a ketchup person, and I've already had several spoonfuls. (If you just want the bare-bones recipe, feel free to scroll to the bottom.)

First, peel and deseed all the tomatoes. Get a pot of water boiling, and prepare a bowl of ice water. Use a sharp knife to remove the core from the top of each tomato, then cut a small X in the bottom of each tomato. Put the tomatoes in the boiling water until the skin starts to wrinkle and/or split, then use a slotted spoon to move them to the ice water. After they're cool to the touch, the peels should peel right off. Deseeding is a bit trickier. I cut the tomatoes into quarters (or smaller), then use the knife to scrape the seeds out. Some people squeeze the tomatoes over a sieve. I don't have one. Just like with the baby food grinder, I make do with what I have.

Next, puree those tomatoes. You could probably use a food processor, if your baby isn't sleeping right next to your kitchen. If you've got a super fancy food mill, use that. (I bet if you have a super fancy food mill, you already know how to make ketchup.) If you have an ancient baby food grinder, do it all by hand a few tomato pieces at a time, like I do. If you have none of these things, you can cut the tomatoes into small pieces, then mash them as they cook. Your ketchup will be lumpier, but it will still taste damn good.

Don't forget the vinegar! You can use plain ole apple cider vinegar. I prefer organic, unprocessed vinegar, but any kind will do. If you want Super Tasty Ketchup, the night before you're going to make the ketchup, marinate things in the vinegar to give it some flavor. What things? Any things! I micro-plane carrot and zucchini, dice onion, mince garlic, and put it all in a glass bowl that has a lid. I add a small handful of crushed red pepper, some peppercorns, some cloves, a cinnamon stick, and some anise. And a bay leaf. I get a little carried away, and anything I use for seasoning that isn't powdered will end up in the bowl. Cover all that goodness with 1 1/2 to 2 cups of apple cider vinegar and put it in the fridge for a day or two. When you're ready to make ketchup, strain it through some cheesecloth. Or an unused knee-high nylon works well.

Put the pureed tomatoes in a deep pot. Use one that is deeper than you think you need. If you've made a thick tomato-based sauce before, you probably already know that as the ketchup thickens, it will spit burning hot droplets of liquid at you. (A good reason not to make ketchup sans clothing.)

Add about a cup of the flavored vinegar and a couple tablespoons of honey. I use local raw honey. Much like with this ketchup, I'm not a honey person, but raw honey I can eat by the spoonful. The amounts don't have to be accurate, but err on the side of less if you're unsure.

Turn the burner to medium and slowly bring those tomatoes to an almost-simmer. I like to see bubbles if I stop stirring, but no bubbles while stirring. (That spitting thing again.)

You'll be camped out with this pot for a while. I turn the heat down if it starts bubbling too much. We like our ketchup somewhat thick, so it ends up reduced by more than half. I haven't timed how long it takes, but it does take a while.

When it starts getting close to the thickness you want, have a taste. Add salt, more vinegar, more honey, until the flavor is exactly what you want. See that? It's already better than store bought.

Then just keep stirring until it's reached your desired level of thickness. Let it cool and store it however you want. I hear it cans well, but I haven't embarked on canning adventures yet, and ketchup doesn't last long around James anyway. I also hear it freezes well, but doesn't freeze completely solid, so you end up with some kind of ketchup slushie living in your freezer. Come to think of it, I bet Shelby would love that. She's got her daddy's love of ketchup and my love of weird frozen things.

Making ketchup is a lot of work, but if you have enough tomatoes to make a big batch, it's totally worth it. Especially since SCD-legal store-bought ketchup is impossible to find (and probably doesn't taste anywhere near as yummy).

SCD Legal Ketchup

10 lbs tomatoes

1 1/2-2 cups apple cider vinegar

2 (or more) tbs honey

salt

Things to flavor the vinegar (whole spices, diced onion, minced garlic, micro planed/chopped/grated veggies)

Place whole spices (peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, celery seeds, etc.), onion, garlic, veggies (carrot, celery, zucchini, etc.), and vinegar in a covered container to marinate for 24 hours or more. Strain through cheesecloth.

Peel, deseed, and puree the tomatoes. Combine tomatoes, vinegar, and honey in a large pot. Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently (or continuously) until thick. Add salt and additional vinegar and/or honey to taste. Continue cooking and stirring until desired thickness is reached.

Lemon(less) Herb Chicken

2012-09-12T01:43:00.000-07:00

I've been making lemon herb chicken thighs in the crock pot every few weeks. I do a big batch and freeze the extra. They reheat in the oven really, really well. I thought they might get dry, but they don't. I planned on making a bunch tonight, because I'll be out of town for about a week and I know James likes them and will eat them while I'm gone. The only issue was, I forgot to get a lemon when I went grocery shopping. I tweaked a few things, and you know what? They are super yummy anyway. And of course, they are SCD legal. So I thought I'd share.

I'll even give you the original version, lemon included. If you don't want to look at the pretty pictures, scroll to the bottom for the bare-bones recipe.

First, I mix some seasoning. I use about a teaspoon each of oregano, basil, poultry seasoning (thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, pepper, nutmeg), and garlic powder, a half teaspoon of pepper, and a generous pinch of salt.

I lay out all the chicken thighs on a cutting board and sprinkle on about half of the seasoning, then rub rub rub those chicken thighs. Turn 'em over and repeat.

Next, I chop some garlic. At our house, the love for garlic is only second to the love for bacon, so I used three fairly large garlic cloves. Normally, I squeeze the juice of one lemon into a measuring cup, then add stock or water until it's about one cup of liquid, and toss in the garlic. This time, I used homemade vegetable stock and added a couple tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.

At this point, I usually remember that I should've been heating the frying pan. So I turn on the burner. I also pull out the crock pot, brush the bottom with olive oil, and turn it on high. Into the pan go those chicken thighs, as many as will fit.

Give it just a minute or two, just lightly brown them, then flip and lightly brown the other side.

Put them in the crock pot and repeat until all of the chicken is browned and nestled snugly together, waiting for some liquid.

Dump the garlicky lemon water and/or vegetable stock into the frying pan and scrape up all the goodness that's stuck to the bottom.

Bring it just to a boil, then dump it in the crock pot on top of the chicken.

Put a lid on it and let it cook for a while. I usually give it a couple of hours, then pull out a piece and check to make sure it's cooked through. There's been a few times I've let it go for much longer, and the only problem was trying to get it on a cookie sheet to freeze. It kept falling apart.

I imagine this would make for tasty chicken breasts, too. I use chicken thighs because they're cheaper and smaller. The size works well for freezing and makes it easy to reheat just enough to eat. I let them cool in the stock, then place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Once they're frozen, I put them in a labeled freezer bag. Easy peasy.

Lemon (or lemonless) Herb Chicken:

8-10 chicken thighs

1 tsp oregano

1tsp basil

1 tsp poultry seasoning

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp pepper

salt

3 garlic cloves, chopped

juice of 1 lemon + water/stock to equal 1 cup

-OR-

2-3 tbs apple cider vinegar + stock to equal 1 cup

Mix together oregano, basil, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, pepper, and salt. Rub seasoning mix onto both sides of chicken thighs. Lightly brown both sides of chicken thighs in a frying pan; transfer to crock pot. Pour liquid ingredients and garlic into frying pan. Scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the frying pan. Bring the liquid to a boil; pour over chicken in crock pot.

Finding SCD Recipes

2012-09-03T00:59:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about starting to do the whole "meal planning" thing. As opposed to what I normally do, which is take out whatever meat I think will thaw fastest and throw together some veggies. Clearly, I need some planning. I need some kind of routine, so I will remember to pull meat out of the freezer well before I'm wanting to cook it. Also, some of our veggies from the CSA have died in the fridge, and that's just not acceptable to me. The whole point is to eat local, fresh, in-season produce.

So, in my typical fashion, I've thought about the best way to do it. I've looked at pictures on the Interwebs of other (craftier) people's fancy bulletin boards and white boards with printed magnets. (Did you know there are magnetic sheets you can actually print on?) I've read blogs posts about how to start. I've tweeted about my intention to start. But beyond that, I've done nothing.

I guess I'm still in the research phase.

If history serves, it may be a few more weeks before I actually DO something.

Part of my reluctance, I think, is that I've yet to build a wide range of SCD legal recipes.

Before James' health issues really got going, we used to cook together all the time. We're both really good at making super tasty food. At one point, before Shelby came along, we were going to start a blog called For the Love of Bacon and Cheese: This Couple Don't Diet. We were going to post things couples could cook together. And, as you can guess by the title, they wouldn't necessarily be the healthiest things, but they would taste damn good.

After all of the digestion issues, still suffering from lack of hunger and early satiety, James just hasn't been wanting to cook. Part of it might be that he thinks about what to cook, then thinks about all the things he can't include, and gets disappointed or frustrated. But that's just conjecture on my part.

At any rate, the cooking is now falling primarily on my shoulders, and I want to make food so good we don't miss the things he can't have. It's easy to get caught up thinking about the things that can't be included.

For example, we used to make chicken bacon enchiladas every now and then, especially if we had company. They were nowhere near authentic. But they were GOOD. Always a crowd pleaser. We'd make two pans, and we'd be lucky if we had leftovers for the next day. A shame, really, because they were even better the next day. Anyway. The thought process goes like this: Mmm...chicken bacon enchiladas. I bet I can make something like that...but no corn. And no black beans, he can't tolerate them yet. And no tortillas...but I bet I can make almond flour tortillas! The sauce will have to be from scratch. And we haven't found SCD-legal bacon yet. And no cheese. So...chicken, wrapped in tortillas I don't know how to make yet, with sauce I don't know how to make yet. I guess we'll have chicken then. You can see how it can get overwhelming, and underwhelming at the same time.

So instead of trying to recreate family favorites (which may be possible somewhere down the road when I have a bit more experience with SCD cooking and James is able to tolerate a wider range of foods) I'm just going to start from scratch. Which is also overwhelming. Because when we cooked together, James was primarily the meat guy, and I was primarily the sides gal. I can do a zillion things with most vegetables. I can cook meat, and I can make it tasty, but left to my own devices I'll have chicken breasts every night, cooked the same, just seasoned a little differently. I guess I lack inspiration when it comes to protein. Because I didn't eat beef for so long, I have little idea what to do with it. I look at all the ground beef in the freezer and think, tacos, spaghetti, and nothing else. And now that I'm not putting the meat on a bed of rice/pasta/bread and smothering it with sauce...my whole way of thinking about meals needs to change.

My plan, my still-procrastinating-but-kinda-not plan, is to find a bunch of SCD-legal recipes to use as jumping-off points. In the next few weeks, I'll test them out and see what works. I'll post the results, with pictures if I remember to take them. And I'll develop at least the start of a good base for meal planning.

Now, the tricky part: finding recipes I want to use. There are loads of recipes in the blogosphere. I'll be searching through those. I'll check out recipes on scdrecipe.com. I'll search for GAPS recipes, too, because as I understand (and please correct me if I'm wrong), GAPS is like SCD without the dairy. I'll even search for Paleo recipes, because they're usually just a few tweaks away from SCD.

If you have any awesome recipes you want to share, please do. Especially for ground beef that is not in tacos or spaghetti.

Once I have enough recipes, I'll start planning the actual meal planning. I might even make a fancy schmancy board.

The Meat of the Matter

2012-08-25T01:31:00.000-07:00

I've watched tons of documentaries on food. Food and medicine; what's wrong with the standard American diet; what happened to family farms; why diets don't work...I can't get enough. It's a topic that's near and dear to my heart (and family). These documentaries inspired me to start juicing and join a local community supported agriculture (CSA) program, which provides us with fresh, organically grown vegetables on a weekly basis.

If you haven't watched Forks Over Knives, or Food Matters, or Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, or Food, Inc., you're missing out. (There's a widget with my favorites at the bottom of this post.)

Many of these documentaries discuss issues with meat. I've learned about studies linking meat and dairy proteins to cancer. Cultures that consume less meat have lower cancer rates. Reviews of these documentaries sometimes label them as "vegan propaganda."

All of the documentaries I've watched suggest following a plant-based diet. I agree with that wholeheartedly. But I also like meat.

And I think the problem isn't that we eat meat. I think it's the meat that we eat. More specifically, I think it's what is in the meat that we eat.

(Please note: what follows is only my opinion. I don't have research or studies. And I'm not a doctor/scientist/astronaut/whatever. So you've been warned.)

For years, I had issues with beef. Not so much fast food beef, but real beef. If I ate half a steak, I would get stomach pain so intense, all I could do was curl up on the floor and wait it out. Then I'd spend a long time making too-frequent trips to the bathroom, unsure which end to aim at the toilet, food-poisoning-style. I thought it was food poisoning, but after the third or fourth time, I realized it wasn't very likely that all of the places failed so miserably at providing safe food.

I saw a doctor. The doctor said it's nearly impossible to have a beef allergy or other medical reason for the reactions I was having. He suggested avoiding beef. (I paid $50 for that bit of advice, by the way.)

So I avoided beef, except for the rare times someone was making steak and it smelled so good I thought, I'll just have a few bites. A thought I regretted every time.

Several years after all this started, my mom raised a cow named T-Bone. (You might be able to guess his fate. His replacement is named Eddie Bull.) T-Bone was fed hay raised on their farm. He was finished on grain. He wasn't given antibiotics or hormones or anything other than food. T-Bone provided more beef than they could eat, so we were given a huge cooler full. Mom suggested I give it a try, so I did.

Guess what? I didn't get sick. I didn't have a crippling stomach ache. I ate steak, and I rejoiced. I started buying organic, grass-fed, pastured beef, and I haven't had a problem since. (Except the time I asked for all chicken in my dinner combo at a Mexican restaurant, and it turned out the tamales were only ever made with beef. They were so good, I ate a whole one. Mmmm...tamales. Not SCD-friendly, though.)

I've done some reading, and, as previously mentioned, I've watched some documentaries. Beef raised on feed lots is fed corn. As I understand it, corn (which can't really be eaten on the cob; it's a different kind of corn) is grown for corn syrup and livestock feed. All of the stalks and leaves and things are fed to cows, along with the corn.

Cows weren't meant to eat nothing but corn, or even mostly corn. Cows were meant to eat grass. All that corn? It makes them sick.

If they weren't butchered, they'd die in a few months anyway.

So how is meat from these cows going to nourish us and keep us healthy? (Same thing for chickens and pigs.)

THEN, throw in the fact that the corn is genetically modified. Perfectly safe, they say. The corn produces its own pesticides, but the toxins will only harm the insects. Honestly, I don't think it's been around long enough for that to be known.

Allergies and sensitivities to foods that are now commonly genetically modified (wheat, corn, soy) have gone up around 300 percent since genetically modified foods became common, and inflammatory bowel diseases have gone up more than that. (I'll try to find what I read and link it, I promise. I'm not just making up numbers.) There may or may not be a link, but it seems like more than coincidence to me.

So here's my bottom line: If you're trying to get healthy or stay healthy, please consider the food you eat. It's really not quite enough to eat a plant-based diet if those plants are doused in pesticides and grown in soil that's lacking nutrients (because fertilizers only replace a few). And meat from unhealthy animals won't help. If you can afford it, buy organic, buy grass-fed, buy pastured. If you can afford it, buy local and seasonally available. If you can't afford it, do the best you can.

Since starting the specific carbohydrate diet, we've cut out grains, starches, and processed foods, and started purchasing organic, pastured, grass-fed meats and organic vegetables. Our monthly food bill is roughly the same as it was before. The only difference is the money now goes to foods that actually nourish us.

Is it Hard? Are You Crazy?

2012-08-10T00:03:00.000-07:00

When people ask about this new diet we're doing, and hear us talk about it, they usually look at us with wide eyes full of disbelief. "Isn't that hard?" they ask.

Of course it is.

But you know what's harder? Watching James lose more and more weight. Wondering if I should ask him to watch Shelby while I run errands, because he's been having a bad day and might have to spend the whole time in the bathroom, or in pain because he's trying not to spend the whole time in the bathroom. Watching him run to the bathroom after eating, and knowing there's no possible way he's absorbing the nutrients in the food because it's just passing through too fast. Watching him hold his side and try to pretend the pain's not that bad.

Want to know what's even harder than all of that? Spending 12 to 14 hours each day for a week at the hospital, visiting him and advocating for him and talking to doctors and nurses, with a 5 month old baby. Then repeating that scenario four times in five months. I would very much like to never, ever, ever go through that again.

So yes, the Specific Carbohydrate Diet is hard, but it's not that hard when someone's health is on the line. With no diagnosis, there are few treatment options for James. He's basically been told to continue taking the seven prescriptions that keep him out of the hospital (barely) and give him side effects that are almost as bad as the disease itself. If this diet even makes him a little bit better, it will all be worth it.

James has gone from having multiple daily attacks to mostly stress-induced attacks. He's able to eat food without having to run to the bathroom afterwards. He's not gaining weight yet, mostly because "early satiety" (feeling full after just a couple of bites) and forgetting to eat are still issues for him, but what he does eat stays in.

He's been a busy guy the past few weeks. We're starting a small business (hello stress). He's been helping friends get their business up and running (more stress). He's been gone a lot, sometimes five days at a time, because he can't drive with the medication he's taking and I can't pick him up and drop him off when the baby's asleep in bed.

Through all of this, he's been sticking to the diet. I am so proud of him.

I stay up late at night a few nights a week, after Shelby's gone to bed, to prepare and freeze foods that he can eat. I've peeled and de-seeded tomatoes to make spaghetti-style sauce and ketchup. I've peeled and de-seeded zucchini and summer squash. I've perfected the baked-sausage-log-cut-into-patties. (Maybe that needs a name?) I do my best to keep at least a couple different kinds of SCD-legal food ready to be heated, and I keep bananas and applesauce on hand, so if he is ever hungry, there is SOMETHING he can eat.

It is hard, it is tiring, but I don't think he would be able to stick to the diet without it. Not right now, when he's away from home so much. Watching him improve, little by little, makes it worth every lost minute of sleep. (And hearing that the homemade ketchup is The Best Ketchup Ever isn't too bad, either.) Dropping off food and getting a text a little later saying I'm a lifesaver is nice. Hearing that someone smelled his soup or sausage, asked for a bite, and Bogarted his food is annoying, but awesome at the same time. That means that I'm making food that isn't just tasty for me and James. Non-SCD folks actually WANT to eat it.

Want to know a secret? My intention when starting this was to do the diet right along with James. But with him away so much, I've been cheating. A lot. I make all this uber-healthy food for James, and I make sure Shelby eats healthy, and then I order pizza or go through a drive thru for myself because I can't find the time to make something I want to eat, or I'm too tired, or I've waited too long and need to eat now now now. This needs to stop. I can make it work when he's home, I need to make it work when he's away. Because my health is important, too.

My plan is to start making SCD-legal dinners every. single. night. I'll make extra to freeze. If it works the way I think it will, it'll cut down on the amount of time I spend on my midnight cooking adventures. (That time will then be devoted to midnight small business administration adventures, not sleeping.) Shelby's been getting better and better at playing independently for longer periods of time, which means that I can actually spend the time making dinner as long as I don't let the kitchen become a federal disaster area. I think it might work.

I also want to start juicing every day again. And convince James to drink fresh juices, too. If juices work for him, it'll be like drinking vitamins. Very bio-available vitamins. For a while, I was making a juice every morning that consisted of spinach, kale, cucumber, zucchini, apple, lemon, and ginger. It really made a difference in my energy level and my mood. Of course, this hinges on whether or not I can keep the kitchen clean enough to have it not be a hassle to use the juicer, and wash the juicer, every day. So we'll see.

Spicy Turkey Sausage

2012-08-06T21:50:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I posted! We've been so busy. James has been sticking to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet for three weeks now. All of my food preparation has paid off. I've been keeping at least sausage and soup in the freezer, and we've only run out twice. So whatever else is going on, there is something James can heat and eat if he gets hungry.

I've been doing things like peeling and de-seeding tomatoes, for fresh, organic spaghetti-style sauce and for ketchup. Both turned out fantastic. I'll be making more, and when I do, I'll pay attention to measurements so I can post some kind of recipe. I need to get a canning set-up so I can do huge batches and get them in jars. Especially for the ketchup.

The last time I made sausage, I made four pounds. I got tired of making it so often, so I did a huge batch. It's lasted almost a week.

The pork sausage turned out to be too fatty for James to tolerate, so I've been making it with turkey. He's at the point now where he can have things like garlic and peppers, so the sausage has gone spicy!

I started with this great recipe from Joyful Abode. I used turkey instead of pork, and I omitted the onion. Sadly, onion is in the next phase.

I added all of the ingredients from the recipe to a big bowl of ground turkey. Then I added minced garlic and super-finely-chopped jalapenos, red bell peppers, and funky little purple peppers that taste a bit like licorice. (For four pounds of turkey, I used 4 garlic cloves, 1/2 a big bell pepper, 4 jalapenos, and 3 little purple peppers. You can use as much or as little as you like. The sausage tastes fantastic even without these additions.) I mixed and mixed and mixed until I was sure all the ingredients were well blended with the meat. No one wants all the cayenne pepper in one bite.

Then I formed the meat into a log on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, and rolled it in the parchment as tightly as I could and poked some holes in it. I baked at 350 degrees F for a little over an hour, until a meat thermometer said it was over 160 degrees. After it cooled, I sliced it into sausage patties, which I placed on another parchment-lined cookie sheet in the freezer.

This particular mixture smells amazing and tastes even better. I'm always in awe of my will power when I don't eat the entire log as I cut it up.

One little word of warning: if you don't poke holes in the parchment, there will be a geyser of hot and spicy turkey juice when you remove the meat thermometer, and it will shoot out all over your stove, oven, floor, counter...the only thing that saved me from getting burned was the partially closed oven door. So don't forget to poke the holes!

Homemade Chicken Soup

2012-07-08T02:20:00.000-07:00

I'm up late tonight catching up on laundry, freezing chicken soup, and prepping zucchini to be cooked tomorrow. According to the phases from SCD Lifestyle, zucchini is allowed in the phase after the introductory phase, but it must be peeled, seeded, and cooked. The introductory phase lasts two to five days. I want to make sure we have some foods for James to eat once the introductory phase is over, so I'm getting a head start on some of them.

I peeled the zucchini, then chopped them in half width-wise and length-wise. I used a spoon to scrape out the seeds in the middle. I had no idea how much of the zucchini is actually seeds.

Zucchini de-seeding in process.

If you're trying this at home, kids, don't throw away those peels and seeds! Don't throw them in the compost yet, either. Let me tell you how I handle such things.

I have a big old margarine tub in my freezer. (I know, I can't believe I used to eat that, either.) All of my vegetable scraps get chopped and thrown in the tub. They wait in the freezer until the tub is full, and then I make chicken soup or vegetable broth. So many nutrients live in the peels of things, and if you aren't going to eat them, might as well make soup! Since SCD legal vegetable broth is hard to find (and since broth is usually unnecessarily sweetened and over-salted anyway), making it at home is a great option. It only takes about an hour, and of that hour, only about 10 minutes involve actually doing something.

Zucchini peels and seeds in the veggie scraps tub.

Wash your veggies before you peel them. Ends, stems, just about anything can go in, as long as you're using SCD legal vegetables. Onion peels, garlic peels, greens. Anything except cabbage, Brussels sprouts, rutabagas, and artichokes, because those veggies will make your broth bitter. It probably goes without saying, but don't put in anything moldy or spoiled. If you wouldn't eat it, don't make broth out of it. I roughly chop everything but the onion peels and garlic peels. The smaller you chop them, the more flavor in your broth (and the more will fit in the container). To make vegetable broth, all you do is dump the tub in a pot, add enough water (preferably filtered) to cover (or more if you want), bring to a boil, and simmer for 30 to 60 minutes. Strain and you're done! Less work than prepping these zucchinis...

Chopped zucchinis, ready for tomorrow.

By the time I got them all peeled and seeded, I was getting tired, so the chop is not even. Lucky for me, Gordon Ramsay never eats here.

Earlier today, I made chicken soup. I didn't take pictures, because I was supervising Shelby's snacking and negotiating logistics with my dad on the phone, but I can at least tell you how to make amazingly yummy, SCD-legal chicken soup. It's a little more work than vegetable broth, but not much, especially if you have a crock pot.

I dumped my tub o' veggie scraps into the crock pot. I peeled and trimmed a pound of carrots. The peels and trimmings went into the crock pot, followed by the not-yet-chopped carrots. The whole mess was topped with two frozen chicken breasts, with bones and skin, and enough filtered water to cover. Turned the crock pot on low.

After Shelby's nap and a shopping trip, which took a couple of hours, I pulled out the chicken and carrots and used a mesh strainer to scoop out the vegetable scraps. Chopped the carrots and put them back in the crock pot, along with the chicken. After her next nap, I pulled the chicken out and separated the meat from the bones and skin, chopped the meat, and put it back in until dinner time.

Peeling and trimming the carrots takes the longest. It's pretty much smooth sailing from there.

Pork Sausage and Carrots Three Ways

2012-07-05T23:12:00.000-07:00

What a busy few weeks it has been! Shelby turned one, and we had a fantastic little party with lots of family from out of town. The week leading up to the party was hectic, full to the brim with party preparations on top of all the things that keep us busy every day. This week, mostly at night after Shelby goes to sleep, I've been preparing SCD legal foods to freeze. The plan is, once we restart the diet, there will be plenty of quick, heat-and-eat foods that are legal. This time, James will not get Hulk Smash Hungry.

Monday night, I made sausage. I had no idea how easy sausage is to make. I used this recipe from Joyful Abode, except I substituted honey for the sugar, omitted the onions, and didn't use thyme or cloves because I had none. It turned out fabulous anyway.

Instead of making little patties in the frying pan, I formed the meat into a log and rolled it up in some parchment paper. Aluminum foil probably would work better, but we're picky about aluminum and food. I baked it at 300 degrees until the meat thermometer said the internal temperature was 160.

Fully cooked ground pork sausage log, ready to slice!

Once the log o'sausage cooled, I sliced it into patties. I put the patties on a parchment-lined cookie sheet in the freezer, then transferred them to a large freezer bag. Now we have fully cooked sausage patties that can be heated in the microwave or oven or, even better, browned in a frying pan. I'll take more pictures of the process when I do it again. I plan on making spicy turkey sausage next time.

Tuesday night, I made carrots three ways; honey glazed, balsamic garlic, and garlic cumin. Each version used a pound of carrots.

Three pounds of peeled & trimmed organic carrots.

I washed, peeled, trimmed, and sliced three pounds of carrots. Sound like a lot of work? It was. I would've used my spiralizer, but most of the carrots were too thin.

Sliced carrots, one pound per bowl.

To make the basic recipe, combine one pound of carrots and two tablespoons of olive oil in a sauce pan, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add one-third cup of water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until the carrots are tender, about 10 to 20 minutes. Uncover and simmer until the remaining liquid is gone.

But that's a little boring. Plain carrots will be found in yummy chicken soup. We need carrots with flavor. So I made honey glazed carrots by adding three tablespoons of honey and one tablespoon of water.

Honey glazed carrots in the works.

And I made balsamic garlic carrots. I used balsamic vinegar instead of water and added one tablespoon of granulated garlic.

Balsamic garlic carrots about to boil.

I also made garlic cumin carrots by adding two tablespoons of my pre-mixed seasoning blend. I originally made this blend to season sweet potato fries, but now I use it for almost everything. It has garlic, cumin, paprika, white pepper, and a tiny bit of sea salt.

Garlic cumin carrots cooking.

It smelled so good in this house. The poor dog was going crazy.

I thought it would be really tricky making all three at the same time. I got them all in their pans one after the other, but then they were ready to be covered at different times and finished at different times. Different pan sizes, burner sizes, and ingredients made...well, a difference.

Honey glazed carrots.

Balsamic garlic carrots.

Garlic cumin carrots.

Once the carrots were all cooled off, I portioned them using a silicone mini loaf pan and a silicone brownie pan that makes neat flower shapes. Then I slipped them into the freezer.

Six portions each of yummy carroty goodness.

In the morning, I popped the big carrot cubes out of the trays and put them into labeled freezer bags. Now we have heat-and-eat carrots that pack a flavor punch.

Bags of portioned chunks of frozen carrots.

I didn't make anything last night because it was the Fourth of July. And I might not make anything tonight because, well, I'm posting about carrots. But soon, I will be making chicken soup, zucchini, yellow squash, beef bone broth, and turkey sausage. We'll be restarting the diet soon. Next Monday, if things go the way I plan. Or later if we're not ready yet.

Basic Carrots:

1 lb carrots, peeled, trimmed & sliced

2 tbs olive oil

1/3 c water

Combine carrots and oil in a saucepan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Add water. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer until carrots are tender when pierced with a fork, about 10 to 20 minutes. Uncover and simmer until liquid is gone.

Honey Glazed Carrots:

1 lb carrots

2 tbs olive oil

1/3 c + 1 tbs water

3 tbs honey

Combine carrots and oil in a saucepan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Add water and honey. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer until carrots are tender when pierced with a fork, about 10 to 20 minutes. Uncover and simmer until liquid is gone.

Balsamic Garlic Carrots:

1 lb carrots, peeled, trimmed & sliced

2 tbs olive oil

1/3 c balsamic vinegar

1 tbs granulated garlic

Combine carrots and oil in a saucepan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Add balsamic vinegar and garlic. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer until carrots are tender when pierced with a fork, about 10 to 20 minutes. Uncover and simmer until liquid is gone.

Garlic Cumin Carrots:

1 lb carrots, peeled, trimmed & sliced

2 tbs olive oil

1/3 c water

2 tbs garlic/cumin blend

Combine carrots and oil in a saucepan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Add water and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer until carrots are tender when pierced with a fork, about 10 to 20 minutes. Uncover and simmer until liquid is gone.

Rachel's Awesome Garlic Cumin Seasoning Mix:

1 part white pepper

2 parts paprika

3 parts cumin

4 parts granulated garlic

a few pinches sea salt

Combine and sprinkle on everything. Especially good on butternut squash fries, which are a wonderful SCD legal substitute for my former love, sweet potato fries.

The Spiralizer: Making Grain-Free "Pasta"

2012-06-19T00:06:00.000-07:00

I've been testing recipes found on the Interwebs lately. I am convinced that we can make foods comparable to the pastas, breads, and other grain-filled comfort foods we love but can't eat on this diet. Luckily, the Paleo diet has been around for a while now, and blogs are full of SCD legal (or almost legal and tweakable) recipes.

For Father's Day, I made James the Paleo Banana Nut Waffles from Joyful Abode, and I can tell you with complete sincerity that they were DELICIOUS. And I don't even like bananas. Because they are made with protein-packed almond flour instead of "normal" grain flour, they are very, very filling. I couldn't even eat two squares, but I was full until lunch. Two squares took care of James' man-size appetite, too.

Tonight, we did hamburgers again, but instead of pricey portabella mushrooms, I tried an almond flour bun recipe. No link, because it was not a success. The directions were a little vague. The last step was "add enough water or flour to make a muffin-batter-like consistency." Well, my muffin batter is usually very thick, so that's what I did. I guess that's not what was meant, though, because they did not come out like hamburger buns at all. They had the taste and texture of sweet cornbread muffins, full of crumbly goodness. James smashed two down to make something more bun-like, and the bottom one held halfway through burger consumption before crumbling. So I'll have to find a different, better bun recipe, but with a little bit of tweaking, I will have amazingly delicious sweet cornbread muffins. Maybe even jalapeno-cheddar mini muffins. Mmmmmm.

Another meal we made (which will be posted with recipe and pictures next time we make it) was a walnut-based Alfredo-style sauce. The texture seemed a little...grainy. I think if I soak the walnuts overnight instead of just a couple hours, the texture will be creamier. It didn't matter so much, though, because once it was on the pasta, the tiny bit of graininess seemed like Parmesan cheese stirred in. A non-SCD friend even said it was really good.

Did you catch that, though? I said "on the PASTA" in that last paragraph! That's right, we made pasta with no wheat or any other grains. It was made of zucchini.

Lots of places on the Web say you can make zucchini pasta with a vegetable peeler. It comes out like fettuccine. I don't have the patience for that, and I wanted spaghetti-style noodles, so I got myself a spiralizer!


Joyce Chen 51-0662 Saladacco Spiral Slicer, White

Okay, okay, so it's not really called a spiralizer. It's a spiral slicer. But doesn't spiralizer sound like more fun?

To make noodles, I cut the vegetables into appropriately-sized chunks, at least one inch in diameter and no more than three inches long.

Zucchini and carrots, ready to be spiralized!

To make spaghetti-style strands, I set the lever on the front to the left, raising the sharp little teeth.

Those little teeth are mighty sharp.

With the lever to the right, the teeth go down for fettuccine-style noodles.

The teeth are hiding.

I put a chunk of zucchini in the middle and pressed down so it is impaled on the peg.

Impaled zucchini.

Then I aligned the pegs on the top presser part with the middle of the top of the zucchini chunk.

Poor zucchini, about to be impaled again.

I attached the top of the spiralizer to the bottom and pressed the handle down firmly to push the pegs into the zucchini, holding it firmly in place. I turned the handle clockwise, with consistent downward pressure...

Behold...zucchini spaghetti noodles!

And voila! Super thin spaghetti-style strands of zucchini.

Not worms, I promise.

The strands can actually be quite long, so I recommend cutting shorter chunks of zucchini.

That's one loooooong noodle!

With the lever flipped the other way, and a one-inch-wide chunk of zucchini, the noodles came out flat and curly.

Spirally but flat, less worm-like.

I say "noodles," but really it's just one long noodle.

Maybe smaller chunks would be better?

I cut the next chunk of zucchini as the directions stated, three-quarters of the way through.

Sliced, but not completely.

I must've cut it a bit deeper than I intended, because this happened:

Woops.

So I tried it with a carrot instead!

Carrot pasta? Who'da thunk?

I don't even know what to call these, but I've seen pasta this shape before!

Cute little pasta pieces!

I tried another carrot chunk, this time with just one slice down the middle, and got pieces like this:

Thicker carrot pieces.

All in all, with half of a small carrot and one small zucchini, I had these bits leftover (to be added to vegetable stock or chopped and put on salad):


The not-so-pretty leftovers.

And I had this much vegetable noodles:

Not bad for a vegetable and a half!

Zucchini noodles can either be eaten raw or boiled. I've read that boiling them gives a texture much like real pasta, but if you boil them too long, they will fall apart. The thin spaghetti-style strands are a bit crunchier than al dente pasta when raw. I don't mind the raw texture, and cooked zucchini has less in the way of nutrients than raw zucchini. Early in the diet, though, cooked, peeled, and seeded zucchini is recommended because it is easier to digest.

Noodles can be made from so many different vegetables! As long as they're not squishy (like tomatoes) or hollow (like bell peppers), you can use just about anything to go with whatever sauce you're making. This would also make quick work of making fancy garnishes and salad toppings, possibly impressing guests so much they won't notice they're eating such healthy, grain-free fare.

I was planning on finding a grain-free recipe for something a little more like traditional pasta, maybe with coconut flour or almond flour, but this is so freaking easy, I don't think I'll bother. I got a whole dinner plate of pasta, did you see that? It only took a couple of minutes to chop and spiralize all that. Making regular pasta is way more work. I'd rather play with Shelby instead.

Die-Off Syndrome: The Herxheimer Response

2012-06-13T01:03:00.000-07:00

As explained in detail in the book Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet, the intestines of people with gastrointestinal issues, such as inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's, celiac disease, and ulcerative colitis, are overgrown with bacteria and yeast. These organisms typically live in the large intestine, but given the right conditions, they overpopulate the large intestine and migrate to the small intestine and, in severe cases, the stomach. (Please see the book for a more detailed description of this process.)

All of these bacteria are eating the starchy, sugary foods your damaged intestines can't digest, releasing waste products and toxins that further damage your intestines. The bacteria contain toxins in their cell walls that are released when they die. These toxins make you sick. When many bacteria die at once, they all release toxins at the same time. Taking antibiotics or antifungal medication can cause die-off, as can changing your diet to eliminate the foods these bacteria eat, effectively starving them.

Symptoms of Die-Off Syndrome

Remember that die-off symptoms are temporary. Even though you may feel miserable, keep in mind that these symptoms are a sign of all the bad bacteria that were causing problems in your digestive tract. The worse you feel, the greater the number bacteria in your intestines, robbing you of vital nutrients.

Possible symptoms can include headaches, irritability, dizziness, aching joints, back pain, rash, and sleep disturbances. You may also experience cold symptoms, such as a runny nose or cough, and flu-like symptoms, such as fever, nausea, vomiting, and abnormal bowel movements (diarrhea/constipation). Extreme hunger and cravings for sugary, starchy carbohydrates are also common symptoms; as the bacteria and yeast die, they send you messages to eat the food that will save them.

Not everyone experiences die-off symptoms, and those who do experience them to varying degrees.

How to Ease the Symptoms

Avoid these symptoms as much as possible by gradually reducing SCD illegal foods before starting the intro diet. Give yourself at least a week to eliminate these foods before starting the intro diet. Make sure to drink plenty of filtered water before and during the intro diet; staying hydrated will help your body flush the toxins out faster. Taking antibiotics or antifungal medication during or immediately before starting the intro diet may make symptoms worse.

Achy joints, back pain, and other symptoms may be eased by soaking in a warm Epsom Salt bath. Chicken soup, a key part of the intro diet, has natural anti-inflammatory properties, as do other bone broths. Be sure any soup or broth is completely SCD legal. Get plenty of rest and drink lots of water. If you're able, start the intro diet when you have a few free days, and temporarily shelve all other responsibilities until you know how your body will react.

Who is Herxheimer, Anyway?

Karl Herxheimer was a German dermatologist. He and Adolf Jarisch, an Austrian dermatologist, are credited with the discovery of the Herxheimer response, also called the Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction and die-off syndrome. This phenomenon was first observed during the treatment of syphilis with antibiotics.

Sources:

Pecan Bread: Temporary Initial Symptoms

University of Nebraska Medical Center: What is aHerxheimer Reaction?

A New Plan

2012-06-12T22:40:00.000-07:00

As my last post made apparent, we were not as adequately prepared for this journey as I thought we were. The last couple of days have made that fact even more clear. We left the house for too long a time without appropriate snacks. By the time James got Hulk SMASH Hungry, the only close place for food was Dairy Queen. Needless to say, they do not have anything SCD legal on their menu. By the time we got home 20 minutes later, James was already feeling the pains of a poor food choice, and those pains lasted well into today. And again today, a similar scenario, but with Taco Time and a less dramatic attack.

So we discussed it, and decided that with Shelby's birthday party preparations and family visits and such, we're going to be a bit easier on ourselves. We're going to stick to the diet as much as possible at home, but eat before homicidal tendencies kick in, even if that means non-SCD food (and deal with the repercussions on a case-by-case basis). I'm going to work on stocking the freezer with single-serve snacks and meals that are completely SCD legal. I will also prepare and freeze peeled, seeded, and cooked fruits and vegetables, chicken soup, and bone broth soup.

And once the craziness dies down and the freezer is stocked (and the kitchen is clean) James will start again, and he will be successful because we will have everything ready. I do think SCD will work for James. The difference between the time between the start of the diet and yesterday, compared to yesterday and today, is massive.

Now, about that fast food. I used to eat it several days out of each week. Especially when Taco Bell had those bacon cheddar gordita taco things, remember those? I don't know what it was about them (probably the bacon) but I would CRAVE them and eat one daily. Anyway. After not eating any fast food, junk food, or sodas for a while, instead choosing to eat real food full of good nutrition, I felt like CRAP after eating fast food, both times. I felt nauseous. My mouth is dry. My head is foggy. I can feel a storm a-brewin' in my intestines as I type this. My body is not happy.

It's interesting. I'm amazed I was as "healthy" as I was before I learned all this nonsense about the food-like substances I'd been eating.

Week One: We Survived!

2012-06-10T23:33:00.000-07:00

It's been a very interesting week. It turns out that if your kitchen is the size of a postage stamp and already full of dirty dishes, your best bet is to clean the kitchen before starting the intro diet. Ah, hindsight.

We felt so miserable for the first couple of days, the dishes just kept stacking up. Then we ran out of soup, and nobody had enough energy to clean things enough to make another big pot. When a pot was made, nobody remembered to put the soup in the fridge, so it sat out and nobody wanted to eat it.

At this point, James was HUNGRY. He was Hulk SMASH hungry. He was ready to go off the intro diet. We decided to not follow the phases at this point, and if we have to start over at some point, so be it. I went to the store and got a ton of fresh fruits and vegetables. I know raw fruit isn't recommended this early on (it should be peeled, seeded and cooked) but James needs something he can grab and eat right away, or else he gets a little...homicidal. His symptoms didn't get worse with the fresh fruit.

Friday night, James made a chicken stir fry with tons of fresh veggies, and it was delicious. Saturday night, James wanted something bad. Something off the diet. And I was craving a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger from Wendy's. So we decided to make our own burgers.

We made open-faced bacon cheddar burgers, topped with tomatoes, onions, and lettuce, with a portabella mushroom "bun" on the bottom. The fries were fry-sized pieces of zucchini, red bell pepper, and carrot. And to make the meal complete, we had a fresh spinach salad topped with homemade strawberry vinaigrette. The whole meal was AMAZING. The veggie "fries" were mostly ignored because the salad and burgers were so much better, but still. If we can eat like this, we can stick with this diet.

Unfortunately, James put too much cheese on his burger, and had a rough time today. So no more cheese for James for a while.

Ideally, we would be moving along a lot more slowly, adding in foods one at a time to test for reactions, and starting with cooked versions of the veggies. I think if I were to do it over, I would have pre-made, frozen food items for at least the intro diet and phase one, and I would have a clean kitchen to start with. I think we may have slowed down the healing process, but I think the end result will (hopefully) be the same.

If James does decide to restart at some point, at least I won't be going through die-off syndrome again, so I'll be able to make more food for him and help him slow down.

After the first few days of horribleness, I woke up Friday with a lot more energy, and Saturday was even better. I feel like the food I'm eating is nourishing my body. It's hard to explain, but I feel like I'm on the right path, like I'm getting healthier. My back hurts less. My head is a little less foggy. I have to remember to snack more often, because without high-sugar, high-calorie things like soda, I'll wake up from a nap shaky-hungry.

I'm going to make single-serve frozen smoothie packs to go in the freezer. I'll post the recipes when I do. I also want to make breakfast muffins and other things that can be frozen and reheated as needed. Quick snacks and mini-meals. More things I would have pre-made, if I did this all again.

Right now, James and I are both fighting one of those middle of the night snack attacks. Back in the day (a whole week ago), one of us would've run to the store and brought back a ton of junk, and we would've laid in bed eating chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes, Hostess donettes, candy, ice cream sandwiches, and who knows what else while watching a movie. Now, we just keep looking at each other with sad puppy-dog eyes. James said he wanted buttercream. Me too, James, me too. And I want a soda.

But we both want to stick with this diet and see where it takes us. I just need to hurry up and find acceptable sweet treats that'll tide us over until the sugar/carb craving period is over. I read somewhere that it takes an average of 7-10 days...almost there...

A Look on the Bright Side

2012-06-05T23:13:00.001-07:00

Just in case my last post about die-off syndrome put anyone off the idea of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, please take a moment to look at the reviews for the book Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet on Amazon. There are 340 reviews, and 276 (more than 80 percent) are five stars.

Yes, these first few days might be rough, but so many people have achieved what would be called a "miracle cure" if it were a pill instead of a diet.

Days 1 and 2 of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet

2012-06-05T22:26:00.000-07:00

We've been on the introductory diet for two whole days now. And wow. Just wow.

I read about "die-off syndrome." I even experienced it a little bit a few years ago when I had a candida overgrowth (which was treated with fungicides, not diet, and probably didn't go away completely). I thought it would be really rough for James, but a walk in the park for me, because I'm not the one with the undiagnosed gastrointestinal disease.

I don't think I've ever been more wrong in my life.

Even though the introductory diet is very restrictive, I ate plenty of chicken soup, eggs and gelatin. I drank lots of water and some juice. I was getting cranky by the time evening rolled around, which I attributed to lack of sugar and caffeine. I was exhausted, too. Even though I was hungry, I fell asleep right after Shelby went to bed, between seven and eight o'clock. I'm usually up until after midnight.

Then I woke up. It was around two in the morning. I felt weak and shaky, feverish. I had James get me some juice and gelatin, because he was still up. I went back to sleep for about an hour, then woke up nauseous. Ended up puking my guts out. Then I was too cold, then too hot, then too cold. It was all very flu-like, just the way the descriptions of die-off syndrome said it would be. This morning, I felt like crap. Weak, tired, shaky. The feverishness was gone, at least. I asked James how he felt, and he said, "probably about the same as you." But I'm guessing he felt about 10 times worse than me.

I was going to have eggs for breakfast, but kept thinking I would have one or two bites and stop eating, because what I really, really wanted was an apple, and apples aren't allowed. It took me a while to remember that apple juice is allowed! I busted out the juicer, chopped up five apples, and ran them through. I added some water to the pitcher so it wouldn't be overpoweringly sweet. I drank a little bit, then played with Shelby until it was time for both of us to take a nap.

I woke up feeling a zillion times better. Maybe even a zillion plus one times.

I think I really needed something to boost my blood sugar. Something naturally sweet. Whatever the reason, it certainly did the trick. So I woke up James and gave him a glass. Guess what? Worked for him, too.

I spent the rest of the day a little foggy headed, a little tired, and lacking appetite, but I'll take it over the fake flu nonsense.

I guess it goes to show that even if you don't have Crohn's,celiac disease, IBD, IBS, ulcerative colitis--even if you don't have gastrointestinal symptoms, you can still have a crazy overgrowth of bacteria and yeast bad guys that will starve and die off faster than your body can flush them out. And as miserable as last night was, I'm glad I went through it and stuck to the diet again today, because I have a feeling this will help James tremendously, along with keeping Shelby healthy (bodily and mentally). And if I come out the other side with fewer headaches and more energy, I'll call it a win all 'round.

Tomorrow, I'm going to start adding in other foods, as suggested in the Quick Start Guide from SCD Lifestyle. James had an attack today (but only one!) and will stay on the introductory diet for at least one more day before moving on. Since I'm still breastfeeding, I wasn't planning on staying in the introductory phase for more than the minimum two days. (I'm sure doctors/lactation consultants would say to not even do it two days, but I ate a lot less for a lot longer when I had appendicitis and Shelby is almost one, so I was willing to take my chances. I've never had a problem with supply.)

What's next on the list? Spinach, a few varieties of squash, zucchini, bananas, applesauce, pearsauce, homemade almond milk, and homemade almond milk yogurt. Most of which I already like. I've never been a fan of yogurt, but it's included in the SCD to replace the bad bacteria with good, helpful bacteria. I'm sure I'll find a way to doctor it up so it's not so...gloopy. Or I'll just suck it up and eat it. We'll see.

Also: homemade chicken soup is THE BOMB. And believe me, that's not something I say often. I was never a fan of chicken soup, unless I was sick and it had tons of garlic in it. But now that I've made it twice, I can safely say I would be happy eating it for days and days and days. Good thing, because now I won't feel quite so sorry for poor James, unable to eat eggs and having to stick to the intro diet for more than two days.

Something interesting I learned when I had the candida overgrowth: candida feeds at night. I think that might explain why the die-off syndrome was so horrible in the middle of the night. When I had candida overgrowth, I would crave fruits and melons in the middle of the night. Before I went to the doctor, I would wake up in the wee hours of the morning and eat a whole watermelon. And I'm not exaggerating. That act was only replicated during pregnancy.

Preparing for Day One

2012-06-04T00:32:00.018-07:00

Monday, June 4, is the Day We Begin.

Technically today. But I haven't gone to bed yet, so for me, it's tomorrow.

Today (really yesterday), I prepared. I'd already de-gluten-ized the kitchen about a week ago. We haven't bought many SCD-illegal products in the past few weeks, in anticipation of starting the diet. So what did I do today, you ask?

I made homemade chicken soup, from scratch. I used the free Quick Start Guide from SCD Lifestyle as a jumping off point. I'd never made chicken soup before. (Not from any lack of prowess in the kitchen; only because I've never been much of a fan of chicken soup.) I had organic chicken breasts in my freezer, and organic carrots, celery, onions, and garlic waiting to be used. I chose parsley over kale, chard, and other greens from my local CSA last Tuesday in anticipation of this soup. I had homemade vegetable stock in the freezer, but opted not to use it, because I can't remember if it had potatoes in it or not. I'll be making more stock this week, so the next batch will have the added flavor and nutritional bonuses of all those organic vegetable scraps. Even without a vegetable stock base, the soup was YUMMY. Shelby even asked for spoonful after spoonful of the broth.

Something else that was a new experience - making homemade gelatin that doesn't come from a brightly colored Jell-O box. I followed the recipe in the Quick Start Guide and flavored it with white grape juice, mostly because that bottle was already open in the fridge. Since there was no added sweetener or chemically gobbledygook, I was perfectly happy to share it with Shelby, who was perfectly happy to eat it. She was disappointed when she asked for more and I showed her the plate was empty.

So far, I think the intro diet will be relatively easy. It might be more difficult for James, because he can't eat eggs. It'll be interesting to see if he's able to eat eggs later on. I might swing by the butcher's and pick up more meat tomorrow so he has options. Maybe I'll get him some fish, too.

The SCD Intro Diet:

Meats - chicken, beef, turkey, lean pork, lean game, eggs (roasted, broiled, boiled, or grilled)
Vegetables - carrots (peeled, cooked, and pureed)
Juice - apple cider (fresh only), grape (100% juice, no sugar added)

AND THAT'S ALL.

Well, for most, there are other options that include dairy. But we don't eat dairy anymore, at least not for now. I'll be making yogurt from homemade almond milk once we're out of the introductory phase. (Making yogurt. How crazy is that?)

I'm going to have James rate all his symptoms at the end of each day to measure any changes. I'm going to do a chart, too, for things like headaches and things that bug me on a fairly regular basis and see if the dietary changes help with any of that. I'm not expecting things to happen overnight, but I think charting will help us see smaller results sooner than we otherwise would.

For more on the introductory diet, visit Breaking the Vicious Cycle or download the free phasing charts from SCD Lifestyle.

A Brief History: the Events that Brought Us to SCD

2012-06-03T00:57:00.002-07:00

It all started in November of 2011.

Well, actually, it probably started long, long before that. Trouble was brewing, undetected, for years before it finally became A Big Problem.

We thought it was a stomach bug, maybe a bad reaction to food. James was sick. Very sick. Convincing James to go see the doctor was very much like convincing a fish not to swim. But, after an entire day, he went. He was admitted to the hospital. The next day, he had what we would come to call an "attack" or "episode," thought to be caused by his gall bladder. Gall bladder-less, he seemed to improve, and was discharged.

His symptoms came back, slowly at first. In December, a week before Christmas, he had another bad attack. Back to the hospital. Admitted again. Test after test after test, to verify that nothing related to the gall bladder surgery, and therefore life threatening, was wrong. James was not allowed to eat for days, because there *might* be emergency surgery. His symptoms improved. All tests were normal. Discharged again, with several prescriptions.

Early in January 2012, another bad attack. Back to the hospital for more tests. More normal test results. Discharged again, with even more prescriptions. James was also referred to Digestive Health Specialists, who had been treating him at the hospital. By this point, he had lost over 40 pounds, and he was a skinny guy to begin with.

It might be important to note that only the "bad" attacks sent James to the hospital. Throughout this adventure, there were also not-as-bad attacks almost daily. With the not-as-bad attacks, James was able to manage with prescriptions for all the symptoms of an attack (nausea, cramping, diarrhea, vomiting, etc.)

In March, yet another hospital-worthy attack. More tests, more normal results. More following up with the primary care physician, who was managing the prescriptions, and Digestive Health Specialists, who were managing the tests and results. More drugs were prescribed, some as a last resort, keep-you-out-of-the-ER plan. I think James ended up with seven or eight different prescriptions to keep track of, and if he takes the wrong ones too close together (which is sometimes necessary) his depth perception is so off that he can't even accurately pour a glass of water. Other constant side effects included lack of short-term memory and insomnia. Some of the medications could cause the same symptoms they were treating.

Finally, the specialists and physician agreed: there was no more testing that could be done without exposing James to too much radiation, potentially creating more problems. Basically, James was told that unless something gets worse, keep taking all of these pills all of the time and deal with it.

We changed our diet throughout this process. We are currently eating organic whenever possible, fresh or frozen (no canned) fruits and vegetables, and organic, grass-fed, pastured meats. We've cut out dairy and eggs. (Shelby and I have eggs sometimes, but not James.) We've been making our own almond milk. We've cut out most processed foods. We've been on what I call a "real food" diet. And while these changes have helped James, they have not done as much as we would like. He still has attacks on a regular basis, and we haven't been able to figure out exactly which foods are causing them. He is still drastically underweight. Every time he gains a few pounds, he seems to lose them again just as quickly.

Recently, I read Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet. Only a few chapters in, I almost cried, because if just one person (nurse, doctor, medical assistant, anyone) had recommended this book to me, it would have made this whole process so much easier. This book explains what has been going on with James' intestines much more clearly than any of the doctors ever have. And it gives a solution. Not an easy solution, but a solution nonetheless. The reviews on Amazon said it all for me. Well over 300 reviews, and only 15 were less than three stars.

So, tomorrow I will be making a big, big batch of chicken soup and a big batch of gelatin, because as of Monday, June 4, we will be starting the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.