LARABARS

A few weeks ago I was browsing the food aisles at Target, pouting about all the stuff I couldn't buy. I was hungry and should have NOT been in the food section. As we were leaving, I saw a small display, with a couple of boxes of LARABARS. It said gluten free, dairy free, soy free, so I took a second look. Peanut butter cookie??? Yes, please. It had three ingredients: peanuts, dates, and salt. S.C.D.Legal. I bought them, ate it as I was walking to the car, and fell in love. It was actually good. So, I enlisted my baking/cooking partner in crime, my sister, and we decided it was too simple to buy these delicious little bars. We would make them! Shonda found a great site that had numerous recipes for homemade LARABARS and we got cookin'. We made two versions: banana bread and peanut butter and jelly. I would post our recipe, but we just kept putting things in the food processor until we liked what we saw. And we didn't take pictures. Yeah, I won't be writing a cookbook anytime soon. Long story short, check out the link above.

THIS WEEK'S EATS

I will try to do a weekly blog of what I ate the previous week. When I use a recipe from another source, I will link it. As nerdy as it is, a chart is the easiest way to track it all...It also limits my food rambling.

I do have one thing to add, however. Even before the diet, I had become slightly obsessed with making my own salad dressing. Two reasons: (1) I hate (yes, hate) eating the same flavors all the time; (2) Michael HATES (yes, really hates) when I buy a bottle of salad dressing, use it once, and let it sit in the fridge until small creatures grow in it.

So, I make my own. I use these prep cups (thanks Mom). They are a single use size, have a lid for easy shakin', and are clear, which gives you a better idea for "measurements." I put measurements in quotations because I don't really measure anything. I have a couple of simple rules, though...First, always use more vinegar than olive oil. It is healthier and taste better. Two, always use quality and fresh olive oil. It DOES expire. Second, honey makes everything taste better. AND it is SCD legal. Third: make, shake, taste, and modify. Throw in some vinegar. If you have good friends like mine that buy you yummy ones, use that. If not, my go to is a nice balsamic or a red wine vinegar. Throw in some salt, pepper, and crushed garlic. Not garlic powder. Now get creative. Mustard. Honey. Lemon juice. Fresh herbs. The possibilities are endless. Shake it up. Taste it. If it is horrible, add some more honey or olive oil to tame the acidity. If it is really horrible, pour it out (and don't tell Michael) and start over. You'll get it right eventually!

WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

DAY	BREAKFAST	LUNCH	SNACK	DINNER
MONDAY	HOLIDAY	HOLIDAY	HOLIDAY	HOLIDAY
TUESDAY	N/A	Panera cobb salad w/homemade honey mustard vin.	N/A	Cauliflower soup[1] Peach and goat cheese salad w/ (bacon!) and lemon white balsamic vin.
WEDNESDAY	½ orange	Chipotle steak salad	LARABAR	Salmon w/spicy pineapple salsa[2]
THURSDAY	N/A	Salad w/chix, gorgonzola, almonds, tomatoes, cucumbers	Olives, cheese, proscuitto	Steak w/smoked paprika butter[3], mushroom & roasted red pepper salad (whole foods)
FRIDAY	Cup of watermelon	Panera cobb w/homemade fig balsalmic	N/A	Chix breast stuffed with prosciutto, goat cheese, figs, and rosemary Salad w/almonds, goat cheese, and fig balsamic
SATURDAY	N/A	Omlet with bacon, jalapeno, and goat Pineapple	Prosciutto and Melon	Flank steak Melon, fig, prosciutto, basil salad Cauliflower mash
SUNDAY	N/A	Chorizo scramble from Nectar Fruit	N/A	Ginger salad Hot and sour soup Chicken Red Curry from Ruthai
MONDAY	N/A	Salad with chicken, tomatoes, cucumbers	1 cup watermelon	Homemade chili Cucumber and tomato salad with red wine vinegar and olive oil
	Homemade LARABAR	Chili	N/A	Pork chop with apples and raisins sautéed in 1tsp butter, apple cider, splash of bourbon Sour kraut

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[1] http://www.tarteletteblog.com/2011/08/recipe-gluten-free-roasted-cauliflower.html

[2] http://www.marthastewart.com/315801/salmon-with-spicy-cucumber-pineapple-sal

[3] http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/skirt-steak-with-paprika-butter

What in the world can I eat? Not much. Get used to it.

From someone who does not like to eat the same thing twice...in a month...this diet is tough. It is especially tough if you eat out regularly. Plain and simple, most food in restaurant are ILLEGAL. This is because, even with the tasty descriptions on the menu, we have no clue how our food is prepared. What was in marinated in? They don't know. What is in the salad dressing? Really? You don't know? Trust me, they don't. The key to success it learning to cook creatively and having fun with it. However, you need to know the basics. The best place to learn the basics is the breakingtheviciouscycle.info website. There is a great list of "legal" and "illegal" foods. Read it. Accept it.

What IS the Specific Carbohydrate Diet?

This part is boring, so I am not going to reinvent the wheel and try to be witty or clever. I try and fail in that department too often, so take a deep breath. You are spared!

Here is the explanation from the website, based on the book "Breaking the Vicious Cycle" by Elaine Gotschall. The website is: breakingthevicouscycle.info

The Specific Carbohydrate Diet™ The Specific Carbohydrate Diet™ has helped many thousands of people with various forms of bowel disease and other ailments vastly improve their quality of life. In many cases people consider themselves cured. It is a diet intended mainly for Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, celiac disease, diverticulitis, cystic fibrosis and chronic diarrhea. However it is a very healthy, balanced and safe diet that has health benefits for everyone. The foods that are allowed on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet™ are based on the chemical structure of these foods. Carbohydrates are classified by their molecular structure. The allowed carbohydrates are monosaccharides and have a single molecule structure that allow them to be easily absorbed by the intestine wall. Complex carbohydrates which are disaccharides (double molecules) and polysaccharides (chain molecules) are not allowed. Complex carbohydrates that are not easily digested feed harmful bacteria in our intestines causing them to overgrow producing by products and inflaming the intestine wall. The diet works by starving out these bacteria and restoring the balance of bacteria in our gut. The Specific Carbohydrate Diet™ is biologically correct because it is species appropriate. The allowed foods are mainly those that early man ate before agriculture began. The diet we evolved to eat over millions of years was predominantly one of meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, nuts, low-sugar fruits. Our modern diet including starches, grains, pasta, legumes, and breads has only been consumed for a mere 10,000 years. In the last hundred years the increase in complex sugars and chemical additives in the diet has led to a huge increase in health problems ranging from severe bowel disorders to obesity and brain function disorders. We have not adapted to eat this modern diet as there has not been enough time for natural selection to operate. It therefore makes sense to eat the diet we evolved with. The Specific Carbohydrate Diet™ was clinically tested for over 50 years by Dr Haas and biochemist Elaine Gottschall with convincing results. From feedback from the various lists and other information at least 75% of those who adhere rigidly to the diet gain significant improvement.

ANOTHER BLOG...ABOUT FOOD???

If you are here, I would not blame you if you are rolling your eyes. Another food blog? Really? Yes, it is true. My blog is lacking creativity and personality. However, my blog is just that, MY blog. And while I seriously hope someone finds even one post beneficial, I really just needed a place to hold myself accountable for my health decisions.

What? Health talk too? This is getting worse and worse. This post is my first step towards admitting I do have control over my health. After diagnosed with Crohn's, I worried less about what the disease could do to me, than what I could do to stop the disease. From everything I read, and from my experiences, I felt so helpless. There was not a cure. Some medicines worked for me, some did not. Certain foods irritated me, certain foods did not. On certain days. During certain years. Sometimes. Crohn's became my worse enemy because I believed I had lost control, and I hated it.

So, I accepted my fate and decided I would just feel "bad" for the rest of my life. A little dramatic? Yes, but I have never been known for my subtlety.

Recently, I starting reading people on the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation's Facebook page talk about fighting Crohn's disease with diet. Specifically, the Specific Carbohydrate Diet ("SCD") My reaction was strange. Basically, who do these people think they are? Doctors and scientists have studied this disease for years and there are ZERO studies that have proven diet and Crohn's are related. ZERO. I associated these people with witch doctors, took a bite of my baguette, and closed my internet browser. Mmmm...Bread...

Curiosity killed the cat...and my love affair with carbs, sugar, and everything "yummy." I decided to read into this "diet" and see what these "quacks" had to say. And damn it, it made sense. And people swore by it. A lot of people. So, I stared at the computer and realized maybe I was wrong. Maybe doctors are wrong??? Gasp! And if we are wrong, that means I could feel better. Maybe even normal...

As I am sure you gathered, I tried the diet. I will explain the diet in detail later, but I want to explain why I am putting by blabbering in ink. I tried the diet for two weeks. For anyone who knows how much I love food, I know you are applauding. Two weeks. No cheating. Making funfetti cupcakes for my nephew Alex WITHOUT licking my fingers. Chipotle without tortillas, or even worse, RICE. No diet coke. NO BREAD!!!!! Just typing it is painful! ;) And as painful as the diet was, the most painful part was admitting that is was working. I had more energy. My stomach problems were slowing going away. It was working :/

But, I cheated. I mean, I had planned to cheat, so it was okay. Right? Michael's birthday came around and I, I mean Michael, wanted cake. Long story short and a ten-pound cake later, I was starting to feel crumby again. So, here we are. Back on the wagon, and I really WANT to eat SCD legal. I realize that that I cannot always eat this way. If anyone can, I will carve a statue out of fruits and vegetables and erect it in their honor. STILL, I want to try. And I figure, the best way to do my best, is to share what I am eating with the WORLD, knowing "world" is a relative term, and no one will read this but my husband (when forced) and my family.

In sum, and with the reality everyone reading this is asleep on their computers, follow me on the ups and downs of taking control of my illness and eating on the SCD.