SCD Travel To Do List

It has been nice to be home for a while but now it's off to Santa Monica California for a week of work. This time I feel ultra-prepared. Here is my to-do list:

- Charge Blackberry
- Leave hubby flight and hotel information
- Bring book on tape (I am listening to Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet and LOVING it). I will be sitting in a lot of LA traffic so this will help pass the time.
- Bring real book (I am reading A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. It is a great book and this is my second time through)
- Freeze lunchboxes (my lunchboxes are used to carry my yogurt and beef stew in my checked luggage. They have built-in blue ice and I also throw in an extra blue ice just in case)
- Pack vitamins (multi-vitamin, probiotics - in case I miss my yogurt, vitamin D, and fish oil)
- Pack tea (green and peppermint but sometimes raspberry leaf which I am not sure is SCD legal)
- Crackers (from Healing Foods cookbook)
- Cookies (from Lucy's Kitchen cookbook)
- Yogurt
- Stew
- Mug (to heat-up my stew as I am trying to get away from heating plastic in the microwave)

The best news is that I am only half a mile from Whole Foods and I can usually find something legal there. I also have a fridge and microwave in my hotel room. Now if I could only find a solution to the LA traffic....

Last Week:
- Meaty Turkey Bolognese over zucchini pasta. This recipe is from Giada on the FoodNetwork but I make it with cooked ground turkey instead. I also make Giada's marinara sauce. It is hands down my favorite sauce. I enjoy it over the zucchini pasta which I make with my mandolin. I cover it in freshly grated Parmesan cheese. I could eat this every day and cooked tomatoes are ultra good for you. I heard you should try for 10 tablespoons a week or so. When making sauce I do use italian tomatoes because I have heard that they MUST disclose all ingredients (unlike the United States). However, if you want to be 100% sure that you are SCD legal then you can always make your own marinara from real, fresh, summer tomatoes and freeze it.
- Provencal beef stew with carrots, peas, fresh thyme and rosemary.
- Chicken stir fry with tons of veggies
- This morning my husband made me a delicious omelet from the stir-fry leftovers. He is a crafty guy.
- Tonight's farewell dinner will be SCD lasagna from Grainfree Gourmet. Their new cookbook is out and I cannot WAIT to get it.

PICTURE- Yummy Crusty Onion Rolls from Healing Foods. Great on a burger or split in half and then made into garlic bread for the turkey Bolognese. Also would be good for a meatball panini!

Green Tea, SCD, & Me

Just back from skiing and will post on that later but in the meantime I thought I would include a short blurb on green tea so here it goes....

I love green tea.

In my past life I drank coffee and black tea.

I no longer tolerate these lovely beverages.

A girl needs a little caffeine in her life.

In my case it really is only a little that is needed.

1-2 cups of green tea is permitted on the SCD (if symptom free).

Thankfully I am symptom free and enjoy my green tea daily.

EGCG, a component of green tea, may help inhibit TNF alpha.

Remicade also inhibits TNF alpha.

I will stick with Green Tea for now but am thankful that Remicade exists in the event I ever need it.

Go green Tea.

Go SCD.

Breakfast- SCD yogurt with Banana and honey

Lunch- Roast chicken with veggies and pureed butternut squash

Dinner- Hearty meat sauce with SCD crackers - though I usually like this with Raman's Foccacia!

Picture- Green Tea

Amy's Pumpkin Muffins

YUMMMMMMY

Who needs candles and air fresheners when you bake these babies? My whole house smelled delicious. One is missing already! That's strange.... : )

The Next Spice Girl

I started the SCD about a year and 1/2 ago (I count the 30 days that I was fed intravenously as the LONGEST intro diet ever). Ever since I have truly become a spice girl. I cannot believe how many different spices I use. Here is a list of some of the more popular spices in my house along with a little factoid about their health benefits.*

Cloves - Contain the anti-inflammatory component eugenol as well as magnesium, calcium, and even omega-3 fatty acids.

Ginger - Considered a carminative, or a substance that promotes the elimination of gas and soothes the intestines.

Cinnamon - Anti-clotting, anti-microbial, blood sugar controling, brain boosting powerhouse.

Rosemary - Contains substances that stimulate the immune system and the stems are great to use as shrimp skewers.

Thyme - Anti-oxident, anti-microbial, and yummy in a chicken stew.

Basil - DNA protection, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory. No marinara sauce can be without it.

Cayenne - Potent inhibitor of inflammation.

Cumin - Iron for enery and immune function, digestive benefits, cancer prevention and my favorite spice. Great with SCD chicken fajitas wrapped in bib lettuce and topped with sauteed peppers and onions and a big dollop of SCD yogurt.


* All health information is from The World's Healthiest Foods website http://www.whfoods.org/. I love this website.

Compliments from my GI

This week I had a routine appointment with my Gastroenterologist. During the appointment she invited one of her residents to sit in with us. They sat down across from me and tentatively asked me how I was feeling.

I think they brace themselves for the answers from their Crohn's patients. Really, who can blame them? In any case I answered "Great! Fantastic." They look noticeably relieved and then a little stunned and then curious. I explain that I am still following the Specific Carbohydrate Diet and that I feel better than ever. I go on to say that I also practice acupuncture, take fish oil, probiotics and vitamins. That's it.

My doctor looks at her resident and then back at me and says, "You are a poster child for success through alternative therapy."

I look at my doctor and then to the resident and hope that maybe the medical world is starting to catch on.

Breakfast- SCD Biscotti and tea
Lunch- SCD yogurt with bananas and honey
Dinner- Chicken stir fry with Shitake mushrooms, peppers, onions, and zucchini
Dessert- The last of the SCD banana ice cream

Other toolbox goodies employed this week:
- Daily multivitamins, vitamin D, fish oil, and probiotics
- 1 hour of acupuncture
- Deep breathing exercises

Meals from last week included:
- SCD lasagna
- Filet mignon with asparagus and roasted tomatoes
- Burger with a garden salad
- Tilapia baked with tomatoes and spinach with a side of sauteed mushrooms

Luck Find- Raman Prasda's new SCD Cookbook called Recipies for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. It is full of mouth watering recipes and hysterically funny personal stories

PICTURE- A WONDERFUL SCD Pizza that my husband made me for my birthday