SCD Pancakes

I made these pancakes following a recipe at NoMoreChrohns.com: Jim's Fluffy Pancakes.

Mine don't seem to turn out very fluffy, but they are delicious nonetheless! Great topped with peanut butter and honey.

Minty Peas with Lamb

Today for lunch I made a recipe posted earlier this week on the Grain-Free Foodies blog: Peas with Mint.

The original recipe said that the dish went well with lamb, so I bought some and added it. Below is my (slightly modified) version, which turned out quite well.

Minty Peas with Lamb
Serves 3

Ingredients

• 1 lb package frozen peas
• 2 T ghee (or butter)
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced (I only used the white parts)
• 1/4 c vegetable broth
• 1/4 c coarsely chopped mint
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 lb lamb meat, cubed
• olive oil 

Directions

1. Melt the butter or ghee in a skillet, and sauté the scallions a few minutes, until soft.
2. Add the peas.  Pour in the stock, add the garlic and stir, then cover and reduce heat.
3. Cook for 5-10 minutes, or until the peas are nearly done. 
4. Meanwhile, pan fry the lamb cubes in olive oil until thoroughly cooked.
5. Add the mint to the peas, and put the cover back on.  Cook another 2-3 minutes until the mint has wilted.
6. Add the lamb to the peas and serve with yogurt.

SCD Tuna Salad Sandwich

Tuna has always been one of those things I was sure I never liked, even before I was vegetarian. My tastes have clearly changed, because these little sandwiches were delicious!

For the bread, I used the Gluten-free Simple Bread recipe from Elana's Pantry (substituting honey for agave nectar to make it SCD-legal.) The recipe below makes enough tuna salad for two small sandwiches (a meal for one or a snack for two.)

SCD Tuna Salad Sandwich
Serves 1-2

Ingredients

• 3 ounces tuna
• 1/4 cup dry curd cottage cheese
• 2 Tablespoons of SCD-legal mayonnaise
• 2 Tablespoons purple onion, chopped finely
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon parsley
• Slices of gluten-free simple bread, lightly toasted

Directions

1. Combine tuna salad ingredients in a bowl, stir, and spread onto toasted bread.

Blueberry Peanut Butter Honey Yogurt

One of my favorite things about following the Specific Carbohydrate Diet is making and eating homemade yogurt. I make mine using whole milk in a Yogourmet Electric Yogurt Maker, and it has turned out perfectly each time. The key to making SCD-compliant yogurt is allowing it to incubate for a full 24 hours, thereby using up most of the lactose (Commercial yogurt is fermented for a much shorter time, and therefore contains a significant amount of lactose.)

This morning I was craving a snack, so I concocted this simple and delightful dish.

Blueberry Peanut Butter Honey Yogurt


Ingredients

• 1 cup SCD yogurt
• fresh blueberries
• natural peanut butter
• honey

Directions

1. Put yogurt into a bowl and top with remaining ingredients.
2. Enjoy!

Dal

Yesterday I made some delicious dal based on a recipe in Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions. Here's what I did:

Dal
Serves 6-8

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups lentils
• 2 tablespoons whey or lemon juice (I used whey that was left over after straining homemade yogurt.)
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup ghee (clarified butter)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 2 small hot peppers, seeded and chopped (I used Serrano peppers.)
• 1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
• sea salt

Directions

1. Cover lentils in warm water. Stir in whey or lemon juice and let sit for 7 hours in a warm place.
2. Drain, rinse, and place in a pot. Add water to cover and bring to a boil.
3. Skim off the foam that rises to the top.
4. Add turmeric, pepper, and garlic.
5. Simmer, covered, for about an hour or until lentils are very soft.
6. Remove lentils from heat and beat with a whisk until creamy. (Mine didn't get very creamy.)
7. Meanwhile, sauté cumin seeds and chiles in ghee until chiles are soft.
8. Add chile/cumin seed/ghee mixture to lentils and stir.
9. Season to taste.

I enjoyed this dish at several meals. It is especially tasty topped with homemade yogurt and avocado.

Crustless Italian Quiche

The other night I made this crustless Italian quiche for dinner. The original recipe is from SCDrecipe.com: Italian Broccoli Quiche.

Crustless Italian Quiche
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 10-ounce package frozen chopped broccoli
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Directions

1. Thaw broccoli; drain on paper towels. 
2. Sauté chopped onion in oil in a saucepan; add salt and Italian seasoning. Heat thoroughly. 
3. Beat eggs well, gradually stir about 1/4 of yogurt into eggs; add remaining yogurt, stirring constantly. 
4. Add broccoli and parmesan cheese. 
5. Pour into a lightly greased 9-inch quiche dish. Sprinkle with bacon. 
6. Bake at 350 degrees F (180 C) for 25-30 minutes or until set.

---
The final product was a bit watery (I think due to the yogurt), but delicious nonetheless. I think next time I will try adding an almond flour crust like the one I used for the Chicken Tamarind Coconut Curry Pizza.

An open letter to Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI)

In one of my classes this semester, Comparative Systems for Translation, we are currently discussing the health care system in the United States and how it compares to systems in other countries. It has been very helpful to me in clarifying my thinking about the issues, and the letter below is a product of that thinking.

Disclaimer: As a rule, I do not participate in partisanship. I seek to approach politics from a moral standpoint, and to discuss issues themselves rather than contribute to divisiveness by arguing for the sake of arguing. Please feel free to comment, but please also keep it civil :)

Dear Mr. Sensenbrenner,

I am a 24-year-old graduate student and I was recently diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, which led to my being hospitalized for three weeks. This was completely unexpected, and I considered myself to be very healthy before suddenly getting sick in early January.

My out-of-pocket medical costs for this year have already reached several thousands of dollars, and more bills continue to arrive in the mail each week. Considering that I already have over $50,000 in student loan debt, to say that my unexpected illness has caused a financial burden is an understatement.

However, I consider myself lucky—I have a family to support me, I have a job and I am financially stable, and I have private health insurance. I am confident that I will be able to continue to receive quality health care, and that I will eventually pay off my debts.

The problem, Mr. Sensenbrenner, is that many of my fellow Americans are not as lucky as I am. Many do not benefit from a support network like mine. Many have lost their homes and their jobs due to economic forces beyond their control, and many—far too many—do not have health insurance coverage.

In a country with as much wealth and resources as United States, it is morally unacceptable for quality health care to be available only to those who can afford it.

I understand that your plan is to establish a tax credit for the purchase of private health insurance. While this may make insurance slightly more affordable, it is wholly inadequate and can hardly be called reform. Even if someone who is currently uninsured is able to purchase insurance as a result of the tax credit, this does not guarantee that they will be able to pay for their health care. As my example clearly illustrates, holding private coverage does reduce the impact of health care costs on individuals—were I uninsured my medical bills would surely be in the tens of thousands rather than the thousands of dollars—however, it does nothing to guarantee that health care will be affordable for all Americans.

The current health care system in the United States is lamentably defective, and requires fundamental changes. It ought to be focused on health rather than money, include a robust public option, give individuals true freedom to make decisions that affect their health, extend health care to everyone within our borders, and produce happy, healthy, and engaged citizens.

I understand that President Obama’s plan will not achieve all of these goals. It, too, is far from adequate, but it is a step in the right direction. Clearly, protecting people from being denied coverage due to pre-existing conditions, or dropped from their plans when they get sick, and especially making preventive care completely free—all elements of President Obama’s plan—will do far more to reduce costs and improve the health of our great nation than will a lousy tax credit.

It is for this reason that I urge you to rise above partisan politics and respond to the crying needs of the American people by supporting the health reform bill.

Thank you.

Daniel Greuel, independent voter

Garlic Lime Salmon with Lime Mayo

The other day I made a meal inspired by a recipe that I found on SCDrecipe.com: Lime and Garlic Salmon with Lime Mayonnaise. I served it with steamed broccoli and cauliflower, and it was all rather tasty!

As for the salmon, I adapted the original recipe and sort of combined it with the tutorial on How to Pan Fry Salmon on eHow.com. The following is more or less what I did:

Garlic Lime Salmon with Lime Mayo Serves 2

Ingredients

GARLIC SALMON

• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large salmon filet
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

LIME MAYONNAISE

• 1/2 cup mayo (150G) (I used Trader Joe's prepared mayo, but you could also make your own)
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped dill

Directions

1. Combine garlic, lime juice, salt and pepper and rub/coat salmon with this mixture.
2. Drizzle olive oil over the top and bottom of the salmon fillet, rubbing it into the meat. Let rest 5 minutes.
3. Preheat your frying pan over high heat until droplets of water "dance" on the metal, then turn the heat down to medium.
4. Place butter into the frying pan and allow to melt.
5. Add the salmon to the hot butter in center of the pan.
6. Let sizzle for 2 minutes, then use your tongs to loosen the fillet from the pan to avoid the flesh from sticking (unless using a non-stick pan)
7. Cook the salmon for 5 minutes on each side, then check for doneness by inserting a tooth pick or paring knife into the center of the fillet and pulling it out. If it comes out clean, the salmon is ready.
8. Combine all Lime Mayonnaise ingredients.
9. Serve salmon topped with lime mayo.

Chicken Tamarind Coconut Curry Pizza

Tonight I made an amazing SCD pizza!

The crust recipe came from Sarah Maurer on the scdinfo Yahoo! group, and I improvised the rest. It turned out quite well, I must say.

Chicken Tamarind Coconut Curry Pizza
Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1-1/2 cups almond flour

 (I used 1 cup blanched almond flour and 1/2 cup unblanched almond meal)
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil


• 2 eggs


• ½ teaspoon salt


• 1 clove garlic – finely chopped
• 

1 teaspoon basil


• 1 teaspoon oregano (I didn't have any oregano, so I omitted it)
• 

1 teaspoon parsley


Toppings:

• Tamarind Curry Simmer Sauce (see notes below)
• Freshly grated monterrey jack cheese
• 1 grilled chicken breast, cubed
• Sliced bell peppers

Directions:

1. Combine crust ingredients in a bowl and form into a dough ball.
2. Spread oil onto a pizza 
pan or stone and then roll out dough onto it.
3. Bake the 
crust at 375°F for 5-7 minutes.
4. Add sauce and toppings, and bake at 375°F for another 8-10 minutes.

Notes:

I found the Maya Kaimal curry simmer sauce at Larry's Market in Brown Deer, WI. A picture of the container is below, along with another showing the ingredients, which appear to be SCD-legal. The product page on the company's website says the following, however, so use at your own risk: 

WARNING: This product is prepared and packaged on machines that may come into contact with dairy, wheat, soy and tree nuts. We regret if you are unable to enjoy our products.

 

Chicken Avocado Boats

Tonight for dinner I made a recipe that I found at SCDrecipe.com—Chicken Avocado Boats. They took a bit of effort, but they were absolutely delicious! I ate three myself.

Here is the original recipe, with my comments in italics:

Chicken Avocado Boats
Serves 3

Ingredients

2 cups diced cooked chicken
3 large ripe avocados
1/2 - 3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
6 tablespoons lemon juice (I used lime juice.)
3/4 cup homemade mayonnaise (I used mayo from Trader Joe's, which as far as I know is SCD-legal.)
1 1/2 tablespoons grated onion
1/4 teaspoon celery salt (I used garlic salt.)
1 clove chopped garlic
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Cut avocados lengthwise, take out pit (leave skin on), sprinkle each half with 1 tablespoon lemon juice, set aside

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.)

3. Combine mayonnaise, onion, celery salt, garlic, salt & pepper in medium sized bowl, stir in chix, mix well.

4. Drain excess lemon juice from avocado halves.

5. Fill with chicken mixture, sprinkle with cheese

6. Arrange filled avocado halves in single layer in baking dish.

7. Pour water into same dish to depth of half inch.

8. Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese melts.

From Anne Worcester

Thanks Anne!

Rishi Organic Sencha

I recently treated myself to two loose-leaf teas from Milwaukee-based Rishi Tea. One of them is a fine Japanese tea called Sencha. According to Rishi, "Sencha is the most beloved tea of Japan. Developed in the 18th century, the process of making Sencha has evolved into the art and science of preserving the fresh green character and healthy components of tealeaves."

Today I decided to brew my first pot of this tea. I very meticulously boiled 8 ounces of fresh water, allowed it to cool to 180°F, poured it over 1 tablespoon of sencha and let it brew for 3 minutes before decanting the tea.

The initial aroma was calming and intoxicating. I then slowly sipped the green liquor and my mouth was filled with an incredibly full palette of vegetal flavors—I could pull out grass, asparagus, and bitter greens in particular.

The flavor was very strong, but quite good. I highly recommend trying it. You can either come over and have me brew you a cup (recommended), or you can buy 60 grams online for $14.

Link: Rishi Store-Organic Sencha

Swiss Chicken Veggie Omelet

Yesterday morning I made an SCD omelet for breakfast that turned out great! It was so good I had some at all three meals. I even made some aioli (garlic mayonnaise) before lunch and ate it with the omelet, cold. It reminded me of tortilla española (but without the potatoes of course.) Here is the recipe:

Swiss Chicken Veggie Omelet

Serves 4

Ingredients:

·      3 thick slices of deli Swiss cheese

·      2 T butter

·      1 cup mushrooms

·      8 eggs

·      1 cup cooked vegetables (I used cauliflower, carrots, and broccoli)

·      1 small grilled chicken breast, sliced into small pieces

·      large frying pan with a cover

Directions:

1.     Melt the butter over medium heat in the frying pan.

2.     Sauté the mushrooms in the butter until soft.

3.     Break the eggs into a large bowl or other container and beat well.

4.     Add the vegetables and chicken to the eggs and stir.

5.     Pour the egg mixture over the sautéed mushrooms.

6.     Place the Swiss cheese slices evenly apart in the pan and submerge them in the egg mixture.

7.     Cook until the bottom of the omelet begins to turn golden brown.

8.     Put the cover on the pan and very carefully, quickly flip it over while holding it very tightly. Slide the omelet back onto the pan and cook until done on both sides.

Going home!

Discharge papers are being prepared as I type.

Happy.

Somebody pinch me

This is getting to be a bit much, honestly...

I fully expect this whole "living in the zone" thing to end eventually, but it has shown absolutely no sign of slowing down today. Once again, I've been operating at full energy all day, and still feel great. For the sake of documentation, I've done the following today (Sunday):

• Completed a proofreading assignment for the client who gave me a raise yesterday
• Finished my translation homework for class tomorrow
• Completed and submitted a practice LSAT to qualify for a job opportunity as a tutor
• Filled out the 2010-2011 FAFSA by the priority deadline
• Topped my recently-set personal best in Scrabble with a 411-379 victory in the nick of time

Even better than all this productivity is the fact that I've been disconnected from parenteral nutrition and will be discharged tomorrow!

I have a feeling I will sleep like a baby tonight. A very happy baby.

Indescribable

Yesterday and today have been simply unbelievable...I'm almost at a loss of words to describe how I've been feeling. It's as if I'm walking on air, living "in the zone." I've never felt better in my life.

I don't mean to brag, but to illustrate the intensity of this experience, the following is a partial list of things I have accomplished in the past 48 hours:

• I opened a Roth IRA.
• I started and more or less finished preparing my 2009 taxes.
• I played a 401-point game of Scrabble.
• I asked for and received a 35% raise from my longest-standing translation client.
• I took an amazing shower.
• I took a 30-minute walk all around the hospital, including going up and down many stairs (first time in 3 weeks.)
• I have eaten and kept down six full SCD-compliant meals.
• I made significant improvements to the design of my translation website and added a blog to it.
• I have maintained inbox zero for my personal and business email accounts.
• I completed the first assignment for my newly online class this semester.
• I fearlessly presented the Bahá'í Faith to several inquiring minds.
• I helped my mom edit an article written about her for a work newsletter.

On top of all of this, I have felt no physical discomfort at all, nothing seems to bother me in the least, I am socially fearless, and I have unusually amazingly accurate and quick typing and information retrieval skills.

All I can say is wow. Just wow.

The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)

Based on my research and conversations with doctors, conventional medicine tends to downplay the role of diet in gastrointestinal disorders such as ulcerative colitis. It is thought to play little or no part in causing or treating symptoms, and advice is limited to avoiding irritating, high-fiber, or spicy foods during a flare-up. When things are going OK, I've been told, you can "eat whatever you want," since diet is not the root of the problem.

This makes very little sense to me, especially considering the following quote from the Bahá'í Writings:

When highly-skilled physicians shall fully examine this matter, thoroughly and perseveringly, it will be clearly seen that the incursion of disease is due to a disturbance in the relative amounts of the body's component substances, and that treatment consisteth in adjusting these relative amounts, and that this can be apprehended and made possible by means of foods. 

Selections from the Writings of `Abdul-Bahá, no. 134

Thanks to the wonders of the internet, I've discovered that there is indeed a diet designed especially for people who suffer from diseases like Crohn's, ulcerative colitis, celiac disease, and irritable bowel syndrome. And there are many, many examples of people for whom it has been incredibly successful.

The diet is called the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, and is laid out in the book Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet by Elaine Gottschall. There is also an official website that contains much of the information found in the book: breakingtheviciouscycle.info.

In a nutshell, the diet limits carbohydrate intake to simple sugars, which are able to be easily absorbed by the body, unlike complex sugars and starches which are incompletely digested and provide sustenance for undesirable intestinal flora.

The diet eliminates all grains, starches, added sugars (except for honey), processed foods, most dairy (except for homemade yogurt, natural cheeses, and dry-curd cottage cheese), chickpeas, soy, potatoes, and yuca, among other things.

Now that forbidden list contains many things I'm fond of (particularly pasta, rice, tofu, falafel, hummus, pita, etc.) But the good news is that almost everything else is allowed, including my all-time favorite avocado, as well as lentils and tea. Furthermore, there are abundant recipes to make alternative, SCD-compliant versions of many dishes that look absolutely delicious. For a sampling, check this site: scdrecipe.com.

I've already started to follow the SCD to the extent possible in the hospital, and I look forward to getting into the full swing of it once I'm discharged. I see the following advantages in it:

• I will be forced to do most of my own cooking. It has always been a goal of mine to cook more (something I enjoy doing) and this will help me do that. The fact that I work from home makes it rather convenient as well.
• Eating out less and using all-natural ingredients will be much healthier overall for my body.
• New dietary parameters will allow me to develop my culinary creativity.
• Etc, etc.

I'm rather excited about this opportunity, and hopeful that it will help me get my colitis under control, as it has for so many others.

Lemon baked tilapia

Today is a big day.

I have decided to break with my ten-and-a-half-year-long tradition of strict vegetarianism and order fish for lunch!

I'm doing it partly because it seems like as good a time as any (I've often felt that it was inertia keeping me vegetarian rather than hard-core adherence to ethical principle, although I have continued to see some value in vegetarianism.) Another reason is that the new diet I plan to start when I'm back home (post forthcoming) would be quite difficult to keep up with no sources of animal protein. Also, I've lost approximately 20 pounds since getting sick (!), so hopefully this will help me get back to a normal weight. Furthermore, fish and fish oil in particular are supposed to be very good for treating inflammation of the digestive tract, which is the principle cause of symptoms in ulcerative colitis. Lastly, I'm really curious how it will taste after all these years!

Update: Well, that was pretty delicious, I must say. I look forward to trying the non-hospital version!

Life-changing

I mentioned in my first post this morning that the experience of being in the hospital for the first time has had a profound impact on my life. Here are a few examples of how:

• I have begun to appreciate that my social support network of family, friends, and professional contacts is absolutely outstanding. So many people have visited, called, and sent gifts, emails, and well wishes, all of which have been wonderfully uplifting.
• I have learned that good health—something I have enjoyed for the vast majority of my life—is not something to be taken for granted. I look forward to making conscientious changes in my lifestyle (diet, exercise, sleep, etc.) to maintain optimal health into the future despite any challenges.
• I feel like I finally understand a bit better what it means to let go and let God. This whole thing was very out-of-the-blue and unexpected, and yet I have somehow amazingly been able to keep a positive mindset throughout, not resisting or feeling angry.
• The quality of my human interactions has been phenomenal lately. I've felt genuine human connection more often and intensely in the days since I've been hospitalized. The other night, for example, my family visited and we had what I can only describe as the best quality family time I can remember. We brainstormed together, formulated questions, helped my sister with her homework, consulted even, in an atmosphere of mutual respect and love. It's not like these things are completely out of the norm, but the experience was really quite remarkable and had a great impact on me.

That's all for now. Up next: dietary adventures!

Also: Happy Ayyám-i-Há!

A New Beginning

It seems like the time is ripe to begin blogging again. Perhaps it is because I'm in the hospital and have an abundance of time to think and write, combined with the fact that it seems I suddenly have a lot to write about.

The current year has been rather eventful thus far, bringing very unexpected changes to my life, especially in the area of health. Seemingly out of nowhere, I developed gastrointestinal symptoms in January and in February I was diagnosed with an inflammatory bowel disease called ulcerative colitis, which ended up putting me in the hospital for 16 days and counting. It has been an entirely new experience for me, certainly with its inconveniences and unpleasantries, but overall I think it has profoundly changed my perspective on life in a positive way. (I may develop this theme in a separate post in the near future.)

In resurrecting this blog once again, I hope to do all or some of the following:

• Keep family and friends informed about my condition and my life in general
• Provide information and support for others who suffer from ulcerative colitis and related ailments
• Keep track of the majority of what I cook and eat (I plan to start a strict diet in the near future—also a topic for a future post.)
• Share recipes and photographs

As in the past, no guarantees that this will be a sustained, ongoing effort, but I hope to keep it up for a while at least!