Pizza by any other name...

When you first start any kind of elimination diet, the first thing you think about is all the foods you have to give up. You’re disappointed and think you’re going to have to eat the same 5 things over and over again. Fortunately, once you get over that initial bump, you realize that all you need to do is be a little creative. And there’s always the Internet!

When I started SCD, I was excited to learn there was a pizza crust alternative to conventional dough. Cauliflower crusts were all the rage, and all over Pinterest, as many people were embracing a gluten-free diet or were Low Carb. While it is a good option (I just shared a blog post about it!), making a cauliflower crust is pretty labor-intensive. It’s really critical to squeeze as much moisture out of your dough as possible, or it won’t crisp up. Soggy pizza crust is no fun! (Actually, one way around this problem is to reduce the amount of cauliflower a bit and add some coconut flour, which is a great moisture absorber).

However, to make life even easier and more flavorful, I’ve moved past cauliflower and have embraced THE MEATZA. Yes, meat as the base. Think of it as a true Meat Lovers Pizza. It’s so much easier to prepare, provides enough filling protein for the dish, and can just get piled on with vegetables and cheese. Voila. You’re done in less than 30 minutes.

Meatza

1 (1 lb) package ground chicken, turkey or beef
Olive oil
1 tsp each of your favorite Italian seasonings: oregano, basil, rosemary, salt and pepper, garlic and onion powders, for instance
Pizza sauce
Assorted fresh vegetables and typical pizza toppings you like
Cheese of your choice


Directions:

Mix meat and herbs well, with your hands, to incorporate the seasonings. Grab a 9x12 lasagne pan or sheet pan, and grease with a very thin layer of oil. Press the meat down to a thickness of about 1/2”.

Bake in a 350 F. oven for 10-15 minutes. Drain the liquid from the pan and perhaps dab a little with a paper towel to get more liquid off the top. Spread on your pizza sauce and add some cheese. Add whatever vegetables your heart desires and the rest of the cheese and return to the oven for another 10 minutes. For the last few minutes you could place it under the broiler if you like.

I pile on a mountain of fresh spinach, sliced tomatoes, mushrooms and olives and maybe some red bell pepper rings that I sauté a little ahead of time because I don’t like mine raw on the pizza. I actually do the same thing with the mushrooms. I use a sugar-free pizza sauce and Jack cheese.

Delish!

Homemade Snack Bars

They are the perfect in-between food. In the mid-afternoon when you need a little something to hold you over until dinner, or when lunch is still a ways off and you’re dying of hunger, or maybe you need a little energy during or after a workout. That’s where snack bars come in handy.


And there are so many to choose from, aren’t there? Heavens, it’s kind of overwhelming. But if you’re the label reader I am, you hesitate to buy most of them because nearly every one of them has something in there that you really shouldn’t be eating. Here are some of them:

Soy Protein Isolate

This is, unfortunately, one of the most prevalent protein sources you’ll find in protein bars, especially those marketed to women. The marketing would have you believe that soy is an excellent protein source for women because of the isoflavones found in it. In reality, studies have indicated that these soy isoflavones can actually be toxic because of how the soy is processed (fermented soy products such as tofu and miso are fine, just fyi).

In addition, it was actually considered a waste product in soy processing until recently, when it was discovered that money could be made by passing it off as a protein source. It’s cheap and definitely NOT a high-quality protein. It should be avoided.

High Fructose Corn Syrup

This is an easy one.....the adverse health effects of HFCS are well-documented (contrary to what the commercials from the Corn Growers Association claim). It’s one of the WORST things you can eat and yet there are still bars that use it as a primary ingredient.

Palm Kernel Oil

Palm Kernel oil is a cheap, unhealthy fat. Unlike plain palm oil, palm kernel oil can’t be obtained organically. Instead, the oil must be extracted from the pit with a gasoline-like hydrocarbon solvent. The fractioned form is the most processed...if you see this in the ingredients, definitely avoid it.

Sugar Alcohols

This includes ingredients like maltitol syrup, xylitol, sorbitol, mannitol and erythritol.  Sugar alcohols are included in bars for sweetness, especially in those that are “carb controlled”. Sugar alcohols don’t impact blood sugar as much as regular sugar because they are not well absorbed in the digestive tract...and when things aren’t well absorbed in the digestive tract, you get gas, abdominal cramping and bloating. In small amounts, they aren’t a big problem, but if you start getting into the double digits of grams of sugar alcohol (and many low-carb bars are in the 20 gram range) then you can start to see unpleasant digestive issues.

Artificial Sweeteners

These include saccharin, sucralose (Splenda), and aspartame (Equal). We pretty much know by now that these are unhealthy and should be avoided.

So, what’s out there that we can safely eat?

Well, there are more and more good ones coming out, thankfully. A relatively new one on the market is from Rx and is marketed as a Paleo bar, and they are “ok” but I don’t love them. My favorite bars for many years now have been those from Larabar. They used to be marketed as being raw, but their website once explained that since the term “raw” means so many different things to different people, they decided to remove the term from their packaging. But in my opinion, they are raw, and thankfully gluten-free and best of all, made with a minimal and simple ingredient list.

But buying a bunch of them can get pricey and if you have a household to feed, it’s cheaper to make them yourself. One of my favorites is their Coconut Cream Larabars.

Coconut Cream Larabars

1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup cashews
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
12-15 Medjool dates, pitted
2 T coconut oil
2 T coconut milk

Mix the nuts together in a food processor until finely ground. Then add the coconut and pulse once or twice. Add the dates, oil and milk and pulse just until a dough forms.

Ground nuts with the coconut

Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper, leaving enough room for some to come up and over the sides. That way the bars will be easy to remove and cut with a long knife or better yet, a pizza cutter. Press down the dough so that it is packed well and place in the fridge to set for an hour or 2. Slice and eat. Alternately, you could form the dough into balls and roll them in more shredded coconut. This way they can be stored together without sticking together. They should be kept in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. They do taste best at room temperature, though, so get them out a little before you want to eat them.

Press into a pan

Apparently their Key Lime Larabars are really popular, although I have only tried the Lemon. I’m going to make these next:

Key Lime Larabars

1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup cashews
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
12 Medjool dates, pitted
Juice of 1 lime
1-2 T of water if needed

Process the nuts and coconut until finely ground. Then add the dates and lime juice until a dough forms. Follow the rest of the instructions above.

Pecan Pie Larabars

1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup pecans
12 Medjool dates

Same process as above.

For alternative flavors, try experimenting: adding mini chocolate chips, dried cranberries, cherries or other dried fruit, seeds, spices, whatever floats your boat. Add these to the “dough” of crushed nuts and coconut after processing, but before pressing into the pan.

They are super delicious, 100% natural, raw, gluten-free, vegan, and sugar-free. You can eat these with a good conscience!

Grain-free Crackers

When people with digestive troubles hear that they should give up wheat, as it could be the cause of their trouble, either due to a possible celiac condition or simply a food intolerance, they inevitably switch to GF (gluten free) flour for their baked goods. Sadly, many times their symptoms actually worsen, as was the case with me. Due to the high starch content of nearly all gluten-free flours, if you suffer from digestive problems, you might want to consider completely removing them from your diet, at least for a while, until you get your symptoms under control. That’s exactly what I have done and I feel so much better!

But this is a drag, to say the least, as your baking options have now shrunk considerably. But it’s not completely impossible to enjoy muffins, breads, and crackers again. Two options are coconut flour and nut flour!

One of the most versatile nut flours available is almond flour. There are 2 types of ground almond products on the market - almond flour, and almond meal. Almond flour is made by taking blanched (skinless) almonds and pulverizing them into a very fine powder. Almond meal is made from whole, ground raw almonds - a heavier product than almond flour. If you’re intending to bake muffins and cakes, the lighter blanched almond flour would be preferable, as it will result in a lighter, fluffier product. But when you’re making crackers, it doesn’t matter much. 

When I started omitting starchy things from my diet (once I regained my appetite!), I started to really miss crackers. I enjoy crunchy things, especially when I have cheese. When I got the cookbook, "Against all Grain" from Danielle Walker, I was excited to see a recipe for crackers. Not just a regular boring old cracker, but a rosemary and raisin cracker - something that sounded like it would go so well with my new favorite cheese: English Coastal Cheddar! 

I have been making these almost weekly for months now, so that I have nearly a steady supply! One batch lasts me about a week. Even if you’re not on a grain-free diet yourself, you could benefit from reducing your reliance on wheat-based products and make these every so often. They are really a lot healthier than wheat crackers or even rice crackers, as wheat disagrees with a lot of people and I do believe that eating too much wheat can lead to an eventual wheat allergy, and rice frankly has no nutrition worth talking about. It’s really just all starch. Why not eat more nuts? Nuts have fat, which makes us feel fuller (as opposed to rice, which is like eating air), plus they have fiber and minerals.

Blanched Almond Flour

These are easy and quick to make - from start to finish, it’ll take you maybe 20 minutes. But do stick around the kitchen while these are baking though because, being nuts, they can burn easily. You can make these with 100% almond flour if you like, or 50% almond flour and 50% almond meal. I’ve tried them both ways and it doesn’t make any significant difference because crackers are not meant to be fluffy. Plus the meal adds a little more fiber if you need more of that in your diet! For a twist, you can substitute some finely grated Parmesan cheese for 1/2 of the flour, omit the raisins and seeds, and replace the rosemary with thyme. That’s pretty tasty, too, especially when topped with a sliced tomato. 

Anyway, on to the recipe.

Rosemary Raisin Crackers

1 cup blanched almond flour
2 Tbsp. raisins
2 Tbsp. cold water
1 Tbsp. raw sunflower seeds 
1 sprig rosemary
1-1/2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place all ingredients in a food processor. Process for 15 seconds or until thoroughly combined with small bits of speckled raisins throughout.

Form the dough into a ball then roll it out to a rectangular shape, 1/8 “ thick, between 2 sheets of parchment paper.

Remove the top sheet of parchment. Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into 1 inch wide rectangles. Transfer the parchment paper to a baking sheet. 

Bake 12-15 minutes, rotating the pan once until crackers are golden. Check to see how they are doing - you want golden, not brown.  You may also want to turn the oven temp down if it’s looking like they are browning too quickly. 

Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then carefully break the crackers apart. Cool completely before serving.

Recipe courtesy of Danielle Walker from her cookbook, “Against All Grain”.

Curried Chicken Salad

Summer is the perfect time for lighter foods when it’s hot and we don’t want to turn on the oven. And chicken salads are ideal. They are also easy to prepare.

I’ve been making this salad for several years and I never tire of it because I really like the flavor combination of spicy and sweet. I came across the recipe this morning and am thinking about making it again this weekend since the weather remains hot and muggy where I live. There’s something cooling about this salad even though it has some spice from the chutney and curry. The spice is minimal, though, and is really just there to add flavor, not heat.

The salad's great served on a bed of Boston or Bibb lettuce. You could even use the lettuce leaves to sort of scoop up the salad with.

There is no substitute for the wine. If you leave it out it really does affect the taste, even though it’s only 1/3 of a cup. Trust me, I’ve tried. For the mayo, you can use a dairy-free variety if you’re lactose intolerant. I like Vegenaise from Follow Your Heart. I think it’s one of the best-tasting, healthy, dairy-free and eggless mayos out there. They make a variety of mayos to choose from. I usually get mine at the health food store where you’ll see a larger selection, but I’ve even seen 1-2 varieties at the regular supermarket.

Here’s the recipe.

Curried Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

6 chicken breasts (depending on the size, you may need only 4)

1 1/2 cup good quality mayonnaise 

1/3 cup white wine

1/4 cup mango chutney

2-3 Tbsp. curry powder

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup chopped celery (finely diced)

1/4 cup chopped scallions

1/4 cup raisins

a little grated fresh ginger

Instructions:

Roast the chicken breasts in a 350 degree F oven for 35-40 minutes. While those are cooking, puree the mayo through the salt in a food processor until smooth. This will be your sauce. 

Combine the celery through ginger in a bowl. When the chicken breasts are cool enough to handle, cut them into bite-sized chunks. Add the sauce, toss, and chill for a few hours.

When you’re ready to eat the salad, add 1 cup of warm, salted toasted cashews, if you like. Pecans also work nicely.

Enjoy for lunch on a hot day!

Tuscan Tuna Pasta Salad

When the weather warms up, I really like to eat dinners that don’t require heating up anything in the kitchen. It makes the house hot and me hot, so I like to minimize that. Salads are the perfect thing then.

Tuna is something I don’t usually make much, but it is one of those omega-3 foods that should really have a place in our diets, provided it is responsibly caught. You’ll find the company’s stance on that usually on the label - for instance, Wild Planet’s line of fish. You can find this brand at Whole Foods or Sprouts Farmers Markets here in Southern California.

I used to always get albacore canned in water but I recently discovered the taste of yellowfin tuna canned in olive oil and it makes a big difference! The oil keeps it really moist and the Yellowfin variety has a very mild, un-fishy taste to it. I like it better than albacore now.

Yellowfin Tuna

Anyway, the tuna salad most of us think of is usually coated in mayonnaise, and that’s fine once in a while, especially when you have a fishy tasting fish and want to cover it up with mayo and pickle relish. But I have found that I like tuna salad best when it’s made with an oil and lemon juice dressing. It has a cleaner, fresher taste to it I think, and it allows the flavors of all the other ingredients to come through, especially when there’s a lot going on like in this salad.

Tuscan Tuna Pasta Salad

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped
1 lb. gluten-free pasta
2 cans tuna in oil, drained and flaked, preferably Yellowfin packed in olive oil
1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives
1/2 cup shredded basil leaves
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup chopped green onion
Salt and pepper to taste
Lettuce leaves
Lemon wedges

Instructions:

1. Place the oil, crushed red pepper and tomatoes in a jar and shake well to combine. Set aside for 1 hour.
2. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water until just tender, following the package instructions. Drain and place into a salad bowl. 
3. Stir in the oil mixture, tuna, olives, and half of the basil. Season with salt and pepper as needed. 
4. Divide the salad among 4 plates, placing the tuna over a large lettuce leaf, and sprinkle on the Parmesan and remaining basil. Squeeze a little lemon over the top before serving.

Alternatives:

Sometimes I add a few more things to spice up my tuna salad even more: cherry tomatoes cut in half, chopped cucumber or celery for a little crunch, a hard-boiled egg, and instead of the kalamata olives, sometimes I use a little olive tapenade which provides even more interesting flavors because it has capers and a few other things in it. Get creative and add whatever suits you. Today I added garbanzo beans which was pretty unique, and tasted better than I thought it would.

Frittering away the evening

I am approaching Week 6 on the Low-FODMAP Diet and I must say it has been successful overall. I've had setbacks, but as it says in the book I've been reading, this is normal. "Life happens" and you eat things accidentally, or out of habit and forgetfulness, and have a setback. You get the bloating, the gas, the diarrhea or the constipation, the cramping, the whatever, and you don't feel so good. And it reminds you, like when you fall, to get back on your feet and continue. More than anything, you want to feel good again.

It has been such an enormous relief to now have the tools with which to take back control of my health. I felt so out of control, and for me, that is a very difficult thing. I don't like feeling helpless and weak and don't want life to just blow me around like a leaf in the wind. I can honestly say that this way of eating has changed me, and to those two doctors in Australia who created it, I will be eternally grateful. 

I'm not done yet. I'm to now start adding things in again and test the results. This may take several more weeks of patient experimentation.

I'm sorry to report that my sourdough experiment failed. Nothing happened to my starter. It just sat there, staring at me. I found myself talking to it (I know!) encouraging it: "come on, you can do it...". Crazy. Finally after about 10 days (hey, I gave it a chance, didn't I?) I tossed the lot down the sink. Dejected, I haven't started a new batch yet. My friend Ken, who is anxiously awaiting some starter from me when this takes off, encouraged me to try again. So I will. Sometime this week.

In the meantime, I had a menu to plan for the upcoming week, and decided that I wanted something I hadn't had in while. I don't eat fried food very much at all. Don't care for it usually, but sometimes I get a hankering for vegetable fritters. As I paged through one of my vegetarian cookbooks to find some inspiration, I found vegetable fritters with tzatziki. If you know me, you'll know that I ADORE tzatziki. And I already had everything I needed on hand, including some homemade lactose-free plain yogurt. I just needed some vegetables and some oil to fry them in.

After my visit to the market, I got started.

Vegetable Fritters with Tzatziki

The dip:
1/2 cucumber, coarsely grated
1 cup plain yogurt
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
1 Tbsp chopped fresh mint (optional)
1 garlic clove, crushed
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the fritters:
1 large eggplant, peeled and thickly sliced
2 zucchinis, thickly sliced
1 egg, beaten
4 Tbsp all-purpose flour (to be gluten free, I used tapioca flour but I think rice flour would work just as well)
2 tsp. ground coriander
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
salt and pepper

For the dip, mix the cucumber through salt and pepper together in a bowl and set aside.

Layer the eggplant and zucchini in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Leave for 30 minutes. The salt will pull out the bitterness in these veggies. Rinse in cold water, then pat dry very well.

Beat the egg in one bowl. Put the flour and remaining seasonings into another bowl. Dip the vegetables first into the egg, then into the seasoned flour and set aside.

Heat about an inch of oil in a deep frying pan until quite hot, then fry the vegetables a few at a time until they are golden and crisp. 

Drain and keep warm while you fry the remainder. Serve warm on a platter with a bowl of the tzatziki dip lightly sprinkled with paprika.

I served these as a first course before we had prosciutto-wrapped chicken for the main course. This is a super-simple recipe. You can get very fancy with this dish and add a sage leaf or rosemary twig before wrapping, you can make a slit in the chicken and stuff it with fontina cheese before sealing it back up and wrapping in the prosciutto, you can stuff it with spinach and feta before wrapping...........the possibilities are endless. But this is a simple, fast, straight-forward dish that takes less effort and still tastes great.

Prosciutto-wrapped chicken

Chicken breasts (1 per person)
Prosciutto slices (1-2 per breast, depending on the size of the chicken)
Ground sage
Garlic powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Rinse and pat dry your chicken breasts.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper and rub 1/4 tsp ground sage and a bit of garlic powder on to both sides.
Wrap each chicken breast with a slice or two of prosciutto. Place on an oiled baking sheet, and bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 40 minutes or until done. Allow to sit 5-10 minutes before serving, to allow the juices to be reabsorbed into the chicken so they stay juicy.

I like to drizzle a little bit of balsamic glaze around my chicken breast on the plate for a little sweetness. Prosciutto-wrapped chicken is also delicious with roasted asparagus or roasted potatoes with rosemary. Either way, everything is excellent with a glass of French Rhone wine.

Salud!

Sourdough on my mind....

The one thing I really, really miss about my old way of eating is sourdough bread. That fresh tang of sour, the pockets of air making it light and fluffy, the aroma of it when it's being toasted….for those of you who love it, too, you understand.

A slab of butter on a freshly toasted slice. Maybe a little sprinkling of sea salt on top, or garlic powder. What could be better?

And yes, having gone so long without eating bread, I do feel envious when I go out to lunch with friends who inevitably order sandwiches while I end up with a less-than-satisfying salad. I can only look at the bread and dream….

And lately, I've had a hankering for sourdough. I get these every now and then, and sometimes I end up breaking down and buying the sourdough at Trader Joe's. But I'm still ingesting gluten, which I want to stay away from. While doing all this reading lately about improving digestion, I've come across numerous articles that speak of the benefits of eating sourdough. Apparently the cultures in sourdough make it an easily digestible food, one that I can enjoy from time to time without guilt or pain. But there's still the matter of that darn gluten.

What are the benefits to Sourdough?

1 - Increases beneficial lactic acid

The longer rise time needed for sourdough increases the lactic acid and creates an ideal pH for the enzyme phytase. This enzyme breaks down phytates more effectively than in yeast breads. Sourdough rye has the least amount of phytates making it healthier, if it weren't for the gluten in rye.

2 - Predigestion of starches

The bacteria and naturally occurring yeast in the sourdough culture work to predigest the starches in the grains, thus making it more easily digestible to the consumer.

3 - Breakdown of gluten

Here again, the longer soaking and rising times in the preparation of sourdough breaks the protein gluten into amino acids, making it more digestible.

4 - Preservative

The acetic acid which is produced along with lactic acid, helped preserve the bread by inhibiting the growth of mold.

5-Better blood glucose regulation

There has been some research suggesting that sourdough bread - white sourdough bread - showed positive physiological responses. The subjects' blood glucose levels were lower after eating sourdough white bread compared to whole wheat, whole wheat with barley and plain white bread. Interestingly, the subjects tested after eating whole wheat bread fared the worst - with spiking blood glucose levels.

So what exactly is sourdough?

Sourdough is a bread product made by a long fermentation of dough using naturally occurring lactobacilli and yeasts. In comparison with breads made quickly with cultivated yeast, it usually has a mildly sour taste because of the lactic acid produced by the lactobacilli.

A sourdough is a stable symbiotic culture of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and yeast in a mixture of flour and water. Typically, the LAB metabolizes sugars that the yeast cannot metabolize and the yeast metabolizes the products of the LAB fermentation. Broadly speaking, the yeast produces the gas that leavens the dough and the LAB produces lactic acid, which contributes flavor.

Some sourdough recipes add yeast to them, but this is not necessary, as the fermentation process creates a naturally occurring yeast to form, and thankfully I have no problems digesting this.

Origins of Sourdough

Sourdough likely originated in Ancient Egyptian times around 1500 BC and was likely the first form of leavening available to bakers. Sourdough remained the usual form of leavening down into the European Middle Ages until being replaced by barm from the beer brewing process, and then later purpose-cultured yeast.

San Francisco has long been associated with sourdough eating gold prospectors, though they were more likely to make bread with commercial yeast or baking soda. A "Sourdough" was a nickname used in the North (Yukon and Alaska) for someone having spent an entire winter north of the Arctic Circle and refers to their tradition of protecting their sourdough during the coldest months by keeping it close to their body.

 

The French family Boudin began making sourdough in San Francisco in 1849, blending the sourdough recipes the miners in the area used with French baking techniques.

The great thing about having a yeast allergy (as if there really was a good thing about it) is that there's still sourdough bread to enjoy. But when you are eating the gluten-free way, you're dogged. It's not easy finding gluten-free, yeast-free sourdough bread. I've looked. I'm sure it's out there somewhere, but a loaf will probably cost me big bucks. By the time I find some specialty bakery somewhere in America that makes it and then have it shipped to me, I'll probably be out $20 or more. For a loaf of bread!

So just like I always do when faced with a dilemma like this, I look to my own kitchen to solve the problem. With the help of a fellow gluten-free friend, I am armed with what looks to be a very good gluten free sourdough bread recipe.

I've gathered my ingredients and have begun to make my starter. This photo shows my starter, sitting in a large glass jar on my kitchen counter top. In it are simply flour and water. To help things along, I did add a sourdough starter mix that I purchased from my local health food store, but you could do without. The brew has been working for a day and a half so far. Soon I should be seeing some bubbles form, which is what you want. It means it's working its magic.

Over the jar I've placed a bit of cheesecloth held in place with a rubber band. This allows the air to reach the brew and help the fermentation process along.

I will continue adding a cup of flour and a cup of water every 12 hours to this starter to "feed" it. Somewhere I read that you must treat your starter like a pet - it needs continuous feeding and watering. Eventually, it should look like this.

If you do a search on the Internet for sourdough starters, you'll find a lot of various methods and flours to use. I'll share the recipe of this one once I know it's actually working.

But I am excited about the possibility of once again enjoying sourdough bread - this time a gluten-free variety!

Eating out when your gut is touchy

Adhering to a new way of eating is difficult enough when you're cooking for yourself, let alone when you find yourself away from home.

Let's face it - dining out while on a special diet is tough. And I don't mean a diet to lose weight. I mean a diet that is sometimes imposed on you, like when you're allergic to some kind of food or trying to heal an inflamed gut. 

But sometimes there's no way around it. Maybe you're travelling for business or are on vacation. Or you've been invited to a birthday party or a holiday event. What are you going to do - stay home because of the foods that might be there?

Eventually when you're on a special diet long enough, you become familiar with and more confident making it work for you. Eating out should be an enjoyable social experience. The trick is to look for friendly places to dine. Places that demonstrate an awareness of gluten-free or dairy-free eating, or are willing to make substitutions. I can't stand it when I see this written on a restaurant's menu: "NO substitutions". Run, don't walk!!

A good idea is really to telephone ahead to a restaurant or cafe and explain your special dietary needs to the chef. Chefs are becoming increasingly aware of food intolerances. Tell them what you can and can't eat. Ask about the ingredients in specific dishes. They are intimitely familiar with what's on their menu and what would be suitable, or how they can modify a dish to work for you. If they want your business, they'll make it happen.

If you're following a low-FODMAP diet such as myself, there are several cuisines where you can assuredly find something that will work:

Middle Eastern and Indian

Kebabs (skewered meats), tikka dishes, tandoori dishes, plain cooked rice

Southeast Asian
Fried rice (without scallion), steamed or sticky rice, rice paper rolls, sushi (check the fillings), omelets (check fillings), steamed fish, chili, ginger or peppered shrimp, meat, fish or poultry; roasted meats, steamed and stir-fried vegetables, rice noodle soup (pho), sorbets

Italian
In my opinion this is one of the toughest, although not impossible. You're just going to have to ask a LOT of questions.

Risotto (no onion, no garlic), gluten free pasta with pesto (check for garlic), carbonara or many marinara sauces without onion and garlic (good luck); steamed mussels, grilled chicken or veal, shrimp cocktail, mozzarella salad (if not dairy intolerant), antipasto, polenta, steamed vegetables, gelato, granita, and zabaglione (if not dairy intolerant)

Mexican
Another tough one because of the beans and salsa. But, you can try.

Plain corn chips, tacos (no salsa), tamales (without onions or garlic), tostadas, fajitas (without the onion and ask for corn tortillas), arroz (rice), and some of the desserts like flan or arroz con leche (rice pudding) depending on your level of dairy tolerance

Pub Food
plain grilled or roasted meat with vegetables (check gravies for onions, garlic), grilled fish, risotto, salads, flourless cakes, sorbets, meringues.

Another option is to "take your own"

Take your own salad dressing, to make sure it doesn't contain garlic or onion or any other high-FODMAP ingredient
Take your own wheat-free bread or roll to a sandwich bar and ask them to fill it
Take your own wheat-free bread or roll to a hamburger place where they provide the patty and fillings
Take your own gluten-free pasta to have it topped with low-FODMAP sauces, etc.
Take your own pizza base to a restaurant and ask them to top it with onion-free sauces and low-FODMAP ingredients.

Eating at a friend's or family's house

Ask politely what they intend to serve and then decide if you'd like to ask them to make alterations or if you'd rather bring some of your own food. This way you won't starve while everyone else is eating. If necessary, eat something before you go. Then just nibble on appropriate snacks during the event. Don't let the food (or lack of it) spoil your good time or anyone else's.

Travelling

The key to successful vacationing is planning, planning, planning!

Bring your own food on board the airline. That stuff they serve is crappy anyway, even if you didn't have a special diet to follow! Take snacks and easy-to-transport foods with you so that in a pinch, you won't be stuck with nothing and starve. Nonperishable foods such as breakfast cereal, crackers, appropriate trail mixes and nuts are always easy to take with you.

Overseas Travel

You may have to check with US Customs anad Border Protection and inquire about food restrictions in the country to which you are travelling. But once you're there, especially in many countries, such as the UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany and Australia, gluten-free products are relativey easy to purchase. While in other countries, especially in Eastern Europe and across the Middle East, it can be more difficult. In many Asian countries, much of the local food is rice, tapioca or potato based so it's a lot less challenging to find foods that will work for us.

Travel within North America is undoubtedly easier without the language barrier to deal with when trying to make oneself understood abroad. But I say, never pass up an opportunity to get out of your own country and see another part of the world.  Even if you slip up a little and end up not feeling well the next day, you make note of what didn't work and move on.

The easiest solution to eating while travelling is camping...I can pre-cook food at home, put it in plastic storage containers and bring it along with me to reheat. Easy, peasy and no gut-wrenching stomachaches to deal with.

Where to begin with IBS

Week 1 is behind me and I feel loads better being on this new eating plan!

If you have IBS or think you do, there are several things you can do right now to start feeling better right away.

Probably one of the first places to begin improving digestion is to minimize, or remove entirely, common stomach irritants such as coffee, alcohol, pepper, spicy foods and anything you already know you're sensitive to. At least for a little while. After some time you may be able to bring these foods back.

The FODMAP diet removes the other common gastric system upsetters that many people have trouble with: cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, leeks, shallots, and garlic, unfortunately, as well as other less commonly known irritants: carbohydrates / sugars from fruit, lactose, and gluten, to name a few. 

Another way to minimize discomfort is to eat more frequent but smaller meals. Eating too much at one sitting causes stress on the digestive system, having a lot to suddenly handle.

Avoid carbonated beverages, especially if you have excess gas.

Engage in non-strenuous exercise - walking, easy cycling, tai chi or yoga - until you feel better and can do more strenuous exercise. A hard workout just isn't good when you're feeling weak and don't want to rattle your stomach. But not exercising at all just isn't wise, especially when you have had IBS for months or years. I find that gentle forms of exercise can usually be well-tolerated. When I'm not feeling up to par, I go for a long walk and do some stretching. Something is better than nothing.

Getting proper sleep and learning to relax are also key to calming the digestive tract. I will go to bed a little earlier than usual and just read to relax.

So in addition to the above, here's what I've done: I have adhered strictly to the FODMAP eating plan except for one thing. I ate some non-dairy cherry "ice cream" forgetting that cherries are currently out. Can't say I can report any specific symptoms from that. 

What did me in though is the cream I put in my coffee the last 2 mornings. (Yes, I'm occasionally still drinking coffee. It's a hard one to give up). Anyway, I digress. FODMAP says that cream is a better additive than the milk in half and half (the milk contains a ton of lactose). On Wednesday I did ok with it but not yesterday. Two days in a row is apparently too much for me. Back to tea for a few days. Then I don't know what I'm going to do about my morning coffee. All those non-dairy creamers taste horrible, especially soy creamer, and they have such terrible ingredients. This is such a total bummer. 

But I can report that overall, this FODMAP thing is working. Part of this process is learning what I can tolerate and what I can't. It's looking a lot like lactose is a problem.

For the elimination portion of this eating plan, I have 5 weeks to go. Then comes the "food challenge" part. But more on that in future posts.

On to the recipe.

If you've followed me for some time, you know that on the weekends I sometimes like to whip up a batch of muffins for breakfast. They are quick to make - you can usually pop one into your mouth inside an hour. I don't usually eat a lot of pineapple but I just happened to have a can in my pantry and since pineapple is on the FODMAP list of acceptable fruits and contains digestive enzymes which I figured couldn't hurt, I decided to make these. They are also gluten-free. Best eaten the day they are made.

Pineapple Muffins

1 cup fine rice flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup potato flour (I didn't have any so I used tapioca flour)
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. xanthan gum
1/2 cup superfine sugar
2 eggs
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
One can crushed pineapple, drained (reserve liquid)
3/4 cup suitable yogurt
1 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper baking liners. Sift the rice flour, cornstarch, potato flour, baking soda, baking powder, and xanthan gum three times in a medium bowl (or mix with a whisk to ensure they are well combined). Add the sugar and mix until well combined.

Break the eggs into a second bowl and whisk. Using a large spoon, stir in the melted butter, pineapple and yogurt. Fold into the flour mixture.

Spoon the batter into the muffin liners. Bake for 15-20 min until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 5 min before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Combine the confectioners' sugar with enough of the reserved pineapple liquid to form a smooth spreadable icing. Drizzle over the cooled muffins and serve.

Makes 12. Each has about 270 calories, and 49g carbs. To cut the carbs and calories, I didn't glaze mine.

Adobe Stew

My friend, Imelda, and I used to meet at a quirky little restaurant called The Gypsy Den in Costa Mesa. Located in a far-out kinda strip mall called "The Lab", it was the half-way point between our two jobs, and a great place for lunch.

The decor is definitely eclectic. Zagat's calls it "early attic". The staff is heavily pierced and tattooed, and the menu mostly vegetarian. Offerings include salads, wraps and sandwiches, chilis and stews, even breakfast and desserts.

The Gypsy Den

Since we liked sitting on the patio, sometimes it was a little cooler there, so I would find myself ordering something called Adobe Stew. Simple, straight-forward, vegetarian, warm and filling.

Over time, I tried to identify just exactly what was in it. It was easy to spot the vegetables - they were listed on the menu and floating around in the broth. But what about the spices? They don't usually list those. You have to figure those out for yourself. 

So I did. At least, I think I did. Tastes pretty darn close to me.

I've been making this soup for years and I hardly ever change it much. Except last weekend I added 1/2 chopped jalapeno, because, as you know, I've been liking things a little hotter than usual lately.

So, here it is. 

Adobe Stew

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp each coriander and chili powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1-2 handfuls of frozen green beans
2 medium fresh zucchini (1 green, 1 yellow would be nice)
1 can (28 oz) stewed tomatoes, with juice
1/2 bag frozen roasted corn
1/2 chopped jalapeno (optional)
vegetable broth, enough to cover your vegetables
1 can pinto beans
salt and pepper
grated jack cheese 

Makes: a lot. You might want to cut the ingredient quantities in 1/2 to start.

Directions:
Begin by heating the oil in a wide soup pot. When warm, add the onion and cook until transluscent (5-8 minutes). Add garlic and spices, stirring constantly to avoid them burning. But get the spices good and fragrant.

Next add the vegetables, and saute until everything comes back up to temperature (the frozen veggies are going to cool everything down). Once it's back to a boil, turn down heat and cover. Simmer 25-30 minutes. Add pinto beans, salt and pepper and give it a good stir.

Ladle stew into a bowl and top with grated cheese.

If you're ever in Orange County and need a place to eat, try out one of the 3 Gypsy Den's: Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, and Anaheim.