~~ You may have read about my newly acquired weird eating habits (almost habits…).
I’ve discovered all kinds of foods that the rest of the world has been eating for centuries that North Americans have never even heard of.
Someone mentioned rice noodles – they are totally awesome! We had Rice Noodle Spaghetti the other night. The whole family ate it and no one noticed the difference (except my sweetie because he saw me making it).
So, with no yeast, wheat, fruit, sugar, dairy, processed foods, or chocolate, what’s a girl to eat!?
At least for the first few weeks of the elimination diet, things are pretty simple. Here are a few meal ideas suggested in “The Yeast Connection Handbook“:
Breakfast:
** Oatmeal with teeny bit of butter (not margarine) or flaxseed oil and pecans I eat a lot of oatmeal!
** Brown rice with filberts, sardines packed in sardine oil and rice cakes. < 😕 This is by far NOT my favorite option! I just can’t do fish in the morning…YUCK!>
** Well cooked eggs, 2 strips of crisp bacon and grits with butter
** Cooked maranth, tuna, tomatoes and walnuts
** Cooked quinoa, baked sweet potato and pecans
Lunches:
** Beef patty, one cup of string beans, filberts and steamed cauliflower
** Salmon, carrots, rice cakes, turnips and cabbage
** Tuna fish with lemon and chopped celery; pecans; salad with tomato, lettuce, green pepper, cucumber and radish; flaxseed (or olive) oil and lemon juice dressing; rice cake. < 🙂 This one is one I eat a lot especially since canned tuna works great on the run, and the salad is easily prepared with “normal” stuff you’ll find in the produce section of almost any grocery store.>
** Vegetable soup (or Progresso lentil soup), rice cakes, almonds
Dinners:
** Baked Cornish hen, steamed cabbage, asparagus, salad with lettus and pecans. Walnut oil and lime juice dressing.
** Steak (or hamburger patty), eggplant, mixed green salad with cucumbers and green peppers
** Pork or lamb chops, turnip greens, okra, carrot and celery sticks
** Roast turkey, baked acorn squash, steamed spinach, grated cabbage, almonds with lemon juice and flax oil dressing.
** Stir Fry of almost any kind – hamburger, chicken, etc., with bean sprouts, snow peas, cabbage, carrots, pepers, celery, onions, whatever!
After the first several weeks, we get to experiment by adding things back into the diet one at a time. The hope is that I can get to a point where I can eat freely:
** All fresh vegetables.
** All fresh fruits (in moderation)
** Whole grains (in moderation)
Of course I can always eat as much fish, lean meat, egg (as tolerated), nuts, seeds and oils as I want. And I may be able to add in some yeast-containing foods at some point.
What I’ll always need to avoid is:
** SUGAR (sugar, maple syrup, honey, corn syrup, date sugar and sugar-containing foods)
** Packaged and processed foods of low nutritional quality that contain sugar and hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats & oils.
Once I’m ready to move into the “After the first few weeks” stage, I’ll post some of those meal ideas.
In reality, I eat lots of rice or oatmeal for breakfast, tuna or chicken and a salad for lunch, and anything fresh and lean for dinner.
I’ve also recently discovered that Sushi doesn’t cause me any troubles, either. YIPPEE! I have to be careful and not use too much soy sauce, but it’s a good option when I want something different.
In some ways the menus are actually simpler, except that we are accustomed to eating so much processed and ready-made foods that it takes more time, energy and $$ to make this work. But, like I said before, if it helps the pain and improves overall quality of life, it’s worth it.
A friend asked me about it the other day, and as I described how I’m eating, she said, “You’re basically eating all the good things we’re supposed to eat, and not eating all the bad stuff we’re not supposed to eat.”
Yup, pretty much!
😉
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