Specific Carbohydrate Diet - makes the gluten-free diet look like a cake walk!

I'm on my third week. No gluten-free pasta, bread, cookies, muffins... you know, the good stuff! Not a potato, not a grain of rice, not even my simple buckwheat porridge. The first 5 days I was ornery. With two weeks under my belt, I'm starting to get the hang of it. 

You might ask why someone who is already on a deleterious diet might consider taking things a step further. I ask the same question. This has been prescribed to me by my naturopath, because, despite being strictly gluten-free, I'm not without ongoing health issues due to other autoimmune conditions. 

The specific carbohydrate diet (or SCD) was designed by Elaine Gottschall who wrote the book Breaking the Vicious Cycle; Intestinal Health Through Diet. Essentially, the diet omits any sugars that are not monosaccharides, or single sugars such as those found in fruit, honey and certain vegetables. There are zero grains (including rice, potatoes, corn, quinoa... our gluten-free go-to carbs). There is no maple syrup (a recent addiction). There is no milk or yogurt. This also meant pulling off my milky-tea habit. 

I'm in no way recommending this diet - it's a temporary move on my part to see if it can help alleviate some symptoms and give me my energy back. If you operate well on a gf diet - I'd go no further. If you'd like to read up on the SCD diet, I've linked to the official website HERE. 

I'm writing about this experience because it has really helped me, once again to see that I get into a rut, and that there are some easy places to cut back on my sugar intake (like those enormous chocolate bars I'm magnetically drawn to in the grocery store). It's also always good to be reminded that there are others living on a more restrictive diet through necessity - and that gf (especially now) is pretty simple to adhere to. 

Todays menu will give you a sense of what this diet looks like in action: 

Breakfast - a smoothie made of spinach, a banana, frozen cherries and pumpkin seeds. I was having this for breakfast a lot last summer, but lost interest in the winter when warm carb-filled offerings were more appealing. 

Lunch - tuna with green onion, parsley, olive oil and chopped avocado wrapped in radicchio leaves (image above). These were strangely satisfying and will stay on the roster long after I move off this diet. Lettuce wraps are an excellent solution when you can't get gf bread. Simply mix up tuna or egg salad and wrap into little spring rolls. Radicchio is lovely and bitter which adds a different dimension than typical greens.... plus, they look so pretty!!

Dinner - tomato and meat sauce with onion, spinach and parsley on top of spaghetti squash. While I prefer pasta, this was certainly satiating. Simply cut the squash in half, scoop out seeds and place face down on a tray in the oven for 35 mins at 375 degrees. 

Remove from oven and scrape out the spaghetti like strands onto your plate and top with sauce (or just butter and parmesan cheese). 

Snacks - organic apple sauce (almost everything I'm eating these days is organic), medjool dates, toasted almonds, apple slices with cheddar cheese (which is strangely allowed) - as is WINE! 

When the doctor told me that wine, cheese, nuts and olives were allowed on the diet, I figured it wasn't as torturous as some others I've been on. Regardless of how this all turns out in the end, it's been an excellent reminder to think beyond the bun, pizza, pasta, muffins... and grains in general. I always eat pretty healthy - but tend to cram a decent amount of unhealthy sugary carbs in between the healthy stuff. 

If nothing else, this experience will help me understand if there are foods beyond gluten that cause my system distress. 

Of course - I'm chomping at the bit for gluten-free cookies. Luckily, I know I'll be able to find them pretty much everywhere these days when it's time to start slowly re-introducing foods into my diet. 

simple soup - fast & healthy food for frosty days

chard, like kale, comes in many varieties

Sometimes a good dose of veggies is really in order. In winter, decent fresh veggies can be a little harder to come by.

Soup is a food that we whip up based on a few essentials and whatever is available and ideally, organic and in season. This time of year that means greens like chard, kale or collard. Squash and root veggies are also a good bet. Oh, and beans. We eat a lot of beans.

So here is a super simple list of ingredients that make up a healthy and hearty soup. Mix up the variables for variety:

Put this selection of items into the pot in this order:
1) good quality extra virgin olive oil to cover bottom of pot
2) chopped onion and or leeks & garlic, sauteed until clear
3) any combination of chili flakes, thyme, rosemary, parsley...
4) beans (garbanzo, white kidney, cannelini, navy, black...)
5) chopped greens (kale, chard, collard, spinach...)
6) organic/healthy/gf bouillon cube(s)
7) boiled water (kettle makes this easy) to cover ingredients.
8) bring to boil and then turn down to simmer for 20 mins. 

beans make veggie soup more substantial

To shake it up further, you could add either a can of diced tomatoes OR juice from a lemon (not both!). We make most of our choices based on what's in the larder. Toss in potatoes, carrots, celery, fennel right after the onions - whatever you have on hand.

this one has chard, white kidney beans and diced tomatoes

If you think you don't have the time or energy to make homemade soup... this takes about 10 minutes to assemble (including washing, chopping etc).. and another 20 minutes to simmer. If you make a big batch (note I didn't include amounts - depends on your need!) you can eat this for lunches throughout the week. You can also put it in single serving size containers and freeze it for another time. Healthy food - ready when you are... and ideal for keeping those new year's resolutions on track!

quinoa gluten-free tabbouleh

Quinoa as a gluten-free substitute in tabbouleh

Tabbouleh is a classic middle eastern dish made with either bulgar wheat, or couscous (sometimes called semolina - whatever you call it... couscous, semolina and bulgar wheat are NOT gluten free!).  

Quinoa is a lighter grain and makes an excellent substitute for a gluten-free version of tabbouleh. I've linked to an earlier post about quinoa, and how to cook it within the recipe. 

Cook one cup of quinoa (it's easy - click HERE for how)

dice 1 firm plum tomato 

about 1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
about 10 finely chopped mint leaves

1/2 an English cucumber diced
2 green onions (or scallions) finely chopped

squeeze juice from one lemon
drizzle on some good quality olive oil

dash of salt & pepper

stir it up & serve!

I typically put some of the plain, cooked quinoa aside for breakfast the next morning (there is plenty for the salad). I love squeezing an extra meal or two out of a pot of cooked grain. 

This dish is great on its own, works well as a side with chicken or fish, and travels well for lunches lasting up to 2 days in the fridge.  

An excellent dish for a healthy start to the new year!

fresh homemade salsa - no fat & loads of flavour!

salsa ingredients just before we mixed it up - bursting with flavour!

8-10 small fresh firm plum tomatoes diced small

1 small red onion diced small

1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro

2 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed & finely chopped

fresh lime juice squeezed from 2 limes

(optional: roast peppers over flame and remove skins)

As summer begins to wind down, I've been maxing out my in-take of tomatoes. Bill just whipped up this very simple fresh salsa (which lasts in the fridge for about 3 days)... and we've been eating it with corn chips. It would also make a fantastic topping on gf toast (not unlike bruschetta). This is a great way to get lots of good veggies into your diet. Adding two cans of rinsed beans (black beans or white kidney/cannellini) and 1/4 cup olive oil to this would turn this into an awesome bean salad. Consider this two recipes in one!! 

gluten-free dinner for one

rapini with rotini rice pasta and cured black olives

For years I lived alone and quickly learned that the trick to cooking for one, is not to. I cook things that work well over a few meals. Two or three nights of making dinner is all I need to have a few dishes on rotation for lunches and dinners over a week. 

There are lots of foods that work well this way - some obvious ones are chili, soups or lasagna,which all freeze well too. When I make these, I freeze a few portions that I can add into my rotation of meals in future weeks.

Rapini is hands down my favourite vegetable. When Bill is away on road trips, I tend to eat it up to 3 nights a week. A large head of rapini ensures that I get a good dose of greens in a week too. Check out my post HERE on how I cook rapini (which is great on its own!) and toss it with pasta and olives. When it cools I dole up what's left into sandwich bags and take it to work to heat up for lunches.

gluten free summer fresh food

Caprese Salad:
Tomatoes, Bocconcini, Basil, Olive Oil, Balsamic, S&P

Arugula Salad:
Arugula, Walnuts, Salt cured olives, Olive Oil, Lemon, S&P

What do these foods all have in common? They are fresh,
local and in season. What's more... each dish is comprised of no more than 5 ingredients and takes mere minutes to assemble.

That is how we try to approach food at home. 

Spring through fall we aim to get to the local farmer's market on Saturday morning. We stroll around and pick out what appeals. Purchases here are the basis for the meals the week ahead. Bill will pick up fresh fish or organic meat for the grill to "accompany" our fresh goodies. We try to see the veggies first. 

Potato, Corn & Pesto Salad

Our friend Pina dropped by and joined Bill & I for a typical fast & easy Monday night dinner.

What I'd like to drive home here - is that while I love food and appreciate "good" food... I don't really like to spend my day cooking. I want to spend at least as much time enjoying the food as I do making it.

 When I lived in Italy, it struck me that most dishes were comprised of very few ingredients. If food was fresh and in season... the flavour spoke for itself. 

My approach is to pick three main ingredients: a protein, and two vegetables (one is sometimes more carb like potatoes or corn). We don't eat meat every night - we toss together a quick warm pasta dish (drain the rice pasta and stir in some pesto and a couple of fresh ingredients). Beans are also a great source of protein and fiber.

Ideally anything cooked happens all in one place and one way. By this I mean that meat or fish is grilled on the barbeque in summer alongside the corn, zucchini, eggplant, peppers... whatever we have. In winter the meat or fish goes in one  dish along with the veg. Pasta  often gets assembled in one pot. Done. Did I mention that I also hate washing dishes?

People buy pre-packaged foods in a box or can for a variety of reasons. Usually because they either don't like or know how to cook... or they don't believe they have time or energy. 

It takes 6-12 minutes to nuke something in a plastic tray that won't be good for you and has almost no nutritional value. Lucky for you... very few of these types of  meals are gluten-free :) 

Just because your body wasn't made to eat gluten, does not mean you have to spend hours in the kitchen to eat well. Good ingredients are key to good dishes. Buy the best  quality olive oil you can find. Everything you make will taste better. 
 
This is not a cooking blog. There are plenty of great resources for those who enjoy spending hours in the kitchen. I'll be posting more of what I call "5 under 10" recipes on this blog. By this I mean no more than 5 ingredients, and no more than 10 minutes to make. I look forward to sharing what we will be putting on our table!

gluten-free road trip

Bill & Utta

We flew down to Tulsa last summer to pick up this adorable orange 1973 Volkswagen camper van... and slowly chugged back up north to Toronto. Last month we said goodbye to our beautiful girl (we'd named her Utta). It was sad to say goodbye, but as sweet as Utta was, she just wasn't built for the long hauls.

 

Before saying our final goodbyes, we replaced her with a 95VW camper we've named Bernie. I whipped up some cute curtains to "soften" his edges (and give us some privacy). Then, we packed Bernie with supplies and departed on a 16 day road trip from Toronto to Montreal, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and home.  8 of the 16 days were spent living in the van.

This is the kind of adventure that really tests ones gluten-free life skills.

On a trip of this nature, where you don't know where you'll be sleeping the next night, or what kind of amenities lay ahead... it's a good plan to have some "go to" items on hand. There are loads of ways to do this... but I'm going to use this one trip as a simple real life example of how we did it this time. 

Here are the "dry goods" that I packed in advance:

• Glutino Breakfast Bars
• Glutino Snack Bars
• Japanese Rice Crackers 
• Brown Rice Cakes 
• Mary's Organic Seed Crackers
• Rice vermicilli noodles (only need a soak in boiling water)
• Canned chickpeas (rinsed & used in salads)
• Small pull tab tins of tuna in olive oil
• Almond butter (healthier than peanut butter)
• Almonds & pistachios
• Trail mix
• Olive oil
• Herbs/Salt/Pepper
• Regular & Herbal Tea
• Espresso Coffee

 When we got on the road we hit grocery stores. We had to watch what we could bring over boarder crossings... but throughout the trip we loaded our excellent Yeti cooler with ice and the following items: 

• snack fruit (apples, bananas, grapes, pears... things that are easy to eat in a moving car!)
• variety of berries
• yogurt (individual serving)
• tomatoes (cherry/plum/beefsteak... all in season)
• baby carrots
• boxes of salad (pre-washed and ready to eat!)
• good cheeses (feta, sharp cheddar, blue, brie)
• humous (good source of easy protein)
• olives
• eggs (we could boil them soft or hard)
• wine :) 
• lots and lots of water 

We might have eaten other foods if it wasn't so hot out - most of these were refreshing foods that made great "stop and snack" meals (ie: cheese, crackers, apple slices, grapes). In some places where we camped out there was no running water - just what we had in the jug we brought. Travel wipes kept me sane. Did I mention that I am not in the least bit outdoorsy?

In the morning we'd make espresso and tea on the stove in our little van and then take the lid off of an individual yogurt cup and sprinkle berries on top. If I was really hungry I'd add one of the breakfast bars I'd packed... but I tried to save those for emergencies. You will note that there was no gluten-free bread packed. I have rules about the bread which I'll get into on a future post - as well as more to say about rice cakes!

 

Convenience is key. Take the lid off a box of salad, chop some tomatoes, olives, tuna and/or feta into it...pour on olive oil, close the lid, shake... serve with crackers and humous... and ta-da! You have a complete meal. You can even eat directly from the box with a fork. Adding a glass of wine  elevates any meal. 

Replace the salad box with a can of rinsed chickpeas or other beans for variety and a heavier feed. It's amazing the combos you can come up with in a bowl with just the ingredients listed above.

The goal was to avoid road food (yucky and rarely gluten-free) and eat as much fresh fruits and vegetables as possible. When we stayed in bigger cities (Portland, Boston, NYC) we treated ourselves to some lovely meals out and filled up on meat and fish. I am working on a list of amazing places to eat on the road... which I'll share it in a future post.