The Other White Meat

Yesterday I decided to make a more sophisticated version of pork chops and applesauce. I marinated the pork in fresh rosemary, garlic, salt and olive oil for about 6 hours, cooked them on the charcoal grill, and served them alongside some leftover baked apples. Delicious!!


The salad I made was simple but surprisingly tasty. Boyfriend gobbled it all up, and he "hates" salad (which I find hysterical because he's a vegetarian). FYI, this recipe is MUCH better if you use all organic veggies and good quality vinegar.

Avocado Tomato Salad
(serves 2)

2 semi hard avocados
2 small or 1 large ripe tomato
1/2 medium red onion, sliced in rings
3 TBS White Wine Vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Chop avocado and tomato into 1 inch chunks, add remaining ingredients and lightly toss in large bowl. Serve on a bed of your favorite leafy lettuce (I used a mix of butter leaf and iceberg)


It's been almost 1 week on the intro diet, and I'm feeling pretty damn good. Don't know if I'm lighter but my pants fit better I feel less bloated. I'm down to 20mg of Prednisone (I was on 40 just a month ago), and haven't had any serious symptoms in about 3 days, which is kind of a big deal for me. Today was the first time I've eaten any cheese, which is also a huge milestone because I usually eat it like it's going out of style and I've been trying to cut back.

Today I slept through my alarm and didn't have much time to prepare food so I ended up just eating a bunch of fruit, yogurt, leftover chicken, and such scraps I could grab out of the fridge before work. However, when I got home I ate round 2 of pork chops and apples, only this time I roasted broccoli, eggplant and onions on the grill. I've discovered that the trick to good eggplant is slicing it into thin spears, sweating it, and grilling till it's almost burnt. Just a little fresh garlic and olive oil and topping to finish. You know, I think I may be getting the hang of this vegetable thing...

Over the weekend I made several things that were either unsuccessful (ketchup) or boring to take pictures of (almond milk). I did, however, take a pic of my second roast chicken before I snatched off all the skin (so good!). For your viewing pleasure:

Don't be fooled by my amazing photography, these are tiny birds. But is it weird that I eat about 2 chickens a week? In terms of consumption, it's not that much in weight, but when I think of a whole live chicken runnin' around and cluckin' it sounds kind of weird. I'm just sayin.

I do believe that if I'm feeling up to it I will start on some almond flour baked goods this week and drop my steroids to 15mg this weekend. Next week I'm starting a series of body wraps to suck some of this nasty water weight out of me. I've done it before and it totally works. I can't wait to be rid of some of these pounds! I'm excited and still motivated, and not missing pizza (that much), so yay me! Also getting my hairs and nails did this weekend, so at this rate my hotness is going to be out of control in month or two (I kid, I kid!).

Day 2 - Lots of Chicken and Yogurt

Stupid little yogurts

Day 2 of the intro diet. I have to say, I'm liking the homemade yogurt a little more this time around, although making it is my least favorite part of the SCD. BORING! So tedious with the tiny glass jars I have. Glad I bought a second set of them. I screwed up and got non-fat yogurt for the starter, which is not advised because of the bacteria or something, but I hate to throw it out so I'll just make due. The only thing I've eaten that is not SCD legal is mayo, and I'm going to tackle making my own this evening. Since the intro diet is so boring, there isn't much to share as of now.


I did roast a chicken however, and I think I came up with the perfect formula after doing several of them. The key to a delicious chicken is brining it. This is simply soaking it in cold salt water for at least an hour. Overnight is best, but I usually only have time for an hour. Here's what I did today:

4-5 Pound Fryer Chicken
1/2 Cup Kosher salt plus some for sprinkling
3-5 sprigs chopped fresh Thyme
1-2 sprigs chopped fresh Sage
3-4 sprigs chopped fresh Rosemary
5 cloves garlic, pressed
1 stick soft butter
Salt and Ground pepper to taste

Rinse chicken and remove neck and giblets if needed. Dissolve salt into large pot or container with a small amount of warm water, put the chicken in, then fill the pot with cold water until chicken is covered. Store in refrigerator at least one hour. Remove from water, pat dry with paper towels, and let air dry for as long as possible. The drier the chicken, the more moist the meat. Put a generous amount of salt and pepper in the cavity. An optional step is to slice a lemon or an orange in half and fill the cavity. Some say it ads to the moisture, I'm not sure about this. I do like that it keeps the chicken from collapsing and makes it look nice and cook evenly throughout.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Add remaining ingredients together in small bowl and mix into garlic herb butter. Rub this butter underneath the skin of the chicken, saving just a little for the outside. I like to take a sharp knife and separate the skin from the flesh and really get in there with the herbs, making sure they are as evenly spread as possible. Once your chicken is all stuffed and buttery, sprinkle it with salt & pepper lay it breast up in a 9 x 13 glass baking dish and roast for 45-55 min, or until temp at the thickest part of the leg reads 165.

Stupid me forgot to take a picture of the final product before I devoured the skin and the oysters which made it ugly. It's my favorite part! But, here is the little guy all buttery and ready to go!

That is a beautiful and tasty bird. Here's a tip: Never throw away the carcass! Once I carve it all up I like to take all the bones, drippings, extra fat, giblets, and throw them in a large pot with 2 roughly chopped onions, 4 or 5 carrots, the tops of a bunch of celery, extra herbs, salt, pepper, 1 bay leaf and tons of fresh garlic. I cover that with filtered water and boil it for several hours, adding more and more water as it boils down to the point where I can see the chicken. I then strain and discard everything except the broth, which I freeze in little 1 cup bags. This makes excellent starter for any soup, and is great to heat up when you're sick.

Yummy!

So, back to eating chicken, broth, SCD Cheesecake, apple cider and eggs for the next few days. I did spice up my fried egg today by frying half a sliced onion until it was super brown and crispy, something I learned from a Suzanne Sommers book. Really tasty, and gives you the crunch that you miss when there is no toast. I think I'll try sherried mushrooms on them tomorrow and report back on how it goes!

The thing I love the most is killing me

Here is a quick back story to make a little sense of my dietary adventures: In 2006 I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. It was somewhat of a relief at first, to be able to put a name to what I had been experiencing for the last 20 years, not have to deal with Doctors telling me that it was "stress" or "irritable bowel", and to eat "bland" foods, whatever those are. I was excited that I would be able to get medication that was specifically for my problems, and I couldn't wait to start feeling better!


This was short lived. Optimism gradually became despair and self pity. Come to find out, at 24 years old I had one of the "most advanced cases" any doctor that I spoke to had ever seen. There are only about 5 different medications for Crohn's and none of them were working on me. Surgery was not an option, because while most people have a small concentrated area in their intestines that is affected, mine were riddled with ulcers and polyps throughout the small and large. Over the next 2 years I went up and down in weight, on and off of steroids, various medications, and different diets. Between 2007 and 2008 I was hospitalized over 24 times. I lived in the Mayo Clinic for a while. Turns out they are nicer to you, but not much more help than any other doc on the block, just more expensive. They all wanted the same thing, which I refused: REMICADE. We'll discuss my reasons in another post.


I have tried so many different diets under and out of the supervision of doctors and naturopaths that it's insane. One thing was slightly successful in that period of time, the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, Known as SCD from here on. I never adhered 100% however, so can't really say how much it has benefited me. Reason number 1 being, IT IS HARD AS HELL. I'm not going to downplay or sugar coat this. This diet SUCKS. Mostly because it is restrictive, cuts out most social eating situations, and is incredibly inconvenient. Forget about trying to vacation on it. UG. Some people may think I sound like a spoiled brat, but maybe I like going out to eat OK? I really love food. I am a foodie. I love the dining experience, I love food from all different cultures, I love cooking (and I'm damn good at it), baking, the sensual aspect, the social aspect, everything about it! That's what is so infuriating. The thing I love the most is mostly what makes me sick. Not just a little allergy here either, we're talking bleeding colon (sorry, I tend to be rather graphic and not hold back much, expect TMI throughout) and trips to the ER. However, at this point in my life I think I am ready to take the plunge and make a serious life change. You see, I am overweight and extremely unhappy because of steroids that I can't get off of because they are literally keeping me alive. My Crohn's is not acting up, but I'm getting terrible side effects (i.e., someone hugged me and broke my rib 4 days ago, weak immune system, fatty deposits in cheeks, WTF). I'm currently taking 52 supplements per day on top of that from my NMD, and this is sucking me dry since none are covered by health insurance. I'm tired of going to the doctor or naturopath once a month and writing down all my poops. I'm tired of just getting by. I want to feel good and look good again!


It's hard being so young and not being able to go out to sushi or pizza with friends, and that is one major reason I failed any diet in the past. For the last year I have given into just taking Prednisone to calm my inflammation and pretty much eating how I want. This doesn't necessarily mean fast food or junk food either. A dinner of drive through hamburgers will have the same negative effect on me that seared scallops over a bed of baby arugula will. But now, I want off these steroids more than anything, and I know that if I can try the SCD again I might have some chance of really curing myself of this incurable disease. It also has the pleasant side effect of making you drop pounds like crazy, and the drugs have put 20 on me in the last 6 months. For a full list of side effects check this out. Mania is the 3rd one, It's pretty scary.


So... The REAL reason for this blog is to keep track of the ingenious recipes I am going to come up with in the following months and share them with others. I will also use it to bitch about stuff from time to time. There are a TON of fantastic blogs and recipes out there, but frankly I'm a little tired of making dense banana bread and homemade yogurt cheesecakes. I'm talking real food for real foodies, and simply making it SCD legal. I can only find ONE freaking hot sauce on the market that I can even ingest dammit! So I'll be making my own. This will take some time however, because I only started the diet (for the 3rd time in my life) 2 days ago and this time I'm doing the "intro diet" for a LONG time before I jump into advanced foods. Be warned also, this is not your mommy's baking blog. I am going to curse and describe my bowel movements and talk about my fat ass (not fat for much longer!).


When all is said and done, I just hope that I am able to get out there and help others on the diet find some more options and some more excitement in their diet as well, all the while holding my self accountable for my recovery.