Fighting Flare

28 Deceptively Decadent Super Bowl Snacks That Won't Twist Your Gut

Seahawks Super Bowl excitement is reaching a fevered pitch here in Seattle this week.  I don't even care about football and I'm excited... 'cause it's an excuse for a party!!  And everyone knows that Super Bowl parties are all about the food and the commercials, right??  This will be our first Super Bowl on the SCD, so I've been scouring Pinterest for awesome snacks to celebrate and thought I'd share my favorite ooey, gooey, cheesey, drool-worthy SCD-legal snacks.  The gang's all here...nachos, buffalo wings, blooming onions, pizza, guacamole, dips...I don't even know where to start.

Wait, did someone say NACHOS? I love the idea of building a massive plate of nachos on top of pork rinds, bacon or mini bell peppers.  Topped with shredded chicken, ground meat, olives, cheese, guac, diced tomatoes, green onions, chopped cilantro, SCD yogurt or whatever you like...they will be every bit as indulgent as the ones that start with corn chips.

And speaking of GUACAMOLE...the possibilities are endless...I love the idea of serving it with grilled shrimp or in tiny little bacon cups. And guac deviled eggs...mmmm.

But wait, here's some more DEVILED EGGS! Bacon Jalapeno, Buffalo Chicken and even football shaped eggs are irresistable.

Need something else to stuff?  How about MUSHROOMS? I'm drooling over the Brie Stuffed Shrooms and am loving the idea of a French Onion Soup stuffed shroom...and then there's always the Pizza Stuffed Mushroom...

And speaking of PIZZA...It is totally possible to make a satisfying pizza using almond flour or cauliflower for the crust...BBQ Chicken, Grilled Chicken and Blue Cheese, Market Mediterranean and Cauliflower cheese sticks all look good to me...I'll have one of each, please!

Oops...did I skip right over BUFFALO CHICKEN?  Here it is served up in all kinds of new ways...homemade hot dogs, meatballs, pizza and cauliflower bites, oh my!

But wait, there's more...you didn't think I'd skip over chips and dip did you?  Whet your whistle for crunch with some pork rinds...perfect for dipping into spinach artichoke dip, vidalia onion dip or cheese-y queso fundido.  And what's not to love about a blooming onion??

And when in doubt, don't forget that BACON is awesome wrapped around just about anything...jalapeno poppers, avocado, shrimp, dates, your shoe...j/k.

Hard to believe that every last one of those decadent party foods is or can easily be made SCD legal!  Who says we can't still enjoy our food?  Just go easy if you're not fully in remission...I don't want to be responsible for a jalapeno induced flare.  Still not sure which of these I'll be bringing to the party this weekend, but I'm leaning hard towards the spinach artichoke dip and the brie stuffed mushrooms.  And I'm definitely testing out the pork rind nacho concept for happy hour tonight.  And maybe the blooming onion...too awesome not to try.  ;)

For all the recipes and my notes about how to tweak ingredients if necessary, just check out my SCD Snack Attack board on Pinterest.  Or click the links in the post to go straight to the recipe source.  Have a great Super Bowl weekend!!  Go Hawks!!  XOXO, Cindi

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The Fighting Flare Guide to SCD Pantry Staples

There is a lot of information in Breaking the Vicious Cycle about what you can and can not eat on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD).  Food is divided into two camps...legal vs. illegal.  This list is based primarily on the molecular structure of the sugars in the food...monosacharides (simple sugars) are in...everything else is out. Fortunately, you don't have to be a chemist to sort it all out.  There is a comprehensive list of legal and illegal foods that takes all the guesswork out of the diet.  You can find the list in the book or online.  (I tend to keep the online version handy on my phone, so I can double check ingredients while I'm food shopping.)  If you follow the rules blindly, you can't mess up.  That being said, there are inconsistencies which you will start to question after following the diet for a while.  I'll address some of those in another post, but for now, let's stick to the plan and go with what we know. 

In my last SCD 101 post, I shared how I transformed my pantry from a sloppy carb-laden hole in the wall, to a super-charged, bionic pantry ready to fight flare.  As promised in that post, today I will tell you what to stock your pantry with for success on the SCD.  Being prepared is half the battle...

I've created a shopping list for you.  It has three sections, pantry, fridge and freezer.  These are things that are always good to have on hand and do not include all of the items you will still want to shop for weekly, such as fresh produce and protein.  If you keep your pantry well stocked, you will save time and money by not having to run to the store for missing ingredients while in the middle of making dinner or because you have nothing planned for your next meal...or because the meal you planned turned out like crap, which is what happened to me last night.  ;)

 

IN THE PANTRY

Nut flours, shredded coconut, baking soda, honey, vanilla, cinammon and some oils are essential if you plan to do any baking. 

Nuts, nut butters and dried fruits can also be used to enhance baked goods and are good for snacking.  You will also find that nut flours make an excellent replacement for breadcrumbs. 

Beans and lentils are your new best friends when you are not allowed to eat starch.  Keep several kinds on hand to keep things interesting.  It's also a good idea to soak and par-cook beans to keep in your freezer for super fast meals when you haven't planned ahead.  Try swapping in beans in place of rice or potatoes in your favorite recipes.

Olives, pickles and tuna are great for a last minute antipasto or as hors d'ouvres. These items are SCD legal, but you still need to read labels carefully, because there are a lot of weird ingredients in things you would never suspect. 

Canned tomatoes are a controversial SCD ingredient.  There are a lot of opinions about canned tomato products and in fact, there are even differing opinions in different versions of Breaking the Vicious Cycle.  My book (printed 2010, bought used) and the website, say nothing except tomato juice for cooking, but my mom's newer copy of the book says that some canned tomato products are ok.  My approach is to can my own tomatoes, but if you can't do that or don't want to, find a trustworthy brand, buy the least processed product with nothing but tomatoes on the label, and don't eat them more than once a week or so. 

 

IN THE FRIDGE

Eggs are really a workhorse in an SCD kitchen...keep several dozen on hand for fritattas, hard boiling, scrambling, baking...you will go through a lot of eggs.  I like to buy a dozen extra to set aside for a week or two before boiling...older eggs are much easier to peel than fresh.

Butter, Ghee or Bacon Fat, depending on your preference, are flavorful fats that enhance any dish.  I keep all of my bacon drippings in a glass mason jar in the fridge and don't hesitate to use them when sauteeing greens, eggs, or anything that would benefit from a little smokey bacon-y flavor.

SCD Yogurt is easy to make from whole milk and is a very important part of restoring balance to your gut flora.  I always keep several jars on hand for smoothies and for use in place of cream, cream cheese, sour cream, etc.  You can even strain it down and make a delicious yogurt cheese with it.  I'll tell you my (mostly) foolproof technique for making yogurt in a crockpot in a post very soon.

Aged cheese and parmesan are always good to have on hand.  I find that cheese can fix almost any kitchen disaster...LOL.  And there are so many legal cheeses, that you will never get bored trying them all.  Beware of shredded and grated cheese though because it often has starch added to keep it from clumping.  It's best to grate or shred your own.

Pesto is another flavorful ingredient that I always keep on hand.  It's easy to make and packs a real flavor punch.  It's wonderful on fish, veggies, SCD pizza, etc.

Bacon and Prosciutto are two great meats to keep around.  Bacon is allowed once a week if cooked very crispy, IF it has sugar.  If you can find one that is sugar free, you can have it more often.  I have found a sugar-free, natural bacon from Hempler's that is made with honey and a sugar-free priscutto from Trader Joes that is just ham and salt.

Fresh juices (not from concentrate) and sparkling water are great to keep stocked in your fridge.  You can make your own fruit juice "soda" by splashing some sparkling water into your favorite juice.  You can also make iced tea more fun by splashing some juice into it for a little extra flavor.

Mayo, mustard, horseradish, ketchup and BBQ sauce are useful to keep stocked.  You can make your own of any of these, but there are some safe ready-made products to be had.  I do make my own ketchup and BBQ sauce because I have not found suitable "processed" versions, but I buy Spectrum Canola mayo, Maille Dijon mustard and sugar-free horseradish from a small local vendor.

 

IN THE FREEZER

Bananas, berries and peaches are some of my favorite frozen fruits to keep on hand.  They are ideal for quick smoothies in the morning, can be cooked down into syrups and jams or used for various berry desserts.  To freeze your own bananas, let them ripen until the peels are good and spotty, then peel them and toss the bananas into a ziploc.  It's that easy.  I buy an extra bunch each week just for this purpose.

Spinach, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, bell peppers and artichoke hearts are my favorite freezer veggies.  I buy peppers at the end of the summer when they are on sale and chop, them for use later in soup, chili, etc.  The rest I buy frozen for nights when I've not planned ahead and need a steamed veggie for a side dish.

Fresh Herbs are also nice to have in the freezer.  Many can just be frozen and chopped as needed.  I keep fragile herbs that don't dry well, such as taragon, cilantro and dill in the freezer.

Beans, as I mentioned in the pantry section, are great to have in the freezer.  Whenever I make something with beans, I soak a few extra cups, cook them until just soft and then freeze them in mason jars.  It's like having the convenience of canned beans, only SCD legal.

Chicken Stock is another must-have in my freezer.  I make stock all the time.  It's the easiest trash-to-treasure recipe there is and saves you a bundle.  Not to mention, canned stock is off limits.  So do yourself a favor, learn how to make chicken stock and always keep a few quarts at the ready.

Protein is the last component in my freezer.  I like to keep a bag of cooked shrimp, some fish filets, chicken breasts, ground meat and sometimes even cooked, diced chicken.  All of these things can be defrosted fairly quickly and are the building blocks of just about any meal.

Don't worry about remembering all that just now.  I put together a cheat sheet for you 'cause I'm all about convenience.  Save the image below or click this link to download a PDF: Download SCD PANTRY STAPLES

That's all for today.  Did I miss anything?  What are your favorite pantry staples?  I hope you'll come back soon to join me in Fighting Flare.  XOXO, Cindi

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How to Build A Bionic SCD Pantry: Better. Stronger. Faster.

When my family committed to trying the Specific Carbohydrate Diet for two months, I knew it wasn't going to be easy.  We had a pantry full of carbs, grains, starches and sugars and nary a nut flour in sight.  But, ladies and gentlemen, we could rebuild that pantry!  We had the technology!  We could make it better....better, stronger, faster...LOL!  (For you youngin's out there, watch the video below if you don't get the joke.)

 

Ultimately, I decided to purge, restock and reorganize. That may seem drastic for a two-month test, but it had to be done. The mixing and mingling of SCD-legal and illegal foods on my shelves was confusing me.  And as you can see from the photos below...my pantry was in need of some lovin' anyway! LOL.

My mission was, of course, top secret and highly classified.  I tried very hard not to let my daughter see all of the carbs I was kicking to the curb, as that would have just been salt in the wound.   After taking a mental inventory of what was in my pantry, I devised a plan to eat down as much of the the non-SCD pantry (including the fridge) as we could in the month leading up to our start date...also being mindful of my daughter's delicate GI tract.  Then I gave away any remaining non-SCD foods that would spoil or go stale during our test period.  The rest I boxed up and stashed away, so I would not have to look at it.  If the test was a flop, I reasoned, I could just pull it all back out again and we'd be back to normal.

What was left after The Great Purge were some pretty bare shelves...some beans, some lentils, a few raisins...LOL.  But I have to say, I liked the simplicity.  It was a lot less cluttered, to say the least.  ;)

Now it was time for some bionic food replacements.  I hit Trader Joe's for nuts, nut flours, nut butters, dried fruits, aged cheeses, fresh juices and coconut oil.  For dried beans, lentils, honey, dried coconut and coconut flour I hit the bulk food bins at my local food co-op.   Yup, even for the honey, which is much cheaper in bulk.

Reorganizing my pantry shelves was kind of fun.  I've been collecting and using vintage wire bale mason jars for years, so I stashed my newly aquired bulk ingredients in those.  I love the way they look...so simple and pure.  Plus, it's super easy to see at-a-glance what I have on-hand and what is running low.  If you don't have vintage jars or don't want to spend the time looking for them, an assortment of pint, quart and gallon size canning jars or even recycled condiment jars will do the trick for bulk ingredients.  If you do use vintage jars, be sure to check the rims for cracks or chips and don't use any that are damaged. (I know you know that, but I felt compelled to mention it anyway. Safety first!)  And, pick up new rubber gaskets for them so they will seal air-tight.  If you've never bought canning supplies, you can find them at most grocery, kitchen supply and hardware stores.  That's some of my collection below...ignore the trashed walls...emergency kitchen remodel in progress...

Time Saving Tip: I didn't bother to label any of my jars, even though there are about a gazillion cute ways to do so.  I just didn't see the point because it's very obvious to me what everything is when I look at it...and when in doubt, I just give a sniff or taste to identify...bionic powers, yah know?  It's also easier to wash the jars and swap them around as needed if they aren't all labeled.  In a pinch, you can always use a sharpie to write directly on the glass or lid...most of the time it will scrub off when you wash them.

If you don't want to bother with jars at all, just organize your new pantry staples in a way that makes sense to you and is easy to access because you will be using this stuff all the time from now on.

At the same time I was re-stocking my pantry in August, I was also doing a lot of canning.  Don't freak out...it's not that hard.  Time consuming, yes, but just like this diet, anyone can do it.  Aside from the satisfaction of being able to enjoy homemade goodies in the middle of winter, these canned goods have become my own versions of "convenience" foods.   I canned tomatoes, dilly beans, relish, salsa, pickles and sugar-free fruit sauces, jams and butters.  I'll definitely be talking about canning more in future posts, but for now, just know that canning and preserving foods is a great way to supplement an SCD pantry.  And once you learn how to do it, its really pretty fun. 

By the time I was finished, my pantry looked like something out of Little House on the Prairie, and I have to tell you, I am very proud of it.  I worked really hard on it and after all the initial feelings of helplessness surrounding my daughter's Ulcerative Colitis diagnosis, this felt like a huge accomplishment.  Finally, something I could do to help her.  Every single jar in my pantry represents a bottle of pills she won't have to take, drug infusions she won't have to endure and hours spent just being a kid instead of being sick and in pain.  At least that's how I see it.  Only time will tell whether or not all the hard work will pay off, but if dedication and commitment counts for anything, we are in it to win it! 

At this point, we have surpassed our two-month goal and are half-way through month five! We had a flood of sorts in our kitchen this fall and have been enduring a seemingly never-ending emergency kitchen remodel...unplanned, but not unwanted, I like to say.  I will share more about that drama another day...including how to survive and thrive on the SCD...WITHOUT A KITCHEN...heaven help me.  My pantry has continued to evolve and we recently gave away the remaining stash of carbs I had packed away.  Here is what my pantry looks like today...big difference from when we started.

The top section holds most of my canning supplies, "backstock" of some canned goods, and my black box of wine, which, mercifully, is SCD legal-ish...can Merlot be considered a dry wine?  The middle section contains my dry and canned goods.  And in the bottom section, I placed open bins for snacks, nuts, dried fruit, the few select "processed" canned goods I have, tuna, etc.  There is one bin dedicated to snacks so that my daughter can easily grab something she likes when she wants to.  I was never a huge fan of pre-packaged snacks, but we have found a few that are safe and I think they make my daughter feel like she is eating "normal" food, so I keep them on hand more than I used to.  I'll talk about those items in another post, but here's a close-up of what that bin looks like.

Maintaining my SCD pantry is a lot easier than maintaining my old pantry.  There are so many less options, so it takes less time to shop and less time to put groceries away...good thing, because of course, it takes ten times longer to cook everything from scratch.  ;)

So that's the Bionic Pantry story.  The next post in the SCD 101 series will include The Fighting Flare Guide to SCD Pantry Staples, which includes a printable check list you can take to the store with you.   If you are just tuning in, you can find the rest of this series by clicking the SCD 101 link in the top navigation bar on my home page...or click here: SCD 101

Thanks for stopping by. I hope this post was helpful.  Please feel free to leave comments or ask questions if you want to know more about how I transitioned us to the SCD.  I'd love to hear from you!  I can also be found hanging out around the web, so maybe you'd like to join me elsewhere...click the links below to connect.  :)

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If you or someone you know has IBD I hope you'll come back often to join me in Fighting Flare.  XOXO, Cindi

Bionic Woman Photo via Pinterest

A Mom's-eye View of The Specific Carbohydrate Diet

Since starting the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) in an attempt to heal my 7-year old daughter's Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), I've gotten lots of questions from friends, family, teachers...everyone we know, really.  It's a very restrictive diet...not easy to explain and very hard to stick to.  The response I hear most often when I tell someone about the diet is something to the effect of, "I don't know how you do it.  I could never do that.  I don't have enough willpower."  My response to that is very simply, "Of course you could.  And if it was your child, you would."  It's not easy, but truly, anyone can do this.

I won't go into a detailed explanation of the diet here...there are plenty of websites already doing a great job of that.  What I am going to do is break this down from a parent's perspective.  I'm going to tell you how we ended up choosing this diet, how we implemented it and what the results have been so far.  If you want more specifics about the diet itself, I recommend reading either the book or the website called, Breaking The Vicious Cycle.  Both include the history and science behind the diet, as well as, detailed lists of legal vs. illegal foods and some recipes to get you started.

Now keep in mind as I give you my thoughts on this diet, that I am not a doctor or a nutrition expert.  What I am is a mom on a mission to help my child beat IBD in the least toxic way possible...given the information and resources I have available.  I'm open-minded, but skeptical...willing to acknowledge the pros and cons of any treatment and willing to do whatever it takes to heal my child. 

Why did we choose the Specific Carbohydrate Diet?   In a nutshell, the SCD is based on the premise that IBD and other gastrointestinal problems are caused by an overabundance of bad bacteria in the gut.  In theory, by sticking to this diet, you essentially starve the bad bacteria, thereby restoring balance to the gut and "curing" the disease.  The problem is, there haven't been any significant studies that can tell us whether or not this theory is true.  Many people swear by the diet, but there are many who claim that it simply doesn't work.  

So why bother with it?  To that I say, why not?  It's not perfect, but it's an option. Just because it hasn't been scientifically measured and proven in large scale studies, doesn't mean it doesn't work.  It just means there hasn't been enough research to prove that it works.  Maybe it doesn't even work for the reasons people think it works.  Who knows.  Who cares?  The point I'm getting at here is that we had nothing to lose by trying it.  

In my last post, I mentioned that my daughter flared after her first round of 5-ASA meds failed.  She was still weaning off her second round of Prednisone when we decided to try the SCD in conjunction with a different 5-ASA drug in order to avoid having to switch her to a stronger medication.  Being only seven, she has her whole life ahead of her.  Most people don't get this disease until they are in their 20's-30's, long after their bodies have finished growing.  Aside from the fear of side-effects, my husband and I worried about what the drugs would do to her growth and development.  We also worried that being so young, she might outgrow her meds at a younger age than the average patient and then what would that leave her for treatment options down the road?  Our nurse gave us some very good advice when she told us not to "borrow trouble," but when you're making long-term care choices you have to consider what lies ahead.  We wanted to buy her some time and maybe the combination of diet and mild medication could do just that.  At that point, I was more wishful than optimistic and definitely skeptical about whether or not we could do it.

We were advised by the GI doctor to wait and start the diet when my daughter got down to 15mg Prednisone/day.  At that point, she still had 6 weeks to go before she was off Prednisone completely and the doctor felt that the overlap was a good protective measure.  We didn't want to risk her flaring again and have to start the Prednisone all over.  This approach was a little tricky though, because supposedly, you will know within 30 days if the diet is working or not.  I didn't see how we could possibly know anything if she was still on Prednisone and taking a maintenance drug on top of being on the diet, but we figured that if she flared after all that, the diet definitely wasn't working and neither were the meds.  But if she didn't flare...we could have some hope.

How did we implement the diet? As a family, my husband, daughter and I committed to sticking with the SCD for two months.  I purged my pantry of sugar, grains, soy, starches and all processed foods, stocked up on assorted nut flours and scoured Pinterest for recipes.  We started testing new recipes a month before we were scheduled to start the diet.  This gave us a chance to find some replacements for the favorite foods we would be giving up.  In the beginning, my recipe searches consisted primarily of breakfast replacements like pancakes, muffins and breakfast cookies, as well as, other sweets and treats.  Cheesy, comfort foods were my second priority to replace all the pasta and grains we loved.  What I quickly learned is that there really aren't good replacements.  There are some wonderful recipes that seem like they will be good replacements, but in reality, they are very different from what we were used to. This wasn't such a big deal for my husband and I because we like almost anything, but for my daughter it was tough.

There were a LOT of culinary fails in my kitchen that month.  I have never made so many things in a row that just flat out sucked.  That being said, I did come up with a breakfast cookie my daughter liked, as well as, homemade breakfast sausage, meatballs, tomato soup and ketchup.  Score!  I still haven't nailed down a solid set of go-to breakfast foods, but the experimentation continues and little by little, I find winners that my seven-year old will eat.

The hardest part about this diet is that you have to make just about everything from scratch.  Processed foods are out, as are canned-goods due to the many hidden additives that aren't always displayed on the labels.  Turns out different states have different labeling laws, so things sneak in sometimes and you have no way of knowing.  Nice, eh?  That's a rant for another day.  ;)

I happen to be a stay-at-home mom who really likes to cook, so this hasn't been as hard for me to adjust to as it might be for someone who doesn't cook or doesn't have much time to cook. I will say that at this point, I spend a lot of time in the kitchen and more time thinking about food than I care to admit.  I am hoping that through this blog I can share some of the lessons I'm learning and help simplify things so that it becomes an option for anyone who wants to try this diet...whether you are a college kid in a dorm with just a toaster oven and a crockpot or a working parent who barely has time to bathe, let alone cook everything from scratch. 

How's it going? The good news is that my daughter is still in remission and has had no further complications since starting the diet.  It has only been four months and she does still take a maintenance drug, but it is fairly mild and we have not had to step up to any stronger drugs.  In my mind, that makes this all worth it.  Every day we can keep from adding stronger drugs is another day my daughter can grow and develop normally without risk of side-effects or delayed growth.  Our ultimate goal is to bring more foods back into our diet.  We have already successfully tested white rice with no increase to my daughter's inflammation.  We are working on potatoes now and hope to try oats next.  It is a very slow process, but we are also hoping that at some point soon, we may be able to wean off the maintenance drug and just stick with the SCD.  I will talk more about that in another post.

I'll wrap this up with a few words of encouragement...the diet does get easier the longer you stay on it.  The results are very encouraging and motivating, making you want to stick with it.  My daughter has less and less bouts of sadness and frustration over her restrictions and has learned that food can still be delicious without loads of sugar and carbs. (Thank goodness some cheese and bacon are legal!!)  There have been some unintended results for my husband and I too, including a nice bit of weight loss, smoother skin and less acne.  My husband's blood sugar has evened out and he says he feels better than he ever has.  I personally don't feel that different, except it is nice to finally be acne free for the first time since...oh, puberty.  ;)

I truly hope this post has inspired you to investigate further or even to try this diet. If you still have doubts, just understand that this diet seems to work differently for different people and you won't know if it can work for you unless you try.  You have nothing to lose by trying it and everything to gain. Just be sure to talk to your doctor before you start so that you can work together to do it right.  If you have questions or success stories of your own, I'd love to hear them, so please be sure to leave comments and I will always be happy to answer e-mails if you would prefer to talk off-line. 

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If you or someone you know has IBD I hope you'll come back often and join me in Fighting Flare.  XOXO, Cindi

Get Ready For a Food Fight!

Until recently, I only kinda-sorta knew what IBD was and had never even heard of Ulcerative Colitis.  My awakening came last spring when my little girl suddenly became inexplicably ill.  Four doctors in four weeks and numerous tests yielded no answers, so we were referred to a gastroenterologist.   After more testing and several procedures, the diagnosis was confirmed...my six-year-old had Ulcerative Colitis.

Ulcerative Colitis is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes inflammation and ulceration of the colon, creating pain and misery for anyone who has it.  The disease falls under the umbrella of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), which affects 1.4 million Americans...700,000 of whom are suffering from Ulcerative Colitis.  (The rest are mostly suffering from Crohn's Disease, which is no picnic either.) When the disease is in it's active state, it's called a flare.  Flares can be triggered at any time for no apparent reason. Some subside quickly, others can last for years.  Triggers and length of time between flares vary from person to person.  The goal of treatment is to minimize the symptoms of a flare and to induce and maintain remission.  There is no known cure.

I couldn't believe that my daughter's strong, healthy body had turned on itself and was now attacking her from within.  She was bleeding, in pain, anemic, losing weight and missing weeks of school.   My sweet little girl, who up until that point rarely even had sniffles, was suddenly facing an uncertain future and a lifetime of health problems.  How did this happen?

As disbelief gave way to sadness I wondered about her future.  Would she always be this sick?  How would her disease progress?  What did the future hold for her?

I also questioned myself.  Everything you think you know about yourself as a parent changes when your child gets sick.  Did I do something to cause this?  Could I have done something to prevent it?  Were there earlier signs?  Is this my fault?

The answer to all of my self-doubting questions was, of course, No.  I didn't cause this.  My daughter didn't cause this.  No one knows why it happened.  It just did. 

My rational brain tried not to imagine the worst or curse myself for things I had no control over, but my heart was not so easy to comfort.  There was a definite grieving process taking place and I felt broken.

Anyone who has ever grieved knows that eventually, you come to a point where you stop being sad and start to get mad.  Really mad.  Like mad enough that you want to punch something and maybe you do.  That urge to fight is grief's gift, really.  It is the spark that helps you pick up the pieces and keep going.  And that fight is what inspired this blog.  Cures and solutions don't come from wallowing in self-pity and sadness.  They take action.  They take persistence.  They take a healthy dose of optimism.  And in my daughter's case...they take groceries.   

Shortly after her diagnosis, my daughter's first round of meds failed and she began to flare again.  Her doctor suggested stepping up to a stronger drug, the potential side effects of which were disturbing and in many ways, worse than the disease itself.  My husband and I struggled with the decision of whether or not to go ahead with our doctor's plan.  It's so much easier to live with choices you make for yourself, but not so when making choices for a child who will have to live with the results of those choices no matter the outcome.  Ultimately, we weren't ready to take the next step until we had exhausted every other possible treatment option first.  We simply couldn't imagine how we'd be able to live with ourselves if we gave her this drug and it made her sicker, unless it was as a last resort. Fortunately, we have a very open-minded doctor who was willing to work with us to test diet therapy in conjunction with a different (milder) medication to see what we could accomplish.

There are many people who don't believe that diet can cure IBD, but there are many who think it can.  There is very little research being done and not much to go on other than testimonials from other IBD sufferers who have had success in managing their disease through diet.  After some internet and soul searching and with a heavy dose of optimisim laced with skepticism, we (as a family) decided to embrace an IBD diet called the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.  I will go into a lot more detail about this diet later in this blog, but first, I want to reiterate that we are doing this under the care and supervision of my daughter's GI doctor and a registered dietician, with regular testing being done to carefully monitor my daughter's inflammation markers.  This is a very serious food fight.

Through this blog, you will get a behind the scenes look at our experiences with this disease, this diet and this lifestyle...meaning you will hear a lot about what goes on in our kitchen.  We also love to entertain, eat out, travel and take roadtrips in our camper van, so you'll hear a lot about that too and how we make it all work. The SCD is not an easy diet to follow, but if we can make it work, anyone can.

My hope is that this blog will inspire you and possibly open your eyes to something new.  At a minimum, I hope to help spread awareness about IBD, Ulcerative Colitis and the role of diet and lifestyle in managing this disease.  We all know that knowledge is power, so the more we know, the more powerful our fight against IBD becomes. 

Thank you so much for stopping by and sticking through this very loooong first post.  I have lots of delicious things in store for you, so I hope you'll come back often.  Your comments are always welcome, so please feel free to introduce yourself and share your stories.  If you would like to stay up to date on blog posts, be sure to subscribe to this blog and have posts automatically delivered to your inbox.  You can also find me socializing around the web on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram

If you or someone you know has IBD, I hope you'll join me in Fighting Flare.  XOXO, Cindi

Photo Credit: Flickr

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