Today was a happy day...and not just because the Seahawks won the Super Bowl, although that certainly didn't hurt. I actually got into a "Woo-Hoo-Seahawks" cheering fest with a random driver in the crosswalk at my daughter's school this morning...turned a few heads. But it's cool. We just won the Super Bowl!
No, the real reason for my happy dance today is because yesterday felt like a win against IBD. For the first time since starting the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), I felt like were able to sucessfully navigate a major food event (Super Bowl Party) and not feel left out foodwise. Halloween was just flat out painful. Thanksgiving, Hannukah & Christmas were a little better, but we were missing our old holiday favorites...stuffing, potato latkes, casseroles, pie. Today, it felt like we were on an even playing field...no weird, sub-par "SCD versions" of anything. We had nachos, guacamole, mini "corn-dog" muffins, spinach artichoke dip and as many cookies as we could shove in our faces at each touchdown...all of which were amazingly delicious and SCD-legal. Score!
Ever since we started this diet, I've been struggling to find the balance between good health and quality of life. Food is one of the great pleasures of life, but what good is having your health if you can't enjoy your food? Especially on special occasions. I knew there had to be a way to make this diet feel more indulgent and less deprivational. Yesterday, I felt like I nailed it.
We had been invited to a Super Bowl party, but I had no idea how much we'd actually be able to eat there. I really didn't want to be the family in the corner munching on carrot sticks while everyone else was dipping into hot cheesey dips and bowls full of Skittles. No way, man. I wanted the dips and the Skittles too! Well, I couldn't find a fix for the Skittles, but I did come up with a platter of cookies and three savory snacks that I couldn't wait to dig into. We arrived at the party with trays of food in hand, squeezed them into the buffet line-up with all the other snacks and ate our hearts out just like everyone else. And on top of that, we ate healthy, nutritious food that only tasted like it was bad for us...when in fact, it was helping to heal my daughter's IBD. Take that, drug companies!
The moral of the story? Things are getting better. Five months into this diet, my daughter is still symptom free...and I'm finally getting the hang of this SCD cooking thing. We still have a long road to travel in maintaining remission and healing my daughter, but I'll take any excuse for a celebration...especially now that I have some good party food recipes!! LOL
To anyone reading this who is struggling with IBD, I am sending all my healthiest vibes out to you today and hoping that you can have a day like we did yesterday, where you are able to eat whatever you want, not feel left out and not have to sacrifice your health to do it. And if your hometown team also happens to win the Super Bowl on that day, so much the better! If you're not there yet, please don't give up. Anything can happen! Focus on the little wins and make up your own reasons to celebrate. And definitely stick around this week...I'm going to be sharing all the recipes I made this weekend and I'm sure you will be pleasantly surprised at how good the SCD can taste.
Until then, I'm going to leave you with Pharrell Williams' Happy video. C'mon! Clap along and do a happy dance! I dare ya not to get the chorus stuck in your head. ;)
Thanks for stopping by today. Do you have a favorite SCD-legal party recipe to share? I'd love to hear about it, so feel free to leave comments. And, I hope you'll come back soon to join me in Fighting Flare! XOXO, Cindi
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