My Diet Diary

If you are on this SIBO journey like myself, you know that your relationship with food with probably never be the same. You will be restricted to a diet that will get not only boring but downright intolerable sometimes. There are some days my mind can’t understand why I simply CANNOT eat certain foods. “But there’s nothing wrong with oats, right? At least in a fundamental way…” I will look at cereal on the shelf and long for it’s taste and texture and say to myself-“Maybe just one box…” But then I get it home and I just can’t do it!

I can’t say I don’t like the way I eat-I do! All the yummy veggies and fruits and nuts and meat! But it can get boring, you know… I think I even bore the people around me with my food. “You’re eating THAT again??” or my husband will say “Ooo, salad with veggies and meat-but you never have that!?” Ha, ha! (And HE can eat ANYTHING he wants and feel just fine-bah! Makes you just sick now doesn’t it! More on that topic later;)

So since our diets are limited, at least maybe for a while, how do we keep it original?

The internet is a wealth of information-especially yummy recipes!
Purchase a GAPS, FODMAP or Breaking the Vicious Cycle book by: Elaine Gottschall for ways to prepare food and recipes.
Keep reading my blog for periodic recipes…

So what is my diet like on a daily basis?? I try to stay as close to the FODMAP list as possible-straying only on an irregular basis and taking digestive enzymes if I do.

Here is my typical day, but keep in mind I usually only eat 3 times/day so I like larger portions when I eat!

Breakfast-My breakfast ALWAYS includes veggies! If you expect to get enough of your servings of veggies in a day you better start eating them for breakfast! Have a salad with over easy eggs like this. I cheated and added a smidge of avocado to the eggs. (A girl’s gotta have a little fun!!) If I want something a little more sweet then I will put a whole, ripe banana and one egg into the blender (Nutribullet, in my case. And by the way if you don’t have this or something similar-GET ONE! It is so great for this diet!) Then I will take the mixture and put it into a frying pan with ghee or coconut oil and you have FODMAP approved pancakes! Add some pecans and a slight bit of honey and you are in business!

Lunch and Dinner-These meals are essentially the same: Greens with cooked veggies on top, some sort of meat and maybe some nuts for texture. I also like to add raisins or berries for sweetness. ( I have a thing for sweet and salty!!) Top the lot with olive oil-I like flavored oils from the local olive oil shop- and I will use spicy mustard to give it a little zing! (Watch ingredients in processed food and make sure they are on approved list.)

Here I made a salmon burger with wild caught deboned salmon from a can mixing it with 1 egg, almond flour, salt, spicy mustard and lemon. On the top I shredded just a little parmesan cheese for taste (and appeal). Then I added on the veggies I had made previously-taking care to heat them on the stovetop and NOT the microwave!

So the key to all of this wonderful food is PREPARATION AHEAD OF TIME! It is IMPERATIVE to the success of ANY diet to make sure your fridge is well stocked with lots of prepared foods. We live in a “grab-n-go” culture where convenience is key. If we are busy and STARVING and can’t find something good to eat-we will cheat and most likely pay for it afterwards. That’s why I spend a couple of hours per week cooking and preparing veggies.

Since being diagnosed with SIBO, I learned it is best to cook down the foods for a while so the body can process them more efficiently. I will buy and cut up most of the approved veggies and cook them in a pot with a little water on the bottom and a lid, or a steamer basket and pot, depending on the type of veggie.

And don’t forget squash! My favorite is butternut! I will peel the outer skin, slice into cubes and place in a glass baking dish, setting the oven at 350 degrees. I will then dress the squash with flavored olive oil, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg, mixing thoroughly. If you would like the pieces more tender and mushy cover the dish with foil and if you like them with more texture, leave the foil off. They will most likely cook for about 40 mins. or so. (They will be done when you can pierce it with a fork.) For the last 5 mins I will throw some crushed pecans on for even more texture! Yummy! Then, when you get home from work and are REALLY starving-grab a few cubes of squash and pop them into your mouth instead of a handful of M&M’s!