Ugly Pics and Linkies: Friday 8/20/10

Hi Everybody!  If you've read my blog before you'll notice something about me.  I'm not a great food photographer.  Taking beautiful pictures of food is definitely a skill and an art.  I'm working on it but I clearly have a lot of work to do.  What you might not know is that I'm don't take great pictures of other things either.  So in the spirit of fun I thought I'd share some of my more spectacular picture failures.

I feed the birds every morning and thoroughly enjoy watching them.  Yesterday I tried to take a few pictures of what I see every day.

This is a cardinal.

This is a red-headed woodpecker.

'Nuff said about my photography skills.  Haha!

And since it's Friday I thought I'd take some time to put together a few of the things that caught my eye this week.  Click away if you want to check them out.

Food Related:

• Celiac Teen is celebrating her food failures.
• Gluten Free Goddess explains why you need an over thermometer.  I never knew!
• My Kitchen Addiction has 5 steps to create a frittata.

Other Stuffies:

• Great old behind the scenes pic from one of my fav movies, Labyrinth!
• Accidentally naughty acronyms. 
• While I don't condone crime, this guy robbing a Taco Bell dressed as Batman is pretty funny.

Dear Diary . . . 5 Reasons To Keep A Food Diary

Hi Guys! You'll probably notice that I've been futzing with the blog design.  I'm moving things around, adding things, and playing with layout.  So the blog might look different than the last time you visited.  Bear with me.  I'm just trying to find something I like.  If you've got any suggestions leave me a comment.

I've been keeping a food diary for several years now as part of my adherence to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.  What is a food diary?  Well, it can vary based on your needs and what you want to track.  But basically, it's a journal where you record all of the data that's pertinent to your diet and health.  Sound like a lot of work?  It isn't really.  It only takes a few minutes a day and can really add a lot to your healing journey. 

I put together 5 reasons why you want start keeping a food diary:

1.  It's an accurate record of your diet, exercise, and medicine regimen.  It's super important to keep an accurate record of what food you're eating and what medicine you're taking.  Especially in the beginning of the SCD.  This allows you to pinpoint the cause of any symptoms you might have.  When you begin to experiment beyond the basic safe foods, tracking your reactions can be very valuable.  The same can be said for your exercise and medicine.  I've identified more bad reactions and side effects related to new meds that I might have otherwise have attributed to food.

2.  Tracking how you feel can give you motivation.  In addition to simply keeping a record of what you're doing, write down how you're feeling physically.  You can follow your journey over time from flare to feeling good.  And looking back on the printed proof of your improvement can keep you on the straight and narrow when you really want those french fries.

3.  Tell me how you really feel.  And don't leave out all of the emotional stuff either.  There are a lot of emotions that come along with such a dramatic change in lifestyle.  I myself experienced a lot of guilt and not a little bit of alienation from the "normal" eaters around me.  Writing down how I felt really helped me to deal with it and move past it.  Now my journal is filled with success stories.  You might also notice that certain foods can provoke a change in your emotional state.  By writing it down, you can spot it and change your diet to either embrace that change or avoid it.

4.  Goals and Milestones.  Your food diary is also a good place to track your goals and milestones.  If you need to gain weight.  Or lose weight.  If you need to improve your intake of certain foods.  I celebrate milestones with stickers in my food diary.  Mostly because I'm a big kid at heart!

5.  It's a visual representation of success.  As time passes you'll find that you have many, many pages.  And then, especially if you're using a physical book as opposed to a soft copy, you'll have many, many books.  It's amazing how just looking at my journal collection gives me pride in my accomplishment. 

At the end of the day it's a tool to help you track, not just your actions, but your success as well.  And if you find that you need the extra motivation and support I really encourage you to try it.  It's made all the difference for me.

Recipe Review: Comfy Belly's Coconut Flour Donuts (AKA Vanilla Cupcakes)

Today's Recipe Review is another from the amazing Comfy Belly blog. I promise it's just a coincidence that I've done two of hers in a row.

A few weeks ago I was rabid for a donut. Pre-SCD I occasionally indulged in one of THE BEST things on earth. A hot Krispy Kreme donut. Melt in your mouth sugary bliss. Those days have come and gone. But the desire to have a donut has apparently not fled. So I was delighted to stumble upon her recipe for donuts made from coconut flour.

Unfortunately, I don't have a donut maker or donut pan.  But her recipe assured me that I could make the recipe as cupcakes.  So I did. . .

They came out perfectly.  Golden.  Lightly crisp on the outside.  And check this out!  So moist on the inside you can see it in my pic. . .

And on a side note, I love to watch things bake in the oven.  I mean, I stand in front of it and look through the window and watch things bake.  These are the first grain-free anything that I have made that I could actually SEE rise while baking.  That's got to be why these are so light and fluffy.

I did modify the recipe by adding 1 tablespoon of ground chia seeds (as I do to all coconut flour baked goods). This does contribute to the moistness factor. But since chia is SCD illegal you can leave it out and these cupcakes will still be amazing.

I have dubbed these "Vanilla Muffins".  They are now a permanent part of my baked good rotation.  I think this base recipe would be wonderful with several variations.  I'm planning to try adding blueberries, pumpkin, zucchini and apples.  I'll keep you all posted on my experiements.

In the meantime. . . Go make these!  Now.

Seriously.  What are you waiting for?

They're terrific!

Ch-Ch-Chia! Seeds that is!

 *Pic borrowed from www.nutsonline.com

I first became interested in Chia seeds during a break I was taking from the SCD.  I was looking for ways to increase the nutrient density of my meals.  As almost everyone with some form of IBD knows, getting proper nutrition can be a challenge.  Around that time I stumbled on this post from Kelly at www.thespunkycoconut.com.  I had never considered some of those ingredients she mentions.  Mostly, since they're not considered SCD legal.

Chia seeds are SCD illegal because they are mucilaginous.  What that means is that they form a gel consistency when they come into contact with water.  And this gel can feed those little bacteria in the gut that we're trying to starve by adhering to the SCD.

And while I will never suggest that someone incorporate an illegal ingredient into their healing process, I'm a big proponent of doing what's right for you.  And for me, Chia seeds bring a lot to the table.  Enough, in fact, that I've embraced them as part of my nutritional strategy.

What are they good for?  Well, for starters, they are massively nutritious for something so small.  Just 2 tablespoons of the seeds have 6 g of fiber and 3 g of protein.  Not to mention calcium, iron, and vitamin C.  But the real magic is that mucilaginous texture.  Ground Chia seeds are excellent thickeners in smoothies and soups.  And because they absorb moisture and hold on to it, they are ideal for adding to your coconut flour baked goods.  Since some of the alternative flours that SCDers use can be on the dry side (coconut flour, banana/plantain flour, bean flours) adding 1 tablespoon of ground Chia seeds can be the difference between a crumbly muffin and one that's moist and delightful.

But I do try to remind myself that's it's not SCD legal.  And as such I never ingest more than 1 tablespoon of Chia seeds in a single day.  And usually far less than that.

So where can you get it?  Chia seeds are becoming widely available everywhere.  I've seen them at Whole Foods.  I've bought the Navitas Naturals brand from iherb.com.  You can also get it from Amazon.  But so far, the best price I've found is at Nuts Online.  I've not ordered the Chia seeds from them before.  But I'm a big fan of their company, products, and service.  So I'll be getting my next order of Chia from them.

I hope that sheds a little light on the Chia seed.  Let me know if any of you have tried it and what you think!

Recipe Review: Comfy Belly's Candied Pecans

I had the chance to make the Candied Pecans that I found on one of my favorite blogs, Comfy Belly.  I'd actually been looking for a candied nut recipe.  One my favorite pre-SCD foods was honey roasted nuts.  But those are loaded with illegal ingredients and no actual honey that I could spot.

These homemade pecans turned out spectacularly.  They were easy to prepare and used very simple ingredients.  Basically, just nuts, butter, honey, and spices.  Using parchment paper (which I did) or a silpat is necessary to keep the nuts from sticking to the pan while they roast.

You can see from my less than stellar pic that I only have a few left. They were so amazing right out of the oven. Be careful not to burn yourself while shoveling them greedily into your mouth! The spice mix is lovely and basic, though I may try to put my own spin on it next time and make them hot and spicy! And I'm definitely going to try this with walnuts. And cashews. And any other nut that strike my fancy. Yum!

My biggest concern was that the nuts would be too sticky and clump together. But if you let them dry well after roasting them, making sure to separate them well on the pan, sticking is not a problem at all. They store well in the fridge and make a great sweet snack.

Definitely give this one a try!

Baking With Coconut Flour

What's the one thing that people miss the most when they start the SCD? It's simple really: baked goods. When you cut out grains and starches baked goods pretty much become a thing of the past. A very fond memory. And for me, often a temptation that can lead me to fall off the wagon. Enter Almond Flour, the hero of almost every Specific Carbohydrate Diet Cookbook. Suddenly you see muffins and pancakes, and pizza crust and you think "I might be able to do this after all".

But if you're like me, almond flour is not the hero of your fairy tale cookbook. My stomach doesn't like it, the texture is often a problem, and frankly I just don't like the taste. Not to mention it's often too moist for things that should turn out crispy.

Just when I was about to despair of EVER having another blueberry muffin I discovered Coconut Flour at The Spunky Coconut (one of my favorite blogs about food). Kelly uses a wide variety of gluten-free flours in her baking creations, not all of which are SCD legal so be careful if you try one. But it prompted to me to do some research.

I found out that coconut flour is SCD legal though it is considered advanced. It's also quite healthy for you. But be warned coconut flour has a lot of fiber in it. So if you try it you might want to start slow.

Nutrition Facts from Tropical Traditions Brand of Coconut Flour:

Why do I like the coconut flour?  Where to begin?  Despite it's high fiber content it's much easier for me to digest.  It has a texture that's MUCH closer to all those wheat based baked goods I loved.  It has a neutral flavor - no it doesn't taste like coconut.  And it pairs well in baking with nut flours.

There are some challenges to keep in mind when using it, however.  It is a very dry flour.  You'll need to adjust the amount of wet ingredients that you use in order to get a moist and fluffy texture.  It can also be very crumbly due to it's lack of moisture.  So most recipes using coconut flour also require a lot of eggs and oil to keep the end result from being too crumbly.

Baking with the coconut flour is a totally different experience from baking with nut flours.  It can take some practice.  But everything I've made with coconut flour is leaps and bounds above what I've created with nut flours in taste and texture.  So I think it's worth it.

Three places to get coconut flour:
Tropical Traditions
Nuts Online
Bob's Red Mill

I've tried the product from Tropical Traditions and Bob's Red Mill.  So far I prefer the Tropical Traditions for price and quality.  I'll be trying the Nuts Online product the next time I purchase.

And to get you started, my favorite coconut flour recipe so far is the Coconut Donuts from Comfy Belly.  I made them as cupcakes and they are truly yummy!

SCD Dining at IHOP!

As someone who's been on the SCD on and off for several years I can say that one of the challenges is dining out with friends. There are a lot of sites that will give advice about calling ahead to the restaurant, bringing your own food, and doing a myriad of other things to prepare for this situation. I myself have never worried too much about it. While there are many SCDers who can't tolerate even the smallest amount of illegal ingredients, I have not had that experience. So I'm not plagued by fear of cross-contamination. I find that smart ordering is, very often, enough for me to get by. That being said, I have had experiences where a food that appears legal reacts badly with my system. Chili's fajitas I'm looking at you!

But today I was out with my mother who wanted to have a late breakfast at IHOP. I thought "IHOP, Oh no!!". I didn't think there'd be a thing on the menu that I could eat. Even with my somewhat lax standards for dining out. They even put pancake batter in their omelets! But after scouring my menu and interrogating my server I discovered that the IHOP can be quite an accommodating place to eat.

I ordered an omelet made with cracked eggs (not their omelet mix, not their pre-made egg solution). With bacon, cheese, and spinach. They also had a fresh fruit cup that I was able to order instead of the standard pancakes that accompany everything. And it was fresh fruit, no syrup or canned fruits in sight. Needless to say I was quite pleased. When the food came it was fresh and good. And I had a meal with no reaction.

So the next time you're out and about and someone wants to go to IHOP, give it a try. You might be surprised.