I’ve told you before about the extreme diet that I’ve been living for the past 10 months, yes? My girlfriend called it “gluten-free on steroids” which made me laugh (particularly since this diet keeps me off of steroids). The actual name is the Specific Carbohydrate Diet and it’s sugar-free, lactose-free, and all grain-free. This means that I can’t eat anything with processed sugar, including packaged vegetables or meats that have added sugar – and EVERYTHING has added sugar. I even had to hunt down a turkey at Thanksgiving that didn’t have sugar injected into it. In addition, I can’t eat wheat, rice, soy, corn, oats, potatoes, quinoa, thickening agents, anything with starch. And then for fun, we’ve thrown in no lactose also. It’s a daunting diet, to say the least. But I’ve been doing it for a good while now and I’ve learned to make a variety of foods that taste good, in addition to keeping me healthy.
And there is quite a bit that I can eat. I make my own yogurt by fermenting it for 24 hours to eliminate the lactose. Hard cheeses, eggs, avocado, fruit, and almonds are my go-to foods nearly every day. I eat a lot of meat and fish. Food preparation just takes a lot more time. There isn’t a whole lot of grab and go food available, but all in all, I’m eating healthier than I ever have in my life. Cheating isn’t an option because the consequences for me, are catastrophic. I spent months last spring and summer living 15 feet from a bathroom 24 hours a day, and I’m not willing to go back to that. I have a chronic disease (ulcerative colitis), but I’m managing it with my diet and without medication. It works for me…for now. I’m sure there are others reading that have food restrictions and since I spend so much more time working on edible food creations nowadays, I thought it would be fun to share a few of my new favorites. For those of us with food limitations, the more ideas the better; and if you can eat anything, I think you’ll still find this delicious! The salad I want to share today is perfect for summer and easy to prepare. The finished salad is creamy, but light and citrusy – the perfect blend of sweet and tangy. I typically make a single serving (so those are the amounts I’m going to give you), but it is so simple to modify the recipe to serve as many people as you want.
Dressing:
For the dressing, whisk together in the bottom of your serving bowl (and your measurements need not be exact):
½ cup plain yogurt
1T. honey
juice of ½-1 large lime
salt and pepper to taste
Salad:
Now, chop and add to the bowl:
1 grilled chicken breast
2-3 stalks celery
1 avocado
¼-1/2 C. fresh cilantro
¼-1/2 C. fresh cilantro
⅛ red onion (I just like a little – add as much as you want)
any other veggies you like (some yellow or red bell pepper would be perfect, too)
Toss together, scooping the dressing from the bottom to coat and EAT!!
To minimize meal prep time, I like to marinate and grill a pile of chicken breasts all at once. Then I can eat them with a side of veggies or in a salad for lunch or nights when I don’t cook and want to feed the kids pizza or pancakes! I like to use citrus in my marinade, so a typical chicken marinade would be olive oil/lemon/salt/pepper/garlic, for example. I’ve also substituted the chicken in the salad for shrimp and that is super yummy, too.
What else? The cilantro – it pretty much makes it for me. I love the stuff – put it in everything.
Also, this recipe seems to be a kitty magnet. I couldn’t get a picture of the finished salad without Otie’s nose in it. I’d put him down off the table, readjust my camera, and by the time I snapped the next picture, he was back on the table with his nose in the bowl.
I hope you like the recipe. And thanks for listening to my rambling about my diet.
Comments & Reviews
Karin Marie says
I NEED to get on strict diet as well! I have “IBS” but its a lame term but I so understand “living” in the bathroom or at least having to know where one is at all times. Its deff not a fun way to live and I have problems with lactose in milk but I can have cheese and yogurt (as long as its not the cheap stuff). But I started going gluten free and limiting sugar but its sooo hard and expensive! I need to get back on track with buying good foods and prepping them. I have a bad sweet tooth and need to start eating fruits, instead because I deff regret it later…I need to get more creative with the natural healthy foods. This salad looks divine tho! Thanks for the recipe! How do you make yogurt? that sounds awesome! I love your blog! You make me want to start sewing again! I use to do it all the time but from going from 2 girls to 3 girls I lost my mojo but I need to get it back! I deff miss it! 🙂
nest full of eggs says
I feel for you with your food restrictions, I’ve been gluten-free for 3 years, it has taken me 2 years to reduce my dairy to about 1 serving of cheese per week (dairy was really difficult to reduce), I’m also reduced egg yolk, no avocado, no coffee…
I know it is difficult, but keep up the good work !
Anonymous says
Have you ever tried the medication called Asacol? It works like a charm for ulcerative colitis patients because it only works (breaks down) in the colon. Might be worth a try if you have not already
Stef says
I did try Asacol, but for me, it made my disease much worse and nearly landed me in the hospital. I understand that it works great for a lot of people, but it didn’t for me. Thanks though!!
Vanessa@Designs By Sessa says
FINALLY! A blogger that is crafty that has UC! Hahaha! I didn’t even know those existed! lol Okay, for reals, I had UC and it was CRAZY terrible. I actually had a flare up so bad that no meds worked. I too had been on a crazy crazy extreme diet and rarely ate “normal” foods, juiced everything known to man and drank it daily, but unfortunately God had other plans for me and my colon ruptured, which made me septic, which then resulted in an emergency surgery to take out the entire darn thing, which wouldn’t you know you can actually survive and live quite well without. I had an ostomy for 9 months, which was crazy, but taught me alot, then I qualified for reconstructive surgery and now live with a jpouch all inside made out of my small intestines! It’s the best thing in the world! Anways, I don’t really know if you know me as a craft blogger or not, but I love being inspired by your frilly girly stuff and I think it’s really awesome to relate to you in this way, too. I actually started telling my story on Designs By Sessa and really need to write the last segment of it. Let me know if you ever need to talk about UC or whatever and I’m so glad that your crazy healthy diet is working for you! That salad looks yummy!
Leah Roy says
My son is has some food allergies and my husband is lactose-intolerant. So, we have food limitations here as well! I’m glad you are lengthening your distance from your house/bathroom, as that is NOT easy or fun. The salad looks tasty, you guys need an avocado, lemon, and lime tree in your yard (if you don’t already have them)!
Preppy Pink Crocodile says
Oooh this looks delish! I am definitely going to try it soon! I eat GF and am *trying* to eliminate dairy. I’ve found that Pinterest is awesome for finding recipes, quickly.
Will you share your yogurt recipe? That’s the hardest for me to not eat. I can’t believe yogurt is such a big temptation but I’m strange and it is- ha.
KK
Erin says
Yum!!!! Will be making this this summer! Thanks!
Kristie Clower says
Looks yummy! I’m glad you’re feeling better and managing your condition without meds. I’m dairy-free right now since I’m nursing. If I slip up I end up cleaning projectile spit up and bouncing a gassy baby.