Gut Update

I had an follow-up appointment last Monday with my doctor from Santa Barbara who told me that the C. difficle was gone (yippie!), but I still have a lot of pathogenic bacteria. The only way to get rid of these is to follow this diet. I was being very inconsistent, but now am determined to stick with it to finally rid myself of this pain. Also, if I don't, I run the risk of having permanent digestive problems which could develop into further nutrient deficiences.

I also feel that this whole experience is a test from God as to whether or not I can follow his will and give up my lust after food. I pray everyday that I can do this and beg for his strength because I know that I cannot do it alone. Any other prayers are welcome as well =).

More Recipes

I'm still battling on with this diet and here are a few more recipes to help me along the way...

Fruity Ice Cream

1 c. cashews
2 c. water
2 c. any fruit
1 dash of stevia

Blend cashews in food processor until fine. Add water and fruit and blend until not grainy anymore. Chill in freezer for 15 minutes. Then pour into ice cream maker for 30 minutes and enjoy immediately! Or you can save in the freezer.

Almond Bread

1 lb raw almonds
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 eggs or substitute
1 tbsp olive oil
3/4 c. sparkling water

Blend almonds, baking soda and sea salt in blender until fine. Then mix with eggs (I'm going to try bananas), olive oil and sparkling water. Put in glass bread pan coated with olive oil and put in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Recipes

Today I thought I'd post some of the recipes I use to help follow my diet.

Cherimoya Chicken Salad

4 to 5 cups shredded lettuce leaves
2 cups julienne strips of chooked chicken breast
2 cups cherimoya chunks, peeled and seeded (a fruit from Latin America)
1 cup julienne strips, read, yellow or green bell pepper
1/2 cup red onion strips

Dressing

3/4 cup lemon/lime juice
1/2 cup olive oil
1 fresh or dried, chile seeded and minced
1 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
Dash of stevia (natural artificial sweetener)
Dash of salt
Garnishes: Fresh cilantro sprigs (optional)

In a large bowl, toss together lettuce, chicken, cherimoya, bell pepper and onion. For dressing, in a food processor bowl or blender container, place juice, oil, chile, cilantro, stevia and salt. Cover and process until mixture is smooth and well blended (if desired, you can strain out the chile pieces; the flavor will remain). Toss salad with dressing; garnish with fresh cilantro if desired. Makes 3-4 main dish salads.

Papaya Ginger Smoothie

1/4 papaya, peeled and seeded and chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 tbsp. chopped fresh mint leaves
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 banana
3/4 cup ice cubes
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (without alcohol)
1/4 cup almond milk
Dash of stevia

Combine all ingredients in blender or food processor container. Cover; blend until smooth. Garnish with additional mint leaves, if desired.

Enjoy =)!

September 20, 2006

As one can imagine, I have not been able to adhere to this diet very well. Mostly I can go about a week and then eventually give in to something. It especially doesn't help to have people around you who can eat whatever they want without consequences. I have been able to get up to 2 weeks being consistent with the diet including these past 2 weeks, but this weekend I blew it. It seems that the longer I can stay with it the easier it gets, but once I start down the slope, I can't seem to stop. Eventually I am able to pick myself up again and get started again, but it certainly isn't without cravings.

Let's hope I can start again tomorrow with a fresh slate and a renewed sense of spirit for this diet. To give you an idea of what a typical daily diet looks like for me, here it is:

Breakfast: Juice of celery, cilantro, dandelion greens, kale, tomato, ginger and cucumber, a blended salad of 1/2 avocaodo, 1 roma tomato, 1/2 cucumber, 1/2 bell pepper and juice of 1/2 of a lemon and finally 1 chopped and peeled apple with 10 raw almonds.

Lunch: 1 big salad with romaine lettuce, cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, avocado and pinenuts (no dressing), 1 cup chopped fresh fruit and 4 oz raw nuts.

Dinner: 3-4 oz meat, 1 small Spinach salad, 1 other cooked vegetable and fresh fruit salad.

The Specific Carbohydrate Diet

In March 2006, I was diagnosed with a C. difficle infection in my intestines which had been giving me intense stomach pains for the last year. I had done all other tests to determine what was wrong with me from endoscopy to checking for ovarian cysts. Traditional medicine could find nothing wrong with me. However, when I finally went to Dale Figtree, PhD from Santa Barbara who specializes in digestive problems, she was finally able to determine what was wrong with me. So, basically I had to start a very strict dietary regimen that was similar to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. The Specific Carbohydrate diet has supposedly helped hundreds of people overcome ulcerative colitis and other digestive problems. So, I embarked on a very difficult journey to stay basically away from dairy, soy, eggs, all grains, butter, sugar, vinegar and most processed foods. This left me with the only foods of organic fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, poultry, fish, all nuts, except for peanuts and beans except garbanzo. So, I decided to start this blog to chronicle my struggle with this diet and hopefully give encouragement to others who may be in a similar fate.