Never again

Next time I find myself feeling blah or doubting the success of the SCD, I'll read this post. Or better yet, I'll take a peek inside my old diary. A trip down memory lane. Never again will I allow myself to feel this way. NEVER!!!! Here's an entry out of my diary from November 29, 2006. Almost exactly 5 years ago. Oh & just to warn you, it's a bit rough around the edges... 

"What a day from hell! I have been in shit pain ALL f***ing day! My legs have f***ed me since I woke up this morning. What the f*** is up with that?!? I don't deserve this hellish life when I've never sinned a time in my life."

Reading this brings tears to my eyes. Not only out of sadness but also out of anger. Anger toward all the doctors I've seen over the years who did NOTHING to help guide me in the right direction. FORGET THAT!!!!!! All the more reason for me to take my health into my own hands & figure it out alone. Well guess what? That's precisely what I did. I became a dedicated SCDer almost 8 months ago & I refuse to turn back. I've come so far!!! :) It's SCD from here on out. 

This semester is coming to a close & I find that I'm barely able to contain my excitement. I WENT BACK TO SCHOOL & DID IT!!!!!!!! I did it & loved it. I went to class & grinned. I read my textbooks & retained the information. I studied 24/7 & time went by like a flash. I felt like a genuine college student. :) It's the most wonderful Christmas present I have ever received. And another outstanding thing? I only missed ONE class all semester!!!! That's a HUGE deal for this girl! I also passed every quiz with flying colors. The tests, too!! Two more major triumphs!!! Man, I don't need Santa to bring me anything this year. All my wishes have come true. I get to safely eat my heart out everyday, I am able to make it through a semester of school with hardly any skid-marks or bruises, I can go days upon days with very little to no pain. That's everything I've ever wanted. Ever. 

So my goal for this year? Hit 5,000 hits on my blog. :) Do you guys think I can do it?? I hope!!!! With two finals coming up, posting might be a tiny bit tricky but if I manage my time wisely, I think it can be done. Speaking of which, off to write my two final papers!! Then possibly cook up some ground chicken & parsley meatballs. YUM!!!!! Happy Friday everyone. Make something incredibly delectable today! 

xoxox, Allie 

Oh & since I love you guys, here's a few delicious photos. Try to restrain yourself from attacking your computer screen. I know it'll be hard... 

    

BOO!!!! :) Happy Halloween!!!

Whoever said Halloween treats had to be made with chocolate & refined sugar was completely off their rocker. I do believe it's possible to take any common food such as an egg & turn it into an eerily adorable dish. See for yourself!! :) 

One egg carefully cooked using a cookie cutter, ground peppercorn for the spider stencil, & two peppercorns for the eyes! 

Or even a slice of cheesecake turned into a mischievous little bat!! How easy is that?! 

An ordinary piece of cheesecake transformed into a bat using a tin cookie cutter. 

So maybe these treats aren't full of gluten, or sugar, or artificial flavors, or anything out of a box. Who cares!! No one needs to eat that junk anyway... These are cute, healthy, & extremely easy to conjure up!! :) 


I hope my goodies have inspired you to look in your fridge & spice cabinet for the proper ingredients needed to create something clever & spooky for this creepy holiday. Now go have fun!! 
<3, Allie 

"Eye See You!!!!!" :) Chicken eyeballs with cilantro, DCCC, slice of an olive, & a peppercorn in the middle  over a bed of zucchini pasta (raw for the picture)

I thought my post was finished earlier but no... Another scary idea popped into my head!!! Creepy huh?! :) Definitely the spookiest dish I came up with this year. Once again, incredibly easy to make & oh SO scrumptious!!!!!! Put this together for Halloween dinner tonight. Mmm, mmm, ghoulishly tasty!! ;) Hope you've been having a spooktacular night!!!! 


xoxo, Allie

My idea of the Food Pyramid

Cream of Broccoli Soup (homemade chicken broth, steamed broccoli, & farmer's cheese blended. VOILA!)

Scrambled eggs cooked to perfection, if I do say so myself. :) YUM!  

Compliments of BTVC (Breaking the Vicious Cycle) lemon cheesecake. PERFECTO!  

Looking at these photos is making my stomach rumble. I would give anything just to CHEW right now. Today my food palette has been restricted to clear liquids only aka homemade chicken soup broth. Why would I go without, you ask? Colonoscopy tomorrow!!!!!!! YIKES!!!!!! :( For nearly two days I have to go without delicious grilled chicken, fluffy scrambled eggs, warm cream of broccoli soup, juicy ground beef, moist lemon cheesecake, cozy mashed cauliflower... the works!!! DARN!!! How long does a young woman on the SCD have to wait till she can sink her teeth into some hearty food?! My E.T.F. (estimated time of flush) is 3:15 p.m. tomorrow. Immediately afterwards, I have a date with my refrigerator. :D Until then, I shall cherish the liquid gold that I am allowed to enjoy. Thanks for helping me cook up a boatload of broth, mom!!!! :) 


Wish me luck, I'm a little nervous about the procedure. :/ The prep solution was nothing short of a nightmare disguised as a fluid. YUCK!!!! But then again, this colonoscopy is only a speed-bump. Once this is over with, I'll continue to do what I was doing before: eat healthily & feel phenomenal. Besides, I know what I ate that derailed me & caused this catastrophe in the first place... Oh wait, let me back up for a second. This is the end of my story, I left out the beginning & the middle. An over-abundance (oopsies, I thought it would be okay!!) of cheese sent me to the hospital with severe abdominal pain & chronic "d" (do the math) about a week ago. After a fickle IV injection, two gigantic cups of contrast, three painful hours of waiting, a life-sucking bright light in the hospital room, & a disappointing diagnosis from the CT scan, we were heading home at 2:30 a.m. with a large cloud lingering above our heads; was this a Crohn's flare-up? Does an inflamed small intestine mean Crohn's Disease? How will this change our lives? :( My mind was spinning, my heart quickly sinking. I didn't even know how to react. Honestly, I was scared beyond words. All I knew to do was cry. Given my history, I assumed it really was a Crohn's flare-up. Forgive me, I do not mean to sound pessimistic. I just know my body too well. Eager for answers, we contacted my endocrinologist for a GI recommendation. The spirits were on my side when we got through to the GI; an appointment was available the very next morning!!!!! He was convinced it's Crohn's Disease but scheduled a colonoscopy as verification. So here I am, anxiously waiting for the end of the tunnel to appear. 


Whether it brings light or darkness, I know I will be okay. I'm on the proper diet for Crohn's so as long as I remain a strong adherent of the SCD, nothing but great wellness should lie in my future. I must stay positive. :) Well I believe that's all for tonight. The tiredness of a liquid diet seems to be hitting me. Goodnight, foodies. Dream of the gourmet SCD lemon cheesecake. ;) <3        

A Better Day

A "jimmy dean" (but a billion times healthier & tastier) kind of morning :)

SCD brilliant breakfast sandwich

• 1 organic egg, microwaved
• a handful of organic baby spinach leaves, microwaved
• 2 chicken pancakes (pre-cooked chicken & eggs, amount varies)

Good morning, foodies. I'm happy to report that I'm feeling a lot better today. Slowly but surely, my body is recovering from the set back & returning back to its healthy state. :) All I can say is... HOORAY for chicken soup!!!!!! It's truly a miraculous concoction every time! Anyway, I was leisurely going through my outrageously large collection of photos when I came across this scrumptious shot! Breakfast is my most significant meal of the day so I like to make it as enjoyable as possible. This sandwich is from earlier on towards the beginning of my SCD days & I experienced some difficulty digesting it; the chicken pancakes were too dense for me. I've come a long way since then so I'm hoping I can tolerate it now!! :) As mentioned above amongst my list of ingredients, this can be fixed in a jiffy!! Although, the pancakes may need to be made ahead of time if you run short on time in the mornings. Things can be added to kick it up a notch as well! Whatever your body can tolerate right now, feel free to incorporate into this breakfast sandwich! Let me know of your variations! Well, I'm off to get lost in the eccentric world of Stephen King literature. Toodles, foodies!! <3 Stay happy & healthy & REMEMBER SCD is the way to live. :)   

My "Phenomenal Frittatas"!!!!!

Good evening, foodies!!!!! :) I've got an irresistible recipe for you!!!! These "Phenomenal Frittatas" won't last more than 5 minutes in your kitchen. Prepare to be entirely & happily satisfied!! Here's the recipe. 

• 10 organic eggs
• 2 cups of organic baby spinach
• 1 cups of organic zucchini pasta (sauteed or microwaved, however you prefer) 
• .5 cup of DCCC 

*makes 12 frittatas using a cupcake pan* 

Before anything else, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. To begin, toss your eggs, spinach, & DCCC into a blender. Run it on low until the spinach is chopped enough to your liking. We haven't figured out what to use to prevent them from sticking but olive oil was our oil of choice for tonight. Divvy up the zucchini pasta among the 12 cupcakes. Carefully pour your egg/spinach/DCCC mixture in on top of the zucchini. Bake between 25-30 minutes. :)  Once finished, you may want to use a dull knife to cut around the rim of the frittatas; they tend to stick to the pan. I then had to take a spoon & shimmy them out but it was completely worth it. VOILA!!!!!!!! Dig into one of your incredibly mouth-watering frittatas & forget all about any restrictions of the SCD diet!!! :) 

Enjoy, foodies!!!! And please let me know if you can prevent them from sticking & how!! :) I've tried butter & olive oil with no luck!! <3

3 Months Celebration!!!!! (YAY FOOD!)

Gooood morning, foodies!!!!! :) HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!! Today I'm presenting all the delicious foods I'll be indulging in to celebrate making it 3 successful & 100% legal months on the SCD diet. I must warn you that they might not be fabulous quality pictures; my camera has gone M.I.A. Anyway, WOOHOO!! I'm hoping it'll prove that you DO NOT (I repeat, DO NOT) have to resort to hunger on the SCD diet. I happily eat a decent amount of delicious food everyday; I never feel as if I'm living without. 

To begin, I posted several pictures of my divine banana ice cream with a subtle sprinkle of cinnamon mixed in. As you can see, I have enough ice cream to feed the entire SCD community; in actuality, it's just enough to share with my aunt & cousins without running out after two scoops!!!! :) But no really, this batch will last us quite a long time thank goodness. It's my cure for when I'm 'itching to nibble': great for those who have a desire to eat something they shouldn't!! The consistency was a lot more smoothie-like this time, but if I had had the patience to let the banana chunks freeze longer I probably would've gotten a more ice cream-like product in the end.  

This became more scoop-able like ice cream after I placed it in the freezer all day :) 

What you'll see below are the tasty foods I cooked up for the rest of the day. Local grass-fed Teton ground beef 93% lean, hard-boiled eggs, & certified organic chicken thighs. MMM!!!!! Positively delicious. Zucchinis would've been part of the list if I hadn't run out of them after last night's dinner!! And please do forgive me for not posting a shot of the actual meatballs I conjured up today; I ate them before I got the chance to catch a picture!! :) 

See? You can eat plenty of incredibly satisfying foods on the SCD diet. Patience is the key to your success. :) As time goes on, your food repertoire will grow & therefore your recipes will mature as well!! Just let your body heal & the rest will come with it. 

Today marks 3 months of being a SCDer & I am proud to say that I had an entirely magical day full of hope, satisfaction, happiness, encouragement, & love. Here's to another 3 months of delight!!!!!! :) Thanks for all your support, foodies. I'll talk to you again soon!! <3

p.s. look out for a post regarding the inconvenience of the SCD diet