Lunch & Dinner

My diet is pretty restrictive: no grain, no lactose, no sugar or sweetners (except for honey), no flour, no starchy vegetables, and no milk products except my own homemade yogurt. The thing is, often times it doesn't feel restrictive to me because usually I can get the tastes I crave by introducing a homemade version. Mixing my own spices has been an amazing experience for me, and it's really made me aware of the variety of flavors I can have on this diet. This is my third homemade spice mix, inspired by my friends C&S. They kept bragging about this commercial bought Cajun Spice mix they love, and I didn't want to be left out, so I made this chicken with my own homemade Cajun Spice mix, topped with a thick yogurt cheese that substitutes for sour cream.

Cajun Seasoning:
3 T Paprika
2 T Salt
2 T Garlic Powder
1 T Black Pepper
1 T Onion Powder
1 T Cayenne Powder
1 T Oregano
1 T Basil (Thyme could work too)

Cajun Chicken:
2/3 C Olive Oil
6 T Vinegar
2 t Italian Seasoning
2 t Garlic Powder
1/2 t Black Pepper
2 T Cajun Seasoning
1/2 t Salt
4 Chicken Breasts

Mix all ingredients except for chicken in a large bowl. Add chicken to marinade, let sit in fridge for 30 minutes to an hour. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes turning once. There should be enough left over marinade to put on veggies or pasta.

Drew really likes pizza, and I'm kind of a fan myself. As you can imagine, due to the dough, traditional pizza is off limits to me now. This is my first attempt at making pizza SCD style. I cured the ham myself. It's pretty good, but I could used a mandoline or something to cut it finer. Provolone cheese in replace of the typical Mozzarella (which has too much lactose in it), pesto sauce and for the pizza crust I used an almond flour dough.

The part that needs the most improvement is the dough. It had a great taste with some garlic and Italian spices, but it was really dry. So dry it was hard to swallow. Next time I think I'll make it with almond butter to see if I can get a softer texture, and if that doesn't work I'll add some yogurt and see if that helps.

This has to be my culinary master piece so far. To be honest, it wasn't my personal favorite dish, chili is good but it's not my idea of the best meal ever. Despite that, as soon as I took the first bite of this Chicken Chili I knew that I could do nothing but really appreciate this meal. It tasted like it was made by a real chef, someone who knows how to cook and wield the flavor of spices with deadly precision. But no! This chili was made by me. I did get the original recipe from a book, but I modified it so it suited my tastes better. Even my non-SCD husband ate this chili with me, went back for seconds he did.

• Ground Chicken
• Red Bell Pepper
• Onion
• Paprika
• Cayenne
• Cinnamon
• Cumin
• Salt
• Garlic Cloves
• Plum Tomatoes
• Tomato Juice

Served over broccoli (or rice for non-SCD people) and topped with cheese.

This meal made me appreciate how many different dishes I can make with the limited amount of foods I can eat. As long as I can work in a good amount of spices, I can make chicken in many different ways. This might be the key to feeling like I'm on a limited diet versus feeling well feed.

My final installment of my whole roasted turkey. I was just as excited about this meal as I was about that gravy. My lunches usually look more like breakfast, and my dinners usually look like lunch. That is to say that my meals are all pretty similar and they almost always look like breakfast. And if you know me, then you know that I really like sandwiches with white meat, so this was a treat for me. I couldn't put any good veggies on, like tomatoes, because lettuce is the only raw veggie I dare eat right now (due to stricture). But all that didn't matter because it was so nice to have a cool fresh sandwich with good meat and decent bread. I felt very happy when I ate that sandwich.

The most obvious thing to do with the chicken undesirables was to make a chicken broth out of it. I added some celery, onions, lemon juice, basil, and threw the garlic I cooked the chicken with in there. So far my best soup yet. I highly recommend this method if you are looking to make your own chicken broth.

When the chicken broth is done boiling (in about 4 quarts water for about 6-8 hours) I almost always strain everything out and put the broth in the fridge. It's good for when I'm having a yucky day and need something light and nutritious, and also good for using broth in recipes.