get healthy now

I am sure that a lot of people who read this blog are not necessarily full blown SCDers just yet. Maybe they're individuals who aren't quite ready to take the plunge. Maybe they're people who think it's all too complicated and difficult.

There was a nice post from Fitness Spotlight today called Get Healthy Now, with eight simple tips on getting healthier.

However, I'd cut it down to just one -- eat real food 90 percent of the time.

It's simpler than you might think, and close to the principals of SCD. In many ways, it's easier than GFCF living, because instead of scrutinizing endless packages, all you have to do is buy and eat real, unadulterated food.

An apple has no list of additives to read through for places where gluten might hide. Ditto for a frozen side of salmon or avocado.

If even that step is too much for you, I will give you the perfect baby step.

Stop drinking sugar sweetened beverages.

OK, OK, maybe it's not a baby step. It's more of a significant step for some of you. Yes, I know this is hard. I have spoken with people who can't abide the taste of diet soft drinks.

So don't drink those either.

When you constantly drink sugar sweetened beverages, your body becomes inured to the taste. What that means is that, as time goes on, you need a higher level of sweetness in foods and drinks so that they continue to taste sweet to you.

All of that extra sugar also puts your body on a rollercoaster ride of insulin levels, driving you to consume more and more sugar to fight off crankiness brought on by the lowering of your blood sugar.

Both effects combined will lead you to consume all sorts of unfortunate foods.

So, make life a little easier on yourself and remove those awful sugary drinks from the equation, if you are still consuming them.

alternative therapies for autism

I came across the Chicago Tribune's series on autism. There are three articles:

Risky alternative therapies have little basis in science

Success stories more persuasive to some than hard data

Questionable treatments for children with autism

I have not read all of the articles in their entirety. However, the information presented on faulty testing that fools parents into thinking their children require chelation is enough to give anyone pause.

I also think that, for many disorders of the mind and body, very little attention has been paid to the food people eat. How many of you out there have colitis or Crohn's, and have had your doctor tell you that the food you eat had nothing to do with your condition? How many autistic kids out there have digestive problems, and have had their doctors shrug and say that food has nothing to do with it?

It kind of flies in the face of common sense, don't you think?

I've posted before about gluten free, casein free diets, and why they're often not enough to resolve the issues of autistic kids. Give it a look if you missed it the first time around.

But the good thing is that dietary interventions like the Specific Carbohydrate Diet are very unlikely to be harmful to anyone. Cutting processed and refined carbohydrates is a good way to improve pretty much anyone's diet -- and state of mind to boot.

scd apple cranberry sauce

OK, so I wasn't going to post anymore.

But!

I came up with this recipe for apple cranberry sauce. It's so good, I had to share it with you. Plus, it doesn't have an obscene amount of honey in it like some other recipes I've seen.

No photo because it's chilling in the fridge and I forgot. Sorry!

EASY SCD APPLE CRANBERRY SAUCE

3 cups fresh or frozen whole cranberries
3 apples, peeled and cut into reasonable chunks
1 cup SCD legal grape juice (Welch's 100 percent grape juice without any calcium)
3 tablespoons honey

Add all ingredients to a small saucepan. Bring to boil. Turn down to low heat. Simmer on LOW (watch for sticking, so give them a stir now and then) until most of the cranberries have popped and the apples are softened, about 20 minutes. Stir and taste after it's cooled down a bit. Add more honey if desired (I like my cranberry sauce kinda tart).

And there ya go! Gluten free, grain free, egg free, soy free... you get the idea. :P

Now, I admit that I don't know how many cranberries are in a standard bag -- I believe that 3 cups equals 12 ounces, so 4 cups would be a one pound bag. I measured from the giant bag of fresh cranberries I got at Costco.

But this recipe can be adjusted to whatever amount you have. For every cup of cranberries, you add 1 apple, 1/3 cup grape juice, and 1 tbsp honey. It's very straightforward.

As for the fresh cranberries, I immediately threw the bag in the freezer after I bought it, because they go bad kinda fast in the fridge. I learned that the hard way.

Hope you enjoy the recipe! Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Susan :)

turkey and disneyland

I am very much looking forward to cooking turkey this year!

I won't be doing it until after the actual day, though; this year, we'll be spending Thanksgiving in Disneyland. I may call ahead and ask them to make us some turkey that Clark and I can eat, but I'm not sure yet.

In case you are not aware, Disneyland and Disney World can handle pretty much any food allergy/intolerance situation, as long as you give them a little bit of notice. Heck, they can deal with it at their sit-down restaurants with no notice. So Disney gets high marks in my book!

Also, this year I am going to indulge in some Meyenberg goat butter! I asked my local Henry's Market to order some for me, and they said yes!

I have heard from other SCDers that Meyenberg goat butter is legal. It does have "natural flavoring" listed on the package, but another SCDer cleared this with a rep. I do not remember all of the details, so please use with caution if there's any doubt in your mind.

I am going to be paying $5.99 for 8 oz of goat butter. I thought that was kind of high, but then again, the holidays are coming. It will be nice to have something special, I thought.

But then, I happened to drop by Whole Foods to get a bag of almond flour (my son wants pizza for his birthday). They had a different brand of goat butter in their dairy case -- $9.99 for 8 oz! So I guess I'm getting a deal!

I also have a link to share with you. If you're wondering why your turkey is dry and tasteless, blame the bird. Mark's Daily Apple has a nice blog post on heritage turkeys but the PARSNIPS ARE ILLEGAL, OK? So just ignore that part. :)

I certainly won't miss the potatoes, and I never cared for parsnips anyway. My son and I have been snacking on butternut squash and pumpkin all week. Mmmm...

I'm also planning to make some pumpkin cheesecake bars with dripped yogurt. Stay tuned. If it works, I will post the recipe.

Oh! And if you are looking for a great SCD dairy free pumpkin pie recipe, head on over to Beth's Blog. I purchased her Turtle Soup cookbook. I really enjoyed the simple recipes, and the pie is just GREAT!

Have a great holiday, guys and gals!

rice vinegar

I'm always on the hunt for new SCD legal ingredients, so I picked up some rice vinegar to try.

Just so you are aware, rice vinegar is very sweet tasting. I was pretty amazed at how sweet it was. But it reminded me of something.

A few weeks ago, I went out with some of my former work colleagues to a Japanese-style restaurant. I quizzed the waitress carefully on the sashimi salad, and asked her to bring me dressing on the side. I specifically asked for a dressing of only sesame oil and vinegar.

I didn't specify the type of vinegar, but I have to think it must have been rice vinegar. It tasted simply amazing, to be perfectly honest, and I really enjoyed my meal.

I hope this gives you an option when you're confronted with sushi (which is, of course, SCD illegal). Sashimi can be boring when the wasabi and soy sauce are illegal, so I think that asking for a dish of sesame oil and rice vinegar on the side is the perfect solution!