Cooking for Celiacs, Colitis, Crohns and IBS

Travelling with SCD

Saturday, December 29th, 2007

I am finally back home. My partner, his two small children and my teenage son and myself have just spent 9 days away on holidays. I had booked a three bedroom apartment with kitchen, as I thought I would be able to cook, make yogurt and generally keep my SCD routine happening. I was going to keep a daily journal via my posts here, but found that the hotel did not have internet connection and the nearest hotel that did, required travel. So instead I will give you a fairly good idea on how I coped in this one post.

I had prepared two dozen ‘Chewy Macadamia Nut and Date Biscuits’ and 1 liter of yogurt to take along. I had also taken my homemade ‘Dijonnaise” and some homemade ‘Sweet Chilli Sauce’. I had managed to forget the frozen ‘Crusty Onion Rolls’ in the freezer.

On arrival I checked the kitchen, which had everything I needed. As we arrived late we decided to order dinner in as there was a menu. The smaller kids are vegetarian, my partner and my son can eat anything, so there was no issue there. I managed to find a restaurant that was able to cater for all of us. I ordered a plain piece of grilled fish and a garden salad without dressing. The food arrived and it was, well you know what it would be like, after it had sat in a heating bag for half an hour. My dijonnaise and sweet chilli made my meal delicious. I had a cup of tea and one of my biscuits before I went to bed and felt great. I had worked out that if I had two biscuits a day I would have enough for 12 days. (These biscuits are generous and very filling) It was lucky I made more than enough as they came in handy on those mornings when we barely had time to have breakfast and the two youngest needed sustenance.

Now, my intention was to make yogurt as soon as I could, but every day ended up being so full of adventure and activities, the only time I ended up in the kitchen was to make a cup of tea and breakfast for the last two days of our holiday. But, you know, there was no need for me to be so concerned about keeping my SCD routine going. The 1 liter of yogurt I divided up into 1/4 cups and I had some every morning. We had breakfast mostly at a buffet, where the scrambled eggs were made simply with egg and water and grilled tomatoes, cheddar and fresh fruit was available in abundance. On the tours we took, lunch was always simple, either grilled fish or steak and salads you could mix yourself. My chilli sauce was passed around and admired by everyone (sold quite a few people on the book). I had a biscuit for morning tea and I usually saved one to have at the end of the day with my cup of tea. I ate plenty of watermelon and ripe bananas and generally found it very easy to eat simply and healthily. It was interesting to keep a mental record of the foods that the rest of the family ate. I guess they thought it was carte blanche, because they were on holidays. But the amount of ice cream, croissants, bread and grains, starches and sugars contained in the foods they ate, again made me aware how grateful I am for the SCDiet. That, even though motivated by a very restrictive disease, I was simply eating a very healthy diet. My family looked at me with sorrowful eyes as they were lapping up their sugar rich, carbohydrate rich foods, but I felt quite at ease. There is no use preaching to them about what is good for them and what isn’t. I can only simply give them the information and let them make up their own minds. And also my family is pretty good, they eat in moderation. On the whole they are the model of what healthy moderate eating is all about. I usually accompany my food preparation for the family with information on what each food can do for you. E.g. bananas are high in potassium and can increase your brain function, so you can study better at school. Blueberries are one of the highest antioxidant containing fruits, which keeps your body from getting sick…… etc. Or I might also point out the negativities of the junk food they eat. E.g. did you know that that lolly contains corn syrup, which can make your liver really sick and if you eat too many you will not be able to eat any lollies ever any more.

Generally kids are smart enough to work it out for themselves. Being a good example is the most important thing.

Anyway, I am glad to be back home. I made yogurt last night and the ‘Frittata Verde’ for dinner. I’m making the ‘Beef Lasagna’ and the ‘Vegetarian Shepherds Pie’ for dinner tonight. That will probably last a few nights. The family isn’t fussy, they don’t mind getting the same thing two nights in a row, as long as dessert is on the menu.

Sandra

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Going on a Christmas Holiday

Sunday, December 16th, 2007

We are setting off on a Christmas Holiday. The whole family that is. My partner, his 8 and 9 year old children, who are vegetarian, my son who’ll eat anything, my partner who loves healthy food and me with my SCDiet requirements. I guess for anyone who is on the SCDiet this would sound like the ultimate challenge. And so it is! So I will keep you informed on how I cope with this. We will be away for 9 days. We have tours booked nearly every day, plus a Christmas lunch at a major hotel, offering buffet.

So two days to go and I am making a fresh batch of yogurt (1 liter) to take with me. I will stick this into a flask and put it into my stow away luggage. That will give me time to go shopping when we get to our hotel and get another batch going when we get there. I imagine I will find a cupboard in which I can place one of the night stand lamps and use that as my yogurt incubator (I’ll let you know how it goes). We have booked a three bedroom hotel unit with kitchen. Tomorrow I will make a batch of chewy macadamia nut buscuits. These I might have to hide from the horde, as they all love them. I have also frozen 3 crusty onion rolls, which I will take with me on the plane and store in the refridgerator at our hotel for sandwiches, when we go on our tours. I’m also taking my homemade dijonnaise and sweet chilli sauce with me (I have put enough into two small plastic water bottles and am putting them into a cooler bag into the stow away luggage as well).

*Note: must take 25 w light bulb for table lamp and must take my cookbook.

So stay tuned for the first installment which will be Thursday.

Sandra

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Travelling - 72 days to cookbook launch

Saturday, June 2nd, 2007

Everytime I travel I have to make some small preparations. It used to be the most daunting thing for me. How could I keep my symptoms under check so they would not be noticed or impact on anyone around me. The stress from that alone was enough to keep me at home. It only took about 6 weeks of being on the SCD diet that I was ready to make my first trip. I remember I prepared dilligently. I was visiting a friend for 2 nights and 3 days. I filled a flask with my homemade yoghurt. Baked a batch of biscuits and took my copy of ‘Breaking The Vicious Cycle’ with me to show to my friends. I wanted to explain to them why I was now such a fussy eater and I thought by showing them the book it would make it easier to explain. I also contacted the airline and explained to them that due to a medical situation I would appreciate being sat close to the toilets. This wasn’t a problem for them and knowing that made me feel at ease instantly. My friends were very interested in the diet and as it turned out they had a friend who also suffered from a bowel disease. I also offered to cook and produced a delicious chicken soup and salad, which everyone loved. As time went by I became quite an expert at travelling. I have been on long trips that have lasted 3 - 4 weeks. We usually book a hotel suite with kitchen and the first thing I do is make yoghurt and bread. I travel with a set of condiments, a flask which I use for yoghurt making and almond meal. It sounds like a major hassle, but it really isn’t. Firstly it puts your mind at ease and secondly your quality of life keeps improving. The diet is part of my life-style. This I have accepted and it is no more hassle than brushing my teeth.

Sandra

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