Cooking for Celiacs, Colitis, Crohns and IBS

Specific Carbohydrate Diet Support

August 21st, 2008

When you google ‘Specific Carbohydrate Diet’ (SCDiet) you get over 360,000 results, with the most important ones at the top of the list.

Starting out on the diet can seem very daunting to a lot of people, especially when you have gone through every other treatment out there. Gastroenterologists (G.I.) still maintain that diet won’t effect Crohn’s, Colitis or any other gut diseases. They do agree though that Celiacs should not eat gluten. Well, at least that is something.

90% of people on the SCDiet will disagree with the G.I. When you read through some of the above mentioned websites you will see for yourself what this diet can do for you. The problem is still to find active support from either your doctor or G.I.

There is a worldwide network of Doctors who have realized how important diet is as complimentary treatment to gut disorders. And if these doctors are not easily accessible to you there is a very active and supportive site which is based in the U.S and has worldwide membership.

For Medical Professionals in your area:

1. U.S., Canada, U.K SCDiet.org
2. On-line support Pecanbread.com
3. Australia, New Zealand and Worldwide Mindd.org

On-line Support List

1. BTVC-SCD Support List: The BTVC-SCD group is a very active mailing list for group discussion of the “Specific Carbohydrate Diet” (SCD), which was developed by Elaine Gottschall for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The diet is very useful as an adjunct to conventional medical treatments for IBD and has helped many people achieve stable health once more. The BTVC-SCD mailing list is a place where those that have not found answers on other diets, but wish to discuss the “Specific Carbohydrate Diet” can exchange recipes and share ideas about how to cope with Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s in conjunction with this particular diet. This list is managed by Marilyn L. Alm.

Happy Cooking,
Sandra

More Coconut Recipes

August 5th, 2008

Here are some more delicious coconut recipes for those who want to have a diary free and nut free diet. These recipes are of course SCD legal, so gluten free, lactose free, grain free and sugar free.

Pancakes

Makes 4

3 eggs
1 tsp coconut oil
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp honey
2 Tbs coconut flour
½ tsp of bicarbonate soda

This recipe makes thick fluffy pancakes which are great with honey or homemade jam.

Combine the eggs with the coconut oil, vanilla and honey and whisk until light and frothy. Add the sifted coconut flour and bicarbonate soda and combine until the mixture thickens.

Heat a little oil in a frying pan on medium and pour in a large spoon full of the batter into the pan. It only takes around two minutes for the pancake to brown on one side. Turn it over and brown on the other side. Serve warm.

Cherry filled Crepes

Makes 4

4 eggs
1 tsp coconut oil
½ tsp vanilla essence
1 Tbs coconut cream
1 tsp honey
2 Tbs coconut flour

Cherries – pitted

This recipe makes thin crepes which are delicious with any cooked fruit filling and perhaps served with some honey drizzled over the top.

Combine the eggs with the coconut oil, vanilla, coconut cream and honey and whisk until light and frothy. Add the sifted coconut flour and combine until the mixture thickens slightly.

Heat a little oil in a frying pan on medium and pour in a large spoon full of the batter into the pan. Lift the pan by the handle and roll the batter over the surface of the pan until the whole surface is covered. It only takes around one minutes for the crepe to brown on one side. Turn it over and brown on the other side. Fill the crepes with the cherries and serve warm.

Peach Custard

Serves 4

500 ml (2 cups) Coconut Milk
5 eggs – whisked
100 g (¹⁄³ cup) honey
1 tsp vanilla essence
200 g (1 cup) peaches – peeled and sliced

Pre-heat oven to 150ºC/302 F – baking time 45 minute

Combine the coconut milk, eggs, honey and vanilla essence in a medium size pot and heat, whisking constantly. Do not boil. Cook for 1 minute, then remove from heat and pour into 4 ramekins. Evenly distribute the sliced peaches amongst the ramekins. Place the ramekins in a heatproof dish filled with water, reaching half way up the remekins. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until the tops start to feel firm. Remove from the oven and place the custards into the refrigerator for at least 3 hours before serving.

Serve decorated with strawberries or some extra peach slices.

Happy Cooking,
Sandra Ramacher

BAKING WITH COCONUT FLOUR

July 17th, 2008

I am in heaven! Finally an alternative to baking and cooking with Almond Meal. Coconut Flour is SCD Legal, it is very good for you, it is great for thickening stews and sauces and comes up beautifully in baking.

Here are some facts:

Coconut Flour, the new low-carb, high-fibre, gluten-free alternative to wheat flour. It contains no fillers, grains, or soy.

Coconut Flour is made from fresh organic coconut meat. The meat is dried and defatted and then finely ground into a powder very similar in consistency to wheat flour. Use 15-25% in place of other flours in most standard recipes. A variety of delicious baked goods can also be made using 100% coconut flour.

Coconut Flour is a low carb flour. It is ideal for baking low – carb breads and baked goods. It has fewer digestible (net) carbs than any other flour, including soy! It even has fewer digestible carbs than most vegetables.

Coconut Flour is a good source of protein. It has as much protein as wheat flour but it has none of the specific protein in wheat called “gluten”. This is an advantage for a growing percentage of the population that have developed an allergy to gluten or a wheat sensitivity.

Coconut Flour is high in fibre. It contains 38.5% fibre which is the highest percentage of dietary fibre found in any flour (wheat bran is 27% fibre). Coconut flour contains almost 3 times as much fibre as soy flour. Instead of contributing to health problems like starch and sugar do, fibre promotes good health.

This great information comes from a fantastic website which sells coconut flours and oils in Australia: (click here)

Coconut Flour and oil is widely available throughout the U.S and Europe.

Muffins

Makes 6

2 eggs
3 egg whites*
1 tsp vanilla essence
150 g (½ cup) honey
30 g (2 Tsp) coconut oil
75 g (¾ cup) coconut flour
1 tsp bicarbonate soda

100 g (1 cup) apples or berries
or bananas

*by eliminating the egg yolks the
fat content of the recipe is reduced

Pre-heat oven to 160ºC/320 F – baking time 45 minutes

Line a six-hole muffin tin with baking paper: To do this I tear of 6 pieces of baking paper about 10 cm wide. Then once the filling is made I mould the paper into one muffin mould first and while holding down with one hand fill it with the dough with the other hand. The paper sticks out a fair bit at the top, but that’s part of the decorative look.

Mix the eggs and egg whites with the vanilla essence, honey and coconut oil using an electric beater until well combined and frothy. Then add the sifted coconut flour and bicarbonate soda and mix well. Finally fold the fruit under and place in the oven for 45 minutes.

Remove from the oven and lift the muffins out of the tin and place on a wire grid to cool.

I find it extremely hard waiting for them to cool down and have been known to burn my mouth on the hot fruit inside the muffin. They are of course at their most delicious when still warm from the oven, but even after refrigeration a quick warm in the oven (about 10 minutes on fan forced) will make them taste like you’ve just made them.

Refrigerate in an airtight container.

Why is Bifidus Bacteria not recommended on the SCD Diet?

July 5th, 2008

Any bacteria can overgrow, but with a good balance they are generally kept in check – so for those with relatively healthy microflora in their body bifidum may not be too bad (though some research indicates that when bifidum persists beyond childhood it can be a marker for certain cancers APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY, Sept. 1995, p. 3202-3207 Vol. 61, No. 9 from http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/knowledge_base/kb/bifidus.htm )

However, with SCD microbes are starved out. Bifidum bacteria seem to take advantage of this unique situation and the bacteria which normally is a good bacteria tends to overgrow. And when there is overgrowth of any bacteria their metabolites can cause problems.

Unfortunately there is no research on this specific aspect of bifidum bacteria because it seems to pertain only to SCDers.

Perhaps it is because the SCD clears out the harmful microbes and bifidum takes over, overgrowing into huge numbers. The by-products of bifidum bacteria could be what sends people into flares – especially those who have sensitive guts or those at the beginning of the diet, these people unfortunately have “fertile ground” for bifidum bacteria
to overgrow.”

How long before I can eat Normal Food again?

June 27th, 2008

This is one of the most frequently asked questions? So please indulge me while I address this in a round about way.

Firstly what is ‘normal’ food in contrast to ‘abnormal’ food on the SCDiet? SCD promotes a healthy unrefined diet full of fresh fruits, vegetables and protein. The foods on the diet can be purchased at any supermarket. But if you mean foods such as bread, rice, pasta and potatoes than the answer is not so easily defined. Some people who have followed a rigorous SCDiet for years have found that they can easily incorporate these foods back into their diet occasionally. By occasionally I mean perhaps once a month or even once a week, but certainly not on a daily basis. Again, moderation is the key.

I have been on the SCDiet for three years now and am completely symptom free, but still follow the SCDiet.

At this point I have no desire for so called ‘normal’ foods as the diet provides such a variety of dishes and foods that can be eaten. Once you have experienced the abating of horrific symptoms such as constant diarrhea, cramping and sleepless nights and find yourself on the other end of the spectrum, a healthy and vital person; the risk of a relapse isn’t worth it.

That is not to say that on those occasions when my darling son (he has no digestive issues at all) has his weekly croissant, I do feel a little nostalgic. But when the time comes for me to have that croissant it better be the best croissant in the world. This I gather will be in some little french restaurant in France.

The results of eating on the SCDiet can be so significant for those who are willing to give it their one and all, and by that I mean 110%, that it is worth foregoing a little bread, rice, pasta or potato.

Happy Cooking
Sandra

Travelling with SCD

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

Going on a Christmas Holiday

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

Book Launch at the Sydney Gluten Free Food Show

November 20th, 2007

It was great to be at the Gluten Free Food show and meet so many wonderful people who all understand the value of a healthy and alternative diet in regards to intestinal health. There were many who were going through what I went through a few year ago, when I was still suffering from Ulcertative Colitis. It’s wonderful to be able to have a little laugh about symptoms and embarrassing situations and know that your are not the only one suffering these debilitating symptoms. It’s of course also inspiring to be able to see that there are people who have fully recovered because of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.

Yet the most amazing thing was that I was approached by two major main stream super stores, who want to carry ‘Healing Foods’ ‘Cooking for Celiacs, Colitis, Crohn’s and IBS’ and include it into their new Health and Wellness Sections of the stores. This is great, because it means they are taking healthy foods serious. It means it’s not just an empty gesture to have a token sections which is labelled ‘Healthy’ because it carries a couple of ‘Gluten Free’ products. Which brings me to a major problem I have with so called ‘Gluten Free’ products. Most of these products are labelled ‘Gluten Free’, but contain twice as much sugar and fat. Also who is to say that refined rice flour or corn flour is any healthier than refined wheat flour? Non of this is a problem, of course, if you’re on the SCDiet, as you are simply just eating fresh foods and everything is made from scratch.

So the launch was a success and the book is flying off the shelves at the bookstores. The medical community is starting to embrace alternative diets as a complimentary treatment and I think we will see a much greater push towards Doctors and Specialists using diets in their treatments.

Sandra

Diabeties, Glycemic Index and the The Specific Carbohydrate Diet

November 8th, 2007

Diabetes, Glycemic Index and The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)I was interviewed for a national Diabetes Magazine the other day. Of course they wanted to know how a diet such as the SCD would be for Diabetes sufferers, considering that in
Australia 10% of Diabetics are also diagnosed with Coeliac Disease. For Diabetics the all important factor is how carbohydrates effect their blood sugar level, and that these foods have a low GI (Glycemic Index). The Glycemic Index is a measurement of the type or quality of carbs in a particular food, and how fast 50 grams of this carbohydrate raises blood glucose levels, (and consequent insulin secretion and effects produced by the pancreas) as it is digested. But it is also important to consider the Glycemic Load of Foods. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, the Glycemic Load was devised to make the Glycemic Index useful in the real world.

The problem with the Glycemic Index is that the tests use 50 grams of carbohydrate worth of the food being tested. On a practical level, that means they test a plateful of spaghetti, but a truckload of cucumbers! It doesn’t take into account how food is eaten in the real world, and makes foods seem damaging that really aren’t.

The Glycemic Index is the measurement of how rapidly a given carbohydrate food is absorbed, and therefore how fast and hard it spikes blood sugar. In general, a fast, sharp rise in blood sugar triggers a big insulin release . The Glycemic Load is defined as the Glycemic Index times the actual number of grams of carbohydrate eaten. Ten or below is a low Glycemic Load, 11-20 is medium, and anything over 20 is high.

Take carrots. Carrots have a high Glycemic Index for a vegetable – around 50. But do you know how many carrots you’d have to eat to get fifty grams of carbohydrate? More than fifty! So basically the carbohydrate content of say eating two whole carrots with a meal is too insignificant to cause a rise in blood sugar levels. But let’s say you take oatmeal, which has about the same GI as carrots, but one cup serving of cooked oatmeal has 25 grams of carbohydrate, for a Glycemic Load of 12.5 in contrast to say 5 baby carrots which has 4 grams of carbohydrate and a Glycemic Load of 2 – very low.

So how do the foods allowed on the SCD rate in regards to the GI and GL and is this a good thing for Diabetics and everyone else wanting to be healthier?

The SCD is based on ‘Simple Carbohydrate Foods’ or rather monosaccharides which are the single molecule carbs which need no enzyme to break them down to be digested. Carbohydrate foods naturally divide themselves into two groups: starches and refined sugars, and everything else. It’s the concentration of carbohydrates in the starches, and the artificial concentration of refined sugars, that makes them a problem to bowel disease sufferers and diabetics. So the specific carbohydrates allowed on the diet and used in the ‘Healing Foods’ cookbook are the ones that are represented in most low GI foods. These foods are simple fresh foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, some low starch pulses, nuts, meats, cheeses and yogurt. Even the baked goods which are sweetened with honey are acceptable as the almond meal used instead of the wheat flour contain monounsaturated fats which slows the absorption rate of glucose from the honey into the bloodstream.

So considering all these factors diabetics, digestive disease sufferers and generally everyone who wants to live a more energetic and healthy life should be able to benefit from the recipes in ‘Healing Foods’ ‘Cooking for Celiacs, Colitis, Crohn’s and IBS’.

Sandra

IBS Treatment – What Have Bananas And Apples Got To Do With IBS?

October 19th, 2007

I was speaking to an elderly gentleman the other day who had just undergone life saving surgery to his heart and he mentioned that the doctor recommended that he should start eating lots of bananas “at least two a day”, he said. The Doctor said that the high potassium content helped to regulate the heart beat. So when I started investigating the health value of bananas I came upon a great article on how bananas help with bowel diseases. Keep in mind that it is important to eat bananas only when they are really ripe, with brown flecks appearing on the skin.

This article was written by Terence Oth, who also keeps a great site for tips for IBS sufferers http://www.ibs-relieftips.com/

When someone talks about bananas, one thing comes to mind – energy food. The reason for this is because we often see the tri-athletes gorging on this before and during their race events.

Well, it is a known fact that it contains three natural sugars – sucrose, fructose and glucose – combined with fiber. The sugars give us the instant and sustainable energy. Research has shown that just two bananas can sustain one for a vigorous 90-minute workout. But for an IBS sufferer, it is the insoluble fiber that we are interested in. The abundance of insoluble fibers helps in relieving constipation without the need for laxatives. So keep a banana or two in your daily diet. One banana has 16% of the fiber, 15% of the vitamin C, and 11% of the potassium we need every day for good health. Bananas are unique because it helps in both IBS constipation and diarrhea. A few (no more than 2) large bananas a day provide the fiber to promote bowel movement. Eating more bananas a day can help stop diarrhea. Bananas have other benefits as well.

For anemic patients, bananas are high in iron, which helps in the production of hemoglobin – the foundation of blood. This is especially important to women when they have their menses.

For high blood pressure and stroke sufferers, bananas are high in potassium but low in salt. Research, has shown that potassium reduces blood pressure. In one research, keeping bananas as a regular diet can reduce the risk of death by stroke by as much as 40%.

For heart burn patients, bananas have antacid properties. Gulping down a couple of bananas provide relief in heart burn patients.

For ulcer sufferers, bananas coat the lining of the intestines, thus providing relief for over-active ulcers. A banana’s antacid properties will reduce acidity in the stomach as well.

For mosquito bites and warts. Forget your creams, just use the banana skin and rub some on the mosquito bite. It not only provides irritation relief, but reduces inflammation as well. Keep the inside of the banana skin on the wart by using plaster and see the wart go away.

Tips: Do not take bananas late at night. When you take bananas, also take lots of water after that if you want to prevent constipation. Apples are also unique because they are both beneficial in the treatment of constipation and diarrhea. Uncooked apples are good for constipation. On the other hand, baked apples are good for diarrhea as the cooking process softens the cellulose and provides bulk to stools. For the best IBS treatment, apples should be peeled. The sugars in apples are harder for the body to digest. And what the body can’t break down, it pushes out. So apples are a natural laxative. Personally, I find combining bananas and apples into a drink is even more effective as a constipation relief, so here is a recipe for one IBS constipation relief drink. Banana, Apple Lassi (Yogurt drink) Combine two fruits with natural laxatives and digestion booster properties, and you get one of the best IBS constipation treatments. Yoghurt builds ‘good’ bacteria in the gut.

Specific Carbohydrate Diet Support

More Coconut Recipes

BAKING WITH COCONUT FLOUR

Why is Bifidus Bacteria not recommended on the SCD Diet?

How long before I can eat Normal Food again?

Travelling with SCD

Going on a Christmas Holiday

Book Launch at the Sydney Gluten Free Food Show

Diabeties, Glycemic Index and the The Specific Carbohydrate Diet

IBS Treatment – What Have Bananas And Apples Got To Do With IBS?

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