Chocolate is NOT legal on the SCD... so my frustrations begin :)

Before my book arrived from amazon, Breaking The Vicious Cycle by Elaine Gottschall, I relied on her online website Legal/ Illegal List to find foods that were okay to eat. I had lost 10 pounds despite trying to follow a BRAT ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRAT_diet ) diet and only putting "gentle" things on my stomach. Everything went right through me. Everything. I had to start very slow. At the beginning.

The beginning of the SCD. The beginning calls for homemade chicken soup which is essentially a whole chicken simmering for 4 hours with carrot puree. After 4 days of Chicken Soup, dry curd cottage cheese, homemade yogurt with honey and pressed apple cider I was finally starting to feel like I could add a few other things. I still took it slow as my symptoms were extreme. Diarrhea. Blood. Cramping. Pain. I eased into adding one or two foods at a time to make sure I tolerated them. Mostly fruits and vegetables. Cooked. Then raw. Then eggs. First hard boiled. Then over hard with butter in a cast iron skillet. Then I found uncured, unsweetened bacon. Delish :). My staples for breakfast have become eggs, bacon, yogurt with honey/ fruit/ nuts, and juice. I have branched out. My mother gave me an SCD recipe book. I purchased a second book. I started reading SCD blogs for inspiration and more recipes. Most of my recipes are adapted from these sources. I was feeling successful in being grain, starch and refined sugar free. Then my mind wandered to cravings for chocolate.

Choooocoolate. I am pregnant. Is that a valid excuse? No, I know it's not.  But I attempted to adapt as best I could and so far only one weakness. No croissants. No traditional baked goods. No more bakery runs with Jenni. I felt defeated. Then I realized I was the one in control, not the diet. We all make decisions we have to live with. This is mine.

 I have to say one of the first things I looked up was chocolate. Chocolate: ILLEGAL. Shit.  Dr. Haas advised not to use cocoa or chocolate and this still goes, it isn't just the sugar he was worried about. So I look into this further. This blog post sums up many sources on why cocoa/ chocolate may be illegal. http://thescd.wordpress.com/tag/chocolate/. Regardless, 4 weeks after initiating the diet I have decided to make my own chocolate in the most SCD-friendly way possible, but mind you it is still illegal. This is where my perseverance fades.

Organic (unrefined) cacao powder

Organic (unrefined) cacao butter

Cacao powder, cacao butter, honey, vanilla, coffee = Becky's chocolate chunks :)

A Few of My Favorites

 Apple pie with almond crust

 Chicken lettuce wraps with homemade Asian sauce

Chicken and cucumber salad with 

homemade (umm.. seriously everything is homemade) creamy dill yogurt dressing

Almond and egg waffles with homemade yogurt, strawberries and hazelnuts

Coconut flour muffins with cinnamon, honey, and pecan swirl

Almond, walnut, apple, egg, homemade yogurt, coconut flake "bread" loaf

from FOOD! to food to FOOD :)

I have persevered. I do it at work (I'm an RN). I do it when it comes to my health and well being. I do not persevere when faced with laundry, house projects, and dishes. I have been faithfully following the specific carbohydrate diet (SCD) ( http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/index.htm ) now for almost 4 solid weeks. I HAVE persevered :)

I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (http://www.uptodate.com/contents/patient-information-ulcerative-colitis-beyond-the-basics) when I was about 15 years old. I had my first colonoscopy when I was 16. I tried medicated suppositories, medicated enemas, and oral medication. After being on mesalamine for approx 5 years and some adverse effects on the kidneys, I made the switch to balsalazide for several more years. Two colonoscopies later and being medication free for approx 4 years, I was given the title of  ulcerative colitis in "remission." I couldn't be more thrilled :). I remained in remission happily.

March 2012 I was 6 weeks pregnant with our first child and noticed blood in my stool. I was terrified. I attempted to rationalize that it was because I was pregnant and this blood would just be a really mild reminder of my once in remission disease. It didn't work. I suffered through the worst flare of my life. My original symptoms when I was a teen were a joke compared to this. Nothing stayed in me. I lost 10 pounds. I missed 2 weeks of work. I was in pain. 

I was placed back on balsalazide and given proctofoam. The same day I started on medication I started this journey on the SCD. I have been diligent, but I have been frustrated. 

This is my journey.