August 25, 2019

Second movie in a (long) weekend – sometimes there are perks to having weird weekend days.

FODMAP Diet – Reintroduction Week 3

This was my third reintroduction week on the FODMAP diet.

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Reintroduction Week 1
Reintroduction Week 2
An explanation

Proposed Meal Plan

Breakfasts

  • The doc’s smoothie blend

Lunches/Dinners

  • I will be traveling most of this week, so I’ll mostly just try and eat on plan.

Snacks

  • I will try to limit these where possible

Actual Meal Plan

Breakfasts

  • Doctor shakes
  • Hotel buffet breakfasts – lots of fruit, a little meat, a little potato

Lunches/Dinners

  • Lots of Asian, some bbq, too many potatoes, and too much bread

Snacks

  • Was semi successful in avoiding while traveling
Monday: Fruit and a little egg thing for breakfast, a killer egg salad club sandwich for lunch, and too much sushi for dinner.
Tuesday: That lunch burger was 2 fried eggplant buns with baked sweet potato fries. Dinner was bbq brisket; the post-dinner snacks killed me – the desserts had a little dairy, and ended up being too much food all of a sudden
Wednesday: Travel day – lots of potatoes and meat at breakfast. Chicken kebab, rice and fries at home
Thursday: Emergency rice breakfast, PF Chang’s our for lunch, popcorn for dinner
Friday: Breakfast wrap, dinner wrap, popcorn for lunch
Saturday: Re-testing small amounts of onion (in the vegan tikka microwave meal); something in the morning eggs, potatoes & beef chorizo had me bloated for most of the day

What did I learn this week?

Challenge foods for this week were accidental dairy (super out), overeating (also super unpleasant), a small amount of onion (less pleasant once – ok a second time), and a Chinese food amount of cooking garlic (fine I think; I was bloated but I think from the salt content of PF Chang’s).

Wheat is still in, but based on the pics of my food this week I look like I need to reign in my consumption of unnecessary breads and fried foods. I’m also tired of potatoes again, and have picked back up a wicked Diet Coke craving, so I may be doing a Whole30 to reset my tastebuds soon.

August 24, 2019

Rawr

August 23, 2019

At the movies

August 22, 2019

Mood lighting

Canned Tuna Thai Bowl

This Summer, my seasonal obsession with seafood has taken the form of canned tuna. Which is great for my wallet and healthy, so I’m not complaining.

I was, however, starting to feel like I was getting into a rut with my favorite dead-simple pasta + other warm-ish and cozy things that at least approximated the feel of tuna noodle casserole. Ok, not actually really, but in my mind that’s what was going on.

I have issues, I know.

This recipe takes my current love, digs the can of weird Aryan kid peanut butter that’s a pain in the ass to use out of the pantry, and goes somewhere approximating Thailand with it. Thailand, at least in peanut sauce and some toppings. I used what I could find locally and what my FODMAP diet would allow me.

gluten-free, paleo, pescatarian, FODMAP

Canned Tuna Thai Bowl

1 large zucchini, spiralized into noodles

1 medium carrot, cut into matchsticks

1/2 red bell pepper, also matchsticked

1/3 daikon or other radish, sliced or grated or whatever

1 small can tuna per serving (I used 95g cans of lemon pepper flavor)

Cilantro & lime to top

Dressing:

1/2 cup peanut butter (mine was natural unsweetened)

2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp. coconut aminos or soy sauce or tamari

2 tsp. fish sauce

2 tsp. grated ginger

Big pinch cayenne pepper

Salt & pepper

Juice of 1 lime or 1/2 lemon

Honey or other sweetener to taste if you need to balance flavors (I ended up using 1 tsp. because I got a tad over zealous with the ACV)

Prep all your veggies. Sautee the zucchini noodles in a dry pan until your desired doneness is reached. Split into 2 servings.

While your zoodles are working, zap the peanut butter in a large microwave-safe vessel :20 or so or until warm. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir carefully to form a sauce.

Assemble your bowl and top with peanut butter sauce, cilantro & more lime juice.

Makes 2 bowls zucchini-wise; the rest of the ingredients can stretch a couple more. Keep in mind that when you grab out of the fridge, you might want to add a Tablespoon of water to your sauce and zap it in the microwave :15 or so to loosen up to a drizzle-able consistency (especially if your peanut butter is the hippie kind with the oil on top).

August 21, 2019

Living my best life with a double-sling of wieners (again) on returning home. 😍🤩🐶😍🤩🐶

August 20, 2019

An Abra (wooden taxi boat) from the Dubai Museum. Dragged myself out, braved the Metro, and saw something cultural.

August 19, 2019

From a ride on the dork bus, the Hop On/Hop Off red bus.

This was actually a great way to see the city, with interesting trivia and commentary. And while it was warm all day, I mostly sat in at least some amount of air conditioning while I watched Dubai roll by.

FODMAP Diet – Reintroduction Week 2

This was my second reintroduction week on the FODMAP diet. Week 1 went fairly well, and it seems as if everything I’ve introduced so far is fine. I may switch to monthly updates or a big go/no-go list of foods in a few months, because this phase is going to take awhile. Like, could take 9 months awhile, and I don’t want to bore you all with the details.

The procedure for reintroduction is to eat a little of a food from the high FODMAP list, pay attention to what my mind and body is telling me for 2 days, record any and all reactions, and either re-test the same thing on day 3 or go for something different. I’m starting with foods that I’m fairly certain are on the ‘go’ list, and working my way up to foods I suspect I have a reaction to or have had reactions to in the past – and crossing my fingers that whatever form of inflammation or whatever it was that was going on in my gut when I started this journey stays as calmed down as it is now when I go for the biggies (to me) like garlic, onions and brassicas.

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Reintroduction Week 1
An explanation

Proposed Meal Plan

Breakfasts

  • The doc’s smoothie blend

Lunches/Dinners

  • Grapefruit salsa salmon
  • Rice noodles and veggies salad

Snacks

  • Popcorn, my love

Actual Meal Plan

Breakfasts

  • Doctor shakes

Lunches/Dinners

  • Salmon with leftover poke bits
  • Salmon with roasted potatoes and grapefruit salsa
  • A bunless burger & sweet potato fries out
  • Popcorn because #adulting
  • Sushi
  • Scrounged and cobbled together noodly bowls with rice noodles and leftovers
  • Smoothie bowl out
  • Yaki udon out
  • Travel day food – alcohol, mixed nuts, some chicken, a bite of squid, and a bite of olive maybe pasta something – avoided the onboard snacks.

Snacks

  • Popcorn
Monday: Grapefruit salsa salmon and leftover poke bits with another salmon filet
Tuesday: A late lunch of bunless burger & sweet potato fries while out and dying of starvation and then an adulting win for dinner – half a bag of popcorn with a little garlic oil, furikake and salt
Wednesday: Yaki soba out. Challenge food(s) – wheat, mushrooms
Thursday: Quick sushi grabbed on the way home from yoga and a leftover bowl
Friday: Smoothie bowl and lots of leftovers
Saturday: More leftovers and a travel day. Kinda challenge folded more than a Tablespoon each cashews and almonds – but my stomach was already a bit iffy, so I’m going to retest these on a non-travel day

What did I learn this week?

Mushrooms and wheat are in! Not sure on a bowl of cashews & almonds, because I think travel always makes me bloated and burpy – so I’m counting that as not a real challenge.

Smoothie bowls are also fine – I think all the ingredients were either FODMAP-friendly or I’ve already tested, but quantity was key here regarding fructose.