Chicken with Artichoke Hearts
Serves 2

4 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
1 14oz can artichoke hearts cut up (or about 4 artichoke hearts) + liquid from can or water
4 tbsp lemon juice
2-4 tbsp oil
2 tbsp honey
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp thyme
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
salt & pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F.
Place chicken thighs in a baking dish, skin side down Pour water from can of artichokes over chicken. In a bowl, mix lemon juice, oil, honey, garlic and thyme. Pour over chicken. Cut up artichoke hearts into pieces and place around chicken in dish. Bake at 350F for 1 hour, flipping chicken once around half way. You can drizzle honey on the skin of the chicken, they end up really tasty and caramelized. I usually eat this dish with a side of mushrooms, cooked in oil and garlic.

Note: If you’re using boneless skinless chicken thighs, reduce the cooking time appropriately. However if you’re cheap like me, you’ll be using bone-in skin-on chicken

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Mild Tandoori Chicken
I call this ‘mild’ because it didn’t seem as heavily spiced as I remember similar dishes from Indian restaurants. It was very delicious though!

4 chicken drumsticks
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch ginger, grated
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup thick SCD yogurt
3 tsp coriander
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cardamom
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cayenne (if you like hot spices, make it 1/4 or 1/2 tsp)

Mix all spices, lemon juice, garlic, ginger and yogurt in a bowl. Place chicken in a glass dish. Spread marinade over chicken and leave in fridge for a few hours or longer. Bake at 375F for 50 minutes.

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Curry Chicken
Serves 4

4 large chicken breasts
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 inch ginger, grated
1 red pepper, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, deseeded, chopped
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp coconut oil

Cut up chicken into stir-fry strips. Season with salt, pepper, and ginger. Heat 1 tbsp of oil each in two pans. Cook chicken in one pan until done. Remove from heat.

In other pan, saute onions until golden. Add all vegetables and remaining spices. Cook until vegetables are almost done. Add chicken and toss to mix evenly. Remove from heat.

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Shake n’ Bake Chicken
Serves 2
This was so easy and delicious! I used to always have shake n’ bake chicken as a kid. Now here’s one that is just as simple as the packaged version and is SCD legal.

4 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin-on
1/2 cup almond flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp paprika

Put almond flour, salt, pepper, paprika in a baggie and mix it up. Put a chicken thigh in baggie and close it. Shake it around until coated. Put chicken in a glass baking dish. Bake at 350F for 1 hour skin side up. If the tops aren’t browned at all (usually happens if you’re baking something over top of it) then broil it for a couple minutes while watching it until it browns.

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Chicken Avocado Tots
From www.scdrecipe.com. This is one of the few ways I actually eat avocados and chicken breasts anymore. I find chicken thighs to be more flavorful so have been mostly sticking to those. And avocados haven’t been in good shape through this winter, but in this recipe work just fine.

2 baked chicken breasts
1 avocado
coconut oil

Bake chicken ahead of time. Puree baked chicken breasts and avocado using a food processor or hand held blender. Scoop out a small amount (about 1-2 tbsp) with a spoon and form into a ball with your hands. You can flatten the tots or leave as a ball. Heat oil in a pan. Brown the tots on both sides, about 2 minutes.

These freeze and travel well. Great to have on hand when you need a filling snack.

When cooking tough beef cuts like roasts and stew meat I always use something acidic to tenderize it and slow cook it all day. Tomatoes are my choice but if you’re sensitive to tomatoes just add some vinegar and a carrot in the crockpot.

I sometimes get Elk or Bison meat from the farmer’s market and use those in place of beef in these recipes. The taste is a bit different but I find it’s not necessary to modify the ingredients. Don’t be afraid to try different types of meat!

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Beef Roast with Mushroom Sauce
This is the meal to serve if you have non-SCD company over. Serve it with a side of roasted zucchini or squash and some sautéed greens and this is the most delicious meal!

Roast:
2-3 lb beef roast
1 onion
1 tomato (or omit and put 1 tbsp vinegar, 1 large carrot)
1/4 cup stock
parsley
red pepper flakes (optional)
pepper
sea salt

Chop onion and tomato and place in bottom of crockpot. Place roast on top and pour stock over. Sprinkle with spices. Cook on low all day 9-10 hours.

Mushroom Sauce:
8 oz mushrooms (best are a mix of shitake, cremini, baby bella, anything but plain white mushrooms)
1/4 cup onion, minced
1 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup butter
2 tsp white wine
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt

I prepare the mushroom sauce just before dinner. In a saucepan sauté the mushrooms and onion in butter for 3-5 minutes. Add stock, wine and all spices. Simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and let it sit for 5 minutes. Spoon over slices of roast beef. This mushroom sauce also goes well with chicken or turkey.

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Beef Meatballs
This is my go-to recipe for beef meatballs. It goes great with the tzatziki dip recipe. These freeze well and can easily be made in bulk by doubling or tripling the recipe.

Makes 15 large meatballs.

1 lb ground beef
1 egg (optional)
1/4 cup onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
1/2 tsp salt

Mix all spices in a bowl. Add egg and mix lightly. Add beef and work the spices/egg mixture in with your hands. Form into meatballs and place in a glass baking dish. Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes.

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Easy Crockpot Beef Stew

2 pounds beef stew meat
6 oz tomato paste
4-6 ice cubes of beef stock (around 1/2 cup)
1 large onion
1 large carrot
1 celery stalk
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp parsley
pepper & sea salt
water

Cut up onion, celery, garlic and carrot and place in bottom of crockpot. Place stew meat on top. Sprinkle meat with spices. Spoon tomato paste on and around meat. Place stock cubes on top. Add about 1 inch of water in the bottom of the crockpot. Cook all day on low (10 hours).

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Steak with Mushrooms and Onions
I never used to like steak, and rarely eat it now. But, when I do eat it, it has to be with mushrooms and onions.

steaks
paprika, thyme, garlic, pepper & sea salt
1 large onion, cut into long strips
8oz mushrooms (best are a mix of shitake, cremini, baby bella, anything but plain white mushrooms)
2 tbsp butter

Rub steaks with spices. Cook on the barbeque over low-medium heat.

Chop onion and mushrooms. Melt butter in a cast iron pan (this can be done on the barbeque as well or over the stove). Sauté onion and mushrooms until just a bit soft.

Serve steaks coated with sautéed onions and mushrooms.

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Cheesy Meatballs (egg-free)

cheddar cheese, cut into small 1/2″ chunks
1 lb ground beef
2 onions
2 garlic cloves
salt
oil
SCD ketchup

Chop onions and garlic and cover the bottom of an oiled pan with them. Sprinkle salt on the ground beef. Form the beef into rounds. Press into one and place cheese in center, folding beef back over to seal cheese in. Place meatballs in pan, with a piece of onion covering each. Bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes, turning once. Serve meatballs only (no garlic or onions) covered with ketchup.

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Beef Stir-fry
Serves 4
I adapted this recipe a little bit from a video I found online here: How To Make Beef Stir Fry With Broccoli. This video is great for showing you how to cook stir-fry.

1 lb beef, (steak works best, don’t use stew meat)
salt and pepper, to taste
6 tbsp sesame oil (or peanut oil)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch ginger, minced
1 chili pepper, minced
1 zucchini
mushrooms
2 green onions
1 tbsp fresh coriander
1 tsp dried basil
2 tbsp lemon juice (or lime juice)

Cut meat into thin strips and add salt and pepper. Heat wok to a high heat. Add oil. Add garlic, ginger, and chili pepper. Stir then add meat in small batches. Add more oil and stir well. Then add more meat. Cook for a couple minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove wok from heat. Place meat in a dish and set aside. Leave some oil/juice in the wok.

Add zucchini and mushrooms to wok, return to heat. Cook for a few minutes.

Add meat to wok, stir well. Add lime juice, coriander, basil, and onions. Mix well by tossing.

Remove from heat. Serve immediately.

This weekend I went on a little trip for 3 days with my boyfriend. We went to see a basketball game and do some other touristy stuff. I brought quite a bit of food with me. We were staying with friends so microwaves & fridges were available, and we traveled by car so space wasn’t much of an issue. I packed a little cooler with yogurt, meatballs, chicken and artichokes, almond flour brownies, and squash. I also brought some bananas, applesauce, fruit & nut bars, and finally some oatmeal (for my boyfriend). The food stayed decently fresh the whole time and I had plenty to eat. We also had a couple delicious meals during the weekend that I thoroughly enjoyed since being on SCD has let me eat a lot more meat.

Our first dinner was Peking duck. They roast a duck until the skin is all crispy and serve a few dishes from it. There is a dish with duck skin with a bit of meat, which you roll up in a little crepe with cucumber and sauce. I just had the duck on its own with a bit of sauce (sauce probably not SCD legal). The next dish was duck and vegetables chopped together and fried. This was delicious too. Finally they serve duck soup with the bones plus a bit of meat. Having been to Beijing for true authentic Peking duck, this meal came extremely close to the real thing.

Our next delicious meal was Korean BBQ. The table is set up with a grill in the middle of it. You are given plates and plates of raw meats that have been marinating all day (marinade probably not SCD legal). Beef strips, ribs, chicken, salmon, pork, squid, liver, anything you want. You cook your own meats on the grill and it is an all you-can eat place, so you end up spending a lot of time there. They also serve appetizers that are mostly vegetables, potatoes or tofu. I stuck to the meat. It was good.

I tried liver for the first time ever at the BBQ place. It was much better than I thought! It tasted like meat. Everyone I ask about liver says they hate the taste of it, but really the only difference I found between meat and liver was the texture, not the taste. The texture is sort of chalk-like and soft. I’m hoping to cook something this week with the liver I got (for free) with my beef order from my local farmer. I’ll post something about it if it turns out alright.

(Picture is of my kitty, Grimace)

We got our new appliances the other week and they’re all very nice, high-tech stainless steel. Our oven is convection and has a flat stove-top. We’ve since realized none of our pots have flat bottoms anymore and it’s amusing to watch them wobble all over the place. I’ve been in the kitchen every day since started SCD and let’s just say I’ve had some “fun” lately.

I decided to do some bulk baking in our new stove. I put in a bunch of chicken and artichokes, squash, and meatballs to bake at the same time. Well it seems the top rack was a little close to the coils and when I went to take stuff out, I burned the oven mitt. I pulled the stuff out of the stove and my brother and his friend start yelling “YOU’RE ON FIRE!! YOU’RE ON FIRE!!”. I immediately panic thinking my hair is on fire, so I start swatting at my hair with the oven mitts (after putting the dish safely down). “NO NO! DON’T TOUCH YOUR HAIR!!!”. Turns out *I* wasn’t on fire, but my MITTS were (they could have been a little more specific). Somehow I managed not to get my hair caught in the flames, tossed the oven mitts to the ground and the flames went out. Phew. Dinner happened to be delicious that night, thank goodness.

Fast forward a few days and I’m really getting used to our nice new fridge. It’s really big, fits everything comfortably and of course does not fit under our old cupboards. So our fridge is moved to the side in the middle of nowhere with no counter next to it. (We will be getting new cupboards soon.) So I go to take out some recently made chicken stock in order to put it into ice cube trays to have frozen cubes which are more convenient. I take the bowl of stock out and turn around to walk over to the counter.

I hear a little bell and mad galloping sounds but do not react quickly enough and trip over my cat (she’s bad, so we keep a bell on her to warn ourselves) spilling all of the chicken stock over the entire kitchen floor. Of course part of the kitchen floor is new and unfinished, so any spills on it could stain it forever. I quickly run to get the mop and start mopping up. The cat is licking up the chicken stock simply in heaven. I start mopping, she starts attacking the mop, which is removing her precious meal from the floor. When I finally finish, kitty decides it will be fun to jump in the bucket I’m using. Of course there’s water in the bucket so she freaks out and jumps out, spilling the gross bucket water on the floor. I mop up again, trying to be thankful that at least I’m getting a workout? I don’t know how else to look at this lightly. One hour of cleaning so far..

After mopping up I took a small bowl of water and soap over to the new section of kitchen floor. I spend one full hour on my knees dabbing soapy water and then clear water and then dry towels, trying to get any stain out of the flooring. I’m successful! At least to the naked eye, who knows what’s trapped in that wood now.

I hear licking sounds and know the cat is on the counters. Sure enough, she’s helping herself to some delicious dirty dishes. Finally I catch her and toss her outside. That’s what happens when kitty is bad, outside in the snow she goes. I clean the dishes by hand since our new dish washer is not installed. My hands at this point have been wet for about 2.5 hours. They start cracking a little. I finally finish and decide to pull some meals out of the freezer so I don’t have to do anything else in the kitchen that day.

I let the cat back in. She’s purring and acting all sweet and cuddly. Good thing she’s a cute cat..

This weekend for no apparent reason I was sleeping a lot. The type of sleep where right after dinner you try to watch a movie or tv show and fall asleep fully clothed. You wake up at 11 with red marks on your face thinking oh geez I can continue to sleep all night, but I have to get up to change into pj’s and brush my teeth, ugh. Then you finally convince yourself to do the routine and then go back to sleep, thinking you’ll be up early since you’ve already slept a few hours. But no, 9am rolls around and you finally squint your eyes open and realize how hungry you are. You drag yourself out of bed and still feel groggy. 12+ hours of sleep and your eyes look like you’ve had about 4.

Sure enough my stomach acted up as well. It was hardly what I consider a stomach ache. It hurt for all of a few minutes. Nothing like it used to be where I’d have all-day sickness marked by hours of pain. Well this little stomach ache sure hit me hard mentally, I was really upset. “What did I eat? Was it too much veggies? Did I overdo it on the yogurt? Too much garlic?” the questions just kept running through my mind. As if it really matters why it happened. I’m not sure why I constantly search for reasons for every little thing that goes wrong. I quickly realized it was being very silly. I felt better after a few minutes, much like normal people who maybe eat a heavy meal. Sure I was tired all weekend, but that may be because of not getting enough sleep all week. Even with a little stomach ache, I felt better than I used to during my “good” days.

I am starting to be thankful for how I feel these days. I used to always hear people say things like “at least you have your health!” and wonder what they meant. Well I think I’m almost at the point where I can say that to myself. And I’m starting to think that I used to be a lot sicker than I (or doctors) realized..

What I ate today:
Breakfast: yogurt, blueberries, honey
Lunch: chicken & artichokes with some baked butternut squash on the side
Dinner: chicken breast and mushrooms cooked with garlic and red chili powder, dipped in yogurt because it was too spicy, side of zucchini with onions and garlic
Snacks: applesauce, hard boiled egg, almond butter brownie

I wanted to make something with beef since I have a lot of it in my freezer. Getting tired of cooking and preparing things ahead of time, I decided to try a stir-fry. I used to do lots of stir-fries but always had prepared sauces or soy sauce, which are illegal on SCD. I found a recipe online without soy sauce to use as a guide and just went for it. I was missing many ingredients but just added in some different ones and it was great.

The picture was taken after I had taken my portion. For my bf who isn’t on SCD, we added some toasted sesame seeds, Tabasco sauce and a tiny bit of soy sauce. I loved the dish without all these extras and found it just spicy enough with the chili pepper. The zucchini and mushrooms soaked up all the flavor and were delicious. I recommend using peanut or sesame oil, which have lots of flavor compared to other oils.

Beef Stir-fry
1 lb beef, (steak works best, but I only had stew meat)
salt and pepper, to taste
6 tbsp sesame oil (or peanut oil)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch ginger, minced
1 chili pepper, minced

1 zucchini
mushrooms
2 green onions
1 tbsp fresh coriander
1 tbsp fresh basil
2 tbsp lemon juice (or lime juice)

Cut meat into thin strips and add salt and pepper. Heat wok to a high heat. Add oil. Add garlic, ginger, and chili pepper. Stir then add meat in small batches. Add more oil and stir well. Then add more meat. Cook for a couple minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove wok from heat. Place meat in a dish and set aside. Leave some oil/juice in the wok.

Add zucchini and mushrooms to wok, return to heat. Cook for a few minutes.

Add meat to wok, stir well. Add lime juice, coriander, basil, and onions. Mix well by tossing.

Remove from heat. Serve immediately.

Another great recipe from Raman Prasad’s Adventures in the Family Kitchen. I’m not sure how to describe the taste of this, I guess it’s very clean, pure, and aromatic. There aren’t too many ingredients in this dish. Chicken broth, dry white wine and tarragon give it all the flavor it needs. Of course being lazy (and noticing it called for a lot of liquid), I adapted the recipe to go in the crockpot and also used chicken thighs. The meat was so tender it just fell off the bone – no knife needed, I actually ate it with a spoon. With some carrots and mushrooms cooked soft and full of flavor, it was a perfect dinner.

It’s a good thing I decided to use the crockpot for dinner today. My ancient oven actually broke down and started smoking. This is amazing considering we just ordered new appliances which will be delivered tomorrow. We’ve had our old stove for longer than I’ve been alive, and we always said we’d replace it when it broke. Well after years of it not breaking, my parents had already decided to renovate the kitchen and get new appliances. Talk about perfect timing. I’m just glad I didn’t start a fire – there was a lot of smoke pouring out of it.

My brownies I made today ended up going in the toaster oven in 2 small batches. They turned out great, here’s the recipe I’ve decided on:

Almond flour brownies
2.5 cups almond flour
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup applesauce
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients by hand. Spread evenly into an 8×8″ baking dish. Bake at 325F for 25 minutes.

I decided on 1/3 cup of honey, applesauce, and coconut oil purely because I’m lazy and like using the same utensils or measuring cups for as many ingredients as possible. This cuts down on washing. The recipe happens to taste good like this, so I think I’m happy enough to leave it. I think I need to start organizing recipes on here, I will figure that out in the next few days.

Last week I stubbed my toe pretty badly. (Note to self: lift feet when walking up stairs.) It doesn’t look bad but I really cannot put a shoe on and walk comfortably. This means no trips to the store in a few days. Of course I ran out of almond butter and finished off my last brownie yesterday. Still attempting to gain weight, I decided to bake some this morning using almond flour instead.

Here’s what I came up with:
2.5 cups almond flour (equals 1 cup almond butter in weight, I thought this would be a direct substitution in my almond butter brownie recipe)
1/4 cup coconut oil (I would have put more but I ran out of that too)
1/2 cup applesauce (it took this much to make the ‘batter’ not look like flour)
1/2+ cup honey (I kept adding more thinking it would help make it look more like a brownie mix)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt (since I more than doubled oil, applesauce and honey, I figured I should double the soda vanilla and salt too)

When I mixed it all up, I was surprised it actually looked like the same amount as when I use 1 cup almond butter. That’s when I realised there was probably way too much honey in these. I baked them at 350F for about 25 minutes. The edges turned crispy but the centers looked like applesauce. Oh my goodness they were way too sweet. I actually spread some dripped tart yogurt on top to neutralize the sugary brownies. Guess I’m stuck with these for about 7 more days.

I may try something with this disaster of a recipe in the future. Almond flour is so much easier to deal with (less messy, comes in bulk, cheaper, and blanched might be easier to digest than almond butter with skins) so I hope someday I figure out brownies that work. I would probably try these with 1/2 cup coconut oil, 1/4 cup applesauce and 1/4-1/3 cup honey. I might also buy some hazelnut flour to mix with almond flour to have something more like my hazelnut almond brownies. Hmm and maybe put some blueberries in it..

Big lesson on SCD: don’t be scared trying to create new recipes. Just do it, it will be edible and you’ll taste it and think of something better to try.

Big lesson on SCD #2: don’t waste SCD food, it is precious regardless what taste or form it comes in.

UPDATE (1 day later): Ok so the brownies were DELICIOUS after being in the fridge overnight. My mom and I have been devouring them and I’ll probably have to make more either tomorrow or Wednesday. I will try them as planned, more coconut oil and less honey. They could stand to be a little less sweet (although right now they’re pretty darn tasty). I’ll post the final recipe once I’m satisfied with it.

Just wanted to post a little update on how I’m doing lately. I posted a while ago saying I was going to cut down on sugar (honey, fruit) in order to make sure I get rid of any yeast problems or bacteria imbalances. I went to see my naturopath this week and she said it looked as if things were getting better without me watching my sugar intake so she suggested just let my body take care of it for now. She doubts I have a bad Candida problem and thinks by just continuing on this diet and supporting a healthy system that everything will get better. I agreed with her, although I think I still get influenced by seeing posts on message boards about people who are really strict about getting rid of yeast overgrowth with extremely low sugar diets and anti fungals. For now, I’m just going to continue the SCD without worrying about too much honey or fruit, but trying still to eat everything in moderation. The yogurt is going really well and I do think this is helping a lot with yeast/bacteria imbalances. I’m eating 1 cup or more per day and loving it as a snack. Supposedly coconut oil and garlic also help get rid of yeast and I’m eating more than enough of those.

I have decided to cut down a bit on the nut products. I have noticed some digestive problems mostly the day after days when I go nuts on the nuts. It’s hard because the brownies are so good and so easy to grab in a moment of weakness. For now I’m not going to venture more into baking with nut products out of fear I’m going to find even more great snacks. My digestive system has been doing really well since starting this diet though. I actually seem to be digesting food again! And, yep, I’ve gained 4 pounds! This is CRAZY for me. I have never been able to gain weight easily. I still have another 10 at least to go. I’m hopeful to get there well within the next year.

I ordered a bunch of recipe books from my library the past few weeks and I have copied out so many great looking recipes. So far I haven’t tried making too many but hope to soon have a lot of recipes that I’m comfortable making. I’m thinking about buying Raman Prasad’s two cookbooks just because they are so good. I’m hesitant only because I’m spending so much money on food these days that I’m not exactly holding extra money to spend on books I can borrow from the library.

Last night I finally went ahead and bought some grass-fed beef from a local farmer in bulk. I’ve been looking into this for a long time but never made the effort to follow through and order some. Well it’s on it’s way and I will have my order this weekend. I’m absolutely shocked at how cheap it was. Regular ground beef in the stores (not even the good stuff but the cheapest stuff that looks nasty and most people won’t eat unless it’s hidden in spaghetti sauce) is about $8.80/kg. The lean ground beef I bought from this farmer, is $8.80/kg. This is some high quality beef! For the same price as store-bought! Are you kidding me!? I also got stew beef cubes for the same price, and they gave me 1 pound each free liver and soup bones. Crazy. I’m very excited about this new find and hope to be able to continue ordering from them. Now I don’t have to worry about going shopping for beef and I’ve got good quality meat. Before I was buying bison and lamb for like $22.00/kg because it was naturally raised grass-fed meats. I hope to start saving some money by not having to buy these as much and relying on my cheap-high-quality beef.

I still seem to have on going skin problems. My skin is no longer dry, this has been one nice thing about a high fat diet. I have been taking fish oil which has helped even more. But, I still have acne problems on my face and some scalp sores that never seem to go away. I don’t even know if I would call it acne actually, more like sores. I also have severely chapped lips which I’ve had since I was a kid. I’m hoping to have some success at fixing my skin issues on this diet. My naturopath has said the skin is usually the last thing to heal up and to keep being patient.

The only other update I can think of is a strange one. I’ve always been super pale-skinned. The other week when I traveled to a conference, I was actually shocked when I got to my hotel late at night. After traveling for hours, I looked in the mirror and I had rosy cheeks! Color! Wow. This I haven’t noticed in my entire life other than when I get really badly sunburnt. This was honestly just natural rosy cheeks at a time when I should have looked gray and half dead. I looked alive! (I’ve been faking it for years with blush..) No one else seems to have noticed, but then again I just stopped wearing the blush and using the natural color, so I guess I don’t actually look different. I do feel different though.. Now if only I can get rid of those dark under-eye circles.

I’ve been getting a bit tired of cooking lately. Kind of expected this to happen since I’ve been cooking for myself (plus others) multiple times a day for about 2 months now. Before that, I was probably cooking 3-4 times a week and already getting sick of it. So what to do on a day where you don’t feel like cooking? Get some salmon and throw it in the oven. I took a minute to sprinkle some random spices/herbs on it. I also quickly pan-fried some mushrooms and asparagus with onion and garlic. Took about 5 minutes. That’s about as close as you’re going to get to ‘fast food’ on the SCDiet.

I have worked my way up to over a cup of yogurt per day now. It’s great to have as a quick breakfast or snack. I tried dripping some the other day hoping to have a thicker yogurt. Well I ended up with something close to cream cheese (I think I left it too long) which I mixed with frozen blueberries and honey. Made for a delicious frozen-yogurt type of desert! I maybe overdid it on the honey in this one, but I wanted something sweet.

What I ate today:
Breakfast – SCD yogurt, blueberries, almond butter brownie
Snack – applesauce, goat cheddar cheese
Lunch – bison meatballs (with squash replacing the egg), lots of SCD ketchup, papaya
Snack – another brownie, strawberries
Dinner – salmon, mushrooms and asparagus with onion and garlic (pictured here)
Dessert – SCD dripped yogurt, honey, blueberries