Three Surgeries Later...

Every so often, someone will comment on this blog, and I feel a twinge of guilt. A lot has happened, and, as a result, this blog is completely outdated!

In August of 2013 (when my son was 5 months old), I had the first of three J-pouch surgeries. My UC was out of control, and my GI basically told me there were no drug options on the horizon.

I was exhausted. Tired of fighting, and tired of missing out on my son's life. (Tired of missing out on my own life!) By the time I met with the surgeon, I was begging to get on his calendar. I was sitting in his office on a Wednesday, and he told me the surgery could be scheduled the following Monday. I couldn't hold back the tears of relief. After 13 years of struggling to avoid surgery, I was now desperate for it.

First Surgery
The first surgery was a total colectomy which left me with an ileostomy. Because my disease was so severe and I'd been on high doses of prednisone for so long, I had many, very painful complications. Immediately after the surgery, I felt great. I ate within a couple days, and things seemed great. But on the third day, everything stopped. Dark green liquid poured from my stoma, and I was constantly emptying my bag. Sidenote: waking up with an ileostomy--and the bag that goes with it--was not as traumatic as one might think. I was so relieved to be done with my colon, it was actually more fascinating to me than anything. A real medical miracle. 

Complications
Anyway, something that was NOT a miracle was all the sh** that hit the fan next. Blood clots in my liver, an abscess in my pelvic area, and then a paralytic ileus which brought everything to a screeching halt. In three days, I had more CT scans and pain than I ever thought possible. But then it ended. Recovery was far more difficult and lengthy than I imagined, but about 6-8 weeks after surgery, I was starting to get into the swing of things.

Waiting for the Second Surgery
Because of the blood clots (and subsequent blood thinners), my second surgery had to be delayed by 3 months. Usually the second surgery is done 3 months after the first, but mine was 6 months later. I wasn't eager to go back under the knife anyway, and life with the bag was easy. I did swimming lessons with my son; really, nothing was restricted with the bag.

Swimming with my son while sporting a bag. Just wore a one-piece, and it was inconspicuous.

After the Second Surgery
The second surgery was uneventful. They constructed the j-pouch, but diverted my intestine so the pouch had time to heal before being used. This significantly shortens the digestive tract which meant nearly constant dehydration. Recovery was easier for me than the first go-around, because I didn't have complications. I now had a "c-section-style" scar, a couple lapro scars, and a stoma. My tricks to staying hydrated were:

• 8 immodium a day (one first thing, two with breakfast, two with lunch, two with dinner, one at bedtime)
• Metamucil cookies

Regardless, I did have to go to the ER for IV fluids once during this time. 

I also experienced leaking around the appliance because the stool was so liquid-y, and the stoma didn't stick out as far as my first stoma. I switched to a new appliance (with convexity) and that helped, but it was still annoying. But anything can be tolerated when you know it's temporary.

Third Surgery

I was terrified of this surgery. I had been so comfortable with the bag, I was dreading the return to the toilet. Doctors cited "diarrhea, leaking, pouchitis" among the potential possibilities, and I just didn't see how that was better than having UC.

But once the third surgery was completed, I got it. Yes, I'll have "diarrhea" forever, but it's not how I imagined (or experienced) before. It's almost exactly like peeing, just out of your butt. Just like peeing, you feel like you have to go, but you can hold it for hours. Here are the (kinda) annoying issues post surgery:

• Everytime I pee, I sh**. Everytime. And it is diarrhea, so it can be...noisy. 
• For the first 4-6 months, I was waking up multiple times per night to go to the bathroom. Then around 6 months, things really seemed to heal and now I usually can sleep through the night.
• Butt burn is real. So real. 
• I have some MAJOR scars. The stoma scar was left open because it's not a sterile wound and would get infected if closed. During the weeks following surgery I kept ripping it open (lifting my son, etc), and now it's a jagged mess.
• Mysterious lower back pain. I have no idea what this is (maybe leftover from the abscess?) but when I stand after sitting, I feel like an old lady. It dissipates quickly and doesn't impact my life.

But in the end...

I am eternally grateful for this surgery. I can't believe I resisted for so long. When I look back at this blog and see everything I did, the drugs I took, the food I didn't eat, the risk to my son while I was pregnant... The surgeries weren't the nightmare I had imagined.

My absence on this blog shows that I almost never think about UC anymore. For so long, it felt like my strongest relationship was with Ulcerative Colitis: it was my all-consuming partner. My life now is about being a mom to my toddler son, a wife to my caring husband, a friend, a sister, a daughter. 

If you're reading this and have ANY questions, or just want to connect, please, please get in touch. If there's anything I can do to ease this road for anyone else, I would be grateful.    

Stool Transplant...Not Looking So Gross Anymore...

I've written about stool transplants before.  But even since then, my perspective has changed from something abstract to something that's a personal possibility.

It's been a week and a half since my first Simponi injections, nothing has changed, and I know I'm teetering on the edge of hospitalization.  After more than a year on high doses of prednisone, I want to avoid getting back on that roller coaster.  There aren't a lot of options.

This article about FMT (fecal microbiota transplant) was in the New York Times yesterday.  In short, taking a healthy person's stool and "transplanting" it into a sick person's colon can populate the sick colon with healthy microbes.  And it seems to really work when all else has failed.

Next time I see my doctor, I'll be asking about this. (Is that how you know you're at the end of your rope?)

Simponi: Not A Moment Too Soon

Just last month, Simponi became the newest biologic to be approved by the FDA for ulcerative colitis. 

And as I'm in a downward spiral of a flare, I'll be switching to it as soon as my insurance approves it.  (Or, I should say, IF my insurance approves it...please, please, please.) I've been injecting two Humira pens every week; Simponi will be one syringe every month. So that's nice. But the real question is, "Will it work?"

Let's hope so. I'll keep you posted. 

The other new development (or at least, new to me) is that there's a blood test to see if you've built up antibodies to Humira.  It's really expensive, so I'm skipping it since it's pretty obvious the Humira has stopped working, but it's nice to know that option exists.

And finally, for anyone else pregnant/breast feeding and on biologics, my doctor is telling me to continue to breast feed when I switch to Simponi.  He says that if the drug could have an effect orally, we could take it by mouth, but it's very fragile and will not pass to baby. Again, let's hope so!

SCD-safe Snacks, Part II

I love finding easy things that are SCD legal in the grocery store.  In this previous post, I told you about a couple stand-bys I love. Here are a few more snacks that almost fit SCD requirements, so they're my cheats lately:

Cliff's Kit's Organic Chocolate Almond Coconut Bar: These are a lot like LaraBar in the fact that they use dates to create their sticky, sweet base.  The cocoa in these bars makes them illegal for SCD, but everything else is okay. Plus they're addictively delicious; I buy them by the box.

 
 




Go Raw's Super Cookies: I buy these in Lemon and Ginger. They make other flavors too, some better than others (Pumpkin was not a fave for me). Don't expect cookies, but they have a nice crunch, a good flavor, and are SCD legal.

Wonderfully Raw's Cocoroons are delish, but they use maple syrup as a sweetener, so they're not SCD legal. I still eat them because they taste awesome and they don't feel as evil as some other options.  Vanilla Maple are my fave with Lemon Pie close behind. Cocoa Nibs...surprisingly not as good. And the Brownie are "meh"--I think I have higher standards for chocolate flavored snacks.

So those are my indulgences lately. Let me know if you've found some good, pain-free snacks!

Reboot!

Two months already??

 

I'm back! Baby is two months old, so it's about time I get back to it.

Here's what's been happening colitis-wise...

• Around delivery, I was flaring mildly (after tapering off oral prednisone and going off Humira to prevent infection while on bed rest after the water breaking).
• I restarted Humira when the babe was a few weeks old, 80mg every week.
• I restarted hydrocortisone enemas and Cortifoam (one in morning, one at night) when delivery mess healed (about 4-5 weeks postpartum).

Things are awful.  Tons of blood, frequency, pain, urgency.  I think it's exacerbated by the fact that the darling babe sleeps two hours at a time, so I'm not able to sleep at night.  Most of us have increased inflammation with lack of sleep, right? It sure feels like I do.

It's also been a lot harder for me to stay strict with Specific Carbohydrate Diet.  If any of you have tried it, the diet requires a lot of preparation and work, and I just don't have the energy right now.

The GI is making me take a C-DIFF test before we change anything. (Anyone else take a million of these per year? So annoying.)  It sounds like we'll be switching biologics if possible.  But I'm at the point where I'd really consider j-pouch surgery.

Any experience/advice with the surgery is welcome!

Welcoming...

Marcus Reid

March 18, 2013

5lbs 0oz, 17"

After 8 days on hospital bed rest (due to pPROM), Marcus was born at 33 weeks, 5 days.  Because my water was broken, we had a schedule induction at 34 weeks anyway. 

Because I had a solid week in the hospital before delivering, Marcus was able to benefit from two steroid shots (for lung development) and two courses of antibiotics (run at the same time).  When he was born, he didn't need any breathing support and, aside from being small, was healthy.  He did spend a week in the NICU to be sure that his weight was following an upward trend.

Some of you might also experience preterm labor, so here were my big take-aways:

On bed rest:

• Every hour extra that you can keep that baby inside, the better. We all know that, but when you're on bed rest, reminding yourself can be so helpful. 
• If you experience pPROM like me, take a probiotic during the antibiotic course.  My flare didn't get dramatically worse this time, and I attribute that to this probiotic capsule, Ultimate Flora.
• Ask your friends and family to bring in outside food for you.  Life on bed rest is dull enough without eating the hospital's roast turkey and string beans for every meal.  Treat yourself to little indulgences.
• Start a project.  I began a baby book and continued a knitting project.  Seeing the progress of both of those projects made me feel a little less useless.
• Don't watch TV.  This is my general rule when hospitalized anyway, but it's especially true when you can't leave the bed.  Daytime TV will make you feel brain-deadened and depressed.  (Ok, this is totally subjective!  If you love Billy Bush and Steve Harvey, never mind!)

On welcoming a preemie:

• Breastfeeding is a challenge with a little babe (so sleepy!), but be diligent about pumping, because as the baby grows, it will become easier and you'll want the supply to be there. (8 times a day for 20 minutes...it's a goal, not always possible.)
• Ask your hospital to speak with their lactation consultants if you're struggling.  The advice mine gave was truly invaluable.
• The day you are discharged and go home, leaving your baby in the NICU, will be the worst day of your life.  But the next day will start a new routine, and then it's just life.  My hospital had a support group, and it was very helpful for me--I imagine many other hospitals provide this support as well.  Seek it out.
• If your baby is anything like mine, don't expect more than 2 hours' sleep at a time.  They're just too small to have the energy stores to go very long between meals.  (This might be different if you supplement with formula, but I'm not doing that.)

 Overall:

• Epidurals are amazing.

I need to thank those of you who offered words of support during this stressful but joyous time.  While I took forever to update you, I did see your comments and messages, and I was so touched by your thoughts.  Marcus's health at birth was far better than what the doctors had expected, and I can only think that part of that is due to all the thoughts and prayers supporting him.  Thank you.

 

Here We Go...

Well, I was warned from day one when my GI said, "You'll probably miscarry, so don't freak out." (Yes, he really said that.)  So I expected that my pregnancy wouldn't be typical.

And then when I was hospitalized, everyone told me I'd go into preterm labor since I had active UC.  They were right.

At 3am on Saturday morning, I woke up feeling like I might be peeing a little bit!  After going to the bathroom and feeling like things were still kind of leaky, I started Googling.  Lots of women talked about having little pee leaks later in pregnancy, so I tried to convince myself that's what was happening and got back in bed.  But every time I shifted weight, it felt like I was continuing to leak a little.  (I'm telling you these lovely details because I really had never heard of this happening before, and would have appreciated a detailed account!)  By 7am, I knew that I was either going to have a really annoying final 2 months of pregnancy (peeing my pants constantly) or my water was broken. 

I paged my OB's office, and they told me to go to triage at the hospital.  After a very quick internal exam, they confirmed immediately that my water was broken.  At 32 weeks and 3 days, the doctors decided to give me two shots of steroids to develop the baby's lungs and begin two courses of IV antibiotics.  My GI suggested Gentimicin and Ampicillin as the least dangerous for IBD.  The goal is to keep the baby inside and prevent contractions until 34 weeks. 

At 34 weeks, they will induce me, because at that point, with low fluids, the risks to the baby begin to outweigh the benefits of keeping him in.  (Risks include infection or him crushing the umbilical cord.)

So that's the latest.  Here are my conclusions/the lessons I learned about all this:

• Apparently active UC disease can really mean preterm labor, just like the docs and research say.  
• If your water breaks, the baby can stay inside (and the fluids actually replenish!), but there are risks of infection to the baby because the membranes are broken and bacteria can get in.
• If the water is broken and you're close to 34 weeks, my docs won't stop labor if it begins.
• But if you can make it to 34 weeks, the baby is in pretty decent developmental shape (though he will have to spend time in the NICU).

Just sitting in the hospital bed now, trying to stay relatively horizontal because, "Gravity is not my friend" when it comes to contractions.

Cinnamon Rolls...decent

These cinnamon rolls are only like normal cinnamon rolls because they have cinnamon and they're in a roll shape.  Those details aside, don't expect a real cinnamon roll. They're more like rugelach. Crunchy.

Which is why I would suggest adding raisins.  With raisins, this recipe would be a million times better.  Without raisins, I wouldn't make it again (although I have eaten every last one of these...)

(Note: I didn't make the icing because I'm not a huge fan of coconut oil.  That might make the rolls better, if you like the coconut flavor.)

Ingredients:

Roll:

• 1 3/4 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 cup of raisins
• 4 tablespoons butter (room temperature)
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Icing:

• 2-4 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup Coconut manna/butter (Melted)
• 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
• 2 tablespoons Coconut oil (Melted)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Mix.
3. Add eggs and honey to the bowl. Mix.
4. Add butter and mix it well, until a ball of dough forms.
5. Using two Silpats (or two pieces of greased parchment paper) on either side of the dough, roll the ball into a 1/4-inch-thick rectangle.
6. Remove the top Silpat or parchment paper and sprinkle the dough liberally with cinnamon. 
7. Drizzle with honey.
8. Scatter raisins evenly over the dough.
9. Using the Silpat/parchment paper, roll the dough into a log.  Go slowly and repair any cracks along the way.  (Seriously, use the Silpat/paper! It's really helpful because it doesn't stick as much as fingers.)
10. Cut the log into 1.5-inch rolls and place each on a greased baking sheet.
11. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.
12. Melt the manna and coconut oil. Mix with honey and vanilla.  Allow it to cool a bit so that it hardens on the rolls.

Why Bad Bacteria Kills the Good Bacteria in IBD Patients' Guts

Photo from http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu

Earlier this month, the UC Davis published research in an article linked here.  The bottomline is that nitrates in the gut allow bad bacteria to kill off the good bacteria in the gut, which causes inflammation (causing a vicious cycle we're all familiar with).

Here are some key bits and bites:

• "IBD begins when “good” bacteria are mistakenly killed by the immune system, while harmful bacteria multiply — resulting in inflammation and damage to the intestines"

• "The researchers found that potentially harmful bacteria in the intestine called Enterobacteriaceae use nitrate — a byproduct formed during the intestinal inflammation in IBD — to grow and thrive. Enterobacteriaceae strains include certain E. coli bacteria, which can worsen the intestinal damage of IBD. Eventually, the intestines of those with IBD become overrun by harmful bacteria, and the numbers of normal good bacteria in the gut decrease."

While this doesn't have immediate results for us (I guess we could avoid food with nitrates, but I doubt many of us indulge in those anyway), this does seem like promising progress for treatment.  And perhaps it's another argument for frequent use of probiotics.

"Ancient Chompers Were Healthier Than Ours"

I found this article on NPR interesting in its own right, but it's also interesting as it may connect to IBD.

• "Researchers found that as prehistoric humans transitioned from hunting and gathering to farming, certain types of disease-causing bacteria that were particularly efficient at using carbohydrates started to win out over other types of "friendly" bacteria in human mouths."

I can only think a similar process happened in our guts.  As we consume more sugar and processed carbs, the "friendly" bacteria in the gut is overrun by the new, disease-causing bacteria.

The article goes on to discuss the resulting oral problems:

• "...that's a problem, because the dominance of harmful bacteria means that our mouths are basically in a constant state of disease. [One researcher commented:] 'You're walking around with a permanent immune response, which is not a good thing.  It causes problems all over the place'. "

Sounds a lot like IBD to me.

The author of this article hints that this supports the Paleo Diet, and likewise, the way I see it, this also supports the use of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet to treat IBD.

A Prednisone Rant

 I would like to toss these out the window. 

But, realistically,  I'll probably need to take them again soon.

Over the course of the last four months, I've been tapering down oral prednisone.  I started at 40mg (on the IV at the hospital), and then transitioned to 40mg orally.  Over the course of many weeks, I tapered by 5mg (sometimes stalling to get blood under control).

I was on 5mg every other day for two weeks, and now I'm off completely.  (However, I still take Cortifoam and Hydrocortisone enemas, so prednisone is technically still getting in there.)  And I'm still on 80mg (two pens) of Humira every week.

Things aren't perfect.  I still see some blood and mucus daily.  But I'm hoping the enemas keep things under control (or maybe even alleviate the symptoms I'm seeing).

In the past year, I've been on high doses of prednisone for 8 out of the 12 months.  And it's taken its toll.  Here is my rant:

What I love about prednisone:

1. It lets me keep my colon inside my body.

What I hate about prednisone:

1. Fatface.  Sometimes it gets more dramatic than others, but I always get a voluptuous double chin and some truly lovely jowls.  Sexy.
2. Hairiness.  Holy fuzzy fatface!  And then when I taper (ie. right now), the hair on my head falls out in disturbingly chunky hand fulls.  You should see my shower walls, sinks, laundry lint filter, vacuum...
3. Insanity/complete lack of patience.  Looking back now, I regret the rage that almost everyone in my life (and some random strangers) were subjected to.  At the time, I was sure that they were the ones who were crazy.  Oops.
4. Insomnia. Who needs sleep when you can lie in bed thinking about all the things to be anxious about?
5. Total exhaustion when tapering.  Not sure how much of this is pregnancy related, but whooooooa...I'm tired. Maybe it's just that I'm not fueled by all that rage and anxiety anymore?

I'm sure I'll be back on oral prednisone sometime soon, but I'm crossing my fingers to get through delivery without a relapse. (Yes, I can hear the universe laughing.)

Baby Blanket Knitting Project

This isn't mine (it's from www.thecakeplate.blogspot.com).  

But let's hope mine eventually resembles this.

In case any of you are knitting for baby...

As our baby is arriving in, at most, 9.5 weeks, I decided to commit to a knitting project.

I like this cable blanket pattern: I have a penchant for cables and it's easy to memorize.  In other words, it's easy to knit while watching crappy tv.  This is a common theme, but due to my laziness, I used yarn that I already had at home (Blue Sky worsted weight organic cotton) and opted for larger needles (size 11).  This is giving my blanket a much looser gauge, but since he's basically a summer baby, this is okay with me.  Though, if I were to choose for aesthetic reasons, I'd probably opt to follow the pattern more closely.  I also don't love using cotton yarn for cables, but hopefully it comes out alright.

Anyhow, the pattern is very well written, and I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a very simple yet satisfying project.

UPDATE: I ripped out that stretchy, cotton yarn and bought a merino from Malabrigo (606 Frost Gray). What's the point of dedicating hours to a project that's going to turn out sub-par? Also using size 9 needles now. Much happier so far.

A Sweet Pastry: Hamantaschen

Hamantashen! With pregnancy on the mind, I can't help but think these could also be viewed as Uterus Cookies (sorry, sorry...gross, I know...)

This week is the Jewish festival of Purim.  There's a whole story behind this holiday, but basically it means children in costumes, rowdy adults, and delicious stuffed pastries called Hamantaschen.

I was hesitant to even try an SCD recipe for Hamantaschen because I grew up with my mom's insanely addictive creamcheese-based version.  But, alas, almond meal pastries are better than no pastries.

And, what a relief, these are actually very good.  Even if you're not Jewish, you'll appreciate this yummy cookie-like pastry.

This is also a good basis for any pastry recipe.  I'm super uptight about eating only well-done eggs and meat while pregnant, but I was so tempted by the amazing smell of this raw dough, I almost tasted it.  That doesn't happen often with SCD recipes.

Here's the original recipe.  I followed it fairly closely (just added cinnamon--which was actually pretty important to the final flavor. I also disregarded the egg wash instruction).

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups of almond flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 8 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla
• 2 tablespoons of honey
• about 1 cup of fruit preserves or other filling of your choice (I like Fiordifrutta because they don't add sugar.  It's surprisingly hard to find preserves without sugar added!  But there is pectin, which is illegal on SCD.  You could use fruit or berries if you're being strict.)
• 1/8 teaspoon of almond extract 
• cinnamon to taste (for sprinkling)

Directions:

1. Pulse all the ingredients in a food processor, until most of the butter is dispersed in well. Aim for all butter bits to be pea-sized or smaller.
2. Place the dough into a big piece of plastic wrap and roll it into a log. Freeze for about 15 minutes.
3. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Take the dough out and slice a circle off the end of the dough roll.
4. Place the circle on parchment paper on top of a cookie sheet. Place about a teaspoon or so of filling in the middle and then fold the dough around the filling into a triangle. Repeat for each pastry.
5. Make sure to pinch each corner so that the pastries don’t open up when baking. This step is really important.
6. Optionally, you can wash the pastry edges with egg wash. I don't love egg wash on almond meal because I think it turns a little gummy, but it's your choice.  It will be prettier.
7. Sprinkle all pastries with cinnamon, for appearance and taste.
8. Bake the pastries for about 15 minutes, or until they start to brown around the edges.
9.  Cool well before removing from baking sheet.

Check Your Fridge: Spinach Recall

Hello, fellow immuno-suppressed folks.  Look out for E.coli contamination with this spinach recall from Taylor Farms.

According to the Huffington Post article:

• The spinach that is being recalled is being sold in 5-oz and 16-oz trays under the following names: Central Market Organics, Full Circle Organics, Marketside Organics, Simple Truth Organics and Taylor Farms Organic. All the recalled spinach has a "best by" date of February 24, 2013.

If you have that spinach in your refrigerator, toss it.

Everything Crackers

 These crackers are delicious enough to eat alone, 

but they're also great vehicles for all sorts of dips.

I miss everything bagels.  Is there anything as satisfying as that salty, oniony mix?  With a small tweak to this cracker recipe, we can (sort of) replicate that taste.  Plus this is a good cracker recipe to accompany dips and soups.  (I'm making Amy's Split Pea soup tonight and wanted some crackers to go with it.)

Also, I doubled the recipe.  Why not have some extra crackers around the house?  Here's the original (undoubled) version:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of blanched ground almond flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
• 1 large egg
• 1 egg white in a bowl with a brush
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of poppy seeds
• 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon minced, dried onion
• coarse salt to sprinkle on top of the crackers

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Combine the flour and salt in a bowl and mix.
3. Add the egg, minced onion, and oil, and mix.
4. Shape the mixture into two balls of dough.
5. Place each dough ball on a non-stick baking mat (I used silpats), then place a piece
   of parchment paper (or other non-stick mat) over the ball and roll the
   dough into a thin layer.
6. Brush the top of the cracker sheets with egg white, and then sprinkle
   the seeds and coarse salt evenly over each sheet.
7. Score the crackers with a pizza cutter.
8. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until they start to lightly brown.
9. Cool for about 15 minutes and break apart into crackers. 
10. Store in a sealed container. (I actually might leave my tupperware unsealed to avoid the gumminess that seems to overwhelm everything almond flour-based.  But I'm planning on eating these pretty quickly.)

These are actually better than many of the store bought gluten-free options (and we can't eat those on SCD anyway).  

"Just Try Them!" Carrot Pancakes

This photo is from www.glutenfreehappytummy.blogspot.com because hers were much nicer looking than mine.  I didn't drizzle pureed strawberries; I nuked frozen berry medley and slopped them onto the pancakes. Still tasty.

This morning I asked my husband if he wanted pancakes, and he was initially intrigued.  But then he walked over, took a look at the batter, and said, "UGH! No!"

So they look really...healthy.  But start cooking them, and you'll see they're more like donuts.  My guy still won't try them, but if you give them a chance, I think they'll impress you.

Here's the original recipe which I didn't change much, but I did double it. Hey, I'm hungry.

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup almond flour
• 6 carrots, grated (I bought pre-grated carrots, used 5oz.  Definitely worth the short cut!)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp (more of a sprinkle) cloves
• Pinch of nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp honey
• 4 egg whites 
• Frozen berries of your choice

Directions:

1. If you're not as lazy as me, and you didn't buy pre-grated carrots, grate your carrots. Place them in a clean kitchen towel and wring out the excess liquid. 
2. In a medium-sized bowl (I used a standing mixer), whip your egg whites until they form nice peaks. 
3. In a separate bowl, combine your grated carrots, almond flour, spices, and baking soda. 
4. Fold your dry ingredients into the egg whites.
5. Add vanilla and honey.
6. On medium high, melt butter on a frying pan or griddle, spoon pancakes onto cooking surface. Cook for 2-3 minutes a side, until golden brown.  Watch out--they burn quickly!
7. Microwave your berries for about a minute and thirty seconds, til their warm.
8. Pour berries (I include some juice too) over pancakes.

Sugarless Fudge

 For the record, this recipe isn't SCD legal (we can't technically have cocoa).  But the third trimester is "first trimester"-ing my taste buds. 

Suddenly all I want are carbs and sugar again, and it's doing a number on my will power.

I've been trying to limit my sugar intake, but I have been cheating here and there (especially when my husband and I go out to dinner...the dessert menu is my Achilles' heel).  As a result, I am beginning to flare again, seeing blood daily.  (This should give you an indication of how crazy these sugar cravings are.  Even with the fear of a flare, I'm still cheating; I cannot control myself!)

So I tried out this less evil recipe today, and it's pretty good.

As I often say with recipes like this, if you don't expect real fudge, it's great.  Definitely not real fudge though.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. coconut oil (melted)
• 1/2 c. cocoa powder 
• 1/2 c. almond butter
• 1/4 c. honey
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (alcohol free)

 Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together in a blender/Cuisinart
2. Spoon mixture into muffin tins with silicone muffin liners, filling each about 1/3 of the way.
3. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or freeze for 10 minutes.
4. Store in the fridge.

Ready-to-Eat SCD Lunches

Here are some of my go-to (almost) ready to eat SCD lunches.

• Avocado, filled with low mercury tuna (when not pregnant), or organic canned chicken breast (for these past 7 months), topped with ground pepper.

• Applegate Farms Organic Beef Hot Dogs.  I use mustard and dill pickle relish as condiments. Sadly, no bun.

• Paleo Bread (coconut) sandwiches.  I recommend toasting the bread to mitigate the gumminess.  I usually make either...
• Toasted, with peanut butter and bananas or thinly sliced apples OR 
• Toasted, with one fried egg and a slice of cheddar cheese (toast the bread with the cheese on it before sliding the egg on).

There you go.  My super quick, "I don't have time for homemade sh**!" lunches.

Store Bought SCD Snacks

Following Specific Carbohydrate Diet makes me yearn for the days when I could just microwave a ready-made meal.  We have to make absolutely everything from scratch.

That's fine for dinner, but sometimes I just want something quick and easy--and portable.  Seems like every granola bar (even gluten free) has rice, sugar, or agave syrup in them.

These are a couple options I've found that don't have verboten ingredients:

• Larabars are made of just dried fruit and nuts.  Some flavors are better than others. My faves are Peanut Butter & Jelly and Cherry Pie.  They're the most filling granola-like bar I've found.  

  

• "That's It" bars are made of just dried fruit.  They're sweeter than Larabars, and pretty good.

• I wouldn't classify this next one as a granola bar, and they're not filling at all, but they satisfy my sweet cravings because they kind of taste like fruity gummy candy.  Stretch Island Fruit Co.'s fruit strips are about 80% as delicious as fruit roll-ups.  Which is pretty decent.

Crispy Kale

Always hearing that kale is so healthful but not sure how to make it appetizing?  Cover it in salt and oil!

Ingredients:

• One bunch of kale
• Olive oil to taste (about 2 T., but it depends on how much kale you're using)
• Kosher salt to taste (Use a little less than you think you'll want--it gets overly salty pretty quickly.  I'd say use no more than 1/4 teaspoon.)

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Rip the kale off its stems into bite-sized pieces.
3. Toss kale with olive oil and salt (like you're tossing a salad).
4. Lay kale on a baking sheet.  
5. Bake for 10 minutes, until the edges are looking crispy.

I serve this as an easy side dish, like a salad. 

If you lay the kale in a single layer on the baking sheet and bake it a few minutes longer, the pieces will bake into a chip-like consistency, which is also pretty good.