SIBO Green Juice ~ The Cat's Meow

Back in the day, I was a big juicer. Detox and juicing were, in fact, a major part of my whole nutrition program, which you can read all about on my old blog, Eat to Evolve!

Then came SIBO. Since my diagnosis a year and a half ago, I pretty much left raw foods and juicing behind. But not all juice is verboten on Sexy SIBO. Today, I'm plunging back into Juice Land with a scrumptious, 100% green, SIBO-safe juice that is knocking my proverbial socks off. You may like it, too. (Apparently Clyde does, and he's a super cool cat.)

Before

After

SIBO Green Juice

3 Lg peeled cucumbers

1 Lg head romaine lettuce

1 bunch cilantro

1 or 2 juicy limes

Run all ingredients through a juicer such as the Breville juice fountain. Makes one quart incredibly delicious, detoxifying green juice!

Drink your greens - I mean business!

Baby Spinach & Salmon Patties

This very simple dinner-for-one is quick to prepare and super delish! I'm having it tonight for the second time in a row, that's how good it is.

The recipe below makes one good sized patty. Double or triple amounts depending on number of mouths to feed. One tall can (14.75 oz) of canned wild pink salmon should make 3 good sized patties. If you're dining solo like me, keep unused portion of salmon in the fridge—ideally in a covered glass container to preserve flavor—and consume within 3-4 days.

Tonight, I served my Baby Spinach & Salmon Patty atop a simple shredded carrot salad, nestled alongside a sweet pile of fresh sliced heirloom tomatoes. The carrot salad was made with a peeled carrot, which I peeled further into shreds and then tossed in fresh lime juice with a dash of chipotle chili pepper plus a sprinkle of Herbamare seasoned salt for pizazz. Herbamare is one of my favorite salty condiments when it comes to dishes made with fish, eggs or avocado. (NOTE: SIBO peeps should always peel their carrots and other veggies, in order to reduce overall fiber content and avoid associated fermentation.)


Baby Spinach & Salmon Patties

1/2 cup drained, canned salmon
1/4 avocado, more or less (about 1 heaping Tablespoon, after mashing)
small handful of baby spinach, chopped
1 teaspoon lime juice
generous pinch each: black pepper, dill weed, cumin powder

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Use a fork to mash gently until well combined. You don't want to oversquish the salmon, but rather strive to retain an essence of fluffiness.

Once well combined, form salmon mixture into a patty using your own two CLEAN hands. and fry in healthy fat of choice (a little bacon grease, butter, ghee or coconut oil) on medium heat, preferably in a cast iron pan if you have one, but stainless steel will do.

Flip patty after 5 minutes or so and repeat, to heat through and brown both sides nicely. Voila! Dinner is served :)

SexySibo Safe Foods List - Updated

It's been 16 months since I posted my original "Safe Foods List" in one of my first posts on this blog. Well, today I have a new Safe Foods List to share with you. Because Things Change.

This is something you, too, will discover, as you modify your diet and advance, stall or heal on this journey. Don't consider it a setback if a food you used to be able to eat without any problem suddenly starts bothering you. Be prepared to adapt. Dealing with SIBO is an ongoing and transformational challenge. Your diet will always be a work in progress. Just keep paying attention! When you stay in sync with the body's changing needs, you can keep symptoms at bay, feel a million times better and beat the bloat, one day at a time, every day. Oh, Yeah.

2016 *NEW* SexySibo 
Safe Foods List

animal protein
-eggs
-seafood (salmon, tuna, shrimp, cod, etc.)
-meat (beef, lamb, Paleo bacon, etc.)
-fowl (chicken, turkey, duck)
-bone broth & meat stock

cooked vegetables
-spinach
-chard
-zucchini
-carrots
-green beans
-winter squash (butternut, kabocha, acorn, etc.)

lactose-free dairy
-aged hard cheeses (best are those made with raw milk, and goat/sheep milk)
-full fat Greek yogurt (no added gums/pectins) or 24-hour yogurt (GAPS style) -1/2 cup serving
-heavy cream (no added gums/pectins)

safe treats & sweets
-dry wine
-distilled spirits (gin, vodka, whiskey)
-chubby checkers (see recipe on this blog!)
-non-fermenting sweeteners: monkfruit (Lakanto); erythritol (Zero); stevia
-lemon & lime juice

----------------------------------------------------

Second Tier Safe Foods - I avoid these if symptomatic, otherwise I do okay with them.

raw veggies (stick with cooked veg when symptoms are present!)
-lettuces of all types
-spinach
-carrots & baby carrots
-green herbs (chives, dill, cilantro, etc.)
-ripe tomato
-red bell peppers
-olives

fruits (not for every day, but nice every now & then)
-avocado (up to 1/4 medium avo. per meal)
-blueberries, other berries - 1/4 cup

Takra--an Ancient Ayurvedic Digestive Remedy

 
While discussing SIBO with a colleague who specializes in Ayurvedic medicine, I learned about an ancient digestive remedy known as "Takra" - loosely translated as "buttermilk". You make it by blending yogurt with with water until a foam forms on top, then remove the foam in stages until only liquid remains; then add spices specific to your dosha (Ayurvedic type) and health concerns. For IBS, a basic blend of black pepper, cumin, turmeric and Himalayan pink salt might be appropriate. Other recipes suggest coriander and ginger.

According to the website trueayurveda, "Takra or buttermilk, not to be confused with the buttermilk we buy already prepared by other methods in the store, is a liquid preparation prepared by continuously churning yogurt in water. This preparation is used in many diseases and is overall quite healthy for the human being. It is a great treatment for IBD and Crohn’s disease as well as poor digestion, hemorrhoids, tumors, oedema, diarrhea, anemia, urinary diseases and many more."

I haven't tried Takra yet, but I'm intrigued. The first question is what yogurt would I use? "Fresh yogurt is best" means making my own, ideally. I did once make 24-hour yogurt with raw milk from the farm, but it was a lot of work. I think store-bought 24-hour yogurt, which is extremely low in lactose, could do, at least for starters. (I like the Bulgarian yogurt sold in glass jars from White Mountain Foods. According to their website, it contains just 5 g of lactose per cup.)

The big recommendation for this remedy is to make it fresh EVERY DAY, using a ratio of 1 cup of yogurt to 4 cups of water. The takra made with that is divided into thirds, to be consumed over the course of one day in three divided doses, each taken 20-30 minutes before a meal.

If you're interested in trying Takra, please let me know how it goes! I'll report back on my experience, too, but I didn't want to wait for that to share. Recipe instructions and further details may be found by following the link below:

Atmayaan Arogya Sangha: Takra: Butter milk -The healthy drink Butter milk is known as “Takra” in ayurveda. Its properties and medicinal qualities are described in as fo...

Jasmine Rice Muffins ~ Pumpkin Spice & Coconut

It's taken me a while to figure out how to make a SIBO-safe muffin. I really thought about it a lot! What flour could I use? Um, none. In terms of grain-based flours, wheat of course is out, spelt is out, brown rice flour is out, any "gluten-free flour" blend is still packed with starch, so it's out, too. Then you have your nut flours, the foundation of most Paleo baking. But nuts are still really high in fiber, not to mention dense. A little bit might be okay, but not a whole muffin full. Think lead belly. Not appealing.

That's when inspiration struck. Why not make my own flour from Jasmine rice, the ONE safe, non-fermenting grain in the world, which I know about from the work of Norm Robillard and his brilliant Fast Tract Diet. For some reason, Jasmine rice is so starchless and fiberless (and probably nutrient-less, lol) that it doesn't feed gut microbes at all, at least not when you eat it in the proper quantity which is one half of a cup of cooked Jasmine rice. This translates to 1/4 cup of raw Jasmine rice...and from there, these muffins were born.

Once my idea hatched, I spent several weeks dreaming up a Jasmine rice muffin recipe. There was sweetness, flavor and texture to consider. I went with raw Jasmine rice that I grind myself, rather than pre-cooked, another option. For sweetener, Golden Lakanto (a blend of monkfruit and erythritol—zero calorie, zero glycemic, zero fermentation potential) works perfectly. There's a little (but just a little) bit of coconut flour and shredded coconut in the blend, while mashed, cooked Kabocha squash adds depth and consistency. (You could also use butternut squash, or even pumpkin itself.) It's a miracle I hit it perfectly on the first try. But I did. Here they are!

Jasmine Rice Muffins with Pumpkin Spice & Coconut 

Makes 9 muffins

Ingredients

¾ cups raw, uncooked Jasmine rice

¼ cup coconut flour

4 Tbs shredded coconut (+ a little more for sprinkling on top)

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

2 pinches Himalayan pink salt

½ tsp baking soda

¼ cup Golden Lakanto sweetener

3 large pastured eggs

¾ cups mashed Kabocha squash

½ tsp natural vanilla extract

¼ cup melted butter, coconut oil or combination of the two

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9 muffin tins with butter or coconut oil. Use a nut/seed grinder (or coffee grinder) to grind the raw Jasmine rice into coarse flour—it will feel like cornmeal between your fingers. Combine the Jasmine rice flour with remaining dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Place butter or oil in the warm oven to melt. Use a whisk to beat the eggs well in a separate bowl. Add mashed squash and beat again until there are no lumps. Add vanilla extract and beat to combine. Finally, beat in the melted butter/coconut oil, adding it slowly so the temperature doesn’t shock the eggs.

Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and begin adding the wet ingredients mix as you stir. Do your best not to overwork the batter. It will be very thick! When fully combined, divide batter between 9 muffin tins, filling each cup a little more than ¾ full. Press sides of batter down with your fingers to smooth and round the top. Sprinkle a bit of shredded coconut and add a tiny dot of butter on top of each.

Fill empty muffin cups half way with hot water. Put muffins in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or a little longer, up to 30 minutes depending. When tops start to brown and a sharp knife inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, they are done!

Breakfast Sausage Skillet with Rainbow Peppers & Jasmine Rice

My friend Sarah and I met for our weekly Mount Toby jaunt this morning at 7:30 and went for a 1.5 hour hike on empty stomachs with just a cup of tea between us. Normally I'm good with only glycogen for fuel—I like tapping into those stores—but for some reason, trudging up that hill today felt hard and long. By the time I got home I was super hungry. So I made a Breakfast Sausage Skillet.

When it comes to healthy, fast and easy, cast-iron skillet cooking can't be beat.

To make this dish, sautée some chopped rainbow peppers and a diced chicken sausage in cooking fat of choice. (I happened to have bacon grease on hand, but you could use butter or coconut oil, too.)

When the peppers are soft and the sausage is beginning to brown, add a half cup of cooked jasmine rice and some chopped tender leafy greens such as chard, spinach or arugula. Stir and cook until the greens start to wilt.

When the greens start to wilt, push everything to the sides of the pan to make a ring. Add a little more fat to the bare pan surface in the middle, and crack an egg right in the center.

Cook the egg 2-3 minutes, uncovered.

Then cover the pan and cook another couple minutes until your egg is done the way you enjoy it. If you like, you can sprinkle a little grated cheddar cheese all over the top before covering the pan, too.

Note: covering the pan "bastes" the egg so it comes out with a white coating on top. If you prefer the classic yellow, sunny side up egg look, skip this step.

(And how about that yolk, my friends? That is the color of a fresh, local, pastured egg yolk. The deep golden yellow color means it is rich in eye-healthy, antioxidant lutein. And that it tastes delicious.)

Once the egg is cooked to your liking, add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer mixture to a plate or bowl and add a fresh green herb to garnish.

I used fresh chives from my spring garden, but parsley or dill would be nice, too.

 Bon appetit!

Jasmine Rice Custard

On Sunday night I stayed up late, watching and then decompressing from the Season 6 premiere of Game of Thrones which took forever to load on my device due to the massive number of fans all over the world tuning in at the same time. It was an action packed episode, meaning lots of viewer adrenaline was generated—not the best way to promote a calm, sleepy sensation when the credits roll and bedtime finally arrives, which I mention here on Sexy Sibo only because the entire experience led to me waking up somewhat ragged the next morning and craving a soft, warm, comforting breakfast.

Usually I don't eat breakfast at all, so clearly something was up, but I can't talk about it because *SPOILER ALERT*

(Haha I would never.)

Because I only just made up this recipe yesterday, it is a work in progress. The idea was to create a sweet and creamy rice custard, which meant eggs and cream would be involved. I figured I'd need a double boiler to prevent sticking and burning, but I don't own a double boiler, so I improvised by nesting my smallest pot inside my biggest pot. The small pot contains the rice mixture. The big pot contains 4 cups of water, which you bring to a boil on high heat, turn down and keep at a low boil during cooking. Both pots get covered to keep in the steam, and it's the steam heat that cooks the custard.

If you own an actual double boiler, by all means use that to make this recipe, but you don't officially need one as long as you have two pots that can nest completely inside each other with their lids on.

I was pretty happy with how my Jasmine Rice Custard came out. To sweeten it, I used 2 teaspoons of erythritol and, to be honest, it wasn't really sweet enough. I managed, but next time I might use 3. Ideally, I'd add a drizzle of honey or maple syrup on top but sadly, I still can't eat either of those without bloating, pretend as I may. Erythritol or Lakanto (erythritol plus monkfruit extract) are my safest bets. (Stevia would work, too, but yuck—I think it would ruin this. I only like stevia in cold things like lemon water and lime gimlets.) Cinnamon also adds some sweetness of its own, not to mention the luscious heavy cream you pour on top.

This recipe makes two servings. If you are just one person, that means you'll have to eat serving number two tomorrow. If that is the case, be sure to heat it up!! When rice cools down, the starch molecules transform into "resistant starch" and feed SIBO bugs. But when you heat the rice back up, the resistant starch magically turns back into normal starch and, because this is Jasmine rice, the only rice that doesn't ferment, you shouldn't react.

Enjoy this comforting dish for breakfast or dessert. ♥

Jasmine Rice Custard
Makes 2 servings

Ingredients
1/2 cup raw, uncooked Jasmine rice
1 cup water
1 pastured egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
dash of cinnamon
pinch of salt
2+ teaspoons erythritol or golden Lakanto
1 teaspoon butter, ghee or coconut oil
heavy cream to pour on top


Directions
With a whisk, beat the egg in water with vanilla extract, cinnamon and salt until frothy. Pour over rice in top of a double boiler or in a small pan that can fit inside a large pot with the lid on. Stir in erythritol or Lakanto and butter, ghee or coconut oil. (I used ghee—it's wonderful!—but any of these healthy fats will do.)

Bring water in the bottom pan to a boil, cover both pots and keep at a low boil for 20 minutes. Give the custard a stir at this point, and continue cooking another 10 to 15 minutes until all liquid is absorbed and custard is firm.

Transfer a half cup of the custard into your favorite breakfast bowl, pour heavy cream on top and dust with more cinnamon. If you can tolerate honey or maple syrup, drizzle on top.  Better yet, sprinkle with golden Lakanto—it's pricey but perfect for this use, as it looks and tastes like brown sugar.

Enjoy!

SIBO ADVISORY: One half cup of cooked Jasmine rice is the safe serving size. More than that and you may be asking for trouble.