hello to another monday. i'm not the fondest of them, but let's start the day off on a positive note, yea?
i hope you all had a lovely weekend. :)
mine consisted of shopping for a few christmas odds and ends, and planning my christmas day menu. the dude has to work on christmas this year. oh, for shame! instead of being down and scroogey about it, i've decided to spend the day cooking up a storm so that he can come home to a decadent (well, that's what i'm aiming for ;) ) christmas dinner. a friend is coming over to cook the day away. it should be a blast!
so far my menu is looking like this:
* romain & wild greens salad with the fixings.
* 6-hour, slow roasted pork shoulder (i've made it several times for the dude, but have never tried it! this will be a first for me). found the recipe years ago a la Jaimie Oliver, right here.
* roasted winter veggie medley (of carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, evoo, and seasoings). i'll be following this recipe.
* mashed potatoes (yukon gold potatoes are my personal fav).
* homemade dinner rolls (a spin on those oh, so popular crescent rolls). i won't be eating them, but my fiend and guy will love them. recipe right here.
* for sweets i am making two different kinds of coconut macaroons.
1. the first are good ol' fashion coconut macaroons. found here.
2. the second are low FODMAP friendly coconut macaroons. the recipe calls for strawberries, but i'm going to sub orange zest instead. that recipe is right here.
3. and of course the piece de resistance, a molten chocolate lava cake (also low FODMAP friendly). that can be found right here.
you may be asking, "what the heck is low FODMAP?!" truth be told, i had never heard of it before last monday. i was referred to a new gastroenterologist because, while my tests always seem to come back clean, i live in pain and discomfort on a daily basis. this new doc thinks that the underlying issue is sugar malabsorption. essentially, when the body cannot break down certain nutrients that occur naturally, or due to additives, it can really wreak havoc on the entire digestive system. to help eliminate the often times terrible side effects, avoiding issue-casing foods is advised. this is where the low FODMAP diet comes in. the diet is broken down into low FODMAP foods that can be eaten with little to no restriction, and high FODMAP foods, which should be avoided. let me tell you, the list of foods to avoid is a little daunting. i will need to cut out all lactose-containing dairy (which i mostly do anyways since i am lactose intolerant), all wheat products, many sweeteners (including honey and agave nectar! who knew?!), all legumes (due to a high amount of galactans. sounds like some alien life form, no?), as well as several fruits and vegetables (because of their high fructose or fructan content). for the full list, click here.
so what is there left to eat?! well, that was my reaction at first. many of my favorite foods are on the list! which could be a huge reason as to why i feel so terrible all the time! i did loads of reading on the matter, over the weekend, and have found that while it will be tough, it is certainly doable. i mean, why would my doc recommend it if it weren't? plus, why wouldn't i want to at least give it a shot and see if this heals my tummy woes?!
i will be slowly easing myself into the low FODMAP diet over the coming weeks. please bear with me if i go a little insane. ;)
i hope everyone has a wonderful, not-so-mondayee monday!
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