ICAMA

Hello! I am not a patient yet. I am working on getting my daughter and myself out to see Dr. Brizman in September. I have been following this diet for about 9 weeks now and I am feeling about 90% better. I have cystitis. This is what I have everyday. * note-if you can have it Morning: toast, toast with eggs or french toast. Lunch: 2 spelt tortillas with scrambled eggs or fish & brown rice or potatoes *cheese & *garlic powder. Dinner: 2 spelt tortillas with lean hamburger, chicken or lean pork & brown rice, steamed *chard or*kale and *avacado, *cheese & *garlic powder. Side of broccoli and buttered *yellow squash and/ or *zuccinni. Tacos are so versatile. You can mix all kinds of meats and veggies together. I am able to buy spelt tortillas but if you can't find them I have a very easy recipe. Tammy

I can't remember which blog I found this mentioned but thank you! This is listed on the IAIC Gentle Products Guide for list 1. I ordered a case (my freezer in full) of 6. It is very exspensive, about $8.00 a loaf but worth every bite. It tastes like sourdough bread. I can eat toast, eggs on toast or french toast for breakfast. I ordered mine through my local co-op but you can also order directly from them online. Now I don't starve until lunch.

Hi all: I have just been given the okay to try list 2 this week. I have only tried two things, asparagus and swiss chard. The asparagus was fine but the swiss chard seems not to be. It is funny I am not as excited to try new foods as I thought I would. I have been doing okay the last couple of weeks and do not want to rock the boat. I am wondering if others have had the same fears? I am also wondering when people flared how long did it last? What foods seemed to bother others? I realize that this may be different for everyone. Kristeen

Sometimes I would make lettuce wraps for lunch... use bibb lettuce as the "tortilla" sautee chicken and use as filling and then use rice noodles (you can cook them and then deep fry) use julienned cucumbers and carrots (when you are allowed) Also, I would make zucchini fritters... From "Bills Food" 1 lb 2 oz zucchini grated 1/2 tsp sea salt 8 scallions (if allowed) 2 eggs 1/2 c. spelt flour mix together and fry in pan Yogurt sauce (if permitted) mix yogurt, grated cucumber, dill and salt top the fritters There are many great recipes in "bills food" an Australian chef based out of Sydney. I can't have all the ingredients and I substitute a lot of the pastas for rice pastas, but order it and take a look! Really easy. Also, Giada De Laurentiis from Everyday Italian has many easy recipes for meat, etc that can be adapted to the many levels of our diet. From Everyday Pasta, she has a recipe for Gnocchi which are Italian potato dumplings. I can't have the Pecorino Romano cheeses, but I can have the Thyme Butter sauce and making the gnocchi is pretty easy.

I've been with Matia for almost a year and half. I recently graduated to list 3, but I'm happy to share my list 1 meals.

Some general list 1 suggestions that I have include:

1.) Get a salad spinner - It's a miracle time saver and so much more cost effective than pre-washed bagged salad.
2.) Splurge on Kirby Cucumbers - they are so much crispier and more flavorful than regular or English cucumbers
3.) Get a rice cooker.
4.) Always keep some grilled chicken in the fridge -- my favorite are boneless, skinless thighs. They are fattier than chicken breasts, but extremely flavorful and they don't dry out as easily.
5.) Try adding lightly steamed or blanched vegetables to your salad. It makes them more satisfying .

When I started list 1 I could not tolerate spelt bread or garlic powder for a very long time. I was absolutely devastated by this. This is what I ate and how I coped:

Breakfast: Layer Finely chopped lettuce, kirby cucumbers,celery, savoy cabbage, raw zuchinni, raw or lightly blanched broccoli and cauliflower in a bowl. Drizzle a little olive oil over those. Microwave a potato, mash it up with some salt and olive oil and put it on top of the vegies. Make sunnyside up eggs (I usually use 3 egg whites and 1 yolk). Put the sunnyside up egg on top of the potato. Mix everything up (Kind of like BiBimbop). The egg and potato act as a nice binder. I know this breakfast sounds unorthodox, but it is so extremely delicious and satisfying. I still eat this for breakfast every morning and could not possibly start my day without it.

Lunch: Grilled boneless skinless chicken thighs, rice or a baked or mashed up potato with olive oil and salt, and a large salad. If I was using a mashed up potato I would mix everything together in a large bowl. Again, I know it sounds weird but trust me it is soooo much better that way.

Dinner: Repeat of Lunch, but I might substitute chicken with some steamed shrimp or a piece of steak or a turkey-veggie loaf (mix ground dark turkey - not the lean kind -- with chopped up vegetables, whatever seasoning you can use, a dollop of homemade mayo and bake at 350 for about an hour).

Hi All: This is a great addition to the forum. I have just a quick note. I am on list 1 still. I was only having a problem with breakfast. Matia gave me a good idea. She suggested making breakfast sausages with ground turkey. I mix powdered garlic and dill, egg and a little spelt flour with the ground turkey. I then roll them into sausage shapes and cook them. They keep in the fridge for a few days or they can be frozen. I would also like to know if anyone makes their own bread and if it is better than bought. I have to say that I am kind of sick of spelt bread. Kriste

I've been a patient of Matia's for almost 3 weeks now. The diet on list one has helped me out tremendously. I have followed this list 1 diet to the letter. I've been eating some sort of combo of these items and I cook certain things in bulk like the veggies, potatoes and brown rice. (I been heating up the rice the following day in the toaster oven and I love how its texture is almost chewy/crunchy.) Salad- spring mix Brown rice- I prefer the short grain some kind of meat- chicken, pork, beef, fish cooked in regular olive oil/ garlic powder yeast free spelt bread- toast roasted red potatoes in olive oil I use a bamboo steamer for my veggies and they come out really nice! I steam broccoli and cauliflour cabbage of all kinds- but I especially love red cabbage! zuchinni/squash steamed/ sauted in some butter eggs- non omega fed! sea salt and garlic powder for seasoning my plate is pretty darn colorful- and I feel totally nourished. I eat the spelt toast for breakfast and the above meal for lunch and dinner. Rice cakes- the Lundburg lightly salted kind are pretty good for snacks but they aren't that substantial. I go thru tons of rice cakes but aside from being somewhat messy they are good for those times that I can't get home to cook right away. For travel for like a weekend trip or something its just a good idea to plan ahead. bring a cooler and pack foods with you. I notice that sometimes chinese restaturants offer a steamed veggie/ meat option. maybe omitting the carrots if your in the beginning. add little garlic powder and it would be fine. salads are a lifesaver. celery, raw veggies for snacks spelt bread- yeast free Even though I have been eating alot of he same thing I'm surprised by how much I have enjoyed it. But still I look forward to list 2! thank you everyone for your encouragement!

Hi! I eat eggs for breakfast too, I either hard boil them or make an omelet with scrambled eggs and frozen spinach. If spinach bothers your urethra, try frozen or cooked fresh brocoli chopped up. I eat a lot of avocado b/c of the fiber, calories and good fat. I am very thin. I usually eat it chopped with cucumber in a bowl, like a little salad. It is cool and refreshing. I also sometimes put slices of avocado on bread with olive oil, sometimes with a little melted cheese. You can even mash the avocado with oil and spread it on bread. I make my own muffins, using the recipe on Matia's site--the yogurt ones. If you don't tolerate yogurt leave it out and use extra water or egg. I recently started adding steamed, mashed yellow squash into my muffin mix. You could shred zuchinni and add that too, for some reason cook zuchinni gives me heartburn. Just some ideas for now. icnot4me