The first week of the Low Iodine Diet turned out to be a bit more difficult than I first expected. In spite of our advanced planning and careful preparation it became apparent very quickly how limited the list of approved items really is. The first few days went well with only a few minor items we had to remove from our intended meal plan and in return had some success finding a few unique, hard to find food items on the list which replaced the removed items. Then came Friday. I had big plans to make a new and flavorful LID dinner so at 3:00pm I put on my apron and began what I thought was a going to be a welcomed surprise. First up: Black Beans & Rice.
First I prepped the dried beans and once they were ready I put them on to cook. While the beans cooked I started on the comfort food. Since both recipes required eggs, and the egg yolks are restricted, I made sure to use only the whites. So far so good.
Everything else appeared to pass all other restrictions so I finished mixing up the batter, put it in the pans and into the oven to bake. Soon we would have fresh loaves of carefully made and slightly altered Banana Bread.
The finished bread looked right and smelled wonderful so while it cooled I proceeded to make the Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.
Again I omitted the egg yolks and used egg whites only and since my recipe calls for flake coconut I made sure I checked the ingredients and discovered I had to leave that out. No Problem. The raisins and pecans were okay so I finished mixing up the cookie dough and put them in the oven. While they were baking it was time to tend to the black beans and as I was turning around I noticed a gallon of Distilled Water on the counter. There is always one there to use and also serve as a reminder that it is the only water that can be used in cooking. Unfortunately I completely forgot and cooked the black beans in tap water instead.....UGH! Not all was lost though. The beans can still be used for something else, just not for the strict Low Iodine Diet.
Miss E arrived home just before the cookies came out of the oven.
She was so happy to see all the new food choices but before she got too excited we double checked the recipes and ingredients. Since milk products are not approved, including butter, I used recipes that used shortening instead. The problem was I only looked at the Sodium content. I did not realize that Soy products are also restricted which meant that she could not eat the bread or the cookies.
Thankfully I did have some successes during the week including something new that she could have for a snack....
air popped POPCORN! { no salt or butter of course }
We also found not one but two flavors of
Sorbet which is on the approved list.
We had checked at least 5 different places during the week without any luck but she finally found it on Friday.
Saturday's Breakfast was a winner too. We made homemade hash browns with Yukon Gold potatoes. The only restriction was they had to be peeled.
Then, to complete the breakfast, an Egg White Omelet filled with sautéed vegetables. And, of course, coffee made with distilled water.
They were all easy to make and...
tasted great!
We have stocked up again and are ready for Week 2.
Hopefully the cooking this week will go smoothly. I found some new recipes to try that look promising so now it is just a matter of checking and remembering to use the right ingredients.
Have a wonderful day!!
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