no idea which day it is of SCD

Last exam tomorrow... I feel dead... no more energy to study...
Am managing to bake the cake for breakfast but that it is... the rest of the time I am just foraging for bits to eat!
Though I have managed to resist the temptation to break the diet - amazingly.
I can't wait til tomorrow is done and life can start again. I am so mentally exhausted I just want to cry. The exams are mega stressful, and I have given them my all. It is like sitting in an aircraft hanger with a thousand other students... I will say more about it once they're over. I just need to finish revising for tomorrow... but it is proving a struggle. I want to go to sleep now please...

Day 39

Ok, so I have been a bit lax! But as the diet becomes easier, and the sympotms slip away, and the drugs decrease, it all seems less relevant - I am very pleased to say.

Also, my law exams start tomorrow - so the days have been more than full!

But I thought I would give a quick update on how things are going.

I have got into the habit of baking a cinnamon cake (instead of bread for breakfast) and a coconut cake (for snacks during the day) every 3 days. This stops me from panicking about food. I will put up a recipe for these soon - added whizzed up dates to the cake the other day which really helped the consistency. I can eat some raw fruit now. Just the occassioanl groan from my gut but nothing really.

I cut off the steroids - but was then very tired, with all my studying. So rather naughtily Ihave gone onto 5mg Pred just to give me a bit of energy this week. But I have managed to come off Pentasa. SO now it's just asacol and a tiny bit of Pred.

I have mainly been at home studying - and I take a packed lunch of salad and cake to work, so no big challenges yet. I have had to turn down a few offerings from my lodgers of food - but other than that nothing exciting to report. I feel pretty wrecked - but that is from exam stuff. If my body can take this mental hammering and not relapse then I don't think stress is a trigger for me!

So, off to the shop now as I have run out of honey!!! I get through 2 jars a week. That must be keeping my weight up!

xxxxx love to all xxxx SCD rules!

Day 33

I missed a day! LOL! My discipline is slipping!
Actually, law revision is taking over. It's the final week... eek!

Baked a coconut, almond flour, butter and honey thing and even non SCDers like that! So, def a winner. Need to work out the quantities so it doesn't fall apart... prob more honey.

I bought acacia honey at the weekend. It is really clear and doesn't really taste of honey... it's just sweet which is great for cooking.  I might even venture near the lemon meringue pie again - though it will need eating immediately - damn! (hint of sarcasm!)

Also, made nice pork spare ribs, coated in honey and peanut butter - have to find the posh peanut butter without sugar in.

Drugs: 2.4g Asacol, 2g Pentasa
Food: Dinner - can't remember! Breakfast - Cinnamon bread Lunch - Pork spare ribs in honey and peanut butter with aubergine, broccoli and tomato stir fry type thing, Dinner: Salad with cheese and anchovies (found nice jar of marinated anchovies) Breakfast - Ginger cake Snacks - Coconut bake and Ginger cake (like cinnamon cake but with ground ginger in - not enough honey though so a bit too savoury), apples

Day 31

Not a great day today... woke up very tired with a headache... very difficult to concentrate. SCD? Has been a thunderstorm so maybe it's that... or the impending doom of exams.

Michael has just mad it home after disastrous trip to Italy. Had to do the concert in front of TVcameras on no rehearsal... and it didn't finish til 00.45am! A 21 hour day!

So, have run out of honey so when I made cinnamon bread I used chunks of apple and raisins. Works quite well but the butter I used was slightly salted which doesn't work so well!

Roasted squash and peppers and onions and oregano. Used half of it to mix with some chicken stir fired in cumin and paprika. The rest I blitzed for a soup... haven't tried that yet though...

Drugs: 2.4g Asacol, 2g Pentasa

Food: Dinner - Burger, Aubergine bake, Ratouille, leftover salad from lunch Breakfast: Chicken and veg soup Lunch - Roasted squash, onion and pepper with Chicken with paprika and cumin. Snacks - cinnamon bread with apple and raisins in.

Day 30

Crazy day!
Woke up at 4am as Michael had to get up to catch a flight to Italy for a concert tonight... tried to sleep until 6.30am when I had to get up for work. Cycled up the massive hill to work - having made and packed my salad for lunch.
Got a call from Michael saying his flight had been delayed by 2 hours due to industrial action in Italy... half the orchestra were on a later flight which went. His flight was then cancelled... they tried to get on a later flight today but couldn't so got on a bus to a different airport to get a plane from there. There was an incident on the runway, and it was delayed. Eventually got the flight... the only rehearsal for the concert was supposed to be this afternoon in Italy... so instead they are postponing the concert till 11pm and doing it without a rehearsal... are they crazy? Not that the players get a choice of course! But 17 hours travel then a concert with no rehearsal... about 5 hours break then back on the coach to come home!
So, after work I cycled home - up the even steeper and longer hill. I did a bit of study then had to go and teach again on the other side of the hill!! So, cycled there and back again. My body is wrecked! LOL!

At least it gave me something else to think about other than food!
Though I am all out of that... damn!

I am so exhausted now... but need to do some study... am putting it off... will do a bit... or could read and get an early night... maybe a compromise... 1 and a half hours work... then read... smooth journey off the pred. Still feeling like I have so much more energy than usual. I hope it's the diet and not the pred. I will find out soon enough. If it's this diet I love it! I have never felt so full of energy and not sluggish before. If it's the diet then it's my religion.

Drugs: 2.4g Asacol, 2g Pentasa, 

Food: Dinner - Burger, Rataouille, Aubergine bake Breakfast - Cinnamon cake and coconut honey bake Lunch - Salad - cucmber, salad leaves, boiled egg x 2, marinated anchovies, tuna, tomato avocado, prawns Snacks - Crumble, Coconut honey bake, Cinnamon cake, pears x 2

Day 29

A few gurglings today - but hardly surprising as cut down on drugs and probiotics. Ordered my miracle prescription card. £104 for the year and unlimited prescriptions! Ordered it in 18 April and hasn't arrived - but luckily they send you a number with the email and you can use that... brilliant!

Heavy revision day again... lots of nibbling on coconut and honey bake and cinnamon cake! Forgot to put butter in cinnamon cake... which meant it stuck to the tin... doens't look like a cake! Just a mound of scrapings! Still tastes great though. Michael thinks I should add bits of apple in it. Can't wait to try that.

I am getting to the end of all my cooking from the other day... so will have get going again. Although yesterday did bake cakes... need some savoury stuff though - but am busy at the mo... stir fry!

Working again tomorrow so will have to get up early to make lunch. I think I will take soup in a thermos flask and salad and of course some cake! I love the cake!!

One of my lovely students from Hong Kong bought me chocolates for Easter, in his lesson on Tuesday... Michael enjoyed them! I smelt them. Another student always brings a bottle of wine or Prosecco at end of term... I daren't say anything... but bubble bath would be great!!!! LOL!

Last day on prednisolone!!!!! Woo hoo!!!!

Drugs: 0.4g Asacol, 2g Pentasa, 5mg Prednisolone

Food: Dinner - Burgers, Aubergine bake, Rataouille, Fried egg Breakfast - Cinnamon bread Lunch - Beef and roasted veg salad Snacks - Coconut and honey bake, cinnamon bread, marinated anchovies!

Day 28

Unbelievable weather still in the UK. Sat in the garden at lunch and it was baking! If only it could stay like this til October at least! Though I need to take the hose round the garden as it is parched.

Another calm day of SCD. I cooked so much food the other day in my panic that I have barely made a dent in it. Though I am running low on sweet things. I can't find anything to fill up on at breakfast that isn't almond flour based, so my cinnamon bread disappears pretty quickly, and the crumble is being devoured... so need to do some baking tonght.
Cutting back on the asacol as I have run out, doesn't seem to have had an effect... neither has the lack of VSL#3. Both of these things are good news, but it is too early to tell with either of them. I will go back on the asacol tomorrow then wean off it once I am off the steroids.

There is some junk food in the house at the mo... well there always is! But the pringles and wotsits are hidden in the cupboard and the ben and jerry's is hidden in the freezer. But the cookies and the choc easter egg are out on display! It is sooooo tough when you can see them because you start imagining eating them.  Hmmmmmm.......maybe I will make cookies tonight! I haven't tried them yet. Why isn't cocoa powder allowed on this diet? I read it was for non SCD reasons, just because of the addictive effect of it... is this true? If that's the only reason I may allow myself that vice. Yum!

Please please please keep working SCD.

Drugs: 0.8g Asacol, 2g Pentasa, 5mg Prednisolone

Food: Dinner - Salad, with anchovies, tuna, salad leaves, cucumber and cheese. Breakfast - Cinnamon bread Lunch - Chicken and veg soup with kidney beans added followed by rhubard and berry crumble Snacks - Crumble, cinnamon bread.

Day 27

So, today is my first day at work since starting the SCD.
Not only that, but I am getting rid of my car, so I cycled to work today... it is only 2.5 miles but half of it is uphill... and the rest down. Whichmeans that half of the way back will be uphill too!

I organised myself with a packed lunch of beef and roast vegetable salad, with broad beans leftover from yesterday (broad beans cooked with onions, parsley and mint and lime juice. I also packed a couple of slices of cinnamon cake. Well, it is half way through the afternoon and it's all gone! I also managed to add some bits from the school dinner hall like beetroot.

A success! Work and SCD have combined... and am not hungry now at all.
 Great!

My asacol is going to run out before I get any from GPs as these bank holiday weekends have really got int he way of ordering more. So I have rationed my asacol a bit. This will be a real test for the SCD but it seems to be coping so far.

Drugs: 1.6g Asacol, 2g Pentasa, 5mg Prednisolone
Food: Dinner - Ratatouille, Aubergine bake, broad beans. Breakfast - Cinnamon bread Lunch - Beef and roast vegetable salad, Broad beans, Beetroot, Cucumber, Ham (is that SCD?) I hope so... Snacks - Cinnamon bread, Rhubarb and berry crumble

Day 26. Nearly 4 weeks!

I can' tbelieve it has nearly been 4 weeks on this diet... how time flies when you're having fun! LOL! ...or maybe not...
Today is a much better day. Having done all that cooking yesterday means that I am free to eat and study without being tied to the cooker for a few days. I will try and top up the cooking as I go along, so a little every day...
Back to work tomorrow. So, I need to sort out food to take with me... prob soup in a thermos flask and salad and cake...

So, here is a photo of my cinnamon cake - quite a lot has been eaten! I ad libbed the recipe - I think it was about 3 cups almond flour, 2 eggs, baking soda, honey, cinnamon.
 Most of t has been eaten! But baking it in a ring tin helped it cook, as almond flour quickly burns on the outside before the middle has cooked:

Last night I ate burgers, with ratatouille - here is my ratatouille, it is basically cooked mushrooms, aubergines, peppers, onions, courgette and mushrooms, all cooked a bit and then simmered together for half an hour:

And finally for today, here is my crumble. I cooked rhubarb (from the garden) with honey and ginger, then added some frozen berries. For the topping I used almond flour, honey, smashed up walnuts and butter. Topping is a bit mushy so didn't get the mix quite right:

So, that's the beginning of my lovely food! That's not all I cooked yesterday! The rest will be coming soon.

A happier day today, and study going so well I might get a few hours off today... phew!

Drugs: 2.4g Asacol, 2g Pentasa, 5mg Prednisolone, some probiotics (not VSL#3)

Food: Dinner - Burger, Ratatouille, Crumble Breakfast: Cinnamon bread Lunch - Chicken and veg soup Snacks - Crumble and cinnamon bread.

Day 25

Ok, so I have just done a marathon in the kitchen! Got home late last night, and legged it to the supermarket at 10pm to stock up on food for the next 4 days. Got nearly everything... so might have to pop back.

I have stupidly left my probiotics at my parents' house... damn! So am on a different batch I have. I will go to the doctor's on Wednsesday and can hopefully get some on prescription... I will see how it goes... if my symptoms behave maybe I don't need them. I haven't got any milk or starter to make yoghurt... damn!

So, I have just cooked a beef and roast vegetable salad, mushroom ratatouille, burgers (not cooked yet), chicken and veg soup, Cinnamon bread, rhubard and berry crumble, aubergine bake. My God!

Must say I did't enjoy it much. Just made me anxious about the fact that I need to be studying. I didn't sleep last night which hasn't helped. This diet is seeming like a real pain today...
 damn....

Drugs: 2.4g Asacol, 2g Pentasa, 5mp Prednisolone, some probiotic capsules

Food: Dinner (last night) - burger, aubergine bake Breakfast - Pitta bread with lots of cheese and bacon Lunch - Chicken and veg soup Snacks - Shortbread