“You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.” While this statement rings true in every walk of life, it especially resonates with diet changes.
Food was never something I thought twice about growing up. I ate regularly, knew my favorite foods and never stopped to think “what if one day, I could no longer eat corn or beans or salad?” It’s hard to go from eating anything and everything to a diet with restrictions. Let’s face it, diet changes are scary. Read the rest of this entry »
What are you grateful for?
I’m thankful for good doctors, medication that works, for my husband Seth and for a loving family who always believed that I could survive and thrive with Crohn’s Disease. I’m thankful to be able to eat and enjoy good food. While my list could go on and on, this Thanksgiving, I’m most thankful for a 12 year-old named Johanna.
Johanna and I turkey trotted together this morning for CCFA!
On my way to Liverpool, UK for a conference!
International travel with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) can be tough. I have traveled to 4 continents since being diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease and with every trip I have learned a little more along the way. While I have not had to keep medication cold for the duration of a flight or had to worry about getting infusions abroad, travelling still knocks me out. The lack of sleep, jet lag and new foods tend to shock my body. The effects are often exacerbated by the fact that I have IBD. Over the years, I strived to figure out how to make the most of my travel and stay healthy while still enjoying local cuisine!
“Food for the body is not enough. There must be food for the soul.” – Dorothy Day
Dear I Be a fooDie readers and supporters,
After a 3 year hiatus, we are back. We spent the last few years feeding our souls. Since we last posted, your beloved foodies got married, bought a house, started new jobs and went back to school.
We had a small house warming party over the summer. Everyone got to leave with a “key” to our house. Gluten free keys were available too!
I Be a fooDie has undergone some recent website changes and we are now back to our wonderful WordPress site. We have been busy cooking, studying, eating and doing everything BUT blogging. Forgive us. We are in the process of moving over all of our recent blog posts but given how busy we are, it may take a little while.
Read the rest of this entry »
During our graduate school winter break we took a trip to Los Angeles to visit Marnina’s uncle. We were eager to experience Los Angeles’ vibrant culinary scene. In addition to the usual Malibu, Venice Beach and Santa Monica sightseeing, Marnina’s uncle provided us with quite the culinary tour. We sampled Indian, vegan Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, and American cuisine. We even hit up the famous Magnolia Bakery (yes, the banana cream pudding was UNBELIEVABLY DELICIOUS). While partaking in one of L.A.’s new fads, personal piea, at a cafe called SimpleThings, Marnina grabbed the menu (she loves to bring home menus). The menu included many delectable sounding sandwiches. The combination of ingredients in each sandwich sounded so gourmet and unique that we anticipated returning to the shop and trying their sandwiches. Unfortunately we were not able to make it back before we left town. To compensate for our loss (and because Marnina saved the menu), we vowed to recreate the best sounding sandwich on their menu – The Sweet Potato.
What’s on the menu today, Gutsy?
This past week, Marnina and I went on a Turkish kick. We literally ate and prepared all things Turkish for lunch and dinner. Marnina’s mother recently bought and sent us a signed copy of The Ottoman Turk and the Pretty Jewish Girl. It is a wonderful cookbook that should be on every foodie’s shelf (especially if you love Mediterranean cuisine!). The pictures reminded us of our culinary journey through Turkey this past summer and left us yearning to recreate some of those memories in our kitchen. While the recipes are simple and involve few and easy-to-find ingredients, most are not quick to prepare. We had taken a cooking class in Istanbul and afterwards we had still not fully understood how many steps were involved in most of the dishes we had prepared.
We have blogged dozens of recipes, most of which we have thoroughly enjoyed. Some of the recipes were incredible (Blintz Souffle), some were surprisingly good (Sweet Potato Gnocchi) while others were a bit disappointing (Greek Moussaka). We have done our best to give you some of the the recipes that have turned out well, but alas, we are guilty of witholding a recipe that we have selfishly enjoyed for years now. We hope you can forgive us…we know you will after you try a bite of this dish.
Gutsy has discovered the perfect protein bar!
Ever since I started following a low-fiber diet for my Crohn’s Disease, I have struggled to find meal replacements or snacks that are “Marnina-friendly.” One of my biggest issues was finding granola bars that were less than 3 grams of fiber. While the consumer industry is raising the fiber content in their products to make them healthier, the added fiber is further limiting my snack choices. I was especially surprised when I went looking for protein bars. Protein bars are a gold mine for fiber. Companies design protein bars so that they can replace a meal and so they usually contain between 3-8 grams of fiber. After speaking with fiance Seth, my in-house nutritionist, I learned that companies add fiber to protein bars because it helps slow digestion and make the energy from the bar last longer. That is great news for everyone BUT me and and others who cannot tolerate lots of fiber.
Marnina and I are proud to introduce the newest member of our I Be a fooDie team…. Gutsy! Our new mascot Gutsy is a stuffed intestine created by our logo designer Shari Bodofsky. While Gutsy may not enjoy long walks on the beach, he does enjoy educating and raising awareness about IBD. We decided to unveil Gutsy in honor of IBD Awareness Week (Dec. 1 – Dec. 7). Read the rest of this entry »
The Chefs!
I Be a fooDie: Cooking with Crohn's and Colitis 
Written by marninac
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