Low Iodine Diet Time!

Here's a pic of my shopping escapades last night at Trader Joe's and Stop and Shop. Probably more food than I need, but I like to have options. It took forever since I had to really read the food labels closely--amazing how many foods were off limits!

I spent all day (from 2pm on since I didn't get to sleep until about 4am last night and it took forever for me to get going today) cooking...the kitchen is such a mess. Stuff everywhere, but unlike my mom, I close my cabinets as I'm working.

I made a few meals to throw in the freezer for Hypo Hell week and for lunches next week. Today's creations included: salsa fresca, black bean soup, 2 loaves of banana bread, three meals of oriental chicken, rice and veggies, a huge pot of chicken stock, and 4 mini meatloaves. I would have done more, but we're off on a road trip this weekend and won't have time till we get home Sunday night; I'll have to double up on recipes next week for the following week. Confused yet? At least I've got a few things on hand. I have some staples that I grab for breakfast and lunch when I'm in school--yogurt, instant rice soups, cheese sticks, tuna....I can't grab those while on this diet, and I really have to remind myself. I usually drink a couple of big glasses of milk too, and right now I'd love one. Can't. I did find some chewy gummy bears intended for kids as a calcium and vitamin D supplement--they're really good, no red dye #3 and no oyster shells. My multivitamin has a fuzzy label and I can't tell what's in it or not. At least this way I can keep up my calcium during the LID.

Thank God I lived in Spain--my spice cabinet was perfectly stocked for all of the recipes I made, and I had lots of extra things to throw in. Mom believed that salt and pepper were the only spices you'd need....Carmen, my Spanish mom, blew my world wide open and introduced me to all sorts of yummy smells and flavors.

So, Day 1 on the LID hasn't been too bad. Breakfast: TJ's no sodium wheat bread toasted with TJ's crunchy peanut butter and rapsberry jam, black hazelnut coffee, cup of cantaloupe, banana. The bread isn't great, but toasted and covered up was bearable. Lunch: a few handfuls of raw almonds--since I got up late, I wasn't really hungry. Dinner: I kind of picked my way through everything I made, but I did have one of the mini meatloaves--yum! Not as bland as I thought. Snacks: rice cakes without salt, 2 small fuji apples, carrot sticks, a few pieces of dark chocolate. I survived the black coffee too--I love cream, and it was kind of hard. I think I can stick it out for 2 weeks.

I like to cook and play around with combinations of different things, so I added my own touches to the meals. I was psyched to find the banana bread recipe (no butter, no eggs), and it was pretty tasty. My sister has my muffin pan, so I couldn't make muffins from the cookbook. Next week.

I'm still in the midst of cleaning up the kitchen--I managed to use a ton of bowls, pots and pans. And I went through a ton of onions, dry mustard, garlic and olive oil. Next week, pork, beef and cinnamon bread!

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Funny story related to my trip to Trader Joe's. I pulled up to the register, said hi to the cashier and turned to give my shopping bags to the bagger. The bagger was one of my former students from 7 years ago! She was sophomore in high school then and must have been in my Spanish 2 class. We recognized each other and started talking--she's a junior at a local college, majoring in Spanish!! She's been to Spain once and is going back this fall for a semester abroad before she graduates next year. She said it was because of my class...so someone out there is listening when I rant and rave! Some days I wonder what the hell I'm doing up there, making a complete fool out of myself while trying to get the little darlings develop some appreciation/understanding for something outside their comfort zone. This made my day and made me want to burst into tears. I remember the girl, and she was a good student. She even switched into Spanish at the end of the conversation. It was such a good feeling.... :)