Day 6, Phase 2: Inflammation Diet

Well, Phase 2 of our inflammation diet is underway.  Yesterday, day 6, was interesting.  In this phase, some "new" foods are re-introduced to the diet plan, like eggs and oat bran.  Also introduced are two breakfast foods--a cheesy scrambled egg "quesadilla" and mini quiches.  I tried the "quesadilla" recipe yesterday morning, and was sadly disappointed following the recipe as printed.  The eggs were good--you scramble four whole eggs with two wedges of spreadable mini cheeses, which was fine.  I'm used to adding a little shredded cheddar cheese to my eggs, so that was nothing unusual.  The "quesadilla", however, was another story altogether--it literally tasted like cardboard.  Not kind of, not a little like, no--EXACTLY like cardboard.  I was sad, because they smelled pretty good while they were cooking, kind of like pancakes.  I knew there wasn't anything in them that would be flavorful, but I guess I hoped that there would magically be some flavor explosion in all of the bland ingredients, like they would all meet in the mixing bowl and somehow change to something that tasted, well, good.  It's kind of like when two unattractive people somehow have cute kids.  You don't know how it happens, but somehow it does happen.

Anyway, the recipe uses Greek yogurt and egg whites to create a low-fat, low calorie bread-y type crust; yes, this does make a difference in the calories, but also in the texture and flavor.  A little like subbing applesauce for oil in a cake recipe...mmm, applesauce...  It was bordering on unpalatable, though, so I altered the recipe a bit, adding the fat back in and adding a little (allowed) sweetness to it, because I can't eat the cardboardillas for the next two weeks!

Ingredients:
6 eggs
1 1/2 C oat bran
1/2 C unsweetened coconut milk soured with 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 C water
2 TBSP pure maple syrup
1 mashed ripe banana

Spray a medium frypan with non-stick spray and allow to heat up.  Sour the coconut milk with the vinegar and let it stand for a few seconds to thicken.  Mix all of the wet ingredients together well, then add the oat bran.  Allow to stand for a minute--the batter will thicken as it stands.  Using a 1/3 C measuring cup, scoop the batter into the heated pan and spread the batter out into a circle.  Cook as you do regular pancakes! Makes 10 or 11 pancakes.  (To see the book's original recipe, click here: Cheesy Egg Quesadillas.)

On a side note, I had some ripe bananas that I had purchased to make the smoothies, but couldn't use them in time, so I peeled them and threw them in bags in the freezer.  I took one out to eat with the quesadilla, and found out that I like frozen bananas!  So that was fun!

I have a sneaking suspicion that my continuing symptoms are a result of the increased dairy in this plan.  I did some internet research, and found that it's common for low-cal, low-carb diets to use a lot of dairy in substitution, and this seems to be no exception.  I've had a hard time tolerating yogurt ever since I started feeling ill, but I'd read that Greek yogurt can sometimes be tolerated by those unable to eat regular yogurt.  However, I don't think I'm one of those people.  I couldn't find any plain soy yogurt at the store to substitute, so for the time being, I'm making some changes and removing the smoothies from the plan and limiting the soft cheeses.  I'll see if the symptoms go away or at least get better, and if so, I'll have my answer!