Thanks for the suggestions on the diet plan. There are a few more things I should mention, especially when it comes to what I cannot eat.
I cannot eat:
- spicy: mexican food including the spices cumin, red pepper, and paprika
- soy: anything with soy and soy sauce, which makes Chinese food difficult
- citric acid: I dare you to look at the ingredients in your bread and not find citric acid. It is used as a preservative and is in a ton of bread products. You would think carbs would be ok, but not with that as a preservative.
- vinegar or lemon juice: this is why I have not attempted homemade mayo...don't you need some kind of acid to help it emulsify?
By checking VERY carefully, I have found many things that I can eat, but it is a very meat and potatoes type diet. I am dying for some fettucini alfredo, but parmesan is off limits right now. I have found that if a product has very few ingredients, it might be ok. The more stuff (chemicals) in it, the less likely I can eat it. I am going to shop some at Whole Foods this weekend and see if I can find some bread. I've tried making some, but I'm just not a baker.
I did experiment with making chip dip out of cottage cheese. I blended it down to eliminate the curds, and used garlic and chives. I used WAY too much garlic, but in the next batch I will tone that down. It tastes delicious, but requires a tooth brushing and three mints to get rid of the garlic breath!
Keep sending me your tips and advice! I welcome any creative ideas you might have!