more on the IC diet

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!