February 13, 2013

Low-Iodine Diet, Here I Come!


Hello long lost followers! It’s Ash Wednesday and I figured no better time to rekindle my blogorama than now at the beginning of Lent. Considering my last post was nearly a month ago, I have a little catching up to do.
Kevin and I have enjoyed his first Mardi Gras season on the Gulf Coast. We wish we could’ve gotten over to New Orleans at some point, but I’ve been too tired or grumpy to go and we’re also trying to save money to buy a house… Sooooo New Orleans will have to wait until next year.
Louie is growing so quickly and he’s finally catching on to some of the simple commands I’ve been teaching him: sit, shake, high five… And we’re working on SHUT THE HELL UP! Okay, maybe that’s a little harsh, but homeboy goes absolutely crazy with barking whenever I get on the phone. He seriously does not bark until I get on the phone, he really is like a bad kid!

Okay, now for the latest with my Thyroid saga. My Endocrinologist had to push back my treatment 1 week because he was going out of the country. While I was disappointed to have to prolong it a week, I was glad because if I should have to go back into surgery or if there are any complications I need him to be available. I began the low-iodine diet on Monday and man… I now can see why everyone complains about it. I’M STARVING. It would probably be easier to give you a list of what I actually CAN eat, but instead I’ll give you a quick rundown of what the major NOs are on the low-iodine diet.

  •  All dairy. Yes, no cheese. This is seriously the longest I’ll have ever been without cheese in my life.
  • Egg yolks. The whites are okay.
  • Obviously, ANY salt. Although kosher, non-iodized salt is fine.
  • Leafy green veggies like spinach, kale, collard greens, etc.
  • ANYTHING from the sea: seafood (yes, right here in the middle of crawfish season), seaweed
  • Nothing processed or preserved at all really, bread, cakes, etc.
  • Any processed meats like deli meats, pepperoni, salami, ham, etc.
  • Canned vegetables

So yeah, I’ve had to ditch my vegetarian lifestyle after only a month and a half so that I can actually have something to eat. But I’m keeping it at fresh meats like venison or turkey that I know where it came from. We’re also, obviously, eating a lot of fresh veggies and I’ve even gotten Mr. K into liking quinoa.

Did I mention this diet lasts 3 weeks? I'm hoping I can shed some of these post-wedding/Christmas/thyroid surgery pounds, I have a sneaky suspicion that my recent weight gain is to partially blame for this depression I've been feeling. 

Anyway, if you happen to have been through this low-iodine diet before and have some creative recipes, leave me a comment and share!

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