IC Friendly Grilled Portobello with Teriyaki-Like "Glaze"

Well, I think that I have found something worse for my Interstitial Cystitis then tomato sauce - Fra Diovlo, a spicy tomato sauce!  If you have IC, or are knowledgeable about it, you probably think I was crazy for even thinking of trying it...and I was!  But I kinda had no choice!

I was visiting with my 90 year old Nana.  She is very driven to remain independent and refuses to sell her house, so she lives on her own.  She has dementia, which we suspected was going on for a little while as some of the signs were there, but it was only recently diagnosed.  She is not currently being treated for it (she really needs Aricept!) and her memory is awful.  After seeing her yesterday I'm not sure how she even functions from day to day.  I have to give her a lot of credit!  

Anyway, I had gone to her to help her pick up one of her meds and to take her food shopping as we don't let her drive anymore.  She claims that she is only forgetful with some names but is otherwise healthy and as such doesn't understand why she can't drive.  Oh Nana!  I thought I was just going down to help her shop and then leave as I wanted to get home to take care of mine and Andrew's zoo, but she expected that I was staying for dinner.  How could I say no to Nana, especially since she also asked me to spend the night but I couldn't as I didn't have any of my meds (I take something like 10 or 11 of them).  She had some leftover spaghetti that she wanted us to eat and the only sauce that she will buy is Victoria's Fradiavolo.  

After having to explain numerous times that I was a vegetarian and don't eat meat (she even offered it to me like three times while we were eating), I decided that it wasn't worth throwing her off anymore and it would just be best to appease the Nana and eat the sauce.  Of course she was worried about protein for me so we also got Gardein Meatless Balls to go with the spaghetti.  I love them, but my bladder does not!  I can only eat the balls in small amounts and I'm sure that they didn't help things.  Nana was happy though and that was all that really mattered to me.  I hurt today, but my Pyridium seems to be keeping it mostly at bay for now.  Hopefully it will pass and not become worse because I'm out of pain pills and while my primary care doctor will usually give me a script if I really need it, I'm not sure if I will have time to pick it up before the weekend.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my love for Nana didn't throw me into a big flare!  I'm uncomfortable enough with this heat, I don't need anything adding to my discomfort.

Speaking of heat, it is of course summertime, which means that it's prime grilling time!  As I promised a series of grilling posts for the summer, here is grilling post #2.  I love mushrooms and often have cravings for them (which Andrew finds weird as he hates mushrooms), so of course I had to create a mushroom dish.  The following recipe is for a single serving so if planning for more, remember to double (or triple or quadruple) the recipe.  As always, if any of the ingredients don't agree with your bladder then be sure to keep them out.  Good day and happy grilling!!

Ingredients:

*Green = Bladder Friendly foods; *Orange = Foods to try wih Caution; *Red = Foods to Avoid

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*1 Portobello Mushroom Top, stem removed 

*1 Handful Baby Spinach (optional)
*1 bun (optional - choose one that you know won't flare your IC)

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For Marinade:

*4 Tbsp Coconut Aminos

*4 Tbsp water

*2 Tbsp blueberry juice

*3/4 tsp garlic powder

*1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger

*Pinch of brown sugar

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For "Glaze":

*1/2 tbsp water

*1/2 tbsp cornstarch

*1 scallion, sliced thin

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Method: 

In a shallow bowl (or anything else that you have that your Portobello will fit in - like a plastic sandwhich container - to marinate), mix together all ingredients for the marinade.  Place your portobello in the marinade, cover, and let sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours, flipping it over halfway through.   After letting it marinate, remove the mushroom and cook on a pre-heated grill, about 5 minutes each side or until fully cooked.

Meanwhile, prepare the "glaze" - pour the marinade in a small saucepan and add the scallion.  Heat on medium - high heat untill just coming to a boil.  Mix the cornstarch  and water together and stir the mixture into the rest of the marinade.  Reduce heat and simmer until thickened to about the consistency of jelly.  

Place your portobello on a bun, top with the "glaze" (there may be a little glaze left over), and baby spinach.  Enjoy!

Nutrition information is based on a 2,000 calorie diet. The figures were obtained through the MyFitnessPal app.  Since the information was put in manually, please allow room for human error.

Tried the recipe out? Comment below to share your thoughts!

Tips, Tricks, and Cheats to the IC Diet: Coconut Aminos

When it comes to the Interstial Cystitis diet, nothing is ever easy as it is very individualized.  What sets off a flare in one person doesn't necessarily effect another.  Being a vegetarian, I often feel as if I am at a further disadvantage; the diet is restricting enough and avoiding meat just makes it that much harder.  That is why I grab onto IC-friendly substitutes whenever I can.  If I can easily use something in place of a known bladder iritant then it's one less ingredient I have to worry about when building a recipe.  That is why I love Coconut Secret Coconut Aminos Seasoning Sauce, which can be used as a substitute for soy sauce.

Soy sauce, the most well known and widely used soyfood in the western world [1], is made by fermenting a paste of boiled soybeans, grains (typically wheat), salt, and one of two molds in the Aspergillus family.  [2] Of course, since the soybean is a known bladder irritant, many IC patients are also sensitive to soy sauce.  For me, soy sauce seems to irritate my bladder much more then other soy foods (like meat replacement products).  I wonder sometimes if this is because of the fermentation process, or even the added mold.  Anyway, since it is used in a large amount in the western world, that leaves a lot of Asian cuisine off the table.

Coconut Aminos is, as is probably obvious, made from the coconut tree.  Unlike tapping maple trees, where the tree is tapped through the bark and the sap only flows for part of the year, the coconut tree is tapped, usually with bamboo tubes, through blossoms that have not yet matured into fruit and can produce sap for years.

"Coconut palms are one of the oldest flowering trees in the world.  For centuries throughout the tropics, the traditional practice of "tapping" coconut trees for their prized "sap" is a time-honored art form.  The nutrient-rich sap that exudes from the blossoms before they mature into coconuts, is used to make many unique and nutritious food products." [3]

Astonishingly, once  a coconut tree is tapped, it will continue to produce its nectar for up to 20 years. This makes it more sustainable then anything made from mature coconuts, like coconut oil.  In fact, tapping the coconut tree is 5-7 times more productive then allowing the coconut to mature for its fruit. [3]

To make Coconut Secrets Coconut Aminos, the freshly collected coconut sap is mixed with only sun-dried, mineral-rich sea salt and then naturally aged in small batches.  No other ingredients, including preservatives, are needed.   Wit coconut aminos, there is no risk of GMO ingredients like there is in traditional soy sauce and it contains 73% less sodium [4].  The taste is similar to soy sauce, but it it very much sweeter; I actually prefer the taste for most recipes.  

If you are like me and wish to find shortcuts to the IC diet, you owe it to yourself to try it.  I can usually find an 8oz bottle of Coconut Secret Coconut Aminos in health food stores, The Vitamin Shoppe, or online for about $5.  This means that it is slightly more expensive then soy sauce, but it is well worth it!  If you have already tried Coconut Aminos, please comment and share your experience!

References: 

1:  William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi.  (2004)  History of Soy Sauce, Shoyu, and Tamari.    Retrieved from: http://www.soyinfocenter.com/HSS/soy_sauce1.php 

2:  Wikipedia.  Soy Sauce.  Retrieved from: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soy_sauce

3:  Leslie.  (2009)  Coconut "Sap"~Who Knew???  Retreived from: https://www.coconutsecret.com/Tappingthesap2.html

4: Unknown Author at Coconut Secrets.  (2009). Coconut Secrets Coconut Aminos.  Retrieved from:  https://www.coconutsecret.com/aminos2.html 

Lightly Flavored Grill-Steamed Broccoli

Andrew and I have recently purchased a grill.  It's a super cheap charcoal grill from Walmart so it's not of the highest quality.  Still, it seemed ok and we got one use out of it before our dog, Roxie (who, while small, tends to be a bundle of nervous energy) knocked it upside down.   See sometimes when we let her out she will bolt through the door the moment that she sees an opening large enough for her to fit through, which is naturally too small for us to fit through with her.  Probably anxious to see one of the many stray cats that she had seen who knows how much earlier in the day, she will charge across the patio as fast as she can, which is very quick if you're not paying close enough attention, and in this case the grill was being stored just a bit too close to the door.  So now the grill is a bit rickety and I sometimes worry that it will topple over while being used.  Still, the grill has given us a case of new toy syndrome and we seem to be using it as much as we can.  I just ignore the grill's signature wobble and happily grill away with a watering can full of water nearby just in case (I was a Boyscout after all). 

The Grill especially comes in handy on these 90 degree days that we have been having.  On days like these using the oven or the stove-top are the last things that we need as they really heat the apartment up.  A jug of water left on top of the stove while the oven is on will reach 80 degrees probably within a half hour to forty five minutes.  It's a great way to heat water for water changes on our fish tanks, but not good for our apartment's temperature or my good mood.  I've gotten extremely sensitive to the heat, which I'm thinking is one of my Fibromyalgia symptoms, and as the heat causes my body to melt so does my ability to do anything, including being patient.  Sure, I've always been a bit sensitive to the heat, but now that trait seems to have been kicked into overdrive.  I will be dripping with sweat when the temperature reads anything above 72 degrees.  Yes, we have the air conditioner on, but using the oven, even the stovetop, there are times when I still just become too uncomfortable.  If I can find ways to do most of my cooking outside, I think that I am happier; even if it means soy veggie products, which my bladder sometimes reacts to and sometimes doesn't.  Of course, I do my best to eat soy veggie products only if I don't have any Quorn products on hand, which are made with mycoprotein and are soy free (they don't seem to upset my IC).  I have to get my protein in somehow, and luckily this recipe helps out!

Anyway, it's Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start of the summer season (and grilling season), and to celebrate I thought that I would start a series of recipes to cook on the grill.  This first one was inspired by my love of oven roasted broccoli and garlic.  I was craving it yesterday but as yesterday was in the nineties and as I mentioned before, I do not like to ad heat to our apartment when it is that hot.  I actually thought that in a foil pouch on the grill, would simulate an oven roasted broccoli.  Instead, what came out was more like steamed broccoli; not what I expected but nevertheless good.  Andrew thought that they were delicious!  Enjoy the recipe, I'm hoping the temperature has dropped enough for me to go outside and cook because my plans are to go grill and then watch a marathon of "The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" (resting tonight before the family BBQ tomorrow)!


Oh yeah, and as always, if you have IC, leave out any ingredients that you are sensitive to.  What works for one doesn't always work for another!

Ingredients: 

*Green = Bladder Friendly foods; *Orange = Foods to try wih Caution; *Red = Foods to Avoid

*1 broccoli crown

*3 cloves of garlic, minced 

*1/8 tsp black pepper

*1/8 tsp adobo sans pepper

*1/4 tsp oregano

*2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

*1/8 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Foil

Method:

Preheat your grill.  Seperate broccoli florets from the stems.  In a bowl, toss the separated broccoli florets with the olive oil, garlic, black pepper, adobo, and oregano. Once everything is mixed well, spread the broccoli in a single layer in the middle of a large peice of foil.  Sprinkle the broccoli with the grated cheese and fold the foil into a closed pouch.  Place the foil packet on the grill and cook about 15 to 20 minutes or until cooked through.  The broccoli florets should come out like they were steamed.  Serves 2-3.

Nutrition facts are based on a 2,000 calorie a day diet and are computed using the MyFitnessPal app.  As I have entered the ingredients by hand and picked The best matches from a list, some human error may exist in their calculations.

Stir Fried Broccoli and Baby Bok Choy

So it has been months, and still I'm wearing a splint (a long thumb spica splint made out of thermodynamic plastic to be exact) on my right wrist, which is my dominant hand.  This splint has gotten old, filthy, and scratched up over all this time and no matter what I do, I can't seem to get it clean.  People are now starting to notice and it's slightly embarrassing.  I actually tried to cover it up by wrapping it with an ace bandage the other day, but that just caused the plastic to dig into my pinky, which became extra painful so that's not an option.  Besides it being an eyesore, it also makes doing things a bit more difficult.  Sure, in many ways I have been able to adapt, but I'm pretty much over it now. I had hopes of being able to cast off this splint by now, but alas, I was just at the hand doctor and that hope has been dashed; I have to wear it for another six weeks.  Well, five more now.    I guess it's not all bad; the skin on my palm has never been softer (since it's hidden under about 1/8" of plastic) and the carpal tunnel symptoms that I was having are gone.  Look for the positives right?  Well I'll have to keep looking hard.  Oh and in case I didn't mention, if I'm not feeling better by my next follow-up, the doctor will consider surgery.  

Anyway, I think I digressed from my point.  The splint has made it difficult to do things like using a knife or taking something out of the oven, so I haven't been able to really cook things.  I've come to rely on things that are quick and easy, and quick and easy isn't always very friendly to the IC bladder. In about 1 month of time, I've experienced two seperate painful flare ups.  The first one was most likely due to having to take two very strong antibiotics for an infected cat scratch but the second was definitely diet related, so I knew I had to step up my game.  I searched for recipes that seemed quick and easy when I stumbled upon this recipe.  I was weary about the amount of sesame oil in this recipe, but it seemed like it would be easy for me to make, so I knew I should give it a try.

I say I was weary about the amount of sesame oil in this recipe because I've had experiences in the past where just a few drops of it were enough to overpower a dish.  I like sesame but not when it becomes the only thing that you taste.  In this recipe, that doesn't seem to be an issue.  Don't get me wrong, there is still a very strong sesame taste here, but there are other favors that come through too - favors like baby bok choy.

I've never had bok choy in any form before, baby or other, and I was excited to try it.  The first obstacle, of course, was buying the vegetable.  Andrew and I stood in front of the cooler section at our local farmers market for a good five minutes or so before we decided to take what we thought was baby bok choy, which actually turned out to be escarole (things weren't labeled well).  Not wanting to repeat the "these radishes are actually beets" fiasco that I had last year, I had luckily thought to use google and realized our blunder before we got too far away from the cold vegetables.  So small crisis averted, we left with our baby bok choy.  

I liked it too!  To me, the baby bok choy was very celery-like in taste, but a little watered down.  The flavor was very light, which may be one reason why it paired so well with the spotlight-stealing sesame oil.  I guess I felt that it just helped to balance everything out.  This was my first time cooking with shallots too, though I have definitely been exposed to more shallots then bok choy. I found the shallots to be a bit sweeter then their larger onion counterparts and I suppose that it is this quality that lends it to being safer for the IC bladder then straight up onions.  When I do cook with onions I always make sure to cook them really well as the IC diet lists always caution against raw onions.

All in all, I really enjoyed this recipe. It came together quickly and easily, even without full use of my dominant hand. It also inspired me to look closer at the  vegetables that are available to me to find more unique fruits and vegetables that I have never tried before.  I'm feeling adventurous!  

Though I have been limited on cooking, I do have a few recipes that I have been working on, so keep an eye out for new, original dishes coming soon!  In the meantime, enjoy this recipe and check out Vegetarian Recipes for Interstial Cystitis, where I found the following recipe.  Enjoy!!

Ingredients: 

*Green = Bladder Friendly foods; *Orange = Foods to try wih Caution; *Red = Foods to Avoid

*1 Cup broccoli florets
*1 bunch baby bok choy
*1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
*1 small shallot 
*2 garlic cloves
*sea salt and *fresh pepper (to taste)
*1 tsp sesame seeds 

Method: 

"In a frying pan or cast iron skillet with a lid, heat up sesame oil on a very low heat ( I did it on heat 2 on my stove).  Wash and chop broccoli and add it to the pan.  Peel and thinly slice shallot (if using), add it to the pan. Simmer a couple of minutes, removing the lid to stir.

Smash and chop garlic, add to the pan.  Cook another minute or so, stirring regularly. 

Wash bok choy, chop stems and add them to the pan, saving the leaves.  Simmer another minute or so, then add the leaves, a pinch of salt and pepper, plus a little extra sesame oil if desired.  Press the leaves to the bottom of the pan.  Stir, cooking for another minute or so until they are just wilted. 

Remove from heat, sprinkle with sesame seeds (if using) and serve."

Serves 2

*Nutrition Facts are obtained using the MyFitnessPal app and are based on a 2,000 calorie a day diet.  Due to manually entering ingredients, please allow some room for human error.*

Cheesy Zucchini Quiche

So it's been a while since I last posted.  What have I been up to you may ask?  I've been so busy with work, physical therapy (still for my shoulder), exercise, and doctor's appointments that I just haven't had the time or energy to sit down to type.  Plus, I now have to wear a splint on my right hand which makes doing anything difficult!  I was referred to a hand specialist who diagnosed tendinitis in my thumb, carpal tunnel syndrome, a small ganglion cyst, and a possible pulled ligament in my wrist (I still have to go for another x-ray series to know for sure).  Yes, that's a lot to have going on in just one wrist, but such is my luck in life.  Hopefully the two injections that they gave me will kick in soon (3-6 weeks is a long time to wait for an effect!).  Oh yeah, and I was finally diagnosed with Fibromyalgia (I had been working on that diagnosis for probably 8 months or so) and I've been asked to do low-impact aerobic exercise (either walking, swimming, or biking, the later of which is not an option due to the IC) for a half hour every day as keeping your body in motion is supposed to help the FM.  You know, because I have plenty of time to do that!  Although, I had actually been doing fairly well with my exercise until one day I went to the Y and the only free treadmills were being reserved for a kids cardio class.  I was already just barely able to squeeze the workout into my very busy schedule as it is, and this now meant that I could not get my walk in that day.  This lead to a small anxiety attack and a poor unsuspecting trainer who was only trying to find a way to help got the brunt of my bad mood that day!  Anyway, I got discouraged and haven't gone back; I found other ways to get my exercise in, although as it is supposed to rain all day, I think today will be the day that I actually have no choice but to go back.  I give the Y a lot of credit for what they do, but sometimes it seems as if they are trying to do too much with too little!

As I said, the splint that I have to wear, called a Long Thumb Spica Splint, makes it hard to do many things, but I am learning to adjust and things that I could not do at all at first (like using a computer mouse, for instance) are getting easier to do.  I have found a way to use a knife with my first two fingers but it puts pressure on the splint in the wrong places which causes it to dig into my wrist and forearm and I wind up hurting, so I can only do this for short periods of time.  Needless to say, my inability to cook for myself right now means that I have not been following the IC diet as I should and my bladder seems to be getting angrier and angrier.  I've had to rely on take out and prepared food more often lately, but as I get more used to this splint I am becoming more and more eager to try to cook more things.  Since I have not been able to cook well, I also have not been able to create new recipes to share.  As a compromise, I thought that I would share a recipe with you that I have tried and loved!

Like many people just diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis, the IC diet seemed very daunting and being a vegetarian made it even harder.  I was quite scared to eat any food as my bladder was at its most upset and I felt the effects of trigger foods either very shortly after eating them or the very next day.  Not wanting to incur the wrath of my bladder, I tried not to experiment with cooking and only followed recipes that I found online that were either IC specific or had little to no problem ingredients.  This recipe for Cheesy Zucchini  Quiche, which fell into the later list if only because of the onions (which I do not think that I am sensitive to), was one of those first recipes that I had tried and it was so good that it spurred a small period where I was obsessed with trying different Quiches.  I always seemed to have pie dough ready to defrost in the freezer and there were even a couple of times that I put all of the ingredients together for this quiche over the weekend and froze it for use later in the week!  Both Andrew and myself absolutely loved this recipe!  (In fact, as I am sitting here typing this, I am becoming more and more tempted to get up and run to the store for some zucchini!)

Before I leave you with the recipe, I do want to give you a couple of tips.  First off, pre-made pie dough from the grocery store will seem very tempting for this recipe.  If you do go this route, don't forget to first check the ingredients to make sure there are no problem ingredients; I'm sure store-made dough must have some preservatives that may bother your bladder.  For that reason, I use a homemade 3-2-1 pie crust that I found here and is included below as part of the recipe.  Secondly, this recipe is much easier to make if you have a mandolin; it makes it easier to finely slice the veggies.  If you don't have a mandolin, try to cut as thin as you can.  Also, I have found that once cooked, the zucchini and onion create a lot of liquid.  Each time I have made this quiche I have forgotten about that and my end product becomes extra liquidy (even though draining the liquid is in the recipe - stupid fibro fog!).  I imagine that if you were to follow the recipe the right way and you drain some of the liquid from the vegetables before adding the rest of the ingredients, it would prevent this from happening and your end result will be much more quiche-like.  And Lastly, if you are sensitive to onions, remember that you can either leave them out or substitute with either chives or scallions.  Anyway, enjoy and happy cooking!

Ingredients: 

*Green = Bladder Friendly foods; *Orange = Foods to try wih Caution; *Red = Foods to Avoid

-Pie Crust: 

*1 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour

*1/4 tsp Salt

*1 tsp Sugar

*1 stick (8 Tbsp) Cold, Unsalted Butter, cut into small peices

*4-5 Tbsp ice water

-Filling: 

*3 Tbsp Butter

*4 cups Thinly Sliced Zucchini (about 3 medium)

*1 Large Onion, thinly sliced

*2 Large Eggs

*2 tsp Dried Parsley

*1/2 tsp Dried Oregano

*1/2 tsp Dried Basil

*1/4 tsp Black Pepper

*2 cups Part Skim Shredded Mozzarella 

Method:

-Pie Crust:

Combine the flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl and stir briefly until the mixture is aerated. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it’s in pea-size pieces that are slightly yellow in color, about 4 to 5 minutes.  Drizzle in 4 tablespoons of the ice water and mix just until the dough comes together.  (Add the last tablespoon of ice water if necessary, but don’t overwork the dough or it’ll become tough).  Shape the dough into a flat disk, cover it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, then use it in the pie or tart recipe of your choice. 

-Filling:

Preheat your oven to 400°. On a lightly floured surface, roll pie crust into a 1/8-in.-thick circle before transferring to a 9-inch pie plate. Trim the crust to 1/2 inch beyond the rim of the plate and flute the edge. Refrigerate the crust while preparing the filling. 

In a large skillet, heat the butter over medium heat until melted and beginning to bubble.  Add the zucchini and the onion; cook, stirring frequently, until both are tender - the onion will become translucent and the zucchini will change color slightly.  Drain the liquid off as best as you can and let the mixture cool for a bit.  In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and seasonings until they are well blended. Stir in the cheese and then mix it with the cooked zucchini and onion.  Once everything is well mixed, add the completed filling to the prepared crust.  Bake on a lower oven rack for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean and the crust is golden brown.  Cover the edge of the quiche loosely with foil during the last 15 minutes of cooking, only if needed to prevent over-browning. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.   

This recipe will make 8 servings.

**Original Recipe found from Taste Of Home.

Bean Burgers

Bean Burgers made with black beans

This recipe was originally given to me by my mother over the phone one day; she had made these burgers for me a couple of times and I just had to try to make them on my own, so I had called her for it.  I wrote the ingredients down on a note pad shaped like Jack Skellington's head and I still have that note years later.  Sometimes it's hanging out on the fridge and sometimes I have to hunt it down, but both the recipe and that peice of paper feel like they have become a part of me and this recipe is always something I refer back to.  When I finally made them on my own, my burgers came out a bit different then my mothers.  We compared notes and eventually decided that the difference was in the processing of the vegetables.  Even though the instructions that my mother had given me were to process the vegetables in a food processor, it turns out that she had always hand chopped them.  When put in the food processor, the vegetables create extra liquid and I found that due to this I had to add more dry ingredients in order to be able to better form the patties.  Due to this, I'm not sure that I ever completely followed that recipe even once before tweaking it and retweaking it over time.  In a way I'm thankful for this as it helped me to be open to the possibilities that this recipe can hold.

Serving suggestion!

Over time, I have added the green bell pepper (which was jalapeño before the IC diagnosis) and the flour and i have increased the amount of breadcrumbs and I love the results.  Another thing that I love about his recipe is its versatility.  While the original recipe called for black beans, over the years I have also used kidney beans, white beans, red beans, and of course pinto beans (since they are bladder friendly) as you see below.  Besides working well with any bean that you may have on hand, you can change up the veggies and seasonings, the shape, and cooking method to make it into other things.  In the past, I have adapted this recipe to make bean balls (both Italian style and sweedish) and my boyfriend and I once turned this recipe into a really tasty loaf.  We had written that recipe down, but I think it got lost in a move as I haven't seen it, which is really a shame.  I have to talk to him about it because I'm hoping that our combined memories can recreate what we once made.

As always, if you have IC and are making this, please keep your personal triggers in mind.  If something is bothersome to you, leave it out or replace it.  If you need to leave out the onion and would like to keep the flavor, scallions and chives are more bladder friendly options.  Red orange and yellow bell peppers seem to be more tolerable then green and the seasoning can be changed.  The original recipe called for Cajun seasoning, but I don't think I've ever had that.  I've always replaced it with Mexican favors, as you can see below that I've replaced it with my IC Friendly Taco Seasoning.  Also, before using any breadcrumbs, read the label first to make sure that they don't contain any trigger ingredients. 

Happily, after about a month and a half of flaring up, my IC has finally calmed down.  The migraine in my bladder is gone and my frequency has decreased.  I believe that this is due in large part to sticking to the IC diet and using Preleif those few times that I've had to stray.  I have posted some of the recipes that I had made during this time period and I have a few more to come.  I look forward to continue sharing my efforts on this journey of mine.  Until next time, happy eats!

Ingredients: 

*Green = Bladder Friendly foods; *Orange = Foods to try wih Caution; *Red = Foods to Avoid

*1 can Pinto Beans, rinsed and drained well 

*2 cloves Garlic

*1 medium Onion

*1/2 Green Bell Pepper 

*1 Egg

*1 cup Flour

*1 cup Breadcrumbs (either seasoned or plain)

*2 tsp IC Friendly Taco Seasoning 

*2 Tbsp Olive Oil

Method:

Place rinsed beans in a bowl and mash with a potato masher.  Some beans can be left whole for aesthetic value, but you are looking to turn the beans into a paste.  Process the garlic, onion, and bell pepper in a food processor until very finely chopped (it will look like mush) and stir into the beans.  Add the egg, flour, breadcrumbs, and seasoning and stir together well.  Pour oil onto a skillet and heat on medium heat.  Using your hands, scoop out balls of mixture and flatten them slightly (this will get a little bit messy).  Place the flattened ball on the heated skillet and finish flattening with either your hands or the back of a spatula.  If you use your hands, be very careful not to touch the surface of he skillet so as not to get burnt!  Cook until both sides are browned.  Serve as you would any other burger and top with your favorite burger toppings.

Nutrition facts are based on a 2,000 calorie a day diet and are computed using the MyFitnessPal app.  As I have entered the ingredients by hand and picked he best matches from a list, some human error may exist in their calculations.

Mexican Quinoa Salad

Mexican Quinoa Salad in a Luau-themed bowl from DollarTree.  The bowl was cheap an comes in handy!

This recipe came together last weekend almost accidentally.  I had an avacodo that I needed to use so I started building upon that.  I was originally planning on just doing a bean salad with it, but then I remembered that I had quinoa in the closet and thought why not make it a quinoa salad for some extra protein.  One cup of cooked quinoa contains 8 grams of protein, so it's good to have on hand.  A fun fact - we use quinoa as if it were a grain, but it isn't actually a grain at all.  "We cook and eat quinoa like many other grains, but, botanically speaking, it's a relative of spinach, beets and chard. The part we eat is actually the seed, cooked like rice, which is why quinoa is gluten-free. You can even eat the leaves!" (Huffington Post).  The end result was awesome, and I even had enough left for lunch at work for the next three days.  

Avacodos spoil quickly, so I was worried that the salad wouldn't make it through till that last day, but they were only just starting to change color, so they were still ok.  Since they usually brown so quickly, avacodos are often mixed with citrus juices to prolong their life (the citric acid in the juice acts as a preservative).  Of course with Interstial Cystitis, the citric acid can wreak havoc on the bladder, so this practice doesn't work and I'm not sure of a good way to duplicate it to be IC friendly.  When only using part of an avocado, you can retain the pit with the remainder and that helps to preserve the leftover parts, but I stored the rest of the salad in small containers that were easy to grab for work and one pit clearly wouldn't work for 3 different tupperwares.  Perhaps next time I'll put the pit in one of them and save that one for last....

Since I discussed how citric acid is bad for Interstial Cystitis, you may be wondering why I included the lemon extract.  Citric extracts (ie lemon, lime, and orange) are made from the rind of the fruit so it avoids all the acid in the juice.  Like most extracts, the rind is steeped in alcohol for a certain amount of time and then the rind is removed.  Typically in cooking, the alcohol in the extract evaporates and only the infused flavor is left behind.  No citric acid = no problems.  Of course, IC loves to be a bully, so like with most food, that doesn't necessarily mean it is safe for all.

After making this recipe, I do wish I had a lime flavor instead of lemon.  I think it would have given a more authentic Mexican taste.  Since I don't have lime extract though, I obviously couldn't use it.  I'm not sure if I've ever actually seen lime extract at the store and an online search turns up things more on the gourmet end.  I have found a few recipes for a home made extract, so besides keeping an eye out for it in stores, I'm going to try making my own.  I'll report back on my results and with any changes to the recipe.  Until then, if you have lime extract and decide to make this recipe on your own, please let me know what you think! 

Oh, one last note!  I use yellow cherry tomatoes in this recipe (if you remember, tomatoes are one of my favorite foods and I just can't give them up).  Yellow tomatoes are much less acidic then red tomatoes and are therefore better tolerated by the IC bladder.  I seem to do better with them, but if you're worried that they may be a trigger for you, then please feel free to leave them out.

Ingredients:
*Green = Bladder Friendly foods; *Orange = Foods to try wih Caution; *Red = Foods to Avoid
*1 cup Dry Quinoa
*2 cups Water
*1 can Black Beans, drained and rinsed well
*1 Avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced
*1 cup Yellow Cherry Tomatoes, quartered and sliced
*1 cup Spinach, chopped
*2 Radishes, quartered and sliced
*1/2 of a Green Bell Pepper, diced
*2 Scallions, sliced
*2 tsp IC Friendly Taco Seasoning
*1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
*1 1/2 tsp Lemon (or Lime) Extract
*2 tsp Dried Cilantro
*1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Method:

Cook your quinoa according to the package instructions.  (I used Village Harvest; the directions were to bring 1 cup of rinsed Quinoa and 2 cups of water to a boil, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until all water is absorbed.)  While the quinoa cooks, prepare the other ingredients and add all to a large bowl.  Place the bowl and the cooked quinoa in the fridge to chill.  Once chilled to your liking, add the quinoa to the other ingredients in the bowl, still well, and serve.  Yields 4 servings.

*Nutrition Facts are obtained using the MyFitnessPal app and are based on a 2,000 calorie a day diet.  Due to manually entering ingredients, please allow some room for human error.*