The No-List

I did I lot of talking about the "No-List" in my backstory. So, I offer up the contents of the No-List. The two most common responses I get to this List:
1. Wow, I'd never be able to give up (insert item from No-List).
2. So, what exactly CAN you eat?

Once upon a time those responses used to bother me. Now I just sort of shrug them off - hey, if roles were reversed, I'd likely have one of those reactions as well!

The No-List comes in two parts. The "no items" that I absolutely have to avoid, and the "limited items" that I can have but only in very small, measured out quantities.

A side-note before I begin the List: I'm also lactose-intolerant, which only serves to lengthen the No-List and add further restrictions to the diet because of past dietary requirements surrounding my intake of lactose.

The No-List

NO items
- tomatoes/tomato-based foods (includes pasta sauce, ketchup, bbq sauce, salsa, etc.)
- citrus fruits
- peppermint/spearmint
- chocolate
- alcohol
- caffeinated beverages
---regular tea
---coffee
---colas
---energy drinks
---other caffeinated soft drinks)
- decaffeinated coffee and decaffeinated regular tea (herbal tea w/o mint is okay)
- carbonated beverages
- pepper
- high-fat dairy products
---2% milk and whole milk
---cream
---high-fat cheeses
---high-fat yogurt
---chocolate milk
- other dairy (from previous lactose intolerance guidelines)
---cow's milk
---soft cheeses
---butter
---cheesecake
- cocoa
- fried meats
- bacon
- sausage
- pepperoni
- salami
- bologna
- frankfurters/hot dogs
- other fried foods:
---doughnuts
---french toast
---french fries
---deep-fried vegetables
- pastries and high-fat desserts (the directive on this item: say goodbye to bakeries)
- chips
- store bought cookies, candies, sugary snacks of any kind
- hydrogenated and partially-hydrogenated oils
- high fructose corn syrup
- high-sodium foods
- peanut butter, and other nut butters
- cheese
- dried fruits
- vinegar
- bell peppers, and other members of the veggie pepper family
- broccoli
- cauliflower
- asparagus
- celery
- onions
- beans (green beans are currently allowed)
- apple peels (apple flesh is fine, cooked/baked apples are better)
- red grapes (green grapes okay in moderation)
- raspberries
- salad dressing (check the labels, every one of them has something on the No-List!)
- store-bought juices (check the labels, all of them add citric acid!)

**for the next 2 weeks: 0 foods containing any trace of lactose (this includes foods on which the label says "made/processed/packaged in same facility as milk products")

Limited Items
- maximum of 40-50g of fat per day
- oils (olive, vegetable, etc.) - 1 Tbsp has 14g of fat
- nuts - 1/4 cup or 2 Tbsp nut butter has 17g of fat **nut butters currently prohibited entirely
- cheese - 1 oz has 10g of fat **cheese currently prohibited entirely
- processed sugar
- dairy foods not listed on "no items" section at a minimum; must take Lactaid with any foods containing lactose **currently prohibited, as per note above on No items

Whew! So, this is what I currently run under, or rather run around, when choosing foods and planning meals for the week. (There's certainly more to my meal-planning rules that are contained in the rules of the diet, but I'll leave that outline to another post.)

As the No-List is an ever-changing entity, this list will shuffle items on and off or between the two categories quite a bit. As that happens, I will be posting a newer, updated version of my No-List so that I have it actually written down somewhere, instead of always just floating around somewhere in my head!