"So wait, what can you eat?"

So goes most people's reactions when they get the brief or unabridged version of my No-List. If you've been reading this blog, odds are very good that you've asked that question as well. I certainly have to remind myself of what I can eat whenever I start thinking about what I can't. Ha!

And though I've lost a lot of weight since I started this whole thing in March, I eat all the time. Not kidding. I eat every two hours at work. And then usually have two more meals at home in the evening. Sometimes another snack gets stuck in there, depending on what I'm doing with my evening.

What is it that I eat? Here's a list of common foods. Unlike the No-List, this is far from comprehensive, but hopefully it gives you an idea of what makes it into my system on a pretty regular basis.

- Meat: most meat is fine, but has to be really lean.
(2 servings every day) - since I can't get protein/iron from most other normal sources
---White meat chicken or turkey
---Ground beef or steak
---Low-sodium canned tuna fish
---Fresh fish (no seafood, though, because I don't really like it)
---Lunch meat, but in small quantities. I've found in the last two weeks that every day is not a good idea.

- Veggies: cooked are better than raw - my stomach just handles them better if cooked first.
(4 or more servings a day)
---carrots (especially tri-color from the farmers' market!)
---corn
---squashes (yellow, zucchini, acorn, butternut, pumpkin are the ones I'm familiar with and have cooked before, but I'm starting to expand my range)
---cucumbers
---potatoes: red potatoes work the best (don't ask me why)
---yams/sweet potatoes
---green beans
---peas
---leafy greens, as long as they're not naturally spicy (I'm all about salads with mixed greens or spinach leaves)

- Fruits:
(3 servings a day
---apples (sans peels)
---applesauce (unsweetened, organic)
---strawberries (small quantities - I'm a big fan of slicing a few on a salad)
---blueberries
---cranberries (in very small amounts)
---green grapes (not red, no clue why my stomach's into one and not the other)
---bananas
*I'm hoping to get dried fruits on this list again soon!

- Grains: whole grains, whole grains, whole grains.
(6+ servings a day)
---whole wheat bread or apple cinnamon bread (baked from scratch in my bread maker)
---whole wheat pasta (I'm a big fan of rotini lately)
---Grandma's Grains
---brown rice cakes - lightly salted or with wild rice mixed in
---brown rice cereal (like Rice Krispies, but without all the additives and crap)
---Kashi Crispy Granola Bars - my favorites are the Almond Crunch and Pumpkin Flax Seed flavors
---oatmeal
---cornbread (mmm!)

- Spices: they all need to be used in extreme moderation - too high an amount sets my stomach into a temper tantrum that rivals any toddler
---cinnamon
---ginger
---nutmeg
---garlic (very small quantities - I use garlic powder, not fresh)
---brown sugar (okay, this isn't a spice, but I use it to flavor a lot of dishes, so I list it as a spice in my head)
---most herbs are cool: parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano (small amounts) are the ones I use (mint = bad though)

- Sauces:
---berry sauce with a little bit of sugar - like my cousin's blueberry sauce! - but nothing with raspberries in it [my stomach and raspberries are having a fight, middleschool drama style]
---basil and extra virgin olive oil, blended - light on the oil, but works well

- Sweet stuff: I've had to give a lot of this up, but there are a few things I can bake, and I'm finding more!
---low fat muffin recipes
---low fat fruit/veggie breads (banana, pumpkin, etc.)
---baked fruit/veggie mixtures (the latest was butternut squash, apples, cranberries with a bit of brown sugar and butter substitute on the top

- Other:
---eggs
---small amounts of light mayo for sandwiches
---berry jams

- Beverages:
---water
---water
---more water
(Every thing else has something added, or is just too expensive when I can just as easily drink water.)
---soy milk (which I only use on cereal, I don't actually sit down with a glass of it)

One thing I've found is that when I find a food that causes little to no symptoms, I latch onto it fast. I have a fair amount of foods up there on those lists, but I often have meals that look rather similar over the course of my day, since I've learned what combinations work well for me and I have to pay attention to the amount of fruits, veggies, and meat that I take in each day. My food creativity window happens with dinner. I'm always on the lookout for new recipes that I can make for myself using the list of ingredients I know I can eat. [It's also a good way to discover new foods to add to the "Yes I can" list of foods.]

Something else I've found as my lifestyle regarding food has changed over the past 6 months: I often have food on the mind, but not necessarily because I'm hungry. Often, I'm thinking a few hours ahead to what's going down for dinner that night. Or else I'm thinking through the next few days to plan on when I can grab a chunk of time to commune with my kitchen, make a huge mess with lots of dishes, and come out on the other side with a delicious something to save for eating over the course of the week. It's become rather fun, actually!

The key to my eating success has been scheduling time into my regular weekly schedule to bake, prepare, cook at least twice a week, if not more. Sundays are generally cooking days for the leftovers I'll eat all week. Bread is baked on Saturday or Sunday usually. I often will bake some sort of sweet thing on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday evening, depending on what's going on in my week. I do the grocery thing on Sunday mornings, to keep myself getting up around the same time every day. I visit the farmers' market in Copley twice a week - Tuesdays and Fridays. It's all becoming a fun part of my personal culture. [And, turns out, it's a really good way to not over-eat, since none of the things I eat are easy to reach in a grab. Everything requires warming up or cutting or some sort of prep.]