Food

Breakfast Ideas
Oatmeal Pancakes
Oatmeal Apple Muffins
Pumpkin Egg White Oatmeal
Baked Banana and Blueberry Oatmeal
Baked Apple Oatmeal
Egg White and Salsa Sandwich
Greek Yogurt w/Banana & Chex

Lunch Ideas
Salmon and Mango Wrap

Dinner Ideas
Vegetarian Sweet Potato & Beans
Vegetarian Rice, Beans & Mango

Eric's Sweet Potato Risotto

Restaurants- Boston
Porto Bello, South Boston
Legal's Test Kitchen, South Boston
Stella, South End
Myers and Chang, South End
Picco, South End
East Coast Grill, Cambridge
Chung Shin Yuan, Newton
Il Casale, Belmont
Thai Moon, Arlington
Tango, Arlington
Blue Stove, Burlington


Restaurants- Cape Cod
Cape Cod Sea Grille, Harwich
Asa Grille, Hyannis
Roadhouse Cafe, Hyannis
Inaho, Yarmouthport
Ocean House, Dennis

Restaurants- Newport RI
The Red Parrot
Fluke Wine Bar



My History With Food

I grew up eating very healthy. My mom is a fantastic cook and made it a priority to feed the family with as much nutrition as possible. Outside of the home (especially during college), I did not always make the most nutritious choices. However, in 2007 I was started having a lot of problems with my stomach. I was bloated all the time and I always felt like I was fighting a stomach bug (and since it was my first year teaching, I didn't think much of this at first). I was eventually diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome and my doctor told me that I needed to slowly improve my fiber intake. In this process my diet received a full overhaul. Suddenly I could no longer eat Pringles as a mid afternoon snack, or indulge in a piece of cake on someone's birthday.

Being diagnosed with IBS forced me to learn more about what I was putting into my body, and helped me learn to cook for myself. It also encouraged me to try new foods because I had to get rid of so many of the foods I had previously enjoyed. I still do not have my eating down to a science (neither do doctors!). However, in general I try to eat more soluble fiber (bread, squash, potatoes) and mix insoluble fiber (beans, berries, peas) in where I can. I limit my fat intake to healthy fats whenever possible and always avoid deep fried foods and anything baked with a lot of butter. I have learned that IBS is really a balancing act. It is important to have fats and insoluble fiber in a healthy diet, but I cannot have too much of either.

An example of a perfect meal for me is the pizza I began making myself earlier this year. I start with white pizza crust (whole wheat is great for everyone else, but it can be too much insoluble fiber for me if I'm not careful). On it, I add some Whole Foods tomato sauce, black beans, zucchini, summer squash, mushrooms and carrots. This meal provides a lot some grains, a lot of veggies, and protein from the beans. It also mixes a lot of soluble fiber- the bread, squash, mushrooms and zucchini with a manageable amount of insoluble fiber in the beans and the tomatoes.