1. If you’ve only read or heard about the diet on this website or from some other source, you should get the book “Breaking the Vicious Cycle,” by Elaine Gottschall, and read it. She is the person who did the research and presents the diet to us, so it’s very helpful to read her rationale and explanation so you will understand what you’re trying to do. You can order the book on Amazon.com or sometimes in a local bookstore. While you’re waiting for the book, you can still get started on the diet.
2. You will need to go on the Introductory Diet for 2 days to a maximum of one week when you start the SCD. See this page on the official SCD website for instructions and what you can eat during that time:
One note about Dry Curd Cottage Cheese (DCCC): It is definitely possible to do the SCD without DCCC, but if you can find a legal kind it does open your horizons a bit. The important thing is to find legal DCCC, as there are many types that are not legal. For a list of legal DCCC around the country, visit this link. Also see the following links for a little more information on DCCC: Dry Curd Cottage Cheese; Farmers Cheese.
If you can’t find legal DCCC in your area, you can drip your yogurt to make it into a thicker consistency and use it as a substitute for DCCC in recipes. Read more at this link.
If you want quicker results thickening your yogurt, put a little more than the desired amount of yogurt between stacks of paper towels and let it sit for 5 minutes. Flip and let it sit for 5 more minutes. Use a rubber spatula to remove the thickened yogurt from the paper towels and use it in your recipe.
3. Purchase a Yogourmet Yogurt maker. We strongly recommend this brand because it has the capacity to make SCD yogurt the way it has to be made. The yogurt has to be incubated at around 110 degrees for 24 hours, and some other yogurt makers don’t maintain a steady temperature like the Yogourmet does.
**TIP: I have two Yogourmet yogurt makers and 3 accompanying containers so I can make 1 gallon of yogurt at a time, with enough containers to make another batch when I’m half done with the last batch. This way I never have to be without yogurt!
Order some Yogourmet starter packets at the same time (you can order them through www.lucyskitchenshop.com or sometimes through a local healthfood store...see her site for an example of which starter is legal.) You can also use ½ cup Dannon All Natural Plain yogurt as a starter, but it’s nice to have a box or two of the Yogourmet starter packets in your refrigerator in case you run out of the Dannon yogurt sometime and need to make a batch of yogurt quickly. (Note: Make sure you buy the Dannon All Natural Plain regular yogurt, NOT the low fat version which contains pectin, which isn’t SCD-legal.)
4. Some other helpful appliances to have in your kitchen: crock pot, pancake griddle, toaster oven, food processor, and a blender.
5. Go or send someone to the grocery store to buy items from this shopping list.
6. Print off these recipes to get you started
SCD Yogurt
Introductory Diet Chicken Soup
Introductory Diet Jello
Introductory Diet Cheesecake
7. After you have been on the Introductory Diet for 2-5 days to clear your system, Elaine Gottschall recommended trying to add cooked fruit, speckled banana, and additional cooked vegetables to your diet. Foods she recommends staying away from until diarrhea has substantially subsided are vegetables in the cabbage family (such as broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower), and dried legumes can only be cautiously added after being on the diet for about three months. See more information in "Breaking the Vicious Cycle."
When you're finished with the Introductory Diet, these are just a few recipes you could try that are easy on the stomach for some people:
Breakfast Smoothie
Applesauce
Banana Pancakes
8. Once you are feeling significantly better, you can begin to try any of the other legal foods that look good. You probably need to take in plenty of calories, so go ahead and try things, keeping in mind that some foods may irritate your system at first, so you may need to stop a given food and try it again later. In addition to the many downloadable recipes we've put on the website for you, we also have a wonderful selection of legal recipes in each of our magazines.
9. Some additional tips for starting the diet:
· Try to eat foods that are easier on the stomach for a little while. For example, I ate smoothies for breakfast every day for a long time - they were easy to digest, quick, easy, and delicious!
· Also at the beginning of the SCD, I peeled all apples, avoided very fibrous vegetables like broccoli and celery and cooked all veggies. Some people have to cook all fruits as well, and some people have problems with almond flour and need to try pecan flour instead. However, don't let that stop you from seeing what you personally can handle. Only a few foods bothered me at the beginning - tangerines, walnuts, and too many dried apples. (Dried fruit is harder to digest so I would avoid it for quite a while.)
· Each person heals on a different time schedule, so give yourself time to react to the diet.
· Always make sure you're eating only legal foods, and omit any legal foods that you think might be bothering you. Later you can cautiously try them again and see how you react to them.
· Foods that are calorie-rich, nutritious, and will help you take in enough calories if you’re concerned about gaining weight: avocado, whole milk for the SCD yogurt, nut flour baked goods, Tropicana 100% orange juice (no additives) or Welch’s 100% grape juice, cheddar or jack cheese with legal peanut butter and raisins on top, honey in the SCD yogurt, and dates are just a few ideas…experiment to see which you can tolerate at the beginning.
10. It’s very helpful to keep a food journal, where you write down what you eat for each meal/snack along with any symptoms you had that day. If you develop symptoms, you can trace them back pretty easily to the item that is bothering you. Eliminate that item and cautiously add it back later, after you’ve had time to heal. Download a food journal page here, and print off as many as you need!
11. What if you have a flare-up?
When I had a flare-up when first starting the diet, I would eat foods that were very easy to digest, such as the chicken soup on the Intro Diet, or Breakfast Smoothies with a minimum of fruit in them, or SCD yogurt with some honey mixed in. I have heard that flaxseed oil is a natural anti-inflammatory, so you could also add a tsp. or so of the oil to your smoothies and see if that helps you out as well. You could also try very ripe bananas. Once you start feeling better, go back on the regular diet slowly and make sure you’re getting enough calories and nutrition by eating a variety of foods.
12. If you have questions, you can go onto one of the online SCD support groups. To learn more, visit the Support Page of the official SCD website. We also cover many topics of interest in our e-magazine, I Want To THRIVE. The January/February edition has articles on "Dating and the SCD," "Finding a Doctor," and an inspiring article about choosing to do the diet, in addition to ideas on budget tips and time savers. Our March/April edition will help you do recipe makeovers, understand what "Natural Flavors" are, manage your thoughts, and find ways to pamper yourself. The May/June edition is loaded with very helpful information about travel; from camping to flying to road tripping. Our July/August magazine helps you orient your thinking to becoming a happy home cook with articles about shopping, menu planning and grilling. September/October's magazine has articles relating to family matters and the SCD, such as "Helping Your Child Own the SCD," "Off to College" and "Pregnancy & Nursing on the SCD." It also includes an inspiring article by a mom whose now-healthy son went on a 10-day backpacking trip, with her help. Our November/December edition is loaded with fast and festive recipes that will please everyone any time and especially during the holidays! All issues contain great recipes with a photo of each one, to inspire you.
13. Another very helpful resource is the Legal/Illegal list on the official SCD website.
14. There is a list of SCD-friendly doctors at this link.
15. And you can always jot me a note with any other questions on the “Need Encouragement or Have Questions?” page of this website.
