The Food Network and SCD

It might not seem anything on The Food Network would have anything to do with SCD. I’ve even seen some other SCD followers say watching The Food Network is like torture. It’s true that it can be torture but it can also be a useful tool.

Learning to cook well can greatly enhance the enjoyment of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. There was a time when I simply threw a plain chicken breast in the oven at 350 degrees for thirty minutes and called it done. If your food preparation primarily consists of heating something in the oven or on top of the stove until it is cooked then the diet will get boring quickly. I remember resenting everyone else enjoying pizza, Chinese food, or some other thing I couldn’t have while I sat there with a plain chicken breast and some microwaved veggies, my resentment of my diet building by the minute.

I made up my mind to learn new things. I wasn’t new to cooking. I had been cooking my whole life practically. I remember helping my grandma and my mom grind nuts and stir cake and cookie batters. When I was in high school I prepared an entire meal for the family once a week. When I started driving I did the grocery shopping once a month, which was a great lesson in meal planning and food costs that you don’t get in middle school home ec.

Point being, I knew if I stopped thinking about all the things I couldn’t have and started concentrating on what I could have my enjoyment of the diet would improve. Also, I wanted to have restaurant type dishes without going to restaurants. My recent Orange Yogurt Freeze recipe was inspired by The Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten.I have also learned the value in slow cooking my scrambled eggs and not overcooking them from her.

I have gained tons of cooking ideas and techniques from watching The Food Network. Once I discovered brining, searing, roasting, just to name a few things, my meal variety has increased to a very satisfactory level.

I have to admit I do enjoy watching some shows that don’t help with SCD cooking at all like Diners, Drive In’s and Dives, Next Food Network Star, and Unwrapped.

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Sherry Lipp

Founder at Happy Gut For Life

Sherry is a Certificed Holistic Gut Practioner, author, and recipe creator. Sherry started the Specific Carbohydrate Diet in 2000 and has been creating delicious, grain and gluten-free recipes ever since. She is the author of the Don't Skip Dessert SCD cookbooks.