Bland in name only!

If journaling works, I’m getting ready to find out!

After 16 days of travel to London, Sicily, and Cape Cod, I was looking forward to the joy of sharing culinary discovers, and the adventure of trying to replicate my favorites. Perhaps it was visiting ancient Greek and Roman amphitheaters that my plans were cursed by a devilish deus ex machina in the form of a lower G-I bug that had other plans.

Once past the point of searching for the knocker on death’s door, recovery had me on the road to discovering what a bland diet is. There are many bland diet options, but there are ways to ‘spice it up’ (not literally, for health’s sake) to get back to some enjoyment of food without the attendant fear of the moment.

There’s more to it than saltines, ginger ale, and Pedialyte!

Eggs lead many lists, and their nutrient contribution makes them a popular choice. Looking for a way to avoid the half ‘n’ half that I usually use, as well as the butter I usually put in the pan (and you don’t need the fat), I discoverd that another favorite, cottage cheese, is ‘on the list’ of bland foods. I whipped up a couple of eggs, added a couple of tablespoons of cottage chesse (plus a dollop for looks), and breakfast was on the way. Salt is permitted – in fact, that craving you get for salt is your body’s way of telling you that it does need salt in order to function correctly. Just don’t overdo it.

I was surprised to see creamy peanut butter included, so a toasted English muffin with peanut butter and a dab of strawberry preserves filled the bill for at aleast a visual representation of a Viennese pastry (remember, we’re going for looks and taste).

And for a festive touch, try a cocktail of 2/3 Pedialyte and 1/3 club soda. A nice touch, and with Pedialyte in sucn exotic offerings as Chilled Cherry Pomegranate, you’re set, making the best of the worst. Use well-chilled ingredients – it helps overcome medicinal undertones in the taste. Whether you add a cherry or not is up to you.

That does it for this journal entry, Back on track with the joy of sharing and the adventure of replication in a few days.

Stay well.