Here I am finished with week one of my low iodine diet. For those of you who have been following the blog know that as part of having a full body scan. in hopes of finding where my thyroid cancer is, I have to be on a low iodine diet.
I promised I would try not to whine about it so I’m hoping this post sounds factual and possibly will share some frustrations, yet not be too whiny. An added complication for me is that I am diabetic so although I can make my own bread, muffins and the like, that don’t have salt in them, I can’t eat much of it because of the carbs. People who aren’t diabetic often think we can’t eat sugar, truthfully, carbs are almost as bad.
While doing the diet, I rarely if ever, eat anything without looking it up on the computer first. Today breakfast was strawberries and walnuts. The plainer the food, the better chances are that it’s something I can eat….but that’s not always the case.
I bought bananas without rechecking to see if I can eat them, I can’t.
I’ve grown to love this…
It’s so much cheaper than soda…and it’s something different. In fact I like it so much and it was hard to explain to Karl what I wanted (he gets most of the groceries still) so I order it HERE through Amazon now.
I was cautious about it as I can’t have certain red dyes. Well this does have a red dye but it also has SOY. Really, soy?? I would have never imagined that so this out for the duration.
After my experience with the Crystal Light, I thought I better read the label on the Diet Sunkist.
Diet Sunkist is the most favored pop around here. There’s that same red dye….but what surprised me most is that it has caffeine. I thought all orange pops were caffeine free. 
I guess not.
I’m learning all sorts of stuff along the way…like this…
These innocent frozen peas and carrots…
HAVE SALT.
This frozen cauliflower…
does not have salt.
As much as I whine…I am eating pretty good. I big part is due to my new stove top griddle. Oh my word. This thing has been a game changer.
I’m cooking up a few meals at once. On the right is going to be things for Salsa soup-ish. On the left stir fry-ish.
Everything is “ish” as it’s okay but isn’t quite the same as my regular recipes. I took two cans of salt free stewed tomatoes. I chopped the tomatoes. Then added a healthy dose of the Extra Spicy Salt-Free Mrs. Dash. 
I added the onions, peppers, and chicken that’s on the right side of the grill. I seasoned the chicken with the Salt-Free version of Mrs. Dash chicken flavor. That was my Salsa Soup for a low iodine diet.
On the left side of the griddle I did chicken with some stir fry veggies. 
It turned out really good.
I had a bowl of soup and put the rest in the refrigerator to eat another day. I’ll warm them in the microwave and it will be a quick something I can grab.
Having the griddle really has made the diet a whole lot easier….
I love those moments of serendipity in my life. Finding your blog was one of them
I was looking up wedding ring quilts. I quilt and I’ve not been brave enough yet to try this — all that curved piecing! At any rate, as I looked around, I read about your cancer.
I’ve got cancer too. I found a breast lump back in the winter, got it biopsied, and found that it had spread. I’m now doing chemotherapy and managing okay. One of the hardest things for me is the diet before the PET scans. I can’t have any sugar or carbs and right now with my taste buds all messed up from chemo, the only thing that I feel like eating are carbs. But the stove top griddle looks like something that I could use to make veggies and meat almost palatable. Thanks for the idea.
I lost my husband to cancer too a few years ago. It gets easier with time. What doesn’t get easier is remembering how I was there to help him through and now he’s not here for me. But… you soldier on. My grown kids are great. I agree that cancer isn’t something you fight. It’s something you accept, you live with, and you learn from. Life goes on.
Good luck and keep posting!
Thanks so much for the note Sue. I’m so sorry cancer is showing it’s face to you. How hard. It’s good to know you are working through it all…I’m so glad you found the blog.
I’m a diabetic so I have learned to all the info on the labels. It saves worry later. That new grill is getting a work out. I showed to my girl she was impressed. May get it for her birthday. Keep up the good work.
I would never have imagined soy would be in your favorite beverage (a favorite of mine too); nor the salt in frozen veggies. Thanks for sharing your journey…you did not sound whiny in the least.
Praying for you!
Wishing you good luck on this journey. That stovetop grill looks great. I see many delicious meals coming your way. Hugs!
We drink the Orange Crush as it doesn’t have caffeine in it.
Good luck on your diet. The soup looks so good. I make fajitas with just cumin and cayenne pepper; so delicious.
You are doing great on your diet. I never would have imagined salt in those frozen veggies or soy in those drinks. I guess I need to start paying closer attention to labels. We don’t like to do soy. The soup looks delicious! We are making taco salad today and making it with spices instead of packaged taco mix…maybe that is something you can do.
Hope your week ahead is awesome. Hugs from SC!
I think your meals look delicious! It’s okay to whine a little! It’s hard being on such a restrictive diet!
Jo, there IS Sodium in that frozen cauliflower package. It is listed right after Cholesterol, it is still Sodium (salt).
Ruth, sodium is okay. IODIZED SALT is the thing that’s not okay. NON iodized salt is okay. If something says sodium, I’m good but can’t say salt. If it says salt the assumption is that it is iodized.
If you have to watch sodium watch the fresh meats & the breads too
Renee, meat is limited to 6oz a day and no bread unless you make it homemade with non iodized salt.
I can’t imagine how hard this is for you but again, I am so proud of you for making this choice – I know you have to but at the same time, it would be easy to sneak in something. When you did this the first time, did they give you suggestions on what to eat, meals to plan, etc? I’d hate to be thrown in to this without a dietitian to help me out.
Love and prayers
for Ruth and Jo: is it Salt (NaCl) or watching the amount of Sodium (Na). I am sure it is Salt. Sodium is naturally in many things.
Ruth: I think Jo knows what what she is looking for.
Jo: keep up the good work. I hope the issue is solved soon.
I have done the no iodine diet twice…. I made my own granola… great for breakfast… and snacks….sweetner can be maple syrup… don’t know how that works being diabetic…I used regular salt and that helped the flavor… no iodine (look for Morton’s)…. I also did pot roasts and chicken with fresh veggies in the crockpot…I made my own tomato sauce… but found no iodine ketchup which was helpful with burgers or meatloaf…I’m a big fan of oats, so oat bran muffins were a yummy, plus they used unsweetened applesauce as the sugar… if you want to contact me… I’ll be happy to help you…Good luck… saying a prayer you’re cancer free
I don’t buy anything with aspertame. It causes cancer I understand.
It looks like you are doing great with the diet! And I didn’t hear any whining!! Please talk a little more about your griddle. Thanks
I also like the Crystal Light beverages but did not know they contain soy, interesting. I think you are doing great reading all those labels and making great decision on your diet. I hope it pays off on the next test.