Thanksgiving. This is when I did mine, and it couldn’t have been better!
(If your doctor thinks the elemental diet is right for you, you probably won’t enjoy Thanksgiving without serious symptoms anyway. You won’t be missing out on much!)
Plan Time Off If You Can
I was lucky to work from home during this time. If your job would allow for additional vacation time around the holiday for medical reasons, it’s worth trying.
Why Thanksgiving Works
Here’s why: My naturopath recommended “starter foods” to reintroduce were turkey, mashed potatoes and carrots.
I was able to have my first meals at family gatherings where I ate turkey, mashed potatoes and carrots! I was able to have plain green beans, too.
My Starter Foods
- Turkey
- Mashed potatoes
- Carrots
- Plain green beans
- Black Assam tea
No gravy. Just easy on the stomach foods.
Don’t worry, I didn’t crave desserts, nor did I feel I was “missing out”. I was so excited to be eating whole foods again. It was memorable!
My First Meal
My first meal after two weeks on the elemental diet was meant to wake up my gut gently: turkey from the local diner, cut up into cooked carrots in chicken broth with the smallest bit of olive oil and parsley.
I had a slice of Mt. Athos Sourdough bread from Whole Foods with a tiny bit of butter, took 2 Digestzymes at the start of the meal, and sipped Organic India black tea.
Why These Foods Are Gentle
These foods worked for me. They woke up my system and my stomach handled them perfectly.
I was able to participate in the holiday while consistently eating turkey, which is not the easiest thing to make yourself when you’re feeling weak from the elemental diet.
Another perk: around the holiday, many local restaurants offer turkey dinners for delivery or pickup. That makes it easy to let someone else do the cooking while you’re low on energy (and you will be!).
Turkey is one of the gentlest proteins, and cooked carrots are soft and nutritious. Mashed potatoes are a great starch (when cooled, also fuel good bacteria with resistant starch!)