Pre-LID Preparation

A little preparation goes a long way in being successful on the low iodine diet.  For me, it's easiest to spend a little time each day 3-4 days before the diet making things that can be prepared ahead of time.  It helps me be organized, without being overwhelmed and gives me a variety of ready-to-eat (or nearly) foods to choose from so I don't have (as much of) an urge to cheat.  I usually start the diet on a Monday, so I start preparing the Thursday before. 

Thursday

1. Baked 3 loaves of multi-grain bread using a dry multi-grain bread starter from a local bulk food store.  Each loaf goes in a separate gallon-sized freezer bag and into the freezer.  I used the dough hook on my stand mixer since I don't have a bread machine.
2. Made a large pot of pasta sauce (yielding 3 pints) from some whole tomatoes I'd saved in the freezer at the end of last summer's gardening season.  After the sauce cooled, I packed it in freezer containers and stored it in the freezer.  You can find my recipe on the Recipes & Tips tab.   I didn't really measure anything, but tasted and adjusted as I cooked.  It's an easy recipe that you can customize to your own taste.
3. Soaked 1 pound of dried black beans to cook on Friday.  I like to brine the beans when soaking them to soften the skins a little.   I used a enameled cast iron pan that can go from stovetop to the oven to make the process easier.  My method is on the Recipes & Tips tab.  

Friday

1. Baked Molasses Sugar Cookies from the Thyca Low Iodine Cookbook, which you can find here.  (The recipe is on page 110.)  I packed the cookies in a gallon-sized freezer bag and froze them.
2. Finished preparing black beans. 
3. Soaked 1 pound of dried garbanzo beans to cook on Saturday.  I followed the same method as I used for the black beans, omitting the brine. 
4. Made Honey Apple Cider Vinaigrette for salads.  I like the recipe from the Iowa Girl Eats blog, which you can find here. (The salad isn't LID-safe, but bookmark it for later....it's a good one!)

Saturday

1. Finished preparing the dried garbanzo beans.  Garbanzos also cook more quickly than black beans, so I only needed 45 minutes of baking time and left them in the oven for 30 minutes after turning off the heat.
2. Mixed breakfast sausage seasoning to use during the week.  It's made from pantry staples, and you can find the recipe here.  The recipe makes enough to season two pounds of meat, but it's easy to cut in half or double, depending on how much you need.
3. Mixed taco seasoning to use during the week.  This is another easy seasoning made with pantry staples.  You can find the recipe here.  I'd compare it to the packaged taco seasonings at the grocery, medium spice level.  If you want to add more spice, you could add more crushed red pepper or any other hot pepper (like ground chipotle).
4. Made roasted red pepper hummus, using the cooked garbanzo beans.  You can find the recipe here.  Be sure to use unsalted tahini. 

Sunday

1. Baked maple pecans to use on Overnight Oats during the week.  You can find the recipe on the Recipes & Tips tab.  
2. Mixed snack mix to have on hand during the week.  Made from mostly pantry staples, this is a go-to when I'm on the run during the week.  You'll find instructions on the Recipes & Tips tab. 
3. Started Overnight Oats to finish Monday morning (and have for breakfast on Day 1).   This is an easy way to make steel cut oats, especially if you're rushed for time in the mornings.  Go here for the recipe.  Be sure to use either olive oil or unsalted margarine to fry the oats.  The recipe says to add milk in the morning if you want it creamier, which is an LID no-no.  I didn't need to add anything, but you could add water instead of the milk if you needed additional liquid.  Keep the leftovers in the fridge and it's an easy (& microwave friendly) breakfast the rest of the week.