Tips for low iodine diet

alapah said:

Hi Kristi
I found the free downloadable LID cookbook at thyca.org to be a tremendous help. I also did the LID for a longer time (some only do two weeks but I figured I'd do all I could to make the RAI most effective). In addition to the cookbook, thyca.org has other great general information (http://www.thyca.org/rai.htm#diet).

I cooked quite a few things on the weekends to make it easier to eat throughout the week and plan on what to have so I didn't have to make a big deal about it. I 'hid' all of my iodized salt, butter, etc so I didn't accidentally use it. For some things, I put a colorful sticky note to remind me it was off limits. Make sure to read ALL LABELS for soy, salt and other no-nos. For example, I was surprised to find that some types of frozen raw chicken had salted broth as an ingredient.

I still make one or two things from that recipe book even though I am not on the LID - did one of the pancake recipes today. It has a good variety of meal and snack ideas.

BTW, that cookbook has a one page summary of what you can and cannot eat on the LID. I carried around a printout of that page in my purse so I could reference it when I was out and about. I didn't really eat out at all and avoided processed foods.
Best to you!
eileen

diane2h81 said:

I ate a lot of veggies when
I ate a lot of veggies when I was on the diet and made my own smoothies.

GLAD makes steam bags for the microwave, I would cut up fresh zucchini and yellow squash and steam (no seasoning added). Other veggies work too, just make sure they are on the approved list.

I also made my own version of a Greek salad; cut up fresh bell peppers (really like the red & yellow), cucumbers, grape tomatoes, and mix with olive oil and Italian seasoning (NO SALT). There is a limit on the serving of grains, but if you can find salt free pasta and add that to the veggie & oil mix.

You could also use the oil and Italian seasoning for a non spinach salad. I know spinach is not allowed, so no spinach salads

I can't remember what brand, but there are individual serving size of sweet peas in the freezer section. They are meant to be steamed but I defrost in the fridge and then eat as a snack.

For the smoothies I would use frozen fruit (blueberries, blackberries, strawberries...) with 100% pure orange juice, a banana and a handful of ice. I still have the smoothies all the time, but now add protein mix when I'm not on the diet.

I found a friend with a grill and had him grill 2 weeks worth of buffalo/bison meat for me. I put it freezer and would defrost on each day. From what I read buffalo/bison has less iodine then beef and whole pieces of meat less iodine than ground meat. Weird. I think the limit on meat is 6 oz a day.

If you have a bread machine there are a few low iodine bread recipes out there (the bread machine makes it easy). And if you have a whole foods, or something similar, you can get fresh 100% almond butter (taste almost like peanut butter). A slice of toast with almond butter was good for breakfast.

I also packed my entire food intake for the day in a cooler with a handy shoulder strap.

Hope that helps. I've only had to do the diet once so far but learned a lot going through it, a lot of what does not work lol.