sweets and beets (ulcer diet/GERD-safe!)

One of the BEST meals since my diagnosis!

+ sweet potatoes and yams – roasted, boiled, steamed, or otherwise cooked
+ beets – roasted, boiled, steamed, canned, or otherwise cooked
+ fresh herbs (I used dill, but anything would work here)
+ plain non-fat yogurt (if you’re not on a restricted diet, I think sour cream, normal plain yogurt, or even bits of goat cheese would be perfect here!)
+ (optional) if you’re allowed to eat lemon, squeeze some fresh lemon juice! (I can’t, so I didn’t, and it was still great!)

Prepare this just as you’re imagining. Combine cooked, cooled ingredients with herbs and yogurt, and serve.

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based on this dilled beet salad, which was in turn inspired by the incredible cold Ukranian style borscht at Gene’s sausage shop on the far west side of Chicago (RIP GENE’S <3) as well as a recipe from a defunct food blog called Lime and Barley

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Used cheap sweet potatoes from Aldi, white yams from the Chinese grocery store, and Aldi canned beets (canned in water, not pickled in vinegar) with cheap bulk fresh dill ($1) from the Chinese grocery store. This entire salad cost maybe $4 for about 10 servings. It doesn’t get much more affordable or easier than that!

My doctor has me on the most restrictive diet possible since my diagnosis of duodenal ulcers. The pain is intense and severe, but nothing compares with the emotional torture of this restricted diet! Among the forbidden foods? Onions, garlic, vinegars, all alcohol including cooking wine, lemons, grapefruit, oranges, tomatoes, peppers, all spices including black pepper, processed meats, oils and grease, fried and fatty foods, all sauces and dressings including mayo ketchup and mustard, chili, carbonated drinks, chocolate, teas, coffee, sugar, mint, and full-fat dairy like cream, milk, sour cream, and cream cheese, AND MORE.

This salad is fully compliant with the ulcer diet, so it’s also great for people who struggle with GERD or other gastro symptoms. (Obviously, ask your doctor.) It also keeps really well. The yogurt will turn pink as it sits, but that’s not a bad thing unless the men in your life refuse to eat pink foods, in which case you may want to invite better men into your life.

Highly recommended. Delicious enough that I’d even recommend it to people without ulcers!

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