The hardest part of the NSD is eating enough to maintain your weight, since starchy carbs are high in calories that are not easily replaced. The only way to do it is to eat more calories from fat, and one of the easiest ways to do that is coconut milk.

This recipe does include carrots and mushrooms, two foods that have small amounts of starch that I couldn't tolerate early on, so you may want to leave them out if you're sensitive or just starting out.

This dish comes together quickly if you chop the veg while the broth is simmering. It's also easy to adapt. You can use any combination of non starchy veg you like and have on hand (sometimes I add celery, zucchini or watercress if that's what I have). And you can easily make this vegetarian by leaving out the fish.

4 servings

Ingredients

1 stalk lemongrass
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 cans coconut milk (don't use light)
1 TB fish sauce (you can substitute soy or tamari if needed)
2 thai chilies (optional)
1 medium onion, chopped
12-14 brown or white button mushrooms, sliced
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 large head broccoli chopped into bite-sized pieces
1/2 bunch kale, chopped
1 lb firm white fish, fresh or frozen (e.g., haddock) cut into 1 inch cubes.
3 scallions sliced thinly
Juice from 1 lime
1/2 cup cilantro

Instructions

1. Bruise the lemongrass stalk with the heel of your knife. Cut into 3-4 pieces.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine broth, coconut milk, and lemongrass and chilies if using. Cover and heat over medium until it bubbles lightly. Do not let it boil.

3. Add chopped onion, carrots, and mushrooms and simmer for 7-8 minutes.

4. Add chopped red pepper, broccoli, and kale. Simmer 7-8 minutes, or until broccoli almost cooked through.

5. Add chopped fish and scallions. Simmer until fish cooked through (1-2 minutes for fresh, 2-3 minutes for frozen).

6. Turn off heat. Remove lemongrass stalks. Stir in lime juice. Ladle servings and garnish each with chopped cilantro.

Each serving is about 650 calories and contains only .7 grams of starch.

Suspected USpA. HLA B27, xray, u/sound, blood tests all -ve. Ancient history of plantar fasciitis, SI joint pain, knee arthritis. Recent history of tendinitis, neck pain, debilitating finger pain and stiffness (especially mornings). No diagnosis, no meds.

2010 - stopped eating dairy
2012 - stopped eating wheat
2014 - stopped eating all grains
Jan 2017 - discovered NSD - 98% improvement in symptoms, continually amazed by my results, wish I'd found kickAS sooner