Abigail Marie the Chef with IBD
Professional Chef with IBD helping you navigate food, lifestyle, new IBD research, and patient advocacy.
Squash’s History: Squash has been around for about 8,000 years and was first cultivated in Mexico. To put this into perspective, this is about 4,000 years before the cultivation of corn in the same areas. Squash is native to the America’s being grown all the way from Canada down to Argentina. Native Americans grew several … Read more
Shellfish’s History: Shellfish have been consumed by humans as an important source of protein and minerals for 150,000 years or more, and remain a delicacy to this day. So, what exactly qualifies as shellfish? For starters shellfish is separated into three groups; crustaceans, mollusks, and cephalopods. Crustaceans include shrimp, prawns, crab, crayfish, crawfish, and lobster. … Read more
Cocoa Butter’s History: Cocoa butter refers to the natural fat extracted from the cacao beans inside the cocoa tree pods. It has been around as long as the cocoa plant has, but it wasn’t until 1828 that cocoa butter itself was discovered. A scientist by the name of Coenraad van Houten is credited with discovering … Read more
Alternative Milk’s History: Milk alternatives are nothing new, although they have gained a massive following in the last 10 years or so. In fact, milk alternatives first appeared in 13th century China in the form of soy milk. About a century later we see reference to almond milk in Egyptian cooking. Closely following, almond milk … Read more
Yogurt’s History: While yogurt’s origins are a bit of a mystery, it is believed to have been discovered in the Neolithic period in Mesopotamia about 5000 years ago. Turkey is credited for naming this dairy product, but yogurt can be found in every culture that has kept milk producing livestock. The first yogurts were most … Read more
Citrus’ History: Citrus fruit can be traced back to the Miocene era in subtropical and tropical regions of Asia and spread around the continent from there. By 310 B.C. the first citrus fruit is recorded to have made it into Europe. By 330 B.C. it seems that Europe knew of three types of citruses, the … Read more
Pot roast has always been one of my favorite winter comfort dishes. As such, it was only right that I created an SCD version. You will notice that this pot roast is missing potatoes as they aren’t allowed on SCD. However, I have replaced them with cauliflower mash that is just as filling and satisfying. … Read more
History & Origins: Bone broth has been made for millennia as a way to get nutrients out of otherwise non-consumable parts like hooves, knuckles, and bones. While bone broth has been consumed seemingly since the dawn of hunters and gathers, about 2,500 years ago is the first written mention of bone broth in Chinese medicine. … Read more
History: The age-old question of which came first the chicken or the egg still holds true, as no one really knows for sure. What we do know is that people have been eating eggs since before 7500 B.C. in Southeast Asia and India. By 2000 B.C. the domestication of the chicken began, starting what we … Read more
Cheeses’ History: Cheese is arguably one of humanity’s greatest culinary inventions and has been around since about 1,200 B.C. The first cheese was rather salty and sour. Think feta or rustic cottage cheese. As sheep became more domesticated, cheese became more popular. A common enzyme used to make cheese, Rennet, is naturally present in the … Read more