Steak and salad is one of my “reset” meals. There’s not much to it, so you really need to eat a lot of it to fill yourself up and keep things going.

When I first learned about SID (Sucrase-Isomaltase Deficiency) I didn’t believe I could even have it. But after years of testing that showed up nothing, I finally had a test result that said I definitely didn’t have the normal amounts of these two enzymes. So I got to doing the elimination phase of the diet. I was advised that since I had biopsy results already, only a 1 week elimination phase would be necessary instead of the usual 4 weeks. BIG Mistake. I was given such a highly restrictive list of foods from which I could consume, about all I could think of was steak and green salad.

On my search to turn this into a palatable meal choice I learned how to really sear a steak perfectly and its a technique everyone with SID should be aware of. CSID, ASID or just SID for no known reason, steak is a really solid option, do be aware that many meats are water chilled in chlorine baths or may have been treated with starches like maltodextrin. The animals may have been raised in any conditions (antibiotics, grain fed) depending on where they came from, so do the due diligence and pick the best quality meat you can afford that is fresh and hasn’t had extra treatments.

The same goes for your greens – get the best quality you can. Don’t let it sit around in your fridge, because lettuce grows some really nasty microbes. If its “prewashed” remember to wash it again anyway, so you are washing away any chemical treatments that are used in the commercial washhouses. Some lettuce is bagged in nitrogen instead of air, this is a very safe way to store lettuce because it denies the microbes on the lettuce the oxygen they need to turn it rancid while being entirely harmless to us – it dissipates the second the bag opens. This process is also used to keep potato chips snappy and crisp. The air we breathe is full of the same kind of nitrogen – it’s safe.

There are a lot of nice veges that are SID friendly that you can add to the salad, but if you’re going for a full reset after a sugar event, or you’re still learning which veg suit you, then just stick to the plain leaves. I personally like to add baby tomatoes and cucumbers – but remember like broccolli and other cruciferous veg, some people don’t tolerate cucumber all that well. Put in the veg you absolutely know are going to serve you well!

The dressings are what makes this dish delicious, what makes it taste so good is the combination of salt, acid and fat. you can really swap this dressing for any combination of salt, fat/oil and acid, as long as these don’t have any sucrose, maltose or starch in them.