Don’t Forget the Fennel

I am a bit of a masochist when it comes to food. My love for spicy food runs deep, so much so that one of my bucket list items is to participate in a pepper eating contest. So what do you do when everything you eat registers high on the Scoville Chart but you have GERD? For those that may not know, GERD is chronic heartburn. I remember a trip to NYC with my husband that included a 2AM visit to a hole-in-the-wall taco spot. The next morning, I whispered “tums...please get tums from the bodega”. For the rest of our trip, I ate them like Mentos and continued eating everything I wanted.

My GERD comes in waves, and I can go months eating whatever my heart desires without any discomfort. A few weeks ago, I mentioned to my family that I had been feeling great for the past seven months. Of course the universe was like, “Oh you feeling yourself, huh?”. The next day I was clutching my chest like Fred Sanford.  

After googling “what foods help with GERD”, I found out that fennel is a very soothing herb-perfect for smooth digestion. I made this salad using it, along with orange, grapefruit and arugula. All of the citrus probably didn’t help but it made for a great snack throughout the day. Kind of like one step forward, and one back-shrugs.