Saturday, January 8, 2011
Just a little site with some nice-looking #lowcarb recipes
I haven't seen many of these before so I thought I'd post it...
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Low Carbing and My Hospital Experience #lowcarb
I mentioned that my doctor tried to keep me on a "heart healthy" diet in the hospital. All those grains and sugars (natural and otherwise) would have made me sick...but let me back up. As they took my history, both this time and when I was admitted for my surgery last month, the nurses always gave me an incredulous look both when I told them that I am not diabetic, and when I told them that I don't have cholesterol issues. I'm a middle-aged fat woman after all, how can this be?
I can tell you how it would NOT be, and that is if I were following a "heart healthy" diet!
The doctor finally consented to give me a regular diet, so I would "have more choices" (read: eat more fats!) And after that I chose real egg dishes (an omelet NOT made with fake eggs), real meats/fish, things with cheese on them, etc. What I ate isn't that important; what is important is that I was in charge of what I ate, and didn't have to choose my foods from the low-fat/high-carb menu.
Anyway, while I was in there, I had every heart and lung and blood test there is, in addition to a test to check the integrity of my wrap (the nissen fundoplication that was done on Dec. 1st) - everything was perfect...beautiful...all clear...words my doctor used.
(On a side note, the nutritional lady from the dietary dept. came up to my room at one point to ask me if I had an explanation for the 20# weight loss over the last month, or did they need to check into a possible cause? Weight loss is a side effect of the nissan fundoplication I had, as I explained to her, along with low carb eating - even though I ate some carby foods during the first couple of weeks after the operation.)
To me, this plus the fact that I AM a middle-aged fat woman without cholesterol or diabetes issues, is all due to the low carb (5-10% of my intake), high fat (75ish%), moderate protein (15-20%) diet that I have lived on for nearly 7 years, and nothing else...especially considering I DID have a "prediabetic" label stuck on me, and high triglycerides and LDL with low HDL, in the months prior to starting my lowcarb way of life.
Once again, for the bazillionth time, the low carb way of life has been vindicated.
I can tell you how it would NOT be, and that is if I were following a "heart healthy" diet!
The doctor finally consented to give me a regular diet, so I would "have more choices" (read: eat more fats!) And after that I chose real egg dishes (an omelet NOT made with fake eggs), real meats/fish, things with cheese on them, etc. What I ate isn't that important; what is important is that I was in charge of what I ate, and didn't have to choose my foods from the low-fat/high-carb menu.
Anyway, while I was in there, I had every heart and lung and blood test there is, in addition to a test to check the integrity of my wrap (the nissen fundoplication that was done on Dec. 1st) - everything was perfect...beautiful...all clear...words my doctor used.
(On a side note, the nutritional lady from the dietary dept. came up to my room at one point to ask me if I had an explanation for the 20# weight loss over the last month, or did they need to check into a possible cause? Weight loss is a side effect of the nissan fundoplication I had, as I explained to her, along with low carb eating - even though I ate some carby foods during the first couple of weeks after the operation.)
To me, this plus the fact that I AM a middle-aged fat woman without cholesterol or diabetes issues, is all due to the low carb (5-10% of my intake), high fat (75ish%), moderate protein (15-20%) diet that I have lived on for nearly 7 years, and nothing else...especially considering I DID have a "prediabetic" label stuck on me, and high triglycerides and LDL with low HDL, in the months prior to starting my lowcarb way of life.
Once again, for the bazillionth time, the low carb way of life has been vindicated.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
About my "Diet"
Lots of things are going on but I will blog about those in chiachatter - I did discuss my "heart-healthy" diet with the hospitalist this morning though, and he told me that it was best. I told him that I would like him to change me to a regular diet, and without "getting into it" that I have eaten low carb for almost 7 years, and a couple days of sugar and grains wasn't going to do anything except mess up my blood sugar. He told me that he's got to advise his "heart-healthy" (ie, oatmeal with brown sugar, raisins, and skim milk for breakfast!) diet and I said I know that's what he believes and I realized I wasn't going to change his mind, but that he won't change mine either, I have lived the results of low carb eating in my own better health, so please don't make a big deal of it, just change my diet to regular so that I can choose the foods that are best for me.
He changed my diet order to regular.
(Of course, I'm still NPO until more tests this afternoon, but I will look forward to meat and cooked green beans - with butter or at least their excuse for same - for supper tonight!)
He changed my diet order to regular.
(Of course, I'm still NPO until more tests this afternoon, but I will look forward to meat and cooked green beans - with butter or at least their excuse for same - for supper tonight!)
Monday, January 3, 2011
Back in the Hospital - UGH!!
I just blogged about it at my other blog, now too tired to blog here but please go there to see what's what. Not that they know yet...but it's all there...
Friday, December 31, 2010
Almost 2011
(NOTE: If you are seeing this on Facebook, please go to my blog - cheapeasylowcarb.blogspot.com - to see my whole post. I don't make my points in the first paragraph, which is all that shows up on my Facebook page :).)
For those who celebrate, Happy New Year! If your new start comes at midnight, all the best with that, too :).
I don't see midnight tonight as magical, or really different than any other midnight, just because the calendar flips a year. We don't celebrate it or do anything special on New Year's Eve or on New Year's Day. Life tomorrow will be much like it is today in every way. We can make our new starts every morning, or every noon, or every 2:47 a.m.. The important thing is that we recognize when we need to turn away from old things, and embrace the new - whenever we need to do so.
For those who celebrate, Happy New Year! If your new start comes at midnight, all the best with that, too :).
I don't see midnight tonight as magical, or really different than any other midnight, just because the calendar flips a year. We don't celebrate it or do anything special on New Year's Eve or on New Year's Day. Life tomorrow will be much like it is today in every way. We can make our new starts every morning, or every noon, or every 2:47 a.m.. The important thing is that we recognize when we need to turn away from old things, and embrace the new - whenever we need to do so.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Christmas Day!
(NOTE: If you are seeing this on Facebook, please go to my blog - cheapeasylowcarb.blogspot.com - to see my whole post. I don't make my points in the first paragraph, which is all that shows up on my Facebook page :).)
Lovely day! Soup turned out beautifully. The grilled cheese sandwiches looked and smelled amazing! I used English muffin bread, real butter on the outsides, and did them on my electric griddle. I used a slice each of American, swiss, and havarti cheese. My mom ate half of her sandwich and took the other half, plus a Christmas cookie, home with her. Pete had two sandwiches and two bowls of soup. (He usually eats double portions of things, that's why I try hard to keep him low carb but sometimes it is an uphill battle.) I didn't bake cookies this year but bought a package of 10 (?) cookies yesterday that would look pretty on the table - and they did. They are full of sugar and carbs and I ate 2. Won't have any more.
Since I can't eat bread, I had to forgo those lovely sandwiches. What a horrible thing that was, but the threat of great pain kept me from giving into temptation. Still, my pita cheese crisps were pretty good. I used a low carb pita, sliced it in half to make two very thin pieces, then I cut those into a few large pieces. Buttered them, sprinkled colby-jack on them, topped with havarti, and into the oven on a rack until the cheese bubbled and the pitas crisped up. They were better than nothing but I was still drooling over the grilled cheese sandwiches!
I nibbled a lot today. Started out with a dish of cottage cheese, then nibbled on cheeses while I made dinner, tasted a spoonful of my soup several times, then a half-cup of soup and some of the pita cheese crisps for dinner, a cookie about an hour later, the rest of the crisps a couple of hours after that, and another cookie just now.
Both the pita and the tomato soup were new re-additions to my post-fundoplication diet, as was the cookie. I am happy to report that I did fine with them all! Tiny bites, well-chewed, warm tea, and walking around - it was all good!
Lovely day! Soup turned out beautifully. The grilled cheese sandwiches looked and smelled amazing! I used English muffin bread, real butter on the outsides, and did them on my electric griddle. I used a slice each of American, swiss, and havarti cheese. My mom ate half of her sandwich and took the other half, plus a Christmas cookie, home with her. Pete had two sandwiches and two bowls of soup. (He usually eats double portions of things, that's why I try hard to keep him low carb but sometimes it is an uphill battle.) I didn't bake cookies this year but bought a package of 10 (?) cookies yesterday that would look pretty on the table - and they did. They are full of sugar and carbs and I ate 2. Won't have any more.
Since I can't eat bread, I had to forgo those lovely sandwiches. What a horrible thing that was, but the threat of great pain kept me from giving into temptation. Still, my pita cheese crisps were pretty good. I used a low carb pita, sliced it in half to make two very thin pieces, then I cut those into a few large pieces. Buttered them, sprinkled colby-jack on them, topped with havarti, and into the oven on a rack until the cheese bubbled and the pitas crisped up. They were better than nothing but I was still drooling over the grilled cheese sandwiches!
I nibbled a lot today. Started out with a dish of cottage cheese, then nibbled on cheeses while I made dinner, tasted a spoonful of my soup several times, then a half-cup of soup and some of the pita cheese crisps for dinner, a cookie about an hour later, the rest of the crisps a couple of hours after that, and another cookie just now.
Both the pita and the tomato soup were new re-additions to my post-fundoplication diet, as was the cookie. I am happy to report that I did fine with them all! Tiny bites, well-chewed, warm tea, and walking around - it was all good!
Friday, December 24, 2010
Some GOOD Shopping! #lowcarb
(NOTE: If you are seeing this on Facebook, please go to my blog - cheapeasylowcarb.blogspot.com - to see my whole post. I don't make my points in the first paragraph, which is all that shows up on my Facebook page :).)
I guess because tomorrow is Christmas and the grocery stores will be closed, and because they are closing early this evening, the merchants didn't want certain items to just sit around for 2 days, so there were a lot of markdowns today that we were able to take advantage of! Here are some samples:
1# smoked turkey ends and pieces: $1.19 (Many of the packages had a single chunk, which I can use in so many ways!)
33 oz. Maxwell House decaf - $6.99 (WOW!)
These aren't something I would normally buy but I do have a use for them: 6 oz. thin-sliced honey ham from the deli that is usually $4.99 but were on sale for $2.00
5# Budgie seed mix (a CLEAN mix of millet and oat groats that I will mix with the usual mix I feed my cockatiel and lovebirds to "stretch" it) for $2.99
Walden Farms bacon dressing for $1.99 (half price); I can't eat salads now but it will be great as a dip or spread!
Chicken legs for 65c/lb
10# Idaho Russets $2.99 (I'm eating small amounts of potato - not a low carb food but have incorporated them once or twice a week into my eating plan; plus the fam loves them!)
Havarti cheese - just about my favorite! - sliced, 25% off, or $2.79/pkg
So I did buy some things that I still consider expensive. Take for example the Havarti cheese. I don't pay $5.58/lb for anything, typically. But as little as I'm eating right now, and as much as I love Havarti* I consider it a worthy splurge.
[*I told my husband, "If we ever get into an argument and you want to apologize because you know you were wrong, a package of Havarti cheese will work well." He said, "So what will you get me when you're wrong?" and I told him, "I never am!"]
For Christmas I made a couple of other splurges: They had a pound of lovely saucy BBQ ribs, already cooked, for $5.49, marked down from $6.99; I got those for Pete's Christmas Eve dinner. (I can't eat them but I'm happy with smoked turkey and havarti!) And we splurged on some English muffin bread for tomorrow's Christmas dinner. Since my mother developed Lewy Body Disease we have had a new Christmas dinner tradition: grilled cheese sandwiches and homemade creamy tomato soup. I can't eat the sandwiches anyway, but the english muffin bread will be marvelous for them I think! And I got the ingredients for my soup also, but it is inexpensive to make anyway. (I will post the recipe tomorrow, if I remember.) Instead of a sandwich I will make my cheesy pita points for myself, even though I'll just eat one triangle at least it will be in the spirit of a grilled cheese sandwich!
Overall we spent about $130 today. Considering this is my first grocery shopping of the month, and that we (well, I wasn't here the first 2 weeks of December) have been eating almost 100% from our stocked foods - and eating well! - I'm pretty proud of this month's food budget.
I guess because tomorrow is Christmas and the grocery stores will be closed, and because they are closing early this evening, the merchants didn't want certain items to just sit around for 2 days, so there were a lot of markdowns today that we were able to take advantage of! Here are some samples:
1# smoked turkey ends and pieces: $1.19 (Many of the packages had a single chunk, which I can use in so many ways!)
33 oz. Maxwell House decaf - $6.99 (WOW!)
These aren't something I would normally buy but I do have a use for them: 6 oz. thin-sliced honey ham from the deli that is usually $4.99 but were on sale for $2.00
5# Budgie seed mix (a CLEAN mix of millet and oat groats that I will mix with the usual mix I feed my cockatiel and lovebirds to "stretch" it) for $2.99
Walden Farms bacon dressing for $1.99 (half price); I can't eat salads now but it will be great as a dip or spread!
Chicken legs for 65c/lb
10# Idaho Russets $2.99 (I'm eating small amounts of potato - not a low carb food but have incorporated them once or twice a week into my eating plan; plus the fam loves them!)
Havarti cheese - just about my favorite! - sliced, 25% off, or $2.79/pkg
So I did buy some things that I still consider expensive. Take for example the Havarti cheese. I don't pay $5.58/lb for anything, typically. But as little as I'm eating right now, and as much as I love Havarti* I consider it a worthy splurge.
[*I told my husband, "If we ever get into an argument and you want to apologize because you know you were wrong, a package of Havarti cheese will work well." He said, "So what will you get me when you're wrong?" and I told him, "I never am!"]
For Christmas I made a couple of other splurges: They had a pound of lovely saucy BBQ ribs, already cooked, for $5.49, marked down from $6.99; I got those for Pete's Christmas Eve dinner. (I can't eat them but I'm happy with smoked turkey and havarti!) And we splurged on some English muffin bread for tomorrow's Christmas dinner. Since my mother developed Lewy Body Disease we have had a new Christmas dinner tradition: grilled cheese sandwiches and homemade creamy tomato soup. I can't eat the sandwiches anyway, but the english muffin bread will be marvelous for them I think! And I got the ingredients for my soup also, but it is inexpensive to make anyway. (I will post the recipe tomorrow, if I remember.) Instead of a sandwich I will make my cheesy pita points for myself, even though I'll just eat one triangle at least it will be in the spirit of a grilled cheese sandwich!
Overall we spent about $130 today. Considering this is my first grocery shopping of the month, and that we (well, I wasn't here the first 2 weeks of December) have been eating almost 100% from our stocked foods - and eating well! - I'm pretty proud of this month's food budget.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
It's Still All About The Food
(NOTE: If you are seeing this on Facebook, please click below to see the entire post or go to my blog itself. I don't always make my point in the first paragraph, which is all that shows up on my Facebook page. I mean, if you actually want to see it all :).)
I'm posting this to both of my blogs, and those who only follow ChiaChatter will have to go to yesterday's post to see details of my recent surgery, if you want to get up to speed.
Thinking of how I am now eating, food is still my passion. The big difference is, how can I make my miniscule (2-3 Tbsp) meals a little more interesting, especially given my current limitations? Especially since I have to eat so freakin' many of them to get even a minimum of nutrition into my system...
My doctor has said that I can eat anything except bread, raw veggies, and - oh, I can't think of the other thing, but I won't be eating it anyway. Because he instructed me only to avoid those 3 areas, and chew well.
But before I had the surgery I did ALL kinds of research, from pdf instructions sheets of other docs who do the procedure, to medical sites, to a forum especially for fundoplication patients. And the vast majority, in talking about getting back to regular food, have much more specific instructions or experience. So, because the failure rate of this surgery is so high, and because the side effects can be disastrous, I am electing to collect all of the knowledge I gained, and create my own plan based upon the most conservative and logical of them all. I want to have the best possible outcome with the fewest possible post-surgical issues, and feel I need to be my own best "meal planner". It seems to me that most of those who are living with awful lifetime side effects or have had to repeat the surgery didn't go the most conservative route. I may be wrong, but this is how I am proceeding.
24 hours after surgery I was put on clear liquids. 48 hours post op I was put on full liquids. This includes things like yogurt and custard. The first day I ate only yogurt. I could only eat a couple of bites at a time without feeling uncomfortable, so I nibbled at it all day. The next day I included a few bites of cream of wheat with butter (yeah, they consider that liquid), and my doctor said that if I wanted to try soft food, he would change the order. So Saturday I tried some tilapia. The kitchen sent up rice with it though, and I put a few grains on the tip of my fork. Big mistake, lots of pain. I walked as far as I could to help things pass.
I think I need to insert here that my esophagus is considerably smaller than it was where it empties into my stomach. Stuff can get stuck. I have to eat taking tiny (1/2 tsp) bites, and chewing my food to a liquid consistency. I cannot drink more than a few tiny sips while eating (google "dumping syndrome"), or for 30 minutes before or after. Any foods that are hard to digest (including fiber), have skins, or seeds, or nuts, or cause gas, or could swell after swallowing or are carbonated - all off limits for now. So I need to get the maximum nutrition into the minimum intake, and the maximum hydration into the minimal time I have between the tiny meals - while observing the above cautions. Should something get stuck, I can take small sips of very warm (can't have anything very hot or very cold either) water and try to walk it off.
The problem on Saturday evening was that I was in the throes of pneumonia, weak as a kitten, and could only walk a short distance before becoming wobbly and winded. But it did pass, and I decided I would wait a few more days before trying soft or softened solid foods again.
Sunday I continued with yogurt, and added custard. Monday morning before my discharge I ate half of a scrambled egg. Introducing only 1-2 "new" foods a day is part of my conservative dietary after-care per one of the instructions sheets I'd read.
I was still living with a lot of pain when I was discharged, and no appetite to speak of. The hour+ ride to my sister's left me very weak; liquid lortab helped with the pain. I added both applesauce and cottage cheese to my diet that evening without a bad result.
Yesterday I got a little experimental, and discovered that 2 spoons of plain full fat yogurt with 1 spoon of applesauce, sprinkled with cinnamon, and stir in a drop of liquid sucralose - creamy apple pie in a dish! This was my first really enjoyable dish. And for supper, a small piece of leftover potato, put through the chopper with some milk and butter until creamy and smooth, and heated. Who would have thought that a leftover potato could taste so amazing??
Today I had some SF jello with a scoop of cottage cheese that lasted me for several hours (about 1/2c total). Just now I took some of my broth that I'd saved up from my pre-surgical meals (frozen), and heated it with a chunk of butter, then mixed in a few mashed potato flakes to thicken. I let it sit for quite a while to make sure the flakes were fully "inflated" before I ate it. In fact I am still eating it, and it will last throughout the evening most likely. It was delightful to taste my own seasonings again.
So it is all about baby steps - and baby bites! - and patience and listening to my own body. If my stomach starts sending out the "full" message, one more bite will cause pain. And today is the first day I have really felt hunger. To me this is a good thing, a sign of healing. So many people are unable to burp or vomit after this procedure that these issues are to be almost expected, although I have been able to burp a few times. And life of flatulence will also be a result. Lots and lots of flatulence...
Whereas before I took great satisfaction in a delicious plate full of food, in creating an entire glorious meal, now it is much more simple - just blending a couple of flavors to keep the boredom at bay, and the anticipation and even excitement of adding in a new food every now and again.
Everything will be different from now on. But given what I have suffered the last 19 years, progressing to what it became the last few (my husband, daughter, and sister are really the only ones who know the extent of that), this is a small price to pay to get my life back. As time goes on it will become natural, and I will also be able to eat more normally. Doc says a year to heal completely, the first 100 days will be critical. And it is these 100 days that I don't want to do anything to mess it all up. Baby steps, slow and steady...and simple pleasures like apple pie in a bowl where I can find them :).
I'm posting this to both of my blogs, and those who only follow ChiaChatter will have to go to yesterday's post to see details of my recent surgery, if you want to get up to speed.
Thinking of how I am now eating, food is still my passion. The big difference is, how can I make my miniscule (2-3 Tbsp) meals a little more interesting, especially given my current limitations? Especially since I have to eat so freakin' many of them to get even a minimum of nutrition into my system...
My doctor has said that I can eat anything except bread, raw veggies, and - oh, I can't think of the other thing, but I won't be eating it anyway. Because he instructed me only to avoid those 3 areas, and chew well.
But before I had the surgery I did ALL kinds of research, from pdf instructions sheets of other docs who do the procedure, to medical sites, to a forum especially for fundoplication patients. And the vast majority, in talking about getting back to regular food, have much more specific instructions or experience. So, because the failure rate of this surgery is so high, and because the side effects can be disastrous, I am electing to collect all of the knowledge I gained, and create my own plan based upon the most conservative and logical of them all. I want to have the best possible outcome with the fewest possible post-surgical issues, and feel I need to be my own best "meal planner". It seems to me that most of those who are living with awful lifetime side effects or have had to repeat the surgery didn't go the most conservative route. I may be wrong, but this is how I am proceeding.
24 hours after surgery I was put on clear liquids. 48 hours post op I was put on full liquids. This includes things like yogurt and custard. The first day I ate only yogurt. I could only eat a couple of bites at a time without feeling uncomfortable, so I nibbled at it all day. The next day I included a few bites of cream of wheat with butter (yeah, they consider that liquid), and my doctor said that if I wanted to try soft food, he would change the order. So Saturday I tried some tilapia. The kitchen sent up rice with it though, and I put a few grains on the tip of my fork. Big mistake, lots of pain. I walked as far as I could to help things pass.
I think I need to insert here that my esophagus is considerably smaller than it was where it empties into my stomach. Stuff can get stuck. I have to eat taking tiny (1/2 tsp) bites, and chewing my food to a liquid consistency. I cannot drink more than a few tiny sips while eating (google "dumping syndrome"), or for 30 minutes before or after. Any foods that are hard to digest (including fiber), have skins, or seeds, or nuts, or cause gas, or could swell after swallowing or are carbonated - all off limits for now. So I need to get the maximum nutrition into the minimum intake, and the maximum hydration into the minimal time I have between the tiny meals - while observing the above cautions. Should something get stuck, I can take small sips of very warm (can't have anything very hot or very cold either) water and try to walk it off.
The problem on Saturday evening was that I was in the throes of pneumonia, weak as a kitten, and could only walk a short distance before becoming wobbly and winded. But it did pass, and I decided I would wait a few more days before trying soft or softened solid foods again.
Sunday I continued with yogurt, and added custard. Monday morning before my discharge I ate half of a scrambled egg. Introducing only 1-2 "new" foods a day is part of my conservative dietary after-care per one of the instructions sheets I'd read.
I was still living with a lot of pain when I was discharged, and no appetite to speak of. The hour+ ride to my sister's left me very weak; liquid lortab helped with the pain. I added both applesauce and cottage cheese to my diet that evening without a bad result.
Yesterday I got a little experimental, and discovered that 2 spoons of plain full fat yogurt with 1 spoon of applesauce, sprinkled with cinnamon, and stir in a drop of liquid sucralose - creamy apple pie in a dish! This was my first really enjoyable dish. And for supper, a small piece of leftover potato, put through the chopper with some milk and butter until creamy and smooth, and heated. Who would have thought that a leftover potato could taste so amazing??
Today I had some SF jello with a scoop of cottage cheese that lasted me for several hours (about 1/2c total). Just now I took some of my broth that I'd saved up from my pre-surgical meals (frozen), and heated it with a chunk of butter, then mixed in a few mashed potato flakes to thicken. I let it sit for quite a while to make sure the flakes were fully "inflated" before I ate it. In fact I am still eating it, and it will last throughout the evening most likely. It was delightful to taste my own seasonings again.
So it is all about baby steps - and baby bites! - and patience and listening to my own body. If my stomach starts sending out the "full" message, one more bite will cause pain. And today is the first day I have really felt hunger. To me this is a good thing, a sign of healing. So many people are unable to burp or vomit after this procedure that these issues are to be almost expected, although I have been able to burp a few times. And life of flatulence will also be a result. Lots and lots of flatulence...
Whereas before I took great satisfaction in a delicious plate full of food, in creating an entire glorious meal, now it is much more simple - just blending a couple of flavors to keep the boredom at bay, and the anticipation and even excitement of adding in a new food every now and again.
Everything will be different from now on. But given what I have suffered the last 19 years, progressing to what it became the last few (my husband, daughter, and sister are really the only ones who know the extent of that), this is a small price to pay to get my life back. As time goes on it will become natural, and I will also be able to eat more normally. Doc says a year to heal completely, the first 100 days will be critical. And it is these 100 days that I don't want to do anything to mess it all up. Baby steps, slow and steady...and simple pleasures like apple pie in a bowl where I can find them :).
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