Have you ever just... stopped eating?

[mbeezie]

Faerenach,

I know it's hard to think about food when you are feeling so sick but I think that planning is the key. I work as well and am a busy mom, but I have come to the realization that I need to make time to cook for my health. I went through a brief period where I was angry and resentful about having to cook every night, but I finally had to accept that this is the way it was going to be. IOW, I stopped fighting it and accepted it and simply made more room in my life to take care of myself. I think we all go through a bit of depression at first and depression can cause a lack of appetite.

To manage cooking with my busy schedule I cook on the weekend and freeze food for the week, get up a bit early to prepare something, or keep quick-fix things on hand. It's very unsettling to me to not have something planned - it creates more stress in my life. I like to make soups and freeze in individual servings. I make baked chicken breasts and freeze them as they are versatile and can be used in many dishes. I keep frozen veggies on hand, even though I prefer fresh.

I looked at your list of intolerances and all you list is spicy food. I am wondering if you have tried some of the diet restrictions, like GF, FD, SF? I can imagine that you are at a loss to know what to cook if everything is still making you sick. I'm sorry if you have discussed your intolerances in another thread . . . I don't recall and truthfully I am having trouble reading all of the posts.

In time you will figure it out - we have all been in your shoes and it does get easier, just not quick enough.

Hugs,

Mary Beth

[Gloria]

I slow cook half leg of lamb, keep 75% of the stock

I have to wonder how much stock that is. When I cook a leg of lamb, I have about 2/3 fat and 1/3 juice. The juice is barely 1/2 cup. Do you slow cook your leg of lamb in water and use that for the stock?

Gloria

[Gabes-Apg]

gloria

- i trim the leg of lamb of all external fat
- the pot which is pre-heated with some Rice Bran Oil, i sear all sides of the leg of lamb
- take the pot off the heat, add some salt and water so that it is 3/4 covered add a lambshank for extra gelatin
- return to the heat, get it to a simmer for about 2 - 3 hours.
- i then take it off the heat for about 30 mins, take the lamb and the shank out, put 1/2 - 3/4 of the stock in a container to cool
- return pot to the heat, add some hot water to cook the rice and veges.

after an hour the lamb is cool enough to extract the meat for meals. 1x half leg of lamb gives me enough meat for 6 meals.
If i am freezing the lamb meat i will put some of the stock in the container, tastes nicer on defrost.

Excluding the simmer time, prep, extracting the meat, setting up the rice and veges, then clean up, it takes 2 hours max. If i plan the cooking times correctly, the rice and the veges cook up is finished about the time i would have a meal, so i cook some salmon to have with the rice and veges.

using just lambshanks gives really good stock but is too much work extracting meat etc - this is my new improved version that saves time, is one pot cooking method and it still gives me pretty good gelatine based stock to use in the damper etc

[teagirl]

When I am not doing well, I find I can't eat because of the nausea, can't eat, and aren't interested. Going without for 12-24 hours doesn't seem to leave me hungry, just tired. I do have tea, and try to have some rice crackers if I can. Plus bananas mashed up for the potassium. It can take me ages (hours) to eat a banana when I am like this. I have to keep wrapping it in Saran wrap so it doesn't go brown.

As for cooking when I don't feel like it, the slow cooker is key. I throw in some sweet potato slices, and 2 or 3 chicken breasts, salt and pepper, sometime slices of Ginger, and put it on low. It's ready just in time for dinner and lasts a few days. I alternate with regular potato, carrots, and squash. Pork chops work, and also ribs. Whatever is on special is what goes in the slow cooker.
Maxine

[Gloria]

Gabes,

Thank you for the explanation. I never would have thought of cooking a leg of lamb in water. Every recipe I've seen says to roast it. I should try it sometime. It would give me a different broth besides turkey. I assume that the key is to remove the fat and brown it thoroughly first. My leg of lamb comes in a netting which holds it together. The netting covers the layer of fat, so I've just left the fat on. I've always thought that removing the netting would make it more difficult to slice and brown the leg. Lyn mentioned that she removes the fat, too.

We Americans just don't know how to cook lamb as well as you Australians. Most of the lamb here comes from New Zealand and is very expensive, as I've written before. Someone on the board gave me the tip to buy it at Sam's Club, and I've been going there ever since. Thank you, whoever made the suggestion.

Gloria

[Gabes-Apg]

Gloria

I agree that removal of the netting it would potentially make slicing the lamb a bit more difficult, the half legs that i buy, once the fat is removed with the searing they stay 'together' during the simmer process. once it is cool and i am preparing it for meals i use tongs to extract the meat off the bones, while warm it breaks up easily.

if I chilled it in the fridge then i could manage to slice it.

i think this technique is called 'broiling'? it is similar technique to how my aunt on the farm would prepare corn beef. I adopted this technique so i didnt have to clean the oven frequently! (i hate housework)

As i mentioned in another post a few days ago, i am very blessed to be in Australia and have affordable ingredients and a wide range of them as well.

[MaggieRedwings]

I too do cookups on the weekend along with help from my DH. I work a full time job and have about a 40 minute commute each way and the weekend cooking helps greatly. I am however blessed that my husband is retired and has it dished and ready for the microwave when I get home. Not eating has never been a help to me with this disease.

Maggie

[Celie]

Yes, Before Entocort I would be so sick I did not want to eat. And, the food just came straight through anyway. So, you are not alone.

But, as the others said before, we gotta eat! Cooking ahead is the way to go. I like chicken soup with carrots and rice(I also put a little curry in it). It is soothing and healthy.

Gabes,
Could you give us the recipe for the "damper"?

Celie

[hoosier1]

Harma,

I'm not sure how I do it without eating, but I do. Obviously, I must be getting enough nutrition but I have lost quite a bit of weight that I fear will never return. I'm 5'-10" 138lbs. Was 155 before all of this. I do get a little foggy brained when I am fasting, but I have learned to live with that.

I do tend to binge when I am home or in a bathroom safe area (like my hotel at night). But I do fast the days I am in the field or the evening before, and the day of, flying. And yes, I do get a little fatigued in doing this but it is so much better than the alternative (I think).

So I know this is not optimal, but it does seem to work for me. And I will grab some little safe snacks along the way, like peanuts or a banana on the plane. So I guess I am not completely starving myself.

It's funny because I used to hate Bob Evans and Denny's restaurants (still not my favorites) but I can go there at any time and eat breakfast. And they don't fry in butter! So usually get 3 eggs over hard, bacon (extra crispy... yum) and if I think they are safe, some sort of potato.

And I do carry some safe foods in my carry on. I found some rice based soups that work, some really tasty gluten free cookies by Liz Lovely (excellent), and usually carry a banana or two. It's always fun to see those go through the xray scanners at the airports.

Regards,

Rich