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How about some very lightly cooked organic or farm fresh scrambled eggs (4 or 5) whipped up in a blender with some other ingredients. Maybe a banana or avacado.
Thanks for your suggestions. I am eating 2 eggs almost every day, scrambled or boiled (I use an organic non-GMO Project Verified Certified Humane brand of eggs) but trying to find other things to vary the diet.
I cannot eat bananas due to a medication I am on. And you'd have to starve me to make me eat an avocado lol. I do have an Avocado bed, however.
Eating the same exact things day after day is my normal lifestyle way of eating, but it isn't getting me the balanced nutrition I need now. I need to re-learn how to eat. Problem is I don't like much of anything but very plain basic food, which is why I eat the same things every day.
They are good whole foods for the most part, but not enough variety, and recently, leading up to my illness, not enough to even sustain me.
The point of the "meal replacement" shakes is to get a significant amount of extra protein, vitamins and minerals into me right now, during recovery. At the time they were recommended to me by my doctor, February 5th, I was still in the very early stages of recovery, very sick still and very scared, and just wanted to get better.
Now, in part due to this discussion, I have started realizing that those shakes aren't going to be the best option for me. Going forward, when I return to work and a normal schedule, perhaps I can find a way to eat enough variety, and enough actual quantity of food.
I need easy right now. Eggs, scrambled or boiled, or take some homemade soup out of the freezer, roast a chicken, boil potatoes, put together a salad, cheese and triscuit crackers, Post Shredded Wheat and Bran cereal with some kind of fruit thrown in. Pasta now and then.
Sounds good. It's great that you already have some homemade soups. A lot of nutrition can be packed into a soup. A good chicken soup made with some of that roast chicken and lots of whole foods might be easy enough to make.
Temporarily consuming ultraprocessed protein powders, meal replacements, etc. probably won't hurt but may not help much either, assuming you can find one with ingredients you can tolerate. The nutrients added in are synthetic too which have poor bioavailability compared to nutrients in whole foods. Recovery could be slower with synthetic nutrients but you could get some quick extra calories out of those products, which are probably needed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by catsmom21
won't be shocked if I discover that the babies are being started right out on the same chemicals and junk that's making the whole world sick.
It's the same unfortunately, from baby formula on up. Synthetic sugars, synthetic nutrients, synthetic preservatives and more (even worse like heavy metals).
Sounds good. It's great that you already have some homemade soups. A lot of nutrition can be packed into a soup. A good chicken soup made with some of that roast chicken and lots of whole foods might be easy enough to make.
Temporarily consuming ultraprocessed protein powders, meal replacements, etc. probably won't hurt but may not help much either, assuming you can find one with ingredients you can tolerate. The nutrients added in are synthetic too which have poor bioavailability compared to nutrients in whole foods. Recovery could be slower with synthetic nutrients but you could get some quick extra calories out of those products, which are probably needed.
It's the same unfortunately, from baby formula on up. Synthetic sugars, synthetic nutrients, synthetic preservatives and more (even worse like heavy metals).
When I roast a chicken I save the carcasses in the freezer for the soup. The rest of the meat is also frozen separately so I can use it as needed. When I make the bone broth I freeze it in gallon bags, flat, then when it's solid, thaw it just enough to break up the solid sheet of broth into chunks, then keep it in the freezer taking out what I need, adding meat, a handful of carrots, potatoes, peas or beans, whatever, when I want a bowl of soup. I also freeze giblet gravy with meat already added, in individual portions, to be eaten over a slice of Dave's Killer bread (also in the freezer, I don't eat much bread), or a potato.
I agree with you on all of the above. Problem is, even our whole foods are not as nutritious as we might hope, due to the poor soil, and pesticides, which is why I strive for non-GMO Project Verified, or at least certified organic, whenever possible. Nabisco Triscuit (with an ounce or two of sharp cheddar) and Post Shredded Wheat and Bran fit the bill on that and is the main way I get my whole grains, with a bowl of Cheerios for my bedtime snack, because I like them and they, for some reason, make me feel better and help me sleep.
A handful of almonds every day, two tablespoons of peanut better for breakfast (yes, organic non GMO, the kind you have to stir up and refrigerate) Romaine lettuce salads.
I'll make a pot of pasta and some meat sauce, made with frozen puree from home grown tomatoes when I have it, or Hunts canned sauce when I don't, and eat that all for a week until I run out. I didn't use to add any ground beef, but in an effort to get more protein I recently have.
It all sounds good on paper, but the truth is, I was hardly eating at all, I just didn't realize how sick I was until well, until I was.
So you're now against ALL artificial ingredients; not just sweeteners? If so, forget any "meal replacement shake." Just eat more whole foods!
Agree, there are no ingredient lists to check with whole foods. I was never able to determine which of the hundreds of food additives caused digestive and other problems for me. The problems they caused turned out to be a blessing in disguise healthwise since I eliminated them.
Thanks for your suggestions. I am eating 2 eggs almost every day, scrambled or boiled (I use an organic non-GMO Project Verified Certified Humane brand of eggs) but trying to find other things to vary the diet.
The point of the "meal replacement" shakes is to get a significant amount of extra protein, vitamins and minerals into me right now, during recovery. At the time they were recommended to me by my doctor, February 5th, I was still in the very early stages of recovery, very sick still and very scared, and just wanted to get better.
How about adding some real cream to the eggs. You could create an omelet or scrambled eggs with real cream, tomatoes or anything that you like that is soft and edible. I bet a real cream omelet would be delicious and it would give you the extra calories you are needing.
I don't know if organic peanut butter (or any other nut butter) works for you, but I bet it would not be that bad. Would make for a nuttier flavored egg mixture.
I don't know how "clean" these are, but here are some liquid vitamins and minerals that are for bariatric patients so they would be easily digested. You would have to research the ingredients or perhaps search for other liquid brands that would be considered organic and pure.
How about adding some real cream to the eggs. You could create an omelet or scrambled eggs with real cream, tomatoes or anything that you like that is soft and edible. I bet a real cream omelet would be delicious and it would give you the extra calories you are needing.
I don't know if organic peanut butter (or any other nut butter) works for you, but I bet it would not be that bad. Would make for a nuttier flavored egg mixture.
hee hee, thanks for the chuckle. I am the least adventurous person I know when it comes to food. I want everything to taste exactly the same as it always does. I do use milk in my scrambled eggs, but non-fat. I think if I can improve my nutritional base, the calories will follow, without having to add things like heavy cream.
I do like a tomato in my eggs though. And cooked tomatoes are good nutrition. Thanks for the idea.
I did mention up above that I eat two tablespoons of organic peanut butter every day (straight out of the jar), and a handful of almonds every day too.
The only things I've ever found that I like highly flavored is my potato soup recipe, in which -much to my surprise- I like white pepper, and I do like some cinnamon, and a little allspice, in my homemade apple sauce. Other than that, I prefer bland bland bland.
Last edited by catsmom21; 02-20-2024 at 10:35 AM..
I don't know how "clean" these are, but here are some liquid vitamins and minerals that are for bariatric patients so they would be easily digested. You would have to research the ingredients or perhaps search for other liquid brands that would be considered organic and pure.
This might help fill in nutritional gaps from the restrictions you are currently facing if you find this could work for you.
Thank you! Looks interesting. I checked it very carefully and didn't see rosemary in the list, so that's one good thing. Didn't see potassium mentioned either, another thing I have to stay away from.
Thing is, now I'm on all these new meds I'm afraid to experiment too much, but going forward, once I am back in the swing, something like this just might be a better option for me. Of course the one icky thing, xanthan gum, sticks out like a sore thumb. Why oh why does everything always have to have something like that in it?
But you've given me more to think about and I appreciate it.
I am sure I will be returning to this thread for reference often over the next few weeks and months, there's a lot of helpful information and I'm grateful to everyone contributing..
Sorry you are going through this. Having been through something like this before, loosing weight non stop due to medical problems, I made one simple change that helped during my recovery.
Since you seem to be a milk drinker like me, change from your current milk to Fairlife. It has a lot more protein per serving... Almost too much! I easily could drink a whole bottle (500ml) a day, and now my protein intake may actually be too much! I drink the non-fat. If you need the extra calories, you could drink the full fat, but that is still quite healthy and you probably wont gain much.
I've also heard good things about the Fairlife meal replacement drinks being tasty, but I haven't tried.
hee hee, thanks for the chuckle. I am the least adventurous person I know when it comes to food. I want everything to taste exactly the same as it always does. I do use milk in my scrambled eggs, but non-fat. I think if I can improve my nutritional base, the calories will follow, without having to add things like heavy cream.
I do like a tomato in my eggs though. And cooked tomatoes are good nutrition. Thanks for the idea.
I did mention up above that I eat two tablespoons of organic peanut butter every day (straight out of the jar), and a handful of almonds every day too.
The only things I've ever found that I like highly flavored is my potato soup recipe, in which -much to my surprise- I like white pepper, and I do like some cinnamon, and a little allspice, in my homemade apple sauce. Other than that, I prefer bland bland bland.
It sounds like you enjoy soups so that could be one way to transition into higher nutrition and variety without changing flavor much, if any, depending on what you choose. Soups can be made into nutrient powerhouses. You could experiment with adding different vegetables, beans, legumes, grains or meat. Or go all out with a minestrone soup that includes all of those things. You wouldn't need to go that far if it sounds too much, just start out slowly adding different foods to your soups to see what you like.
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The rest of the meat is also frozen separately so I can use it as needed. When I make the bone broth I freeze it in gallon bags, flat, then when it's solid, thaw it just enough to break up the solid sheet of broth into chunks, then keep it in the freezer taking out what I need, adding meat, a handful of carrots, potatoes, peas or beans, whatever, when I want a bowl of soup. I also freeze giblet gravy with meat already added, in individual portions, to be eaten over a slice of Dave's Killer bread (also in the freezer, I don't eat much bread), or a potato. 
