Comfort foods - what gets/got you through tx

[justme53]

I've been drawing up a shopping list for comfort foods before I start tx. I was wondering what things you kept on hand to get you though it.

Here's my current (and ongoing) list as of today:

Ginger ale
Mrs. Grass chicken soup
Campbell’s tomato soup
Saltines (lightly salted)
Grilled cheese
Gelato
Ice cream: (HD’s Dulce de Leche, B/J’s Cherry Garcia, fresh peach)
Homemade chicken soup (finely chopped stuff)
Homemade vegetable soup (broth or pureed)
Ginger snaps
Tea (peppermint, ginger)
Cottage cheese
Plain yogurt/fruit for smoothies/frozen
Lime juice popsicles

Pam

[sunqueen]

Yes, in the food processor.  I throw in a few cups of cashews, a little bit of honey and coconut oil. You probably could use butter instead!  It will be a huge lump at first but let it run for quite a few minutes.until it's very smooth. At the end, I drizzle in a little bit of canola oil if it's too thick. Almond butter is great too, especially with a teeny touch of cinnamon.  

I would give my right arm to find a good local source of produce, especially baby lettuces. Lately I've been tossing together a lot of arugula, dried cranberries, nuts, gorgonzola and sliced green apples in a fig balsamic vinaigrette. Even better when I can find ripe fresh figs!

[Deb_c430]

I am the same,  I find I feel better with something in my stomach, the stodgier the better, a bowl of cereal just don't get any more! Water to, I drink loads of water.

I eat a lot of nuts also,  love em!

Sun, ginger sounds good, I will have to go look for it. Yogurt is good, i love berries and bananas in it. Cashew butter sounds yummy! Butter and cashews in food processor?

I love fruit, living so close to  San Quaqin, I am really spoiled by the fresh produce, nuts,  I tend to eat in seasons!  Nothing better than a good salad!  With different things in them

I can't handle spicy hot food any more,  Salsas,  wasabis,  curries.  pasta of course lol!

[sunqueen]

Full fat whole milk yogurt. Some mornings with a little banana, berries or sliced fruit.

I make cashew butter and eat a thin layer on toast for breakfast other days.

I eat lunch out in the field so I take it with me. Two slices low carb bread - 2 oz lean turkey or chicken - 1/2 oz cheese and reduced fat mayo. Bottled water and a pint of iced green tea made with honey.

I carry crystallized baby ginger root from the Asian market. They come individually wrapped and easy to carry. Half a piece (suck it awhile, then chew) works like a charm.

Dinner is a bit of lean meat or fish, steamed veggies and salad. Sometimes it's a whole grain pasta with a lite sauce. I can't take spicy or acidic foods at all and I typically like mad hot food..

Every Sunday I got out for brunch. It's either lox, bagel and cream cheese or Chinese Dim Sum.

[can-do-man]

Yes i lost alot of weight on my first tx, my Hepatologist also told me to take it with fat and with my biggest meals of the day. Speaking just for myself i have always saw a big difference in how i feel with the riba on days i can eat better. Plus the water helps me a great deal to. But thats not a problem as the riba gives me cotton mouth.

can

[justme53]

That sounds really GOOD!

Come to think of it, I think I still have a piece in the fridge. Taste testing of course, for research purposes. ;-)

[foofighter]

I got one along the smooth and creamy line:

pumpkin pie guts

I have been just scooping a couple spoonfuls of the filling and even with nausea it goes down real easy!

Must be some ginger in the pumpkin pie spice.

[Deb_c430]

cando /can do. ditto here, I need food in my stomach, riba is the reason epi,   lack of food  can make me so nauseous,   headache at the best of times. I inject daily,  absorbtion and  balance are important to me and my health.

Cando also I think if you have are a person that looses weight quickly, you need the extra calories, I know I have been told by two Hepatologist to stay away from  from things that have no fat in them.  

Both have told me not to over worry diet now,      

[justme53]

Wow, Epiphiny, I don't believe I've heard if trials in the US are so stringent with diets or meals. The porridge is much more filling!

You guys make it sound much more do-able than I've been anticipating. I guess the key is to be resilient and approach it on a day by day basis.

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm sure I'll have some tips of my own in a month or two.

Pam

[epiphiny]

There's a few opinions on that one.  Definitely with fat and definitely with a light meal.  The bio-availability is increased by up to 67% when taken with food as against fasting.

When I was on my trial they were very particular about what we ate for our breakfast:  Slice toast, butter or marg, and a spread of some kind (NEVER grapefruit marmalade), decaff tea and coffee.  I was allowed to have porridge cos I don't eat wheat but we weren't allowed to eat anything that wasn't on the list

I added the VCO and full fat yoghurt to up my fat intake as soon as I stopped the study drug.

I was also more worried about the Riba than the Peg, The shot is once a week, and once it's in there's not much to worry about. The Riba is every day and you really want to maximize it.  After about 3 months I was cool with it and don't worry now, except that I might forget to take it!

[can-do-man]

I guess its just whatever you can eat, my hepo told me to try and take it with as much food as i can. I have found i have alot less stomach problems that way.... Wishing you the best

cando

[Marcia2202]

Yes, with some food is best. I usually eat the riba with a spoonful of VCO in the middle of a meal. Or I eat half a pear then the riba and then finish the pear, or banana or whatever. Just that the riba has some food to sit with in the bowels, I guess.

I understand that there is more to think about riba absorption, as the Peg goes in and stays in... But don't worry, it will become such a routine very quickly.

[justme53]

Sounds like smooth and creamy is the trend here.

With the Riba, is only a spoonful of fatty food like PB or coconut oil enough for an uptake? Or do you follow it with a meal of some sort as well? As long as I need to take it, I want to make sure it can do it's job

I don't know why, but I'm more stressed out about the riba than the Peg......

[epiphiny]

I'm trying to think of all the things I've eaten while txing and I realise there are only a few foods that have continually tasted good to me, no matter the state of my stomach or mouth.  They are:

Oatmeal with Honey Acidopholous Yoghurt & Virgin Coconut Oil every morning
Salad of Mixed Green Leaves and Balsamic & Olive Oil Vinaigrette every lunch
Avocados
Butter Bean Mash
Fresh White Fish

Everything else I have eaten has either tasted wrong or upset my tummy.  Seems to be about texture for me. Smooth & creamy.  

Can't do hot or spicy foods anymore and even though I crave sweets they really hurt my tongue.  Ice cream makes me nauseous and so does chocolate :(

[kitkat14]

HD Ice cream and lots of fruit with a high water content (watermelon, pineapple etc)

[jdwithhcv]

Soft-boiled eggs with very dark toast.  Multi-grain toast when I could stomach it, sourdough when I couldn't.  A little butter on the toast helps the riba go down.  

Avocado with everything.

Peach yogurt smoothies.

Homemade applesauce  - just McIntosh apples and nutmeg, no cinnamon cause that's just wrong.

Peanut butter and bacon sandwiches, but not too often.

Eggs were the only thing I could always eat, the other stuff was sometimes appealing, sometimes appalling!

[Deb_c430]

i saw you have ginger ale, add ginger snaps to that for nausea!

[Deb_c430]

I been all about the fruit and veg!  Also craving sweets, ice cream,   Always a fruit lover and veg lover, but sweets not so much.

Charm and I are so opposite in taste buds!  Love beans,     peanut butter and jelly sandwich's,  Soups, pasta,  

I eat what ever I can keep down!
But seriously, don't take your toast lightly
.. with lots of real butter...

. it is all in how you toast it...

jacob that is funny!

[charm27]

Couldnt eat anything with acidity it would burn my mouth....I was addicted to potato salad
and pasta! I love sweets and for whatever reason didnt have any during tx its tasted horrible.

Lots of bacon, eggs, and all kinds of beans. ( Black beans, white navy beans, lentil
and butter beans)

Strange how our taste buds change.
Charm

[Lady Lauri]

I got to the anything I could grab stage too, would lay for 2 hrs. hungry and not get up to make anything so broke down and bought junk food. My sis about fell over when she saw me with junk food all over my room! My sons came by a lot and fed me :)

Ice cream was a biggie tho! Since tx I've eaten it about 3 times! Also lived (literally nutrician wise) on smoothies and put all the good things I could in it-yep, cranberries, and even started putting instant breakfast in them. Made with yogurt mostly. Thats something you can usually get down at your sickest.

Good luck, whatever you eat just make sure you DO eat! Days I ate little I'd feel worse.

LL

[Rockerforlife]

With my riba i eat a teaspoon of coconut oil...one egg and one serving of protien powder..

[can-do-man]

If Mr Softy made guns
----------------
Sorry guy i didn't know. So your shooting blanks now. :-)

[ejoli]

  Oatmeal!   It's really good with cinnamon. It will always go down, even when you're not hungry.                          Good Luck,                          -Libby

[kickboxingmom]

What about the peanut butter?I take a heaping spoonful with every dose of riba.
Tammy

[Andiamo1]

"If Mr Softy made guns  we would have bullet dipensing machines at every street corner,and properly be all dead by now "

Nah - they would never work.  You would have to unplug them and plug them in again.  Then you get a message "access denied"  - very helpful.  

You could always call and talk to support at $55 per hour.  When you finally get the bullets you will probably kill yourself out of frustration.