A book I read recently had a passage which struck a cord with me I thought I’d share. “I’ll miss when menus at restaurants were just lists of delicious dinners. And nothing more nutritionally threatening.” Though the protagonist was speaking in reference to her eating disorder I felt a kinship to the phrasing. I miss looking at food in a less analytical way. At worst instead of seeing shrimp in a savory butter sauce I see agonizing hours of gastrointestinal torture, itching hives, aching bones from lying on a cold bathroom floor if I’m even able to avoid the emergency room to begin with. At best I see caloric density, protein, carbohydrate, moisture content, and fiber. All of which makes for a complicated if dull relationship with sustenance. I’m struggling for basic calories and hydration every day before anything else. Depending on how cooperative my gut is being on a given day I have about a five fluid ounce stomach capacity with severely delayed emptying to fit in my daily goals. Talk about a challenge right? When it comes down to soft foods/puree’s I have at most 2/3 cup volume per day to work with. So lets break that down into something more concrete shall we? I popped around a few online calculators and here were the results for the mandatory minimum macro nutrient needs for an 88 pound 5’8″ female.
Macro-nutrients –
- 98g Protein = 392kcal
- 36g Fat = 324kcal
- 146g Carbohydrate = 584kcal
Which gives a total daily caloric need of 1,300 I’m rarely ever able to meet. Good way to get depressed starting at breakfast don’t ya think?Anyone with a motility disorder can tell you what a laughable goal “normal intake” is. Add in food allergies and restrictions for other health conditions and it begins to seem an impossible task. Yet barring TPN we must ingest to nourish.
Most days its a matter of picking my battle. Some days I know ill be more sedentary and focus on fats and protein as they are more difficult to digest causing more symptoms. Other days ill stick to hydration and faster digesting carbohydrates especially when I need to be more “active”. To be clear by active I mean I have an appointment to attend, cooking to do, or a laundry pile reaching jolly green giant heights. Some days no matter what I do it won’t go well and i’ll chose what will be least offense when it ends in vomiting.
As I have not experienced much in the way of hunger since around 2009 it takes extra effort to meet basic needs. If you don’t feel hunger whats to tell you its time to eat? When my muscles ache from prolonged severely restricted protein intake? When My glucose drops as reserves are used and I begin to pass out regularly? I much prefer to avoid those consequences which means I need to find a way to make food both easy and pleasing.
As my myriad of issues each come with their own dietary restrictions I am no longer able to indulge in a meal out or prepared by others the consequence of cross contamination and something going wrong are to high. So I must rely on food prep and preservation methods I am able to successfully accomplish without causing further harm to my body by overexertion.
This is where dehydrated food and crock-pot meals come in. As I maintain a primarily liquid diet freezing is both a bother and impractical to store due to the high water content. Water adds bulk and weight without nutritional value, though water is certainly important this is an area where I can skip it. By dehydrating you remove the moisture content thereby concentrating the nutrition into a smaller serving and provided you reduce the moisture enough it becomes long term shelf stable. I keep a variety of dehydrated and ground fruits and vegetables in the cupboard. Such as sweet potato, carrots, green beans, zucchini, several varieties of onion, mushrooms, jalapeno, tomato, lemon, lime, grapefruit, blueberries, raspberries, and sweet cherries.
These reserves allow me multiple low maintenance options such as soups, pilafs, pudding, smoothies, and infused beverages by simply adding bone broth, coconut milk, coconut water, or other liquid. Its also very light and easy to travel with as my extensive allergies require I carry all my own food when away from home. When re-hydrating the powders for something like soup I can achieve more nutrient density per serving than if I had only cooked and pureed the same dish. The broth is loaded with amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and as I don’t skim my broth fats which adds calories where water can’t.
Crock-pots allow me ease of use and abundant protein options. I don’t have the physicality to stand over a stove, grill, keep an eye on the oven, or lift a pressure cooker/large pots. Set it and forget it is motto of slow cooking. Essentially load up the crock, ignore for 4 to 8 hours, and return to a hot tender meal. As dehydrated meats have a much more limited shelf life than their plant counterparts this is where I use my freezer real estate. Aside from animal meats its also quite useful in batch cooking beans, seeds, and grains.
This way when my symptoms inevitably worsen whether for a period of time or permanently I have a substantial supply of almost instant meals at my disposal. Fast and easy is critical when your struggling for basic functioning like sitting up. If I’m to weak to crawl to the kitchen and have no appetite what are the realistic chances of cooking something nutritious I can tolerate? I may not be able to eat wherever I like on a whim without care to preparation allergen safety but that doesn’t mean I have resigned myself to a life of bland brown sludge either. Restrictions aren’t road blocks they are detours so keep on keeping on and you’ll find a path that can fit both your needs and desires.