[health, emotions.cranky]

[wispfox]

Even what with what was probably a productive appointment with a gasto yesterday morning (more tests upcoming, sigh. But he seemed to be _listening_ and asking the right questions and noting that yes, it's not healthy to eat no fat at all), I am _seriously_ irritable with my body in general and my digestive tract in particular, today.

I'm tired of not being able to eat very many things, most of which are boring and dry. I'm tired of having near constant cravings for fatty foods which keep increasing in urgency. I'm tired of having to pay so goddamn much attention to everything I eat if I want to be without pain and actually sleep at night (and therefore be able to think and continue to have my wrists continue to improve).

Mostly, though? I'm just goddamn _tired_. Even when I get enough sleep (lately, I've been too stuffy to sleep well), I'm tired. Overwhelmed tired, I think. And bored. Bored with my food, bored with not being able to do very much with my hands (ordered a macbook pro yesterday because Linux has crap for voice recognition, I dislike Windows too much to deal with it on a regular basis, and Macs at least have a UNIX base and reasonable voice recognition software. Ought to help improve my healing speed _and_ increase how much I can do, once I've got the thing trained), bored with being horribly overstressed and tired.

Fucking body.

At least I'm able to be reasonably productive at work today... even if I am randomly and easily near tears from frustration.

Comments

[brynndragon.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Now I'm pondering bringing by some fruit (apples and honey perhaps, it being the season :), or a tomato-basil salad with no dressing, when I come visit you. Would those work?

*continues to try to think of things that are neither dry nor contain fat*

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

If the apples are not especially sour ones (not granny smiths!), and someone not me is willing to slice them (apple skins annoy me, and the less I do with my hands the better), sure. :) (and we have honey of multiple types)

Tomato-basil salads work; I've been being cautious about acid levels, due to the fact that most of what I can currently eat that is flavorful is acidic, and I am already prone to mild acid reflux. Haven't tested the level of problem recently, though, so might be fine, esp since I've been on a 14 day OTC prilosec dosage which helped a lot. Also, salt is also tasty on tomato-basil salads. (vinegar could be, too, but I'm getting very tired of the balsamic vinegar as my topping on everything)

[jasra]

If you can think of things that are protein and not dry and boring, that would be fantastic.

[alecto23.livejournal.com]

Um...maybe I'm not thinking laterally enough, but I can't think of any source of protein that doesn't also contain fat, unless you're going with some kind of protein powder—though many of those will have some fat. Tofu, beans, miso, fish—all are low fat, but still have some.

Oh, wait. Egg whites. Yum. But: moist!

Protein powder as seasoning? Stirred into other things that are wet?

[jasra]

Beans. She's been eating bean salad as her major source of protein and is bored with it (I am too, since I'm lazy about preparing different food for me than I'm preparing for her).

The protein powder she currently has has fat in it.

We've been finding protein in unexpected places (well, unexpected to me, anyway) like wheat bread, angel food cake, etc. so there is some variety to her meals that way.

Thanks for the other suggestions. I don't tend to think of tofu because I haven't had much exposure to it.

[alecto23.livejournal.com]

Depending on the kind of tofu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tofu), there may still be quite a bit of fat in it. However, it is generally moist, and will absorb other flavours nicely, so would mix well in vegie type things.

Another thing which is useful is TVP (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textured_vegetable_protein), which I routinely use instead of ground beef in pasta sauces, lasagna etc. because it can stay in the cupboard until I need it without going bad.

As for beans, one of my favourite easy staple foods is primarily beans: pasta e fagioli.

1 carrot, diced
1 onion, diced
handful fresh parsley/basil if you have it
celery if you like it (I don't and never put it in)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 small fresh chilli or bit of dried chilli, if desired; or a splash of tabasco
1 250g can tomatoes
1 can each of 3 types of beans - I usually use cannellini, borlotti and kidney beans, but you can use butter beans or anything else you can find.
handful rocket/spinach
250ml stock (stock normally contains fat so you'll have to use water, though you may want to experiment with infusing water with dried herbs & vegies to give it some more flavour)
100g ditalini (www.barillaus.com/images%5CDitalini-2_s.jpg)

Normally you sauté the carrots/onions/herbs/celery/garlic in olive oil, which you obviously can't do here. I'd suggest cooking over a very low heat in a little bit of water to essentially steam them until they're softer. Then add the tomatoes; if they're not already crushed, crush them between your fingers or squish them up with a spoon. Drain the beans and chuck those in along with the stock/water. Bring to a boil, add the rocket/spinach and let boil for about 5min. Add the pasta, cook (stirring occasionally) until pasta is done.

You will probably also need to season with salt & pepper, esp. salt as normally you get lots of salt in the stock which you won't if you don't use stock.

You may also want to experiment with proportions of beans and pasta. I made it quite a bit lately because my ex-girlfriend adored it. She and I both preferred a bit more pasta (and consequently more water/stock in which to cook it). I tend to cook by estimation a lot.

When cheese-eating becomes an option again (note the positive thinking!) grated parmesan or pecorino on top is also lovely.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

I have TVP in the freezer, and it has fat in it.

I think that soy in general had sufficient fat to be measureable, and therefore enough to be a problem. But still, noted. :)

But yay for recipie! I sent it along to jasra. :)

[jasra]

Yes! Thank you for the tasty recipe. (And the positive thoughts for wispfox.)

[alecto23.livejournal.com]

Yes, I was pretty sure TVP had fat in it, as it's a soy product, and they all seem to have some fat, if not much. But was worth suggesting.

Pasta e fagioli should work reasonably well if you can cope with bean-fat.

[cutieperson]

tofu? (i know not the fat level...)

:( i will keep my fingers crossed for them figuring things out soon.

[zanawake.livejournal.com]

Best wishes!

[(Anonymous)]

I hope they figure things out soon. I know how annoying gastro issues can be, and I found the doctors to be very slow on the uptake.

I'm tired of having to pay so goddamn much attention to everything I eat if I want to be without pain and actually sleep at nightI'm tired of having to pay so goddamn much attention to everything I eat if I want to be without pain and actually sleep at night

I can definitely empathize with that. It's especially frustrating when I think that I've done everything right, but I still end up in pain and unable to sleep. My thoughts are with you...Good luck and I hope things get better soon.

[jojotbird.livejournal.com]

that was me...I didn't realize I wasn't logged in.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Yeah, you certainly have far too much experience with this. I think you ended up having to do an elimination diet to figure out what was going on, yes?

[kar0na.livejournal.com]

Poor girl. :( Feel better soon. All this crapiness would have me down in the dumps, too. Too much to deal with at once, and for too long! XOXO

[alecto23.livejournal.com]

I am really sorry and wish there were something I could do.

Did we ever actually send you Azumanga Daioh? If not, can arrange for that to come in the next visit, if you think watching it will help distract you at all.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Sending of Azumanga Daioh: No, not yet. And it couldn't hurt, since that way I'd have more options for things to watch. :)

[alecto23.livejournal.com]

I shall mobilise my people. :)

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

*laugh* Yay!

[johnpalmer.livejournal.com]

Ouch... I wish there was something more I could do than just offer my sympathy and good wishes for a quick resolution to this.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Thanks. :)

I certainly understand the wanting to be able to do more, eevn when it's not possible!