Gastroparesis Food for Spoonies: Zuppa Di Pollo

Turns out my stomach (and everything else!) is angry today. I’m not sure what set it off, but I’ve been nauseous for the past two days and today that nausea was joined by pain. The best guess I have for why things are worse now, when they were getting better and I’ve been eating much more GP friendly, is hormones. I’ve been spotty for a few days now, and imagine my period will be starting any day now; it’ll be the first time since I’ve been diagnosed with GP and eating “friendly.” Of course, time will only tell. Anyway, I’ve been feeling rather poorly, and haven’t wanted to eat anything, but know I need to. Today I decided to whip up a really simple, GP friendly soup. I think this is my new comfort food.

Zuppa Di Pollo adapted from Food

•  4 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup crushed macaroni, or 1 cup ditalini
• 1/3 cup no break/egg beaters/processed egg whites (these are already whipped and processed making them super easy to use and easy to digest, plus no fat)
• grated or shredded Parmesan cheese
• parsley

1. Bring broth to a simmer.
2. Add pasta, return to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Whisk in egg whites for 10 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and pour into a bowl, add Parmesan and parsley for garnish
5. slowly sip broth and thoroughly chew your noodles

If I ever need to go to just broth I’ll probably whisk some egg whites in, it makes such a smooth and velvety base. I hope this recipe can help you out on bad days, as much as it helps me.

Engaged Patient

I am very excited to announce that this Wednesday I will be participating  in an engaged patient discussion with Virtually Connecting.

Virtual Connecting is an awesome group that started in the educational technology world, enabling people to participate in conferences virtually and synchronously- usually through quick discussions between people at the conference in person, and people who could not physically attend. I have participated with Virtual Connecting a few times already, which has really helped me to feel engaged in my scholarship and academic spheres. To say I am excited about Virtually Connecting spanning the chronic illness, constant patient part of my life too would be an understatement.

As I have mentioned in other posts, particularly this one, engaging patients in their medical care is incredibly important to me. Its something I have actually blogged surprisingly little about, care very deeply about, and constantly annoy my doctors with. 😉

I am definitely an engaged patient. It is my life, my health, and something I am actively going to play a role in- whether my medical professionals like it or not. I would love to see a medical system more conducive to medical teams than doctors handing down information and decisions to patients.

Anyway, space to participate live via Hangouts with the Virtual Connecting discussion is limited, but the session will be livestreamed – so anyone can watch along and participate in the discussion on twitter using #vcept. Let your voices be heard!

Learning Curve

This post is just venting. Sometimes you just need a space to complain.

This gastroparesis is a real learning curve.

What does my body like? What doesn’t it? Are these symptoms from something I ate a few hours ago or is my tummy mad for other reasons?And I keep forgetting to take my Reglan before I eat, like a dummy.

I know its going to take more than two weeks for me to figure this out, since it took me over a year (at least!I have no clue how long I’d been blaming these symptoms on my endometriosis) to be diagnosed, but I get fleeting moments of feeling good again and that only makes me notice the pain and discomfort so much more. I hadn’t even realized how much pain I was in until it stopped (thanks to following GP dietary guidelines).

I meet with a dietician on Monday. I really hope she’ll be able to help me get a new handle on my body, and the food I can provide it.

I have a feeling I’ll be relearning my body for a long time to come.

 

Fitness

I miss being fit. Sometimes it hits me more than others, and right now I am really mourning being strong. I used to move 100lb feed bags, lifting them when they’d been poured down to about 70lbs (which was about 60% of my body weight at the time). I worked in barns, with 600lb sows, with cows, with horses, with sheep.

And way back when, I used to play lacrosse. I could run miles. I had defined abs.

I miss all of that. I miss my muscles. I miss being strong; being fit.

Hopefully, now that we’ve got this gastroparesis thing figured out, I’ll be able to balance my diet and consume enough calories that I can finally begin taking steps to being fit again. I meet with a dietitian on Monday, and I can’t wait to talk to her about it.

Gastroparesis Food for Spoonies: Minced Turkey Mix

I’ve made Vikalina’s Spicy Turkey Burek‘s a few times, and always love the flavor but not working with the filo dough. Then I started just sauteing up the turkey, onions, spices and eating mixed with cucumber and hummus on naan. Doing so makes it quick and easy to whip up and satisfyingly tasty.

To make the recipe GP friendly, I dropped the onion and peeled then cut and diced just the flesh-y sides of the cucumber–tossing out the seeds. I forgot to take my Reglan before eating, and much to my (thankful) surprise had no problems at all! Hopefully some of you will find this recipe as equally easy, satisfying, and symptom free.

Minced Turkey Mix

• 1 lb ground/minced turkey with a low % fat
• 1/2 bunch cilantro (I buy mine pre-chopped in a tube)
• 1/2 bunch parsley (I buy mine pre-chopped & partially dried)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon Dried Corriander
• Salt, Pepper, & Dried Chili Flakes to taste
• Hummus
• 1/2 cucumber
• Naan

1. Combine the turkey and spices in a skillet and cook through, until turkey is no longer pink.
2. While the seasoned turkey is cooking, peel the cucumber. Cut the cucumber along the sides, just before you reach the seeds. Dice the cucumber, for some lovely texture.
3. When the turkey is finished cooking, portion out the amount you want to eat; I eat mine out of a bowl. Top with a serving of diced cucumber and mix with a spoonful, or two, of hummus. Enjoy with naan!