Well, the Christmas holidays have finally drawn to a close and I have returned to college. This means that I have also returned to feeding myself i.e., making breakfast, lunch and dinner. I don’t mind really. I quite enjoy cooking. I actually find it kind of relaxing. So I’ve been planning ahead by trying to decide what I’m going to have for lunch and dinner. Breakfast isn’t all that hard- a bowl of weetabix and 2 slices of toast, there’s not a lot of planning needed for that.
But lunch and dinner? They are extremely important because as I’ve discussed many times before I have crohn’s disease. This means that I need a very balanced meal. It also means I need red meat AT LEAST three times a week and I also have to find other iron sources on days when I’m not having red meat. So let’s say I decide I want gammon steak for dinner. There is virtually no iron in that, so I’ve created something so extraordinary and tasty that my dietician was glowing with pride- Black Pudding Mash. It’s quite simple really. It’s mashed potatoes with black pudding broken up and mixed through it. Now I’m first to admit that it looks absolutely awful but God it tastes GOOD!
On other days when I have say, chicken, I don’t bother with a source of iron with my dinner. Instead, I have chicken liver pâté on toast later on in the evening. Oh- it is so good. I know it sounds absolutely rank but trust me, it’s not!
In order for me to be able to absorb all this wonderful Iron, it is also essential that I drink Ribena with my dinner which is packed full of Vitamin C. I can’t eat ANY fruit or fruit juices so this is my only source of that particular vitamin. And let me tell you it works wonders because the last time I had a blood test my iron was up 2 points!
Speaking of blood tests and things, I have a hospital appointment 3 weeks after I return to college. This means that I am going to be on what I like to call the “Get-a-Booty Mission”. Last time I was at the hospital I got on really well. Normally when that happens my next hospital visit doesn’t go so well because I think I have a tendency to get complacent. Well, let me tell you, I am full of grit and determination to never let that happen again. My targets are to get my weight to 51.85kg or over (preferably to 52kg), my protein to 20 and my Iron to 12. They are huge targets, I know. But as my old biology teacher used to say, if you don’t aim for it, you can’t achieve it! They were all so happy for me in the hospital the last day that I just really feel I’ll be letting them down if all those levels were to drop again!
So over the past few days I have been busy typing up menu plans and searching for iron rich recipes and just some tasty recipes too to help me on my way to a big booty. One that I found was a Beef Stir-Fry. Naturally, I had to alter it because I can’t eat chillies or peppers (although I’m not altogether convinced about the latter) but it still sounds so so so tasty. The beef is marinated in dry sherry beforehand, so what could be wrong with it? Also, I’ve recently discovered that there is very few cooked vegetables that I can’t eat so I want to try stir-fried vegetables in Soya sauce when I’m cooking something like roast chicken.
Maybe that’s enough talk about food for now... the mother thinks that I’m becoming slightly obsessed with it... but I can’t help it... it’s just so tasty. But you can see that there is a lot of planning involved in a crohn’s sufferer’s diet!
Laters
Sal
Monday, 19 January 2009
Thursday, 8 January 2009
Strictly Between Us!
Well, so far 2009 has been interesting to say the least. The wonderful father surprised us with something... there will be more on that later on. Also, I had a hospital appointment yesterday and I got the all clear. However, that is as much detail as I’m going into on that subject- kind of personal! Also, I went out for a meal with the family on New Year’s Day. Oh my God- Yummy! The only word to describe it!
Now, normally I don’t talk about books until the end of the blog but I only have the one so I thought I would get it out of the way. So the latest book that I have finished is “Bleachers” by John Grisham. It was quite boring to be frank. Nothing happens except some dude it dying and they’re thinking about memories of him. I’m surprised at you Mr. Grisham! You’re books are usually really good!
On to more interesting things- the New Year’s Day meal! For starters I had Mussels in a creamy garlic and white wine sauce! This was very adventurous for me and I have to admit when they were put on the plate in front of me I was horrified because they’re kind of orange- to me that is not a very appetising colour. But I pretended that I didn’t see the colour of them and marched on and popped one in my gob. Now, I wouldn’t go bonkers about them or anything but they were quite nice, the sauce was lover-ly! The father had chicken and vegetable soup and the sister and the mother had skewered Thai chicken. There was no complaints from them about their. On to the mains, I had braised lamb shank with roast carrots. It was by far the BEST lamb I have ever had. The lamb literally fell off the bone! Succulent, I think is the word all them posh critics would use! The mother had the lamb special which was chops with a herb crust. I tasted it- it was good but not near as good as mine. The sister had barbery Duck with a hoi sin sauce. She ate it ALL! So it must have been good because the sister very rarely clears a plate! I couldn’t taste it because of the sauce (stupid crohn’s). The father had Sea Bass with a Lemon and Dill sauce. Now, I’m not a fan of white fish but it was absolutely gorgeous. The mother, the sister and I all had shortbread with berries and cream. Tracy loved hers. I liked it well enough but because I can’t eat fruit it was a bit bland because I could only eat the shortbread and the cream. "Well then why did you order it? I hear you ask?" That’s simple, their dessert menu was rubbish! So all in all, it was quite a good meal. Although, the more I think about the mussels, the less I EVER want to eat them again!
Now on to the father’s surprise. On Monday evening, the mother came home from work and she hid a little note under my place mate. It read:
I know, very cryptic altogether. I hadn’t a clue what she meant. We begged her to tell us and eventually she told us we were going on a trip to London and then, the real bombshell was dropped- We’re going to see Strictly Come Dancing The Live Tour in the O2 arena! As you can imagine, we were gobsmacked and also VERY happy. I was extremely giddy for the rest of the night. So giddy, in fact, that I was unable to eat my dinner. I still get a bubble in my tummy when I think about it!
Laters
Sal
Now, normally I don’t talk about books until the end of the blog but I only have the one so I thought I would get it out of the way. So the latest book that I have finished is “Bleachers” by John Grisham. It was quite boring to be frank. Nothing happens except some dude it dying and they’re thinking about memories of him. I’m surprised at you Mr. Grisham! You’re books are usually really good!On to more interesting things- the New Year’s Day meal! For starters I had Mussels in a creamy garlic and white wine sauce! This was very adventurous for me and I have to admit when they were put on the plate in front of me I was horrified because they’re kind of orange- to me that is not a very appetising colour. But I pretended that I didn’t see the colour of them and marched on and popped one in my gob. Now, I wouldn’t go bonkers about them or anything but they were quite nice, the sauce was lover-ly! The father had chicken and vegetable soup and the sister and the mother had skewered Thai chicken. There was no complaints from them about their. On to the mains, I had braised lamb shank with roast carrots. It was by far the BEST lamb I have ever had. The lamb literally fell off the bone! Succulent, I think is the word all them posh critics would use! The mother had the lamb special which was chops with a herb crust. I tasted it- it was good but not near as good as mine. The sister had barbery Duck with a hoi sin sauce. She ate it ALL! So it must have been good because the sister very rarely clears a plate! I couldn’t taste it because of the sauce (stupid crohn’s). The father had Sea Bass with a Lemon and Dill sauce. Now, I’m not a fan of white fish but it was absolutely gorgeous. The mother, the sister and I all had shortbread with berries and cream. Tracy loved hers. I liked it well enough but because I can’t eat fruit it was a bit bland because I could only eat the shortbread and the cream. "Well then why did you order it? I hear you ask?" That’s simple, their dessert menu was rubbish! So all in all, it was quite a good meal. Although, the more I think about the mussels, the less I EVER want to eat them again!
Now on to the father’s surprise. On Monday evening, the mother came home from work and she hid a little note under my place mate. It read:
“Guess where I’m going on the 6th Feb
Would you like to join me?
Strictly between us!”
Would you like to join me?
Strictly between us!”
I know, very cryptic altogether. I hadn’t a clue what she meant. We begged her to tell us and eventually she told us we were going on a trip to London and then, the real bombshell was dropped- We’re going to see Strictly Come Dancing The Live Tour in the O2 arena! As you can imagine, we were gobsmacked and also VERY happy. I was extremely giddy for the rest of the night. So giddy, in fact, that I was unable to eat my dinner. I still get a bubble in my tummy when I think about it!Laters
Sal
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
