Hello Peanut Butter

3/7/11

Eating some peanut butter today. Wow, it is amazingly good. I do not think I have eaten peanut butter for over a year. Maybe it has been two years. It is one of those items I have crossed off my list as foods that tend to lead to the “stuck stomach”. But today, I was craving it so badly, and decided to see if I could handle a small amount. I find that I can handle a small amount of most foods. I would have loved to eat your classic Pb & J sandwich, but this was not an option. All those carbs and fat at once would be a recipe for disaster. So instead, I had a few dates stuffed with peanut butter, with a dollop of raspberry jam on top. Dates are easily digested by me, so this seemed like a safer bet. It is strange to me that as a child I could eat a whole sandwich, and it would go down fine, and then I could eat dinner in a few hours. Can my mind, remembering this, train my nerves to shift, and create this lovely phenomenon again? It amazes me when I see people eating sandwiches at lunch, whether it be PB & J, or a meat and cheese and vegetable sandwich or other. I think, “Oh my god, if I ate that, I would not be hungry again for days!” And there they are, munching on potato chips on the side, not realizing (it my eyes) how lucky they are. (That being said, I have never been a lover of sandwiches or potato chips).

Along with peanut butter, there are several other foods and meals I shy away from, as they have lead to Gastroparesis attacks in the past. Again, I could probably have two or three bites of these foods, but that is not so easy to do. These food/ meals are as follows:

Harder to digest foods:

·         Pizza, calzones, or anything of the like

·         Pasta

·         Baked goods: *muffins, scones, croissants, cookies, brownies

·         Fried foods: French fries, doughnuts

·         Desserts: most contain too much fat for me to digest (including ice cream)

·         Breads: bagels, toast, sandwiches

·         Fondue, or anything with a lot of cheese

·         Rice in medium to high quantities

·         Any kind of nut butter

·         Any high fat dairy product

·         Raw fruits (except maybe melons or grapes)

·         Other random foods that upset my Gastroparesis: papaya, avocado (probably due to high fat), seitan, tempeh

Easier to digest foods/ foods that seem to stimulate digestion:

·         Cooked or pureed vegetables

·         Cooked fruits and dates

·         Vinegars

·         Mustards

·         Garlic

·         Small salads

·         Pureed tofu

·         Eggs (hard boiled, over-easy, in soufflés or other!)

·         Hot liquids

*I do eat ½ of homemade muffins sometimes, but I heat them up with water and mash them.

Wow, in writing this, it appears I can eat so little. I used to feel like that, but I have become quite the creative cook. And remember, I can eat the foods listed in “harder to digest” just in small amounts, and when I feel my digestion is flowing.

Here are two recipes I make often.

Gastroparesis recipes:

GP  Greek Soup

Ingredients:

½ chopped onion

1-2 cloves minced garlic

2-3 diced sun dried tomatoes

1-2 chopped artichokes

Small handful of spinach

1 cup vegetable broth

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

2 T. nutritional yeast (optional)

Method:  1) spray a tiny bit of olive oil onto a pan, Turn stove to medium. Add garlic and onion d sauté for 3 – 5 minutes. 2) Add sun dried tomatoes, artichokes and vegetable broth. Cook for 5 minutes over medium heat. 3) Add spinach, balsamic vinegar and nutritional yeast. Cook another 5 minutes. 4) Salt and pepper to your liking and enjoy!  

Pureed Tofu

Ingredients:

½ cup tofu

1 tsp. vegetable stock

2 T. tomato paste

2 T. mustard

2 cloves minced garlic

2 T. Green Goddess salad dressing (optional)

2 T. nutritional yeast (optional)

Salt and pepper

Method: 1)  Boil tofu in water with vegetable stock for about 10-14 minutes until well cooked. 2) Place in immersion blender with remaining ingredients. 3) Blend away! Add more or less of additives to your liking. 4) Warm up again and enjoy.