Day one of the special 'diet' and my body is already screaming for vegetables.
Neil's operation is on Friday and he started yesterday with a special 'no roughage' diet. This means no fruit, no vegetables. No brown bread, rice, pasta. No porridge. No nuts. No chips (omg!) No alcohol (double omg). You can eat white everything. White bread. White pasta. White rice. Boiled or mashed potato. Chicken or turkey. Milk. Cheese. Fish. Well it feels like everything is white! You can eat marmite. Neil hates marmite. You can eat honey. Neil doesn't like honey. Rich tea biscuits? Nope. Eggs. Yes (yippee) Jelly. Nope.
You see my problem? Out of the goodness of my heart I said I would do this 'diet' with Neil. So on Saturday we went shopping for food to make the meals. I have planned the meals. I have hidden the biscuits and sweeties by the computer. I have stashed the quavers away. I am prepared.
I wasn't prepared for the meal we had yesterday lunch time. Chicken and potatoes sounds just fine. It isn't, I promise you. In an effort to make the meal more enticing I decided to cook potatoes three ways. I got fed up with that idea and did potatoes two ways (dauphinoise and rosti, but not fried in any oil)...….with chicken.....and gravy. Everything looked beige. The gravy wasn't, but it seemed to take on that sort of dull tone that was browny white. It's quite amazing how a few carrots and a bit of kale brighten up a meal normally. I tried to make some scones for dessert, using white flour of course. I picked all the bits out of the jam and whipped up some cream but the 'scones' were hard. Do not ever try the recipe for 'quick easy scones' using flour, cream and lemonade. Whatever the person who made up this recipe says, the end result is not scones. Boulders yes. Scones no. Looks like scones, yes. Tastes like scones, no. So not a success. This was bad. By bedtime Neil and I were like walking Michelin men (goggle it). We were all beiged out. We were all bunged up, and we still have four more days to go.
All I will say is that I had no idea how much I use onion and tomato bases in my cooking. I thought we didn't eat enough vegetables, but we must do because we already miss it. I also didn't realise how often we eat beef. Think spaghetti bolognaise, cottage pie, burgers. What about a curry, sweet and sour sauce? Stir-fry? Chips? Pork? The diet says nooooo. Today it was chicken and mash potato for dinner. There seems to be a theme here? I confess to making my lunch for work today with humus, celery, crackers and lots of grapes. Yum but it's still not satisfied my craving.
Hysterically my youngest son didn't seem phased by what food we were limited to. In fact he said it sounded remarkably similar to what he eats anyway. I am now concerned about him, concerned I may burst from potato overdose, and concerned I have no imagination to come up with better meals! Actually, there are quite a few other things Neil can eat until Thursday. Breakfast is easy. Egg and toast or cereal and milk. Frosties and coco pops are fine. Lunch is also easy. Tuna, Cheese or egg sandwiches. Mayo and salad cream are ok, and you can have crisps. Not quavers, whotsits or otherwise. It must be crisps!! You can also eat milk puddings, and yogurts with no bits in. We raided the baby section in the chilled aisle because it's all puree and mush. Do not say a word! It's dinner that is the problem really. I've found a recipe for chicken mince burgers with feta cheese, and you can use herbs and spices so hopefully that will tickle our taste buds, but it'll be potato with it again. Hmmm maybe we should have fish and rice instead. Oh I can't wait!
In all seriousness the diet is important and so I will do it along with Neil, but I may just sneak some different things for my lunch at work when he isn't around. Shhhhhhh. From Thursday he will have to have clear fluids only. Consommé, white juices, black tea. It's all for a good reason, and it is important to do this properly, because if we don't then the operation cant be performed. We need the tests and checks, just in case anything more is found. Today on the news there was an interview with a well known BBC journalist. He is having treatment for bowel cancer, and his advice was 'Don't die of Embarrassment'. Bowel talk is embarrassing, but in all seriousness if you are worried get yourself checked out. It's all treatable if caught early. Enough said.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-47771752
No comments:
Post a Comment