Suggested Solutions for the Problem With Food

Yesterday's post about my food problems garnered quite a response from my friends and readers--thank you!

I'm posting the collection of responses so I can not only keep track of them for myself, but to share them with you in case any of you experience some of the same issues. I will be brave and swallow my nausea and post your helpful suggestions. Here goes...

First, I received recommendations from the my Healthy Holidays Challenge group. These are great things I can do to get myself off the ground.

**The HH Challenge leader suggested I look to see if the foods I can handle have anything in common. An unnoticed link might show me a temporary solution.

**I listed things I'm okay with eating and noticed that meat was really not one of them. The HHC leader recommended that I try non-meat protein options like eggs and soybeans so I can get what I need in a way that won't make me feel ill.

**When asked "how veggies are treating me," I admitted that I'm not pushing them on myself like I know I should. (Fruit is easy; vegetables, not so much.) The same gal who recommended non-meat protein options suggested I try making frittatas or spaghetti squash with sauce. I freely admit that I do not know how to prepare either of those things.

**Another HHC person suggested that I rock smoothies whenever necessary--fruit, yogurt, vegetables, seeds, etc. He also mentioned burritos, which I champion right now because they are simple and I can tolerate, so I will need to pursue this.



**Yet another HHC lady mentioned ginger or peppermint tea to calm my unhappy internals. I definitely love tea, and I have teas in both those flavors, so I will be giving that a shot for sure.

** One friend recommended oatmeal as a standby. Our conversation quickly turned into a discussion of how to turn oatmeal into something palatable and healthy (but taste somewhat junkfoody because that seems to be what I'm gravitating towards). Her recommendation: healthy oatmeal cookies (rather than crummy store bought granola bars, etc.)  as drop cookies or bars:

Standard oatmeal cookie recipe on the back of old fashioned oats (slow cook), add flax seeds, chia seeds, use coconut oil rather than butter (because it is super good for you), cut the sugar back and use half splenda, half organic turbinado sugar (but if you aren't concerned about sugar, use all sugar), replace the white flour with coconut flour. (If you don't like coconut, you won't like it; otherwise, it is awesome. It is like an oatmeal cookie macaroon.) Make the recipe as per the recipe on the oats. Add 2 extra eggs. Before adding the oats, add extra milk (I use almond milk, but whatever kind is fine) until it is moist enough to be able to add the oats. The coconut flour absorbs liquid like crazy. Add the flax and chia right before the oats. You can bake these in a brownie pan or as cookies. They have a lot of protein, are really yummy, won't spike your blood sugar, and stay good for at least a week. You can leave out the choc chips, flax, etc, or add whatever you like. It seems like "junk" but it's healthier than most protein bars

** Another friend (a real foodie, I might add!) recommended expanding my food repertoire. I honestly hadn't considered this. Usually when I get into this kind of food funk, I gravitate to the standards of my life... the basics, the comfort foods, the staples. I don't tend to try new things. She recommended that I switch things up. I said that 1) I am pressed for time as it is and learning new things isn't really on my agenda (which makes me sad for myself as I type this), and 2) I was nervous that I'd mess it up and end up screwed with food I didn't like and wouldn't eat. She was understanding, but said I should try it anyway. She's good like that--supportive, but non-judgmental.

Again--THANK YOU for your responses. You are awesome, awesome people with excellent ideas for new food for my life! It means a lot to me that you all want to help me through this. I'm going to try to get on with these suggestions. I started this morning with peppermint tea. :) Next up is to learn what a frittata is...