Ideas and Suggestions

[donnyandcathy]

I can't go back to cooked foods, mainly grains, and meat proteins!!! I tried this week for my Gastroparesis "diet" and it didn't work, I feel worse than I ever did on raw.
I want to stay raw really bad, and I know I can with all your help, and suggestions. I just need to make a list of foods, and recipes that I can eat, then go from there.
As for the Small Intestines Bacteria Overgrowth, I'm going to trust what people have said on here, and stay with eating the fruit, and not worry about the sugars in the fruit.
As for veggies, there are not that many that my body can break down, and then there are some that cause great pain, and bloating.

What are some of the veggies that should be easy to digest?
I know the ones that hurt me... Garlic (even with the middle taken out), raw tahini, onions, I can't do any nightshades due to my fibromyalgia and myofascial.
I tried doing zucchini and squash but they caused gas really bad. I seem to do fine with Romaine hearts in a salad, and when I blend my spinach or chard in my smoothie it seems to do ok.
So really just fruits and greens. But what will happen in the winter when the fruit is not in season? I know with gastroparesis I can't digest the skins on fruits, and the oranges are too fibrous.
I wonder if I take some veggies and run them through the food processor and blend them really good, if that would help with the digestion?

I need a good salad dressing that would be low in fat. What about Apple Cider Vinegar, I use Braggs with the "mother." But with the bacteria overgrowth should I stay away from vinegar? I was using Agave, but now hearing all the bad reports on Agave, I have not used it anymore.
I tried eating my salad without dressing yesterday, but I don't like it, and in order for me to eat my salad, I need it to taste good even if it's just a little dressing. Any ideas?

I could do almond milk with Chia to make pudding, and some of the raw desserts that don't have nuts or seeds.

What are some other things I could add to my list?
I need to go back to the store so I can have some things to eat next week. When I went Friday to the store, I thought I was going to come off raw for awhile to see if it would make my stomach feel better, but I can see now that it's not going to work.
I miss my raw :(

I know I can juice as well, and in fact I have some frozen juice that I had prepared that I can drink tomorrow. I may even do a juice fast to get this cooked food out. My stomach is so distended, and I'm in SO much pain, I am ready for tomorrow so I can start to cleanse.

Thanks so much!!
Cathy

[Veganforlife]

Wow Cathy! That's quite a post! Do you have Alissa's book? Have you read it? I really think if you follow her guidelines for the 30-day challenge you WILL feel better!

[donnyandcathy]

Yes, I have her book and her DVD.
I have a lot of other raw food "un-cook" cookbooks.
I am going to sit down tomorrow, and make a big list of foods that I know will work. Just pray that my stomach will get along with the foods, and I will be able to absorb the nutrients that will help me to heal.
Thanks for the encouragement, I need it right now.
Cathy

[Veganforlife]

I'm just wondering if this diagnosis isn't something that will heal with time eating 100% Raw? Our bodies are quickly forgiving!

When I first went Raw folks told me because of my non-functioning thyroid I shouldn't eat those foods that could do it more harm than good? Like cabbage, etc? I continue to eat cabbage w/no problems. Remember, docs are NOT nutrionists.

[margoss]

I don't have suggestions except have you tried deseeding the squash/zucchini? Sorry you're dealing with this, hope find guidance to where you need to be as you look through your books.

[Tsurugi_Oni]

Well zucchini and squash are actually fruits. I don't know if that makes a difference but.

I don't think ACV would be a problem with yeast since vinegar is a sugarless product.

You ever look into food combining rules? If you give me a quick list of typical meals I could do a quick evaluation. Or if you want I could redirect you to a pretty good resource that could help ya out.

[RawKnitster]

I tried eating my salad without dressing yesterday, but I don't like it, and in order for me to eat my salad, I need it to taste good even if it's just a little dressing. Any ideas?

How about using a little dressing made with equal parts fresh squeezed lemon juice, raw farm honey, and oil of your choice, olive, hemp, or flax. Blend it with a tiny bit of grated fresh ginger for flavor and help with digestion. I'm a believer in the value of honey for medicinal purposes. Unfiltered honey straight from the hive with bits of honeycomb, pollen, and propolis and even royal jelly has been used for centuries to aid digestion, promote healing, and provide energy.


I seem to do fine with Romaine hearts in a salad, and when I blend my spinach or chard in my smoothie it seems to do ok.
So really just fruits and greens. But what will happen in the winter when the fruit is not in season? I know with gastroparesis I can't digest the skins on fruits, and the oranges are too fibrous.

How about squeezing the juice from the oranges and blending the greens in the orange juice (instead of water) ? That is my favorite way to make green smoothies

I hesitate to advice you in any way, but if I was in your situation I would keep it simple, 2-3 ingredient meals (plus salad dressing). Have a spoonful or two of raw farm honey in between meals. Eat smaller meals preferably on an empty stomach. Only drink water and juices on an empty stomach. I would drink a lot of fresh apple juice, sometimes with lemon juice, honey and ginger. I would also drink a glass with water blended with green food powder at least once a day. I would keep it simple at first and keep a journal. Add new foods one at a time so I could track how they make me feel. As I progressed and healed I would add in more foods.

I would also gather and utilize all the healing powers of the mind through self-hypnosis, meditation, prayer, positive thoughts, and any outside help I can gather, too, like maybe reiki treatments and acupressure/puncture.

Don't worry about what your going to do this winter. You don't need to add to your worries right now. Take it one day at a time.

Best Wishes to you Cathy! I hope you find something that works for you soon. Keep us posted.

[klomasius]

No suggestions, just hugs and best wishes. :)

[rawrawks]

Eat whatever raw you can handle. Not look ahead to winter worries, you might be all healed by then. There is fruit in wnter too.

Raw works, eat it and trust it. I beleive personally, raw food can heal anything. Best

[Seedy]

Fasting can do wonders when you need to heal a sick body. A water fast is best, but not very practical unless under a doctor's supervision. If you could afford it, I would suggest some place like True North where you would be an actual patient under doctor's care. You might want to pick up a copy of Joel Fuhrman's book 'Fasting and Eating for Health'. Its very educational. If a water fast isn't possible, a juice fast is the next best thing. There's lots of juice fasting/feasting resources on the internet. I believe Angela Stokes has a book of recipes for juice feasting out. Check out her website at http://www.rawreform.com/content/view/271/137/. Blending food in a high speed blender like a Vitamix does disrupt fiber so if nothing else you may want to consider a diet of green smoothies and blended soups for a while. Have you considered an implant to treat the gastroparesis? I believe there is the equivalent of a pacemaker for the stomach that can trigger it to eject food into the small intestine at a regular basis. This might be a better long term solution than drugs if diet alone fails to work in the end. Good Luck,
Seedy

[ShelShel]

The difficulty I think in your eating is the two going against each other. Most people turn to sweetness when they can't digest certain spicy foods & others who can't have sweet chose spicy for the pop in flavor. But like all things we want...we make it work! :D

I'm wondering if a salad topped with a fresh cubed avocado would be yummy to your taste buds? I put whatever I want in my salad and cube an avocado...topping that with a sprinkle of sea salt and pepper. Yummmmm! Eating a small piece of creamy avo with every bite. ;)

Celery is very good for the stomach. Perhaps with a cashew cream filling. Both would be mild without any sugar.

Just a few ideas. I hope others have more for you. :)

[donnyandcathy]

Well, I made it through the day eating raw, and I did pretty good stomach wise.

I had veggie juice this morning made with my Champion juicer, a green smoothie for late lunch, Chia pudding with homemade almond milk, and a salad with romaine hearts, 1/2 avocado, a little apple cider vinegar, sea flakes, and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast.

I do watch my food combining, and I have a book on that. I will get it out and make sure I stick with it. I will keep my meals simple, and try to eat small amounts but more frequent to help with the digestion.

I know I can do this, I felt stronger (mentally) today, and I felt like I had a plan. It may take me awhile to get better physically, but I really feel like I'm on the right path.

One question, with the raw honey, mine is really solid, how do I use it in a recipe when it needs to be more liquid to blend, like with salad dressing?
I love honey, so I would love to try this. Also, when a recipe calls for Agave Syrup, what can I substitute for it?

Thanks everyone!!!
Cathy

[Veganforlife]

Cathy! RAWsome you made it through a day!

For the Raw honey? scoop some out and put it in the dehydrator or in a watertight container set in a bowl of warm water. It will get more "pliable" when warmer.

Honey can be subbed for agave...

[donnyandcathy]

Thanks Veganfor life,
I will try the honey in the dehydrator.

I'm glad I made it through the day too, and I feel good about tomorrow.

Night,
Cathy

[streetsurfer]

Thanks for the schooling on gastroparesis Cathy. In case you haven't seen this....maybe it will answer some of your food questions. I need to go over it once I feel better, so I can retain what I have read.
Gastroparesis Diet (http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/internet/digestive-health/nutrition/GASTROPARESIS-DIET.pdf)

Thanks to your thread, I now think I understand why I have such difficulty with meats. I had been fine for five weeks on raw foods but due to a brain fart I suppose, I had some sardines last Wednesday. What a miserable four days it has been, with the autointoxication and gerd, bad mood and feeling depressed that followed. A starck contrast to the energy and high of eating raw. Tommorow looks brighter for me, though. I sure hope it is for you too.

[donnyandcathy]

Streetsurfer,
I would love to help cheer you on!!
When they gave me the diagnoses a few weeks ago, along with the Small Bowel Bacteria Overgrowth, I thought raw foods were the worst things I could be eating. But the last 2 weeks, I tried cutting out the raw foods, and adding in so called "healthy" cooked foods to see if it would help. But NO!! It didn't in fact it made it a lot worse, especially when I added in eggs (even though they were from our chickens) and a little organic chicken, some cooked grains, and some cooked veggies. I got sicker the last few weeks, and like you, I also got very down and out. My symptoms got worse, and I was not feeling better at all.
So, I am going to eat the raw foods that I know won't cause too many bad symptoms, make sure I'm getting my greens in, and go back to the freedom of feeding my body the way I want to. I love being raw, and I feel like this way of eating makes me the happiest. When I added back in the cooked foods, they really triggered cravings, and I didn't feel like I was satisfied with what I was eating either. But with raw foods, it's just different.
I know my body can't do grains, I don't think it could even do sprouted grains, I can't do things like garlic, onions, tahini, night shades, a lot of nuts/seeds, and if I do eat nuts/seeds I need to make sure I soak them. I have to be careful with spices, and oils. I think someone said it best, keep it simple, and make sure your listening to your body.
Best of luck to you, and I am here if you need to "talk." Feel free to e-mail me.
Cathy

[andra]

My suggestions would be baby greens--like baby bibb lettuse; I would think that would be easier to digest. Mint is an excellent herb for digestion--you can add fresh to your salad/blended veggie drinks, you can sprinkle dried in your salad, you could make mint tea.

My other suggestion would be to look into yoga--there are some specific poses that help with digestion. There are many styles of yoga and you could do some research into this. I have a few that I do consistently and it has helped my digestion a lot. Also meditation, not wearing tight clothing, chewing your food really well.....there are some strategies that can help and I am sure others have ideas.

Good luck to you.

andra

[michigan roman]

if i consumed honey it'd be almond milk smoothie with honey / carob powder or cacoa / banana constantly

then marinating tomatos in lemon juice and herbs (parsley) which you then put over your greens

and when ive a good supply of spinach i eat it plain with mushrooms

ive stomach issues also and bananas have become a year round staple ,
also raisins

[michigan roman]

just noticed andra said baby greens , and i think your in warm climate

so with a cold frame you could pretty much grow a great supply of baby greens at home near year round . heres a link to a place that sells good seeds in huge quanities cheap / cheap / cheap . when you get big quanities you can just easily broadcast seed your greens beds quickly without having to play arounddropping one seed at a time in rows which gets very lame and tends to cauuse one to stop the habit . the company is

http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geutKQUZtKa4oAigBXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEyc3RtZzA wBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA2FjMgR2dGlkA0Y4MjNfODA-/SIG=11gra5m91/EXP=1251779344/**http%3a//www.willhiteseed.com/

i'll check out the site to refresh my memory then post the two lettuces and size seed orders ide suggest to make a good micro green mix

[michigan roman]

here in the lettuce section get :

RUBY RED - 1/4 LB

PARRIS ISLAND COS - 1/4 LB

link =

http://www.willhiteseed.com/categories.php?cat=41

* shippings cheap and this shall give you a GIANT amount of seed for VERY cheap which shall help you enjoy the micro green farming . if have brick wall facing south (with concrete by hopefully to help heat) build cold frame against it as the brick (and concrete) absorb / hold suns heat to keep green beds healthy . cut the micro greens at soil level with the heavy kitchen type scissors

[michigan roman]

the parris island is the basic romaine

the ruby is a lightly red tinted loose leaf lettuce

its two different textures / tastes

ide get the arugula there also if you like that

[donnyandcathy]

Thanks so much Michigan Roman!!
My 18 year old daughter does our garden, and she is about to plant our winter garden. She will appreciate the site, and the suggestions. We were trying to figure out what lettuce to plant for my salads. We are also planting a bunch of varieties of Chard, Kale, Spinach, and herbs for my green smoothies.
I LOVE Cilantro in my green smoothies, but every time we plant it, it turns into Coriander and I like the tang of Cilantro better than the Coriander.

Thanks again!!
Cathy

[donnyandcathy]

:( I just went to the site to see about ordering and they are sold out of everything except the Organic Lettuce Seed Mat. I wonder when they will restock? I know we checked a lot of places around where we live to see about plants and seeds, and everyone is out. I will ask my daughter if she knows of another on-line supplier.
Thanks!!
Cathy