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Curious what amount of "treats" you all eat per day/per week? By "treats" I mean foods we're totally allowed to eat (for our respective diet lists) but not necessarily the healthiest, i.e. potato chips w/ just olive oil or other packaged stuff, or treats that may be healthy but probably not great if eaten too much of, i.e. cheese.
the only treat I have are
the only treat I have are blueberries I will have a small handfull in place of my carb at the end of a meal.i still don't do it every day either not sure I tollerate it yet. I usually do this in the afternoon. I will also have small amounts of goat cheese maybe once a month. I have only had chips one time I got the good health kind. I don't really crave prepackaged food so much as it would be nice to have nuts. I think in the future if I were to have a treat say an agave sweetened treat it might e be once in a while on the weekend. 2x a month. I would hate to get this again once my body is in balance I want to keep it that way I think its something to talk about next friday. Are you going to make it Lisa?
Treats warning...
Ok, you all will probably think, "Thanks Debbie Downer" however, I think it would be wise for all of us to re-program our brains as to how we view food. I have been one of the worst patients ever with respect to food. I cheated very badly for about 2-3 years because I felt I should be "allowed" treats, etc. I would really encourage us all to re-think what food is and how we associate certain feelings, activities, even friends with it.
If we are discussing treats purely from the POV regarding our favorite foods, my favorite snack right now are:
1. celery or apples with raw almond butter
2. My cauliflower tabbouleh (if you are my facebook friend, you can see the recipe there, if not, add me: Jeanette Lopatka)
3. Raw pecans
4. The Kale chips Alexandra was talking about
5. hummus with carrots ( i know many of you cannot tolerate hummus yet, but you may be able to make your own yogurt dip with dill, garlic powder, lemon juice, salt, etc or any variation of that)
6. mini muffins using the pamelas baking mix or any flour you can tolerate.
Hope this helps.... I think it is dangerous to look for "cheats" though. I think it defeats the whole purpose which is to eat as much whole, minimally processed natural foods possible. I am mainly posting this for newbies as I think some of this information could be misleading as it was for me early on in treatment.
I agree...
With you Jeanette. And an apple with almond butter always was my treat : ( and everything on your list sounds good... But I also know that like today, I went to a valentine tea at my friends house. She is a really good baker, and she made all kinds of good things, brownies, scones, everything you could think of that is evil...lol... anyway I brought a tray of veggies, and just ate celery sticks while everyone else oohed and ahhhed on how everything tasted amazing... it was really hard, but not really because I wanted the food, ( the sugar cravings are almost completely gone ), but I just struggled with thoughts of how I am not normal, and feeling like everyone was staring at me feeling sorry for me.I had gotten a bag of the Kettle Organic lightly salted potato chips... and had some when I got home after dinner ( healthy dinner ). And I feel a bit bad about doing that... I have had some one other time since I have been on this diet. Other than that I haven't cheated at all ( except I made some of those Kale chips... I had some kale and couldn't resist, it was weird it felt like after eating the kale I my bladder almost felt better? Am I going crazy... )Anyway, for those of us who do have the potato chips that are on the safe list ( those are on the safe list right? ) once in awhile, is that going to make treatment not effective???
You don't have to feel bad
I know that "tea" thing stinks... I had to go to one of those... It is very difficult. Honestly, it has been easier for me to massage the truth and tell people that I was diagnosed with celiacs and a host of other allergies. Then people "get it " kind of. This sounds cheesey, but I totally feel sorry for others who eat like crap. I work at Starbucks and I see all of these people come in and get these horrible drinks, desserts (made with "whole grains") etc. They are so unhealthy. It seems like we have so many cancer patients who walk through our door too. It freaks me out. I think Americans in general have very unhealthy food associations and feel sorry for people who don't want to "trash" their bodies. We have weird ideas about what is healthy and what is not. Very sad. With the kale... OMG... I had HOOOORRRID pain in my ovary this last week, i could barely stand, but I made those chips... After, I ate the whole bunch and then fell asleep. Upon waking, I felt so much better physcially. Potato chips fix the immediate hunger, yes, but I have never felt physically great after eating them. Believe me too, I have had my fair share, so I am not pointing fingers at ANYONE!!! I can just say, and Matia will back me, I have cheated long enough that I can definitely tell you that not cheating feels better and unfortunately there are no short cuts... The best thing you can do is plan ahead... Have snacks all planned out for a week... Have nuts, or whatever you CAN have ready to go... I had to work at SBUX this morning at 4:15 AM.. I cut up apples, celery, carrots and almond butter... and brought that with me... Yes, it is an unconventional breakfast, but I really don't care... Then I had the eggs and bacon out of one of our sandwiches (I threw out the bread and cheese)
Hang in there... I must sound like an ultra healthy freak.. .Believe me, donuts appeal to me on so many levels, except the health level... They are convenient, quick and social, but they do nothing for us.
Potato Chips
I have noticed when I wake up the next day after eating potato chips, my hand is swollen and the bottoms of my feet hurt more than they already do. Also my tummy gets a little gassy. I am concerned this means I am feeding the yeast. Does anyone know if this is a yeast symptom? I know I should stop eating them, its hard having NO treats though.. I am on list one again and cant make the Kale chips yet. I am not tolerating many foods at all. I feel in my heart I should not be eating carbs, but I am trusting Matia in her saying its ok with a protien. I get so weak when I try to go w/o carbs.
Ok, this is not going the direction I intended....
Ok, this is not going the direction I intended.... I purposely worded my post carefully so it would not be misleading, and I'm not talking about cheating at all. I'm also not downplaying the absolute importance of whole, natural foods and making them almost all (as I do) if not all of your diet.
What I was asking about was the occasional list- & health-approved "treat" and in what amount people eat them. As I listed in my post, could be cheese... or fruit... or a minimally processed packaged food that we're allowed... doesn't have to be potato chips, could be brown rice tortilla. While I really respect & applaud anyone who can cut out these things 100%, and they may be healthier because of it, I don't think that for myself and others who choose to occasionally & responsibly (read: portion control!) "indulge," it is anywhere near the end of the world for our treatment nor general health, plus as a living breathing human as much as I love hummus sometimes you just want a little something ...not b/c of feeling deprived or our culture or anything, but you just want to enjoy the taste -again I don't mean a cheat food or anything seriously processed or unhealthy, it could be fruit. Even when I asked Matia months ago, she said even if I had a tiny amount of my-list-approved "treat" every day it's not a big deal (and remember she herself has agave treats sometimes).
Lisa
Before Matia I would buy food for life brown rice tortiallas and drench them in a yummy olive oil. Then I would put REAL salt on them and bake then for 13 minutes at 350. Sometimes sprinkle my favorite seasonings on them when they came out, VERY good. Another thing I would do was take my trader Joes rice cakes and put them in the toaster oven, just before they are about to burn. Take them out and put your fav. olive oil on them. They melt in your mouth. There is something about trader Joes rice cakes that taste better to me than anything else. Another snack I make is take plain rice crackers from whole foods and drench them in your fav. butter or olive oil, then bake them for 12 minutes at 350. Take them out and put a little approved cheese on top of them and bake them again for another 1-2 minutes My all time fav. is mashed up avacado with one of those chips I made!Also, love homemade salsa with them. I long for the day I can tolerate this stuff again:)
Lisa, I keep bugging Matia
Lisa, I keep bugging Matia with this question every other time we speak :)From what I understand, you can have these things even every day as a snack, but just watch the portions. Prepackaged foods can be confusing sometimes. For instance, a potato chip bag would say: 1 serving equals 5 chips. I asked Matia, and she said I can have 20 chips as a snack and just use my judgement. I actually do notice that I feel more tired and "yeasty" after eating them. A box of table crackers that I tolerate says 4 crackes in 1 serving, and that is what I am trying to stick with. I have a slice of melted provolone cheese on toast with avocado a couple of times a week. I stay away from fruit or nut butter all together, even though Matia allowed it. I want to wait another 6 months or so, till I feel that things are more stable. I read it here once, that an old patient, who is totally ok now stayed on the same List 2-3 diet for about 3 years and then reintroduced other things slowly with no problem. I guess the second time around made me much more careful :). Another rule I remember is to have a snack a size of a fistfull, that goes for bluberries, nuts, etc.
Lisa
Lisa... I did get what you were saying, and I appreciate you bringing it up! Sorry if it sounded like I didn't, I was just wondering the same as you as how often people eat those allowable things. I have only been on this diet 3 weeks, and I have wanted to know about what kinds of things we are "allowed" to eat, as far as how often people eat them. For example, when I make my potatoes, I couple times a week I bake them with a lot of Olive oil and Real salt, and make "fries" out of them. They turn out really crispy and delish, and I eat them with protein and lots of veggies. But on the other hand I have wondered, " This isn't really the best way to eat my starch". But hey,I feel the same as you. I want to eat whole foods and good things, but struggle to with NEVER, or only once a month, having things like allowable potato chips, and things that we can have, but might not be the best way to eat them...I struggle when I hear people talk like even having the once in awhile, crispy thing in olive oil is bad.... but it can also be hard to know what everyone is meaning when they talk about how they eat.Anyway, Jeanette that is so weird about the kale! I really do feel like is helps me? And your quick breakfast sounds very YUM!
I am going to diary
I have had many struggles with food and the reason why I posted regarding treats, is that I suspect that many of Matia's patients have their own struggles with how they invision food... I think having a healthy attitude towards food in general is CRITICAL for some in order to get better quickly! For others, it may not be... Others may have more restraint or self control, I do not... at all and it hurt me, for a long time. I really wish the psychological aspect of this illness was addressed... It is like I need a sports psychologist... For those of you who are interested in seeing my posts regarding how I visualize food, etc add me as your facebook friend under Jeanette Lopatka and I will start a diary that you can facebook stalk :) I think some of us need to feel like we are not alone in how we view food, etc.
home made tortillas
ladies--
you can make this at home! so delish and so easy--i eat them everyday. you could bake them too! 1 1/4 cup of flour, 1/4 ish cup of oil and some water sprinkle in salt.
i usually use spelt, but you can use rice flour or potato flour or whatevs.
Treats
Some of the things I like that are "treats"
I slice zucchini, brush them with olive oil and sprinkle (very lightly) with salt -- sometimes I skip the salt -- it's easy to accidentally wreck these with salt. I bake them in the oven @300 for 10 min or so, and they make a great snack.
My husband (who is an awesome cook) found a recipe for perogies and he made them for me with spelt flower (filled with mash potatoes and mozzarella!) They are delicious!!
I make tart sized quiche. I can buy spelt (yeast/sugar free) tart shells at my local health food store. These are so easy! I put egg, broccoli, spinich in them and they are an addictive snack. (the recipe is on this site, and is not my own)
Lastly, the zucchini muffins (recipe on this site as well) they are so delicious and as long as you don't overdo them (as with anything) I think the actual balance of them for our diet isn't bad.
Just some ideas.
As far as frequency goes, I don't know if I'm as strict with myself as some others seem to be:
I eat 1 or two small zucchini muffins most every day as a morning snack. I try to eat some cut up raw veggies at the same time for balance.
The baked zuchinni is something I would be willing to eat at any point - I figure it's a pretty healthy way to deal with snack cravings. I probably have them once a week.
The perogies I'm careful about because they are so high in starch/carb content. I might only have them once or twice a month, and they replace a carb in my meal. I try not to have too many, either.
I make the tart sized quiche every couple of weeks and have 2 as a snack in the morning or afternoon. Again I try to eat them with cut up raw veggies to balance them a bit.
Frankly as long as my veggie/carb/protein balance is on the mark, and I haven't cheated with my ingredients I don't care how often I eat these types of foods. Maybe it's the wrong attitude to take, but I figure if I'm staying on the diet (balance of foods included) then I'm doing well.