Roasted chicken

Easy simple and delicious GP friendly roasted chicken

* i  wash and pat dry one whole chicken 

* place in a baking dish or roasting pan

* sprinkle a few teaspoons salt on the chicken

* squeeze the juice of one lemon all over * stuff with fresh herbs ( optional) 

*place chopped veggies around the chicken

Traditionally I  use peeled carrots, peeled potatoes or sweet potatoes

Roast @350 for 11/2 hours until liquid runs clean if sliced.i remove the veggies and refridgerated what I won't eat for dinner. let the chicken cool and peel off the skin and discard. Then slice all the meat off, this gives me clean healthy white meat for a few days plus a delicious dinner. Sometimes I use the remainder of the bird for chicken stock.

 I find having cooked meat and cooked root veggies available to me makes eating well during the week so much easier. 

 

Happy Monday 

Enjoy 

- JVW

Eating out

Making good, smart, healthy choices is extremely tough for me when I am eating out. At home I can pre plan, be prepared, prep and have a stocked fridge. Even on trips I pack a bag and am set with yummy, healthy options. But eating out, man it gets me every time. I LOVE food and have zero backbone I have discovered when it comes to staying away from "naughty" foods. 

My husband and I try to get out once a month without the girls for a grown up dinner, either with friends or as a date night. We also go out with the girls usually about every two weeks for a casual bite. 

Every time I think ok I got this and EVERY time I slip up somehow. Either bite of the kids dessert or a side I can't tolerate or a sip/glass of wine. Do I know better? Yes! Can I follow through? No:( 

Do I almost instantly regret it, absolutely. It is completely bumming me out to have this negative association with food and feeling dread where there should be happiness. I love going out for meals, getting out of the house, eating yummy foods, not having to cook/clean-up, feeling normal. Now a mini panic sets in( ok full blown panic), can I make it without messing up, will I be in pain, will I be vomiting all night, list goes on....

Last night John and I went to a local amazing restaurant for a date night. Before hand I prepped myself with I will stay strong, I will stay strong, I will make smart choices, I won't eat naughty things etc....

Looking at the menu full of delicious amazing foods made me so sad and deflated. I knew eating really any of them would result in a major flare up.

It made me wonder how many fellow GPers or people with different food sensitivities feel like this and how they deal? I have always had a extremely healthy love for food and eaten well but not restrictive. I have never felt hate, fear, jealousy, starvation, turmoil over food, until now!  And I am having a difficult time excepting and processing these feelings. 

We ended up having a wonderful, happy, cozy night enjoying each other and being kid free to catch up uninterrupted. I got a roasted garlic app which had an olive and tomato temenade. Garlic raw or lighted cooked bothers me but slow roasted it seemed to digest well. I had a few sips yes just a few of Pinot noir and the appetizer and made it home feeling great! It was a small victory and a great night. 

-JVW

Pumpkin pie

This year I attempted to make a GP friendly pumkin pie that was also gluten, sugar free and dairy free

It could have been a tad sweeter but everyone enjoyed it including the kiddos.

Ingredients

I played around with the crust recipe and made it fit  into a 9-inch pie plate

21/2 cups almond meal, 1/4-1/3 cup egg whites, 2tbs maple syrup mixed in a bowl till well combined. Add more egg white if not moist enough. It was a bit hard to work with but I rolled it out between parchment paper and placed it into a pie plate and baked it at 350 for 10 minutes 

•    
• 
  
• In a clean bowl combine:
• 
  
• 2 large eggs
• 1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin puree
• 1 cup coconut or almond milk
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• The batter is runny, it made me a bit worried but set up nicely after baking and cooling.

Directions

1. Set an oven rack in the lowest position and heat oven to 350º 
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin, milk, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt, and cloves.
3. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the crust and bake until the center is set, 60 to 65 minutes. Let cool to room temperature before serving. I found that the second pie was tastier after being refridgerated over night the first pie we ate right away and wasn't quite as flavorful.

Enjoy 

-JVW 

Apple muffins

This recipe is one I found on Delighted Momma's website. She has some awesome Gluten free treats posted on there. I went ahead and edited it to be more GP friendly for me. The original is on her website. 

I make my own apple sauce 80% of the time and find the consistency of these muffins is more enjoyable with homemade apple sauce. But works well with any unsweetened apple sauce. Homemade tends to be naturally sweeter 

• 2 cups of almond meal 
• 1-2 eggs and 2 egg whites 
• 1 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce

• 1 tbs of cinnamon 
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• 1 tsp of baking soda
• 2 tsp of vanilla extract
• 2tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 ginger

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Blend the eggs together in a separate small bowl.
3. Mix together all the above ingredients and slowly stir in the blended eggs.
4. Pour the batter evenly into 12 muffin baking cups.  
5. Cook 20-25 minutes until the tops are golden brown. 

Yo yoing

Hey everyone, 

Past few days I have been in a constant state of up and down. I have been having good hours, getting some healthy food in, sneaking some naughty things in ( a glass of wine) and trying to stay on track.

Yesterday was mostly an "off" day for me, lots of vomiting, some pain, feeling weak and sore and bummed. Orgain was a life saver and even though not all stayed down some did giving me the mini boost I needed. 

 This past week I started dropping weight again (2-3lbs) which is a huge bummer. So I am just trying to keep my fluid intake up and as many healthy and nutritious things down. This morning my daughters and I made quick GP friendly pancakes, 2 bananas, 2 whole eggs, 5tbs egg white, vanilla extract, 3 tbs almond meal, blended together and cooked in a pan. This recipe made more then enough pancakes for my daughters and myself. I had three small ones, with 2tbs non fat Greek yogurt and 2 tbs unsweetened apple sauce. It was a delicious healthy GP meal. I have been avoiding sweeteners of all kinds lately because they all seem a bit "to heavy" for my digestion. Normally maple syrup, agave and honey in small amounts are well tolerated. 

Mostly what I have been realizing more and more is there is no perfect plan or 100% full proof plan of attack. Some days certain foods work well the next they trigger terrible symptoms. I am just trying to take it slowly and in small amounts and playing each day by ear as to what foods may or may not work.

I am curious as to other GPers Holiday meal plans? I want something delicious and festive but don't want to risk symptoms. 

Be well 

-JVW

Getting back on track

The past week I have been trying to stay positive and more importantly focused on my foods, sizes and nutrients. With the holiday season in full swing all the delicious foods are making it tough for me to stay regimented. Every year I do Christmas cooking baking and decorating with my daughters. The thought of all those batters, fresh baked cookies and toppings make my mouth water. Sadly even the smallest bite makes me have symptoms. 

So I have been trying to make myself some "treats" that are GP friendly. Puddings are an easy go to and I enjoy them. When I need to up my healthy nutrients I make my overnight Chia Pudding. Last nights I added more vanilla and a tad bit maple syrup and it turned out perfectly! Made me feel like I was having a real dessert without any of the negative side effects. 

I wonder how all the other GPers handle the holiday foods and temptations?! I must be honest it has been getting me a tad bit down. 

I purchased Crystal Zaborowski's new bake good cookbook and hoping to start trying some of her recipes out. I will keep you all posted:) 

 

-JVW

Some days nothing wants to stay down

On certain less fortunate days my stomach will not cooperate with any foods. After vomiting multiple times I give up and switch to a tea and hard candy diet for the day. The hard candies make me feel like I am "eating" something and the tea is easier on my then water. 

My new favorite hard candies 

They are so delicious and I even love the can:)

- JVW 

Sunday morning pancakes

I am a huge breakfast food lover! I could eat breakfast foods all day long. Every Sunday my family and I try and have a nice Sunday breakfast, these often consist of waffles, german pancakes, pancakes, crepes or some sort of breakfast baked good. I was feeling a bit left out cooking these foods then watching from the sidelines as they were devoured. So I have been trying to be more proactive with my GP friendly breakfast options. Today I had banana pancakes! They were amazing and made from only three ingredients: banana, fresh eggs, vanilla

I have a  Cuisinart SmartPower-15-Piece-Portable Blender, it is one of my most used and loved appliances, I use the individual smoothie cups for my juices and overnight oats all week long)  In the blender cup I  put one egg, 1/4 cup egg white, 1 tbs vanilla and one banana... And blend:) 

I used a ice cream scoop to scoop the batter into hot non stick pan cook about 2 minutes per side on medium/lowish heat and serve:) 

This one serving recipe made more then I could eat for breakfast so I will have left overs for snack or tomorrow. 

-Enjoy 

JVW

Part 1: preparing

I have found the easiest, healthiest and most delicious way to eat well with Gastroparesis is to be prepare. 

Every week I pre make some staple items that can be used throughout the week in my meals.

I always have "overnight oats", chia pudding, veggies, and meat available for quick healthy meal assembly. I make my almost daily frittata with some of these ingredients as well.

Each week :

I pre heat the oven to 375 and slice 2-3 small sweet potatoes  

1 acron squash in half

1 spaghetti squash in half

And bake them on a baking sheet until they are soft. The sweet potato slices I store in a glass covered bowl in the fridge. The squash I scoop out and store in fridge and I do the same with the spaghetti squash.

I sautée 1-2 lbs pounds lean white turkey meat in a dry non stick pan adding a bit of salt and pepper or basil to taste. Once it cools I weigh it into little sandwich bags each being between 3-4 oz per bag. I keep one in the fridge and the rest gets tossed in the freezer. Each evening I take one from the freezer and toss it in the fridge for the next days meals. 

Every two weeks:

I cook a whole chicken 

In a Large pot:

7 large peeled carrots chopped 

1 onion diced

5 -6 celery stalks chopped large

Herbs, salt /pepper

1 whole chicken washed 

And about 8 cups of water or until chicken is covered

I cook it on medium high until it boils then I let it simmer covered for 11/2 to 2 hours

After the soup cools, I pour the stock into mason jars, usually I make 3 jars of just stock and three with some shredded chicken and carrots. The rest of the carrots and chicken I put into bags measuring out 4 oz of chicken per bag and rotating them from freezer to fridge as I do with the ground turkey.

The jars of stock and soup I put in the freezer they stay good for about 6 months but I use it in about two weeks. The bones, skin, onions, celery and herbs are tossed.

Having these ingredients  prepared and measured into Gastroparesis friendly servings sizes makes my daily meals so much easier, healthier and my symptoms a lot more controllable.

( my homemade chicken soup, I don't eat the celery and often add a bit of spaghetti squash to my bowl of soup) 

- Enjoy 

JVW

A few snap shots of my family

Chia seed pudding

To find new and healthy dessert options has been my mission the past few days. Chia seed pudding turns out to be an excellent dessert or healthy snack for me. It's creamy, sweet, and just the right amount of filling:)

Plus packed with healthy nutrients and protien. 

1 cup almond or coconut milk (I used low fat coconut milk) 

1 cup 0% fat Greek yogurt

2 tbs maple syrup

1 tbs vanilla 

1/4 cup chia seeds 

 Stir together in a bowl and refrigerat covered over night.

I devided the pudding the next morning into four serving glasses with lids.

The pudding should stay good for up to 5 days if covered and refrigerated. 

Topping it with fruit purée makes it an even more heavenly treat

** each serving has only roughly 100 calories and is low in fat and fiber 

- enjoy 

This picture is after I started going to town on my first serving