lowfat recipes and food suggestions

[alison]

My gallbladder is now the boss of me...

I think cutting down on fat will really be hard, because I love whipping cream, cheese, butter, bacon, oil/grease....

Aside from moving to a more veggie and fruit rich diet, do you have any suggestions on what to eat to try to keep gallbladder attacks at bay before a possible elective cholescystectomy ? I mean what's even left out there to eat now?

[Pollyanna]

Ahhhh, the gallbladder diet. I know it well. I have a gallbladder that is regularly colicky but no stones. I have trigger foods, I also have more issues at certain times during my cycle (that part is new).

High fat meals with a good amount of protein is typically no problem for me but pizza and ice cream will put me in severe pain until 2-3 in the morning. If I'm on the edge, a simple cup of cold water will push me right over.

I try to avoid trigger foods. When I have an attack I try to go very simple the next day or two. No coffee with cream, low fat proteins and no added fats or sweets.

Sorry, gallbladder pain is no joke. I rate it right up their with kidney stones.

[spotty_dog]

Stupid gallbladder!

I'm trying not to be an evangelist but I think you'd do well to look into the VB6 diet stuff, out there in the wild internets or in one of Bittman's books. The vegan stuff he suggests is SO tasty and the dinners work well for small portions of lean meat and not heavy on the creamy dairy.

There's edamame...The sweet potato and quinoa burgers that T&S mentioned in the Fall Food thread...Halibut fish tacos with tangy lime/cilantro slaw...Soup (miso, beans/greens, tomato vegetable)...Pasta with veggie-heavy sauce and a small portion of boneless/skinless chicken...quinoa pilaf...kidgeree (I made it with red lentils)...risotto if you go easy on the parmesan. There is delicious food out there in the baconless wasteland!

[MarissaNicole]

Lean meat, low fat cheese? All your favorite foods can at least be altered to lower the fat. Save the fat for your favorite things that will be "worth it." You on any meds? My mom took something that helped her put off her surgery for a while. And I hate to say it but she still has to watch her fat intake. She eats very little deep fried foods.

Wife of a PGY-5

[alison]

Thank you!

We went out to eat yesterday, and I sat there looking at the menu thinking WTH can I even eat anymore? I had my hydrocodone and zofran in my purse worried about if I was going to have another attack. I know it doesn't happen WHILE you're eating a meal, but sheesh, the anticipation is really the pits.

I'm not taking any meds. Dh is scheduling an appt for me with a surgeon he likes, so I know where I'll be in a couple of months... In an OR! I do want to make lifestyle changes anyway; I have always had a tendency towards really rich, fatty foods. Oops!

[alison]

Stupid gallbladder!

I'm trying not to be an evangelist but I think you'd do well to look into the VB6 diet stuff, out there in the wild internets or in one of Bittman's books. The vegan stuff he suggests is SO tasty and the dinners work well for small portions of lean meat and not heavy on the creamy dairy.

There's edamame...The sweet potato and quinoa burgers that T&S mentioned in the Fall Food thread...Halibut fish tacos with tangy lime/cilantro slaw...Soup (miso, beans/greens, tomato vegetable)...Pasta with veggie-heavy sauce and a small portion of boneless/skinless chicken...quinoa pilaf...kidgeree (I made it with red lentils)...risotto if you go easy on the parmesan. There is delicious food out there in the baconless wasteland!

What's VB6? I'll have to look this up.

[spotty_dog]

Vegan Before 6pm. The premise is that a purely plant-based diet would be best for most people, but that few people want to or even can ditch their favorite animal foods forever. So, you compromise by doing totally strict whole-foods vegan eating for two meals a day and snacks, then for dinner you can relax a little and enjoy some meat and whatever else as a treat (while still keeping veggies and whole grains high on the menu.)

I thought of your low-fat concerns because all the before-6 recipes are pretty much limited to a bit of vegetable oil; and the after-6 recipes are much more relaxed but still you aren't going to find huge portions of beef swimming in cream sauce (more like skillet-fried sweet potato hash and a few ounces of sliced sirloin, mmm.) The main book also has good ideas for making changes away from less-healthy eating habits whether you love to cook, or love to go to good restaurants, or indulge in fast food regularly, or have to cater to other people in your family, or whatever.

[alison]

Thanks, Alison. I actually spent a little while reading the intro to the Bittmann VB6 on amazon just now. I think I can do it! Or at least I can get an idea of what low fat is. How sad it that? I was just eating whatever I wanted whenever, and just thinking "portion control." Clearly, I'm not in my 20s anymore! I cleaned out our pantry just now to get rid of expired food and move in better choices for me....

[spotty_dog]

Cool, way to go on starting to make some changes! Actually, it's kind of the crazy thing about our culture and food these days, there is so much jargon and so much hype about this or that macronutrient or vitamin (low-fat! No, low-carb! No, fiber! antioxidants!), that it's kind of no wonder that the majority of Americans are pretty well confused about what to eat. It's not sad and it's not just you.

That said, nutrition has been a "subject of interest" for me since I was about 20, so over the years I've read a lot of books about health and diet, and Bittman's is one of the clearest and soundest rundowns on food choices that I've read. I hope it's helpful for you!

[alison]

I'm guessing Ezell's is out of the question for me... Tell N and he'll know what I'm talking about. . Dh works close to it and sometimes picks it up on his way home from work. No longer. I'm pretty sure fried chicken is what gave me a very mild version of the same sort of attack a few weeks ago.

[spotty_dog]

N says no. No Ezells. Sucks that we are evolutionarily biased to lurve us some fat, because deep fried food pushes all those instinctual buttons (NOM) but it's just not great for almost any of us who aren't living a hunter/gatherer lifestyle...

[Sheherezade]

No advice but lots of sympathy. When I was nursing my ulcer and forced to make diet changes for 3 months I felt like I'd been sentenced to prison. No coffee, tea, carbonation, tomato based products, chocolate, any caffeine, chewing gum or spicy foods of any kind? Kill. Me. Now. Still, the pain is NO JOKE so you obey.

I almost found it easier to start off with a huge elimination - like a cleanse diet - for a few days before settling in to a new eating pattern. I went on a 3 day veggie juice/ almond milk cleanse, I think. Somehow, it was easier to add in the healthy stuff instead of my regular food after that.

I also play the "pretend I'm a famous actress losing weight for my sure fire Oscar role" game in my head. It makes it easier to eat steamed veggies and brown rice a lot if I'm not "me" in my head. And I just like pretending umma famous actress!


Angie

[Mrs. MD, Esq.]

http://www.pinterest.com/bellybuttonane/lighten-up/

Most of these are pretty low in fat (or can be modified to be)

[alison]

Thanks for all your support!

The day after the attack, I ate crackers and soup. I was still feeling off and had no appetite. Somehow landing isn't the ER feeling like you're having the worst pain of your life will suddenly make you feel NOT hungry! . So I took advantage of just not feeling up to eating and being afraid of my body, and am making changes, and adding things slowly back in like you said, Angie. I am afraid of even looking at the heavy whipping cream in the fridge, and at all those wonderful half eaten cheeses that I haven't touched in days.

[alison]

I just had another attack. . So scary. I have an appt with a surgeon scheduled for nov 12. My dh is home, so he gave me the painkillers, zofran, and ibuprofen.

I have no idea what I ate to bring this on. This morning I had steel cut oats, then a salad for lunch and a couple of mandarin oranges. M was eating some popcorn, so I had maybe a total of one handful.
Yesterday, we had dinner at my parents. I didn't eat very much, because despite the fact that they know I'm on a lowfat diet, they still only made baked potatoes (with cheese, sour cream, bacon), alongside meat cooked in butter. Yummy, right? I only ate a potato and squirted lemon juice on top.

. I don't know what went wrong.