Hi guys I wonder if you could give me some really good tasty receipes. I have had a bad weekend which I won’t bore you all with the details but after a chat with my nurse this morning she has told me I need to eat good calorific food to put weight on. She has suggested baked potatoes and pasta and food that is low in GI whatever that is. I am not a great cook and need some ideas on quick easy things I can do to eat at lunchtime ish which I do not have to stand up for to long to prepare.
I am finding this whole thing really hard to cope with at the moment as I find it really hard to look after me when my family of 3 children and 1 husband need looking after. I am sure lots of you out there are in the same boat as me please tell me how you cope as I do not seem to be doing such a great job at the moment.
I’m sure your doing a great job!! Having 3 kids and a husband is no easy task I know!! I’m sorry to hear your not having a good time. I can’t help you with recipes as I’m not a great cook. But I often make pasta and cut up some bacon or even smoked sausage into it once cooked and add Philadelphia cheese with garlic and herb . At least you wouldn’t be standing for long with this . It’s difficult to give you recipes as everyone likes different things but I’m sure you will get lots of replies here. Janetx
One of my favourite pasta dishes is with broccoli, blue cheese and bacon. Cook the pasta for about 5 mins, add the broccoli and cook for a further 5 to 7 mins until the broccoli is just cooked to your taste (I like mine with a bit of crunch). The pasta should be cooked by then. While the pasta and broccoli are cooking, grill a couple of streaky bacon rashers until crisp. Drain the pasta reserving a little of the cooking water which you add back to the pan. Add a couple of tablespoons of creme fraiche (I use low fat but you can use full fat if you are looking for high calorific recipes). Crumble some stilton or other blue cheese (use as much or as little as you like) and stir this into the pan with a good grind of black pepper. Tip out onto a plate and top with the bacon pieces. This recipe can easily be increased to feed the whole family and you can probably substitute any cheese for the blue cheese to suit children’s taste buds.
If you have a slow cooker, you can cook jacket potatoes in there. Prick the potatoes all over with a fork, rub with a little olive oil, season with salt, wrap in foil and put them tightly in the bottom of your slow cooker. Cook for 7 to 8 hours on low. If you want a crispy skin, just pop them in the over for a little while to crisp them up. Saves a fortune on fuel and means you don’t have to remember to keep checking on them.
I use my slow cooker for sausage casseroles and hearty soups and stews too. I even pop cubes of potato in or small new potatoes so I don’t have to do any extra cooking when the dish is finished. Or I buy ready made mash and whack it in the microwave at the last minute.
This time of year is good for making stews/casseroles-enough for a couple of day’s. Put what you like in Low GI is good carbohydrates that release energy slowly and keep you fuller for longer-have a look online for ideas on low GI foods. Nasty high GI is yummy chocolate cake but I risk it on occasion
When I have been unwell and lost a bit of ground, weight-wise, cheese and olive oil and full-fat unsweetened Greek yoghurt have come to my rescue. I keep a bottle of really good olive oil and splash it liberally over pasta and vegetables and salad because it is so delicious. Decent cheese is an instant stand-by and a good way of taking on some serious calories with no cooking at all (not being keen on cooked cheese, I generally eat it as it comes, whether with bread or with salad). Greek yoghurt with a banana sliced into it and a swirl of honey if you are so inclined makes a perfect easy and sustaining breakfast. Oh, and eggs are great too.
All good honest food without much processing, sugar or general rubbish, but with plenty of nourishment, and all very nice to eat.
TBH, I doubt whether anyone does a great job at coping with MS and its predations. After 15 years, the only thing I’ve got good at is lowering my expectations. Otherwise, it’s just a matter of muddling along, and I suspect that I am not alone in this.
At the weekend when I have more time I make big pots of stew, chicken casserole, chilli etc and then freeze it. Its so handy if I’m feeling a bit tired or running late, then I just have to nuke it in the microwave. Or when doing pasta you can discard most of the water and use powered soup (like mushroom) to make a nice sauce - thats very quick. You could then add in some bacon - or leftover chicken (anything really) and even some frozen veg (at the beginning with the pasta). It all goes into one pot and saves on the washing up too.
(I discovered the powered soup sauce thing at university)
Hi Hopeful, I understand exactly how you feel I have 5 kids and am struggling at the moment. I batch cook, I never make one of anything stew casserole, curry etc double or triple up and freeze the rest. Then I just take it out of the freezer the night before. When my appetite Is not too good ( which is rare) I have mashed potatoes with grated cheese and butter, very comforting and full of calories. Another thing I use is good quality yogurts with a couple of spoons of mixed seeds, very nutritional.
As a few people have suggested, cooking up a big batch of something to give you a few portions is something I do a lot, both for lunch & evening meals. One favourite of mine is to have a chilli, and then eat it using tortilla wraps rather than cook rice, which is more effort.
A very easy thing I do a lot is to get some frozen spicy Mexican bean burgers from Tesco (the other supermarkets will probably do it too), then pop one in the oven with some sweet potato wedges drizzled with olive oil (sweet potato is much healthier than normal potatoes). Have some soured cream, guacamole or mayo with it for a for extra calories.
Something I’ve done for my lunches this week is chopped some pepper & cucumber, and mixed it with some tinned mackerel (twice the calories of tuna, and healthier too), mayonnaise & pesto. You can easily prepare all that while sitting down at the table. I’ll then stuff pitta bread or tortilla wraps with it.
And one final one - roughly chop a load of Mediterranean vegetables (aubergine, peppers, red onion, courgette etc), drizzle with oil & chuck it in the oven for half an hour. Then mix it with some pasta, smoked salmon (super healthy, & very high in calories. I buy smoked salmon trimmings, which are loads cheaper), and pesto. For an even easier option, you can just buy jars of things like roasted peppers, tomatoes, artichokes from the supermarket, and use them instead. The leftovers can be easily reheated.
By the way, did you know you can get perch stools to help in the kitchen? These are raised seats you can sit on while you prepare things. If you ask to be referred to an occupational therapist, they’ll be able to provide one for you. Or you could buy one yourself from any mobility shop.
Low GI is good carbohydrates that release energy slowly and keep you fuller for longer-have a look online for ideas on low GI foods. Nasty high GI is yummy chocolate cake but I risk it on occasion