Menu Ideas

[vtcurtis]

Hi everyone,

I recently had a baby and have dropped weight very fast. With my diet and his busy eating schedule (I'm nursing) I'm having a hard time keeping the weight on. I eat a lot of cream cheese and butter and am now worried about my cholesterol. I'm pretty diet sensitive and eat steadily throughout the day. What foods do you eat on a regular basis? Are there any name brand foods that you buy at the grocery store that you like?

[Goldfinch]

My cholesterol issues were one of the major hurdles when first trying to find an IC diet that worked for me; I couldn't just slug down a delicious vanilla shake or eat a load of cheesy or eggy dishes. Although I didn't get IC until long after my daughter was born, I sure do remember the quantity of nourishing food I needed while I was nursing; calories in, calories out, all day long. Just as when I was designing my IC diet, my nursing diet included a lot of protein and complex carbs. My SIL brought me a lentil soup a week or so after I gave birth and it was heaven--rib-sticking, high in fiber, and if made without tomato can easily be IC friendly. Add some swiss chard or kale and it's even better. One-pot meals that you can use as leftovers are helpful. If beans are okay for you, a big pot goes a long way and is really satisfying.

I found that rice salads were filling and healthy. I used poached chicken meat, high quality white rice, roasted red bell peppers (can you tolerate them?) and lots of chopped celery and fresh herbs, dressed with simply good quality flavorful olive oil, salt and pepper. Works the next day for a packable lunch as well. Works with tuna as well as chicken.

Other things you might try: roasted yams with a little butter and salt, potatoes roasted with olive oil, carrots and portobello mushrooms and other starchy vegetables to keep you going. Can you eat peanut butter? Toast with pb is a great breastfeeding snack, and can be made practically one-handed! If pb doesn't work, maybe almond butter? Try nut butters in a sandwich with pear butter or apple butter if apples are okay for you, or blueberry jam.

Here was one of my quick fixes: ramen soup. I would buy the noodle pack and toss the msg-laden powdered mix into the trash, using the best organic chicken broth that I could find that would agree with me. Then I added sliced carrots, frozen peas, and the dry noodles. Sometimes I would add an egg in a very thin stream to make egg-drop soup. That became a staple for my daughter when she was little, too. I'm sure those flavor packets are toxic, anyway!

When I got sick of so much rice and noodles I started experimenting with other grains, like bulgur wheat and barley. Instant couscous is very fast and not bad, and great in soups with garbanzos and beans of all kinds. Hope this helps. I know how frustrating it can be to get a varied diet that works for you, especially if you have more than just IC limitations.