[Debbie]

I am in desperate need of assistance please.

Yesterday I had food poisoning and was so ill I have torn my esophagus... yes YUCK! is the right response.....

Whilst I am really not feeling like eating at present, I know I have to.

The doctor has said that for the next few weeks till it heals I have to eat pureed and liquid foods. BUT... no dairy, garlic, onion, salt or hot foods (temperature and spice hot). Cool and lukewarm are ok.

I am stumped. Normally I could come up with a million and one recipes for pureed foods, but not being able to use dairy or spices has really thrown me.

Today have had a small amount of mashed potato (cooked potato mashed with water to get it to the right consistency). Do you have any idea how evil it tastes made like that??

I only have a small hand blender and to be honest the though of food makes me feel ill all over again. Last night my husband made himself some dinner and the smell of hot food made me gag. I am not really into sweet things so powder type health drinks are a no go as they seem to all be sweet flavoured.

So my challenge is to find something that is appetising, but not to strongly smelling and within the dietary restrictions. Sigh.

Any and all help appreciated.
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If you cannot feel your arteries hardening, eat more cheese. If you can, drink more red wine. Diet is just "die" with a "t" on the end. Exercise is walking into the kitchen.

[simona]

maybe soy milk instead of milk? It's used here in the Kosher cuisine.
Also all types of gerber -like soups, actually home made baby food - pureed, tasty and healthy.
Hope you feel better ,
Simona


No more war, more mashed everything!

[gingerpale]

Oh Debbie poor Debbie--how grim--
first of all, don't eat if you don't want to--that would be crazy!
is alcohol allowed? It might burn a little but could be just the thing to bring back your appetite?
Simona said "baby food" -- yes! soft cooked fruit, applesauce etc. ?
Sherbet, gelato? (Jello!)

When you're better please tell us the food at fault!

[swan]

Hi Deb..hope you feel better soon!You poor girl, I didn't even know an esophagus COULD tear!

I think Simona's idea is a very good one - use soyproducts (there's soy cream as well), if allowed, or rice or almond milk to puree your things with, or perhaps sesame-milk? (wizz sesame seeds with water and strain) Maybe a health store or a vegan site can give you more inspiration and ideas?
And fresh herbs for flavour. Mashed carrots with sesamemilk & parsley?
Mashed avocado's, gaspacho/fresh tomatosoup, beandips and soups, fruit and/or vegetable smoothies and juices.. (you'll get so slim and healthy too....)

Easiest ofcourse are soups (flavour with stockcubes w/o salt) and babyfood-type-of-things.

Be well soon!!

[Barbara]

Maybe coconut milk could be used in the vegie purees.

I'm living on canned spaghetti at the moment. It slides down easily so perhaps you could try that..
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Barbara

[Pesto Man]

geeze Debbie, first the motorcycle wreck, now this!!!!

well the task sounds difficult, but not impossible. i am thinking of avocado, perhaps with some high protein soy powder to help you keep up your stregnth, soothing, nutritious, high in the good kinda of fat. The important thing is to keep the nutrition up. You might consider adding some parsley, (high in Iron, and all kinds of trace minerals). The soy or almond milk seems like a good idea perhaps with bannanas (high in potassium).

I know, you need vegemite .

Pleeze take care of yourself!!!

pity we don't get along!
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I would like a gin martini, straight up, olives on the side, as dry as my wit, as clean as my conscience.
and... as cold as my heart!!!!

[gingerpale]

Wait a minute, after you chew something up enough to swallow it, it's already pretty much pureed, right? So you could just take smallish bites and chew a little extra to be sure. (Can you tell I'm not an esophagus doctor? )
Couscous and rice and quinoa in broth, oatmeal, sweet potatoes and pumpkin come to mind.

[Debbie]

You guys are the greatest!

I did not even think of soy milk.... Have added it to the shopping list. Think I was just so panicked at not being able to have dairy etc that my brain went into freefall.

I can manage a quarter cup of food every few hours, but it is not pleasant. If I drink water, then I can't eat anything. Trying to keep hydrated is going to be a challenge as I normally drink so much water each day. I am taking a soluable vitamin which hopefully will help.

Am craving cold things so will buy some sorbet.

Barbara, that is the first thing I thought of, but you can't get it here. Damnation!

I have a lovely ripe avocado sitting here so shall try it for lunch. Not sure how I will cope without the lime/lemon juice and chilli to go with it....

Alcohol is an absolute no unfortunately. I could drown my sorrows right now. Or have a little drinky to go with the avocado.

Swan, neither did I.... but I have learnt different and the hard way. Won't go into how as it is a bit gross, but basically it can tear and if you don't get treatment in the first hour you can die of blood loss or peritonitis!! Lucky for me I called the SOS medcine immediately and they came out within minutes. I don't know how you could let it go longer as the pain is excruciating.

I lost 1.7kgs the first day. At this rate I will be a shadow of my former self in a very rapid timeframe. Could stand to lose a few kilos, but I think this is the tough way to do it...

Anyway, Wayne is taking me to the shops now so we shall stop at the healthfood and have a chat about soy etc and then go buy babyfood.

All suggestions greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for all the kind messages and PM's as well.
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If you cannot feel your arteries hardening, eat more cheese. If you can, drink more red wine. Diet is just "die" with a "t" on the end. Exercise is walking into the kitchen.

[Griffin]

Ouch!! Do get better quickly... if only so you can have a glass of something!

How about elderflower?! Hummus on soft bread? Smoothies? A good thick smoothie will give you lots of nutrients and taste good... and it's liquid so won't hurt too much... I hope!

Instead of spices, how about herbs?
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Confusion comes fitted as standard.

[David]

Oh wow, Debbie!! Ouch and Yuck! Everyone else seems to have come up with exceptional ideas so I'm not going to add anything there--I just want to send my heartfelt sympathy. On the positive side, the tissues of the esophagus are very well served by blood supplies etc and should heal fairly quickly--at least improve enough so swallowing isn't a frightening concept. Crappy way to diet for sure!!
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Vivant Linguae Mortuae!!

[KYHeirloomer]

Gosh, Debbie. Just the thought of it makes my throat hurt. What have the doctors said about time of recovery?

Anyway, some suggestions.

I would have said soy right away, as soy milk is, at base, simply water. But it acts like dairy in many respects. In fact, we often use it when making bisques and the like that we intend to freeze, because unlike dairy, soy milk doesn't break.

You can kick up the spuds by including other veggies with more robust flavor. For instance, try adding celeraic. English peas are a great addition. And even things like asparagus and leafy greens can go into a potato puree.

Almost all root vegetables can be pureed. Carrots, beets, turnips---alone, or in combination, can at least provide some flavor variations even if the texture is samee-same.

While spices are underestandably out, there's no reason I can see not to use fresh herbs, as they puree almost to a liquid. Marjorum, oregano, parsley, sorrel, tarragon, thyme, etc. You don't have to go overboard with them, but just a little can perk up purees.

Think, too, about various dips that don't require dairy. Hummus has been mentioned. What about baba ganouche?

Don't neglect fruits. Apples might be too acidic (check with your doctor). But pears, peaches, apricots, necterines and berries can all be turned into purees. Let's face it, all apple sauce is is a puree. And fruit butters are merely highly sugared purees as well.

Hope these suggestions help a little. But mostly, concentrate on getting better.

[Debbie]

Thanks guys.

Went and bought soy milk and cream this morning and a few jars of baby food. Also a big bunch of fresh herbs, bio carrots, and a few other cook and puree veg.

Am eating fruit compotes that I made, but I am not a sweet food person so it is a struggle. Cooked some porridge and blitzed that to liquid. Had some for breakfast and it wasn't too bad (I don't eat it with milk anyway so felt almost normal).

For tomorrow I am making beouf au carottes for lunch, so shall puree some of that and thin it with some gravy. That way I won't feel like I am missing out so much when the others eat it in front of me. I will be feeling ripped off when they dip crsty fresh bread into it though, but am trying not to think about that and to cultivate a nonchalent air about it in preparation.

Luckily I will only be on puree for a few weeks. Even though it feels like a lifetime right now..... It does heal very quickly - luckily - but I have gastric reflux, so I have to be extra careful while it is healing. The hole closes over within 48hours, and then it just takes time to knit back together and become strong again. Apparently it is all over in a month if you do the right thing. It is important not to stretch the stomach too much so only small amounts of food at a time can be consumed, (The tears are normally where the stomach joins the esophagus) and easily digested foods so they go through quickly and don't produce too much acid. Then they give you huge "horse pills" for the pain that are almost impossible to swallow?!?!? But you are not allowed to eat anything with texture or lumps???? lol

Do you think that roquette would puree smooth?? It has such flavour - and vitamins - that I am sure it would make anything taste good.

Anyway, am off to scramble an egg and then whiz it in with some pureed potato... mmmmm delicious...... never thought I would miss salty crispy things so much.... and would kill for a piece of baguette with beurre doux and vegemite right now. sigh
_________________
If you cannot feel your arteries hardening, eat more cheese. If you can, drink more red wine. Diet is just "die" with a "t" on the end. Exercise is walking into the kitchen.

[KYHeirloomer]

Yes, I'm sure the roquette (arugala) will puree smooth. To be on the safe side, you might want to remove the center stems first, so that only the leaves go through the processor.

I agree, it will add a nice peppery flavor to whatever you mix it with.

Don't forget the tops of turnips and beets can be used the same way. Because they are on the bitter side, they, too, can goose up the flavor profile of otherwise bland stuff.

[Debbie]

OK, thought I would update my experiments and what did and didn't work in case anyone else needs pureed foods info in future.

Could not get unsweetened protein powder here so that was a slight problem.

Was losing too much weight per day (2kgs per day which is unsustainable) so started adding an egg to all purees.

Made up a family size batch of potatoes mashed with water and then added 2 eggs. Portioned into babyfood size containers and into fridge. This forms the basis for all your meals.

If adding meat to purees, make sure you have cooked it with lots of liquid and it is almost falling apart on its own. Otherwise it does not puree smooth. Puree the meat with liquid, then add the veg otherwise it doesn't puree as well.

Herbs make a huge difference - however - fresh herbs must be cooked and any tough stems or veins removed otherwise they do not puree smooth. Imagine swallowing crumbled glass, and that is what fresh herbs feel like if you puree them uncooked... not fun . Keep the water you have boiled the herbs in to add to purees. More taste than water and also vitamins which are really needed at this moment.

Porridge cooked in lots of water (so thin not thick) and then pureed is really good for keeping you going and making sure you have some fibre. You can add fruit puree or sugar to it for flavour, or soy milk to make it seem like normal porridge. Personally I did not like the flavour or texture of soy milk, and do not like sweet breakfasts, so ate it plain.

Whilst I did not like soy milk alone, it was very useful for adding creaminess and thinning out purees without making them taste "watery". The soy cream has a better flavour, but also more gritty texture (to me anyway).

Any soy product flavoured with chocolate was palatable.... I wonder why . It was also nice to mix up the flavour combinations a bit and have something chocolate. I found the biosoy brand to have a good flavour, but not overly sweet.

Pan fried tomato halves, cooked very slowly till they start to caramelise, mixed with really really soft white bread (no grains allowed remember... dammit!) and a trickle of warm water if needed to make it moist enough. Fresh herbs that have been boiled in water can also be added to give it a bit more zing.

Glucose tablets are your friend. I have had these in my bag so when I have had to venture out I knew I wasn't going to be a little crumpled husk on the pavement after I faint with lack of energy and nutrition. I broke them into quarters (have you seen teh size of them!! bloody huge!) and just let a quarter melt in my mouth. Not very satisfying, and extremely sweet to the point of being disgusting, but they work.

Soluble vitamins. Fabulous invention. I dissolve one each morning and then sip on it all morning till finished. Just a little backup to make sure I am not going to wind up sick from vitamin deficiency as well...

Heat sensitive baby spoons. Sounds crazy I know. I couldn't eat anything hot so I was given one of these spoons and it is great. No more burning a finger or tongue trying the temp of the puree. Steam coming off the food is not an accurate indicator of temp and the container can heat up faster/slower than the food inside so you can't rely on that. If the spoon changes colour it is too hot. Simple.

If anything else comes up shall add to the list.

If anyone finds a good recipe that fits the restrictions and can be pureed, please add.
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If you cannot feel your arteries hardening, eat more cheese. If you can, drink more red wine. Diet is just "die" with a "t" on the end. Exercise is walking into the kitchen.

[Rachel]

Poor Debbie! Hope you're feeling a bit better now. If you're still looking for puree ideas, here are a few more:

peas and mint
carrots and mint (or coriander)
if you can manage coconut milk, then mix it with pureed sweet potato and heat it with a few smashed pieces of lemongrass (fish this out before eating, of course)

Hope this helps!