MECFS Blog: Essential Ingredients On The New Shopping List

A fab follower of this blog has asked about what recipes I use on the ‘new’ regime of trying to tackle inflammation AND pre-diabetes.

I know – I like it complicated. 

A brief recap: I’ve been forced to analyze my diet in minute detail because I’ve been told I have to tackle pre-diabetic symptoms. During this time I’ve also discovered that our bodies are flooded with cytokines which inflame our bodies cells. I am now using my diet to tackle both.

This has meant a radical change of shopping, cooking and thinking about and preparing food. It’s been a biggie. Almost as big as having MECFS itself.

Before this I did some things right, but most things wrong. I’ve had to re-think everything about food. I’ve given up eating meat and now only eat fish.

If I can do it, anyone can do it. It is possible to do this with ME. It takes adjustment and time but I am getting there.

Here’s a load of pictures of what I always have in my fridge, my cupboard and my freezer. I cook all my weekly meals from combinations of these ingredients.

I have tupperware pots everywhere to store raw and cooked food. I freeze anything I don’t immediately eat.

The rules:

No cooked protein or carb that is larger than the palm of my hand.

Eat fresh as much as possible.

No take away’s.

Cook from scratch.

No refined sugars. No added high sodium salt.

Hardly any dairy ( I’m working on this )

Steam, bake, don’t fry.

Substitute meat for fish or quorn / veggie meals.

Buy everything in advance. That means you use energy once, to buy it.

Cook in quantities more than you need. Put the remainder in the fridge. That’s the take away. It helps with low energy too.

You are allowed a treat. We are only human and we aren’t well, after all.

There’s some fun stuff in here, honest! 

 

 

Brown everything. Brown pasta is a carbohydrate. Cook enough to cover the palm of your hand. Or your partners hand if you are feeling greedy!

Cucumber. Say no more. Good in salads and eating raw.

Red Onion. Great in salads and pasta sauces.

Aubergines. Great roasted with peeled garlic, add tomatoes and spinach as well. Good in pasta sauces.

Brocolli. A power packing super food. Steam or eat raw or put in home made vegetable soup.

Bell peppers – good in pasta sauces and raw with dips.

Celery: good raw with dips and also in homemade vegetable soup.

Apples. Super food. Eat at least one a day.

Carrots. Eat raw. Good with dips.

Garlic. Get a crusher and watch TV chefs preparing it. Good in SO many ways!

Oranges. I buy easy peelers. Good in red onion salad.

Root ginger. Much stronger than the potted ginger. Great with oranges in a blender for a smoothie.

Tomatoes. Need no introduction. Make pasta sauces or eat in salads. Good on burgers.

Spinach. Another super food. Great in pasta sauces, pesto, with aubergines too.

Kiwi fruit. So tangy and tasty. Good for pudding or with porridge.

Mushroom risotto, pasta sauces, salads.

So succulent and delicious and damned packed with Vit C.

Brown rice. It is a carbohydrate. Only cook enough to cover the palm of your hand.

Wholemeal pitta bread. This is a carbohydrate. Only cook enough to cover the palm of your hand.

Wholemeal bread. Check the label carefully. Just because it’s brown, doesn’t mean it’s healthy. Worth buying with no added anything if you can.

Porridge. Try not to add sugar. Add sweet taste via fruits.

Staffordshire Oat Cakes. Again – a carb you only need one. Try with poached eggs.

Veggie burgers. Eat with wholemeal brown rolls, salad and 5% fat oven chips – only a handful, mind.

Chips! As long as you keep to oven chips with 5% fat, it’s like eating a baked potato.

Pesto pots. You can make it fresh but it’s easier to buy it. Check the label for ingredients.

You can make your own pesto which will be low fat.

More pestos. Extremely useful for pasta sauces.

Low salt low sugar baked beans.

Reduced fat cheese. The lower the fat the less it melts. Good on toast as a snack, or on it’s own with apples or other raw veggies.

Eggs. Poached, scrambled, not fried. The yolks are the most important bit.

Canned tuna. Make tuna salad or tuna pasta.

Lo salt. Salt is a killer. This stuff tastes fine.

Salmon. Lovely stuff. Raw, or steamed. Not fried. Use in fish cakes if made with sweet potatoes.

Sweet potatoes. Great with cheese, also great as oven baked chips.

Sardines in spring water. Great on toast. Add to a tuna pasta sauce.

Veggie stock cubes. Check the ingredients. Good for pasta sauces and also home made vegetable soup.

Like chicken nuggets? Try these.

Prawns. Stir fry with olive oil, ginger and garlic and eat with brown rice and peas.

Quorn mince. Make chilli con carne exactly as you would normally with meat. Remove chillis ( for inflammation ) .

Paprika, good in tomato sauces, great on roasted bell peppers, good sprinkled into egg dishes.

Light mayo – as low fat as poss. and always made from free range eggs.

Peanut butter. Such great food so filling. Good as a dip or on brown bread.

Walnuts. As fresh as poss. This is a super food. Good in porridge or as a snack.

Almonds. As fresh as possible – another super food. Good as a snack.

Hummus. Made of chickpeas. A great dip.

How to do a veggie snack. You can mix any raw veg with cheese or a dip.

A TREAT! 65% cocoa dark chocolate. The more cocoa the better. It’s backed up by research….it IS!

I make up meals from these ingredients. I’m a bit bored of them though so if you have any suggestions, go ahead and post them.

THE MECFS BLOGGER 2015