I can't be the only person who dislikes the phrase "I have good news, and I have bad news." Because really, the good news is so often overshadowed by the bad news. It's not like "Hey, the bad news is we didn't win $1,000 in the lottery, the good news is we won $1,000,000." No, it's more like, "Well, the good news is we don't have to take your kidney out, but the bad news is we do have to take your liver."
That's the type of good news/bad news I got today. Not for me personally, but for my husband.
He had been having pains when he ate for a while now, and after getting very sick about three weeks ago, he finally went to the doctor. They had some concerns about his gallbladder, so they did some blood work, which lead them to wanting an ultrasound because of elevated levels of something that I can't remember (though I think it dealt with his liver).
The appointment was made, and in the mean time, he started having extreme stabbing pains in his abdomen. The nurse's suggestions for a solution were less than helpful for relieving the pain, and while waiting to hear back about the ultrasound, R did a little online diagnosing (something I do not recommend), and came to the conclusion that he possibly had a gallstone.
The ultrasound results came back that his gallbladder was ok, and (I'm guessing here since he didn't specifically say) there was no gallstone -- good news. However, his liver is enlarged, and that's why he's having the pain -- bad news.
So, my husband who loves bacon, sausage, 70/30 ground beef, frying things in bacon fat, tenderloins, and all things unhealthy is now on a low fat/no fat diet. He has to eat chicken (skinless), he has to eat fish once a week (not battered and fried either), and he has to eat vegetarian once a week (no I can't fry his tofu in bacon grease). He also has to drastically increase his fruit and vegetable intake, and canned doesn't count.
The part that I'm ashamed of: I'm glad he has to do this. I don't like bacon, I prefer 93/7 beef, I like chicken and fish. I don't cook them as often as I would like because I get grumblings from him when I buy those things at the store. Also, I think this is the perfect time to switch to ground turkey in place of beef.
Now, here's where you all come in. I need some help with recipes. I need easy, fast, tasty and inexpensive low/no fat, fish, vegetarian, turkey, and chicken recipes. If you know some good reliable sites, please put a link in the comments. If you have a personal favorite, put it in the comments. If you just want to laugh Nelson Style (HA-ha) at the Iowa farm boy who has to go lean, please, put it in the comments.
Does he like scallops or shrimp? They do have cholesterol to a degree but are very low fat (and I don't think cholesterol in food is usually the problem) and high protein. Just don't fry them in butter, heh. I like to just season cold cooked shrimp with an all-purpose herb seasoning I found at the store (I think it's "Simply Organic"?) and a little salt, then let them sit in the fridge a couple hours to absorb the flavors, and eat. Costco has a really good ceviche-type shrimp salad with lime juice, too.
ReplyDeleteI'm no help with recipes whatsoever, but hopefully the diet changes will be helpful. I'm having to change what I eat too, and it's hard - I'm a real sucker for pastries and sugar.
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