Soylent Green
When I was feeling really ill and my poor liver was not coping at all, I found there was only one meal that I could eat and function reasonably well on. The thing is, if your liver cannot properly detox, you can only eat foods that are pretty toxin free. So once I had found this dish, I ate it day in, day out. As you can imagine, I got a little bored and frustrated with this overly virtuous and extremely restricted diet, so we gave it a name: Soylent Green.
Soylent Green comes from an old Sci-Fi horror movie which is based in a time when there are no farms left and people survive on the gruel produced by the Soylent Corporation, which comes in 3 colours, red, yellow and best of all, green. I don't wish to spoil the story line in case you ever watch it, so I won't divulge what was in their spu, but this is my version a.k.a chilli sin carne - or chilli without meat.
Chilli Sin Carne: lots of veg (onions, garlic, chillies, sweet potato, mushrooms, courgettes, peppers), fried in a little olive oil then left to simmer in tinned tomatoes with herbs added, plus some vegetable stock. For the lasts 10 minutes add a can of kidney beans and a can of black beans. That's it, veg, vitamins and protein.
Fortunately, I did not have to survive on this witch's brew for too long, and can now eat a wider range of foods, despite having to still avoid dairy and fatty foods. Autoimmune Hepatitis effects everyone differently and many can eat just about anything, although we all have to stick to a healthy diet. However, if you, like me, have had to banish some favourites out of your life, here are some swaps.
Milk: Unless you are vegan or intolerant to cow's milk, you probably regard milk substitutes with a degree of distaste. And quite rightly so in my opinion. I cannot stand soya, find coconut too sickly, consider the almond milk production environmentally distressing, and cannot bring myself to taste oat or rice milk. So I have trained myself to drink coffee black and switched from proper tea to infusions - like tumeric and ginger. That said, a little A2 milk is manageable and tastes just fine when only a real brew will do.
Ice-cream: Sorbets - mango is the best!
Cheese: Fish, yes I know they are completely different in taste, texture and you cannot melt a sardine, but they both contain calcium and work with toast and pasta. Also avocado and hummus fit here.
Yogurt: Waaaah, I miss natural yogurt so much!!
Foods in the 'Occasional treat' section of the Healthy Plate: Hurrah for the waist line, I can't eat any of these!!! Suck on a rice cake instead (Kallo dark chocolate ones are rather nice actually).
Croissants: Bagels, or when on holiday and eating out all day, I found sticking a few squares of dark chocolate in half a baguette makes a tasty breakfast.
Snacking: Nuts, dried fruits, all kinds of fruits (except grapefruit), dark chocolate, Nairn's Oat Biscuits with stem ginger and skinny popcorn.
Water: Fortunately there is no need to substitute water. Drink loads of it, all the time and activate your body's own personal flush!
Apologies if this post is a little self-indulgent. I would like to know how others have found their diet affected. So if you read this and have some great foods or meal ideas that you find are liver friendly, would you please add them to the comments section? Thank you.
Soylent Green comes from an old Sci-Fi horror movie which is based in a time when there are no farms left and people survive on the gruel produced by the Soylent Corporation, which comes in 3 colours, red, yellow and best of all, green. I don't wish to spoil the story line in case you ever watch it, so I won't divulge what was in their spu, but this is my version a.k.a chilli sin carne - or chilli without meat.
Chilli Sin Carne: lots of veg (onions, garlic, chillies, sweet potato, mushrooms, courgettes, peppers), fried in a little olive oil then left to simmer in tinned tomatoes with herbs added, plus some vegetable stock. For the lasts 10 minutes add a can of kidney beans and a can of black beans. That's it, veg, vitamins and protein.
Fortunately, I did not have to survive on this witch's brew for too long, and can now eat a wider range of foods, despite having to still avoid dairy and fatty foods. Autoimmune Hepatitis effects everyone differently and many can eat just about anything, although we all have to stick to a healthy diet. However, if you, like me, have had to banish some favourites out of your life, here are some swaps.
Milk: Unless you are vegan or intolerant to cow's milk, you probably regard milk substitutes with a degree of distaste. And quite rightly so in my opinion. I cannot stand soya, find coconut too sickly, consider the almond milk production environmentally distressing, and cannot bring myself to taste oat or rice milk. So I have trained myself to drink coffee black and switched from proper tea to infusions - like tumeric and ginger. That said, a little A2 milk is manageable and tastes just fine when only a real brew will do.
Ice-cream: Sorbets - mango is the best!
Cheese: Fish, yes I know they are completely different in taste, texture and you cannot melt a sardine, but they both contain calcium and work with toast and pasta. Also avocado and hummus fit here.
Yogurt: Waaaah, I miss natural yogurt so much!!
Foods in the 'Occasional treat' section of the Healthy Plate: Hurrah for the waist line, I can't eat any of these!!! Suck on a rice cake instead (Kallo dark chocolate ones are rather nice actually).
Croissants: Bagels, or when on holiday and eating out all day, I found sticking a few squares of dark chocolate in half a baguette makes a tasty breakfast.
Snacking: Nuts, dried fruits, all kinds of fruits (except grapefruit), dark chocolate, Nairn's Oat Biscuits with stem ginger and skinny popcorn.
Water: Fortunately there is no need to substitute water. Drink loads of it, all the time and activate your body's own personal flush!
Apologies if this post is a little self-indulgent. I would like to know how others have found their diet affected. So if you read this and have some great foods or meal ideas that you find are liver friendly, would you please add them to the comments section? Thank you.
I gave up dairy after having breast cancer but then read in 'The Autoimmune Cookbook' that for people with autoimmune diseases dairy should be avoided. I also now avoid the deadly nightshade related foids: tomatoes, white potatoes, aubergines. I used to love tomatoes and aubergine! I try to eat more plant based foods, I make my own hummus which I am pretty much addicted to! All of this has resulted in me feeling better and has the added benefit of keeping my weight under control. My liver function results have improved dramatically- they are now in normal range whereas a year ago it was difficult to get ALT below 100- maybe just a coincidence but it seems to work for me.
ReplyDeleteThanks Diane. I have read quite a lot about the AIP diet and am wavering on trying it. I love the idea of not needing the drugs, and I am sure I would feel lithe and full of energy on it, but when I look at the permitted list of foods I feel defeat before I have even started making my bone broth (a.k.a. stock). It is just too restrictive for me, and I struggle to put healthy meals on the table for my family without having to cook completely different meals for me (plus the temptation of eating what I have cooked for the rest of them!). Good luck with it tho', I hope it delivers great results!
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