I can't eat that, sorry

Weirdly my dumping is not as bad when I stick to traditional German recipes. The food I grew up with means Hackbraten, Goulasch, Rouladen - very meat and potatoe heavy diet. So today we will have Hackbraten with potatoes and mixed vegetables and I hope my body will process it as usual.  I can only assume that my body is so used to that kind of food that it can process it in every condition. 

I had severe dumping after Pizza last summer so I have taken it off my meal plan.  Because I was a bit better recently I decided it's time to try again. I her two slices and miraculously no problems afterwards.  I still had a low of energy and a hypoglycemia attack on the dog walk afterwards, but no severe symptoms of dumping. 

Of course we are not supposed to eat 2 hours before bed but sometimes I have such a craving for something in the evening. I recently discovered tortilla chips with cheese for me. So far I've burned them all but this time it finally worked and they are not coal!  I guess I will regret the cheese later but the nachos are great! Next time I'll try them with houmous. 

It's easier to try new things when the stomach is settled. Yesterday was the worst day, I wonder if I had a mild stomach bug or if the sleepless two nights have impacted my body more than I thought. The kids are ill and so am I, but only a little bit. Today was a much better day, food wise and so I tried a new snack which my husband accidentally bought.  I was always avoiding them, not only because it's an expensive brand but also because I don't like prawns. Luckily they don't taste like prawns and they are certainly worth it to find a cheaper alternative. Surprisingly tasty and my body seems to be okay with them. This time I won the digestion roulette. 

I tried to make an Omelett and failed.

Sunday is a time for relaxing and more comfort food. What's better comfort food than pancakes? Everything that's sweet can go into a pancake for me but I have also tried them with serano and Philadelphia before.

I got the request if I could share the recipe for my special post oesophagectomy risotto and here it is. 250 g Chicken breast 250 g baby mushrooms  Vegetables that are okay for a stir fry (carrots, swede, zucchini, green beans, peas, corn etc.) i usually take a frozen vegetable mix and fresh ones that are left overs. Vegetable stock 1 table spoon flour A table spoon of Butter if you need to gain weight  Full fat Creame (I have plant based Creame because I lactose intolerant)  Oil for frying (I take rape seed oil)  Risotto rice (a mug full)  Salt, pepper, paprika, herbs you like Dice the chicken breast and mushrooms into a big frying pan or a wok (those woks with lids are great for that), add salt and pepper and start boiling some water in a pan for the rice). When the water is boiling add the rice and cook for at least 10 minutes and not more than 15 minutes, pour into a sieve and leave the rice on the side for later.  Fry the chicken and mushro...

I never had a talent for cooking and I never enjoyed it. Growing up with my father means I could cook exactly three dishes, by the time I moved out. That was toast with ketchup, pasta (plain) and ready-mix soup from a bag. My grandmother was a great cook and with a bit of effort from my side she could have taught me more than she did but I was not interested in cooking. I did not see the point. If course that has changed over the years but I never really got on with cooking. Still I think that some of the things I cook are actually enjoyable and healthy. During the last year when I couldn't eat properly I lost the fun in cooking and only did the basics. Only recently it has changed again. Now I am enjoying cooking again and today I make one of my favourite dishes which my kids actually eat even though it contains lots of vegetables.  It's a chicken risotto with every vegetable that's left in the fridge. It seems to not cause me any issues either, even when I eat...

I never really liked gammon but if done in a slow cooker it is the softest meat. It can be a bit dry so sauce is mandatory. There is a slow cooked version in the tesco ready meals aisle at the moment and I tried it a few weeks ago for the first time. Since then it is in our rotation as a special Sunday or Saturday dish. Usually with mashed potatoes or fried rice but today we were all in a fries mood. Also my all over health is still a bit damaged so I wanted to keep it simple.  Beef steak is unfortunately a bit too chewy for me so a good piece of gammon is enough to satisfy my cravings for meat that I have since surgery. 

Potatoe is usually a guarantee of a dumping free meal. All shapes or forms are welcome. The problem is the ingredients that go with it. Nobody eats a dry jacket Potatoe, there will be beans, or cheese, or mushrooms or all together. The fries will be dirty or with red sauce. And the crisps... The crisps come with salt. While that won't cause a dumping episode it will certainly cause acid reflux. A lot of esophageal cancer patients had heartburn before the diagnosis but I didn't but since surgery I have regular problems with reflux. Followers of my blog will know why, if you look at my diet. Anyway, crisps are still a good snack in the pub when you're peckish and can't eat anything else.  *update* Never try to rinse the salt down with orange lemonade. In a desperate attempt to get rid of the burn I grabbed the only drink on the table, which was my daughter's and it just made it far worse. 

Honestly I am not sure how my body is doing it. I eat very little (at least in comparison to before diagnosis) and most of it passes right through me but I have not lost any more weight. I am losing 1 or 2 kilo but a week or two later they are back again. Most of this up and down is water or water intake. I fill my times between meals with snacks. It can't be to sugary or too heavy. Those peanut curls are originally German and are called "Erdnussflips" there. I love them and could ear a whole pack in the evening. But usually I eat a few everytime I come into the kitchen... And I go a lot into the kitchen.  They are the perfect snack and don't cause any problems. Only it I combine them with chocolate or other sugary snacks. 

Getting a child of 8 years to eat vegetables is almost as difficult as putting a tire on a car. You have to learn the tricks first, you need the right tools, and other people seem to get it done faster and easier than you. A few years ago, when I was desperate for her to eat something, I made an old recipe of my grandmother and called it magic soup. She was ill and that soup was supposed to get her healthy and luckily she did real quick. Quick enough for her to believe this soup was magical indeed and since then she would ask me every now and then, if I can make it again. She doesn't call it magic soup anymore but I think she still believes in the magic. Since surgery this soup was the best way for me to eat vegetables too. You can blend it as much as you like. Cream it up with milk, oatmilk or full fat cream, if you need it and it is very mild on the stomach. You'll need a big pan with a lid and a blender.  2 potatoes  Half a swede 3 carrots Hot dogs or German ...

So why not cover them in caramel and chocolate before eating then? Another unhealthy snack but great to gain weight. I can even eat them in the evening and they don't cause any reflux. As long as I don't eat too many of course. 

Usually I try to put healthy snacks and meals into my day to day meal plan. But every time when I am peckish I steal one or two of the bars that I actually bought for my children.  Not too many though, as they are highly likely to cause dumping. Two is just about okay.  For the little sugar kick in between snacks I also like those Belgium muscles or Ferrero Rocher. The only difficulty here is not to eat too many of them.

I used to love milk chocolate. The brighter the better. White chocolate was also one of my favourites. Both is now a regular cause of dumping and I had to stop eating those. But what still works is dark chocolate. My sweet tooth just needs something sweet to suck on once in a while and dark chocolate is a good alternative. Two pieces a day are even said to be very healthy.  Unfortunately those packs are usually quite small and quite expensive so I only ever eat them, when I know exactly, that my body is able to process it properly. Would be a waste otherwise. 

Some mornings I wake up and immediately have to use the bathroom. I would be trapped there for 30 minutes while the kids need to get ready for school, breakfast and packed lunch need to be prepared and the other half might want to follow the call of nature too at some point. I don't understand why this happens. There is no relation to what or when I have eaten last the evening before. Also it doesn't matter how the night was, if the kids were ill and needed attention at 2 am or slept peacefully through the night.  Some mornings are just like this. So today I am extra hungry, which leads us to our favourite café again. Let's see how this works out, usually if the day starts like this, the rest of the day is not very easy on my digestive system either. 

Just started to prepare myself for that beauty when a hypo hit. I managed two bites before I needed to take some dextro energy and breathe through the attack. I am used to it now but the first was very scary. In no information or talk was ever said that this could happen once in a while. Only when I mentioned it to my surgeon during a follow up appointment she shrugged her shoulders and said that this is normal and I have to deal with it.  Luckily this usually passes quickly with some sugar and a break and I could enjoy my tomato-halloumi-bagel. Some days it makes problems but I feel fine today so I was up for risking it. 

Because my body is very bad it processing nutrients and is throwing them out as soon as it gets the chance to do so, I am hungry. Always. That means if I am not suffering from dumping with cramps and nausea, I will be hungry and get into a hangry state. I have never been like this but my body just has no reserves and can't cope. Also I have cravings, almost worse than during my pregnancies.  My afternoon snack today is therefore a bun with strawberry jam. It's one of those you have to bake in the oven for 8 minutes. Unfortunately I forgot that I had put it in already and it must have been in there for 15 minutes or more. Just on the border between eatable and bin. 

Ever since the cancer struck I wasn't able to eat bread or buns. First I couldn't swallow it, then I couldn't process it. I was never a breakfast person and used to have a coffee in the morning and wait for lunch but now I need a breakfast. Naturally, living in England, I tried fried breakfast and after a few setbacks which involved eggs, butter and tomato I found the perfect breakfast for me. Beans, hash browns and mushrooms. No salt or spices added just a bit cooking oil. I have to take my time, it can't be too hot and presumably I can only eat half but this is my go to breakfast if I need to be somewhere and can't use a toilet any time soon.