I need opinons on cheat meals

Cindy, life is all about choices and you get to make them all by yourself.

I would feel awful if I gave you permission to have a cheat meal and you then herxed terribly. So, I just can't do it.

I know that I was going non dairy (this was way before I got lyme) and searched for cheese, ice cream and creamer alternatives. I found them all.

It is amazing how easy you can change a habit. I use coconut milk in my coffee. I love cashew cheese. And Luna and Larry's organic coconut bliss "ice cream" is awesome.

I don't crave box foods at all. I eat pizza, but it is organic and I really love making my own. You can make a great crust out of cauliflower.

I guess for me I saw the challenge of eating super healthy mixed with tasting awesome and I figured it out.

I think I am older than you. When you get older and friends and neighbors are dying, what you put in your body really matters. You just don't want to say "I wish I had of taken better care of myself when I was younger."

What are your cheat meals? Maybe I can help you find alternatives.

PeteZa, with your chef/foodie background and my love of pretending to cook and eat like a chef, I would find an ongoing thread of recipes for tasty creations a wonderful gift.

I realize that not all of us will/can eat the same things but maybe we can all contribute with something we've found or come up with that maybe a few others would want to try for themselves? I'm probably not the only one with food related issues (not necessarily Y/O)

I could figure it out too, though not as well as you did, and havedone so in a few respects but other than that my desire to get a meal out faster than I wear out, I fall into old habits.

julymorning said...
PeteZa, with your chef/foodie background and my love of pretending to cook and eat like a chef, I would find an ongoing thread of recipes for tasty creations a wonderful gift.

I realize that not all of us will/can eat the same things but maybe we can all contribute with something we've found or come up with that maybe a few others would want to try for themselves? I'm probably not the only one with food related issues (not necessarily Y/O)

I could figure it out too, though not as well as you did, and havedone so in a few respects but other than that my desire to get a meal out faster than I wear out, I fall into old habits.

July, sometimes it is the easy peasy stuff that works for me. When my lyme was full blown I could barely stand in the kitchen for 10 minutes. I had to bring over the bar stool and sit on it while I stirred stuff. I was pathetic in the kitchen.

Now I have a couple of knees that hate me to stand. So blow drying my hair is torture and standing cooking again is torture, but at least it is not lyme.

Last night I sliced vegetables and grilled them. Awesome and so easy.

Thanks. I get tired of making the complicated recipes so a lot of times its just boring and bland- which I also get tired of. I have an amazing boyfriend that constantly helps me, will cook my complicated meals if I don't have energy, but of course I am always worried about him leaving because he doesn't want to deal with this and me anymore.

I wouldn't mind some sort of recipe thread idea either. I am always searching for recipes/food ideas on here.

First of all, Happy belated Birthday!!!

Well, here's the thing about diets - we all have different requirements. I don't avoid many of the foods that a lot of members here do, but I've been at this for a long while now (10 years) and know my body pretty darn well - or should. LOL!

I'm not sure just which foods you are "cheating" with, so please bear that in mind, but things like sugar (you mentioned your birthday, so I thought of sweets/gluten) will keep encouraging yeast to grow in your digestive tract - which can be enough to stop treatments and require you to address a yeast infection.

Dairy and simple carbs may also encourage yeast and fungal issues.

Considering you are using strong abx and herbal extracts, these too will kill off the good bacteria in the digestive system, creating a really good opportunity for opportunistic bacteria and yeasts to populate the gastro tract - again, making it more likely that the bad bacteria can get a good foothold in the gastro tract.

So, just because a person is doing well, doesn't mean they can go off the diet necessarily, as it will expose them to the exact situation that the diet is supposed to prevent. It's not a matter of how you feel now so much, but what the sequence of events will be if you don't stick to the diet.

Now, with that said, as I admitted to earlier, I don't follow the any type of Lyme diet - but mostly that's because I have a serious soy allergy which prevents me from eating a lot of those foods you are likely talking about anyway (I can't eat out in any restaurant that doesn't have a soy allergy menu - and there aren't many). My low energy levels prevent me from spending a lot of time in the kitchen (which is not my favorite place to be anyway), and so I don't have a wider variety of things that I fix.

As far as the no appetite, no matter how boring the food is, remember that this is to help your body heal, and that in order to heal, your body must have good nutrients. I see food as another 'tool' to help us heal. I struggle with a damaged vagus nerve, so I don't get hungry, ever. I may get nauseous if I don't eat often enough though - and that makes it even harder to eat. I have to force food down me daily, or I simply wouldn't eat, because nothing tastes good (Likely because of the impact of the infections), and my food choices are seriously limited with a soy allergy - so I do understand. But what I understand more is the things that our bodies need to heal.

If you choose to go off the diet, please make very wise choices. Not everyone needs to be on a Lyme diet, but it's a VERY good deterrent to yeast and fungal issues while we are in treatment.

It helps, but isn't always enough. Members here rotate probiotic brands to help keep enough of the different strains of beneficial bacteria in their intestines in order to avoid issues, as well as sticking to the diet.

The one thing that I would suggest is, if you choose to go off the diet, do it slowly and watch for any issues you encounter - and be prepared to go back on the diet if you find that you don't do well off the diet.

But, I FULLY () understand the issues you are having with the diet! We DO have choices, but we must be wise about what we do. Our health has to come before our 'preferences' - as hard as that can be with foods.

Traveler we don't do soy in our house because most soy beans are genetically modified.

I used to do tofu and make stir fried meals. All of a sudden I was bent over in horrible pain and thinking I was dying. It was gas. Or I should say GAS!!! I have never had such a reaction in my life. It scared me and I really was on my way to the ER.

I don't do tofu at all now! And then the GMO thing came about and so we just eliminated from our pantry.

Corn is becoming totally GMO also. Corn is in everything!!! Corn oil. I don't do that either.