What I'm Eating: Lunch

As I've said before, I'm struggling to eat a healthy diet.

The Tykerb, my new miracle chemo drug, seems to kill my appetite. It also upsets my GI tract. So I don't feel much like eating, and the foods that do appeal to me tend to me light on nutrition: crackers, bagels, pudding, rice. Too many vegetables at one sitting leaves me with gas and cramps.

Also, by 6 p.m. or so, I don't feel like cooking, so I've been shifting my main meal to noon or early afternoon. I eat out with a friend or one of my sons once or twice a week, because I eat a better meal that way.

But I also seem to have odd food cravings--these I indulge.

The other day when I was at the grocery, I saw bunches of fresh asparagus. It looked wonderful--expensive, but wonderful. So I bought some.

Today I made myself a very tasty rice dish, using the asparagus, mushrooms, and tofu.

First, I precooked the rice, which was a box of seasoned brown and wild rice, the Farmhouse brand, which has no additives.

I cut the asparagus into 1 1/2 inch pieces and precooked it for just a minute in the microwave. I sliced the mushrooms and cut the tofu into small cubes. I put all of these into a heated wok with just a little oil and cooked them quickly on high heat. When they were almost done, I added a splash of soy sauce.

Then I stirred in the rice, and that was it.

I ate in on the front porch in the sunshine where I could admire my garden. Crocuses and small daffodils are blooming, tulips are above ground, and the blueberry bushes have new leaf buds.

@ Jeanne Sather 2008.

Comments

[Dee]

When I told my acupuncturist yesterday that I seem to having cravings for sweet carbs, like pastries, her reply was that my body wanted nourishment - i.e., calories. I've been wanting those kinds of sweet things since I've been on Xeloda and Tykerb. She suggested that I try to eat yellow and green squash, and just in general, green, yellow, and orange veggies, those that are sweet. She said that might satisfy my sweet craving while getting the needed vitamins. I don't recall if she said how much or with what . . . I'll have to ask her next time I go in.

[Liz Kreger]

You're making me hungry. I have ... oatmeal for my lunch. LOL. Actually, I like oatmeal so this is a choice on my part.

I didn't notice any particular change in my diet when I started on the Tykerb/Xeloda regiment. Yes, some GI problems but that's not too bad. I try to eat healthy, but even when I give in to my carnivorous nature, I have no problem with what I eat. Given your and Dee's experiences I'm apparently fortunate that way.

[jeanne]

Liz--I like oatmeal too, and it seems to go OK on my tummy.

Glad you aren't haven't the upset tummy thing. It is a drag--but worth it overall, I have to say.

Dee--those sound like good suggestions. I eat a yam once in awhile, just microwave it and add a dab of butter and either salt or cinnamon. I think the other thing about the carbs is that they settle an upset tummy--I feel much better if I nibble on a scone or something in the morning, just eat it really slowly. But my stomach's been pretty good. I can't eat large amounts of any vegetable at one time though, but that's been a problem for years. Dr. L says it's because I've had so much treatment. It's a cumulative thing.

Wait till you see the vegis I'm growing this year though!

[Amorette]

Dee...yellow and green squash are GREAT steamed and dipped in ginger dressing. Ginger's good for settling tummies, too. I live on the stuff. (Or at least I did, before the babies started deciding what I could and couldn't eat).