Oh 2020 has sure been a ride. It was full of up (buying our house) and downs (the crazy pandemic that is still going on).
Even though it’s been a rollercoaster of a ride here’s a few things I’ve discovered. No one is immune to stress eating especially when there’s a pandemic. Shopping is no longer mom’s break time but a marathon of following arrows and knowing the limits of foods. I’ve also discovered that ever pantry list that you will find online to prepare for winter or a pandemic is not bariatric friendly. What you will find on all these lists are flour and grains which are great for bulking up meals during hard time but horrible on your stomach if you’re a bariatric patient. So now that I feel like I have a grasp on what life looks like for the time being, it’s time to pull up my socks and make a list of foods I should have on hand that fall in line with the lifestyle I want to live.
The first thing on my list is oats. Which might sound boring but as a bariatric patient I can make protein balls, baked oatmeal, overnight oats, muffins, bread etc that won’t wreak having on my digestive system.
The second thing would be powdered milk. Now while this isn’t the best tasting item I can add water and make myself a smoothie or there’s even recipes to make yogurt from powdered milk.
The third thing would be meat. It can be canned, frozen or fresh but we need to keep our protein up all the time. Come to think of it I should have probably made this number 1.
The fourth thing would be protein shakes and protein bars. While not something to I would eat all the time these are perfect to keep up the protein. And there’s a variety of shakes you can get in ready made (rather pricy or powdered protein shakes)
And then I have a mish mash of other items. Quinoa, canned soups, canned/ frozen fruits and veggies, some alternative flours (but you can stock up on these as they do need to be cycled thru rather quickly.), beef jerky, cottage cheese and eggs.