Try new healthy recipes

New life, new food

When  I was able to eat solid food, and it took me forever, I was really happy that I could enjoy some normal food. But what started as a happy encounter became very boring stuff after a few weeks. I have eaten it all I knew and I was repeating the meals over and over again. It became very boring pretty fast. I needed new healthy recipes to add to my meal preps.

Nutritionist

You need to eat more veggies. No, not exactly potatoes and starchy things. Vegetables. Raw or cooked, it doesn’t matter, but veggies. Ok, I will do my best. And I really wanted to. But it dawned on me quickly that I have a problem here. I have never been a huge veggie eater, so my knowledge of healthy meals not loaded with carbs was quite limited. I needed to expand my horizons and learn something new.

Where to look

I started to search online. Google knows it all, right? Omg! But, Google, what are all those things? I have never eaten them, so how can I know if I will like them? Yes, Google knows it all, but the taste buds are mine. So I will have to start trying new things. There is no other way out of this.

The beginning is the hardest

At first, I was a little more traditional. I checked what was available in the store and if I particularly liked something, I bought it and then looked for some recipe to cook it. Well, it was a miss and hit. Sometimes it was a huge success, sometimes I poked it around the plate and to the garbage. But most often it was ok, so I took note and had a new item for my grocery shopping.

Frozen veggies

And then I remembered that I used to see a lot of frozen veggies in a store where I shop sometimes. They are somewhat less expensive, which comes in handy, so I went and checked this. Ha! A little pitfall here. WHY??? Just why do frozen veggies have sugar added??? Like I meant it! I wanted to buy something with a lot of peppers, so I checked what more was there – I am allergic to raw tomatoes, so you never know – and to my horror there was added sugar. Pfff.. incredible. If somebody knows why, please explain.

Important note

If you buy something pre-prepared, be careful. You never know what they added so that it tasted “better”. The best is to go and buy some fresh veggies and if you want to have something frozen, be a Sherlock with a magnifying glass to read all the small letters. It is the only way how not to fall for the trap. At least to me, this came as s big surprise.

I didn’t know where else to search for the new ideas. Yes, the internet is full of things, but I live in the south of Europe, so it is kinda hard to follow some Indian or Korean recipes. I am not saying they are bad. It is about the availability of the ingredients. I needed something more local.

Facebook, the old friend

Obviously! There are millions of groups that you can easily search for, become a member of, and have a good supply of ideas. Especially if you are bariatric, many groups are for people like you and me. Again, don’t follow it all blindly. You know your stomach the best and you know what is ok and what will be directly rejected. Sometimes the receipts are directly questionable. Use your brain. You know better.

Ha! Pinterest

I almost forgot about this platform. It is not mainstream here, so I used to use it sometimes, but once I entered again and started to look for veggie recipes… WOW! It is loaded with things and ideas. You can find everything and anything. You don’t have to follow it exactly, you can always adjust it to your needs, but it has so many ideas that you will have a lifetime to try them all.

Blogs

You can also search for different blogs, there are many, specializing in nutrition. It is the same as with everything. Sometimes things can become a little extreme, some people like to dramatize everything and make a mountain out of a molehill. There are so many great bloggers who have some education behind what they say, so you don’t have to be worried that you will harm yourself. Sometimes you see from the first post that this is not what you are looking for.  Here you can find gems and trash. But still, it is worth it. It is another source.

Other social media

I am not a huge fan of TikTok (the data protection thing) and Instagram – only my cat has his account 😀 but many people share things like these. From what I have seen, there can be a little problem between the interest of getting as many likes as possible and sharing valuable content. It became a huge minefield. You have to know a little about who the creators are and what purpose they have behind what they publish.

I am not saying it is all bad, at all, there are many amazing people, really worth following. You just need to be a little picky and investigate. Ha, my nutritionist has an Instagram account 😀

Special needs

As bariatric patients, we have some specific needs in our nutrition that people out there don’t know, so they are many times trying to sell us things in good hope that it will be ok for us, but it is not. We know much better than anyone what we can, can’t, and what we tolerate. So start from there.

Special ingredients

The easiest way for me was to search for a recipe for one single veggie I bought. What can I make from XYZ? The Internet has many ideas. But it becomes tricky with ingredients that are super special, and often pricy, so you run the risk that if you don’t like it, you will be left with a bottle of sauce, a bag of seasonings, or something that you end up throwing away. This is silly.

Keep searching

The best thing I have learned is to keep trying. Till now I have on my agenda: look for a new veggie recipe. Funny. Right? Actually, it is not. I keep exploring. I am open to options. I learned so many new things. How to prepare, how to store, where to buy, when it is fresh, if it is ok to buy bottled… you name it. Things I have never known are now part of my grocery shopping and cooking.

Don’t make it an ordeal. Don’t push yourself into something you see that you are not likely to like. If it smells funny to you, it will probably not change when you cook it. On the other hand, if you find a veggie you like, keep exploring options. What else can I prepare out of this one? You will be surprised.

Keep learning

The good part is that from a person who never was a huge veggie lover, I became a person who prioritizes veggies on the plate. Ok, after the protein part 😀 I rarely eat pasta, rice, potatoes, or bread. It all became a treat. Most often I will eat some meat or fish and half of the plate will be veggies. If I don’t finish it at once, I come back to them. You know, sometimes it is simply too much. But I don’t throw things away.

Veggies are important for us. They have a lot of nutrients and fiber. Whether we like it or not, we need them. So it is a good idea to start making friends with them. It is all hit or miss. Sometimes you fall in love, sometimes… no, not this one. But it is ok, at least you tried 🙂 it is all about habits and about trying new options. Be open and explore. It is the only way how to figure it out.

And your nutritionist will like this 😀And by the way, beats are fabulous 😀