Best way to eat for illnesses?

[sakabla]

Hi, I'm new around here, so abit of background. I live in Australia with my husband & our 4 children. We homeschool & eat as organically as possible, when I'm not being completely slack!

So I'm getting really confused about the best way for my family to eat. I have depression, which has led to sugar/carb cravings which in turn has led to massive weight gain. Over the years I have tried many different diets (for want of a better word) including the blood group diet, traditional, think Sally Fallon, and vegetarian, but mainly I resort to eating loads of carbs,mainly organic, with processed "food" a few times a week. Over the past 18 months I been using a combination of supplements & amino acids & finally feel I have my depression under control, less episodes & much less severe.

I have noticed that I do seem to function better on a low carb, low grain, high meat diet, but seem to find it hard to stick to. It can be too expensive & time consuming. With homeschooling 4 children it is much easier to boil a pot of pasta or make a sandwich.

What has added to my confusion is that my husband may soon be diagnosed with colon cancer, we're just waiting on tests & results. So I've starting reading up about diets to support a cancer patient, & they all seem to be based on lots of whole grains, fruits & vegetables & restricted meat/animla products.

I don't know what to do.

We have cheap access to raw milk, but unless I make our other dairy products, all others are organic but not raw.

We have access to pastuered eggs, chicken, lamb, beef & pork.

We have access to organic fruit & vege, & are currently setting up our own vege garden.

We have limited access to organic grains, they are hard to come by & can be expensive.

I have read the Paleo/Primal threads on here on & off for years, & seem really drawn to this way of living. With my depression under control I feel ready to make big changes to our diet. But with my husbands health concerns & their recomendations, I don't know that it;s the right way for us to go. I'm hoping to not have to cook seperate meals for everyone.

Sorry it's so long, just wanted to give as much information as possible.

If anyone has been through similar or has any advice I would be very greatful.

[Ravenlunatic]

It sounds like you have everything going great and maybe you are just second guessing yourself. 

I eat on the GAPS diet which is essentially primal/paleo I think, maybe a small difference in diary allowance and my DH and 7 year old daughter do not.  We do just fine.

I think YOU should continue to eat this diet since it is working for you.  With your DH's current heallth concern I would take the Dr.s advice (with a grain of salt) but there is no reason that your husband can't have a serving or 2 of grains a day and that you can exclude them from your diet.

It sounds that you may have an addictive reaction to some carbs (who doesn't?).  Just avoid having your trigger foods in the house.  Like I can't possibly withstand a bag of chips so they are never in my house.  But I have gotten used to cooking a serving of potatoes and not touching them (or wanting to).  At the begining if everything is a trigger than just do the best you can with choosing what your husband will have int he house.  Also with grains being your most expensive, least available food source it just makes sense.

As far as the diet being hard to stick to and time consuming...ah, yes!  It so is.  I can suggest lots of math and science happening in your kitchen and garden.  I have some 'fall back' foods that I cook regularly and freeze for  those times that I just can't get it together in the kitchen... and I always have to have 2 or 3 things going daily to keep up.  Like right now I just finished homemade yogurt, have cuces lacto-fermenting on the counter, peeled and roasted a very large batch of carrots, squash & beets (for a staple in the fridge to last a day or two).  Tomorrow there will be elderberry syrup (for immune support), some kind of large protien cooking session (and shopping), and hopefully something I can bake or some roasted nuts or something.

Good Luck, it sounds like you are on the right track!

[sakabla]

Thanks for the vote of confidence, I don't feel like I'm going great! But I think you're right I'm just second guessing myself.

Of course you're right about serving different food, I just went into some kind of panic, I guess maybe I feel that I've initiated the way we eat for my health, & now it has contributed to DH's health concerns. DH is going to love watching me eat a big grass feed steak while he digs into a big bowl of barley!

I was wondering if the recommendation of little meat is because of all the growth hormones in conventional meat. May have to look into that further.

I am in awe of your being organised enough to do batch cooking, but I guess it takes no longer really to cut up more vegies for roasting.  We know how we eat is good for us & we just need to be really strict with only putting the good stuff in our bodies.

Thanks again for your reply, it really has helped calm me down.

[sakabla]

So I was just thinking about doing batch cooking for quick food throughout the week.

So what are your favorite things to cook heaps of at once to either freeze or have in the fridge for quick snacks or meals.

TIA.

[Ravenlunatic]

Hmmm,  it changes with seasons.  I have a very large veggie garden and so what comes in has a lot to do with my cooking.

For starters I like to have lots of chicken stock in the freezer, so cooking a large crock of chicken bones every other week or every third week is essential.  I have been on reprieve and haven't done it for the summer but in another month or so I will start and continue on all winter.

Squash is a HUGE staple for me.  I cook two or three at a time (mostly acorn) and freeze small containers of it.  I use squash in almost everything.  I thicken soup, I make squash pancakes (only squash, egg and almond flour), I eat it heated with veggies.  I put it in smoothies. 

Next I always cook enough veggies for 'dinner' to have at least some left over.  Either for salad the next day or to add to my stock or whatever.  For instance with the carrots & beets & squash mix I made the other day, I also peeled and sliced enough carrots to have a raw snack at some point.  The mix has done me 2 servings so far and I have enough for probably 2 more.  Last night I had some green beens so I cooked them and added my beet mix and had a giant bowl of green beans, carrots, beets, and squash.  I also have extra beens left over and so I just chopped them and added them to the beet mix to stretch it even farther.

I will cut and wash enough greens to do several salads at once.  And also a seperate bag of kale so I can chop and throw it in the pan I just cooked my meat in.  Fresh steamed kale makes a great 'bed' for any dinner.

Fermented veggies are a staple and can be added to any meal.  I do my own pickles, green beans, carrots and ginger... I buy back up kraut and pickles when needed.

I cook extra lean protien to have in the fridge in bulk.  A large bag of chicken or fish.  I add this to my salads for lunch.  Will mix some with leftover already cooked veggies for a quick meal or just grab a cooked breast and run out the door with a bag of raw carrots.

I'll write more late if I think of anything big.  I am not the most dynamic eater or cooker, but I think once you get started you get your own ideas...

Good Luck