Gastroparesis and Juicing

What is juicing?

Being on a liquid diet I try to pack as much nutrition as possible in everything I drink. Juicing has allowed me to get the nutrients from fruits and veggies that I otherwise wouldn’t get. Some may be confused by what exactly juicing is since high quality blenders such as the Nutribullet and Vitamix claim that their product can be used for juicing. To me, anything made in a blender such as the Nutribullet and Vitamix is a smoothie not a juice. The difference between using a high quality blender and a juicer is that in a blender the whole fruit is being blended up and the fiber stays, when you use a juicer the fiber gets collected in a seperate container and only the juice is consumed. As many Gastroparesis patients know, we are all advised to have a low fiber diet to prevent worsening of symptoms and bezoars which makes it difficult to include a variety of fruits and veggies in our diet due to the high fiber content. The low amount of fiber in juices makes it a great option for those who have Gastroparesis. Even though juicing is considered GP friendly, you may not tolerate it! Everyone’s body is different. I would suggest borrowing a juicer, visiting a juice bar or buying a cheaper juicer to try out.

What are the best ingredients to juice for digestion?

Even though juicing gives you more freedom you still have to be careful with what fruits and veggies you use to juice. Many people who have Gastroparesis tend to have problems with reflux and acid problems so it’s best to stay away from acidic fruits (ex: oranges). Certain veggies can cause bloating and discomfort (ex: broccoli). Some notice that avoiding high fodmap fruits and veggies allows them to tolerate juices better.  Overall some key ingredients that help with digestion include:

Ginger: This is pretty popular and is known to help relieve stomach discomfort and nausea and help increase gastric emptying. It doesn’t take much for ginger to overpower the flavor of your juice! A little goes a long way. Too much ginger can also cause heartburn and increase the risk of bleeding.

Lemon/Lime: Both help aid in digestion and can relieve nausea/vomiting. A little goes a long way in juicing as well. Avoid if you reflux, gastritis and prone to heartburn.

Pineapple: Pineapple contain bromelain which is an enzyme that helps digest food. It is known to alleviate heartburn and stomach discomfort. Pineapple is acidic so again if you have reflux, gastritis etc you should avoid it or avoid putting too much of it in your juice.

Juicing Facts & Tips

• Juice needs to be consumed immediately due to oxidation
• You can store juices in the fridge but it needs to be in a glass container filled to the brim with a top leaving no space for air
• Juices shouldn’t be kept in the fridge for longer than 24 hours
• The more time it’s spent out or in the fridge the less nutrients it will have
• Juice cannot be left out too long due to bacteria
• There will still be debris in the juice, if you can’t tolerate it you can strain it with a cheese cloth
• There are two types of juicers: masticating and centrifugal
• Masticating juicers tend to be more expensive and don’t use as much heat allowing for more nutrition
• Centrifugal juicers are more popular and inexpensive and allow bigger pieces of fruits/veggies to go through but create more heat

What juicer do I use?

I have a Breville Compact Juice Fountain. It’s a centrifugal juicer, I’ve owned it for over 2 1/2 years and still works great! I juice everyday about 2 or 3 times a day. It has five pieces (motor/stand, pulp holder, blade/filter, top and plastic piece to push fruit) and is pretty easy to clean. The pulp left behind is pretty dry so most of the juice is extracted.

               

What about all the waste (pulp)?

When you juice there will always be pulp left over no matter what. Some people say it’s wasteful because it’s not being consumed however there are other ways to use it! My family has a garden so we use it as compost for it. I’ve also heard of people using it to make soups with the veggie pulp and muffins with both fruit/veggie pulp.

Recipes

These recipes are good for beginners because the veggie taste isn’t overpowering and doesn’t require too many ingredients.

#1 FODMAP Friendly

• 1/2 small sweet potato
• 1 small carrot
• 1/2 inch of ginger
• 1/3 lime (optional)

makes 8 ounces

#2 FODMAP Friendly

• 1/2 of a beet
• 1 carrot
• 1 cup of grapes

makes 8 ounces

#3

• 1 apple
• 1 cup of spinach
• 2 small carrots
• 1/2 inch piece of ginger

makes 8 ounces

#4 FODMAP Friendly

• 1 cup diced pineapple
• 1/2 cup grapes
• 1/4 cup sliced zucchini
• 2 carrots

10 ounces

#5 FODMAP Friendly

• 1 cup of pineapple
• 1/2 of a beet
• 1/2 cup of grapes
• 1/4 cup of sliced sweet potato

8 ounces

Orgain Review + Giveaway (Over)

Oh Orgain, how I love thee. Now that I’m not able to eat any solid food my main source of nutrition is Orgain. The vanilla and chocolate fudge are pretty good (review here) but I really wanted to try the other two flavors they have available, iced cafe mocha and strawberries and cream. I was finally able to get my hands on both of them the past week to review. The iced cafe mocha tastes amazing! I’m no longer able to drink coffee and miss it like CRAZY. It has a nice mild coffee flavor and it’s not too sweet. Out of the four flavors this is hands down my favorite. The strawberries and cream is also pretty good, it’s creamy with a subtle strawberry flavor and also not very sweet. I highly recommend these two when you get tired of the typical chocolate and vanilla. If you haven’t read my last Orgain review here is a recap:

Orgain Contains

-16 grams of organic protein
-23 vitamins and minerals
-Lightly sweetened with brown rice syrup and organic evaporated cane juice
-Contains organic fruits and veggies (kale, beets, spinach, tomatoes, carrots, banana, blueberries, acai berry, apples and raspberries)
-Only has 2 grams of fiber making it GP friendly
-7 grams of fat
-255 calories per 11 oz container

I contacted Orgain to help me have a giveaway for my lovely blog readers/IG followers! I will be selecting three people who will each receive two coupons for a free shake. Each person can have two entries. The first way to enter is to comment on my Instagram @cindygc and say what flavor you would like to try. For your second entry comment on this post with the same thing. I will be choosing a winner on 10/31/14. Good luck!

Congrats to Charlotte, Dani and Carolanne!

                                                                  

                                                                  

                                                                  

Pumpkin Custard

Just like many, I’m obsessed with pumpkin spice and get excited about all the pumpkin spice flavored foods that come out. My absolute favorite is pumpkin pie but with all the dairy and fat in it, it’s not GP friendly for me at least. So I looked around online at pumpkin custard recipes and decided to tweak it a bit to make it low fat and dairy free. Even though my stomach is very sensitive right now, this didn’t give me much problems and my parents loved it as well. I prefer it cold but you’re welcome to eat it right out of the oven! If you miss pumpkin pie this will make a great addition at Thanksgiving.

Ingredients

• 1 Can of Pumpkin (15oz)
• 3 Egg Whites
• 1 1/2 Cups of Almond Milk
• 3/4 Cup of Sweetner (I used maple syrup but dark brown sugar would be good too!)
• 1 Tsp of Cinnamon
• 1/2 Tsp of Pumpkin Spice
• 1 Tsp of Salt
• 1 Tbsp of Cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 350F. Mix together all the ingredients together, be sure to add in the cornstarch first so it dissolves well with all the ingredients. Pour the mixture into ramekins or a pie pan (I used 3 large ramekins and had some of the mixture left over). Place into the oven and allow it to cook for 40-60mins (mine were pretty deep so I cooked it for an hour). Take it out of the oven and allow to cool so that it solidifies even more. Place into the fridge once it cools down if you’re not eating it right away. Enjoy!

                                                       

Identity and Happiness

Having a chronic illness changes everything. Whether it’s mild or severe, it definitely changes you as a person. Before I got sick I was just like any other carefree teenager with no worries at all besides school. I didn’t think I was invincible but I never thought something would happen to me. When I first got sick I thought it would go away eventually but then days turned into weeks which turned into months and now years. It took 4 years for me to get officially diagnosed with Gastroparesis after dealing with multiple ER and doctor visits, hospitalizations which led to TPN and a NJ tube. During those years my identity was lost. I was young and sick and that’s all my life revolved around. Prior to my official diagnosis I noticed that I was losing myself to this illness and I shouldn’t be letting it do that to me. It has already taken so much from me, I can’t let it take my identity. I’m daughter, a sister, a friend, a student, a future nurse practitioner, a crafter, a furbaby mama (hehe) but I am NOT Gastroparesis. I am still the same person I was before but better and improved. Now I do not take anything for granted and enjoy the little things in life. I treasure each moment I have with my friends and family. As difficult as it has been to be sick so young I’m grateful for what it has taught me about life. I’ve met some of the most beautiful souls on this journey and have made the greatest friendships with people around the world who I wouldn’t have met if I never got sick. I could be bitter and depressed all the time about what being sick has done to my life but I refuse to let it take away my happiness. I hope to one day feel great enough to venture out and do things out of my comfort zone, have amazing adventures with my friends and family and meet some of those close friends I’ve made from this journey. I may not choose what happens to me in this life but I can choose how I react. I choose to be happy. I choose to be the same Cindy I was before getting sick.

Gluten Free Saltines

Saltines have definitely been a huge staple in my diet ever since I got sick. When my doctors told me I had to start a gluten free diet I was sad to leave my beloved saltines behind. I’ve tried gluten free crackers in the past but none of them tasted as good so I was on a search to find THE recipe. I came across this blog (http://theprettybee.com/2013/10/easy-gluten-free-cracker-recipe.html) and decided to try out the recipe. What attracted me to this recipe is how simple it is. Once I finished baking my first batch and tasted it I was excited to find out that it tasted pretty similar to the wheat filled saltines. It has the salty buttery taste and I will always stick to recipe from now on. When making these roll it out as thin as you can but not paper thin, when it’s crunchy it tastes so much better and doesn’t get stale as easily. Depending on where you live the water amount will vary so I recommend with adding 1/4 cup at first and adding a tablespoon at a time.

Ingredients

• 1 cup gluten free flour
• 1 tbsp oil or butter, melted
• 1/2 tsp honey
• 1/2 tsp salt
• extra salt to add on top

Preheat oven to 400F. In a bowl mix together all the ingredients and add water slowly. The dough should not be sticky or dry, it should feel like play-doh. Roll it very thin, remember you want these crackers to be crunchy. Cut the dough in any shape you want and place on parchment paper or aluminum foil lightly greased with cooking spray. Cook the crackers for 15-20 mins, since these are thin watch closely otherwise they’ll burn. Allow them to cool off and enjoy!

                                                          

Mourning

Being chronically ill you are constantly going through different emotions related to your illness; happy, sad, content, angry, frustrated, grateful etc. Usually we thinking of mourning when a person dies but when you get chronically ill one thing that happens whether or not you realize is that you mourn the life that you have lost and the life that could’ve/should’ve been. I got sick when I was 16 and I’m now 21, in those almost 5 years I have missed out on so much because of my illness. I often think about everything that I would’ve accomplished had I not gotten sick. I would’ve gotten my license, had a job and be finishing my last year in college to become a nurse. I try not to dwell on it because it’s painful to think about. To see your peers accomplishing things while you’re being left behind is difficult to say the least. Being young and sick we are robbed of living our life before it really began and are forced into a life filled with doctors, medications and hospital stays.

You have to remember that it’s okay to be sad and angry, a life changing chronic illness especially at a young age is difficult for anyone to deal with even the strongest people. Mourning the life that you have lost helps you to move on and accept the life you have now. There will always be days where it’s difficult physically, mentally and emotionally but you’ll get through it and it’s important not to dwell on what you cannot do and try to do things that you can that will make you happy. Yes we were dealt shitty cards but it’s up to us to turn it into something positive.  We have chronic illness(es) but they do not have us.

Orgain Review

A lot of GPer’s turn to liquid nutritional drinks when they are unable to tolerate solid food and the ones that are always suggested by doctors are Boost and Ensure. When I was at my lowest weight I tried my hardest to drink them but they always made me feel even more sick. If you look on the nutrition label of those drinks you’ll notice a long list of ingredients which are far from healthy, the 2nd ingredient is sugar! No wonder they were making me feel sick, it was junk. I’ve heard about Orgain before from other GPer’s and looked for them when I was no longer able to tolerate solid food. Here are the basic facts about Orgain:

-16 grams of organic protein
-23 vitamins and minerals
-Lightly sweetened with brown rice syrup and organic evaporated cane juice
-Contains organic fruits and veggies (kale, beets, spinach, tomatoes, carrots, banana, blueberries, acai berry, apples and raspberries)
-Only has 2 grams of fiber making it GP friendly
-7 grams of fat
-255 calories per 11 oz container

I found mine at my local Walgreens so it was not difficult to find. It does contain milk and is not lactose free. I don’t know if it’s because the milk protein is organic and grass fed but I was able to tolerate these with minimal symptoms even though I’m lactose intolerant. I know some who weren’t able to tolerate anyways because of the milk so it can go either way it just depends on your body. Now let’s get to how it tastes! I bought the vanilla bean and chocolate fudge. My first reaction was it’s really bland. I don’t like foods super sweet but these definitely did not taste sweet enough to me so I added in a packet of stevia. Once I added the stevia it tasted so much better. It’s not thick and doesn’t have that strong vitamin taste that nutritional drinks can have. My favorite is the chocolate fudge. Besides vanilla bean and chocolate fudge it is also available in iced cafe mocha and strawberries and cream. I’ve also noticed that Orgain came out with a vegan version this year for those who can’t drink milk. I’m trying to get my hands on those and if I do I’ll post a review about those as well! Overall I highly recommend Orgain instead of ensure and boost.

                                               

 

                                               

 

                                               

Hello Again!

It’s been awhile since I posted on this blog and for good reason. Unfortunately my health went downhill and I was unable to eat and it wasn’t until the beginning of this week that I’ve been able to add in a handful of solid foods. I do plan on posting more on this blog but it’ll be different for a while until my stomach is able tolerate more solid food. Any recipe that I put up from now on will be gluten free since I am now on a gluten free diet at my doctors request. I will also be posting meal ideas even if they’re simple since people can forget the basics and I will be posting reviews of products that are “GP friendly”.

Two Ingredient Pancakes

If you’ve seen my blog before you’ll notice all my old posts are gone. I decided to start fresh and finally get back into posting GP friendly recipes as much as I can. My friend Torie who also has Gastroparesis messaged me a while ago saying she had a recipe that I could put on my blog if I wanted and I said yes of course! Besides this little intro everything is written by her. I made these pancakes myself to try out the recipe and I would recommend making small pancakes, it has a tendency to spread out and the bigger it is the harder it is to flip. If you end up trying it out I hope you enjoy’em!

                        

 

Ingredients:

• 1 Banana
• 2 Egg Whites

Place in blender. Add in whatever add ins you want. I like to add some vanilla or a trick for GP, place blueberries or strawberries in the blender as well. Then you can get some berry pancakes without the pain of the skins and the seeds. You can also add in some nut butter or PB2 if tolerated or cocoa to make chocolate pancakes. The possibilities are endless! While I have never used protein powder, that is also a possibility. Place on the griddle. You will notice these pancakes are a little flatter than normal ones and take longer to cook. Sometimes it takes a pancake or two to get the timing right. Enjoy with toppings of your choice. Full disclosure, I will not say they taste exactly like normal pancakes but I tolerated them very well and they are yummy!

Welcome!

Hiya! Welcome to my blog! My name is Cindy and I have Gastroparesis. Gastroparesis means my stomach empties food slowly causing severe nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, bloating etc. I’ve been dealing with it for almost 5 years but I wasn’t diagnosed until April of 2014. My goal for this blog is to post Gastroparesis friendly recipes and anything about Gastroparesis that I think may help others. Even though my recipes will follow the Gastroparesis diet rules it does not mean it will be (your name) friendly. I hope you enjoy my blog!