If you're on a liquid or mushy diet, this post may be helpful to you; but regardless, there are some great tips here to help keep your protein and/or calories up throughout the day.
Please see part 1 if you are looking for breakfast, lunch and dinner options, as this post will be for drinks and desserts.
Note: if you do a recipe with any berries/fruits with seeds, please take them out! If you have gp, you should NOT be eating any form of seeds or nuts. The reason for this is because you can get bezoars. Bezoars are when food builds up in your digestive tract causing a lot of pain and needing to be surgically removed. Please research about bezoars and consult your doctor if you are worried about them. It is not hard to stay away from them, you just need to do your part and keep your food seed-free, chew well and allow plenty of time for digestion.
Drinks
If you're on a liquid diet, these combinations may be helpful for you. Everything I mention can easily be altered by adding protein powder or high protein foods to, to help with weight management. Drinking liquid food is great to give your digestive system a break. Having smoothies or juice especially with vegetables in them lets you receive the nutritional benefits, while letting them easily pass through your track without needing to take so long to break down and digest.
Smoothies
For my smoothies and juices, I do not drink them chilled or with crushed ice in them. I first learned about not having cold drinks when I was learning about the Chinese culture (for my very short trip to China last summer). Traditional Chinese do not drink cold drinks, because "cold water is bad for your health..."- Nan Lu, founder and president of the Traditional Chinese Medicine World Foundation in NYC. "Bad for your health" specifically means your digestion: cold beverages will make your blood vessels contract, which will restrict your digestion and hinder your body from absorbing nutrients. I stopped drinking anything cold ever since I learned that. Smoothies for me are not warm, but are not cold. Instead of using ice to chunk up my smoothies, I use more frozen fruit, dairy-free yogurt, or a banana. If I use frozen fruit, I let my smoothie sit until it's less cold (not warm, but not frozen). Warmer/room temperature drinks are good for your digestion, so I try to have these as much as possible. If you have any questions about this, I would love to talk with you.
One of the easiest and quickest smoothies is blueberry/strawberry and banana with vanilla protein powder. Any protein powder will work well. I have this in the morning to start my day with a boost of protein.
Blueberries, a hand-full or two
1 banana
1-2 scoops of protein powder
1 cup of milk, dairy or non-dairy
Other combinations:
Banana, Peanut butter, vanilla protein
Mango, pineapple
Blueberry, Mango, Spinac.
Lemon, Blueberry
Beet, Cherry
Strawberry (without seeds) , Banana
Peach, Apricots
Mango, Turmeric - great for digestion
Blueberry, Beet - great for digestion
Pineapple, Kale
For more smoothie options, check out the link below and alter to your gp and food tolerance needs:
Juice
A few months ago, I decided to splurge and get myself a juicer. For anyone wondering, I got a Hilax juicer, you can find one here:
Carrot, Apple, Parsley
1 small bag of carrots (around 7-8 carrots for a full glass)
1 Apple
Hand full of parsley
Other combinations:
Beet, Carrot, Apple
Carrot, Orange
Ginger, Coconut milk, Apple, Carrot
Apple, Carrot, Beet, Lemon
Mint, Lime, Watermelon
Cucumber, Apple, Celery
Carrot, Lemon, Ginger
Banana, Pineapple, Spinach
Beet, Strawberry, Blueberry - antioxidant blast
Orange, Lemon, Ginger - immune booster
Tart Apple and Kale
Kale, Orange, Banana and Strawberry
Cucumber, Cantaloupe and Celery
Tea
As I mentioned above, I stay away from super cold beverages, so in the summer my iced tea does not actually have ice in it. Personally, I don't like ice added to my drinks in general. Instead, I brew up tea, refrigerate it, and when I'm ready to have some I'll pour it in a glass and wait a bit before I drink it. You don't need to have cold drinks, it's actually bad for anyone to drink really cold beverages on a hot day, as it can put your body into shock.
Regardless, for your own digestion, drink your tea at room temperature or a bit cooler. In the summer mornings or late evenings I will still drink warm tea, but during the day I stick with "iced" tea.
Below are some of my personal favorites:
Vanilla
Green tea
Apple cinnamon
Turmeric lemon ginger
Chamomile
Chai
Matcha
Peppermint
Cranberry Hibiscus
Lemon Squeeze
Apple peach
Blueberry
Chaga
Infused water
Infused water is something that is very easy to get to room temperature quickly, as you can just use your tap/filtered water. At first I thought infused water was really strange or gross tasting, but the longer I go without eating much sugar, the better and sweeter it ends up tasting. Infused water is a great way to stay hydrated because if it tastes good, you tend to drink more of it than if it were plain. This increases your hydration, which has so many health benefits of its own. With that, infused water can also decrease gas, bloating, and cramping, which is something everyone can benefit from. Depending on what fruits/vegetables you decide to add into your water, you can add nutritional benefits as well, such as Vitamin C and B.
One of my personal favorite infused water combinations is cucumber and mint. I love cucumbers, but it's a vegetable that I don't have juiced and can't really be cooked, so infusion is a nice way to still enjoy the taste. For infused water, wash the fruit or vegetables, cut them up and simply put them in a glass of water and let them sit. You can also let them infuse overnight in the fridge. Do not let your infused water sit at room temperature for more than a couple hours or it can grow bacteria.
Other combinations:
Strawberry, Lemon, Mint
Lemon, Ginger
Apricot, Raspberry, Mint
Orange, Lime
Strawberry, Pineapple
Peach, Plum, Mint
Kiwi, Orange
Cucumber, Lemon, Celery
Apple, Cinnamon Stick, Red pear
Watermelon, Strawberry
Lemon, Mint, Ginger, Cucumber
Orange, Blueberry, Mint
Grapefruit, Rosemary
Strawberry, Lime
Orange, Cranberry
Homemade electrolyte drink
This section is short since I found a website I really liked for a homemade electrolyte drink that is something I would actually try, check it out here:
The ingredients are:
1 ½-2 cups water
Juice of ½ lemon
1/8 to 1/4 tsp real sea salt, Himalayan salt or Celtic sea salt
2 tsp raw honey
I became interested in a good electrolyte drink when I started being able to exercise again. I knew my body needed a boost after I worked out, but I realized that drinks such as Gatorade and Powerade were filled with a lot of things I didn't want, and were mostly sugar. I invite you to try the recipe above and see if you notice a difference.
Desserts
Below is a list of dessert options I think can satisfy any sweet tooth you may have, while also being mindful of gp:
Apple Pie- you can make this vegan or gluten-free.
If you need a recipe, I suggest looking up a regular apple pie recipe or a gluten free specific one. What I have found is that you can easily alter recipes to fit your needs. Milk? Use almond, oat, coconut or soy milk instead. Sugar? Use natural sugar, maple syrup or honey, etc. Don't be afraid to try something new.
Cookies- Here is a great recipe I found for vegan/gf cookies.
Brownies- you can make these vegan or gluten-free as well.
Pudding- this is a dessert I always forget about, but is something that does come in vegan and gluten-free options if you need, and tastes just as good!
Ice cream- Ice cream can be hard if you don't eat dairy. I common alternative is coconut ice cream, but I personally do not like the taste or smell of coconut anything. I am also not a huge fan of almond milk or ergular ice cream. With that said, there is oat milk ice cream that I really enjoy. I try not to eat as much sugar because I think it makes my symptoms act up a bit; though if I want a treat here and there, I love Oatly brand oat ice cream.
Nut butter- If you're a fan of chocolate and peanut butter, I recommend checking out this recipe for homemade peanut butter cups (any other nut butter will work too!):
Mango ice cream- Something that is great to try for added protein if you want something fruity:
Plain yogurt (Greek if you can have dairy, or any other non-dairy option is great)
Mango chunks- you can use any fruit you'd like, peach is also really good!
Ginger
All you do is add the ingredients into a blender with a bit of water, and blend until smooth. What I love is the protein it gives you with less sugar than normal desserts, but also more calories to help your weight.
I hope this blog was at least a little helpful on how you can blend, juice, and alter your recipes to fit your health needs. It's not always easy, you have to put in a lot of effort; but once you get the hang of it, you will be so relieved and happy.
-Loreal
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