Thank you all so much for the helpful input :) I've cut the rice out, it seems some changes have started in my body - feel weak & tired but brain noticeably clearer. Shifting gears from the reduced carb. intake I think.
ajseph 21 said:
With the storage issue you can buy enough food to last you weekly that may help. The thing with broth is time isn't a big deal because it takes a day or two to simmer and you don't have to watch it so make some at the beginning of the week throw some bacon or other meat in at the last moments before the broth's done and take it with you when you're about to leave for family visits so you can avoid the white rice. I'd say making meals based off combining broth with all your other meats and fats would be your best bet. Microwave some pre made broth and meat if you have to. Now as far as the looks you get just remember as long as you're eating the optimal diet then you're winning those battles. ;D
Made bone broth using beef bones, 3 days simmering, & tried throwing other meat/pork scratchings in.. brilliant results :D Moving unplanned didn't give me time to prepare dietwise but it's now at the forefront.
Pob said:
SMM said:
& the weird looks one may get from the housemates who probably thinks "all she ever cooks is mackarel, bacon or pork chop loins in coconut oil/pork fat" haha
I know diet impacts a lot.. are there any practical tips in managing such affairs?
It's a tough situation you're in when you're trying to stick to the diet with those around you not helping. One option if you're comfortable with it is to say that you've been diagnosed with Celiac Disease or even just gluten sensitivity so have to stick to unusual diet changes that you've been advised. - I've found that effective with work colleagues. Reading up on
Strategic enclosure is useful too.
The house mates or those not so close I can bypass [Coeliac/gluten sensitivity route]. What about family? My mum & older sister are aware [from being around me] that my diet seems predominantly meat based but they think it's due to my being an extremist [I was a vegetarian for 3 years, did some fasting etc.] & will probably get used to eat in time albeit shocked at no-rice/ugali [African family traditions]. When my sister inquired briefly I alluded to intolerance to grains, dairy & sugar/Paleo diet.
nicklebleu said:
SMM,
I think that this is something you just have to get over - the looks of incredulity and incomprehension, because most people are so imbued with the mainstream food paradigm, that they are unable to listen or to think for themselves. Pob's suggestion (celiac/ gluten intolerance) is a good one, I use it all the time - makes other people comfortable (Oh, so he got a "good reason" for his weird behaviour) and gets you out of the hot seat.
As to your housing arrangements - that's a tough one. If you sterilize bone broth you can keep it unrefrigerated for as long as you wish, but you might have to do this at night or over weekends when the others are away. Bar that my only suggestion would be to look for alternative housing arrangements with less restrictions, if at all feasible - maybe the two need to go in parallel.
I would cut white rice out as much as possible, maybe tell your family that you believe that you developed intolerance to rice (not unheard of ...) and that you are trialling staying off it completely for 3 months. After 3 months everyone is already used to that, so you can easily morph this into something permanent. My other strategy if all else fails is simply to fast - intermittent fasting is a great thing and in my opinion a good "emergency bailout" for impossible food choices - just tell them that you feel a little under the weather and request a cup of tea. Everyone will be most sympathetic to you own "plight" and support you.
Hope that helps!
Liking the under the weather idea! I used to have food anxieties [fasting, restricting then comfort eating] so my mum frequently asks if certain foods are "bad for you". All in all I'd like to get away from that focus & although I'm uncomfortable with not telling them when they ask, it's hard to take in so it's usually dismissed.
I hate the hot seat :P
There's an electrical slow cooker & fan oven I [can] use in my room but frying & grilling calls me into the kitchen. Will need to look into sterilizing bone broth. After searching the net for a bill on storage & handling, I might do a weekly grill/fry of pork/bacon/lamb then put them into two separate airtight opaque containers; one in fridge, one in freezer, heating them when required. Maybe asking if I can put some in family freezer? Leaving things out above certain temperatures can lead to bacterial growth.
Also when I bring food to family home sometimes, it's almost expected for me to share. Why bring it if you aren't planning on sharing? I don't mind sharing but I sure as hell don't like it being expected of me. My housing arrangement, although temporary, enables me to go college - the alternative is my family home [there's a pressure cooker there but it's commonly used].
I'm seeing some strange things in the sky outside as I type this...
ReBecca.S said:
I have been buying a couple pounds of sausage links and/or sausage patties from a healthy butcher shop, and I fry them up at the beginning of the week. I also have been making a crock pot full of bone broth then along with it. Then I put them in the fridge and warm them up as needed in the microwave. It's cheap and good for you, and I like it. I have been eating it for breakfast and lunch. Then I will usually cook some different meat for dinner. You can also boil some hard boil eggs for the week, and take those with you.
Deep or shallow fry?
Renaissance said:
If time is an issue, you might want to get a stainless steel pressure cooker. That'll cook a good number of meals for one pretty quickly - and you could freeze portions too. Another option is getting a pressure canner and processing food. These are often made of aluminum so it's not advisable to cook food directly with the canner, but to cook it via canning jars and you would have more flexibility around storage too since processed jars don't need refrigerating. You might be interested in the
preparedness thread if you haven't read it already.
In addition to buying patties if you can find ones without the unknown or questionable ingredients, you could also prepare patties from ground meat (sausage patties or hamburger) and then freeze them for when you don't have time to prepare food. Bacon cooks easily in the oven on a cookie sheet and I've cook plenty of bacon in the microwave too.
Tried to buy a pressure canner from eBay by bank account wouldn't process it [converting from $ to £]. Need to switch banks or find another seller... or both. Thanks for the preparedness thread. It'd be interesting to try cooking bacon in the microwave. Recently been purchasing from butcher at market as ordering requires someone to be in to receive it & daylight finds me on the road. Plus I only have one tray in the freezer.
Mal7 said:
I don't spend much time cooking either. I don't even use my oven, just the stove top. Bacon is even quicker to cook than white rice?
My parents still eat a lot of potatoes. The other week I took a little thermos flask of bone broth with me to my parents as part of my meal. If you are getting your energy from bone broth and animal fats, you don't need all that carbohydrate energy from rice as well. You can still partake in the meals at your parents' home, just minus the rice! (Unless it's all mixed in with the other ingredients.) I do that eating out at Turkish restuarants, ordering the Iskender plate minus the rice. In Auckland and Wellington recently, I noticed the Turkish restaurants even had low-carb options advertised on their menus.
For snacks during the day, I often have a few brazil nuts.
A flask of bone broth - oh I can almost see the electricity price rising. Are pork scratchings decent for a snack? What about sunflower/vegetable oil in meals?
Anthony said:
SMM I'm in a similar situation as yourself. My family eats a lot of rice, pasta and bread.
So what I did is implement changes where possible - with proper reasearch.
So do what you can for now, cut out what you can. After all even a small change could be better than no change.
Any change makes a difference.
