Tip #2 Nutrition Nuggets; Acquired and Required

     Just what is it that is both required and acquired? If you have needed extra calories due to severe illness, trauma, or caring for someone thereof, you probably know the answer to the fore-mentioned question. For those who don't, let me tell you; Feed.

    Hey, wait a minute, isn't the term "feed" meant for cattle and other such beasts? Nope, not entirely. In the world of recovery-nutrition, feed is the term used to describe what is essentially formula, but made for adults not babies.

     I have to say that there are not many perks to having a feeding tube (I consider living as a given rather than a perk). In fact, I don't think that a feeding tube has any perks at all, save one; if you are recovering and you need a lot of calories/specific nutrients then it's a perk. Why? Because it's especially lovely NOT to taste it as it is infused into your stomach via the tube, rather than via the many taste buds present in your mouth!

     All kidding aside, not too many people enjoy the items they must drink in order to get the calories and nutrients that they so desperately need. I know that many people get used to the drinks, some even like them, but I don't know too many people who do....BUT, and this is a large "but" (appropriate under the circumstances?), guess what? You don't have to drink it that way!

     Somewhere along the line, a dietitian taught me how to make some of those "nutrition" drinks more palatable, by adding all sorts of good, functional, yummy, and still (mostly) healthy things. So, whether you are having carnation instant breakfasts or something similar to supplement your diet, or boost or ensure, peptamin, or jevity etc. as full meal replacements you can make your drink tasty (well, at least tasti-er). As a side note I must say that I quite liked the carnation ones - though they are not meant to do the same things as traditional feed. Still, the drinks got boring after a while (only 3 flavours), so mixing it up was lovely.

*Disclaimer; the following are suggestions to make said drinks more tasty and should not be attempted without the approval of your dietitian, speech pathologist, or physician.*

If you have a magic bullet, a blender, or some really hefty elbow grease, try the following combinations:

• Add the following to chocolate flavoured drinks
• A mashed banana, and a tbsp. of peanut butter
• A mashed banana, a tbsp of peanut butter, and a tsp. strawberry jam
• A mashed banana and chocolate syrup
• 2 Tbsp peanut butter and chocolate syrup to taste
• Add the following to strawberry flavoured drinks
• 1/4 cup plain or vanilla yogurt
• White hot chocolate powder
• Raspberries and or a mashed banana
• Actual strawberries
• Add the following to vanilla flavoured drinks
• Peaches and/or plums
• Blueberries
• Caramel sauce
• Chocolate and Banana
• Pears and plums 
• Peaches and Raspberries
• Peaches, Raspberries, Plums, blueberries and caramel sauce

     The possibilities are endless - don't be afraid to experiment. I personally like the carnation drinks the best, and especially with combinations of the above in them. Note though that they are aimed at the main stream (not recovery targeted like other drinks), and so they should not replace feed or be used as a feed supplement unless given the go-ahead from the appropriate medical team members involved in your care (like the dietitian). I hope these ideas kick-start you into creating some fun new flavours, and that you don't need to worry about getting an acquired taste for required supplements or feed.

Happy taste-bud tickling!

Tip #382 Nutrition Nuggets; JELL-Oh

     Do you remember the old Bill Cosby Jello commercials? I was recently looking for Jello pudding pop recipes and stumbled onto a bunch of them on YouTube. And, as I remembered, they're very cute, and he is funny. What does Jello have anything to do with recovering from severe illness or trauma? Good question. Allow me to share with you my recent Jell - oh epiphany...
     You see, I fit into a small subset of people who have made a vow to never look at, taste, or even consider eating Jello ever again. No offence to the makers of Jello (Kraft), I don't think it has a single, solitary thing to do with the taste. No, I really don't. Just as the commercials are nostalgic, Jello is a reminder. The commercials take you back to time spent giggling in front of the TV as Bill Cosby does and says silly things while eating Jello  But the actual tangible Jello product takes you back to a very different time. It is a reminder.
     A reminder of what you ask? A reminder of being in the hospital and the feelings that come with severe illness and/or trauma. Jello seems to be a universal staple in every hospital in every country. BUT, and this is a good but... the type of Jello seems to be limited to the clear, slightly jiggly version. Why is this a good but? Because as it turns out, Jello has more products that are nothing like the jiggly version, and you can still do good things with it in the recovery world. Like making Jello instant pudding into pudding pops. A lot of people recovering from stroke, and those with abdomen or esophagus issues, or an inability to swallow certain textures, etc. are permitted to have Popsicles, and puddings too. Putting them together just makes it better!
    Again I say that it is not a good idea to start something new in your diet without consulting your dietitian, physician, or any other relevant team members. But if you can have pudding pops, we've been making a few versions here as of late and I have a few suggestions for you...

• Directions: Follow the Jello instant pudding directions on the box and fill the trays right away Or, do the same, but add real, genuine, not-the-fake-stuff maple syrup first... it's yummy. For that matter, you can add all sorts of flavours and colours, especially to the vanilla. Be creative!
• Freezing: If you can find a silicone ice cube tray, or puree tray (slightly bigger than ice cube tray (like this one at amazon.com) or a bigger, similar tray also at amazon.com or Dixie cups (small, waxy inside paper cups). Note, silicone makes it easier to get the pops out (can push up from bottom instead of breaking the handle by pulling it too hard).
• Handles: For smaller pops try toothpicks, or deli sandwich skewers; for larger use Popsicle sticks
• Whatever you are using for your handle (for lack of a better word), insert the handles after you put the plastic wrap (ie. saran) over the full tray. This way the sticks will stand up and stay that way until frozen.
• If you are using Dixie cups instead, each one should be covered with wrap, and then you may need to break the plastic a bit with the toothpick and then insert the Popsicle sticks. 

     As it turns out, I have found out that I really, really like Jello pudding! Why Jell-oh? Because this discovery has been filled with "Ohs" as in, "Oh, look at the kinds of pudding flavours they have - I thought there were chocolate, vanilla, and butterscotch only," and "Oh, butterscotch tastes even better when you add maple syrup" and "Oh, wonderful! Jello now has single serving pudding powder packets, so when we make them, we don't have to have 30 pudding pops of the same flavour before the trays are empty and ready to use again."
     Who knew that I'd ever agree with Jello's slogan "There's always room for Jello?" I didn't. But there does seem to be room all of the time now...

 Happy Jell-oh-ing!

Tip #431 Nutrition Nuggets; What Goes Up Must come down?

    I'm a fact girl. Knowledge is exciting to me. Well, I guess I should clarify that - knowledge that is not related to physics is exciting to me. Yes, I know that laws of physics affect us in immeasurable ways all day, each day. I get that, I just choose to ignore it.  So, you can imagine my surprise to learn that we can magically alter the laws of physics while recovering from illness. Huh? Yep, we can. You know that saying "What comes us, must come down...?" The group Blood, Sweat, & Tears (from the 60's) even made a song called Spinnin' Wheel out of that line. Well, they're wrong. I said it alright. They're wrong! Okay, well, maybe they are not wrong exactly, but there is a small loophole; what comes up doesn't have to come down! Save your protests please, I promise that I am not an anti-gravitite (not even sure if there is such a thing!)!
     In all seriousness, of course we can't really alter any of the laws of physics, but what we can do is challenge some of our assumptions about how we manage the illness that so deeply affects us and our loved ones. Instead of continuing to blindly follow the crowd, and/or accepting the status quo, we should periodically reevaluate the assumptions that we make about everyday topics that now trouble us. For instance, with respect to nutrition we all make one very large assumption: what goes up (into the mouth), must come down (out the other end).  That's how we get nourishment. For that matter, we also say that "a moment on the lips (what goes up), a lifetime on the hips (must come down)!" That's how we get more than nourished :)  Either way, we've established a pattern of the food having one purpose - moving from the top to bottom, just like the song. That's it's job and that's how it works. Well, that's fine. But here's where the wheels fall off -  many of us make assumptions that because something works in a particular way (has a job per se) that that is the only way it can ever be.
     A few years ago my sister B. (brilliant woman) challenged my top-down assumption. Just because you can't swallow, it doesn't mean that you can't put food into your mouth, taste it, chew it or suck on it, and then spit it out. [NOTE: Again, always check with your medical team members before making any changes to your routine. The information herein may not apply to your particular situation]. There are many people who are diagnosed with medical conditions that affect their ability to swallow, and as a result many express unhappiness with their quality of life. So, I suggest that when illness compromises quality of life, we should attempt to reevaluate the standard assumptions that surround that area of our life.  Something like eating is such a social practice in our society that if the person recovering could participate in the social event by eating something (and there are very discreet ways of spitting the food out into a napkin for example) while the others are actually eating, their quality of life would improve.
     I know that such a suggestion sounds so simple and, maybe it doesn't seem like a big paradigm shift to you at all. Maybe you've got all of this figured out already, and if so, that is fantastic! However, the first time I heard it  I felt silly for having never thought of something so simple that made so much sense (especially such sense of the common variety!). People recovering from strokes, certain types of cancer, and infections who are not able to swallow properly (this is called dysphagia) could enjoy a much greater quality of life not only by being able to participate socially as above, but simply having the opportunity to enjoy tasting their favourite foods (or any foods) each day. Eating is such a huge part of life. Even doing small things like moving dinner into the living room (if that is the only room where the one recovering can be) can make a huge difference in quality of life. By doing that, even if the one recovering is not eating, they are able to participate in the meal, and the banter that occurs during the meal. I do realize that this is not rocket science, I really do. But, we have so many ingrained perceptions of what our activities of daily living are supposed to look like that it seems easy to lose sight of the small ways in which we can challenge those ingrained assumptions and monumentally improve our quality of life as a result. Just remember, you have the ability to improve your quality of life. We all do. And that, well, that's a fact.

Happy assumption challenging!