Help! What do I eat?

[Ali]

Hi All!

I went to the Dietitian during the week because I've been having a lot of issues since I had my Gallbladder removed. She said that there are 4 groups of foods which I need to stay away from called FODMAPs. I personally think that it's just all the process 'crap' which is giving me all the trouble, but I told to my husband that I'll give this new 'diet' a go for a month & then reassess. I want to keep it as raw as possible, my aim is to eventually be 100% raw, but included in the foods that I need to stay away from are some types of fruits and veggies - I'll list them below but I'm pretty stumped as to what I can actually eat each day....I work best on having breakfast, lunch, a snack & then dinner.....I was thinking maybe some kind of energy soup for breakfast, another type of smoothie for lunch, some gojies & goldenberries as a snack & then a veggie juice for dinner....but I was hoping someone could give me some pointers as to what to have in each smooth & juice. Thanks, I'm just at a loss because of all the foods I have to eliminate.

Fruits I have to avoid:
Apples, pears, watermelon, honeydew, rockmelon, mangos, guavas, figs, quinces, papaya (aka pawpaw), apricots, peaches, nectarines, cherries, plums, dates, coconuts, grapes, persimmons, lychees, and dried fruit

Veggies I have to avoid:
onions, shallots, leek, artichokes, cabbage, brussel sprouts, broccoli, green beans, and garlic

oh and I have to stay away from wheat based products, lentils & honey

[robyn]

Well, it looks like you can have bananas which is wonderful because bananas are such an easy "go to" food for raw foodists. It also looks like you can have greens so green smoothies with bananas and pineapple are a good choice. You can make a blender or 2 full in the morning and sip on them all day. It also appears that you can have basic salads and sprouted grains so you should be able to put things together with a little thought. Try making a list of things you CAN have and keep that with you instead of what you can't. Makes it seem a little less restrictive. Sprouted nuts and seeds are good to have on hand too to make pates, cheezes, and to just munch on. Good luck to you! :)

[Jean]

Wow. I had my gallbladder removed and have never had an issue eating any foods I wanted to eat. Under the veggies she has you staying away from all gaseous ones. The fruits look like they are high fiber ones. Hmmm. I am not sure what you are having problems with but maybe it is not related to your gallbladder. I have not talked to anyone that can't eat normally after having their gallbladder removed. Raw fixed my reflux,not gall bladder related. I normally have issues(before GB surgery) with citrus foods and chew them not juice them . My friend found that her issues were allergy and molds on foods. Try her way and then if you have some change great if not talk to her about the mold of certain foods like strawberries,cantelopes and nuts. Some people have issues just with seeded fruits and veggies because of diverticulitis. Who knows but Raw is suppose to help with issues unless you have allergies to certian foods and even then people have cleared them after being raw for awhile.
Maybe you just have an issue with nightshades.

I like a smoothie with bananas and spinach then add you other fruits that are not on her list.
Lunch is a nice salad,looks like you have a choice of most veggies and tomatoes.
Dinner is a lettuce wrap with guac and veggies.
Make a soup,zucchini,or tomatoe there are many choices that don;t include her list of forbidden foods.
As mentioned by robyn make a list of the foods you like that are not on her list and you will find you have an abundance of choices.

[robyn]

Nice list Wendilou!

Wendilou said:

Fruits you CAN have:
Bananas, oranges, lemons, tangerines, pumello, grapefruit, mandarin oranges, kumquats, limes, kiwi, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, currants, pineapple, cantaloupe, galia melon, star fruit, passion fruit.

Veggies you CAN have:
tomato, avocado, asparagus, zucchini, yellow squash, bell peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, kale, collards, arugula, mesclun, endive, dandelion, celery, radish, turnip, parsnip, kohlrabi, carrots, cauliflower, parsley, cilantro, basil, spinach, hot peppers, eggplant, mushrooms, corn, sugar snap peas, snow peas.

[OceanGoddess]

Read this whole web site, it's amazingly helpful. I don't know this woman and don't benefit from her or the site, I just found it myself and think it's awesome. You might want to order one of her kits for gallbladder and liver. (Yes, even though you no longer have your GB.)

http://www.gallbladderattack.com/

Hope you feel better soon!

[ThriveSurvive]

I'm no dietitian, but I can't understand why you would have to avoid so many healthy goodies due to gall bladder problems. I had my gall bladder removed and I do fine on all raw vegan foods providing they are not too fatty or dense. I may just be lucky.I do avoid some of the cruciferous plants because they are hard for me to digest but I don't omit them completely. I wonder if ferments will help.
Your list is actually pretty small when you think of all the fruits and veggies available at any given season. I adore green smoothies which make great use of whatever fruits and greens happen to be around.
I guess as a raw vegan you probably already feel so limited on what you can eat, so it may seem daunting at first to have these added limitations. I'll bet you will find a huge assortment of yummies not on your list. We tend to be creatures of habit, eating the same things over and over again, which is a shame. Do you have a farmer's market near by? You can find all kinds of cool new foods at farmer's markets, especially asian and Mexican ones.
I hope you feel better ((hugs)).

[zUzU]

=^..^= everything...what Alexis (ThriveSurvive) has said...yes!
When I first saw your no-no list I thought to myself, no problem! There is so much left to enjoy. I hadn't, until Alexis mentioned it, thought about what a new vegan might think of more limits. I do imagine it was daunting to see so many things taken away. Ouch.

Don't look at this as forever. Your list says "should avoid" not must so perhpas like she (Alexis), you will find later you can tolerate some things on your "must avoid" list. It is truly amazing how the body changes when you are eating only raw. You may be quite surprised. And perhaps a good blender can make a difference too. A smoothie seems to be easy on the digestion for so many ills. Who knows!

Do a little research on your own (online) and find out what the reasons are for the dietary limits. Not a bad idea to stay away from the "processed crap" as you called it -- you're likely on to something there. I know things are night and day different for me without processed foods. Keep us posted on how you are too, okay? ::wishing:: you the best on this adventure into wellness. You can do it! xxzu

ThriveSurvive said:

I'm no dietitian, but I can't understand why you would have to avoid so many healthy goodies due to gall bladder problems. I had my gall bladder removed and I do fine on all raw vegan foods providing they are not too fatty or dense. I may just be lucky.I do avoid some of the cruciferous plants because they are hard for me to digest but I don't omit them completely. I wonder if ferments will help.
Your list is actually pretty small when you think of all the fruits and veggies available at any given season. I adore green smoothies which make great use of whatever fruits and greens happen to be around. I guess as a raw vegan you probably already feel so limited on what you can eat, so it may seem daunting at first to have these added limitations. I'll bet you will find a huge assortment of yummies not on your list. We tend to be creatures of habit, eating the same things over and over again, which is a shame. Do you have a farmer's market near by? You can find all kinds of cool new foods at farmer's markets, especially asian and Mexican ones. I hope you feel better ((hugs)).

[WendySmiling]

Do you know those foods actually cause you problems (ie: elimination diet), or did they come come up with some arbitrary list?

I don't have a gallbladder either. What kind of bad symptoms are you having (if any). I was told for my gastro problems to eat ZERO raw fruits and veggies.....and continued to be sick until I actually choose to eat raw fruits and veggies and I got MUCH better. They don't always know best. Just some thoughts for you. You also might want to Google "Paul Nison" and watch his you tube videos. I'm concerned as I've never known of anyone that was told to change their diet because of a gallbladder removal.
Peace,
w

[Tam May]

Just from looking at your list, it looks as if you have a lot more options with veggies than fruits. Salads seems like a good bet (lettuce, tomatoes, red bell pepper, carrots, celery, cucumber, parsley - those are my top favorites for a mega salad which I make every afternoon). You might add avocado to that (didn't see that on your list) and a dressing of lemon juice and olive oil or flaxseed oil. Also, I didn't see other citrus on your list - oranges, tangerines, grapefruit. They might be a nice option for fruit. Nuts and seeds don't seem to be on your list either so they might be good for snacks.

Just some ideas based on what you have to avoid from the list you provided...

Tam

[Ali]

Whose rational? Mine or the Dietitian?

Oh, talking of avos.....I mashed one up the other day and had an avo facial (just avo, nothing else), most it ended up in my mouth by the time I'd finished!

FarmSchooler said:

No GB here either. The only issues I have is if I dont get enough fat (eg lard, butter or coconut, olive, sesame, walnut, etc oils) WITH proteins I eat....vegan would be nuts & seeds I suppose? Avos are my FAVORITE fat though. Thank heaven they are not a no-no :o) So many you CAN have. I would be interested to hear her rationale also.

[Ali]

Oh sure. She said that I had the predisposition to this 'condition' before hand & that surgery just aggravated it & made it much worse, so it's not GB related as such. I personally think that all my pain etc is cause by 'crappy food', not apples etc.....I think if I just ate good, clean food then my body would heal itself.

FarmSchooler said:

The dietitians.rationale is what I was referring to.

ROFL about the Avo facial....yeah uh huh

[MYmimi]

I know lots of (medical) people who've had some lower tummy issues after having gallbladders removed. Sometimes this is temporary and sometimes it takes quite a while to work out. Don't know what your "issues" are but remember to be patient. It takes some time for any post surgical area to heal and nothing is ever the same once we mess with it. Also, some people still have little stones left in the ducts and have to have that tweaked. Time will tell. You will heal and adjust.
I had some very successful jaw surgery in 1966 and still have to stick with some dietary adjustments to keep it from bothering me.
PS-try having allergies like Wendilou does. She does her homework and eats quite a lot with her huge list of limitations. Bet she could give you some other good pointers.
Very much very good luck to you.

[Rachel V.]

Ali, I echo the other comments that focus on what you CAN eat. Have you given more thought as to what you are able to eat, rather than what to avoid? Sometimes its helpful to me to make a list of things I enjoy, including recipies & foods.

www.GoneRaw.com is a great resource for recipies, as well as the data base on this site, if that's what you are looking for.