I had a huge cholecystitis attack last week brought on by cultural differences and now I’m in recovery. This means I can’t eat almost anything.
“Our fridge is so empty that it looks Russian,” N said sadly today. “It’s like no Ukrainians are living here.”
Go for Kielbasa cooked in a crock-pot with cheese and potatoes and mushroom soup. I had to wait eight hours for it to get done today, but it was worth it. After eating a delicious plateful, I rolled the leftovers into meal-size balls to put in freezer to thaw out and eat at my leisure.
There’s no greater blessing on this planet than to be able to eat whatever you want, whenever you want. You aren’t going to get any food in Heaven, so enjoy earthly delights while you can.
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It’s cruel to mention Kielbasa to a person in my situation. And cheese. And mushrooms. It was actually marinated mushrooms that caused the recent attack. The doctor is American, so it didn’t occur to him that Ukrainians eat all kinds of shit that Americans never heard of. And I stupidly failed to look up this illness on a Russian-language website.
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” marinated mushrooms that caused the recent attack”
Don’t want to be preachy but aren’t marinated mushrooms made with a fair amount of vinegar? (the Polish ones, usually oyster mushrooms or boletus) are.
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Expecting a Ukrainian to understand what constitutes unhealthy food is unrealistic. I could make a living going to restaurants and guessing the unhealthiest options on the menu. Because whatever I’m attracted to is guaranteed to be the most unhealthy kind of shit ever.
So when people ask if it weren’t obvious that eating a mountain of marinated mushrooms with a mountain of marinated tomatoes and some marinated cabbage is not a good idea for somebody with gastrointestinal issues, no it wasn’t obvious. The doctor said don’t eat fat. Marinated tomatoes don’t have fat. So I decided it was ok.
Crazy, I know.
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“Expecting a Ukrainian to understand what constitutes unhealthy food is unrealistic”
Point taken, but I would have thought the doctor would have said to stay away from highly acidic foods too…
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He gave me a long list of very American stuff that is high-fat but that I don’t even eat. What’s “baby back ribs”, for instance? It sounds scary. So it was easy to avoid that kind of food.
Of course, it’s not like I would have guessed that marinated mushrooms count as acidic. As I said, I’m useless.
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Gall bladder problems are awful. I think you said you can’t even eat poultry, even though it’s on the typical approved list? Otherwise I’d say something with turkey. Maybe fish? It can be very good grilled, and there are all kinds fresh things that can be added to it. We made different pasta dishes when my grandmother started having gallstones. Low-sodium and low-fat broths can be helpful in making soups and whatnot — vegetable broths might work best.
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The main problem is that everything tastes so bland. I love eating hot peppers raw but now that’s out. Garlic, raw onions, marinades, pickles – all that is out.
The good thing is I’m getting the surgery in July, and it will get better after that.
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That’s terrible about your continued gall bladder problems! For flavor, you can maybe try lots of fresh herbs? Big handfuls of parsley, cilantro, or basil can really add a lot of flavor to a dish. *And I’m pretty sure al three are good for your stomach–parsley in particular.)
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I do, I love them all. I’m making baked trout with baby potatoes and white asparagus for lunch. That, at least, should not be dangerous.
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