the biggest thing for cory is going to be the inability to eat what he wants. just yesterday we realized there isn't any sodium in candy, which was a disasterous decision to allow each other to have skittles and nerds at the movies. when we got home he broke out in a cold sweat, which over course made me panick and told him to call dr. fung. he then reminded me that all he had eaten was pineapple, jerky, a couple sweet potato crackers, and candy. duh, tessa, you're feeding this man fruit, which is great, and water, and finding all of the low sodium substitutes that you can rack your brain for, but in the end, his diet still needs to be nutritious and balanced. it may sound like an easy task but given all of the restrictions its much harder than you think.
what he can have:
he can have fruit, he would prefer mango and pineapple which of course are the fruits that are full of the most natural sugars, he also likes apples, but i'd like to try to get him to eat more antioxidant rich fruits such as raspberries blue berries acai berry, those types. he can also have whole grains, such as pastas, breads, rices. we are going to live off of uncle ben's 90 sec packs of brown rice. they are DELICIOUS but also very low in sodium which is hard to find in rices. we also enjoy the eating right brand from safeway, which is where we get the grains from. i live and die by crazy dave's bread. they now have a lite version with just under 30mg of sodium in each peice which is a prime number for cory to try to stick to. he can have all of the colors of the rainbow when it comes to veggies but cannot have premade things such as salsa, dips, most dressings, he can't have catsup, bbq sauces, anything that cory would have had regularly, is gone. he is supposed to have only one cup of dairy a day, including all yogurts, milks, cheeses, ice cream, whatever, only a cup. he also can only have 4 cups of liquid, they are just trying to make sure that his kidneys essentially keep afloat without too much liquid because they are so small they can't retain as a regular kidney would, hense why cory's ankles were so swollen.
what he cannot have.
dairy.
salt.
sugar.
salt water seafood.
high potasium/phosphate.
high fat.
high fat meats such as beef.
high salt meats such as pork.
starches.
anything that tastes good, i tell him he usually cannot have.
alcohol.
i pride myself on eating extremely healthy most of the time and i am quite knowledgable when it comes to what is healthy how to eat it when to have it, etc. this is where the "people meet for a reason" come in. when i met cory he would go to quizno's for a salad, or famous dave's, or have a steak, his diet was very all over the place, we would shop for food together but would basically have two different carts. what he didn't know is when i cooked for him, the things that he now HAS to do, he was already doing whether he knew it or not. i never used regular butter, rarely salt, and never used cheese, and always low sodium in any soups, pasta sauces i made. it is so funny how our brain in wired where if it sounds healthy it has got to taste like shit. luckily, i have the patience to try new dishes for him until we can nail down what works, what he can have on a daily basis and won't hate to have for left overs the next day. before cory came home, i was at his house baking salads for lunches for him, and also baking chicken with peppers to have for lunches too. the key to being organized is being prepared. have lunches prepared for him, have frozen soups for him to microwave just in case i can't make it home in time to make him something.
this wasn't the easiest post to read i think but i think it is one of the most beneficial, especially if you are seeing cory frequently. it is up to us, meaning is friends and family to help him stay on a healthy and productive eating path, we all know how easy it is to fall off of the path but when your life truly depends on it, you can't imagine how strong you truly can be when it comes to sticking to a very strict diet. i have decided to eat just what he can in order to keep my blood pressure down, (120/70 thank you very much) and just to maintain a lifestyle for the both of us that is fare. i would kill him if he hate doritos in front of me if i couldn't have them. so i'm taking one for the team, as you should as well when you are around him.
please e-mail me with any great recipes that i could be using for him, the more options and ideas the merrier. just remember his guidelines!
ps. last night we made lobster tail, wild salmon, a red/yellow pepper, olive oil/rosemary/balsalmic/garlic sauce with whole wheat pasta. so easy, took around 15-20 min for everything and we both were very full.
cheers!
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