Thursday 5 February 2015

My Last (on purpose) Meal With Cream


This is photographic proof of my last meal made knowingly with cream.  

Whether this will be forever or just for a few months I have no idea, but I'll not be buying any cream again in the foreseeable future.  No doubt eating out, or some other such eating away from home  occasion may see cream slip into my diet ..... but it won't be on purpose.

It was supposed to be just a run through of  photos of one of my favourite recipes for a blog post, one that I've not eaten for a long time, but as it turns out it's photographic evidence of the last tub of cream that will be gracing the shelf in my fridge.


I looked at the ingredients after taking the first photo and decided that a whole salmon fillet, even though it was a relatively small one, was just too much to use for one simple pasta dish.  I seem to have my 'Frugal February' head on at the moment, so I decided to cut it into pieces for that nights pasta dish and a couple of strips to be used the next day.  Suzy flashed through my head and her brilliant blog Sudden Lunch, so I decided some purposeful leftovers were the order of the day.


While the brown spaghetti bubbled away in one pan, I 'fried' the onions in some water and then added the chilli flakes and after five minutes the salmon pieces in the other.


I added the cream, not knowing then that it was to be for the last time, a dash of lemon juice and gave it all a good stir just before I added the now cooked spaghetti and a good splash of the cooking water to thin the sauce down a bit.  Then Parmesan style cheese was stirred in.


The finished meal was lovely and extremely tasty.  

It would have looked so much better with some colour, a handful of frozen peas or some broccoli would have enlivened it no end, but I completely forgot until I came to take the photograph and realised how dreary it looked!!

Within an hour of eating it I was sorry.  I was hot, so much so that I thought the chilly conditions outside the house had lifted and the milder weather was back.  I stepped outside on the patio and saw the frost on the grass, saw my breath as I spoke to the dogs .... who thought this impromptu breath of fresh air was brilliant, and I realised that it was just me that had warmed up not this little portion of North Wales.

I sat in a glow of warmth, that meant not many logs were burnt over the course of the evening, all the internal doors were flung open to allow the heat from the log burner to diffuse over the whole house, and I sat drinking ice cold water ... lots of it.

By bedtime I was still feeling uncomfortably full, slightly heartburny (nope, I know that's not a word but it makes sense to me) and generally just YUK!!

I lay in bed hand on tummy, which by now was gurgling dramatically, as if telling me off for putting it through this upheaval, and read through some of my current healthy lifestyle books.  I've listed them in the sidebar, with links to their Amazon pages so you can read some more about my current reading, but I'll talk about my current favourite tomorrow when I'm a bit further into it.

I still felt yuk when I turned off the bedside light at midnight.


This is what I go off when I've eaten the wrong foods.

Suddenly my wedding and engagement rings are really difficult to remove.  To get them off I would have to put my hand under warm soapy water and tug.  Usually if I'm feeling good, have been eating well or am just frozen to the marrow, they slip off comfortably when I want them to.  Not too loose to lose but they just slide off with a gentle pull.

I react quickly when I eat the wrong foods and it takes me a day or two to get over them, today I can still taste the creamy pasta sauce, most likely that's all in my head, as I have cleaned my teeth three times since I ate it and drank copious amounts of water and black coffee.  Maybe it's my brain implanting in my head the knowledge that me and cream just do not get on.  

So no more cream, I have already cut right back on wheat, I have found with previous experimentation that I can eat just one wheaty thing a day and feel okay, anymore and I have similar symptoms to above but without the blocked up nose.  Oh ... I forgot to mention that didn't I !!

Around fifteen minutes after finishing my tea I was blowing my nose for England (or should that be for Wales).  This morning I sound like I've discovered a penchant for nose pegs .... and there are lots more tissues available in the bin for starting the fire tonight.

So off my menu now -


Cream

Milk 
(not used since last August)

Meat
(not eaten since January 2011)

Wheat en masse
(I can get away with once a day)

Sorry if this has been a rambling and possibly boring post for some of you, but as this is my diary I needed to get it down to remind myself in the future.  (That's how I know I gave up milk last August and meat way back in January 2011 .... by hopping back in the archives,)

Now ... back to my new book, I hope it helps.

Sue xx

24 comments:

  1. Are you sure it's the cream that 'puffed you up'? I've been a fish and shellfish addict all my life, but a couple of weeks ago I made a salmon and prawn dish that affected me quite badly. The fish was definitely not 'off' and I didn't have any symptoms of food poisoning, but I got very hot, puffed up, and my face looked like a large red balloon! It was definitely something in the meal, but as DH was fine, it's something which only affected me. When you have the rest of your salmon, watch out for the same reaction, I think it may have been the salmon I ate which made me 'puff up! I have anti-histamines in the house due to FDiL having a few mild allergies, so I took one of them and within 30 minutes or so I'd started to 'deflate' a bit, cooled down and started feeling quite a lot better, so it was definitely an allergic reaction, and fish is the most likely suspect.

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    Replies
    1. A good point!!

      I have been wondering about fish for a couple of weeks. It's the only non veggie thing that I've been eating, either salmon or cod or other white fish. I know that my 'bunged up nose' reaction is the milk (cream in this case) for sure, but I've never felt that hot feeling and 'off' stomach before. I'll be brave and eat the rest of it and see what happens.

      My ex-husband has a serious fish allergy and thinking about it he started off with indigestion after eating fish, after a few months because he was un-diagnosed, eating any amount of fish would leave him bedridden for a week.

      Thanks for highlighting this. xx

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  2. I have a bad reaction to lots of prescribed and over the counter medications. At my worst, I look like a very wrinkled bulldog as my face, neck and eyes swell up really badly and wrinkle. I then come out in huge hives which last for around 3 days, feel very dizzy and find breathing difficult. As I get older, I realise that I'm not feeling good after fatty foods which includes cream, and feel ill after eating eggs (seem to be ok with an occasional egg as part of a meal but not with scrambled eggs or omelette).

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  3. I had to give up cream along with anything else with a high saturated fat content over four years ago (gall bladder problems) and have found fat-free or low-fat yogurt a wonderful substitute for anything where I would originally have used cream.

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    1. I will be substituting yogurt in future, thanks for highlighting this, but for now I'll stick to full fat as I don't like the sugars or artificial sweeteners that are added to the low-fat versions.

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    2. If the yogurt is organic plain / natural there shouldn't be any sugars / sweeteners in it at all. Unfortunately the low-fat fruit flavoured ones are positively stuffed with sweeteners - very unpleasant.

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    3. And you can make your own using a yoghurt bug ....

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  4. Mike discovered a couple of years back he is lactose intolerant & recently my eldest son has been diagnosed with an allergy to poultry of all things! I hope you find yourself better health-wise now you have stopped including cream in your diet I believe these things can just come on us at any time of life x

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    1. I've not been diagnosed officially as lactose intolerant, maybe I should have tests to confirm it, just for my own peace of mind.

      I've never heard of an allergy to poultry, what a shame for him, lads love most things 'chicken' don't they :-(

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  5. I became vegan after being vegetarian for years and my IBS and problematic sinuses improved beyond measure. I had always put the IBS down to stress and sinus and ear infections I had always suffered from I thought were just something I was born with. It was not until about a year after I went vegan that I realised the connection (doh)! In my defense I did have a little less stress in some ways having got rid of an abusive husband but I still had a fair amount of stress being a single parent with a stressful job and long working hours. This being the case the lack of dairy in my diet must have had an effect. I now have occasional sinus and ear issues but they are 75% less frequent and my IBS by 85%. Good luck with your dietary adjustments and hope they have a similar positive outcome for you!

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  6. I know too much fat in my diet kills me. When we were in Britain I had to have fish and chips...........gosh did I suffer all night. I really need to sort out my diet as I do love all the "wrong" foods!!

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  7. I have to reiterate VC's comment. Since my eldest daughter was diagnosed as coeliac 2 years ago and has since become vegan, we eat almost no wheat, dairy iris animal products in general! My health before wasn't great - bloating, constant heartburn, poor digestion and general lethargy. Since eating an almost totally vegan diet, I feel lighter in body and indeed spirit. I haven't felt this well in years and years! Let's hope some dietary adjustments will help you feel on full form again!

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  8. Pastries, cakes, and general stodge does it for me. Sometimes I forget, and suffer later. I am ok with dairy, I love cream but don't get it too often, thinking about those clogged arteries.

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  9. Sorry about your problems with cream...I can't live without it, but it doesn't upset my stomach. Must be some dairy intolerance going on. Good luck!

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  10. Wheat and refined white flour does it for me, my eldest daughter is the same. I chose to be dairy free, except for occasional cheese, and I feel much better, we now eat a gluten free diet for 99% of the time.food can be such a pain, I know immediately when I have ate something wrong.

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  11. My gran was seriously allergic to shell fish and fish.

    I am lactose intolerant, I was diagnosed whilst in hospital when I was about 5. My parents dont believe in people being intolerant to anything and kept trying me with all different things. But cheese! omg. I cant eat out often not even a sandwich because if someone cuts a sandwich with a knife that has cut cheese and I eat it. Before I finish the mouth full, my mouth tingles, my lips and tongue swell up I find it hard to breathe.

    I think it is worth finding out for sure. As being vegetarian cutting out dairy it will be hard to find enough calcium. Do they do the tests on the NHS? I dont know.

    My sister uses quark instead of cheese and cream

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  12. That sounds like Scromboid poisoning, which would have been the Salmon content of your meal. Perhaps not a good idea to have the rest of the salmon and see if you are ill again, as your body may be on "high alert" and you could have a very nasty reaction next time - anaphalactic shock. Just chuck it and avoid fish altogether perhaps.

    You have my sympathies as I have had to go Dairy Free since discovering I was Lactose intolerent, only it affects me in a different way, by causing asthma problems/inflammation. Histamine imbalance is also involved (check that out because of your Rhinitis) so I'm trying to see what the worst culprits there are at the moment.

    I do miss my cheese though - Wenslydale or Caerphilly especially. Lactose-free Cheddar jut doesn't hit the spot!

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  13. Sue eats fish so is not vegetarian. In any event it is perfectly possible to be vegan and get calcium. Soya, rice and oat milk is generally fortified as is most bread and dairy free spread. Lots of the world are dairy free vegetarians, I am one of them!

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  14. Sorry you're so poorly. I had a funny episode a few weeks ago and went to hospital. I was put on a paracetamol drip. This was no regular occurance. I was last in hospital 19 years agp. They said it was abdominal migraine! It took me a week to get over it. I think it was linked to food and stress combined. I just wonder whether we become less tolerant as we get older.

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  15. I am puzzled as to why after eating something for years we become intolerant to it. After years of eating gluten, I can now no longer eat it. A friend has become lactose intolerant after growing up on a dairy farm! I was talking to someone the other day who is allergic to vegetables and has been since she was a baby, I had never heard of that before.

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  16. Warm salmon and tinned tuna make me feel really nauseous, although no problem at all cold. Sorry to use anonymous but I have a problem with logging on to google. Sal

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  17. With hindsight Chickpea I can see I have always been dairy intolerant and it didn't just develop. My sister is the same and has been all her life. I have always loathed milk & any form of milky drink, hot or cold. Maybe our bodies know more than we do if we just listen.

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  18. WOW Poor you.
    I discovered I have FODMAPS.
    My body cannot process simple sugars.
    It is big in Australia.....not so much North America.
    Good luck .
    barb

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