Eating From A Menu

Yes, I do get out of the house sometimes and it is a great way of remembering a month, or a Bank Holiday- we couldn't consider really joining in much of the fete, picnic, music festival Jubilee celebrations this last weekend, it would have been too overwhelming. So many people, "how are you", "lovely to see you", is great but emotionally tiring. Also moving around crowded places with the wheelchair can become stressful and memorable for all the wrong reasons. We escaped on Monday afternoon to a nearby historic town, enjoyed seeing the Jubilee decorations along the high street and went in a few shops, then sat in a pub for an early tea. It will be remembered for all the right reasons.
Eating out can be difficult for so many people on dietary enforced regimes. For ME sufferers eating can be difficult in many ways. Choosing from a menu has to be carefully done, occasionally slipping from the diet works, but only sometimes. Anti-Candida diets are regular in ME patients(see my earlier post, Chocolate Wednesdays) also simply going back to basics as the digestive system has so little energy- digesting food might seem a priority, but think about making sure the heart is beating, the lungs are processing oxygen and sending it to the brain, blood sugar keeps the extremities in working order and prevents fainting. So many things take priority over the digestive system in ME that actually taking nutrients from food becomes an option rather than a necessity.
Simple food is the answer, without dressings, strong flavours, and refined sugars or grains. Avoiding dairy and wheat is sometimes necessary, but can usually be reversed as the body recovers. Lighter meats like poultry are eaten in preference to red and processed meats and fish is a preferred option too. Root vegetables such as carrots, parsnips, swede and turnip have hidden sugars which are especially concentrated if they are oven baked, as do squash and pumpkin. Raw salad is one of the rarest forms of foods, but actually takes a lot of energy to digest; eating it can take as much energy as can be gained (the stomach usually gives up and processes it rather quickly!). If salad is offered as the side order for particular dishes, I just ask for it to be replaced with plain vegetables (and am usually given peas, carrots, broccoli)
The actual process of eating needs to be considered. The carbohydrates I choose are mashed potato, or potato wedges. Mash is easy to eat with a fork or spoon and wedges are quite simply finger food (or stick-it-on-the-end-of-your-fork-and-bite-pieces-off-it food!) Short grain brown rice is one of the easiest to digest foods you will come across, so is great as a daily option. (brown rice flour is also available) Wholemeal pasta is another simple option, fork food. Last Christmas we went out with friends to a local hotel for a Christmas dinner some time in December. It was a lovely treat, but I found it exhausting. The turkey and stuffing were difficult to slice, and the vegetables were cooked in large pieces which, as they were cooked to perfection and were consequently still crunchy also needed to be cut up, and well chewed. My husband ended up cutting up some of the food for me (as if I was a five-year-old!) so I could lean my head in one hand, with elbows on the table, and use my fork in one hand. My jaw hurt on this and other occasions too, when the food is tough and needs processing in the mouth more than usual!
For these reasons I usually opt for fish, or chicken. Also a soup, if it is suitable. If the venue is offering it I have finger food, such as chicken or fish goujons, from the starters menu and a side of vegetables to go with it; generally the price then matches that of a main course, as does the amount of food. Mild curries are good too as they are one-handed feeding options and the meat or fish is already in small pieces, also the case from a plain Chinese dish. I ask for brown rice, which is sometimes available-if you don't ask, you don't get!
So eating from a menu is possible, just confusing at times. And the confidence to sit down in one restaurant, read through the menu, decide the options simply aren't suitable and walk out to find other place to eat, is recommended too!