Again with the conundrum: how to eat healthy when you have no energy to prepare healthy food. Here are some tips on how to make eating healthy as little of a drag as possible.

Grocery shopping smartly

To help grocery shopping be less of a dent in my week, I use a combination of the options I discuss below. I also enlist my husband to help me put away groceries because that is where I tend to run out of steam and go into crash territory. Especially now with the excessive disinfecting of items due to COVID-19.

Shop in person at non-peak times

You will get out of there faster. Also, if you have brain fog, you may feel less overwhelmed by the flurry of activity.

Delivery services or pickup services

You could use a delivery service like Instacart. A few big chain grocery stores like Hyvee and Walmart have pickup services that include even frozen and fresh produce items. The downside to those is there will always be several items that they were out of stock in. It also takes a significant chunk of time to shop online for the whole grocery list. However, if you cannot shop in person, this method is invaluable. This is what we are currently doing through COVID-19.

Partial pickup

Target has pick-up services for nonperishable and nonfood items. You could do a pickup for these types of items and then go in the store for produce. This would cut down on in-store time.

Meal delivery services

There are a numerous options for meal delivery services. This route is expensive, of course. However, if you struggle to shop and prepare food, it is a wonderful option. Hungryroot (some prep involved), Daily Harvest (heat up or blend only), and Freshly (just heat up) are examples. I only have personal experience with Daily Harvest. Their smoothies are the bomb, but I only liked one of the meals, so it wasn’t worth it for me.

A tip if you live in a rural area

It can be harder to find niche, healthy items in rural areas. I love shopping online for this. For example, I order almond milk from Elmurst 1925. I find certain pantry staples like cassava flour from IHerb. Thrive Market can be a good resource as well.I must say, though, that each time I go to the store I am finding more of these niche, healthy items in local grocery stores. If you are looking for something specific that you cannot find in person, just Google search it and see what the shopping bar turns up.

Food prep tips

I prep food the day after I get groceries because I don’t have the energy to do both in one day. Food prepping can cover a wide spectrum as far as what it means. For me, it is simply chopping and freezing the produce that may not last until I use it. I also chop the produce that I like to have ready for snacks like celery.

I have tried to make a week’s worth of meals at one time and it doesn’t work for me with my energy limitations. I was 3 hours deep, sitting on the floor exhausted and defeated with a tornado of mess surrounding me. I also accomplished roughly 1/4 of the week’s food to show for my effort. No thanks. Working on food steadily through the week jives better for me.

Double your recipes

This may seem like a no-brainer, but lunch has become magical for me ever since I started doubling my suppers to save the leftovers for the next day’s lunch. Healthy food with no added work is a win.

A tip for produce

When possible, purchase a pre-cut or frozen option for what you need. It is more expensive, but it can save you massive amounts of time depending on what it is. For example, celery is piece of cake, so I don’t buy pre-cut celery. However, I spent one hour the other day working on three acorn squashes. Never again. Next time, I will just buy frozen and cubed squash. By the way, the soup I made with that squash turned out horrendous which made that hour even more disheartening.

Soaking beans and grains

This is not really a convenience tip, but it’s relevant to how I prep food. When I consume beans or grains, I soak them first to reduce the naturally occurring phytic acid. Phytic acid binds to nutrients in the digestive tract and takes them on it’s journey out of the body. How rude. The process of soaking beans and grains prior to cooking initiates the plant’s own enzyme called phytase. Phytase breaks down the phytic acid, decreasing this nutrient-leaching activity. Phytic acid is also an antioxidant, so it’s not a total a-hole compound. You don’t need to go on a crusade against phytic acid, but it may be useful to minimize it.

I thought this process would be a huge pain in the butt, but it takes me less than one minute. Each morning, I look at what I have planned for supper, and measure out what I need. I put the dry grains or beans in a mason jar, cover them with twice the amount of warm water (so the jar looks like half grain/half water), thrown in roughly a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar (the acidity speeds up the chemical reaction), give it a good mix or shake, and that’s it! The jar sits on my counter for several hours until I cook. Then, I rinse the beans/grains, and cook them. FYI, dry beans and grains take 1-2 hours to cook. You don’t have to hover over them, so it’s not a big deal, but be aware to start them early.

Do you have any grocery shopping or food prep tips to share?

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. Statements on this site are not meant to be taken as medical advice. These statements reflect my personal experiences having mild-ish post-viral POTS and ME. Due to the wide spectrum of these diseases, comorbidities, and everyone being different, your experiences may be very different than mine.

Note: If you post a comment, this site does NOT have a feature to notify you of responses to your comment. I have not found a good solution for that yet. However, I usually respond to every comment in a timely manner, so be sure to check back.

I briefly tried juicing a few years ago to see what all the fuss was about. As the title declares, I am NOT into juicing. This is my two cents, so take it what it is worth. Some people love juicing because they enjoy the taste. Other people love it because they have certain GI issues that require them to be careful with fiber. However, there’s a lot of pseudoscience surrounding juicing and it may not be all that it’s cracked up to be.

Reasons why I’m not into juicing

• Juicing strips out the fiber. According to my nutritionist, fruit and vegetable fiber is crucial to promoting healthy gut bacteria. By stripping out the fiber, we are missing out on gut health improvement.
• I prefer blenders. You can make a smooth concoction with a high quality blender while still maintaining all the components of the whole food.
• It produces A LOT of waste. When I tried juicing, it would take massive quantities of fruit and vegetables to make just 2 ounces of juice.
• It is not cost effective due to the waste factor.
• It is scary. Seriously. The juicer is sounds like a plane taking off as it violently separates liquid from fiber. One time I tried juicing kale somehow it came shooting back out at me at roughly 240mph. It was terrifying. And yes, it was also hilarious. My older son, who was 5 at the time, giggled in delight as I dodged kale bullets.

• Most likely, there is not anything “magical” about juicing. Most of the touted benefits are anecdotal. Logic tells me that if a food is beneficial, why would stripping away some its components make it become more beneficial?

• It is gross. Pulp is gross enough in orange juice. Now, consider what celery pulp tastes like… Spoiler alert, it’s horrendous. Unless that’s your jam. If it is, juice away ya nasty.

Has anyone else tried juicing? Love it? Hate it?

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. Statements on this site are not meant to be taken as medical advice. These statements reflect my personal experiences having mild-ish post-viral POTS and ME. Due to the wide spectrum of these diseases, comorbidities, and everyone being different, your experiences may be very different than mine.

Note: If you post a comment, this site does NOT have a feature to notify you of responses to your comment. I have not found a good solution for that yet. However, I usually respond to every comment in a timely manner, so be sure to check back.

I recently had a Superfruit Smoothie from Panera and it was awesome. So, I decided to create a berry and acai smoothie based on that deliciousness, but without all the crap. Smoothies are an excellent way to consume a lot of nutrient-dense produce with minimal work. I also notice a boost in energy when I have them.

How to make it

Although there is no added sugar in the way I make this, the natural sugar in the roughly 3 cups of fruit in this may be too much for some. In that case, you would want to half this recipe.

• 1 cup of frozen strawberries

• 1 cup of frozen blueberries

• Packet of unsweetened acai puree

• Handful of spinach

• 1 tbsp of seeds like chia or flax

• Roughly 2 to 4 oz. of unsweetened almond milk

• 1 tbsp of brain octane oil (optional). I add this when I consume this smoothie as a breakfast meal.

• 1 mandarin orange or you can substitute part of the almond milk with orange juice (optional). This optional step makes the smoothie a little more tangy if you’re in the mood.

• A couple spoonfuls of vanilla yogurt (optional). You can add less almond milk this way. My husband makes this smoothie with vanilla yogurt. I’ll admit, it is better this way. The flavor is more creamy and sweet. I avoid dairy and added sugar as much as possible, so I do not add yogurt when I make it. But, if you have no qualms about yogurt, go for it.

Add the liquid first, thaw out the frozen ingredients in the microwave, add the ingredients in any order, and blend until smooth. I recommend using a high quality blender, otherwise you will have a chunky mess on your hands. I use the Cleanblend blender.

Food update

You may be wondering how I eat now after my hot mess express situation. First of all, I eat significantly less meat. On average I eat meat about twice per month and eggs once or twice per week. This is partly inspired by my conversation with the doctor that urged me to consider transitioning to a plant-based diet. It is also spurred by the fact that meat grosses me out. I have always been a huge wuss about handling raw meat. It is a relief to not have to force meat upon myself and instead eat it intuitively.

Another big change is that I quit the paleo restrictions. I am eating beans, lentils, and some grains again. Adding them back in has greatly increased my enjoyment of food. Whenever possible, I purchase dry beans and grains and soak them to reduce the phytic acid.

I am careful with added sugar, processed food, gluten, and dairy. However, I am not 100% strict about anything. If my appetite is rubbish from a crash and bread and butter is the only thing that appeals, I roll with it. If I’m eating away from home, I don’t sweat it. Occasional situations don’t seem to bother me.

My focus is primarily eating as much real, nutrient-dense food as I can. I have been using the Plant Pure Nation cookbook and the Love Real Food cookbook to make a lot of delicious dishes. The recipes are all fairly easy, but pack a lot of complex flavor and nutrition. I especially enjoy the Love Real Food cookbook, everything that I have made from it has been crazy good.

Anyone have any good recipes to share?

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. Statements on this site are not meant to be taken as medical advice. These statements reflect my personal experiences having mild-ish post-viral POTS and ME. Due to the wide spectrum of these diseases, comorbidities, and everyone being different, your experiences may be very different than mine.

Note: If you post a comment, this site does NOT have a feature to notify you of responses to your comment. I have not found a good solution for that yet. However, I usually respond to every comment in a timely manner, so be sure to check back.

I am on the hot mess express and I know nothing about nothing. Let’s get real for a moment, all I have eaten this week is: white bread, Country Crock, and applesauce. It is super ironic because I was ready to jump on the AIP bandwagon. Now, I have been sick for 7 weeks, am repulsed by everything, and could care less about AIP.

Epiphany

I just had an epiphany. I have been eating a modified paleo diet for months (before my bread and butter situation this week), and I am sicker than ever. What is the point?

I can tell that eating nutrient dense food helps my energy- like when I started eating smoothies for breakfast. But, I can’t help but wonder if I’m wasting my time with paleo and transitioning to AIP. Sure, there’s tons of anecdotal evidence, but I could also find anecdotal evidence to suggest that lemur left nuts cure cancer.

Further confusion

I saw a doctor at urgent care for the sinus infection this week. He asked a lot of questions and took an interest in my chronic situation, which was unexpected. Long story short, he suggested that I try a plant-based diet. A plant-based diet has been currently off my radar, but I have read The China Study and am aware of the studies. It is compelling. So is paleo and AIP. So is everything, except the asinine “mucus free” diet where you eat raw plants, don’t drink water, and fast yourself into oblivion. Yes, that is a real thing and the people who preach this method prey upon chronically ill people. Don’t even get me started.

I feel like I should at least consider what the doctor told me. After all, he is a doctor and his only motivation was to help. I feel silly for continually changing my nutritional “tune”. My husband teases me about the fact that I jump on every nutritional bandwagon I am currently reading about, and he is 100% accurate.

A side-note on being gullible

Raise your hand if you have watched a documentary and are completely persuaded by it. Me! Every time. Making a Murderer- yo, those guys are innocent. Icarus- yo, there’s a huge Russian conspiracy in athletics. Actually, that one is pretty straight forward. The Game Changers- yo, a plant-based diet is the way to go. Unidentified- yo, UFO’s are legit.

I’m pretty sure they could make a documentary about the fact the the moon is made of cheese and I would believe it.

Now what

I am going to have to take a step back and evaluate what I am going to do next with my diet. In the meantime, I will stick to what I know for sure- avoid sugar and processed foods and rely heavily on fruit and vegetables.

Who else is on the hot mess express?

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. Statements on this site are not meant to be taken as medical advice. These statements reflect my personal experiences having mild-ish post-viral POTS and ME. Due to the wide spectrum of these diseases, comorbidities, and everyone being different, your experiences may be very different than mine.

Note: If you post a comment, this site does NOT have a feature to notify you of responses to your comment. I have not found a good solution for that yet. However, I usually respond to every comment in a timely manner, so be sure to check back.

I have recently learned about the benefits of beets. They contain nitrates, which are converted to nitric oxide. The nitric oxide increases blood flow capacity and decreases the amount of oxygen that muscles need. As my nutritionist says, “They allow your body to do more with less oxygen”. In POTS, the muscles and brain are not getting enough oxygen due to blood not flowing properly. For this reason, POTS patients may benefit from consuming beets.

Note- The nitric oxide produced in your body by beets relaxes blood vessels and can lower blood pressure. For this reason, beets may not be suitable for all people with POTS or Dysautonomia. I imagine it depends on what “brand” of POTS you have of whether this effect is a positive or a negative. Please discuss this with your doctor if you are curious about trying beets.

I am a total newbie to beets and didn’t even know what they looked like. I spent a long time looking for them at the grocery store because I thought they looked like radishes. When I saw them my first thought was “Ew” and then “How do I get all that crap off it and make it be edible?”. Luckily, I have found some ways to enjoy the benefits of beets with zero prep.

Beet chips

These chips are tasty! The flavor is mild and somewhat sweet. I have enjoyed dipping them in hummus, avocado, or plain. Warning- If you eat these, you may have a red tinge to your pee or poo. It is normal. Do not panic.

Frozen beets

It is great that these are real food, but chopped up so I don’t have to do it. You could probably sauté these, but I have never tried it. I have been adding them to smoothies. It took me a while to find the right blend that would lend itself to the beet flavor. For the record, mixed berries and citrus fruits do NOT go well.

I call it the BASS smoothie- beets, apple, spinach, strawberry. It is really good and has a mild apple-sweet taste.

BASS smoothie ingredients

• 1/3- 1/2 cup beets
• 1 cup organic frozen strawberries
• Handful of organic spinach
• 1 cored organic apple (I have used fuji and ambrosia varieties so far)
• A little less than 16 ounces of unsweetened almond milk
• 1 tbsp. organic flax seeds
• 1 tbsp. Brain Octane Oil

Blend all of that up in a powerful blender until it’s smooth and you’re good to go.

Beet Powder

Target just stopped carrying the frozen beets that I use so I have been using this powder to mix with my smoothies. Real food is best, but some beets is better than none. Warning: This is a powdered form of beetroot juice, it may turn your excrement red.

Canned beets

I didn’t know that canned beets was a thing. Score! After I use up the beet powder, I’ll continue to use this instead because it’s cheaper and is closer to whole food. These taste just as good as the frozen beets in the smoothie. I have not tried preparing them any other way yet. I wonder if I could bake the Julienne beets and make crunchy “beet fries”.

What is your favorite way to enjoy beets?

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. Statements on this site are not meant to be taken as medical advice. These statements reflect my personal experiences having mild-ish post-viral POTS and ME. Due to the wide spectrum of these diseases, comorbidities, and everyone being different, your experiences may be very different than mine.

Note: If you post a comment, this site does NOT have a feature to notify you of responses to your comment. I have not found a good solution for that yet. However, I usually respond to every comment in a timely manner, so be sure to check back.