Energy Economy - Food Part 1

We have to eat.  We cannot fight our illness without energy.  Food is energy.  However, getting the food to our mouths may be difficult.  In the past year I have been completely bedridden, requiring all my meals to be brought to me.  Then I improved to eating what somebody else prepared but in the kitchen rather than my bed.  Then I progressed to being able to get very simple, basic meals for myself (we’re talking things like a ham sandwich or boiled eggs).

In the next two Energy Economy posts I will list some practical suggestions that either I or people I know implement to make eating more doable.  

• Keep snacks by your bed, especially if you are bed ridden, or wherever you spend the most time.  Some Ideas for non- perishable snacks are:  Dried fruit and nuts, granola or fruit bars, peanut or almond butter, and crackers.

• Make a list of very easy, simple foods you can get in about five minutes.  I’m talking basics like PBJ, ham sandwich, eggs, can of soup, smoothies, etc…  You can see my personal list of easy five minute foods here and here.  You can also do searches on google, bing, or pinterest.  You’ll find some good ideas.  I find that I need the list as a reminder.

• Stock pre-packaged foods for easy snacks or meals.  It may not be ideal – but sometimes it is absolutely necessary.   Get the healthiest versions available to you.  You can see a list of pre-packaged foods to start you off here.  I keep things like almond butter, cheese, sandwich meats, yogurt, hummus, and frozen eggrolls around for bad days.

• Make a list of snacks that take between five and ten minutes to prepare but last for days or weeks.  I have a cool pinterest page here with ideas that speak to me.  I will just say that the energy bites have been absolute life savers.  We make a double batch about every two weeks.  They are great snacks and, in a pinch, I have even eaten them as a meal.  Create your own book or pinterest page of easy recipes like this.

So, there are the first 4 suggestions.  As you can see I have used them all.  I hope at least one of these is helpful for you.  I will be coming out with five more practical suggestions for getting food into your mouth soon.

Picture 1.  photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilovemypit/2181572681/">ilovemypit</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">cc</a>

Picture 2.  photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sea-turtle/8034309994/">sea turtle</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0