The cabinet
Dried Pasta: Preferably a pasta product like Barilla Plus which has added protein and nutrients. (Rice, brown specifically, is also a decent source in this same category.)
Jarred Pasta Sauce: A plain basic garlic and basil sauce is perfect. It’s versatile, helps you make shortcuts and with the pasta above, makes an easy meal.
Canned Soups and Broths: Always easy going on a tummy and also extremely versatile. For instance, chicken is great browned and then cooked in any creamed variety. Broth is great in making things like mashed potatoes, to add
protein and flavor. Also, broth can be substituted for fat in full or part for many recipes. On really bad tummy days some pasta boiled in chicken broth with a dash of basil settles very easily.
Fruit Cups: Yup. Those plastic little fruit cups come in handy. Fruit tends to go down easily and is a good addition to your diet. You can even get them in gels, for easy tummy foods. They open, no fuss or muss, and don’t’ have to be refrigerated until opened. They last long on those shelves, so if you don’t get to it right away it won’t spoil like its fresh counterpart. It also is so easy to grab, that you are going to make the choice to eat it over having the struggle to open a bag of chips. When you haven’t been eating much and feel faint, I find one of these can help a good deal. (Dried fruit, like Craisins, are also a great choice and very portable. If you go down the baby aisle you can get dehydrated crunchy fruits and these are excellent and tasty as well!)
Honey: Unless you are allergic, this is a great staple. A spoonful can help on bad energy days and has health properties for all those colds and flu’s you catch. It’s processed better in your body then regular sugar and should
be used where ever possible instead of refined sugars.
Tea: If you like it or can drink it, teas offer many health benefits and a hot cup can be a soothing comfort at the end of a bad day. Green and white teas have higher antioxidants then black teas do and herbal teas can also give additional health benefits depending on the herbs used. (Do take note- some herbals can interfere with certain medications though, even in tea form, so ask your doctor about possible interactions. If you don’t like tea, hot
cocoa also contains tons of antioxidants and chocolate releases endorphins in the brain!)
Dry Mixes: Have company coming over, but you feel too sick to really bake? Want some muffins but your husband is the only one around and you can’t get out of bed? MIXES!!! They are easy to make and if my toddler can help me stir and pour it all in, then you can do it, too!!! Besides, it’s easy to smile when your house smells of baked goods!! Cornbread mixes are a great and easy carb choice for your meals!
Granola: Unless your TMJD is acting up, these are great light snacks or with some milk. Kashi makes a few varieties with flax seed and such, that are out of this world and incredibly good for you. Running late because of pain and haven’t eaten breakfast? Grab a glass of milk and one of these on your way out the door and save your spoons for lunch when you remember you forgot to plan for one.
Oatmeal: This comes in so many forms these days. My son will eat the Quaker Breakfast Cookies everyday and the instant mixes are great. Kashi makes a Heart to Heart version of this with lots of great additional nutrients and is a bit less processed then some varieties. It also uses natural (turbanado sugar) over white refined sugar and less of it. Oatmeal is easy to digest, easy on an upset stomach and if it’s instant it is easy to make with hot water and/or a microwave. (I tend to make my son’s with hot tap water so he can eat it right away. If you can’t stand oatmeal, farina, like Cream of Wheat, can be substituted.)
Herbs and Spices: These can spice up any pre-packaged food into something that tastes more homemade. I call it “doctoring”. They are a lifesaver. (Did you know meat tenderizer put on a bee sting after the stinger is removed will draw out all the poison? Try it!)
Better than Bullion: This is a jarred product. It’s a thick concentrated stock paste. Add to water or other liquids and it’s truly better than bouillon. It can be used, reconstituted, in place of broth. Try this: Take nuked peas, a pat of butter, a drop of veggie variety Better Then Bouillon and pepper… my son devours it!
Potatoes: Worse comes to worse, forking a potato a few times and nuking it in your microwave for 8 to 15 min will produce a very healthy meal or snack. With a touch of herbage and plain yogurt (and with it’s skin), it’s full of great nutrition. (Tip: Don’t store too closely to onions, they will rot faster, both of them. Onions are also good, if you manage to cook more often.)
Canned Fish: (Such as tuna or pink salmon.) They are healthy and easy. The pouch varieties are very good and keep forever. Salmon, anchovies, and sardines are all good sources of calcium, too. Try to buy varieties packed in water!
Gels and Pudding Mixes: Not the most healthy things in the world, however they sit unharmed forever in a good, bug-free cupboard and are easy to make on bad tummy days.
Whole Wheat/Grain Breads: We all eat bread, if we can! There are so many varieties of Whole Wheat and Whole Grain breads, that you can think you are eating white. Why not make the choice to eat great then? (Look for 100% wheat. Whole Wheat may have wheat in it, but not enough to do good.100% is best.)
Bottled Waters and 100% Fruit Juices: These are great on the go and so easy to just grab and drink. I know of only two people in my life that don’t need to drink more water and research shows a fun bottle, straw or cup will make you want to drink more of it! So bottoms up!!! (Make note that a lot of medications are affected by citrus juices, grapefruit in particular. Papaya nectar may also be an issue. Check with your doctor!)
Pre-Processed Garlic: It’s been chopped or minced for you and jarred in water!!!! YEY! Pop it open and use what you need, then refrigerate. YEY! One of the few real processed products that seems to get used over and over!!
Crackers: Always a staple! Saltines are a sick tummy’s best friend!
Meal replacement drinks: Like Ensure… these are the best thing if you can’t really eat and or have to force-feed yourself! (Talk to your doctor if you do it too often though!)
Ginger-Ale: Or lemon-lime soda. Or whatever sodas help your tummy. Sipping a cold one can help. My grandmother was a nurse and always gave me soda when I was having a bad tummy day. (She never flattened it either, so I never flatten it myself after all these years. She knew best!!!)
The Freezer
Frozen Veggies: They don’t go bad like fresh ones and tend to have more nutrition, when cooked properly, than fresh or canned. (Canned tends to overcook the vitamins in veggies and fresh may be weeks old before you get
it in a supermarket, due to traveling. If you were a strawberry how long would it take you to get from California to Virginia, hrm? Frozen, however, is picked and processed within a day or two and retains it’s nutrients.) Popped in a bowl and nuked in the microwave for a few minutes, it’s good to go.
Leftovers: I put this here instead of in the fridge heading, because of a few reasons. The biggest is that it won’t spoil so fast here. Most leftovers will be fine for 6 months in a good freezer, I’ve found. (Just be sure to label what it is and when it was cooked and frozen!!!) You can put the most recent leftovers behind or under the older ones to keep it cycled through well. Also, with a minute or two extra in the microwave, it’s no real extra hassle. This ensures you will have an easy and nutritious meal, set to your tastes and dietary needs, on hand at all times. If you can and you have the space, a small chest freezer specifically for this, would not be a bad idea! A flare could last you months, so why not be prepared as much as possible? All it takes is cooking an extra serving or two when you do cook and freezing them! We can almost all manage that! It ensures you are eating well, not just easily. Who needs the preservatives of commercially packaged meals? (Or maybe you are a family member reading this and can make some extra servings to bring to your sick relative? Great gift to bring -over a month of meals!!!)
Frozen Fruits: These are great!!! Throw them in a blender with yogurt and honey and make a smoothie!! (If you need extra fiber a tablespoon or two of Benefiber in here is a great addition!!) Or, I like frozen blueberries or raspberries with milk and a sprinkle of sugar at night for my sweet tooth. (Then I get in another fruit and a dairy! WHOO!)
Sorbet and Sherbets: You can even make a float with them out of ginger-ale or lemon-lime soda and it’s great. Also, they have tons of vitamin C in them and that is a good thing! Some sorbets even count as fruits in your diet!
Cooked Meats: Do yourself a favor, and you’ll note my lack of many pre-packaged foods for nutrition’s sake – but, get some cooked meats for yourself. Some of the -plain- Tyson meats, for example (ie. seasoned beef
strips), are not bad and full of protein. With a slice of buttered whole wheat bread and some nuked frozen veggies, you can have a meal in minutes. You could also cook up some meats in plain fashion when you feel well and freeze them into portions as well!!
Whole Wheat Rolls: If you can eat wheat, these are great. Pillsbury makes them in a resealable bag. You take out how many you need, bake them and eat!!!
Ice: Why is this here? I eat and use ice so much, that a well stocked freezer, simply, is not complete until it has a good supply of this in there. I have two colors of trays- Blue for eating ice and purple for boo-boo/cooling down ice. My eating ice is bottled water and the other is tap water! Nothing makes me feel better with a migraine, unless ice is on the back of my neck!
The Fridge
Milk, Soy Milk or Rice Milk, etc: We all need dairy. If you are a woman, you especially do! Soy has some added benefits that seem to be in dispute currently and rice milk is also a great product. You can cook with them,
drink them, and enjoy them! (Did you know cow’s milk can freeze well?? So if it’s on sale, throw a jug in with your leftovers!)
Juice: I like orange, because I have issues keeping my potassium levels up and where they need to be, but any 100% juices will do. (Keep mindful of any drug to juice interactions!) They are great in the afternoon for a healthy
energy boost!!!
Water: Unless you get water service or have a cold in sink drinking spout, a “Water Keg” is a great thing to have. (This is one of those fridge bottles with approx 3.5 gallons in it and a pour spout built in!) My son loves to
get water from the “keg” and it makes it easy when I’m sick at night to get a cold glass of good ole’ H2O.
Cheese or Cheese Substitutes: Cheese is easy to grab and is a good source of calcium and protein! I have lived off cheese sticks before. (Be careful with being bound up from too much though!!) Grated or shredded Parmesan tops off anything, to add flavor!
Yogurt: This stuff is awesome! So versatile and yummy! If you are a girl always on and off antibiotics, you should be eating truckloads of this stuff to prevent yeast infections! (One serving a day can prevent it. So can lots
and lots of cooked garlic and onions.) Plain yogurt is great in place of sour cream, mayo or butters in some recipes! My son LOVES micro-waved broccoli dipped in plain, fat-free, organic yogurt with a teaspoon of Montréal chicken grill seasoning in it! (OK fine by me too!!) He has been known to eat three adult servings of broccoli this way in a sitting! (He is a toddler.. try it with yours!!)
Condiments: Nothing helps to make a cold more bearable than things that help you taste your food!! Mustard and horseradish are good choices for this! (Or for fun try oven roasted turkey breast with pink pickled ginger in the
Asian aisle} and light mayo you sprinkled some wassabi powder into. YUM on a wheat roll with sprouts!)
Ginger Root: This is a great thing! Steeped in hot water with honey it makes a very healthful tonic to help in colds or for upset tummies!! (If you are pregnant it is possible to run into trouble here, though. Brewed as a strong, strong tincture, it can be a natural abortive used by native peoples, so don’t over do it!!!! No one should EVER try to accomplish that on purpose, without the go ahead from a licensed doctor!!!!!!!!! I know they won’t give it, too, so don’t!!!!)
Fruit and Veggie Snacks: Like carrot and celery sticks or peeled/diced fruit. It’s easy to grab and will help you keep up your energy better than other snacks! If you do it on a day you feel OK or can have someone do this, you will always have snacks in reach!! It’s a true trick of the trade!! (Also, if you have kids, they can grab a plastic bowl and help themselves. It will teach great eating habits young!!)
Eggs: Having a really bad day. Crack an egg or two into a bowl.. scramble..microwave a minute.. check and microwave another 30 seconds, if need be and eat! Eggs are great in so many areas, like protein and vitamin E! Hard
boiled peeled ones, are easy to grab and munch at any time!
Notes
Are we perfect? NO! I’m not always so diligent in all of this, but I have found these to be the majority of the staples that make life easier in the kitchen of someone who can’t always really cook. I’m a single mom to a toddler and so my life is hectic anyhow! We are daily survivors of our illnesses and we have to be careful to get all the nutrients we need everyday to stay as healthy as possible. These two principles don’t always mesh. Many pre-packaged meals and frozen dinners don’t offer all the nutrition and are high in fat, salt or other things we shouldn’t/can’t have.
By keeping a well stocked kitchen, people can know how to shop better, when they have to do that for you and we can always have healthy snacks and meals on hand, no matter how hard the day. Some of us can’t have wheat, some can’t have eggs, but slightly modified to meet those needs, you will find this a good start! I’ve made several notations about drug interactions with certain foods and drink, or special considerations, and you should be sure to ask your doctor about those things. I hope this helps you sort one thing out, without having to put too much thought into it!
A few more tips– Use Salt Sense in the place of full sodium salt! Try Mrs Dash for flavor instead of salt, too! Try using the fat substitutes when you bake, they are prune and apple based and keep baked goods moist with half or no fat! You do have the pizza and Chinese place on speed dial right? 🙂
Article submitted by: Jennifer Altherr, Butyoudontlooksick.com, © 2006