Got a meal that a person suffering fatigue could make?

(Sumishisu) #1

I want to do the keto diet to get some more energy to do things, but I’m having troubles. To start with, I have chronic fatigue syndrome, but recent studies have shown is likely curable through diet and inflammation reduction in the gut. The only problem is that, well, I have chronic fatigue and am therefore often dead tired and can’t be bothered to cook, eat or do anything much other than to read or lazily watch videos.

Anyways, I have been trying to eat keto, but honestly I am eating at most one keto meal every 2 days and for the rest, I either grab something ‘fulling’ or just miss that meal. And the meals I have been making haven’t been anything demanding. You know, things like fried rice or cabbage stir fry (taste amazing btw). And it’s not like I don’t like cooking, I actually love it, I just don’t often have the energy to do it.

A couple of years ago, to avoid steroid treatment, I was put on a ‘no food diet’ for 10 weeks where they gave me a medical milk shake (without the milk) that you can literally live off. Tasted pretty bad, and was loading in sugars but if it was keto, I would defiantly be subbing it in.

So what I’m really looking for is a ‘meal’ option that gives me everything that I need to live, but is relatively easy to make (bulk making preferably), and is either really tasty or (ignoring the taste) is quick to consume. Maybe a fatty soup or perhaps a bunch of bite sized food balls. This is just to last me till I have enough energy to make proper tasty food. Any ideas?

Also, I’m allergic to cocoa and tomatoes (weird I know), and moderately intolerant to milk (so no milkshakes)

(Robert C) #2

What comes to mind first is you using one of those keto-to-your-door meal delivery services.

It would be expensive up front but, if it works out for you, you might just need a month or two to turn the corner on your chronic fatigue.

Another option would be some local keto restaurant - like Chipotle, that delivers.

Order a bunch of burrito bowels - get guacamole on side - use their nutrition calculator to ensure macros are good. Microwave some more anytime you are hungry. Maybe even go over on purpose to see if it helps with the fatigue.

I am not a medical professional at all but, given what you described, I feel like some of your chronic fatigue symptoms might be being made worse through calorie restriction (causing metabolic slowdown).

(Isa) #3

My first thought was KetoChow, if the milk won’t bother you. You mix it with a specific amount of avocado oil to get calories. My next thought was a non-chocolate mix like what Perfect Keto makes, supplemented with vitamins. Primal Kitchen also makes a meal replacement that is non chocolate. All of these are available on Amazon.

If you don’t mind a little cooking, bacon (microwaved) and eggs with avocado or cheese can be a good repetitious meal. Add in spinach w/ the eggs.

I hope that helps.

(Sumishisu) #4

thanks for the suggestion

Unfortunately I live in New Zealand, and we don’t really have any keto restaurants or door service, otherwise I would totally be all in! I might have to look again though…

(Sumishisu) #5

Thanks for the tips, I’ll definitely look them up!

(The amazing autoimmune 🦄) #6

Baked chicken thighs- add whatever spices. I use a recipe off of Allrecipes. They are super easy to make up and you can cook up a whole bunch all at once.

Whole roasted chicken same thing.

Slow cookers can be your friend- just drop whatever meat in with water and spices. And a few vegetables.

I will also brown up a bunch of hamburger (mince meat) and then use that all week for quick salads, I just throw in stuff that sounds good. Like last week hamburger, avocado, & cheese with spinach.

All of these are things I make up that will last us all week.

To make the meats Keto I just add butter to them before I eat

My favorite go to quick meal ten minutes is eggs and bacon.

All of these take about 10-15 minutes of standing and then just pulling them out of the oven.

(Robert C) #7

I would suggest you do the research.
I’m not talking about a restaurant that calls itself keto.
I’m talking about any restaurant that, with enough special requests, can produce a keto dish.
Especially one you like - it seems you need anything you can get in the motivation category.

Good luck - I think are moving in the right direction.

(Sumishisu) #8

Ah thanks for clarifying!

(Sumishisu) #9

Wow, that actually a really good way of going about it!

Do you add butter to slow-cooked meals?

also, you mentioned adding butter to the meats, do you re-cook them or add it on the side?

Thanks

(The amazing autoimmune 🦄) #10

I put the butter on top after cooked but before I eat. So if I throw the thigh in the microwave then take it out and add butter.

If I am really tired I just eat them cold with butter on top

There are a lot of slow cooker Keto recipes that are supper easy

When I bake the thighs I lift the skin and put a pat of butter and add the spices then smooth the skin back down.

(Sumishisu) #11

thanks!

(Robert C) #12

I second that. I’ve tried adding butter earlier in the cooking process (added to a crock pot dish, started frying a steak with it) but generally without success. You get more fat in the dish but, the buttery flavor just seems to go away.

Added at the end (simply melted on the reheated crock pot meat or just added at the last minute searing a Ribeye) you get both the buttery flavor and the fat.

(The amazing autoimmune 🦄) #13

Or add it both times :grin:

(John) #14

I don’t have Chronic Fatigue but I do have “too lazy to cook” syndrome pretty often, so I appreciate the desire to have easy-to-prepare foods.

Here are a few ideas;

Steam or hard-boil 1/2 dozen or a dozen eggs. Put in fridge. Can be eaten alone, on salads, or mixed into other foods like tuna salad or egg salad. They keep a good while.

Canned tuna and boneless/skinless salmon. Mix with full-fat mayonnaise. Optionally add a diced celery stalk for some crunch. Optionally add one of those hard boiled eggs.

Salad. Buy pre-made salads at the grocery. Put some full-fat dressing of your choice on it. Add some shredded parmesan or other cheese for additional flavor. Maybe add a handful (meaning about 1 oz) of walnut or pecan pieces for some crunch.

Bacon. Not a lot of effort required, but there is some cooking so you have to do that plus the cleanup. For batch cooking, bake it in the oven in a baking tray rather than frying on stovetop. Cook to slightly less than crisp. You can reheat in microwave later or break up and crumble onto your salads.

Chicken thighs and breasts. Buy in bulk. Coat in olive oil and any seasonings you want and put on a baking sheet. Bake for about 40 minutes. While baking, you can sit and do nothing. Then pull it out and let cool, also while you do nothing. Dump into plastic bags. Can later be eaten cold, or re-heated in microwave. Add to salad. If you are feeling energetic, chop into smaller pieces and make chicken salad (with the full-fat mayo and optionally some diced veggies like green pepper).

Full fat greek yogurt and low-carb berries. Optionally add some nuts. Depends on how many carbs you can tolerate as to whether this is a good choice for you. I just had about 1/2 cup Fage Total 5% plus 1 oz blueberries plus 1 oz walnuts for breakfast.

(Sumishisu) #15

Thanks for the suggestions!
and yea, I think everyone can relate to not being bothered to cook :grin:

(Laurie) #16

I’m a “senior” and need to simplify my life, which includes cooking more simply. I don’t have a stove; I use a microwave and slow cooker. I do have certain limitations that you might not have; I can’t eat typical pork chops, steaks, or roasts, so I eat a lot of ground beef, eggs, cheese, and canned fish. Some examples/ideas:

  • Stop chopping and sauteing vegetables for sauces and so on; use jarred or dried onion, garlic, etc.,
  • Once you figure out a few recipes and know the spice proportions, make largish quantities of your own spice mixes (e.g., Italian, Thai, Indian) that you can use for several meals. Or you might find suitable seasoning blends in the store.
  • When I cook in bulk, I try not to overdo it. Measuring out, bagging, labeling, and freezing a huge batch of chili or curry can be exhausting and messy. I prefer to cook maybe 3 meals at once: one for now, one to go in the fridge for later in the week, and one for the freezer.
  • Look for “dump” slow cooker recipes. Dump everything in and turn the cooker on. No fussing around with browning meat, sauteing onions, etc.
  • Many recipes that call for tomato can be adapted; you can use a bit of vinegar to replace the tanginess of the tomato. I go to potlucks where one person can’t eat nightshades, and I’ve been experimenting quite a bit with this.
  • Eat salmon with some mayo only, maybe a bit of Huy Fong chili garlic sauce. You don’t even have to mix it; just put the condiments on top. If you want some crunch, you don’t have to chop the celery; just put the salmon on a celery stick–less work!
  • Make simple omelets or scrambled eggs.
  • Just grab a piece of cheese, or pop open a can of sardines with hot peppers.
  • Cook chicken legs and eat them cold.
  • Cook Italian sausages and eat them cold. (Check label for carb count; some have 6 or 7 carbs per sausage, others have zero.)
  • Make some pulled pork (no sugar, simple seasonings, NO sauce) and put several servings in a ziplock bag in the fridge. It’s good cold!
  • Or make a roast beef, slice it, and eat that cold.
  • Order several cooked beef patties from a fast food outlet, and take them home. You can eat them cold, maybe with mustard or other condiments.
  • In a restaurant, order bacon and eggs, and tell them no toast, no potatoes.
  • Rotisserie (cooked) chickens from the supermarket are handy, although I think they contain sugar. In some stores you can buy cooked chicken legs if you don’t want the whole chicken.
  • For stir fry, why not use meat or chicken instead of rice? I used to to this all the time. It was quick and easy.
  • If you have a frying pan, what could be simpler than throwing a pork chop, steak, or ground beef patty into a hot pan?
  • Microwave and slow cooker tend to be easier to clean than pots and pans, and the kitchen walls, etc., will be less greasy.
  • Ziplock bags are handy for storing various foods–fewer containers to wash.
  • Stock up on paper towels and use them instead of kitchen towels and cloths–less laundry.

I hope that helps.

(mole person) #17

OHH, I had no idea. I’ve been doing keto almost 2 years and I’ve never added butter to a meat, only fried in it.

(Robert C) #18

I got this mostly from some Gordon Ramsay video about cooking Ribeye steaks but, it seems to hold generally.

Butter - with its flavor wrapped up in some of it’s dairy solids, should not be thought of as just another oil / fat source for cooking (like avocado or coconut oil).

It can “make” a dish but can also, easily, burn and ruin something great. So, I go with late, low temperature and hope for the best (always Kerrygold).

(Annzie) #19

Everyone keeps mentioning bacon, but nobody said PRECOOKED bacon. It is my go-to food for quick snack. I keep regular bacon around for cooking kale, etc, but the precooked stuff is great for salads, lettuce wraps etc. Advance planning is key for me. I have Fibromyalgia so fatigue and pain are my issues. I take a meat dish and make it stretch into multiple meals. Baking a pork loin is easy. Throw your favorite spiced in olive oil, baste it, bake at 425 for 40 minutes until it reaches 135, wrap in aluminium until it goes up to 145. Eat with salad for day 1. On day 2, cut up your meat in thin slices, saute in garlic butter. Throw frozen veggies in microwave, pour extra garlic butter over them too. You can do basically the same thing with flat iron steak. Baste it in olive oil and chilli pepper. Fry on stove in cast iron skillet, 2.5 minutes each side, throw it in oven 10 minutes. Day two, slice it up like fajitas, fry up with precut frozen onions and peppers. Eat over fresh spinach with sour cream. Just think it through when you go to the store. I personally can’t go to the store because of my illnesses, so I shop on Kroger Clicklist. But you can figure it out if you just plan it out first. Good luck!

(mole person) #20

I’ll have to see if I can find some here.