Red lentil curry with spinach and coriander

I definitely struggle with eating a range of different meals, and tend to eat the same meal over and over again.

About six months ago, I was at a friends house for lunch and they served up split pea soup which I was incredibly skeptical about at first but it totally won me over.  I remembered it the other day when I was going through the supermarket thinking I needed to diversify my diet.  I went to the legume section, couldn't find split green peas anywhere but found red lentils.

Not quite sure what prompted me to buy them, given I've never even eaten them before!  But, buy them I did and then I set about looking for a recipe, and I found one for a red lentil curry that looked really good.  I made it last night, it was sooooo easy! I modified it slightly, but also adding 25g of tomato paste and when it was cooked just before serving I added some chopped up baby spinach and some fresh coriander.  I also used about triple the amount of garlic and ginger... cause I'm trying to ward off vampires and a cold right now.  The former is true, the latter is not :)

The recipe recommended eating with basmati rice, which I normally would have done but I am trying to avoid rice at the moment.  Instead, I found some gluten free pita bread and toasted that to scoop it up and eat with.

It was soooooooooooooooo good!  Seriously recommended.  Not sure of the fat, carb or calorie count but the recipe on the site said one serving is less than 200g with 2.6g of fat.  I added extra ingredients, but either way it's still a really low calorie, low fat meal.

Umm... I'm not sure why I'm even talking about calories.  I hate calorie counting!  In fact, I don't do it at all.  Just the other day I was completing a survey in a hospital on the nutrition and calorie content of different types of food.  As an example, a salad with a tablespoon of olive oil.  I had no idea, I guessed around 400 calories. Urgh.

I also have no intention of becoming better at counting calories to lose weight. I don't really subscribe to the idea that you have to be so rigid and severe when it comes to losing weight.  I think (and I may be totally wrong), but so long as you are eating as naturally as can be (i.e. minimising the amount of processed, and pre-prepared meals) and avoiding as much as possible foods that don't work for your body then you can't really go that wrong.  As an example, I really think my body can't handle refined sugars and wheat very well, particularly with my PCOS.  So, I am avoiding those foods as much as I can right now.

In fact, I saw a gastroenterologist (hence the reference to a hospital visit) the other day, and we are doing some investigations into my gut and digestive system because ever since my hospital visits last year I am having some problems.  He suspects it may be IBS, and hopefully it's nothing more serious than that.  But I have a suspicion I may actually be gluten intolerant as well.  Ho hum, sounds like fun.

Anyway, I will come back soon and blog about that lovely hospital visit and the charming people skills of my specialist.  His fat acceptance levels were off the chart..... and not in a good way!

Here's a picture of my red lentil curry.  Yum Yum.

Red lentil curry with gluten free pita bread

The recipe made quite a bit, at least three decent sized meals worth.  So, that's what I had for dinner last night and lunch today.  I'll have it again for lunch tomorrow.

Back in hospital

This post is backdated from August, I didn't realise I hadn't saved it

I didn't think I would end up back in here again... Well, certainly not until I was in to have the hysteroscopy done!

The doctors don't seem to know what is wrong with me... They had suspected gall stones, but I needed the ultrasound to confirm. The ultrasound was due for this Thursday. I've been having the same pain a number of times since I was last in hospital, but the feedback has been to just wait for the ultrasound. Yesterday I had the pain in the wee hours of the morning (normally comes at night), and after I had thrown up (which normally relieves it), it changed into a burning in my stomach.

At around 11am on Monday I threw up again, it was just bile (there was nothing in my stomach)... And then threw up bile again every 20 minutes for the next two hours. I rang my GP and she prescribed some medicine but said she wasn't worried, and let's see what happens after the ultrasound. I was feeling way too sick to get up and drive to the clinic to pick up the medicine and then go to Tescos to have the script filled. I waited an hour and just felt like I was deteriorating fast... feeling feverish and couldn't find the strength to even keep my eyes open.

I asked my sister to drive me to the hospital. We had to stop along the way so I could throw up, and then I threw up again as we were driving (lucky I bought a bucket with me!). My poor sister!! I had to wait for about an hour before I got to see the A&E nurse, and then he just sent me over to see the Primary Care Trust GP, where I had to wait for about 40 minutes.

He was the most useless GP I have ever encountered. He sent me back over to A&E to have bloods done, and they also gave me an injection in my thigh to stop the nausea... Which didn't work (and I now have a massive bruise where it was injected). They then sent me back to the GP, where I had to sit and wait for another half an hour. Then I was seen by another doctor who took some vitals and then sent me back into the waiting room to wait to see the GP and get my blood results.

Anyway.. I could go on and on and on and on about the incompetence and the messing me about, but at the end of it I was admitted for three days while they tried to work out what was going on. They ruled out gall stones, and as they were trying to send me home and telling me to just take paracetamol every few hours I demanded to see my file.  A specialist then came up to see me and sat down with me to go through my file and then went away to talk to their consultant.  Turns out they think I had either a stomach ulcer or an infection of the stomach lining.  I was given six weeks of meds to take and sent home the next day.

Let's see how we go!

First taste of hospital food

URGH. So gross.

I can now say, having had the experience of both, airplane food shits all over hospital food.

I took myself to A&E the other night with really bad stomach pain and was admitted in the wee hours of the morning.  Although the stomach pain and nausea disappeared after about five hours, I was admitted for two days.  They suspected gall stones but blood tests showed something not right going on with my liver.  Although I'm home now, I have to go for an ultrasound in the next week or so and get some more blood tests.  Not sure what is wrong with me, although I feel normal but more tired than usual.

It was a bit of a levelling experience actually. I've never been in hospital before.. well, other than visiting other people.  It was not nice.  Scary.  Boring.  Frustrating.  I know I keep saying it, but I have to be more disciplined with the diet and exercise!  I am hopingggggggg nothing serious is going on, but I have to give myself the best chance of being fit and well...

I desperately want children... and WHEN I finally get my family, I don't want to be a sick and unfit mother who can't get out and run around and be silly with her children.

Right.  Although I said last time I was going to weigh in, I didn't...

I'm off to the Wii Fit.