Eating well with chronic pain/fatigue

[Ihatestripysocks]

Does anyone have any tips how to eat well with chronic pain and fatigue? Practically and emotional it’s hard make sure I eat well. Your body craves all wrong things and a carrot stick does not give same feedback as chocolate biscuits when you had hell of a day!

Fatigue also means if it’s not sorted by morning then snacks lunch etc are not going be as healthy as could be. Even then limits on what I can do and prepare. Evening meal is usually frozen with fresh veg if managed to chop prepare etc before hand.

Frozen veg are an absolute godsend

I manage peas sweetcorn but find everything else goes mushy. Even those mixed veg bags for microwave don’t taste fab. What’s your favourite ones?

I just go for a bag of frozen broccoli. It might go a little mushy but I don't mind personally.

I rarely have fresh vegetables usually frozen they are just as good I mean some of it isn't as tasty but in general it's good. Try fruit in the morning especially bananas. I eat lots of spinach you just take it out the bag and pop it on your sandwich or dinner plate I cook it down for a minute or so , but tbh some days are going to be worse than others so don't have food another thing to worry about.

You can steam frozen brocolli so it doesn't go mushy. I like cauliflower and the usual peas and sweetcorn.

I've got MS and find Huel is good. It's a shake and reasonably healthy. Lots of protein.

Agree with frozen fruits/veg.

I try to have porridge every morning with oat milk, frozen berries or banana, and nuts.

I struggle with lunches but trying.
Do you have a slow cooker you can utilise at all? I need to use mine more, can make soups, chilli, Bolognese, curries etc. If/when you're able to cook, try to double up so you can freeze extra portions.
Easy things like jacket potatoes, stir fry, gluten free pasta with pesto with some frozen veggies or prepared salad.
An omelette maker is easy to throw one on.

It sucks, I understand. I could quite happily survive on chocolate biscuits and toast during a bad flare up.

I try to have porridge every morning with oat milk, frozen berries or banana, and nuts.

With porridge I find it easier to make overnight oats due to microwave being in an annoying place. So can pour milk on it and leave in fridge overnight.

I have no advice on meals other than to try recipes designed to hide veg from kids, you can hide your mushy frozen veg in sauces like spag bol which can be made in a slow cooker if that suits you better.

Granola bars and dried fruit in easy to access places might be a better choice if snacking is easier. I keep some along with ginger nuts and little juice boxes next to the sofa, bed, etc.

If/when you're able to cook, try to double up so you can freeze extra portions. oh yes trying to double up portions is a great tip.

Also dried fruit for snacking might help?

Thanks for response so far, frozen fruit is good call not tried before. Fresh soft fruits tend go off so quickly. I do batch cook when feel up to it, but evening meals are chilli or curry thrown from frozen in oven so hard work then cook or prep veg in side. I’m just glad I’m getting easy meal.

Thought of having 5/7 day feels massive struggle

Orange juice is one portion if you like that?

The bags of broccoli and cauli rice are good, they can sit in the store cupboard for months and I throw them in the microwave for 2 mins and they're good with anything with a sauce. Packet prepared porridge is good, or the porridge pots you just pour water on. Tins of soup when I'm really desperate. Salad veg like cherry tomatoes, baby cucumbers, the small gem lettuces and fruit like blue berries and strawberries that I can grab a handful of, cheese to grab a chunk of when I'm really too bad to do more than physically get to the fridge and open it. Packets of the cheap smoked salmon also last for ages in the fridge.

the porridge pots you just pour water on. forgot about these. Thanks!

Green beans are ok frozen, cauliflower cheese frozen is fine as is red cabbage. Green cabbage has a pretty long fridge life. If you like curries try make coconut cauliflower and pepper curry - all from freezer (well I use fresh onion but you could use frozen)

I medium onion (or half cup is frozen) sauté with frozen garlic and add frozen mixed peppers, add 2 heaped spoons korma paste, add frozen cauliflower and enough water to cover it, bring to boil then reduce to fast simmer, add sachet pataks creamed coconut (it melts into the sauce) then cook until cauliflower is cooked and sauce is reduced to thick curry sauce. It's 2-3 portions of your 5 a day! I serve with a chicken curry or daal

Batch cooking.
I have many many one person meal in the freezer from meals we’ve made Eg for the evening meal.

I aim for 3 meals that are decent enough and have long given up on not eating snacks etc….

Also have been looking for very easy meals to do. Few ingredients but usually lots of spices to make them tasty.
Slow cooker because I am always better in the morning so I can cope with that (plus there is usually little prep to do)

Frozen chopped onions have been a game changer. They're not how I'd have chopped them, but I've adjusted.

I've also faced reality and gone onto a multivitamin. Sure, it's a great idea to get all of one's needs from one's diet, but back in the real world... There's no point in suffering a vitamin & iron deficiency as well as everything else.