Airmiles Armchair Chatter

[juniorbugman]

I went shopping today again at Sobeys. I was going to try and hold out until next week but we needed milk and eggs and my Red Rose tea was on sale for a great price so I wanted to try and get it the first day. I earned 10 base miles and 65 bonus miles. Some for product bought in store and the rest were loaded offers. Spend $115 get 25 miles. My nephew and his girlfriend live with me so I have to make sure that I have food for their dinners and lunches. She works at Costco and he works for the Beer store warehouse so both are essential services. I am lucky that I am retired so I get to go shopping for all 4 of us in my house. It is also his birthday on Monday so I had to buy a cake for him and some birthday treats. Yup I spoil them.
My store had no flour and yeast as well and most of the frozen veggies and fruits were gone. They seemed to be stocked up on fresh fruits and veggies and I am always seeing them checking the stock. I was very lucky when I shopped because when I left the line wrapped around the corner so maybe 10-12 people waiting in line and when I went in there was no line and I had to wait for the lady cleaning the buggies to bring me one.

 

[Donald - my hero]

Thanks to Airmiles i needed to clean up my keyboard after opening up an email with THIS great announcement Now off to get more water!

 

[ottawamom]

I want to meet one of those people who manage to get 5000AM through loaded offers. The loaded offers are almost always on full priced products. Occasionally it will match up with a sale.

I got the same email. The products they said I purchased most were hillarious. Chicken and toothpaste?

 

[bababear_50]

Ha!
Mine were chicken and toothpaste too!

Hugs
Mel

 

[hdrolfe]

Mine was toothpaste and chips, which is probably pretty accurate. They often give me one for Lays, and I buy them a lot for the boy. I did apparently get 259 which is pretty good considering I know there were a few that didn't work and I didn't bother following up on.

 

[Donald - my hero]

Oh oh, I read this line and suddenly wondered if you could mix up mashed blueberries and milk to freeze into a cold treat?

My usual evening "treat" is a make-shift smoothie - big glass of milk, blueberry syrup and a ton of frozen blueberries. It freezes up and is *almost* like a milkshake

When I was at Costco they had bags and bags of frozen blueberries. I not only thought of you instantly but wondered if you ever needed if I could bring them to your porch. My niece and nephew live in your city and I would happily drive up to see their sweet little smiling faces from a safe distance too. So keep it in mind if you ever can't find them. Lord knows I'm looking for things to do

That is so sweet of you to offer! I'm actually heading out to brave Costco tomorrow and I'll be hoisting a few of those bags into the cart, along with some white cheddar, cartons of egg whites (i think they carry their own brand?),vinegar (it goes in the laundry when i wash sheets), rolls for the vacuum sealer, hopefully some flour, and anything else that leaps into the cart

@Donald - my hero a couple of things.....are you rationing the Tuna because it's hard to get? If so call the grocery manager, explain your situation and ask him/her to order you in a case or two or three.
To your frustration.....if it helps at all many of us are feeling frustrated right now. While it's not food related, I am certainly having some dark/sad days right now. I have had several days lately that I've just started to cry for no specific reason. There are so many things that I want to be doing but can't, places I want to go, I want to see people, I want to go back to work and just hug someone. It made me cry on Sunday thinking that when I do go back to work I might not be allowed to touch someone's hand or give them a hug. Those things mean as much to me as it does to them.....and I didn't realize it before.
AND....I was a Shoppers and saw frozen blueberries, I thought of you.

Yes, the tuna is because it's only available in No Frills and i hate to be *that person* who clears the shelf off. There are obviously other people buying it because I've had a few trips when i left empty-handed. It's not quite so urgent now that egg whites & cheese have made it safely into my diet -- i enjoy having an omelette for dinner, almost like a real meal, instead of a can of tuna!
This is an odd time for everyone but those of us who have a mental illness are really struggling. I do however, think it's harder for people who have never dealt with depression before, never experienced anxiety, never known what it feels like to have their emotions beyond their control. I have noticed a lot of new things popping up to help deal with stress and anxiety and if anyone is interested in a few apps i can suggest some. It's a good time to look for meditations that you can listen to and create a space of "you time" Spotify has a bunch of them

What about breakfast salad? I found this recipe when you said Egg Whites Only:
https://www.eatingbirdfood.com/blueberry-eggs-breakfast-salad/

Can I just say that i think that salad looks gross and even if i could have all of those things i simply wouldn't be able to stomach it ?!?!?! And OMG look at the website name "eating bird food" that's hilarious!!

A huge thanks to everyone who stepped up and offered suggestions, it's like my own little crowd-sourcing recipe collection and it made me feel very loved. The thought of new things to eat is very exciting and you helped me look at things in a different way!!!
Here's my list of foods, if it's not on this list, I can't have it, Yes SIX foods since Feb 1st

• Tuna
• Taters
• Canola Oil
• Blueberries
• Glucose
• Tapioca Flour
• Salt is fine if it's the stuff I grind, not table salt

New additions that are safe

• Lactose-free milk
• Egg Whites
• White Cheddar Cheese

Foods I've tried that have sadly failed

• Wheat
• Egg yolks

Next foods to test, in the order i WANT to add them back in

• Corn -- i can then have polenta for a hot addition to my meals and popcorn for snacking on, nothing has any crunch (unless the berries are still frozen or i over fry the taters )
• A veggie, maybe peas or green beans
• Some other form of protein (i want beef but dietitian says wait till much later, hard on the tummy)
• chocolate!???
• Suggestions of what you would be missing and would want to test?

 

[mort1331]

Chicken for protein..lots of options on what you can do with it. And i love me my broc.

 

[ottawamom]

Two thoughts Jacqueline,

Have you ever thought of speaking with the store manager and asking them if they can order a case or two of the Tuna for you that way you wouldn't feel you were depriving someone else and you would get enough to meet your needs in one shop.

What about another type of grain like rice? If it worked out would that mean you could also incorporate rice flour into your diet. Or what about another of the easier to digest flours like arrowroot.

 

[bababear_50]

Hmmmm,,turkey,mushrooms,and I love my bananas.

Hugs Mel

 

[isabellea]

Jacqueline, I think I would try a kind of nut, rice or bananas.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

If you can eat bananas then you could add those to your blueberry "smoothie" drink? Put it all in the blender.

For a nut, why not peanuts. I know they make 100% peanut butter now. It doesn't have all of those additives in it like regular PB.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Yes, the tuna is because it's only available in No Frills and i hate to be *that person* who clears the shelf off. There are obviously other people buying it because I've had a few trips when i left empty-handed. It's not quite so urgent now that egg whites & cheese have made it safely into my diet -- i enjoy having an omelette for dinner, almost like a real meal, instead of a can of tuna!
This is an odd time for everyone but those of us who have a mental illness are really struggling. I do however, think it's harder for people who have never dealt with depression before, never experienced anxiety, never known what it feels like to have their emotions beyond their control. I have noticed a lot of new things popping up to help deal with stress and anxiety and if anyone is interested in a few apps i can suggest some. It's a good time to look for meditations that you can listen to and create a space of "you time" Spotify has a bunch of them

I think you hit the nail on the head. I'm a bit of a control freak....maybe a lot I've had to work hard to control it at work. I just want to jump in and do everything and answer ALL the questions/concerns. Unfortunately, the family has to suck it up and just deal with me I did wonder if I was feeling a little depressed. I'm fine now but for a few days I just wanted to lay in my bed and watch TV or sleep. Now I'm pacing the cage again.

 

[Silvermist999]

My usual evening "treat" is a make-shift smoothie - big glass of milk, blueberry syrup and a ton of frozen blueberries. It freezes up and is *almost* like a milkshake
View attachment 490298

That is so sweet of you to offer! I'm actually heading out to brave Costco tomorrow and I'll be hoisting a few of those bags into the cart, along with some white cheddar, cartons of egg whites (i think they carry their own brand?),vinegar (it goes in the laundry when i wash sheets), rolls for the vacuum sealer, hopefully some flour, and anything else that leaps into the cart

Yes, the tuna is because it's only available in No Frills and i hate to be *that person* who clears the shelf off. There are obviously other people buying it because I've had a few trips when i left empty-handed. It's not quite so urgent now that egg whites & cheese have made it safely into my diet -- i enjoy having an omelette for dinner, almost like a real meal, instead of a can of tuna!
This is an odd time for everyone but those of us who have a mental illness are really struggling. I do however, think it's harder for people who have never dealt with depression before, never experienced anxiety, never known what it feels like to have their emotions beyond their control. I have noticed a lot of new things popping up to help deal with stress and anxiety and if anyone is interested in a few apps i can suggest some. It's a good time to look for meditations that you can listen to and create a space of "you time" Spotify has a bunch of them

Can I just say that i think that salad looks gross and even if i could have all of those things i simply wouldn't be able to stomach it ?!?!?! And OMG look at the website name "eating bird food" that's hilarious!!

A huge thanks to everyone who stepped up and offered suggestions, it's like my own little crowd-sourcing recipe collection and it made me feel very loved. The thought of new things to eat is very exciting and you helped me look at things in a different way!!!
Here's my list of foods, if it's not on this list, I can't have it, Yes SIX foods since Feb 1st

• Tuna
• Taters
• Canola Oil
• Blueberries
• Glucose
• Tapioca Flour
• Salt is fine if it's the stuff I grind, not table salt

New additions that are safe

• Lactose-free milk
• Egg Whites
• White Cheddar Cheese

Foods I've tried that have sadly failed

• Wheat
• Egg yolks

Next foods to test, in the order i WANT to add them back in

• Corn -- i can then have polenta for a hot addition to my meals and popcorn for snacking on, nothing has any crunch (unless the berries are still frozen or i over fry the taters )
• A veggie, maybe peas or green beans
• Some other form of protein (i want beef but dietitian says wait till much later, hard on the tummy)
• chocolate!???
• Suggestions of what you would be missing and would want to test?

Since tuna is ok, how about fresh salmon or other fish, even lightly pan fried with little oil. Are you able to tolerate soy, tofu is a protein that I find easy to digest when I experience GERD symptoms. I like to pan fry it with chicken, fish or shrimp and any veggies on hand for added flavour.

 

[Donald - my hero]

WOW what an A-MAZ-ING thing to wake up and read your posts, thank you all so much.

I feel like a bit of a dolt though because I neglected to include the list of foods that we already know I can't eat. kinda like when we were in Disney and I had to keep explaining that by saying I can eat squash that meant WINTER squash, not zucchini. It drew a few blank stares when I said winter squash and mentioning butternut would turn on the light and they'd say oooh sorry we don't have that in stock, too much work.

list of things I can't eat anymore, like ever!

• broccoli
• cauliflower
• peppers
• tomatoes
• onions
• garlic
• oats
• acidic fruits
• lamb
• pork
• sulphites

list of things that are questionable enough that I've been told to avoid

• poultry of any kind
• rice
• mushrooms
• leafy greens

I'm sure I've forgotten things but this might explain my frustration and confusion about food! I'll look into several of your suggestions though, like nuts but I seem to recall the allergist mentioned a few straight up no due to higher possibility of mold bananas might be a good idea!

 

[hdrolfe]

Peanuts aren't really a nut, they are a legume, so if you are ok to try peas/beans you should be ok to try them as well (or instead). Radishes? They are nice roasted if you don't like them raw.

Agree with different types of fish, if tuna is ok.

Dates? You would have to watch those because some have sulphites of course. Grapes? They aren't acidic fruit.

 

[isabellea]

What about quinoa? It's a grain but also has a high content of proteins. It has become a stable here since DH now mostly eat vegan.

 

[bababear_50]

As a person who foolishly tried the *great Banana Diet of the 80's*,,,there is a lot of things when desperate you can make with a banana. I actually stopped eating Bananas for a year after the diet.

Pan fried bananas
Baked roasted bananas
Dehydrated banana chips
Banana smoothies.
Frozen banana chunks
Banana chunks baked on the BBQ
Banana pancake
even:
How to Boil Bananas
You can make a powerful sleeping tonic from bananas. Research shows that magnesium-rich bananas may help you sleep more soundly (in addition to these other surprising health benefits). To make a cup of banana tea, bring a pot of water to a boil. Then, leaving the peel intact, cut off both ends of a banana and carefully place it in the boiling water. Let the banana steep for about 10 minutes, and then strain the tea through a colander into a mug. Drink at least 60 minutes before bed.

Hugs
Mel

 

[hdrolfe]

Coconut would be another one to try, not sure if it has sulphites in it? If you could have that then coconut flour opens up lots of possibilities, including versions of bread and muffins. Almonds, same with the flour being a replacement for many things. Depends if it's one of the nuts you can try.

 

[Donald - my hero]

oopsie one more thing I forgot to mention regarding fish. It was on my list of 6 foods but it eventually shrunk to the one single type of tuna. It seems that all fish is washed in a sulphite bath before it's frozen, so there's that entire source gone. I was eating a lot of salmon from Costco until I got to the point where it was making me gag just from seeing it, I just couldn't stomach another bite. Shame because I really liked it but try eating it cold at 8 am or almost worse for me was cooking it then
shell fish should be fine but the sulphite issue is involved there as well. Sigh

 

[hdrolfe]

Decided to go to Sobeys for my weekly shop this week. What a disaster that was! I will stick to Metro (and Farm Boy for fruits since no one else seems to have any). I only got 25 or so AM even though it was supposed to be more, but it was such a mess I didn't fight for the ones I was owed. And they are charging for bags, apparently they'll let you bring yours in, but no one else is doing that because it was suggested not to. So I won't be back there until this is over, and maybe then only for a nice Blue Friday (should they ever return). I had to stop at Farm Boy to get fruit because the only stuff Sobeys had (besides apples, does no one like apples?) were the organic ones that were way too expensive. Since I was at farm boy any way, I got some of their big chocolate chunk cookies to make me feel better