Hey fellow foodies!
How's everyone doing?
Things have been a little bit different at our house lately. Last month, my husband wasn't feeling well for over a week and ended up seeing the doctor. After some tests, we found out he has a fatty liver and high cholesterol. The doctor has advised him to cut out rice, white bread, sweets, oily and deep-fried foods, as well as colored and flavored drinks. He'll be going back for another test in July to see if there's been any improvement.
So, here I am, in full supportive wife mode, preparing his daily meals and helping him stick to his new diet. I'm also encouraging him to get some exercise every day. Honestly, making healthy, mindful meals takes a lot more time and effort than I'm used to. It's so easy to just toss something in the deep fryer and have it ready in minutes! Right now, I'm still figuring out the best way to make this work long-term.
One challenge is that some of the healthy foods I'm making for my husband aren't exactly what my kids enjoy. This means I'm often preparing different meals, more than three times a day!
I'm considering making big batches of his meals ahead of time to save some time, but we'll see how that goes in the next few days. In the meantime, here are some of the dishes I've prepared over the past two weeks, and so far, things are going well.
As the days went on, preparing his meals started to feel easier. I made sure to keep the fridge stocked with fruits and healthy snacks so he'd always have something good to grab if he felt hungry. Around the third day, we had the idea to start counting his calories since we were already being so mindful of what he was eating. We downloaded an app to log his daily calorie intake, and it actually gave him some extra motivation to keep track of his progress.
Chicken tinola is definitely one of his go-to comfort foods, and before his diagnosis, he could easily eat several cups of rice with it. As a little reward for being so cooperative and sticking to his diet these past few days, I gave him a small portion of rice – about 90 grams.
You know, we used to absolutely love crispy, deep-fried fish. It was such a treat! But lately, we've switched to air-frying it instead. There's definitely a difference in the texture and even the taste, it's not quite the same satisfying crunch. But honestly, knowing it's the healthier option makes it worth it for us. We're sticking with the air-fried version!
Since we were heading out of town last weekend to meet friends overnight, I made sure to prepare some meals for my husband beforehand. My hope was that having his own food would help him avoid overeating or being tempted by things he's not supposed to eat while we were out. It made me so happy to see him being so dedicated to sticking to his doctor's recommendations! Even when we ordered food while we were out, he was really disciplined and only chose things that were good for him. It's been great to see his commitment!
I'm happy to say my husband has even lost some weight since he started watching his diet so closely. He's also been craving less of the unhealthy stuff, like burgers and fries. Plus, he's stopped complaining about headaches and feeling tired all the time. Besides the diet changes, he's also been walking for at least half an hour every day.
It's definitely been an adjustment, figuring out new recipes and juggling different meals. But honestly, watching my husband embrace this new way of eating and seeing how much better he's feeling? That's the best reward.
I'm curious, has anyone else out there navigated similar dietary changes with their family? What were some of the hurdles you encountered, and what strategies really made a difference? I'd love to hear your experiences and any advice you might have.
Until our next kitchen adventure, take care, and kain tayo! (Let's eat!)
❤️❤️❤️
All photos are my own, unless stated otherwise.
The lead image was edited using Canva.
