It’s All About the Nutrients!

If you or someone you know ever goes through this experience, it makes a strong impact on the need for nutrients. My biggest piece of advice is to start preparing before a problem is even present, this will alleviate the stress on your body during your liquid journey.

Start eating your nutrient dense super foods such as blueberries, avocado, and beans or lentils today. This will give you time to build up your nutrient stores that can support your body in times of need.

If you’re looking for other nutrient dense options this video could help!

Best wishes to all my fellow liquid diet sufferers out there!

Happy sipping!

 

The Blended Banana

What does one do when the body isn’t tolerating anything but you are in desperate need of more nutrients than what Gatorade can offer. Strip it down to the basics. Although this recipe isn’t exactly the most tasty, it will get you through those long days of class or work and will curb the appetite more than your other limited options.

Ingredients

1 Banana

1 cup of Water

Instructions:

Mash the banana slightly and put in a blender.

Add water

Blend for 20-30 seconds on the puree setting until mostly smooth and foaming

Serve over ice or drink it as is!

Protein Jello Fluff

As sick as you will be of jello by this point in your liquid diet, if it’s all you can have, at least add some protein! This recipe is tasty and easy to digest during this stomach-sensitive time and contains 17 grams of protein. That energy is going to make getting through the day much easier. It is also customizable with any gelatin flavor you like, so change it up to keep it interesting.

Ingredients

1 cup of Gelatin Powder (any flavor)

1 6-8 ounce container of Greek Yogurt

Instructions:

Make Jell-O ahead of time according to directions on box.

When set, measure out 1 cup and add it to a blender along with one package of plain Greek yogurt.

Blend until smooth.

Refrigerate or freeze until thickened for 15-30 minutes depending on how creamy you want it to be

Recipe can be found at:

http://coachbethclark.blogspot.com/2015/04/protein-packed-jell-o-fluff.html

Chocolate Avocado Smoothie

I would highly recommend this recipe to those on a liquid diet, especially those who have a sweet tooth and are missing their chocolate (this was me for about 2 weeks of my journey). Its gluten free, has plenty of dairy free options, and is vegan, if you have or are being tested for any kind of food allergies and are trying to avoid triggers (also like me). Also, no need to be worried, it doesn’t taste a bit like avocados, but still has all the super food power of one!

Ingredients:

85 g of Avocado flesh

1 banana

1/4 cup Greek yogurt, plain (or coconut cream for our dairy free friends!)

2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

2 Tbsp of Milk (or any dairy substitute)

PS. You can leave out the milk altogether and you’ll have a wonderful pudding if you want to try a thicker liquid food!

Instructions:

1. Blend everything together in a food processor (or a blender if you have a very good one) until it’s very creamy. Add more milk until it’s the desired thickness.
2. Serve immediately or keep covered in the refrigerator for up to one day.

 

 

Recipe from TexanErin Baking can be found here:

https://www.texanerin.com/chocolate-avocado-smoothie/

Green Bean and Almond Soup

This blended recipe provides you with some of your daily requirements of vegetables and protein from the almonds! The flavors are very fresh and mild. This recipe does require some time, but will feed one for several days. When on a liquid diet your appetite will be fairly small, and your portions will need to be even smaller to give yourself time to digest!

Ingredients:

3 Carrots

1 Garlic Clove

2 Onions

100 g of Almond Flour

1 tsp of finely ground Sea Salt

3 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 liter of Vegetable Stock

1 pound of Green Beans

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil in a medium heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add the onions, garlic, and carrots, and cook over medium heat, stirring every now and then, until softened and very lightly golden. In the meantime, trim the green beans and rinse them well. Add to the pot, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring from time to time.
2. Pour in the stock or water, bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 30 minutes, until all the vegetables are soft. In the meantime, pour the powdered almonds in a dry skillet. Set over medium-high heat and toast for about two minutes, stirring constantly and watching closely, until golden and fragrant. Set aside in a bowl to prevent overtoasting.
3. When the vegetables are soft, add the powdered almonds to the pot and stir well. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Using an immersion blender or working in batches in a blender, purée the soup until completely smooth. Taste, adjust the seasoning, reheat over gentle heat if necessary, and serve.

 

Recipe from Chocolate and Zucchini can be found here:

https://cnz.to/books-cookbooks/green-bean-and-almond-soup-recipe/

Dairy-Free Mango Coconut Smoothie

This recipe is vegetarian, gluten free, and dairy free. If you are slowly recovering from your liquid diet and are able to blend up solids, this smoothie is a great pick me up for any time of day!

Ingredients:

1 Mango

Fresh Mint Leaves

1/2 cup of Non Dairy Milk

1/4 cup of Coconut Milk

1 tsp of Honey

1 Lime, juice from a squeezed wedge

1 Tbsp Coconut Oil

1 Tbsp Flax Seed Oil

1/2 cup Orange Juice (consider substituting out with a less acidic fruit juice to be gentler on the stomach)

Recipe from Jeanette’s Healthy Living can be found here:

http://jeanetteshealthyliving.com/dairy-free-mango-coconut-milk-smoothie/

How to “Ensure” Success

If your liquid diet has to extend past that first few days, its time to start really investigating those nutrient dense options.

Ensure (or its counterparts like boost and fortify) provide an additional 250 calories, which is helpful to try to fight against weight loss. Ensure does contain milk protein, but should still be safe for those with a dairy allergy and those who are gluten free.

The best part is that it’s quick and convenient so even if you’re on the go you can still have a nutrient dense snack. It comes in several flavors such as vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and even coffee! Ensure is also sold at all major grocery stores and should be easy to gain access to.

Other Short-Term Liquid Suggestions

There are plenty of other suggestions, similar to jello that was mentioned in my last post, that are pretty standard for a liquid diet. As always these are good for that short term fix like recovery from the stomach flu.

Broths: These are great if you want something with a little more savory flavor, and if you drain the broth off of a canned soup you can even get some fat content back!

Sprite/Ginger Ale: These work wonders for that upset stomach!

Gatorade: This is a life saver for restoring electrolytes and staying hydrated.

and last but certainly not least DRINK WATER!

Step 1: Get Jiggy With It

If you ever find yourself recovering from a stomach bug or on an all liquid diet, the first and easiest step is to start with jello. Jello is very simple for your system to digest and provides a nice flavor and even the ability to chew a little bit (which you will miss after a while, trust me). Jello is a great SHORT TERM fix to your all liquid problem, but it provides very little nutritional value and should not be used as a long term solution.

How Did We Get Here?

Hi, my name is Madison Lowe and I survived the month-long liquid diet. In August of 2017 I faced some health concerns that left me with limited options for nutrition. Liquid-only options to be exact. This month-long journey took me through several ups and downs and just focusing on trying to consume any form of nutrients I could handle in order to function throughout the day. As a college student, surviving classes, homework, studying, and extracurricular activities while having limited nutrient access is not a small task. This blog is designed to help individuals who face similar problems, as well as for those healthcare professionals who may be asked to provide advice to these people in need.

Of course, this was not a diet that I did by choice, it is not a healthy way to live and should be avoided unless no other options remain. I do not support or recommend this to anyone who is in good health.

I hope that you learn something as you go on this journey with me and that you better understand the true importance of a nutrient dense diet!