Gallbladder diet. Acai and Apple Cider Vinegar, Papaya and Smoked Salmon Heartiness

Apple cider vinegar (ACV) was one of the first gallbladder attack and gallstone cures I read about.

Gallbladder diet.  I mix ACV with water or Acai juice with a 1:8 or 2:8 ratio.

First I doubted, waiting six months before adding ACV to my diet.

You see, I am a skeptic, especially with respect to 'home remedies'.

Now I am a believer in ACV, not only for the capabilities of ACV to potentially emulsify or dissolve and help remove gallbladder sludge, but also for the healthy positive effect of slowing insulin spikes after eating.

I drink my ACV twice daily, once in the morning and once in evening.

Gallbladder diet.  ACV drinks are slightly acidic, so be sure to brush your teeth afterwards.

Most ACV centered websites recommend one or two ounces of a non-filtered organic ACV, one filled with the probiotic rich particulate 'mother' mixed into a drink.

Gallbladder diet.  Apple Cider Vinegar is a must have for any gallbladder diet.  Always choose organic.

Acai juice is one of my favorite mixers.  Water does just fine too.  Blend the ACV to water or mixer juice at a 1:8 or 2:8 ACV:water ratio.

Sometimes I'll stir in a tablespoon of ACV into my morning ginger tea while participating in  stretching and yoga exercises.

ACV will be my go to relief drink also, along with plenty of water if ever I have another gallstone attack.

Papaya and Smoked Salmon Lunch.

There is something healthy sounding about an all orange-pinkish lunch.

Gallbladder diet.  Papaya and smoked salmon make a hearty, scrumptious meal.

Cold, sweet papaya and thin sliced smoke salmon go great together, creating a sweet and salty taste sensation that is irresistible to my taste buds.

I cut the papaya the night before and chill in the refrigerator for the next day.

As a side note, papayas are full of seeds.  It is fun to toss the seeds into the garden bed after cutting the papaya and watch them sprout.  Papaya trees usually produce massive amounts of fruit each year. If you live in a colder climate, try growing them indoors.

Gallbladder diet.  Sprouting papaya seeds

Gallbladder diet.  Papaya tree outside our patio.

Papayas are also an excellent source of Vitamins A, B's, and C, as well as fiber and folate according to many health sources.

Costco is my favorite place to purchase smoked salmon.

Gallbladder diet.  Gallbladder friendly smoked salmon should contain zero nitrites!

Always look for smoked salmon with the lowest total fat content.  Salmon contains a good amount of omega 3 fatty acids and will help you maintain the proper good to bad cholesterol/lipid ratio.

Just as important as the total fat content is finding smoked salmon with no added sodium nitrites.  Nitrites have been shown through research to possible cause or encourage some types of cancers.  The Costco brand I purchase contains no nitrites according to the label.

Gallbladder diets can be hearty and delicious!

There are so many non-processed fresh foods low in fat and rich in nutrients that you can combine to create a new and exciting, gallbladder friendly meal each day!

Cheers!  Kevin   #gallbladder life

Gallbladder diet. Wild Coho Salmon Beet and Baby Organic Spinach Salad. Keep gallbladder-friendly baked wild fish in the refrigerator!

Until the day I found I could eat wild caught fish my post-gallbladder attack diet consisted primarily of vegetables and fruits.

Gallbladder diet. Wild Coho Salmon Beet and Baby Organic Spinach Salad, so gallbladder-friendly!

Unfortunately my cholesterol fell to unhealthy levels with my last blood test showing a Total Cholesterol level of only 75 mg/l.

But today my blood lipid levels are correcting due to the daily small to medium amounts of baked or steamed wild caught fish in my diet.

Alarmingly, there are several studies indicating very low cholesterol levels may damage the brain, arteries or even cause aggressive behaviors such as ramming cars on a bridge and the like.  Even the National Institute of Health has linked lower cholesterol levels with violent behavior.

Honestly I've seldom if not never have really felt violent or aggressive towards anyone.  But regardless, eating fish adds protein and omega 3 fatty acids to my daily nutritional intake.

Gallbladder diet.  Store baked fish in the refrigerator for easy meal preparation.

Baking or steaming the fish ahead of time and then storing in the refrigerator makes for ease in preparing a fast yet delicious meal.

My favorite way to prepare the fish is to bake at 350F (175C) on parchment paper within a baking sheet for ten to twenty minutes depending on how 'well-done' you prefer your fish.

After the fish is laid out on the parchment paper I add powdered garlic, ginger, black pepper and salt; sometimes drizzling honey across the filets.

Allow to cool after baking then place the fish in a sealed glass container in the refrigerator for use in salads, snacks, chowders or as a main entree on the dinner table.

One of my favorite salads is wild coho salmon beet and baby organic spinach salad.

Wild Coho Salmon Beet and Baby Organic Spinach Salad

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup baked salmon (pulled apart) per salad
• two whole pickled beets per salad (sliced)
• several handfuls of baby organic spinach per salad
• 1/4 sweet onion (diced) per salad
• one sweet red bell pepper
• one dozen small portobellos 
• honey mustard
• salt and pepper to taste
  

  

  Gallbladder diet.  First spread a thick layer of fresh spinach across the plate. 

Spread a thick layer of washed, fresh baby organic spinach across each dinner plate.

In a sauce pan steam-sauté a dozen sliced small portobello mushrooms and one chopped red bell pepper until tender.

Gallbladder diet.  Steaming veggies beats oil frying any day for gallbladder friendly foods.

Slice pickled beets and add on top of the baby spinach.  Reserve 1/2 cup beet juice for salad dressing.

Add handful of pulled wild coho salmon from the refrigerator to the top of each salad.

Gallbladder diet.  Add beets, peppers, mushrooms and onions to top of spinach layer.

Sprinkle 1/4 diced onion to the top of each salad.

Drizzle the salad with a light coat of honey mustard.

Place sautéd mushrooms and peppers atop the salmon.

Pour 3 or 4 tablespoons of the reserved pickled beet juice across the salad top.

Gallbladder diet.  Use pickled beet juice as part of a delicious salad dressing combo.

You and your gallbladder will appreciate the subtle and stimulating flavors of this exotically delicious salad (your family will too!).

Having the fish prepared and ready to use makes for a quick yet luxurious and quite satisfying meal.

Happy gallbladder eating!  Kevin.  #gallbladderlife

Gallbladder diet, Crunchy Crispy Onion Rings so Gallbladder Friendly!

Oh how I'd missed onion rings since those horrible 2015 gallbladder attacks.

Gallbladder diet.  Crunchy crispy baked onion rings so gallbladder friendly and tasty too!

Before the attacks, given the choice I'd choose onion rings over french fries anyway anytime.

I love all types of onion rings; warm, golden and crispy or juicy, lip smacking moist onion rings.  I've even been known to pick the crunchy onion rings off the top of a green bean casserole!

So when my gallbladder went awry with spasms and inflammation one of the foods I missed most over the past year has been...you guessed it... onion rings.

But now I am a happy camper once more.  I've got this awesome, easy and delicious recipe for some of the best onion rings you have ever tasted.  And they are gallbladder friendly!

Not only are these onion rings gallbladder friendly, but they are healthy too - delivering a good bit of protein with the egg whites ingredient.

Greasy onion rings are never as good cold as they are hot but these baked onions rings are, in my opinion, just as tasty cold as they are fresh out of the oven.

Golden Crunchy Crispy Baked Onion Rings

I purchased my onions from Costco in a five pound sack.  The Vanillas were huge and so sweet, firm bodied and perfect for ring stock.

Gallbladder diet.  Costco's large Vadalia onions make scrumptious onion rings.

Ingredients:

• three very large, from onions
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour (optional)
• 2 cups panco no-fat Asian bread crumbs
• salt to taste
• black pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon dried garlic powder 
• 1/2 cup egg whites

Preheat the oven to 380F (190C).

Rinse and peel the three large onions, slice into sections approximately finger width thick; separate and place on a plate.

Gallbladder diet.  I like to slice onions about finger thick for gallbladder friendly onion rings.

In a small bowl mix the panco bread crumbs, salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Taste a little to make sure the salt content is to the level you desire.

Gallbladder diet.  These Panko Bread crumbs contain zero fat.

Place flour in a separate bowl for dusting the raw onions prior to battering.  

Gallbladder diet.  Mix bread crumbs, salt, pepper and garlic powder in a separate bowl.

Pour egg whites into another bowl.

Gallbladder diet.  Costco egg whites are full of protein with zero fat and zero cholesterol.

Set baking rack on a large cookie sheet.

Gallbladder diet.  Place baking rack on large cookie sheet for onion rings.

Lightly dip/dust each onion in the flour.  Dip flour covered onion in the egg whites and then sprinkle/dust with the panco-salt-pepper-garlic powder mix while holding the onion over a paper towel to collect the excess/ fall off.  Note:  I've tried dipping the egg white covered onion directly into the panco mix but this process moistens the panco mix quickly rendering it too moist to adhere to the onion ring properly.  You could also lay the egg white covered rings on a plate and coat them with the panco breading mix.

Gallbladder diet.  Battered onion rings ready for the oven.

Place all battered covered onion rings on the baking sheet.

Gallbladder diet.  Gallbladder friendly onion rings ready to bake.

Bake until golden brown and crunchy.  Watch closely.  When they are cooked they are ready to remove.  Do not let the bread crumbs burn.  I usually set the timer for twenty minutes.

Gallbladder diet.  Gallbladder friendly yummy onion rings.

First tray I made I couldn't stop eating these awesome onion rings.  Your family will love them.

See!  Gallbladder diets can be awesome too!  These onion rings are full of protein from the egg whites (no fat and no cholesterol).

Cheers!  Kevin  #gallbladderlife

Pear Cobbler, Gallbladder Friendly! Gallbladder Diet 08/01/16

I used to think a gallbladder friendly diet would be oh so boring.

Gallbladder diet.  Pear Cobbler is easy to make and easy on the touchiest of gallbladders.  Tastes Heavenly too!

Nope!  This hearty, delicious baked cobbler is easy on the touchiest of gallbladders (mine)!

And the gallbladder friendly cobbler is so easy to make.

Pear Cobbler

First thing to do is assemble your ingredients.

You will need:

• baking dish
• a half dozen or so ripe cooking pears
• dried tart cherries or raisins, 1 cup
• dried, powdered cinnamon
• dried, powdered ginger
• dried, powdered cloves
• raw honey
• no-fat tortillas (available at most grocers in the Mexican food section)

Gallbladder diet.  Line a baking dish with fat free tortillas, fill in with pears and spices.

I also use these non-fat tortillas for my gallbladder friendly key lime pie crusts!

First step is to line a clean, dry baking dish with non-fat tortillas.  Make sure the tortillas extend up a bit above the rim of the baking dish.

Wash and slice cooking pears and place in layers on top of the tortilla along with the dried tart cherries or raisins.  Sprinkle the spices (you could also drizzle vanilla over the layers in addition to the spices) over each layer.  I like to use cinnamon, ginger and cloves.  Use your imagination!

Gallbladder diet.  Cut slices from non-fat tortillas to serve as lattice on top of cobbler.

Cut strips from the non-fat tortillas to serve as the lattice strips for the top of the cobbler.  Lay the tortilla strips across the top of the cobbler, creating a lattice topping.

Coat the top of the cobbler lattice with a good layer of cinnamon, cloves and ginger.

Gallbladder diet.  Create a cobbler top lattice with tortilla strips.

 Drizzle one cup of raw honey over the cobbler's topping, allowing the honey to flow down from the top, down through the sliced pears.

Gallbladder diet.  Baked pear cobbler is mouth watering delicious!

Bake the cobbler for 30 minutes of until the pears are no longer 'soggy' at 350 F.  Keep an eye on the cobbler the first time you bake as different pears require different cooking times.

Cool and serve warm with non-fat whipped topping or non-fat yogurt.

Gallbladder friendly diets do not have to be boring!

Cheers.  Kevin   #Gallbladderlife

Gallbladder diet. 07/28/16 Eating Out? What Can I Eat?

One of the most frustrating things living this gallbladder life is giving up all those oil filled restaurant foods that smell so delicious and make my mouth water.

Gallbladder diet.  Sweet Tomatoes Restaurant is one of my favorite #gallbladder friendly places to eat out.

I've had to severely curtail my eating out because there is honestly not a lot of gallbladder friendly food one can order!

Oatmeal with raisins is a standard for breakfast.

I did however find an egg-white omelet with veggies at one restaurant, but if you aren't really specific about cooking the omelet without oil ( or at least go way easy on the oil) then the plate comes out with a beautiful no-fat omelet full of healthy veggies but swimming in a pool of melted butter or vegetable oil.

My gallbladder would scream at me.

Anyway, I've learned to make sure the wait staff understands 'no oil' means 'no butter' and/or 'no butter' means 'no oil' too.  You'd be surprised.

Sometimes if I'm not sure if they understand what I'm requesting I'll tell them that I could end up dead in the booth if the cook forgets and uses oil or butter.

You should see the look in their eyes.

It's mostly true though.  If you've ever had a bad gallbladder attack you will think you are dying.

So that is why I like Sweet Tomatoes.  The restaurant even has fat free ranch and fat free Italian dressings in addition to literally hundreds of non-fat fresh food choices on their all you can eat salad bar.

Moreover, their hot sweet and white potatoes are always moist, warm and cooked just right so one is not stuck eating a cold meal.

Dress warm though, Sweet Tomatoes here in Fort Myers keeps the air conditioning cranked and running cold!

Gallbladder life doesn't have to be boring.

Eating out can be fun.  You just have to know where to go!

Cheers!  Kevin    #gallbladder life

Gallbladder diet, 07/28/16, Scallops & Papaya

Gallbladder disease doesn't have to mean bland food forever.

In fact, after stabilizing any inflammation there are many awesome gallbladder friendly dishes one can prepare.

Gallbladder diet.  Scallops pack a nutritional punch and are gallbladder easy.

On top of all important gall bladder friendly traits most if not all of these recipes will help you move in the direction of optimum health and fitness.

I've lost over one hundred pounds since my aortic dissection and gallbladder issues began in 2011.

Through a dedicated low-impact exercise plan that included walking, swimming and yoga, combined with the gallbladder diet my waist dropped from a men's size 44 to my present (and old high school waist size) men's 30.

Collaterally, I feel much better about myself and am not near as embarrassed to take my shirt off around the swimming pool.

Today's gallbladder/heart/body healthy foods are scallops and papaya.

Scallops

Scallops are one of the world's most healthiest foods.  They are full of protein and omega 3 fatty acids along with many other important nutrients while being low in simple carbs and calories.

Gallbladder diet.  Scallops are an excellent source of protein and very gallbladder friendly to many.

A 3 oz. serving of steamed or broiled scallops contain almost a third of our daily B-12 requirements while also offering much needed magnesium and potassium.

Preparing scallops couldn't be quicker and easier.


Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, spread the frozen or fresh seafood and sprinkle with a dash of salt, black pepper, ginger, turmeric, lime juice and garlic powder.

Gallbladder diet.  I sprinkle my scallops with pepper, garlic powder, turmeric and ginger!

Place in a pre-heated over for fifteen minutes or until sizzling, then broil till the tops turn a light golden color.

Allow to cool and serve with homemade horseradish based cocktail sauce or honey mustard.

Garnish with fresh cut parsley from your patio garden.

OMG.  My mouth is watering.  Total preparation time is about twenty minutes.

Papaya

Gallbladder diet.  Papaya has a long history of soothing digestive systems. #gallbladderfriendly

Papaya is one of those foods that no matter how queasy your stomach may feel this fruit makes it all feel better and best of all is full of gallbladder friendly nutrition!

Gallbladder diet.  Papaya is an excellent fruit when the digestive system is acting 'iffy'.

Papaya should be stored on the shelf until the green outer coating begins to turn the papaya yellow-orange hue.  I usually place mine in the refrigerator for a day or so then until fully ripe and firmly soft to the touch.

Rinse the fruit and peel.  Remove seeds by scraping out with a spoon (they will sprout and grow into papaya trees if you plant them) and serve cold.

I've always found papaya to be gallbladder friendly and completely satisfying for a breakfast or anytime snack.

Put the two together, scallops and papaya, and you have the perfect, exotic summertime dinner!

Cheers!  Kevin   #gallbladderlife

Gallbladder Diet, 07/27/16, Cookbook that Inspired my Gallbladder Diet

Sometimes there is a spark of inspiration leading you to achieve great things.

Gallbladder diet.  Although written for healthy hearts, this cookbook forms a great basis for gallbladder health also.

For me this cookbook started a food revolution in my life, one that has saved me from further #gallbladder pain and so far surgery.

This cookbook is comprehensive and lays all the nutritional facts out on each page for each recipe making it so easy to quickly decide whether or not the food may be gallbladder friendly.  For me a quick glance at the total fat content is all revealing.

Gallbladder diet.  I've changed some ingredients and practices to make recipes more gallbladder friendly.

Although the cookbook's recipes were compiled for good heart health they also perfectly serve to form the basis for a gallbladder friendly diet.

Gallbladder diet.  There are so many recipes one would have a hard time going hungry!

The American Heart Association's Cookbook offers an amazing array of scrumptious recipes most of which are low fat, and high in protein or complex carbohydrates.

Gallbladder diet.  Healthy cooking supports not only gallbladders but other body organs too!

I absolutely love the nutrition chart associated with each recipe.  Right away I can spot total fat content and decide whether or not the particular recipe may be gallbladder friendly.

Gallbladder diet.  How many times have I missed good coleslaw!  Here's a gallbladder friendly recipe!

Let me be clear - the book serves as an inspiration for a good gallbladder diet.  There are however some ingredients and cooking practices I've modified in my gallbladder diet, such as replacing cooking spray with poaching or water sautéing.

Seriously consider ordering the 8th edition of the American Heart Association's Cookbook here.

Gallbladder friendly diets don't have to be boring.

I am loving my kitchen, the food I prepare and eat even more now than ever before.  Note to Gallbladder; I'm not thanking you here for causing me to seek out a more healthy diet.  But I am glad I've discovered how to eat healthy all the while avoiding those horrible inflamed gallbladder sessions.

Cheers!  Kevin.  #gallbladderlife