I wish the best to all of you. I have an idea that may benefit us. What do you think of sharing our knowledge and our experience in altering food, activities or habits in order to increase the quality of lifestyle.
Not being focused on our habits, like drinking, smoking and eating unhealthy foods was something which many of us had before diagnosis. But after diagnosis, each one of us thinks about better behaviour.
What do you think of sharing our experiences and knowledge to make this journey easier for every member? For example, I really was into burgers and red meats, but I decided to limit them. I eat a burger once every 3 weeks or even a month. I don’t know if it is OK or not, but I try to limit it as much as possible for me. Can you help me?
I drink a beer once every 2 months.
What do you think of drinking coffe or tea, what amount of them could not be risky.
I’m not sure it’s a big secret, but eating mostly vegetables in moderation is probably quite good for you. I think the trick is finding what you prefer and how to make them taste good. So recipes in this thread would also be great.
I would have expected a few more recipes to be put up here. Maybe I’ll start:
One of the most simple things that most of us can do to be healthier is to eat more vegetables. And one easy way to do it is to make them taste good. Boiled vegetables are super boring in my opinion and in most instances don’t bring out a vegetable’s best qualities. I use the following approach as my go-to method to cook greens (broccoli, gai lan, green beans, asparagus, all work well).
Preparation: I’m Chinese, so everything is cut down to bite-size pieces (2 bites, at most), washed, and drained to dry.
Heat maybe half a tablespoon of neutral, high-smoke point oil (I prefer canola for this, but rice bran, vegetable, peanut, rapeseed, etc. are fine) to high heat in a saucepan big enough to hold your vegies in a single layer (no stacking).
Add the cut vegies and leave it on the high heat without agitation for a minute.
Toss them around a bit and leave for another minute. You are not really cooking the vegies at this stage, just adding colour.
When you start to see bits of browning, it’s time to steam. All you have to do here is add a quarter of a cup of water (which will dramatically start boiling if it’s on high heat) and cover with the saucepan lid.
Leave on high heat for 2-3 minutes. Test if they’re ready by having a bite of a thick part of a piece of your vegetable. I like it when the raw taste is gone, but there’s still crunch. If you need to cook further, put the lid back on (adding a little more water if the saucepan has run dry). If they’re good, take the lid off and leave until all the water has evaporated.
Take off the heat and finish. The simplest way would be a pinch of salt, some pepper, a splash of olive oil maybe and a squeeze of lemon. I usually have some pomegranate molasses around the house that I like to use instead sometimes. I’ve seen broccolini finished with flaked almonds and butter. A Chinese way would be to fry up some diced garlic and chilli, then toss through. Or adding oyster or hoisin sauce.
Serve and eat.
A lot of details, but once you’re used to it, it can be an easy way to retain a vegetable’s flavour and texture.
I usually buy vegetable smoothie, blend it with bananas and peanut butter and drink. That was going good for some time until I started feeling bloated and thought it was it the smoothie so I stopped.
I was just informed by @simone.strasser that the Liver Foundation in Australia has come up with a list of liver-healthy recipes (developed by a Masterchef Australia entrant): Recipes - Liver Foundation.
There is one exception: there is evidence that coffee intake is linked with reduced rates liver cancer, but it is unclear why. I myself take 1-2 coffees a day, but mostly due to taste and caffeine rather than any specific health benefits (though it doesn’t hurt!).
@ThomasTu
wholewheat pasta with broccoli its very easy to make and rather tasty
90Gr wholewheat pasta like spaghetti , penne etc.
150 gr of steamed broccoli
1 clove garlic
2 anchovies
1 table spoon olive oil ( plus 1 more before serving)
pinch of red pepper flakes
boil some water to cook the pasta ( read the cooking instruction on pasta’s box)
combine 1 table spoon of olive oil with garlic red pepper flakes and anchovies stir for a minute add the steamed broccoli plus some water from the pasta let simmer for 2 minutes
when the pasta is al dente add it to the broccoli and stir for 1 minute before serving add 1 table spoon of fresh olive oil and some parmesan cheese… please let me kn ow if you like it after dinner lol
I’ve been told the Mediterranean diet is great for liver health (that said, I’m not a health expert or a doc, that’s just what I’ve heard so take it with a grain of salt). I myself am of Mediterranean decent so I may be a bit biased but we have tons of great foods and even if you don’t know how to make any Mediterranean foods, or just don’t like it, I bet adding a lot of our common ingredients would be beneficial: olive oil, nuts, whole grains / legumes (such as lentils, which can be made into a very tasty soup by following different recipes, like this one - but different regions make it differently so there are tons of different recipes you can try, and don’t forget to add tons of lemon!), lots of great spices (basil, mint, oregano, etc), vegetables that can be made into a stew (such as this one here) etc.
Again, I’m no doctor or health expert, but I’ve just heard that the Mediterranean diet is good for the liver, and for your body in general. Now, we have tons of unhealthy foods too, but tons of healthy ones that can be great for you!
Hi, in an effort to try to limit your meat intake, here’s another recipe that’s still high in protein but has no meat! I ate it today and remembered this thread. It’s called mujadara and one recipe can be found here. It’s essentially lentils, rice, onions, and salad (and I like to add yogurt with it). It’s one of my favorite meals and is relatively quick to make.
It’s actually commonly consumed by lower income individuals in the Mid East since it’s high in protein but has no meat, since many lower income people there can’t afford meat. So it’s a great alternative.
One note though is that most recipes call for fried onions, you can just cook them normally instead of frying them for a healthier alternative
Thanks for these, @Anon2023! Great suggestions. I have made majadra quite often in the past. I use Yotam Ottelenghi’s recipes: Mejadra from 'Jerusalem'.
How do you all substitute or adjust ingredients such as sugar and salt? Do you not use it at all or use it sparingly? I asked my Doctor and he said he recommends I prioritize a low fat diet and lean meat… I am kind of questioning everything at this point… any suggestions or best practices, if you will?
It’s one of my favorites! & I’m not sure if you already do this or not, but the meal can be elevated by eating it with yogurt and salad (lettuce, cucumbers & tomatoes all cut into very small pieces with a lot of olive oil, lemon juice, with some pepper and a pinch of salt).
I’m no health expert, but I think all that can be consumed in moderation. With or without my status, I would be consuming that stuff in moderation. So, essentially, I don’t deprive myself of those things but do ensure I’m not overdoing it. That said, for sugar, if I’m baking at home, I sometimes try to replace sugar with honey in certain recipes…it doesn’t work for all, but for some it does. For example, I recently made some muffins and a cake and replaced the sugar with honey, and they turned out great. From what I saw online, doesn’t seem like honey would be bad for Hep B - but this is just things I personally do, I’m not a health expert or doc and have never been advised this by a professional.
As for salt, I find that being generous with other spices (i.e. garlic powder, oregano, etc) can eliminate the need for too much salt!
Thank you so much for your input… I think this was very helpful because my internalist seemed too lax about " restricting me" but it makes sense because of what you explained… I too consume it all in moderation and I never took to drinking alcohol which go figure turned out to work in my favor hindsight… life…
This group has helped so much with my mental…I could cry from gratitude!!! Thank you, Thank you!