Menu Update

As the year draws to a close, thought I'd give you a little update on my attempts to expand the diet choices.

• Curry: (norm is mild butter chicken).  Having tried a couple over the last week or so, can report that the meat isn't an issue, but the rice is.  Can't cope with large quantities of rice and naan bread is off the menu.  Also, if they aren't honest about it being mild, the extra heat of the sauce makes it untenable.
• Kebabs: As previously advised, can manage half of one.  Problem is really dealing with the 'bread". If concentrate on the meat and salad, get through more.  Have to be careful though that the meat they put in isn't too dry.
• Salads: Being summer, seems appropriate to be having sliced ham, salad, etc.  Well, it seems thinly sliced meat isn't much fun.  Give me thick cut slices and things seem OK, but the thin ones, as is normal for supermarket delis, present unforeseen problems.  Some potential issues with the acidity of tomatoes, but will keep a watch on that.  Potato salad, cucumber, lettuce all seem fine.
• Beer: Having broken the drought, am now enjoying the occasional beer.  Can only handle one stubbie at the moment and even that makes me tired and in need of a sleep.
• Snack Foods:  Still finding my way around what I can consume.  The really small 18g packets of potato chips take some work but have become manageable. Pineapple lumps - one at a time only - are back on the menu, as are of course the M&Ms.  Jelly lollies still present some issues, but can be managed with perseverance.  Nuts are now back on the menu as well.  In the good old days, it was grab a handful, toss them in your mouth and chew/swallow.  Now the handful has become a "pinchful" of maybe 6 peanuts that take some considerable work and ultimately needs to be washed down.  I've now got a packet of scorched almonds in the cupboard to treat myself to, hopefully one day soon.
• Pies: Tried my first pie the other day since all of this began.  Had to cut away a fair bit of the pastry, but managed it well.
• General:  Really still just trying things to expand the diet.  Dinners still comprise meat and vege, but experimenting with different ways of cooking the meat to ensure it stays moist.

One other thing, the saliva substitute is an interesting product.  Seems to work - sometimes better than others - and is quite a strange sensation when you spray it on your tongue.  The success of the other stuff to try and promote the existing glands is harder to gauge, and hasn't been helped by me forgetting to take it 3 times daily.  Strange really, I've been so regimented with taking the maze of drugs for months, yet now I only have one to take, I forget it.