I Swear, I Really Did It, ThisTime

As you know, I spend most of my days watching "food porn" on Food Network and The Cooking Channel. It's not really torture and mostly I am plotting what my dream meals will be when I can eat again. In my last post, I asked if you were in a similar position, say rescued off a desert island, what would your first meal be? Now I have tried to eat during this period, but it either hurt so bad and eventually came back up, so I was very careful what I'd try. I figured if I couldn't swallow water, I'd have a problem with food. I had to carry a bag around just to spit out my saliva because it wouldn't go down and stay. Not trying to be gross, but I was a mess!

So I watched and plotted. What would be my go to first meal? All of a sudden, this week I was able to swallow with no pain and decided it was time to try. Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Meal number 1: Barbecue chicken, collards and potato salad. Now I do have two favorite restaurants in mind that I go to for this. Big Ed's in Raleigh and Carolina Barbecue in Garner. I wasn't confident enough to go inside a restaurant with my blue bag in hand, so I opted for Smithfield's Chicken and Barbecue drive thru in Zebulon. I don't like their sauce, but at least it had potato salad and I was able to eat quite a bit of it and count it as a success in fine dining. I still need me some collards.

Meal number 2: Spaghetti with meat sauce. I was actually ready for some Chef Boyardee, but my kitchen staff refused to heat it up for me. We keep some cans on hand for "hurricane food" in case we are stuck without power and need something to tie us over. We ended up with a frozen entree fresh from the grocery store and I have to admit, it was actually very, very good. I was able to get quite a bit of it down without any issues.

Meal number 3: Pork ribs and taters. There's lots of places around here with good ribs, but we kinda missed our romps to Ruby Tuesday's and I decided to get them, even if I had to take them home for later. Well, it actually was uneventful, as far as the handy blue bag I toted was concerned, and I was able to eat several ribs and post it on Facebook. The brussel sprouts were a bid had, but the tips were good and they were sauteed with onions, which were amazing. The mashed potatoes were a bit firm, but that wasn't what my main attention was on. It was the first attempt to eat in public, and I had no problem that might be embarrassing or sickening to other diners. Success!

Meal number 4: Prime Rib/Filet Mignon and baked potato. Prime Rib is the special at Tripp's in Garner on Wednesday night and I knew Keith deserved it, although I wasn't really ready for it quite yet. I did figure out on my own that I should disconnect from the feeding tube an hour or so before dinner, so I could trick my system into accepting more food. I was being filled up with a half plate because I was being filled by the tube. It worked and I was able to eat an adult sized meal of crab cakes and a whole baked potato. I think I found the magic formula!

Meal number 5: Chinese. Like I posted on Facebook, I owed Keith a birthday meal at P F Chang's since I began Chemo and Radiation on his birthday in July.Again I pulled the plug on the feeding tube and took all my tummy pills and headed to the restaurant. We got our usual order of salt and pepper calamari, entrees and the Great Wall of Chocolate for desert. I was over-stuffed, fat and happy!

Today, Friday 9/30, I had an appointment with the surgeon at Duke Raleigh Cancer Center. Naturally I was my old bubbly self and was even more thrilled that I had gained 5 pounds! I now weigh what I did back in the Eighties. Dr. White was amazed and happy about it, and a little surprised I had started eating all of a sudden. He said most people gradually work up to it, but go ahead and eat anything and as much as I want. Don't have to tell me that twice!

Meal number 6: Good Mexican, not Taco Bell. Nailed that tonight at El Senor in Knightdale. Again I pulled the feeding tube and we headed out for fajitas for two. It was amazing and again I got my belly full! Another public success, but I was so incensed by the food I forgot to take a picture.


Meal number 6: A juicy cheeseburger. I have not yet tried this, so I am still researching the best burger place, or cook it myself. We were near Steak and Shake this afternoon, but I wasn't hungry since I was still on the tube, but it might be a bit too greasy to try just yet. We'll have to wait and see!

Still to come on my list is Meatloaf, Sloppy Joes, Chili and nearly anything edible you can think of. I also need a trip to Pei Wei for more Chinese. Each meal has truly been a celebration and I have two weeks to fill up before my surgery. Then I go back fully on the tube feedings for a few weeks and start my list all over again!