Cooking for aunt with RA

[DeAnne]

My aunt is 77, and has had severe RA for almost 50 years.  She's had several joints replaced (more than once!) and takes Remicade infusions.  She also has a lot of trouble with allergies, sinus infections, and eczema.  I have talked to her several times about Paleo (and plied her with books) , but she's often depressed and her attitude is "I'll just be this way until I die."  Her diet has a lot of grains (toast, sandwiches).  It is hard for her because she can do very little food prep with the condition of her hands. 

 

So, I'm planning on doing another W30 in Jan, and am considering planning/cooking all her meals for her for the month.  She only lives about 8 miles away, but still, I'll need to plan things that she can heat/fix very easily and will keep for 2-3 days.  That will be hard enough, but in researching I see that nightshades, eggs, and lots of other things are recommended to be cut for RA.  I'm hoping for some ideas out there about: 1)foods that will work for "delivery," and 2)What might be a good balance between eliminating foods so that she gets some immediate benefit and more motivation, with not making is so strict that she gives up at the beginning.  Also words of wisdom to convince her to even try!

 

Thanks.

[Tom Denham]

I think cooking for her is the best argument you can make. Either the food makes a difference or it doesn't. If she does not feel better within 30 days, there is nothing you can say.

 

You might consider some of my favorite foods - slow cooker roasts or slow cooker chicken. You can deliver the pulled meat and she can eat from it for almost a week. 

 

Soup is good. My favorite lately is cauliflower soup, but I make a good cabbage soup too.

[Bet]

Hi DeAnne, I have nightshade sensitivity and when I did the AI W30, I found that eliminating eggs ended the severe joint pain I was having. There is a shopping list for the AI Protocol, you may want to follow that for your aunt.

 

I make several things that can be made ahead and your aunt can just microwave them. Since eggs and grains are out for breakfast, I  make these ground pork and sweet potato fritters. The original recipe is here: http://paleomg.com/sweet-potato-and-apple-breakfast-patties/. I use plain ground pork instead of sausage meat because of the possible fillers in sausage. I do add compliant spices, oregano, cinnamon, tumeric (which is great for inflammation). I bake them on cookie sheets lined with foil and then freeze in plastic bags and then take some out each morning for breakfast. For additional veggies, I usually have a bag of frozen spinach and microwave that along with the patties.

 

For lunches, I make a beef stew. I am luck that I can get grass fed chuck which I cut into squares and brown. I then add in turnips (cut up like you would potatoes) carrots, celery and anything you like. I don't tolerate onions well, so I leave those out. I again add compliant spices. I do make my own beef broth, but you can use a good beef broth from the store.

 

Good luck and Bless you for trying to help your aunt!

[AmyS]

First off, I bet she'd eat anything you cooked for her.  What a gift - thirty days of not having to think about how to prepare food or what to eat!! 

 

Second, I, err, second the above posts.  I would also say, don't make a big deal about it - severe RA for 50 years is a big thing and it may be that 30 days of eating really well will help but not as much as if this way of eating had been known 49 years ago.  The main relief she may feel in 30 days is the relief of not worrying about what to eat and how to make her hands work hard enough to prepare it.  That's huge in and of itself, really.  (And who knows, she may feel a big change very quickly, which would be fantastic!!   )

 

Your aunt is very lucky to have you.  A month of food prepared with love - and it's all good for her!  What could be sweeter?

[jent103]

Seriously - if you cooked Paleo for me for 30 days I'd eat whatever you brought! Your aunt is so fortunate to have you, and just telling her you'll cook for her for a month might be enough to get her started, since she won't have to do any prep at all.

 

I don't have personal experience with the autoimmune protocol, but do you read Melissa Joulwan's blog theclothesmakethegirl.com? She's done a lot of AIP-appropriate recipes and has done a Whole30 on the AIP. Also, her new cookbook Well Fed 2 has a list of ways to modify nearly all the recipes in the book to make them AIP-compliant (and the recipes themselves are fantastic).

[Tallulah Wolf-Angel]

I did AIP for 90 days. It was pretty basic cooking, but still delicious! It takes a bit to get used to not cooking with any nightshades, but there are still plenty of seasonings. To make up for having no mustard, I substituted leaves of baby arugula. Garlic (whole or powder) adds savor, and helped me get by without butter or ghee. She can have any of the meats, and although easy green veggies are limited, there's still broccoli, asparagus, and other greens like collard. And she can have any of the starchies--sweet potato, squash, beets, rutabaga. I ate quite happily on the AIP 

 

Good luck--you are amazing!

[DeAnne]

Thanks for the feedback, encouragement, and the recipe links!  I do have Mel's Wel Fed 2 (and follow her blog) and plan to use the AIP guide, but it's just hard getting used to thinking that way.  I was really thrown with the "no eggs" (I was thinking of making egg/veggie muffins), but you all have helped me with some other ideas.  

 

Also, I am not expecting 30 days of paleo to miraculously heal her RA - even if it somehow eliminated the pain it wouldn't undo 50 years of joint damage.  Really I'm hoping it'll get rid of all the secondary issues - allergies, etc., and maybe reduce RA pain a bit.  I expect she'll think I'm weird offering to cook for her, but I'm doing it anyway!

[HopelessDreamer]

what a great gift - cooking for your Aunt for 30 days! I am sure she will feel better just eating good food for a change, and knowing she doesnt have to cook it.

I am on AIP and I use white sweet potatoes in stews (they look like regular potaotes, and arent as sweet as the orange ones).

Good luck to you!

[praxisproject]

If you've got any budget to play with, there are some catering/chefs/cafes/restaurants etc that will make recipes to order and deliver (fresh or frozen). This might be more useful if it's something you want to maintain after the 30 days.

 

Tumeric and other anti-inflammatory ingredients might be helpful.