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Advice needed - recipe / food ideas for managing T2 when struggling with mental health

N

noricove

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
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She/Her
Good morning all, first time posting!

I am currently struggling to manage my T2 alongside a period of difficult mental health. I am undergoing EMDR and it is zapping me of brain space / energy. Therefore it is harder to plan / spend ages cooking. Whilst I appreciate there’s no quick fix, has anyone been in the same position?

Are there any meals or snacks that are T2 friendly and are very quick / easy to grab or prepare.

Importantly I know this is temporary, so please no ‘T2 doesn’t take a day off’ as I know this is the case.

Thanks in advance ☺️
 
Stick of celery, takes you ages to eat and you can't be bothered to eat again for a bit. :D
 
noricove said:
Good morning all, first time posting!

I am currently struggling to manage my T2 alongside a period of difficult mental health. I am undergoing EMDR and it is zapping me of brain space / energy. Therefore it is harder to plan / spend ages cooking. Whilst I appreciate there’s no quick fix, has anyone been in the same position?

Are there any meals or snacks that are T2 friendly and are very quick / easy to grab or prepare.

Importantly I know this is temporary, so please no ‘T2 doesn’t take a day off’ as I know this is the case.

Thanks in advance ☺️
Click to expand...
Welcome to the forum, struggles with MH often go hand in hand with a diabetes diagnosis so no you are not alone.
Easy meals would be having salads, cooked meat, cheese, eggs, veg, frozen veg and fruit are good, some of the Slimming World or Weight Watchers ready meals are not too bad if you bulk up with salad or veg.
If you have a good day then making more of your meal and freezing for home made ready meals.
It really depends on how you normally manage your condition, what meds and also what foods you like.
 
I can appreciate your problem, not because of mental health issues, but getting older, and taking medication for neuropathy, I find planning harder than I once did.

One big question is do you like making meals?

I do and when I make something I focus and organise myself to make a batch and then portion it out for later use.

Take this morning. I made a big pot of ragout, or bolognaise sauce or call it what you will. I get all the ingredients and put them on my trusty tray - that way cannot leave anything out because when I have finished there should be nothing left on the tray. I then make the ragout making sure I fry off the onions and meat before adding the rest of the ingredients. When cooked, portion it up, put one aside for tea to night and the rest go in the freezer and that's five meals which I can go to on a day when I am not on top of things - microwave the ragout and add spaghetti or make up some cous-cous or steam some veg and there is a meal with little organisation required.

The principle of focussing on one thing, making lots and storing excess to use a short notice is a thing I use all the time and it works well for me.

I have also started making lists - something I never needed to do in the past - before I go supermarket shopping and started a recipe book of my go-to's so I get quantities and times and temperatures right. Again something I never needed to do.
 
Welcome @noricove 🙂 Are you on any medication for the diabetes? If so, that might affect your food needs.

If you’re looking for quick options, then you could buy cooked meats or tinned fish and have with a large salad, for example. Some ready meals might be ok too. If you can give a little extra information, it will help people make appropriate suggestions.
 
@noricove my first diabetes friendly meal was full fat Greek style yoghurt with berries ( raspberry, blueberry, strawberry, blackberry etc) and nuts or seeds. I have it regularly. If I don't I usually have eggs scrambled hardboiled or omlette. You can cook them on the stove or airfryer cool down in iced water and keep in fridge as snacks or add to salad. If you have a freezer you can use frozen berries. I buy a pouch of baby beetroot from M and S. It's a starchy veg but small. Eat as a snack, cold with salad or use as extra veg warm plus yoghurt.

I like fish. You can do it in the microwave or poach in water. I had sea bass yesterday and will have hake and sea trout this week. You can buy hot smoked salmon which is ready cooked. I like it with salad and some avocado. Trout fillets cook quickly.

Yesterday I couldn't be bothered, I bought a green medley of veg from the coop, kale courgette peas and leeks. I cooked in micro hallway through added a chopped up small new potato and for two minutes I put a small sea bass fillet on top. No washing up. Timings approximate. Smoked mackerel is good with salad. Buy some cooked chicken. I used to poach a whole chicken with a few vegetables. I don't know if your mental health would allow this. Preparing veg then bringing things to boil and simmering maybe too many steps.


If you want to check prepared food look underneath for nutrition for carbs. I have bought readimeals from an M and S range called " high protein" which is also lowish carb.

Others have replied since I started my post.
 
grovesy said:
What is EMDR?
Click to expand...
EMDR Therapy is a psychotherapy that helps people heal from the symptoms and emotional distress of trauma. It uses bilateral stimulation to facilitate the processing of traumatic memories and other adverse life experiences.
 
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