BETTER than a sandwich!
For a quick boost try the following super tasty liver loving lunch:
Quick pitta lunch
Wholemeal pitta bread, sliced open, spread with humous or tahini, add slices of avocado, a handful of watercress and spinach, and season with a dash of lemon juice, salt and black pepper. For extra nutrition and yumminess add sesame seeds or pine nuts or sunflower seeds. Scrumptious.
Wow! Tasty, quick POWER salad.
Puy lentil salad with soy beans, sugar snap peas & broccoli
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 200.0g Puy lentils
- 1.0l hot vegetable stock
- 200.0g tenderstem broccoli
- 140.0g frozen soya beans , thawed
- 140.0g sugarsnap peas
- 1 red chilli , deseeded and sliced
Dressing
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- juice 1 lemon
- 1 garlic clove , chopped
- 40.0ml reduced-salt soy sauce
- 3cm piece fresh root ginger , finely grated
- 1 tbsp clear honey
Boil lentils in stock until just cooked, about 15 mins. Drain, then tip into a large bowl.
- Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil, throw in the broccoli for 1 min, add the beans and peas for 1 min more. Drain, then cool under cold water. Pat dry, then add to the bowl with the lentils.
- Mix together the dressing ingredients with some seasoning.
- Pour over the lentils and veg, then mix in well with the chopped chilli. Pile onto a serving platter or divide between 4 plates and serve.
Per serving
302 kcalories, protein 22.0g, carbohydrate 42.0g, fat 7.0 g, saturated fat 1.0g, fibre 8.0g, sugar 9.0g, salt 1.41 g
Recipe from Good Food magazine.
Day or night, alone or with friends – tasty goodness.
Avocado and black bean wraps
Serves 4 for a filling meal, or halve the quantities and serve with a leafy salad for a lighter lunch.
Ingredients
- 8 wholemeal wraps (in world food isle with Mexican stuff, or in bakery section)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion , chopped
- 3 garlic cloves , chopped
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 5 tbsp cider vinegar
- 3 tbsp clear honey
- 3 x 400g cans black beans , rinsed and drained
- choose a few toppings- diced avocado, salsa, sliced jalapeño peppers
- crème fraîche / yoghurt or Tabasco / hot pepper sauce, to serve
Serve with green salad, sliced tomatoes, or green beans and sweetcorn.
- In a large frying pan, heat the oil. Add the onion and garlic, and cook for 5 mins.
- Add the spices, vinegar and honey. Cook for 2 mins more.
- Add the beans and some salt / pepper, and heat through.
- Remove from the heat and mash the beans gently with the back of your spoon to a chunky purée.
- Spread some beans over wraps, scatter with your choice of toppings and add a spoonful of crème fraîche / yoghurt to cool down, or a splash of Tabasco / hot pepper sauce to spice it up.
- Roll up and YUM!
Sin free sinning!
This wonderful recipe is from a very good friend:
Fat free fudgy wudgy brownies
Preheat the oven to 180C
Dry ingredients:
¾ cup of wholemeal flour
¼ cup cocoa powder
½ cup white flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ cup Demerara sugar (or brown sugar)
¾ cup broken walnuts (optional)
Handful dark chocolate chips (optional)
Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
Wet ingredients:
1 ½ cups black beans (one tin drained and rinsed well)
1 cup pitted medjool dates (this can be anywhere from 7-10 dates depending on their size, or just use ordinary dried dates if you don’t want to fork out for medjool)
¼ cup maple syrup (or date syrup, which is particularly tasty, or indeed any other kind of syrup)
Whiz the wet ingredients together in a food processor until completely smooth.
Then add:
1 TB balsamic vinegar (or cider vinegar)
3 tsp instant coffee (optional but enhances the flavour)
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 TB flax meal (ground flax seeds) or other ground seeds such as hemp powder
1 cup water
Whiz that all up until it is smooth, then mix in with the dry ingredients.
Spoon into a greased 9×12 or 9×13 pan.
Bake for 14 minutes then take the pan out and rotate it and put it back in for another 14 minutes. Test with a toothpick to see if it comes out clean. If not put it in for 2 more minutes.
Let cool before you slice. Slice it into 16 brownies-4 by 4.
Store in an airtight tin. I think they taste better the next day. Yum!
Hi,
I play sport at a high level and feel my Gilbert syndrome is having an adverse effect. Can anyone help me or are experiencing similar problems.
Hi Thea, vigorous exercise can trigger Gilbert’s Syndrome symptoms. It would be good to hear more about what particular adverse effects you are experiencing to be able to offer more advice. I found that running when I was tired really triggered symptoms, so now I stay healthy with brisk walking which is just as good at maintaining strength and stamina. Playing sport at a high level – depending on the sport, could place a real stress on the body. If you are used to it, well rested, have good nutrition, aren’t hungry / have the right carb/protein ratio when you engage in the sport for example, should enable you to participate – but we are all different and you need to find what factors help you perform. For example, women will have hormone changes that may exacerbate Gilbert’s Syndrome at different times of the month, and scientists are discovering that women can plan their training around their cycle more generally, to facilitate greater benefit. Even the time of day you play sport can be a factor as our circadian rhythms mean we are better able to engage our muscle at different times of day for example. Hope some of that information helps.
I really appreciate your hard work and sharing of experience. I’d like to point out that what foods suit one don’t always another. I have learnt over many years but particularly the past six that I have food intolerances to what is considered healthy foods. My food intolerances became obvious after I had my Gall bladder removed in an emergency opp. So I can no longer tolerate many of the foods I loved and ate regularly like onion, garlic, beans – soya, chickpeas, apples, honey – even the slightest trace creates pain, and I can tolerate one date occasionally but no more. Thankfully I can tolerate ginger and turmeric and these anti inflammatory foods are staples in my diet. Small regular good protein food/ meals is important for me and helps prevent the GS symptoms.
Hi Rosie, thanks so much for your comment. Yes, that’s absolutely right. I can’t tolerate garlic or onion either, for example. Certainly with your gall bladder removed you’ll also have particular restrictions. Many common intolerances include dairy, gluten and some people react very strongly to refined sugar or high sugar foods, or have caffeine sensitivities. I would recommend that people who are starting their journey to discover what foods work for them best could consider a food diary or symptom tracker. I have a free download of one here if people complete the survey on caffeine ( https://gilbertssyndrome.org.uk/gilberts-syndrome-and-caffeine/ ) . The more we learn about our individual physiology the more control we have of our wellbeing! Thanks again for your comment, best wishes, Adina