I really wish that my stomach shared my affinity for fancy and flavorful meals, but if the past two days are any indication, then it definitely does not. You know how people tend to clean up their diets after indulging over the holidays? That’s all well and good, but the only goal I’ve had since Sunday night has been to convince my stomach to let go of the 3-months pregnant look by going back to simple foods after a few days of brunches, lunches, and dinners that were a little out of my normal eating style, and not exactly to my stomach’s liking.
I’ve had a finicky stomach for as long as I can remember. My childhood was plagued with debilitating stomach woes, numerous visits to the doctor, and countless tests that yielded no concrete results. The older I got, the more docile my stomach seemed to become, but I still have to be careful with what I put in it unless I want to suffer it’s wrath. Unfortunately, I wasn’t particularly all that careful this weekend, and I’ve definitely been suffering a little bit of wrath as a result. Fortunately, it’s nothing that a few days of simple eats can’t fix, so today’s WIAW is going to be all about the simple and satisfying, starting with breakfast…
Plain Greek yogurt mixed with a sliced banana, homemade applesauce, Weetabix, and almond butter.
… and moving right along into simple morning snacks to munch on…
An orange and a cheese string.
My appetite has been kind of non-existant in the mornings, but if there’s anything I learned about dealing with stomach woes, it’s that it’s always a good idea to make sure that something is in it – letting it get too empty is just asking for more trouble. Luckily, packing simple, kid-friendly lunches that totally make the 10-year old in me giddy with excitement haven’t been too hard to choke down 😉
Roasted almond butter and blueberry jam sandwich.
Money shot – baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, and applesauce.
Remember how last week I complained about lunch being my least favorite meal of the day? All I can say is that eating more lunches like this will definitely change my mind on that one. I may or may not have shed a few tears when I finished my last bite. Of course, that may have just been because of how bad that particular flavor of applesauce was. Ugh. It tasted what I imagine it would taste like to lick the bottom of a well-travelled boot. Not good – don’t buy it. Thankfully, my afternoon snack was much more enjoyable…
Chocolate for the soul, kombucha for the stomach.
Oddly enough, candy and junk food never seem to cause my stomach any distress. I remember feeling like I had a stomach of steel during my teenage years when I was basically living off McDonald’s, KD, and sugar – it wasn’t until I cleaned up my diet and started eating healthier foods that my stomach starting becoming a bit more temperamental. I’m not exactly sure what to make of that at this point, so let’s move right along and talk about dinner instead…
Infamous Easter leftovers. Not the simplest of meals, but I seem to do alright as long as I keep the herbs, spices, and sauces to a minimum. Plain buckwheat definitely isn’t anything to write home about, but the coconut mango chicken more than made up for it. It’s something that I just kind of threw together during all of our Easter prep, and I may just have to share the recipe with you guys because it was good stuff. Come to think of it, I can’t even remember the last time I posted a lunch/dinner/savory recipe on Spoons 😯 It’s been nothing but muffins, loaves, cookies, and bars around these parts lately, but I blame that on the fact that I have raging sweet tooth, as evidenced by my choice of bedtime snacks…
Chocolate oats with a scoop of coconut Greek yogurt and almond butter.
And that right there is What I Ate Wednesday Tuesday, alternatively called What I Ate to Soothe My Sensitive Stomach. Hope you guys are having an awesome day; and if you haven’t had enough of me already, I have a guest post up over on Alex’s blog that you should definitely head on over to, because that girl is just fabulous. Happy Wednesday!
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Do you have a finicky stomach? Or have you been blessed with a stomach of steel?
What made up your typical childhood lunches? A sandwich, juice box, and fruit snacks.
How do you eat your oranges? Peel the whole thing at once or slice them up and stick the slices in your mouth?
Youre snack is killing meeeee. My CVS did not have cadbury eggs this year!!? What?!!! They’re my favorite. AND I’ve always wanted to try the grape flavor kombucha–my WFs has never carried it. Envious 🙂
that drippy almond butter is to die for.
My stomach is usually pretty good except when I over eat, I feel so uncomfortable, bloated and sick. I can also get a dicky tummy with things like bread and pasta, especially if there’s a lot of cheese with it. Doesn’t stop me liking pizza though!That AB and J sandwich looks to die for!
I was just saying the other day how I am not a big fan of lunches. I usually feel I have to force something down that’s why I try to just have some nutrient/calorie dense smoothies to get something in me. But if I had that amazing looking AB&J I’d probably love lunch to. Should try that def! I always have kombucha after a long weekend of nonstop eating, always seems to make me feel better again. I get where you come from with the stomach issues, I use to be able to eat everything and not really feel gross about it. Now my stomach will cramp up and hurt for hours if it’s something that doesn’t agree and it all started once I started eating healthier. I go back and forth with peeling or just cutting oranges. Depends if I am home i’ll cut it up, if I am at school I just peel it. Never even thought of it til now lol
I love that we are on the same page with simple meals! Chocolate oats are sounding pretty darn good right now…
Ah I hear ya on the stomach issues! Thankfully most holiday foods that my family eats don’t bother me in the slightest – I was raised on that italian stuff I guess (although now I have to have the gluten-free pasta varieties but the sauces and meatballz are all still good!). But when I eat foods that set me off (froyo, broccoli, foreign objects at restaurants), it definitely takes a few days of simple eating to clear things up! That AB&J sandwich looks simply amazing. I’d forgotten how much I used to love PB&J, they were totally my favorite childhood food too! Your coconut-mango chicken also sounds really interesting/awesome…all about those tropical flavors!
My stomach never really gives me too many problems! The only time it acts up is if I eat too much at an all you can eat sushi restaurant haha. 😛
I didn’t discover nut-free butters until I was 11, so my childhood lunches sadly never included nut-free butter & jam sandwiches. I usually had a turkey sandwich with an apple, baby carrots, juice, and a granola bar or yogurt or cookies. Considering how much I still love turkey sandwiches, not much has changed!!
Nut butter and jelly sandwiches weren’t part of my childhood years either since my parents decided to tell me I’m allergic to ALL nuts so that I wouldn’t get confused. I don’t think I learned the truth until I was something like 23 or 24 😆 I guess I’m making up for lost time now.
Lunch has always been my least favorite meal of the day, too, but, like you, choosing “fun” foods has helped me embrace it more. As a Brit, I also love how you enjoy Weetabix and Creme eggs 🙂 They’re grrrrrreat!
I’m one of the fortunate ones. I’ve always had a stomach of steel, although I can overdo it. I only know when there’s too much roughage when my Hubby says, “That meal destroyed me.” Oops.
My stomach is VERY sensitive. 🙁
I swear I used to have the world’s strongest stomach, but once I ditched the crap food and started eating cleaner, I’ve definitely seen a change. Of course, I guess it’s worth it in the long run since MOST of the time I feel a TON better than I did before…clean food #ftw! I just have to be careful, like you, with the overly rich/decadent meals that I’m not used to…especially overly processed or greasy foods. That sandwich looks/sounds AMAZING! But yeah, that is an interesting flavor of applesauce…perhaps a bit too much going on for one little cup, huh? Hmm, a typical lunch for me growing up: PB&J, juice, and a Little Debbie cake of some kind…my favorites were the apple pie ones of the fudge cakes! And I almost always peel my orange completely before eating!
PS, can’t WAIT to see that chicken recipe! Yum!! And yay for savory Spoons! 😉
My stomach is the same way! It is so frustrating because, let me tell you, I love to eat! I will say that I love peanut butter and jelly, and your almond butter and blueberry sandwich inspired me to pack a pb & j today! I loved your post on Alex’ blog today 🙂
Oh no! Hope your stomach starts to feel a bit better soon; mine used to play up quite a bit and id be really bloated & left with crippling pains..touch wood it hasnt been too bad recently though.
All your eats look so good – that blueberry & almond butter toasted sandwich looks so comforting and those chocolate oats with greek yoghurt & almond butter…woww!!
I usually peel my orange all at once and then just pick the segments off..I don’t know what it is but it always tastes different when I just slice it and then eat the flesh from the skin!
Totally finicky stomach.. I too had many stomach aches and flus (and allergies) as a kid 🙁 I’ve learned good and bad foods and eating habits for my stomach, but sometimes it is still hard to pinpoint Everything.
Something that confuses me is lots of blogs I see ppl trying to diagnose digestion and related issues by eating the Craziest (no offence) diets I’ve ever seen of like juice pulp, sauerkraut and beef for breakfasts. I’m guessing these are examples of ppl hearing eating a certain way is “Healthy” (like you mentioned) so assuming/insisting it must help their problems.. when it would obviously seem to make it worse..
Anyways, school lunches were a sandwich (lunchmeat or jam), fruit, juice, and 2 Oreos or Fudgeeos. Every day.. Those cookies sure gave me excellent ‘trading’ powers for gushers and doritos and such 🙂 Although sometimes I’d do a whole lunch swap with friends with different backgrounds and I’d be so excited to have like fried rice or pasta or something, and they were stoked about the Oreos!
Haha! I was actually waiting to see if anyone would bring up lunchbox trading, and I’m glad to hear that I wasn’t the only one doing some bartering 🙂
My stomach is the same way! I can’t go more than a few days without healthy food back in my diet. Greasy food is the worst for me. I have always had stomach issues, and everyone makes fun of me for them, but I finally found out I have colitis, which has helped to just know what my problem is!
Good luck getting back on track!!
My stomach has mind of its own 🙁 esp when it comes to dairy and greasy food..if its chocolate and dessert- its a different story 😉 I grew up with peanut butter and jelly sandwich with slices of banana and it is still dear to my heart..I felt giddy too when I saw that sammy.
I’m pretty sure that I have a whole separate stomach that handles desserts, and that one is far less finicky!
Is it really horrible to say I’m glad I’m not the only one “suffering” from the Easters indulgences? I was feeling like I must have REALLY overdone it to have my body tread me like this :P, so it’s somewhat comforting to know I’m not the only one. That being said, I think indulgences once in a while are totally worth it – especially when enjoyed with family and friends.
And my kid luches of choice were generally sandwhiches with a fruit/carrot sticks, or if I happened to be at home – cheese noodles. Yum yum!
Good thing, I don’t have issues with any type of food. MY stomach is strong like a steel! 🙂 I grew up in the Philippines so my typical lunch box would be full of carbs. 🙂 RICE and noodles and more rice.
Some oranges are easy to peal some are not, so depends. But I like it pealing the whole thing first and eating it piece by piece.
I haven’t had a good AB&J sandwich in too long and your gorgeous picture is making me want one right now! Blueberry jam is definitely my jam of choice, other than raspberry, so good call on that 😉
Sorry you’ve been having stomach issues! I have them on and off sometimes which can make it hard to pinpoint the cause. I try to avoid gluten as much as possible which usually helps, and also artificial sweeteners other than stevia because they make me bloat and give me headaches. And onions rip up my stomach like crazy which sucks because they’re in so many things I love, like salsa and guacamole!
I have the same problems with onion (and garlic) which is why I can’t eat a lot of the fancier meals – those things are in everything!
All of this food looks so good, especially the Cadburry egg! Haha I love those things. I need to get to the store before I miss out on all the Easter candy on sale 😀
Sadly I’ve always had a mercurial stomach. When I was a kid I didn’t wean well onto solids at all, and apparently I would cry every time I had to eat something (oh, how times have changed!) Later things seemed to get a little better when my Mum fed me mostly gluten free and healthy foods…however, I was a greedy little menace and whenever she was not around (at other people’s houses or parties, for example) I would eat all of the things, literally. And I’d be sick as a dog for weeks afterwards…I missed a lot of school because of this habit, and it became something I’d do on purpose to get away from the bullies. When I had surgery on the ovarian tumour that was crushing my intestines/bowel, things got a lot worse. No shit, since I’d basically had my insides pulled out and then put back in again, but after that I ended up with constant pain, bloating and going to the bathroom over 20 times per day (I only wish I was joking about that). I’ve also abused my system quite badly through periods of bingeing…in my teens I used wheat as a laxative to lose weight (which is dumb, because it’s only water weight…) and I did it again several times in 2010. So I get what I deserve really. I’ve since had a diagnosis of what my current problem actually is (thank God it’s not ‘just’ IBS because that was driving me insane – IBS is debilitating and infuriating because there’s no specific cure-all medication for it) and things have improved a bit, but I’m still frustrated that I can’t eat much fibre as I rely on volume foods to stay full and avoid further binges. Yikes, that turned into my life story. Sorry!
It’s quite possible that fast food etc. might be easier on the stomach due to the lack of fibre!
My childhood lunches were typically sandwiches on GF bread (almost always cheese!), a packet of crisps and a GF biscuit, plus fruit juice. Healthy-ISH I suppose – my Mum used to try to make me take cut up fruit/veggies but I was too much of a pig to eat them and wanted junk instead.
I peel the whole orange…but I’m really picky about oranges because the really acidic ones always seem to hurt my teeth.
xxx
Oh Jess 🙁 Those are definitely some rough stomach problems and I feel like I shouldn’t be complaining about mine when things could be so much worse. I’m glad to hear that things are at least a -tad- bit better for you though <3
I’ve always had a finicky stomach too… it’s so frustrating, especially on dates when the guy wants to go to “adventurous” restaurants — ummm sorry!
With smaller oranges like a clementine I like to peel and eat each individual segment, but with larger oranges I love to slice them and then stick them in my mouth.
my stomach has recently become super pesky! i don’t know what to do…trying to cut out gluten because that what my symptoms seem to reflect and I don’t have time to go to the doctor! time for some good-ol trial and error
I’m thinking that I’m going to have to do some experimentation as well. Good luck with yours!
Yesterday was (American, I think) National PB and J Day. Lauren and I celebrated, and it looks like you did too, in your lovely AB alternative way. Happy belated to you!! 😀
I think your photo of your almond butter and blueberry jam sandwich could get almond butter haters to convert. Mmm!
I used to eat a pb and jelly sandwich every single day for lunch as a middle schooler. And to this day, I still love them. Sometimes simple foods are the best 🙂
Oh and I’m right there with ya when it comes to the finicky stomach. I could eat super junky and feel just fine, but when I add a decent amount of veggies (especially raw) my stomach hates me and bloats like no other.
Looks like a fantastic day of eats…sometimes peanut butter and jelly for lunch is just the best thing ever. Nods to childhood favorites are always a good choice!
finicky to the max!!! hahah its just like you actually, I don’t deal well with heavy sauces, spices or too much variety… I can eat a lot of plain things like pasta, fruits, grilled cheese, eggs etc but as soon as it comes to like restaurant food or really flavourful ice cream after a really heavy meal… noooooo and I actually don’t do candy well either.. Chocoalte YESSSS but candy, ewww 🙁
Hohn that roasted sandwich looks so good! I get that bloaty belly when I eat certain foods too. Sometimes I just let my hair down and go with it though! Glad you’re on the track to getting back to normal after a fun weekend!
I know the stomach whoa feeling. I can always tell if I eat something that upsets my stomach cause I feel bloated and just not hungry for days afterwards! Hopefully in another few you will feel back to your normal self 🙂