Jump to content

Clear Liquid Diet


lackadaisi

Recommended Posts

My poor husband is going to have to be on a clear liquid diet for several days next week, at the same time that I intend to continue my current practices of stuffing myself with carbs. I would like to try to make it as easy for him as possible (without depriving myself, of course). Does anyone have any recipes for a liquid diet that are somewhat interesting? (not all alcoholic, I have enough of those)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does anyone have any recipes for a liquid diet that are somewhat interesting? (not all alcoholic, I have enough of those)

Interesting clear liquid diet is an oxymoron. Maybe homemade chicken broth flavored with ginger or lemongrass. Jello gives the illusion that one is eating something solid, but it is actually a clear liquid. Lots of different flavors available, for the illusion of variety. Various teas, sweetened with honey. Good luck to him. And you--who will be there with him while he goes through this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My poor husband is going to have to be on a clear liquid diet for several days next week, at the same time that I intend to continue my current practices of stuffing myself with carbs. I would like to try to make it as easy for him as possible (without depriving myself, of course). Does anyone have any recipes for a liquid diet that are somewhat interesting? (not all alcoholic, I have enough of those)
I've made many a madrilene with beets for both my husband and other neighbors who were getting ready for a colonoscopy. It was appreciated because it is savory and not sweet, which seems to be the only thing that is clear. Actually, any aspic would work, too.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Both of you have my sympathies - I had to be on a clear liquid diet a couple of months ago after getting a tooth out, and I can't say there were a lot of enjoyable things about it.

Broth, broth, broth. Beef broth (I used canned, but frankly, I was grateful just to be able to have that), heated up with a clove of garlic that I had partially smashed. You could simmer some onion and/or herbs in it too, and then either just eat around it or strain. I don't know if this is cheating, but I did okay with it.

Soymilk (I drank chocolate) really helped fill me up. I think that is cheating, but I reasoned that it is not dairy, which is in large part what I was supposed to avoid, so as not to upset my stomach. YMMV.

Good luck - to both of you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Herbal infusions-basil with honey is a favorite. Put some herbs in a cup, add hot but not quite boiling water and steep. You could also change up chicken stock by adding different herbs and/or spices. If you make Jello try using seltzer-it adds a different texture to the wiggle and jiggle.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Strongly flavored broths are definitely high on the list - I've found the Kitchen Basics broths to be a better starting point than the average packaged broths, since you have to do less to them to make them taste like something. You can liven things up a little bit with miso, as long as you don't put too much paste in. And, thank God, coffee and tea are both entirely acceptable.

As far as the beet madrilene, I'd read any doctor's guidelines pretty closely - every time I've been on clear liquids for everything but dental work, there's been a specific prohibition about eating anything either naturally or artificially colored red or purple, as the pigments tend to, er, stick around and can throw off the results of various -oscopies.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pho 75 in Arlington will serve just the broth carryout - there may be some solids in the bottom, but it's pretty much clear stock, and a darned good one, too. Just walk in and order it, and they'll have it ready in about three minutes. Beats the living hell out of a bouillon cube, I promise you. Have this with a bottle of 1996 Pierre Peters champagne the meal before you begin your Fleet bowel-prep regimen, and you'll be good-to-go for surgery, no problems whatsoever.

Cheers!

Rocks.

P.S.

As far as the beet madrilene, I'd read any doctor's guidelines pretty closely - every time I've been on clear liquids for everything but dental work, there's been a specific prohibition about eating anything either naturally or artificially colored red or purple, as the pigments tend to, er, stick around and can throw off the results of various -oscopies.

Click

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jello jello jello- just not red!!! (This goes for cranberry juice and the like as well, if you're undergoing medical procedures.) I second the jello made with seltzer or diet soda. Chicken broth with lemongrass or other interesting herbs. Personally I love chicken broth with parsley because it reminds me of my grandmother's chicken matzoh-ball soup. Popsicles maybe- homemade with juice. Chocolate tea instead of cocoa.

Buy every possible flavor of (non-red) gatorade and make a tasting out of it ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chicken broth got my vote a couple of weeks ago when I was on the clear liquid thingie. I simmered some frozen wings and backs in a half gallon of frozen "double chicken" broth, making "triple chicken" broth, then strained through several layers of cheesecloth, then cooled so the fat congealed on top, and popped the fat lumps off. Took that to work and that's what I had for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, also coffee without milk for breakfast and green tea during the day. Not to mention vodka and soda for cocktails -- vodka is a clear liquid, yes?

"Double chicken" broth is made from two batches of chicken soup, the first with a nice fresh chicken simmered in water with veggies, then the broth re-used to boil another nice fresh chicken-and-veggies at another time. Most recipes I see for chicken broth call for boiling chicken pieces into submission until the meat is exhausted. Yuck. Waste of good meat.

I don't do well with sugars, so the protein really hit the spot. Heated a coffee mug of broth in the microwave every time I felt a mite peckish during the day.

I watched my own colonoscopy on a computer screen and it all looked nice and clean. Sorry if that's TMI.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Many thanks to my wife, lackadaisi, for posting this and to all of you for your clear liquid suggestions. I am not quite sure if I am comfortable with my oral surgeon doing a colonoscopy on me, but I'll be knocked-out - so who knows??? Generally, I think of a clear liquid diet as gin and vodka, but Don's champagne suggestion sounds viable!

;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Many thanks to my wife, lackadaisi, for posting this and to all of you for your clear liquid suggestions. I am not quite sure if I am comfortable with my oral surgeon doing a colonoscopy on me, but I'll be knocked-out - so who knows??? Generally, I think of a clear liquid diet as gin and vodka, but Don's champagne suggestion sounds viable!

;)

Good luck with your PENILE ENLARGEMENT procedure, Jeff Lockwood!

Cheers,

Rocks.

Online Users

Member Name Location Time

Google.com ( 66.249.73.19 ) Viewing Topic: Clear Liquid Diet, 03:24 PM

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good luck with your PENILE ENLARGEMENT procedure, Jeff Lockwood!

Cheers,

Rocks.

Online Users

Member Name Location Time

Google.com ( 66.249.73.19 ) Viewing Topic: Clear Liquid Diet, 03:24 PM

Rocks, thank you for giving me the name of your doctor! He's been great! ;)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you for all of your responses! Jlock survived on pho and jello for the past week and has now happily graduated to soft foods; maybe he will do a compendium of all of the soups, pastas, and mashed potatoes in the city soon.

(I have never seen him happier than when he returned from Corduroy after finally being able to eat Tom's soup, mashed potatoes, pasta, creamed spinach, and ice cream.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, is this topic old.  But as we all get ever older, I suspect many of us will be facing our special age 50 checkup.  I just did mine with a friend, which I highly recommend.  We bitched to each other over the phone while we gulped down our vile laxatives and we scheduled our colonoscopies back to back so we caught up with each other in the recovery area.

For me, the liquid-only diet was made more bearable by unflavored gelatin.  You can turn nearly any liquid into jello.  I went with coffee and cinnamon-cardamon, but whatever will keep things interesting for you and is not on your forbidden (alcohol, alas) list is fair game.

A good Vietnamese lunch at Huong Viet afterwards met the "not too spicy and not too fatty" recovery parameters.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...