I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…..the greatest thing about the worst team in football history is the way they manage to empty out the grocery stores on Sunday afternoons. I had no idea the home opener was yesterday, so I was actually dreading going to the store for my pesto supplies. Needless to say I was shocked to find the parking lot only half full when I arrived. Once inside I heard the game blaring on the sound system and thought “SWEET! Chiefs season has arrived! I can shop on the weekends again!”. When I say that the only good thing about the Chiefs, and football in general, is the three hour gaping hole it creates in retail, I really mean it. The thought of actually sitting through a football game makes me want to blow my brains out.
Anyway, as luck would have it, it was a wonderful Sunday afternoon to round up everything I needed to make a huge batch of pesto. I have this really small capacity food processor, so I had to do it in four batches but I did end up with over two quarts of fresh pesto, very heavy on the garlic. I just divided it into small containers and put it in the freezer. There was no way I was going to eat any of it, I’m pretty sure that much garlic and oil would put me back in the hospital…….and on THAT note I’ll finally get to the point here…….I did take a VERY small taste of each batch just to make sure the pesto was coming out okay. It wasn’t a huge mistake, but it was still a mistake.
I don’t want to get too graphic describing the repercussions of eating too much spice after surgery, but it was a good lesson that may help someone avoid the same problem in the future. I seriously couldn’t have eaten more than a teaspoon of pesto in the hour it took me to process all of the batches, but it still bought me ten hours of belching garlic. Also, one thing they taught me prior to surgery is that the new stomach pouch is very irritable for a while and it is common to experience “foaming” in the stomach that can back up like indigestion. I had not experienced this before yesterday, but I’m assuming the garlic I consumed is what set it off (or maybe it was my cursing of the Chiefs, in which case it was definitely worth it). I wasn’t really in pain, but my stomach filled up so much that I wasn’t able to eat comfortably until late in the evening. It’s amazing that such a tiny amount of spiciness could set off this physical reaction……I’m sure there is someone out there who was crazy enough to try something like pizza a few weeks after surgery, and THAT is a story I’d like to hear. Anyway, the lesson learned here is you really have to watch every single thing you consume, no matter how small of an amount.
One more update has to do with “feeling full” that I discussed earlier. Unlike the pre-surgery stomach, “full” is something you do NOT want to feel now. I’ve only felt it a couple of times so far, but it’s not a good feeling. Now that I’m eating regularly it is becoming a lot easier to feel satisfied with such a small amount of food. I just eat a lot slower than usual and take a little break every few bites. Three ounces is generally enough to be satisfied, and the mental triggers to get me obsessing on eating more are much less frequent. Overall I feel really good about the progress I’m making, the only thing that is bothering me at this point is how easily I get tired when I’m out and about.
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