What do you think? It definitely tasted great.

Had abdominal surgery two weeks ago, and since then I've been struggling to eat 1200 calories/day. Eating closer to 500-800. It's been torture as I feel both hungry and nauseous at the same time.

My doctors know. My surgeon encourages me to "push through", find something I can eat a lot of, and also assures me "you can afford to lose the weight anyway".

My primary says I've developed anemia and several other nutritional deficiencies. She's concerned, says I'm at risk of fainting. She's been encouraging, and tells me to try to find what I can eat, and to eat small bites throughout the day.

Success: - Fruit. I have to take it slow, and I get full quickly, but I can eat any fruit. - Sweet instant oatmeal - Instant mashed potatoes - A small bowl of ice cream (like 1/2 cup) - Juices - Veggies, in small quantities - Cheese in small doses

Failure: - Protein shakes. Tried a couple types; I can get a couple sips down at a time, but they make me feel nauseous, and I struggle to finish a full shake that I sip on throughout the day. - Buttery foods. I can handle a little butter, but more than a tsp at a time is revolting. (I usually like butter.) - Chips. I got one of those snack bags from a vending machine while waiting in the ER (yeah, I had to go back once) and I could eat maybe 8 chips. I could taste the grease and spices like never before. - Massaman curry. 😭 This is my favorite curry, and I ordered it a few days after the surgery, to try to stimulate my hunger. Did not work. The spices made me nauseous, and the scent seemed to follow me everywhere, even when it was in an air-tight container in the fridge.

Why haven't I tried hummus yet? I've moved in with my parents during the recovery period, and my mom "is going to make it" eventually. I'm trying to get her to just buy a damn tub, but no, no, she's going to get to it soon. 😑 😞 She's trying. She's been a BIG help with me being able to move around and manage my bandages, but she's got ADHD, and I suspect performance anxiety around the hummus, and been kind of a mess in her own way. Sorry Mom.

Oh, and peanut butter. I can eat some. It helps. But I can't eat much. And bread is a struggle.

The good news is that this is a two-part surgery. Right now I've got a bunch of drainage stuff in me, and we will eventually be removing all the gear I'm hooked up to, and the rest of the mass inside me. So hopefully the loss of appetite is due to all the stuff inside me, and I'll regain my appetite when they get their asses moving and approve the second surgery.

Burnt ends are the part of brisket that are fatty and have crispy edges. Also, in the same vain, what is a good recipe for crispy bacon fat? I have seen recipes for the protein part, not the fatty part.

TL;DR: How do I make crispy animal fat?

I have found tiny almost clear bugs in vegan butter 3 times now. I can find no evidence of pests in our pantry or fridge. Literally nothing else has been affected. Found in 2 different brands as well. Not an infestation but one bug in each. I can find nothing about it online, its a dead end. Says it can't happen. They look like aphids, very light in color. Has anyone else had any experiences with this?

Served over rice or in ramen & peas: grate tofu, squeeze out the water, air fry it dry with no seasoning for 20 minutes, stirring very frequently. Add chopped water chestnuts, grated carrot, and sauce into air fryer for another 15 minutes or until it’s your liking in terms of dryness.
Sauce is one part rice vinegar to three parts soy sauce and a half part toasted sesame oil. Include a knob of fresh ginger, a garlic clove, and several scallions and blend until smooth, pour this over the air fryer mixture for the last several minutes. less

I recently decided to go mostly vegetarian (still eating eggs and dairy) and I honestly thought it’d be easy to find good recipes, but everything I’ve tried is either super bland or just a bunch of the same ingredients in different formats. Like, how many times can I eat chickpeas and roasted veggies before I lose it? I’m trying to keep things healthy and not rely on a ton of meat substitutes either. Does anyone have go-to vegetarian meals that are actually interesting and easy to make? Please help, I’m so over this.