Sunday Thoughts ~ May 9th, 2010

Administrator's note: I am changing Sunday Roundup to Sunday Thoughts. More free-form, less linkage.


Last week was pretty nightmarish. I had gone to the hospital two Saturdays ago with an infection. The antibiotics that the hospital gave me, and my exposure to hospital bacteria, gave me a brand new infection that left me in intestinal turmoil for the whole week. Who would have thought that an antibiotic would cause an infection?! I had blood tests (and other unspeakable tests) done to me to see what it was that I had. Turns out it was clostridium difficile colitus and boy it hasn't been a fun infection to have.

The nurse practitioner I saw put me on a bland food/liquid diet. Chicken, potatoes, brown rice, plain carbs, chicken broth, apple juice, watered-down gatorade, etc. No vegetables, no meats, no salads and the such. Also, I read online that a good way to combat the... umm... effects of such an infection is to go with BRATTY foods. That's Bananas, Rice, Applesauce/Apple juice, Tea, Toast and Yogurt. For the most part, I can't eat yogurt, so I've been trying to stick to the other foods on that list.

I am usually very conscious of what I eat. I am hypoglycemic so I have to keep a relatively low-sugar diet and be aware of blood sugar drops. I have a lazy digestive system so I need to eat things that help speed things along and avoid foods that prevent the train from arriving at the station, so to speak. I'm also somewhat lactose intolerant which prevents me from indulging in my love of all things cheese (::gripe::). I'm generally conscious of my weight and overall health and try to eat a relatively low calorie diet with lots of fruits and vegetables without depriving myself of certain culinary joys.

So on Saturday I found myself on the road and hungry. I'm hardly ever really hungry. You know, the kind of hungry that makes you feel empty at your very core and the call of the stomach sirens with their lurches and bellows seems irresistible. You must eat. NOW.

Solution. McDonald's!

McDonald's?

No it's true. I kept to my bland food diet and didn't overindulge by going to McDonald's and buying a Happy Meal. The experience also brought me back to my childhood. Many a time did my mother take me to McD's where I had a Happy Meal with a lovely toy inside waiting for me to play with. At 29, I'm still a kid at heart and I wasn't even the least bit embarrassed to order to go the McDonald's drive-thru and order a girl's Happy Meal.

To stick to my bland food/liquid/bratty diet I got a Happy Meal with chicken nuggets, french fries and apple juice. The total calorie intake was just under 500 calories which is what I try to stick to anyways for a noon-time meal. It was delicious and did just the trick. And I got a mermaid doll out of it too. Score!

Sometimes you have to make lemonade when life throws you lemons. And a Happy Meal makes for a tasty lemonade.