My healthy food in Bangkok is a joy of my life since I moved here from California just over a year ago. I tried to eat healthy back in the states and made huge efforts to feed myself without getting sick. But I was sick all the time there.
I pretty much eat the same thing no matter where I am. I find what healthy food I can eat, and chop it up into a mix like this. Then later I turn it into soup, or a salad, or a stew, adding protein as I can find it.
When I chop up my healthy Bangkok food like you see here, the scent is life-giving. When I chopped it in California, you could barely smell it at all. The improvement in smell is one of the first things I noticed upon moving here.
Why I Worry About Healthy Food
I have autoimmune disease. Many of the additives in the American food supply make me very sick. I get sick with joint swelling, muscle pain, weakness, exhaustion, stomach trouble, headaches, and nausea, but the worst is cramps.
When I eat bad food, sometimes the result is a huge body cramp. I've had to teach myself not to scream or bite through my lips when it happens. Think of a bad charlie horse that is all over your body - not just your calf. It's in the big muscles - too internal to work on - too numerous to believe, and too excruciating to describe.
I have strategies to get through my symptoms when they happen, but it's not fun. Usually full body cramping lasts 18-24 hours and then I feel like I was in a boxing ring being pummeled by a big guy. It could be up to a week before I can walk easily again.
Not that walking is easy for me these days, but I cherish the fact that I can walk at all. I have a lot of friends in autoimmune disease groups who have it much worse than me.
How I get Healthy Food in Bangkok
I buy my food off the street in Bangkok. The food carts and open markets are my store now. I buy greens, other veggies, roots, seeds, fruit, sweet potatoes, squash, and anything else that works for my health.
I've moved a lot in both countries and had a hard time in the states. "Finding food that won't kill me" was my constant goal. Many foods had hidden traps of toxic additives and it got worse as the years went on. Each time I moved, I had to start on the hunt all over again.
But here in Bangkok, I can eat the food most anywhere. I still have my long list of foods to avoid, but as long as I do - my food is fantastic. Hundreds of additives allowed in the states are illegal in the Thai food supply. My health and strength are much better now than back in San Diego.
What's in My Healthy Food?
This chopped food made enough for three meals. I divide it up and then put what I don't eat in the fridge for later. It lasts several days and is different based on what is in it.
This version had:
Purple rice and white rice the vendor cooked
Steamed sweet potato
Steamed pumpkin
and raw:
Cilantro
Dill
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Turmeric root
Ginger root
Carrots
Cucumber
The smell was lovely as always here. I am very grateful for my food.
After I divided it all up, I added various other things for my meals, but I do not have photos for that. Now I have a project to work on in future.
My entry for #SundayScentExperience by @dutchess
You may be lack of magnesium mineral.
Which one often gets cramped.
Thank you! We are on the same page with that one. I have two bottles of Mg spray and I do spray it more than daily. When I get the cramps I use it many times in a day on the worst places.
One time I could see my spray bottle across the room but I could not get there! Now I always make sure to have it near my bed since the cramps usually start when I am sleeping.
I also eat Mg rich foods like greens, seeds, roots, bananas and chocolate.
Do you use it? How do you take it? I am sure I can always use more. The spray is good for a sore neck :)
Just buy some mg tablets.
I am a coffee drinker, coffee cancel all mg intakes.
lol - I have my little bit of coffee every once in a while, but it's cocoa for me most of the time or sometimes tea.
I just cannot take those pills. I tried and went to food and spray instead. I used to take handfuls of Rx back in the day and I have bad memories of that time :)
Looks like a pretty wonderful creation.
Turmeric is also a natural anti-inflammatory as a recall. Good to have in there lol.
What's foods do you still avoid?
Nightshades, sauce of any kind where I don't know what's in it, mushrooms, fungus, dairy, wheat most of the time, colors, flavors, pesticides, preservatives, fake sugar, anything else fake, gmos, anything imported from the us. No fast food here like in the states and most restaurants are off limits. No Thai food in Thailand for me and that really upsets my Thai friends.
And, yes, turmeric is anti inflammatory and I consume a lot of it. I know when I don't eat enough of it for sure.
wait wait... so you don't eat any traditional thai food!!! that upsets me lol.
Surely there are some restaurants that pride themselves on similar values....
you could always recreate the dishes too right
Join my upset Thai friends and my son in California who loves Thai food. I can't eat chili peppers or eggplant (nightshades) or garlic. Those three things alone are in almost every Thai food dish.
I am close to some Thai people and they have asked for my list to see what they can do, but they come back and tell me I will just have to starve! One lady asked her Grandmother for me and it's a no go.
I have some unpublished videos of me walking through food places and showing you the 95% of food I can't eat. The smell is fantastic though. I need to publish those.
I could not eat most food in the us for the last 10+ years, so this is actually a paradise for me.
But No Thai Chicken! I tried it as I try most things at least once. The next day I went to a massage place I was going to every other day at the time. The girl took one look at my hand skin and said "No Thai Chicken!" Then got all the other ladies to come look and they all said to never eat it again. I did not feel bad, but I have not eaten chicken since. I don't have any idea what they saw on my skin, but I am not taking any chances!
Wow fantastic post ... that food looks Soooooo good!
So very sorry to read you suffer autoimmune disease - you appear to be on the right path back to health - high quality real food.
With the state of the commercial food industries it has become unsafe to buy many products even fruit and veg from supermarkets. Only home and locally produced food can truly be trusted!
Thank you for the compliments! I am feeling so much better here. A lot of what I get comes direct from farms and the cooked food is very lightly processed. I feel like I am in food heaven. I have so many reasons to love Bangkok and food is high on the list :)
Ah yes unprocessed food ... the simplest yet most profound secret of longevity!
7 am in Bangkok and I am chopping right now!
My peppermint is incredible this week. I was only going to get cauliflower at one stand where the guy knows I like peppermint and he demanded I get 3 bunches for some kind of deal. I did not really understand the price but I did not want to hurt his feelings since he was so happy to see me and kept pointing and insisting. It's like a huge wedding bouquet of peppermint!
But I had already bought 2 bunches from the last lady (no deal though). So whatever peppermint is good for - I am protected this week. I am sure they can smell it in my hallway and the room is overwhelming.
But soon I will have food :)
Excellent post but completely petrifying to think what goes into the food in the States - enough for Thailand to ban it! Yuk! You eat my absolute favourite food in the world that I miss so much living here in Italy. Enjoy it all you can!!!
Thank you! I agree - It is a terrible situation over there. It's not just Thailand - a lot of countries (most?) ban these toxins. Many of the "bad" items are not allowed in Italy. I used to eat imported Italian products in the states and they were fine for my health though very difficult to afford.
Scary that people will be filling their children up on this rubbish hey. The Italians eat so well and yet, sadly, in the 10 years that I've lived over here, I can see the fast-food crying in slowly but surely. The children are getting bigger as a result. It will change over here too I'm sad to say.
That is true in Thailand as well. All the big fast food franchises are here and many people love them. To me, they smell almost as bad as they did in the states - but some additives are not allowed here, so they are marginally "less bad." Many of the older people regret they are here, but the younger people flock to them. Obesity is rising in Thailand as well - but not the the extent as in the west. I can see it rising, even as the people are generally much healthier. Like you mention, it is really sad to see since we know the result in the us where it all started.
Hi there! And you have come such a long way with your health. I think you are a brave person and its so nice to read that you feel good there in the East! I can believe this smells good - i am a compleet sucker for ANY kind of Asian food, i just adore it. And the freshness sounds marvellous. Thank you for your beautiful entry and thank you gor sharing so honestly about your health ♡
Thank you, Dutchess! I am so happy to have your comment and support. I'll do more for sure. I have lots of content to try to help others get healthy like me and I will get it here as I can. I'm so excited to be on a site with such good rankings. It's really good to know you appreciate it. You made my day! The food here is a never-ending wonder and I am very lucky :)
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