IBS: Irritable Bowel in Shanghai

So lately, I’ve been having a lot of abdominal pain and sharp piercing feelings in my side. Ah, nostalgia. I thought my IBS decided to chill back in Canada when I got to China because, despite the first few days where I experienced quite a bit of stomach sickness (due to flying and time zone adjustments methinks), I’ve been eating anything and everything (except straight up milk, ice cream, and cheese) and I’ve felt fine… until now.

Approximately two weeks ago, I was rocking my usual pick up a breakfast wrap off the street: sausage, egg, Chinese ketchup, and a delightful croissant type wrap and 4893075 gallons of grease. Ah yisssss. Delicious let me tell you! Anyway, I was eating my breakfast wrap thing and I had some bread-ish thing for lunch and some bok choy, lalala, when all of a sudden (not during eating might I add), PIERCE! An invisible sword that could only be named one thing: Irritable Bowel Syndrome… or a demon. I was pretty certain I wasn’t possessed, so I thought AH DAMN IT and went on with my day. However, the day was rough and painful and I felt really weak and that I needed this bitch to pass. The next day, I was awoken by a mighty painful urge to use the bathroom. Without getting graphic, I was in pain… and it wasn’t subsiding. I spent roughly 4 days in severe pain, and tummy soreness lingered for weeks. I feel okay at the moment, but for a couple of weeks, I felt really rough and like I had IBS again. Jesus.

So I was in a state of pure pissed-off-ed-ness and just really bothered and depressed about not going all YOLO in China in terms of eating. I couldn’t! I had gained a bit of weight and I was indulging a little too much. My heart LOVED it. My intestines HATED it. Heart… I love you… but you don’t control everything and unfortunately my innerworkings are of utmost importance to my functionality, as well as my health and happiness!! I spent the day after the most painful piercing day on a diet of plain white rice and some soft vegetables. No more several cups of green tea. No more delightful snacks of dark chocolate bars or scallion pancakes. No more red meat, artificial flavors, fats, sugars, alcohol, caffeine, dairy products, cold water, insoluble fibre, wheat and grains. No more mothereffing anything. No more of what I had been eating and enjoying in China!

At first, I was bitter and weak; but then I started to think “No worries. I’ll go shopping, find some simple happy-tummy ingredients and figure out how to invent things that are delicious and not too hurtful." I decided to adopt a modified approach to eating with IBS. I wouldn’t cut red meat… I would just cut down on it. I would keep clear of dairy, but supplement my hourly intake of breads with something lighter and tummy-happier. For every cup of green tea, I’d have two glasses of water or two hot herbal teas. I just needed to be sensible. Also, instead of giving up my beloved chocolate, I decided that a small dark chocolate bar would be slowly eaten by me as a reward on the weekends after I cleaned the house. Followed shortly thereafter by yoga, water, and a hot herbal tea. See? This would work.

Step 1 of my dealing with IBS in China was going to be going to the hospital and speaking to a nutritionist in order to figure out just HOW to live and be happy and healthy and function at 100% in China. I decided to wait and see if I could modify my diet on my own and see if it worked without spending extra money and hunting for medical answers.

Step 1 instead became researching adaptations of things I love in order to suit my tummy and my heart. First on the list: Pancakes. Now I love me a stack of creamy, fluffy pancakes with mounds of syrup, but as soon as I finish a plate of this happy American diner breakfast treat, I immediately have to go to the bathroom and sit in pain and then be bloated and tummy-angry for the rest of the day. I discovered the beauty of this lovely little adaptation called banana pancakes. Bernard can’t stand the name because it’s essentially just egg and banana. And by essentially, I mean it’s egg and banana. OMG IT’S AMAZING!!!!

I’m the kind of person where psychological stuff impacts me. If I call egg and banana a pancake, then in my mind, it’s a pancake!!! I added peanut butter to it and oh my Christ!

Right? I know it doesn't look the best, but the taste? Mmmmm.

Naturally, Chef Wun upped me and this morning he made them with ginger brown sugar and crushed some oats to give them texture and made them round and pancake-ish, so now they are legitimately PANCAKES that I can eat! Whenever I’m craving sweet breakfast, I make up a batch of those with an orange, wash it down with a herbal tea and BAM… I forget I have a digestive condition.

Peanut butter is a Godsend. Let me tell you. I looked up some vegan snack recipes online (Vegan is dairy-free-meat-free and often times gluten-free so vegan shit makes my stomach happy… unless it’s raw vegetables…ouch). So I looked up some snack recipes and found lots of granola type things that include lots of peanut butter for binding instead of butter and oats instead of All-purpose flour. The recipe called for some dried fruit and raisin-like things like dates… which scared me at first… but here’s the thing about having an extremely sensitive stomach. When everything in the universe hurts you when you ingest it and you discover that eating a chair doesn’t hurt, you would eat a damn chair if you REALLY had it as bad as some people with stomach issues do! Needless to say, I’ve been eating dates every day for the past week.

I made two vegan “power snack” experiments. The first is a “peanut butter and jam” energy bar. It’s pretty much peanut butter, cranberries, dates, oats, (and I added pumpkin seeds BECAUSE WHY NOT), and there might be more, but I don’t remember. Anyway, I threw it all in a giant bowl and stirred until my arm hurt and then I froze it. Delicious. Absolutely delicious! Not exactly a bar like I was hoping… more like loose trail mix, but at the end of the day, it is delicious and LOOKS like it has chocolate in it! Psychologically, my body thinks it’s a treat when it’s really helping my digestive system.

Yum!

The process. Don't the dates look like chocolate... sort of?

The second experiment I made was a little more bold. It’s called “Spicy ginger pear balls”. 

I think the spice comes from the cinnamon and nutmeg which I didn’t have, so mine is a “ginger pear ball”. Sounds cool, eh? I even chopped the ginger myself! THAT'S an accomplishment. It called for a blending of the ginger and pear, but I don't have a blender, so I worked my knife magic. They aren’t the best, but they work when I have classes back-to-back and need a quick munch to keep my energy up and my head from hurting from lack of food. They are very strong and I totally didn’t make them right, but they are chalk full of stuff that’s good for you and that’s what it’s all about. If something is good for me and my digestion, I will pretty much force myself to love it.

Like a boss!

Sidebar: Tofu is now my favorite food since living in China. There are SO many ways to prepare tofu and so many different kinds, and the kind I buy is simply incredible. Sometimes I just sautee up some tofu and eat that for dinner. Delicious AND doesn’t hurt the tum-tum.

Now don’t get me wrong… I still have my pastry cravings and I do honor them from time to time, but I’ve been insanely conscious of when I eat, how I eat and how I feel before and after and during eating, so I’m pretty safe when I allow myself a chocolate croissant, for example.

Keeping a food diary has been a very self-loving experience for me. I think everyone should do it! It’s amazing the shit you won’t eat because you know you’ll have to write it down and read it out and not like it. It’s all about understanding your body. I can indulge in little things as long as I pay my body back somehow. Give a little, get a lot.

I really hope I continue on this path of exploring food in China and listening to my body in order to make necessary modifications. I hope I don’t have to modify everything! I really love Chinese buns and dumplings and soup noodles. I guess I can opt for the spinach and tofu bun instead of the meat. And I can always order a small bowl of soup noodles and eat it when I have lots of time instead of on the run. When I eat and how I eat has really impacted how I feel too. Bernard and I have taken to having long talks during meal time to help me slow down and not eat like I’m in prison. It’s so hard for me when I have delicious things in front of me!!! I just want to eat it as fast as I cannnnn!!!! I also tend to stop breathing sometimes when I eat. I don’t know why… I have issues, apparently…

But yes, in short, my condition has followed me and I cannot ignore it. I am not invincible in China and I cannot just pretend that I don’t have food allergies and sensitivities. HOWEVER, I will not hinder my experiences and avoid traveling because of my stupid ass gut. I will just modify when necessary. Hopefully by modifying smartly and keeping tabs on my tummy I’ll be able to occasionally indulge in a sweet ass breakfast wrap and odd pastry every now and then. Hopefully. J

Sarah’s words of wisdom: Listen to your body and compromise with it! It’s your temple. My tummy and I have a pretty amazing relationship, even when it’s an asshole.

With love,
Sarah Wunderbread-hurts-my-intenstines

I love you, Wednesday.

Wednesday is mine and Bernard’s only day off together. It’s always a magical day. We usually eat out a lot and do something fun. This week, we made a nice breakfast and ventured over to Zhongshan Park area for a massage. After that, we met a friend for soup noodles, perused the mall for a while, and then came back to Xujiahui (our neck of the woods) for some Chinese Muslim food. Chinese Muslim food?! YES! Let me tell you, sweet Jesus. Delicious.

The massage was nice, the noodles were epic, but this Muslim food, hot damn. First we ordered a spiced cucumber dish, hot and sour potato, fried mutton with hard bread, country lamb, and balahavalalala… I think “bok lava” or however the hell you say and spell it. You’ll know how good it was by my next statement: Ladies and gentlemen: there were raisins in it and I didn’t even notice. I’M A CHANGED WOMAN!

Anyway, the food was magical and there was even some solid Arabic dancers who performed. We never have to worry about missing Abu Dhabi again with Chinese Muslim food around the corner. We literally have two Muslim restaurants within walking distance from our place. My wallet is burning just thinking about it! Seriously.

After I ate what didn’t feel like a whole heap load of food, but what actually was because I’ve been extra cautious with my IBS lately so I’m eating slower and smaller meals and all that jazz…. Anyway, after eating a substantial amount for my itty bitty tummy to handle, I rolled home and sank into bed. A solid day. Ah, I love days off. If only we had two days off together. Ayyy!! Tuesdays involve me cleaning, grocery shopping, and watching shows online waiting for Bernard to get home so we can hang out and/or he can cook dinner. Haha. The good thing about him getting a day off without me is that he can cook supper in time for me when I eventually get home after a long grueling day of teaching, aka I teach for like an hour on Thursdays. It’s depressing. I want more teaching hours! Bahhh! Soon. 

Anyway, enough of that.

I’m still trying to regulate my constant desire to eat. Man, I had the worst flare up of 2014, maybe even the worst flare up in Asia! It was awful. Now I have to be super careful and stop eating countless chocolate bars on top of mounds of rice and dumplings. Fatty. It’s not even about being fat… it’s about ignoring my digestive condition and impending hardcore lactose intolerance. Stupid milk. I hate you milk. You are everywhere! Oh well, at least some pastries don’t have milk. OH WAIT! They all do. I surrendered and got a chocolate croissant this morning after a week of plain white rice and hot vegetables and fruit. I think I deserved it. So far so good. I could really go for a chocolate bar. I might just cave and go get one. It’s hard to stay away when you’re waiting hours and hours for a class to start. I get to work at 1:30 and my class starts at 7:30. That’s a long time to not eat chocolate and still be energized, just saying.

Next week, I'm determined to make some vegan power snacks so I don't get weak at work from lack of eating necessary protein and nutrients. I'm sick of fruit smoothies... I want something to munch on. Challenge accepted. 

Yours,

Sar- ah nutritious Wun

The still new and exciting world of going to work in Shanghai

This morning, I felt like I was on vacation. Between the newness factor of living in China (yes, still) and picking up a pastry to munch on the way to the subway, I just felt like today was a little extra unique.

I strolled out of bed at a leisurely pace and very slowly prepped some green tea and a light breakfast. After surfing the internet for a hundred hours, Bernard and I walked downstairs to the French pastry shop (I know!!!) for a nice snack on the way to work. I got a chocolate croissant and munched on it efficiently as I waltzed to the metro station. Now this is the first day in some time it hasn’t rained, so I waltzed happily in the sunshine. Approximately 8,000,000 locals stared at me because I’m just that beautiful, aka probably had 14 crumbs on my face from the croissant. I finished the last bite and swiped my subway card, entering the station. I hopped down the escalator with 1 minute and 15 seconds to spare before the next subway. I took this time to secure my headphones with some sick beats to my ears and danced into the subway car. I sat, closed my eyes, and enjoyed the ride to work. I don’t mind a nice subway ride. Luckily, the subway line I take is incredibly new, so unlike typical Shanghai where one must pack him or herself onto a car like a damn sardine, I usually get a seat, and if not, I have plenty of standing room because I’m white and people don’t want to stand near me. Sweet! More standing room for me then!

Dragon's mouth that enters into J-Mall

Sanlin tow la. Height swo be a man (aka something in Chinese which I think means “We are now at Sanlin station. Doors will open on the left”). I got up and peaced out of the subway station. Hello Pudong! Hello Dragon head that I will one day enter through. (Badass). 

Across the small bridge was J-Mall waiting for me to enter it and make the trek up the escalators to work. 

I sauntered over the bridge and entered the small but adequate mall. On the third floor was my centre. I waltzed in “Heyyyy!”, changed into my uniform, booted up the computer, and prepped for my Monday (it’s Thursday… Thursday is my Monday). Today, a new employee is shadowing me and will be for the next week! I’m extremely flattered! I guess this means I know what I’m doing…? Usually seasoned teachers get this gig. I’ve only been around for a few months. Cool! I’ll take that badge and wear it with pride! Today, he’s teaching a 10 minute segment of my class and over the next few days, he’ll be teaching more and more until he teaches a full two hour class. He’s nervous. I think he’ll be fine. It reminds me of when I was so nervous not that long ago when I did the exact same thing with a teacher who had been at the company for three years. Two months vs. three years is a little extreme though. I’m nervous because I’m such a newbie, but it’s all good. 

Challenge accepted. :) 

From China to you,

Sarah Wun ton soup