Life As a Tuber - Blending My Own Food

Life as a Tuber
Blending My Own Food
Since having surgery on my tongue, which included removal of my epiglottis, I
have been unable to swallow either solids or liquids. All my food and drink
intake has to be in liquid form and fed directly into my stomach via a PEG
(Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy).
In order to get the right amount of nutrition, I had to have a daily complex
mixture of artificial food, supplements and medications in liquid form. This
included 6 x 200 ml bottles of laboratory developed liquid feed and a further
96grm of powdered supplement mixed with 250ml of full fat milk. Altogether, it
gave me a daily intake of about 3,000 kcal. In addition, I needed to take various
medications to supplement my vitamin intake, as well as liquid fibre to keep my
bowels regular and other medications to help alleviate the constant reflux and
heartburn caused by the liquid feed. All in all, artificial feeding wasn’t agreeing
with me. I was also having problems maintaining my weight, as being quite
active, I was burning more calories than I could actually take in liquid form. In
the end, I decided to try and wean myself off the artificial feed by liquidising
my own food in our domestic food blender. After all, there’s nothing wrong
with my digestive system as I am in effect, just bypassing my trachea to avoid
any food or drink going straight down into my lungs.
To begin with, I started to make smoothies with milk, kefir and some soft fruit
in our kitchen blender, even although it was a bit fiddly trying to get the
consistency right. I would then run it through a sieve to take out any remaining
lumps or small seeds that could potentially block my PEG. Although it wasn’t a
replacement for the artificial feed I was already taking, it was a good start.
Gradually I managed to add more fruit and some oats, which allowed me to cut
out the artificial feed I was having for breakfast. As there was more volume in
this I felt really full, but over time my stomach got used to it and expanded a
little.
After a little while, I realised that my kitchen blender wasn’t really up to the
job. It was unable to process some items properly - especially kiwis or
blueberries, which would end up clogging the sieve. Nuts and seeds were also
out of the question. There was also another problem, in that I was still

gradually losing weight. Although I was getting enough food to fill my stomach,
I wasn’t getting enough nutrition to be able to maintain my active lifestyle.
After much research, I treated myself to a Vitamix commercial food blender
and liquidiser. It was certainly a game-changer as far as I was concerned. Not
only could it fully liquidise soft fruit, but also all vegetables, nuts, seeds and
even ice cubes, which I found to be really useful for adding to hot food in order
to bring the temperature down enough for me to put through my PEG.
I started to experiment with the new blender straight away and in no time at
all, I had cut out most of the artificial feed in favour of my own, home prepared
and cooked fully nutritionally balanced meals. Additionally, my reflux has
almost disappeared completely and I no longer have to rely on liquid fibre or
laxatives to keep me regular. However, I do have a couple of bottles of artificial
feed at lunchtime and although I get a little bit of reflux in the afternoons, it’s
convenient. When I’m out on a day’s hike or away from home during the day it
saves me having to carry flasks of pre-prepared food.
Other benefits of switching over to ‘real food’, are that I have the same meals
as my wife and am now back up to optimum weight. There’s also the big
psychological benefit of knowing that I’m having proper food like everyone else
and not reliant on artificial laboratory produced nutrition.
My typical day’s meals.
Breakfast:
One banana
Half an apple
One small orange
Half a fresh beetroot
Half an avocado or kiwi
A small handful of mixed seedless grapes
A good handful of mixed fresh or frozen berries
2 or 3 tablespoons of home made granola
One sachet of FruitiVits vitamin supplement
A bottle of Actimel or equivalent quantity of kefir.
This goes into my blender, topped up to about 600-700ml with full fat milk and
whizzed to a nice creamy consistency, which will pass through my PEG.

I always finish off with a glass of water to flush the syringe and tube and also to
ensure that I’m being properly hydrated.
Note: if you do try this, it would be a good idea after liquidising everything, to
run it through a sieve. Some blenders may be able to cope better than others
with regard to the fineness of the blend. If you find the liquid a bit too thick, you
can always leave the avocado out as this tends to thicken the mixture. To avoid
blockages, it would be a good idea to make sure the gauze in your sieve is finer
than the diameter of your feeding tube and nozzle.
Lunch:
I normally have two or three bottles of the artificial feed and a glass of water,
which makes it easier if I’m busy or happen to be away from home at
lunchtime.
Evening Meal:
One of the very small advantages of being a ‘tuber’, is that you can put almost
any food together to make up meal and not have to worry about how it tastes.
I have normal portions of almost anything that will blend, made up to a
minimum of 600ml with full fat milk.
Again, I have a glass of water to finish off.
Note: I always try to ensure that my meals are highly nutritious and properly
balanced with protein, carbohydrates, fibre, healthy fats, vitamins and
minerals. I’m also working on a small recipe book of my favourite meals which I
will eventually produce if I find there’s enough interest. However, I would
strongly advise taking advice from your health professional or ideally , a
dietitian before changing over from your recommended nutrition programme.
All the best
Jim Turner