Iris Pilzer - The Gallbladder Diet: Breakfast & Snacks: Easy, Low-Fat Recipes for a Healthy Life After Gallbladder Removal Surgery

A laparoscopic cholecystectomy. In laypersons terms: my gallbladder was removed. And two days later I was discharged from hospital with the sound advice that I should eat low-fat food from now on. Of course, this suggestion was most helpful (please note my sarcasm). Until then, fat was an important part of my diet. The human body needs fat.

And women in particular need a certain amount of fat every day to stay healthy. And now the doctors and nurses were telling me that, suddenly, I should stop eating fat? O.K., I found out pretty quickly that too much fat isnt good for me. My liver still continues to produce bile, but I dont have a gallbladder anymore to store bile for the times when I eat a lot of fat. And, as it turned out, this had a rather unpleasant effect on my digestion. On the plus side: I really like to cook. So this wasnt the end for me.

I started a process of trial and error to find out what my body could tolerate and what my body wouldnt tolerate. I simply took the dishes that I had liked before my surgery and changed them. Mostly, I cut high-fat ingredients and tried to find substitutes. Also, I tested how much fat my body could tolerate in one meal, and I adapted my recipes to that. Now I have a small collection of recipes tailor-made for people who had their gallbladder removed. Have fun and a good time when trying my recipes.

I would love to hear from you what you think about my recipes in a review or via e-mail. To a healthy, low-fat diet. Iris Pilzer Eat a lot of fibres. They prevent your body from forming new gallstones. You can find lots of fibres in oatmeal, most vegetables, crispbread and bread made from rye flour. Eat 5 to 6 small meals a day to make things easier for your digestive system.

Try to find out how much fat your body can tolerate in one meal. Then try to eat exactly this amount of fat at each meal. Don't worry if your meal has more fat than your body can stomach: take an artichoke capsule or drink a beer with your meal (preferably non- alcoholic beer). Find out which foods your body can't tolerate. Try to steer clear of these foods in the future. Carefully try foods that cause bloating, such as onions, garlic, legumes, cabbage and kale, cucumbers, and peppers and chilis (including paprika).

Spicy dishes might cause your digestive system to rebel. When you eat out: Ask whats in what you want to order. If you cant tolerate some types of foods, tell them. Theres no need to suffer so that others have less work (for which you still have to pay) or arent offended. Drink a lot of liquid. Best would be water and tea without sugar.

Aim to drink 1.5 to 2 litres a day. And while you're at it, test if you can tolerate carbonated water. Buy day-old bread. If you can't get hold of any, toast fresh bread for 5 seconds. You might also have a problem with other freshly baked pastries (e.g., yeast dough). Avoid processed foods.

These are often heavily spiced. Fresh food is better for your digestion (and it tastes better!). Reduce your alcohol intake. Your liver will thank you! Keep a food log so that you don't lose track of what you should and what you shouldn't eat. Ready in 35 minutes For 1 serving: 200 g low-fat natural yoghurt 2 tbsp oatmeal 1 tspn sunflower seeds 1 tspn sesame seeds 75 g strawberries 75 g blueberries Directions: Place the yoghurt, oatmeal, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds in a bowl and stir well. Put the bowl in the fridge and let the mixture soak for 30 minutes.

Clean and wash the strawberries and cut into bite-sized pieces. Wash the blueberries. Remove the bowl from the fridge. Stir the berries in carefully. Tip: Use frozen berries. Place the frozen berries in the fridge the night before.

This makes the berries thaw slowly. The next morning you can use them like fresh berries. Ready in 35 minutes For 1 serving: 100 g low-fat natural yoghurt 100 g low-fat quark or farmers cheese 2 tbsp oatmeal 15 g raisins 1 tspn honey 2 kiwis honeydew melon 1 apple Directions: Place the yoghurt, quark (or farmer's cheese) and honey in a cereal bowl and stir well. Stir in the oatmeal and the raisins. Put the bowl in the fridge and let the mixture soak for 30 minutes. Peel the kiwis, honeydew melon and apple and chop finely.

Place in the bowl. Tip: Of course you can use all kinds of summer fruits, berries and nuts. Just try them and find out what you like! Ready in 25 minutes For 5 pieces: 1 tbsp soft butter 1 tbsp sugar 1 egg 60 g flour tspn baking powder 60 g instant oatmeal 125 ml low-fat milk a few drops of rum flavor tspn rapeseed oil Directions: Mix the butter and the sugar in a medium size bowl. Gradually beat in the egg. Mix the flour, the oatmeal and the baking powder. Add to the butter-sugar-egg mix and stir well.

Add the milk and the rum flavour. Let the batter rest for 15 minutes. Now get your waffle machine ready. Once hot, add a little oil each time so that the waffles don't burn. Ladle in the batter mixture and seal, following the machine instructions until your waffles are cooked. cranberries, bananas etc.) Directions: Preheat the oven to 130 C. cranberries, bananas etc.) Directions: Preheat the oven to 130 C.

Spread baking paper on two baking sheets. Melt the butter in a small pot. In the meantime, mix all ingredients (leave out the dried fruit for later) in a large bowl. Add the butter and stir well. Place the granola mix on the baking sheets and spread evenly. 35 minutes or until golden-colored. 35 minutes or until golden-colored.

Turn several times. Remove the granola from the oven and wait until cool. Add the chopped dried fruit and stir. Keep the granola in airtight containers. Ready in 5 minutes For 1 serving: 100 ml low-fat milk 50 g oatmeal To taste and tolerance: cream or milk fruit berries nuts dried fruit brown or white sugar Directions: Place the milk and the oatmeal in a container that you can close airtight. Stir if necessary.

Put in the fridge over night. Remove from the fridge the next morning and add cream, fruit, berries, nuts, dried fruit and/or sugar to taste. Tip: If you don't have fresh berries at hand, use frozen berries. Prepare your overnight oats and place the frozen berries on top. The berries will thaw slowly in the fridge and taste like fresh berries in the morning! Ready in 10 minutes For 1 serving: 50 g oatmeal 300 ml water 2 pinches of salt To taste and tolerance: cream or milk fruit berries nuts dried fruit brown or white sugar Directions: Place the oatmeal, water and salt in a small pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil and stir often.

Let the boil until it is smooth and creamy. Stir often so that the porridge doesn't burn. Serve the porridge in a bowl and add cream, milk, fruit, berries, nuts, dried fruit and/or sugar to taste.