This Seventyish Couple Eats Their Way Through an Anti-Inflammatory Menu for Three Days

With excellent results and we’re glad it’s over

Last week my husband and I decided to try giving our aging bodies a decent chance at feeling better by feeding ourselves some better food. We agreed that for three days, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of last week we would eat only certain kinds of anti-inflammatory foods. I was to plan and cook them, and he agreed to eat whatever I served. I made up a menu ahead of time so we would know what treat was coming up next.

Now in our seventies, we had both been bothered by nagging problems: our blood pressure creeping up, hints of pre-diabetes; he had swelling ankles, I had swollen finger joints. He was growing some belly fat; I was just growing the regular kind. I am a practiced “dieter,” though I have a serious hatred for that particular word. Lately, I talk about a change in my menu. So we changed our menu for three days.

I am a lifelong cook, with very high standards. So, when I want to create and serve up a new menu, it has to meet some qualifications. It has to be made with good ingredients; no fake foods. It has to be good, as in, you don’t have to pretend when you say it tastes good. So, I got out a lot of cookbooks and set about making a simple menu that would eliminate known inflammatory foods. We were going to eliminate all grains, dairy except small amounts of cream for coffee, most fruit, sugar and eggs. We were going to eat mostly vegetables and small amounts of chicken or seafood. There were other restrictions but this is a general idea.

I went grocery shopping on the weekend so we would be sure to have the necessary stuff on hand. If you want specifics, you should ask me in a private note. I am going to give a general outline here so I don’t bore or annoy my readers.

Consent and commitment

I have to first swear that my husband entered into this agreement of his own free will. I did not nag him into it. We have been married more than fifty years and nagging has never worked for me. It is often counter-productive. So I usually just do these things by myself. Recently, Don was diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease and is getting more serious about taking care of himself. This time he would try the three days with me. It was a first for him and thus was harder for him to stick with it. When he tried to get me to “let him” have this or that I kept referring him back to his own commitment: “Do you want to do this or not? It's up to you.”

I am very experienced at this kind of thing. My strategy is that it is only three days and I can do it if I want to. The trick is to not think about all the things you can’t have, focus on the good foods you can eat, and try not to whine. For me, whining makes it harder and undermines my determination.

The menu

Our breakfast and snacks were the same every day. Coffee with cream, of course. A smoothie made of romaine, spinach, mint, avocado and lemon juice, and water for breakfast. A half cupful of allowed nuts (everything but cashews or peanuts) to nibble on during the day. When we played our daily 3 games of Yahtzee we ate lettuce with guacamole or cauliflower with guacamole or carrot sticks with guacamole. The guacamole is simply avocado roughly mashed with chopped onion, garlic salt, and lime juice. I love the simple taste of freshly made guacamole.

Day one

After breakfast, I had this brilliant idea. I could make a little soup to eat along with our meals for the three days. I had recently done a liquid diet for a whole day in preparation for a colonoscopy and remembered how precious and comforting the hot beef broth was when it came time to eat lunch and dinner. I had a little of that beef broth left. I used that and a quart of chicken broth to make a soup. I sautéed a sliced onion, several sliced garlic cloves, a few mushrooms and then added broth, black pepper, some shredded spinach, chopped scallions. There was a lot of broth and not much else but when I offered Don a cup of it before his salad for lunch you would’ve thought I had saved his life. It was so good he ate more than a cup, but so what? Next time I will make twice as much so we can eat as much of that as needed to feel warmed and soothed.

The rest of lunch was a salad — arugula, red cabbage and carrots with balsamic vinegar, olive oil and a few olives on top. Between soup and salad, we were happy.

For supper that night we ate haddock and a stir-fry of cabbage and onions. I make the haddock by dribbling it with olive oil, sprinkling on spices that then stick to the oil (I use paprika, garlic salt, white pepper), then sauté them briefly in olive oil. More soup.

Day two

We were pleased to have one whole day under our belt. Don was beginning to ask about cookies. I kept saying “not if you want to do this 3-day thing with me.”

Lunch was a salad with mixed greens, mushrooms, red cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and tuna salad made with celery and onion. More soup.

For dinner, I roasted chicken thighs with lemon slices, garlic cloves, broccoli, cauliflower, shallots and red onion on a sheet pan. This was pretty filling and delicious.

That night in bed, I had a small meltdown. I wanted ice cream. Raspberry. I could make it right now in our ice cream maker if we only had a little cream. Or how about a pizza dripping with cheese and mushrooms. Don had to tell me to shut up. We went to sleep instead.

Day Three

We were feeling pretty good. Nearing the end now. Breakfast was the same. For lunch, I concocted some lentil and cauliflower rice patties with tahini and spices. I fried them as croutons atop our big arugula salad. Don wanted them again the next day, they were that good. By now the soup was gone; need to make more of that next time.

For dinner that night we celebrated. I had planned to have a salad with shrimp atop it. Instead, I cooked some millet with shallots and chicken broth. Made shrimp with some mushrooms, cream, dry sherry and lemon juice and ate them atop the millet. Along with this, we had a sliced Brussel sprout and onion side dish. It was luscious and we ate it all up. A perfect three-day menu. And we both did it.

That night Don said, “I want to keep eating this way. I feel better.” I agreed. We had three nights of good sleep. We both felt lighter, our joints not swollen, blood pressure lower, etc. Just think about what we could do in a month. But a month is harder to do. My plan is to repeat the three days at the beginning of each month, sort of a fresh start for the month. Maybe create different menus suiting the seasons. And have extra bone broth soup for comfort. Planning like that is right up my alley.

What happens on Day Four?

Surprise, we ate pretty much the same. Added eggs for breakfast with spinach and onions and mushrooms. Had rice and almond flour crackers with sardines and cheese and raw veggies for a snack-type lunch. Dinner was leftover chicken from two nights before. Before bed, we agreed on a spoonful of ice cream. Not a serving, just a taste, really. Aah.

What happens next?

We enjoy vegetables and have access to a lot of them in the garden. I want to make eating more all-vegetable meals a regular part of our week. At our age, it seems like a good idea to eat less in general. And really limit the red meat. And not get so many take-out sandwiches from the local store to eat with a beer. That kind of thing.

I would like to devise a way of staying in excellent health while also enjoying my favorite foods at times. The trick is that once you start making exceptions, over time they become the rule. So one spoonful of ice cream leads to a whole bowl and eventually a bowl every night. That won’t work. So, I’m scheming how to keep the treats “occasional.” Wish me luck.

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