Thaksgiving Menu / Multiple Allergies

[codetalker]

Just a quick survey to see if anyone with multiple allergies came up with a satisfying menu yesterday. I'm always looking for ideas that provide a chance to get out of the rut of eating the same things over and over again.

The following are off-limits for me: gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, legumes, nuts, corn, potatoes, cinnamon, olives, any vegetable oil, tea, coffee, alcohol, chocolate.

Starting with a typical Thanksgiving meal (i.e. turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, corn bread, cranberry sauce, salad, dessert) and subtracting the things I can't eat, all that is left is the turkey and a basic salad with a glass of water. I'm sure I'm not the only one that misses all the extras that make a meal a holiday meal.

The current bright spot in my diet is a simple dressing. I finally found a gluten-free dijon mustard. When the bottle is about half used, I add honey. It makes a simple and delicious honey-dijon salad dressing. I also put it on vegetables, chicken and sometimes even rice. Anything for a bit of taste.

In the meantime, I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday weekend!

[Mother of Jibril]

This was my first gluten, dairy, and corn-free Thanksgiving... it wasn't bad!

I did make a turkey. I also baked a butternut squash (delicious!) and made a soup using the turkey neck, celery, carrots, chicken stock, rice, and some herbs (sage, thyme, and fresh rosemary). I also added a potato, but the soup would have been better with a stronger vegetable... parsnips or a small rutabaga. I botched the dessert (Gluten-free Casein-free pumpkin pie). Oh well. I wish I had just purchased some fruit or a nice sorbet.

One thought about getting "a bit of taste"... try exploring the vegetables. A few days ago I made a rice dish (it turned out like risotto) with cauliflower, tomatoes, and baby beets (including the greens). Yum! I've also been using spinach and swiss chard in my gluten-free pasta dishes... it adds a lot of taste and nutrition. Herbs make a great addition too. This summer I discovered the joys of tarragon... it has a kind of anise flavor that's VERY good in beef, poultry, fish, and vegetable dishes.

I know it's a bummer to give up foods you used to love... especially for the holidays... but you don't need to be on a bland, boring diet. Two little books that give me lots of ideas are the "Field Guide to Produce" and the "Field Guide to Herbs & Spices" (both by Aliza Green).

[missy'smom]

This quinoa dish would work for you I think. https://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/index.ph...mp;#entry488140

[lonewolf]

Just a quick survey to see if anyone with multiple allergies came up with a satisfying menu yesterday. I'm always looking for ideas that provide a chance to get out of the rut of eating the same things over and over again.

The following are off-limits for me: gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, legumes, nuts, corn, potatoes, cinnamon, olives, any vegetable oil, tea, coffee, alcohol, chocolate.

Starting with a typical Thanksgiving meal (i.e. turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, corn bread, cranberry sauce, salad, dessert) and subtracting the things I can't eat, all that is left is the turkey and a basic salad with a glass of water. I'm sure I'm not the only one that misses all the extras that make a meal a holiday meal.

This is almost exactly what was off-limits to me for a few years when I first discovered my food intolerances. Do you have to avoid yams? They aren't related to potatoes and should be safe. Do you have a bread that you can eat? If so, you can cube it and dry it and make it into stuffing.

My suggestions would be turkey, gravy thickened with sweet rice flour, yams sweetened with maple syrup or brown sugar, homemade cranberry sauce (ridiculously easy and delicious), stuffing made with your "safe" bread or wild rice, jello salad with fruit or a fruit salad, no-bake pumpkin pie made with coconut milk (and your safe spices), sparkling apple cider.

[tarnalberry]

Just a quick survey to see if anyone with multiple allergies came up with a satisfying menu yesterday. I'm always looking for ideas that provide a chance to get out of the rut of eating the same things over and over again.

The following are off-limits for me: gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, legumes, nuts, corn, potatoes, cinnamon, olives, any vegetable oil, tea, coffee, alcohol, chocolate.

Starting with a typical Thanksgiving meal (i.e. turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, corn bread, cranberry sauce, salad, dessert) and subtracting the things I can't eat, all that is left is the turkey and a basic salad with a glass of water. I'm sure I'm not the only one that misses all the extras that make a meal a holiday meal.

The current bright spot in my diet is a simple dressing. I finally found a gluten-free dijon mustard. When the bottle is about half used, I add honey. It makes a simple and delicious honey-dijon salad dressing. I also put it on vegetables, chicken and sometimes even rice. Anything for a bit of taste.

In the meantime, I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday weekend!

You say no potatoes, but then say you take out sweet potatoes. Can you clarify? The two are in different families, so do you need to avoid both regular potatoes and sweet potatoes, or do you only need to avoid one?

When you say no vegetable oils, no olives and no nuts, I take it that olive oil, and nut oils are out. But what about canola oil? As that's from a seed, I assume that's ok?

Also, I can't figure out why you have taken out cranberry sauce?

So... the menu I'd make for that:

Pumpkin-Carrot Soup

Mixed Greens with a Balsamic Vinaigrette (hemp seed oil)

Herb Roasted Turkey

Turkey Gravy (use rice flower to thicken)

Ginger Glazed Root Vegetables (Carrots, Turnips, Parsnips)

Mushroom Rice Stuffing

Baked Apples (use rice flower for sauce thickening)

(ok, only a slight modification of what I made tonight... and I could come up with another few dishes, but these are all ones I've used on Thanksgiving that I can think of off the top of my head)

[codetalker]

This is almost exactly what was off-limits to me for a few years when I first discovered my food intolerances.

First, thanks for the ideas. They are definitely appreciated.

Second, if you had/have the same intolerances, would you mind a couple of questions?

1) What type of reaction do you have?

2) Did you ever determine what caused the intolerances?

3) Have you found anything particularly effective in dealing with them?

4) Is it reasonable to expect this to be temporary?

The foods that bother me actually fall into 3 groups. The first is the gluten group. The second is the reflux group (tea, coffee, citrus, fatty foods, alcohol, etc.) The third group contains everything else and causes swelling in my neck and difficulty swallowing.

In regard to the third group, they appear to cause an anaphylactic reaction. I first noticed the reaction in March, 2006 and the onset of the problem was relatively sudden. At first, it seemed to be just soy-related but after eliminating soy, I realized other foods caused a reaction too.

In the beginning, there was always a mass of tissue under my jaw on the right side that would swell up as well. However, that symptom stopped when I started taking a probiotic and drinking only distilled water. The distilled water was just coincidence. I had heard a news report that tap and bottled water contained traces of antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals. I figured distilled water would be purer and therefore safer. I made the switch and almost immeditely I was surprised to see a lessening of the severity of the neck symptoms.

The reason for the questions above is that there still something missing. For instance, I tried boiling a white potato in distilled water and I noticed little, if any, reaction. Days later, I boiled a potato in tap water and noticed a reaction. However, i"m not sure what that means. I have occasionally used potato chips as a test of my progress. I've noticed that sometimes I can eat half the bag and have no reation the first couple of days. But, if I finish the bag days later, I do have a reaction. Conversely, sometimes I eat the first half and within hours I feel my throat tightening up. There is no consistent sense to any of this.

As to cause, the best I can come up with is to guess that this is somehow leaky gut-related. But, there's no way to be sure. Prior to this, I traveled a lot for diving. It's possible I picked up a tropical disease. About 6 months prior to the first symptoms, I took up bird photography, which meant being out in woods and fields. Maybe something bit me. There were two times I was at a national wildlife refuge and was bit by something that caused a horribly itchy red rash on half my face but both times happened after this problem started.

The final complication is that I've discovered that the best way to keep acid reflux under control is to only eat before noon. That gives my digestive system plenty of time to empty before I sleep. Unfortunately, the combination of a restricted diet, having to eat before noon and working for a living goes beyond practicality.

Any comments on your experience would be appreciated.

[Mother of Jibril]

I think it's wise to check out lyme disease and related illnesses!

Also, have you considered whether you're making enough stomach acid? Check out this list of symptoms and disorders related to hypochlorhydria:

Bloating, belching, burning,flatulence immediately after meals, indigestion, diarrhoea, constipation, itching around the anus, multiple food allergies, brittle finger nails, dilated blood vessels on cheeks and nose, acne, iron deficiency, parasites, candida albicans proliferation, nausea after taking nutritional supplements.

Conditions that have been linked with Hypochlorhydria include:Celiac disease, Addisons Disease, Asthma, Eczema, Diabetes Mellitus, Chronic Hives, Psoriasis, Rosacea, Osteoporosis.

(you can read more at Open Original Shared Link

You can actually test and fix it yourself! First thing in the morning, put 1/4 tsp of baking soda in a glass of water (about 6 oz) and drink. If you have enough stomach acid (or too much) you'll start burping in the first five minutes. If you don't burp in that time then you have hypochlorhydria. Get some Betaine HCl with pepsin (I started with 250mg, but there are larger doses available) and take one with any protein meal/snack. If it gives you heartburn you can always swallow a bit of baking soda to calm things back down. Pretty harmless to try. I know what you mean about coffee, tea, orange juice, etc... causing reflux. Mine was tolerable, but the Betaine has really made a difference. Even my rosacea is looking better This might explain why it takes SO long for food to clear your stomach. Maybe you'll be able to eat in the afternoon again!

[Jaimepsalm63]

Hey Codetalker, I hear what you're saying for wanting ideas for menus and such for holidays. Here's how the cooking is in my house because of myself and 2 of my 3 boys.

We have to fix something that doesn't include:

for me:

gluten, caffeine, chocolate, potato, nitrates, dairy, citrus, canola oil, cinnamon, brown rice, (I can't have fiber, but made a salad for the rest)

My oldest son:

corn, soy, garlic, tree nuts, legumes, cauliflower, sage, maple, mushrooms

My youngest:

dairy, mushrooms, nitrates

So, our menu for Thanksgiving was different from most people....and we had a guest who couldn't believe it tasted ok.

We had:

Turkey with rosemary on and in it's cavity

sweet potato casserole (sweet potato, clove, honey, and brown sugar)

rolls (that didn't contain any of the above allergens)

cranberry chutney (cranberries, apples, pears, water, stevia, and cloves)

gluten free stuffing (gluten-free,soy free, dairy free, corn free crackers, onion, celery, thyme, and rosemary, chicken broth that's homemade)

carrots in a sauce (carrots, ginger, honey, olive oil)

salad (romaine lettuce, carrots, celery, broccoli) we used a homemade salad dressing for everyone

My guest was kind enough to bring stuffed potatoes with butter and cream used in the mixture. Three of the five family members loved it....but a couple of us just said how good it looked and enjoyed the company.

Hope this helps for next time.

[frec]

I have also found that taking Betaine HCl really helped with reflux and slow digestion. I started with a really small dose and worked up until I got heartburn, then went back down a little. I take digestive enzymes as well. I avoid all the stuff on the reflux list (except chocolate, but I don't eat it at night) and stay up three hours after eating. That seems to have taken care of things.

You might want to google gastroparesis on this site. Have you seen a naturopath? Mine has been much more help than my primary care doctor or my gastroenterologist.

[codetalker]

You say no potatoes, but then say you take out sweet potatoes. Can you clarify? The two are in different families, so do you need to avoid both regular potatoes and sweet potatoes, or do you only need to avoid one?

When you say no vegetable oils, no olives and no nuts, I take it that olive oil, and nut oils are out. But what about canola oil? As that's from a seed, I assume that's ok?

Also, I can't figure out why you have taken out cranberry sauce?

Thanks for the ideas, esp. the ginger glazed veggies. I like ginger and those sound tasty.

In regard to potatoes, I react to yams as well. Sweet potatoes are on my questionable list along with things like squash. I'm not sure about those. This hasn't been as easy as gluten. After going gluten-free, if I got sick I simply looked for the hidden gluten and eventually found it. With these food allergies, there is no apparent common thread. I have no idea what nuts, eggs, legumes, potatoes, etc. have in common that cause a reaction while broccoli, cauliflower, rice, etc. do not.

In regard to cranberry sauce, all the brands I've checked have H-F corn syrup. That definitely causes a reaction.

Thanks again for your response.

[Mother of Jibril]

In regard to cranberry sauce, all the brands I've checked have H-F corn syrup. That definitely causes a reaction.

Making your own cranberry sauce is very easy! Just boil some frozen cranberries in a little water (enough to cover them) for about five minutes. Mash and add some sweetener... sugar, maple syrup, agave, stevia... maybe a little orange juice if you like it that way. That's it!

[missy'smom]

The bags of fresh or frozen cranberries usually have a recipe on them for making sauce and/or a raw relish. It keeps a while after making and you can freeze the extra sauce or half the recipe easily. If you half the recipe, you can freeze the other half of the berries and use straight from the freezer without defrosting.

[tarnalberry]

In regard to cranberry sauce, all the brands I've checked have H-F corn syrup. That definitely causes a reaction.

Yes, make your own cranberry sauce. EASY. Stuff from a can is nasty!

The versions I make tend to reduce for a long time, but then, I just use juice rather than refined sugar. With enough time, you could use fruit instead, for the full vitamin/fiber benefit.