Sample Menus Please

[catarific]

Ok - I realize that many of us are having issues with food sensitivities over and above having gluten issues. Such foods are:

Soy, chocolate, eggs, dairy, red meat, fructose, grains, nightshade vegetables (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, etc.), gas producing vegetables (brocolli, califlower, etc.), nuts, apples and pears (due to high fructose), corn items (vegetable, chips, etc.), rice, processed lunch meats, peanut butter (only a very small quantity), sugar, ice cream, and the list goes on.

The ones I mentioned above are my own sensitivities - and finding what to eat gets harder and harder - especially breakfast foods. Lunch I usually eat tuna salad - and dinner usually turkey or fish - kind of boring - but at least I can consume something and feel fairly so so the next day.

So - with all these sensitivities - and of course your own - how to do make menus that take in a variety of foods that give you some nutritional value and some variety?? If you could give some sample menus, it would certainly be most helpful.

[shopgirl]

How about canned salmon? It has a lot more taste than tuna. Or sweet potatoes? I don't think it would fall under any of your sensitivities. It's not technically a potato.

[mushroom]

Breakfast: Home-made yogurt (24 hour like SCD) with LSA (ground up flax seed, almonds, sunflower seeds), fresh or frozen berries and sliced almonds - okay you said no nuts, but you could do the flax seed and maybe sunflower seeds. I am not used to doing without dairy so if you can't do the 24-hr yogurt this one is hard for me - maybe a smoothie with almond milk, banana, berries, flaxseed, protein powder (I used to use hemp - from Trader Joe's)

Lunch: BLT (hold the T) with seasoned mashed avocado instead of mayo (you could do it as a lettuce wrap and add bean sprouts and watercress, carrot strips, if you can't do bacon maybe some shrimp), 1/2 banana (I can do apple and pear, but no citrus)

Dinner: chicken breast or fish with micro-baked yam, and here I do have to do cauliflower/broccoli (because no legumes - beans, peas), swiss chard, carrots, braised baby bok choy, zucchini, parsnip, rutabaga (mashed carrot and parsnip together is yummy) or roasted veg of squash, sweet potato, parsnip

Okay, I know this is not much, but I am pretty limited too

Edited by Mushroom: To change almond milk to hemp milk

[CarolinaKip]

Ok - I realize that many of us are having issues with food sensitivities over and above having gluten issues. Such foods are:

Soy, chocolate, eggs, dairy, red meat, fructose, grains, nightshade vegetables (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, etc.), gas producing vegetables (brocolli, califlower, etc.), nuts, apples and pears (due to high fructose), corn items (vegetable, chips, etc.), rice, processed lunch meats, peanut butter (only a very small quantity), sugar, ice cream, and the list goes on.

The ones I mentioned above are my own sensitivities - and finding what to eat gets harder and harder - especially breakfast foods. Lunch I usually eat tuna salad - and dinner usually turkey or fish - kind of boring - but at least I can consume something and feel fairly so so the next day.

So - with all these sensitivities - and of course your own - how to do make menus that take in a variety of foods that give you some nutritional value and some variety?? If you could give some sample menus, it would certainly be most helpful.

How do you make your tuna salad if you cannot have dairy, soy or eggs? I can have eggs, so that's my go to breakfast. I eat whole food/low oxalate, which I feel very limited on it. I can eat some fruit..red and green grapes, red pears, apples,mangos, fresh cherries. I limit the amount. I have fruit and or a veggie for lunch. Veggies are cabbage, cauliflower,peas, brussel sprouts,mushrooms. I eat fish and range free chicken. How about some chicken or other protein for breakfast with quinoa and a veggie you can have? Search for low fructose fruits you can have and foods..that may give you some direction. I looked at the list of low oxalate and went from there. It helped, it's limited, but it helped me pick a few "safe" foods out.

[cassP]

wow that's tough- you've got a lot of sensitivities.. i mean i do too.. but i can do rice, tomatoes, broccoli, and red meat.

i have fructose & fructan issues- so finding the right fruits and veggies can be tough- and our intestines need that smooth fiber... ive found zucchini to be one of my new best friends!!!! spinach, broccoli, peas i like too. ive been eating mixed baby greens instead of iceberg cause i was getting fructan pain and bloating :/

i was totally fine with lunchmeat- but 2 times in the past 3 months- ive had strange allergic reactions to the gluten-free boars head products from Publix- im not sure if it's the caramel color or dextrose- OR if the lady just made a sub sandwich and still had wheat on her hands i dont know??

today i had: one egg omelette with spinach, brazil nuts, & now im sitting down to crab cakes (gluten-free), broccoli, peas, and pumpkin ginger rice noodles. and ive got gluten-free vegan cookie sandwiches in the fridge )

now , most of the time im absolutely fine with chocolate- but 50% of the time, if im snacking on Nestle choco chips- i get slight Gerd... idk why

[T.H.]

I have been scouring the internet for recipes from the 1700-1800's. (just google recipe and a century and you'll have some pop up) I'm also haunting cooking shows for the really complicated recipes, not to make the recipe, but to pick up ideas that I could use with my own foods (like boiling down fruit juice to use as a sweetener, as we can't use sugar, although I know that would be a fructose nightmare). I have also been looking at old recipes from different cultures. like googling traditional recipe + a culture (like Ethiopia).

some of the dishes we've used:

Baked sweet potato, mashed up. Add fresh squeezed orange juice that has been boiled until it has reduced volume by half. It is very tangy - but likely too much fructose for you.

Spaghetti squash pancakes - spurred on by all the potato pancake recipes. We're still working with this one, but basically, we cook spaghetti squash, add in ingredients to go with it (salt, chopped green onion, etc...), and then fry it in olive oil in little pancake sized portions.

We roast all squash seeds to eat. Make homemade falafal (parsley, soaked chickpeas, onion, and salt, that's all) with humus (chickpeas, oil, garlic, and salt, is the version we make).

We have been working on making a flat bread starter from Teff (traditional non-wheat injera from ethiopia). However, the starter might be able to start with non-grains too, like amaranth, quinoa, or buckwheat. I haven't tried yet. It's used for savory dishes, like lentils or any kind of meat/poultry

[RachelisFacebook]

My favorite thing to use is cookingallergyfree.com. You can just plug in your food allergies, and then up pop recipes that cater to your needs.

[catarific]

thanks so much for your help. I don't know what's going on - I do think I have these sensitivities en masse due to probably inflammation causing leaky gut - which does not want to heal - who knows maybe it is colitis - I am going to schedule a colonoscopy and maybe an endoscopy as well. I have been off gluten for about a month - but my symptoms are not really any better - they seem somehow to have gotten worse - maybe because my system is no longer reacting to the gluten. I had a negative blood test and am afraid that an endoscopy may be negative as well. But somehow I need to find out what is going on - since I am really in a pickle as to what to eat that won't cause diarrhea or stomach cramps. Maybe he might prescribe digestive enzymes - who knows - at this point I just wish to be able to find those foods that will digestive well for me.

As far as the soy - I am not sure if I am having problems with the soy or with the sugar content associated with eating soy products (gluten free cakes, chocolate, etc.)

I thought it was the soy - but at this point - I am not sure of anything.

[cahill]

OK, I am pretty restrictive right now but ,,,,this is pretty much what i eat every day in some combination

This morning for breakfast was Lamb shoulder chop with sweet potatoes lightly sauteed in olive oil

snack was a small portion of peaches ( from frozen not canned) with a light sprinkling of ground flax seed.

lunch was ground lamb with white rice and veggies ( bok choy,broccoli and carrots) stir-fried in the lamb dripping

dinner is Turkey soup make with turkey, homemade stock( no spices), veggies (broccoli,carrots and green peas)

snack rice crackers

I am thinking of trying to reintroduce spinach this weekend,,, I need to get the most nutritional value that I can from the foods I can eat

now tomorrow I may be daring and have the lamb stir fry for breakfast instead of lunch

[Marilyn R]

Dear Catarific,

I'm now ten months's gluten free and starting to feel a bit like my old self. I was thinking about your post today and trying to think of something you could eat.

If you can find carnival squash locally, it is very buttery and sweet tasting and could be nice for breakfast (I had it for dessert tonight all on it's own (no spices or sweeteners) and it was delicious. I pressure cook it for eight minutes, but you could bake it the night before, or grill it if you're grilling the night before. Last resort, nuke it.

You can make zucchini milk out of chopped, peeled zucchini and water, then blend it with fruit and ice for a smoothie. I like buckwheat with banana or kiwi, but don't know if those are off the high fructose index for you.

I don't know if it is a matter of time or if I discovered rotating my foods, but I've felf so much better since I've begun letting a few days elapse before repeating foods in the same family, and I've successfuly reintroduced foods that caused havoc before if I allow a three day window between repeating them. And I have introduced foods I've never eaten before (like Kale, goat meat, rabbit, venison, buckwheat, gluten-free oatmeal and exotic fruits in small quantities. Root vegetables have been the best. I've read quite a bit about food allergies because it seemed like I was becoming sensitive to everything, and most of the the books recommended adding rarer foods (or foods rare to you) and rotating foods in the same food family (like nightshades) every four days. I hope this helps. I'm certainly not an expert, just getting by.

[cassP]

OK, I am pretty restrictive right now but ,,,,this is pretty much what i eat every day in some combination

This morning for breakfast was Lamb shoulder chop with sweet potatoes lightly sauteed in olive oil

snack was a small portion of peaches ( from frozen not canned) with a light sprinkling of ground flax seed.

lunch was ground lamb with white rice and veggies ( bok choy,broccoli and carrots) stir-fried in the lamb dripping

dinner is Turkey soup make with turkey, homemade stock( no spices), veggies (broccoli,carrots and green peas)

snack rice crackers

I am thinking of trying to reintroduce spinach this weekend,,, I need to get the most nutritional value that I can from the foods I can eat

now tomorrow I may be daring and have the lamb stir fry for breakfast instead of lunch

OMGGGGG now i want Lamb and Sweet Potatoes & EVOO YUMMMMMMMMMMMM

[sb2178]

This is something that I have written up for a blog post. I'd pull out what you can't eat and substitute in what you can. For example, have berries instead of apples. Sweet potato instead of potato. Quinoa or millet instead of rice. Sunflower or sesame seeds instead of almonds... or pull them out entirely and just add some neutral olive oil. You may be able to use agave syrup for a sweetener, or maybe you'll just have to stick to small amounts of fruit.

I'm not sure if it helps... but... worth a try.

Breakfast:

2 scrambled eggs

1 small baked potato or sliced baked sweet potato

1 small apple or 1/2 c chopped fruit

2 gluten free pancakes (homemade- buckwheat and amaranth?)

1 T maple syrup

1 orange or 1/2 c chopped fruit

1 c milk

1/3 c quick cooking kasha

1 T sliced almonds

1 T chopped pecans or walnuts

1 t ground flaxseed

2 T dried mixed fruit of choice, chopped

Chopped fresh or frozen fruit, like berries,

2 t maple syrup or brown sugar

Milk to taste

1 fried egg

1/2 cooked brown rice

1 c shredded raw cabbage or 3/4 c cooked spinach

1 T sesame dressing

Lunch options:

1 1/2 c lentil vegetable soup

1 piece cornbread (homemade) or 1 c rice

Milk, or other healthful beverage

Fruit of choice

1 1/2 c enchilada casserole

1 c salad or carrot sticks or fruit of choice

1 piece frittata or crustless quiche

1 c vegetable sticks or fruit of choice

Trail mix

4-5 spring rolls

3 T peanut sauce (use sesame?)

1/2 c brown rice or fruit

Green tea

Dinner:

Pasta with White Beans and Greens

Fruit or homemade pudding or custard

Chickpea or Lamb Vegetable Tagine with Rice

Fruit or homemade pudding or custard

Salmon Artichoke Patties

Salad or steamed vegetables

Rice or quinoa pilaf

Shrimp Risotto

Italian Roasted Vegetables

Homemade pudding or custard

Comments: These menus are light on dairy since celiac patients often have a hard time with dairy. If you can consume it, I would recommend adding it during your snacks, or just an extra glass of milk. Feel free use fake milks or drop the dairy entirely, just be sure you have other sources of calcium and protein in your diet.

[jenngolightly]

Ok - I realize that many of us are having issues with food sensitivities over and above having gluten issues. Such foods are:

Soy, chocolate, eggs, dairy, red meat, fructose, grains, nightshade vegetables (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, etc.), gas producing vegetables (brocolli, califlower, etc.), nuts, apples and pears (due to high fructose), corn items (vegetable, chips, etc.), rice, processed lunch meats, peanut butter (only a very small quantity), sugar, ice cream, and the list goes on.

The ones I mentioned above are my own sensitivities - and finding what to eat gets harder and harder - especially breakfast foods. Lunch I usually eat tuna salad - and dinner usually turkey or fish - kind of boring - but at least I can consume something and feel fairly so so the next day.

So - with all these sensitivities - and of course your own - how to do make menus that take in a variety of foods that give you some nutritional value and some variety?? If you could give some sample menus, it would certainly be most helpful.

You said that finding things to eat is getting harder and harder? Does that mean you are finding that you are intolerant to more and more foods? If so, you could try an elimination diet and start with a few foods you know you can eat and work up from there. I have a lot of sensitivities, too. I started the Specific Carb Diet last May and feel SO much better! No sugar, dairy, soy, corn, starchy veggies, or grains. I'm also allergic to other foods like strawberries, nuts, pineapple, and more. You start with 5 or 6 foods and introduce other foods (whatever you want based on a list) every 4 days or so. Info in my profile.

Good luck!

[cahill]

I agree the suggestion of doing an elimination diet. It has been one the hardest and yet most rewarding experiences for me.

I feel better now than i can ever,EVER remember feeling. The times when I reintroduce something my body does not like are undoubtedly rough **understatement **.. But generally pass fairly quickly when I take that item back out of my diet ..

My opinion of an elimination diet,, For me sooooooo worth it!

[catarific]

thanks so much - for the menus and suggestions.

I have been trying to do an elimination diet - and trust me - when I try and reintroduce - sometimes I wonder if the pain is worth it? But I do think I have come upon one item so far that I thought was safe (it is gluten free) but wow, how it has affected my digestion. It is Back to Nature Gluten Free White Chedder Thin Crackers - No artificial preservatives, flavors or colors and no high fructose corn syrup. But it does contain safflower oil and a small bit of cheese. The milk and the oil must be the ingredients causing this distress. Bummer and I so liked these too. The only other crackers I could find that were gluten free had soy as an ingredient

And compounding this - I have IBS - so I am really sensitive to foods.

I do agree though and have even read that it is good to keep changing your foods and not eat the same ones over and over. Also, eating less seems to work too. One doctor suggested not drinking liquids at all before or during meals - but about an hour after - and that seems to work too .

[mushroom]

Have you tried Mary's Gone Crackers? You either love them or you hate them; I love them.

[catarific]

Have you tried Mary's Gone Crackers? You either love them or you hate them; I love them.

Tell me more - where do you buy these? never saw them!

[bridgetm]

My favorite new recipe is oven-roasted veggies. They're great on their own or served over rice or noodles; add some meat to make a complete meal.

We usually use carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, green beans and potatoes. Toss them in a bowl with some oil (canola in my house, but I think any could work) and add seasoning. We've been using a Caribbean spice blend from a brand I can't remember, but play around with it; different spices can make it a completely different meal. Spread them out on a foil covered baking sheet and toss it in the oven.

I honestly can't remember the temp or time right now, but I think it's around 350 for 20-30 minutes. The potatoes should be cooked ahead of time, but everything else can go straight in. It works best to cut the carrots lengthwise and the potatoes into wedges, depending on their size.

The leftovers are just as good so make a big batch!

[mushroom]

I used to get Mary's Gone Crackers at Whole Foods. Also found them at a health food store.

[cassP]

Tell me more - where do you buy these? never saw them!

oh i love them too! also find them at publix

[Marilyn R]

Breakfast is the toughest meal for me too. Sometmes it's just macadamia nuts, sliced banana (can't be very ripe) and green tea. I can handle bacon sometimes, if it's really lean (center cut) and an egg, but I cut out the yolk because it turned up that I'm allergic to egg yolks.

I try to have snacks that compensate for my lack of breakfast. Any kind of seeds or nuts with or without dried fruit.

It helps to see an allergist after going gluten-free for awhile. I suffered through an elimination diet only to learn that I was wrong about a number of foods I thought I had to eliminate. (I'm allergic to clams, turkey (not poultry), tomatoes (not nightshades),egg yolks (not egg whites), mackerel (not all saltwater or freshwater fish), and pecans. The results from skin prick testing were surprising, and have helped me figure out a diet that works with my wierd system.

I've tried egg white and spinach omelettes, but didn't find it appealing. And gluten-free pancakes have been good on occasion, but the syrup is probably something you want to stay away from with your restrictions.

I have had alot of success with chick pea powder from an Indian grocery mixed with spices and veggies cooked on a griddle, or frying veggie fritters. (Never thought I'd ever eat fried foods when I had I had IBS, but I'm trying to gain weight and haven't had a problem with chick pea flour and any safe oil and shredded vegetables.

I posted a recipe in the recipe section of this forum on a topic of breads without too many flours. I'll post it here if you want me to, just don't want to be redundant.

You didn't mention legumes as being off the list. There are some really good recipes for beans and rice on the internet. If you can afford a pressure cooker or request one for a gift, it makes cooking so much easier and faster, besides using less energy (from the power company and the cook). If I had one sentence of advice for anyone with celiac disease, I'd advise "Buy a pressure cooker and look at Indian Cuisine."

I hope you find your way down this confusing path. Good luck.

P.S. I hated those crackers.

[cassP]

Breakfast is the toughest meal for me too. Sometmes it's just macadamia nuts, sliced banana (can't be very ripe) and green tea. I can handle bacon sometimes, if it's really lean (center cut) and an egg, but I cut out the yolk because it turned up that I'm allergic to egg yolks.

I try to have snacks that compensate for my lack of breakfast. Any kind of seeds or nuts with or without dried fruit.

It helps to see an allergist after going gluten-free for awhile. I suffered through an elimination diet only to learn that I was wrong about a number of foods I thought I had to eliminate. (I'm allergic to clams, turkey (not poultry), tomatoes (not nightshades),egg yolks (not egg whites), mackerel (not all saltwater or freshwater fish), and pecans. The results from skin prick testing were surprising, and have helped me figure out a diet that works with my wierd system.

I've tried egg white and spinach omelettes, but didn't find it appealing. And gluten-free pancakes have been good on occasion, but the syrup is probably something you want to stay away from with your restrictions.

I have had alot of success with chick pea powder from an Indian grocery mixed with spices and veggies cooked on a griddle, or frying veggie fritters. (Never thought I'd ever eat fried foods when I had I had IBS, but I'm trying to gain weight and haven't had a problem with chick pea flour and any safe oil and shredded vegetables.

I posted a recipe in the recipe section of this forum on a topic of breads without too many flours. I'll post it here if you want me to, just don't want to be redundant.

You didn't mention legumes as being off the list. There are some really good recipes for beans and rice on the internet. If you can afford a pressure cooker or request one for a gift, it makes cooking so much easier and faster, besides using less energy (from the power company and the cook). If I had one sentence of advice for anyone with celiac disease, I'd advise "Buy a pressure cooker and look at Indian Cuisine."

I hope you find your way down this confusing path. Good luck.

P.S. I hated those crackers.

omg marilyn- i dont mean to be a contrarian- but we could not be food buddies at all, lol

wow... crazy how opposite we are, bfast is the easiest for me- and i just enjoyed a spinach omelette. also- i cannot tolerate any legumes at all- and allergic fits when eating chickpea flour... crazy, huh

oh, and i have to eat my bananas overripe cause of my fructose malabsorption