Im Bummed, I Need A Change!

[SadiesMomma]

Hi Everyone...

Well for those of you who have read any of my posts before, you will have also read that I am allergic to just about everything. I am really trying to find things I can eat and try to make a better life for myself. I need to make myself more healthy so I can better care for my family. As things are now, I am so tired I just wanna lay in bed and mope. Im so depressed trying to find things to eat and rarely succeding with few new foods to my minimal diet.

I am allergic to (that I know of) wheat obviously, gluten, eggs, oats, nuts, soy, dairy.... God, my list just goes on and on. There are so many other things that are this and that that I avoid within foods because they also upset my gut.

I am looking for anything really because of my small spansion of foods.... I am basically eating cream of rice, Food for Life rice bread, Polaner seedless fruit spread, tyson chicken breasts, green beans, misc veggies ie(carrots, cucumbers), lean steak, and thats about it. I really desperately need to expand what I eat.

Does anyone have any suggestions??????? Are their any tunafish out there that dont have any broths, corn, soy, anything like that??? I really miss eating tunafish. I miss eating anything really.

I need a hug and a better diet! Thanks for listening to me rant and ask. Thanks!

[kejohe]

Heather....

CONSIDER YOURSELF HUGGED!!!!

Now for the suggestion part... do you like to cook? I remember reading that you don't work, so you should have lots of time to play with your kitchen! If so, feel free to e-mail me, and we can discuss your cravings, and I will help you come up with some smokin' good recipes that you will never miss your "evil food" again!

If your willing to learn, and help me come up with recipes, I know that we can share them on this borad, and there are lots of people here who would benifit. I know there are also lots of celiacs who are dairy/soy intolerant, and nuts and corn are easy to substitute or omit. So send me an e-mail & we'll chat!

Meanwhile heres a fun one for your sweet tooth:

Mandarin/Pear Spring Rolls

w/ Fresh Mint Dipping Sauce

2 Medium Pears, chopped to 1/4 - 1/2 inch cubes

1/4 C gloden raisins

1 Tbs brown sugar

1/8 tsp ground ginger or 1 tsp chopped crystalized ginger

1 tsp potato starch

1 tsp lemon juice

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1 can mandarin oranges, drained, juices reserved

rice paper spring roll wrappers

In a medium sauce pan, combine all ingredients except for the mandarin juice and bring up to a simmer. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, or until pears are just tender and liquid is thick. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

For Sauce:

1 bunch fresh mint

1 C white grape, apple or pear juice

Reserved mandarin juices

1/2 C sugar

Place all ingredients in a small sauce pan and bring to a simmer, cook until reduced by about 1/2 and thickened, and very minty. Strain through a sieve, and cool.

To assemble spring rolls, soak wrappers per manufacturer instructions until soft and pliable. Fill with about 2 Tbs pear filling and roll like egg rolls. Serve immediately with dipping sauce.

PS. This sauce keeps very well for several weeks and is fantastic on fresh fruit, especially watermelon and strawberries.

[frogsong]

HUG!!!

I certainly feel for you! Can you eat corn? I make a killer eggplant parmesan using polenta and rice flour as the breading. If your the sauce you use is rich enough, you don't need the cheese.

Also, I have found I like to experiment. I have looked online for different recipes that I could translate into gluten free. Perhaps you could do that? I used to be a vegetarian and I used to do the same thing with recipes. What meat recipes could I turn into veggie dishes?

I find that the best way for me to keep from being bored with my food is to keep it creative. A little lemon juice and garlic goes a long way!

Finally, do you like salmon? Here is a recipe for you:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

1/4 cup macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped

1 full salmon fillet (about 2 1/2 pounds), skin on, pin bones removed (see tip)

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1. Heat oven to 450

[SadiesMomma]

Yummmm! Those both sound great.

I cant have marjarine or butter though so what can I u se instead of that. And would it taste ok without the nuts? Im allergic to nuts too.

FrongSong.... thanks so much for the inite. Id love to learn to cook new things. It would be fun for me and my daughter whos 2. Shes fun in the kitchen!

Thanks!

[GFdoc]

Hang in there- you can do it - but you need to cook and experiment (and write down what works so you can do it again!)

How about gluten-free flour tortillas ? You can put all sorts of things inside (meat, grilled veggies, mashed avocados) I posted a recipe in this forum under "wraps and flat breads" that uses almond meal as a minor ingredient - but I'm sure you can try a substitute (try Vance's Darifree milk substitute - no soy, corn, dairy).

sugar is OK, right? try a few homemade candies or rice crispies treats (made without butter - maybe oil will work) You deserve a sweet now and then.

How about soups! homemade veggie soup, chicken soup, pea soup - I've got recipes if you want. soup and some gluten-free roll sounds like a meal to me.

Sara

[Connie R-E]

Heather~

Tuna fish? Yes!

StarKist Gourmet's Choice Tuna Fillet: Solid light tuna, water, salt.

I had to look thru all the cans in the store to find it, but it's the only one we eat!

Hope you can find it, too!

Connie

[tarnalberry]

Tuna: YES! I usually get mine from Wild Oats, but Ralph's (one of our local major chains) has safe tuna as well - made by StarKist! :-) Read the labels, as I forget the exact "type", but it's tuna, water, and salt. That's it.

ooopss... should have read the whole thread first. :-)

also, you could make hummus (garbanzo beans, olive oil, tahini (ground sesame seeds), and lemon juice).

beans... do you eat beans? you could make bean burritos from corn tortillas and top them with guacamole (since sour cream is out).

or pasta! the quinoa pasta's good (quinoa and corn), and you can make spaghetti sauce to go on top of it. (if you're worried about canned tomatoes (which I haven't had a problem with), you can use fresh. and pasta sauce can be made in all sorts of different ways.

[SadiesMomma]

Wow you guys.... You're Grrrreeeeat!

I didnt know that there was a such thing as gluten-free tortillas. What all is in them? I cant have any corn so those would be out. Bummer though.

Beans... Um, Ive eaten chili and got sick but it could have been the spices, onions, or all that crap. It was Stag Classic Chili. It tastes sooo good but doesnt sit right! Could that be a bean thing?

How would I make beans? I was raised by a man whose idea of a meal was McDonalds and TV Dinners... soo Im not a good cook. Im trying though.

I'll take any recepies. If you could, Anyone, please send me wheat free, gluten free, dairy free, egg free, nut free, corn free, soy free reciepies.... Im desperate! Love you guys sooo much!

[tarnalberry]

Sometimes, if I'm feeling lazy, I just take a can of black beans, drain them, dump them in a bowl, and heat them up in the microwave. I usually top them with sour cream for fun, but avocado would be a good substitute, or just eating them plain. (Though some seasoning, like Spice Hunter's Fajita Seasoning works very well.)

You can do ALL sorts of things with beans. I'm sure someone else will post a gluten-free, corn-free tortilla recipe (I don't have one, sorry :-( ), or you might find one on www.recipesource.com. (I know there's one in one of Bette Hagman's cookbooks...) With those, you can sautee chicken with fajita seasonings, onion, and bell pepper to make fajitas. Or you can brown some ground meat with spices to make tacos. Or you can take a can of beans and mash them (or a can of gluten-free refried beans), and fill them.

You can also make bean soup, which is nice and easy, even if it does have to sit on the stove for a while. (I use Bob's Red Mill 13-bean mix, but you can use any gluten-free mix of a lot of beans, a chopped onion, a box of Pacific chicken or vegetable broth (and water for any more liquid I need), and a bit of ground sage. Takes four hours of simmering because I don't presoak the beans, but is tasty.) Lentil soup and minestrone (without pasta) also use beans.

And you can make bean salads. I often make one that's black beans, red onion, corn, cilantro (or spinach), and spices. You can make a bean salad with kidney beans, green beans, and italian dressing (and whatever other fixings... like onions or bell peppers). You can make garbonzo bean salads too.

But I still think - if you can have seeds - you should try hummus... Eh... I'm addicted to the stuff.

You might want to look around recipe source, and take some time at a book store looking at cookbooks. Really, in some of the varied cookbooks, there are a number of dishes that are naturally free of a lot of ingredients... More over, when you get really used to the ideas of what foods get combined in recipes and sort of "the art" of basic, from scratch, simple cooking, it becomes really easy to make up your own recipes that only have ingredients you can eat. It takes practice, of course, but it gets a lot easier with time. (Heck, there are still a number of recipes in my italian cookbooks that I can - and do - use...)

[kejohe]

I realize spring is here (or at least it is for you lower 48ers) and soups are going out of style for the season, but this one is fantastic and easy to make. It takes a little extra time at the chopping block, but start to finish it takes less than an hour to make, and it reheats very well, so you can make a bunch and have yumm yumm leftovers.

Manhattan clam chowder

serves about 8

ingredients:

4 cans chopped clams, drained, juices reserved

3 cans chopped tomatoes, drained, juices reserved

4 slices bacon, diced

1 large onion, diced

1 C celery, diced

[seeking-wholeness]

Hi, Heather!

Here is a random assortment of thoughts I had about food. I used to avoid most of the same foods you do, so hopefully at least some of this will be helpful to you!

I don't know how you feel about canned salmon, but Natural Sea brand has no additives. I get the no salt added variety WITH skin and bones. The bones are thoroughly cooked and do not pose a hazard, and they DO provide calcium. I got used to crunching them up pretty quickly!

If you can find uncontaminated millet (like from Bob's Red Mill; definitely DON'T trust the bulk bin at the health food store, since you have no idea what used to be in that container!), you can use an electric coffee grinder to pulverize it and use it as you would cornmeal. Millet polenta is really good!

Do you have a Trader Joe's near you? They have some wonderful things. If you can have cherries, look for big jars of Morello cherries in light syrup. This may sound weird, but they are really good cooked with onions and a bit of salt and brown sugar and used as a sauce for meatballs (seasoned with cinnamon, allspice, and cumin!). I can post my recipe if you are interested. Also, they often have frozen organic WILD blueberries! They also sell bags of pre-mixed frozen vegetables (Harvest Hodgepodge is the variety I buy; you could probably pick out the few pieces of baby corn in each bag) that I use to make a very simple stir-fry with chicken and a sauce of chicken broth (Imagine Foods organic free-range), garlic, fresh ginger, and a big spoonful of arrowroot starch to thicken it up. I tend to serve this with Tinkyada brand brown rice pasta (the organic spaghetti is particularly tasty). Trader Joe's also sells a "curry simmer sauce" that looks like it would be OK for you to try. I have some in my pantry, but I haven't tried it yet because I'm not sure I can tolerate canola oil, and there are a bunch of other foods that are higher on my testing priority list right now. Also, Trader Joe's carries some pre-packaged shelf-stable Indian meals that MIGHT be OK, at least if you like spicy food! I can't remember the company's name, though.

I have found that I really like Wellshire Farms uncured turkey bacon and uncured turkey Andouille sausage. Both are marked right on the package as being free of gluten, dairy, and soy.

About beans, I would recommend THOROUGHLY rinsing dry beans to remove any gluten-containing dust from them, and I would also look through them to make sure there are no stray whole grains in the bag with them! Also, here is a quote from a private message I sent recently:

I ate Goya canned beans one time several years ago, and I experienced serious gas and cramping for several hours afterward, which hasn't happened with other brands. I'm not totally sure why, but I suspect they either don't soak their beans at all or that they use the soaking water for cooking the beans as well. (They recommend this method in the cooking instructions on their bags of dry beans.) I used to use Hanover, Bush's, and Whole Foods brand canned beans, but I sporadically react to them (and so does the baby); I haven't yet tested Eden Organics brand, but I remember someone on the board saying that they seem to be OK for her. I'm also testing PictSweet brand frozen baby black-eyed peas, which are SO much better than either dried or canned! The company says they are processed on a gluten-free line.

I also discovered a way to virtually eliminate my problem with (dry, home-cooked) beans causing gas. I put a pound of beans and half a "stick" of kombu seaweed (if I have any, but it also works without) in a large pot and fill the pot with cold (filtered) water. Then I bring the water to boiling, let it boil for a few minutes, move the pot off the heat, cover it, and let it sit for 24 HOURS (less in hot weather, or put them in the refrigerator after the water cools to room temperature; otherwise, the beans may ferment!). Then I rinse the beans thoroughly (discarding the kombu), wash the pot, put the beans back in with enough water to cook them, and simmer them until they're done. Depending on my plans for them, I may rinse them yet again before using them in a recipe.

The recipient of this message said that this soaking method worked beautifully! Lentils, split peas, and black-eyed peas don't need to be soaked. When you cook beans, DON'T salt the water, or the beans will remain tough. Salt the water during the last fifteen minutes or so of the cooking time. If you can eat spices, I have a recipe for black bean and butternut squash soup/chili that I would be happy to post; just let me know!

Well, that's all I can think of at the moment. Are your eyes glazed over yet? Take care, and happy eating!

[SadiesMomma]

yummmm

Feel free to email me any recepies. Im so in love with food!

Thanks guys!

[Laura]

If you're willing to cook fresh fish, I've been on a big tilapia kick lately. It's a pretty cheap fish, and very quick and easy to cook. I usually squeeze some lemon juice on it and roll it in cornmeal and pan-fry it, but if you can't have corn, I'm sure that whatever kind of flour you have would work fine. It cooks really quickly, just a couple minutes per side.

[SadiesMomma]

Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmy!

I'll take any recipies!

[brdbntL]

Heather,

I'm not sure of the ingredients, but what about butter flavored shortning instead of the butter or margarine? I have never tried it, but it might work.

Laura

[tammy]

I have a few ideas! Please tell me if you try them and how successful you are, okay? My husband and I make gluten-free roti (thin Indian flat bread) We use organic, gluten-free buckwheat flour and gluten-free brown rice flour. Mix it with water and fry it in a pan. Of course, you can always stuff your flat bread with whatever you like. If the buckwheat flour doesn't suit you then try sorghum flour or chickpea flour. The buckwheat has a hearty taste. It took a little getting used to. I like the chickpea flour since it tastes almost like corn.

Anyway, try cooking large amounts of sweet potatoes and potatoes. They make great fillers for most recipes. We like sweet potatoe fries!!!! Yummy!

I like to eat basmatic rice with cucumbers and carrots, then roll that in Nori wraps. Sometimes I will make my own dipping sauce.

[tarnalberry]

oooo.... yes, sweet potato fries kick ass! I made some last night! :-)