Lady Henevere: Year in review

[Farmfresh]

I see no fish in this diet. Do you eat that at all?

Sweet potatoes are high in protein. There are other non-gluten grains like millet and quinoa which are both delicious. I also have Bob's Red Mill whole grain Buckwheat Bread mix which makes a very hearty rye-like loaf that has no-gluten. More nuts and nut flours need to be added. Abi has some wonderful recipes that include Almond flour and lots of nutritious fats.

The lack of dairy would kill me personally. :/ So much of what I eat is dairy.

 

[colowyo0809]

Okay, you've convinced me. Lettuce is on the to-do list for the weekend.

I have no idea what to eat. That sounds like an incredibly stupid thing to say, especially coming from someone who has spent years reading about nutrition, allergens, etc. and trying new diets to see what would end my constant abdominal pain. Turns out wheat that was the main culprit, but because I would try going without wheat for a week or two and see no improvement, I didn't realize it was the problem for years. It took six weeks of a completely wheat-free diet to discover that it had been causing me so much distress.

Getting wheat out of my diet was a big change, especially in a home with a carb-loving teen who is growing, running, and wants to eat all the time. (She did say to me, "Your wheat allergy is ruining my diet -- you never bake anymore." Sorry sweetie -- I really am. But nothing is stopping you from whipping out your own batch of brownies.) Surprisingly, I miss beer more than bread. But it hasn't been too painful, and I have adapted.

Except maybe I haven't. When I saw the naturopath last week, she thought I might still have some food allergies/intolerances messing with my digestive tract. She recommended cutting some of the main allergens in food -- wheat (done), dairy (a big staple for me), and corn (yum, in so many ways). She didn't mention cutting soy or tree nuts.

So far I am an utter failure. I have been traveling (try finding an allergen-free meal in an airport), and last night was dinner with friends at a Mexican restaurant (I had cheese and corn -- oops). I need to get it together and do this right.

I'm also a vegetarian, which makes this harder. I can't eat the dead flesh of animals; it grosses me out. It just doesn't seem like food to me, the way a golden retriever or eyeballs don't seem like food to a lot of people. So while to a non-veg person this low-allergen diet might be easy -- just have variations on meat and veggies -- I'm having a hard time with it. All I can think of is rice and veggies. There must be more out there, but my food creativity is running low.

So I'm trying to come up with ideas about what to eat. I think I want some gluten-free oatmeal to replace my yogurt breakfast, and sometimes I have eggs which I am supposed to be eating anyway to raise my cholesterol. Then I can have....rice and veggies. Rice and veggies Asian style (I have tamari - soy sauce with no wheat), rice and veggies Indian style (I need to learn how to make a good curry), rice and veggies Cuban style (mmm, plantains and black beans!). I can also have salads (with boiled egg for protein, no cheese), baked sweet potatoes (no butter), and....well....there must be more....

Any ideas?

there's also rice noodles and various breads that you can make yourself or buy. the nice thing is, alot of GF breads are actually easier to make because there is no kneading if you buy the box mix you simply mix everything together, put in a pan until it rises, then bake I think I actually miss the kneading part of bread making! As far as noodles go there is also Quinoa, and Buckwheat and Tapioca and Mung Bean. (FYI: Buckwheat contains neither wheat nor gluten, still kinda confused myself as to the naming, but this much I have verified )

I'll try to add more suggestions as they occur to me

 

[Farmfresh]

One nice thing is that there are LOTS of us here that are gluten free and quite a few vegans as well!

Help is just a few keystrokes away.

 

[colowyo0809]

One nice thing is that there are LOTS of us here that are gluten free and quite a few vegans as well!

Help is just a few keystrokes away.

Lol, exactly! And sometimes we repeat each other if we try posting at the same time and good catch on the fish! And what about chicken? or is that classified as meat? What level of vegetarian are you? I realize that might be a personal question, or impertinent, but essential for us to help advise I have a couple friends that are flexitarians. The one eats no mammals or birds but enjoys the occasional fish, and eats animal products i.e. dairy and eggs. The other doesn't eat mammals but does eat birds because, and I quote here "Chickens and Turkeys are stupid". That one also will not eat any gelatin unless is proven made from plant sources, or at least not animal.

mmmmm almond flour pancakes with homemade raspberry strawberry peach jam. I know whats for dinner! nom nom nom!!

 

[Farmfresh]

mmmmm almond flour pancakes with homemade raspberry strawberry peach jam. I know whats for dinner! nom nom nom!!

Yup ... he has been hanging around with Abi!

 

[Lady Henevere]

No fish, no chicken. I do eat eggs. So basically I'm going to be vegan plus eggs and honey.

I will be dreaming of cheese. And yogurt.

Thanks for the suggestions so far! I have tried a few non-gluten breads and mixes and I have not been thrilled with them, but I think I need to try some other kinds. I hope I can find ones that are dairy free. I've never even tried almond flour. I'll put that on the list.

I'm also supposed to be using coconut oil. Can I substitute that for butter?

 

[Wifezilla]

Hee hee hee That abi is such a troublemaker!

These are the best wheat-free pancakes EVER...
http://www.nourishingdays.com/2010/07/fluffy-coconut-flour-pancakes/

There is also a brand of kefir made with coconut milk instead of dairy. I buy it when I forget to start a new culture. The no dairy is tough, but there are a lot of things that can be made out of coconut milk and coconut cream. Thai kitchen and Faraon are two brands without added sugars.

You might also want to look in to nutritional yeast with added B-12. The b-12 is cultured and not from a meat source.

 

[Wifezilla]

Yes, you can use coconut oil instead of butter.

One other thing I just thought of..have you ever tried quinoa? It's nom and high in protein.

 

[freemotion]

I admit I haven't been following this but the title caught my eye. Have you read Nourishing Traditions yet? It is not a vegetarian book, but will help you create a healthy vegetarian diet. Just skip the chapters on meat.

One thing that really helped me (still have bouts, but I am no longer almost home-bound by my stupid digestive system!) was learning what irritates the digestive tract and what soothes it. Proper preparation of foods, especially seeds/grains, is a big key. As is removing chemical irritants from the diet, which includes things like sprout retardants on root veggies (buy organic carrots, potatoes, yams, etc) and the preserving chemicals on other veggies. Makes a HUGE difference.

Organic raw milk was amazingly healing for me, and I was EXTREMELY sensitive to any store-bought dairy. A tiny sip/bite would keep me doubled over and housebound for two days. That meant no eating at restaurants, potlucks, even friend's homes, as most don't get the severity and secretly thought I was just being a pain in the tush. I knew this because a real friend told me of comments made such as "I didn't tell her about the _____ in the recipe because there was so little. I can't see how so little could really be a problem." Sheesh.

I just ordered the book, Gut and Psychology Syndrome at the suggestion of my naturopath even though I don't have the psychological issues listed in the title. At least not that I'll admit to.

 

[Wifezilla]

Ooo! Let me know how you like that book when you finish. I don't have gut pain, but I have issues...LOL Kefir helped a lot though