Frustrated About What To Eat.

[rutland]

Im getting frustrated because I dont know what to reach for when I open the fridge. I recently reacted badly to a pad of butter on my gluten-free bread, reacted badly to soy (even in small amounts) and Im allergic to eggs. So what does one do if they want to make a tuna salad or chicken salad, what can I use in place of Mayonaise.

Also I find breakfast the most challanging meal of the day. Can anyone give some ideas for this. For instance what do you eat on typical days? Also, do you have any tips to make life easier in regards to food.

I need help!

Steph

[aikiducky]

You seem to have some of the same foods to avoid as I do. I can't have gluten, cows milk, eggs, legumes, nightshades, and I don't react very badly to soy but it gives me pimples so I avoid it anyway.

My typical day would be:

Breakfast: rice cakes with goat cheese, or rice cakes with nut butter (not peanut!) and slice of meat

PLUS two pieces of fruit, cut up in a bowl, with a couple of fresh dates, and possibly some coconut milk on top

Sometimes I buy gluten free corn flakes and have those with the fruit and coconut milk, very filling, I leave the rice cakes out on those mornings.

Lunch: very often, a bag of mixed salad (my favourite has endive, iceberg, carrots and cabbage) thrown in a bowl, with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and herbs mixed in instead of a salad dressing. Plus, olives, tuna or smoked salmon, sweet corn, maybe an avocado. Avocado is great for a creamy mayo-like feel.

If I have plenty of time I might make buckwheat&cornstarch pancakes, coconut milk as liquid makes them softer.

Dinner: Mostly veg & meat stir fry.

My latest addiction is popcorn, popped myself in olive oil. Much nicer than microwave bags.

I also snack on nuts and raisins and dried fruit.

Hope i could give you some ideas...

Pauliina

[Mango04]

Tuna salad is really good mixed with just olive oil or olive oil and a bit of vinegar (balsamic is good). There's a recipe somewhere on this board for tuna tacos. You basically mix tuna with avocado, fresh salsa, a bit of lime, and put the mixture in corn tortillas.

If you don't already eat coconut oil I would highly recommend it as a replacement for butter. Coconut oil with sea salt is really good on gluten-free toast.

I can eat eggs but I'm gluten, dairy and soy-free. I find raw vegan cookbooks are really good to look through. They can give you tons of new ideas for food and pretty much every recipe is free of the things we can't eat.

My latest addiction is popcorn, popped myself in olive oil. Much nicer than microwave bags.

Mine too, but I pop it in coconut oil. It's sooooo good

[Mtndog]

I'm kind of in the same boat as you guys- newly dairy free and also gluten, soy and legumes. One thing I did was buy a breadmaker so I could make my own bread- super easy and you can use an egg replacer (EnerG makes one). I made my first loaf yesterday- Gluten Free Pantry french bread mix with olive oil and I threw in some rosemary, thyme and oregano. Yum! Ate it with olive oil, salt and pepper. Tasty!

I'm on the popcorn train too- gotta try some coconut oil though.

Also, I like Enjoy Life snack bars (free of all allergens).

Made a chicken, brocolli, mushroom and garlic stir fry tonight.

I don't do tuna salad so I'm not much help there.

[burdee]

Add cane sugar to that list and you exactly describe my 5 allergy/intolerances. Fortunately I learned about most one at a time. So I had time to adjust and learn substitutions before I was diagnosed with another food to restrict. For breakfast I eat nut butter with fruit on gluten-free breads or gluten-free hot cereal cooked with almond milk, fruit and a bit of almond butter. However I really missed mayonnaise for tuna or chicken salad sandwiches before I saw this mayonnaise recipe on this board:

Combine and blend on high until creamy smooth (at least one minute):

1 cup boiling water

1 cup raw cashews (available at Whole Foods or Trader Joe's)

1 T. honey

1 tsp. salt (I use garlic or onion salt)

Add and blend briefly:

3-4 T. lemon juice

Pour (and scrape) into 2 small jars (makes about 2 cups) and refrigerate immediately to firm up. I accidently left jars of mayo in my freezer when I tried to chill it quickly and forgot to remove. I discovered the mayo is just fine frozen and thawed. So if you only use a little each day or not daily, freeze half and leave the other in the fridge. If you don't use it within 2 weeks, it may begin to 'weep' (liquify at the edges), but you can just stir that back in and ENJOY!

BURDEE

[tarnalberry]

yep - that's my tuna taco recipe. I hate mayo, and can't use sour cream or yogurt like I used to, so I use avocado. quite tasty. add lots of chopped tomato, some onion, maybe some cilantro and cucumber (fairly common in pico de gallo) and eat on a bed of lettuce or spinach, or in a corn tortilla (or as a dip with corn chips!). a little lemon juice if it's around... even better!

breakfast can be all kinds of things - many of which aren't breakfast foods. hot cereal (made with water is often just fine, especially if you add a bit of honey and cinnamon), leftover pancakes (frozen from a big batch on the weekend), muffins made without eggs (or any of the other ingredients), rice cakes with nut butter, sausages and some fruit... no need to be hooked on standard breakfast.

[Mango04]

yep - that's my tuna taco recipe.

I knew I stole that idea from someone here...I couldn't remember who though. Well thanks for the recipe, it comes in handy

For anyone wanting egg-free mayo and such - I think it's AndreaB who has a really good thread full of recipes for vegan mayos and cheeses and really tasty things like that....I'm sure it's easily findable in the recipe forum if you haven't seen it yet...

[tarnalberry]

mango, I'm glad you like it! I use mashed avocado in my lasagna instead of ricotta (but in much smaller quantities) as well.

I've found raw recipes a good source for intolerances. I'd never have found a replacement for ranch dip/dressing without it (though it does use cashews).

[kabowman]

I haven't had lasagna in years since I haven't figured out a way to replace the cheese. What a great idea, thanks. Maybe I will make two batches, one for me and one for everyone else in my house.

Life gets easier and better once you are able to really being to experiment and expand on the foods you can fix with your limited choices.

[rutland]

This is great info! I think the avocado idea will be perfect esp. because Ive always loved mexican style food.

Thanks a bunch!

[Juliebove]

My daughter has all of those allergies and then some.

For breakfast she usually has cereal, either with rice milk or more often plain. Sometimes I make pancakes from a gluten-free mix using a mix of ground flax and water for the eggs. Sometimes she has gluten-free toast with coconut oil on it, perhaps with some jam or jelly or a sprinkling of sugar and cinnamon. Sometimes she has Ener-G cinnamon rolls. Occasionally I will make gluten free bagels for her. We've also bought the Enjoy Life Bagels and she likes those. Ener-G makes a variety of assorted bread products she can eat. When she's in a hurry she will have some sort of gluten-free bar from Glutino or Glutano (can't remember which), Ener-G, Enjoy Life, a Boomi Bar, pumpkin seed bar, dried fruit bar or a Macrobiotic cashew butter bar. The cashew butter bars are her favorite but at almost $3 per bar, not something I want her eating every day. Sometimes she has some bacon or sausage for protein.

She takes her lunch to school. Often it is leftovers from dinner. They do have a microwave in the class but she's not allowed to use it. She has some thermos containers in various sizes.

I try not to send sandwiches too often because I think the gluten-free bread does better when toasted. If I do send one it, it is usually some kind of nut or seed butter (peanut allergy) with jam. Sometimes it's meat with honey mustard but she's not a big meat eater. If I make a tuna sandwich, I will do a faux mayo, whipping together equal amounts of water and light olive oil with a tiny splash of cider vinegar, goodly amount of fresh lemon juice, salt, pepper, bit of onion powder, pinch of dry mustard and a bit of Sweet Hungarian paprika, thickened with a bit of arrowroot powder. I just sort of do it to taste. I might also just send the tuna salad in a thermos.

I might send some of that canned Orgran pasta if I'm in a super hurry, or a variety of pre-packaged things. She likes Shelton's turkey sticks and tubes of organic applesauce or little containers of fruit or fruit sauce. I might also toss in some fruit leather, can of Vienna sausages, Enjoy Life (or other)snack bars or cookies, packages of apple slices or baby carrots, whole piece of fruit, a bag of chips, gluten-free pretzels, or a rice cake. In a pinch, I've tossed in a 2 slice pack of gluten-free bread.

She loves soup. There are a couple kinds of tomato soup she is not allergic to. I can also buy some kinds of canned black bean, vegetable, and Shelton's makes a yummy chicken and wild rice.

She loves hummus! She has two little square containers with a separate round compartment in the center. I put hummus in the center and the outer part will hold cucumber slices, olives and baby carrots. Or gluten-free breadsticks or pretzels. She also likes Nacho Chreese (Road's End Organics) or a vegan nut cheese I make as a dip. With that I add some tiny round corn chips or Fritos (I know some people react to Fritos, she does not). Or I might put salsa or bean dip in the center. I might put leftover spaghetti sauce in the center and gluten-free breadsticks around the outside.

Another quick lunch is a pouch of plain, precooked rice from Trader Joes, mixed with some canned turkey or chicken.

Dinners are often gluten-free pasta. One favorite is Hormel Beef Au Jus heated in a large skillet, juice and all then mixed with Rice Fettucine noodles. Tonight it's Rice Penne with jarred tomato sauce and a good sprinkle of nutritional yeast for protein, B vitamins and a cheesy flavor. It's good on popcorn too! I use lasagna noodles broken in large pieces and mixed with cooked chicken and gravy. I'll tell you how I make the gravy later. Tuna casserole can be made by making a sauce of sauteed onions and celery and chopped mushrooms. You can make it a bit more like sauce by adding a bit of sweet rice flour, water and olive oil. I add plenty of green peas and top it with potato chips. We also like Namaste pastas. I do the one that is like mac and cheese either on its own or adding tuna or ground beef. She likes the Road's End Organics pastas. I don't care for them because they taste mustardy to me. But I often make these with cubed ham mixed in.

There are plenty of other casseroles I make. Like Tater Tot. But I use Spud Puppies or hash browns to top it with. Tater Tots have something she's allergic to. Soy? I think... Anwyay... I start with cooked ground beef then add tomato sauce and a bit of ketchup for sweetness. I might also add some nutritional yeast, chopped onions and other vegetables. Green beans are a favorite. Top with the frozen potatoes and bake till heated through and the potatoes are crispy and brown. Shepard's Pie is another option. Use whatever cooked meats and vegetables you like, in some gravy then top with mashed potatoes (I'll tell you how I make these later) and bake till heated through.

A new favorite is tamale casserole. Start with Hormel canned tamales. They come wrapped in paper in sauce. Unwrap them and put in a casserole dish. Then add some canned or frozen corn, cooked kidney or black beans, slices of onion and green pepper, then top with chopped tomatoes, either canned or fresh. This is a very forgiving recipe and you can really use whatever you want. Bake till heated through and garnish with black olives.

As someone else pointed out, Mexican food is great for those particular allergies. We eat a lot of it. For a super quick meal I'll brown some ground beef then add cooked rice, beans, and Mexican seasonings. Might also add chopped onion, pepper and tomatoes. Very good.

Sometimes I'll do a simple roast with potatoes and carrots in the crockpot. Requires few seasonings. Just a sliced onion or two, salt, pepper and parsley. Might add a can of tomato sauce and some mushrooms and green peppers and Italian seasoning for a variation.

Now for the gravy. We sometimes eat things like hamburger gravy, chicken or turkey gravy over rice or mashed potatoes. I start with the cooked meat, then mix in some sweet rice flour to fairly well coat. If I am using canned meat, I add whatever liquid is already in the can. Once the flour is all mixed in, heating as I do so, I add some broth, a little bit at a time. There are a few brands out there she is not allergic to. I continue adding broth and stirring until I get the thickness I want. I season with pepper and parsley and perhaps a bit of salt, but some broths are already pretty salty. For added calicum, I've found the additon of greens such as Swiss Chard works really well. I chop it in my food processor into teensy bits and it blends in very nicely to the hamburger gravy.

If I do not have any meat to start with, I make gravy by using a whisk and blending some Sweet Rice flour and a bit of olive or light olive oil into plain broth, heating as I do so.

For mashed potatoes, I use the same kind of broth as the meat I am using. I've found some little pouches of condensed broth she is not allergic to. Or I use the Organic Better Than Bouillion. I have the beef. Not sure about the other flavors. Some have soy in them. You have to check.

I boil the potatoes as usual, then when tender, I drain off most of the water, saving some of it in a cup in case I need it. I then add some light olive oil and some pouches or spoonfuls of my condensed broth/bouillon and a bit of parsley, chives or green onions, salt and pepper. Mash well, stir, add more water if needed. Taste. Mix in more broth if needed. Makes very yummy potatoes.

If you can not find the condensed broth, you can use regular broth in place of milk to mash, but be sure to drain your potatoes well or they won't have enough flavor.

Lastly we sometimes have stuffed potatoes. These we make with rice milk. Be sure not to buy the Rice Dream brand. It's not gluten free. And you want the plain, not the vanilla. Bake some large potatoes, then cool enough to handle. Cut them in half and scoop out the insides, leaving a shell of about 1/4". I usually bake a few more than I need because I like to overstuff them, plus I always manage to mangle a few. Hehe. Mash the insides with a bit of olive oil or light olive oil, a goodly amount of nutritional yeast, chopped green onions or chives, parsley, salt and pepper and enough rice milk to make them nice and creamy. Stuff back inside the potato shells. Drizzle with more olive oil and sprinkle with Sweet Hungarian Paprika then bake until heated through. Bacon bits also make a good topping for this.

[Mtndog]

Wow Julie- Thanks...that was great!

I'm having a hard time finding anything other than Rice Dream rice milk (which we can't have because it's not gluten-free) Who Makes a gluten-free rice milk?

[jerseyangel]

I'm having a hard time finding anything other than Rice Dream rice milk (which we can't have because it's not gluten-free) Who Makes a gluten-free rice milk?

Pacific Foods makes a good one--Whole Foods carries it here, as well as a couple regular grocery stores (Shoprite and Wegmans).

I use their Almond Milk--it's very good, also.

[Juliebove]

Wow Julie- Thanks...that was great!

I'm having a hard time finding anything other than Rice Dream rice milk (which we can't have because it's not gluten-free) Who Makes a gluten-free rice milk?

Lundbergs and WestSoy are the two we buy most often. I've seen some store brands out there that are fine too.