In Search Of Food Ideas

[Chiron]

I have read enough posts to know that many folks with Celiacs have other food intolerances so I know I am not alone on this, but am feeling really discouraged. I was dx in January and have been gluten free and dairy free since. I have responded very well with almost all of my symptoms. The one that still plagues me, and has acutally gotten worse, is joint pain. Main arthritis tests come back negative, but I have severe joint pain (back, hands, hips, shoulders, knees). I don't want to live on pain killers and my Dr recently suggested eliminating nightshade veggies. So I have just started cutting out Tomatoes, Potatoes, Eggplant, Peppers etc. I am more than willing to try this to see if it helps the pain, but am feeling overwhelmed.

My concern is that I am running out of food to eat. Ok not literally, but eating is getting more and more challenging. It is very hard to come up with a menu that has no gluten, no dairy, no potatoes, no tomatoes, no peppers, or red meat (by choice- used to be vegeterian). My old diet was very high in breads, and then became high in potatoes to compensate, and tomatoes have always been a favorite (not to mention ketchup, salsa, and marinara sauce).

I need exposure to new food combinations.

Help!

[tarnalberry]

sweet potatoes are fine even when you're not eating night shades. of course, rice, millet, and quinoa are other acceptable carbohydrates. but fruits and vegetables are also good, along with beans, and lentils. I find that browsing the produce section is great, along with picking up vegetarian cookbooks (with plenty of pictures), to get some ideas.

[turkeybird]

I, too, had severe joint pain. Just thought I was getting old. LOL. But... after doing my research on this site, I decided to stop eating nightshades. I saw amazing results - all of my joint pain disapeared. Hope you have the same positive results that I have had.

Turkeybird

[ptkds]

I have also been suffering from joint pain since I went gluten-free. My pain triples when I take Ibuprofen and a few other pain relievers (NSAIDS). If you are taking alot of pain relievers, especially ibuprofen, try to go about a week w/out them and see what happens. Staying away from these things doesnt completely get rid of the pain, but it helps me alot. I also recently learned that FDC Yellow #5 has some same components as ibuprofen. I am gonna try to get that completly out of my diet and see if it helps any.

Good luck and let me know if you try staying off ibuprofen, and what the results are!

[gfpaperdoll]

I second the recommendation for no nightshade veggies. I can eat tomatoes but absolutely cannot eat white potatoes or black pepper or chili powder or eggplant & I have mostly given up bell peppers.

I also am allergic to beef - even the organic stuff. I also have some other allergies...

I am mostly grain free - except for the occasional weekend corn tortilla & some cornmeal...

food combinations:

homemade baked beans -lots of chopped up onions, mustard, 100% maple syrup - cook & serve top with chopped grilled, baked or boiled chicken - I only like the white meat... eat with oven fried sweet potatoes - sprinkled with olive oil & fresh herbs & baked, salad of coleslaw - dressing can be 1/4 cup oil, 1/4 cup sugar or honey 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar - this salad will keep in the refrig a couple of days & get more "pickled" as it ages.

pan fried pork chops, stir fried cabbage - I use bacon fat, baked sweet potato, homemade cornbread- just use all cornmeal no flour & substitute coconut milk for the dairy, & put an extra egg in the milk measure - makes the corn bread lighter.

breakfast: bacon rolled in a heated up tortilla with jelly or with minced purple onion & cilantro.

lunch salad - base of kale, chopped celery, chopped cilantro, chopped jicama, broccoli, grated carrot, whatever kind of onions you have, boars head gluten free deli lunch meat - chopped.

homemade tacos - just use grated carrot in place of cheese... I use chopped chicken in place of ground meat - I boil a bunch of chicken - chop it up & freeze in portions, ready to use when you get home & are hungry.

cooked shrimp, canned crab meat - add to rice or to stir fry or make crab cakes...

homemade soup - freeze part of it, make a stir fry serve over rice or just eat plain- top with chopped cilantro & cashews, homemade stews, grilled ribs, barbecue anything!!!

your favorite combinations of fresh fruit for a fruit salad, snacks: dried fruit, including dates - those huge ones are good , fresh nuts, celery topped with almond butter or peanut butter, an apple a day...

[Chiron]

Thanks for the ideas so far, they are very helpful.

I think that giving up tomatoes is proving harder than dairy. I put salsa, tomato sauce, or ketchup on almost everything. THere are foods that I can still eat that I am having trouble imagining without a tomato product... turkey burgers, tortilla chips- or anything mexican like tacos, pasta, even my favorite rice and bean dishes.

As for the pain killers ibuprofen does not touch the pain, I am on tramadol w/ tylenol. I try to only take it when I have to, but that is becoming more and more often, especially since i work on my feet all day.

[gabby]

Some more foods that are nutritious and delicious:

-spaghetti squash (just cut in half, take out seeds, wrap in tin foil, roast in 360F oven for 45 minutes) When cooked, just take a fork and drag it through the squash and everything comes out looking like spaghetti! Add some olive oil and salt and you've got a terrific side dish that can be eaten hot or cold.

-avocado: slice them up in your salad, or mash them up with a bit of olive oil and salt. Excellent with roasted meat or as a veggie dip

-sweet potatoes: wash, then wrap in tin foil, bake at 400F for 1 hour. Then you can take off the skins and slice them up or mash them as a side dish. Very nutritious.

-for a non-tomato pasta topping: heat up olive oil in a frying pan. Add 1 medium chopped onion, some garlic, about 2 tablespoons anchovie fillets (tinned is okay, or the kind in the jar), a few capers (or about 1 cup of cooked peas) and if you like add a handfull of pitted olives...any kind you like. Salt and pepper to taste. Fry until the anchovies are completely dissolved. Toss pasta with this mixture.

-if you eat fish, then here's a gluten-free/dairy-free fish stew/soup that is really easy to make and healthy and delicious.

-Take about a pound of any BONELESS fillets of white fish (cod, sole, pollack, etc)

-put in the pot with 8 cups of water, about 2 teaspoons of salt, and a bay leaf and set pot to boil

-wash and chop into largish pieces: 1 small bunch brocolli including stems, 1 small head cauliflower, about half of an entire bunch of celery including leaves, 1 small onion, 1 clove garlic if you like garlic

-when pot of fish has been boiling for about 10 minutes, add all the chopped veggies, and turn down heat to a low simmer.

-Let cook until cauliflower is soft (about 15-20 minutes.)

-when cooked, take a potato masher and lightly mash up the contents of the pot.

-add more salt if you like. Serve in a bowl with a drizzle of good olive oil.

Hope this helps!

[RiceGuy]

I also found nightshades to cause me tremendous pains. Cutting them out helped, but still it wasn't enough. I got total relief from pain once I started taking methylcobalamin (B12) and magnesium.

As a replacement for potatoes, try taro. It is a root vegetable, with a white flesh similar to potato. The taste is quite similar too, only I'd say better! Slightly sweeter, with a hint of something like water chestnut. You can use it in all the same ways as potato, including mashed, fried, baked, and even chips. Just remember to handle it as you would sweet potato when raw, as both of these contain oxalate crystals which may irritate the skin. The crystals are destroyed once cooked.

I also second the suggestions of beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, etc. Look over the fresh produce section and pick out some stuff you don't normally have. Turnips, parsnips, bok choy, collard greens, various squashes...

[babysteps]

if you are open to grains at all, could also try corn - as grits, polenta, etc. - quite versatile. I second the 'rice, millet, quinoa' idea. Also rice pasta is worth a try (or other gluten-free pastas like corn or corn/quinoa). Had a chickpea fritter at a restaurant the other day that was very tasty, if you enjoy baking you could experiment there (check out italian and indian recipes for chick pea items - indian might be easier for CF without requiring substitutions).

when spouse did atkins diet, we enjoyed cauliflower-as-starch - either steamed or raw, put in blender or food processor with a little liquid, and you have something texturally a bit like mashed potato (if start with steamed) or polenta (if raw). Season with salt, black pepper and perhaps nutmeg. recipes for this often call for cream or yogurt, but we sometimes used chicken broth (you could also use veggie broth) just as successfully.

for missing ketchup, salsa etc. - try exploring spices, or even regional cuisines. India, Morocco, Turkey, China - could go on & on listing cuisines with little/no nightshade traditionally, so spice combos offer some flavor & heat even without tomato or peppers. I'm lucky enough to live near a Penzey's retail outlet, they have 'testers' of all their spices so it's easy to explore. Just avoid any of the ones with nightshade family peppers in them There's a ground sumac powder I think used in Turkish cuisine that has a nice smokey kick to it.

Hang in there, hopefully your hard work at avoiding nightshades will pay off in reducing your joint pain!

[JNBunnie1]

Is buckwheat a nightshade? If not, get some buckwheat groats and use it for hot cereal. I enjoy it far more than rice or corn or quinoa for hot cereal, I actually enjoy it even more than I used to like oatmeal. And you can play with it too, you can add maple syrup or cinnamon and raisins or honey and walnuts or whatever. It does need a bit of sweetening, just a bit. I use about a teaspoon of maple syrup for a whole big bowl. My boyfriend's addicted too.

[Mango]

I recently bought "The Gluten Free Vegan" by Susan O'Brien and I absolutely love it. There are so many recipes that I am in heaven. You can very easily take out the nightshade veggies and replace them with something else. Good luck!

[RiceGuy]

Yes, buckwheat is a good one. I like the roasted buckwheat best, which is often referred to as Kasha. It really is tasty. Another good one is Amaranth, which is quite nutritious. Just 1/4 cup has as much protein as an egg, lots of fiber, and various other minerals and stuff. It cooks up sorta like grits or cream of rice. Millet is good too, and so is sorghum and t'eff. Of course don't forget sweet brown rice. I never liked the typical long grain brown rice, but Lundberg's sweet brown rice is just soooo good! I like the way it cooks up creamy, not dry. Wonderful in all sorts of dishes.

[BRUMI1968]

fyi: black pepper is not a nightshade. If it bothers you, which it may very well, it is for some other reason.

[JNBunnie1]

Yes, buckwheat is a good one. I like the roasted buckwheat best, which is often referred to as Kasha. It really is tasty. Another good one is Amaranth, which is quite nutritious. Just 1/4 cup has as much protein as an egg, lots of fiber, and various other minerals and stuff. It cooks up sorta like grits or cream of rice. Millet is good too, and so is sorghum and t'eff. Of course don't forget sweet brown rice. I never liked the typical long grain brown rice, but Lundberg's sweet brown rice is just soooo good! I like the way it cooks up creamy, not dry. Wonderful in all sorts of dishes.

Yeah, that's what I meant, kasha, thank you. Where do you get amaranth & such whole? I found my kasha in the jewish section of the international aisle at the grocery.

[RiceGuy]

Yeah, that's what I meant, kasha, thank you. Where do you get amaranth & such whole? I found my kasha in the jewish section of the international aisle at the grocery.

I usually don't find it locally, so I order it here:

www.barryfarm.com

I think Bob's Red Mill has some too.