Needing Some Help With Cooking Ideas

[ann72601]

I'm hoping someone will be able to help me find cookbooks or recipes for celiac and other food allergies. I just had some testing done and found out that I was also allergic to casein, eggs, milk, turkey, chicken, beef, corn.. and those are just the ones on the severe level and the ones that I don't know how to avoid when cooking. I don't know how to be creative with these restrictions.

I know I can eat plain veggies and fruits, but I don't know if I can keep this up for a lifetime along with the gluten-free lifestyle. I'm getting frustrated because I can't come up with anything. Any help would be appreciated.

[missy'smom]

You might start by making a list of things that you CAN have. A list of ingredients. Make yourself write items down even if you know them or they seem obvious. It may seem silly or be frustrating to actually write out a list but it can be a helpful tool. Then take the list and ask yourself "What can I make with this? Choose something for the base of your main dish-I recommend a protein, then choose something to season or flavor it and cook it simply. Then choose a veg. or combination and flavor elements and simply prepare or cook it. Start by building simple menues like these and over time your thinking will expand and you'll find more and more things that work and resources that are available.

So to start you off, according to the ones that you listed that you can't: You can include

fish

quinoa

spices

herbs

olive oil

zucchini

cucumbers

carrots

onions

lemon

mustard

lettuce

etc.

so far with those you cold have a quinoa pilaf with zucchini and carrots and broiled, seasoned fish and a salad with a homemade vinaigrette

[lizard00]

I think the previous advice is great! Focus on what you can eat.

Another thing that helped me was as I started missing certain foods, asking here or looking for ways to swap out ingredients. This led me to try things I probably wouldn't have tried otherwise, and be creative. But if there's something that you really want and it has things in it that are on your no list, explore the different things you can use to make it safe for you to eat.

I am also allergic to eggs (the whites), simple fix: Ener-G egg replacer. (Most of the time it's a simple fix )

There are a lot of different milks out there, I use a lot of coconut milk. For cereal, baking, etc. Works great if you are good with coconut. Before gluten-free, I was clueless to the different products out there, now, I actually am grateful that I am aware of the huge variety of foods!

[Mrs.Doyle]

Both of the previous posters had great advice! Start with what you CAN have and get the rest out of the house.

Spices are the key to having more options. You can take the same pan of zucchini and make it mexican, asian, etc just by changing the herbs and spices you put on it.

Ethnic cuisine is fun to look at because a lot of it doesn't include eggs, dairy or meat because these are expensive items in many countries.

Also, just because a recipe calls for chicken breasts, doesn't mean you can't substitute something in it's place, i.e. fish, zucchini, tofu. Just watch it carefully the first time you re-do the recipe with your sub and make notes so you know next time

What type of meals are you used to eating? Meat and potatoes? Chinese take-out? Do you have a lot of time to cook or do you need to be able to eat on the fly?

[Janessa]

Think about Indian food and Thai, a lot of their dishes are naturally free of the foods you can't have and super flavorful

Also the Gluten Free Vegan is a great cookbook for ideas and dishes and baked goods with eggs, ect..

[ann72601]

Oh.....Thank you all so much!! I feel encouraged, excited and able to try 'with what I CAN have.' Wonderful advice in many ways.

Stay well,

Ann