What Did You Eat Today?

[Kamagrian]

OK, I admit, I got this idea from another website (can't even remember which one now, think it was a vegan one!).

I thought it might be interesting, in the spirit of inspiration, to share what we've been eating day-to-day. I recognise that we'll all have different tastes and medical/ethical/other dietary restrictions, but I have to admit that my voyeuristic side is intrigued by the idea of 'taking a peek' into people's larders. ;)

So, for me...I eat meat, fish and eggs, but for medical reasons I currently can't eat lots of fat (I'll have the odd high fat thing, figuring that if my general diet is healthy it won't hurt), and I have to totally avoid all forms of dairy and alcohol. Today was like this:

Breakfast: Dry-fried egg (cooked in Fry-Light), with very lean grilled bacon on wholemeal bread.

Lunch: Creamy garlic mushrooms (basically sliced mushrooms and spring onions cooked in garlic, black pepper and low-fat soya milk until it goes thick and creamy) on wholemeal toast. Mmm.

Dinner: Friends are visiting for a games night, so we're getting a Chinese/Thai takeaway - our local one does steamed sea bass with lemon and chilli, and I'm planning to have that with steamed Thai or glutinous rice. Dairy-free AND low-fat, so I don't have to miss out on the takeaway night. :D Everyone else will be drinking wine and beer, so I've got myself some lovely elderflower cordial to mix with fizzy spring water as a sort of non-alcoholic elder champagne.

[Edit: Decided on steamed seabass with ginger and Thai pickled plums instead - extremely tasty, and well recommended if you don't mind your tastebuds going into overdrive and your face turning inside out when you first taste the plums!]

So....now I've divulged my own eating habits (I've only just got my appetite back after my hospital visit, so I'm finally eating well!), anybody else want to share?

Gill x

[rebecca c]

Not a very exciting day today diet wise. I am currently non dairy/gluten/chocolate/alcohol and soya on account of definite reactions. Non salicylate - which I am about to try to challenge again - has always made things worse in past but as things are improving I need to rechallenge. Also going to try a sugar free week (big challenge) on account of one symptom which may be fungal. Bit of a problem with this as never really believed in candida problems but worth looking into - need to research this some more.

Breakfast kallo rice cereal and rice milk and pear and tahini on some brown rice bread toast (normally have brown rice, banana and pear but his morning had a lie in for first time in about a year)

Lunch leeks and black eyed beans fried with olive oil

couple of rice cakes with tahini and another bowl of puffed rice cereal

Dinner starter of fresh prawns followed by chicken baked with lemon and probably purple sprouting broccoli and rice

[cnc]

I can't really remember what I've had, but I've been to the gym today and need to store carbs for tomorrows races (my excuses for what will be a terrible food list)
I generally try and eat well for obvious reasons, plus sporting reasons!

Breakfast:- two slices of granary bread and glass of fruit juice
Lunch:- Two granary rolls (one with pork and one just with Pure on it) Bag of crisps and some pink grapefruit squash
Two cookies :unsure:
Dinner:- Barbeque Spare ribs and potato wedges
Will have some fruit tonight as well (My meals are normally slightly better than this, but I'm allowed a dodgy day occasionally!)
I think thats all I've had to eat, can't remember fully though!

[Kamagrian]

If that's a dodgy day, goodness knows what my usual fare will count as - you're doing fine! :D I certainly don't want the thread to turn into a puritanical food-watch anyway...it's more just to see if I can get any new ideas from other people, and vice versa.

I love carbs. I'm the Anti-Atkins Woman. ;)

[matt]

well typical and bad for me:

breakfast, small bowl cornflakes, energy juice
lunch, wheat free biscuits and scheese and crisps, energy juice
tea salmon, or similar from tin, a few veggies, crisps and energy juice

not healthy, heart attack coming no doubt but atleast i've been putting a little weight on. note my portions are quite small.

[Pam]

Breakfast - porridge made with rice milk
lunch - avocado pear with rice crispbreads
tea - pasta in tomato sauce with some chopped courgette thrown in followed by a nectarine, I had planned on having a ciabatta roll but my daughter decided that she wanted it instead.
I had a little bit of Lidl Amazonas dark chocolate along the way too (60% cocoa)

On the subject of chocolate I picked up some lemon sorbet After eights and some Irish Cream After Eights yesterday. Neither has milk in the ingredients list but both warn "may contain traces of milk". However, as neither me nor my daughter has a major allergy to milk I think we will risk it.

[Copper]

I am not sure that my diet is that healthy. I have a small appetite too which is why I eat little but often - hence the between meal snacks.

Breakfast - Half a pink grapefruit, a slice of home made white bread toasted and a cup of coffee

Elevenses - A cup of coffee and a brunch bar

Lunch - A slice of home made white bread, 2 cherry tomatoes, scheese, half a bag of crisps, cup of hot chocolate and a digestive biscuit

Afternoon tea - cup of coffee and a piece of home made fruit cake

Dinner - 2 roast potatoes, chicken, vegetables and some orange juice

Supper - cup of hot chocolate and a chocolate chip cookie

[paranoidangel]

The delights of keeping a food diary - I can tell you everything I've eaten since the beginning of July (but won't, I promise).

Yesterday I had:

Breakfast - half a pink grapefruit, bowl of coco pops with lactolite

Lunch - chocolate spread sandwich, rice cake with Pure, rice cake with chocolate spread, plain crisps, apple

Tea - wheat-free, gluten-free, egg-free, milk-free, probably very expensive but I don't care because it's very nice, chocolate cake bar

Dinner - chicken mince, mushrooms and rice with pretend soy sauce (which bears no resemblence to the real thing and doesn't even taste very nice). Mango sorbet for pudding.

I like the idea of getting new ideas from other people Kamagrian.

[cnc]

Ok, my meals today were probably healthier for me, although they probably didn't provide enough tuition for 7 races!!
Breakfast: 3 Weetabix with Alpro and some fruit juice
After first race snack: Sultanas/Rasins and a red cherry cereal bar.
Lunch: Ham on Granary bread (and can of coke)- I had raced 5 consecutive races just prior to that!
Dinner: Roast dinner- chicken, roast potatoes, peas, carrots, sausages and bacon and some onion stuffing and then a banana. Am considering having some ice-cream soon, have had a hard day of racing!

[Kamagrian]

Coo, this thread's growing - I'm enjoying the culinary voyeurism! ;)

Today was:

Breakfast: Ham and tomato sandwich on wholemeal bread.

Lunch: Roast chicken sandwich (very lean, no skin) on wholemeal bread.

Dinner: Yummy marinated pork steak that my bf cooked (with fresh ginger, soy sauce and lime juice) with sort-of-Chinese-style vegetable rice, followed by sliced peaches, strawberry sauce and a little vanilla Swedish Glace. Every girl needs ice cream sometimes.

Dinner was lovely. He can make thatagain! :D

[matt]

angel....you can get proper soy sauce thats wheat free from the health food shop. off the top of my head i can'tremember the name but it's real just no wheat. tastes nice aswell.

[rebecca c]

Tamari. It is nice. I cant have it now coz no soya.

[paranoidangel]

Thanks Matt and Rebecca, I'll have to look for that tomorrow.

[Kamagrian]

Today's enthralling episode of 'Gill Eats...':

Breakfast: Gill's Sort-of Bircheresque Muesli: mixture of oats, chopped nuts, dried apricots and prunes, soaked with soya milk and a sprinkle of cinnamon before I went to bed last night. Sprinkled with a little brown sugar before munching happily in bed this morning - surprisingly scrummy and creamy, and very filling.

Lunch: Ham and tomato sandwich on wholemeal bread (yeah, I know this is turning into a habit!).

Dinner: Cottage pie (added a little soya milk and Cheezly to the mash, as well as some sweet potato) with savoy cabbage.

Also had a bit of an exploration into new products as my friend came around with 'get well soon' treats for me! Trufree (dairy, wheat and gluten-free) bourbon creams, though not low-fat, are definitely worth a nibble and taste exactly the same as normal ones. Sainsbury's 'Be Good To Yourself' lemon cake slices are AMAZING, low-fat AND dairy-free as far as I can work out, so I'm a happy girl! I was also given a bar of Sainsbury's 'Freefrom' soya milk chocolate - I've only eaten a few squares as I can't stomach too much fat, but it's wonderful. I like it much better than Plamil Martello!

So...I've had a treaty nibbly day! Didn't go mad - just one biccy, one lemon cake bar (though this might change later....... :drool:) and the rest of the little chocolate bar will probably get shared with bf tomorrow, provided he doesn't get on my bad side by eating all the lemon slices... Definitely feeling quite well-fed and treated right now.

[rebecca c]

Today I have mostly been eating...

brown rice and banana

brown rice/lettuce/sardine salad

potatoes pork and apple sauce and green beans

with a treat of some pumpkin and sunflower seeds to follow before bed

My son is just this minute tucking into his easter egg - yes thats right he has saved an easter egg all this time (Dougal with his name on apparently too good to eat!) Such restraint makes me wonder where he got those genes from.

Thinking about making a mousaka later in the week - does anyone have a recipe I can adapt?

[cnc]

Gill, bit of info for the future, most bourbon creams are dairy free/ suitable for Vegans and cost a fraction of the Tru-free ones (and they taste exactly the same as normal ones!!)

My meals were quite random again today....
Bread muffins and fruit juice
Bacon and mushroom tortilla wraps (I really should stop putting random foods together...) followed by a banana and two hastily eaten cookies!

Then this evening:
Lamb chops, Chicken Balti, Chapattis and chips- I went to the Indian restaurant! :dance: Feel quite full now, but I'm milking this returning to uni lark as much as possible :naughty:

[paranoidangel]

Trufree (dairy, wheat and gluten-free) bourbon creams, though not low-fat, are definitely worth a nibble and taste exactly the same as normal ones.

I disagree with you there. I bought a packet the other day because I really wanted some biscuits and I knew the Trufree digestives don't taste like disgestives. They don't look like bourbons - they're the wrong shape and colour, and I'm not convinced they taste like bourbons at all.

[Kamagrian]

I disagree with you there. I bought a packet the other day because I really wanted some biscuits and I knew the Trufree digestives don't taste like disgestives. They don't look like bourbons - they're the wrong shape and colour, and I'm not convinced they taste like bourbons at all.

Ahh, maybe it's my jaded tastebuds or the fact that I'm remembering the taste incorrectly - I'd not actually eaten bourbon creams (real or fake) in AGES, it was just a chance that my friend brought me some around as she knows I'm ill. :D They're definitely a lighter colour and squarer shape than real ones, however, so I can't disagree with you there.

Claire - didn't realise that bourbons were generally dairy-free! I guess I'd presumed they'd have a bit of whey or somesuch in them, but I'll have a look in future. I've tended to stick to fairtrade chocolate in the last few years, but I've found that abstaining from dairy has made me CRAVE milk-chocolatey-type foods, so I'm allowing myself the odd deviation from my habits. I can't eat that sort of thing often at the moment anyway, so at least my biscuits and treats are lasting a lot longer than they did before my pancreas-nasties!

Gill x

[PinkyPrincess]

Hi,
I had a bad day yesterday. Had a banana for breakfast, some Granny Ann biscuits for lunch and rice cakes later on. Felt totally crap all day since finding out that I can't drink ribena (something to do with wheat derived ingredients) or Alpro soya yoghurts (corn starch) so I was too lathargic to find anything to eat. The prob with food intolerances is finding something when you're so hungry that you don't have time to cook. The only snack I eat is plain crisps.
If anyone has any inspiration please let me know. I'm sticking to the diet because when I do accidentally eat something I shouldn't I feel TERRIBLE so I know it's working.
Help

:(

[Kamagrian]

If anyone has any inspiration please let me know. I'm sticking to the diet because when I do accidentally eat something I shouldn't I feel TERRIBLE so I know it's working.
Help:(

You don't list eggs in your restricted list - maybe a quick omelette? That's always been a favourite of mine, and you can rustle one up in about 3 minutes flat if you're an addict like me. Nice, filling, hot comfort food, and you could always fancy it up with a few herbs or veggies?

Just a quick thought.

[cnc]

Bacon is a good quick meat to cook, (can lead to bacon butties, althought I don't know how those work on gluten free bread).
A lot of the meals I make don't take any more than 10 minutes to make- normally involve meat (stick in a frying pan, chopped up into small bits, bit of olive oil and its cooked in minutes). Other than that I don't know.
I have a food obsession so always make time to cook.
Ready made snacks- suitable biscuits and fruit are what I what suggest. I'll have a think about the snacks I eat and see if any of them are suitable and let you know.

[PinkyPrincess]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I love omlettes but I can't have egg whites more often than every 4 days (I had a fried egg on Sunday morning) so they are a no-go.

I do have bacon at home (I only eat organic meat) but the prob is, I can't have it on bread (even the gluten free bread has yeast in so I can't have any breads) so I'm at a loss as to what to actually cook it with!

I can't even have baked beans on a jacket potato because of the corn starch in them, and most sauces and relishes have vinegar (from yeast) and garlic in, so all the food I do eat is dry and mainly tasteless.

I do like fruit and eat that as snacks, but the only thing I can have for lunch is a chicken/ham (not from supermarkets as it has milk in) salad which is incredibly boring.

The only snacks I eat are Granny Ann biscuits and rice cakes with dark chocolate on. Everything else has corn starch in. (shame because the gluten and wheat and milk free stuff is usually quite tasty but I realised a week ago that I hadn't spotted the corn starch.)

The only breakfast I can have is rice puffs (organic Kallo ones) with soya milk. Or fruit.

As you can see my diet is desperately boring and I'm feeling quite crap about it at the moment, the only thing is I feel physically better for not eating the bad foods.

Sorry I know this is a dairy-free zone so I shouldn't burden people with all the rest of it... :(

[Fozzybear]

So far today:

bowl of Sainsburys crunchy oat cereal & soya milk
a ham and 'cheese' slice sandwich (home-made bread - yum yum!)
packet of Walkers salted crisps
Jordans original crunchy bar (or whatever it's called)
plus water/black coffee/pepsi max/orange juice/apple+blackcurrant squash (not all mixed into the same glass!)

dinner will probably be a baked potato with baked beans (reduced salt from Sainsburys) and 'cheese' and a Sainsburys Lemon Bakewell to follow.

[Copper]

Ok every breakfast is the same for me - does not require any thought first thing which is good.

Lunch is the same every day too really.

Dinner tonight will be jacket potato, lamb mince and sweetcorn.

Pudding will be ice cream (dairy free of course) and raspberries fresh from my mother's garden.

[Kamagrian]

Today...

Breakfast: What breakfast? Woke up feeling bleargh.
Lunch: Roast chicken sandwich on wholemeal bread, low-fat lemon cake slice.
Dinner: Going to be homemade chicken and chickpea curry with rice, maybe followed by a slice of low-fat ginger loaf I found in Sainsbury's.

I'm craving trifle, and have been gradually collecting bits and pieces I can use to make a low-fat, dairy free one! I now have Sainsbury's sponge fingers and some sugar-free jelly crystals for the bottom layer, Alpro custard for the middle, and I saved a page with a recipe for soya 'whipped cream' somewhere, though I don't have any gelling crystals to thicken it with. If I get really impatient, I might make it sans 'cream', then just pour a tiny bit of Soya Dream over my portion. :D

[Pen]

Pinky

I do sympathize with you. Although I can have corn, carrots and garlic there are many things I can't eat (gluten, cow dairy, sugar, cocoa, tea, coffee, caffeine, nuts, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, liquorice, onions, many fruits, coconut, vinegar, to name but a few) so I find I have to plan ahead. Otherwise, when I am in a real rush, it is rice cakes for lunch! One thing I find that helps is so boil enough rice to last for a few days. It keeps well in the fridge. Most lunchtimes I make a stir-fry--I chop up a few veggies (e.g. peppers, celery, courgette, tomato) which takes a couple of minutes, then fry them in olive oil to soften, and then add the rice (sometimes I add any leftover meat or some canned tuna). I may also add some dried herbs or spices, and some salt, and voila! a meal ready in about 10 minutes. If you like cold rice, then it is even easier (and you can take it out with you as long as it is a coolbag to keep the rice safe). The only snacks I have are plain crisps (which I try not to eat), bananas and medjool dates. They are definitely the best variety of date--large, plump with lovely texture, and they are my alternative to chocolate (they are more like candy than fruit).

To continue with the theme of the thread... today I had:
BREAKFAST: 'Nature's Path' sugar-free cornflakes with sliced banana, freshly ground flax and sunflower seeds, with goats' milk. Cup of herbal tea (blueberry and raisin).
LUNCH: Stir-fry made with basmati rice, mushrooms, green pepper, tomato, cayenne pepper and salt. Glass of raspberry juice diluted with three parts water.
AFTERNOON SNACK: One cup of peppermint herbal tea, and one delicious medjool date.
DINNER (not for another hour) will be: Trout fillet, mushrooms and half a large tomato (de-seeded) cooked in a frypan with a little olive oil. Deep fried (corn oil) chips (but drained well on kitchen paper), and petit pois. Maybe a glass of white wine.
OTHER DRINKS: Water, water and more water.

[Kamagrian]

Pen, you've got me craving medjool dates now!! And white wine, for that matter...but at least I can have the dates. ;) I may have to get some brought home for me tomorrow

My favourite way of cooking trout is very simple - I put a whole trout on foil, place a couple of slices of lemon and some dill inside, fold the whole thing up and bake it in the oven. I could happily eat the stuff every day. One of my friends calls me the Nemesis Of Aquatic Life, I love fish so much! :lol2:

[Kamagrian]

PinkyPrincess - just a couple of ideas I had going around my head of things you might be OK with for quick foods...they might be unsuitable, so feel free to ignore me!

What about a tuna salad, made up and ready to eat? I sometimes mix a drained can of tuna with mayo (you might have to be more imaginative with your dressing - maybe some softened soya 'cream cheese' if there's one that wouldn't upset you) and sweetcorn. Then I mix in chopped raw veggies I like (personally chopped red peppers and spring onions do it for me), some diced cooked new potatoes, etc. Put the whole kaboodle into an airtight container and it'll keep happily in the fridge for a couple of days, ready to be spooned onto salad or just rolled up in lettuce leaves to make a wrap.

I do a similar thing sometimes with chopped roast chicken too - though I love balsamic vinegar on that which sadly seems out for you, and I love prawns in this sort of thing too.

Sorry if none of this is useful, just brainstorming! I really feel for you, sounds like you're a bit frustrated with things!

[Edit: Just found a recipe for vinegar-free mayonnaise. It DOES have an egg in it, but if you're OK with a little egg white, perhaps it would be useful for cheering up salads and so on? It's at http://www.recipenet.org/health/recipes/recipkit/lemon_mayo.htm
Sounds like it would make a lovely potato salad too, might be trying it myself!]

[matt]

why not try buckwheat blinis. buckwheat is nothing to do with wheat and they are basicaly pancakes. wrapped around a couple of slices of bacon.:drool:


don't fall for the organic is best. to become free range is very expensive and some small producers have even better conditions and produce far better meat but can't afford to jump through the organic hoops. all to do with the husbandry not the conditions etc. speak to local butchers.

[cnc]

Yesterdays meals:
Breakfast: four slices of toast and fruit juice
Lunch: about half of what I cooked for myself, involving pasta, chicken, mushroom and a sauce.
Dinner: 2 cookies and a bag of crisps
(I've taken the lack of interest in food as another sign that I am in fact unwell (been in denial again) and am braving yet another doctors surgery tonight :( )

[Kamagrian]

Today was like this...

Breakfast: Grilled bacon (very lean) sandwich on a white roll. Sadly didn't...erm...stay where it was, due to this damn illness. Took anti-sickness pills and went back to bed!

Lunch: 1/2 a lean roast ham sandwich on wholemeal bread, low-fat lemon slice.

Dinner: Planned to be roast spatchcock poussin with lemon and black pepper, served with fat-free 'fried' potatoes (parboiled and then sauteed in Fry-Light), peas and carrots. Little dairy-free trifle to follow. Visiting friend isn't here to eat tonight so we're planning a candlelit dinner together!

I seem to be eating more meat than usual since I've been dairy free - I presume it's because I can't just rustle together a quick cheese-on-toast or cream-cheese and salad sandwich!

[Kamagrian]

Well, I'm still posting here if nobody objects - means for a start that I can see how my eating patterns are. ;)

Breakfast: Two slices of wholemeal toast with gooseberry and elderflower jam and a tiny bit of Pure spread.

Lunch: Erm.......didn't happen.

Dinner: Going to be homemade pasta bolognese (very lean steak mince cooked with mushrooms, peppers, onions, tomatoes, tons of basil and a ridiculous amount of garlic). Possibly sprinkled with a little Parmezano.

[Edit: Also had an Alpro peach yoghurt with sponge fingers to dip in it]

I WOULD have some more of that trifle...but my bf ate the rest. Apparently I can make it again. :lol2:

[Pen]

Mmm, Gill, that bolognese sounds good--very similar to how I make mine. I have to omit the onions as they are a no,no, but I am with you on the tons of basil (I have 2' tall basil plants in my garden so pick it fresh), and then I add lactose-free pesto too (ingredients in that are basil, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper). Sometimes I add de-seeded, peeled, chopped fresh tomato on top of the sauce then put grated goats' milk cheddar on top of that. And before the ants killed off my parsley plants, I would sprinkle finely chopped parsley over it all (and it is good to counteract the garlic-breath). Instead of wheat pasta I use rice pasta (spaghetti).

Today's breakfast--same as most days--Sugar-free cornflakes with banana, freshly ground flax and sunflower seeds, and goats' milk over the top. For a change today, I also added a few dried blueberries to it too. Cup of blueberry & raisin herbal tea.

Lunch was homemade soup--zucchini (courgette), celery, and potato which I took 40 minutes from start of preparation to serving (that included blending it). We had some plain potato chips (crisps) with it too. My daughter is home sick from school with a cold and she loves soup.

Haven't thought about dinner tonight, but last night's dinner was a stew (cooked very slowly for 3 hours) of lamb, celery, carrot, mushroom and garlic, served with baked potato and petit pois.

[cnc]

Well my eating is still slightly off, but here goes:
Breakfast: Two slices of toast and juice (I think) Plus some tasty antibiotic syrup!! I normally have weetabix for breakfast at uni, but can't be bothered with them at the moment.
Lunch: Chicken quater-pounder burger (has a coating on it thats like rice crispies), hash browns and bbq baked beans.
Dinner: Ham and 'cheese' ciabatta, and just one cookie :( and a bag of crisps. Oh and a banana.

Also had a rather nice innocent smoothie with passionfruit and mango I think in it, was rather yummy!

[Kamagrian]

Been pretty yucky in the mornings at the moment (painkillers and anti-nausea tablets wear off overnight!) so I've not been that great with frequent eating!

Breakfast: Erm...nothing.

Lunch: Friend took me to an amazing veggie restaurant where I had a baked potato with lots of different salads - a brown rice and tamari one, a lovely spiced beansprout one and a herby, low-fat potato one. All dairy free and great, with lots of sparkling mineral water to wash it down. :)

Dinner: Just ordered from a local Indian restaurant with a reputation for respecting dietary restrictions. They told me that pretty much anything on their menu can be altered to non-dairy with some notice, and most things with no problem at all. They were even very careful to check whether I have a problem with nuts (they made my boyfriend ask me on the phone), so I presume they take such things fairly seriously! So I have a kebab starter, fresh spiced chicken (with lemongrass and coriander...mmm) and boiled rice arriving soon. Starter's not low-fat but apparently the main course can be made that way, and I didn't have much fat at all for the rest of the day. ;) I'll enjoy it though.

It's so nice to call somewhere and be told 'oh yes, we generally add our dairy at the end of cooking because we get so many dairy-free customers and want to accommodate them'. Hopefully the food's as pleasant as the service was!

[Pam]

Hope you enjoyed your take away Gill, it is great when someone actually goes out of their way to accommodate special diets.

[Nic]

Pinky - could you do baked potato with toppings? I do bacon and/or leeks and/or mushrooms fried up together and with a bit of soya cream (the single sort) over the top to make a sauce. Very tasty. Or (for an even quicker meal) how about topping the potato with a tin of ratatouille?

On my meals, they've been very far from my normal healthy stuff, as I'm on holiday, so I'm somewhat ashamed to post them. However, I do now have an extensive list of pubs which will do dairy-free meals in the South Hams (near Kingsbridge) so if anyone lives/is holidaying around near and would like to know more, let me know. I had a wonderful cod in a de-dairyfied tomato sauce, with five different types of veg (unbuttered) at the pub last night. Yum!

Nic

[Kamagrian]

Hope you enjoyed your take away Gill, it is great when someone actually goes out of their way to accommodate special diets.
I certainly did - we asked for the whole order to be made dairy-free so I stole a bit of the other dishes too! The smoked aubergine dish was amazing... By the end I felt thoroughly stuffed and very spoiled indeed. :D

[matt]

a thread that has positive things to say about food providers. have i come tothe wrong site? or has the world suddenly become sane and helpfull?:o

[Pam]

Yesterday I had
Breakfast: Porridge made with rice milk (same as every other day)
Lunch: Avocado with ham and a small bread cake
Tea: Toad in the hole (made with soya milk), jacket potato, carrots and broccoli

I don't think I had any snacks all day. If I get time today I might bake some flapjack and cookies, there's also a large courgette just asking to be made into a cake.

[Kamagrian]

I don't think I had any snacks all day. If I get time today I might bake some flapjack and cookies, there's also a large courgette just asking to be made into a cake.
Can you send some of those flapjacks and cookies to the Arctic Wastes Of The North for me, please? I could just eat a good flapjack! :D

Once made up a recipe for 'Martian Cookies' (think the recipe was on allrecipes.com) which had courgettes in it. My then housemates were somewhat sceptical of these green-flecked weirdnesses until they actually tried them...

[cnc]

Right today I've had:

Breakfast: Weetabix (back to uni!!) and orange juice.
Brunch: This is very bad of me, but it was all grilled- 4 hash browns, 3 sausages, baked beans, 2 slices of wholemeal toast and a glass of orange juice.

Dinner: Not too sure about this yet, may be breaded chicken bites and waffles, not the greatest culinary masterpiece I know, but its quick and simple- have to take a trip to Tescos tomorrow or Tuesday (am Pure spread less)

[Kamagrian]

Good luck with the new uni year, Claire - hope it goes swimmingly for you! :D

I've had a bit of a bad day with food, as a miscalculation meant I was left without medication this morning and my bf had to get an emergency prescription filled at the hospital across town. As a result I had no appetite until I'd got the pain under control again at about 6pm. :mellow: So...

Breakfast: Erm...zilch.

Lunch: Erm.......nuthin.

Dinner: Spiced Morrocan lamb (cooked with no fat and then drained of its own!) with spinach, over rice. My bf was determined to get me to eat something, and it's my favourite so the smell woke me up from the painkiller haze! Also had a bit of wholemeal bread with some gooseberry and elderflower jam.

Later on I'll probably try to have some fruit and maybe an Alpro vanilla dessert.

[Kamagrian]

Brunch: This is very bad of me, but it was all grilled- 4 hash browns, 3 sausages, baked beans, 2 slices of wholemeal toast and a glass of orange juice.
That actually sounds really appealing! I used to love the odd non-fried fry-up at the weekend when I was a student - I'd do grilled lean bacon and sausages, poached eggs and mushrooms, baked beans and toast. Yummy stuff. I'm a big believer that a little of what you fancy does you good - dairy notwithstanding, of course! :lol2:

Even at the moment, on this watching-my-fat thing, I have a bacon sandwich now and then. I just have no spread (but have to have a bit of brown sauce!), wholemeal bread, take all the fat off the bacon and grill it. I actually find I'm not missing the fat, especially as if I know I'm going to have something with a bit more of it late in the day I'll make sure I have very little earlier.

Sorry this has got off topic, but I'm trying to take my mind off things today....

[Pen]

99% of the time I have Nature's Path (www.naturespath.com/products/cold_cereals (http://www.naturespath.com/products/cold_cereals)]) sugar-free (sweetened with grape-juice) cornflakes for breakfast, but yesterday I decided I needed a change. So I experimented--made two medium-thickness pancakes using 2 oz yellow corn flour, Maldon sea salt, 1 organic free-run egg, and some 2% fat goats' milk for the batter, and I was surprised how wonderfully they turned out (even better than wheat/cow-dairy ones), and they tasted good too (but I might add a few drops of stevia liquid [www.stevia.net] next time). I sandwiched one unsweetened stewed apple (it was good, but oh how I miss Bramleys--can't get them here) between the two pancakes, then sprinkled a few dried blueberries and some natural goats' yogurt over the top.

Still a bit tired of cornflakes, today for breakfast I decided to fry up the diced boiled potatoes I had left over from yesterday, with two fried eggs. Not something I would do every day it's okay once in a while.

Lunch today was a dry stir-fry (no sauces added) of white basmati rice, celery, red and green pepper, mushrooms and a peeled, de-seeded tomato, all seasoned with some salt, cayenne pepper with some lactose-free basil pesto drizzled over. While I was cooking lunch I had a well-deserved bottle of Strongbow cider as I had been reorganizing the basement first, and then dug up plants and dug the soil over in the garden.

Dinner is going be tenderloin of pork with roast potatoes, rapini (a green leafy vegetable-http://whatscookingamerica.net/Vegetables/BroccoliRaab.htm (http://whatscookingamerica.net/Vegetables/BroccoliRaab.htm)) and cauliflower with the meat-juice as a gravy.

[cnc]

Sorry this has got off topic, but I'm trying to take my mind off things today....
I think thats allowed really! Hope you're feeling a bit better now.

I'm quite hungry, but its too late to eat now, so guess I'll just wait for my morning Weetabix!!

[Kamagrian]

I think thats allowed really! Hope you're feeling a bit better now.

I'm quite hungry, but its too late to eat now, so guess I'll just wait for my morning Weetabix!!
Feeling quite zoned out on the codeine, but otherwise a lot better, thanks. :)

Late or not, I've got the munchies. I may have to go and forage in the kitchen again - I don't even feel bad about it since I didn't eat at all for the first half of the day. Might well be a poached egg on toast, methinks...

[cnc]

I'm refraining from eating (I've not been training for the last few days so definatly cannot justify a late night snack) am probably actually dehydrated (have been stuck in a subject meeting for the last 3 hours, which took place in the smokey bar)

Hope you enjoy the poached egg!e

[Pam]

Yesterday was
breakfast - porridge again!
lunch - ham sandwich
a bit of fruit mid afternoon - plums, grapes etc
tea - should have been shepherds pie but once made I realised the mince did not smell/taste right and it went in the bin, so I grabbed a quick ham and avocado salad, followed by banana with yofu and honey.

[PinkyPrincess]

Hello all,

Thanks to Kamagrian (hope you're feeling better) Nic and Matt for the suggestions. Kam I can't really have a tuna and sweetcorn salad because I can't have sweetcorn, and I really hate tuna! But thanks very much for your ideas, it's really nice to have suggestions!
The creamy leeky bacony type sauce on a jacket potato sounds like a great idea, thanks Nic. And the Blinis - Matt this better not take a long time to make!! (I'm not known for my patience with cooking!)
Does anyone know anything about spices in relation to gluten, I know it's slightly off-topic but I had some home made spicy chicken last night and my tummy ached constantly all night... *confused*

Pinks

[Kamagrian]

Duh! I SAW 'corn' on your restricted list and still typed that. Sorry, brain malfunction!

OK, what about other oily fish (like tinned salmon), or chicken? I've made salads up with spring onion instead of sweetcorn before - I'm eating a chicken and spring onion mayo sandwich right now - and that's quite good too. :)

My guess for the spices would be that pure spices are mostly OK unless they come from a related plant to one of your trigger foods. However, some spice mixes and marinades have other ingredients in which might cause a problem. You might have to do a bit of research on the net to see what's related to what.

[Pen]

Pinks

Ground spices generally have gluten in them :( and are certainly listed in http://www.dietsite.com/dt/diets/foodsensitivities/glutenfreediet.asp (scroll down to the section on 'Baking Products, Condiments, & Seasonings') as having gluten. I think they add flour or something similar to keep the grounds from clumping.

I find Sharwood's curry powder particularly bad, but can often get away with using cayenne pepper without suffering. You might want to contact a company that produces ground spices and ask what they add to the spices, and whether there are any that are gluten-free. I have often thought that I would like to grind my own dried, whole-spices, but have no idea where I would find them (in fact, I am not even sure how most spices grow and what they look like before being ground!) I need to look into that further.

Pen

[Kamagrian]

We can certainly buy whole spices - there's a great spice shop in Edinburgh and they have an online service at http://www.thespiceshop.co.uk/

I don't get any commission from them, before anyone gets suspicious! :lol2: But it's literally about a minute's walk from where my bf used to live before we set up home together, so I know they offer a good service. They even do whole spice blends like Garam Masala, ready to grind yourself, and also a lot of organic and unusual spices and herbs.

Alternatively, if you live in a city with a large Asian population, you might find you can get hold of whole spices from a specialist supermarket, and I used to find this much cheaper than supermarkets anyway.

Hope this helps.

[Pen]

I just did a websearch for 'whole spices Toronto,' but was unable to find any names of spice stores in the city. There is a 'Little India' neighbourhood somewhere in Toronto where I expect I can get whole spices. I've never been there, but maybe it is time that I checked it out. I just had a thought--my brother who moved from Toronto a year ago, was into was into cooking and Asian food--he might be the person to ask.

[paranoidangel]

I haven't bothered posting most of my meals in here cos they're all a bit boring and samey!

But thank you Matt and Rebecca, I tried the Tamari soya sauce and it was lovely.

[cnc]

I haven't bothered posting most of my meals in here cos they're all a bit boring and samey!
Mine are quite boring and fairly random!!

Breakfast: Weetabix and juice
Snack of 2 hobnobs :)
Lunch: Pittas with meat paste and Pure. Marble cake, bag of hula hoops and a banana (yes lots I know, I'd cycled with 20kgs of dumbells in my rucksack earlier!!)
Snack: 3 cartons of organic apple juice and pringles (was at a geography reception)
Dinner: Gammon and chips (courtesy of wetherspoons)- Second and Third year geographers outing whilst the litteuns were in Matriculation dinner.

[Kamagrian]

Claire, I think your version of 'a lot' is a bit different from mine - I'd just consider that a good feasty meal! :)

Today's been another slightly rough one for me. I didn't have breakfast, but the rest was like this:

Lunch: Half a tuna and spring onion sandwich on wholemeal bread.

Dinner: Small portion of pasta puttanesca (made with tomatoes, olives, anchovies, chillies, capers and garlic - very gutsy and I love it), with a sprinkling of Parmezano.

Also had a snack of warm homemade vegan low-fat chocolate cake with a bit of Alpro vanilla dessert poured over it.

Unfortunately I didn't have a small cake tin (accidentally left lots of my baking stuff when I moved house in August) so I made WAY too much and I'm now foisting off choccy cake on others. Great way to make friends and influence people, huh? ;) If anyone calls the National Trust for Scotland, or Scottish Widows tomorrow and they sound hyper on the phone....it's my baking. Sorry.

[matt]

i'd go for the grind them yourself approach. dont forget to dry roast them first for a few seconds then grind only what you need. better taste that way aswell.

could also be that they used milk to stick the spices to the chicken or di you do it yourself?

[PinkyPrincess]

Hiya,
What actually is the difference between whole spices and ground, is it like peppercorns are whole and they grind them and put something in and it's ground? (Sorry I'm really lacking knowledge of cooking basics here!)
There definitely wasn't any milk as it was home made spicy chicken, just a dusting over the top. I have found myself reacting really badly to forbidden foods if I have them by accident these days, whereas I think before I started the diet I was just constantly feeling quite bad.
Thanks for the link Pen, I should print that out and keep it with me. I've got a whole folder full of information so it's hard to remember what's on the allow list and what's not.
The spice shop looks good, thanks Kam. I have emailed asking for some further advice. I'm a one-woman crusade for intolerance awareness at the moment. *blush*

[Kamagrian]

Hiya,
What actually is the difference between whole spices and ground, is it like peppercorns are whole and they grind them and put something in and it's ground?Well, from what others have said, ground spices often contain additives to stop them clogging together once they're all mashed up (spices and so on often have high levels of essential oils in them, so I can see the logic behind that).

If you get whole spices and check that they're pure and don't have anything added to them, you should be able to prepare them yourself. I've certainly seen coriander and cumin seeds, peppercorns, nutmeg, cinnamon (sticks) and lots of other things available whole at the Spice Shop, so hopefully they don't dust them with anything and you'll be fit to go! :D Matt's right too - they have a better flavour if you grind them yourself.

As for grinding...my bf has an ancient cast-iron spice grinder, like a mini spiral mill with a crank, and a base you remove when all the spices have gone through - they come out lovely and mixed and perfectly ground for cooking. It's an amazing gadget, but I have NO idea where you might get one. Probably the best alternative is a grinder attachment on a blender, a coffee grinder or a plain old reliable pestle and mortar (plus a little elbow grease!).

Oh - just a warning. The guy who owns the Spice Shop is quite mad (though lovely!), and often really rather spaced out on clove and other spice fumes! :lol2:

[PinkyPrincess]

Hey,
They were really helpful, they've sent me details of the spices I have have, yay!
I might just dust off my mortar and pestle lol.
My ex bf is indian and owns a food shop near me with HUNDREDS of whole spices so that might be another option I hadn't thought of. It's encouraging to know that I don't have to sacrifice flavour just because I can't eat processed foods!
Thanks guys.
Pinks

[Kamagrian]

Hey,
They were really helpful, they've sent me details of the spices I have have, yay!I'm so pleased they could help you - they've always been really great with me, and I've had many happy shopping experiences in that little overpacked store. :D They do a great line in dried chillies too...loads of different types, different flavours and heat ratings, and they really know their stuff so they can advise on what's good for your tastes. I had a wonderful chilli con carne a few months ago made with some HUGE, fruity-flavoured chillies from that place. They weren't very hot but they were really yummy, perfect for what I wanted. Sorry, I'll stop drooling now. :drool: I may have to get on the bus and go foraging there when I'm up and about again...

I might just dust off my mortar and pestle lol.
My ex bf is indian and owns a food shop near me with HUNDREDS of whole spices so that might be another option I hadn't thought of. It's encouraging to know that I don't have to sacrifice flavour just because I can't eat processed foods!
Thanks guys.
PinksI hope you're going to post your experimentation experiences on the forums, so we can copy your upcoming gourmet recipes. ;) Sounds like your ex might be a very useful man to know...

Ooh, just realised the main Spice Shop is in London, so you won't get the lovely-but-mad Edinburgh guy who runs the one here in Scotland. I'm sure you'll get equally good service from the London branch though.

[PinkyPrincess]

*Homer voice*
'mmmm.....chilliiiiiiiii.....' *drools*
Has anyone seen the episode of the Simpsons where Homer eats that huge chilli and starts halucinating! That's so funny!

I will let you know when I've done the first experiments in the kitchen, watch this space.

I made some lovely buckwheat and rice pasta last night with a tomato sauce. (Well, I heated the pasta, can't have it all!)
Just prodded some plum tomatoes about in some oil, added fresh coriander from the garden, onions, mushrooms, peppers, bit of salsa sauce, bit of hot chilli 'ketchup' some cayenne pepper, and bubbled it away for a bit, ended up really nice.

Yes the ex is a useful guy to know, he can get me all sorts of ingredients and knows everyone in the town so they give me indian discount! Only thing is, he's married now, oh dear, but that's a separate story entirely!

Pinks

[Pen]

I use a coffee grinder (so far for flax and sunflower seeds only) but if I can find whole spices, will use it for that too (but nutmeg could not be ground in it because it is too big and dense, but it is easy to grate). My local supermarket had coffee grinders as a loss-leader and was selling them for $5 (a couple of pounds?). Before I got that I would crush the seeds using a pestle and mortar. If you do get a grinder, Pinky, make sure it is only used for gluten-free foods to prevent cross-contmination. Nobody else uses my grinder--especially not for coffee beans as coffee is one of my banned substances. I just use a small brush to clean out the grinds each time.

[cnc]

Glad you've got things more sorted Pinks.

You lot make all my meals sound really quite dull, but I suppose thats student cookery!!
Lunch was identical to yesterday: Had pitta breads and meat paste to use up so repeated the lunch.

Dinner: Am quite looking forwards to dinner- Pork pie (in puff pastry not a normal pork pie!!), mashed potato and some random vegetables I think.

[Kamagrian]

Still no appetite....at least for most of the day. So nothing for breakfast or lunch, but:

Dinner: Homemade chicken and vegetable pie (I ate some of the low-fat filling, but very little of the high-fat pastry!) with crispy potatoes and peas.

Snack: A piece of the chocolate cake I made yesterday, with some Alpro custard.

The chocolate cake (vegan, low-fat) is much better the next day. It had a slightly salty aftertaste yesterday as a result of the raising agents, but today it seems to have gone, and the texture's altered. It's now a lovely moist, fudgy, dense chocolate cake, almost like a one of those tinned chocolate puddings. The recipe's at http://www.veganchef.com/lofatchoco.htm - I was out of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda to the US types!) so I used a random amount of baking powder, but it's definitely recommended. :drool:

[Edit: if anyone wants to use the recipe, remember that US 'tablespoons' are the same as UK 'dessertspoons'. Otherwise it ends up much less low-fat! *grin*]

[Pen]

The chocolate cake sounds yummy--just a pity I can't eat most of its ingredients :( . It is unusual to see 'baking soda' in N. American recipes for baked goods. They normally list 'baking powder' (which is a mixture of sodium bicarbonate [bicarbonate of soda/baking soda], cornstarch, and monocalcium phosphate). Pure Baking Soda (bicarbonate of soda) here is usually used as a household cleaner (it's brilliant on stainless steel sinks) and a deodorizer (refrigerator, garbage bins, cat litter trays). I just wonder whether they listed the baking soda instead of baking powder by accident. Or maybe monocalcium phosphate is produced from an animal source? Either way, both baking soda and baking powder will do the trick.

Through the vegan site link you gave, I came across the wonderful Not Milk site again (www.notmilk.com (http://www.notmilk.com/)). I haven't been able to access it for months and thought it no longer existed. "The Famous Milk Letter' is really worth a read, along with lots of other things on that site.

[Kamagrian]

The chocolate cake sounds yummy--just a pity I can't eat most of its ingredients :( . It is unusual to see 'baking soda' in N. American recipes for baked goods. They normally list 'baking powder' (which is a mixture of sodium bicarbonate [bicarbonate of soda/baking soda], cornstarch, and monocalcium phosphate). Pure Baking Soda (bicarbonate of soda) here is usually used as a household cleaner (it's brilliant on stainless steel sinks) and a deodorizer (refrigerator, garbage bins, cat litter trays). I just wonder whether they listed the baking soda instead of baking powder by accident. Or maybe monocalcium phosphate is produced from an animal source? Either way, both baking soda and baking powder will do the trick.Yeah, I know about the difference - but I've seen it confuse some UK people because 'baking soda' sounds more like 'baking powder' than 'bicarb' (which is what we call baking soda on this side of the pond). I've seen a few recipes requiring bicarb, but they're more common in the UK from the looks of things. I've found that I have to use more baking powder than bicarbonate of soda if I substitute. :)

I agree about the cleaning powers of bicarb though - it's a fantastic fridge deodoriser too! Not to mention its qualities as an indigestion remedy and beesting soother.

[matt]

*Homer voice*
'mmmm.....chilliiiiiiiii.....' *drools*
Has anyone seen the episode of the Simpsons where Homer eats that huge chilli and starts halucinating! That's so funny!

I will let you know when I've done the first experiments in the kitchen, watch this space.

I made some lovely buckwheat and rice pasta last night with a tomato sauce. (Well, I heated the pasta, can't have it all!)
Just prodded some plum tomatoes about in some oil, added fresh coriander from the garden, onions, mushrooms, peppers, bit of salsa sauce, bit of hot chilli 'ketchup' some cayenne pepper, and bubbled it away for a bit, ended up really nice.

Yes the ex is a useful guy to know, he can get me all sorts of ingredients and knows everyone in the town so they give me indian discount! Only thing is, he's married now, oh dear, but that's a separate story entirely!

Pinks

you sure that chiili ketsup ok to have?

next year grow your own chillis. i do just for the fun of it. buy one at beginning of year then just plant the seeds. easy. then you too can have a out of mind homer experience with a fox.!!

great to hear about the ex being able to help. go for the cheaper easier option, just nick small amounts from his kitchen!
the trick is don't keep spices long time as they loose their flavour. even quicker once ground. basically the oils escape and without the oils they have no flavour. so little and often.

your food will be better than processed as they rely not on spices but salt for flavour. it's cheaper and helps the shelf life.

[Kamagrian]

I'm with Matt on this - freshly ground spices are wonderful in cooking, I use lots of them. :D

Today's exciting and enthralling food diary...

Lunch: Ham and tomato sandwich on wholemeal bread.
Dinner: Chicken in spiced mango sauce, with vegetable rice cooked with fresh ginger and garlic. Dessert was another piece of the vegan choccy cake I made, which is ALMOST gone now, with a little Alpro custard over it.

I'm really craving ice cream right now - the freezer's full of the dairy stuff but I'm all out of Swedish Glace! Ho hum...

[cnc]

Breakfast was Weetabix and toast
Lunch: Pie, mashed potato and baked beans
Dinner: (I'd kind of lost my appetite after visiting the drs, but eventually fed myself- waiting the hour after the penicillin doesn't help really: Cheese and ham panini, hula hoops and some marble cake.

[Kamagrian]

Hope that penicillin gets you firmly on the mend and feeling better soon, Claire - I hate the nausea bit of antibiotics!

Today...

Breakfast: Very lean grilled bacon sandwich on wholemeal bread (I actually ate breakfast! Look!!)
Lunch: Roast ham sandwich on wholemeal bread.
Dinner: Going to be foil-baked cod with fresh tomatoes, herbs and black olives, with garlicky potatoes and veggies (probably leeks). Going to open a bottle of Ame and pretend it's wine, too... :lol2:

[cnc]

These are just straight penicillin, not like amoxycillin or something fun like that!!
Breakfast: Weetabix again!
Lunch: Panini and hula hoops (hula hoops were on buy 14 for the price of 7)

Dinner: Will be in an hour, so need to plan that yet! Think it will probably be chicken bites as I can't be bothered cooking much else

[Kamagrian]

Yesterday...felt like I ate TONS!

Breakfast: Small portion of homemade Bircher-esque soft muesli with dried figs, apricots and mixed nuts.
Lunch: Lean grilled bacon sandwich on a white roll.
Dinner: Spaghetti bolognese (made the same way as last time but jazzed up with a bit of ground fenugreek seed), with a sprinkling of Parmezano, followed by a slice of low-fat apple and ginger cake.

Today...

Breakfast: Small slice of low-fat apple and ginger cake.
Lunch: Half a ham and Tofutti cheddar slice sandwich on wholemeal bread.
Dinner: Planned to be grilled pork schnitzel with tomato and herb sauce, with a reduced-fat pesto-style pasta, aubergine and mushrooms.

[cnc]

You're doing better than me:

Breakfast- vaguely remember having a couple of hobnobs about 10.30, but not sure if I did
Lunch- scrambled eggs on toast, a friend made me eat, so we had that and a bag of hula hoops and a little bit of chocolate
Rainbow drops and four pringles, randomly later during the day
Dinner- was four slices of toast, half with meat paste, but only ate 3 slices.

[Nic]

Breakfast - porridge (jumbo oats, much the best) with a chopped apple on top
Lunch - M&S sandwiches only option short of fasting, so I went for the only one that I could find with less than 2% dairy (M&S puts cream in *everything*:angry: ) which was their beef and horseradish one. Tasty, though.
Supper - pasta with 'creamy' asparagus sauce, grilled to make it go brown, and a chocolate tofutti lolly for pudding

Nic

[paranoidangel]

most of my food is quite boring: my breakfasts are the same - don't have to think about them when I don't have a brain - and my dinners basically consist of meat/fish, veg and potato in some form. I got fed up of my lunches though, so this week I am having:

cold boiled potatoes, salmon, chicken, cherry tomatoes, rice cakes, crisps, apple

Which tastes nice and fills me up nicely.

[Pen]

DINNER--Yesterday for dinner we had our Thanksgiving turkey with roast potatoes (traditionally mashed potato, but I prefer roasted ones) with a variety of veggies--rapini, cauliflower, roast carrot, and roast parsnip. The others had bread sauce and stuffing too, but neither is gluten-free, so I gave them a miss. And tonight's dinner was scrummy cold turkey with fries (chips). Baked beans for hubby, and peas and romaine lettuce for me.

BREAKFAST--Being on such a restricted diet, I find breakfasts are lacking in variety. I usually have sugar-free cornflakes with banana, seeds and goats' milk. I decided to try quinoa flakes the other day--they take about 2 minutes to cook (I did mine in water then added some goats' milk at the end). I must admit, it tasted okay, so I will buy some more of these flakes and have them for breakfast occasionally. Because I am on a no-sugar diet, I didn't add anything to the 'porridge' and it was fine (in my pre-gluten-free days, I never added salt or sugar to porridge oats either).

BREAKFAST--I did, however, try something else new for breakfast last week. It was making 'porridge' with millet (who's a pretty boy then, budgie food). I boiled it with water and a little salt. It was okay, but I thought it needed sweetening, so I added a little stevia (natural herbal sweetener). I have now decided I don't like stevia (but it has to be far better than any of the artificial sweeteners, health-wise) and ended up feeding the left-overs to the birds. Millet might be okay if it is made with water, and some milk substitute/goats' milk, with some sugar added (but I can't have that). It also takes about 45-50 minutes to cook, but anyone on a gluten-free diet who has patience, might want to give it a try.

[Pen]

I went to my health food store (Big Carrot) today and was extremely happy to find organic 'Corn Thins' which are like rice cakes, but made with popped corn instead. I remember reading about corn cakes on this site and although I had not seen them here, I thought they sounded a great alternative to rice cakes. I think they must be a new product in the store as I have never seen them before. I bought the sesame ones. Wow, I just checked the packaging and these are imported from Australia. If anyone is interested they are made by 'Real Foods' (www.realfoods.com.au (http://www.realfoods.com.au)).

LUNCH today was corn cakes (of course) with hummus and goat brie, with a salad of romaine leaves with freshly pan-fried hot mushrooms, garlic and olive oil over the top. My verdict on the corn cakes--wonderful, and probably better than rice cakes.

DINNER tonight may very well include some more of the Thanksgiving turkey!!! Ooh, I love roast turkey.

[cnc]

Breakfast:seems to have gone out of the window. I like sleep more than food at the moment- something I thought I would never say!
Lunch: Ciabatta with ham (made the simple way-tear bread to pieces and place ham on top, then consume), and a litre of orange juice, plus a banana
Dinner: Scrambled eggs on toast, and a banana. Had the rest of the ciabatta first. Not really sure I'm eating enough, but I suppose something is better than nothing.

[Kamagrian]

Lunch: Small portion of baked potato wedges with a little chilli on top.
Dinner: Roast chicken salad sandwich with a little mayo, on toasted white bread.

I've not done very well today as I've been nauseous. Had to force myself to eat what I did, as I need my strength for starting work again tomorrow. Probably going to make myself some of my Bircher-esque soft muesli stuff before bed, so that I can eat it tomorrow (I'll stick the 'recipe' - more like a method - on the recipes section if anyone's nosey). Also going to buy dairy-free spread and soya milk for the fridge at work as this will be the first time I've been in the office since forced to give up milk products, and I usually make my sandwiches fresh there. :)

I'm really looking forward to starting work again, but with a certain amount of trepidation as I'll have tons to do to open the new refuge after spending a month off sick!

[matt]

good luck:D

[Kamagrian]

I've had very little appetite for the last couple of days (partly due to the tiredness and hectic bits of being back at work), so there's no point in putting my food in for yesterday. I vaguely remember having half a baked potato with beans at some point, but let's just say it didn't stay where it was put. :(

However....today is looking up.

Breakfast: Small pot of forest fruit Alpro dessert.

Lunch: Lean ham and tomato sandwich on a small white roll.

Dinner: In an effort to inspire my appetite back to strength-building levels, Matt (my bf, not the Matt on here!) is in the kitchen conjuring up a non-dairy moussaka as I've really missed that. It'll be a bit higher fat than I'd normally eat, but I've hardly eaten for two days so I'm not going to feel bad about it. Hope it tastes as good as it smells - the scents wafting through from the kitchen have my mouth watering! Sadly I can't have the glass of red wine I'd normally choose to accompany it with, but at least I'll get well-fed. :drool:

I need an early night. I'm still amazed how much weaker I've been since this stupid pancreatic thing!

[Edit: OH WOW! The moussaka was amazing, I didn't miss the dairy a bit. I've made him promise to cook it again...]

[cnc]

Copper and Rebecca especially for you!!
Breakfast: two clementines
Lunch: Tortilla wraps with chicken and mushroom, and plenty of smoothie
Dinner: Pie, mashed potato, mushroom and peas :)
Think there was a bag of crisps as a snack at some point. Lots of fruit in there :)

Gill I agree, sleep beckons for me very shortly!

[Copper]

Well done Claire :)

I am sure that an early night will be good for both Claire & Gill.

[Caroloujo]

today i had weetabix-breakfast......and a chicken dinner followed by soya yogert.....and cause i been workin had some toast with brown bread, with stork marg (the foiled no milk one) was nice on toast too....2morrow im doing lasania(with all soya stuff etc),,,,,,,mmmmmm nice........

[rebecca c]

Gill

Can I have your moussaka recipe? I tried to make one up the other day and it was OK but nothing special.

Beccy

[Nic]

Beccy - I know you didn't ask me, but I do moussaka with plain soya yoghurt on top, and it works fine. But I'm sure there's a 'proper' way to do it, rather than a cheaty way.

Nic

[rebecca c]

Nic - cant eat soya as causes white blood cell reaction when I inhale it so not worth the risk. But could you tell me how you put the rest of it together?

Beccy

[Nic]

Beccy - I'll stick it on the recipes thread, under 'moussaka'.

Nic

[cnc]

Yesterday:
Breakfast: Two clementines
Lunch: Brunch- 4 hash browns, 3 sausages, beans, 2 slices of bread and orange juice (I was forced to cycle into college so that a friend could witness me eating a meal!)
Dinner: Walked to the curry house, was exhausting, but curry was very good!

[Kamagrian]

Gill

Can I have your moussaka recipe? I tried to make one up the other day and it was OK but nothing special.

BeccySorry Beccy, but the recipe we used had soya yoghurt in too. I'll still put the recipe here (more a method again as we didn't use specific quantities!) if you like. For a version you can eat, maybe just make a thick white sauce with oat or rice milk, adding a couple of egg yolks (for richness) and whatever 'cheesy' flavourings you can think of? :)

--------------

As a basic idea:

Meat layer: he dry-fried (fried in Fry Light) some lean lamb mince with a chopped green pepper and onions, adding lots of mint, some nutmeg and loads of garlic. All the liquid fat was very carefully drained off (though this is never going to be a low-fat dish so I was being a bit naughty eating it!) When pretty much cooked, add some chopped tinned tomatoes and simmer until thick. Add lots of frozen or fresh spinach and simmer for five minutes. Add seasoning (salt, pepper, lamb stock cube) to taste.

White layer: I blended most of a large carton of soya yoghurt with three egg yolks, a couple of dessertspoons of 'Free and Easy' vegan cheese sauce mix, a teaspoon of dijon mustard, black pepper and a heaped dessertspoon of Tofutti 'herb and chive' Creamy Smooth 'cheese'. I was out of Parmezano or I'd have added some of that too.

Slice the aubergines and salt them (lay them in layers on kitchen paper sprinkled with salt). After about 10 minutes, rinse the salt off, discard the liquid which will have come out and dry them well. Griddle them on a very hot pan with oil (he used Fry Light again) until softened.

Layer up meat, aubergines, meat, aubergines...then the white sauce on top. If I'd not had to keep the fat down a bit, I'd have also wanted slices of Tofutti cheddar on top of each aubergine layer as I like my moussaka cheesy! Put sliced tomatoes on top and bake in a medium oven for about 40 minutes or so.

The topping puffs up madly and goes rather more brown than normal moussaka - I considered putting some Tofutti cheese on top but the fat load was more than I could take!

--------------

The result was great - looked a bit different from normal moussaka, but reminded me in taste of Tesco's 'Finest' moussaka, which I love.

Apologies for the delay in my reply - only just got home from Gloucester where I've been at my friend's wedding celebration party!

[Kamagrian]

Today....

Breakfast: Ham salad sandwich on a small ciabatta roll.
Lunch: Well I *would* have...but there was an emergency at the refuge (the basement flooded, what fun!) so I spent all day running around the city and didn't get a chance to stop and eat!
Dinner: Made up for missing lunch by having a some ginger-and-soy marinated tofu and vegetables in black bean sauce, over noodles. Followed that up with a Village Bakery chocolate orange brownie slice (high fat) with an Alpro caramel dessert (low fat) poured over it. I reckon they cancel each other out. No, really! ;)

I've discovered that I'm in a Catch-22 here. If I eat, it hurts (apparently standard for pancreatitis). So I don't want to eat. However, if I avoid food for a while by missing a couple of meals, it hurts even MORE when I DO eat. *sigh* So I'm trying to eat a few times a day, but I'm really not inspired to. I'll stop venting now. :D

[Pam]

Sounds like you should be doing little and often. I can do that fine, in fact I'm happiest when eating, so it would be no hardship to have food every 30 minutes.

[Kamagrian]

Sounds like you should be doing little and often. I can do that fine, in fact I'm happiest when eating, so it would be no hardship to have food every 30 minutes.Ideally that's kinda what I'd be doing. But every time I eat I get stabbing pains in the pancreatic area, so it puts me off the whole idea. I forage in the fridge and come out empty handed! :mellow:

[Kamagrian]

Breakfast: Half a chicken salad sandwich on white bread, with reduced fat mayo.
Dinner: Will be a red Thai-style prawn and vegetable curry with boiled rice.

Appetite a bit dead, really...but at least I'm managing dinner as I tend to eat with my boyfriend.

[Kamagrian]

Well, I'm going to post anyway because I've done really well with my eating (i.e. eaten enough, AND often) today. :D

Breakfast: Bit of my 'power breakfast' soft muesli - went down well with an unexpected visitor we have staying from France too!
Lunch: Two malted brown rolls with ham and tomatoes on.
Dinner: Spiced pot-roasted beef with a few low-fat roast potatoes, and loads of veggies (leeks, sugar snap peas, green beans, brocolli), with a spicy gravy. It was scrummy!

Also had a few snacks - a piece of granary bread with Meridian orange spread on it (any of you tried it? Much better than marmalade IMHO), and some Alpro yoghurts. I think I'm addicted to the peach one, it's lovely...

I've been told to do absolutely no physical activity this weekend as I was dangerously pushing it last week. As a result, I'm sitting around and letting my boyfriend eagerly look after me. It's bizarre and I'm really not used to it, but it DOES appear to be making me feel better to do less when I'm this exhausted.

[rebecca c]

Thanks for the recipe Gill I'll adapt it and give it a try

[Kamagrian]

Thanks for the recipe Gill I'll adapt it and give it a tryYou're welcome - hope the good result wasn't a one-off or I'll feel awful! ;) Let me know how it goes.

Today...

Breakfast: Nothing, but I was feeling a bit yuck so that's probably a good thing!
Lunch: Made up for the lack of brekky with two roast ham rolls (white bread).
Dinner: Really yummy low-fat vegetable stir-fry with ginger and hoisin sauce, over rice noodles. Matt cooked it as I was home late after an evening board meeting.

Drank rather more tea than I should today as I was very tired, so I'm a bit wired now!

[Kamagrian]

Well, I'm going to post here even though nobody else is at the moment, because I'm so pleased with how dinner came out! :p

Breakfast: Hot cross bun.
Lunch: Ham salad sandwich on white bread.
Dinner: Baked soy-and-ginger chicken with fat-free roast potatoes, sweetcorn, peas and carrots. Sort of an Oriental Sunday roast, really! Invented it as we went along and it was scrummy. :drool:

Going out tonight so will probably drink too much diet Coke. I'm a cheap date these days as I can't drink alkyfrol!

Gill x

[matt]

i could post but most days would be pretty much the same each day!!!

hope the coke was fun. no wonder you have trouble sleeping!

[Kamagrian]

hope the coke was fun. no wonder you have trouble sleeping!It's my last remaining vice since all my others have basically been taken away! ;) Only had 2 - got to sleep fine but then woke up an hour ago fretting about stupid things, and can't get back to sleep. Bah.

[cnc]

Breakfast: Dry cornflakes and orange juice
Lunch: Hash browns, beans and sausages
Think there was a couple of jam tarts and sausage rolls eaten at some point as well
Dinner: sausages and ice cream.

[Copper]

Breakfast Half a grapefruit, one and a half slices of home made white bread toasted, cup of coffee

11am Acup of coffee and a Brunch bar

Lunch One and a half slices of home made bread, scheese, 2 cherry toms, digestive biscuit and a cup of coffee.

Dinner Chips, chicken, baked beans followed by an apple pie and soya Dream. A third of a glass of Tropicana orange.

Supper A cup of hot chocolate and a Fair trade chocolate biscuit

[Kamagrian]

Dinner: sausages and ice cream.At the same time??! I know it's said they eat sausages and marmalade at Eton, but really! :lol2:

[Kamagrian]

Breakfast Half a grapefruit, one and a half slices of home made white bread toasted, cup of coffee

11am Acup of coffee and a Brunch bar

Lunch One and a half slices of home made bread, scheese, 2 cherry toms, digestive biscuit and a cup of coffee.

Dinner Chips, chicken, baked beans followed by an apple pie and soya Dream. A third of a glass of Tropicana orange.

Supper A cup of hot chocolate and a Fair trade chocolate biscuitMmm...that sounds like a good day's food and I'm jealous! Which fairtrade biscuits do you have? I got some lovely choc-nut ones from Real Foods recently, but before I went non-dairy I ADORED Co-op's Fairtrade choccy chip shortbread. :drool: I really crave chicken and chips sometimes, though I'm a mad northerner and like it with gravy!

My day was a little less yummy:

Breakfast: Two slices of white toast with high-fruit orange spread.
Lunch: Two white rolls with a scraping of Vitalite and lean ham.
Dinner: Sort of homemade vegetable, pork and olive goulash-ish thing with rice. It was a lot nicer than it sounds, even if I do say so myself!

I'm eating too much white bread at the moment, looking at my reports - the local Co-op seems to have been out of decent (i.e. non-'Nimble') wholemeal bread for the last few days so I've been stuck with farmhouse white...

[cnc]

Chicken and chips and half a bottle of ketchup :drool:

Breakfast:Few dry cornflaks and orange juice
11am: Crisps and coke- vending machine food
Lunch: 20 minute nap
3:30:2 slices of bread, 2 small sausage rolls, and then 4 party rings.
Dinner: was forced to eat, so had little bit of pasta and a satsuma.

Hmm think I'm comfort eating again :(

[Kamagrian]

Breakfast: Chicken salad sandwich (I know it's not breakfasty food but I wasn't in a breakfasty mood!).
Lunch: Slice of toast with orange spread (I was in a breakfasty mood at lunch, evidently...).
Dinner: Spaghetti with crayfish, tomato and red onion sauce.

I also ate a Fry's Chocolate Cream after seeing the thread on them earlier - shame on you all! Very naughty of me as I don't usually eat non-fairtrade plain choccy...I'm not worried about the fat though as I've been fairly well-behaved recently. Every girl needs a treat sometimes! :lol2:

Claire, I have to disagree with you on this deep philosophical point: chicken and chips with TONS of gravy, thankee. Having ketchup on it would just be sacrilege. Consider yourself reprimanded.

[matt]

or mayo on the chicken and chips. yum:)

[cnc]

Claire, I have to disagree with you on this deep philosophical point: chicken and chips with TONS of gravy, thankee. Having ketchup on it would just be sacrilege. Consider yourself reprimanded.

No, ketchup is the greatest invention ever!! Gravy, makes chips soggy, and is therefore bad on chips.

Please tell me you think mayo is even worseon chicken and chips?!!

This reminds me of being at school where kids used to eat chips with, mayo, gravy and ketchup :yucky:

[Kamagrian]

Please tell me you think mayo is even worseon chicken and chips?!!Sorry, I really like mayo on chips, including chicken and chips. :p

Today...

Breakfast: Power breakfast stuff with added coconut.
Lunch: 2 white morning rolls with roast ham.
Snack: Slice of bread with blackcurrant spread.
Dinner: Roast lamb (obviously I had to remove all the fat!) with fat-free roast potatoes, broccoli, carrots and gravy. Ooh, and mint sauce!! Yum.

I feel like I've eaten TONS today, but at least I've enjoyed it. :drool:

Gill x

[Pam]

I like dry chips (oven chips) with salad cream or gravy, greasy fish shop chips need tomato ketchup.

[cnc]

Mayo/salad cream I try and avoid altogether.
Gravy is for roast dinners and mashed potatoes.
Ketchup is good- I'n my world its normally ketchup and chips :unsure:

[matt]

with mushy peas surely??

occasionally brown sauce but too spicy for me at the moment.:(

[rebecca c]

Mayo on chips is an essential in our house. Its a Dutch staple - that or satay sauce also yummy.

Today I had a craster kipper from waitroise for breakfast - one of my biggest treats and quite cheap too at 99p so I'm all set for the day.

[Kamagrian]

Today I had a craster kipper from waitroise for breakfast - one of my biggest treats and quite cheap too at 99p so I'm all set for the day.Mmm. I love Craster kippers - used to live near there and there's a pub called the Cottage Inn near Craster that even does a starter of kipper sausages! Weird but delicious. Unfortunately I love my kippers with half a ton of butter, so they're off the menu for now at least!

Today...

Breakfast: Erm...zilch.
Lunch: Half a ham sandwich and a slice of bread with blackcurrant spread.
Dinner: Mixed antipasto to start (various Italian cured meats, seafood and veggies with lots of salad), then the most delicious seafood spaghetti I've ever had. It had hardly any oil in it at all, but loads of fresh seafood like scallops, smoked fish, langoustines and mussels, and tomatoes.

The posh dinner was because Matt took me on a quiet date to the most *amazing* Italian restaurant at the Shore. I'm keeping everything very low fat at the moment, but even so I had a fantastic time. I don't have much energy at the moment, but sitting quietly chatting over a good meal was definitely a tonic and I'm feeling much brighter now. :D

[Kamagrian]

Dammit, now I'm craving Craster kippers with butter and creamy scrambled eggs. Not fair! :drool:

[Kamagrian]

Today, I've been the Nemesis Of Aquatic Life. Namely, tuna.

Breakfast: Cornflakes with soya milk.
Lunch: Tuna and sweetcorn low-fat mayo sandwich on wholemeal bread.
Dinner: Pasta with a sauce I made from tuna, olives, tomatoes, capers, garlic and onions. It was really quite scrummy, even if I do say so myself.

Incidentally, Hellman's are a very odd company as regards their mayo recipes. I've been avoiding them because the 'Real' mayo (although non-dairy) is too high-fat for me, and the 'Light' contains dairy products. So imagine my surprise when Matt came home with Hellman's 'Extra Light'. I presumed it'd be non-Gillsafe, but on reading the ingredients I couldn't see anything I need to avoid. So...

Hellman's 'Real' Mayonnaise - fine.
Hellman's 'Light' Mayonnaise - not fine, has CREAM in it, of all things!
Hellman's 'Extra Light' Mayonnaise - fine again.

Are the people at Hellman's on the same painkillers I am? That would explain it.

Ahem. Sorry. I'll stop ranting now.

[matt]

no idea why that is so but then don't try to understand big business!

low fat mayo.... a little like going in and asking for a extra large big mac, extra large fries, fruit pie and ........a diet coke!!!!!

but in your case there's a good reason.:lol2:

[rebecca c]

A friend just bought me some sweeties that just have sugar, glucose, beetroot and rose flavouring - so I can eat them. cant remember the last time I had a sweet!!!!

[Kamagrian]

low fat mayo.... a little like going in and asking for a extra large big mac, extra large fries, fruit pie and ........a diet coke!!!!!I used to do things like that! But it wasn't to 'save calories', it's because I can't stand full-sugar cola. *grin*but in your case there's a good reason.:lol2:Yeah, it's still not something I can eat a lot of, as reduced-fat mayo is still fairly high fat as I recall! But it means I can have a little on sandwiches when I'm craving it, so it's fulfilling a worthwhile purpose. :D

Rebecca, those sweets sound bizarre, but I'm glad you can eat them! What are they, if you don't mind me asking?

[matt]

repeat the mantra...they are not good for me.

you might beleive it eventually!:mad:

[Kamagrian]

repeat the mantra...they are not good for me.

you might beleive it eventually!:mad:Eep! Why the angry face? What's not good for me, the artifically-sweetened drinks? I know they're not, had to study aspartame as part of my nutrition training when I was doing my holistic therapy qualifications. I'm still addicted to them though. *sigh*

[cnc]

Well as today is about the best I've done with regards to food for about a week now, I've decided to post- its still not that great, but better than before.

Breakfast: Brown roll
Brunch: Hash browns, sausages, beans and brown bread + orange juice.
Dinner: 2 paninis with mozarella and ham.
I may be force fed my own cake later, but trying to resist that.

[matt]

i was on about the sweets!

[Pam]

We had toad in the hole for tea (made with soya milk), mashed potato with leeks mixed in, home grown swede and vegetable spaghetti, followed by a Gary Rhodes black treacle sponge which was very dark and spicy (think I'd been a bit heavy handed with the mixed spice). It was the first time that I have actually made a steamed sponge pudding and it was very nice.

[rebecca c]

Just to report the sweets are made by the apothecary's garden - sweet botanicals in Gloucestershire and are rose flavour. I still only have one every now and then and they arent amazing its just amazing to find a sweet I can eat. Also I am very touched that my friend went out of her way to get them for me - its so lovely that she thought of me like that...which just goes to show how much a present is about the thought.

[Kamagrian]

Thought I'd post something to this for the first time in ages! Not so much a 'what did I eat today' as a happy look back at some of the festive treats I've had. I love cooking, so having some time off to source and cook nice things has been great.

The meals here aren't representative of my general diet - I don't normally eat a lot of fat! However, for the few real celebration dinners I've put together, I threw caution to the wind a bit, and even my doctor said it probably wouldn't do me any harm. :)

I can't take credit for Christmas lunch as I indulged by buying stuff ready-prepared - who wants to work on a celebratory day?? However, I was really lucky to be able to order stuff from a local place that wasn't at all dairy - finding a ready-prepared, non-buttery bird proved a bit difficult at first!

Christmas Lunch
Starter: Cold dressed lobster with dill and lemon vinaigrette, with salad
Main: Roast duck with apricot and orange liqueur stuffing, and just about all the trimmings you can possibly imagine. Despite everything, Matt reported his favourite bit was the 'scrummy carrots and neeps'! Typical man. ;)
Dessert: Christmas pud with Alpro custard - about 2 hours later as we were as stuffed as the duck!

New Year's Eve Dinner (I made this one from scratch)
Organic roast leg of lamb with cider, honey, garlic and rosemary sauce, with low-fat roasties, mashed carrots and neeps, and broccoli.

I'm making the leftover roast lamb into a shepherd's pie tonight, as it's fantastically tasty and there's no way I'm wasting it! Also planning on making an Italian bean casserole this week, and Matt's promised to make me one of his lovely chicken and sweet potato curries. I'll need my strength for the return to work on Wednesday. :drool:

What did other people have at Christmas? Roast turkey all around, or any more unusual choices? :)

[matt]

you don't want to know. i was eating alone so i just has pretty much the same as any other day. maybe next xmas...:(

[rebecca c]

As we had just moved it was roast turkey, but the new oven cooked it perfectly and we are both enjoying our new big kitchen. I cooked french onion soup from scratch for lunch and we has our big meal in the evening. The boys didnt like the soup!

[rebecca c]

Also eating a lot of popadoms (spelling?) at the moment as with mango chutney they are a great wheat and dairy free snack.

[Lan]

Hi Rebecca,

I also like popadums (can't spell either) and used to eat them with a sweet chilli or spicey BBQ sauce on and were fab. I am unable to eat spice anymore so both are out, but very nice.

Lan. :lol2::lol2::lol2:

[whitewabbit2001]

breakfast cruchienut cornflakes with soya milk
lunch... lamb mince and mash and veg.
Tea dairy free chocolate cake from sainsbury's
Evening meal... sainsbury dairy free fishfinger and hoops and waffle
Pudding,,,, soya yoghurt
:)

[Nic]

Breakfast - porridge with blueberries (yum!) and cranberry juice
Lunch - lentil soup and Swedish Glace caramel soya ice-cream (not together!)
Supper - sausage casserole with tons of veg (swede, carrot, parsnip, onion, mushrooms) and a baked potato, and a caramel soya dessert

Been trying to be healthy after Xmas...

Nic

[cnc]

Breakfast: Toast
Lunch: Beans on toast, and some marble cake
Dinner: Curry.

Not sure that this is that healthy, but at least I'm eating three meals a day again now!!