ideas for cooking with someone on a very restricted diet?

March 21, 2017 9:36 PM

I have a friend who is a very good cook. We mostly hang out by cooking together. Unfortunately, she's now on an extremely restricted diet: no meat from land animals or poultry, no dairy, no gluten, complex carbs only in moderation, basically* no simple sugars. Fruits and vegetables are very likely to be okay. Eggs, pulses, and plant oils seem universally okay. What can we cook together that would entertain us for an afternoon but fit these criteria? Obscure salads? Fancy crudite cuts?

• Actually there appear to be some complicated rules about simple sugars. She'll eat sucrose as molasses but not granulated sugar or simple syrup. Similarly, fructose is okay in honey but not corn syrup. I'm going to over-approximate this as, "no simple sugars." I want to be conservative here because this diet helps with her joint pain.

posted by d. z. wang to Food & Drink (19 answers total)

"Obscure salads" made me think of Yotam Ottolenghi, who has many options in which vegetables are the star and dairy is used in ways that can be subbed out for nut/soy milks or omitted.
posted by notquitemaryann at 9:44 PM on March 21, 2017

Like this one, yum.
posted by notquitemaryann at 9:47 PM on March 21, 2017

If fish is OK, then grilled/panfried salmon served on a bed of raw spinach? Season with salt, pepper, and a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime?
posted by spinifex23 at 9:56 PM on March 21, 2017

Searching for 'vegetarian keto' recipies may get you some ideas. Keto is actually more strict about carbs/sugars than your friend, so you might be able to replace some of the obvious carb substitutes with something like quinoa or other complex carb. And you can add fruit to those recipes too, as those are also more restrictive on keto than it sounds like your friend is.
posted by cgg at 10:17 PM on March 21, 2017

I believe this is a job for Seafood Paella, especially if you use an authentic technique (outside over hot coals, heh) but even if you do it on a stove top!
posted by jbenben at 10:17 PM on March 21, 2017

My fav dairy-free, gluten-free vegan thing to make is aloo gobi, an Indian dish of cauliflower, potatoes, and peas, lovely veggies cooked with aromatics and spices. Another recipe for it. Many variations if you google, as well. The aroma is divine, and it's real comfort food. Filling too, because potatoes. Make lassi or masala chai to drink (using almond milk or soy or coconut etc instead of dairy) with it.
posted by the webmistress at 10:19 PM on March 21, 2017

You should make this fancypants ratatouille. It's tasty, it looks awesome, and it involves a lot of precision slicing to keep you busy unless you power through it all with a mandolin.
posted by deludingmyself at 10:24 PM on March 21, 2017

Non-European vegan would be a place to start. Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Mexican all are gluten free, and easily made dairy free.

Also, if fish is OK, then roasting fish in salt is cool. Also sushi.

Make your own nut cheeses. Ferment stuff e.g. sauerkraut. Make passata. Make miso and tempeh. There is a crazy rabbithole of fermenting and preserving out there, and it doesn't all involve sugar.

Also, Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby have written a couple of cookbooks with vegetables as the main ingredient. I've never tried them, just heard an interview, but they sounded like they had an interesting approach to vegan food.
posted by kjs4 at 10:37 PM on March 21, 2017

Although not as fun as eating and cooking, it could be rewarding to cook some meals for people in need, or preserve stuff to give as gifts, fundraisers etc.
posted by Youremyworld at 10:44 PM on March 21, 2017

I cleaned up my diet a few months ago. Quinoa is amazing--gluten-free, lots of protein, and it fills you up. I enjoy cooking that and sautéing some vegetables To add on top. A little bit of lemon juice to top it off, and I'm good to go. So delicious. Good luck!
posted by summertimesadness1988 at 12:36 AM on March 22, 2017

How about farinata?
posted by XMLicious at 12:59 AM on March 22, 2017

Most Indian veggie curries would fit this, plus they take quite a while especially if you make your own spice pastes. You could make a whole thali!
posted by kadia_a at 1:57 AM on March 22, 2017

Another vote for Indian. There are masses of fish and vegetable dishes to choose from: Goan and Keralan fish curries flavoured with tamarind and coconut milk, tandoori shrimp, lots of bean and lentil dishes. Eggplant curries.
posted by Bloxworth Snout at 2:01 AM on March 22, 2017

A really good French fish soup is a fabulous dish. I guess you could use gluten-free bread to make the rouille?
posted by Bloxworth Snout at 2:06 AM on March 22, 2017

Here are 17 simple vegan meals with a lot of flexibility. I think that the photos are great for giving a sense of of the meal. Follow the links to the recipes for more blogs and inspiration in that line.

Also I'm not sure if her diet has an offical name, but if it does, that's a useful thing to google with. It sounds like "nutritarian" cooking would satisfy the constraints given -- here are some recipes in that vein to explore.
posted by rollick at 4:14 AM on March 22, 2017

No recipe, sweet potato hash with eggs and veggies. Roast diced sweet potatoes with salt, pepper, cumin, and chili powder. While roasting, fry a few slices of bacon; remove bacon from pan and get rid of grease except for 2-3 teaspoons. Fry diced onion and red or green peppers in bacon grease; add diced sweet potatoes when softened. Fry an egg for on top, leaving it as runny as you like. You can add avocado, cilantro, or parsley and hot sauce.
posted by shortyJBot at 4:46 AM on March 22, 2017

A few of my ideas are already listed above (yum, people)! I think I might add grilling fish on cedar planks, and creating delicious oil and herb/vegetable filled sauces for the fish and vegetables. You can even season the plank with oils or lemon wedges or wine.
posted by anya32 at 6:16 AM on March 22, 2017

What about making a very, very fancy vegetable platter, with different blanched, raw and sauteed vegetables and different dips? That might fill up your afternoon and it's the kind of thing that's a drag to do for one. Serious Eats has some tips, but here are some thoughts too:

1. Make some different nut spreads, like various raw cashew cheeses and dips, walnut spread (olive oil, walnuts, herbs, some tofu), lentil dip, avocado spread, etc.

2. Blanched asparagus and zucchini

3. Cucumber salad

4. Cold potato wedges (good with acidic/strong-flavored dips)

5. Maybe something like cold chickpea flour pancakes (farinata or variants) to spread with spreads

Etc, etc.

You could make a really tasty platter and then sit and snack while watching a movie, for instance. Maybe make a fancy fruit drink too.

This sounds so fun that I might, myself, give it a go.
posted by Frowner at 7:06 AM on March 22, 2017

I heartily recommend the book Salad Samurai. It has a huge variety of salads and a lot of optional accouterments that makes good components in other meals. Everything I've had from it has been a hit, even as a dinner option for omnivores. Most ingredients that it uses will fit her bill, except soy sauce and agave nectar. You can sub tamari or coconut aminos and a sweetener of her choice.
posted by tofu_crouton at 8:07 AM on March 22, 2017