Please help me feed my daughter on a limited diet.
April 11, 2011 4:25 PM Subscribe
Please help me feed my daughter while she's on a very restricted diet.
My 12 year old daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease earlier in the year. We switched to GF foods, expecting her symptoms to improve quickly, but they didn't. Months of severe stomach pain and elimination of various foods - on the advice of dietitians - have got us to a point where she is mostly pain-free.
But, a couple of weeks in I'm running out of options of what to feed her, and she's frustrated at the limited choices that I've come up with so far. All recipes and suggestions welcome!
The list of what she can currently eat is below. We will be looking to experiment with other foods in a while, but have some medical appointments to get through first, and having her pain-free and in school is a priority as she has missed so much school.
Fruit: apples, pears, berries (except strawberries), bananas.
Cooked vegetables: peas, spinach, carrots, new potatoes (limited), green beans, onions, garlic. Sweet potatoes and zucchini would be allowed but she's not fond of them. Maybe in a blended soup? (Uncooked veggies - lettuce, cucumber etc - are allowed only very infrequently.)
Pulses: red lentils, mung dal.
Nuts/seeds: almonds (and almond butter), walnuts, sunflower seeds.
Grains: only rice, and not every day.
Egg whites.
Other: butter (small amounts, and no other dairy), olive oil, salt, pepper, spices such as cumin, turmeric etc.
My 12 year old daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease earlier in the year. We switched to GF foods, expecting her symptoms to improve quickly, but they didn't. Months of severe stomach pain and elimination of various foods - on the advice of dietitians - have got us to a point where she is mostly pain-free.
But, a couple of weeks in I'm running out of options of what to feed her, and she's frustrated at the limited choices that I've come up with so far. All recipes and suggestions welcome!
The list of what she can currently eat is below. We will be looking to experiment with other foods in a while, but have some medical appointments to get through first, and having her pain-free and in school is a priority as she has missed so much school.
Fruit: apples, pears, berries (except strawberries), bananas.
Cooked vegetables: peas, spinach, carrots, new potatoes (limited), green beans, onions, garlic. Sweet potatoes and zucchini would be allowed but she's not fond of them. Maybe in a blended soup? (Uncooked veggies - lettuce, cucumber etc - are allowed only very infrequently.)
Pulses: red lentils, mung dal.
Nuts/seeds: almonds (and almond butter), walnuts, sunflower seeds.
Grains: only rice, and not every day.
Egg whites.
Other: butter (small amounts, and no other dairy), olive oil, salt, pepper, spices such as cumin, turmeric etc.
How about red lentil chili? Here's a recipe -- cached because the page is giving me an error message right now.
posted by trillian at 4:46 PM on April 11, 2011
posted by trillian at 4:46 PM on April 11, 2011
Best answer: Oh, and maybe an egg-white Spanish omelet using new potatoes?
posted by trillian at 4:48 PM on April 11, 2011
posted by trillian at 4:48 PM on April 11, 2011
Best answer: Have you explored Indian food? Given that she can have oil/butter, onions, red lentils, mung dal, and spices, you should be able to make her a wide variety of dals.
posted by insectosaurus at 4:48 PM on April 11, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by insectosaurus at 4:48 PM on April 11, 2011 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Maybe look into purchasing poppadum (indian flat bread, a.k.a. poppad; needs to be fried) to cook for her; they're interesting, and I think they're made mostly from lentil flour. You might also have luck with ghee, a fat that is made from butter with the milk proteins removed. You wouldn't want to fry in olive oil, since it will scorch at low heat, but I think you can fry in ghee (it's also associated with Indian cooking).
Try cutting sweet potato into smallish wedges, tossing with olive oil and salt, putting on a baking sheet, and making sweet potato home fries. If she can handle rosemary, this is a good addition.
Slice apples and pears, grate some fresh whole nutmeg over the slices with a kitchen microplane, and either bake briefly or don't. Cinnamon is also nice for this. If baking, consider adding some nuts (note: too many walnuts or almonds can sometimes, for some people, lead to skin irritation due to the tannic acid).
Depending on how much oil she can eat, I wonder if inventing a carrot/raisin/egg white fritter might be interesting.
posted by amtho at 4:50 PM on April 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
Try cutting sweet potato into smallish wedges, tossing with olive oil and salt, putting on a baking sheet, and making sweet potato home fries. If she can handle rosemary, this is a good addition.
Slice apples and pears, grate some fresh whole nutmeg over the slices with a kitchen microplane, and either bake briefly or don't. Cinnamon is also nice for this. If baking, consider adding some nuts (note: too many walnuts or almonds can sometimes, for some people, lead to skin irritation due to the tannic acid).
Depending on how much oil she can eat, I wonder if inventing a carrot/raisin/egg white fritter might be interesting.
posted by amtho at 4:50 PM on April 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Here's an example of a dal you could make - it's by Madhur Jaffrey, who has excellent recipes. Substitute onions for the shallots, you can leave out the hot pepper if she doesn't like it, and she can have the rest of the ingredients.
posted by insectosaurus at 4:52 PM on April 11, 2011
posted by insectosaurus at 4:52 PM on April 11, 2011
Best answer: Fried rice, for days she can have rice. Cook rice, let it cool (overnight if you can). Saute with oil, garlic, peas, scrambled egg whites, and soy sauce (use salt instead if she can't have soy sauce).
posted by insectosaurus at 4:53 PM on April 11, 2011
posted by insectosaurus at 4:53 PM on April 11, 2011
Best answer: Pretty much all of those veggies that can be cut into matchsticks can be the base for a rockin' stir-fry. Julienne some carrots, new potatoes, stringbeans, not-quite-ripe pears, onions, sweet potatoes, zucchini, toss together with olive oil, season with garlic, and stir-fry. Top with sunflower seeds.
Also, you can make a really great pesto with spinach, walnuts, olive oil, and basil.
posted by juniperesque at 5:12 PM on April 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
Also, you can make a really great pesto with spinach, walnuts, olive oil, and basil.
posted by juniperesque at 5:12 PM on April 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
Can she have almond flour? It's expensive so maybe you'd want to use it for things like dumplings on vegetable stew.
posted by lakeroon at 5:17 PM on April 11, 2011
posted by lakeroon at 5:17 PM on April 11, 2011
I went through something similar for several years with my oldest son...check your MeMail.
posted by Rapunzel1111 at 5:19 PM on April 11, 2011
posted by Rapunzel1111 at 5:19 PM on April 11, 2011
Best answer: Here's info on Asian gluten-free noodles. There are several kinds, some made out of the ingredients she is allowed, and you can do stir-fries with veggies and egg whites, and make noodle soups if you can make/find an allowed soup base. Of course check the ingredients on the package. Good luck, I ate rice and chicken only for several weeks while I was breast-feeding an allergic baby so I can relate.
posted by girlhacker at 5:29 PM on April 11, 2011
posted by girlhacker at 5:29 PM on April 11, 2011
Best answer: Take a look at the gluten-free recipes on Diet Dessert and Dogs. And how about smoothies made with fruit and almond milk? Also, dosas are made with rice and lentils.
posted by zinfandel at 5:33 PM on April 11, 2011
posted by zinfandel at 5:33 PM on April 11, 2011
The diet you're describing goes beyond gluten-free. You're vegetarian, plus there are a bunch of other restrictions?
butter (small amounts, and no other dairy) - why no other dairy?
Egg whites - why not whole eggs?
Grains: only rice, and not every day - why not every day?
new potatoes (limited) - just new potatoes? why limited?
no tomatoes? no soy products?
This seems like a really low calorie diet, and it eliminates a lot of sources of protein.
If she's had problems with other foods before because of celiacs, you might try phasing them back in now that she's been off gluten for a while.
Even if she can eat rice every day, and you can ease up on dairy other than butter and no tomatoes, that opens the door to a lot of yummy and nutritious Indian recipes.
I guess the main thing I'd ask is does she really have a problem with rice? Is it just the idea that you shouldn't eat the same thing every day? Lots of people, including me, eat rice on a pretty much daily basis. If she doesn't really have a problem with rice, then you've got a large variety of serve-with-rice recipes available (not mention fried rice with miscellaneous vegetables), and letting her eat rice will help make sure she's getting enough calories while eliminating bread, pasta and anything with gluten in it.
posted by nangar at 6:00 PM on April 11, 2011
butter (small amounts, and no other dairy) - why no other dairy?
Egg whites - why not whole eggs?
Grains: only rice, and not every day - why not every day?
new potatoes (limited) - just new potatoes? why limited?
no tomatoes? no soy products?
This seems like a really low calorie diet, and it eliminates a lot of sources of protein.
If she's had problems with other foods before because of celiacs, you might try phasing them back in now that she's been off gluten for a while.
Even if she can eat rice every day, and you can ease up on dairy other than butter and no tomatoes, that opens the door to a lot of yummy and nutritious Indian recipes.
I guess the main thing I'd ask is does she really have a problem with rice? Is it just the idea that you shouldn't eat the same thing every day? Lots of people, including me, eat rice on a pretty much daily basis. If she doesn't really have a problem with rice, then you've got a large variety of serve-with-rice recipes available (not mention fried rice with miscellaneous vegetables), and letting her eat rice will help make sure she's getting enough calories while eliminating bread, pasta and anything with gluten in it.
posted by nangar at 6:00 PM on April 11, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks everyone for the responses so far, and do please keep them coming. To answer some questions...
- Yes, Indian food has been a focus. Various forms of dal are thankfully ok with her, but she'd appreciate some variation so thanks for the suggested recipes!
- Almond flour is an interesting idea that we hadn't thought of but will look into. The advice we've had so far has generally been to stick to 'unmodified' ingredients - i.e. plain rice rather than rice pasta etc, so would need to consider it carefully but it could make for some good options. Almond milk we're considering but need to figure out what all the additives are before trying it.
- We are vegetarian and do generally eat plenty of dairy and soy. The issue currently is that dietitians are of the opinion that the Celiac disease has affected her intestines to the point that she can't digest much of anything, and the foods listed are the easiest to digest (for example: egg whites are ok, but yolks aren't; small amounts of butter for cooking are ok, but cheese or milk would be too hard to digest; new potatoes are much easier to digest than old potatoes used for baking; red lentils good, chick peas bad unfortunately because she loves them). The last 2+ weeks have been the best for a very long time so we have to think it's helping, and allowing her to heal, so over time we will try to introduce more foods.
- Related to the above, the dietitan has advised that rice should be only every few days, and if she does eat it more often it causes problems. (This is for her specifically at the moment, we're aware that rice is a daily staple for many parts of the world, and if she could eat it every day it would definitely help.)
- It is a very low-calorie diet, and she's certainly not gaining any weight, but it's better than the when she was losing weight from not eating, or having constant debilitating stomach pain from eating the wrong foods!
posted by valleys at 6:51 PM on April 11, 2011
- Yes, Indian food has been a focus. Various forms of dal are thankfully ok with her, but she'd appreciate some variation so thanks for the suggested recipes!
- Almond flour is an interesting idea that we hadn't thought of but will look into. The advice we've had so far has generally been to stick to 'unmodified' ingredients - i.e. plain rice rather than rice pasta etc, so would need to consider it carefully but it could make for some good options. Almond milk we're considering but need to figure out what all the additives are before trying it.
- We are vegetarian and do generally eat plenty of dairy and soy. The issue currently is that dietitians are of the opinion that the Celiac disease has affected her intestines to the point that she can't digest much of anything, and the foods listed are the easiest to digest (for example: egg whites are ok, but yolks aren't; small amounts of butter for cooking are ok, but cheese or milk would be too hard to digest; new potatoes are much easier to digest than old potatoes used for baking; red lentils good, chick peas bad unfortunately because she loves them). The last 2+ weeks have been the best for a very long time so we have to think it's helping, and allowing her to heal, so over time we will try to introduce more foods.
- Related to the above, the dietitan has advised that rice should be only every few days, and if she does eat it more often it causes problems. (This is for her specifically at the moment, we're aware that rice is a daily staple for many parts of the world, and if she could eat it every day it would definitely help.)
- It is a very low-calorie diet, and she's certainly not gaining any weight, but it's better than the when she was losing weight from not eating, or having constant debilitating stomach pain from eating the wrong foods!
posted by valleys at 6:51 PM on April 11, 2011
Re: almond milk and additives. You can make your own with a heavy duty blender (something like a VitaMix or Blendtec). I do this pretty regularly with my BlendTec. You can play with the ratios, but it's just almonds and water, done on the juice setting, and then you strain it through a nut milk bag. There are a few other types of "milk" included in the recipe book as well.
posted by smalls at 7:26 PM on April 11, 2011
posted by smalls at 7:26 PM on April 11, 2011
Best answer: Gosh, that sounds a lot like the contents of my pantry. You've probably tried these things already, but just in case you haven't:
- Seconding sweet potato fries. But I think I'd eat anything baked with olive oil and salt.
- I recently discovered kidney beans are really good when sauteed in butter with apples and garlic - it would probably also be great with lentils.
- I like apples and pears raw with a dollop of almond butter, but I *love* baked apples and pears with a sprinkle of cinnamon.
- I dunno if you want to 'blow your rice budget' on it, but maybe try a risotto made with almond milk and nuts and berries for breakfast?
posted by hishtafel at 7:42 PM on April 11, 2011
- Seconding sweet potato fries. But I think I'd eat anything baked with olive oil and salt.
- I recently discovered kidney beans are really good when sauteed in butter with apples and garlic - it would probably also be great with lentils.
- I like apples and pears raw with a dollop of almond butter, but I *love* baked apples and pears with a sprinkle of cinnamon.
- I dunno if you want to 'blow your rice budget' on it, but maybe try a risotto made with almond milk and nuts and berries for breakfast?
posted by hishtafel at 7:42 PM on April 11, 2011
Best answer: Parent of a teen w/celiac here. We do protein smoothies in the morning - yoghurt (can she have soy yogurt?), frozen fruit including banana, blueberries and a variety of other fruits, protein powder and honey. Frozen cider works well - freeze it in cubes and blend with fruit. He finds he functions much better on days when he starts with this than with a lower protein breakfast. I know other people who add kale or spinach ....
We eat a lot of Indian, Mexican and Asian food - stir fries or curries. - Potato and greens in tacos or enchiladas? Avocado ok? It's caloricly dense and pretty gentle to digest. You don't have to fry pappadum btw, they can be microwaved just fine and are easier to digest without the oil.
posted by leslies at 7:45 PM on April 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
We eat a lot of Indian, Mexican and Asian food - stir fries or curries. - Potato and greens in tacos or enchiladas? Avocado ok? It's caloricly dense and pretty gentle to digest. You don't have to fry pappadum btw, they can be microwaved just fine and are easier to digest without the oil.
posted by leslies at 7:45 PM on April 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
It will certainly be more expensive, but maybe Think Thin Gluten Free bars as a high-protein snack? Since warm weather is arriving, I would recommend buying them by the case from Trader Joe's or Whole Foods. Amazon is cheap, but the shipping & handling process wreaks havoc on the coating and texture.
posted by invisible ink at 7:55 PM on April 11, 2011
posted by invisible ink at 7:55 PM on April 11, 2011
Best answer: You can fry up apples and onions. Or cook up lentils with apples in it. I know both of those sound a little odd, but they're very yummy, and hopefully different from what she's been eating. You could freeze zucchini chunks to put in smoothies (so it's not so taste-able).
Is she able to eat meat? Both of my parents were vegetarian for 30 or so years, but when they had health problems that severely limited their diets they started eating some meat again.
posted by Margalo Epps at 8:02 PM on April 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
Is she able to eat meat? Both of my parents were vegetarian for 30 or so years, but when they had health problems that severely limited their diets they started eating some meat again.
posted by Margalo Epps at 8:02 PM on April 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I make a sunflower soup that might be okay. The only ingredient not on the list is dried lemongrass. You add any veggie you want to this but it takes longer to cook if it's fresh. I've use mung bean sprouts and snow peas with good results. You can add these if they're okay. The sprouts need to be well rinsed and take 7-8 minutes to cook. Snow peas can go in with everything else.
Sunflower Soup
I throw a handful of onions in a pan along
with a little oil and cook until soft.
add water (bowl and half for each bowl of soup you want),
lots of salt, garlic powder, dried lemongrass, pepper and bring to a boil.
add a handful of rice for each bowl and cook for 10 minutes on low simmer.
throw in frozen veggies (peas, spinach, carrots) and
cook for 5 more minutes, 7-8 minutes if they're not fresh.
add more salt, garlic, pepper to taste if needed.
a few grains of cayenne add a nice kick if her
stomach can handle it
throw in a handful of sunflower seeds a minute
or so before serving otherwise they'll get too soft.
I do a veggie egg drop soup that is very similar but you skip softening the onions.
You just add water and spices and bring it up to a boil.
Crack an egg (just whites in your case) into a measuring cup with a spout.
Add water and beat with fork.
Stir water quickly so it gets some centrifugal force and slowly add the egg.
It makes the egg into very fine threads so you don't end up with big clumps.
You can then add veggies, cooked rice, etc.
It doesn't seem to hurt the egg threads to keep cooking but I usually just add veggies.
I'm a bit afraid of trying to go the whole 15 minutes it takes for rice.
posted by stray thoughts at 10:20 PM on April 11, 2011
Sunflower Soup
I throw a handful of onions in a pan along
with a little oil and cook until soft.
add water (bowl and half for each bowl of soup you want),
lots of salt, garlic powder, dried lemongrass, pepper and bring to a boil.
add a handful of rice for each bowl and cook for 10 minutes on low simmer.
throw in frozen veggies (peas, spinach, carrots) and
cook for 5 more minutes, 7-8 minutes if they're not fresh.
add more salt, garlic, pepper to taste if needed.
a few grains of cayenne add a nice kick if her
stomach can handle it
throw in a handful of sunflower seeds a minute
or so before serving otherwise they'll get too soft.
I do a veggie egg drop soup that is very similar but you skip softening the onions.
You just add water and spices and bring it up to a boil.
Crack an egg (just whites in your case) into a measuring cup with a spout.
Add water and beat with fork.
Stir water quickly so it gets some centrifugal force and slowly add the egg.
It makes the egg into very fine threads so you don't end up with big clumps.
You can then add veggies, cooked rice, etc.
It doesn't seem to hurt the egg threads to keep cooking but I usually just add veggies.
I'm a bit afraid of trying to go the whole 15 minutes it takes for rice.
posted by stray thoughts at 10:20 PM on April 11, 2011
Best answer: I'm on a very restricted diet as well (no gluten, no dairy, no meat except fish) so I feel your pain!
Can she eat quinoa? It's gluten free and a nice substitute for rice. I believe it's technically a seed, not a grain.
Is soy sauce out because of the gluten, or because of the soy? If it's just because of the gluten, I've been able to find gluten-free soy sauce at both Whole Foods and Asian markets.
What about nutritional yeast? That has been an unbelieveable godsend for me. It doesn't sound or look appetizing, but adds a pretty darn good cheese-y flavor to anything I add it to. I made a fantastic version of "Brazilian Cheese Bread" this evening with nutritional yeast. If your daughter can have tapioca flour, and if you decide to give almond milk a chance, give these a go.....they are delicious! Here's a link to the recipe I started with...
http://kirbiecravings.com/2011/04/brazilian-cheese-puffs.html
Substitute regular milk with Almond Milk (or any other nondairy milk you can use....Rice Milk? Hemp Milk maybe?) and substitute the half cup of grated cheese with a half cup of nutritional yeast. I think you'd be fine using just egg whites with this recipe instead of the whole egg, too.
Also, google around for "dosa" and "uttapam" recipes. These are South Indian foods and are delicious. They are typically made with a mix of rice flour and lentil flour - but I make them with just the lentil flour sometimes. A typical dosa is a crepe made of lentil flour and water, then stuffed with cooked potatos, onions, etc. Trick is to get the right combination of Indian spices in there (coriander, fenugreek, brown mustard seeds, I think...). Uttapams are very similar, but have the veggies (onion is popular) cooked straight in the batter, making it like a veggie pancake. If I weren't typing this out on my phone, I'd dig up a recipe link for you....my apologies!
I've come across a lot of "simple soup" recipes for various veggies; things like "blend these two cooked veggies together, add water, add spice - voila!" I'd maybe do some googling around with every veggie she's allowed to eat to see what comes up. Try a "simple carrot soup recipe" search or a "simple pea soup recipe" search.
I should have more suggestions than this! I'll think on it a bit and try to post more later when I'm at a real computer. These kinds of diet restrictions are so tough, but it's not completely hopeless/miserable and definitely worth the effort if she's pain free. Good luck!!
posted by Squee at 10:25 PM on April 11, 2011
Can she eat quinoa? It's gluten free and a nice substitute for rice. I believe it's technically a seed, not a grain.
Is soy sauce out because of the gluten, or because of the soy? If it's just because of the gluten, I've been able to find gluten-free soy sauce at both Whole Foods and Asian markets.
What about nutritional yeast? That has been an unbelieveable godsend for me. It doesn't sound or look appetizing, but adds a pretty darn good cheese-y flavor to anything I add it to. I made a fantastic version of "Brazilian Cheese Bread" this evening with nutritional yeast. If your daughter can have tapioca flour, and if you decide to give almond milk a chance, give these a go.....they are delicious! Here's a link to the recipe I started with...
http://kirbiecravings.com/2011/04/brazilian-cheese-puffs.html
Substitute regular milk with Almond Milk (or any other nondairy milk you can use....Rice Milk? Hemp Milk maybe?) and substitute the half cup of grated cheese with a half cup of nutritional yeast. I think you'd be fine using just egg whites with this recipe instead of the whole egg, too.
Also, google around for "dosa" and "uttapam" recipes. These are South Indian foods and are delicious. They are typically made with a mix of rice flour and lentil flour - but I make them with just the lentil flour sometimes. A typical dosa is a crepe made of lentil flour and water, then stuffed with cooked potatos, onions, etc. Trick is to get the right combination of Indian spices in there (coriander, fenugreek, brown mustard seeds, I think...). Uttapams are very similar, but have the veggies (onion is popular) cooked straight in the batter, making it like a veggie pancake. If I weren't typing this out on my phone, I'd dig up a recipe link for you....my apologies!
I've come across a lot of "simple soup" recipes for various veggies; things like "blend these two cooked veggies together, add water, add spice - voila!" I'd maybe do some googling around with every veggie she's allowed to eat to see what comes up. Try a "simple carrot soup recipe" search or a "simple pea soup recipe" search.
I should have more suggestions than this! I'll think on it a bit and try to post more later when I'm at a real computer. These kinds of diet restrictions are so tough, but it's not completely hopeless/miserable and definitely worth the effort if she's pain free. Good luck!!
posted by Squee at 10:25 PM on April 11, 2011
Oh yeah, and maybe try pesto variations for new flavors!
For instance, make pesto using olive oil, basil, and sunflower seeds (instead of pine nuts). I omit the Parmesan cheese and don't miss it at all. I've also substituted nutritional yeast for the Parmesan and that's been tasty. Use it as a dipping sauce for some of her cooked veggies, like the carrots and onion.
If you can, invest in some really nice "finishing" olive oils for more flavors. I have a garlic-infused olive oil and a Meyer lemon-infused one that I absolutely love. I really recommend seeking these out at small specialty stores if you can - mine were almost twenty bucks a bottle but well worth it, in my opinion.
posted by Squee at 10:36 PM on April 11, 2011
For instance, make pesto using olive oil, basil, and sunflower seeds (instead of pine nuts). I omit the Parmesan cheese and don't miss it at all. I've also substituted nutritional yeast for the Parmesan and that's been tasty. Use it as a dipping sauce for some of her cooked veggies, like the carrots and onion.
If you can, invest in some really nice "finishing" olive oils for more flavors. I have a garlic-infused olive oil and a Meyer lemon-infused one that I absolutely love. I really recommend seeking these out at small specialty stores if you can - mine were almost twenty bucks a bottle but well worth it, in my opinion.
posted by Squee at 10:36 PM on April 11, 2011
Best answer: And quiche! How could I forget quiche? If you haven't added that to the menu yet, I think it's a good addition that's flexible to her diet.
Forget traditional quiche crusts of course - and since new potatoes are okay, how about a potato crust instead? Here's one recipe to get you started....
http://fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blogspot.com/2009/08/veggie-quiche-with-potato-crust.html
Substitute the veggies that she can't eat with veggies she can eat. Omit the cheese entirely (or, add nutritional yeast, if possible!), substitute real milk for almond milk and use only egg whites instead of the whole egg. I've seen recipes with "hash brown" style potato crusts that might be better. Google around using the "potato crust quiche" search term for more variations.
You can ditch a crust altogether and just make egg white Fritattas, too.
Also, consider playing around with the "deviled egg" concept. Hard-boil eggs as normal, cut in half and throw out the yolk of course. Then get creative with the filling - maybe throw some cooked lentils, a bit of onion, garlic, and spice of your choice into a food processor and pulse until it's at a good consistency. Then spoon your mixture into the egg white half. Might be able to make an interesting filling out of "mashed" potatoes and other veggies/spices too. Just a different way to eat the same things, perhaps!
posted by Squee at 11:04 PM on April 11, 2011
Forget traditional quiche crusts of course - and since new potatoes are okay, how about a potato crust instead? Here's one recipe to get you started....
http://fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blogspot.com/2009/08/veggie-quiche-with-potato-crust.html
Substitute the veggies that she can't eat with veggies she can eat. Omit the cheese entirely (or, add nutritional yeast, if possible!), substitute real milk for almond milk and use only egg whites instead of the whole egg. I've seen recipes with "hash brown" style potato crusts that might be better. Google around using the "potato crust quiche" search term for more variations.
You can ditch a crust altogether and just make egg white Fritattas, too.
Also, consider playing around with the "deviled egg" concept. Hard-boil eggs as normal, cut in half and throw out the yolk of course. Then get creative with the filling - maybe throw some cooked lentils, a bit of onion, garlic, and spice of your choice into a food processor and pulse until it's at a good consistency. Then spoon your mixture into the egg white half. Might be able to make an interesting filling out of "mashed" potatoes and other veggies/spices too. Just a different way to eat the same things, perhaps!
posted by Squee at 11:04 PM on April 11, 2011
Best answer: Here's one fun idea: Indian-inspired fritters! They're like potato pancakes, but with peas, carrots, and Indian spices thrown in. Looking at the ingredient list, it's pretty much all stuff that's okay for your daughter, and you can easily leave out what's not. You'd probably (?) be okay with just egg whites instead of eggs, although they might not hold together as well, but you could work with that.
I've seen a non-gluten-eater I know fry up some apples and kale for breakfast, and sometimes eat it with egg on the side. You could use spinach instead of kale. I think she may have seasoned the apple-greens mixture with a bit of butter, cinnamon, and salt. Maybe sprinkle some sliced almonds on there, too.
You might be able to make some version of mulligatawny soup work. Maybe some red lentils, apples, carrots, potatoes, onions, and garlic? I had a mulligatawny soup where we put a ton of stuff in it, cooked it forever, and then blended it to a nice even puree-ish soup. The apples were a surprising and tasty touch.
That's a tough set of restrictions. Good luck!
posted by mandanza at 11:15 PM on April 11, 2011
I've seen a non-gluten-eater I know fry up some apples and kale for breakfast, and sometimes eat it with egg on the side. You could use spinach instead of kale. I think she may have seasoned the apple-greens mixture with a bit of butter, cinnamon, and salt. Maybe sprinkle some sliced almonds on there, too.
You might be able to make some version of mulligatawny soup work. Maybe some red lentils, apples, carrots, potatoes, onions, and garlic? I had a mulligatawny soup where we put a ton of stuff in it, cooked it forever, and then blended it to a nice even puree-ish soup. The apples were a surprising and tasty touch.
That's a tough set of restrictions. Good luck!
posted by mandanza at 11:15 PM on April 11, 2011
Oh, and I love throwing a bunch of finely-chopped spinach into masoor dal.
Another thought: A sweet mung dal with apple could be a nice, substantial breakfast or lunch. Dunno if you've tried stuff like that, but it's kind of a thing. Mung dal is used quite often in desserts in some cuisines. It sounds like you're not doing artificial sweeteners, but you could have mung dal + applesauce + cooked apple bits and it might be decent.
posted by mandanza at 11:22 PM on April 11, 2011
Another thought: A sweet mung dal with apple could be a nice, substantial breakfast or lunch. Dunno if you've tried stuff like that, but it's kind of a thing. Mung dal is used quite often in desserts in some cuisines. It sounds like you're not doing artificial sweeteners, but you could have mung dal + applesauce + cooked apple bits and it might be decent.
posted by mandanza at 11:22 PM on April 11, 2011
Best answer: Vada are deep-fried fritters made from lentils and other pulses of various sorts--both moong dal and masoor dal (red lentils) can be used.
Here's a recipe for moong dal vada
And one for masoor dal vada
However, if the only oil she's allowed is olive, I'm not sure that will work for deep frying. Dosa is more of a fried pancake-type thing (and oh so good, as are vada!), I think typically made with black lentil flour (urad dal), but here's one with
red lentils
posted by SomeTrickPony at 4:37 AM on April 12, 2011
Here's a recipe for moong dal vada
And one for masoor dal vada
However, if the only oil she's allowed is olive, I'm not sure that will work for deep frying. Dosa is more of a fried pancake-type thing (and oh so good, as are vada!), I think typically made with black lentil flour (urad dal), but here's one with
red lentils
posted by SomeTrickPony at 4:37 AM on April 12, 2011
Best answer: Sweet potatoes are also awesome when combined with apples. Dice and soften apples in some butter, combine with mashed sweet potatoes; add a little bit of the following if they are acceptable: salt, pepper, molasses, brown sugar. I usually add some cream, but if you need liquid you could use almond or soy milk or just water or vegetable stock.
We also like to slice them thin, and sautee them with some caramelized onions.
Sorry you and your daughter are having to go through this!
posted by dpx.mfx at 8:58 AM on April 12, 2011
We also like to slice them thin, and sautee them with some caramelized onions.
Sorry you and your daughter are having to go through this!
posted by dpx.mfx at 8:58 AM on April 12, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks again for all the great suggestions.
Indian fritters look like a good idea. I've made kofta in the past and shallow-fried rather than deep-fried, with good results.
We've not tried tapioca but can look into it.
We've tried almond milk the last day or two and it seems to be going ok, so yes - smoothies!
And frittatas are a good idea.
I really feel like we have some wonderful ideas for varying what to offer her, so thanks Mefi people!
posted by valleys at 5:02 PM on April 12, 2011
Indian fritters look like a good idea. I've made kofta in the past and shallow-fried rather than deep-fried, with good results.
We've not tried tapioca but can look into it.
We've tried almond milk the last day or two and it seems to be going ok, so yes - smoothies!
And frittatas are a good idea.
I really feel like we have some wonderful ideas for varying what to offer her, so thanks Mefi people!
posted by valleys at 5:02 PM on April 12, 2011
Response by poster: And I should have said that we tried a home-made pesto a while ago, though it was at the same time as other new foods so we're not sure which caused distress. We'll try pesto again now that we're being more strict about introducing new things.
posted by valleys at 5:05 PM on April 12, 2011
posted by valleys at 5:05 PM on April 12, 2011
Gluten Free Girl's blog has a bunch of recipes and resources. She has a much younger daughter, but she also seems to be the charming type of blogger who'd respond if you emailed her.
posted by SarahbytheSea at 5:21 PM on April 12, 2011
posted by SarahbytheSea at 5:21 PM on April 12, 2011
Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks has a new cookbook out called Super Natural Every Day, and it's all very quick and easy vegetarian recipes - she does cook with grains, but there are many GF recipes as well as ideas that you could adapt to be GF.
posted by judith at 5:46 PM on April 12, 2011
posted by judith at 5:46 PM on April 12, 2011
Do NOT give your daughter Think Thin Gluten Free bars. They have quite a bit of sugar alcohol in them, which can wreak digestive havoc on the digestive systems of otherwise healthy people, and would be a terrible idea for someone already suffering from intestinal issues.
posted by bookish at 3:46 PM on May 19, 2011
posted by bookish at 3:46 PM on May 19, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by AlliKat75 at 4:30 PM on April 11, 2011 [1 favorite]