Simple recipies for my special conditions
January 28, 2025 5:35 PM Subscribe
i've decided I need to learn to cook. I can do homemade Chinese and scrambled eggs, and cheeseburgers.
Not being funny, I really never learned to cook.
Here are my limitations:
*gallbladder removed: not much butter or fat, very little rich foods.
*Diverticulosis: I pretty much follow the FODMAP diet, but as you know, you can't stay on it forever. All attempts at adding in food after the two months were disastrous. No nuts or seeds (I know they have changed their mind on this, but I'm listening to my doctor.)
*Gluten-free
*Dairy free, except hard cheese
I tried a cauliflower crust pizza from the store, and my body didn't like it at all!
I am NOT vegan or vegetarian.
My eyes will glaze over with a recipe with 15 ingredients; please keep it simple.
Thanks in advance.
Response by poster: Good old potatoes. I should have mentioned them.
posted by Rumi'sLeftSock at 5:48 PM on January 28
posted by Rumi'sLeftSock at 5:48 PM on January 28
Hard-boiled eggs are just a matter of timing and not getting distracted. Here's an explainer I've found accurate and helpful.
People talk about chicken breast like it's hard to get right but I don't know, I've never had a problem. Season however you like, heat up a non-stick or very lightly oiled frying pan on mediumish until water sprinkled into it sizzles, cook one side until it's at least white (but better light brown), flip it over and get the other side similar, flip it back and pour in some water (enough to cover the bottom of the pan, not so much it's swimming) and cover it with a pot lid until you notice the water's all boiled away. Flip it and add more water and wait longer if it's not done (165F internal temp) at that point, which it probably won't be. You might get dark build-up in the pan but that's fine as long as nothing smells obviously burnt: the water you add will help dissolve and distribute it. Chop the chicken up in the pan with the edge of a spatula if you're getting bored: it'll come apart pretty easily once it's partway done and then the remainder cooks faster. Once it's hot enough all the way through let it rest a little while off the heat and out of the water, then go for it. Is it going to win any awards? No, but it is easy and juicy and shreds well if you want to add it to something.
posted by teremala at 7:13 PM on January 28
People talk about chicken breast like it's hard to get right but I don't know, I've never had a problem. Season however you like, heat up a non-stick or very lightly oiled frying pan on mediumish until water sprinkled into it sizzles, cook one side until it's at least white (but better light brown), flip it over and get the other side similar, flip it back and pour in some water (enough to cover the bottom of the pan, not so much it's swimming) and cover it with a pot lid until you notice the water's all boiled away. Flip it and add more water and wait longer if it's not done (165F internal temp) at that point, which it probably won't be. You might get dark build-up in the pan but that's fine as long as nothing smells obviously burnt: the water you add will help dissolve and distribute it. Chop the chicken up in the pan with the edge of a spatula if you're getting bored: it'll come apart pretty easily once it's partway done and then the remainder cooks faster. Once it's hot enough all the way through let it rest a little while off the heat and out of the water, then go for it. Is it going to win any awards? No, but it is easy and juicy and shreds well if you want to add it to something.
posted by teremala at 7:13 PM on January 28
A good sheet pan dinner is such a go to for me, especially during the week!
New York Times Cooking has a great primer here. Choose your lean protein, a starch, and some low Fodmap veggies and off you go. So you could do like chicken thighs with sweet potato, green beans, and red bell peppers seasoned with spices of your choice.
Another easy weekday favorite of mine is what I call 10-10-10 chicken. Heat a skillet over medium/medium high with oil. Take a skin on, bone in chicken breast and season both sides however you like. Put it skin side down and let it cook for about 10 minutes. Flip it over and immediately cover your pan and turn the heat to low. Let it cook like this for another 10 minutes. Once that's done, turn off the heat completely and leave it covered and let it rest for another 10 minutes. When you're ready to eat, take off the skin, and you'll have some nice moist chicken breast. I'm usually roasting some sort of veggie during the 30 minutes the chicken is cooking.
You can also batch cook a bunch of chicken breasts this way and use it for any wraps/sandwiches/bowls.
posted by astapasta24 at 7:27 PM on January 28
New York Times Cooking has a great primer here. Choose your lean protein, a starch, and some low Fodmap veggies and off you go. So you could do like chicken thighs with sweet potato, green beans, and red bell peppers seasoned with spices of your choice.
Another easy weekday favorite of mine is what I call 10-10-10 chicken. Heat a skillet over medium/medium high with oil. Take a skin on, bone in chicken breast and season both sides however you like. Put it skin side down and let it cook for about 10 minutes. Flip it over and immediately cover your pan and turn the heat to low. Let it cook like this for another 10 minutes. Once that's done, turn off the heat completely and leave it covered and let it rest for another 10 minutes. When you're ready to eat, take off the skin, and you'll have some nice moist chicken breast. I'm usually roasting some sort of veggie during the 30 minutes the chicken is cooking.
You can also batch cook a bunch of chicken breasts this way and use it for any wraps/sandwiches/bowls.
posted by astapasta24 at 7:27 PM on January 28
So you could do like chicken thighs with sweet potato, green beans, and red bell peppers seasoned with spices of your choice.
This was basically dinner tonight, except that red onions (alas, high FODMAP) were also on the sheet pan and the green beans were steamed annd served alongside.
This was a simplification of a NYT recipe from a while back — I’ve kept the spicing, though, which is garlic and coriander and salt and pepper on the chicken, and sage / allspice / cayenne / paprika on the veggies. Really good. Sheet pan at 400 with convection for maybe a half hour.
posted by sesquipedalia at 8:06 PM on January 28
This was basically dinner tonight, except that red onions (alas, high FODMAP) were also on the sheet pan and the green beans were steamed annd served alongside.
This was a simplification of a NYT recipe from a while back — I’ve kept the spicing, though, which is garlic and coriander and salt and pepper on the chicken, and sage / allspice / cayenne / paprika on the veggies. Really good. Sheet pan at 400 with convection for maybe a half hour.
posted by sesquipedalia at 8:06 PM on January 28
For simplicity, I suggest learning techniques more than recipes. Once you have a technique down, it’s much easier to throw together a meal with whatever you have in the fridge — or whatever fits your dietary restrictions.
Get a meat thermometer. It takes out the guesswork.
Samin Nosrat’s book Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat was a game changer for me. While it has some recipes, what stuck with me is how to wield the four components to build flavour in food. Bland low fat meals? No problem, use a high heat and a squirt of lemon juice and it turns out delicious.
The oven is your friend! You can chuck anything in there and it basically cooks itself. You can put chicken thighs in at 400F with no seasoning at all and they will still come out delicious in 30-40 minutes depending on their size. Cut up yams and toss in a bit of olive oil, salt, and whatever spices seem good (paprika! Oregano!) and put those in for the last 20 minutes.
General temperature guidelines: 300F for low and slow, 350F for baking most cake like things, 400-450F for roasting. If you hate waiting for your oven to preheat, get a good countertop toaster oven. For lower fat cooking, consider getting an air fryer, which is really just a fancy convection oven that moves air really fast so you can get crispy textures with less oil.
Marinades are your friend! Not only do they build great flavour, but they make it harder to dry out meat during cooking.
Braising sounds fancy, but it basically means cooking food low and slow in a small amount of liquid (and maybe searing it first to build flavour).
If/Once you’re ready to nerd out on technique, Lan Lam on America’s Test Kitchen is a treasure.
posted by jknx at 9:35 PM on January 28 [1 favorite]
Get a meat thermometer. It takes out the guesswork.
Samin Nosrat’s book Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat was a game changer for me. While it has some recipes, what stuck with me is how to wield the four components to build flavour in food. Bland low fat meals? No problem, use a high heat and a squirt of lemon juice and it turns out delicious.
The oven is your friend! You can chuck anything in there and it basically cooks itself. You can put chicken thighs in at 400F with no seasoning at all and they will still come out delicious in 30-40 minutes depending on their size. Cut up yams and toss in a bit of olive oil, salt, and whatever spices seem good (paprika! Oregano!) and put those in for the last 20 minutes.
General temperature guidelines: 300F for low and slow, 350F for baking most cake like things, 400-450F for roasting. If you hate waiting for your oven to preheat, get a good countertop toaster oven. For lower fat cooking, consider getting an air fryer, which is really just a fancy convection oven that moves air really fast so you can get crispy textures with less oil.
Marinades are your friend! Not only do they build great flavour, but they make it harder to dry out meat during cooking.
Braising sounds fancy, but it basically means cooking food low and slow in a small amount of liquid (and maybe searing it first to build flavour).
If/Once you’re ready to nerd out on technique, Lan Lam on America’s Test Kitchen is a treasure.
posted by jknx at 9:35 PM on January 28 [1 favorite]
Oh my goodness, I just this week discovered cooking chicken in an air fryer... my new favorite time cheat is to cube up a chicken breast, toss it in the tiniest amount of olive oil (or nonstick spray oil, honest-to-god, I barely used any), and throw it in the air fryer for ten minutes. Doesn't dry out, still nice and tender, but requires zero babysitting on the stove, and I don't have to fold up a foil packet. I can even throw veggies in right in with it and ignore the whole thing til it beeps, which is my favorite way to cook. (I really do not enjoy standing over the stove... too impatient. And prone to get sidetracked with dishes or reading or something, and let it scorch!)
posted by stormyteal at 9:36 PM on January 28
posted by stormyteal at 9:36 PM on January 28
It sounds to me like your issues are more with menu and recipes than cooking technique. And, cooking for one makes most complicated dishes seem inappropriate.
I'd suggest you expand from what you already have comfort with. I don't know what you mean by homemade Chinese, but you can have beef, pork, chicken, or vegetarian. You can substitute in just about any veggie in the store.
There was a joke in my family about the universal recipe - Season to taste and cook 'til done.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:43 AM on January 29
I'd suggest you expand from what you already have comfort with. I don't know what you mean by homemade Chinese, but you can have beef, pork, chicken, or vegetarian. You can substitute in just about any veggie in the store.
There was a joke in my family about the universal recipe - Season to taste and cook 'til done.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:43 AM on January 29
Some time ago, I started taking 9-10 grams of psyllium husk a day, and within about a month, my gut symptoms that I've had for years had all but disappeared. I told my doctor and he was a bit embarrassed, because he had read a study on this and forgotten to tell me about it. You still have to eat well and remember to drink water, but it can really take you that last mile.
Another thing to try if you can is to skip breakfast, so your gut has time to rest for 12-16 hours. You can have tea or coffee without sugar during this fasting time.
As said above, the air fryer is a great tool for low-fat cooking. Try using different fats for different flavors (still just a teaspoon): olive oil for a Mediterranean diet, sesame for a Japanese taste etc.
For instance, you can make a deconstructed eggplant parmigiana, by using this recipe for air fryer eggplant, then serve with a tomato sauce that you make by mixing a 1/2 can of chopped tomatoes that you season with salt, pepper and oregano and cook through on the stovetop while the eggplants are frying. Top with grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
There are soba noodles made from 100% buckwheat. Cook them according to the instructions on the package to make a salad with air fried chicken cubes and vegetables as described by stormyteal. Though here I'd use a more neutral cooking oil mixed with soy sauce, some ginger, white pepper and a bit of rice wine vinegar. Mix it all to a tiny sauce and coat the chicken and vegs with it in a bowl before frying. You can use powdered ginger or freshly grated. Another idea is to use thin slices of beef.
You can cook any fish filet "en papillote". It is very easy and tasty. The linked recipe has onions, but you don't need them at all, and she mentions other variations in the notes. I really like to use thinly sliced fennel in place of onions. You also don't need to use fat at all in the package, I never do. Eat with rice, or with a salad made of gem lettuce and blueberries, dressed with a teaspoonful of olive oil mixed with lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. If using frozen fish, which is fine, thaw it before cooking.
Duck is delicious and easy to cook. Buy a single duck breast. Take it out of the package and thaw it if it is frozen. Now pat it dry and rub it with a mix of salt, pepper and fivespice mix. A teaspoon of each for your first try, and then you can see if you want to adjust the proportions. Let the meat rest for at least an hour, or several hours in the fridge, uncovered. Now with a sharp knife, cut into the fat on top of the meat. Do no cut into the meat, just through the fat carefully. Then place the piece of duck skinside down on a cold frying pan set to medium heat. Let the skin fry till it is a golden brown. Lots of fat will render off. Then turn it, and fry it till golden brown on the other side. Take it off the pan and let it rest. You can discard the fat or save it for frying potatoes or strips of celeriac in the air fryer.
While the duck is resting, make a salad of orange slices, endive, and olives, dressed with very little olive oil, lemon juice and salt. Slice up the duck and place the slices on top of the salad before serving. You can remove the skin, but since most of the fat is rendered off, it shouldn't be a big problem.
Pumpkin soup is delicious and there are many recipes out there. I like this one, which is a little spicy, but there are milder versions you can find too. She serves it with nuts, you don't have to.
posted by mumimor at 3:09 AM on January 31
Another thing to try if you can is to skip breakfast, so your gut has time to rest for 12-16 hours. You can have tea or coffee without sugar during this fasting time.
As said above, the air fryer is a great tool for low-fat cooking. Try using different fats for different flavors (still just a teaspoon): olive oil for a Mediterranean diet, sesame for a Japanese taste etc.
For instance, you can make a deconstructed eggplant parmigiana, by using this recipe for air fryer eggplant, then serve with a tomato sauce that you make by mixing a 1/2 can of chopped tomatoes that you season with salt, pepper and oregano and cook through on the stovetop while the eggplants are frying. Top with grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
There are soba noodles made from 100% buckwheat. Cook them according to the instructions on the package to make a salad with air fried chicken cubes and vegetables as described by stormyteal. Though here I'd use a more neutral cooking oil mixed with soy sauce, some ginger, white pepper and a bit of rice wine vinegar. Mix it all to a tiny sauce and coat the chicken and vegs with it in a bowl before frying. You can use powdered ginger or freshly grated. Another idea is to use thin slices of beef.
You can cook any fish filet "en papillote". It is very easy and tasty. The linked recipe has onions, but you don't need them at all, and she mentions other variations in the notes. I really like to use thinly sliced fennel in place of onions. You also don't need to use fat at all in the package, I never do. Eat with rice, or with a salad made of gem lettuce and blueberries, dressed with a teaspoonful of olive oil mixed with lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. If using frozen fish, which is fine, thaw it before cooking.
Duck is delicious and easy to cook. Buy a single duck breast. Take it out of the package and thaw it if it is frozen. Now pat it dry and rub it with a mix of salt, pepper and fivespice mix. A teaspoon of each for your first try, and then you can see if you want to adjust the proportions. Let the meat rest for at least an hour, or several hours in the fridge, uncovered. Now with a sharp knife, cut into the fat on top of the meat. Do no cut into the meat, just through the fat carefully. Then place the piece of duck skinside down on a cold frying pan set to medium heat. Let the skin fry till it is a golden brown. Lots of fat will render off. Then turn it, and fry it till golden brown on the other side. Take it off the pan and let it rest. You can discard the fat or save it for frying potatoes or strips of celeriac in the air fryer.
While the duck is resting, make a salad of orange slices, endive, and olives, dressed with very little olive oil, lemon juice and salt. Slice up the duck and place the slices on top of the salad before serving. You can remove the skin, but since most of the fat is rendered off, it shouldn't be a big problem.
Pumpkin soup is delicious and there are many recipes out there. I like this one, which is a little spicy, but there are milder versions you can find too. She serves it with nuts, you don't have to.
posted by mumimor at 3:09 AM on January 31
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posted by haptic_avenger at 5:39 PM on January 28