eating with others

[sonja]

Hi Gabes,

Thank you so much for sharing this information. It really helps me. I also often make large meals to freeze, a tip I had earlier from the forum, I think even that it was your tip! And since I eat separately that is extra easy, because I have easily 4 or 5 portions.

The sweet things that you make: are they without sugar or honey? I also make my own sweets, which I like very much, but because i can't tolerate sugar, honey and all that kind of sweets I always use dates to sweeten. It works and there even are candybars: Nak'd I can eat. They have new versions with chocolate and they are really a treat.

I am really glad with all of your posts, because it really helps to know that we are all in the same boat, but it is also nice to know about the differences in how we cope with our disease. With much thanks to this forum, because without you life would have been much more difficult !

Sonja

[tex]

I was a sugarholic before I developed this disease. but I don't recall ever using maple sugar or maple syrup back then. For what it's worth, while I was reacting, the only type of sugar that I could tolerate in significant amounts, was maple sugar.

These days, the only sugar I use is a few cubes in my coffee, and pure maple syrup on my pancakes.

Tex

[sonja]

Hi Tex,
The only 'sugar' I could tolerate was the one that is made from apples and datesirop. To be honest, I ' forgot' the datesirop the last years, but I found it yesterday in a shop. I am going to try it again. With a pancake with rice flour and buckwheat flour, which I avoided for al long time, because buckwheat is a food which I have to try again, because it seemed to be a trigger, but now I have the one with the gluten-free logo. And of course bacon! I think maybe that is typical Dutch? If you don't know it, you certainly must give it a try! First back the bacon and cover it with the dough and serve with the sirup. But maybe this is a world know combination.

Sonja

[tex]

Hi Sonja,

No, I've never heard of cooking them that way, even though my grandfather came from Germany in the 1930s, and my grandmother's family was from Germany, also. Maybe the Germans weren't aware of that recipe back in those days, or they just didn't use it after the came to America. I cook my pancakes in batches, and freeze them. Then take them out and thaw them whenever I eat them. I'll have to try that, the next time I cook a batch of pancakes.

Thanks,

Tex

[Gabes-Apg]

Sonja

There are loads of Paleo or Keto recipes on the net that you can adjust to suit your safe ingredients
for now avoid nuts. make small batches and try small amounts.

[sonja]

Thank you Gabes
You motivate me to put some energy in looking for good receipts and trying them out. I am not a person, who loves cooking, often I wish I would like it more. The last years there where a few periods I tried to convince myself that cooking is my hobby. These periods didn't lasted for long.
But the food I like, I also like to make, so that can be a stimulans to become more active.
Thanks to the forum I am really a great fan of the slowcooker and addicted to bonebroth. Thanks.

Sonja

[brandy]

Hi Sonja,

My boyfriend eats what I prepare for dinner and is exactly what I eat. Usually this means we eat a protein, a starch (white rice, sweet potato or potato) and a cooked veggie. I also make us each a small side salad.(I can tolerate them.)

We typically don't eat desserts but when I have company I have dessert.

Everyone eats what I eat when we have company. A lot of times I will make a pork roast. People like mashed potatoes.
I'll make a veggie and a salad. I've spent a lot of time trying out alternative desserts. I had the boyfriend try at least 10 GF pie crusts. Most were epic failures. I finally have one that is good enough to serve everyone. Two popular desserts for company were a Euro style tart (GF pastry on bottom with sliced fruit on top and baked). I've also had good success making pavlova. I generally make a raspberry pavlova. One guest said my desserts should be served at the Ritz Carlton or the Four Seasons.

[Marcia K]

Hello, Sonja. The cookbook Against All Grain by Danielle Walker is one of my favorites. She has a website that has some recipes on it that you can view to see if you like them. I don't make a lot of dessert either, but her chocolate chip cookies are the best! I find most recipes by searching on Google.

[jlbattin]

Hi Sonja,

I've had MC since 2015 and when I changed my diet, so did my husband. He doesn't cook and I wasn't going to fix 2 meals everytime so it was either you eat what I'm eating or starve! I know that's harsh, but I was working and I didn't have time to spend all the time in the kitchen fixing separate meals.

Like Gabes, I do a lot of bulk cooking on the weekends and we eat on it all week. I've been able to expand my menu of things I can eat over the years, but I still stay gluten, dairy, and soy free. I use my crockpot a lot. We love roast and Yukon potatoes. I learned to make homemade gluten free noodles and from time to time, I fix chicken and noodles in the crockpot.

And like Brandy, when we have company, everyone eats what I eat. We usually have protein, rice or potatoes, and a veggie also. I love SWEETS, and I think I may have over done the Simple Truth almond ice cream and the chocolate chip cookies I make, etc., so I'm back to no sweets for awhile.

Thanks Marcia for the cookbook recommendation. I have another friend who had recommended it to me so I may take a look at it for something different.

[sonja]

Hi Brandy, Marcia and Jari,

Thank you very much for your replies. It helps!

Sonja

[brandy]

Sonja,

There are some good dessert recipes in Dee's kitchen. You may need to convert the measurements to metric.

[Patricia]

Dear Sonja,

My husband and I eat together and we are eating the same things. He and I are taking turns cooking. He loves spicy food and I obviously can't have spicy foods anymore. So we use fresh or dried herbs that I tolerate and he will add anything spicy to his food afterwards. Maybe once a month or so he will get Thai takeout. I used to love Thai food, but would not tolerate it anymore. So I will cook something separate for me on those rare occasions. I am grateful that my husband is fine eating whatever I eat. He actually said that he physically feels better eating the way I do. About two years ago, he stopped eating meat, so now I don't cook any meat anymore. We usually eat:
- wild-caught seafood such as cod, haddock, perch, mahi mahi, salmon, tuna, shrimps, scallops, octopus, crab, canned tuna in water, you name it, but it has to be wild-caught as I do react to any farmed seafood
- mostly rice, sometimes potatoes
- cooked or roasted vegetables and/or avocado
If we have pasta (Tinkyada brown rice pasta) and our daughters are home, we sometimes have different sauces as I do not tolerate tomatoes or most nuts and they like to make vegan cashew based creamy sauces or tomato sauces. I usually make a pretend pesto with avocados, basil, olive oil, salt and pepper. I still don't do great with garlic, but I was able to switch from cooked basil to raw basil. Progress!
- for an everyday dessert I sauté apples with fresh ginger or make banana ice cream (just bananas, a bit of lemon juice and a bit of water, pureed); it gets really creamy in the ice cream maker.

We like to entertain (but have hardly entertained since the pandemic). I cook the same way for my guests as I do on any other day and they seem to like it and sometimes ask me for the recipes. I like to use fresh herbs like basil, cilantro, mint, sage, add fresh ginger, a lot of dishes can be incredibly flavorful and still be safe for me.
I have always had a sweet tooth. I don't regularly eat sugar or grains anymore because they do give me trouble if I eat them regularly, even if they are gluten free flours. But once in a while is okay.

I found a fantastic baking book. The cakes and cookies are fabulous and nobody every guesses that they are without gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, or nuts:
https://www.amazon.com/Allergen-Free-Ba ... 1587613484
One of my friend has told me several times that she now prefers my desserts and baked goods to the "regular" ones that other people bring. My favorites out of that book are the lemon poppy seed cake, the chocolate layer cake, the blueberry boy bait, and the maple apple crumble.
I can't have sweets too often, so I just make these recipes for special occasions. But it is sure nice to be able to make something that tastes so delicious and is safe!

I found some of her recipes online:
http://cybelepascal.com/gluten-free-cof ... endly-too/

https://facooking.wordpress.com/2010/12 ... late-cake/

And her gnocchis are really delicious, too:
http://cybelepascal.com/allergy-free-gnocchi/

There is also a great ice cream book. All recipes are without gluten, eggs, soy or refined sugar:
https://www.amazon.com/Dairy-Free-Ice-C ... C83&sr=1-6

Brandy: how do you make the raspberry pavlova? I used to make pavlova before being diagnosed with colitis. But it had egg whites in it. Do you have a recipe without egg whites?

Love,

Patricia

[sonja]

Dear Patricia,

Thank you very much for this information. I can notice you are a real cook! That makes me a bit jealous, but I will explore the links with recipes
you sent me.
Love, Sonja

[Marcia K]

Thanks for the recipe links, Patricia. I've been eating the same foods a lot and I'm ready to shake things up a bit without causing any issues.
Jari, Danielle Walker also have a blog online where she shares recipes if you want to check them out before ordering her cookbook.

[brandy]

Hi Patricia,

I use egg whites for the Pavlova. I think the recipe I have is from the Wall Street Journal.