Friend with very restricted diet staying

Careful_with_that_Axe

I have a friend coming to stay for the Bank Holiday weekend. She is temporarily on a very restricted diet and I want to try to serve meals that we all can eat that will fit with her dietary needs and not make her feel like she is missing out in any way.

Her diet is restricted to:
fish and boiled/grilled chicken, green veg (cabbage, peas and beans) green salad (lettuce, celery, cucumber and green peppers) no salad dressing but lemon juice and black pepper.
[FONT=Times New Roman,serif][FONT=Calibri,sans-serif]Consume/Bovril or Oxo for hot drinks.[/FONT][/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman,serif][FONT=Calibri,sans-serif]3 x small pieces of fruit a day, and sugar free jelly plus 2 boiled eggs a day.[/FONT][/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman,serif][FONT=Calibri,sans-serif]I have thought about serving chicken or fish baked in parcels with lemon juice and assorted veg, salads with chicken, possibly a home made soup with brocolli/courgettes but then come unstuck. Am making some chicken stock restricting it to only the ingredients she can eat, so there will be plenty of that available to add flavour to things.[/FONT][/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman,serif][FONT=Calibri,sans-serif]Any other suggestions?[/FONT][/FONT]

meritaten

It looks as if she is on a fat-free, dairy-free, carbohydrate and gluten free diet. tbh I would be looking for vegan recipes - so sorry I cannot help you there!

Careful_with_that_Axe

That's a good idea, thank you.

I just had another thought of mushing (technical term) veg etc with a little bovril and lemon juice as a topping for baked fish.
It's a good job I love her like a sister!

heretolearn_2

is she allowed other green veg to broaden it out a bit? Brocolli- asparagus etc. Asparagus spears dipped in soft boiled eggs is a classic and delicious.

Is this some kind of weird self-inflicted 'diet' though? I don't see how it can be a medical one - why only green veg and salad, for example, usually medically necessary diets encourage a range of veg, it's weird that this is only ones of a certain colour? Doesn't sound very scientific to me. That's the bit that makes it sound like she is following some faddy 'diet'.

If so, I wouldn't be so bothered about it, if you choose to go on some weird diet, you are on your own as far as I'm concerned. I'd cook for it but not kill myself trying to make it interesting.

If it is medically prescribed, apologies.

Maitane

Oooh, can she have other spices and herbs? Like cumin, coriander and garlic?
If so, use cumin, coriander, black pepper, thyme and garlic to marinate some chicken. Grill it, then serve it with a salad including all those things you've mentioned with a liberal sprinkling of lemon juice. You can have some garlic mayo and a pitta and it's a bit like going for a kebab but not.
I know I sound obsessed with that recipe but I am. I have loads in freezer bags (using reduced skinless and boneless chicken thighs) frozen and it's my tea tonight with loads of chilli sauce and garlic mayo.

Careful_with_that_Axe

heretolearn wrote: »

is she allowed other green veg to broaden it out a bit? Brocolli- asparagus etc. Asparagus spears dipped in soft boiled eggs is a classic and delicious.

Is this some kind of weird self-inflicted 'diet' though? I don't see how it can be a medical one - why only green veg and salad, for example, usually medically necessary diets encourage a range of veg, it's weird that this is only ones of a certain colour? Doesn't sound very scientific to me. That's the bit that makes it sound like she is following some faddy 'diet'.

If so, I wouldn't be so bothered about it, if you choose to go on some weird diet, you are on your own as far as I'm concerned. I'd cook for it but not kill myself trying to make it interesting.

If it is medically prescribed, apologies.

It is sort of medically prescribed. She suffers from very severe Crones Disease and has been heavily overweight all her life. She has decided to pay privately for a gastic band and has to follow this diet for 6 weeks prior to the surgery.

I would normally be against any invasive surgery as a lifestyle choice, but I have watched her self-esteem go to rock bottom over the years and understand what a difference the weight loss will mean to her.

As I said, she is like a Sister to me (despite me having divorced her brother 15 years ago!) and I love her dearly and will do all I can to support her and that includes trying to make her food interesting.

415SanFran

Ow this is so kind of you, i have Crohn's as well, and watching what you eat is really difficult as ït" will swap and change as it progresses, so things that you could eat say 12 months ago now make you really ill.
I cannot touch dairy in any way shape or form, but because it is not an allergy people will say it is a "fad" or something like....Öh it is only a little splash of milk, it won't kill you" Erm , no, it won't kill me, but I would like to spend the next day and night not in the bathroom thank you very much!

meritaten

Fair enough - its only for six weeks - but I bet the poor lady will be heartily sick of grilled fish, chicken and salad by then!
how about varying the fish? if she normally has salmon or cod, what about a nice dover sole or plaice?
if she is allowed chicken - is she allowed turkey? does she normally just have grilled chicken - try marinating it with some lemon before grilling - you can dry fry or barbeque it if its just that she must have a fatless method of cooking.
salads - vary the leaves - baby spinach is wonderful as a salad leaf, and if fresh herbs are allowed you can make a lemon and herb dressing to go with it. watercress is wonderful done with orange dressing - and if she can have lemon I see no reason why oranges would be banned!
I do hope I have given you some ideas carefulwiththataxe! I also hope this lovely-sounding lady has a successful op.
best wishes

Careful_with_that_Axe

She is wonderful and has struggled for so long without complaining. She just gets on with her illness which has had quite a severe impact on her life and certainly hasn't helped her self-esteem.
I am scared to death of her having the operation, with the increased anaesthetic risk due to her size, but she deserves to be happy and she never will be all the time she remains the size she is.
Luckily she is from a big family (I remain very close to all of them except ex DH!) who are geographically closer to her who I know will help her recover from the op and watch out for any problems that may develop.

You have given me some ideas, thank you. I've also been looking at Miso soup bases with veg and chicken etc as an alternative.

415SanFran I knew I had spelt it incorrectly! I hope you are managing OK and can reach a happy medium with food. It can be a vile thing to suffer from and the meds aren't a great deal of fun either.

Despite my self-inflicted stress about how to make nice food for her, I am excited for her arrival. We only get to see each other twice a year when she comes to stay.

puddy

is she allowed no fats at all for that period of time, like oil?

what about parma ham is she allowed that as part of lean meat. i ask as i plan tomorrow to cook fish fillets wrapped in parma ham and put them in the oven, im hoping the ham goes crispy and the fish stays moist, thats the plan anyway

greenbee

Breakfast can be either a nice fruit salad or boiled eggs (would she be allowed them scrambled in a non-stick pan with water instead of milk as a bit of a change?). On the days you don't have eggs for breakfast (and they do help fill you up, so are good for breakfast) either have them as snacks or with salad for lunch.

Pea soup is lovely at this time of year (with mint if she's allowed it), as is courgette soup with tarragon.

If you boil a whole chicken you'll get lots of stock for soup (if she's allowed spinach, then stock with spinach leaves in it is one of my favourites!) and delicious juicy chicken meat for salads - which would be a change from grilled chicken. You could also poach chicken breast by wrapping it in foil, adding the juice of half a lemon and bunging it in the oven. Again, herbs if allowed will make all the difference.

Tomatoes aren't on the list... If they count as part of the fruit allowance, so you might be able to add tiny slivers of tomato to salad to liven it up as part of a portion of fruit. Fennel and chicory and good to add to salad for a change, as are beetroot leaves (these are nice steamed like spinach too).

Well done for being so supportive. I hope you will both have lots of delicious, memorable and enjoyable meals together... Remember, it's the company that makes food enjoyable!