Cooking with health concerns

Hi Andy,
I have not been on the hot side in a while. I'm involved with the sweets. Your post interests me though. You will receive lots of help from the hot chefs here. I first thought about crock pot or slow cooking. I also think a good investment would be a food sealer. Great to keep quality in leftovers.
Have you found that you have allergies or reactions to the ingredients you list? or are you trying this for results? I was also thinking crockpot for it will add moisture to your diet along with salt, if that good for you. I'm thinking short prep and in the pot.
keep us posted
pan

Wow, butter and salt!!!

Fish-seafood is quick, thinner cuts of meats.....I shop alot at Trader Joes, they have frozen & shelf stable brown rice that comes in very handy. One of my quick meals is brown fried rice with plenty of veg and eggs.

10 minutes. Have the butchers or fish mongers trim and cut your meat in portions that save time on your feet both in prep and cleanup.....call in and have it ready before you get there to save more time.

I hate to advocate this but there are alot of prepped fresh, butternut squash peeled and cubed in the frig section of the store.... (and good quality frozen) veg on the market now. Again it'll cut the time you have in the kitchen.

having fresh fruit will help cut the sugar desires....there are many various alternative sweetners on the market....brown rice syrup, real maple syrup (maple sugar, maple butter......), honey...

Roasting takes nominal prep time...cast iron pans are beautiful for this.....

You can blanch vegetables in the microwave, that way you don't have to worry about burning them if you feel faint. Make larger amounts and have them in the fridge ready to go either into a salad or a cooked dish.

We've been discussing a related issue lately: Wheat-free and gluten-free cooking. There are several links within the posts there that might be helpful to you, too.

As for snacks: how are you with cheese? Those individual sticks of string cheese require nothing more than opening the wrapper, and every 1-ounce (28 gram) stick has 8 grams of protein. That and a piece of fruit (if you can have fruit) and you've got a good snack with almost no effort. (I don't know about the nutritional composition of cheddar sticks, but you might want to look at those, too.)

There are also individual pouches of tunafish and salmon -- again, just open the package and you're good to go. Since you don't have a problem with salt content, these might be just the thing.

Finally: PEANUT BUTTER!! (that is, if you're not allergic :( ). The natural kind, of course, without added gunk. Spread some on some nonwheat crackers (there are some really yummy ones made from hazelnuts) or apple slices.

I'm thinking that adding to premade is probably a really good partial plan.

There are many different alternatives in STL from shops having meal delivery services, businesses that deliver to specialized diets, Operation Food Search,
grocery stores even deliver for a nominal cost.....

not sure where Pasadena is nor what resources are available.
Suzanne there are so many quick/easy cookbooks out on the market, I'm sure there have got to be some that fit his needs.....

I'd use good dried herbs and spices...Penzey's has a great selection and they have mail order. They are also inexspensive! Go figure quality and cheap.

my faves: dillweed, thyme, bay, granulated garlic, oregano (Mexican & Turkish), rosemary, Parisian blend, Southwest blend, chipotle, vanilla beans, tarragon, peppers, cumin powder.....


So with the herbs and spices you can doctor premade food or quickly season thinnly sliced fish or chicken and some stock and butter. Premade brown rice, microwaved veg and your set in ten minutes.

With fainting being an issue the microwave seems like a better alternative than stove for the majority of your cooking. You can walk away or faint and the house will not burn down.

OK, get frozen prepacked fish and seafood...better than questionable "fresh".

Broccoli steamed with brown rice....the broccoli would then flavor the rice....does not appeal to me.

Butchers....In our grocery stores here in STL there are chicken breasts thinnly sliced, ground turkey, thinnly sliced beef and pork too for that matter.

So fried rice, if your rice is precooked and brown rice can be made in bulk then scooped when desired....

Heat veg oil in a large skillet:
Chopped onion (there are some prechopped at the store) saute for 3 minutes on med-high heat or high heat, stir to keep from burning.

Add raw meat cut in chunks....for pre cooked or shrimp wait. Cook until almost done.

Add your brown precooked rice and some soy sauce, granulated garlic and cook for one minute stirring.

Add eggs and stir, thawed peas, cut sugar snaps, thawed precooked small shrimp. A few shakes of black pepper....

Make extra and just reheat or I eat it cold for breakfast.


Oatmeal is another that you can make alot of and scoop/reheat.

Fish....In a skillet heat some oil (olive is good), salt your fish on both sides then cook....turn and add dillweed (fine dried), lemon juice, capers and a knob of butter. You can remove the fish and finish the sauce in the pan....
meanwhile cook some spinach in the microwave or steam....the cool thing about you using a microwave is that you don't have as much clean up. Which I assume is an issue.

Load up premade pasta sauce with vegetables and saute some fish or meat.
There are now a whole lot of alternative flour pastas on the market.

When you cook meat make extra and put it on a prebagged salad....

Butternut soup, In a large pot saute onions in oil. Add pre peeled, pre cut butternut squash or baby carrots, salt and pepper....cover with water (no more than the veg). Cook 25-30 minutes check for tenderness. puree in pot if you have an immersion blender if not let cool and puree in a blender.
You can add curry powder or paste to alter the taste.

Veg soup makes sense. use cans of chopped tomatoes.

Tuna salad with mayo, dillweed, capers and calamata olives....red bell pepper and red onion if you have energy to chop.

Egg salad with dillweed, mayo, celery, capers.

Any chance you can get a stool with a back to sit on while you're cooking? Or something adjustable so that you can sit while you're prepping and also while cooking? Do you have room for that in your kitchen?

pesto w/o cheese is fine....I even make parsley pesto and parsley dillweed pesto....you can alter the nuts too...walnuts work well, pecans have an interesting flavor....they FREEZE very well. so if you can access large amounts of herbs cheaply this would be a good thing to package in small amounts and freeze.

There are loads of sugar free tomato sauces.....not sure if Trader Joe's carries any. Tapenade is another nice addin to various dishes.

not sure, see I would either steam them separately making more to eat with other meals or cook them separately in the microwave.....

For my home I'd throw zucchini and other summer squash in the pot, asparagus, onions, garlic, possibly sauted eggplant.....

But whatever veg appeal to you go for.....I'm sure balancing a variety is very important for your health.

bummer on the capers and olives since they are sodium laden.

Never have heard of eggs in pesto.....olive oil, herbs, nuts, garlic(optional), cheese (optional)

I make alot of omelets that's also a wonderful quick way of getting protein.

Veg soup.....

saute onion in large pot
you can add garlic
When they are wilted, approx 3 minutes
add several large cans of chopped tomatoes
thickly cut carrots, potatoes, bay leaf, thyme, salt & pepper
let cook 10 minutes or until the potatoes are almost cooked through
add green beans cook a couple of minutes
corn, peas.....can be frozen

I add red wine sometimes when I add the tomatoes.....

Now, you may add basil or basil pesto...meatballs, pasta, zucchini, beef stock and you have an Italian version

OR pinto beans, black beans, chilis, cumin, chili powder, tortillas to thicken...for Mexican

Or add in cooked left over chicken or beef or turkey

A large pot of veg soup will take you far.......

Roast a whole chicken, use the meat in various dishes.....chicken on greens/veg for a salad, chicken in veg soup, chicken sandwich.....as your roasting the chicken roast vegetables too....peppers, garlic, carrots, parsnips, beets, new potatoes, winter squash......

Throw some of the cooked chicken in an Italian tomato sauce for a quick caccatori.

Whole Wheat tortillas for a mexican soft taco.....

We'd prefer that you not post it on the Professional Food Service Forums, but anywhere else would be fine. :D

Meat: if you vacuum seal (such as with a FoodSaver), it can last a year although I'd use it after six months. It won't spoil, but the quality might suffer a bit. If you can't vacuum seal, I would wrap it tightly in plastic and not keep it more than three months- again, for quality's sake. Here's a link about freezing meat: http://www.preservefood.com/freezing/meats.shtml

I know there are some herbs you can freeze on a cookie sheet, then transfer to a bag and keep in the freezer. I just don't know which ones! But I have dried herbs in my kitchen: basil, thyme, dill. I rinse them, pat them dry, then hang them in small bunches in a fairly dry spot in my kitchen away from sunlight.

pestos have a long refrigerator life and they also freeze.

Soups, Stews both freeze well.

Before I write any other shorthand recipes what are you interested in eating?