Sorry about your having to deal with so many restrictions.

Come to think of it, that looks like a very basic typical Chinese diet.

dcarch

Hi there. Sorry about all the restrictions. Do you use quinoa? I use it a lot in place of rice or potatoes. I've even used cooked quinoa as a coating for baked chicken - my kids love it.

A nice easy lunch is gluten free miso soup with rice noodles. Add some cooked salmon the soup for a filling dinner meal.

Too bad about the shellfish allergy - glucosamine chondroitin in found in shellfish and fantastic for joint inflammation. You can buy it as supplements, and I know a lot of people have success, but I tend to think those kinds of things are better in their natural state. COme to think of it, he may be allergic to the supplements as well since they're probably derived from shellfish.

Are eggs OK? You could do a gluten free crust for quiche.

We don't mix milk and meat ever and it's not hard to get used to. Now no tomatoes, that would be tough for my family!

Good luck.

AM

I don't understand the connection between the foods listed and joint pain. Did the doctor explain the cause-effect? Capsacin (sp?) which is what makes peppers hot, is anti-inflammatory, and I would think he/she'd encourage it's addition to the diet, instead of the opposite.

Try to add the spice, turmeric, to y'all's diet. It's another anti-inflammatory food that's credited with helping with skin problems as well as joint pain.

I second AM's suggestion of using quinoa. Be sure to rinse it well before cooking, then cook it much the way you'd cook cous cous. It's actually pretty easy to prepare.

Sally

If you can tolerate the restrictive diet for a month or so, do so and then be your own detective by slipping in just one of the ingredients at a time for a week without him knowing it. See how he reacts. You don't won't him to know because we often react to suggestion. But it will tell you which things are actually bothering him.

His holistic dr is doing it on a broad scale because he's not sure what's actually the problem either.

Thanks guys for the support.

I do have quinoa and lots of other gluten free grains. Am experimenting more with those. Will try tumeric as well and see if that helps. Any suggestions for recipes?

The allergy to shellfish is mine -not dh's - so can't blame the fella for that one LOL. He does take glucosamine for joints and has to keep it at work so there is no cross contamination at home.

Not sure about the peppers but dh definitely notices a difference when he eats them whether sweet or hot. Gluten too has a noticeable effect, even in small amounts. We're working on determining the effects of potatoes. Tomatoes so far are still a definite no. How do you hide tomatoes anyways?

So far the dr is on the nail with everything he's done so dh really trusts him.

Why don't you cook what you want for you and the rest of your family and give your DH only the things he can eat from what you are preparing.

I'm doing that in reverse since I've been on a diet since last July. I make a full meal with many vegetables for DH and from that selection I eat only what I'm allowed, while he can eat them all. My diet is just for weight loss and I'm nearly at my target, so it's not for correcting a serious ailment. But it works just fine, as long as I cook up a broad spectrum of vegetables. He's fine with no butter, sauces or gravies and little salt because he can have those when we go out to eat, or he can add them at the table at home.

I'll have a look at some recipes because I have many good books on nutrition and low glycemic eating. I'll try to get back here with some ideas later.

Good luck,

SharonCb

I thought the idea that nightshades made joint inflammation worse had been debunked by experiments. A few decades back, arthritis sufferers were being advised by health-food people to avoid all nightshade relatives:tomatoes,potatoes, peppers, and eggplant. I know I've read that it was shown not to work. It would be so hard to cook without any of those things!

Probably your DH would like to ease the restrictions too, and might be willing to try adding things back in one at a time. If he gets worse, take it out and see if he gets better, to eliminate coincidence. (Coincidence could be why he's running again too; maybe he just got better and it had noting to do with diet.) I would not make any changes behind his back. But I might suggest he take over the cooking!
Has Lyme Disease been ruled out? If not, he should get tested. He may need antibiotics.

I feel your pain yet I agree with Sharon. Preparing two meals may sound more work but if planned ahead it could be less stressful for you and the kids.

I prepare mostly two meals every dinner because I eat mostly vegetables while hubby and little man don't care about them. I eat raw and they only eat cooked food.

At first, I thought I could come up with recipes to please everyone but by the end of the day the two of them didn't enjoy the foods and I was on my wit's end.

Now that I prepare different food for the two of them, I am actually less stressed. I do have to do some prep work before making dinner so I can have both meals on the table at the same time. After a little practice, serving two different meals at once is not as impossible as I thought.

All my vegetables are washed, cleaned, and ready to serve. So when I am cooking a meal for the two boys, I can easily put the vegetables together for myself. I always keep one serving of protein in the fridge and all I have to do is to throw the protein (fish, chicken, seitan etc) in with my salad and I am good to go.

It is difficult to have to suit everyone's dietary needs in the family. I hope you will be able to find ways to make this easier. All the best.

Al

Please google nightshade plants. They are very definitly linked to fibromyalgia. There are several members of the Kitchen Table forun here at the garden web who have it, and any foods in the nightshade family, including tomatoes cause severe flare ups.

I feel your pain. Try avoiding garlic when you eat out. That's my allergy! I hope you find some good recipes that everyone likes, and that your DH imporves daily.

Tami

Stir fry's with tons of veggies. Water chestnuts add crunch and a "sort of potato like texture". Toss in some chicken or fish if desired.

Search on here for my Unfried Rice recipe. You can use Barley too. It's just rice, eggs, peas, green onions with a soy/garlic/ginger sauce (watch out for wheat in the soy sauce.....). Let me know if you can't find and I'll type it out again!!!

Our meals often are just meat, vegetable and a starch. Substitute things like Mashed cauliflower for potatoes. The stuffed acorn is a great option. Roast other root veggies like carrots, turnips, beets, butternut squash.

Roasted broc/cauliflower is delicious.

Quiche is a great idea! You don't need a crust.
Just saute' some of your favorite veggies, mushrooms and mix with beaten egg, cheese and milk (I guess this one would be meat free for you). Sounds so basic, but a really good combo is just black olive and mushrooms with Swiss cheese.

Fried or scrambled egg sandwiches on Gluten free bread.

Beans and rice with any number of savory seasonings, cheeses. Think about creamy sauces, rather than tomato based. Elery's (Annie) White Chili is good. The recipe calls for chicken, but you could certainly omit or use a soy based meat replacement.

Good luck and keep asking. This actually a very healthy diet for the most part. I'm sure we'll think of of more!

Deanna

Having been there, I am in agreement with Dirtgirl. After a month or so of the restricted diet, add in those foods one at a time until you are certain which (if any) are causing inflammation/pain.

I went through this several years ago. Joint pain so severe I could not even walk, I had to scoot around on my butt for a couple of weeks. I woke nearly every night in tears from the pain.

I tried all of those restrictions and got very lukewarm results from elimintating any of them.

I have been living with rheumatoid arthritis now for years. One thing I do notice a big difference with is red meat. If I eat mostly chicken and fish (lots of salmon) the pain is less severe. Once I start back in on red meat the change is almost immediate. Apparently there is an enzyme in red meat that triggers inflammation.

One thing I can whole-heartedly recommend he try is tart cherry juice. Yep....it is a miracle worker! We find it in the refrigerated juice section in the store. It is about $20 for a 32 oz. bottle. The juice is very thick and very tart. Tim and I both take 2T every night after dinner. You must take it with food or mixed in with soda or juice, as it can irritate the stomach if taken on it's own.

Keeps my RA pain manageable (I do also take meds), and Tim swears that it totally gets rid of his shoulder and back pain.

Just another natural option you may want to consider.

Linda

My dtr is vegetarian by choice, so I've been cooking two meals every day since she was 11...she's 25 now, and temporarily living with us, so I'm doing it again. I'm in the boat with Sharon and Al.

I'm always very, very careful to keep the cooking implements, splashes from cooking, etc., that I use for the rest of the family's meals completely separate from dtr's foods. You can do it.

Sherry

I sympathize, and don't know how you are coping, but I admire you for it! There is a Special Diet forum listed on GW. Just look near the end of the list where Cooking appears and you'll see it. That may help, as might the Vegetarian Recipe Exchange listed there, also.
At least the joint pain is going away. That's some comfort.

I started taking a Vitamin D supplement (live in Wisconsin) and it has done wonders for my joint pain.

First of all, congragulations to you and your DH for finding and using a Holistic doctor.
So many now days seem to prefer to just give a shot or write a prescription.

You've received some very good advice and suggestions here.
I won't add to them.

Just want to say that anything in the Nightshade family does have a very pronounced affect on Osteoarthritis.

Nightshades are poisonous, which is why we don't eat the plants of potatoes, tomatoes, etc, only the fruits.
Perhaps some people are more sensitive to them than others.
But they can really worsen joint and muscular pain, no matter what some 'experts' claim.
My joints are the 'experts' I listen to! ;>)

I substitute rice or pasta for potatoes.
Peppers and eggplant (2 of my very favorite foods) are not eaten at all anymore.
Or very rarely at the most.
Tomaotes either, for the most part. Sometimes I just HAVE to have a plate of spaghetti or a slice of pizza, though.
For those occasions, or when I just HAVE to have a red potato, boiled in its skin, and slathered in butter & parsley, I know I'm going to take an extra pain pill for the next couple of days, and maybe a mild sleeping pill, too.

Like any drastic life change, it takes time and determination to get used to it.
In the long run, it will be worth it.
Good luck!

Rusty

. .. is fresh pineapple.

The Hyaluronic Acid in it is another good anti-inflamatory, and pain reliever.

But it must be RAW pineapple, canning or freezing it destroys it.

Rusty

L2C46, That's a hard one.

First, if it's gluten free, watch the barley. Elery's daughter is celiac and she can't have barley or rye either, it's not just wheat.

Fortunately, I love vegetables but I'd hate giving up potatoes. I like nearly all dried beans, I use quinoa a lot, thanks to Jessica for introducing it to me via a gift from Trader Joe's, and don't forget about nut butters.

Elery's daughter loves the gluten free pasta with a peanut butter based sesame sauce, I think the recipe Elery uses is actually Jessica's, and the sauce kind of makes up for the gluten free pasta.

Trader Joe's does have a pretty decent gluten free section, so that might be an alternative for things like pancakes.

I'm fine on the "no tomatoes" except during the summer when I grow my own. I refuse to eat the styrofoam imposters that we get here out of season, might as well eat the packaging. Those are not really tomatoes at all.

Good luck, especially with the kids it's going to be difficult. I agree with SharonCB, make a meal and let your hubs eat what he can, I can't imagine making 4 kids comply with that diet.

Annie

I love anything in the nightshade family and also wheat and gluten products, but because I'm mostly vegetarian and like to eat a varied diet, I eat like you have to a lot of the time. I wouldn't tell my self it is restrictive, I would relish all the yummy and fantastic foods you CAN eat!

I think a lot of people's problems with these restrictive diets is they are used to a meal being a type of meat, cooked with some type of seasoning, a plain veggie, and a starch, with a side salad and then dessert. I don't eat like that, never have, and don't miss it. I eat cassroles, stir frys, and lots of mixed veggie and salads. You've got GREAT world cuisine's that are low on wheat--chinese, thai, indian and south american.

Here are some of my favorite dishes/menus that would fit your diet:

Mushroom barley soup with rye crackers with cheese spread. I mix swiss cheese with lowfat cottage cheese and some chopped chives or scallions for a healthy cheese spread.

Any type of stir fry with baked marinated tofu

Polenta topped with beans and greens. I use a tomato based sauce but you could use a white sauce.

White chili and cornbread

Rice pasta with a cream saucce and veggies I like. Broccoli and chopped spinach are favorites of mine.

Baked beans, sweet potato salad and cuke and sour cream salad.

Three bean pasta salad, egg salad on crackers or some kind of no gluten bread.

Beans and greens soup with rice pasta and cornbread side.

Omlettes with cheese and veggie fillings. Fake sausage and corn sticks as a side.

Braised sweet and sour cabbage with poached eggs and fake kielbasa.

Baked greek spaghetti, (made with rice spaghetti and feta cheese), some kind of spinach salad and roasted vegetables.

Chopped salad, hummus, rye crackers, fresh melon or other fruit.

Rice pudding--YUMMO!

Lentil soup, cornbread or corn chips, applesauce.

Brown rice pizza--a "pizza" crust made of pressed brown rice and cheese and egg. Top with cream sauce and veggies of choice. If you don't want to make it into a "pizza" shape, just pour it into a casserole.

Roasted vegetables, including butternut squash, carrots, parsnips, turnips, rutabaga, red onions and celery. Mixed with marinated baked italian style tofu or a veggie burger on the side. Lettuce salad.

Curried vegetables, like carrots and cauliflower, over rice. Can add tofu, lentils or garbanzo beans as a side dish.

Kasha with rice pasta and cheese, (can add corn too), side of something bitter like spinach.

Lentil rice or lentil millet casserole. (or barley if you like it).

Acorn squash stuffed with lentils and rice (and spinach since I love spinach with squash, although other greens like mustard or beet are good too.)

Veggie quiche with no-gluten crust, a great salad and fresh fruit. Can use lots of types of cheeses for different twists, like carrot and cottage cheese for example, totally different than feta and spinach, or broccoli and mozzarella.

Sweet potato pancakes, sour cream, coleslaw and applesauce.

Stacked tostadas made with bean/cheese/vegetable filling.

Antipasta salad, bean spread and rye crackers. Cherry cobbler for dessert.

Barley salad over lettuce cups. Broccoli cauliflower salad. Cottage cheese.

Curred egg salad rolled into corn tortillas. Chopped veggie salad or coleslaw. Fresh fruit.

Tuna or tofu and white beans salad (a French style salad), cheese and crackers, fruit and salad with frisee and mesclun.

Pear and blue cheese salad, chicken with lemon and cilantro, rice pilaf, and side veggie of your choice.

Salmon cakes, coleslaw, broccoli with lemon.

Borscht (with vinegar for kick), rye crackers and cheese spread, apple cobbler for dessert.

Squash, greens and beans soup. Rye crackers and cheese spread as a side. Salad of choice, fresh fruit.

Indian style lentil or split pea soup. Chapattis rolled with vegetable cream cheese spread.

Buckwheat noodle soup with mixed veggies, meat, fish or tofu. Side salad of choice and rice crackers topped with herb cream cheese.

Carrot rice bisque. Spinach salad. Gluten free bread topped with olive tapanade.

Rice, lentil and spinach pilaf (differs from casserole by not having cheese or eggs to bind)

Etc., etc. etc.

Hey I guess came across this recipe from tastespotting and I thought of your dilemma. Would this work for your family in place of mashed potatoes? I think it sounds great and I am ready to try it... but I love beans.
The name of the blog is Ella say OPA.

Mashed Cannellini Beans with Rosemary and Garlic
Serves 2
Printer Friendly Recipe

2 tsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 tsp. fresh chopped rosemary or 1/2 tsp. dried
3/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth
2 tsp. lemon juice

Heat a skillet over medium heat and then add the oil until shimmering. Saute the garlic in the oil until fragrant and lightly browned, and then stir in the cannelini beans and rosemary.

Add broth to the skillet and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 10-15 minutes.

Stir in the lemon juice off the heat and mash the beans with a potato masher.

Comments

Thanks guys.

lpink, we're hiring you as our own personal chef!!!!! Want a trip to Chicago? Thanks for taking the time to type that all out. I've printed, now to find recipes.

Annie, I would LOVE some tomatoes if you have extra. I have black thumbs but I'd love to learn to grow some of our own produce

I didn't post a lot of specific recipes because it's hard to know what people will like. I've never met a vegetable that I don't like, but I know a lot of people don't like a lot of vegetables. Plus I like all beans, I like spicy foods, (although not super hot), and love whole grains and tofu, etc. If anything on the list sounds good to you, just ask for the recipe. A lot I just wing, like pasta sauces, stir frys and soups. Deanna posted my sweet potato recipe in the "New Recipes" post for Jan. I think.

You might want to check out the "Gluten Free Girl" blog for some recipe ideas. Can always sub some other veggie for the nightshade family ones. Squash, carrots, sweet potatoes and rutabagas can sub for potatoes. Tomatoes to me are the tart element, so I would sub spinach, beet greens, celery, vinegar, lemon juice for the tomato. As far as sauces, I like bean sauces like theresa posted abovve (although some would not dare touch a bean sauce) and you can get black beans sauce in the asian section of the grocery store, it is a good sub. for salsa type things.

Here's a recipe I've been wanting to post for a while, to get you started. This is also for ganggreen who has a hubby who has to stay away from a lot of foods too.

Dilled Vegetable Barley Soup

1/2 cup raw pearl barley
1 cup water
Bring water to a boil, then simmer barley 20 min.

1 TBLSP butter
1/2 cup minced onion (1 small)
1 tsp. salt
1 bay leaf
1 med. carrot
1 med. stalk celery
4 cups vegetable stock (or chicken if you prefer it)
1/4 lb. mushrooms
6 TBLSP dry white wine, or a splash of white wine vinegar if you don't want to use the straight white wine, but don't use too much vinegar.
1 1/2 tsp. dried dill weed
fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp. tamari

Note: you could also add peas to this for more protein.

Saute the mushrooms and other veggies in the butter until mushrooms are soft. (I'd probably more likely use olive oil instead of butter). Add the broth and bay leaf and simmer until veggies are cooked through, about 20 min. Add barley and spices and simmer another 10 min. to meld flavors.

You could add some fake meat crumbles to this if you wanted more protein.

Loves2:
For me , it would be easier to cook separate dishes .

Like a 5 course meal instead of 3.
Then you can make what suits your DH and make what you and
everyone else can eat.
You love to cook !!!
Lou

Yumm ladies. I am going to try both of those. I have all the ingredients for both the mashed beans and soup in the house right now.

Thanks lpink. I'll have a closer look at the print out and discuss with dh what he would like to try on the way to friends tonight.

l2c4s, why would your DH's glucosamine become contaminated at home? Is this something we need to be aware of?

Kath, the glucosamine wouldn't be contaminated at home but I'm allergic to shellfish so I don't want anything like that in the house.

Lou, I barely manage to get 1 course meals out during the week so I prefer one dish fits all. It's only dinner anyway so the rest of us pretty much eat whatever we want the rest of the day.

Off for dinner now. Will chat with dh in the car

L2C46, as soon as I have tomatoes myself, I'll be glad to share with you. If I time it with a visit to Peppi's, I might even deliver, but I did manage to mail a dozen eggs to New York City for Dishesdone without breaking a single one, so maybe I could ship too. (grin)

Annie

Annie, you must be a genius at packing, considering what shipping companies do to packages when they get bored, lol.

Speaking of geniuses, Lpink, I love what you said, "I wouldn't tell my self it is restrictive, I would relish all the yummy and fantastic foods you CAN eat!" What a positive outlook. I'm going to copy and paste your list, too. You were kind to make and type such a comprehensive list.

I guess I'm getting an education here about nightshade plants and joint pain. I thought I kept up quite a bit with food and health, but that one slipped by me. I'll have to look into it some more. Capsaicin is the ingredient in peppers that is supposed to relieve joint pain, but it's used topically. I thought consuming it would help, too, but maybe not in this case. No telling if topical applications would be good or bad for your husband.

Sally

I'm lucky in that I like ALL vegetables and fruits and whole grains, so if I had to leave one group out there would still be plenty of others I would be able to enjoy. (With the strange exception of raw plums). I tried low gluten for a couple of months and it was the hardest thing. I finally realized it wasn't making any difference in my health so wasn't worth it. But again, I am lucky because brown rice is one of my favorite foods in the whole wide world, so I can happily eat some kind of rice every day and not get bored.

Here's the cheese spread recipe, from the cookbook "Laurels Kitchen."

Swissy Spread

1/2 cup grated swiss
1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/2 tsp. dill weed
salt and pepper to taste

Can use jack or cheddar cheese too. Can add 1 TBLSP minced chives, scallion, parsley, toasted nuts (walnuts or almonts or hazlenuts, for example) or 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard. Could also sautee shallots and garlic for this, or use the Penzeys "Mural of Flavor" seasoning that I mentioned in another post.

I've had FMS for over 20 years. Back in the 80s I gave up nightshades, caffeine AND chocolate for a couple of months, and there was no change at all in my pain level. I tried food combining, gluten-free, no change. The medical community is still coming up with new theories as to what causes it, the latest involves pain receptors.
Anyway, lately I've been low carbing(for weight loss), and folks on the low carb forum I frequent swear that cauliflower, well cooked and mashed tastes just like mashed potatoes. I haven't tried it, but I thought I'd put it out there.

My dad is super picky, but he loves beets, carrots and squash, all of which can sub rather easily for potatoes and are great roasted. Turnips are good roasted too, they aren't as bitter that way. I also love rutabagas, lightly steamed and then mashed with salt, butter and lots of pepper. You might try rutabaga on your family. They look ugly as sin in the grocery store, but just take a sharp knife, peel away the ugliness to reveal the peachy goodness underneath, steam in a pot with a small amount of boiling water (DON'T OVERCOOK), then drain, mash with small amount of butter and season to taste. If you don't overcook them they have a mild flavor. My dad likes the frozen mashed butternut squash as a side dish, and like I said, he's the world's pickiest eater so if he'll eat it it must be tolerable to most. I find it insipid and like my butternut squash peeled and roasted. But being of northern European descent, there's hardly a root vegetable I'm not enamoured with. I even like parsnips.

Here's another recipe you can make and keep the leftovers for reheating and to add to other dishes.

Roasted Root Vegetables - from my friend Bev. B.

Feel free to leave out veggies you don't like, just sub more of the ones you do like.

2 lb. carrots - peeled and chunked
3 turnips - chunked
2-3 sweet potatoes (recipe calls for white ones but I like both kinds roasted. As far as I know, sweet potatoes are not in the nightshade family, but if I'm wrong, leave out. If you want to use them, peel and chunk)
1 med. rutabaga (or butternut squash, or both), peeled and chunked
4-8 parsnips, peeled and chunked
1 lg. yellow or red onion, cut into large chunks
3 med. beets (optional) Either steam and rinse under cold water to peel, or just peel with a veg. peeler. Cut into chunks. As to the size of the "chunks" about 1" square is the smallest I would go with. Mine are about 2 inches. Depends on your taste for the presentation. I like my chunks bite sized, but you can do this with bigger chunks that then need to be cut up to eat.

Because the beets bleed and stain the other veggies, do them in a separate small pan.

Sauce:
1 cup lowfat chicken broth (or veggie broth. can use less)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp. ground rosemary
1 tsp. sugar or maple syrup (I think I use more like 1 TBLSP, but that's because I also use some balsamic vinegar in the sauce).

Mix together until blended. I also add 1 TBLSP tamari, some sea salt to taste, and ground pepper. Also sometimes 1 TBLSP red wine or a splash of balsamic vinegar.

Place veggies in a 9x13 inch roasting pan (or larger). Pour sauce over veggies and stir to mix. Frankly, I don't mix up the sauce separately. I chunk up the veggies, put them in my steel roaster, dump the sauce ingredients over them, and then stir them to mix before putting in the oven. I've made these in pyrex baking dishes and nonstick coated aluminum pans too. My steel roaster is the best but the others are still good.

Roast at 375 degrees uncovered for 1 hour. Check after 30 min. stir if veggies are drying out. Check again after 1 hour, may need to go a little longer if veggies are not done. Stir occasionally to redistribute the sauce. Don't stir too much though, or your veggies will turn to mush.

Can cover with foil at the end if it is drying out too much, and/or add a little water. This freezes pretty good. Can use these veggies later in salads or casseroles or soups.