The feeding of Halo and Leo
Dec. 10th, 2018 02:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
halojedhaLeo and I both have specific dietary needs. From time to time, lovely friends of ours offer to cook for us (thank you friends!), so I thought it would be useful to start writing down recipes, to make it easy for people to look up suitable dinner ideas that won't be bad for us. This is the first post in the series - I'll be tagging them under recipes. In this post I'll just give an overview of our food needs.
Leo
Leo has several food allergies and intolerances, some more severe than others. All Leo's food allergies are the slow kind - effects can take 24 hours to kick in, and usually last for several days. They are as follows:
Egg: Leo is severely allergic to eggs. This includes all bird eggs - chicken, duck, and the more obscure ones. (Fish eggs are fine however, and salmon roe is delicious.)
Nightshades: Leo is severely allergic to nightshades. Eating any trace of nightshades causes inflammation throughout their body; it triggers their RSI, makes their joints and tendons hurt, and generally gives them a feeling as if they had a serious case of the flu. Nightshades are a family of vegetables that have fruit with shiny skins; it includes potatoes, tomatoes, chilli, sweet (bell) peppers, and aubergines. (Bonus fact: it also includes tobacco, although this isn't a food.) They can eat other vegetable families - so sweet potato is fine (it's a yam, not a nightshade), as are courgettes. Paprika, cayenne pepper and chilli powder are all out, as are spice blends containing them (eg curry powder or garam masala), but black pepper, white pepper, szechuan pepper and other spices like cumin, coriander and ginger are all fine.
Dairy: Leo is allergic to casein, the protein in dairy. This is different from being lactose intolerant; they are still allergic to lactose-free dairy products. They like almond milk in tea and cereal (Plenish is our favourite brand, Alpro Unsweetened second), and coconut milk in cooking. Soy lecithin is also a good way to add creaminess to sauces.
Gluten: Leo is gluten intolerant. They can't eat seitan, because that's basically pure gluten. They aren't coeliac however, and can tolerate small amounts of gluten. So eating out at an Asian restaurant which adds soy sauce to the food is okay from time to time, but at home we use tamari instead. We also sometimes add a splash of liquid aminos to cooking, which includes gluten, and that's fine too. Otherwise, gluten is to be avoided.
Gluten free flours often contain potato flour, so we need to check the ingredient list of gluten free bread and flour alternatives carefully to make sure they don't contain stealth nightshades. For thickening sauces, we use buckwheat flour and cornstarch. Rice flour and gram (chickpea) flour are fine too, as is polenta and gari. They are fine with normal oats, so we don't bother with the more expensive gluten-free oats.
Leo generally eats a low GI (glycaemic index) diet - see below for more details! Rice cakes are very glycaemic, and to be avoided; Leo prefers brown rice over white rice. Most gluten free pasta is rice-based and high GI - our favourite pastas are the ones made from buckwheat, green pea, or red lentils. (A few UK supermarkets do own-brand versions of these.)
Yeast: Leo has a mild yeast allergy, and therefore tends to avoid high-yeast foods like nutritional yeast, marmite, and breads leavened with yeast, but small bits from time to time are fine.
Leo eats meat and fish, but prefers free range options, and doesn't eat more intelligent animals like pork and octopus.
Halo
It me! I'm mostly vegan. For the most part I avoid all animal products, but I'm fine with honey and I sometimes eat bivalves (mussels and oysters). I don't mind fish sauce in Asian cooking, and I take fish oil capsules to ensure I get enough Omega-3 and Omega-6. In the interests of getting enough essential fatty acids, I do occasionally eat ethically sourced oily fish like salmon and mackerel if I'm feeling particularly rundown and fatigued, but on a day to day basis I prefer plant-based fats and protein.
I eat a low GI diet. Although I don't have any food allergies, eating high GI food has a real and immediate impact on my heath and can incapacitate me, so I need to avoid it as much as possible. I have PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), which affects insulin regulation and makes me very sensitive to blood sugar spikes.
The glycaemic index of a food is a measure of how quickly the food is processed by your body for energy. If a food is converted to blood sugar very quickly, it causes a blood sugar spike, followed by a sugar crash. My PCOS gives me chronic fatigue which is acutely triggered by sugar crashes. It's a bit like being diabetic: after eating glycaemic food, I go white and pale and shaky, my body stops working and I have to lie down for 2-3 hours and wait for it to pass. It's crappy, especially if I had plans. High GI food gives me more fatigue crashes, and lower energy levels ongoing. Low GI food on the other hand is converted slowly and steadily by the body to energy, giving me ongoing energy release without any spikes and crashes. This is much better.
High GI food is things like:
Fibre and protein both lower the GI of a food. Protein has a negative GI, and fibre slows food down in the gut, meaning it takes longer to be digested and converted to blood sugar. We both need to make sure we get enough protein (about 70g/day each) and plant-based fat. Vegan meals that don't contain protein (eg vegetable risotto, sweet potato curry) really don't work for us.
Food we can both eat
We like to eat together, so we tend to prepare low-GI, vegan, gluten-free, nightshade-free meals. This is easier than it sounds! We are both foodies - we love food for sensual pleasure as well as nutrition to power our bodies and our minds. We we love spicy and rich flavours, and we eat a varied and delicious diet.
Here are some of our staple ingredients:
Basically, there are loads of things we can eat, and loads of delicious things you can make with them!
Mmm, I'm hungry now. Recipes involving these yummy ingredients coming soon.
Leo
Leo has several food allergies and intolerances, some more severe than others. All Leo's food allergies are the slow kind - effects can take 24 hours to kick in, and usually last for several days. They are as follows:
Egg: Leo is severely allergic to eggs. This includes all bird eggs - chicken, duck, and the more obscure ones. (Fish eggs are fine however, and salmon roe is delicious.)
Nightshades: Leo is severely allergic to nightshades. Eating any trace of nightshades causes inflammation throughout their body; it triggers their RSI, makes their joints and tendons hurt, and generally gives them a feeling as if they had a serious case of the flu. Nightshades are a family of vegetables that have fruit with shiny skins; it includes potatoes, tomatoes, chilli, sweet (bell) peppers, and aubergines. (Bonus fact: it also includes tobacco, although this isn't a food.) They can eat other vegetable families - so sweet potato is fine (it's a yam, not a nightshade), as are courgettes. Paprika, cayenne pepper and chilli powder are all out, as are spice blends containing them (eg curry powder or garam masala), but black pepper, white pepper, szechuan pepper and other spices like cumin, coriander and ginger are all fine.
Dairy: Leo is allergic to casein, the protein in dairy. This is different from being lactose intolerant; they are still allergic to lactose-free dairy products. They like almond milk in tea and cereal (Plenish is our favourite brand, Alpro Unsweetened second), and coconut milk in cooking. Soy lecithin is also a good way to add creaminess to sauces.
Gluten: Leo is gluten intolerant. They can't eat seitan, because that's basically pure gluten. They aren't coeliac however, and can tolerate small amounts of gluten. So eating out at an Asian restaurant which adds soy sauce to the food is okay from time to time, but at home we use tamari instead. We also sometimes add a splash of liquid aminos to cooking, which includes gluten, and that's fine too. Otherwise, gluten is to be avoided.
Gluten free flours often contain potato flour, so we need to check the ingredient list of gluten free bread and flour alternatives carefully to make sure they don't contain stealth nightshades. For thickening sauces, we use buckwheat flour and cornstarch. Rice flour and gram (chickpea) flour are fine too, as is polenta and gari. They are fine with normal oats, so we don't bother with the more expensive gluten-free oats.
Leo generally eats a low GI (glycaemic index) diet - see below for more details! Rice cakes are very glycaemic, and to be avoided; Leo prefers brown rice over white rice. Most gluten free pasta is rice-based and high GI - our favourite pastas are the ones made from buckwheat, green pea, or red lentils. (A few UK supermarkets do own-brand versions of these.)
Yeast: Leo has a mild yeast allergy, and therefore tends to avoid high-yeast foods like nutritional yeast, marmite, and breads leavened with yeast, but small bits from time to time are fine.
Leo eats meat and fish, but prefers free range options, and doesn't eat more intelligent animals like pork and octopus.
Halo
It me! I'm mostly vegan. For the most part I avoid all animal products, but I'm fine with honey and I sometimes eat bivalves (mussels and oysters). I don't mind fish sauce in Asian cooking, and I take fish oil capsules to ensure I get enough Omega-3 and Omega-6. In the interests of getting enough essential fatty acids, I do occasionally eat ethically sourced oily fish like salmon and mackerel if I'm feeling particularly rundown and fatigued, but on a day to day basis I prefer plant-based fats and protein.
I eat a low GI diet. Although I don't have any food allergies, eating high GI food has a real and immediate impact on my heath and can incapacitate me, so I need to avoid it as much as possible. I have PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), which affects insulin regulation and makes me very sensitive to blood sugar spikes.
The glycaemic index of a food is a measure of how quickly the food is processed by your body for energy. If a food is converted to blood sugar very quickly, it causes a blood sugar spike, followed by a sugar crash. My PCOS gives me chronic fatigue which is acutely triggered by sugar crashes. It's a bit like being diabetic: after eating glycaemic food, I go white and pale and shaky, my body stops working and I have to lie down for 2-3 hours and wait for it to pass. It's crappy, especially if I had plans. High GI food gives me more fatigue crashes, and lower energy levels ongoing. Low GI food on the other hand is converted slowly and steadily by the body to energy, giving me ongoing energy release without any spikes and crashes. This is much better.
High GI food is things like:
- Sugar, and any foods with added sugar (honey, syrup, jam, chutney, sweets, anything containing high fructose corn syrup)
- Quick release carbs (potatoes, bread, most pasta, white rice, crisps)
- Fructose without the fibre (fruit juice and smoothie)
- Sweet fruits (grapes, mango, banana, melon)
- Sweet potatoes are sadly high GI (even though they're delicious)
Fibre and protein both lower the GI of a food. Protein has a negative GI, and fibre slows food down in the gut, meaning it takes longer to be digested and converted to blood sugar. We both need to make sure we get enough protein (about 70g/day each) and plant-based fat. Vegan meals that don't contain protein (eg vegetable risotto, sweet potato curry) really don't work for us.
Food we can both eat
We like to eat together, so we tend to prepare low-GI, vegan, gluten-free, nightshade-free meals. This is easier than it sounds! We are both foodies - we love food for sensual pleasure as well as nutrition to power our bodies and our minds. We we love spicy and rich flavours, and we eat a varied and delicious diet.
Here are some of our staple ingredients:
- Grains: Quinoa, brown rice, oats (and oat cakes), buckwheat
- Pasta: Buckwheat, green pea and red lentil gluten-free pasta
- Protein: tofu, tempeh, soya protein products (we're partial to the Linda McCartney quarter pounders and rosemary and red onion sausages), lentils, chickpeas, beans (edamame beans, black beans, aduki beans, borlotti beans, pinto beans, haricot beans, red kidney beans, cannellini beans), seeds (pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, linseed, sesame seeds, chia seeds), nuts (almonds, cashews, peanuts, hazelnuts, walnuts) and wholefood nut butters (peanut, almond)
- Fats: Coconut milk, coconut cream, avocado, nuts and seeds, vegan cheese (some contain potato flour though - I will eat these gladly but Leo can't. The hard parmesan-like vegan cheeses are usually Leo-friendly). I really like soy yoghurts, particularly the coconut and almond flavours. We can have soy milk, cashew milk and hazelnut milk, but we prefer almond milk in tea, and coconut milk in cocoa. Coconut oil, sesame oil and olive oil for cooking, olive oil, hemp oil and flaxseed oil for drizzling. We use blended tofu, cashews or almonds, and soy lecithin, to add richness and creaminess to sauces.
- Vegetables: onion, garlic, courgettes, carrots, mushrooms (we love chestnut, shitake, oyster and wild mushrooms), squash, red and green cabbage, greens, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, sweetcorn, garden peas, green beans, broad beans, sugarsnap peas, mange tout, black and green olives (as long as they aren't stuffed with pimento peppers), capers, artichoke hearts
- Fruit: oranges, lemons, limes, satsumas, clementines, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, cherries are relatively low GI. Apples, pears, pomegranates, peaches and nectarines aren't too bad either. But honestly, we aren't super strict about fruit, and do eat mango and papaya from time to time.
- Spices: ginger, cumin, coriander, turmeric, fenugreek, cardamom pods, mustard seeds, onion seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, asafoetida, black pepper, szechuan pepper, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, curry leaves
- Herbs: all herbs are fine! We use a lot of fresh coriander, basil, rosemary, thyme and bay leaves.
- Other tasties: tamari, miso paste, balsamic vinegar, rice wine vinegar (and other vinegars, eg. sherry, apple cider), fish sauce, liquid aminos, liquid smoke, pomegranate molasses, salt, vegan boullion powder, nutritional yeast (although only for me, as Leo has a bad reaction to it), vegan pesto, pickles, tapenade.
Basically, there are loads of things we can eat, and loads of delicious things you can make with them!
Mmm, I'm hungry now. Recipes involving these yummy ingredients coming soon.
no subject
Date: 2018-12-11 10:31 pm (UTC)Out of curiosity, have you had luck with some of the alternate grains like millet and sorghum? I really love those two. And buckwheat (which is one of my go-to breakfasts since it cooks so quickly).
no subject
Date: 2018-12-14 01:51 pm (UTC)Our friends are actually great at asking what we can eat and often ask for recipe suggestions (hence thinking I should actually document some to save time) but eating out can be a real pain! Vegan and gluten free is quite straightforward, but the nightshade allergy is unusual enough to be a real pain.
I've not tried millet and sorghum actually! Thanks for the suggestion :)
no subject
Date: 2018-12-15 04:38 pm (UTC)