HELP! On Macrobiotic Diet, where/what can I eat?

[ChefLisa]

Hi y'all. You haven't heard from me for a while because I have been quite ill and was not able to be diagnosed (don't you just love HMOs?) until recently. Seems I have fibromyalgia aggravated by anxiety attacks and some hormonal issues (ladies you know what I mean). I am now working with a nutritionist who has me on the STRICTEST diet -- no red meat, no sugars, no dairy, no eggs, no wheat/spelt/kamut/rye, etc., no gluten, no caffeine, no soy products...

As you can see this has pretty much eliminated me as an official Chowhound for a while until I can get off this anti-inflammatory diet. It's kind of macrobiotic, I can eat chicken, fish, turkey, lamb (no shellfish), seasonings but no sauces, almost any veggie except corn, brown/white rice, potatoes (regular and sweet), most fruits except oranges. Organic is preferred to eliminate chemicals.

That all being said, where can I still get a decent meal that won't wreck my delicately balanced system now?

I live in SFV/Van Nuys area, and I love Follow Your Heart but don't know if they can meet all my weird omissions (especially the no soy products).

Any recommendations are welcomed and I really miss all you guys! Hoping that later in the year, I will be able to add some foods back in and once again Chow Down with my fellow Hounds!

:(

[russkar]

Condolences

[Jack]

A toughie. Maybe call Real Food Daily during a non-rush time and ask if they'll work with you? (Barring that, they might have ideas on who might.)

[gj]

Have you considered that the diagnosis "fibromylagia" is somewhat controversial (see link), and that you may be sacrificing one of the joys of your life (great eating) for no true gain?

Link: http://www.healthcentral.com/drdean/d...

[dkawai]

Inaka is a Japanese macrobiotic restaurant that may meet some of your dietary constraints. A lot of the food served there reminded me of the fabulous meals I had at the Buddhist temples in Japan. While much of the food is soy based, there are several dishes that are not. In general, traditional Japanese food is low in acidity and sauces....lots of broiled fish and veggies....Good Luck!

131 S. La Brea (b/t Beverly and 3rd)
Los Angeles
[phone]

[Chris]

It might be a bit of a hike for you, but try

Inaka Natural Foods
Restaurant 131 S La Brea Ave Los Angeles, CA 90036 323-936-9353

They call themselves "Gourmet Macrobiotic" and the food is actually very tasty. Good luck.

[Tova]

Blueberry's in Santa Monica used to host a Friday night raw food gourmet dinner, but I'm not sure if they are still doing that. I think the raw food diet might meet most of your qualifications. You should also check out the amazing vegan cookbook, The Voluptuous Vegan. And a third option (also for cooking at home) is to look at Prevention.com's South Beach Diet message board, as a lot of people post recipes that seem to meet your qualifications.

[kc girl]

Concerning hormonal issues and not eating soy, ask your Nutritionist if your taking Black Cohash would interfere with the program. For minimal expense, I am almost certain you would feel results in less than a month in that regard. There are different mgs available and you should start low.

I have other suggestions for your problems, but since you are working with a Nutritionist currently, I don't want to interfere with that program.

E-mail me later if you want the info and results I have seen in people I know. A few gals I know have been devastated in the past by fibromyalgia - not due to a weight problem, but truly debilitating. One started a research foundation.

Good luck.

[Kishari]

I'm so sorry to hear about your health. I understand completely, as I had severe problems with hormones a few years ago as well. I later was diagnosed with a wide range of food allergies (wheat, dairy, soy, rice, lettuce, tomatoes, garlic, on and on...), which aggravated the hormone problem.

I cooked for a friend a few years ago who was also put on an anti-inflammatory diet (she didn't cook). After doing lots of shopping, cooking and investigation, I think you're going to be really hard put to find someplace to eat out that can cater to all your avoidance foods. Vegan places use soy and wheat (under the names tempeh and seitan). Your best bets are ethnic restarants that are not based in the foods you're avoiding: Japanese and authentic Chinese are good, so is Middle Eastern. Avoid Italian like the plague.

You already know this is going to be difficult to cook on your own as well, because there are not many cookbooks that address multiple avoidance foods. There's a great gluten-free cookbook called "The Gluten-free Kitchen" by Roben Ryberg. I'm working on a multiple allergy cookbook for me, my other allergic friends and people like you. Now that I avoid my bad foods, it's totally changed my life for the better!

Two things you should consider while you are working on your treatment. A lot of your symptoms may attributed to two things: (1) severe perimenopausal symptoms which can be balanced naturally, and (2) you may have celiac's disease, which is a potentially life-threatening allergy to gluten. It affects the ability of your body to ingest nutrients. I know someone who had this and almost died, and once she discovered it after a few years almost fully recovered. It's difficult to diagnose.

And please ignore the person on this board who doesn't believe fibromyalgia is a real disease. I've seen how painful it is, and it's pretty insensitive for someone to dismiss it. Since it's an autoimmune disease, it could be related to your hormones and potential other imbalances, so it's possible that once you fix one of your problems, it can affect the others.

Email me directly if you need more help. Good luck.

[Debbie]

One place that comes to mind is Fish Grill on Ventura just east of Woodman. You can get plain grilled fish and plain baked potatoes. However, I'm not sure if the fish is marinated or dipped into anything before grilling, as that might pose a problem.

Also, I haven't been there for a really really long time and cannot vouch for the current state of things, but I think Genmai had a lot of macrobiotic menu items. Van Nuys/Moorpark in the same center as In 'N' Out.

Good luck and hope you're back to chowing real soon.

[ChefLisa]

To all my fellow hounds, thanks for the suggestions, outpouring of sympathy and general information. Those of you who suggested I contact you, I will be following up. And I think I'll try Inaka and I go by Genmai all the time so I'll pick up a menu next time I'm in the area. Hormones and allergies are tricky little buggers, but I'm determined to beat it down and get back to "one of life's great pleasures" -- chowing down! Until then, happy eating to you all.