ISO Recipes/Ideas for limited diet

[cgarner]

I had a short hospital stint and was released with instructions to eat a "low residue" diet for two weeks and a "low fiber" diet for at least another two weeks, in addtion I was told to avoid all dairy...

here's what I have to avoid
Whole-grain breads, cereals and pasta
Whole vegetables and vegetable sauces
Whole fruits, including canned fruits
Yogurt, pudding, ice cream or cream-based soups with nuts or pieces of fruits or vegetables
Tough or coarse meats with gristle and luncheon meats or cheese with seeds
Peanut butter
Salad dressings with seeds or pieces of fruits or vegetables
Seeds and nuts
Coconut
Marmalade

here's some of what I can eat
White rice
Vegetable juices without seeds or pulp
Fruit juices with no pulp
Milk, yogurt, pudding, ice cream, and cream-based soups and sauces (strained)
Tender meat, poultry, fish and eggs
Oil, margarine, butter and mayonnaise
Smooth salad dressings
Broth-based soups (strained)
Jelly, honey and syrup

In addition, I was told that I can have COOKED fruits, as well as WELL COOKED veggies,
No Lentils, or legumes, either! (I was a flegling vegetarian before I went into the hospital!)

as a Chowhound, this is KILLING me (ok, not literally, the GI issues would have killed me if I hadn't wound up in the hospital)

do you have any ideas/suggestions/recipes?

I'm three days into this and while I enjoy roasted veggie broth and egg noodles, it's getting a little old.

[greygarious]

I had to have low-residue foods post major abdominal surgery and again later, when I had diverticulitis and the next year, a partial bowel obstruction from surgical adhesions. I had a lot of yogurt and eggs at first. Once I could eat things that were more solid, potato latkes with applesauce, mac& cheese, corned beef hash made with the corned beef that comes in the Spam-shaped tin can, flapjacks, crepes with soft, smooth fillings. Other medical concerns make fiber important for me, and I decided they took precedence over the GI risks, so I got back onto a high-fiber diet ASAP. (There is a line of thought that counters the oft-recommended low-fiber diverticulitis diet, the reasoning being that the faster the GI tract contents move along, the less likely it is that they will lodge in the diverticula). Knock wood, it's been 5 yrs without recurrence.

[cgarner]

@greygarious, I was a fledgling vegetarian when this happened, so my diet consisted of pretty much everything they told me to stop eating for a while. The funny thing is I had never felt healthier or 'lighter' than when I was not eating meat and my diet was basically brown rice, legumes, quinoa and lentils (are lentils a legume? I can never remember!) along with lots of fresh, raw veggies.

It sounds like you've had a rough road "GI-wise" here's to your continued good health... and I may just ask if I can get my appt with the doc bumped up sooner than three more weeks from now... low-residue diet is for the birds

[weezycom]

I'd make a strong herbed aioli (well strained) and mix a bunch into a bowl of hot white rice and plop a poached egg on top. Add some bacon salt to give it a nice smoky undertone of flavor.

[cgarner]

Both sound like terriffic ideas and thanks for the good wishes!
I have to forgo the bok-choy right now (it's cruciferous, right?) *sigh

imagine someone telling you that you can't eat everything that you normally do eat.... and it's HEALTHY stuff that I normally do eat...

Whine over.... off to the test kitchen

[GretchenS]

I do hear your pain, I had to follow a similar diet, which was basically all the stuff I purposely never eat because I feel better when i don't eat it, but thankfully only for 5 days. I took at as a license to eat mashed potatoes. :)

[GretchenS]

"Tender meat" -- there are all kinds of meatballs you can make, think of it as an opportunity to explore a bunch of new meatball possibilities. And there's lots you can do with fish and eggs. I'm a little confused about dairy -- you say up top you have to avoid all dairy and then list milk, yogurt, ice cream and cream soups as OK.

[cgarner]

Hi @GretchenS... I was on some powerful antibiotics which pretty much killed all the 'good bugs' that live in your intestines. so for at least two weeks, til I can get those good bugs going again (with probiotic supplements and coconut milk yogurt that has no fruit pieces in it) I can't eat any dairy. Doctor estimates that I can add dairy back to my diet if I keep up a good supplement regimen for about ten days to two weeks.

I copied and pasted the lists off the Mayo Clinic website for a low residue diet

[GretchenS]

I see. So meatballs w/out dairy to begin with. OK, so here is a recipe for Chinese meatballs if that appeals, just cook the veggies well, maybe used powdered garlic and ginger to be really careful.
8 oz Ground beef (lean)
8 oz Ground pork
1 Egg, beaten
3 or 4 Scallions, chopped
1 tsp Fresh ginger, minced
1 clove Garlic, minced
1 tsp Salt
6+ Dried Chinese mushrooms, rehydrated and chopped, plus additional left dried
10 Water chestnuts, roughly chopped
1T + 2 T Soy sauce, divided
1/2 tsp Sesame oil
2 to 3 cups Chicken broth
Bok choy or similar
Maybe 2 T? Cornstarch dissolved in cold water

Mix egg, scallions, ginger, garlic, salt, chopped mushrooms, water chestnuts, smaller amount of soy, and sesame oil very well. Blend in ground meats. Form meatballs.

Bring chicken broth and larger amount of soy to a simmer. Add meatballs and some whole dried Chinese mushrooms. Simmer about 15 minutes. Add sliced bok choy stems and simmer 10 minutes, then stir in bok choy leaves for a few minutes. Remove solids into bowls and thicken sauce with cornstarch slurry. Serve sauce over meatballs and veggies in a bowl with steamed white rice if you like.

Good luck with your recovery!

[maxie]

My SIL just went through a similar thing. I made her a bunch of seasonal vegetable soups that I pureed then ran through a sieve so there was no fiber. I bought a loaf of white sandwich bread from a good French bakery, so she could have crustless toast and sandwiches (tuna and egg salad, finely minced, made wtih just mayo). Also roasted pears, baked in halves with just a little vanilla sugar and butter.

[cgarner]

That's a great idea, Maxie. I have a butternut squash sitting on my counter...roasted and made into soup would be pretty tasty (as opposed to using it to make the butternut squash and farro risotto I had planned)