Care to share an MSG free recipe?

[cncnorman]

This is a repost from the Home Cooking boards since someone kindly directed me to this board. :)

I have recently found out that i cannot eat anything with MSG, tyramine or aspartame due to Chronic Paroxysmal Hemicrania (a type of cluster headeache.) I have almost always cooked everything out of boxes and cans and rarely if ever made fresh food so I am somewhat at a loss, especially when I found out there are 40 different ways to label MSG approved by the FDA. :(

Would anyone be willing to share MSG free recipes they might have? I'm new to Chow so not quite sure if I need to include my email address here or if ya'll can put the recipes in replies. Hope ya'll are havinga great day! Christina

[Querencia]

Christina, cooking from scratch is easier than you can possibly imagine. I cook like mad and have never had MSG in the house so using it is not a big deal. You can bake a whole chicken or pieces of chicken, for instance, with nothing but salt. Here is a simple Latino recipe that is very flavorful, Picadillo: Brown a pound of ground beef in a little olive oil with a chopped onion and a chopped green pepper. Add a handful of raisins, an 8-oz can of tomato sauce and two cans of water, salt to taste, a sprinkle of garlic powder if you like it, and 1-2 tsp cumin. Cover and simmer a few minutes. Eat this with rice. The sweetness of the raisins is important as it contrasts with the other more savory flavors. You won't miss the MSG.

Tell us the kind of things you like and maybe we can suggest something.

[Hobbert]

Honestly, I would just go to your local library and check out a bunch of cookbooks and see what you like. It's a good way to try them out for free. I'm definitely not trying to make light of your condition (I get migraines so I have an idea how awful it must be) but...it's a nice silver lining to be forced to eat fresh food. I grew up eating a lot of convenience type stuff and it was cool to find out that I liked many more foods than I thought I did...I just didn't like the boxed/canned version. Good luck!

[hotoynoodle]

just found this :

The human body treats MSG the same as natural glutamate found in food. For instance, the body does not distinguish between free glutamate from tomatoes, cheese or mushrooms and the glutamate from MSG added to foods. Glutamate is glutamate, whether naturally present or from MSG.

source: http://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/c...

~~~~~~

start by shopping the perimeter of the store. fresh produce, eggs, meat, dairy, frozen veggies and fruits.

if you are buying anything in a bag, tin, or box spend an extra minute to scour the label.

check some cooking books out of the library. something covering basics like bittman's "how to cook everything", is a good start.

[sedimental]

What type of things do you open cans for? Honestly, I have never used boxes or cans for cooking regular foods. It would help to know what kinds of things you are used to making with cans or boxes so we could help you with recipes. Or, what kinds of foods you like to eat?

I wonder if home cooking would be a better place for this post (to get more responses) because I am not sure that most people cook with packaged foods on Chowhound. The home cooking board (like the WFD thread) has many good ideas for cooking from scratch.

[hotoynoodle]

i do eat tinned fish -- wild salmon, mackerel, sardines, smoked oysters and anchovies.

even with those, you need to read the label because many are packed in garbage soybean or cottonseed oil.

[sedimental]

Yes, I bet. I might eat a can of tuna every year or two...maybe...packed in water. I don't cook with it though.

I am just not familiar and still wonder what they are cooking with so much from a can or box? Is boxed food, like hamburger helper or something?

[hotoynoodle]

am not so sure myself! lol, but am guessing anything that contains a "flavor packet", or has any kind of ready-made sauce would be a likely culprit. canned soups too.

[Mattyc]

Hi I have the same problem I recently found out I'm intolerant to MSG and have just moved out of home and tbh have never really cooked so am completely stumped about how to make my own meals without grabbing a tin off the shelf! I was wondering if you have come across any recipe books or websites with recipes?

[Kajikit]

There ARE convenience foods made without MSG. They generally cost more and they usually taste a lot better. I've been screening MSG out of my diet for a decade. The last few years I've been ill so packaged foods have crept increasingly into our diet as I haven't had the stamina to stand in the kitchen cooking from scratch. I buy things like the Kraft 'homestyle' mac and cheese in a baggie and check labels carefully for msg before I buy anything new.
If you're seasoning food from scratch, watch out for MSG in bottled spice mixes.

[Jen76]

Learn how to make stock so you can make your own soups and use it in recipes. Stock is not hard to make and homemade will taste leaps and bounds better than boxed. Don't use any boullion cubes/powder/etc. Nearly all contain some form of glutamates. Stock is really easy to make in a slow cooker or pressure cooker, as are dry beans.

Also, according to a quick Google search, apparently nuts and seeds are high in tyramine as well as "anything aged, dried, fermented, salted, smoked or pickled. Watch out especially for pepperoni, salami and liverwurst."

[twyst]

Are you OK with naturally occurring MSG, or are things like mushrooms, tomatoes etc out too?

[cncnorman]

You know, not quite sure but my doctor has completely nixed mushrooms but tomatoes are ok. Aside from seaweed, kombu, umami I hadnt thought of produce having MSG. Thx for that - Im gonna go check that out.

[maxie]

Hi Christina,
Looks like you'll be cooking from scratch. You may be pleasantly suprised how much more delicious this can be. A basic cookbook will prove helpful. Shopping at a natural foods store (where they pay close attention to labeling themselves) may offer you some packaged alternatives without the additives. It would be helpful if you provided more information about what you enjoy
eating -- that may illicit more response. Good luck on your new food adventure.

[cncnorman]

Hi Maxie, my family loves Italian and Mexican. We do grill quite a bit and we are learning how to bake. Almost anything in a box has become a no-no. :( However, on the bright side I am finding that the stuff I am cooking seems to taste so much better than that boxed stuff. Not quite sure if this is just my pride getting the better of me or not. Thx for your help.