To ask what on earth I'm supposed to eat if I've been "advised" to cut out..?

[dottytablecloth]

I'm in the process of being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, as in doctor is 99% sure I have it but am needing further tests.

Anyway lots of people are recommending that changes to diet is my best option to control it. I'm not listening to well meaning people over the doctor but if it helps I'll try it.

Anyway so far I've been advised to cut out:
Dairy
Red meat
Caffeine
Processed food

I really don't know what I can eat instead

I have porridge or eggs for breakfast so the milk on the porridge and the eggs are dairy.

My one pleasure in the morning is a skinny latte, so I can't have that.

I have a cup of tea in the evening so I can't have that.

We try to eat fresh home cooked food but I enjoy a pizza or Chinese takeaway once a fortnight, so I can't have that.

No red meat means, no shepherd pie, lasagne etc, I'm not a fabulous cook and these were so good for family dinners with a fussy 2 year old.

I eat lots of fruit and trying to eat more vegetables and my only vice is a few squares of chocolate in the evening.

I try to eat as much fish as I can 2-3 times a week.

I'm aware I sound really negative here, but am I missing something? Do people really manage to eliminate these things from their diet?

Am struggling with possibly having RA, feeling quite down at the minute but just wanted some views.

[PetulaGordino]

eggs aren't included in dairy these days, unless the doc specifically said you couldn't have eggs?

[PetulaGordino]

sorry about your ongoing investigations too - it must be frustrating and exhausting

[ineedaholidaynow]

Eggs aren't dairy.

Can you replace turkey mince/quorn for beef mince?

[OttiliaVonBCup]

You forgot oranges and other citrus and spinach.
They are bad as well.

[Jewels234]

Are you sure that they mean eggs when they say dairy? I would have taken that as milk/cheese/cream etc. which a high proportion of the population has trouble digesting.

It does sound a tough diet. I would go grain heavy (quinoa etc.) and Google paleo recipes.

[PetulaGordino]

what things will you miss the most? there are some quite good milk substitutes like almond milk that you could have in your latte (decaf coffee) or porridge. you can also make porridge with water though it's less creamy obviously

[Naicecuppatea]

Sorry to hear this. I haven't a huge amount of advice for you but just wanted to say replacing minced beef with turkey mince in lasagne and shepherd's pie will work - different, lighter taste, but not bad.

Decaffeinated coffee and tea are worth considering. Almond milk instead of cow's milk. Eggs are not dairy so carry on eating them!!

Could you perhaps try cutting down on these things rather than cutting out completely?

[dottytablecloth]

Are eggs not dairy? I didn't know that!

So no glass of orange in the morning either!

I've never tried quorn, I've never like the look of it but may need to get over that silly idea!

[Nabootique]

There are a lot of dairy alternatives, so I think that one is quite easy, but I don't know if you'd need to cut these things out entirely, just cut down. Red meat once a week surely wouldn't be that bad? With the dairy, it's not like you have an intolerance to it as such. And no matter what ailment you have someone will tell you to avoid processed food. A Chinese takeaway a couple of times a month is not like you have a ready meal every single day.

[OttiliaVonBCup]

Check with your doctor, but I think it aggravates it.

[squoosh]

Dairy = products made from cow's milk.

[Pastamancer]

Eggs don't come from cows, they are not dairy :)

[PetulaGordino]

it might be worth cutting out for a while and then reintroducing individually to see whether there are some things you're more sensitive to than others. that may result in being able to reintroduce some things as for you they aren't a trigger

[Artandco]

Eggs aren't dairy.

So eggs for breakfast fine, porridge make with oat/ lacto free/ hazelnut milk.

Lattes with oat milk or hazelnut milk

Shepard's pie make with Turkey mince

There's still loads to eat.

Chicken, turkey or fish. With as many veg or salads as you like. Add pasta/ rice/ potatoes. Avocados great on rye bread/ soda bread at lunch.

Eat a few more veggie meals also. My 3 year old loves black bean and tomato quesadillas ( I add cheese but you don't have to)

[dottytablecloth]

Some helpful ideas so far, thank you!

I've never really thought about turkey mince and almond or soya milk may be worth considering.

I'm a bit funny and set in my ways to be honest regarding food. . I get an idea that I wouldn't like certain things like quorn or soya milk when I've never really tried them!

[OldBeanbagz]

You could have a soya decaf latte? Decaf tea is also available in most supermarkets

How about swopping Quorn or turkey mince for beef in your shepherds pies/lasagne?

Grilled chicken would work well of you're used to a Sunday lunch and you could make yorkshire puddings with soya milk.

It's hard when you have to make sudden changes but most meals are possible. My DH was advised to cut out all gluten last year and we're all just adapting our diets as it's easier to cook one meal.

[squoosh]

Turkey burgers are gorgeous.

[dottytablecloth]

I'm such a ditz, I've lived my life thinking eggs were diary.

Double

[itsnotmeitsyou1]

I know people who have no dairy in their lives, and still have normal diets. The only downside is dairy free milk and cheese can be expensive. Eggs are OK so no worries there. Quorn is a fab substitute in my opinion, never use red meat mince anymore. And their sausages are also lovely (plus guilt free, can always have that extra one ).

[TedAndLola]

I'm a vegan who doesn't eat starchy carbs (v small portions), so I know that panicked feeling of "what the hell can I eat?!". It does get easier once you've found a few staple meals that you like and can fall back on. :)

Have you got clarification on what he meant by processed foods? There are varying degrees of processing, so some of this might not be suitable:

• Latte with soy or oat milk instead of cow's milk
• Shepherd's pie, lasagne etc. made with vegetarian mince (Asda's own is very nice, my favourite is Fry's which you can generally only get in health shops)
• Pizza, have you tried without the cheese? I know it sounds bizarre but I actually really enjoyed it, when I ate bread. It's about half the calories, non-greasy, and doesn't leave you with that bloated feeling you get from cheesy pizza. I suppose any kind of pizza is going to be classed as processed?
• Chinese takeaway is mostly naturally dairy free, unless you're including eggs in dairy

I don't eat any meat but some of my staple meals are:

• dal (lentils) of many varieties
• vegetable curries
• mince and vegetables in gravy, with a few dumplings if I'm feeling frivolous ;)
• stir frys (fries?)
• tofu scramble if I feel like eggs
• veggie sausages, onions, veg and gravy
• soup / stew / casserole with whatever veg I have

[Lima1]

As pp said eggs are not dairy. There are so many people with an allergy to dairy products that there is a ton of dairy substitutes out there. You can make porridge with water and coconut/almond/soya milk. There are good dairy free butters and soya yogurts. Substitute red meat with turkey mince for the shepards pie. Make veg lasagnas, make a mince one for your DC is thats all they will eat and freeze it in portions to give.
Make a skinny latte with decaf coffee and a dairy substitute milk.

My DS1 was allergic to dairy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, rice, carrots and pears. I learned to live with it. Most supermarkets cater for these types of diets and you still have fruits, all veg, white meat and fish.
Good luck

[MateySkatey]

I eat none of the things on your list and haven't for years. Eat fish and vegetables, chickpea curry, lentils ect. For drink rooibos and hot honey & lemon.

I can send you a simple recipe book if you pm me your email address.

[RawCoconutMacaroon]

I'd say keep the red meat (natural, unprocessed) and eggs and ditch the grains instead! They are more likely to be causing an issue.

It may be worth excluding all dairy for a few weeks and then trying it to see what happens (many people are fine with cream and cheese but react to milk, so reintroduce each type of dairy separately).

Paleo eating has made a huge difference to my life. Obviously it's not going to work for everyone but it's surely worth a try as you may find it helps to the extent you won't need to take any drugs.

Marksdailyapple blog is a fantastic resource if you want to give it a try.

[Lima1]

I meant to say that my mam starting drinking soya milk but didnt like the taste of the plain one, she gets the vanilla flavoured one and its actually alright, bit expensive though.