What can I eat???

[Nogodsnomasters]

I've been a fussy eater from childhood but have expanded my palate (somewhat) as an adult. I also now have chronic reflux and so my already small variety of foods is even smaller in an attempt to control my symptoms. I'm literally bored of my diet, it's like the same maybe 8 meals on repeat! I can feel my colleagues eyeing me as I bring the same variant of packed lunch to work every day.

Things I can't eat - chocolate, tomatoes, oranges, lemons, kiwi fruit, onions, spring onions, anything even remotely spicy.

Things I don't like - pasta, eggs, duck, lentils, beans.

I've looked online at recipes but they always include something I don't like or can't have. I'm so bored of meat, potatoes and veg or stew/soups, pizza (homemade) and pies.

Any suggestions?

So usually irish stew, soup (mostly vegetables or potato/leek that kind of stuff), then variations of meat potato and veg such as sausages, or cottage pie, gammon, chicken which is usually bland as all hell. Then things like steak or mince pies, chicken/ham pie and then finally homemade pizza as I usually can't have most of the toppings/ingredients on pre-made ones.

OK so try sweet potato 'mash' with your sausages, the easiest way to do this is to put sweet potatoes in the microwave for 10 mins (turn over half way through).

Cut in half and squeeze out the mash. You can also try swede, pumpkin, or potatoes mixed with leeks both with the sausages or to top a cottage pie.

Do you have a slow cooker? Sausages cooked in 50/50 cider and water are nice, you can use the liquid to make a sauce.

Meatloaf? Basically 50/50 mince and sausage meat in a leaf tin and baked, most recipes add breadcrumbs or cornflakes and onions but you can make it with just the meat and salt and pepper. You can use the same mixture for meatballs.

Can you tolerate tinned soup? I make a chicken and mushroom 'casserole' which is chicken, mushrooms, leeks, whatever I have to throw in and then add a tin of condensed chicken soup and a tub of crème fraiche (but you can make it without) serve on day with potatoes and put the left overs in a foil tin ad add a pastry lid - freeze for another day.

You make pies so how about making a steak and kidney (or chicken and leek) pudding?

Get a pudding bowl, I prefer pyrex but a plastic one would wort,

Line with suet pastry and keep enough back for a lid. add your meat and veg, I would toss the meat in flour first but that's up to you. I would crumble a stock cube over the meat at this stage, add a pastry lid and make a hole the size of your thumb in the middle.

Put a folded up tea towel in your slow cooker or pan, rest the basin on it. Boil a kettle and pour boiling water in to the hole in the lid and the rest around the SC/Pan. If you are using a pan you need to make sure it doesn't boil dry.

I do this in the slow cooker for 3-4 hours.

You can also use suet pastry to make a sort of roly poly but with minced beef and gravy, again steam in a SC.

What are you like with herbs? Chicken put in a foil parcel with herbs and butter? I would do chicken with a mix of garlic paste and oregano on topped with a lemon slice. Now I know you can' have lemon and if you can't have onion you may not be able to tolerate garlic but you could try different herbs, mustards, apple sauce, ketchup, whatever you have in the cupboard.

The chicken recipe should have said mushroom soup. If you can tolerate them tinned soups can make good bases for sauces. I found that out when I opened a tin of tomato and basil soup instead of chopped tomatoes.

I also agree with leaving out or substituting eg make leek bhajis instead of onion, you can make them without any spice so I suppose they are more of a fritter.

Omelettes, frittata or quiche?

Can you tolerate soy sauce, vinegars or mustard?? I make fried rice with soy as the only flavouring. Honey mustard marinade on chicken or beef. My rissoles are flavoured with Dijon mustard.

Can you handle tahini - there are a lot of middle eastern dips that you could make (just leave out the garlic if that is irritating).

Rice paper rolls?

Id google recipes with any condiments you can handle and see what comes up.

You don't eat pasta - but what about courgette? You can make a spaghetti sub, or a lasagne sheet sub with it. Or maybe aubergine, and make moussaka?

I was also going to suggest frittata - it's great cold to take to work for lunch the day after.

What about wraps instead of sandwiches?

I think the issue is you are stuck in a rut, I suspect there's loads you could do with a bit of creativity.

For someone who doesn't like eggs?

Yes that is the other problem, a lot of recipes call for eggs which I can't stand the taste/flavour of.

I can tolerate soy sauce and vinegars but don't like mustard. I do have wraps occasionally but they're usually very plain also with just chicken, lettuce and some grated cheese on top, I do like those.

Thank you for taking the time to write that, it's very kind to go into that much detail and effort. I can tolerate some tinned soup but I have to scrutinize the ingredients first before I go for it, anything with paprika flavouring or chilli flakes would kill me. Herbs I can definitely handle, I'm just not really sure which ones to use on which things.

Thank you. It's hard to have a limited diet. When I do eat at the office, I've got a colleague who's husband is a chef and they would bring in large portions of leftovers and share them with the team and I'm always given funny looks for saying no thanks and sitting there eating my basic ham sandwich and yogurt, it's becomes a little embarrassing.

For someone who doesn't like eggs?

I don't like eggs 'solo', but I do like a frittata as it doesn't have the texture of the white or the flavour as it has so many other ingredients. Which is why I said I was going to suggest frittata. It makes sense to me, as someone that doesn't like eggs, unless they are fairly well disguised.

No problem with detail, I'm always awake early and often have not much to do.

OK Herbs, I'd start with dried herbs, I don't know why I just think they are more gentle.

Asafetida, if you can get it, is used in Indian cooking to help digestion, but be careful the supermarkets sell it but when you look at the ingredients they often add turmeric.

If you have an Indian grocery shop go there, it might be called hing or heeng.

Parsley is also supposed to be good but personally I can't stand it.

Dried Oregano I think is a good place to start, you could do something like a tray bake with chicken goujons and either sprinkle it all over or put the chicken in a bowl with it and a bit of oil to coat the chicken first.

It also works well in meatloaf (which I didn't say without the breadcrumbs / cornflakes produces a lot of fat that you need to pour away) and meatballs.

Can you eat bacon, if so wrap it around chicken, if not wrap ham round chicken.

Ginger powder might also be OK, ginger is used to treat nausea you can add it to meat, but it works surprisingly well added to mashed potato.

You mentioned yoghurt, you can use that as a basis for a dip. Raita is yoghurt with mint sauce added but you can also make it with finely chopped cucumber and guava.

I's also had it with salt added on chapatis which would be a change from your ham sandwich.

You mentioned wraps - there is a Mexican style thing I make, I use left over chilli but you could use the mince from a cottage pie or even cook some specially. Add seasoning and herbs.

You need the cooked mince and tortilla wraps, you can also add rice and grated cheese.

put some mixture of mince and anything else you are using in the middle in a sort of rough square, you don't need much, fold the sides in so you have a square parcel, put in an ovenproof dish with the fold underneath, continue making parcels.

Once the dish is full, or you have run out of ingredients bake for 15 - 20 mins (this is why the mince has to be pre cooked) Once cooked wither eat them now or let them cool, as they cool the fold seals itself, you now have a variation on a sandwich you can take to work.

They can be a bit dry so you could take some raita.

I'll be back later, I know I have a Persian recipe that makes a sauce from carrots.

One recipe idea I can give is tray bakes with e.g. thicken thighs, potatoes, peppers, olives, garlic, anchovies, any other veg you like... you can just use whatever you fancy.