To ask for low fat meal ideas for pancreatitis?

[Rushhomeroad]

I've recently had pancreatitis and now need to follow a very low fat diet for the foreseeable. I'm using the NHS diet list that identifies meats/carbs/veg I can have, but doesn't suggest actual meals.
Food is now so difficult - going out for a meal with friends, family meals, working away and eating out - all increasingly depressing as food is so central to everything.
There are pancreatitis cookbooks on amazon, but all self/independently published and no author bios, so reluctant to buy them.
I'm obviously very relieved to be out of hospital and to have survived, but am I unreasonable to ask for suggestions of meals that are very low fat?
I've been eating home made soup, grilled chicken, raw/boiled/dry roasted veg, plain fish, jacket potatoes (what can I put on them??), tomato based pasta etc, but it's all getting so repetitive and dull. Most of the labelled 'low fat' options are still too high - ideally needs to be less that 2% fat.
Anyone have any suggestions? Please?

Roast chicken, skin removed

cook mince then sieve it to drain it

Prawns.

Vegetarian food

Rosemary Conley has produced lots of low fat recipes.

Here's a mushroom and tomato sauce that can be used to serve with pasta/chicken/lean pork fillet/prawns

1 chopped onion
1 clove of garlic crushed
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1 tin chopped tomato
pinch of dried oregano
pinch of dried mixed herbs

Cook onion and garlic together, add tomato puree, then add chopped tomato, add herbs. Cook for 15 mins.

Ask your consultant to refer you to a dietitian. They will understand your condition, assess your dietary intake and advise you on sensible changes with practical/realistic advice. It sounds like you've had acute pancreatitis for which a low fat diet is necessary to help lower your triglyceride levels which will in turn help reduce your risk of another acute episode. If you have chronic pancreatitis the dietary advice may be different but both require support from a specialist dietitian. They will help you find suitable foods that you enjoy and help support you to understand how the diet can affect your condition; answer any questions and provide reassurance. Please don't struggle on your own, there is help out there.
Hope you're feeling better after being unwell.

@ToffeeNotCoffee Where are the mushrooms?!

@Rushhomeroad Are you using spices and seasonings? This is really nice on chicken - just rub a teaspoon all over the chicken breast before you grill it (tiny bit of olive oil helps but not essential). The Fajita one they do is good too.
bart.co.uk/products/chicken-seasoning

I second the advice to see a dietician; they recognise that its important you stick to your diet, and they are very good at working out how to help you do that.

You don't have to eat dry veg or spuds, Google 'fat free gravy', there are several recipes you can play around with including using Bovril or Vecon for flavour.
www.brandnewvegan.com/recipes/vegan-gravy

Thank you. I've only found 5% fat mince so have been too scared to try it tbh. Chicken is a staple, but getting a little dull!

My mum suggested rosemary connelly! We had a calorie counter (foods had star values) about 30 years ago.... might have a look if it's still available!

Thank you! I am having an ultrasound next week to see if things are returning to normal. It was acute pancreatitis caused by a gall stone stuck in the bile duct. My liver also got upset and I was also jaundiced. I'll ask for a referral to the dietician - I wonder what the waiting list is like?

Do you like tofu? You can make it yourself by warming a carton of soya milk, add about 3 tablespoons of lemon or lime juice and some grated ginger, minced spring onion, black pepper and salt, and strain through a cloth. Press it into blocks, and marinate in teryaki sauce with some orange essence. Slice and grill, serve with braised seasoned vegetables.

Ooh, thanks! Everything seems so bland at the moment 🙁

Are you on Facebook as there's an excellent group called Pancreatitis pals. I found the nhs advice didn't work for me as you can eat meat and diary. For me, I had to go vegan after pancreatitis (I'm not anymore).

Essentially I had a low fat vegan diet for a almost a year. I had...

Pasta
Jacket potatoes and beans
Beans on toast
Jelly
I'd make pizzas without cheese just sauce and veggies
Soups

Actually quite a lot of carbs!

I will say that it gets better for a lot of people. Its horrendous being in hospital with it. But I definitely recommend finding a group of people who have experienced the same! It can feel lonely and a lot of people don't get it!

Slimming world recipes tend to be fat free / v low fat and there's millions of free resources to explore.

Have never even thought of this! Thank you, that's a great suggestion. I like vegetarian and vegan food, so that's a definite possibility 😊

A whole foods plant based diet (WFPB, Starch Solution, or high carb low fat) is easy to follow and there are lots of simple recipes which you can eat until you are full rather than calorie counting. Just google them.

Vegetables, lean meat & fish.
Pasta and rice.
I made an easy microwave chicken risotto yesterday from good food magazine using pasata and chicken stock. Just don't add cheese.
You can use wine or water as an alternative to oil in a non-stick pan when cooking onions or softening other veg at the start of recipes - it opens up a lot of cuisines.

In that case you might have more luck looking at vegan recipes, they make good use of spices and flavourings because without them the diet is pretty bland. Nutritional yeast flakes have a pleasant nutty, cheesy flavour and you can use them with potatoes.
Smoked paprika is a really useful spice of you aren't allowed to eat bacon.

That's great, thank you! I am finding that carbs are increasing in my diet too!
I often eat vegetarian and vegan options, so if I need to cut out meat, I think that would be OK. I'm just finding it easier to have separate protein/carb/veg as it is difficult to cook the same for my DH and DC.

Ooh, will have a Google 😊

Have been using water to soften onion - not allowed alcohol either 😔
I've not thought of risotto - we could all eat that and the kids could have the cheese. Thank you!

Ooh, what else can you do with nutritional yeast? Off to Google that now too!

@Rushhomeroad
Thank you! I am having an ultrasound next week to see if things are returning to normal. It was acute pancreatitis caused by a gall stone stuck in the bile duct. My liver also got upset and I was also jaundiced. I'll ask for a referral to the dietician - I wonder what the waiting list is like?

So the cause of your pancreatitis was a gall stone and not raised triglycerides so please disregard what I said about that. However it is still worth you asking to see a dietitian. Waiting lists can several months but the sooner you get on a list the sooner you'll be seen.

you could use turkey mince or 5% beef/pork mince to make meatballs with the addition of some breadcrumbs and some skimmed milk or water. poach them in the sauce and they will be very tender.

Also you can make sauces with stock thickened with cornflour.

Cauliflower (when cooked and blended) makes a very silky sauce/soup that you can then flavour e.g. mustard sauce with pork tenderloin medallions. Use this as a base (use less oil) and then flavour with mustard, or nutritional yeast and parmesan (a little goes a very long way flavour-wise) for a cheesy sauce.

Cook mushrooms in lea and perrins, add a beef stock cube and some cornflour to thicken and serve with turkey/chicken sausages.

Poach chicken breasts in stock so it's beautifully moist and you can have slices in salads or shred it and mix with sweet chilli or barbecue sauces for pulled chicken sandwiches.

Vietnamese noodle salads with nuoc cham sauce - nice and vibrant and no oil.

Make friends with spice rubs - cajun, zaatar, smoked paprika, smoky barbecue, nando's seasoning! and use them on lean meat - chicken breast, turkey escalopes, pork tenderloin, pork loin (fat removed).

Beef skirt is very low in fat but makes a delicious stew. brown in minimal oil, then add chopped onion, dried thyme, tomato puree, beef stock, red wine and simmer for a few hours in the slow cooker and then thicken.

Rice based dishes like paella, or biryani made with low fat protein like prawns and veggies.

I added some links but they've disappeared! They were the Everyday Meatballs and Cauliflower soup on the website Smitten Kitchen if you want to google them.

Thanks! Lots of great ideas to look at!