Need very low fat, high calorie/protein meal ideas. Bonus points if chicken is not included

[Clartzilla]

I'm on a very low fat diet due to a dicky gallbladder, but I don't have any weight to lose so what I do eat needs to pack in some calories.

I'm currently existing on a diet of chicken salads and bread and I'm soooo tired of 50 ways to use a chicken breast.

My gallbladder will not tolerate:

Oil of any kind over around a teaspoon a day
Butter
Most full fat dairy products (cries) - can tolerate a sprinkling of parmesan
All chocolate
Red meat or pork with any fat (cries again)
Oily fish
Olives

I have to try and keep under 3g of fat per 100g of food eaten.

I can eat:

0% Greek yoghurt
Chicken
White fish
Prawns
All the fruit veg and salad (apart from avocado)
Pulses
Potatoes with no butter/oil
All herbs and spices
Bread
Cous cous
Pasta
Rice

The jury is out on eggs - I think I can tolerate them in moderation on a day where I've had no other 'fat'

Not a fan of:

Soup (only like them with really buttery bread - but can't do butter)
Veg curries
Baked beans
Low fat cottage cheese - even Longley farm low fat CC is shite.

I'm a competent cook but I've run out of inspiration.

how about a Thai salad? rice noodles, ribboned carrot/cucumber, fresh herbs (I like mint) and a seasoning of fish sauce, lime juice and sugar. For protein grilled chicken breast or thigh fillets work well, but prawns are also great if you like it as an alternative. Chopped peanuts to boost calories and give it another layer, if the fat content is acceptable.

Add a scoop of protein powder to your 0% Greek yoghurt to increase your protein intake

Ratatouille, add canceling and kidney beans, a pinch of chilli and serve with brown rice.

Bolognaise but use turkey mince - it's not bad.

cod and ratatouille: dice an onion, aubergine, courgette and deseed and chop a couple of tomatoes. Crush garlic clove.
Soften onion (in water) add garlic and diced veg, cook down, season well with fresh herbs, s&p.
Grill cod with a little sprinkle of paprika.

Lean meat or fish with potato salad : cook new potatoes, add a dollop of yoghurt and a good handful of fresh chopped herbs inc mint and chives.

paella with chicken, prawns and green beans

marinade chicken or prawns in curry spice and yoghurt, grill and serve with salad and flat bread

koftas made with minced chicken and spices like paprika, in a flatbread with salad

fajitas

roasted mixed veg, topped with cajun fish or chicken

puy lentil salad with diced peppers and lots of herbs

egg and breadcrumb white fish chunks, airfry with a tiny spray of oil
seeve with home made roasted sweet potato wedges

quinoa, dried fruit, nuts (?) and herbs, stuffed in an acorn squash and baked

I have just discovered Skyr, fat free and more protein than low fat yoghurt and actually tastes nice. I have it with berries and nuts as a snack or dessert.

Bovine collagen is amazing stuff, much better than protein powder, tasteless and dissolves easily.

What about game meat? Non farmed meat is very low fat and more flavour than white fish or chicken. You can buy it online easily.

Stew type meals with rice, pasta or jacket potato can have a rich feel without butter or oil.

Can you have flour? Chinese pancakes with spring onions are really good. And okonomiyaki (but they're also very low fat)

Turkey burritos / wraps or burrito bowl:
Wholemeal wrap
Brown rice
0% greek yog
Taco beans
Turkey mince with fajita spices
Chopped fresh tomatoes/ fresh salsa
Cucumber slices
Lettuce

Kimchi fried rice?

Gochujang celeriac noodles www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/vegan/gochujang-roast-celeriac-noodle-bowls/

Maybe https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pork/chickpea-chard-pork/ ?

https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables/gnarly-celeriac-shawarma/ - maybe swap hummus out for your 0% greek yog?

Maybe try marinated tofu instead of chicken breast in one of those dishes?

You drain it, cut it into cubes or sticks, marinade in equal parts soy sauce, rice vinegar and mirin, then coat in breadcrumbs or cornflour and oven bake.

Pork tenderloin? May be worth a try for some variety! With Honey garlic sauce?

https://www.recipetineats.com/pork-tenderloin-with-honey-garlic-sauce/

if you don’t have an oil spray bottle it might be worth getting one so you can cook with much less oil without ruining pans!? I got one off Amazon years ago and use it all the time

We inherited an omelette maker. Minimal oil needed, just use egg whites? Add onion, pepper coriander for interest

The obvious thing seems to be sugar & carbs in general.

You could make smoothies with juice or skimmed milk (or coconut water) and add oats/yoghurt into them, plus a bit of maple syrup, caramel syrup or whatever you prefer. They'll be easier to consume if you aren't a big eater.

Nutritional yeast is supposed to taste similar to cheese, so you could use that on pasta.

Or you just have full sugar drinks/fruit juice and some sweets each day.

Ah sugar isn't ideal for gallbladder issues either, so whilst I do seem able to tolerate it I would rather be filling up on protein and veg.

To clarify I don't need to put weight on I just don't want to lose any which is pretty difficult on a low fat diet. My BMI is 23 and I start looking gaunt at anything less.

I'm looking for hearty meals with lots of flavour and ideally something that isn't a variation on chicken salad with a yoghurt and mint dressing or a chicken and salad sandwich.

Sadly had a spicy prawn and tomato linguine with a tiny amount of parmesan last night (delicious) and woke up in excruciating pain at 3am this morning, fainted twice from the pain and lay downstairs on the cool floor feeling like I was going to die and contemplating calling an ambulance this time (this is about my 18th attack in 4 months and I'm in a very long waiting list for surgery). It just makes you very nervous about eating and I'm someone who loves eating.

Turkey mince works really well with Thai flavours. You can make your own Thai curry paste without oil, mix it with the mince and form meatballs and oven bake. Serve with noodles and fresh veg with a rice vinegar and sugar dressing.

Sushi bowl: marinate prawns in poke sauce or ponsu. Cold cooked sushi rice mixed with sushi seasoning. You can put any veg, I tend to go with cucumber, carrot, edamame beans, spring onions and pickled ginger.

How do you get on with nuts?

I know you said no pork but what about boiled ham? With a salad or in a sandwich or wrap it around a leek and bake in a sauce, passata would work well.

Actually passata may well be the way to go, you can use it as a base for chilli (either just beans or with some lean mince) or bolognaise.

Stuffed cabbage, stuff with rice and lean meat, I usually then cover with passata (can you tell I like the stuff).

Fajitas.

You mentioned eggs, add some smoked salmon to scrambled egg.

Fishcakes? You can use different fish and add different spices / herbs.

Boiled sweets will add calories.

Fish kebabs.

Use your yoghurt with chicken to make chicken tikka, which you can then put on a kebab skewer to cook.

Can you manage tuna? Tuna and sweetcorn in a sandwich or on a baked potato.

You could also add pickles and chutneys to food for a bit of variety.

Try some offal, chicken livers, lamb's liver, kidneys etc.

I sometimes cook rice in a 50/50 orange juice and water. Sometimes I throw some smoked haddock in too.

Egg fried rice with lots of veg?

Griddle a selection of veg, courgettes, aubergine, onions.

You can stuff various veg, peppers, courgette, cucumber (it tastes different warm) onions, spring onions.

Some bean and pulse recipes? Mixed bean chilli, black bean enchiladas, lentil bolognese. If you're going mexican you'd need to avoid the sour cream and cheese parts but maybe some homemade salsa to avoid the oil part.

I know you had veg curry on the no list, but are you including daal in that list or is it the vegetable part you don't like? If you're searching online for recipes you could look for high protein vegan so you get chicken free options and avoid some of your high fat triggers.

Not on point but if you’re suffering that badly, I’d either call an ambulance during an attack or insist on being prioritised. It will be difficult to keep weight on as your diet is so restrictive.

You've got to be turning yellow before you get prioritised on the NHS. Even private has a 6 week waiting list for this surgery apparently.

Rang up a few weeks ago to see where I was on the NHS waiting list and got laughed at. The urgent waiting list is apparently 7 months and the non urgent list is 16 months.

Loads of great ideas here, maybe a thank you from the OP?

Three years waiting list here! However mine has thankfully stabilised since my last hospital admission with it in April and I’ve gone from where you were (which was rotten) to being able to eat what I like now, so I need to get a rescan at some point and see what’s going on in there as I don’t want it out if it’s now behaving! It’s a strange beast the gallbladder. I too spent a long time eating basically chicken and nothing else so I sympathise.

Seriously not cool to laugh at you when you’re in excruciating pain and asking about waiting lists !! Honestly, how did the bar get so low ?? Cross on your behalf.

meanwhile I’m afraid I have much more to contribute on the recipe ideas - other than more prawns and white fish, less chicken if you’re bored of it

Italian tuna and bean salad (tonno e fagioli) you don't need to use as much olive oil as the recipe says, could perhaps just do the lemon juice?

Avocadoes and nuts are high in calories, can you tolerate nuts or peanut butter? Strawberry and banana smoothies also high in calories.

I had to eat low fat for 6 months when waiting for my gallbladder operation, it is grim. I also stopped drinking alcohol. Unlike you, however, I lost not a single pound! My body absolutely adores being fat.

Sashimi? You can get sashimi grade salmon and tuna from plenty of fishmongers and online.

You can serve it with rice or just salad. Using White radish, cabbage, Spring onions, cucumber and carrots, maybe some seaweed? Plus Soy sauce and sesame seeds.

I like making baked white fish tray bake. I used peppers, onions, garlic, cherry toms, fennel, aubergine and courgette. Plus Olives and capers.

Cook those in the oven with some thyme and rosemary for about 30 mins then add fillets of white fish with a bit of oil and cook for another 15 mins.

Hmm yes shredded pheasant might be an alternative for pittas/salads - don't need to buy it online though I have a ready supply on my doorstep in the right season.

I cook a lot of stews for the rest of the family and sadly for them to taste right I feel they do need to have a bit of fat in them.

This would be so much easier if I didn't REALLY like fats and oils.

Although it's still chicken I can't believe I haven't done marinated chicken skewers yet!

On the list!

This thread has made me realise I'm not a huge fan of lots of chopped veg in sauce. I'll eat it but don't hugely enjoy it - my mum made lots of ratatouille / veg curries when I was a child and I don't have great associations with eating them so don't tend to cook them as an adult which perhaps explains why I'm finding this way of eating quite hard.