given new diet by doctor. come give me suggestions

[DONTtouchMUMSspecialJUICE]

ok.

need some quick easy meals i can make for myself and dc will eat.

i am now banned from

alcohol (yeah.. right, will still be having wine )
anything white bread family. i.e all bread family must be brown/wholemeal variety
pizza
sugar!!!!!!
caffiene.

must also increase my iron intake and have less chicken and more red meats.

dont have time for faffing around with potatoes... and tbh they are my downfall which causes me to pile on the pounds. have just shifted 8 stone. so rather keep it that way.

who knows any easy to do salad type side accompaniments to go with

steak
lamb, etc.

my friend made gorgeous basil leaves and lemon and balsamic was gorgeous. need more things like this.

chickpea salads are lovely

liver sauteed with garlic is lovely in a salad with lots of lemon juice and orange segments

dont like chickpeas.

i liver though.

always looking for new ways to cook it.

do you have a recipe for garlic liver salad with lemon. that sounds right up my street. and would get the iron uptake a good bashing.

Venison and beetroot are good for iron too. I stew venison just like beef or get steaks you can pan fry.
Go for rice-based salads instead of potato? Well done you on shedding 8st!

Just chopped up cucumber, tomato & red onion with some very very low fat vinaigrette dressing if you're allowed it is nice

Oh yes - venison is beautiful and really low in fat. Have you tried sweet potato instead of regular? Mashed with some half fat creme fraiche or just cut into chunks and baked with olive oil & some herbs. They go great with lamb & venison

the sweet potato with olive oil would be lovely with venison.. i like thast idea.

the rice with salads would be great as dc love rice.

any recipes you can think of?

already make venison stew. kids are not great with one pot cooking.

they're better with steaks and veg seperate iykwim.

they only 2 and 3yo. so although i dont cater to fussiness. it's just less of a battle if only 1-2 meals a week are cassarole/stew type.

we all looove soup though.

anyone think of any high iron soups would be fab?

Spinach soup is chock full of iron

What's the basis of your new diet? It sounds, from what you've written, as if it's low carb - which would rule rice out.

We have a 'big salad' meal once every week or fortnight, and I do:

Sliced, fried peppers (1 green, 1 red and 1 yello) - fry in a little olive oil till they're nicely charred and soft, then add a splash of wine vinegar. Lovely with chopped coriander and some fried onion as well.

Green beans and shallots. Cook green beans as normal, then drain. Chop 3 or 4 shallots finely and soften in olive oil, season with salt and black pepper. Then stir in the cooked beans and add some white wine vinegar. Cook for another 30 seconds or so, then put into a serving dish and allow to cool before you serve them - you want to serve them warm.

Sliced tomatoes, with sliced mozzarella and basil leaves, dressed with a little olive oil and lime or lemon juice and salt/black pepper

Coleslaw - finely sliced white cabbage, grated carrot, finely sliced onion or shallot, with either mayonnaise or dressed with vinaigrette.

sticking some lentils in with any soup recipe you like will up its iron content

i've to cut out yeasty carbs. got recurring thrush.

rice is fine (i think)

liking your ideas BIWI, will give them a bash.

spinach soup... is that basically ham stock with shed load of spinach and puree it up?

stick - never thought of that. would scotch broth lentils be as good? or red lentil types better ?

Ham, chicken or veg stock would work for spinach soup

I do 'chuck it in casserole' too - leeks, carrots, sweetcorn, mushrooms, broad beans, peas etc with some veg stock. If you can still eat some chicken brown some chicken quarters or thighs and pop them in to. Cook in a low heat oven or slow cooker for a couple of hours. Thicken with veg or chicken gravy granules

If you can eat wholewheat pasta chuck a handful of that in too.

hmmm - should i also be swapping normal pasta for wholewheat?

Oh god - all sympathies! I had this for a long time as well.

And I know you don't want to hear this, but you really will have to cut out the alcohol for a while!

Re rice, should probably also be brown rice if it's an anti-candida diet.

hi - not sure exactly what "scotch broth lentils" are but are they like pearl barley? Then that's got some iron in but not as good as lentils.

How about a nice lamb curry with lentils? That's one of my favourite things (perhaps a non-alcoholic beer to wash it down with would be allowed? Or perhaps that counts as yeasty.)

I do sympathise - I have a Dad on a very restrictive diet and it is a bit miserable, but on the positive side it does make you inventive. And slimmer, cos most naughty things aren't allowed and it's hard to binge on brown rice!!

Puy lentils in a balsamic vinegarette with red onion and goats cheese.

Congratulations on getting rid of all that weight. That's brilliant. You should be proud of yourself!

Sorry to hear about the thrush though. And am sorry to report that balsamic vinegar is probably too sugary for you on this diet. Here are some suggestions off the top of my head:

• steak with spinach salad (baby spinach leaves, a sprinkling of finely sliced red onion, red wine vinegar dressing)
• lamb with greek salad (ie tomatoes, olives, feta, cucumber - doesn;t need much of a dressing but you coulud try lemon and olive oil)

-lamb or felafel with middle-eastern type condiments, eg humous and/or baba ganoush. You could have this in a wholemeal pita bread with spinach, red onion, feta, tomato, chilli sauce, etc depending on what you like. Or just have it like a burger without the bun.

• burgers without the bun are actually delicious. You can add mushrooms / bacon / cheese to the salad options if you are starving.
• baked whole field mushrooms are surprisingly steak-like. You just dot them with butter and bake (line the pan with foil and pour the juice back on once they are ready). You can have them stuffed with spinach and cheese, or bacon, or anything really. They are great on the side of anything beefy.
• pork chops with blue cheese and walnut butter (get some softened unsalted butter, cream it together with softened blue cheese and chopped walnuts, then spoon it onto clingfilm and wrap into a cylinder. Then freeze and chop coins off it as and when you need it - you don't need loads). Any winter veg will be lovely with this.
• omelettes and frittatas can take loads of fillings. My favourite is chorizo, roast squash and feta. You can wilt some baby spinach in the pan before you put the eggs in for extra iron, or have it on the side.
• fish with herb butters and veg are always delicious, or you can just make a parcel in tin foil with olive oil, herbs, some tomatoes, etc. Serve with lots of veg if you don't want to get hungry. Or maybe have them after something else.
• really filling soups like lentil and bacon, carrot and coriander, or ribollita are lovely at this time of year too.

Lastly - to absorb iron you need vitamin C, so try to eat lots of fresh veg (fruit might have too much sugar in, but you'd need to check that). Iron absorption is hindered by tannins such as those in red wine and, sadly, tea, which may be partly why you've been warned off caffeine. If you haven't already, try redbush instead. You need to brew it for longer but once you're used to it it's delicious and very reviving.

Good luck!

Oh, sorry, just re-read your OP and realise you want salad ideas. My favourite is some variation on spinach, red onion, cheese (cheddar, parmesan shavings or blue - parmesan has most flavour so you need less of that), tomatoes, mushrooms, and ham (parma ham is nicer on the side, english style roast ham or bacon is good torn straight into the salad).

fantastic ideas , going to print this off and give them a bash.

thanks for balsamic warning.. i use it on loads of things

will have to swap to lemon dressings. which i like to, but have been told to cut sugar as much as possible, so swap it shall have to be. natural sugars are allowed from fruit, etc.

been told to add nuts.. cant really stand nuts though. only ones i like are chestnuts.

any recipes with chestnuts?

alcohol has been cut right back. just to one night a week (well.... i'll try), but was advised main thing about alcohol was to switch off beer and wine and gin might be ok.

i tend to drink chamomile and decaf tea. but mostly chamomile.

be aware of the sugar - it might be natural sugar, but it's still sugar ...

i've also to go for diabetes text on monday ... so might need to REALLY watch my sugars.

I had diabetes when pg then did low-carb for a while, which is where my ideas come from. I am in no way a nutritionist. But I am greedy, and found it surprisingly easy to live without sugar and carbs, once you get over the sadness of painting with only half a palette. Fingers crossed it won't come to this, but do beware of hidden sugars (anything ending in -ose eg fructose as in fruit but also lactose as found in milk though, oddly enough, in much smaller quantities in double cream and cheese, which are OK).

FYI my nutritionist when pg advised me that the bread with the lowest impact on blood sugar (though this may be banned because of yeast implications? I think it is wholemeal though) is soya and linseed. There are two main brands, one with added sugar and one without, so do look at them carefully. When I was monitoring blood sugar I found this to be much better than, eg, wholemeal or even porridge with normal, rather than unsweetened soya, milk.