Cooking for a friend with pancreatitis

[aprilmei]

Please help: a very dear friend is coming over for dinner on Sunday. She has pancreatitis and there's a lot she can't eat or it will make her debilitatingly ill.

She can't eat:

Gluten

Anything fermented - that includes wine, vinegar, fish sauce, soy sauce, cheese, chocolate (because aren't the cacao beans fermented? or am I mistaken?)

Dairy

She's off fruit at the moment because there's the small danger that it would be overripe which might make it ferment

These are real dietary restrictions, not imagined.

The only thing I could think of is a main course of prawn and chicken paella - everything in that seems fine.

But what else? I'm having an extremely difficult time thinking of other foods that fit into such strict parameters. I was thinking of soup (vegetables and a duck broth) as the starter, even though it doesn't really go with paella.

Can anyone think of a dessert without gluten, dairy, chocolate and fruit?

TIA

[Eden]

Don't panic! The first response in situations like this is to think of all the foods you can't serve, but really there are still lots of foods you can serve.

Paella or some other rice based dish is a great start. and covers your starch & protein. Potato & Corn dishes are also good options.

You can make an egg free aioli to serve over steamed veggies as a side or with crudites as a starter.

Just cook your veggies with olive oil & spices.

CocoLoco (or other 'cream of coconut" mixer but read the package) cut 50/50 with rice milk makes a fab ice-cream.

buy or make sesame halva.

peanut brittle

If you want to go explore baking options, get a package of gluten free flour mix if you can, or make it up yourself.

Then you can make a flax-seed goo to replace any eggs in your recipe, and go to town!

rice milk, almond milk & soymilk are your friends...

it takes a little more creativity, but really this is totally doable. A good friend has been living with a similarly restricted list for years now & eats very well.

ETA just read the ingredients list on EVERY item you plan to use!

Edited December 12, 2008 by Eden (log)

[rooftop1000]

for the dessert would something Passover Kosher work?..some cakes use potato starch right?

or a meringue ....something like floating island using soy or rice milk...vanilla is fermented too, so use artificial

even rice pudding I guess could be carefully made with rice milk or almond milk for more flavor

tracey

[Dr. Teeth]

What you are describing is not exactly a pancreatitis diet. You want to be careful to avoid foods high in fat mostly. I'd be very cautious with dessert. But I think you need to be a little clearer on what's going on.

[aprilmei]

Well, she does have pancreatitis. The doctors thought she had pancreatic cancer but thankfully, she does not.

She doesn't want to go on steroids that were recommended by the doctors so she's trying to control it through diet. She found out though hit-and-miss what she cannot eat - and it's a lot. When I went out for dinner with her once, she ordered grilled fish with ratatouille - which seems safe - and she got ill. We THINK it was because of the pesto brushed over the fish - just a small amount but it usually contains a little cheese so that's probably it. Perhaps there was some vinegar in the ratatouille. But we'll never know for sure.

Anyway, I thought of another dish I can make for her - bamboo clams sauteed in their shells with olive oil, a bit of garlic and fresh lemon juice. That would go well with the paella.

Dessert remains the difficult part of the meal.

[SuzySushi]

Meringues for dessert (egg whites & sugar). Can she eat nuts? Flavor them with a bit of chopped nuts or coconut.

But I agree it doesn't sound like a pancreatitis diet, which typically restricts fat.

[aprilmei]

She didn't say anything about olive oil but I'll use as little as possible.

[Heartsurgeon]

don't cook much...and it should be low/zero fat.

she won;t have much of an appetite, and eating small amounts of food is typically recommended.

make a flavorful broth and some jello and that should do it..seriously...

forget the olive oil, or any oil for that matter..it will make her sicker..

Edited December 27, 2008 by Heartsurgeon (log)