Help with Substitutions

[thecuriousone]

Hello everyone-

A friend of mine has been put on a really restrictive diet by their physician. I'm not surprised by the restriction of grains, carbs, starch. I am kind of surprised by the vegetable restrictions. No artichokes, avocado, beets, carrots, chickpeas, corn , parsnips, peas, potatoes, pumpkin.

Does anyone have a flavorful stock recipe that does not include carrots? I originally though I could substitute or parsnips for the carrots, but they are on the forbidden list also.

Also, can anyone explain to me why beans are OK, but chickpeas (and I'm assuming lentils) arent?

Thanks

[Fat Guy]

You don't need to use any vegetables to make a great stock. You can just use meat and bones. The aromatic vegetables/mirepoix impart their flavors to the stock but are not necessary. Some chefs actually prefer a pure stock with no added flavors.

That being said, that diet sounds weird. I'd be interested to learn what diagnosis indicates a diet like that.

[Chris Amirault]

You've got two of the three basic mirepoix components still available (onion and celery). Play around with substitutions: I wonder if red bell pepper, for example, would be a non-lousy sub.

Actually, bell pepper probably is on the nix list, which seems to be "vegetables starting with A, B, C, and P." Maybe you can use favas? Jicama? Zucchini?

[Chris Hennes]

I almost always omit the carrots from my stocks: I don't care for the added sweetness in a general-purpose stock. So I'd say stocks are the least of your worries!

[SobaAddict70]

You've got two of the three basic mirepoix components still available (onion and celery). Play around with substitutions: I wonder if red bell pepper, for example, would be a non-lousy sub.

Actually, bell pepper probably is on the nix list, which seems to be "vegetables starting with A, B, C, and P." Maybe you can use favas? Jicama? Zucchini?

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It would take an awful lot of fava beans to use for stock for the quantities that he seems to be talking about (not to mention all the prep work which is not insignificant).

I would suggest mushrooms in place of the carrot. It'll have an earthier flavor profile. If you caramelize the onions first, that might help as well.

[David A. Goldfarb]

I like carrots in stock, but I would just leave them out. The red bell pepper sounds like a good substitute. Without something sweet to balance the celery, I'd leave out the celery as well.

Include the skins with the onions if you want a richer brown color (but not if you want a white stock), and they'll also contribute some flavor.

[dougal]

...

Also, can anyone explain to me why beans are OK, but chickpeas (and I'm assuming lentils) arent?

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... that diet sounds weird. I'd be interested to learn what diagnosis indicates a diet like that.

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It does sound like a very strange dietary regime indeed.

Before anyone could pass any informed comment on additions or substitutions, it really would be necessary to know something of what dietary components (as opposed to foodstuffs) were being restricted. Knowing something of the supposed health condition would be a requirement for consideration of what components ought to be restricted.

Sorry, not enough information given.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Some of those vegetables are high in beta carotene, which may contribute to lung cancer in smokers, but not in the quantities that can be obtained by eating carrots, beets, and pumpkin (as opposed to dietary supplements).

[PopsicleToze]

I'd just skip the carrots, too. IMHO -- onions are the main vegetable needed for good stocks.

On the diet -- there are some strange ones out there. My mother gave me a book on eating for your blood type. For Blood Type A, chickpeas are considered poison.

Rhonda

[jgm]

I didn't see onions on the list, so I am suggesting that a blend of different kinds of onions - white or yellow plus red plus leeks - might add some flavor dimension.

[TimmDavis]

I don't use celery at all in my stocks, end up bitter after long cooking IMO. I use carrot, leek, onion combo for mine.

[dianem]

That being said, that diet sounds weird. I'd be interested to learn what diagnosis indicates a diet like that.

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Could just be an allergen elimination diet. I tested allergic to a very peculiar set of vegetables too -- peas, spinach, eggplant, peppers, and some others -- and when I first got the results I was asked to avoid everything for a while.

Fortunately it turned out that there were only two or three foods that were really a problem for me, but without eliminating everything with a positive test and trying them one at a time, there was no way to tell which ones they were.

Diane

[Kajikit]

Before we could give you any useful suggestions we'd have to know WHY these particular items are on the forbidden list... or else what is actually permitted! What is the person trying to avoid? (if it was just low-carb, you could use a whole carrot in the stock for flavour and simply remove it from the finished product so that it wasn't eaten... but if they're needing to avoid say beta carotene, it would have transferred itself to the stock while it was cooking, so simple removal wouldn't do any good.)