What to eat with these allergies?

beckydavies92

My problems:
I am allergic to raw fruit and veg (I know, sounds weird, but it is definitely a thing!) so I have to cook all my fruit and veg. Mostly, I steam veg and just don't really eat fruit.
I have IBS, and I've found that avoiding carbs as much as possible helps. I try not to have any bread, and usually have brown rice, pasta or cous cous for one meal a day. I don't stick by it rigidly though - maybe twice a week I'll have a meal out or a friend cooks for me, and I don't want to be awkward because it isn't a strict thing.
My budget for food is about £20 a week - I'm a student, so I really don't have a lot of money.

So as a generalisation, my meals usually work out like this:
Breakfast - Yoghurt and two tablespoons of fruity granola, with a coffee (sweetener instead of sugar)
Lunch (at work, prepared the night before) - cous cous or brown pasta, usually with the leftover meat and veg the night before
Dinner - Some form of meat (I'm a student, so mostly its chicken because its so cheap) and a nice big pile of steamed veg.

Unfortunately, it really doesn't vary much, and I'm just getting bored!!

The main thing is the lunch at work - there is no microwave, so I have to have a cold meal. Avoiding bread means no sandwiches, and salads are tricky because of the raw part. Any ideas for how I can vary it?
Mostly I'm okay for dinner, I have so many herbs and spices I can change the way the meat is prepared and I'm fairly adventurous with trying different veg. BUT if anyone has any ideas for that, that would be amazing.

Sorry the post is so long! I know its difficult, but if anyone has any ideas I'd be really grateful Thanks in advance!!

Susieq_1994

I'm not really sure how to help, since I practically live off of sandwiches and raw veggies. ... But it just occurred to me that I once had this salad at a Russian restaurant that they simply called "winter salad". It was absolutely delicious, and it was made with cooked veggies like peas and a small amount of potato, boiled eggs, corn, and few other things that I can't remember. It would probably be a little carb heavy, though I'm not too sure how much, since I haven't had the thing in years. Maybe look up a recipe for it and see if you like it?

Also, eggs are awesome! You can make omelets and frittatas and egg muffins with all kinds of veggie/cheese/meat mix-ins, and they can be eaten cold as well as warm. Deli meats like turkey or roast beef wrapped around bits of cheese seems to be a popular low-carb lunch option as well, although I'd be too sad to eat it without bread.

I can't really think of anything else at the moment, but I hope this helps a bit!

jenilla1

You might want to research FODMAPS for your IBS issues. I USED TO have debilitating IBS for years until my doctor had me try an elimination diet. The things that trigger symptoms are different for everybody.

I'm only going to mention my triggers since you said that avoiding carbs seems to help. That's a potential clue. I wonder if it's ALL carbs, or just particular ones. Because we discovered that for me, eliminating gluten and casein (milk protein) completely cleared up my 10+ years of chronic symptoms (diarrhea, near-constant nausea, vomiting, pain, and blood tests revealed massive inflammation markers indicating strong immune response.)

This was before the gluten-free diet craze, and I'm not gluten free on a whim or for weight loss reasons. In fact, I didn't lose any weight going gluten free and wasn't trying to since being sick all the time had already put me on the low end of my healthy BMI, but I did drop a pant size once all the bloating went away. Took a few months to properly heal my gut and eliminate all the symptoms. It's been several years now and I still feel GREAT!

I'm not saying your problem is gluten related, just suggesting that you could research the FODMAPS (gluten containing foods are just one kind) to see if any of those things could be triggering your IBS.

Good luck!

BrookeGibbs1993

I have also recently been diagnosed with IBS and as a result have began following the above mentioned "FODMAP" diet and have had to completely eliminate gluten, meat, dairy, soy, sugar, acidic fruit, acidic vegetables and alcohol from my diet. Although this is a very limited diet, it has completely relieved me of the IBS symptoms.
How about trying a dairy free quiche or frittata? Mashed sweet potato and plain potato with herbs? Vegetable pizza made with a gluten free base? Sushi? Corn frittas?

auntstephie321

I've been doing lunch meat and cheese for lunch, no bread. Usually wrapped around an avocado, but I don't know if those bother you. Its the same thing every day but I don't mind it.