Need ideas for boring diet

[ina]

My stomach had been playing up for the last months - partly due to stress, partly due to binging on the wrong foods (to relieve the stress.... ).

So I've been reading all my books on healthy living etc again, and come up with an eating regime that's brought my tummy back in order. However, the problem is that meals are getting a bit boring. So maybe somebody here has an inspirational idea to make food a bit more interesting?

To descrive it briefly:
I've cut out completely sugar, wheat, vinegar, citrus fruit, any "white" cereals.
I want to re-introduce slowly sweet fruit (like bananas), nuts, maize, barley and other cereals, cheese.
At the moment I eat a lot of yoghurt, brown rice, porridge, salad, cooked veg, plus eggs and tofu, with some oil and seeds. An additional problem is that I don't mix protein and carbohydrates in one meal - seems the digestive system can cope better if it gets only one thing at a time. And I'm a veggie, anyway. Now, is that a challenge to all you recipe contributors out there? I'm so fed up with salad and boiled eggs; stir fry with tofu (but no rice), or stir fry with rice (but no tofu)!

However, the diet really seems to work. I feel great, no stomach pains / heartburn / being sick. Looks like I've saved the NHS some money here. Don't ask me about Christmas, though.

Ina

[Andy Hamilton]

You tried some simple things like roasting beetroot? Also braised fennel is a good one it tastes kind of meaty.http://www.selfsufficientish.com/fennel.htm - on that page is the recipe.

I heard that potato's are good for the digestion, I think for bloatedness or something. We had some poenta balls made with wild mushrooms last week, well nice - you could try that?

[wulf]

Roasting and baking are great ways of cooking veg. For example, I often throw carrots in with roast potatoes. I leave them whole or chopped into large chunks (at least as large as the potatoes, if not bigger) and they come out gorgeously sweet and tender.

Another approach is to stick one or more types of vegetables into a foil envelope along with some seasoning, a bit of liquid and maybe a little fat. Leave them in while you're roasting other stuff and then take out, slash the bag with a knife to release a dramatic cloud of steam and serve. Because it's a sealed environment, you're keeping a lot of the goodness in and you get tender veg and a complementary sauce into the bargain.

Wulf

[greenbean]

I whole-heartedly agree with wulfs sealed veggie parcels. yum yum.
Ina, have you tried taking aloe vera gel to settle your stomach complaint? You drink a small amount twice a day. If you'd like more info let me know. Pam. x

[ina]

Thanks for your ideas - I've never had veggie parcels yet, so I'll give that a go. And roasted beetroot is new to me, too! I usually have them as salad, but I'll try that with the ones I bought yesterday. Haven't seen any fennel around lately (that's the disadvantage of not buying in supermarkets...), but I'm sure that it would be quite good. After all, fennel belongs to the same family as aniseed and caraway, and they are both good for the digestive system.

Aloe vera I've only used externally so far, and must say it didn't do too much for me. Found the gel a bit sticky on the skin. Internally I suppose that wouldn't matter - I'm sure it's a different product, though! Yes, Pam, I'd appreciate it if you could send me some details.

By the way, I feel great, physically, on this very restricted diet! No cravings for sweets or (worse with me) pounds of cheese. And it's cheap, too...

Cheers
Ina