organic, no refined foods, no hormones, no transfats, no soy - anyone else?

mgfit1

I am on a restricted diet due to breast cancer.  I can only eat organic, can't have any mainstreamed meats/dairy (because of hormones - only organic/hormone free), no soy/soybean oil, no white rice, no white flour and no sugar.  It is really hard eating this way.  Is anyone else on a similar diet???  I can't buy bread, bagels, crackers, chips - anything packaged for the most part because it all contains soybean oil/transfats (sunflower, safflower, corn oils).   I also can't have any BPA due to the hormonal effects....that means no canned foods for the most part too unless they are labeled BPA free. The only things I really use canned are tomatoes and beans.  I am in the process of looking for BPA free canned tomatoes or planning to can my own organic tomatoes this summer.   Ugh!  I started a cooking blog based on what I can eat with good, healthy recipes but I can't find many resources for a similar diet.  Just curious if anyone else is on any type of similar diet so we can share food ideas. 

magdusia

first of all, I'm really sorry you're going through this.

Have you tried a vegan raw diet?  Here is my favorite link that i recently discovered and i am addicted.  I found so many recipes that i can use for myself and my son.  she has so many yummy raw recipes. Raw means, nothing is processed or cooked/baked and everything is fresh and organic.  Many people can by 50%/50% or 80/20.. you can choose how much raw you want to go. https://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/

She does use soy in some products, but some can be easily substituted. 

I know a lot of people avoid tofu b/c of what they add to it now-a-days, but have you tried Seitan or Tempeh -it's made from soy but it's not processed (i think) or it's free of what ever they put in soy that causes issues.  I would look into it at least.

hope that helps, even if it's a little.

definitely look into doing a raw diet.  Go to youtube and search by "vegan raw diet " or "raw diet" and see what people say about it -it may just be your healthy future.

good luck

 

carlinlp

My husband and I are on a very similar diet. I'll post more after I fix my little dude some lunch....

carlinlp

Ok, nap time, whew!

First, I am so very sorry you are going through this and I wish you tons of good health in the future!  Are you going through treatment now?

My dh and I are on a similar nutrition plan.  We both had some medical issues we wanted/needed to heal from and it truly has been life changing for us.  We are presently avoiding:  gluten, all grains (except wild brown rice, adzuki beans, quinoa and basmati rice), red meats (we eat organic hormone free chicken, turkey and some types of fish only), dairy, corn, starches and carbs like potatoes, everything processed, no dyes, no preservatives, nothing artificial.  I avoided all fruit and nuts for 6 weeks but just added them back in for small amounts each day.  We were allowed tomato, lemon and lime though.  No soy, no vinegars (except apple cider vinegar).  We do eat eggs although my dd is allergic to them so never with a family meal that we all eat together.  We don't eat anything packaged, everything has to be in its natural state (like we can't eat rice pasta, it has to be organic rice, etc.)  We eat the majority of our diet raw when it comes to veggies.  We also take protein shakes.  We take some by herbalogica but my oldest DS, who is not on this nutrition plan loves Total Vegan by Numedica (and he's a very picky teenager if that says anything lol).  Yeah, so we basically eat low glycemic index veggies, a limited amount of fruit and poultry/fish only.

I will say it has been one of the hardest things we've done but the health benefits, even in just 6 short weeks have been immeasurable.  We have both done so much healing and both of our medical issues are either gone or significantly diminished.  For us it was all about breaking food habits, avoiding food triggers and creating new eating habits.   I've had to learn quick meals on the fly bc we are a family of 5, my dh and I are on this plan, 2 of my 3 have varying allergies/sensitivities and my oldest is pretty picky.  It gets challenging for sure but after a few weeks it got MUCH easier as we got into the groove and I got a few fast and easy meals under my belt that I could fix on the fly. 

As for our favorites, I love salads with all different types of veggies.  The Annies Lemon and Chive dressing is the only one that is approved by our nutritionist and it's very good.  We always have cut up veggies.  I usually cook a big pot of rice at the beginning of the week so we have it for a few days to add to soups, with chicken or as a side with salads.  If I'm in a big hurry I'll take a cup of rice and throw in a spoonful of fresh organic salsa and call it lunch.  I slow cook a bunch of chicken breasts with either either organic fresh salsa or pico or I do lemon and tons of garlic.  I then save several chicken breasts for meals and shred / cup up the rest in chunks for various other meals.  I cut up veggies, zucchini, peppers, onions, garlic, spinach for varies meals and to throw in with some eggs for a veggie omelet.  We also make a lot of soups with carrots, celery, low sodium vegetable broth (organic), garlic, onions, chicken, wild brown rice, etc.  My kids also love broccoli soup, carrot soup, celery soup.  We also love stuffed zucchini and stuffed avacado.  For a salty and crunchy snack we fix kale chips.

I hope this gives you a few ideas and please know, you are not alone.  This was a huge change for us and very overwhelming but we've seen tremendous benefits in our health.  I try to find recipes that are close to what we can have and then alter them.  Lots of vegetarian and vegan sites have great meal plans and ideas.  

I pin a lot of the ones I find on my pinterest boards.  Not all of them I post are friendly to what we are doing, some are geared towards my children and their specific allergies, but you can check them out if you want.  Here and a few here but most of this we don't eat anymore.

nickcrazy16

carlinlp:

Ok, nap time, whew!

First, I am so very sorry you are going through this and I wish you tons of good health in the future!  Are you going through treatment now?

My dh and I are on a similar nutrition plan.  We both had some medical issues we wanted/needed to heal from and it truly has been life changing for us.  We are presently avoiding:  gluten, all grains (except wild brown rice, adzuki beans, quinoa and basmati rice), red meats (we eat organic hormone free chicken, turkey and some types of fish only), dairy, corn, starches and carbs like potatoes, everything processed, no dyes, no preservatives, nothing artificial.  I avoided all fruit and nuts for 6 weeks but just added them back in for small amounts each day.  We were allowed tomato, lemon and lime though.  No soy, no vinegars (except apple cider vinegar).  We do eat eggs although my dd is allergic to them so never with a family meal that we all eat together.  We don't eat anything packaged, everything has to be in its natural state (like we can't eat rice pasta, it has to be organic rice, etc.)  We eat the majority of our diet raw when it comes to veggies.  We also take protein shakes.  We take some by herbalogica but my oldest DS, who is not on this nutrition plan loves Total Vegan by Numedica (and he's a very picky teenager if that says anything lol).  Yeah, so we basically eat low glycemic index veggies, a limited amount of fruit and poultry/fish only.

I will say it has been one of the hardest things we've done but the health benefits, even in just 6 short weeks have been immeasurable.  We have both done so much healing and both of our medical issues are either gone or significantly diminished.  For us it was all about breaking food habits, avoiding food triggers and creating new eating habits.   I've had to learn quick meals on the fly bc we are a family of 5, my dh and I are on this plan, 2 of my 3 have varying allergies/sensitivities and my oldest is pretty picky.  It gets challenging for sure but after a few weeks it got MUCH easier as we got into the groove and I got a few fast and easy meals under my belt that I could fix on the fly. 

As for our favorites, I love salads with all different types of veggies.  The Annies Lemon and Chive dressing is the only one that is approved by our nutritionist and it's very good.  We always have cut up veggies.  I usually cook a big pot of rice at the beginning of the week so we have it for a few days to add to soups, with chicken or as a side with salads.  If I'm in a big hurry I'll take a cup of rice and throw in a spoonful of fresh organic salsa and call it lunch.  I slow cook a bunch of chicken breasts with either either organic fresh salsa or pico or I do lemon and tons of garlic.  I then save several chicken breasts for meals and shred / cup up the rest in chunks for various other meals.  I cut up veggies, zucchini, peppers, onions, garlic, spinach for varies meals and to throw in with some eggs for a veggie omelet.  We also make a lot of soups with carrots, celery, low sodium vegetable broth (organic), garlic, onions, chicken, wild brown rice, etc.  My kids also love broccoli soup, carrot soup, celery soup.  We also love stuffed zucchini and stuffed avacado.  For a salty and crunchy snack we fix kale chips.

I hope this gives you a few ideas and please know, you are not alone.  This was a huge change for us and very overwhelming but we've seen tremendous benefits in our health.  I try to find recipes that are close to what we can have and then alter them.  Lots of vegetarian and vegan sites have great meal plans and ideas.  

I pin a lot of the ones I find on my pinterest boards.  Not all of them I post are friendly to what we are doing, some are geared towards my children and their specific allergies, but you can check them out if you want.  Here and a few here but most of this we don't eat anymore.

You have me obsesed looking through all your yummy recipes! I discorvered DS has a dairy allergy a couple weeks ago but i think he may be sensitive to something else too because although I dont eat anything with dairy in it(im careful to read labels) he still acts fussy and gassy some days.:( a LC suggested i start eating as 'clean' as possible and its been challenging. I only eat fish but im thinking about reintroducing chicken after 3 years although im a bit scared of how my and LO's body will react to it.

mgfit1

Thanks for the information.  I am getting a groove with it because I was off on short term disability during chemo.  I go back to work next week...packing food is a pain for me as I am a sales rep and am on the road all day.  I have no access to kitchen to heat anything so I have to pack a cooler or use a thermus and eat in my car.  That sounds like fun......Oh well.  It beats eating crap food at restaurants every day.  I have been baking everything from scratch....bread, low sugar black bean brownies (for a treat!), whole grain banana muffins, etc......  Once I am back to work it will be hard to have time for all of this.  I can't even find bread I can eat!  Something so simple......I guess I really have to plan even more than I normally do. I usually make up pots of soup and freeze it so I can pull it out for lunch.  I also like to make up extra hormone free/organic chicken in the week and use it for sandwiches, with veggies, over rice, etc.  I do the same with rice and veggies. 

So to answer your question, I finished chemo 3 weeks ago.  I go back to work next week for a few weeks then I am out for my next surgery for a month.  I started all of this with a diagnosis in December.  It has been a long 6 months for us.