Hi! Fructose malabsorption, egg & treenut allergies, dairy protein sensitivity

[belfie]

So... I think my subject line probably sums up why I'm here

I'd never heard of a thermomix until about a year ago when someone on a different forum said, hey I think a TMX would be great for your family.  I think I thought it was some kind of fancy soup & yoghurt maker at that stage    Luckily, I know better now.

I must confess I've been a bit slow to come on in, I got my TMX last August.  As you can see, we have a wide range of dietary restrictions in our household.  I'm the fructose malabsorber (FM), my 3yo son has the allergies (not to mention fusssy toddlerism!) and my husband has the dairy intolerance.  We are also blessed with one small girl cherub (1yo) who has no food intolerances/malabsorptions/allergies (*touch wood*) and DELIGHTS in eating everything that she can lay her chubby little hands on.

In my very quick searches, I haven't seen many other folks in here with FM, and to be honest I'm quite surprised.  FM cuts out onion, wheat, plus a range of other veggies, coconut cream, honey, dried & concentrated fruits plus particular high fructose fruits (apple, pear etc) - so as you can imagine, TMX is surely a FMer's best friend.

I'm still working my way through a number of different recipes.  My initial first few months were somewhat frustrating due to my need to substitute in virtually every recipe did result in some rather inedible flops.  I've been stalking Quirky Cooking's blog and dealing with my own frustration at not being able to use all the yummy nut recipes!  I have the GF cookbook but again, ran into many issues with FM or nut restrictions. Soooo, trial & error is alive & well and I'm keen to start posting some questions & queries on the forum!

My goal in getting a TMX was to turn cooking from a constant source of frustration to a source of joy & delight. To challenge myself to overcome our obstacles & get back to finding enjoyment in cooking, and to give us more variety in what we eat.

I look forward to getting to know you all

Cheers,
Belfie

[judydawn]

Hi Belfie, welcome to the forum.  It must be so hard for all those who have intolerances of some sort and I take my hat off to you all for still being able to come up with suitable meals when you have so many restrictions.  I don't think I could cope if I was in that situation although I realise you have to find ways around it.  Life is so much easier for those who don't have these problems and I appreciate is so much more when I read a thread like yours.  Good luck with your conversions to keep the family happy and healthy. I do hope you have managed to find some recipes on here which are easily converted.

[Birdie]

Welcome to the forum Belfie. Well done in providing healthy meals for your family. I hope the forum and your TMX will make life easier for you and your joy of cooking will return. 

[cookie1]

Welcome Belfie. I admire you trying to overcome all the intolerances. Hopefully the TMX will be able to help you.
What sort of things are you able to use that will suit the entire family?

[achookwoman]

Welcome Belfie. I admire you trying to overcome all the intolerances. Hopefully the TMX will be able to help you.
What sort of things are you able to use that will suit the entire family?

Welcome to the Forum,  what a challenge!!  There are some wonderfully creative members here who may be able to help.  Looks like some veggies and protein may be OK. What we probably can help with is the technique of adapting your recipes to the TMX.  Let us know.

[CarolineW]

Welcome Belfie. My heart goes out to you - I know what a struggle I find it catering for our various allergies, intolerances and picky children and your situation sounds worse. I'm sure that thermie will make it much easier for you.

[Cornish Cream]

Welcome to the forum Belfie

[keiramax]

Welcome to the forum.  In my short time on the forum I've come across a wealth of information.  There is always someone who has a suggestion/answer to the curly cooking problems we face.  Enjoy the fun and creative ways the TM can help feed the family.

[ElleG]

Welcome Belfie. I admire you for your committent to everyone's dietary needs in your family. I know its not easy, but with time I am sure you will be able to cook a lot of foods with your thermomix.

I've followed links from Quirky Jo's blog and found quite a few other bloggers, who cook with strict restrictions. Worth a look.

[belfie]

thank you all so much for the warm welcome!

If you can suggest any particular blogs that might be good, I'd really appreciate it.

In terms of what sorts of things I can do... many standard meals can be made without onion - I often substitute a bit of celery or capsicum for texture & flavour.  Some meals can cope better without onion/onion family than others can, so I go with my gut feel as to whether there's enough to give it flavour.  I use standard GF products for pasta etc.  We do a lot of tomato based cooking, as coconut cream/milk is out for me, and dairy no go for hubby - so trying to find more creative alternatives is something I'm keen to do. Doing TMX risotto using veggie stock paste & verjuice has been giving us some great flavours (& variety!), but I'd love other ideas!

Where I would like a few more ideas is dips - finding something egg, nut & dairy free is challenging!   Hommus, hommus & more hommus?  I've bought a beautiful dairy-free smoked trout mousse (but contains mayo), but I can't work out how I could make it... hmm, maybe I need to try egg-free mayo?  The only trout dip recipes i've seen are very dairy-heavy .

Also portable meals, lunchbox, snack ideas.  I personally love eggs and I miss them to bits, I also miss making "slices" such as zucchini slice.  I'm just trying the high-fibre muffins in the GF book today - sub'd seeds instead of walnut, and mix of chia seed gel & egg replacer for the eggs (hubby doesn't get to eat these ones cos I think they really need the dairy!)

I toy with whether blogging would be a good idea... if we get other FM TMXers.. but not sure if I have the time currently. So that little idea is just simmering in the background for now.  

Love to hear any suggestions/thoughts/ideas
TIA
Belfie

[achookwoman]

How about the KFC spice mix?  You could sub. The buttermilk with Tofu zapped with rice milk or soy milk.  Can mix spices with potato flour or cornflour.  Also poaching in various flavoured tomato juice in Varoma. 

[Wonder]

My favourite dip is babaganoush from this site but not sure if you are able to to have the tahini paste.

[dede]

Wow what a challenge you have I front of you. Would be great to have some of your converted recipes on the forum for others who need to avoid similar foods as your family. It certainly would be frustrating at times going through recipes and saying no cant do this, and no cant do that.
  I can't help you much with these issues as all my family have no allergies or intolerances (except broad beans and Brussels spouts 😝) lol.

[judydawn]

Brazen has a GF blog here.
Quirky Jo's blog has dairy free recipes & substitutes.
Can you do anything to this recipe to make it suitable?

[Cuilidh]

Have a look at theveggietable blog - they have quite a variety of useful recipes which may be good for you to try.  I use quite a few of them - we don't have nearly as many food problems as you, I'm vegetarian and my husband is lactose intolerant - it can be frustrating, but I usually end up with something edible.  there will be vegan sites and blogs around too that may help.