I"m Back! Results of Entrolab tests, NOT HAPPY

[Robin]

Hi Everyone!

Had a GREAT time in Maui. I am jet laged but I had to come on and ask for HELP! I only had one evening of the D and now I know why!

I received my lab test back from Entrolab and I am really not happy! I no longer can have chicken (NO CHICKEN SOUP!), pork, tuna, eggs, soy (Which I knew), dairy (Which I knew) and of course gluten (Which I also knew).

The night I got sick in Maui, I had a piece oh the most delicious Ahi tuna. Now I know why I had the D's all night!

So now I have a lot of questions! Where do I get my source of protein? I use to make chicken strips grilled and eat them all the time or hard boiled eggs (they were good source to travel with) and lots of Trader Joes tuna ( I could eat it right out of the can). My comfort food and I ate it ALL the time was chicken soup (thats bothering me the most) . These were easy for me to deal with. Now I have no clue as to what I can replace them with. I do eat beef jerky (home made). But I don't think I could eat that all the time.

The test stated I can have rice, oats, white potato, almonds and walnuts. However, because of the diverticulitis I can no longer tolerate eating whole nuts as a snack.

If ANYONE has ANY advice, suggestions or recipes, I would GREATLY appreciate them all!!!

I don't know if I am glad to find out about these results or not. The foods that I have always relied on are no longer in my reach! I do know that there is no better place than here to get All my questions answered!


Love Robin

[tex]

Hi Robin,

Welcome back. I'm sorry the test results were so harsh. Losing chicken, pork, and eggs is a real bummer. I would suggest trying turkey, (for soup and whatever else you can coax out of it), to replace the chicken, and try salmon, to see if that will give you a fish option, ( if not, there are a lot of other fish options). Bison and venison aren't the greatest rotation choices for beef in the world, but they would probably be safe. Lamb, mutton, cabrito, (kid goat), etc., would probably provide other options, and there's always wabbit. With rice and spuds and one or two meats, you should have it made. I live on pork and potatoes, most of the time, (I can eat a lot of other foods, I just don't particularly crave much variety).

At least you're ready to begin the rest of your life armed with some good solid facts to work with.



Love,
Tex

[Sheila]

So sorry about your new intolerances. I was shocked beyond belief when I got the results of my Entero lab results and just blatantly ignored some of it. Of course, it caught up with me and bit me in the butt big time.
I've been making butternut squash/apple soup from a recipe for winter soup from the magazine "Living Without". I love risotto and add asparagus, shrimp, zucchini etc to it to make a one dish meal.Pork tenderloin can be used in a lot of recipes that call for chicken. You are going to have to be pretty creative, for sure. Quinoa tabbouleh is a good snack or accompaniment to soup. I've learned to make chocolate coconut ice cream although the texture is like concrete, it tastes good once thawed out in the microwave. Can you eat turkey?
I'm sure the group will come up with lots of suggestions for you. I love to check out what other people are eating. I always something new to try out.
Sheila

[Lesley]

Robin, join the club! My results were even more restrictive than yours. I can't even do rice or corn. OR ANY POULTRY! I found that out when I reached for turkey to make soup (if you can tolerate it you can make an excellent soup! Almost replaces chicken) and later with duck.

I eat salmon, canned and fresh (tuna was my preference), white fish, shrimp, lamb, beef, rabbit for protein. I am not getting enough of that though. I know it.

I know exactly how you feel.

[Robin]

Thank you guys! Oh I forgot no corn either! I have a few other questions. Has anyone tried "Daiya Cheese" it is a non dairy cheese? Rice paper wraps are they ok to eat? The ingredients just say rice. Instead of corn tortillas does anyone know of a good rice tortilla, do they even exist? With regards to rabbit do I cook the same way as chicken? I can get all the venison I would want from a friend, I have never cooked with it (the couple of times I did eat it I didn't like it), so if anyone has a suggestion I would greatly appreciated it. Is there an egg substitute thats safe? Can we use just the yolk, I know the white is what I allergic to.

Thanks again,
Love Robin

[sarkin]

Look at you go, Robin! By the time I logged in with my condolences, you're already problem-solving. Good for you.

(Giant hugs of sympathy nonetheless... in some ways, my 'extra' intolerances were more derailing than the biggies, because I already knew the biggies.)

I think between Tex and Lesley and Sheila, you just got a lot of protein ideas. Maybe jumbo shrimp can replace eggs for your packable protein?

Nut milks and nut butters can be really useful, and nut milks are a breeze to make. I also make a nut 'cream' with soaked nuts that substitutes nicely for sour cream or half and half (depending how much water you add. It's one way to make a very creamy, DF soup, and I actually piped some herbed cashew cream from a pastry bag at Thanksgiving, to serve with smoked salmon fishcakes, and it was a smash hit. I like almond cream even better... but almonds were on my 'heartbreak' list from Enterolab.

Justin brand makes nut butters in individual packets, but they're sweetened more than I prefer. I just recently found the Artisana brand, both in jars and individual packets. They look really good, and Mary Beth spoke highly of them.

One can make 'nut cheese' from those nut creams, though I haven't done it. I fear that Daiya has soy, I'm afraid to look...

I hate to push you into potato chips, but that is one emergency food that you can get almost anywhere when the chips are down. You still have to read labels, because there are so many ridiculous flavors out there now. Utz Natural Lightly Salted is the package I'm currently working through (a little too quickly). There are some very high-end brands that are also good, and I like one in avocado oil particularly, but it's a lot more expensive, and harder to find.

A friend makes venison chili, from a part of the venison her hunter friend doesn't even like, and it's amazing. I don't know that I could eat a slab of the meat, but in the soup, it's terrific.

Gloria has recommended an egg replacer, I think it's from NRG - you'll definitely want to check ingredients in case I have misremembered that! I haven't retried eggs yet, but my guess is - no way to know whether we react to the yokes as well. The test is specific for the whites, but that doesn't mean we'd get a negative result if they had a test specific for the other components in the yoke. Sigh... Some members here have tolerated eggs 'in things' (as opposed to eating an omelet), and I am hoping that will be true for me, some time in the future. And for you, too.

Meantime, Dee recently posted a list of egg replacers, and it was really helpful. I think it depends on the recipe; in some situations, eggs are acting as a binder, and others, they have a leavening effect. And probably sometimes both. I will find you that post, and when I do, I'll bookmark it for myself! (But tomorrow - way behind!)

Welcome back - I'm so glad your vacation was great. And I'm kind of glad you weren't just starting to cope with these results before the trip, though I'm sorry you had a bad tuna encounter. And really WAY TO GO, taking these results on board. I was reeling when I got mine - you're already on the hunt for rice tortillas. BRAVO. (I have seen those - not sure where. I will look... and I have seen rice wrappers and noodles, etc., that are only rice, but haven't tried them. People have been saying good things about the Jovial brand of pasta recently, which is rice (but the package I saw at Fairway was Einkorn - a type of wheat - ACK!... must have been in the wrong aisle!).

Here's hoping this 'startling' news also gives you exactly what you need to accelerate your journey to health and healing,

Sara

[tex]

I'm not familiar with "Daiya Cheese" or "rice paper wraps", but I've used rice tortillas before, and they seem to be OK. I don't remember the brand, though - I found them at a local health food store. Polly may have a brand name, if she happens to notice this thread - I believe she uses them somewhat regularly.

I'll leave the rabbit cooking question to someone who actually knows what they're doing. Regarding venison, I always liked slicing the hams like round steak, and frying them. If all else fails, deep fried venison is always good.

Dee has some egg substitutes listed in the kitchen, but you're right - the yolks can be used, if your sensitivity to eggs is not so high that the albumen residues on the yolk cause you to react.

You're most welcome.

Love,
Tex

[Lesley]

Robin,
I am also not a venison lover, so it's not on my menu. I am going to try bison.

Rabbit - I cooked it with prunes, onions, carrots and potatoes. Get the rabbit cut up by the store you get it from. Salt, pepper and brown it on all sides; put it in a dutch oven; brown the carrots and onions; add to rabbit; add some white wine to the pan and some turkey stock if you are allowed it (I can't so I didn't) and boil it down to concentrate the flavors. Pour over rabbit. Add potatoes to the pot.
You can have rice, and it is great served with rice.
Simmer on LOW heat for about 1 1/2 hours. If the sauce needs thickening do it with arrowroot.

You can roast it, grill it and do all sorts of other recipes with it. Unlike chicken it has very little fat, and no skin to crisp , but it is a delicious, though expensive, meat

There is an egg substitute for baking. NOT for omlettes and hard boiled eggs. It's Ener G egg replacer. Like all the different types of flours it takes getting used to.

How do you know you are only sensitive to the white of the egg? The white is the more useful part for cooking unfortunately, unless you want to make a creamy custard, like for creme brulee, but if you are off dairy you won't be eating that any time soon.

Somewhere I posted the way I make the best turkey stock WITHOUT buying the whole turkey. I can get a solid jelly, so the stock is the richest you can get. If you can't find it, and want it, message me. I hope you can eat it. It enriches anything you cook!

I am still in mourning. I haven't completely come to terms with this yet. I am hoping that somewhere in the future I will be able to eat more foods.

Daiya cheese - I can't stand it. Things taste better without it IMO.

[tex]

How do you know you are only sensitive to the white of the egg?

Enterolab only tests for antibodies to egg albumen, because that is the egg protein to which most people are sensitive.

Tex

[draperygoddess]

Robin,

Sorry the results weren't more encouraging, but at least now you know! And if you know, you can stay well!

My MIL is the queen of cooking venison. I don't do nearly as well as she does, but she tells me the main thing is to remember that venison doesn't have nearly the fat content of beef, so it's easy to overcook it. I like it best when she serves it in some kind of sauce, like "beef" tips but with venison. You might also find that you prefer certain cuts. MIL does a great tenderloin with a nice marinade.

Sara, how do you make the nut cream that you sub for sour cream? I'm finding that is one of the more difficult ingredients to replace in my cooking.

[Robin]

I have been on this computer since I got my results this afternoon. I didn't even make dinner tonight, hehehe. I am very familiar with the nut butters. I have been using almond butter for along time, even before MC. I prefer the taste. I just bought some macadamian nut butter in Hawaii, OMG it is soooooooooo good.

Tex have you ever had venison jerky? How does that taste? I am not a big meat eater. I am how ever a huge fan of fish so I guess I know what i will be eating for a long while.

OK I have another question....Will I always have to be on this diet? Or if and when the inflammation decides to calm down will I be able to introduce these foods back in to my diet?

I feel like a newbie all over again. I have been dairy free, soy free and most glutens for such along time. I never even thought about the chicken and eggs I was eating. Now I have to retrain my thinking. This could be hard than it seems! LOL

LOVE YOU GUYS!!!! Thanks for all the great advice!
Robin

[tex]

Venison jerky is good. I'm not sure how to describe the taste, but I won't say that it tastes just like chicken. It tastes a little wilder than beef. It depends on which type of venison you're referring to. The most common is whitetail venison. If you don't like the taste of venison jerky, try elk, (it's still venison, but I'll refer to it as elk venison, so we can tell the difference) - anyway, it doesn't taste as wild as jerky made from whitetail venison. Mule deer venison also has much better flavor, (IMO), than whitetail venison. If red deer venison is available in your part of the world, (there are a lot of red deer farmers/ranchers in some areas - New Zealand is full of them, for example), it should be similar to elk, though even less wild-tasting. I've never tried it, but I would assume that bison jerky wouldn't be too far from the flavor of beef jerky.

OK I have another question....Will I always have to be on this diet? Or if and when the inflammation decides to calm down will I be able to introduce these foods back in to my diet?

Well, gluten will almost certainly be forever, and that is probably true of casein and soy, but yeast, eggs, and some of those "11 allergenic foods" in Panel "C", may not necessarily be chiseled in stone. My guess is that after you have been in stable remission for a few years, you will probably be able to eat many/most of those foods again, especially if you do it on a rotation basis, IOW, limit the frequency, and possibly the quantity. We're all different, though, so time will tell. I had to follow a very restrictive diet, for a long time, but I found that I could eat most of those foods, after healing for a few years.

Love,
Tex

[Gloria]

Robin,

I'm sorry about your additional food intolerances. It's usually a jolt to get the Enterolab test, even if we were looking forward to getting some answers.

I was never able to find rice tortillas that didn't have some other intolerance, like soy. Instead, I've been making my own tortillas for over a year. They are pretty easy with the proper equipment. I make them about twice a week. I posted a recipe in Dee's kitchen. I've been using non-stick aluminum foil lately and it works pretty well.

Gloria

[DebE13]

My husband just filled the freezer with venison and it definately makes a difference on how it's prepared. I've never cared for it because there can be a gamey taste. However, it can be blended with other meats, made into "bacon", brats, jerky,etc. I've found that using the slow cooker is one good option to make tender.

[brownie]

Robin,
Wow, what a shock but you seem to be taking it very well plus
you have the best help you could ever have to get you through this. Sure does challenge your creativity, doesn't it?
Brownie