Newby - Type 2 nut allergy

[2rs]

Hi, any recipe ideas - I'm allergic to peanuts & hazelnuts - been tested and have adrenaline pen. In theory I can eat walnuts and almonds, but often the 'safe' nuts are contaminated by the ones I am allergic to. My HbA1c results aren't reliable as my Dad had a trait (Riccarton) that means that the HbA1c test results will always be abnormal.

Anyway - I want to get involved and get myself fitter, thinner and get the family eating better too, but I struggle to get hubby away from meat and two veg.... I love pasta, rice, chicken and fish. I am wondering about Tom Kerridge's books as a go to, or would i be better to go with the DUK books?

thanks for your help and advice guys
2rs

 

[trophywench]

The things your body can't handle (apart from your allergies) are carbohydrates so it's very important to cut down as much as you can from fast acting carbs - ie sugar, rice, potatoes, highly refined wheat flour and anything containing it eg pastry and pasta. The meat is 100% fine and so are the veg though root veg and legumes have more than leaf veg. However, legume carbs are slower acting than those in root veg.

Fat is also OK generally though a large amount of saturated fat isn't healthy for anyone.

Some fruit is also high carb - usually the sweeter it is the more carb. Doesn't matter in what form we consume a carb, the body turns it all to glucose cos that's the fuel all 'animal' bodies' cells need to keep all bodily functions going. Berries have the least carb simply because of the high cellulose content in the skin and the seeds.

Really - a lot of the 'secret' is in portion control - in more recent years people generally are eating larger amounts of most things!

 

[Ivostas66]

I was officially diagnosed as having a nut allergy when I was 17 (went into anaphylactic shock and were it not for the doctors surgery being two streets from my parents house and him having the foresight to leg it around when my Mum described the symptoms, I wouldn't be here today). Anyway, ever since I have always cooked for myself rather than eating anything that is ready made - it was hydrogenated vegetable fat in a shop bought meal that I ate which nearly killed me (manufactured by the vegetarian wife of a Beatle). Laws regarding food labelling are better than they were, but still pretty awful, with manufacturers tending to write 'may contain...' on almost everything that they produce, just to cover their backs.

I would follow what trophywench has written above as it is really good advice.

I have a stock list of meals that I cook from scratch most days that I have gleaned from lots of different cook books and trial and error over the past 25 years (goodness is it that long!?) Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (his books 'Meat' and 'Fish' are excellent as is the 'River Cottage Year' and 'River Cottage Cookbook'). If your hubby likes meat and two veg, then this would be a great starting point as it tends to be traditional fayre such as bolognese, chilli, toad in the hole etc but with a twist. Nigel Slater ('The Kitchen Diaries', 'Tender') give you simple yet really tasty food. If you like Indian food then I cannot recommend Camelia Panjabi's '50 Great Curries of India' highly enough - in fact I am cooking her Ghost Alu Bakhara (Lamb with Plums) as I write this! She has some lovely fish curries.

Finally, don't be too scared about eating out. I know people with nut allergies who refuse to eat out for fear of not knowing what has gone into the food they are eating. That's their choice and if it makes them happy then so be it. Personally but as a foodie, the thought of not eating out upsets me. Restaurants have become much better at catering for 'nutters' over the past few years and most now guarantee that your food will be cooked individually in a separate area of the kitchen.

 

[rebrascora]

It sounds to me like your husband's preferences for food are more in line with what will suit your diabetes than your inclination to pasta and rice. Diabetes is an inability to metabolise carbohydrates effectively. Starchy carbs from bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and anything made from grains, particularly breakfast cereals and even otherwise healthy porridge will raise our BG as much (if not more) than simple sugars.
Many of us follow a low or very low carb way of eating to help manage our diabetes but because we are not getting the majority of our calories from carbs, we need to provide an alternative source of energy. Fat, which has been demonised by the medical profession for years, is actually the best source of that energy. It takes longer to digest than carbs so it keeps you fuller for longer and provides slow release energy. The research done 70 years ago which suggested that dietary fat caused Cardiovascular disease is now believed to be flawed and the low fat dietary advice that we have been bombarded with all our lives was based on that research. What's more, the rise in low fat foods as a result of that advice has lead to us eating more and more carbs because when you remove fat, the food doesn't taste good, so sugars and starches are added to make it taste better. Also, we don't feel full because there is so little fat in our diet, so we want to eat more as a result and we end up with an epidemic of diabetes and a population of increasing obesity. Eating low fat has not achieved a reduction in cardiovascular disease either, so maybe it is time we went back to the drawing board and stopped viewing fat as detrimental to our health.
I feel so much better for eating more fat and less carbs and in general I eat a lot less food now (usually just 2 meals a day) because I don't feel hungry anymore and my weight is stable at a healthy BMI. Eating more fat just feels right and it means that I don't feel deprived considering all the things like sweets and bread and cakes and biscuits that I have given up because I can enjoy a chunk of nice cheese whenever I feel like it and cream in my coffee on a morning and fatty meat like lamb chops or belly pork without feeling naughty. I use half a cup of olive oil to make a pan of ratatouille instead of just a tablespoon and it tastes gorgeous. I cook my vegetables like cabbage, leeks, kale and spinach in a little butter and have cauliflower smothered in cream cheese and then grated cheese instead of cheese sauce made with flour and milk.... both of which contain more carbs and it tastes better than regular cauliflower cheese. For me this Low carb, high fat way of eating is sustainable for the rest of my life because it is enjoyable, rather than try to stick to something which makes me feel deprived. I was a chocoholic and sugar addict before my diagnosis and would never have dreamed that I would manage not just to live without them but also without bread and pasta and potatoes particularly, but I rarely give them a thought these days because I have plenty of other nice things to eat.

 

[2rs]

Thanks for your prompt responses trophywench, Matt J& Rebrasora - lots of useful tips, hints and suggestions. However due to needing to lose weight, I want to stay away from 'actual' fat. I am Type 2, as my Dad became in his later life. I have added health issues which cause me immobility to a degree, but still work full-time (although right now I'm on a 12 week sabbatical - I work for the NHS but not a key worker). Dad progressed onto insulin as tablets weren't enough. No doubt I will end up on it, and then things will change again.

I am wondering whether to go back to Slimming World for some help, but I need to avoid sugar too, so perhaps should tailor something for myself. I will let you know how I start off. Thank you all - for now

 

[rebrascora]

Try not to focus so much on sugar but more the total carbohydrates. Your body will break down a slice of bread into glucose almost as quickly as a spoon of sugar.
Many people lose weight on a low carb diet. You can keep your fat intake lowish whilst you need to lose weight and your body will burn it's surplus stores and then gradually increase your fat intake as you approach your target weight.

Unfortunately Slimming World is often quite high carb with pasta and potatoes, so probably not ideal for a diabetic although some people do adapt it by cutting back on the higher carb items.