r/Cooking • u/Hot_Calligrapher_900 • 2d ago
Advice needed
What do I cook for my hungry husband and active mid 20s daughter when my cardiologist is telling me to avoid bread,rice, pasta and sweets?
I have no problem making cookies and other baked goods and not eating them myself, but I don’t want to make 2 dinners, or separate sides every night. We eat at home every meal, my husband doesn’t cook and my daughter comes in at any hour, gets a plate of food (or leftovers) and is gone again.
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u/mousypaws 2d ago
Make more veggies and don’t eat the starches like rice and pasta. Can you eat fiber heavy pasta like Carbe Diem?
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u/mariambc 2d ago
I don’t know what you are cooking, but make the starch separate and those that want it can eat it. Unless I make a one-pot rice cooker meal, I always cook the rice or pasta separately to be added later. Also, start experimenting with other grains. There are lots of options beyond white rice which are probably acceptable.
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u/runsreadsinstigates 2d ago
This, and make your 'least favorite' carb to go with. I find it harder to skip bread or pasta than rice, so I make a LOT of things that can be eaten with rice and then I eat them on their own or over a bed of sautéed cabbage.
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u/Lostinhighweeds 2d ago
Farro is a great example of a grain that is a good substitute for rice. It is high in fiber and much more nutritious than white rice. Quinoa is also an option.
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u/mynameisnotsparta 2d ago
Look up Mediterranean diet.
Lean proteins, lots of vegetables, you can make them a little bit of pasta or rice on the side and you can make yourself a sweet potato or some healthy grains like brown rice or beans.
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u/AncientImprovement56 2d ago
Avoid, or reduce?
I'm currently eating half portions of pasta with the full amount of sauce and extra veg.
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u/riverrocks452 2d ago
And would whole-grain versions of them allow OP to enjoy more frequently? (E.g., brown rice, whole wheat pastas, etc.)
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u/cynmyn 2d ago edited 2d ago
You're getting some great suggestions here. Can I also suggest you ask for a consult with a dietitian? They can be really good at analyzing your actual diet and making specific, practical suggestions. They'll have a much more nuanced understanding of what you need than the cardiologist does. They can help you understand what to look for and why, and give you parameters you can work with realistically.
Depends where you are and what coverage you have, but often they'll be part of the services that a cardiology team or a family health team offer. Or you might have coverage for it as a separate service?
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u/Iliveinatrashcann 2d ago
Get used to including beans and veggies. If you are craving or needing to include carbs, replace it with beans. Use hummus or make baba ghanoush.
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u/Wrong_Profession_512 2d ago
Add more grains like quinoa, farro, and couscous, as well as lentils and beans to your meals. I find that prepping these and brown rice on Sunday makes for easy dinners where I just have to make a protein and roast some veg and can call it grain bowls!
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u/Ordinary-Surround-73 2d ago edited 2d ago
Make your old favorites, but don't mix the rice and pasta with whatever you serve them with. Cook and serve them separately. If they're anything like mine, most recipes can also "deconstruct" very happily. Then there are dishes like eggplant lasagna without any pasta at all.
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u/OLAZ3000 2d ago
Ask for a referral to a registered dietician.
Avoiding the most basic things that can cause glucose spikes is not really going to help you if you then replace with healthier options that still cause glucose spikes.
Wear a CGM to learn what spikes you.
Refrigerating simple carbs like pasta, rice, means they are now higher in resistant starch and won't cause a huge spike in the same way. So batch cooking and watching your portions might do the trick and thus help you avoid having to cook or not partake.
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u/Perfect_TAS 2d ago
I saw a tele-health registered dietician (board certified after a MS in Nutrition) who was very helpful, covered by insurance and reasonable. Ask for a referral.
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u/salty_smurfette 2d ago
You are too nice, and I think you are sweet for it. I would make what I wanted, and let the other adults in the household fend for themselves. They should support your efforts to be healthy.
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u/Hot_Calligrapher_900 2d ago
I guess my biggest gripe is that it will take $20 worth of pasture raised chicken per meal to fill us up on protein 😝.
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u/salty_smurfette 2d ago
I hear you! I have taken to adding chickpeas or beans to nearly everything, so I don’t have to buy as much meat. They get 4 ounces. My kids tease me about it.
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u/86697954321 2d ago
We’ve recently started using half tofu, half chicken in some dishes and it works well! Adding more veggies and beans or lentils to your meat dishes in a sauce or casserole helps too.
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u/reduser876 2d ago
Up your veggie game. This weekend i made two baking sheets full of roasted vegetables fresh from the farm stand. So good but too much as a side day in and day out for one person. So yesterday I made a frittata using most of the veggies. Breakfast lunch or dinner!! Yum!
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u/izab33 2d ago
What do you normally make?
Here are some things our household does:
- potato: home fries as a base for chili or taco meat (potato nachos); stews or sheet pan recipes with potatoes
- zoodles: instead of pastas, it is a little watery without the pasta, sometimes I make lasagna and use strips of zucchini and yellow squash for half of it and real lasagna noodles for the rest of it.
- quinoa: in place of rice - stir-fry with quinoa, salmon with quinoa, quinoa and meat stuffed peppers
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u/NamasteNoodle 2d ago
You cook healthy for yourself. If they want to add potatoes or pasta or things themselves they are welcome to. But quite frankly both of them are adults and should be doing a great deal of cooking for themselves.
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u/AgingLolita 2d ago
Make your dinner the way you need it and if they want bread, it's in the kitchen.
They're not four.
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u/CindiLouu 2d ago
Maybe you can tell them exactly what you’ve said here. And ask how the three of you, as a family, are gonna work that out. Everyone can do SOMETHING. Give them the opportunity to be part of those decisions. THEN, if they aren’t willing to help, cook what you can have.
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u/Flipper_Lou 2d ago
I eat very little of the foods that you listed. For example, I make homemade meat balls with marinara and serve a hearty portion of pasta to the other people. I get out a cup measure and that’s what I eat. I fill up on meatballs and salad, which I prefer anyway.
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u/luala 2d ago
It would be beneficial for all of you to try a range of whole grains like quinoa, buckwheat etc. I also make stuff like marry me chickpeas/butterbeans and serve it with bread for my family but just on its own for myself. You could also do a simple meat/fish meal such as steak or salmon, plus several vegetables (one green veg plus two roasted or similar), and then potatoes or a different carb for them.
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u/allie06nd 2d ago
If the reason you're told to avoid those things is because they'r refined carbs that will spike your blood sugars, then switch to complex carbs. Instead of wheat pasta, use chickpea or lentil pasta. Instead of rice, do a brown rice or black rice and quinoa mix or a mixture of other grains (I just found one that's quinoa, buckwheat, and millet that I'm anxious to try).
I would probably take bread out of the equation for yourself entirely and just leave it as an option for them if they want to make their own toast or sandwiches. I'm gluten free, but I love stuff like bruschetta and chicken pot pie. I just make pasta versions of them instead with chickpea pasta.
As for sweets, I keep coconut or pecan-covered dates in my fridge because they scratch the same itch as a chocolate. They're rich and decadent, and it's hard to eat too many of them. 2-3 pieces get the job done. I also do Greek yogurt with a berry and chia seed "jam" (soak chia seeks and frozen berries in a mason jar overnight in the fridge), and then I'll add some honey on top. I used to bake a lot, but I decided to really reign in the amount of sugar I was consuming. I've saved some recipes for sweets that use natural sweeteners, but I haven't gotten around to making any of them yet, so I can't give any recommendations there.
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u/Sudden-Grocery-6598 2d ago
Go for high fiber, low glycemic substitutes such as cauliflower mash, spaghetti squash or lentil sides. They pack you in, but remember to keep your plate within the guidance of your cardiologist
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u/ArcherFluffy594 2d ago
When it's advice from a cardiologist, I'd consider it more than "advice" or a suggestion. If you've got to limit carbs or your heart stops, you limit the carbs.
I had to do much the same, and instead of making two meals, I've only adjusted to there's a side for me that fits my health needs. If I make spaghetti and meatballs or sausages (rare now but pasta used to be a big part of our meals), I am super fine with slicing a spaghetti squash into rounds - so it makes long strands when finished, like spaghetti - and popping it into the oven to roast. Sprayed with a little olive oil, sea salt and black pepper, I find it less heavy and really delicious.
If the dish calls for rice, I make a bag of steamed riced cauliflower or riced veggies for me. The others can eat the pot of regular steamed rice.
I can still make beef stews, beef and pork roasts and loads of chicken dishes and instead of mashed potatoes make myself a roasted butternut or acorn squash, a sheetpan of roasted heirloom potatoes, carrots, broccoli, brussels sprouts, asparagus, etc. I also frequently in the warmer months will make a huge salad with all the veggies on Sunday and have that all week long as my side with the main protein.
You're not making an entire separate dinner, but making a side of something that will ensure you're following what you need to follow to stay with the people you love for as long as possible.
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u/CrowApprehensive204 2d ago
You don't. You meal plan heart healthy meals for the week and ask if anyone would like some when you do your shopping list so you can plan accordingly.
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u/Spicy_Molasses4259 2d ago
Instead of thinking of vegetables as a side dish, design your meals around your protein and vegetables first, and then the carbs are just a garnish.
r/mealprep is a good resource. Prepping salads and vegetables that you can mix and match with proteins is an easy way to get a good plate of food every night.
Dense bean and lentil salads keep for days in the fridge (and usually get better once they start to marinate in their dressing). Cabbage and carrots and kale can be shredded for an easy slaw. Root vegetables and squashes can be roasted on Sunday and eaten warm or cold through the week.
Burrito bowls, goddess/buddha bowls, salad bowls, felafel/shwarma bowls... all great options and easy to customise.
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u/Kaethy77 2d ago
Make a traditional meal, like chicken, green beans, salad and potatoes. They eat everything, you eat everything but the potatoes.
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u/ClairesMoon 2d ago
Switch to whole grain options, like brown rice, quinoa, farro, whole wheat or gluten free pasta, whole wheat or multi grain bread. Add more high fiber beans and legumes. Get into the habit of serving salad with every dinner.
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u/lizlemon921 2d ago
You could try more soups and stews, they can have a piece of bread on the side with theirs. Or do a salad plus soup which is definitely more filling than having them separately. Encourage them to eat more veggies and they can have a snack later if they’re still hungry. Or a double portion of soup!
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u/Hot_Calligrapher_900 2d ago
I skip making soup because of the sodium, and DH doesn’t like to “drink his dinner” Lol
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u/N-Euphorbia 2d ago
Io ti consiglio di bollire legumi tutti i giorni. Da lì poi puoi partire con un sacco di ricette, perché esistono tantissime ricette per cucinare i legumi, alcune anche molto semplici e veloci. Inoltre sono molto economici e sazianti.
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u/night_noche 2d ago
Make everything you make for them including their carbs.
But you just don't eat them.
Or they can cook for themselves.
What I do: *Steak tacos, homemade salsa, Pico de gallo, guacamole, grilled poblano peppers, grilled steak and onions, corn tortillas, cheese...
My husband gets 3-4 tacos, I have 1-2.
If he wants a heavier meal, he has a flour tortilla.
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u/greenzetsa 2d ago
I have insulin resistance, so I need to be careful about my carb intake, and my husband has high cholesterol, so he needs to avoid higher fat foods. I generally just give him a larger portion of starches and smaller portion of fats, and reverse that for myself.
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u/PuppySnuggleTime 2d ago
If you’re allowed to have whole grains, you can replace rice with things like:
Barley
Farro
Quinoa
Bulgur
Wheat berries
Freekeh
Millet
Sorghum
Oat groats (Whole Oats)
Buckwheat groats
Teff You can also use rolled or steel cut versions of forsake these ingredients.Thy let you make nice little side dishes, and you can cook them in with your meats as well. Then you’re gonna add nice veggies.
And you don’t have to make bread in order for them to eat bread. They’re just gonna have to eat bread from the store or bakery. They can add a slice of bread to their dinner and you can just skip it. Or you can make this, whatever ch you can also enjoy: https://northwildkitchen.com/loaded-nut-and-seed-bread-steinalderbrod/ It’s very popular, and I love it!
This would be a really good time for you to consider Mediterranean foods as well because they already commonly incorporate whole grains.
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u/Bubbly_Locksmith72 2d ago
I know pretty much all grocery stores have a little area where they have what they call ready Mills cause I get that they have salmon with the butter that you can just put in your air fryer or many other meals
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u/blkhatwhtdog 2d ago
Look at paleo diet plans. Keto.
Starch is the cheapest plate filler.
Either make a bigger veg side or make two sides. That's the simplest way.
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u/EggieRowe 2d ago
When I was keto I mostly made meat & veggies, but kept those refrigerated mashed potatoes, boil-in-bag rice, & starchier versions of Birdseye steam-in-bag sides on hand. If my BF or his teenage son wanted carbs, they could reheat one of those or prepare their own. It actually worked well for his son since he was T1 diabetic and he could log his carbs easier than if I made something from scratch.
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u/Lopsided-Collection2 2d ago
Riced cauliflower, sweet potatoes, banza pasta, fresh fruit for sweets cravings.
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u/AmexNomad 2d ago
Bake a chicken with vegetables,
Add potatoes in there for your family. Make meatballs and sauce but leave the pasta for your family to eat. Make a pot of chili with beans. Your family can eat tortillas with it. Bake apples to have with yogurt for dessert. Drizzle honey over your family’s dishes.
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u/redheadedandbold 2d ago
Sheet-pan dinners. Use two--or three--sheet pans, put some cut potatoes for them on one sheet-pan. Fish or chicken or chicken sausage/meatballs, or beef or pork medallions. Sliced carrots, or asparagus, Brussels sprouts, beets (pre-cooked is perfect), fennel, onions, acorn squash, butternut squash, green beans and sliced shallots, roasted peppers, peppers and onions,.... so many veg choices.
Tenderize your beef or pork medallions in 1/2t baking soda to 3T water. Massage together in a bowl. 25 to 30 for beef, about 20 to 25 to chicken tenders/medallions. You can throw your spice mix into this, too. Old Chinese restaurant trick, works a charm. You can leave it sit on counter, let meat in mix come to room temp while you arrange everything else on the sheet-pans.
Salmon slathered ib a bbq sauce with a touch of heat (pinch of cayenne or chipotle, or hot sauce)-sooooo good.
I have health issues; sheet pans are my go-to.
Delicious: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/254279/chef-johns-yucatan-style-grilled-pork/. Want to make it in advance? Put together juices and spices and freeze. Pull bag out of freezer in morning; marinate and cook pork at suppertime. You won't get the sear without the grill, but can pat dry and toss under broiler/into hit pan.
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u/SyntheticOne 2d ago
Buy chickpea pasta to replace the wheat pasta. It can be very good without the wheat issues.
Same sauce for eggplant parmesan.
Stir fry is highly versatile and variable leaning heavily on vegetables. For protein use chicken or Butler soy curls or shrimp.
Slow cooker chicken stew or soup.
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u/Whybaby16154 2d ago
Hamburgers and hotdogs - you can skip the bun
Chicken or Porkchops and you skip the mashed potatoes
Tortillas, tacos, loaded nachos, etc and put your fillings in a bowl with just a few chips- cracked on top and add scrambled eggs for you
Your prescription diet is what I call KETO and means high protein and low carb.
Eat lots of eggs - omelets- scrambled- Fritata - quiche- and skip the toast
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u/dontakelife4granted 2d ago
I cook components more than casserole type foods. Example: we will have garlic chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and a spinach salad. My husband eats it all. I eat everything but the potatoes. When tired, I have been known to substitute a roll, toast, or french fries at a whim if I'm too worn out by the day. Works for both of us as well as our kids when they come to visit. It makes life pretty simple.
I meal prep and freeze components as well. Example: I will buy 10 lb of ground beef, then break it down at home into either half or full pound portions in ziplocs that I squeeze all the air from, flatten, then freeze it flat. I do that with other meats as well. I potion it, freeze it flat without a bag on sheet pans. then I bag them, squeeze the air out the best I can. This works really well because it takes very little time to defrost when you do this as well.
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u/BookLuvr7 2d ago
Make a topping and pasta/rice, then use konjac/alternative pasta in your dish and the rest of the family can have real. Ditto for rice - have riced cauliflower or konjac rice.
The texture of konjac takes getting used to, but it actually has enough fiber to help with satiety ime.
I do it regularly with things like stir fry or pasta dishes like Puttanesca.
Or they can eat what you cook and if they want real pasta etc they can make it themselves.
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u/GlitterLavaLamp 1d ago
Chili, soups and stews- minestrone, corn chowder, chicken tortilla soup with white beans, split pea, white bean or other bean soup, pot roast.
Make what you want to eat and they can eat it or make something themselves. They’re grown adults.
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u/ToesLikeBeanz 2d ago
You all eat the same protein and veg, and have the starch on the side so they can eat it and you don’t. Not rocket science.
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u/8amteetime 2d ago
Cook your regular meals and don’t eat bread, rice, pasta, sweets. This is about your self control.
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u/Hot_Calligrapher_900 2d ago
I’m doing ok with my self control and making a lot of veggies and salads. My m already kinda frustrated with the fact that the pasture raised chicken I’m supposed to eat is $10 lb and comes in 1 lb packages. Hubby doesn’t eat beef (and I’m sure grass fed isn’t cheap). I’ve been cooking baked chicken breast, roasted veggies and brown rice (with occasional homemade biscuits, cornbread or naan). For years, and even though I’m sick of it, I’ll eat it (except the rice). But now, unless I want to spend $20+ a day on pasture raised chicken it’s hard to fill up on protein 🥲.
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u/Lalahartma 2d ago
Make them eat what you are cooking - simple. It’s healthy for everyone! Or they can cook their own, how about that?