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ALmom
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| Posted: June 19 2010 at 11:21am | IP Logged
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OK, so we are now on a low acid diet with restrictions related to GERD in our house and for the next 3 months at least:
little to no red meat
no tomatoe sauces, spicey food or heavy food
no raw vegetables like salads
no citrus fruits, or berries
I'm not sure about nuts and seeds or beans - but think anything causing acid is out.
Now our family fare has been chili, lasagne, beef, stir fry, veggie soup(tomatoe base), barbecue, lots of salsa and such with beans, blackened Salmon and most of our green veggies come from either salad or raw. The fruits of choice by child with GERD have been oranges, strawberries, blueberries and such since we grow the last 3 and the first one is relatively inexpensive and always available. We do have apples a lot. Pears, grapes, canteloupe when the price is good. My husband hates mushy vegetables - think Chinese style barely cooked if at all in terms of how it is cooked. My younger children do not like chicken in very many ways (I make dumplings, a chicken salad, and barbecue chicken that they like - the first 2 I could do for the GERD - not the last). I do not mind requiring us all to learn to like stuff - but I sure do need a bigger variety to try.
I have a call in to doc - both to get a good written sheet of what is and is not allowed - plus to figure out how long we do this and wait and see if this cures all symptoms. So right now I'm uncertain about nuts, and such. Seems we need to emphasize whole grains but that isn't an adjustment since we've done that for other reasons long ago.
This is not nearly as huge an adjustment as Turtle with Celiac - but I am finding myself nervous and overwhelmed (maybe due to the last 3 days, hardly seeing the rest of the family what with appt and half days in doc offices).
I am not good at organizing meals - which is another part of the thing - small meals throughout the day and during the day should be eating something every couple of hours. Last meal must be 4 hours before bedtime. I guess God intends me to be on a good schedule and is making sure I have good reason to be - knows how to motivate me, I guess.
I know a bunch of you ladies are way better than I am in the kitchen and planning departments. We really like our food to taste like something, are not real fans of the funky tasting health food and are on a budget. If you don't use tomatoe sauces or heavy spices, how do you flavor your meals? What about snacks - how do you have something easily and readily available throughout the day without having the kitchen always open (and always a mess) especially since you school at the kitchen table?
We have a diagnosis in our family of GERD and I don't plan to make special meals. We'll just all learn to eat the same - though for those of us without GERD, we will have salads from our garden available with meals - just have to add other sources of veggies. I'm still figuring out what is and is not allowed with GERD. Right now we plan to be super strict because of the severity of symptoms and our desire to know if this is it or if there is something else as well. We have no clue what caused the GERD - so right now the assumption is diet and stress. We have no idea how long we will have to be super strict. Right now, our child can hardly keep their eyes open, has lots of chest pains, shortness of breath, almost blacking out and is not able to function reliably well. I'm not sure what to do about stress - school is the biggest source of stress but it does have to be finished and it is down to absolute minimum. Also, I am hard pressed to believe that stress is the cause - though now it is an aggravator. The stress came because of the feeling bad and feeling bad contributed to the being unable to finish work and the two combined now add to the problem.
Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks
Janet
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: June 19 2010 at 12:00pm | IP Logged
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Well for the rest of the family.. you could put seasonings on the table to be added after cooking.. bbq sauce, italian seasonings or other mixed spices etc.
You can do simliar with soups.. like I make a pozole (chicken and pork with whole hominy).. and I make a chile verde (green chile stew) and you can eat the pozole alone or add a spoonful of the chile verde to the pozole. The Pozole is mild while the chile verde is quite spicy.
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Angie Mc
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| Posted: June 19 2010 at 1:28pm | IP Logged
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I'll be thinking about this challenge. Can you do eggs? Diary - full fat or fat free? Grains - whole or white?
And I'm with Jodie. Condiments may be key to give variety of taste. I've been meaning to start a topic about condiments ever since I found a funky mango coconut pepper sauce. I'm curious about finding other interesting condiments to bring easy variety to meals.
ETA: Condiments - unusual and faves
Love,
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Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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ALmom
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| Posted: June 19 2010 at 2:57pm | IP Logged
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Eggs are fine - though no one in my family likes them except my dh and oldest son. We need to keep fat low for other people's high cholersterol and family history of heart disease. Also low fat is needed for GERD (evidently heavy fat creates more acid and that must be why the red meat is restricted). We think child with GERD may have a sensitivity to dairy - common in Asians who do not digest lactose as well as caucasians. There is a family history of lactose intolerance - so dairy must be in moderation.
Whole grains are in for a lot of reasons - we already use whole wheat, brown rice, etc. and that is not an adjustment. My children only get white bread when we are guests somewhere else. Pasta - we tend to do a lot of pasta (spaghetti is dh favorite meal) but use the whole wheat noodles or the spinach noodles except for a hb version of stroganoff where we do use the milk noodles.
Ok, I don't mind having some sauces to the side, but I don't want the one child with GERD to have tasteless meals while watching the rest of us load up on salsa or whatever.  Right now nothing is a temptation since she has not had an appetite for a long time - eats because I tell her to and she is an obedient dd and she has enough sense to know that one must eat to live so she eats when we sit down to eat - but it is forcing herself to eat. Tastleless isn't going to help.
Thanks. I'll look at the pozole and see what I can find.
Janet
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: June 19 2010 at 7:50pm | IP Logged
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If you can do cheese and other dairy.. I would be using any dairy allowed for flavor vs having a cup of milk or such.
Like chicken.. perhaps grilled.. a bit of a smokey flavor there.. with a dollop of yogurt to make it creamy and flavorful.. maybe a salsa type of dish from fruit.. not adding spices but of the fruit that is available.. if you chopped it up into a salsa type consistency.. like maybe plums and cantalope.
Or chicken or fish with a slice of cheese.. think not just cheddar but.. swiss or blue cheese or muenster.. lots of varieties and I'd spend a bit more and use less.. but it would add variety.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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heatonsmom
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| Posted: June 21 2010 at 5:23am | IP Logged
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Have you googled Amish cooking? They have some great easy homecooking recipes that seem to meet your requirements.
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Faithr
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| Posted: June 21 2010 at 6:32am | IP Logged
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Wow, it sounds like you have so many restrictions. You really have to be creative and practical at the same time. Off the top of my head:
I'd saute and broil a lot of stuff. Chicken breasts, pork chops, fish. I'd rely on garlic-wine sauce (lightly garlic). Maybe you could enrich with mushrooms. Roast chicken, Ground turkey meatloaf. Baked turkey legs. Baked chicken drumsticks just seasoned with garlic and herbs. Chicken noodle soup. Italian Wedding Soup. Ham steaks. Pasta primavera with angel hair pasta. Stuff baked potatoes (you can have a choice of toppings so that everyone can pick what's good for them.) Baked salmon (pricey) or salmon fish cakes (from the canned salmon).
How severe is the GERD? I would just use beef lightly, like in stir fry. Make sure you get lean cuts so there is less fat to irritate the situation. I myself suffer from acid reflux. I know I react to cooked tomato sauce much more than just some raw chopped tomato tossed with a sauce or as a topping for steamed green beans or broccoli.
How about cooking more with fruit? You could saute some apples with pork, make chicken with apricot sauce. For a really special dinner, like Christmas, instead of having that beef roast, you could have duck medallions with fruit sauce. (I did that one Christmas. Delicious!)
One way to add variety and stretch the limited number of foods would be to make leftovers (like ham and potatoes or chicken and rice) into frittatas or crepes. I am not a big egg eater but frittatas have relatively little egg in proportion to the filling so it makes them more appetizing. Also using leftovers and making crepes, makes leftovers less tiresome.
Hope this helps!
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ALmom
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| Posted: June 21 2010 at 10:33am | IP Logged
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Faithr and all:
Thanks so much for the suggestions. These all sound like doable ideas to us. Apple with pork - yes!!! We normally do it with pineapple which is out - but apples would work great.
Also, an Amish cookbook - that does sound like a plan. I'll do some searching along those lines. Between everyone's suggestions and my mom's chicken crockpot recipes, we should be in good shape.
Thanks for these ideas.
Janet
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dakotamidnight
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| Posted: June 21 2010 at 10:45am | IP Logged
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First off, try to figure out what is triggering the GERD. I have it too, but acids don't bother mine - mine is triggered by dairy, water {yes WATER! They think it's the chemicals in it, but aren't sure}, some spices {Cumin, Sage, and chili spices} and chocolate. It is possible to have odd triggers for reflux, no matter what they tell you.
That said, one of my favorite meals when mine is flaring is white rice cooked with chicken gravy over it {we make our own, low-fat with lots of flavor}. I add in some shredded or just chunks of chicken breast that I poached in broth, and then veggies {normally broccoli or corn}. Quick easy meal - I can make everything but the gravy and veggies up ahead, we use the Green Giant Steamers for veggies and I can make gravy in 5 minutes tops.
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Rosesinsummer
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| Posted: June 21 2010 at 11:55am | IP Logged
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I know that this may sound counter-intuitive and go against what the conventional wisdom has been in medicine, but you may want to try cutting out carbs like pasta, rice and potatoes. I know that when dh and I low-carbed for nearly a year a few years ago, I felt so much better and my dh's GERD disappeared! 
Well, we gradually slipped back to the SAD (standard American diet) and GERD is back for dh. I was just recently diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes this pregnancy for the first time, and I pulled out my Atkins and South Beach Diet books and started low-carbing again. I was not going to be put on medicine if I could do anything about it!!! I eat fewer carbs than the dietician and GD counselor recommend (if I eat what they recommend, my fasting and daily sugars are too high and I feel sluggish), but if I cut their recommendations in half, I feel great and my sugars are perfect! My OB is very pleased with my blood glucose control. I also noticed that I was starting to experience GERD during this pregnancy before my diagnosis of GD. When I switched to low carbing to control my blood glucose, no more heartburn or GERD. 
You can google it for more info. Here is one link with a video if you want to watch:
http://thehealthyskeptic.org/reader-who-cured-gerd-with-low- carb-diet-interviewed-on-tv
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Rosesinsummer
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| Posted: June 21 2010 at 1:53pm | IP Logged
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Oh, if you do decide to try cutting the carbs to treat GERD , I highly recommend this cookbook.
">Saving Dinner the Low Carb Way
`
Here's another ```````````````````website to expand research on health alternatives to conventional medical advice:
Weston A. Price
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Topic: bland recipes that taste good
