Low Purine, Low Salt, Low Fat and Veterinarian? Help!

[Pebble thats Stubby]

Recently Hubby and I have been trying to go vegetarian once a week.  Once of the main reasons for this was to try to eat a little more healthy.  I need to be on a low fat diet, Husband needs to be on a low Purine and Low Salt Diet.  We were just about managing (or so we thought) by swapping meat for Quorn, unfortunately we have just discovered Quorn is one of the foods Alan needs to avoid. 

We are now struggling to come up with a few meals that are healthy, easy to make and we both enjoy.   We would really appreciate any help the board hive mind can give us.

I really do not like even slightly spiced (hot) food.  What most people call extremely mild, I call Hot and barely edible.   I also do not like Cheese, I can tolerate a bit of mild cheese but I would really rather not taste it.

For a low purine vegetarian meal Husband needs to limit his intake (a small amount is ok) of Beans, Peas, Lentils and legumes.  Spinach, Cauliflower, Asparagus and Mushrooms.  Whole-wheat and wholemeal grains.   Yeast is a Big No.

Alan also does not enjoy eating much fruit. He is a big fan vegetables partially Mushrooms, peas and Cauliflower (which he can’t have often).

We also want to limit Salt, fat, and sugars. 

 

Please help us, save us from Nuts with salad.

[Buckwheat]

No idea, but I adore the thread title, Pebble.

Good luck with the new diet, I hope you get many good suggestions.

[Relic]

you guys should speak with a nutritionist. An expert on the subject could potentially save you guys all sorts of grief, an sooth your need for some delicious food. 

[drawkcabi]

When you go to the supermarket check out the Birdseye products in the frozen section. I absolutely LOVE the sour cream and chives mashed cauliflower (tastes just like mashed potatoes to me).

Still has some fat, 6g, and sodium, 19% per serving.

I make it with some steamfresh sweet peas to add to it and it is so delicious, no other seasoning or added butter or anything required.

Also the Birdseye vegetable pasta or zucchini pasta is very, very good. I do not like zucchini but it tastes just like pasta to me and I like it. You can buy it plain or in different sauces. Again I like adding peas to mine. (I love adding peas in just about any dinner meal).

If you like soup, there's Progresso soups that are good like Vegetable Barley or Vegetarian Vegetable. You can get these "light" but all you are really doing is paying for the regular soup watered down, something you can do yourself with the regular soup and you get more.

Is your husband on low purine because of gout?

If so, I have that too. I need to take allopurinol daily but I also recently added tart cherry extract to my daily medicine regimen and that seems to be helping as well, no flare ups since I've been on it. 

Also agree with Relic about asking a nutritionist.

Good luck!

[Pebble thats Stubby]

Yes the low purine is because of Gout,  He's not had a flareup since he's been on medication, but his latest blood test came back with high levels and the doctor will up his dosage unless we get it back under control.    Which is why we are now looking to cut down more on the Cauliflower, Peas and Mushrooms

Speaking to a Nutritionist would be a good idea, but I have a very stubborn husband.

the cherry extract is a good idea, then he wouldn't need to eat the cherries whole (which can be challenging).  I will look into this.

[Seli]

This is tricky. Single meals are relatively easy to come up with, but fitting them in a limited diet and keeping it balanced might need an expert eye. I guess considering all meals and the limit on legumes you need to keep an eye on protein intake.

Have you ever tried Haloumi? As cheeses go its taste seems mild to me, it might be too salty for your requirements though.

Perhaps seitan (based on gluten) rather than legume or fungus based meat-replacements?

Couscous based meals seem an option, they go well with nuts stirfried vegetables (pepper, spring onion, courgette, tomato), and even dried fruits.

Pumpkin slices/wedges out of the oven might work as well.

 

[Jo498]

I have also had gout attacks in the past (fortunately the last one was more than 15 months ago). I still eat meat, but not much and not every day. To avoid alcohol, especially beer, is also important. (It is easier for me to avoid alcohol than meat, so I hardly drink anymore, except very little on important social occasions.)

I think you can eat most carbs as most of them are low purine. Eggs and Dairy are also o.k. and probably the best source of proteine because as you know a gout patient should also avoid legumes (although they are usually not as high in purines as meat). I read that oatmeal can also be a problem but I eat oatmeal almost every day for breakfast and this seems to work o.k. It is also usually recommended to get to normal weight (say BMI 25 or lower). I am at 25 but hope to lose a few more pounds. 23,xx would be great and if I can hold that, I will not try to lose any more weight.

What do I typically eat:

breakfast: (quick, i.e. the non-cooking variety) oats with milk, yoghurt, sliced fruit (whatever is at hand, today banana and strawberry), a chopped walnut or two. (oats are on some no-go lists for gout but I think the benefits outweigh the risks, alternatively one could try another type of grain porridge or flakes.

lunch: pasta, potatoes, rice or similar carbs, typically with some sauce, not too much meat or scrambled eggs, some (of the allowed varieties, but I think unless one eats loads of asparagus etc. purines are usually not a problem) veggies or salad, basically the only thing I really watch is not too much meat and hardly any legumes.

dinner: rye bread, butter and cheese. If I had no meat for lunch, sometimes sausages, cold cuts. Sometimes fruit or a tomato, occasionally more dairy (yoghurt) or something sweet like a piece of cake or a sweet pastry (but I am also trying to cut back on that kind of carbs for weight control). I am both lazy (all that chopping) and not too fond of salads, otherwise I would more frequently go for a low carb dinner option, say a salad with feta cheese or sth. like that.

(Note that since last fall I usually do intermittent fasting, i.e. I have a small dinner around 4 p.m. and then nothing until breakfast at about 7:30. If I had a big lunch (in Germany lunch is often still the main meal), I sometimes skip dinner. If I have a big dinner for social reasons I try to skip breakfast to maintain a 15-16 hour fast.)

[Pebble thats Stubby]

I'm not too worried about Protein or even this meal being really balanced, since we are eating meat the rest of the week.  Meat is one of the big things we are supposed to cut down on, but we can only make so much of a change at once.  If we can be strict low purine once a week, then maybe that balances out if we are not as good the rest.  

Yes its something to keep an eye on and if we start going meat free more than once a week, it will need to be a bit more balanced.  But lets get the one day a week sorted first.

 

As for cheese,  Halloumi is really salty.  We have been rather successful reducing salt.  we don't cook with it.   Most of the time when we go out to dinner, we can really taste any Salt seasoning.  However depending when the cheese is added it is often possible to not to add it on one of the meals with much effort.  Or I can just use a little less.

[Jo498]

haloumi literally means "salted", so of course it is quite salty...

As for cheese alternatives: Do you like cream cheese, cottage cheese or guacamole or other savory dips/spreads? Hummus is with legumes but in moderation should also be o.k. (As I remember the rules, legumes are not good but still better than most meat products for gout.) There are also spreads made from nuts and almonds, usually somewhat sweet and often quite expensive. They are favorites of vegans.

And again: eggs, fried, scrambled, boiled, poached, whatever. the cholesterol craze was exaggerated, one can eat lotsa eggs and be fine, they are a good source of protein for people who have to watch out for purine.

[Pebble thats Stubby]

16 minutes ago, Jo498 said:

I have also had gout attacks in the past (fortunately the last one was more than 15 months ago). I still eat meat, but not much and not every day. To avoid alcohol, especially beer, is also important. (It is easier for me to avoid alcohol than meat, so I hardly drink anymore, except very little on important social occasions.)

 

He has not had an attack since well before we married 12 years ago.  Its just his levels came back as too high in his latest blood test.

Beer is one of his biggest problems here, he enjoys them too much and its not something I can help him with.  I should stress he is not alcoholic and can go without  but its not unusual for him to have 3 or 4 cans a week, and if in social occasions well more than a couple. (although as we are old farts these occasions don't happen often).  Myself I rarely drink, I might have I supposed 5 or 6 glasses of wine a year.  Cutting down on the beer (the worst Alcoholic drink for gout) has to come from him, he knows he is supposed to.  Cutting out or down on foods is easier since he will eat what I cook.

[Pebble thats Stubby]

He does eat a fair amount of eggs.  especially at the weekend when he will also have them for breakfast.

Yes Legumes are better than meat, so we are still having some.  I'd just rather see if we can avoid them for the day we are being strict on.

 

Basically when it comes to cheese, if it smells cheesey its too cheesey for me.  but I don't mind if it has a mild cheese taste.   I eat pizza with Mozzaralla, but avoid the pizza's with other cheeses.     Cream cheese is ok.  guacamole is nice.    not that fond of Humas but in small amounts are fine.   Husband will eat all of them no issue.

 

[Seli]

How do you generally cook? What types of meals?

It is easier to suggest recipes that could be added to the repertoire when that is established

[Kalbear]

Yeah, the beer is a killer. Changing in diet once a week isn't going to matter if he's having that much beer, as far as keeping his levels of purine low. (I have the same problem, and the solution really was to just kill beer). Even if you can replace beer with another alcoholic beverage like wine or shots it'd be better - wine especially.

Cutting the sugar also helped me. 

And I supplement with tart cherry juice.

As to meat - more fish like trout and salmon might be better than going for a vegetarian day, especially if said vegetarian day is high in legumes or pasta or cheese. 

(these are all things my dietician suggested to me in dealing with it)

[Yukle]

Hmm... I will raid my recipe books next time I'm at home. We're a vego family (well, parents yes, our kids we let them), although without those other restrictions, so off the top of my head I can't think of anything specific.

Off the top of my head, I do have a recipe for responding to the sudden surge of diet experts you will face.

Method

1) Wait for someone to ask, "Wait, if you're not having meat for that meal, how will you get iron and protein?"

2) Reply with, "Iron and protein are in many food sources. Where do you think the animals got it from in the first place?"

3) Stir well. Serves 4.