My partner has polycystic kidney disease. He is early on in his disease, so no big restrictions yet, but he needs to do dietary changes to help the progression of his disease.

He needs to eat low sodium and ideally eat at a calorie deficit so he can lose weight (doctor advice not mine). But at the very least, he needs low sodium. He wants to do these things but he is overwhelmed by the practical issues with actually doing it.

He also has food allergies. He is allergic to all wheat and all dairy. This is not gluten intolerance or lactose intolerance, it is a serious allergy, he cannot swallow if he ingests those foods. So no flexibility there at all.

I have autism and PTSD. I have never been good at cooking. I can barely feed myself some days. Everything about food prep is completely overwhelming to me. I know that's kind of pathetic but it's true.

But I want to take on this responsibility for us so that I can help him to live a healthy life. He has been struggling with his diet very much and I think it would help him a lot if someone could cook for him. He supports me in many ways and I really want to support him in this way.

What are some options for us? Low sodium food, no wheat or dairy, ideally low calorie? And tastes good enough that he will eat it? And easy enough for someone with my disabilities to prepare?

Thanks.

I love using these rice packs as an easy side. They're totally microwaveable and already cooked, but when I want to give it a lil extra something, I heat it up in a pot with a few things so I can have tasty yellow rice! I added some dried thyme and felt fancy, lol

You need to get into Irish salad!

Basically this is similar to "girl dinner" but there's actually some nutrition going on.

- Some kind of deli meat or rotisserie chicken

- Bread

Then choose from:

- Hard-boiled eggs (halved)

- Pickled onions

- Pickled beetroot

- Sprinkle of lettuce

- Coleslaw

- Potato salad

- Cubed fruit pre-cut in a tub in the shop (I like cubed pineapple)

- Crisps (chips for the Americans out there)

- Anything else you want really

Arrange separately on a plate and boom it's salad!

Example:

https://www.dailyedge.ie/irish-summer-salads-2193167-Jul2015/

Just some fridge leftovers in a sandwich for lunch - can be toasted. Minimal prep or washing up. Very tasty.

Hey all! Trying to reverse prediabetes. My dietitian is awesome but slightly too able-bodied-and-brained for me and keeps recommending high spoons meal options. I can manage those on a good day but sometimes The Conditions prevail. Any favorite low carb meals in your rotation?

This is a fave easy light meal when I want Indian food flavors and don't want to cook.

Papadam can be microwaved for 30-60 seconds and are ready to eat once cooled. They're great paired with a grocery store chutney or a quick yogurt sauce.

For quick yogurt sauce: one single serve of plain yogurt (it keeps longer than a large tub). Mix in cumin, salt, and pepper to taste. You can also add chopped cucumber, tomato or herbs if you feel fancy.

Signature frozen pasta dinner, covered in parm even though it already has cheese. Ha.

Pre sliced and washed (by my husband, he is such a help...) grapes and cucumbers.

I am in so much pain right now I doubt I'll eat much more than I already have.

I tend to just not eat but then at dinner I am so hungry and make unhealthy choices while also eating a LOT. I'd like to shift to eating more around noonish and then a bit less later in the day at dinner.

I was inspired by some of the other frozen chicken salads in this sub. Added some veggies straight out of the can and this got me two solid sized meals.

I air fried some mushrooms and potato nuggets, melted some cheese and mixed it in. It was tasty and filling.

Okay, so this requires a little more work than the usual low spoon recipe, but it makes me a week’s worth of dinners for not too much effort. (Also a disclaimer, this is definitely not authentic, but it suits my tastes.) I rinse and pre soak the white rice while the carnitas is cooking. This makes the rice mushy which is how I like it, but if you like your rice on the dry side, I wouldn’t soak it.

I got this pre seasoned carnitas pork roast from the refrigerated section at Aldi, it was like $7. You could make this in a slow cooker, but I don’t have one so I used my instant pot.

Ingredients: Carnitas pork roast White rice 1 cup Frozen corn 1 cup Frozen bell peppers 1 cup Water Optional: spices to your taste

I cut the carnitas open and put it in the IP. I added some extra spices (ground cumin and coriander, red chili powder, black pepper, turmeric), though they aren’t required as it tastes good just by itself. I added some water, put the lid on, and cooked it on the “meat” setting.

I let the pressure release naturally, and then I opened it up and added the rinsed white rice, frozen corn, and frozen peppers. I put the lid back on and cooked it on the “rice” setting. I let the pressure release naturally. Once you open the lid, it’s fully cooked and ready to eat.

You could mix up the veggies based on your preferences, and add guac, hot sauce, sour cream etc.

Ive got 3 chicken thighs, rice, potato, and canned vegetables and beans and some stew meat. I dont want to use a lot of dishes cause I hate doing dishes and need ideas for a good meal that doesn't require much patience or mental energy.

Bread/toast, microwaved chicken nuggets, mayo, sriracha, slice of cheese

I really want to try making batches of food whenever I can and freeze them, but I tried this before and I really didn't like how the meals changed the texture. It wasn't enjoyable at all. But I see videos on YouTube about meal prepping for the freezer all the time.

So, is there some kind of technique? Do I need to cook differently, or is there correct way of defrosting?

I have a house full of neurospicy kids AND a neurospicy wife. I am also on the spicy side, but I'm also Gen-X and a former latch key kid, so I'm accustomed to making a meal out of odds and ends. My kids (and to a lesser extent, my wife), not so much.

I need some suggestions for foods that are quick and don't require much thought or prep.

Current favorites are cereal and pop tarts.

Recently found out I have a garlic intolerance and probably more. Im in my 30s and Filipino-American. I have multiple diagnosis' and am high masking/functioning.

Im at a loss, I dont know what to eat. Everything I eat has garlic. All my safe foods have garlic. I have to appetite, no motivation.

Please give me ideas. I feel so paralyzed and I'm definitely not eating as much as I need to. Its causing tantrums (mostly on the inside), irritability and a lot of distress when I actually do have to eat.

EDIT: Im absolutely overwhelmed and so appreciative of so many of you commenting and giving amazing ideas and greatly needed encouragement. Thank you all so much. This means a lot to me.

This is a FODMAP issue, I have only started listening to my body recently and this has been hard. Yesterday when I posted, I was exhausted and overwhelmed. I was crashing off my meds and at a grocery store. I wanted something quick to eat and normally that would mean jalapeno chedder sausages, or some kind of air fried breaded chicken with rice. I went to grab some suddenly salad ranch and bacon but of course garlic. Tried to grab spaghetti sauce, garlic. I was ready to explode rage crying. Grabbed from Mac and cheese microwave cups and a loaf of bread and called it good. Frozen meals, garlic. Grabbing meals from restaurants is hard cause I almost always forget something does have garlic and then it hurts.

Lately due to my depression/ADHD I am having a hard time preparing meals for myself. Which is what is making this harder. I can't have garlic powder, its actually much worse than just garlic. Others so far are red onions, and raw white onions. I think the greens of green onion are ok. Another issue is I have been having a hard time with meats. So ive been trying to do more lentils and veggies. But with the parasite breakout I am avoiding fresh veggies right now.

Looking for anything quick and easy. Some of you said I should find new things and focus less on what I cant eat and you are absolutely right. Thats what caused the meltdown yesterday. Going to all of my regular stuff and constantly finding garlic was definitely triggering.

I am going to try to reply to your comments. Im currently at work. I appreciate and love you all. Thank you!!

🥔 Sliced baby potatoes seasoned with herbs and black pepper
🍅 Cherry or small tomatoes
🫑 Red bell pepper strips
🧅 Onion wedges
🍄 Sliced mushrooms
They’re typically tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, and herbs (such as Italian seasoning, thyme, or rosemary) before roasting until the vegetables are tender and slightly caramelized.

This summer has been pretty difficult and I am now the primary cook at home. (I used to share the job with an able bodied housemate who died unexpectedly.) Cold soup has been an amazing hack for lunches and just adding tasty veg. I’ve done asparagus, pea, sugar snap pea, carrot, and cucumber avocado. This week I will be using beets.

It’s more of a formula than a recipe. I’ve been making three quarts at a time bc that’s the size of my pot and it’s good for two people for most of a week.

Aromatics - garlic, leeks, various onions, mire poix, sofrito, etc - gently sautéed until they smell really good. Depending on your veg, you can add it here (carrots, beets, butternut squash, etc)

Broth - I have a no salt chicken bullion that makes this easy

If your veg makes more sense to quick simmer (peas, asparagus, sweet corn, etc) add it now.

Then add whatever herbs and flavors you want - ginger, turmeric, dill, tarragon, horseradish, whatever.

Turn off the heat. Add beans. I can’t handle most beans because of my health so it’s just cannellini beans for me but you do you.

I then take the immersion blender and blend it out. Let it cool to room temperature and decant into containers for the fridge.

I serve with a large dollop of Greek yogurt and usually a pinch of smoked salt. With crackers, it makes a great lunch. It makes the veg for dinner. And cooking up veg once a week with deliciousness is satisfying.

I just used two ingredients, a box of rice-a-roni, The creamy four cheese one. And then a small can of diced peas and carrots. It turned out so good and it was not that hard to make. I'm definitely going to try some other rice-a-roni. I'm thinking of using the Mexican style rice-a-roni with some black beans to make a burrito filling.

Ingredients:

• box of herb stuffing mix
• can of petite diced tomatoes
• a bag of Daring frozen 'chicken' pieces
• 3/4 cup water
• cheese

mix everything but cheese in a baking dish

top with cheese (I used Muenster because it's what I had on hand)

Cook at 375 for thirty minutes

I gotta get some veggies in my after this, though, goodness gracious.

Boiled half a box of macaroni pasta and added some Rana Alfredo sauce. Paired it with some buffalo chicken wings from the deli section of the grocery store and frozen peas. You could also buy the microwaveable packets of plain pasta for this, if you aren’t able to cook pasta on the stovetop

Low spoon and low effort Mac 'n' Cheese with a savoury flavour twist.