tomato alternatives

[FireWithin]

A couple of weeks ago I realized DS is reacting to tomatoes. I am now trying to cut them out of our diet. It is VERY hard. There are so many things I can't have already that it is making it hard for me to cut this out of my cooking. I frequently cook with tomatoes as a base.

What are some alternatives that you use?

I was thinking a red pepper relish recipe would be good to have, and maybe pureed as a ketchup alternative, and maybe a red pepper thing for a pasta sauce.


Foods we avoid: dairy, soy, beef, all legumes, all gluten, all citrus, chocolate, caffeine, strawberries, coconut, shellfish, tree nuts (except almonds), peanuts.

[candletime]

hi there. we have those allergies too, except the coconut, and then some, so i feel your pain! we gave up on subsitutions and started trying to learn other ways to cook. i found macrobiotic cook books helpful, not only b/c they try to balance meals but mainly b/c we could eat more of the recipes! you don't have to eat macro to benefit.

also, do you eat oats? we found most oats are contaminated with gluten. we buy ours from Cream Hill Estates in Canada, though a Wyoming company is working on some too. but it just depends on how sensitive your little guy is.

have you found any other underlying issues causing the allergies? that is our concern w/ our ds, due to the vast list of allergens and the unusual degree of sensitivity. makes life interesting!

blessings

[DollyX]

2 questions for candletime:
how do you get these gluten free oats?? i have atough time with oatmeal, and i'm sure it's the x contam. thing going on--- i have heard of these fabled safe oats...how do you buy them, do they have a website??
also, when you ask about underlying issues causing the allergies, can you say more about that? what types of things are you suspecting?
thanks

[USAmma]

Veg broth (or chicken broth if you eat meat) makes a good soup and sauce base. You can buy the powder in bins at whole foods and then just keep it a little thicker for some uses and thinner for others.

Just FYI both tomatoes and bell peppers are members of the nightshade family. There's a chance of allergies for one if your child is allergic to the other. Sorry. Eggplants, too.

[candletime]

Hi, for the oats check out http://www.creamhillestates.com. we also can buy their rolled oats and flour at a local health food store. we actually ordered direct from them last time and got the whole oat groats. we use it like rice or i make a porridge type cereal... mmmmm i love it! we saw big improvements when we went the extra 10 miles to eliminate gluten.

http://www.glutenfreeoats.com/ is the US company, but they are new, this year is only their second crop. last year they ran out before i could get any and i never got around to ordering it, just got the cream hill again. tried and true you know?

another thing we had trouble with was rice. if you find the same, try lundbergh's rice, its not contaminated with gluten, though some of thier other products are or may be.

as to underlying issues, we feel there is a problem with his digestive system, like leaky gut syndrome or something. we suspect the same for me, and apparently if thats the case, then too many/too large/partial proteins may have passed through to him via breastmilk and either caused or more like just made his condition worse. we are currently following a diet recommended by Russell Mariani, a nutritionist who came highly recommend. we also just saw a homeopathic dr yesterday, but he wanted to review ds's case before he decided on a med/supplements.

we've also had him on Provex since he was 10 mos, which helps minimize the reactions a bit, and defintly controls the asthma and eczema except for when he has a reaction.

hope this helps! blessings.

[Thystle]

Tomatoes is one of my little guy's no no foods too.


I am on the path looking also. The only thing I can bring up is to make sure he is not reacting to the whole "Nightshade" family... peppers and potatoes are in there with tomatoes (among others).



We saw a show where they made a mushroom "pesto" for pizza's. In the end they said you can sub fresh garlic for the pine nuts to give crunch. I have also seen things done with pureed carrots.

[sbgrace]

We've got tomatoes too (and dairy, soy, and gluten and a variety of other assorted fruits and spices). I've really, really been struggling. It seems that even the allergen free recipes are heavy on tomato. And if not tomato it is dairy or soy.

I did find something called Nomato. I've not tried it but might. They have sauces and even ketchup that are tomato free (carrot based it looks like).
I'll check out macro cooking. I'm feeling incredibly desperate.

[candletime]

Originally Posted by sbgrace

I'm feeling incredibly desperate.

i know the feeling, i share it currently. we are currently eating rice, oats, carrots, onions, celery, sweet potatoes, cabbage and maybe one or two other veggies i can't think of. thats it. between everyones allergies eating is getting mighty tough. my husband adds a few things at work, and i have a couple items hid, but not much. we just keep looking for solutions, and everyone here helps by sharing. well, i'm off to find dinner in veggie land!

[FireWithin]

thanks for the discussion. it has been helpful. I want to respond more, but dont have the emotional strength right now, plus a cranky baby responding to dairy. ughh.

Yes, I do think something else is going on. I think I have a leaky gut and have caused DS's allergies.

will write more another time

[Caden's Mom]

Yes, tomatos are hard! I just avoid it. There is some products made by a company called nomato Maybe you could google them. I haven't tried their stuff yet though.

I've been telling DH that if it was egg and dairy or egg and tomato, we could buy but all three (plus more) make it so hard!

[DollyX]

mammo2sammo, i just want to write and say, don't blame yourself! i know what you are saying, that what you eat ends up effecting your babe. i am in the same boat, and i know it's a tough boat to row!! it's insane how careful you have to be, right? but know that you are trying your best, and give yourself mad props for doing what you're doing- a lot of people don't have the first lcue and many more don't care, b/c they aren't willing to investigate this stuff...you are doing the best you can, and sure, mistakes get made sometimes. we are living in a world that is very ignorant about the way food effects us, and very ignorant of how bad allergies can be. so we have to do the best we can, but i really want to support you and let you know that if you aren't perfect, it's ok. it stinks to realize or even just wonder if what you ate if effecting your baby..."what did i eat? when? could it be...???? what does this mean for us now??" and to see your little person be ill ...it's SO hard. I know. But if our children could express themselves with words right now, they wouldn't say "how could you do this to me???" i think they would say "we're in this together, and just liek i am doing my best, i know you are doing yours...and we are learning and trying to get this to be all better..."
take care, hope this helps, i mean it in the best spirit, b/c i think i have definitely felt the same way...

[FireWithin]

DollyX - OMG thank you I've read it through a few times - thank you

it just take so much emotional, intellectual and physical energy to survive this

[Cate]

When I realized my son was reacting to tomato, I thought I would die. I had already taken so much out of my diet, loosing tomato was like the last straw. It felt like forever that I lived off of chickpeas, rice and bananas. It seemed like he reacted to everything else. Even down to that point, he still had to be on reflux medication, and his stool was still brown, rather than the seedy mustard it should have been.
I really didn't think I'd survive. It felt like he would never get better. He turned 2 last month, and now, he's eating dairy himself, and tomato has been back in our diet since just before his first birthday. Looking back, I don't know how I survived. We've reached a point now where he's outgrown all of his allergies except corn.
It's hard, it's harder than anyone who's never been there can ever realize or appreciate. You can do this. It is worth it.

[mama_nomad]

here is recipe for mock-tomatoe sauce:
http://www.fatfree.com/recipes/sauces/mock-tomato-sauce


ww make it in huge batches and it freezes well. i have to leave out the soy sause and sub a liitle fish sauce instead or add some extra salt. the beets make it a deep pinky-red...its pretty yummy!


we all go though waves with feeling strong and feeling powerless when dealing with many-food-intolerant children. we also have to avoid all nightshades, along with gluten, corn, dairy, eggs, soy and corn. corn was the last straw for me--i had a break down after that. started taing digestive enymes with helped fo r bit but then we depended on them and the symptooms came back. its a rough road--but the biggest benefit: our kids can't eat crap!!

and i always tell my self to focus on what we can eat. make a list of the food that are okay and get creative!


hugs.

[FireWithin]

mama nomad

I agree with everything you said. thanks for the feedback. I agree with making a list of everything you can eat - I often think in terms of meals - it helps me a lot.

I was imagining what a ketchup sub recipe would have, and thought that one containing beets would work well. The only one I found contained cranberry sauce for the sweetening and color. I like the idea of beets better.

eta
mmmmm -just saw the recipe looks good and nutritious. maybe I can adapt the idea to a ketchup recipe. thanks

[bryonyvaughn]

My friend Jill Moeggenberg is working on a cookbook for folks with dietary restrictions. You are free to use her "No Tomato Tomato Sauce" recipe that she's posted on other areas of the web, so long as you credit her should you share the recipe. (She would like to share some recipes while not having to fight over copyright issues.)

~BV

Jill's No-Tomato Tomato Sauce

Quick and easy to make and you won't believe it's not really tomatoes. You can use this for Spaghetti Sauce, Chili base or Pizza sauce or Whatever Sauce.

Ingredients
2 1/2 C steamed carrots
1/3 C steamed beets
2/3 C Water
3 Tbsp Lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Basil (leave out for Chili)
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
1/8 tsp Oregano
3/4 C chopped cooked onions (I use dried flakes but not this much)
1 clove minced Garlic.

Directions
Steam carrots and beets until tender. Brown onion & garlic together. Measure all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Add cooked ground meat or meatballs for spaghetti sauce. Or use as is for pizza sauce. Omit Basil for Chili and use as you would normally. It freezes nicely in a canning jar. Remember to allow about an inch at the top and tighten jar lid after sauce freezes.

[FireWithin]

the tomato sauce sounds great. I can't wait to try it. I bet I can figure out how to manipulate it to make a ketchup