gluten-free, dairy-free, peanut-free, tomatoe-potatoe free

[Diane Pinkers]

Funny you should say that, Katharina. I am a certified veterinary acupuncturist, and I certainly counsel my clients on how to manage their pets's intake by Chinese food therapy when appropriate. I'm not sure I could adequately determine for myself whether I should be encouraging more Yin or Yang, although as a middle-aged female in a stressful job, smart money would be on Yin deficiency. When I have a few spare brain cells to monitor myself I will consider that.

[j lan]

I also wanted to say that quinoa pasta has changed my life

[Diane Pinkers]

I think I tried that long ago, but don't remember. How is the texture? I've been eating Tinkyada rice-based pasta for years, and I really like how close it is to semolina-based pasta in texture.

Right now, I'm not sure what to put on pasta. Can't use tomatoes, can't use cream or cheese, can't use peanut sauce. I've seen several "Cheese" sauce recipes that I may try. I suppose I might fake a "peanut" sauce with tahini. This is clearly going to take some ingenuity.

[Bob Gross]

Pesto sauce, and omit any nuts.

–B.G.–

[BlackHatGuy]

Second on the pesto sauce. There are some really nice ones out there. Ensure they don't have parmesan in them.

[Bob Gross]

"There are some really nice ones out there."

I've never purchased any. I've always made it from scratch.

–B.G.–

[BlackHatGuy]

"I've never purchased any. I've always made it from scratch."

That's because you're Bob Gross. I, on the other hand, buy everything. Got an order in on a mail order bride at the moment. She'll be wearing a white cuben wedding dress. The olive cuben just didn't look right.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Diane,

Any Asian-style peanut sauce can be made with sunflower butter or cashew or almond. It is still awesome tasting! Just make sure if you are using soy sauce you get GF – some of it is made via wheat. There are options though aplenty, even at the local Safeway :-)

PS2: Have you tried the fake cream cheese for vegans? You can get it at Trader Joe's even. I like it well enough.

As for what on pasta? Olive oil and seasonings is good for me. You could always sizzle up rehydrated veggies you can have in a bunch of oil and mix that with rice, quinoa, GF pasta, etc. Easy and cheap too!

[Diane Pinkers]

I just hit your Trailcooking website and found your Thai-style peanut noodle recipe. I was thinking with a packet of almond butter and Bragg's Liquid Aminos instead of the soy sauce. Might have to raid a packet of Chicken Sesame Ramen for the sesame oil packet, or maybe I could make up a packet or three in straws such as I saw someone mention on the list. Is there a brand of soy sauce without wheat that you think tastes good?

[Bob Gross]

"Got an order in on a mail order bride at the moment."

Do you get much of a warranty?

–B.G.–

[Mark Ries]

Definatly get the mail order bride from REI even if she isnt UL

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Speaking of! http://www.minimus.biz/Kari-Out-Low-Sodium-Soy-Sauce-Gluten-Free-F03-4004501-1100.aspx This stuff is GOOD. I buy lower sodium always so for me

As for sesame oil? I'd carry it in a tiny squeeze bottle. I have a love affair with it. And as for the whole refrigerating it thing – not many do outside of the US. Up here in the PNW it takes a lot for it to go rancid. So carry away – it adds a ton of flavor.

And raw sesame seeds sprinkled on Asian style noodles when done…..so good.

[Laurie Ann March]

Diane… take a look at Tamari sauce. There are several brands that are gluten-free.

You also mention no-cook lunch ideas. I just wrote an article for Seattle Backpackers Magazine on that subject. The No-Cook Trail Lunch

Of course, the recipes that have tomatoes won't work but there is a recipe for a red pepper dip there that might work but you'd have to nix the cheese and substitute capers or perhaps even nutritional yeast (if you can have either of those). That is, if you can have chickpeas. If not, a hummus can be made with something like squash or pumpkin puree and I have recipes for that too. I've sent you a private note and will do what I can to help.

I too, am on dietary restrictions (of a different beast) and I know what a pain it can be.

[Laurie Ann March]

We use Daiya Cheese around here… by far one of the better options.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

While Tamari sauce can be a good option do realize that is for the most part full sodium – which means very, very salty. The saddest part of lower sodium soy sauce is it isn't low sodium (it is still 600-800 mg a Tablespoon!) but compare to regular it is a bit better for us all. Tamari is just a different version of soy sauce (all in ingredients) and can for the most part be used interchangeably with soy sauce. The other bummer is it is often more expensive – but I have found organic versions though which are worth it IMO. Just look next to the soy sauce at WF's, PCC, etc.

[Laurie Ann March]

The Tamari brand I use IS a lower sodium version and gluten-free. No different sodium-wise than the low sodium soy sauce you mention at 710 mg per tablespoon.

Here's the link to the Tamari Sauce to back up my comment.

Really the main difference is that Tamari is a bit thicker and richer in flavor – sodium-wise… not really much different than soy sauce. That said, if one can't have soy it still wouldn't work.

[j lan]

Diane, I actually prefer the texture and flavor of the quinoa pasta to any other pasta than homemade. I stick to the spirals and shells though, for vermicelli I would probably pick a rice noodle over the quinoa noodles.

[Diane Pinkers]

Laurie, do you find you can just carry the Daiya Cheese without problems? They made it sound like it goes bad really quickly. Does drying help, and have you tried it?

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

San-J is pretty dang expensive – that is a real consideration when buying new products. It isn't hard to find though.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

The issue behind any grated cheese is it will dry out and or turn bad a lot faster than blocks. For an overnighter it would be fine to carry though. And avoid putting hands in the bag, sprinkle it out. Just treat it like regular dairy cheese.

Btw, the saturated fat in the Daiya is from the coconut oil. There are two camps on whether or not that is considered healthy.

[Link .]

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[Paul Siegel]

It should be noted that soy is a legume…and legumes are inflammatory (which is why your naturopath advised you to avoid peanuts, which are a legume). So, you know, you may want to avoid that if you're trying to avoid inflammatory agents.

I also follow the Paleo diet and have struggled with what to eat while camping, I just try and get close. Peanuts are easy to avoid, dairy and gluten are much harder. I've never tried but I imagine avoiding nightshades is nigh on impossible. Good luck to you, let us know what the final menu is.

[Diane Pinkers]

It's funny you should say that legumes are inflammatory, she was encouraging me to eat beans as protein. So, I found some dehydrated black bean soup in bulk that is actually really tasty, and I'm sure I'll figure out something with that.

This isn't the first time that I've read about alternative diets, and it's really funny, what one person says is bad another person says is good! Type O's aren't supposed to eat strawberries and tomatoes are good, yet if you go by Metabolic Typing, strawberries are fine, but tomatoes are not on the beneficial list for a Parasympathetic Dominant type. And what's the deal with nightshades–how come one has to avoid tomatoes and potatoes, but no one targets peppers, which are also part of the nightshade family.

It gets to the point that I just throw my hands in the air and ignore the details. All I can do is eat it or not eat it, and see how it makes me feel.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Hehhehh!!!! I so understand that one. The only thing I follow religiously with my eating is the no artificial coloring rule. Everything else is flexible. Flexibility keeps one sane ;-)

[BlackHatGuy]

Check out Zing bars. Discovered them in REI the other day. Very tasty, 50 grams, 200 calories, 10 grams protein, and wheat/gluten/soy free. A couple of them are dairy free as well. Lots of organic ingredients. One of the tastiest bars I've tried yet.

And no, I don't own stock in the company!

[Author]

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