Hi Janeliz
I'm really pleased to hear from you as I'm a T3 relying on help from the T1s here. (Gallstones then Acute pancreatitis; quickly followed by SIRS and multiple organ failure hence intensive care; and now a long, slow recovery). I guess you're on Creon or equivalent too?
I don't have a fish allergy; I'm vegetarian, so no fish or meat in my diet - just a little protein from nuts, lentils, beans and eggs.
I was advised by specialist dietitian (aware of gallstone) not to worry about no fat diet especially as I have a low fat diet anyway. For me, it's been more important to build my strength up. I only left hospital at Xmas, having lost a huge amount of weight including just about all my muscle mass. I've continued to lose weight ever since which worries me and the dietitians (although interestingly, not my DSN who's happy so long as I stay within the ideal BMI range). My DSN told me to eat 3 meals a day and cut out all snacks, stop the Fortisip food supplement in order to manage my diabetes and I agree it has given me better control of my BG.
The downside is that I'm now 10 stone (I'm male and 5' 8") but will probably be 8 stone by the end of the year at this rate. The problem is that's the time when they're thinking I should be fit to have my gallbladder removed and other operations related to the pancreatitis.
Coincidentally, I met a dietitian this week (following a case review with several specialists in the pancreas team); they still disagree with my DSN I.e. I should be snacking between meals and I should be having some fat (not high fat); both to stop the weight loss. They did ask me to check this with the DSN (I don't think they can talk to each other because they're in different health trusts).
The dietitian recommend I try a different supplement to Fortisip called Vital 1.5 which contains "easily digestible fat". I need to talk to my GP/DSN first , plus I'm not convinced by the high carb content.
You may be interested that the dietitian recommended I ask my GP to arrange for a "fat soluble vitamin" blood test to ensure I'm taking enough Creon to absorb vital nutrients. I'm due my annual Diabetes review in August, with HBA1C, so I'll request this at the same time.
Anyway, this doesn't help you, other than that I understand completely.
All I can suggest that may help in a very limited way;
1. Quorn mince or pieces (fresh or frozen) as a low fat alternative to meat. I've been told the mince is the most realistic, but I'm not the best person to ask. The website
www.quorn.co.uk has many recipes but you can probably use it as a straight substitute for beef or chicken. You can buy quorn sausage, burgers, steaks etc - I tend to avoid these, but friends offer them me as an easy meal. They taste ok to me but are probably nothing like meat.
2. Tofu - high protein, no fat, no carb, but let's not beat about the bush, it's tasteless! However, you don't need to stir fry it in Chinese dishes - look for vegan recipes such as scrambled egg and even cheesecake. You may need strong willpower and imagination for this one
This web site may give you inspiration:
http://greatist.com/health/healthy-tofu-recipes
3. Do you like fish/seafood? Again there are vegetarian/vegan alternatives (including "fish" fingers that my daughter used to eat (await accusations of child cruelty)) that have never been near the sea so shouldn't trigger your allergy. They're harder to find in the supermarket, you may need to go where we "hippies" go! (Ok if you live near a city - for me, it's Unicorn, Chorlton near Manchester).
4. Look at quinoa as an alternative to rice/pasta/possiblypotatoes or as a main ingredient in a salad (many recipes on the web). It's a grain (cooked liked rice but you must rinse thoroughly to remove a bitter taste) that's high in protein - it's not low carb though sorry.
5. I love hummus - shop bought ones have too much fat (even low fat ones), so I use this BBC recipe which takes 5 minutes to make with a stick blender:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1940690/healthy-homemade-houmous-
Add to sandwiches (including Lidl's high protein/low carb roll) or dip with carrots or low carb alternative such as cucumber or celery.
I'm not advocating that you become a vegetarian, if nothing else, carb management becomes even more difficult. You may want to consider "meatless Monday" (or any other day) which is a popular way of reducing meat in your diet for health or ethical reasons. There are plenty of recipes if you google "Meatless Monday" and it may be more acceptable to anyone else you live with.
Hope this gives you a couple of ideas.
Kind regards
Tony
