Help a homegirl out with her Easter dinner

[welian]

(Almighty Father plz 2 forgive me if this is in the wrong subforum)


Hey nerds, I need a little (okay, a LOT of help) planning an Easter dinner for me and my dad. He's got a LOT of dietary restrictions, and I'm going mad trying to figure out what I can serve with this stupid little ham.

• He's Type-2 diabetic. So anything I make has to have a fairly low glycemic index.
  
• He's on heart and stroke medication. All food must also be low sodium.
  
• His kidney doctor put him on a potassium restriction, so all food must ALSO be low potassium.
  This means no potatoes (white, red, sweet, or otherwise), white beans, couple different kinds of squash, mushrooms, or bananas. Sources differ on spinach and broccoli.
  

[*]He has few teeth and can't wear dentures, so softer foods only.


[*]Spicy food is no-go, unless it's like... fake-ass Taco Bell kind of mild.


[*]EDIT: No grapefruit! I forgot about this, but he's on a lot of medication that doesn't play kindly with certain citrus fruits.




My needs:

• I need to be able to afford the ingredients at a medium-sized grocery store
  
• The recipe is in English
  

It's mostly the potassium restriction that's driving me batty trying to figure out what I can feed him. As far as I can tell, corn and peas are alright (though a bit starchy), egg noodles don't do anything ridiculous to his blood sugar, onions and bell peppers are greenlit too.


With all this bullshit in mind... what do you think I could put together that would nice enough for an Easter dinner, but won't send my dad to the hospital?

 

[welian]

Suggestions I've gotten from the Shoutbox so far:

• Use garlic in lieu of salt
  
• Cabbage+garlic side, maybe?
  
• Homemade macaroni
  
• Deviled eggs (little high in cholesterol, but what the hell, why not)
  

Things I KNOW I can do

• I have cornbread mix and lots of pans to bake in
  
• I got a medium and a small crockpot to use
  
• I can do roast vegetables (IF I CAN FIND ROASTABLE VEGGIES HE CAN EAT), v good tossed in oil and rosemary and spread on a pan
  
• I can get away with some high carb stuff because Dad runs some pretty low checks.
  

 

[DescriptedEnd]

Some more suggestions ~

• Zucchini
  
• Rice, if you don't want to use noodles, but noodles can also be used.
  
• Broccoli
  
• Again, Cabbage, which you could mix with other vegetables like carrots.
  
• Eggplant, Kale, Lettuce
  
• White mushroom
  
• Rhubarb
  
• Squash
  
• Onions, Parsley, Peas, Greens, Peppers, Radishes, Kale, Celery (1 stalk!), Cauliflower.
  

If you want to use a higher-potassium food items, you can leach them.


Leaching Vegetables - {{Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Beets, Winter Squash, & Rutabagas}}

1. Peel & place the vegetables in cold water so they won't darken.
   
2. Cut them in about 1/8 inch thick pieces.
   
3. Then, rinse them in warm water for a few seconds.
   
4. Soak for a minimum of two hours in warm water. Use the ratio 10:1 for water to vegetable. If you soak for longer than two hours, change the water every four hours.
   
5. Rinse them under warm water for a few more seconds.
   
6. Cook vegetables at a 5:1 ratio, water to vegetables.
   

 

[Mordecai]

OK, so I talked to my friend and here is what he had to say:


You already know some of the tricks, but starchy vegetables can be good. As you mentioned, avoid potatoes (or soak them overnight to lower the potatoes), but small amounts of corn and peas (though regulate amounts, as they are higher in phosphorus). Asparagus, beets, broccoli, kale, and okra may also be good for a non-starch vegetable option.


For seasoning and calories, he suggested low fat cream cheese or low fat mayo. Magarine as a substitute for butter, if you must.


Fish is a great, so long as you can find fish low in potassium: pickled herring, ocean perch, haddock, pollack, cod, or tuna. My friend suggested something like the following for a main course that would suit your grandpa's needs and be delicious: fried fish over white rice. Avoid brown or wild rice, however.


A mixed berry platter would be a good, healthy, and sweet dessert option.


He also suggested doing a "tomato boat" for an appetitiser. I'm not sure what it is, but I can ask.


He also suggested looking at This site for some great recipes.

 

[welian]

fried fish over white rice. Avoid brown or wild rice, however.

Isn't that like, the opposite of what a diabetic is suppossed to do though? I mean... well, no, I guess Dad's eaten small portions of white rice before without issue.


Thank you, and @DescriptedEnd for the fast responses and good ideas! Hopefully a few more people might have something to contribute as well, or maybe I'm at least not alone with this issue.

 

[Mordecai]

I don't know, he just said that brown and wild rice are both really high in Potassium. I wish I knew more, I'm so sorry!

 

[welian]

It's all good! You've already helped a lot. : )