[food] Tedious dietary restrictions

[kaberett]

See subject for content note!

So the thyroxine continues working well for me in that my latest bloods were presumably normal (in that it's been several weeks and nobody's tried to haul me in for examining) and my symptoms are entirely resolved, etc.

This means that for the foreseeable future I need to optimise for low-calcium breakfast foods (that are also vegetarian, but I assume you all already know I'm vegetarian).

Additional constraints: I would ideally like things that are broadly savoury (I'm pretty much sorted for jam-and-bread) and that require no cooking, because I mostly don't have the brain for that in the mornings (but "just skip breakfast" isn't an option because morning meds need taken with food).

I default towards varying between "fruit and plain yoghurt" and "cheese/salad/etc on carbohydrate", both of which are very much out. Under most circumstances nut butters are a Bad Texture and I don't have the executive function for them; similarly entirely dry cereal is not a friend but milk/nut milk/fruit juice are Too Liquid (unless I SUPPOSE I get back into the habit of making Bircher muesli minus the yog, urgh).

I am dimly aware that I could try houmous + salad on crunchy things, and to that end have a blender of the stuff in the fridge currently (and a jar of tahini, which to be fair was actually to make the baba ganoush, which needed cooked because the supermarket had cheap aubergine, but I digress).

But. Like. Any other suggestions? I think there are limits to how far I can push "well whole grains inhibit calcium absorption so provided I eat my calcium with whole grains..."

Comments

[ofearthandstars]

Would the overnight oats thing work for you? I find them a bit mushy, but not too liquidy, especially if they have at least 8 hrs to soak. I would imagine that you could make them savory (for example, a variation on: https://www.veganosity.com/savory-vegan-mediterranean-oatmeal/), but it does require setting up the night before.

[lunabee34]

What about something like miso soup or another soup? You could just heat it up rather than having to cook it.

[azurelunatic]

I am fond of the instant oats of the "dump packet and hot water into cup" variety, especially at work where hot water is plentiful and instant. (I seem to recall that hot water is plentiful in your kitchen?)

I also like packet applesauce and the little blueberry breakfast biscuits (Bel Vita here).

[kaberett]

Ah! Yes, hot water is plentiful and instant, but a thing I CLEARLY FAILED TO MENTION is that... porridge... isn't... food? It just doesn't occur to me that other people think porridge is food, because it isn't. Which means that porridge-based solutions are out. >_<3

Gruel and unusual punishment.

[hairyears]

Porridge is... Useful. Weaponisable. Amusing in a conversation about sabotaging an accordion.

But no, and you are right: porridge is not food.

[ghoti]

are hard boiled eggs A Food?

[kaberett]

Alas no, except in the context of potato salad, which somebody else suggested below, so hmmmmmmmmm...

[fyreharper]

Is that because Unmixed Egg, and if so, might egg-pucks work? (Egg and other tasties cooked in a muffin tin, to be reheated-and-eaten later at convenient intervals)

I also enjoy miso soup as breakfast, although idk whether that’s sufficient food for medding.

[wildeabandon]

Would these Merchant Gourmet grains & pulses sachets work?

I've been eating lots of them as lunches, but I don't think there's any reason they wouldn't work as breakfasts.

[syderia]

Potato salad? (The Germanic kind, with potatoes and oil+vinegar, and maybe some pickles/onions, not the American kind). Potatoes can be cooked in advance in batches and left in the fridge for two or three days, and slices just before breakfast.

Likewise, what we French call "cake", which is a loaf of, well, cake, can be made savory with things like olives, and mushrooms and whatever strikes your fancy. I have recipes if you're interested. (Or savory muffins, now that I think of it). They can be made a few days before.

[ursula]

Can you do whole nuts? Hard-boiled eggs?

I have similar-but-not-identical constraints and am becoming more and more a fan of just eating leftovers for breakfast.

[kaberett]

Hard-boiled eggs are also in the category Not Food for me, alas.

But the reminder that I actively like dal and paratha/chapathi is a good one, thank you, even if leftover pizza is less of an option!

[ursula]

They are in the category of Food That Hates Me, which makes me sad, since I actually do like egg curry.

That does sound like a very good breakfast! I will eat pizza without cheese, but we're unlikely to have it around when Chinese or Indian food is just as easy to make or acquire.

[redbird]

One of my common breakfast options used to be "last night's leftovers," sometimes reheated, but often right out of the fridge. I'm not a vegetarian, but the idea of making or ordering extra works as well with vegetarian meals (which in my case might be a mushroom stir-fry, roast vegetables, or black beans and rice). I like roasted root vegetables by themselves, at room temperature or even straight out of the refrigerator. I might put salt and pepper on them, and we usua;ly toss them with rosemary and olive oil before we put them in the oven. (We never have leftover roast mushrooms; we do sometimes have leftover potato, sweet potato, carrot, swede, or Brussels sprouts (which I don't like but Adrian and cattitude do).

If you like frittatas, you might like pieces of one the next day; an apple frittata would be sweet, but something like onion or spinach wouldn't be.

[sebenikela]

What about making several grain pancakes ahead of time and then freezing/fridgeing? I have been known to eat those straight out of the fridge with my hands, and without jam or syrup they're not too sweet... I usually put peanut butter on but regular butter or nothing also work.

You could potentially do that with latkes/potato pancakes, too, though idk if they'd be edible cold.

Are there dairy substitutes that aren't calcium enriched?

[ewt]

I am rather fond of guacamole on carbohydrate. It freezes well enough in small portions to be worth making when ripe avocados are cheap.

Flapjacks have been a standby for me in the past, though I never got around to trying to make savoury ones.

I have done batch cooking of burritos before now, and if you like them without cheese they may be a suitably low-effort option (they do want reheating).

I don't know offhand if coconut yoghurt is low enough in calcium and the right texture/flavour to be a suitable swap for you.

[highlyeccentric]

Hmm. Nut bars?

Plus any number of things that are Easy Food but not normally breakfast. Eg: instant mashed pototo. Fried rice. (Uncle Ben'stype instant rice + a vegetable or egg?)

It might be worth doing some investigating to see if you can source (online, to order in bulk) unfortified soy or almond milk. Or, potentially, make your own but milk? not exactly low-effort, but done in advance, and potentially an Interesting Cooking Adventure. The internet seems to think cashews are lower in calcium than almonds.

[ephemera]

Would Chia seeds work for you? (I know they're fairly high in protein, but not their calcium content) - you could make up a batch of chia-seed pudding in advance (seeds left to soak overnight in non-dairy milk or in juice) and use it to replace the yoghurt part of fruit and yoghurt? The texture is distinctive, but I think it basically tastes of whatever you soak it in. Coconut milk is tasty.

[ironed_orchid]

Can you heat stuff up in the morning? Maybe some steamed or roast veges (I'm thinking stuff like pumpkin and cauliflower) with some toasted seeds sprinkled on top. You could initially cook enough for several meals at once, and then reheat in batches the right size for your breakfast.

(I often dice and roast a butternut pumpkin when I'm using the oven for something else, so I have roast pumpkin for salads.)

Or baked polenta squares with pesto or avocado topping?

[vass]

- congee (if that's not too porridge to be Food For Alexes) (crockpottable)
- miso soup with rice
- ful medames (probably too much cooking unless you pre-cook then microwave)
- shakshouka (ditto)
- toast with Marmite (unless "pop it in the toaster" counts as cooking)
- baked beans on toast (involves a toaster AND a microwave)
- hummus with flatbread

(some of these prompted by a trip through Wikipedia's breakfasts page)

[redsixwing]

Is fruit crisp A Food? I like it with double the crisp-topping per fruit (and half the sugar) but it's a very tweakable formula.

[cesy]

Is mayonnaise too much calcium? Toast with mayonnaise is weird but surprisingly good.

[khalinche]

Rice cakes and...things?

Does non-porridge extend to home-made oat bars? I am thinking of the kind you make by smashing up ripe bananas, mixing in oats (+raisins +nuts +whatever) and baking until firm.