Cooking for someone who has pancreatitis

[RiverRock]

What should I know? I would like to take some food to a person who is healing from gallstone removal, and awaiting a surgery to remove her gall bladder. I was told nothing fatty, but does that mean not a drop of added oil? If I make muffins, would oil free be good enough? What if I added Craisins that have been coated in a sugary oil film? I am willing to go to extreme measures if it is necessary, but I am wondering if someone has btdt and can share a few cooking and baking pointers.

[Aerynne]

I have worked with this a little. The craisins shouldn't cause a problem. Oil-free muffins would be just fine but I wouldn't use nuts, avocado, or any other high fat foods. Fatfreevegan.com has lots of yummy recipes for things that would be good for pancreatitis.

Usually a person with pancreatitis is also given enzymes to eat with their food. Also in the beginning when they are just recovering they may not want to eat very much at all, so that is just something to keep in mind.

My friend's dad had pancreatitis and it was around Thanksgiving so I went over and showed my friend's mom how to make a fat free Thanksgiving. They all liked the food pretty well. Fat free food is pretty easy to get used to- you just adjust to the different mouth feel after awhile.

My cooking and baking pointers are use applesauce or pureed pumpkin instead of oil/butter/etc. Remember not to use egg yolks at all. For cooking if you need to saute you can do it in a little fat-free broth. If you need to grease a pan for baking you should be able to- just grease it as thinly as possible and wipe off with a paper towel so hardly any remains.

Some people with pancreatitis become diabetic as a result, so you should ask if the person has any blood sugar problem and if they do, watch out for sugars and other high-glycemic foods. The pancreas has two kinds of cells- alpha cells and beta cells. The alpha cells release the digestive enzymes into the digestive tract and the beta cells release insulin and glucagon into the bloodstream. Pancreatitis doesn't always affect the beta cells, though, so the sugar thing might be fine.

[RiverRock]

That's very helpful information. I found that the internet said little more than to avoid fatty meats and use low fat or no fat dairy. I can be resourceful and creative in the kitchen so I think I can come up with tasty food. It had crossed my mind about not being able to have fat, if sugars would become an issue.

I wondered about making Zupa Toscana. It has Italian sausage, but is very low calorie that I am wondering if it is low enough in fat. I can pan fry it, and then boil it in water and rinse the sausage. I bought fat free evaporated milk to use for the creamy broth.

My cinnamon bun recipe calls for 2 eggs, would 3 egg whites be a good substitute? There is also oil in the recipe, but I think I will completely omit that. I can then use syrup (Roger's Golden) and sprinkle that with cinnamon...or use a layer of jam. I'll use a glaze instead of icing.

For muffins, I think I will try substituting 0% greek yoghurt for butter and see how they turn out. I also bought applesauce. I've used applesauce in the past, but it seems that the liners always stick to the muffins. It might do the same with yogurt.

Another meal I want to try is a shrimp curry, with the curry sauce completely homemade to avoid any oils that are found in the jarred sauces or curry pastes.

[Aerynne]

It really depends on the person so you can ask how certain things are tolerated. As people get better then they can tolerate more fat as well.

Sausage, even rinsed, seems like a lot to me but I would ask the person. Another good thing to do with meat is to use lots less of it and cut it in tiny pieces, but again it depends on how well the person is tolerating fat. Perhaps if you bought chicken sausage. . .

3 egg whites should work for 2 eggs in cinnamon rolls.

Muffin liners don't work with fat-free muffins. You have to just use the pan straight (if it's nonstick) or greased. Silicone liners do work, however (those are the ones you wash and reuse).

[RiverRock]

Thank you. I will hold off on the sausage, and buy silicone liners before trying muffins. I might just make up a "cream" soup that has chicken breast, seasonings and veggies.

[Aerynne]

Originally Posted by RiverRock

Thank you. I will hold off on the sausage, and buy silicone liners before trying muffins. I might just make up a "cream" soup that has chicken breast, seasonings and veggies.

That sounds good. I really like Better than Bouillon for cooking with for fat free stuff. It's not exactly fat free but should be fat free enough.

[ViolaMum]

You can use potato to make a soup creamy without adding any cream. (Or even a slice of bread pureed into the soup will do it.) When I start a veggie soup and cook onions, I'll add a potato, making sure to cook it through. Then I can puree the soup and get a "cream" soup without any cream.

[knitlove]

Originally Posted by Aerynne

Muffin liners don't work with fat-free muffins. You have to just use the pan straight (if it's nonstick) or greased. Silicone liners do work, however (those are the ones you wash and reuse).

I have found parchment paper muffin liners that work well for my gluten free stuff that sticks to every thing and I bet they would work for fat free.