Very restricted diet Mincemeat for Mince Pies

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I've got a friend with some really interesting dietary restrictions that mean she is having to make her own mincemeat for mince pies this Christmas.

By her own admission she's not a natural cook, so switching out some ingredients with other's does not come naturally for her. she's after a mincemeat recipe for mince pies. it started out as being one with no apple in it, but we have gained a whole hosts of other restrictions as well.

I've attached a list of what she can and can't have. please check it before responding. it's quite a challenge which when I'm awake I'll try to look at myself and come up with something as well.

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This is an extraordinary list of no-nos and I'm finding it difficult to understand why anyone would have such a diet. I would find it much easier if the food they were able to eat were listed! :laugh:

No stone fruit, no orchard fruit, no blackberries. But other berries are OK! What's that about? No honey but sugar is allowed? What's THAT about?:eek:

Mincemeat is gong to have to contain some fruit otherwise its simply not mincemeat. I think you need to ask for a list of fruit that is OK. But...if berries are OK then cranberries would be a good inclusion as they help everything set.

And what about spices. They are essential for mincemeat. On such a bizarre diet, I'm assuming that certain spices will be off-limits as well? :scratchhead:

Here's a stab at a a possible recipe - no quantities. I need to know if all ingredients will be suitable before I spend time working out quantities.
  • Dried Blackcurrants and/or Blueberries
  • Sultanas and Raisins
  • Clementine, Tangerines or Oranges (inc. peel) see below.*
  • Dried Cranberries
  • Sugar
  • Whisky or Brandy
  • Almonds
  • Carrots or courgettes (to replace apple) - might not be necessary.
  • Suet (vegetarian or otherwise - no restrictions mentioned regarding fats)

*Here is my number one tip for Tangerines, Clementines and Oranges. This works fantastically for all sorts of applications and I know it will work here.
Cover a whole fruit (rind and all) with boiling water and simmer for 45 mins to an hour (depending on size) until tender. Chop up the fruit (including rind) and remove any pips. Use as it is or blitz in a blender to make a puree. The puree can be used in salad dressings and marinades. For the mincemeat I'd suggest chopping it finely.
 
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Alternatively - looking at all this again, there doesn't seem to be a problem at all! The only problem ingredient is apples. Why not just use a good traditional recipe and leave out the apple!!!
Here is one from James Martin.
  • 250g raisin
  • 375g currant
  • 100ml brandy
  • zest of 1 lemon and juice of ½
  • 300g shredded suet
  • 250g dark brown sugar
  • 85g chopped mixed peel
  • ½ small nutmeg, grated
  • I large Bramley apple, peeled and grated (leave this out or sub. grated carrot)
Method
  1. Soak the raisins and currants in the brandy and lemon juice for 1 hr until plumped up, then drain and set the brandy aside. Mix all the ingredients together in the order given, then pour in the brandy when everything else is well mixed. Spoon and press into sterilised jars, to exclude any air (the easiest way to sterilise jars is to run them through a dishwasher on its hottest setting). Cover and leave for at least a fortnight. Will keep in the fridge for up to 6 months.
 
Alternatively - looking at all this again, there doesn't seem to be a problem at all! The only problem ingredient is apples. Why not just use a good traditional recipe and leave out the apple!!!
Here is one from James Martin.
  • 250g raisin
  • 375g currant
  • 100ml brandy
  • zest of 1 lemon and juice of ½
  • 300g shredded suet
  • 250g dark brown sugar
  • 85g chopped mixed peel
  • ½ small nutmeg, grated
  • I large Bramley apple, peeled and grated (leave this out or sub. grated carrot)
Method
  1. Soak the raisins and currants in the brandy and lemon juice for 1 hr until plumped up, then drain and set the brandy aside. Mix all the ingredients together in the order given, then pour in the brandy when everything else is well mixed. Spoon and press into sterilised jars, to exclude any air (the easiest way to sterilise jars is to run them through a dishwasher on its hottest setting). Cover and leave for at least a fortnight. Will keep in the fridge for up to 6 months.
Thank you. I've just put it to her. I'll see what the response is.

The diet is not by choice. her body went into melt down 12 or so ago and basically refused all food. she nearly died. what she can eat now is considerably more than even 6 months ago. it's a case of slowly adding things back in one she was stable. a little of this, nope problems back, some of this... ok, then trying something else. no choice, just a medical condition sadly.
 
Makes you realise what we take for granted.
Indeed!

Nevertheless, it is still an odd diet in my opinion. I would like to know more about it and who has prescribed it. No honey but sugar is OK? No brassicas or pulses? No onions or leeks? And she has to search out a 'booklet' to look things up. If it depends on a booklet then how does that correlate with 'slowly adding things back in once she was stable'. I would have thought that she would know what is a problem if she had been adding things.

Sorry if this seems harsh... but I'm curious!
 
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I know someone who can have cane sugar, but not beet sugar. The latter, like onions and leeks are root crops.

As for the booklet, similar but different for myself. Small booklet listing all current anti-epileptic medication, the various names they go under. What shouldn't be taken with what, mostly if I'm pregnant. For me that's been life long, I'm used to it. What someone who has this situation thrown at them, I can't say. Just like above.

Rush back, you'll make mistakes/miss something. With me it was simple painkillers that nearly got me. Both times in the same A&E. It's a simple case of which is worse, chance something and have it go wrong or avoid it?
 
You been pregnant all your life? :eek: :laugh:

Sorry, I know it can be a real thing and what you eat can matter. I guess I'm lucky. So far...
So glad I am not the only one that thought that.

*Though there is a woman here in the US that was pregnant for roughly 21 years. Or should I say she had 19 kids in 21 years.
 
The booklet lists what she can and can't have. as for adding things back in, it's not a case of everything on the good list that her body can accept yet and just because it doesn't accept it now does not mean it won't accept it in 3 months time, but eat something off the known bad lists and the result will be inevitable.

She under a NHS nutritionalist, and it's working. it's a known medical diet and takes time. she may never been able to easy everything again, but it's better than the white rice, white bread, and something else white that she had worked out herself.

Here is here original post.

PZ people, do you know where I can get any mincemeat without apple in it please? With this silly low FODMAP diet (OK it's not so silly because it's working, but it's exceedingly frustrating if you're trying to buy seasonal goodies!) I have to be milk-free, gluten-free and no orchard fruits (and a host of other stuff). I'm already resigned to having to bake my own mince pies (and you all know just how I
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and excel at baking, not!) Fortunately I have found some gluten-free ready made pastry. However, I am now struggling to find any mincemeat. Please don't tell me that I will have to make that too! (And if I do, do you have a recipe, please, because putting "mincemeat recipe without apple" into an internet search engine only finds lots of lovely recipes WITH apple!) Help
 
Thats interesting. I learned a lot! I think I'm a terrible sceptic when it comes to these diets. I always wonder what out ancestors did. Did people die because they couldn't eat gluten or stone fruits? I don't know. Are such intolerances innate or is this a modern phenomenon caused by rubbish processed food? Did people not get diagnosed before and so loads of people just died?

Lots of questions...
 
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People just got treated as freaks, where the condition was genuine. Other than that they cut out large amounts of certain foods.

Go back further, and they seldom survived long enough.
 
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