Cooking for someone on a low fiber diet

Istijlál (Majesty), 12 ‘Ilm (Knowledge), 167 BE – Thursday, October 27, 2011 about 2:52 PM Pacific Time

I am learning to cook again. My mother is on a low fiber diet, this means that she can have 3 grams of fiber or less per meal. The dietitian told us per day, but I have found that it is easier to count the dietary fiber content per meal rather then per day.

According to the information on the vegetable labels, ½ cup of the vegetable counts as a serving, this means if the veggie contains 3 grams of fiber that is per serving. There is not enough fiber in most meats to make the label, so I do not have to worry about the fiber in the meat. While rice (according to the labels I have read) does not contain dietary fiber.

To keep Mom’s dietary fiber within the proper range, I mix rice with meat and veggies. Most of the time I use canned chicken and green beans. Therefore, the ½-cup serving of green beans becomes a serving of rice, chicken, and green beans. I use the same method with carrots, peas, etc.

This works all right unless Mom we have frozen dinners. The problem with the T.V. dinners I have encountered so far is that none of them has less then 2 or 3 grams of fiber. Since this is the case, I cannot fix Mom more then one per day or she exceeds the 3 grams per day limit. This also means that instead of getting a vegetable with her rice, she can have only chicken.

This also means that, since I do not know the fiber content of meals in restaurants, I cannot purchase meals and bring home for Mom. Occasionally I would like a break from cooking and meal planning. I would like to go to a restaurant, order something to go, and bring it home for us to eat. Oh well, such is life.