The MS Recovery Diet by Ann Sawyer and Judi Bachrach

Disclaimer - I am in the UK, so some names/brands etc may not travel well. Please let google be your friend.

A few tips and pointers may help.

Slow cooker, really cheap these days and fantastic. Also get a slowcooker recipe book to go with it. I am amazed at the stuff that can be done in it. Overnight porridge, curries, casseroles, meats, veg, deserts. It is simplicity in itself, energy efficient too. NB - Never reheat in a slowcooker, us the microwave.

Overcook where possible and freeze.

Buy a semi decent, (not the real cheap ones, but not the proffessional catering standard), vacuum sealer. this allows for sealing all kinds of things from half used ingredients, to leftover meals for lunch etc. I make extra pasta, drizzle with oil and then boil in bag (in the kettle), in work next day. add a few bits, see below, and lunch in 5 mins.

Wagamama do 2 cookbooks, they are great. not strictly for our diet, but the asian nature of the food is often very flexible, and many of the base ingredients are freindly. I use a gluten free worcester sauce mixed with a little wine vinegar as substitute to soya. this often works but not always. try and see. 2 regulars in our house are the garlic chili coconut chicken, and the many versions of ramen. Ramen is basically, noodle soup. My 10 minute version is simply veg stock, seasoned, add tinned or packet (Amoy are best), chinese or Thai vegetables. Roast chicken breast from deli, diced, ( or venison ). add rice noodles (as per packet usually 3-6 minutes). add chopped pak choi, (or spring green cabbage), and spring onion (cut finely on the diagonal) with 1 minute to go. ladle in a large bowl.

Nick Nairns Cook School and The Delia "How to" series are great resources if you need any tips on how to cook and general kitchen advice, Recipes have to be modified along the way. These books are not about listing recipes but about the kitchen knowledge that has become lost on newer generations.

Food processor is also a very handy time saver. especially if overcooking for freezing.

Obvious ones, are buy a real good quality knife, and pan set. They do make life easier.

Anything to make life easier is good. I now cook more or less from scratch for most of my meals. This means if I save a few minutes per meal they soon add up.

I found the hardest thing was th practicality of the shopping. I can get just about all of my "special" foods, (ie not fresh fruit veg & meat), from 6 stores. I now so this shop once every 4 months or so and store it in the attic. My ship is now upstairs instead of round the corner. This also costs me less as I can get better value from 6 stores and often take advantage of offers. Because i now spend much less time shopping I dont begrudge the extra time cooking anymore.

I am currently having a go at growing some herbs, lettuce, spring onion, potatoes, fennel. Again this will offset the shopping time - If it goes well :-) ). I am also exploring bulk order frozen meats and fish.

There are several brands that absolute godsends.

Meridian - cookin sauces, nut butters, tahini,
Orgram - many pastas, flours, pancake mixes, egg replacer, breadcrunbs, bread mixes*, and all other things baking.
Eat Natural - the best muesli in the world. Even regular diets prefer it.
OK foods - chocolate triffin, cereal bars
Natures Path - breakfast cereals
Rice Cream - Ice cream from rice milk
Sallutte - the best gluten free pastas by far
Kelkin - porridge, chocolate rice crackers
Lindt 85% chocolate, (if needs must)
Doves Farm - Flours and Cookies
Granovita - sauces and condiments
Knorr - Vegetable soup (only packet soup I can find other than tomato)
Dieteray Specials - mostly Breads but they use yeast. I am borderline yeast and have this as a treat occasionally.

Most of the above do many more in the ranges. Those listed by each brand name are what I can get hold of, and or prefer the brand to others.

also see my post re cakes for a book due out May 2009 - babycakes. looks promising.

When trying to find recipes I use google, and find 4 or 5 of the same dish. Anything that has a variety of ingredients to achieve the same dish is good. You can then mix and match between several ingredients and techniques to suit you. If you find half a doxen recipes and they all include a key ingredient that you cannot have, then the next stage is to google for XXXX free recipes to see if there is a specific substitution recipe. If there is neither then give it up, at least til you have made some headway.

At this point there is only one food that I cannot replace/substitute. Cheese. Anything else there is a workaround or an alternative that is very good.

Below is a rough guide to a typical dishes for us. They are chosen either because they are very fast to make, uses the slowcooker, or ideal for freezing.

Breakfasts
Midweek tends to be cereal/porridge/muesli, using rice milk, with goji berries, linseed and flaxseed.
Weekend, either pancakes (orgram), potato waffles with tomatoes, mushrooms, occasionally bacon.

Lunches -
Summer sees mostly salads. I am just getting creative with salads. Pasta salads, rice salads, noodle salads. eg - half tin new potatoes heated in micro, pasta boiled in bag. add this to a tin of tuna with chopped red onions and rocket and spinach. I also add green beens, (one of the few legimes I can eat. note I think greenbeens are therefore peas). season and drizzle with EVOO. This takes around 5 minutes to prepare.
Winter see more soup and reheated leftovers from the freezer.

Dinner
Sunday Roast - we buy tukney breast from the deli for ease. place part boiled potatoes on a rack over a baking tray and brush with sesame oil for roast potatoes. less than a teaspoon of oil per serving. overmake the veg and boiled potatoes to mash and freeze. overmake gravy for another day too.

Escabache - fish of your choice. coat in dry mix of 1 part ground cumin, ground corriander, ground carraway, 1/2 part paprika, 1/4 part salt, 14/part sugar or agave nectar. rub into fish and quickly flash fry. add to casserole dish with sliced peppers & onions. Add liquids preheated in a pan. 1 large cup of white wine, 1 large cup of veg stock, 1 large cup of water, small cup of wine vinegar, (any). season and add a hand full of cranberries. Oven for 80 mins on 175 degrees. We eat this from oven, though traditionally it is cooled and eaten the next day cold. :-o

Bambi bolognaise - I take my inspiration from Heston Bloomenthal here. take celery, carrot and onion, and chop fine in food processor. use a spray sunflower oil, (flora here), and pan fry til soft and onion and celery is opaque. add to slowcooker. quickly fry minced venison with some salt and pepper, drain any excess fat, should not be much of good mince), add to slowpot. Also add, possatta or tinned chopped tomatoes, small cup of chardonay, worcester sauce and star anise (I do this large pieces and remove to eat). Turn on slowpot ofr 6 to 8 hours and eat. The last hour is the perfect time to check it and adjust any of the liquids or seasonings as needed. Serve with Sallutte spaghetti. - Everyone arrives at my house and announces that there spagbol will be better than mine, and leave asking for the recipe. It is so simple it is almost crimninal. The slowpot is the master of this recipe. this is also good for freezing, and for boil in the bag lunch too.

Chicken Tikka Massala & Pilau rice with popadoms
Meridian cookin sauce - this is slightly high in satfat, and has to be on a day when all other meals are low. finely slice sweet pepper and chili and onion, and dice chicken breast. Spray oil in wok, and quickly stir fry on high heat. When chicken is sealed and just turning golden brown at edges, pour on cookin sauce and leave on low for 7 or 8 minutes. serve with rice and popadoms. low fat popadoms from the ready made uncooked ones. (check they are made from gram flour). Spray oil and microwave for 30 seconds on either side, (to reduce fat). Again over cooked for freezer.

Breaded fish or chicken, (Kiev) with Parsnip chips and peas (I can eat peas).
Use millet straight from packet instead of breadcrumbs, and coat fish with a little oil and lemon juice, bake and serve with roast parsnips, (the frozen ones are ok). For Chicken Kiev use millet and garlic butter using (Simple) vegan spread. lightly coat outside and add millet, after slicing the chicken breads at around 25degreees from vertical to add extra garlic butter. Parsnip chips can be added to salads the next day too. Tarragon vinegar is nice with the fish. (add some leftover tarragon to spirit vinegar and leave for a month or two, shake occasionally - or pay for fancy brand).

Penne Arabiata & Chorizo.
Gluten and Dairy free chorizo is hard to find but it is out there. It tends to have a good shelf life too. slice on diagonal @ 2mm thick. spear with a skewer and space each piece out. rest skewer ends on a pyrex dish. place in oven on @ 150 for 5-10 minutes. The fat will be mostly lost, and the chorizo is done when it starts to crisp at the edges. not burn, just surface crsip. Add to Sallutte penne pasta and pour over a chopped tomato sauce. add chili to taste and garnish with basil or corriander. I tend to reserve this for summers as the tomato is a nightshade.

Morrocan Tagine
Various cookin sauces have appeared on the market recently for this. Most are suitable for the diet.
Cook chicken in a wok or frying pan, add cookin sauce, serve with Millet, (aka cous cous).

Paella - is quite time consuming to make. however I find that it is perfect for BBQ's. I have a theory with BBQs. If you prepare all the food and present it to the table next to the BBQ. Suddenly everyone wants to take over. Let them. If you get no takers fake trouble lighting it and no one can resist helping out. All you need to do now is keep fetching the beer.

Gammon & root veg in apple stock
Lean Gammon rolled joint, (oversized). Add 300ml of apple juice, (for some reason I find the cheap stuff is the best). Add chopped onion, fennel, parsnips and carrots, (potatos are ok too). place gammon on top, (drizzle with a little mustard and honey optional), in slowcooker and cook on low for 6-7 hours.

Pea & Ham soup
Pretty much standard recipe with obvious substitutions. Teh gammon is so tender that it can be used for may other dishes too.

Moknfish & Parma ham with sweetpotato and pak Choi.

Wrap Monkfish fillet in lean parma ham. bake in oven covered for 30 mins. serve with mashed sweet potato and chopped corriander on a bed of pak choi and drizzle with a little (from leftover), Thai green curry sauce with extra sugar/nectar for sweetness.

Thai Green Curry / Red Curry.
The past if you get a Thai Brand is usually safe. The coconut milk is high in sat fats. If you buy a "low fat" coconut milk it will tend to have what in it as a preservative. The trick is to keep the can in a dark cupboard. When you open it will be hard (set). pierce with a knife and pour out the liquid (around half the tin). Add around 1/3 again of rice milk and a few cocunut flakes, (or flavouring). The success of this is to sweeten the sauce when simmering in the pan with sugar, (not nectar as it ruins the sauce). Adding extra lemongrass can help also depeding on the paste you get. Serve with sticky rice. Try to save some sauce for freezing. It can be used as a flavouring for salad dressings and with the above.

Fishcakes with sweet chili dip and rocket.
To make the fiscakes, I mix tinned tuna, finely diced pepper and onion, with millet, (or orgram stuffign mix), a little "no egg" in the mixer and divide/press into pates. spray oil and further coat with millet/stuffing. pan fry and leave to rest in warm oven on a rack for a few minutes. Vacuum wrapped the fishcakes are ok the following day warmed on a grill or (justabout) in the microwave.

Snacks / Treats
OK foods Chocolate Triffin is sent from heaven. regular diets love it too.
OK Cereal Bars
Doves Farm cookies
Sesame Snaps with Date syrup
Popcorn
Kelkin Dar Chocolate Rice Cakes
Walkers crisp. very low in fat and certain flavors ok, get reading labels not all crisp are so bad

If any of this ramble is of use then I will be happy. I will try and stop by again and post some other ideas and new findings.

Good Luck