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in Lifestyle &middot October 4, 2017

7 Healthy Meals I Love + Free Printable for Cooking for Someone with Food Allergies

A few months ago, I asked on my Facebook page what types of posts you would like to see, and someone asked for my favorite recipes. This is especially different from “regular” people’s recipes because of my food sensitivities: I can’t eat gluten, dairy, corn, soy, and egg because they trigger my rheumatoid arthritis. As a whole, this means that I have a lot more healthy meals than the average person since if I want the non-healthy foods I have to make them from scratch. But don’t get me wrong; plenty of days I have pasta, oatmeal, pizza, etc.

I do want to note that I don’t cook a whole lot because I don’t feel well enough to do it every single day. I do, however, cook a couple times a month, and over the years, these are the recipes that I have made over and over again. And scroll down to the bottom to get a free printable to help if you are cooking for someone with food allergies or sensitivities.

Want to make more healthy meals but aren't sure where to start? Want some new ideas to mix things up? Well this post is here for you! 7 healthy recipes that I've enjoyed (that can also be free of gluten, dairy, corn, soy, and egg, so if you or someone you know has any of these allergies or sensitivities, these will work for them).

7 Healthy Meals I Love

Stir-Fry: Based on My Whole Food’s life recipe for easy quinoa stir fry, this is a great kitchen-sink meal. I usually do brown rice instead of quinoa and whatever I have in my kitchen. That can include celery, peppers, onion, carrots, and garlic. The balsamic vinegar is what makes this absolutely amazing!

Chicken; quinoa, brown rice, or roasted sweet potato; and vegetables, usually roasted broccoli: This is a good base for making healthy meals because there’s protein, healthy carbs, and vegetables. And there is enough wiggle room that it isn’t boring. You can cook the chicken with any spices you want or in any way you want (there are two down below), but our family’s personal favorite is taco seasoning. I also suggest making the rice with broth of some kind, either chicken or vegetable. Both make it more flavorful and also add extra nutrition.

Looking for a delicious smoothie recipe? You need to check this out! It's especially great if you don't like the taste of greens like spinach or kale because you can't taste them. Check this out for the smoothie and for 6 other healthy meals.

Smoothie: If you follow me on Instagram, you’re probably used to seeing me post smoothies. I try to have these smoothies at least 2-3 times a week. My go-to way of making a smoothie is 2 cups of greens (spinach or kale), 1.5 cups of frozen berries, 1.5 cups of unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 1 tablespoon of hemp protein powder, and 1 tablespoon of a mix of chia and flax seed. Sometimes, I also add a teaspoon of peanut butter, which makes it extra creamy.

Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken: This is sooooo good! While brown sugar and garlic sounds like a weird combination, it tastes amazing. My only advice is to make sure that you either spray the pan or put down aluminum foil because the mixture really thins out while cooking and ends up layering the bottom of the pain, which can take forever to get out.

Lemon Garlic Chicken: This is another delicious chicken recipe. It’s a much lighter taste than the brown sugar garlic, but it tastes just as good.

One-Pan Chicken Fajitas: Want something delicious but don’t want to spend a lot of time cooking? This is your meal. It’s super easy and the most time spent while cooking is actually spent when it’s in the oven.

Burrito Bowls: My sister, her boyfriend, and I all loooooove doing burrito bowls. These can take a fair amount of time but it’s so worth it. We don’t work off of a recipe, which is actually helpful because we can do whatever we want. Past ingredients include chicken (made with fajita or taco seasoning), rice, salsa, black beans, tomatoes, roasted broccoli, onion, peppers (bell and others), lime juice, and more. They’re absolutely delicious!

Who doesn't like burrito bowls? Check out how I make them as well as 6 other healthy meals.

Free Printable for Ingredients To Avoid When Cooking for Someone with Allergies or Sensitivities

Are you cooking for someone with food allergies or sensitivities? Here is a list of ingredients to avoid if the issue is gluten, dairy, corn, soy, or egg.

What are your go-to recipes?

Like this post? Share it and check out:

Food Substitutions for Allergies & Sensitivities, How To Shop at Whole Foods without Breaking the Bank, 4 Reasons To Meal Prep, The Lifestyle Changes I Made for My Rheumatoid Arthritis

Kate Mitchell

Kate Mitchell is a blogger, chronic illness patient, and advocate who helps people understand chronic illness and helps chronic illness patients live their best lives.

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Comments

  1. Chelsea Jacobs says

    October 4, 2017 at 3:02 pm

    brown sugar garlic chicken sounds amazing!

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    • Kate Mitchell says

      October 17, 2017 at 10:50 am

      It really is! And it smells amazing, too.

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  1. 56 Gluten-Free Holiday Recipes To Make This Year | Health Lifestyle says:
    August 15, 2021 at 3:36 pm

    […] Yummy Crockpot Recipes, 7 Healthy Meals I Love + Free Printable for Cooking for Someone with Food Allergies, Food Substitutions for Allergies & […]

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  2. Halloween Recipes for Common Food Sensitivities says:
    May 23, 2026 at 11:58 am

    […] 56 Gluten-Free Holiday Recipes To Make This Year, Chronic Illness and the Holidays: 10 Rules for a Great Season, Chronic Illness Hacks for the Holidays, 7 Healthy Meals I Love + Free Printable for Cooking for Someone with Food Allergies […]

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I don’t know the exact date of my RA diagnosis, bu I don’t know the exact date of my RA diagnosis, but this is from right around then in July 2010. ⁣
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When I was diagnosed, I had been having symptoms for 9 years. ⁣
- 9 years of foot pain (partially from tarsal coalition)⁣
- Arthritic damage in said food⁣
- Carpal tunnel off and on for several years⁣
- And more⁣
⁣
I was finally diagnosed because I woke up one morning and was unable to open my jaw more than 8 mm. It turned out that I had horrible arthritic damage to my TMJs, which got me off the waiting list at MGH rheumatology. I left that appointment with an autoimmune arthritis diagnosis. ⁣
⁣
The fact that July is not only my diagnosis anniversary but also Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month has always seemed right. I may not have been diagnosed with JA, but given the amount of arthritis I had along with my many years of symptoms, it's generally accepted that I had it. ⁣
⁣
This year marks 16 years since diagnosis and this fall marks 25 years since my symptoms started. It's pretty weird that so much time has already passed!⁣
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⬛⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣.⁣
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ID: Kate at 19 at Fenway Park for a Red Sox game. ⁣
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#RheumatoidArthritis #AutoimmuneDisease #Arthritis #JuvenileArthritis #JRA
Dos and don'ts for when someone in your life is di Dos and don'ts for when someone in your life is diagnosed with autoimmune arthritis! What are some that you would add?⁣
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⬛⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣.⁣
⁣
⁣⁣⬛⁣⁣⁣
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ID: "So someone you know was diagnosed with Autoimmune Arthritis". Under the Do column (indicated with a green checkmark) is:⁣
"As how they feel about it⁣
Offer specific ways to help⁣
Treat them normally⁣
Ask follow-up questions⁣
Wear a mask around them when sick."⁣
Under the don't don't column (indicated with an x in a red circle) is:⁣
"Say “At least it’s not xyz!”⁣
Say that and not follow through⁣
Assume nothing about their lives has changed⁣
Conflate autoimmune arthritis with osteoarthritis⁣
Pass your cold to an immunosuppressed person".⁣
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#AutoimmuneDisease #RheumatoidArthritis #PsoriaticArthritis #AnkylosingSpondylitis #JuvenileArthritis
Weekj 26 of 2026 Weekly Scenes of a summer week Weekj 26 of 2026 Weekly 

Scenes of a summer week in Maine! So glad I work from home, which means I can work from my real home (Maine, if that wasn’t clear)

1️⃣ Lots of Harley time
2️⃣ Working from home means saving my PTO for fun things!
3️⃣ Lots of duck families (📸 my dad)
4️⃣ What a lot of my days look like - Harley and my current project (needlepoint). And, yes, I’m still in a cast.
5️⃣ Learned how to play Mahjong, which my parents love
6️⃣ Lake views on the 4th

⬛⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣.⁣⁣⁣⁣

⬛⁣⁣⁣

IDs:
1️⃣ Harley the golden retriever on a deck as seen through some plants
2️⃣ Kate takes a selfie
3️⃣ A duck with little ducklings following on a lake
4️⃣ Harley coming up to Kate. Her legs are out on an ottoman, 1 foot in a walking cast, and an in-progress needlepoint project
5️⃣ Looking down at a Mahjong table with the game set up
6️⃣ A kayak on the shore of a lake 

#MaineTheWay #MaineSummer #Needlepoint #MaineLife
Living with chronic pain is really hard. You’re wi Living with chronic pain is really hard. You’re winning every day you’re still here.⁣
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⬛⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣.⁣
⁣
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ID: The background image is a lake at sunset. Text reads what's above the first square and also "katethealmostgreat".⁣
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#ChronicIllness #ChronicPain #RheumatoidArthritis #Fibromyalgia #Endometriosis
I've been spending a fair amount of time at my foo I've been spending a fair amount of time at my foot surgeon's office this year, and boy has it been messing with my head. ⁣
⁣
I spent a lot of time from 2001-2010 dealing with my left foot. Long story short, it took until this foot surgeon saw me in 2010 after fixing this foot for me to be diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. But I spent those 9 years going from doctor to doctor, having surgery after surgery, trying to figure out what was causing my pain and to fix it. ⁣
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Was it the tarsal coalition? Did I have another chronic health issue? Etc. ⁣
⁣
I spent from age 10 to 19 unsure what exactly was wrong with me and in huge amounts of pain. We thought we figured it out, and then something else happened. ⁣
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We know exactly what is wrong with this foot this time around: in 2024, I got 3 stress fractures, and no one put me in a boot. They almost fully healed before breaking in 2025, and then the same thing happened in 2026. ⁣
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This is a different part of the foot than I used to deal with, but any problems with my feet and especially my left foot messes with me. While this doctor eventually fixed the problems and even got me diagnosed with RA, every time I go back to his office, I have to fight not to become 17 again. ⁣
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PTSD is a bitch.⁣
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(PS - if you want to know why I'm going back to this guy when it messes with me, it's because I don't trust anyone else to fix my foot.)⁣
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⬛⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣.⁣
⁣
⁣⁣⬛⁣⁣ ⁣
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ID: Kate takes a selfie in a doctor's office. ⁣
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#PTSDAwareness #ChronicallyIll #TarsalCoalition #RheumatoidArthritis #Osteoporosis
Week 25 of #2026Weekly Happy to be in Maine for Week 25 of #2026Weekly 

Happy to be in Maine for a few weeks! I didn’t get up to a lot, so another week of very few pictures

1️⃣ IVIG 
2️⃣ Lots of beautiful birds have been coming to my mom’s bird feeder!

⬛⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣.⁣⁣⁣⁣

⬛⁣⁣⁣

IDs: 
1️⃣ Looking at Kate’s lap. Tubes are coming out from under her shirt and there’s a Kindle
2️⃣ Birds arriving at a bird feeder as seen through a window

#ChronicallyIll #InvisibleIllness #ChronicPain #IVIG
What do you have to do every day for your chronic What do you have to do every day for your chronic illnesses? ⁣
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For context, I have rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, endometriosis, POTS, heart disease, osteoporosis, and more. ⁣
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⬛⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣.⁣
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ID: ⁣
Things I Do Every Day for My Chronic Illnesses⁣
Take pills at least 4 times a day⁣
Don’t eat gluten, dairy, corn, soy, or eggs⁣
Sleep 7+ hours a night⁣
Consume 80-100 grams of protein, 120 mg of calcium, 5-10 grams of sodium⁣
Wear a mask whenever I leave the house⁣
Do pilates 4+ days a week⁣
Work from home⁣
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#ChronicallyIll #InvisibleIllness #RheumatoidArthritis #Fibromyalgia
Filmed this back in April (hence the sweater) but Filmed this back in April (hence the sweater) but it applies to whenever I have appointments! 

Video: Kate talks to the camera while holding a purse. She holds up individual items mentioned in the video before putting them in the bag. There are captions. 

#ChronicallyIll #RheumatoidArthritis #Osteoporosis #ChronicPain
There are a lot of medical advancements that I'm g There are a lot of medical advancements that I'm grateful for, but one of them is the ability to do IVIG at home. ⁣
⁣
I'm on IVIG - or, in my case, subcutaneous immunoglobulin replacement therapy - because I have to kill the better part of my immune system. There are, in fact, some parts of my immune system that don't attack me, which is why we add them back in. This helps reduce my chance of serious infection and also made my rheumatologist feel comfortable enough to increase my Rituxan dose. ⁣
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This is a weekly treatment that I do, but it's so much better that I can do it at home than going into the hospital. It takes around 2.5 hours from taking my pre-meds to tossing my needles into a Sharps container. While it's another thing that I have to do, because I do it at home, I don't have to risk exposure to infections at the hospital or deal with Boston traffic, which would add another hour to the process. ⁣
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I can finish my treatment and then go about my day, which I'm very grateful for.⁣
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⬛⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣.⁣
⁣
⁣⁣⬛⁣⁣⁣
⁣
ID: A Kindle on Kate's legs. There are tubes for an infusion coming out of her shirt.⁣
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#IVIG #ChronicallyIll #RheumatoidArthritis #Autoimmune #AutoimmuneDisease
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