Vegetables
Cucumber
With care — Allowed by some hospitals and not others, or allowed only prepared a particular way.
How to prepare it
Peel it and deseed it. Use it sparingly.
Where hospitals differ
Raw salad is on the avoid list of the leaflet this book follows. Peeled and deseeded cucumber is medium at St George's.
Recipes using it
Swaps
- Instead of Raw salad leaves or lettuce, use Thin, peeled and deseeded cucumber ribbons if you tolerate them, or a side of well-cooked vegetables
- Raw leaves are almost entirely fibre with nothing broken down by cooking, so this diet either removes them altogether or allows a little peeled, deseeded cucumber instead. Some hospitals allow a little well-prepared raw cucumber, while the strictest leaflets exclude all raw vegetables regardless of preparation, so check what your own team advises.