Reply #9: You might want to check out the Cooking & Baking group

[murphymom]

Lots of good cooks there and several have experience dealing with diets.

It helps not to concentrate on the foods the person can't have any more. Instead, emphasize the person's favorite foods that are on the diet, even if you have to spend a little more for out of season items, to get away from that feeling of being deprived.

One of your challenges is that more people with the conditions you mentioned are trying to lose or maintain their weight, instead of gain weight. You have the "luxury" of being able to incorporate more calorically "dense" foods into the diet.