Congrats on moving towards a healthier lifestyle. I'll be honest, I have never heard of avoiding food combinations such as protein with fruit, veg and fruit, etc so to me that seems a little out there.

If you want to put on some muscle you are going to need to increase your protein intake. The best suggestion is to eat some protein with every meal. So that means have food combinations such as protein + carbs (minimal fat) and protein + fats (healthy fats).

The main thing you want to avoid is combing carbs and fats in the same meal or having just a high carb meal. Both of these meals will tend to lead to an insulin spike and increase fat storage.