Tag: Staples

Staple Beef Pasta Sauce

Serves 6
Time: 1 hr
~ low FODMAP ~ failsafe ~ low salicylate ~ low amine ~ dairy free ~ gluten free ~

Ingredients

500 g fresh beef mince (a)
35 g dark green tips of leek (b)
80 g celery (c)
650 g / 2 large white potatoes (d)
250 g swede
1 tin brown lentils
150 g green beans (e)
250 g green cabbage (f)
500 mL homemade chicken stock
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp citric acid
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp canola oil (g)
400 g / 6 serves of low FODMAP, failsafe, dairy free, wheat free pasta or spaghetti (h)
250 g / 1 large carrot – moderate salicylate option

Foodnotes

(a) Ensure very fresh meat (as instructed by dietician)
(b) Dark green tops of leeks are low FODMAP. They are also slightly higher in salicylates than the white part although suitable for failsafe elimination. Tip: re-grow the leeks.
(c) Celery is low FODMAP at 75 g (FODMAP Friendly App, 2018)
(d) Use white brushed, coliban, sebago or kennebec potatoes, or other large white potatoes with white flesh. Check the colour before buying brushed potatoes because they can come in yellow.
(e) Green beans are low FODMAP at 14 beans (75 g, FODMAP Friendly App, 2018). Frozen green beans can be substituted for fresh green beans and used in the same way.
(f) Green drumhead cabbage is low FODMAP at 1 cup (94 g, The Monash University Low FODMAP Diet App, 2018)
(g) Use canola oil that has no antioxidants (no 310-312, 319-321)
(h) My prefered pasta is Ceres Organics gluten free Quinoa Rice Spaghetti, Fusilli or Penne. See comments on pasta here

Instructions
    1. Rinse dark green tips of leek, celery, potato, green beans and green cabbage
    2. Thickly peel potatoes and swede, and chop into small cubes
    3. For a moderate salicylate option, peel the carrot and chop into thin slices
    4. Finely chop celery and green tips of leek, keeping them separate
    5. Top and tail green beans and then coarsely chop
    6. Coarsely chop the green cabbage
    7. Drain canned lentils and rinse well
    8. Heat 1 tbsp of canola oil on high heat in a large pot
    9. Add celery, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp citric acid and carrot (moderate salicylate option) to the pot and cook until celery starts to go clear, about 5 mins
    10. Add green tips of leek to the pot and cook until they soften, about 2 mins
    11. Turn the heat down to moderate-high and add the beef mince. Continually stir until the beef mince is no longer pink, adding a small amount of water if the mince starts to stick to the bottom of the pan
    12. Add lentils, potato, swede and chicken stock to the pot
    13. Add extra water until all the vegetables and meat are covered
    14. Bring the sauce to the boil and then simmer with the lid on until the potato and swede are soft, about 20 mins
    15. Remove the lid and add green beans to the sauce
    16. Around this time, cook the pasta according to packet instructions
    17. Simmer the sauce until the water level is just below the vegetables and meat, about 10 mins
    18. Add the green cabbage, maple syrup and 1/4 tsp salt to the pot
    19. Cook for another 5 mins until green cabbage is soft
    20. Serve immediately with low FODMAP, failsafe pasta, or freeze immediately to avoid amine build-up
Personal Notes

The long awaited pasta sauce is here! Or maybe it is not long awaited, but I’ve definitely refered to it several times. It has been one of my staples – easy to make in large batches and it freezes well.

I have been working on this recipe for a while, tweaking ingredients so that it tastes good and making sure there is no FODMAP stacking going on. I think I finally have it right! As I cooked this sauce I was speaking to a good friend on the phone and I realised that although I call this my staple pasta sauce, it can also go by different names, and they would call it “nutrition mush”. Slightly less appealing, but rather accurate – vegetables, meat and carbohydrates all in one. If the sauce seems to be a bit watery, it can be thickened with gluten free cornstarch, or you can add some rice early on to soak up the water. If adding rice, it can really be eaten as a meal on its own without the pasta.

Just to prove that I really have been working on this recipe for a while, here is a photo of the same pasta sauce but back in February and with buckwheat pasta rather than quinoa and rice spaghetti. Alas, although the sauce tastes better now, the lighting is not as good at my new place.

Chicken Stock


Makes 2.5 L
Time 1 hour 10 mins + cooling
~ low FODMAP ~ failsafe ~ low salicylate ~ low amine ~ dairy free ~ gluten free ~

Ingredients

1 chicken carcass (a)
1 leek (b)
1/2 bunch of dark green tips of spring onion (b)
2 sticks celery (c)
1 tsp salt

Foodnotes

(a) Ensure very fresh meat, and cooked that day (as instructed by dietician)
(b) Dark green tips of leek (1/2 cup) and spring onion are low FODMAP (The Monash University Low FODMAP App, Feb 2018). Tip: regrow your leeks and spring onions
(c) Celery is low FODMAP at 75g (FODMAP Friendly App, Feb 2018).

Instructions
  1. Cut off dark green tips of leek and dark green tips of spring onion, rinse and chop coarsley.
  2. To a large pot add the chicken carcass, with no skin or extra fatty bits, the dark green tips of leek and spring onions and salt
  3. Cover the chicken with warm water, about 2.5 L
  4. Bring the pot to the boil on the stove and then turn down the heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour.
  5. Sieve the stock into tall jugs, leaving behind the chicken and large chunks of leek and spring onion.
  6. Place the tall jugs in the fridge until the fat separates out and solidifies on the top.
  7. Skim the fat off the surface of the stock.
  8. Portion the stock to use immediately or freeze for future use.
Personal notes

This recipe is based on Sue Dengate’s The Failsafe Cookbook stock recipe. Cooking the stock for a long time increases the level of amines – if you use the stock in another meal, be careful how long you cook the next meal for. I find that I can tolerate the stock when used in small amounts and if cooked for not much longer, but I will react if I use the stock in another meal that requires simmering or baking for an hour. Consult with your dietician to make the right choice for you. Using a carcass without skin or fatty bits of chicken minimises the amount of fat in the stock that has to be skimmed off and helps minimse the amine level.

The Fed Up website suggests stock should last 5 days in the fridge or months in the freezer. I tend to be cautious and treat stock as I would freshly cooked meat – use immediately or freeze immediately.

I find the best time to make stock is immediately after making roast chicken – the chicken is fresh and usually I have already committed to a day of cooking with the roast, so I might as well make some decent stock at the same time. Some of my favourite recipes to use chicken stock are basic pasta sauce, Brigid’s cabbage rolls in Sue Dengate’s The Failsafe Cookbook but made with failsafe, low FODMAP mince, and a rice noodle and chicken salad (recipe to come).

Roast Vegetables

Serves as much as you can fit in the oven!
Time 50 mins
~ low FODMAP ~ failsafe ~ low salicylate ~ low amine ~ dairy free ~ gluten free ~

Ingredients

large white potatoes (a)
choko (b)
brussel sprouts (c)
canola oil (d)
salt
Nuttelex Original

Moderate salicylate options

carrot
zucchini
sweet potato (e)

Foodnotes

(a) Use white brushed, coliban, sebago or kennebec potatoes. Check the colour before buying brushed potatoes because they can come in yellow.
(b) Choko is also known as chayote, see photos here. Choko is low FODMAP for fructans at 1/2 cup (84 g, The Monash University Low FODMAP App, Feb 2018)
(c) Two brussel sprouts are low FODMAP for GOS (The Monash University Low FODMAP App, Feb 2018)
(d) Use canola oil that has no antioxidants (no 310-312, 319-321)
(e) Sweet potato is low FODMAP at 1/2 cup (70 g, The Monash University Low FODMAP App and FODMAP Friendly App, Feb 2018 – inconsistency on which FODMAPs)

Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 180 deg C.
  2. Thickly (double) peel the potatoes, and peel the choko and (moderate salicylate) carrot, zucchini and sweet potato.
  3. Chop all vegetables into large chunks.
  4. Microwave the carrots and sweet potato for 1-2 mins depending on quantity.
  5. Microwave the potato for 3 min.
  6. Mix the vegetables in a bowl with canola oil and salt to taste.
  7. Place the vegetables in a roasting tray lined with baking paper.
  8. Using a teaspoon smear Nuttelex on each Brussel sprout and wrap up all Brussel sprouts together in alfoil.
  9. Bake all vegetables for 40-45 mins, until Brussel sprouts start to brown and the other vegetables become crisp on the outside.
Personal Notes

Watch out for overloading salicyates and stacking FODMAPs when you choose to combine multiple salicylate or FODMAP-containing foods (see Foodnotes). I usually have a full serve of potato and steamed green beans, two brussel sprouts and only a few pieces of zucchini, carrot and sweet potato in total. I don’t eat more than two small or one large piece of sweet potato. Unfortunately chokos are out of season until the cooler months, but at the end of last year, I was having just a 2-3 pieces as part of a meal.

In the last 5 minutes of roasting the vegetables, put some green beans (fresh or frozen) on to steam. Green beans are a great addition to a plate of roast vegetables. I like to use roast vegetables as a side to schnitzel or roast chicken, and use them in salads and quiches. Roast veggies are also great when you get home from work and want a mostly-healthy snack before cooking dinner.

Roast chicken with roast vegetables, showing my usual combination of vegetables (include moderate salicylates). The plate was made by Sarah Schembri Ceramics.

Chicken Schnitzel

Serves 4 large or 6 small
Time 20 mins
~ low FODMAP ~ failsafe ~ low salicylate ~ low amine ~ dairy free ~ gluten free ~

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts sliced (by the butcher) into either 2 or 3 schnitzel cuts each (a)
2-3 eggs
quinoa flour
rice crumbs
canola oil (b)

Foodnotes

(a) Ensure very fresh meat (as instructed by dietician)
(b) Use canola oil that has no antioxidants (no 310-312, 319-321)

Variations

Use brown rice flour instead of quinoa flour
Use quinoa flakes instead of rice crumbs

Instructions
  1. Break eggs into a shallow bowl and beat with a fork
  2. On one plate, pour flour; on another plate pour the rice crumbs
  3. For each piece of chicken, covering in flour, then egg (wiping off the excess egg), and then crumbs
  4. Heat a large frying pan on medium-high heat and add canola oil
  5. Pan fry schnitzel, flipping once and adding canola oil as necessary
  6. When the schnitzel is cooked through and golden on both sides, take it out of the pan and rest on a piece of paper towel.
  7. Eat immediately or freeze immediately.
Personal notes

Schnitzel is one of my staple meals – it doesn’t take too long and is easy to vary with a range of sides – usually roast vegetables, steamed vegetables or coleslaw. In the picture above I served it with steamed green beans and brussel sprouts (limit to 2), and roast potato with moderate salicylate roast carrot and sweet potato (limit to 1/2 cup uncooked).

It is easy to do several schnitzels at once and then freeze. Quinoa flour and rice crumbs is my favourite combination for a traditional schnitzel taste and golden appearance. Brown rice flour is an acceptable substitute. Quinoa flakes on the otherhand make quite a different schnitzel – more like a crispy coating – and instead of going golden, they go from cooked to burnt quite quickly. That said, quinoa flakes are still good and I have found them in Coles/Woolworths supermarkets while rice crumbs usually require going to a health food or gluten free store. I tend to use Orgran rice breadcrumbs or Casare rice crumbs. Watch out for gluten free bread crumbs which often contain soy flour (high FODMAP), maize flour (contains salicylates) or other off-limits ingredients.

The smaller chicken schnitzels are perfect in a chicken-iceberg lettuce-egg sandwich (with Well and Good bread). Extra (but not necessary) additions to the sandwich could be bean sprouts and choko chutney. I have these sandwiches often on the weekend when I have fresh bread on hand. The sandwich is particularly good to have after a sports match, when lunch is late and I’m really hungry and can’t wait to get home. If you put the chicken schnitzel in the sandwich in the morning, it should be defrosted by lunch… unless kept in a fridge or esky. I have spent more than one road trip defrosting my schnitzel on the parcel shelf in the car!

Keeping leeks and spring onions


Tip: Plant leeks and spring onions after using the dark green parts. They don’t require much soil, mostly look after themselves and you can get at least a second or third batch of dark greens from them.

I have found that the leeks work best when cut in a tiered fashion before planting – so just cutting off the dark green part of each leaf – rather than a bunt cut of all the green section. Spring onions are quite hardy but like to be planted in bunches so they can hold each other up.

Cashew Paste

1 serve = 2 tsp (a)
~ low FODMAP ~ failsafe ~ low salicylate ~ low amine ~ dairy free ~ gluten free ~

Ingredients

100 g raw, unsalted cashews
2 tbsp canola oil (b)
1 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 pinch salt

Optional:

2 tsp rice protein powder (c)
2 tsp canola oil (b)

Foodnotes

(a) 2 tsp of cashew paste (10 g) a day is low FODMAP and failsafe
(b) Use canola oil that has no antioxidants (no 310-312, 319-321)
(c) Rice protein powder should have no ingredients other than rice. I used Sunwarrior Classic Protein – Sprouted & Fermented Whole Grain Brown Rice Protein

Instructions
  1. Combine cashews, canola oil and maple syrup in a small bowl.
  2. Blend using a stick blender until smooth
  3. If a higher protein paste is desired, mix in rice protein powder and additional canola oil with a spoon
  4. Store in glass jar in the fridge
Personal notes

The crossover of nuts between low FODMAP and failsafe is pretty much non-existent. Five cashews or 10 g are low FODMAP (conversions based on FODMAP Friendly App 2018), and 10 raw cashews are allowed per day for failsafe. Cashew paste is a perfect to solution to get a nutty flavour with small quantities of nuts. My favourite uses of cashew paste are in stir fry sauces, salad dressings and spread on rice cakes with rice malt syrup as a snack. Watch out for FODMAP stacking.