March 2016 - FODMom

Spring Fever – March 24, 2016

For those of you following me on Instagram (@FODMom), you’re well aware of my excitement around spring and then sun right now. It wasn’t a bad winter in NYC at all, but I still feel like a schoolkid getting spring fever! We’ve been spending a lot of time out and about, exploring new parts of the city and finding some real gems 🙂

Our visit to the Cloisters in Washington Heights.

A few little fun finds around the neighborhood. Matt’s been loving The Beatles lately – channeling John Lennon all the time and all…

I did eventually bring us back inside today and cook some dinner. I made a variation on something I posted a few weeks back.

Spicy Pork and Bok Choy Noodles

Ingredients

1 – 2 heads of baby bok choy
1 1/2 in. ginger root, finely chopped
8 oz. thai rice noodles
1 tbsp. peanut oil
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 lb. lean ground pork
1/4 cup, 1 1/2 tbsp. gluten free soy sauce
2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup chopped scallions (green part only)
3 cloves garlic (to be removed before eating)
2 Shishito peppers, seeded and finely chopped
3 – 4 basil leaves, chopped or torn for serving
Salt for seasoning

Directions

Chop off the very bottom of the bok choy and begin separating the dark green tops from the white stems. Thinly slice the stems, leaving the top green sections whole.

Boil water for the rice noodles and cook according to package, making sure to drain and run under cool water.

In a large skillet, heat the peanut oil over medium-high heat. Add pork and cook until no pink remains, about 10 minutes. Add a few shakes of salt, 1 1/2 tbsp. gluten free soy sauce and 1/2 tbsp. of rice wine vinegar. Transfer the pork to a separate bowl, using a slotted spoon to allow the sauce to remain in the skillet.

Add olive oil to the skillet along with scallions, garlic, ginger and peppers. Cook until you begin to smell the ingredients mixing. Add the bok choy stems and a dash of salt. Cook the bok choy stems several minutes until tender. Remove garlic from the skillet and discard. Add the bok choy leaves and pork to the skillet.

Mix in the remaining 1/4 cup gluten free soy sauce and 1 1/2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar until combined well. Add the noddles and cook until warmed through.

Toss with chopped basil to serve.

Weeknight Dinner Parties – March 18, 2016

I feel like lately we’re busy every night – weeknight, weekend, doesn’t matter! Weekends it tends to be easier to have company or go to an event or visit with friends and family (see pie face fun below 🙂 ), but during the week it can get stressful! That’s where my slow cooker has been saving my life.

A few weeks back my sister was in town for just 1 or 2 nights, so we got a few of our friends together at mine for dinner one of those nights. My sister has been experimenting with adding tomatoes to her elimination list as she thinks they may be causing some discomfort, so I attempted to make a chicken chili with no legumes or tomatoes. It turned out great; I can’t wait to make again!

Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili (FODMAP-friendly)

Ingredients:

2 lb. chicken thighs
1 large zucchini
1 large sweet potato
2 chilis
2 large carrots
1 1/2 tbsp. cumin
1 1/2 tbsp. paprika
1 1/2 tbsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. salt
2 cups water
2 cups chicken stock (make sure the chicken stock does not contain onion or garlic)
2 tbsp. garlic infused olive oil
1 cup yellow corn

For cream in last 30 minutes of cooking:

3 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. gluten free flour
1 cup almond milk (substitute with dairy or other non-dairy alternative)

Directions:

Chop zucchini, sweet potato and carrots in cubes and add to slow cooker. Chop the chilis into tiny pieces (use half portion for less intense heat) and add to slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients (excluding corn) to the slow cooker and stir until thoroughly mixed.

Cook on high for 6 hours. At 5 hours and 30 minutes (or whenever you’re home from work 🙂 ), take the chicken from the slow cooker and remove skin and bones, forking apart the chicken into small pieces. Heat the butter, gluten free flour and almond milk in a small pan on the stovetop, stirring until thickened. Add the chicken, cream sauce and corn to the slow cooker and allow to cook the remaining time.

Serve with tortillas or rice if desired.

Weekend Escape – March 7, 2016

This past weekend, Matt and I were planning to head to DC for the weekend to stay with my sister while she was in town. The thought of a 4+ hour drive twice in a weekend was a bit too much for me, so we decided to stay behind. Time out of the city was still appealing, though, and we got that in some weekend bonding in Connecticut with one of my best friends. She is living in this great little bungalow-style house right on the water in CT where you can fall asleep listening to the water. A perfect little escape! We did some serious arts & crafts on Saturday, and Matt ended up with some red bangs through the adventure….

We also made a FODMAP-friendly pad thai that was absolutely incredible. You’ll notice the improvement over my normal cooking environment in the pictures :). Just a quick note on tofu, as I’ve been back and forth on keeping soy in my diet: I have landed on allowing certain soy products in limited quantities based on some research I’ve done. Here is a link to some information I’ve found useful.

FODMAP-friendly Shrimp and Tofu Pad Thai

Ingredients

1 lb. Thai rice noodles
1 block extra firm organic tofu
1 lb. large shrimp
1 red bell pepper
½ pint grape tomatoes
¾ red, green chili peppers
3 scallions, green part only
Handful of bean sprouts
1 cup snow peas
1 – 2 tbsp. basil
2.5 tbsp. peanut oil
Corn starch as needed for tofu coating

Sauce:

½ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup gluten free soy sauce
1 tsp. fish sauce
¼ cup water
1 tbsp. ground chili paste
4 tbsp. brown sugar
3 tbsp. grated ginger

Directions

Begin by preparing the tofu. Remove from container and slice in half length-wise into 2 – 1 in. pieces. Wrap the tofu in paper towels to remove any excess water. Place in refrigerator until cooking.
Slice red bell peppers into long, thin pieces, red and green chiles into tiny pieces and grape tomatoes in halves. Chop only the green part of the scallions into small pieces.
Add all sauce ingredients listed above together in a small bowl and mix until completely combined. Increase seasonings as needed.
Remove tofu from the refrigerator and cut into small squares (bite-size). Place in a bowl and lightly coat with corn starch. Add 1.5 tbsp. peanut oil to a frying pan and begin to heat. Add the tofu to the oil and cook until it is beginning to brown on the outsides. Remove from heat and place the tofu on paper towels to absorb some of the oil.
While cooking the tofu, boil water for the rice noodles and add the noodles as the water becomes ready.
In a separate, larger frying pan, heat the remaining peanut oil. Add the peppers, chiles, tomatoes, snow peas, scallions and shrimp to the pan and begin to heat through. Add the sauce and continue to cook until the shrimp are almost ready.
Add rice noodles, tofu, bean sprouts and basil to the frying pan and continue to cook until the flavors have fully combined.

Best if served in front of beautiful fireplace listening to the water outside 🙂 I’d love to hear your thoughts on the dish, so feel free to leave comments!