Category: Travel

Gluten-Free and Low-FODMAP Chicken with Broccoli

Hunter Mountain SkiingI’ve taken my son skiing a few times this season, and he’s really loved it.  The conditions weren’t perfect as we chose some of the coldest days of the season, but I’ve been so impressed with his ability to pick it up.  Can’t wait to get back out there soon!

We visited Hunter Mountain in NY but are itching to get further west for a different ski experience!

Hunter Mountain Skiing

Following on the theme from my last post, I have another gluten-free and low-FODMAP Chinese food recipe for you today!  We ate this one for days, and it was great every time. Please note that I did use broccoli in the recipe as it is my son’s favorite.  While broccoli has shown up on some lists of foods to avoid or limit when following a low-FODMAP diet,  however, theMonash University has recently published new resultsshowing the breakdown of FODMAP rating for 1 cup.

Gluten-Free, Low-FODMAP Chinese Chicken with Broccoli and Fried Rice (Fried Rice recipe coming next!)

Gluten-Free, Low-FODMAP Chinese Chicken with Broccoli

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 cups of broccoli, cut into florets

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Marinade

1 teaspoon maple syrup

1 tablespoon gluten-free soy sauce

1 tablespoon water

1 tablespoon garlic-infused olive oil

Sauce

¼ cup gluten-free soy sauce

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon garlic-infused olive oil

1 tablespoon water

Directions

In a small bowl combine all marinade ingredients

Combine chicken cubes and marinade in a shallow container and refrigerate for at least 1 – 2 hours

In a small bowl combine all sauce ingredients

Once ready to cook, heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan or wok over medium-high heat.  Add chicken and marinade along with 1/2 of the sauce.  Cook chicken until no longer pink, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove chicken from the pan to a plate

Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.  Add broccoli and red peppers and saute until tender, about 5 minutes

Add chicken, remaining sauce and sesame seeds and cook for an additional 2 minutes or until the sauce thickens

Serve with fried rice – recipe to follow next!

 

Veggie Tacos and Saying Goodbye to Summer

For the past few years, we have gone out to Mountauk in mid-September for an amazing surf camp for autistic children.  It is 1) an amazing event hosted by Surfers Healing, 2) the best way to wrap up summer and 3) an easy way to maintain pescatarian status!

 

We had some amazing lobster rolls – with and without buns, but for a waterfront view like that I will gladly pass on the bun any day 🙂

 

 

 

 

And some nice sunsets…

 

 

Upon returning home, I had reached my max of seafood.  So I went for some more basic veggie tacos.  Simple recipe but really quick and easy way to get dinners loaded with flavor!

Grilled Veggie Tacos

Ingredients

1 medium size green squash

1 medium size yellow squash

4 – 5 radishes

1 large red bell pepper

2 tsp. cumin

2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. coriander

2 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 -2 serrano peppers

Lettuce and tomato as desired

Corn tortillas

Directions

Chop squash into roughly 1 in. pieces.  Set in a colander in sink or with paper towels under.  Sprinkle with salt. Let sit for 20 – 30 minutes until water has drained from the squash

Slice red pepper, radishes and serrano peppers

Place all the vegetables in a bowl.  Add 1 tsp. olive oil and the seasonings.  Toss until well combined

Grill the vegetables, flipping so each side is cooked through

Heat corn tortillas in a frying pan

Serve with lettuce, tomatoes, salsa (see my latest favorite salsa recipe!)

 

 

Blue Hair, Don’t Care – March 2, 2017

blue hair, dont careWe had another great trip in California this school break.  Matt’s been wanting to “dye” his hair blue for some time, so I thought the few days at the beach would be a fun time for blue hair (using chalk products only! This one seemed to be the safest for kids!)

We took a trip over to Huntington Beach to walk one of the longest piers on the west coast – 1,850 feet long!  We were standing over where the surfers were catching their best waves.

Huntington Beach Pier

Huntington Beach, CA

We also did a lot of cooking!  Be on the lookout for “Radishes and Carrots 3 Ways” in one of my next posts.  We took on the challenge of roasted, raw and slaw versions of radishes and carrots – two of my favorites 🙂

Here we have a more time consuming recipe than I’m used to, but it is worth the effort for the delicious lasagna at the end, loaded with veggies!

 

Low-FODMAP No Noodle Vegetable Lasagna

Ingredients

2 medium-sized squash

1 lb. ground beef

1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes

2 cups raw spinach (roughly 2 large handfuls)

1 16 oz. container of ricotta

8 oz. shredded mozzarella

8 oz. shredded parmesan

2 fresh basil leaves

2 tsp. dried oregano

1 tbsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/4 cup red wine

1 egg

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 9×13 baking pan

Slice zucchini lengthwise into very thin pieces, using the thinnest setting on a mandoline or a sharp knife (I use this one)

Sprinkle the zucchini slices with salt and set in a colander to drain in the sink

Begin preparing the meat sauce by combining the ground beef, salt and black pepper in a deep skillet over medium high heat until meat is browned.  Stir in the diced tomatoes, basil, oregano and wine.  Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the sauce has thickened and developed in flavor.  Stir frequently

While the sauce is cooking, stir together the egg and ricotta in a medium bowl until well combined

When all ingredients are prepped, begin the process of making the lasagna

Spread 1/2 the meat sauce on the bottom of the prepared baking pan.  Layer 1/2 of the zucchini slices, 1/2 the ricotta mixture, all the spinach and then half of the mozzarella.  Repeat by layering the remaining meat sauce, zucchini slices, ricotta mixture and mozzarella.  Spread the parmesan cheese over the top and cover with foil

Bake for 45 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes.  Let stand for 5 – 10 minutes to allow the lasagna to settle before serving

Enjoy 🙂

No-Noodle Vegetable Lasagna

           

 

Taking it easy – February 20, 2017

I love escaping the pace of NYC every now and then. The non-stop nature of the city keeps the cycle of have more, do more, be more constantly flowing. Southern California allows a step away from that pace. A calm retreat into beautiful things – including the nicest mall I’ve ever visited. There was even a Snoopy with a gold crown on his head!


Another great perk of our visits is getting to see my sister’s band perform. We haven’t seen them since July, and they’ve gone into high gear since then and are absolutely killing it! Check out Cillian’s Bridge website.

 

 

 

 

Matt joining the band 🙂

 

 

As it relates to food, trying new things is a way of taking it easy for me.  Especially when I have access to a kitchen double the size of mine 🙂

Blistered Shishito Peppers

Serves 2 as appetizer

Ingredients

1/2 lb. of shishito peppers – about 15 – 20 peppers

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. coarse ground sea salt

Juice of half a lemon

Directions

Heat olive oil in a wok or deep frying pan (the oil may splash as the peppers are cooking)

Add peppers and cook for 3 – 5 minutes per side or until the peppers have softened and started to blister

Remove from heat and toss with lemon juice and salt

Serve while hot

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Weekend Travel Season – May 21, 2016

As the weather starts to get nicer, we spend a lot of our weekends out of the city – beach, friends, back out to Cali :).  That limits how much cooking I can do on the weekends, so you will find my posts shifting a bit to sharing restaurants and meals and travel fun over the coming months.

A few weeks ago, I took some time in Connecticut exploring the gluten-free / FODMAP options with one of my best friends. I arrived in CT to a homemade steak and kale salad with all FODMAP-friendly ingredients (because I have the best friends!) and the beach 🙂

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We went around to a few restaurants as well that weekend, trying out the great options, just 1.5 hours outside the city!

We took a trip to a local seafood spot called Lenny’s and got a lobster roll over lettuce – delicious!

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One evening, we stopped for a glass of champagne and a snack at Shell and Bones.  The fact that the shrimp cocktail was in a heart shape only made it better 🙂

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We wrapped up my trip with a night walk on the beach, with the sun beginning to set.  Perfect weekend away!

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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….

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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.

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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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Add all sauce ingredients listed above together in a small bowl and mix until completely combined. Increase seasonings as needed.
  4. 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.
  5. While cooking the tofu, boil water for the rice noodles and add the noodles as the water becomes ready.
  6. 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.
  7. 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!

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Experimenting on Vacation – February 18, 2016

I will try not to rub it in too much how wonderful our time in sunny, warm California was – escaping the freezing temps of NYC, a few days of work and really getting to unplug and have some laughs! 🙂  But that said, it was an unbeatable vacation, and I am so grateful for it.

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One of the things my sister and I love to do together is cook, and sometimes get a bit adventurous with it.  This time we attempted some homemade gluten free pasta, and it turned out really amazing.  We served it carbonara style with some heavy cream, kale and bacon.  Below is the recipe we used for the pasta.

Gluten-free Pasta

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups gluten-free flour (I use Bob’s 1:1)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3 eggs plus 2 yolks
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup water
  • Cornmeal, for dusting

Directions:

Combine the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl.  Create a well in the center of the bowl and add 3 whole eggs, 2 yolks and 1 tbsp olive oil to the well and beat with a fork.  Gradually drag in the flour from the outside in a circular motion and combine with your hand.  As you are mixing, add the water gradually and as needed.  Continue to combine until all flour forms into a ball.  Knead and fold the dough until elastic and smooth.  Rub 1 tbsp of olive oil on the surface and wrap the dough in plastic wrap.  Let rest for about 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into four portions, and cover the sections you are currently not using.  Form the dough into a rectangle and roll out with a rolling pin until it is of desired thickness (the pasta will not expand much so whatever thickness you see pre-cooking will be the final size), using cornmeal to dust as needed.  Cut the rectangle into fettuccine sized pieces, or as small as you like (we cut into roughly 1×3 in. rectangles).

Cook pasta in boiling water for 4 – 5 minutes.  Drain and serve with desired sauce.  Below is a view of the carbonara style dish we made.

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And We’re Off – February 11, 2016

Leaving behind the cold, gray skies in NYC and headed out to sunny, beautiful California!  Follow me on Instagram @FODMom for our daily sun-soaked activity and food posts :).  My sister and I will probably get into some cooking at the weekend, so check the blog for some new or variations of our favorite recipes!  Maybe my son and I can venture out to a real yoga practice in Cali since we’ve started our daily practicing.

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In the airport, we shared a not great burger and fries to prepare for the long flight – airplane food would have been worse, I suppose.  We did sit in an area with some funny food / NYC photos.

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And now the best part of the journey (aside from seeing my sister of course!) – arriving for this:

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Check back in this week for more updates, and definitely check out the instagram posts!