Tag: sauce

Allergen Friendly Pesto

When you’re attempting a diet that’s as restrictive as an elimination diet you are going to have to give up quite a few things. A couple months into mine I got a strong craving for anything pesto. Unfortunately, traditional pesto is almost exclusively things that are eliminated. Parmesan cheese is dairy, pine nuts are out, the usual exchange of walnuts is out, lemon juice is forbidden. Especially for me, apparently I’m one of the few freaks out there allergic to lemons! This is an allergen friendly pesto recipe that takes away all of those triggers and is safe for phase one of an elimination diet.

This pesto is also completely vegan without the parmesan cheese. It’s really versatile and will be able to serve any of your friends’ picky dietary needs. It’s perfect for company and no one will have any complaints!

If you are also eliminating garlic this recipe will survive without it. If you taste it and it lacks punch add a tsp more vinegar. Overall, I think this pesto tastes a bit earthier than others I’ve tried but it still has that strong basil flavor and beautiful green color. I spread it over boneless skinless chicken breasts and baked at 400 for half an hour. I also tossed it with pasta. But feel free to use it any way you would normally use pesto! Once you introduce more ingredients back into your elimination diet it goes absolutely great on a flatbread or instead of nightshade heavy sauces for pizza! It also of course works for the simple and traditional pesto pasta.

So how in the world do you make pesto without 3 of the main ingredients? Turns out, pretty easily. Just get out your food processor and combine together these simple ingredients. Make sure to use high quality fresh basil. You’ll be using a bunch of it, I like to buy mine from the Korean market, they have much better prices on bulk fresh herbs than the Kroger or other chain grocery stores. Take a look at your local specialty markets.

Do not use dried basil! This is not a substitution that can be made for this recipe!

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Pesto FAQ

Ingredients

• 2 cups packed fresh basil
• 3 tbsp sunflower seeds
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 4 tbsp nutritional yeast
• ½ tsp salt (or to taste)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp water, if needed

Instructions

1. Simply blend all ingredients in food processor or blender until smooth
2. use on chicken, pasta, pizza, anything pesto!

Allergen Friendly Pesto

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 5 servings

Ingredients

  

2 cups packed fresh basil

3 tbsp sunflower seeds

3 cloves garlic

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

4 tbsp nutritional yeast

½ tsp salt (or to taste)

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp water, if needed

Instructions

 

Simply blend all ingredients in food processor or blender until smooth

use on chicken, pasta, pizza, anything pesto!

Keyword citrus free, nut free, vegan

Nightshade Free Pasta Sauce

Doing an elimination diet was very enlightening for me. One of the things I discovered is that I’ve been harboring a tomato allergy for who knows how long. Tomatoes also seem to have been the culprit for a large percentage of my acne! That means that figuring out a nightshade free pasta sauce recipe also became mandatory.

Because that means if I want to remain acne and rash free I have to give up a lot of my favorite foods. Pizza, pasta, BBQ sauce, so many delicious tomato based saucey dishes. I am not the kind of person to just give in though so I’ve managed to come up with nightshade free alternatives for all of these. 

This nightshade free pasta sauce can be used at the beginning of any elimination diet. Once you can eat wheat you can use it over standard pasta but you could use it over zucchini noodles (zoodles) just as easily and have a completely fair game phase one elimination diet meal right from the start!

I looked through a ton of “nomato” sauce recipes and almost all of them use beets. I was very hesitant to try this because I really don’t like beets. I’ve always thought they taste like dirt. I still think that, honestly. But I have figured out a couple of tricks to neutralize the taste. First make sure to scrub and peel your beets. Or you can use canned beets which have already taken care of that for you. Second, cook them all the way down, you want to bring out their sugar. Third, acid, any time you’re cooking beets use vinegar. I also noticed that the beet flavor wasn’t as strong the next day. Try refrigerating the sauce over night to let all the other flavors merge before serving.

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Do canned foods have less nutritional value?

No! This is a common myth. People like to believe that fresh, raw, unpreserved, etc is always better. The simple fact is that this is not true. Canned and frozen foods are typically preserved at the peak of freshness. They are preserved when the fruits and vegetables are at their most ripe and therefore most nutrient dense.

When you buy fresh produce it is often before or after it’s peak date. Additionally, these foods are shipped in a wide range of temperature conditions which cause the foods to ripen unnaturally or rot faster. Foods that are to be sold “fresh” are also often picked before they are ripe in order to ripen on the journey instead, this stunts their nutritional growth.

Some companies artificially induce the ripening process with various chemical compounds. If you’re looking for completely untainted food the only way to do it is to grow your own. But buying canned and frozen is not a strategy to ignore. Many companies that grow for the can and freezer market actually have a more natural ripening process and in many ways might be even better for you than so called fresh produce. So go ahead! Buy that can of beets for this nightshade free pasta sauce recipe. It’s good for you and so much easier!

source: Healthline: Canned Food: Good or Bad?

Are beets good for you?

Absolutely! Beets are full of nutrients and fiber that make them a healthy addition to any diet. They’re known for their anti-inflammatory properties which make them great for joint pain and health concerns like high blood pressure. Beet juice is an often studied beverage that many people swear by as the perfect drink for exercise recovery.

I personally don’t love beets, I think they’re an acquired taste, but if you do make sure to include them in your diet. It’s always great to add some extra plant based fiber into your meals and this pasta sauce recipe aids in that goal.

source: Cleveland Clinic

Ingredients

• 1 yellow onion
• 1 large beet or one 15 oz can sliced beets, drained
• 2 carrots
• ½ tsp dried basil
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ¼ tsp dried marjoram
• ½ tsp coarse ground black pepper
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp honey
• dash cinnamon
• olive oil
• up to 1 ¼ cup vegetable broth

Instructions

1. coarsely chop the onions, beets, and carrots 
2. heat your cast iron or nonstick skillet with the olive oil
3. saute the vegetables in the olive oil until the beets are soft enough to cut with a spoon, the larger the chop the longer this will take but the deeper the flavor will be, if the veggies start to stick use a little of the vegetable broth to release them. If using canned beets add them to the carrots and onion after the carrots begin to brown
4. add the dry seasonings to the hot pan and stir to blend
5. transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender, add the vinegar and honey
6. blend well while slowly adding the vegetable broth until the desired consistency is reached

Nightshade Free Pasta Sauce

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 4 Servings

Ingredients

  

• 1 yellow onion
• 1 large beet or one 15 oz can sliced beets drained
• 2 carrots
• ½ tsp dried basil
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ¼ tsp dried marjoram
• ½ tsp coarse ground black pepper
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp honey
• dash cinnamon
• olive oil
• up to 1 ¼ cup vegetable broth

Instructions

 

• coarsely chop the onions, beets, and carrots heat your cast iron or nonstick skillet with the olive oil
• saute the vegetables in the olive oil until the beets are soft enough to cut with a spoon, the larger the chop the longer this will take but the deeper the flavor will be, if the veggies start to stick use a little of the vegetable broth to release them.
• If using canned beets add them to the carrots and onion after the carrots begin to brown
• add the dry seasonings to the hot pan and stir to blend
• transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender, add the vinegar and honey
• blend well while slowly adding the vegetable broth until the desired consistency is reached

Keyword citrus free, nightshade free recipes, sauce

Vegan, Nut Free, Alfredo Sauce

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There are a lot of ways to make vegan cheese substitutes. The problem, for an elimination diet, is that most of them use cashews or soy. I searched using so many different key word searches trying to find one that would fit this diet but also sounded edible. I honestly am not a huge fan of vegan cheese like substances. I find them to be a poor approximation of what I really want. But this vegan, nut free, alfredo sauce actually does the job right.

I found a recipe similar to this one that I thought I could work with. I added more nutritional yeast for a bolder flavor and substituted arrowroot powder for the corn starch to make it an elimination diet friendly recipe. Make sure to blend the arrowroot powder and water first or you’ll get lumps in your sauce! Arrowrooot powder might become your new staple even post elimination diet. Not only is it corn free but it is also completely flavorless which means you can use it in both sweet and savory recipes completely worry free.

When I first tasted this vegan, nut free, alfredo sauce I was shocked. It really does have a cheesy flavor! And it doesn’t taste like coconut at all so don’t worry about that part. My boyfriend hates coconut and he didn’t even notice that this one had any coconut flavor. The nutritional yeast seems to cancel it out well and the garlic powder really helps  bring it all together. I used it for this chicken and broccoli casserole but you can use it on pasta, or anything that could use some cheese sauce! This vegan nut free alfredo sauce is a great way to make phase one elimination diet meals feel like comfort food.

Ingredients

• 1 can, 13.5 oz, full fat coconut milk
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2 tsp arrowroot powder
• 1 tbsp cold water

Instructions

1. In a saucepan over low heat stir together coconut milk, salt, garlic powder, and nutritional yeast until well combined
2. bring to a low boil
3. whisk together arrowroot powder and cold water
4. add arrowroot powder to coconut milk blend
5. continue to stir at a low boil until sauce begins to thicken
6. use for pasta, casseroles, anything you want to be creamy!

Vegan Nut Free Alfredo Sauce

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Prep Time 2 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 5 servings

Ingredients

  

1 can, 13.5 oz, full fat coconut milk

1 tsp salt

½ tsp garlic powder

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

2 tsp arrowroot powder

1 tbsp cold water

Instructions

 

In a saucepan over low heat stir together coconut milk, salt, garlic powder, and nutritional yeast until well combined

bring to a low boil

whisk together arrowroot powder and cold water

add arrowroot powder to coconut milk blend

continue to stir at a low boil until sauce begins to thicken

use for pasta, casseroles, anything you want to be creamy!

Keyword corn free, gluten free, vegan