Sunday Pre-Thanksgiving Grocery Plan & Farmers Market Haul

At the farmers market I spent $29 and got 4.5 lbs organic Japanese sweet potatoes, 1 bunch organic orange carrots with the tops, 1 bunch thyme, 1 bunch sage, 1 butternut squash, 3 gorgeous orange bell peppers, 2 green bell peppers, 1 tiny Gala apple and 1 tiny yellow onion (The last two are FODMAP-rich foods and are not for eating! They're to stick inside the Thanksgiving turkey, as aromatics.) The parsley and spinach looked pretty sad, so we'll have to head to Whole Foods for those.

This week it's all about planning Thanksgiving. We have an epic grocery list and the following plan:

Main course: Turkey, of course. I loosely follow Alton Brown's recipe, though this year we won't be brining since we're getting a Kosher turkey.
Side dishes: Maple glazed sweet potatoes with bacon (omit onions); sauteed fresh spinach/greens with lemon, olive oil, and salt (omit garlic); low-FODMAP stuffing (this is my sweetie's project, thankfully); and--hopefully--cornbread that doesn't suck.
Dessert: Bourbon pumpkin pie milkshakes (hells yes) and pumpkin oatmeal cookies (using pumpkin seeds instead of nuts)

Looking forward to a few days off (well, sorta) and working on some long term projects - de-cluttering the house, organizing our photos and mementos, updating web projects, getting our finances in order. And, of course, Christmas gift shopping and knitting a sweater for my friend's dog!

Cornbread Misadventures

I am trying--and failing--to figure out how to make FODMAP-friendly cornbread before Thanksgiving.

The first experiment involved a packet of Kalustyan's GF cornbread mix with half the instructions rubbed off. I added frozen corn and cheese and let's just say that didn't work. The consistency was terrible, the bread was flavorless, and overall it was just embarrassing.

The second was a variation on this Betty Crocker recipe.
1/2 stick butter
1 cup water plus 3 teaspoons coconut oil
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup GF flour (I used a combination of quinoa and rice flour)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

I cooked it on the stovetop in a cast iron skillet. The consistency was great; however, I'm afraid I used rancid butter, because the smell was off and a minute after eating it I wasn't feeling so hot. Next time, use fresh butter!

For my third and hopefully final attempt, I'm going to (a) use fresh butter, and (b) rely more heavily on rice flour than quinoa flour, which has a kind of overpowering nutty/chalky taste, and (c) add cheese and corn, and (4) bake it in the oven. Stay tuned.

Friday: Slow Cooker Pork Shoulder with Homemade Low-FODMAP Taco Seasoning

No onions, no garlic, no problem. In accordance with my husband's new low-FODMAP mandate from his doctor, I tried my hand at a low-FODMAP variation of my usual pork shoulder taco recipe. Basically this means ditching the beans and storebought salsa and taco seasoning. This one turned out pretty tasty, though next time I might have a heavier hand with the spices.

Ingredients:

Frozen pork shoulder from Whole Foods (they cut off the skin! woohoo!)
1 16 oz can diced tomatoes, no sodium
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 grated fresh carrot, for sweetness
Lime juice to taste

Homemade low-FODMAP taco seasoning:

2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch cayenne pepper

Pour diced tomatoes into crockpot and lay pork shoulder on top. Surround with frozen corn and add spices and carrot. Since my pork shoulder was frozen and I want to eat it tonight, I put it straight into the crockpot and set it on high, then switched to low after 6 hours for 10 hours total.

Serve with corn tortillas, shredded pepperjack or cheddar cheese, lime, and fresh chopped cilantro. Add avocado or sour cream if your gut can tolerate FODMAPs. 

Monday: Low FODMAP Crockpot Turkey Chili

There's nothing better than curling up with a bowl of hot chili on a brisk November day. But what to do if you're trying to avoid beans, onions, and garlic--ie the basic building blocks of chili? Turns out, it *is* possible, with a little creativity and elbow grease, to make low-FODMAP chili. (The secret's in the cumin and oregano...) I cobbled this recipe together from a mishmash of recipes I found online. You can easily substitute ground pork or beef for the turkey, or add other low-FODMAP veggies like squash. I'm definitely planning on making this again soon!

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground turkey (leg meat)
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
2 zucchini, finely chopped
1 carrot, grated
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 16 oz. can low-sodium diced tomatoes
1 tsp salt
4 teaspoons paprika
7 teaspoons oregano
8 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more if you like it spicy)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa

1. Brown turkey in a saucepan with a tablespoon of a neutral-tasting oil, like canola.
2. Chop and grate vegetables and add to crockpot. Measure out spices and add. Open cans of tomato stuff and add. Stir.
3. Scoop browned turkey onto the vegetable mix. Cook in the slow cooker on low for 8 hours.
4. Serve in a bowl with shredded cheese, cilantro, sour cream and avocado if you tolerate them.

This came out really lovely, maybe a little intense on the spices, but the cumin and oregano completely compensate for the lack of FODMAP foods like onion and garlic.

I used 1.2 lbs of ground turkey and was disappointed when this only made about half a crockpot's worth of chili. Kind of a waste. Next time I'm adding more turkey and veggies, with the same amount of spices. 

Sunday grocery shop and meal plan

I sent my husband to the regular grocery while I made the trek to Whole Foods at Union Square. I brought a backpack and a hangover and some unexplainable good cheer. I left $147 later, having purchased enough meat to fill the entire backpack and cause the cashier to comment that I must have been buying groceries for the month (I wish.) I got ground turkey, ground beef, chicken thighs, chicken breasts, lamb bones, a pork shoulder, and--the most thrilling--a giant beef knuckle bone to make stock with. I had to ask the butcher for it special!

Other things on the list: gluten free rice flour, three boxes of Kind bars, zucchini, gluten free chocolate chips, frozen fruits and veggies (green beans, broccoli rabe, blueberries, chopped spinach), Parmesan cheese, pitted Kalamata olives, a huge can of crushed tomatoes, nice croutons (my treat) and high-end Greek olive oil (a necessity.) I forgot gluten-free bread and felt like such a dummy.

Husband spent $70 at the grocery and got a green and red bell pepper, lemons, salad greens, an avocado (for me,) English muffins (ditto), coffee creamer, Arborio rice, cilantro, lunch meat, corn tortillas, tortilla chips, eggs, bacon, and more.

I'm a little shocked by how much we've been spending on food lately, but it's definitely worth it.

Tonight I'm whipping up chicken and rice, and cooking turkey chili overnight in the slow cooker.

Tomorrow evening, if I have time, I'll bake a breakfast bread, and get that pork shoulder started in the slow cooker... We should be set for a while!

Sunday: Easy Delicious Low-FODMAP Lemon Rosemary Chicken With Zucchini and Arborio Rice

The temperature in Brooklyn dropped precipitously the past few days, and I have a hankering for some hot comfort food. This recipe for One-Pot Lemon Chicken and Zucchini with Rice from Simple Bites is one of my favorite recipes of all time and fits the bill perfectly. It' super easy to make, consists of simple ingredients, and tastes amazing. And it's a one-pot recipe from start to finish, using a Dutch oven, and leaves minimal dishes to wash afterwards. I modify the recipe slightly to accommodate for low-FODMAP needs and I just use regular lemons since my grocery doesn't have Meyer ones. Plus it's one of zillions of uses for chicken stock, which I still have plenty of from the past few weeks. Note to self: DEFROST the chicken stock well before...

Ingredients:

1-1.5 lbs deboned skinless chicken thighs
Canola or other light cooking oil
1 cup arborio rice
1 1/4 cup chicken stock
2-4 zucchini, sliced in rounds
2 lemons
Dried rosemary
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat inside of a 4-quart dutch oven with a neutral-tasting oil.
2. Rinse rice until water comes out clean, then pour into the dutch oven. Add broth and stir.
3. Arrange chicken on top of the rice, and season with salt and pepper.
4. Slice 1 lemon into rounds and arrange on top of chicken. Add the zucchini on top of the lemon. [NOTE: if you're cooking with garlic, add the garlic to the zucchini.]
5. Halve the other lemon and juice half over the top, reserving the other half for serving, if desired. Top with rosemary sprigs and cover.
6. Bake in oven for 45 minutes. [NOTE: The original recipe calls for 35-40 minutes, but I like mine a little slushier.]

Remove lemons (or at least tell your diners they're just a garnish!) Sprinkle with Parmesan before serving, if so desired. Makes 4 servings. 

Friday: Leftover Beef Stew and Butternut Squash; Weekend Plans

Yesterday I had beef broth with rice noodles for lunch (not recommended) and leftover beef stew with butternut squash, which was better the 2nd day. So all in all, a pretty good week in terms of eating homemade easy-to-prep low-FODMAP food. Phew! On to next week...

A typical complication: we're going away for the weekend, and I probably won't have much time or energy to grocery shop when we get home Sunday evening. I need to figure out a super easy crockpot recipe that I can just set and forget for the week...

I'm hoping to draw inspiration from this post from for 7 Meals in 1 Hour Slow Cooker Crockpot Freezer Meals. Basically, buy a ton of meat and low-FODMAP vegetables and figure it out later.