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: 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. 

Thursday: Fall Vegetable Stew with Beef

This morning I took the butternut squash out of the crockpot and let it cool off. 

I had a bunch of vegetables left over from previous recipes and some carrots and kale from the farmers market. So last night I prepped all the vegetables and stuck them in the fridge. This morning I mixed all the ingredients and set the crockpot for 6 hours on low.

Ingredients:

Cooked beef from making beef stock
2 zucchini, sliced in rounds
1 bunch of carrots from the farmer's market, sliced in rounds
1/2 head broccoli, chopped
2 red potatoes, quartered
1 bunch elephant kale from farmer's market, chopped
1 bunch fresh sage, parsley, and thyme
1 16 oz can unsalted diced tomatoes
1/2 cup frozen corn
4 cups beef broth 

Remove the herbs, and serve with parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.

Voila! Beef stew.

For dessert we had the butternut squash with butter, sugar, cinnamon, and sea salt. Yum!

Wednesday: Mixed Greens Salad with Chicken, Olives, and Pumpkin Seeds

One of the puzzles I've been having fun trying to solve is what to do with all the chicken meat created when I make my weekly whole chicken stock. It's completely unseasoned, and thus very versatile. Tonight we went super quick with a mixed greens, chicken, and kalamata olive salad, topped with pumpkin seeds, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and croutons (optional; skip if you're low-FODMAP.) The result was super fast, easy, nutritious, and light but filling. We'll be making variations on this a lot in the future.

FACTS AND FIGURES 

  

Prep time: 5 min. Assembly.
Servings: 2 
Agony rating: 1/10. 
Taste and stuff: 7/10. 

*COSTS OF STUFF I HAD TO BUY SPECIAL*

This one is basically made from odds and ends and leftovers, so let's just say mixed greens: $3.99.

Tonight, I'm cooking this giant butternut squash in the slow cooker with a few tablespoons of beef broth for good measure. I set it for six hours on low, since it's been in the fridge. Here it is:

Yeah, I thought it looked pretty funny, too. 

Tuesday: Low-FODMAP Thai Chicken Noodle Soup with Fresh Carrot, Cilantro, and Lime

Today I went all high culture and made a low FODMAP variation of this recipe which I found on the back of a Thai Kitchen box of rice noodles. It took virtually no prep time--because I already had the chicken stock made, thawed, and chicken meat cooked.

Ingredients:

1/2 package (4 oz) rice noodles

1 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken meat

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1 cup water

4 cups chicken stock 

1 carrot (peeled or julienned)

2 tablespoons Thai Kitchen fish sauce (ingredients: anchovy, sugar, salt)

2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice

1 tablespoon sugar

Salt to taste

1. Boil 8 cups of water; remove from heat. Add rice noodles and let sit for 3 minutes. Strain and rinse with cold water; set aside.

2. In your serving bowls add chicken and cilantro; add noodles. Set aside.

3. Bring water, chicken stock, carrot peelings, fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, and salt to a boil. Stir well and remove from heat. Pour over chicken, cilantro, and noodle mix and serve hot.

FACTS AND FIGURES 

  

Prep time: 10 min. Boil water, chop cilantro, squeeze limes, peel carrot. 
Servings: 2 (makes 4-6 with more noodles and doubling measurements)
Agony rating: 3/10. 
Taste and stuff: 7/10. Very light and could use a little hot sauce.

*COSTS OF STUFF I HAD TO BUY SPECIAL*

Rice noodles: $4 per box, and I used half a box, so $2
Organic carrot: $0.75

Cilantro: $0.99 bunch, used about a handful so $0.25
Limes: 5 for $1, so $0.20
Cooked chicken: left over from weekend, but probably around $5 worth
Chicken stock: left over from weekend

Total cost of stuff I had to buy special: $8.20
Cost per serving: $4.10

VERDICT: SUCCESS. 

Low FODMAP Chocolate Banana Zucchini Bread

Inspired by this recipe from Rachel Ray.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (about 1 1/2 small)
1 overripe banana
1 1/2 cups gluten free flour (I used quinoa flour)
1/2 cup cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
(Optional: add walnuts, chocolate chips, etc)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray with non-stick cooking spray and flour an 8″ x 4″ x 2 1/2″  loaf pan and set aside. Use a paper towel to squeeze the water out of the shredded zucchini. Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add the sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Mix to combine. Stir in the zucchini and mashed banana, then fold in the chocolate chips or walnuts if you're adding them. Pour batter into the pan and bake for 60 to 70 minutes (probably closer to 70) or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and serve. 

This was a little crumbly, and not very sweet, but still pretty good. I like that it's healthy. Should have been cooked a little more, and maybe brown sugar is the way to go (?)

Low FODMAP Chicken Tortilla Soup with Cilantro and Lime

This week worked out well in terms of all the food prep I did Sunday. On Monday we had chicken broccoli bake leftovers. Tuesday was beef stew leftovers. Wednesday was spinach salad with cooked chicken (from the stock-making Sunday,) olives, and pumpkin seeds. Thursday was the least successful - I made quinoa pasta and covered it with the faux celery pesto, olives, more cooked chicken, olive oil and parmesan. That was kind of meh. Celery leaves and parsley are VERY overwhelming-tasting, it turns out. 

So tonight I wanted to use some of that rich chicken stock as well as the rest of the cooked chicken.

I got my inspiration from this post on The Kitchn which features six easy ways to turn chicken stock into dinner. They all sound great, especially the rice and egg soup. But since I had all this cooked chicken already I decided to give this one a try. It's low-FODMAP and low sodium if you decide to keep it that way (if you have a light hand with the tortilla chips, that is.) This turned out great and I can't wait to try all the other chicken stock recipes.

Ingredients:

Chicken stock
Shredded chicken
16 oz can unsalted diced tomatoes
1/2 cup frozen sweet corn
Shredded cheddar or Mexican cheese
Chopped cilantro
Crumbled tortilla chips
Fresh lime juice
Salt, pepper, cayenne to taste

Heat chicken broth until simmering. Add shredded cooked chicken, corn, and can of diced tomatoes. Heat until hot. Pour into bowls and top with crumbled tortilla chips, shredded cheese, lime juice, and cilantro.

FACTS AND FIGURES 
  
Prep time: 10 min. Open can of tomatoes, chop cilantro, and slice and squeeze limes. 
Servings: 4.
Agony rating: 1/10. Super easy if you have the cooked chicken already.
Taste and stuff: 8/10. Delish.

*COSTS OF STUFF I HAD TO BUY SPECIAL*

Organic diced tomatoes, salt-free: $1.99
Garden of Eatin' Yellow Tortilla Chips: $2.99
Kraft shredded Mexican cheese: $2.50; about half a bag so $1.25
Frozen organic sweet corn: $2.99/10oz, so about $0.50 worth
Cilantro: $0.99 bunch, used about a handful so $0.25
Limes: 5 for $1, so $0.20
Cooked chicken: left over from last weekend, but probably around $14
Chicken stock: left over from last weekend

Total cost of stuff I had to buy special: $7.18 without the chicken; $21.18 with
Cost per serving: $1.80/$5.30

VERDICT: SUCCESS. 

FODMAP Free Sunday

This weekend I got busy in the kitchen making FODMAP-free foods for the fam.

#1: Whole Chicken Chicken Stock (adapted from here)

Ingredients:

Organic whole chicken including giblets
Handful fresh parsley from farmers market
3 stalks sad little celery from farmers market
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 carrot from the farmers market

Put it all in the crockpot with a buncha water and set to 20 hours on low. Results TBD. I'll take the cooked chicken out tomorrow and use for salads/sandwiches.

#2: Chicken Broccoli Cheese Bake (adapted from here)

Ingredients:

1 cup brown rice
Organic chicken cutlets
Olive oil
1/2 head broccoli
Parmesan cheese
Cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper

Cook rice, cook chicken in dutch oven. Steam broccoli. Mix it all together and bake for 15 min. Went over well. But will it reheat? Probably four servings.

#3 FODMAP Friendly Pumpkin Bread (adapted from here)

Ingredients:

1 cup canola oil
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 cups canned pumpkin
2/3 cup water
3 1/3 cups quinoa flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove)
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Mix oil, sugar, eggs, pumpkin, and water; add flour, bp, bs, salt, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla; stir a little. Preheat oven to 350. For muffins, bake for 35 min. For bread, 50 min. These were DELICIOUS. Half the muffins are already gone. Probably all that sugar + oil! {NOTE: The bread was a little squishy near the middle. Might need to bake it longer at a lower temperature.}

#4 Fall Beef Stew (adapted from here)

Ingredients:

1 lb organic beef chunks
1/2 cup or so of quinoa flour
salt and pepper
olive oil
1 16 oz can salt-free diced tomatoes
2 carrots from the farmers market
5 turnips from the farmers market
5 red potatoes from the farmers market
1 tiny celery stalk chopped up real small
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 2/3 cups water
1/3 cup dry red wine
1 tsp thyme

Coat beef chunks in flour, salt and pepper; brown. Add liquids and stir in the rest of the flour; add veggies and spices; bring to a boil and pop in the oven for an hour and a half at 350 degrees.

The beef was really tough, there were too many turnips, and while the carrots and potatoes were perfect consistency the turnips were very soft. But the flavor of the sauce was great. Wish I had beef stock and more wine on hand. Makes roughly four to six servings.

#5 Poor Woman's Pesto-like Power Spread

Is there such thing as a FODMAP-free garlic/pesto substitute? I made this one up. It's pungent and thrifty, but who knows if it will actually get eaten.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups turnip greens, celery leaves, parsley, broccoli
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Salt
Pepper
Parmesan cheese
Balsamic vinegar

Boil water. Dip greens into the water for 30 seconds. Blend in blender. Add olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper,  splash of balsamic vinegar, and parmesan cheese to taste/consistency. Apparently this is very nutritious, if somewhat overpowering, and I probably should have cooked the turnip greens. Will try on pasta or crackers (?) Maybe a sandwich spread? Next time add kale, spinach, basil. Call it Soylent...

FACTS AND FIGURES
 
Prep time: I spent about four hours preparing everything, but that includes chatting with a friend and doing all the dishes.
Servings: Hard to tell; probably 4 each of the entrees.
Agony rating: 7/10. Peeling and chopping; browning meat; measuring ingredients for pumpkin bread; ay ay ay.
Taste and stuff: So far, so good!

*COSTS OF STUFF I HAD TO BUY SPECIAL*

I tossed the receipt, and bought many other things at the grocery, but the cost of all this food probably came in around $70-$80. That includes the fancy organic meat and the organic farmer's market vegetables and eggs. So overall this will probably come in around $6-$8 a serving once I use all the chicken in the slow cooker, which while not stupendous is certainly doable.

VERDICT: A day well spent. We will have breakfast and dinner for almost a full workweek. SUCCESS.

Crockpot Chicken and Sweet Potato Stew

It's January! Bitterly cold and perfect time for some hearty, healthy stew. The first food experiment: crockpot chicken and sweet potato stew, with mushrooms and salad greens. 

My gorgeous, blurry, messy melange of cost-effective nutrition conveyances.

I adapted this recipe from Eating Well. But since I am the worst chef ever, I did not make it the way they prescribed. First of all, no wine and no fresh rosemary. They both violate rule #1 of being the worst chef ever: the rule of waste. If a recipe calls for an ingredient that you can only buy in a quantity larger than what you'll use, and that ingredient will spoil if you don't use all of it, and you probably won't use the rest of it anyways, then find another ingredient. Two sprigs of rosemary? The grocery only sells packets of six and it's January so my herb garden is yielding zilch. One cup of wine? I'm not drinking much these days and wine only lasts so long.

Second, I eliminated the shallots and garlic because they're high in FODMAPs. But I kept the mushrooms. You can skip them.

Third, I have a bucket of salad greens a few days past their prime--perfect for the slow cooker.

So, let's review the ingredients. All measurements are approximate:

5-6 bone-in chicken thighs, trimmed of skin and fat (about 2 lbs)
6 sweet potatoes (about 3 lbs)
1 carton white mushrooms (mine was 8 oz but you can add more)
1 5 oz carton slightly foxed salad greens ("Organic Girl's 50/50 Spring Mix.")
1 tsp dried rosemary
3/4 c water
1 1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar (A surprisingly useful thing to have lying around.)
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

First, peel potatoes and rinse.

Then throw them into your slow cooker with some salt and oil. Toss with your hands til they are nice and coated.
 

Wash your mushrooms, slice, throw into slow cooker. Add some pepper and rosemary and stuff.

The next step is definitely skippable if you are feeling direly lazy, but today I had some free time, so I did what you're supposed to and browned the chicken legs before throwing them into the crockpot:

Yuck.

Yum.

All together now. Put the chicken into the crockpot on top of the mushrooms. Add more rosemary and salt and pepper. Throw some white wine vinegar and water in there.

 Cover and set the timer for six hours on low.

Or something.

About one or one and a half hours before you're ready to eat, throw in the salad greens. Mix the whole thing up. Don't worry, your food is probably cooked already. And what's the point of browning the chicken if it wasn't to kill all the germs?

 Put the lid back on and walk away. Come back when it's ready, and serve. There's a lot of liquid, so you might want to go for a soup plate. But if you want to discard that delicious broth, be my guest.

Well, at least it's colorful.

If you don't like the way it tastes, add more white wine vinegar or salt or pepper or whatever.

FACTS AND FIGURES
 
Prep time: 30 min
Servings: 4 or 5
Agony rating: 4/10. Potatoes need peeling, veggies need chopping, chicken needs defatting, and the browning added ten minutes to prep time and an extra dish to wash. Plus there was an extra step with the salad greens etc.
Taste and stuff: 7/10. I wasn't blown away, but it was kind of tangy in an interesting way, and I feel good two hours later. 

*COSTS OF STUFF I HAD TO BUY SPECIAL*

8 oz mushrooms $1.50
1 tub salad greens $3.99
6 sweet potatoes $2.31
5 chicken thighs $4.19
Olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, dried rosemary: pantry staples, already bought
Total cost of stuff I had to buy special: $11.99
Cost per serving: $3 even for 4 servings. Less if you stretch it out.

VERDICT: SUCCESS.