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low fodmap

10 minute chicken & spinach curry

February 8, 2012
low fodmap, mains
2 Comments

Today was cruisy. I signed up to trial a gym out, so I spent an hour exercising and I’m pretty sore at the moment! It felt great and this afternoon, I managed to feel alert enough to read for a few hours without too much trouble concentrating. I watched some basketball tonight and because I’m working at 7am tomorrow and came home late, decided to cook something easy and low maintenance. I’ve been wanting a curry for a while  and I had some leftover chicken, so it seemed like a good opportunity to throw something quick together – no curry paste, long wait or effort required. While it’s not a very rich/thick sauce and requires pretty much no simmering time, it tastes great and isn’t too heavy on the belly. I intentionally left out onions and garlic, for those people out there with allergies, and the flavour was not compromised. Leave out the mushrooms if you’re on a low fodmap diet.

This serves 2.

 

INGREDIENTS

2 tbs olive oil

1/2 cup water

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp tumeric

1 tsp freshly grated ginger

1/2 tsp crushed chilli

250g chicken, cut into 3cm pieces

100g silverbeet (chard), chopped rougly

4 mushrooms, quartered

cooked brown basmati rice, to serve

 

METHOD

Heat olive in a non stick frying pan.

Add the spices, chilli and ginger, along with 1/2 cup water.

Cook until aromatic, then add the chicken and mushrooms.

Cook for 5-6 minutes, adding water if necessary.

Add chopped spinach, then cook for another 4 minutes.

Serve atop brown rice, garnished with coriander.

barramundi with carrot, parsley & lime salad

February 7, 2012
low fodmap, mains, seafood
2 Comments

I can’t get enough of seafood. I don’t have anything fancy up my sleeve but this really is a perfect  no fuss midweek meal – easy to whip up, healthy, light and fresh. Perfect for Summer and I’m a sucker for anything that tastes like lime. The carrot salad is delicious and could be used with a number of dishes, or as a sandwich filling. I served the salad and fish up with steamed bokchoy, brown rice and squash – you can do whatever you wish, I just thought of this as an idea, rather than a firm recipe.

Serves 2

 

INGREDIENTS

2 x barramundi fillets (or fish of your choice)

1 cup cooked brown rice, to serve

vegetables of your choice, to serve

2/4 lime, to serve

Carrot & Parsley Salad

2 small carrots, grated

juice of 1/2 lime

1/2 bunch parsley, roughly chopped

4 tbs garlic infused olive oil

1 tsp cracked pepper

large pinch of cumin

 

METHOD

Place your fish under the grill, after slightly brushing it with olive oil. It should take around ten minutes to cook.

Meanwhile, mix the carrots and parsley. In another bowl, mix the remaining ingredients for the carrot salad and then stir through.

Throw your vegetables in boiling water for a couple of minutes. Drain.

When fish is cooked, serve up with carrot salad, vegetables and brown rice.

Enjoy!

roast pumpkin, tofu & soba salad

January 26, 2012
light meals, low fodmap, mains, salads
4 Comments

It’s been a huge couple of weeks. Lots to think about, lots of decisions and changes to be made and life has taken a big turn (to say the least). I’ll try to race through this as quickly as possible.

So, I got accepted into university. When I think about the last 12 years and all that has gone on, I could hardly believe that I got an offer to the uni of my choice. I am still a little shocked about it all. I’m proud and overjoyed but I’m also very scared about what this means for me financially. Coming from full time work with a loan strapped tightly to me, and supporting myself, I’m worried about whether I could handle it all for the next 4 years. I’m not the best to deal with stress and having no regular/firm income is going to be tough for me. Making sure I can put in the effort of doing 4 subjects full time, while having enough money to pay everything by the month is going to be a challenge. I really want to give it a go because I have worked so hard for it. So, I did enrol. However, I’m still thinking about deferring right now because it all seems too hard/expensive right now. I’m really happy I made it to this point though. Just having a choice is a wonderful feeling in itself. So I guess I have to do a lot of soul searching and thinking and then just roll with it and hope for the best. Fingers crossed I can take the plunge. It will be worth it. I wouldn’t have to drag myself to jobs I hate anymore for one. That would be quite nice.

While I have managed to turn my life around significantly (really only over the last few years), I still have a lot of work to do. Happiness is an ongoing journey after all, isn’t it? One thing I’ve been trying very hard to achieve is staying positive. Really challenging when you’ve had such a negative mindset for such a long time. I always strive to uplift others but I don’t put enough effort into my own happiness.  I have decided it’s time to put some real effort in. I’ve been completing exercises and reading books centred towards improving my ability to think rationally and remain happy and flexible in the face of challenges. I’m going with the idea of ‘what you think, is what you feel.’

I’ve also been trying especially hard to eat well and exercise. I’ve been doing a lot of cooking and walking a lot. I’ve managed to stick out drinking a lot of water too, which has been great. I certainly feel more energised when I’ve had enough water!

Not really too much else is happening but I’ve been kept busy and I have a lot of organising to do. I created this warm salad the other night and ate it at a park with some strawberries for dessert. It turned out really well and it was very easy to make. Budget friendly, as well.

Serves 2 hungry people.

 

INGREDIENTS

extra virgin olive oil

100g of 100% buckwheat soba noodles (use whichever type of soba you like)

quarter of a small pumpkin, cut into small cubes

250g tofu, cut into small cubes

2 tbs tamari

2 tbs grated fresh ginger

1 tbs chopped fresh rosemary

large handful rocket and baby spinach

 

METHOD

Cook soba noodles according to packet directions and set aside.

Preheat oven to 200. Pop your pumpkin on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with rosemary. Bake for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, place your ginger, tamari, some olive oil then your tofu. Mix ingredients together. Place under the grill on low-medium heat for 5 minutes.

When everything is ready, place together with the rocket and baby spinach in a large bowl and toss. Serve warm.

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