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low fodmap

pumpkin & soba laksa (with home-made laksa paste)

May 11, 2012
gluten free, low fodmap, mains, soup
5 Comments

This laksa is wonderful! I bought some pumpkin and tofu this week and had no idea what I was going to do with it. I found a bunch of green curry recipes but none of them really stood out. I then stumbled upon this amazing recipe and was immediately sold. PLEASE do yourself a favour and make it, whether it is the original version or mine. The pumpkin in this recipe melts in your mouth and it is really awesome.

I have changed the recipe around and I thought it turned out beautifully – I used 100% soba noodles because I try not to eat wheat and I wanted more fibre. I also swapped the fish sauce for salt-reduced tamari, as fish sauce generally tends to be quite high in salt and I left the coriander out altogether. There is a couple of other small differences but overall it still tasted quite like a restaurant bought traditional laksa soup base. I garnished mine with parsley but I recommend using coriander. The best thing about finding this is that I now have a go to recipe for laksa paste.

This serves 2 hungry people (or makes 3 modest sized servings).

 

INGREDIENTS 

Laksa paste

1 1/2 tsp crushed chilli

2 cloves garlic

3 pieces of ginger, grated

2 lemongrass stalks, sliced

2 tbs olive oil

 

Laksa

500g pumpkin, diced into big pieces

200g firm tofu (use a good quality organic tofu if possible)

4 cups salt-reduced vegetable stock

1 1/3 cup low-fat coconut milk

2 tbs salt reduced-tamari sauce

juice of 1 lime

180g 100% buckwheat soba noodles

 

METHOD

Steam pumpkin for 25 minutes, or until really soft. Set aside and cover with foil, to keep it warm.

Cook soba noodles according to packet directions. Rinse, drain and set into bowls.

Blend all laksa paste ingredients in a food processor until it becomes a nice thick paste.

Cook the paste for 2 mins or until aromatic. Add the stock, coconut milk, tamari, lime juice and simmer for 10 minutes, chucking the tofu in after 5 minutes.

Ladle the soup out over the prepared noodles and top it with the pumpkin and parsley (or coriander). Serve immediately!

a temporary goodbye + potato, quinoa and tuna salad

March 15, 2012
light meals, low fodmap, lunch, salads
5 Comments

WOW! I am one super busy girl at the moment. I’ve been meaning to blog for a while but I really haven’t had the time (or energy). This picture demonstrates my recent activities - a lot of eating on the go and a lot of reading. I’ve had some beautiful home cooked meals but nothing fancy; tonight was spelt pasta with a vegetable sauce that I made in minutes by throwing whatever I had on hand in a pot with some chilli and fresh basil.

University is going to be a super big commitment (yes, much more than I realised) and that means that for now, until I get into the swing of things, I won’t be visiting here all that much. I’m sure I’ll make an odd post here and there but has been a big change for me and a lot is out of order! You’ll see me back here within a couple of weeks/months.

Here is a simple lunch recipe that I made this morning to take to uni. Enjoy and take care. See you all soon!

Serves 1

 

INGREDIENTS

1 cup cooked quinoa

large handful of olives, chopped

1 carrot, grated

2 medium sized potatoes, boiled and cut into bite sized pieces

185g can of tuna (in springwater)

1/2 avocado (for garnish – i ate my bit before i took the picture!)

 

METHOD

Mix through and serve! Too easy!

spicy pumpkin, split pea & rosemary soup

March 5, 2012
low fodmap, mains, soup
10 Comments

I had a great night tonight. I got some reading done in preparation for my first day at university tomorrow and I went out with a group of my friends to catch a movie. I hadn’t laughed like that in a minute and I had a wonderful time. I’m really lucky to have so many great friends. I was feeling a little nervous about tomorrow and it was great to let out some tension with laughter. Tonight I made this soup and enjoyed it with some spelt bread. Pumpkin is cheap at the moment, so I am using it a fair bit. If you don’t like cinnamon all that much, remove the stick after around 30 minutes, so you’re not overwhelmed by the flavour.

Serves around 6 people

 

INGREDIENTS

1/8 cup olive oil

2 large cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp crushed chilli

1 cinnamon stick

large nub of ginger, thinly sliced

1 tbs whole cumin seeds

5 carrots, washed and coarsley chopped

1-1.5 kilo of pumpkin, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup yellow split peas

4 tbs fresh rosemary, chopped

 

METHOD

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat and cook the garlic, stirring for around 1 minute. Make sure it doesn’t stick to the pot. Add the chilli and spices and stir for around 30 seconds. Add the vegetables and peas and stir to coat in the spice mixture.

Add 1.5 litres of later and bring to the boil. Simmer for around 50 minutes.

Remove from heat, stir the rosemary through and remove the cinnamon stick. Blend the soup in small batches for only a short amount of time – you don’t want it to be too thin. (I like my soup a little chunky though).

Serve, garnished with some more rosemary, if you like.

tomato & vegetable curry

February 29, 2012
gluten free, low fodmap, mains
11 Comments

I keep forgetting this blog exists, with all of the stuff I have going on right now! Job interviews, meetings, welcome lectures, driving here and there, cooking, cleaning, bill paying and budget sorting – it’s been non stop. I haven’t had time to check my favourite food blogs or do as much reading as I’d like. Somehow, things are getting done and coming together though.

In under a week, I start ‘big girl school’ aka university. I’m nervous, proud and all sorts of things! At 26, it finally seems that I am starting to get a better idea of how to live day to day (though I slip quite a bit). I’m living healthily and doing my best to look after myself, I’m much happier than I have ever been in many ways and I’ve managed to shake the past and get myself into uni. I am in constant disbelief about it all, lately.

It’s going to be SO hard. But I’m SO excited now. Today I attended a meet and greet lecture for my course and I am impressed with the staff at the university. They are passionate and kind and I am looking forward to their lectures. I also had a meeting this evening that addressed all of the issues one might face as a mature age student, which was helpful. I just need to remember that I can do it, that I’ve done other things similar to this now and that I won’t fail if I try my best.

I’ve been living pretty tightly recently. Not working full time has been challenging and I feel overwhelmed by the financial responsibilites I have and how I’m coping with part time work. My loan and bills are a little more of a burden, to say the least! As such, I’ve been working on eating on a budget. Which means no fancy ingredients! Vegetables are cheap, which is great as it forces me to eat more. This particular meal cost me around $5 to make, which I am pretty happy about. Next time I’ll throw some spinach in and I thought raisins would go very well, although I didn’t have any. Garnish with coriander if you wish to do so! I love using spices and I am starting to feel like I have a better idea of what works well together. I really liked this particular blend.

Serves around 3.

 

INGREDIENTS

garlic infused olive oil

1 large red capsicum, chopped

2 medium potatoes, chopped

2 large carrots, chopped

2 large tomatoes, chopped

1 heaped tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp ground cloves

large pinch of cayenne pepper

large pinch of ground coriander

large pinch of turmeric

cooked brown rice, to serve

 

METHOD

Steam potatoes & carrot until just soft. Drain.

In a large frying pan, heat some garlic infused olive oil. Throw in the spices and cook for around 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Throw in the vegetables and tomatoes and cook, stirring, for around 5-10 minutes (depending on how you like your veggies).

Serve atop some brown rice.

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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