Call out to creative cooks
Comments
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@JennyT Upstate South Carolina as far as I know she can do both chocolate and carob
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I was also thinking that, I've even seen restaurants do a Mashed Cauliflower side dish that's in place of Mashed Potatoes. I personally add cauliflower to my mashed potatoes to add more veggies to my meal and fewer carbs.
I found this recipe for Mashed Caulifower for you to give a try.
And I've found a different recipe for no-tomato sauce I thought you'd like to try. I personally think this one with the secret ingredient being pumpkin might taste better. I intend to try it myself because the one I have I can't see the flavors blending as well.
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I also believe that many Whole 30 and AIP recipes will be able to work for her as well.
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Broccoli Salad with Avocado Dressing
1¼ teaspoons table salt, divided
1½ pounds broccoli, florets cut into 1-inch pieces, stalks peeled, halved lengthwise, and sliced ¼ inch thick
1 ripe avocado, halved, pitted, and cut into ½-inch pieces
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 3 tablespoons juice
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ teaspoon pepper
½ cup dried cranberries (dried sour cherries are also good)
½ cup sliced almonds, toasted (just sub in the Macadamia)
1 shallot, sliced thin
1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon
Bring 1 cup water and ½ teaspoon salt to boil in large saucepan over high heat. Add broccoli stalks, then place florets on top of stalks so they sit just above water. Cover and cook until broccoli is bright green and crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, fill large bowl halfway with ice and water. Drain broccoli well; transfer to ice bath; and let sit until just cool, about 2 minutes. Transfer broccoli to triple layer of paper towels and dry well. Empty and dry bowl and set aside.
Process avocado, oil, lemon zest and juice, garlic, pepper, and remaining ¾ teaspoon salt in food processor until smooth, about 30 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Toss broccoli, dressing, cranberries, almonds, shallot, and tarragon in now-empty large bowl until evenly coated. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.
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Chocolate Coconut Date Bars
This mixture gets pretty sticky in the food processor. Don’t be alarmed if you have to scrape and pulse and scrape and pulse to keep the machine moving.
2 cups pitted Medjool dates
¾ cup raw cacao powder
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, divided
¼ cup cacao nibs
2 tablespoons agave syrup
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Coat 8x8” baking pan with vegetable oil spray; line with parchment, leaving overhang on all sides. Process dates, cacao powder, ¾ cup coconut, cacao nibs, agave syrup, salt, and 2 Tbsp. water in a food processor until smooth (you may need to stop and scrape down sides a few times). Press mixture firmly into prepared pan.
Scatter remaining ¼ cup coconut over top; press to adhere. Cut into bars.
DO AHEAD: Bars can be made 2 weeks ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
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Creamy-ish of Mushroom Soup
Okay, we waited until now to mention that this creamy, earthy, silky rich soup is vegan. Puréeing some of the mushrooms along with cashews adds body that doesn’t compromise on flavor.
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
12 oz. mixed mushrooms (such as crimini, shiitake, oyster, and/or maitake), cut or torn into bite-size pieces
1 large sweet onion, finely chopped
2 shallots, finely chopped
Kosher salt
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
⅓ cup dry white wine (sub veggie broth)
¼ cup raw cashews (macadamia will work - both mild flavoured)
1 Tbsp. red or white miso (sub tahini with a bit of salt or a Condensed Vegetable Stock, undiluted)
Freshly ground black pepper
Garlicky Oil and Assembly
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp. thyme leaves
½ tsp. freshly cracked black pepper
Kosher salt
Soup
Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high. Arrange mushrooms in a single layer and cook, undisturbed, until browned underneath, about 3 minutes. Stir and continue to cook, tossing occasionally, until golden brown all over, 5–7 minutes longer. Using a slotted spoon, transfer mushrooms to a plate, leaving oil behind.
Add onion and shallots to pot; season with salt. Cook, stirring often and reducing heat as needed if beginning to brown, until very soft, 8–10 minutes. Add garlic and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add wine and cook until almost completely evaporated, about 1 minute. Add 5 cups water and return mushrooms to pot. Bring to a simmer.
Transfer 2 cups soup (including some mushrooms) to a blender and add cashews and miso. Purée until very smooth. Stir back into soup. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until flavors have melded, 10–15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Garlicky Oil and Assembly
Bring oil, garlic, thyme, and pepper to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer gently until garlic is tender and just turning golden around the edges, about 3 minutes. Season with salt.
To serve, ladle soup into bowls and drizzle with garlicky oil.
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VEGAN PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
Easy to make and easier to eat, vegan peanut butter cookies made in 1 bowl with peanut butter, flour, sugar, vanilla and almond milk are the best!
Makes 20 - 24
1 cup natural peanut butter, creamy or crunchy (make a macadamia butter to sub in)
1 cup coconut sugar or pure cane sugar*
6 tablespoons almond milk, room temp (you could do coconut or macadamia)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup 1–1 gluten free flour (or a light spelt, unbleached all-purpose blend)
1 teaspoon baking soda**
generous pinch of mineral salt
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with silicone mat, parchment paper or leave ungreased.
Make the dough: In a large bowl, add the peanut butter and sugar and mix until creamy. Stir in the almond milk and vanilla. Next, add the flour, baking soda and salt, mix to combine. The dough will be tough to stir, using your hands to mix it together will be easier.
Roll and flatten: Using a 1.5 tablespoon scooper, scoop out the dough and roll into balls, about 1 1/4 inch.(honestly if you are good at packing it in to the scoop you can skip the ball rolling process) Place the balls of dough about 2 1/2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Using the back of a fork, flatten in a crisscross pattern.
Optionally, sprinkle with sugar and/or coarse salt.
Bake: Place in the oven and bake for 10 – 13 minutes (13 minutes will yield a crispier cookie that’s tender inside – note that I ended up re-baking the next day when they ended up very doughy – about 12 more minutes which was a little too long. I would try about 13-15 minutes on initial bake but it will depend on your oven). Let cool a few minutes, transfer cookies to wire rack and repeat with remaining dough.
NOTES:
*Reduce the sugar to 3/4 cup for a less sweet cookie. It’s just as delicious!
**If you don’t have baking soda on hand, baking powder works great too. I tested many batches and they were just fine.
When flattening, dip the fork in sugar, flour or water between pressing the cookie to keep them from sticking.
Recipe can easily be cut in half or doubled.
Store: Cookies can be stored in an airtight container on the counter for 5 days. They do well loosely covered on the counter for 2 – 3 days as well. To keep longer, store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
To freeze: Let cookies cool completely, store in freezer safe container for up to 2 months.
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@Sheila Thank you for sharing. All four of your recipes look simple to make and really good :)
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I had a classmate who only ate a plain quinoa salad for lunch in class. I don't know what she used for a dressing, but I found it tolerable when I put a beef or chicken stir fry on top of it. She was terribly pale and skinny. I always thought she couldn't be getting enough protein and vitamins.
I'm thinking her family could add whatever appeals to them on top of quinoa if they wanted to do so. In the spirit of sharing food, so to speak.
Applesauce...riced cauliflower isn't bad. And it's versatile...Good luck!
I am so very glad that I have no food allergies!
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@JennyT Upstate South Carolina, I also add riced cauliflower to my mashed potatoes. It gives it a slightly different texture. Plus, I think it gives a boost to the nutritional value of the dish. I'll also make the riced cauliflower as a standalone substitute for either rice or mashed potatoes.
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@annbeck62 what about sprouts? I myself cannot eat beans nor nuts. It is hard but don't be hiding it in a dish of anything. They will get very sick! I have tried nuts the past two Christmases and it doesn't work even if they are hidden!
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We tried a beet based "tomato" sauce. It did not go over well when we were eliminating tomatoes for a time. Hopefully those suggested above taste better.
As far as sauces go, you might want to look into a pumpkin/buttercup squash based plum sauce. I have a recipe somewhere that I wanted to try but haven't yet. It looked pretty good. It might be able to go on various foods like require a sweet sauce. You could also add crushed chilis or horseradish to it to create a type of hot sauce or seafood sauce.
I like flavor, color & lots of variety. Foods that can be altered to suit various applications (and save $) appeal to me.
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You didn't ask for this kind of assistance but thought I'd mention it.
Do you know any of the factors that might be contributing to all these food sensitivities? Has she been tested for leaky gut? Does she have any other inflammatory conditions, or autoimmune?
Astragalus root has been studied for its antihistamine properties and may help with reactions to some foods. Its a very neutral adaptogen so I don't think it would cause any issues. Its an immune modulator so if there is some sort of issue with auto-immune disorders, it might help with that.
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@torey she did not share any health issue but my intuition was pointing me in the direction of leaky gut. Thank you for sharing your feelings about that as well as other possibilities.
I'm familiar with astragalus root as an adaptogen but was not aware about its properties that might help here. That is great to know as we can easily incorporate into a vegetable stock or a tea.
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@marjstratton I tried the riced cauliflower mixed in with potatoes but like you said the texture was different and it didn't go over so well with the rest of the family. However the next time I tried using flowerettes of cauliflower and cooking them with the diced potatoes then pureeing it all up and no one was the wiser. That's how I make it now, in fact I just made some tonight for dinner. 😉
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I have a good friend that has just been put on a very restricted diet. It seems very similar to the one being discussed here. I have been trying to help her find new dishes to try also. Thank you all for all of the ideas. They are amazing!
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@Michelle D, I'm glad these suggestions could possibly help your friend as well. 😊
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@JennyT Upstate South Carolina My husband has no objections to the way I prepare it, but if the kids were still at home and objected to it, I too would probably use devious methods such as blending it together.
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Could make a thai coconut chix soup
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