B'tay Avon!

One of my favorite parts of living in Israel was the food - fresh hot pita from the bakery, savory juicy shwarma carved right in front of you, creamy hummus at every meal and crispy falafel covered in tahini sauce and salads/veggies. I've tried to recreate as many of those foods as I can on my own, and when I can't, I simply head over to any local Middle Eastern restaurant and indulge my craving. 

Since I've been on this Standard Elimination Diet (SED); however, it's not that simple. I can't eat anything from a restaurant, on the off-chance that it's been contaminated by something that will cause me to flare. Usually, I've found that nightshades are the culprit, as paprika, red pepper flakes, and cayenne are used very often as a spice...especially in falafel. Who knew!? 

I did find a recipe, though, that allowed me to adapt falafel to my SED, and when I paired it with some homemade hummus (coming in another post) and tahini sauce, it really hit the spot. Now, it's definitely nowhere near as good as my favorite falafel stand in the middle of Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem (chetzi eish t'nor em chips, hummus, tahini, v'kol h'salateem, b'vakasha!) but it was pretty dang good. Even the threenager liked it - never mind the fact that we had to agree that it was a Spongebob crabby patty. He ate it, and that's what counts! 

 

Falafel Burger 

adapted from Healthy Girl's Kitchen 

Ingredients: 

2-3 large garlic cloves
Packed ½ cup fresh parsley
Packed ½ cup fresh cilantro
½ cup scallions, rough chopped
2 14.5 ounce cans chickpeas  rinsed and drained-reserving at least 2 TBS of the liquid
1 cup rolled oats (I used flaxseed meal for allergies, which worked nicely!)
2 ½ TBS fresh lemon juice
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 ½ tsp ground coriander
1 tsp salt (I would leave this out, as it made it too salty)
¼ tsp pepper

Optional: red pepper flakes for heat 

Instructions: 

Using your food processor, chop garlic, parsley, cilantro and scallions until fine.

Add in everything else, and process, but be careful not to over process into a paste. It's good for their to be texture differences, but yet you want it to be able to hold patty forms. If it's too dry, add in a little bit of the reserved chickpea liquid.

Transfer the mixture into a bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Heat a nonstick skillet on medium-high until hot, and form patties while you wait. You can either dry fry them until crispy, or use a little bit of EVOO. Place patties into the pan and cook for about 5 minutes per side, until browned.

Notes: Veggie burgers can be served immediately or refrigerated for up to a week. Simply reheat them in a pan, a toaster or a microwave before serving.

Alex and I thought these tasted best when you added a little more crunch/texture to them. Serve with cucumbers, lettuce, Israeli salad, or any other toppings that you enjoy!

Tahini Sauce 

Ingredients:

¼ cup tahini
2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, pressed
2 Tbsp water
Dash of salt (optional)

Instructions: 

Combine everything in a bowl and mix well. Store in the fridge until ready to serve. 

Taste the rainbow

 

 

I love this dish, not only because it's easy and delicious, but it's also so dang pretty. I love all the bright colors from the carrots, kale, curry, and turmeric. The flavors are a bit sweet, a bit sour and a little bit spicy, and it's a great side dish for chicken or fish.

 

This one is SED friendly, and now it's also Kosher for Passover friendly! Alex and I love it, and I've made this about 6 times in the past few months. As long as you have the quinoa pre-cooked and ready to go, it will take about 15 minutes to throw it all together. Normally, it calls for almonds, but I was all out, so I used cashews. They got a little too soft and lost their crunch, so stick with almonds when you make this. And you should make this! Look how pretty it is!

 

Moroccan Quinoa Pilaf

adapted from Nourishing Meals

Ingredients:

2 to 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
4 carrots, sliced into rounds
1 cup raw almonds, chopped
½ cup currants or raisins
1 ½ to 2 teaspoons mild curry powder
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon ground cardamom (I never have this, so I just leave it out)
4 cups chopped kale
4 to 5 cups cooked and cooled quinoa
1 small lemon, juiced

Instructions:

Heat a large over medium heat. Add olive oil, then add the chopped onions. Sauté onions for 4 to 5 minutes. Then add the sliced carrots and sauté for about 10 minutes more. Keep the heat at a medium temp to allow the onions to cook but not brown.

 

Add the almonds, raisins, spices, and salt and sauté 5 minutes more. Add the kale. Sauté about 5 minutes, or until kale is tender. Then add cooked quinoa and stir together over low heat. Add a few tablespoons of water if the pilaf seems dry. An extra tablespoon of oil will also help prevent the quinoa from sticking to the pan.

Remove from heat and add the juice of the lemon. Stir together, taste, and adjust salt and seasonings if needed.

 

Cooking with Gwyneth

 

Me and Gwyneth Paltrow are total BFFs. Okay, not really at all, but I did technically have her over for dinner the other night. This recipe is from her blog, which I had never heard of until I started my elimination diet. Apparently good ol' Gwynnie likes to eat clean and the majority of her recipes are Standard Elimination Diet (SED) friendly.

 

This recipe is one that I will keep in our rotation long after this diet is over. It's incredibly easy, delicious, filling and even the 3 year old likes it. Well, he picks out the kale, but I'll take what I can get. Alex wraps this up in corn tortillas, and I just eat it plain. We both like to top it with diced avocado, but I imagine it would also taste good with some sour cream or tomatoes. I recommend doubling the recipe so that you have more than enough for lunch the next day.

 

Sweet Potato, Black Bean and Kale Skillet

adapted from Goop

Ingredients:
2 sweet potatoes, peeled (I like to leave the peel on)
1 can black beans
2 hearty handfuls kale, torn into bite-size pieces
1 lime
olive oil
pinch of sumac (I omitted)
pinch of cumin
sea salt
freshly ground pepper

Instructions:
Dice the sweet potatoes into small/medium chunks.

Place large sauté pan over medium high heat and drizzle with olive oil. Add sweet potatoes, sumac(if using) and cumin to pan and cook for a minute until they begin to brown, stirring throughout to coat. Cover after a minute, bring the heat down to medium and let cook for about 5-8 minutes, stirring once or twice, until they’ve softened up.

Add black beans. Stir to mix. Add kale, season with salt and pepper, mix and cover. Let cook for 2-3 minutes, uncover and stir. (It will most likely be a bit too dry at this point, so drizzle over more olive oil.) Cook for another minute or so until kale is cooked to your liking. Squeeze the lime juice over top and toss gently to coat.

Serve with diced avocado, warm tortillas or any other topping you desire.

Elimination Creativity

 

Some of the meals I've made for the Elimination Diet have actually been so delicious (and easy!) that I will keep them in our meal rotation, even after I'm off this blasted diet. This salmon dinner is definitely one of them. I will admit that our grocery budget has gone up since I started this diet, because unfortunately cleaner, healthier, and fresher foods cost more. We are still cautious about how much we spend, but it's unavoidable in some ways. 

This diet has also forced me to be much more creative in the kitchen, which is fun. Now that I have a good grasp of what I can/can't eat, I am able to improvise some meals, either by altering recipes or gathering what I can find in the pantry. This recipe is a collection of a few different ones I've made in the past. It's fast and easy because the salmon cooks very quickly, and you can throw together the avocado and cucumber salad while it's roasting.

Skillet Salmon with Avocado Cucumber Salad

Ingredients: 

2-4 salmon fillets, skin removed

2 TBS olive oil 

2 ripe avocados, pitted and diced

1 large cucumber, de-seeded and diced

Lemon 

Instructions: 

Pre-heat the oven to 450. 

Lay the salmon on a flat surface and generously salt/pepper each side of the fillets. Put the olive oil in an oven-proof skillet (if the handle is not oven-proof, you can wrap it in foil), and bring it up to high heat. When the oil is almost smoking, place the salmon fillets in and let them sear for about 3-4 minutes so they form a nice crust. 

After, flip the fillets over carefully, and place the skillet into the pre-heated oven, until the fish cooks through, about 7-8 minutes (depending on the thickness). While it's cooking, combine the diced avocado and cucumber in a bowl, and season with salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste. 

When the fish is done, squeeze more lemon over the top and serve immediately.