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Chicken and pesto pasta – low fodmap

I am trying again with Kale, using kale is a way of getting more cruciferous brassica vegetables into a the low fodmap diet. Why should that be important? These vegetables contain sulphur compounds such as glucosinolates, compounds that have been implicated in the prevention of colon cancer(1). These vegetables are also rich in nutrients such as vitamin C and folate – unfortunately these vitamins are water soluble so will be reduced by boiling in water. This is a bit of a problem as most kale is exceptionally tough to eat and needs a good amount of cooking! It does contain the fat soluble vitamin K, beta-carotene and leutine, which is retained. It is really important to eat a wide a variety of foods as possible when following the low fodmap diet to get as much good nutrition as possible. The following recipe is a good start! If you really don’t want to try kale in this recipe other low fodmap cruciferous vegetables are Bok Choy, white and red cabbage, turnip, swede, watercress and radish – not all suitable alternatives for this dish though. Enjoy!

Ingredients

200g Gluten free dried pasta

60 g grated parmesan cheese

2 heaped tablespoons of pine nuts

1 packet of basil leaves

100ml oil

2 chicken breasts

seasoning

Method

Make the pesto – blend together the pine nuts, basil, olive oil and parmesan.

Chop the chicken – take care not to contaminate surfaces with raw chicken – clean down well after chopping it, or buy chicken strips.

Add the chicken to a pan with 3 tablespoons of the pesto and cook till the chicken is cooked through

Start to cook the pasta in boiling salted water and add the chopped kale to the pan.

The trick with cooking gluten free pasta is to use the packet cooking instructions – overcooking will turn it to mush.

Drain the pasta and kale.

Combine the ingredients, add seasoning if needed the parmesan is quite salty so additional may not be needed

Serve, contains 2 portions




 

(1) Nutr Cancer. 2014;66(1):128-39. doi: 10.1080/01635581.2014.852686. Epub 2013 Dec 16.

Cruciferous vegetables and risk of colorectal neoplasms: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

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Tri Colori mini pizza’s – made with verdi, bianca and rosso pesto! Low Fodmap

It was national pizza day last week and I decided to focus on the three colours of the Italian flag and make three colours of pesto and use small gluten free pizza bases – one is just enough for a nice lunch served with a fresh green salad.

Verdi Pesto

Ingredients:

I bag of basil leaves

40g of oil

20g of pine nuts

20g Parmesan

salt + pepper to taste

Bianca Pesto

Ingredients:

30g pine nuts

30g Parmesan

30g clear oil

1 slice of gluten free bread

salt + pepper to taste

Rosso pesto

Ingredients:

2 roasted red peppers

10 basil leaves

30g pine nuts

30g Parmesan

30g oil

Salt + Pepper to taste

Method for all the pesto’s

Weigh out all the ingredients and blend into a paste. For the bianca pesto add a little water if this is too thick during blending. Simple! Do taste it before you add any salt because the parmesan may produce enough saltiness for your taste. These pesto recipes produce enough for a 7 inch pizza but can also be added to pasta for a lovely flavoured dish. Remember if you have problems with foods containing fats affecting your bowel do use the pesto sparingly.

Pizza’s

Verde Pizza

Spread the pesto on the base and add a small amount of mozzarella (one or two strips), basil leaves and one sliced olive. Sprinkle with Parmesan and cook in a hot oven for 10-15 minutes.

Bianca Pizza

Spread the pesto on the base and add a small amount of mozzarella (one or two strips), pine nuts and sliced Parma ham (do be careful about what meats you choose for pizza – check for wheat, onion and garlic in preserved meats and sausages.) Sprinkle with Parmesan and cook in a hot oven for 10-15 minutes.

Rosso Pizza

Spread the pesto on the base and add a small amount of mozzarella (one or two strips), pine nuts and sliced roasted red pepper and slices of Parma ham. Sprinkle with Parmesan and cook in a hot oven for 10-15 minutes.

These little pizzas can also be sliced into 4-6 pieces and used as a small appetizer with drinks at parties too. Enjoy Pizza day!

lac

talkhealth Blog

Pumpkin chicken and pesto pasta

It is my favourite time of year and I do love roasted vegetables. Here is a dish that provides some comfort on cold nights and left overs can be warmed up the next day for lunch.

Ingredients

75g of garlic infused olive oil

1 inch slice of parmesan

15g of fresh basil

2 tablespoons of pine nuts

Salt to taste

1/2 small pumpkin

2 large chicken thighs

Basil leaves and toasted pine nuts to decorate.

150g gluten free pasta.

Method

Slice the pumpkin in half and then slice into eight even slices

Remove seeds

Add basil, oil, pine nuts, parmesan and salt to a blender and blend till smooth to make the pesto.

Place the slices into a roasting tin and place the chicken on the top (this will allow the fat to drain into the bottom of the tray – if you have a roasting tin drainer use this too.)

Spoon the pesto sauce on to the chicken and pumpkin.

Roast for 30 minutes (the chicken is ready when juices run clear.)

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water (use directions on the packet and don’t overcook it some makes of pasta will disintegrate if cooked for too long.)

Chop the pumpkin and chicken and mix with the cooked pasta, if desired use a small amount of the drained juices to flavour the pasta – but not too much as it will be high in fat.

Serves two

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