Simple Italian Greens and Grains
Having food sensitivities has made cooking so simple. It’s still delicious and I love it! I’m not sure I’ll ever go back to my old ways once I’m able to add more foods.
This is a super healthy dish that gives me the taste of Italian. I’ve listed the “Base Ingredients” that I can tolerate and then have listed additions if you are able to tolerate those foods.
Base Ingredients:
1 small onion chopped
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 bunch rainbow chard, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 – 2 cups cooked long grain brown rice
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil or 1 – 2 tsp. dried
1 cup (or more) tomato sauce or chopped tomatoes
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
Chopped fresh spinach
Sauté onion in sauce pan over medium high heat for 3 minutes until it starts to brown. Add 1/2 cup water and chard. Cover then lower heat and cook until chard is tender, only about 3 – 5 minutes. Stir in desired amount of rice. Add 1 cup or desired amount of tomato sauce or chopped tomatoes. Stir in vinegar. Salt to taste. Serve mixed with a small amount of chopped raw spinach.
Additions if tolerated:
1 clove minced garlic added with onion
4 sliced mushrooms added with greens
Fresh or dried oregano
Spaghetti Squash and Millet Marinara
I love to use cooked millet in place of pasta in Italian style dishes. When added to spaghetti squash, it adds a heartiness to the squash and is much more filling. Millet is high in protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and is a great source of complex carbohydrates that our body uses for energy! If you want energy, eat a high-carbohydrate diet.
1 spaghetti squash, cooked *
1 cup dry millet, cooked**
Marinara (Use your favorite bottled if desired)
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 24 oz box Pomi tomatoes
1/2 can tomato paste (3 oz)
1 t basil
1 t oregano
1/2 t turmeric (optional)
1/4 t black pepper
*Cook spaghetti squash in the oven at 350 for about 1 hour until soft. I leave it whole. No need to stab it with a knife or anything . Just place it on a baking sheet and turn on the oven. I’ll put this in the oven in the morning while getting ready for work.
**Boil 2 cups water. Add dry millet, turn heat to simmer, cover and cook until tender, about 15 – 20 minutes.
Saute onion in a dry pan over medium-high heat until it starts to brown. Add minced garlic and stir for 1 minutes. Add tomatoes and tomato paste and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a low boil then turn to simmer. Add herbs and spices. Cook 10 or 15 minutes.
Scrape squash strands into a bowl. Add desired amount of millet and top with marinara.
Cream of Broccoli Soup
6 – 8 cups water
2 heads of broccoli with stalks (enough for 4 cups chopped florets)
Florets from 1/2 head cauliflower
1 medium yellow sweet potato, baked (enough for about 1 cups mashed)
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 t marjoram
Fresh group pepper as desired
Place 4 cups water in a sauce pan. Cut off stalks from broccoli, trim, slice and place in a sauce pan with 4 cups water. Add cauliflower florets. Cover and steam until tender.
Saute onion in a soup pot or large sauce pan over medium high heat until it starts to brown. Add a little water if needed to keep from sticking. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add celery, carrots, and chopped broccoli florets. Cook until tender.
When cauliflower and broccoli stems are tender, blend with sweet potato, including cook water from vegetables, until creamy. Pour into soup pot. Add more water if needed to thin. Stir in marjoram and pepper and heat through.
Green Spanish Rice
On an elimination diet I always have cooked rice and sweet potatoes on hand. For this recipe I use the yellow fleshed sweet potatoes instead of orange. They have a firmer texture and believe it or not, replace the texture of beans, which are often not tolerated by those with food sensitivities. This is one of my more advanced stage recipes. I wasn’t able to add tomatoes or chili powder until after a year. When I was finally able, halleluia!
Cooked short grain brown rice
1 small baked sweet potato, cut in 1/2 inch cubes
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tomatoes, chopped or can chopped tomatoes
1 t turmeric
2 t chili powder
4 cups finely chopped broccoli
1 small bunch cilantro, chopped
1/4 t black pepper
Salt to taste
Sauté onion in dry pan until it starts to brown. Add garlic and cook 1 minutes stirring constantly. Add tomatoes and cook until juicy. Add spices and broccoli. Cook until broccoli is tender. Add sweet potato and desired amount of rice, cilantro and pepper. Heat through if needed. Salt to taste.
A nice addition is chopped almonds or pumpkin seeds.
Spicy Cabbage with Rice
Another “elimination diet” favorite that I’m so grateful for! I love the texture of the shredded cabbage but feel free to do a rough chop. This is so tasty and satisfying on it’s own but it would be very tasty rolled up in a corn tortilla if you can eat corn. Cooked green lentils mixed in would be great too!
Cooked short grain brown rice
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 t turmeric
1 1/2 t chili powder
1/2 head cabbage, thinly sliced
1 small bunch cilantro, chopped
1/4 t black pepper
Salt to taste
Saute onion in dry pan over medium high heat until it starts to brown. Add garlic and cook 1 minutes stirring constantly. Add tomatoes and cook until juicy. Add spices and cabbage and 1/2 cup water. Cover, lower heat to medium and cook until cabbage is tender. Add rice, cilantro and pepper. Heat through if needed. Salt to taste.
When I was able to add them, I love mixing in chopped sprouted almonds or pumpkin seeds.
Creamy Cauliflower Kale
This has been one of my favorite dishes while on an elimination diet. It will continue to be one of my go-to meals after I’ve incorporated more foods. I love this dish and it’s so easy! I often add steamed green beans.
1 medium head cauliflower
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bunch kale, finely chopped
1 t turmeric
1/4 t black pepper
Cooked short-grain brown rice
Salt to taste
Break off florets from cauliflower and wash good. Place in a steamer basket or sauce pan with 1 cup water and steam until tender.
While cauliflower is cooking, saute’ onion in a dry sauce pan until it starts to brown. Add garlic and stir 1 minute.
Add 3/4 cup water and chopped kale and cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 5 – 10 minutes until kale is tender.
Stir in turmeric and pepper and cook additional minute or two. Stir in desired amount of cooked rice. (Since on an elimination diet I always have cooked rice on hand.)
When cauliflower is tender, blend until smooth. This makes a wonderful gravy to put over any veggies, grains, or potatoes. It’s a great soup base as well or substitute for mashed potatoes.
Pour desired amount of Cauliflower Cream over kale and rice and mix well. Salt to taste.
Add other seasonings as you wish. There are only certain seasonings I can tolerate and because turmeric and pepper are so anti-inflammatory, I’ve made them a daily part of my diet.
Cauliflower Soup w/ Rice
This is creamy, comforting, and so satisfying! This recipe has saved me on my year-long elimination diet.
1 yellow sweet potato yielding 1 cup cooked
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 medium carrots, chopped
Florets from one medium head cauliflower
1 1/2 t marjoram
Salt to taste
Fresh ground pepper
Cooked brown rice or other grain*
Bake sweet potato in 350-degree oven until soft, about 2 hours. Higher temp is shorter time is needed.
Sauté onion in dry soup pot over medium-high heat until it starts to brown. Add garlic and sauté one more minute.
Add about 4 cups water and loosen browning off bottom of pan. Add celery, carrots, then lay cauliflower florets over the top so they can easily be scooped out. Bring to a boil then lower heat to medium, cover, and cook until cauliflower is tender.
Scoop out cooked cauliflower and place in a blender jar and blend until smooth. Add cooked sweet potato and blend. Stir in blender contents into soup pot along with marjoram and mix well. Heat for 5 minutes. Mix in cooked brown rice or other grain. Salt and pepper to taste.
*I love a combination of cooked quinoa and cook buckwheat. Boil 2 cups water, add 1 cup quinoa and ½ cup buckwheat. Lower heat to low, cover, and cook until tender, about 10 – 15 minutes.
Order yours today!
100% Plant Based
100% Nutritious
100% Delicious
