Saucy Meatballs (& Vegetarian too!)

The virtues and vices of red meat is a hot-topic right now, especially after the publication of a Harvard study entitled “Red Meat Consumption and Mortality: Results from 2 Prospective Cohort Studies.”  The study looked at the association between red meat consumption and mortality, and the researchers concluded “a higher intake of red meat was associated with a significantly elevated risk of total, [cardiovascular disease] CVD and cancer mortality.”[1]

Aromas of India

Does this make your mouth water?

In the IBD Guide to Eating Out, we mentioned that typical Indian restaurants in  the U.S. serve many dishes that are oily, creamy, and incorporate lots of fat (and sodium as well).  In general, individuals with IBD need to be conscientious of the amount of fats/oils in their food, and must also be aware of the amount of spices used.   IBDers should know, however, that almost any recipe can be modified to fit their dietary preferences.  There is always an IBD-friendly version of a dish.  Here, we present you with an alternative to the Indian dish Palak Paneer (farmer’s cheese in a thick curry sauce based on pureed spinach) called Palak Tofu, a vegan twist to the normal recipe.   It tastes very similar to Palak Paneer, but is healthier, less oily, and more protein rich.   The dish is basically tofu cooked in curried spinach, a very healthy dish that goes well with some rice or naan.  You will love the green color, and your house will smell like an Indian restaurant for hours afterward….what could be better??

Sweet Potato Gnocchi…For Passover!

One of the (many) blessings of Passover is that we see some delicious dishes that are traditionally made only once a year….not from a lack of access to particular ingredients (who doesn’t keep matzah in their pantry year-round??), but because the dietary restrictions of Passover require us to utilize ingredients that we don’t generally use year-round.  For many, this means the holiday is the one time a year we see the Passover dishes that we remember our parents making since we were children.   This year, Marnina made her mom’s peach kugel that was so good that we were scraping the sides of the 9 x 13 baking dish to salvage all of the caked-on pieces.  And for the Seder, my mom made a flanken tzimmes with carrots, sweet potatoes, and prunes – the meat and veggies are slow-cooked with honey and sugar to the point where they are so tender and sweet that they just instantly melt in your mouth (don’t worry, we avoided the prunes at all costs).

The Passover Conundrum

Enter...the Exodus from Egypt!

For those with gastrointestinal issues, Passover presents a conundrum.  On the one hand, we are commanded to avoid eating leavened bread, and we are also not allowed to consume many types of additives, preservatives, and other artificial ingredients that are ubiquitous in today’s food supply.  As a result, Passover is almost like going on a detox diet.  We are essentially eliminating the wheat/gluten products from our diet, a boon to our health.  We toss everything that is made with white flour and loaded with sugar, and we fill our kitchen with fruits, vegetables, proteins, some matzah, and only a modest amount of artificial ingredients.