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Farm Kitchen:  Tomato free recipes  |
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HollyG
True Blue Farmgirl
214 Posts
Holly
Hamburg
Arkansas
USA
214 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 27 2011 : 7:30:22 PM
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I have discovered that tomatoes are a trigger food for my rosacea. Good to know, except I eat something tomato based at every meal. Heck, I've been known to put salsa on eggs. We eat a lot of Tex-Mex and tomato based casseroles...from spaghetti to the old-time porcupine meatballs. I'll starve this winter without my soups and chili. Just to thicken the plot, we rarely eat potatoes (do .pw-carb for health reasons) and I cannot physically tolerate corn at all. So. Aren't I the lucky one?
Now. Can you remind me of some recipes that don't involve tomatoes particularly? I'm a scratch cook that prepares at least one big meal a day. I know how to cook, but like everyone, we sometimes get in a rut and have the same thongs over and over. Ideas, modifications, suggestions...all will be appreciated. My goal is to get my skin under control, the reintroduce very slowly to see of I have any tolerance at all. But until then, I need some recommendations.
HollyG
Farmgirl #2513
www.mydeepwoodslife.com |
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MagnoliaWhisper
True Blue Farmgirl
2817 Posts
Heather
Haysville
Kansas
USA
2817 Posts |
Posted - Jul 27 2011 : 7:49:40 PM
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Adding the low carb into the mix will be harder for sure.
But, there is white chili's out there you may want to consider-usually using chicken or turkey and white beans, no tomatoes.
You can also make fruit based salsa's. (I love salsa!) And maybe more gaucamole for the tex mex foods. (I know most people do put tomatoes in gauc too but you can leave it out and probably be fine). Peaches are the fruit my family likes best for salsa. Some people like mango a lot too. I wonder if you can have tomatillos? (sp) Or maybe low acid tomatoes like the yellow ones?
We eat a ton of tomatoes too, so it would be hard for my family as well. However, we don't do low carb, we do low calorie, moderate carb and moderate fat though, as I'm a diabetic, so every thing in moderation with in about a 1800 calorie diet-as I'm usually either pregnant or breastfeeding! lol
I love ketchup too! UHG! I can't imagine meatloaf with out ketchup or BBQ sauce! lol haha But, I do make a swedish one I like with gravy versus ketchup/bbq sauce, however, gravies aren't very low carb, however, can be low calorie and low fat.
For pasta, you could try more creamier sauces, again it won't help with the low carb part but my family loves things like alfredo. I make a mock one using cream of chicken soup (you can make it from scratch), sour cream, and parmesean cheese. (in my opinion taste better then any of the alfredo sauces I've had out to eat or in a jar!). Also just a ton of other veggies are good in pastas, like zucchini, green beans, mushrooms, etc.
One of our favorite soups for winter is zucchini (a TON of it!), ground turkey meat (I like the lightness of it versus beef, even though we live in beef country and buy two beef cows a year for our family! this recipe in my opinion just has better texture/flavor with turkey!), no yokes type noodles (so in other words the thin fat flat ones) garlic, chicken broth, etc seasonings. Mushrooms are also good added to it and especially onions.
We also like chicken pot pie soup, again not too carb friendly but make your own chicken pot pie base-cream of chicken soup is how we do it, carrots, peas, green beans, etc, and of course chicken or turkey cut into chunks.
Another thing you could do is shepherd's pies. Yes, traditionally has mashed potatoes on top. However, since becoming diabetic and trying to have moderate carbs and sometimes wanting to spend my carb allowance on dessert rather then main course, we have found using cottage cheese, mixed with eggs, garlic, and pepper (or any other seasonings your family likes) is really good topping. Then last week I seen on TV a person used pureed carrots for the topper. That would probably be good too. However, I will probably stick with the cottage cheese, egg, oh and I think it has sour cream in it too, mixture as it's mouth feel is VERY close to mashed potatoes and I don't miss them in this dish that way.
I'm also thinking keep your porcupine meatballs (after all no tomatoes in them right? It would only be in the sauce you put on top right?) and try out some gravies instead for topping. Think of swedish meatballs and gravy. Also good with a good lindenberry sauce! mmm mmm!
I must admit we are from the midwest, and eat a ton of tomatoes around here too. Looks like you are close to us in geographical location, so every thing from Tex-Mex, to our american italian type stuff-lasagna, pizza, spaghetti, etc, to even just good old american midwest food like sloppy joe's has tomatoes! Plus I reading in a book from Arkansas (where my family is originally from so always interested in books that people from Arkansas have written) that back in the early 1900's apparently Arkansas was the major producer of tomatoes! I didn't know that, as for my family they did sugar cane and cotton, I hadn't heard about all the tomatoes coming out of the ozarks then too! Any way no wonder they are so ingrained in our diet! UHG!
We also love hummus-maybe you could find ways of replacing salsa with the hummus sometimes?
I'll keep thinking on it but it will be hard with no corn or potatoes in the mix. Especially cause so much Tex Mex you could get the same mouth feel with corn instead of tomatoes....hmmm have to think about this one for sure!
Oh I almost forgot, we also love pesto! So for your italian stuff, like pasta, pizza and the like maybe try pesto in place of tomato sauce too. You won't use as much though cause it's very rich (olive oil and pine nuts and cheese!) and pretty packed with flavor. I love it on top of veggie soups as well. A good spoon full or two on top of a big bowl of vegetable beef soup, mmm mmm good. And of course there is usually tomatoes in veggie soups too! UHG! lol haha
http://www.heathersprairie.blogspot.com |
Edited by - MagnoliaWhisper on Jul 27 2011 7:52:04 PM |
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HollyG
True Blue Farmgirl
214 Posts
Holly
Hamburg
Arkansas
USA
214 Posts |
Posted - Jul 28 2011 : 08:13:54 AM
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Heather,
Thanks for the suggestions. Tomatoes have always been a part of my daily life...literally. My favorite summer meal is tomatoes and cottage cheese - a bit of seasoned salt and I was good to go. My husband is a closet diabetic...meaning he is, but we don't talk about it. It adds pressure for me to prepare foods he can eat (considering he won't check his sugar and is on no medication.) I know ultimately he is responsible for his health, but I'm not going to try to kill him by serving heavy carbs every meal either! Neither of us need that.
One thing you may try is jicama (pronounced hick-a-ma) It's in the produce section - it's a round, slightly flat - don't even know if it's a fruit or vegetable. It has a fibrous coating like a coconut - but light brown. It's about as big as a man's fist, but you can get them larger or smaller. You have to peel it...I think the peel is poisonous. Anyway, the meat is white and has the texture of an apple/potato. We don't do turnips at my house, but the taste is similar. It can be prepared in any recipe you use potatoes - but it takes forever to cook. I like to julienne it with apples and make a slaw/salad dish. It's one of those things that take on flavors - sweet or savory. It is even great eaten raw - like on a veggie tray. You may try that for your shepherd's pie. I forget all the details now, but you can google them. I can't remember if it's a carb or not, but it is diabetic friendly - low glycemic and/or something like that.
I love hummus and recently tried pesto and loved it too. It's just like trying to retrain my brain to not think tomatoes. As we get older, our diet has changed. There are lots of things my husband eats that I do not. Like fried foods - if I eat something fried once a month, it's a big deal. However, he doesn't gorge on them either...I have learned to oven bake and saute in place of deep frying...which is a challenge in the south. And, only one fried item per meal, so he has to pick what he really wants fried.
Anyway, I'm rambling. Thanks for the advice. I'll look into the swedish meatball thing and search for some non-tomato based sauces for pasta and other good stuff. If you have any more ideas, shoot them my way!
HollyG
Farmgirl #2513
www.mydeepwoodslife.com |
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MagnoliaWhisper
True Blue Farmgirl
2817 Posts
Heather
Haysville
Kansas
USA
2817 Posts |
Posted - Jul 28 2011 : 12:11:37 PM
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Yup love jimica, I'm sure it's a tube veggie-low carb.
One thing about the glycemic index is it's not real reliable. I always kind of had a feeling there was something wrong with it. Because sweet potatoes were supposedly low, and regular white potatoes high. However, the nutritionals as far as what would effect your blood glucose are exactly the same! (fiber, carbs, calories, ALL the same!) They do have different amounts of vitamins though, but that wouldn't effect blood glucose. Any way, then I read in Diabetic Cooking magazine that the glycemic index was based on a non controlled study. That say for instance they wanted to test how sweet potatoes effected blood glucose they would tell only a few people (not nearly enough for most scientific studies, only like say 20 people, which in most studies for them to be really tested as proof need hundreds of people!) to eat sweet potatoes but then they wouldn't control what the other people ate. So some of those 20 may of had baked chicken with their sweet potato where some of the people may of had rice, pie, or other carbs as well! There was no controlled testing of saying ok ONLY eat a sweet potato and then we will test your blood glucose for the next say 4 hours. Any way, based on that I don't really put a lot of stock in the glycemic index. But, like I said I didn't really put a lot of stock in it before cause it made no sense to me how two things with the exact same carbs, calories, and fiber could have way different effects on blood glucose.
I mainly focus on my carbs, fiber and calories. IE I try to make around 45 to 60 gms of carbs per a meal, with at least 10 gms of fiber in each meal, and keep it all between 450 and 500 calories. That seems to keep my blood glucose the most stable.
What exactly is it about the tomatoes that you are effected by? Is it the acid?
http://www.heathersprairie.blogspot.com |
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HollyG
True Blue Farmgirl
214 Posts
Holly
Hamburg
Arkansas
USA
214 Posts |
Posted - Jul 29 2011 : 6:33:14 PM
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I was diagnosed with food allergies as a child. Chocolate, black-eyed peas, oranges, and tomatoes. Chocolate not only contributes to migraines, but will give me a bronchial infection. Oranges and peas...within an hour of eating, I'm running a fever and exhibiting flu-like symptoms. I've never had a noticeable reaction to tomatoes until now. Not saying it caused my rosacea, but is a trigger for outbreaks. So, that's one more thong I have to eliminate. I can do chocolate in moderation (thank heavens) but absolutely nome of the other. We'
L see how the tomatoes fare....
HollyG
Farmgirl #2513
www.mydeepwoodslife.com |
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MagnoliaWhisper
True Blue Farmgirl
2817 Posts
Heather
Haysville
Kansas
USA
2817 Posts |
Posted - Jul 29 2011 : 9:00:18 PM
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hmmm, I would I think if I was you, test on my self about the yellow or lower acid tomatoes then. I mean (not if it did the bronchial infection like the chocolate! lol) but, if it was rosacea (I know still a PITA! As I have it from time to time too!) as much as we love our maters I would give the lower acid ones a shot, and see if that doesn't help.
I don't know though I go through rounds of being allergic to things I never was before. Like I LOVE pistachios but go through times when I can't eat them and they cause my tongue to swell and my throat to close up! UHG! Yeah you would think that would totally keep me away from them wouldn't you? But, no every few years I go and try some! lol And sometimes I can tolerate them for a while.......then all the sudden after a year or so I start getting the tongue swelling and throat closing again! lol
http://www.heathersprairie.blogspot.com |
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Farm Kitchen: Tomato free recipes |
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Tomato free recipes
