Clean & Simple Veggie-Fry

An introduction is necessary…

99% of the time I have the following things in my fridge:

• Greens (spinach and/or kale being the staples)
• Quinoa (made in bulk in the rice cooker at the beginning of the work week)
• Seitan
• Squash (my friend supplied me with a [free] box of butternut squash in October and I’ve been working through it ever since…6 to go!)

The exceptions are when I make another grain (rice, millet, gluten free couscous, etc.) or opt for tofu or eggs over seitan.

The idea is that I always want to be able to come home from work and throw stuff that’s already been prepped on the stove to fry up as quickly as possible.

Tupperware to table.

Having FODMAPs free ingredients pre-cooked and on standby means I don’t have to worry about creating something that will make me feel crappy later because I’m too starving in the moment to stay away from things I know to be painful on my gut.

I almost always try to make leafy greens the focal point in my meals.  I love them and they are FODMAPs free, so it’s not a chore.  If you aren’t a kale person, cooking it makes it more palatable and digestible.  Simply steam it or sauté it in a dollop of oil.

Quinoa is also a FODMAPs free food.  Plus it’s delicious, it’s gluten (and wheat) free, and it just so happens to be a complete protein.  Good flavor and essential amino acids – win win!

Seitan is not gluten free, but for FODMAPs purposes I consider it a no FODMAPs ingredient (when I make it).  It’s made of vital wheat gluten and I posted why VWG doesn’t contain FODMAPs here.  Test your reaction yourself before you trust my digestive system, but I haven’t had any problems eating it while on the elimination diet and/or the low FODMAPs diet.

I’ll share my (new & improved) FODMAPs free seitan recipe soon.

Squash is one of the more questionable foods for those trying to minimize FODMAPs and I’ve heard different reactions from different people.  Summer squash (and zucchini) definitely contain fructans, but winter squash (like butternut, acorn, delicata, and pumpkin) are on the “ok to eat” list.  I only have GI symptoms arise from winter squash when (a) I’ve had a fairly high FODMAPs load for the day, or (b) I haven’t gone to the bathroom in a few days [sorry if that’s TMI].  Take away message – moderation is your best bet.

When I’m not pressed for time, I roast squash using this method.  But when I’m multi-tasking to the high heavens, I just wrap the squash in foil and bake it in the oven for 75 minutes at 350 degrees.

Then I scoop out all the flesh and tupperware it up.  I freeze extra portions that I won’t use immediately (within the week) for later use.  You’ll see…I use squash puree in tons of things.

Now that I’ve gone through the run down on the ingredients, how about what I do with them?

Clean & Simple Veggie-Fry

1) Spray pan with cooking spray (or a glug of oil).

2) Add squash and kale.

3) Once the kale starts to wilt and the squash begins to sizzle add a dollop of oil or water.

4) Add in protein of choice (in this case two eggs).  *FYI, when I use seitan or tofu, I just toss everything up together, but when I cook with eggs I try to push the other ingredients off to the side and keep them separate from the eggs until the whites have cooked more.  Then I toss everything up together.

5) Add in precooked quinoa.

Like I said, separating the protein from the veggies and grains is just something I do to facilitate the whites cooking all the way (and me being certain they did), but it isn’t necessary.

Ta-da!

I made another version of this meal just swapping the protein and grain.

Seitan and forbidden rice…prepared with the same step by step method I share above.

To yield a tasty, well rounded meal that’s also low in FODMAPs.

Enjoyable for your taste buds and your digestive system.  I have some variation of this meal at least three times a week and with minor tweaks it never gets old.  Enjoy!

Optional: for extra flavor and nutrients add a drizzle of tamari (wheat free soy sauce) or a dash of nutritional yeast on top.