Punkin' Mac Attack!

With all that's been going on I realized that I haven't done much about eating!  Lots of good stuff with reading and teaching, but I've heard from my fellow fodmaps, hey hello, where is the food!

Fear not!  I promised recipes and here is a new one that you may not have seen.

For those of you who wonder, I was diagnosed with IBS a few moths back.  There are several factors/theories as to how I got it, but it really doesn't matter.  My son, who seems determined to be "just like mama" was diagnosed yesterday.  His gi dr and dietician were thrilled when I whipped out my Monash info (more on that in another post) and we will work together to tailor a diet for my son.
Basically fodmap is short for a group of dietary sugars, Fermentable Oligo-sacchariarides, Di-saccharides, Mono-saccharides and Polyols.  Try saying that 5 times fast.  Anyway, my intestines don't absorb them as well.  I have to be careful what I eat. So the burning question often comes up, what do you eat??  Do you eat??  The answer is I eat.  I eat well.  I just have to put more thought into what I eat.

In the old days before IBS when the hubby called working late Marvin and I would pig out on chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, and canned fruit.  Easy, quick, and really unhealthy.  But it has been another crazy week and it's only Tuesday!  We had a crippling snowfall of 1/2" here in Virginia. At least my neck of the woods.  Shannon had to work late and Marvin and I needed a comfort meal.

So I started with the chicken.  Both Marvin and I have gluten indolence's.  So a processed nugget was out.  I had chicken breasts, but Marvin isn't a fan of them.  So I tried something new with them in hopes of making them seem exciting.  I started with a 400 degree preheated oven.  I then buttered a casserole dish

I then put the chicken breasts in the dish, threw a little butter, salt, pepper, rosemary, and basil on the chicken.  Then I did something wild and crazy.  I put aluminum foil on the chicken and tucked it in tight.  

This way the chicken poaches in the oven, keeping it moist and yummy.  

I cooked it until it got to be 165 degrees.  Easy.  And yummy.  Plus Marvin and I split a breast so it makes leftovers.  Which is good.  I love having another night or two of meals out of one meal.  

Now the next part Mac and cheese.  I was so upset when I found out gluten was not my friend.  Some can tolerate it, I can't.  Also Marvin has had lots of issues with it as well.  So I tried rice noodles, rice, and some other gluten free products.  I wasn't happy.  The Barilla came to the rescue!!

I love them and they taste really good!!  Almost like real noodles!  Yum.  So I take about 3 cups of uncooked pasta and cook it.  While that's cooking I make the sauce.  

You start with 2tbls butter or butter sub if you can't do butter (we can thank heavens!).  Melt it in a pot.  When it melts add 2 tbls of gluten free flour (I like gf King Arthur).  After it thickens slowly add 2 cups of lactose free whole milk (or whatever milk you can tolerate).  When that thickens add 1 cup of cheese (we used grated sharp cheddar but you could use fontina or gruyere).  Then add 1/2 cup of fresh grated Parmesan cheese.  Let it melt in.  Then you add some seasonings.  1/2 tsp dried sage leaves and salt and pepper to taste.  Then comes the pumpkin.  I love pumpkin.  I'm also glad I can still eat it.  Canned pumpkin can be a moderate fodmap to some so use caution.  I put one can of pumpkin in. 

Doesn't that look good?  Now if my son had any clue this had pumpkin in it he would have a fit and refuse to eat it.  So I just don't share that part.  Taste and adjust.  If you aren't on low fodmap you could throw in some onion powder or garlic.  I put a lot of pepper and sage in.  

Then you throw it in about a 9 by 9 baking dish and root through your freezer for the tail ends of the gluten free bread you hoard because no one wants to eat heels.  

I took a handful, stuck it in the toaster and shredded it up in a bowl with more parm and sage and threw it on the top of the mac and cheese.  I baked it at 350 until it was bubbly and browned 20-30 mins.  

Tah-dah!!  How easy is that.  And yummy.  To finish it off I just sliced some fresh veggies for me and the boy.  Red peppers for him, tomatoes for me.  

It's a far cry from what we used to eat, but it tastes so good!  It was worth the extra time it took.  Plus Marvin ate two helpings of the mac (so did I, just small portions though).  He thought it was great. So I have a winner dinner that I'll be putting into regular rotation!