Savory Comfort Food: Pulled Pork

The best savory comfort food I know of is Pulled Pork.  Even better, it's easy, easy, easy in the slow cooker. You don't even have to sear the meat (score!) Once upon a time my pulled pork was basically a dessert. In the last couple of years I've learned to make it with only a hint of sweetness and it is still delicious.

Ingredients:
2-3 pounds bone in pork butt or pork shoulder (these are the same thing)
1/2 cup water
3 Tablespoons Bragg's apple cider vinegar
1 rounded Tablespoon (preferably raw and locally sourced) honey
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons paprika

Here's the easy part

Put the water, vinegar, and honey in the slow cooker, then add the pork roast. Add all the spices in a little ramekin or bowl and mix it all up. Pour the spices over the top of the roast. Cover and set the slow cooker to low. Ideally you will cook this for 10 to 12 hours. You can get away with 8 hours, though it will not be as tender.

Of course you can cook a larger roast and adjust the spices accordingly. I've doubled and even tripled this recipe at times. Most of the time I am only cooking for one or two so I go small. Even with two pounds we end up with some leftovers. My dear hubby even likes this recipe. Although, being on a different path than I, he tends to add both sugar and ketchup to his bowl... sigh. At least we can share the meal though.

I like to serve it with some kind of non-starchy vegetable on the side. Surprisingly I don't really love it with salad though. Surprising, because I eat salad with most anything. This evening I went with diced summer squash with a hint of red bell pepper and the green part of scallions cooked in bone broth.

Save the bone(s) and you can use them to make bone broth later. I put them in the freezer until there is enough to make broth. Later you can use the broth to enhance another meal.

Suspect Foods

When you cannot keep it simple or be your own chef, there are a number of things to watch for on the label... or just plain avoid in a restaurant.  
Note-- I do note touch most of the things on this list, but if you are still indulging be afraid, very afraid...

Suspect Foods  
ale, baking powder, barbeque sauce, beer, breads, broth, casseroles, cereals, chocolates, chocolate bars, coffees (flavored), cookies, crackers, condiments, deli meats, drinks (flavored), gravies, grilled fish, grilled meats, hamburger patties (unless stated 100% beef), hot dogs, ketchup, lager, licorice, meatballs, potato chips and french fries, ice cream, imitation bacon bits, imitation seafood, marinades, meats, medications (check with your pharmacist-- even for topical medications), pastas, processed meats, processed foods, sauces, sausages, seasoning blends (herbs, spicing, and other agents), salad dressings, sauces, sausages, seasonings, seasoning packets (generally have thickening agents with hidden grains), spice mixes, stews, stir fries, soups, soup bases, soy products, soy sauce, syrups, taco seasoning, teas (flavored), Worcestershire Sauce.

Straight Up Sugar

Sugars are hiding everywhere... lurking in all those crazy processed foods that we love so much. (Beware... be very ware ;)
 

Sugars:
agave, agave nectar, barley malt,blackstrap molasses, blue agave,brown rice syrup, cane sugar, cane syrup, corn syrup, dastatic malt, dextrose (sweetener made from plant starch generally corn, rice, tapioca or wheat), diastase, evaporated cane juice, fructose, fruit concentrate, fruit juice, fruit juice concentrate (apple, pear, grape), dextrose, galactose, glucose, glucose syrup, golden syrup, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), lactose, malt, maltodextrin (sweetener, filler and binder from rice, corn, tapioca or potato starch), maltose, molasses, panocha, rice syrup, simple syrup, sorghum syrup, sucrose (half glucose and half fructose), syrup, treacle.

To Cheat or Not to Cheat

... that is the question.

I've seen a few friends and family members go through the elimination diet. Some don't really find out what they can and can not eat. If you do the elimination diet half way it doesn't really tell you anything. By reducing FODMAP content in your diet you may learn that there is something to it... but you won't know what you eat safely, what you can't and where you can fudge in the future without feeling lousy.

I had a co-worker who bought the book and said she was seriously on it, then three days later she was eating pizza for lunch. She said, "I'm still doing the diet, I'm only eating one piece." A couple days later it was, "Just half a bagel with a little cream cheese." That doesn't cut it!!

The thing that really helped me was carrying around two lists. One list with everything I could eat and another of everything I couldn't. I found it helpful to break them out by food category (fruits, vegetables, grains, etc.) When you try an elimination diet I suggest that you are very careful.... it may just change your life for the better.

Going Out to Eat

Keeping things simple when going out seems to be the safest option. Think of sticking to foods that are whole. Look for a restaurant that has gluten free and vegan menus and try not to get too complicated. Even when following a vegetarian diet it seemed to work better if I looked for gluten free and vegan items and then asked them to leave out veggies with FODMAPs. For example I might ask for gluten free pasta primavera and ask them to leave out the onions and green peppers.

If you look at the restaurant section of this blog I've included restaurants I know or have heard of that have gluten free and/or vegan menus. It seems to be a good place to start.

Breakfast
Going to breakfast seems easier to me than any other meal.
- If vegetarian you can get an omelette with swiss cheese, tomatoes, spinach, red peppers, etc. and have it served with home fries. No toast of course and make sure they don't use milk to make the omelette.
- If vegan home fries, sliced (grilled) tomatoes, grits and oatmeal are good options. One place I go serves the oatmeal with blueberries on top, perfect!

Lunch/Dinner Options:
- Pasta primavera as outlined above.
- Gluten free vegan pizza with toppings such as red peppers, olives, butternut squash
- Salad with oil and vinegar or with oil and lemon, lately I've been eating salad with just lemon or vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Be sure they use all low FODMAP vegetables in the salad.
-Plain white or brown rice with "safe" vegetables
-French Fries

-Gluten free vegan vegetable fried rice

Explaining FODMAPs diet to your friends

I've had a series of complicated diets for many years. No dairy, gluten free, vegegarian, vegan/plant based; which can all be explained. FODMAPs is a little more challenging since no one has ever heard of it.

Now I say, "I am intolerant to carbohydrates that ferment in the gut." Or, "I used to have a lot of trouble with my stomach, until I found out that I have trouble with certain carbohydrates that ferment in the gut."

Some people ask for more information and some people just nod and move on. I've learned that many many people have stomach trouble. I've referred a lot of people to the IBS Free at Last Book. I'm hoping I can one day go into a restaurant and ask for a low FODMAP menu.

VEGETARIAN PRODUCTS: Udi's GFCF Bread

Udi's white sandwich bread is usually good for low FODMAP vegetarians and is usually suitable for the elimination phase. However, you need to be careful. They usually use tapioca syrup, which seems to be okay. Unfortuntely, they sometimes substitute with Brown Rice Syrup-- definitely not okay. Read the ingredients every time.

 It makes amazing toast. It even tastes decent without microwaving or toasting. It's a bit dry, but the first gluten free bread I've found to be edible without some kind of cooking.

You will find Udi's in the gluten free freezer section. I have found it in the Stop and Shop natural foods aisle, Whole Foods, the Good Food Store, the Fruit Center, and best of all Trader Joe's where they keep it out with the regular bread and sell it for aout $5!

Salad, Green

Salad without croutons or cheese can be really good with other ingredients for flavor.

GFCF Croutons can be made by spreading olive oil and garlic and salt on GFCF bread, cutting into one inch squares and frying in frying pan until crispy.


Nuts also make a nice substitute for croutons... especially sunflower seeds or cashews.

Canned corn adds a lovely flavor to salad.

Other options that are great include mandarin oranges, black olives, sliced or chopped avacado, boiled eggs, kidney beans, tomato, cucumber, artichoke hearts, radish, carrots... not neccessarily all at the same time, but experiment.

Choose a dairy free dressing... many honey mustards are okay, raspberry vinaigrette, olive oil and GF vinegar (beware of malted vinegar), olive oil and juice of a couple lemon wedges, etc.

VEGAN: Charred Summer Veggies recipe

This recipe is adapted from one I found in Cooking Lite magazine a few years ago

Charred Summer Veggies
2 1/2 c corn kernals (~5 ears)
1 c chopped green beans
2 c chopped zucchini
1 c chopped red bell pepper
2 T chopped green onion tops (green part only)
2 T chpped fress flat parsley
2 T fresh lemon juice
4 t olive oil
1/2t salt
pepper to taste

Heat 12" skillet on high over high heat. Coat with cooking spray, add corn, beans, zucchini and pepper, stir to combine. Cover and cook 5 mins (it will smell like it's burning).Combine green onion tops with remaining ingredients and toss into pan.

PLANT BASED RECIPE: Vanilla Icing recipe and great GFCF Cake Mix

I can't remember where I found this recipe for vegan vanilla icing, but it's simple, easy and yummy.

GFCF Vanilla Icing

1/2 c vegan margarine

1/4 c vanilla rice milk (or other non-dairy milk)

3 c powdered sugar
1 1/2 t vanilla
Put all margarine, vanilla and milk in large mixing bowl and cream together with a hand mixer. Add half of the sugar until well blended, then add rest of sugar and mix until blended.