Roasted Sweet Pepper Sauce | Tomato Substitute | Reflux Recipe | Low-Fat | Low-Cal

Posted on by gloriouslygoodfood
Roasted sweet pepper sauce | finished product

Using a Roasted Sweet Pepper Sauce is a good alternative to using tomatoes,

but this sauce is much more than a tomato substitute!

Roasted sweet pepper sauce | finished product

This roasted sweet pepper sauce is versatile and can be used as the base for soups, meat-based sauces, or on its own.  It’s so delicious, I was struggling to keep my daughter’s hands off it after I’d made it, even though I needed it to use in another recipe.

I started off by wanting to make a sauce using peppers as a substitute for tomatoes.  The jury is still out on whether tomatoes set off my reflux or not (acidity-wise, they’re above a pH of 4, so they should be ok for most reflux sufferers, but they’re one of those foods that trigger reflux for many, even though they’re strictly-speaking ok in terms of acidity), but I wanted to come up with an alternative that would be safe for most reflux sufferers*.  And besides, I love the taste and smell of peppers!

This sauce is easy to make but does take a little bit of time and a bit of effort.

Ingredients for approximately 800ml of sauce (this will depend on the size of the peppers, how much water they hold through the roasting process etc – it’s not exact):

  • 8 large peppers (mixture of red, orange, yellow)
  • 8 cloves of garlic (if you have reflux and garlic affects you, you can use herbs instead – choose your herbs based on what you’ll use the sauce with, for example rosemary or thyme for chicken dishes, parsley for fish dishes, oregano for many pasta dishes & soups etc)
  • a sprinkling of sea salt
  • 1tbsp of olive oil
  • Optional: chicken or vegetable stock – just enough to ‘wash out’ the blender at the end and avoid waste…this also dilutes the very thick sauce a little

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 220°C (fan-assisted).

Lightly crush the garlic with the side of a large knife (using pressure from the palm of your hand) – leave the skins on.  Crush it just enough for the skin to burst.

De-seed the peppers and cut them into large chunks (about 2 square cm).

Place the peppers and garlic into a large oven-proof (ideally non-stick) dish, drizzle over the olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.  Stir.

Roast in the pre-heated oven for 40 minutes, until the peppers and garlic are soft (some of the garlic may have burst out of its skins – that’s ok), stirring halfway through.  It’s ok if some of the peppers go a little black around the edges.  It adds to the roasted flavour.

Place everything, garlic skins included, into a blender.

Tip: If you are doing this while it is still hot, ensure the jug on your blender is heat proof, that the jug is not over-full (do in batches if needed) and that the removable centre section of the lid is removed.  Before you start blending, place the lid (with the hole in the top) firmly on the jug, then loosely hold a tea towel folded into a square over the hole.  Doing this will ensure that steam can escape and that your hot sauce doesn’t burst out of the blender.

Place a fine sieve over a bowl and pour in the sauce from the blender.  Do this in small batches and, using a spoon, stir the sauce so that it can go through the sieve, leaving behind only the tiny pieces of garlic and pepper skins. Keep doing this until you have sieved the entire sauce and you cannot push any more pulp through the sieve.  The sauce in the bowl should be quite thick and velvety.

Roasted sweet pepper sauce | Stages of cooking

Optional: Use a bit of chicken or vegetable stock to ‘wash out’ the blender jug and get every drop of this delicious roasted sweet pepper sauce into your bowl.

The sauce is now ready for you to use or refrigerate/freeze for later use.

Gloriously simple, Gloriously Low-Fat, Gloriously Low-Cal, Gloriously Reflux-Friendly, Gloriously Good!

*Please note I am not a doctor, speech therapist or in any way medically qualified.  The recipes are a combination of my interpretation of the rules outlined in the ‘Dropping Acid – The Reflux Diet’ book and ingredients that work for my reflux.  If you believe you suffer from reflux, please seek advice from a medical professional to confirm your diagnosis and work out the best course of treatment/management for you.  I hope that my recipes can help you as part of this management.  The recipes are, by their nature, very low in fat, so are also suitable for anyone wishing to follow a low-fat diet. 

 

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Baked Fish Fingers | Low-Fat Fish Fingers | Reflux Recipe

Posted on by gloriouslygoodfood
Baked Fish Fingers | Low-Fat Fish Fingers | Reflux Recipe

This is a really quick and simple way to make healthy, low-fat and reflux-friendly* fish fingers

This recipe makes approximately 20 fish fingers, a generous portion for 4 people (or, as in our house, 4 people plus an additional portion for our eldest daughter to take to school for her lunch the next day).

Baked Fish Fingers | Low-Fat Fish Fingers | Reflux Recipe

Ingredients

  • 700g skinned and boned cod loin (you can, of course, experiment and use other fish – just remember to adjust cooking times accordingly), cut into approximately 20 fish ‘fingers’, approximately 8-9cm long and 2.5cm wide
  • 2 slices wholemeal bread, toasted
  • 20g porridge oats
  • fine sea salt (to taste)
  • herbs or other flavours of your choice, to taste (I used a generous sprinkling of dried parsley, dill and coriander leaf).  A little bit of aniseed also works very well with fish.  You could even, if you’re not doing the 2-week reflux ‘induction diet’, add some finely-grated lemon zest.
  • Frylight (I mostly use the olive oil variety) or other type of very low cal spray oil

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C.

Blitz the toasted bread, porridge oats, salt and any herbs you’re using in a food processor until you have a medium-fine crumb.  Taste it to make sure you have the right balance of seasoning – as you won’t be seasoning the fish separately, the bread crumb mix needs to be quite salty. Place the crumb mixture into a shallow bowl.

Roll the fish pieces in the breadcrumbs, using the natural moisture of the fish to get the crumbs to stick.  This will give you a light crumb coating, but this is enough for these fish fingers.

Place the crumbed fish fingers onto a non-stick baking tray (I always use my trusty and brilliant Pampered Chef Rectangle Stone, but Pampered Chef no longer have a UK operation, unfortunately.  Any good quality non-stick baking tray will work though, or you can also use a teflon sheet to line an ordinary baking tray).

Spray the coated fish fingers with Frylight and place into the pre-heated oven.

Leave to bake for 10 minutes (time may vary depending on the actual size & thickness of the ‘fingers’), take out of the oven and serve.  They should be lovely – succulent and moist on the inside and lightly crispy on the outside.

Gloriously Simple, Gloriously Low-Fat, Gloriously Reflux-Friendly, Gloriously Good!

*Please note I am not a doctor, speech therapist or in any way medically qualified.  The recipes are a combination of my interpretation of the rules outlined in the ‘Dropping Acid – The Reflux Diet’ book and ingredients that work for my reflux.  If you believe you suffer from reflux, please seek advice from a medical professional to confirm your diagnosis and work out the best course of treatment/management for you.  I hope that my recipes can help you as part of this management.  The recipes are, by their nature, very low in fat, so are also suitable for anyone wishing to follow a low-fat diet. 

Quick and Easy Vegetable Soup with Peas and Barley | Low-Fat Vegetable Soup | Reflux Recipe

Posted on by gloriouslygoodfood
Vegetable Soup | Low-Fat Vegetable Soup | Reflux Recipe | Vegetable Soup with Peas and Barley

A Vegetable Soup packed with Nutrients!

This is an easy no-fuss vegetable soup recipe that I love to make in bulk so I can eat it for a few days for lunch when I’m working from home.  It’s very filling and nutritious and very low in fat, which also makes it excellent for reflux sufferers*.

The quantities are not precise in this soup – it’s one of those ‘chuck everything in’ type of soups, so here are some guidelines to get you started.

Vegetable Soup | Low-Fat Vegetable Soup | Reflux Recipe | Vegetable Soup with Peas and Barley

Ingredients

  • Pea and Barley Soup Mix (I use Sainsbury’s version, but there are others, for example Tesco Soup and Broth Mix) – 3-4 handfuls, depending on how much soup I’m making and how much bulk I want in it.  These usually need soaking overnight – follow pack instructions.  You can also use lentils instead, for a different taste & texture, or leave these out altogether.  The vegetable soup is delicious on its own.
  • A selection (or all) of the following vegetables:
    • Savoy Cabbage, trimmed and quartered – I usually use a couple of quarters
    • Curly Kale – lots!
    • Fresh spinach leaves – lots! (whatever vegetables you choose to add or omit, I find that the spinach makes this soup extra special so I always include this)
    • 2-3 carrots, trimmed, peeled/scraped and cut into big 2-3 cm long chunks
    • 1 parsnip, trimmed, peeled and cut into big 2-3 cm long chunks
    • Swede / Turnip, about half of one, depending on how large it is and how much you like the taste, peeled and cut into 2-3 big chunks
    • 1 potato, peeled and cut into 4 big chunks
    • Chicken stock cubes or stock pots – I use Knorr Chicken Stock Pots, but you could use vegetable stock instead and any good brand of stock pot or stock cube will work (quantities according to pack instructions, but typically 1 for each 500ml of water used)
    • Water

Method

Soak the Pea and Barley Soup Mix overnight as indicated on the pack instructions.

When you’re ready to make your soup, drain the pea and barley mix and place in a small saucepan, cover with enough cold water to have as much depth of water over the peas and barley again as there is depth in the peas & barley mix (i.e. if you have a 2cm depth of pea & barley mix in the pan, make sure you have about 2cm of water above the pea & barley mix).  Add enough stock cubes / stock pots to make a normal consistency stock, based on the amount of water you have used.  For Knorr Chicken Stock Pots, this is 1 Stock Pot per 0.5l of water.  Place on the hob and bring to the boil, then turn down and simmer for the cooking time recommended on the pack (usually around 50 minutes).  The stock will reduce during this time and become quite thick.  Do not let the mix boil dry – add more stock if required, but make sure there is only a little stock and it is quite thick by the end of cooking.

While the pea & barley mix is cooking in chicken stock, prepare your vegetables as described in the ingredients listing above.  Place them all – but NOT the spinach! – into a large stockpot, add enough water to just cover the vegetables and enough stock cubes / stock pots to make a normal consistency stock, based on the amount of water you have used. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the hardest vegetables (usually the carrots) are soft.  This can take approximately 30 minutes, but sometimes longer, depending on the size of the chunks.

Once the vegetable soup is cooked, turn off the heat and add the spinach leaves, pushing them down with a large spoon and stirring them into the soup.  They will wilt within seconds.  Let the soup cool for a few minutes, then blitz it to a fine consistency, either in a food blender or by using a hand-held blender in the stockpot itself (this is the easiest option, and the one I use!).  Take care to avoid splashing with the hot soup!

Once your pea & barley mix is cooked and the chicken stock it sits in is nice and thick, add the pea and barley mix, with its thick stock, to the lovely bright green vegetable soup.  Stir it in and serve.

Gloriously Good, Gloriously Simple, Gloriously reflux-friendly!

*Please note I am not a doctor, speech therapist or in any way medically qualified.  The recipes are a combination of my interpretation of the rules outlined in the ‘Dropping Acid – The Reflux Diet’ book and ingredients that work for my reflux.  If you believe you suffer from reflux, please seek advice from a medical professional to confirm your diagnosis and work out the best course of treatment/management for you.  I hope that my recipes can help you as part of this management.  The recipes are, by their nature, very low in fat, so are also suitable for anyone wishing to follow a low-fat diet.