January
18
Tags
Summer Zucchini, Corn & Basil (Vegan) Chowder
I miss a proper chowder, and will have to make when I can have seafood again and add some in, but this was a bloody good version on its own, and packed full of goodness.
I’ve been struggling the past year or two with allergies/intolerances that I just can’t work out. I break out in hives & itchy red welts all the time, my nose runs after I eat, I have brain fog, upset stomach and trouble sleeping because I wake up itchy through the night.
I’ve seen specialists, done allergy tests, tried different diets but nothing works. I’ll have a good run and then things start setting me off again. I’ve kept food diaries but there doesn’t seem to be a pattern, for instance, I can have bacon or avocado separately and have no reaction, but quiet often if I have them together I will react, but not always.
I’ve been researching histamine intolerance and the symptoms are sounding pretty spot on. The below picture is a good list, there was so many other symptoms that I hadn’t even related to the same issue that I also have like the irregular heartbeat and blood pressure drops.
(Image from http://www.low-histamine.com/)
Turns out the foods I eat the most of are high in histamines, even though they are healthy. Avocado, spinach, tomato, bananas, soy, fermented foods & drinks, bone broths as well as cooking meat and eating the next day (or days) are all the stuff high in histamine and that was pretty much my diet. Oh and chocolate & alcohol, which really sucks.
So I’ve begun a low histamine diet to try and reset my system. I’m crossing my fingers that this is the answer I’ve been looking for, at this point I’m happy to give it a go and hope for the best. It’s pretty restrictive and I’m struggling to get my head around the list of foods I can & can’t have at the moment, seems like all my favourite things are on the can’t have list. But if I can get back to a clear slate, then I can reintroduce things and see how I go with them going forward. Worth a try!
So today I made a healthy soup to have for lunch this week and freeze some extras so I can have some quick meals on hand. My thinking is that I need to make a lot of soups & vegetable curries and freeze them so I can have a good amount of frozen options for the days when I don’t want to cook, haven’t shopped or get home late.
SUITABLE FOR: gluten, dairy, egg, nut, soy & sugar free diets. Also vegan and low-histamine friendly
Ingredients (makes 2 litres)
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 small/medium brown onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 4 large zucchinis, roughly chopped
- 2 large corn ears, kernels removed
- 1 large potato roughly chopped
- 1 large carrot, roughly chopped
- Massel ‘Chicken style’ stock, or vegetable or real chicken stock if you can have it. The Massel one is a vegan stock.
- Bay leaf (optional)
- Sea salt and cracked pepper
- 150ml coconut cream approx, add to taste preference
- Handful of fresh basil, plus extra leaves to serve
Method
- In a large saucepan of stockpot, heat the coconut oil over medium heat
- Add the onions and garlic and stir until softened, about 4 mins. Add the potato & carrots and stir for a couple of minutes. Then add the zucchini, corn, stock, bay leaf and season with salt & pepper.
- Bring to the boil and let simmer for 30 mins. Add more water if needed.
- Once the vegetable are soft, remove from heat and let cool for 10 mins. Then use a stick blender to blend into a soup consistency. Add the basil leaves and coconut milk and blend well. Season with more salt & pepper if needed.
- Serve with extra basil leaves. You can add some extra cooked corn for decoration too.
The Sensitive Foodie 