Recipe: Parsnip Fries

If you haven't tried a parsnip before, they are really good.  Sort of like a carrot, but sweeter and less bitter.  Roasting enhances their natural sweetness.  White potatoes tend to give me histamine symptoms, but sometimes it's nice to have "fries".  Here's a version of fries made with parsnips.

Parsnip Fries

Ingredients:
1 lb. of parsnips
2 TBSP coconut oil, melted
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees fahrenheit. Wash and peel the parsnips.

Next, using either a mandoline or just a very sharp knife, julienne the parsnips.  I use this mandoline and this glove. If you do use the mandoline please use the glove too - they are very, very dangerous without the glove.

Toss the julienned parsnips in the melted coconut oil, salt and pepper.  Place in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Bake 15 minutes on the lower rack, stirring them at least once.  Keep an eye on them because they will burn quickly, but you do want them to cook long enough to brown slightly.

Recipe: Roasted Artichoke

Before I found out I was histamine intolerant, I loved canned artichoke hearts.  I frequently used them in recipes and salads.  Now that I avoid all canned/jarred foods, I decided to try a roasted artichoke.  I didn't know how it would turn out because I noticed most recipes use garlic which I don't tolerate due to FODMAP issues and lemon juice, which I tolerate in small amounts as long as it's something occasional and not daily.  If you do tolerate garlic, I would recommend mincing some and adding it at the same time as I add the ghee below.  Even without the garlic it turned out delicious!

Roasted Artichoke

Ingredients:
1 whole artichoke
Grass fed ghee (or butter if tolerated)
Salt to taste
Light sprinkle of fresh lemon juice if tolerated

Preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit.

Wash the artichoke and chop the stem and the top off.  Place it upright on a large piece of foil.  Spread the leaves apart and stuff small bits of ghee between the leaves.  Liberally salt and sprinkle with lemon juice.

Next, wrap the artichoke in the foil so that it's completely sealed, and place on a baking sheet (to catch any drippings), and bake at 400 degrees fahrenheit for 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes depending on the size of the artichoke.

This is one of the few foods that need instructions on eating.  Pull each leaf off and turn it so the inside of the leaf is against your bottom teeth while holding from the pointed part of the leaf and scrape the meaty part off with your teeth.  When you get in the middle, that is the heart and most of that part can be eaten whole.