Category: Uncategorized

Shrimp and Grits with Brussel Sprouts

My shrimp and grits are typically laden with butter, dairy milk, Parmesan cheese, cayenne pepper,  and lemon- more ingredients are acid reflux triggers than not, so this recipe required a total overhaul. Instead of the dairy trifecta, I used low-sodium chicken broth and coconut milk. I also added some brussel sprouts to give the dish some dimension. This recipe is surprisingly simple and easy to make. I hope you enjoy!

Ready in 30 minutes or less

Serves 4 people or makes enough for leftovers

Calories- fewer than my old recipe, that’s for sure!

Pink shrimp and brussel sprouts on a bed of grits
Look at those pretty shrimp!

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 lb brussel sprouts, quartered
  • ¾ cup grits
  • 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 1 lb of shrimp- (I recommend Kroger’s Private Selection or Simple Truth brand- they’re the tastiest frozen shrimp I’ve ever had)
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced (buy the pre-minced garlic in a tube! It’s so worth the time it saves!)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

  1. If using frozen shrimp, thaw before cooking
  2. Saute the brussel sprouts Wash the brussel sprouts, cut off the stem, and quarter the sprouts
  3. Heat skillet over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, then add the sprouts
  4. Once they start to brown, set aside and use the pan for cooking the shrimp
  5. Make the grits Combine grits, chicken broth, and coconut milk over high heat, stirring often and eliminating any clumps
  6. Once the mixture comes to a boil, cover and reduce heat to a simmer until the liquid is absorbed
  7. Saute the shrimp Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the tablespoon of butter to the pan over medium heat
  8. Add the garlic, stirring until fragrant, around 30 seconds
  9. Add the shrimp and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side or until they’re cooked through
  10. To serve Place grits in a bowl and top with brussel sprouts and shrimp mixture
  11. Salt and pepper to taste

Easy, Creamy Loaded Potato Soup with Carrots and Celery

Active Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings: Lots! (about 10) Make sure you use a large soup pot or dutch oven

Potato soup topped with green onions
The creamy finished product

Ingredients

  • One package of turkey bacon
  • One large yellow onion, diced
  • 3lb yellow potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 5 carrots, washed and diced
  • 5 stalks of celery, washed and diced
  • Olive oil
  • ½ cup flour
  • 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
  • 3 cups 2% milk
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • And a pinch of:
    • Sage
    • Thyme
    • Paprika
    • Turmeric
    • Pepper
  • Optional Toppings: crackers, shredded cheese, more sour cream

Preparation

  1. For the Bacon: Place the turkey bacon on a baking tray and bake according to package directions
  2. Once the bacon is crispy, take out and let cool. Cut into small pieces and set aside.
  3. For the soup: Prepare the veggies- small dice the onion, peel the potatoes and dice them to the size you like in your soup, wash and dice the carrot and celery
  4. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large stock pot or dutch oven over medium heat
    • If you’re using an enameled dutch oven, be sure to heat it slowly and not all at once
  5. Once the oil is hot, add the onion, stirring until softened
  6. Add the celery, carrot, and potato to the pot and stir
  7. Once the veggies are heated through and covered in the oil, sprinkle ½ cup of flour in the pot and stir. This will help the low fat milk thicken
  8. Slowly add the chicken broth, stirring to ensure there aren’t any chunks of flour
  9. Add the 3 cups of milk
  10. Add the sage, thyme, paprika, turmeric, and pepper
  11. Let the mixture reach a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are soft
    • I usually boil my potatoes for a little longer just to make sure they’re not crunchy. Using yellow potatoes, which are softer,  also helps avoid this. If you’re using red potatoes, cook for longer.
  12. Now for the dangerous blending part: To achieve a smooth consistency with some potato, celery, and carrot chunks, part of the soup needs to be blended or mashed. If you have the time to let the soup cool some, I recommend that. Always be careful when blending hot liquids!
  13. To blend, you can:
    • Use an immersion blender in the soup pot. Don’t move it around or stir. This should give you some pureed soup without blending all of it.
    • -OR- Remove ⅓ of the soup and use a blender or food processor. This is the extra dangerous option; please be cautious!
    • -OR- Remove ⅓ of the soup into a separate bowl and use a potato masher to cream the potatoes and carrots.
  14. Return the pureed soup to the pot. Reheat if needed
  15. Add turkey bacon to the soup
  16. Add 1 cup of sour cream to the soup
  17. Dice green onions to use as topping
  18. To serve, place soup in a bowl and top with green onion and any other preferred toppings

Tips

Using 2% milk instead of heavy cream helps prevent acid reflux symptoms. Onion can be a trigger, as well, although it depends on the person. Another potential trigger is overeating, which is easy to do with this large, delicious pot of soup! All of the spices are acid reflux friendly.

Tofu and Veggie Stir Fry

Cook time: 30 minutes

Servings: 6

This recipe is a simple and easy way to get lots of vegetables and protein. The sauce is flavorful and doesn’t have common acid reflux triggers. Enjoy!

Tofu and veggie stir fry leftovers!
I forgot to take a photo when I made the dish, so this is a picture of my leftovers.

Ingredients

  • Jasmine rice, 1 cup
  • For the stir fry:
  • Coconut oil, 2 tablespoons
  • Firm tofu, 1 15oz container
  • Broccoli, 2 heads
  • Celery, 2 stalks thinly sliced
  • Carrot, 1 cup cut into matchsticks
  • Water Chestnuts, canned presliced
  • Bamboo shoots, canned presliced
  • Baby corn, canned
  • For the sauce:
  • Sesame oil, 2 teaspoons
  • Soy sauce, 4 tablespoons
  • Cornstarch, 1 teaspoon
  • Honey, 2 teaspoons
  • Toppings:
  • Green onions
  • Toasted sesame seeds

Preparation

  1. Make the rice: Combine the rice and 2 cups of water in a saucepan over high heat or in a rice cooker
  2. If using a saucepan, once the water boils, reduce heat and simmer until liquid is absorbed, around 15 minutes
  3. Make the stir fry: Preheat large saucepan over medium heat and add coconut oil
  4. Squeeze excess liquid from tofu, medium dice, and add to pan, stirring frequently to lightly brown tofu
  5. Wash broccoli, cut into small pieces and add to pan
  6. Wash celery and carrot; thinly dice and add to pan
  7. Once tofu is brown and celery and carrot start to soften, add water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, and baby corn
  8. Make the sauce: combine sesame oil, soy sauce, cornstarch, and honey
  9. Add sauce to pan, stirring to combine
  10. Thinly slice green onions
  11. To serve: place stir fry over rice and top with green onions and toasted sesame seeds

Tips

This recipe is pretty versatile. Try the vegetables you have on hand!

An Introduction

My name is Trish, and I was inspired to start this recipe blog after trying to find healthy recipes that fit a low-acid diet after my spouse was diagnosed with acid reflux. I’m use an abundance of vegetables in my cooking, but eliminating acid reflux triggers took a lot of my favorites out of my repertoire: tomatoes, citrus, and peppers. The top low-acid recipes I found were all… stuff my Midwestern family would cook. I’ve had my fill of that stuff, and my current surroundings in Athens, Georgia facilitate my veggie-focused food philosophy.

I moved to Georgia 7 years ago, and a whole new world of vegetables opened up to me. I’d never had collards, swiss chard, brussel sprouts, or okra, and now I’ve grown all of those in my (front) yard. Even more common vegetables, like zucchini, broccoli, and cucumber weren’t things I was used to eating fresh. Season that with the whole rainbow of spices that I didn’t experience until moving down here, and my kitchen is a world removed from where I grew up.

I mention the south in the title not because of the type of food I’m cooking, but the produce options that are readily available to me. Cooking fresh is much easier when you’re near the source of the food. For example, the first recipe I’m posting was inspired by a variety of broccoli I’m currently growing that has lots of tiny florets that are just perfect for stir frying.

As the name of the blog suggests, I prefer vegetarian meals and some meals with seafood or poultry. I’ll be sharing primarily practical, whole meals that can easily be divided up for leftovers. Not everything will be entirely acid reflux friendly, but I’ll note the ingredients that might give some folks issues. I’m hoping this blog can help others in similar situations, so please offer feedback!

And finally, I’m terrible at remembering to take pictures while I cook. I’m also not into long narratives about the process of me, personally, cooking, so I’m going to keep that to a minimum and just provide recipes and a picture of the finished product.