Living without tomatoes!

Dilly.

Hi guys,

I have decided to try and cut tomatoes out of my diet as I think I may be quite severely intolerant to them It's only now that I can't have them that I realise just how many of my favourite dishes have tomatoes as a major/main ingredient. I'm finding it quite tough to plan meals that don't involve them now.

For example instead of having bolognese with pasta I now have a carbonara sauce which is fine but it seems that everything that goes along with pasta that isn't tomato based ends up being cream/cheese based, same with things to go with rice. I'm afraid I'll be eating way too much saturated fat!

So I'm just wondering if anyone has any ideas/ recipies for things non-tomato based and that aren't to fat laden that I could eat with pasta/rice?

emeraldstar

Pasta and pesto is lovely, but there again pesto is quite oily. For a change it could work?

Not trying to be smart but could you just not eat alternatives to pasta?

Dilly.

Yeah that is an idea thanks...might be a healthier option than carbonara anyway?

Yeah but I need a bit of variety in my diet. I don't want to be stuck eating spuds either...I'm not sure if I'll be able to reintroduce tomatoes in the future so I would love to find a few alternatives.

It's not only pasta, rice is also a problem. Like I would have had things like tomato based curries with rice. I know I could make cocunut milk based curries instead but I think its quite fatty aswell!

the beer revolu

Most Chinese and Thai style cooking has no tomatoes in.

You can use natural yoghurt in curries rather than coconut milk.

Minder

There are lots of websites given over to sauces for those with tomato allergies (among other things).

Vegetable based Japanese sauce - tomato free

Basic Nomato Sauce (Tomato Free Tomato Sauce)

kylith

Don't forget that 'proper' carbonara doesn't have cream in it, just eggs, pancetta and pepper.

trackguy

Dilly. wrote: »

So I'm just wondering if anyone has any ideas/ recipies for things non-tomato based and that aren't to fat laden that I could eat with pasta/rice?

You can make an Italian ragu with beef stock & milk. I'll add a recipe in for 1 when I get home.

You can find curry recipes that are either water/ stock based or are made with yoghurt as a base. Search for them online, there are plenty.

sallydan

pesto is good, creme fraiche is also nice with lemon juice, spinach and smoked salmon!

Faith

For certain dishes, you could substitute a roasted red pepper sauce in place of a tomato sauce.

omah

Great ideas here for non tomato sauces - looking forward to trying some! thanks!

unkel

Dilly. wrote: »

I have decided to try and cut tomatoes out of my diet as I think I may be quite severely intolerant to them

Maybe you should get professional medical advice?

It would be terrible if you cut tomatoes (probably the healthiest vegetable in the world) from your diet if there's no need to

Dilly.

Thanks a million for all the suggestions guys, can't wait to try them out!

unkel wrote: »

Maybe you should get professional medical advice?

It would be terrible if you cut tomatoes (probably the healthiest vegetable in the world) from your diet if there's no need to

It's due to acid reflux so from monitoring my diet this last few months I'm pretty sure that tomatoes are a major trigger...in saying that maybe it would be a good idea to get a proper allergy/intolerance test! I've previously eliminated things like orange juice but nothing that has impacted on my eating habits as much as tomatoes. As you said they're so healthy and I found tomatoe sauces were also a great way to get other veg into my diet aswell so it is frustrating but I'm pretty sure they're doing me more harm than good at the minute unfortunately!

catho_monster

I've had experience trying to cut out tomatoes for similar reasons. Here's what I found:

When you want to make something with a tomato sauce, cut up some carrots, stick them into a pot of boiling water, boil them until they're soft. Drain and reserve some of the cooking water. Put them in a food processor. Blitz them with cooked beetroot, olive oil, salt, pepper, herbs, balsamic vinegar. If you want to thin it down a little, put the reserved cooking water in. I've used this to substitute most tomato based sauces. Defo worth a try.

I've also discovered this chilli recipe. It uses wine and beef stock rather than tins of tomato, but it does use tomato puree but I don't find that a problem. Again, worth a try: http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/597372

Dilly.

catho_monster wrote: »

I've had experience trying to cut out tomatoes for similar reasons. Here's what I found:

When you want to make something with a tomato sauce, cut up some carrots, stick them into a pot of boiling water, boil them until they're soft. Drain and reserve some of the cooking water. Put them in a food processor. Blitz them with cooked beetroot, olive oil, salt, pepper, herbs, balsamic vinegar. If you want to thin it down a little, put the reserved cooking water in. I've used this to substitute most tomato based sauces. Defo worth a try.

I've also discovered this chilli recipe. It uses wine and beef stock rather than tins of tomato, but it does use tomato puree but I don't find that a problem. Again, worth a try: http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/597372

Yea I'll definately be trying out the no tomato sauce, thanks

Thanks interesting aswell about the tomato puree not bothering you, definately smething to keep in mind if I try introducing tomatoes back into my diet.

catho_monster

Dilly. wrote: »

Thanks interesting aswell about the tomato puree not bothering you, definately smething to keep in mind if I try introducing tomatoes back into my diet.

I should have said it doesn't bother me in this highly diluted context. I wouldn't go recommending it generally as a substitute.

Dilly.

catho_monster wrote: »

I should have said it doesn't bother me in this highly diluted context. I wouldn't go recommending it generally as a substitute.

Oh no don't worry, I know just because it doesn't have negative effects on you, doesn't mean it would be the same for me.

Minder

As an aside, have a look at the benefits of apple cider vinegar for reflux. It works incredibly well.

http://www.apple-cider-vinegar-benefits.com/vinegar-and-acid-reflux.html

Dilly.

Minder wrote: »

As an aside, have a look at the benefits of apple cider vinegar for reflux. It works incredibly well.

http://www.apple-cider-vinegar-benefits.com/vinegar-and-acid-reflux.html

Thanks, I'd try anything at this stage so I'll be giving that a go!