Kathy,
Thanks for the refferal!
Ok, I am a health nut when it comes to pouches and believe that a healty body makes for a healthy pouch...so, in that line of thinking...
Parsley pesto: Take a large bunch of washed and dried parsley, 3-6 cloves of garlic and put them in a food processor or blender and blend until well chopped...add half a cup of olive oil, salt and pepper if you can...blend another couple of seconds and keep in a glass jar in the fridge.
Make the same thing with Cilantro and garlic.
Tapenade: Rince and drain 1-2 cups of pitted black olives (I did say PITTED!), add 3-6 cloves of peeled garlic and a couple of anchovies if you like them...blend in a food processor until smooth then add a 1/2 cup of olive oil and a tsp of pesto. Add salt and pepper to taste. You can make the same thing with green olives. Keeps about 2-3 weeks in the fridge if you keep topped up with olive oil.
Now you have the basics for the tastiest recipies that are pouch friendly...
You grill any fish filet and when almost grilled top with a tiny tsp of this mix. Fantastic.
When grilling meats, top with either pesto mix.
When making pasta (whole grain!) add a couple of tsps of pesto and a 1/4 cup of cream just before serving...
The green or black olive tapenade is execellent when mixed into mashed potatoes or pasta...
All of these reciepes have the advantage of being full of iron (parlsely and cilantro), mineral salts, sodium etc and helps to keep the electorlites up.
My favoirite sandwich is whole grain bread or bun, a light layer of green or black tapenade and goat cheese...You can make the same thing as a grilled cheese sandwich and it is fantastic.
Dauphinoise: Peel and slice 1-2 lbs. of potatoes. Layer them in a greased pyrex dish with pesto, goat cheese (you can use any cheese that you like but goat is nicer in my opinion) and add 1-2 cups of sour cream (or a can of cream of mushroom soup???) bake in a pre-heated oven at 360 for 1 hr...top with a couple of tsp of tapenade (black or green) (you should layer it like a lasagna)...makes for either a full meal or a great side dish..
I found that the pestos and tapenades were my favoirite basics and added flavour to any and all things that I cooked...I even put a little on tomato/mozzarella salads and in my salad dressing...they are great, especially in the summer when I would loose a lot of mineral salts and get dehydrated...I was also so sick of bland foods!
You can also use a hand blender for fresh fruit smoothies...For pouch freindly smoothies, start with a banana and crushed ice...then add your favorite fruit. I use strawberries or blueberries and blend with a little artificial sweetener if I want it a bit sweeter...no milk!!!! I follow the fruit seasons but always put a banana in first or my pouch gets too wattery. If you have a j pouch you need things 'tight'...if you are suffering from too loose stools...add a bit of metamucil or wheat bran as a bulking agent...doesn't change the taste but gives it more texture...Vanilla extract or cocoa powder adds a dimension to the taste too!
HOpe that this helps.
Sharon