A few months ago, in our search to help G with her acid reflux, I came upon this cookbook in the library. I checked it out, and we read it and liked it so much that we bought a copy. If you suffer from reflux and want to get a handle on it, this is definitely a book to get. It’s written by two doctors and a chef, so you get the science and the food creativity. You really can’t go wrong, and if she follows it pretty closely, the reflux is kept at bay with minimal medication.
We had both fallen off the good eating wagon a bit recently, but I don’t pay for it like she does. She really wanted to do the 2-week induction program, so Friday we went to the store, picked up a lot of greens and other veggies, and I put my thinking cap on. In the first 2 weeks, you are only supposed to eat chicken, fish or turkey breast with lots of low-acide veggies, no dairy, etc. Chicken is a no-brainer for me, but I wanted to put in some variety. G doesn’t really like fish, but she loves salmon patties. She’s also not supposed to have onions on this part of the plan, which is tough for me, since I put onions in everything. So, a challenge. I rummaged around in the cupboard, and found a can of salmon. So, off I went.
Okay, I cheated, I did use a little onion, but only about half of the piece in the photo and diced up tiny. I wanted the patties to feel robust for lack of a better word, and also to sneak some veggies in there. Just as I do with my meat loaf, I chopped the celery fine and grated the others.
Then I popped them into a saute pan with a little olive oil. Since any kind of pattie cooks quickly, if you don’t want raw veggies, you need to cook them down a little first.
While those were working, I got a piece of the bread we’ve been buying. You can have bread on this 2-week plan, but it has to be whole grain and not much of it. This is really good stuff and our local store recently started carrying it–it sells out fast.
Then, I got out my trusty 1/4 cup and decided to be scientific about this. Using the cup as a level scoop, this amount above makes 8 patties, just perfectly, without a smidge left over.
Then, I heated a little canola oil (didn’t want the olive oil flavor on these) in a nonstick, and browned the patties in two batches of four.
While they were cooking, I chopped up a few mushrooms, tossed them into my straight-sided sauce pan with a little butter/olive oil mix and when they were soft, tossed in some fresh spinach, added a little nutmeg and black pepper and then just turned off the heat and put a cover on. The residual heat did the rest.
Finally, I wanted some kind of sauce for the patties and I didn’t have any tartar sauce handy, so I reached in the fridge and pulled out what looked good. This is what I ended up with:
First I put a little mayo in a bowl and added the Mae Ploy, which was good, but a bit too sweet for me. Then I hit it with some of the horseradish sauce and perfect! I only mixed up enough for the meal, and now I have another sauce I can use on lots of dishes. Oh, and I just now realized looking at the photo that I bought reduced fat mayo. I don’t usually, but it’s pretty good. So, with everything coming together, and hungry folks in the next room, I put it all on the plate:
I have to say, my few little additions/changes, different bread (I usually use club crackers), less onion (adding five-spice) and using a standard measure for the pattied made a big difference. More consistency and they were GOOD. No spinach left and only a couple of the patties, which would be good on a salad or even in a sandwich later in the week. And the best part? No acid! All boxes ticked.
Grumpy Granny 