I would say that roughly 70% of my week is alkaline. And by alkaline I mean food of course, I’m not conducting some weird science experiment in my storage loft; although that would be cool. I could wear a white coat and funny glasses.
Anyway.
I love the ‘alkaline diet’ way of thinking, it’s probably the only diet I would ever follow completely in my life and really because it makes sense to not eat too much acidic food. Although my blog is mostly cake and chocolate I am aware of my sugar intake and know when to stop, thankfully.
A list of foods for the alkaline diet can be seen here and it’s a really good chart to keep on hand when you think you may have done a bit too much indulging over the weekend. It’s not about cutting out things you love, it’s about making sure you’re aware of the ratio you should be having. Over time I have found that it’s been very helpful in settling my IBS, making my skin clearer and genuinely feeling active instead of sluggish. I mainly go on the diet to avoid urinary tract infections and to sustain my kidney health. The science behind the alkaline diet, and maintaining a good PH balance can be seen here and also in this helpful blog here.
So during the week when I want to get some good stuff back in me, vegetables are your heroes. Especially when you cut them into Trivial Pursuit type shapes.
Little amuses me.
So I plan to list my favourite gluten free alkaline recipes on here in amongst all of the acid, just for a bit of ‘happy belly’ balance. This recipe for Popped pea and roasted vegetable pasta with lemon yoghurt sauce is definitely one of my favourites at the moment, although you are using moderately acidic pasta and tinsy bit of cheese, the trick is to balance the meal with strong alkaline fillers like plain yoghurt, courgettes, peppers, lemon e.t.c.
I popped to my local food store called Better Food Company, they sell lots of gluten free items and produce grown by the local community, I got these peas…
they were so fresh, sweet and delightful. There really is nothing more satisfying than popping these beauties whilst drinking a cuppa.
Popped pea and roasted vegetable pasta with lemon yoghurt sauce.
Serves 2
½ a Courgette cut into chunks
½ a Yellow Pepper cut into chunks
½ a Red Pepper cut into chunks
10 Pods of peas, podded. (2 tablespoons)
Olive Oil
Gluten Free Brown Rice Pasta enough for 2
1 Whole lemon
3 Tablespoons of Natural live Yoghurt
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Parmesan
Preheat the oven to 200dc
Coat all your cut up courgette and peppers in Olive oil in a bowl and transfer to a roasting dish.
Transfer the roasting dish into the oven for 15-20 minutes.
Measure out your pasta and put on to a slow boil.
In a separate bowl, mix together 3 tablespoons of Yoghurt with the juice of 1 lemon. Add pepper for a bit of seasoning.
Pop on your fresh peas to boil for 10 mins.
Take out roasted veg and drain your pasta.
Toss the roasted veg through the pasta with the olive oil left in the roasting dish and transfer to a bowl.
Drain your peas and top them over the pasta.
Dot over your dressing or mix through the pasta thoroughly.
Perfect for making in a big batch then having cold for lunches, or reheating for dinner for a quick meal.
Sprinkle over grated parmesan and season well.
Sneaky alternative ideas
Try switching Peas for Pinenuts if you’re craving more of a crunch, they add a really nice creamy taste.
Swapping olive oil for garlic oil transforms the roasted vegetables completely.
A tiny bit of wholegrain mustard added to the yoghurt gives it a nice kick.
