Tuna Frittata

It's been just over a half a year now since my mom found out about her food sensitivities. She is really the first person in our family to be diagnosed with any sort of food sensitivity or allergy. Her official diagnosis was Adrenal Fatigue. Her doctor said no gluten, no chicken or pork, no citric acid, no apples or bananas, and no dairy (among other things).

Needless to say, her diet has changed drastically over the past 7 or 8 months. And the crazy thing is - it's working. She used to have constant headaches. Now she can pinpoint what causes a headache by what she's eaten recently. Sometimes she'll go to a restaurant with a group from work, and that particular restaurant doesn't have any safe options. So, she'll take her chances...and usually wind up regretting it. The most common culprits being MSG and citric acid.

Now, when my family is on the verge of getting together, one of the first things that we discuss is food. What are we going to eat? If I'm bringing a dish along, or making one at "our final destination", I now stop to think about what's going in to that dish more than I used to. One of the most common culprits in my repertoire is dairy. I love dairy, and we eat a lot of it in our house. A year ago, I wouldn't have thought twice about dribbling a little milk into my eggs when making a frittata. Now I do.

So, when I recently met up with my mom and grandma for a light meal, instead of saving the dish that I really wanted to make for another time, I just switched up the ingredients a little. I left out cheese (though I could have used goat cheese). I switched the dairy milk for plain, unsweetened almond milk. I used all olive oil instead of part butter. Normally, I love sausage or bacon in my eggs, but since mom can't do pork, I went with a seafood option. Yes, I know there are tomatoes in there, but mom says she seems to be fine with a few fresh tomatoes in her food, so I left those in for a burst of juicy freshness.

Fortunately there are a lot of great alternatives available for those who need to eat dairy-free and gluten-free. Don't abandon your tried-and-true favorites, instead try substituting other types of proteins or whole grains. You never know, you may find wind up with a new family favorite!

Do you have any special dietary restrictions that you have to follow in your own household? How have you adapted some of your old favorite family recipes so that you don't have to give them up?

Tuna Frittata

This dairy-free frittata is loaded with ripe tomatoes and fresh herbs, plus the addition of tuna makes it a meal.

by Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 16 minutes

Keywords: entree eggs tomatoes tuna herbs dairy-free

Ingredients (serves 4-6)

• 6 large eggs
• 1/4 cup unsweetned plain almond milk (or rice or soy)
• 1 tablespoon anchovy paste
• medium handful flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cans (~5 ounces each) tuna packed in olive oil, drained
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 ripe tomatoes (medium size), seeded and roughly chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Whisk the eggs, your choice of milk, anchovy paste, parsley, salt, and pepper together in a bowl. Gently stir in the tuna; you want to keep some large chunks.

Heat a 10-inch non-stick, ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Once hot, pour in the egg mixture and cook without stirring for 5 minutes. Strew the tomatoes over the top and keep cooking until a crust forms on the bottom, and the sides have set, ~3 more minutes.

Slide into preheated oven and bake until the center is set, ~8 minutes. Using a heat-resistant rubber spatula, loosen the sides of the frittata and slide it onto a serving plate.

Cut into 4-6 wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.

notes:

Serve this with a green salad for a quick Weekday Supper. Leftovers can be made into a sandwich and taken to work or school the next day.

This is great made with GOOD canned salmon, as well. If all you can find is the stuff with a bunch of pin bones and skin, stick with tuna.

-adapted from Giada's Feel Good Food