Recipe: The Ultimate Tomato Sauce Substitute (like "Nomato Sauce")

Note: We used to call this sauce "Nomato Sauce", but we weren't aware that Nomato is a trademarked name and thus, after a letter from their legal name, we can no longer call this recipe "Nomato Sauce". Instead, what we can tell you is that this is the best tomato free tomato sauce/napoletana sauce substitue we've had and a recipe we make over and over again!

When I was diagnosed with coeliac disease, switching over to a gluten free diet wasn't the miracle cure I was expecting. 

You see, whilst I did eliminate the number one enemy, I wasn't yet aware that there were quite a lot of smaller enemies as far as my stomach was concerned. All of the years of eating gluten destroyed the lining of my stomach, leaving it extremely sensitive. 

As time went on we identified these enemies (and as I healed those enemies disappeared!), however, there was one food that was a serious challenge for me to eliminate.... 

Tomatoes. 

I was the girl who lived off tomatoes. I ate them like apples, my favourite pasta sauces were tomato based sauces - I even shopped at one particular fruit and veggie shop solely because they stocked a range of different tomatoes in all sorts of colours and shapes. 

Eliminating tomatoes was tough and I had to learn to live without them... though, in true Kristy fashion, I wasn't going to eliminate them - I would experiment with alternatives until I came up with something that would serve as a suitable alternative. 

The experiments started with pumpkin - but there were only so many times I could have creamy cheesy pumpkin sauces. 

Then whilst making a carrot based soup, I had an idea... what about if I added carrots into the mix. 

Combining pumpkin and carrot worked but it wasn't the right colour and something was still missing - so I added beetroot. Beetroot gave me the bright red colour I wanted whilst everything else contributed to the texture - then I just needed to season it and tweak the other ingredients until everything was perfect. 

After quite a few batches, I finally perfected the recipe (after thinking I perfected it previously - but we all agree this version is the best yet) and that's what I'm sharing with you today. 

Whilst it may not be exactly like tomatoes, it's pretty darn close and the best alternative we can come up with. We use it in pasta, we use it on pizza, we use it as a salsa, we use it to make tomato free chicken parmigiana - we use it on ALLL THE THINGS! So much so that I'm even planning on making us "pizza toasties" for lunch with this sauce, cheese and pepperoni :P 

It's free from capsicum, chilli and other nightshade ingredients so it's perfect for those with a nightshade intolerances (or those like me with random intolerances) and it's packed full of veggies so you get a nutrition boost too!

Commonly Asked Questions:

Is Nomato Sauce AIP Friendly? Yes, it is! It's the perfect AIP pasta sauce alternative.

Is Nomato Sauce Nightshade Free? Yes! Nomato Sauce is a great nightshade free spaghetti sauce or nightshade free pasta sauce alternative. Many readers have also used it to make a nightshade free salsa by adding cumin and other spices.

How can I make nomato sauce more savoury? Try adding some kalamata olives before pureeing. This adds a delicious savoury flavour.

So let me share the recipe with you! >> 

What’s the Difference Between Food Allergies and Intolerances and Where Does Coeliac Disease Fit In?

These days, there is so much talk about food issues – food allergies, food intolerances, sensitivities, different diets, you name it. But there is also a lot of confusion.

I often get asked what the difference between food allergies and food intolerances are and whether coeliac disease means you are allergic to gluten, intolerant to gluten or something different altogether, so I thought I’d help to clear things up a little bit by sharing what I’ve learnt through my own allergy/intolerance/coeliac journey.

First, let’s start with the difference between food allergies and intolerances. They’re both easy to confuse as they can both irritate your body and make you sick, but there are some huge differences between the two. 

A Food Allergy is an abnormal immune response to a particular food (the allergen). Generally speaking, you will have a reaction to the protein in that particular food. The body recognises that you’ve ingested a foreign substance and produces antibodies that cause inflammation and other reactions in your body. 

Food Allergy Symptoms can include anything from stomach upsets, hives, swelling or a dry throat to a serious anaphylactic reaction which can be potential life threatening. 

The Most Common Food Allergens include;

•  Crustacean/Shellfish (eg: Crabs, Prawns/Shrimp, Lobster)
•  Cow’s Milk/Dairy Products
• Peanuts
• Soy
• Tree Nuts (eg: Almonds, Brazil Nuts, Cashews, etc)
• Wheat

Those with a diagnosed food allergy will likely have these allergies for life and must completely avoid the allergen in order to avoid getting sick.

A Food Intolerance can occur for two reasons;

• An Enyzme Deficiency – where the body cannot digest a particular food protein as it doesn’t make enough enzymes (or doesn’t have any at all).
• Irritation – Where natural chemicals and/or additives found in certain foods will irritate nerve endings in different parts of the body.

Generally speaking, food intolerances range in severity according to the dose of the irritant that was eaten. Sometimes, those with food intolerances can still eat these foods in smaller amounts, however, others may have to avoid them completely.

There’s no way of knowing how much an individual can tolerate so it’s a matter of trial and error to test how much your body can handle whilst monitoring your symptoms.

The symptoms of food intolerances can be very similar to those of a food allergy and can include stomach upset, bloating, headaches and migraines, runny nose and hives.

 The Most Common Food Intolerances include:

• Wheat/Gluten
• Lactose
• Sulphites
• Fructose (also known as fruit sugar, found in many plant foods)
• Glutamate (Generally MSG)
• Salicylates (found in many plant foods)
• Amines
• Colours, preservatives and flavour enhancers

But What About Coeliac Disease? Do people with coeliac disease have a food allergy or intolerance or something different?

Coeliac Disease (or Celiac Disease in the US) is a small bowel disorder which is caused by an immune reaction to dietary gluten. Gluten is the protein found in wheat, barley, rye, triticale and contaminated oats (find out more about oats and a gluten free diet in our post Are Oats Gluten Free?).

Those with coeliac disease do not have a food allergy – but they do have an auto immune disease and the symptoms can be just as damaging. When someone with coeliac disease ingests gluten (even in trace amounts), the lining of the small bowel is damaged by the white blood cells of the immune system. This is different to a food allergy where antibodies cause a reaction.

The Most Common Symptoms of Coeliac Disease include:

• Nausea
• Gastrointestinal Upset
• Constipation or Diarrhoea
• Confusion and Trouble Concentrating
• Reduced Growth
• Weight Loss or Gain
• Skin Problems 

Find out more about Coeliac Disease and my journey in My Coeliac Disease Story.

But tell me, do you have any allergies or intolerances or are you a coeliac?

What allergy/intolerance friendly posts would you like to see on SIL?

There's always our recipes, but we're thinking of sharing more tips, tricks and info for those like me who are affected by allergies and intolerances!

The Allergy Queen Travels

There's a question I've been asked a lot lately - and it's usually a version of this: 

Why are you traveling when you have so many allergies?

That's a really relevant question - and also one that I have found myself asking. I'm quite possibly the worst person to travel - but that also makes me the best person to write travel reviews. 

Why? So many of us with allergies and intolerances are afraid to travel - it's a hassle having to think about food, you feel like a burden on restaurant staff and the people you are traveling with, you have to research everything - so often time, we just don't travel. 

I don't know about you, but traveling is one of my favourite things in life. Sure, I have dozens and dozens of allergies - but why should that stop me enjoying my life? 

One of the other reasons I decided to travel is for you. So many SIL readers come to us for advice on their allergies - from coming to the blog for allergy friendly emails to emails asking me for advice on what to make for a dinner party or how to feed a coeliac friend and suggestions for allergy friendly restaurants and cafes. 

Whilst allergies are popping up more and more in the media and people are talking about them more and more - there isn't enough advice.... so I'm going to do my best to provide you with it. Jesse and I plan on traveling - and we also plan on taking you along with us. We are going to give you advice that is real and honest - advice that is so much more than what you'll find in a magazine or on a hotel's website. 

You'll be following us around the world, finding out which airlines, hotels, cafes, restaurants, countries are the most accommodating for those with allergies - which will go out of their way to make you feel welcome and make sure you're well, those who care and those you can trust. 

But before we head off to Bali, I want you to tell me - what's important to you when it comes to travel reviews? Do you want to know all about the food - the activities - the accommodation? 

See more info on my allergies after the jump!

What Life is Like: When Food Hates You

As you may know, if you've been reading Southern In-Law for some time, I have many, many, many food allergies and intolerances - and I know that dozens of Southern In-Law readers also have the same issues. But the biggest issue of all? Lack of awareness of others so I'm going to tell you what it's like... in the funniest way I know how.. 

Let's take a walk in someone elses shoes - someone who food hates....

When everyone else is eating at a restaurant and you just sit there.... eating air...

You, reading ingredients lists at the grocery store

Accepting that you're different

For those of you who have been reading Southern In-Law for a while, you'll know that I'm a little bit different.

As a hypoglycemic coeliac with way too many food intolerances, food can be tricky. With Jesse home, every night I have at least 3 pots/pans on the stove at once and often have the oven on too. Dinner leaves a pile of pots and pans and different cutting boards and utensils.

Why? I have a gluten eating fiancé with no food intolerances who thinks cheek-achingly sweet is just right and has now decided quinoa is a no-go.

But it's not just Jesse. My family and friends are the same so, generally speaking, I never eat the same thing as anyone else (the only exception is when Jesse and I have oatmeal or grits for breakfast and Jesse now eats gluten free pasta so I can make ours in the same pot).

Being a coeliac means that even traces of gluten make me insanely ill. I have separate pots, pans, utensils and chopping boards and I've got to be careful I don't mix things up when I'm cooking a gluten filled dinner for everyone else and a gluten free dinner for myself. 

When it comes to cakes and baked goods, I make things two ways. For my family, I follow my recipes as you see on the blog - while for me, they are gluten free but with a more tolerable amount of sugar. It's not because I avoid sugar or think it's bad whatsoever, my body is incredibly sensitive. If I eat sweet sweet foods without something else to offset the sugar (often times high protein or complex carbohydrate foods work) my blood sugar crashes dramatically and I end up with dizzy spells, nausea and have been known to black out. I've eaten this way for so many years that I love natural sweetness from fruits and lower sugar treats so I don't feel like I'm missing out at all. My family, on the other hand, are used to eating really sweet foods - so it's rare that they "love" my versions - especially Jesse.

The baked pancakes above were one of my not-so-sweet recipes. I thought I could get away with it since we were eating them with Nutella (for me, a small amount of Nutella is about as sweet as I can go without having an insane blood sugar crash) but I was wrong. Jesse is very much stuck in his ways (as are most people) and decided they didn't taste like pancakes were supposed to taste (read: southern style sweet) and if you put Nutella on top, they only tasted like Nutella (where's the problem with that?!) so alas, one of those pancake hearts was broken and half ended up in the bin.

This is a problem that many people with food intolerances or allergies have - accepting that you're different. It's tough - but once you realise how much better you feel when you're true to yourself, it doesn't hurt so much anymore.

So tell me, do you have food intolerances/allergies - or do you eat entirely differently to your family/friends? How do you cope? 

One of my bigggggest coping mechanisms is to be prepared. When you can't eat at dinner parties or when you're out and about - you have to be sure you look after yourself - because seriously, there's nothing worse than looking at food that you can't eat when you're about to chew your arm off! ;P 

Recipe: Blueberry Chia Jam

With all of my food intolerances I can never find jam that I can eat. I'm limited to blueberry jam, but even that I can rarely eat because other nasty ingredients tend to pop up. Preservatives, sulphites, lemon juice, grape juice etc. 

So what's the solution? Make my own jam! I looked up jam recipes. Sterilising, setting, pectin, sugar by the bucket full, ginormous quantities - it just wasn't going to work.

This month I was writing an article for a magazine I'm working with when I was reminded of Chia Jam. Perfect! A quick, easy, sugar free, intolerance free jam recipe that tastes amazing. 

This jam just uses three ingredients, for the base recipe - but you can easily adapt it! It's gluten free, vegan, sugar free (though feel free to add some) and will take you less than 10 minutes to have thick delicious jam. Chill it in the fridge and it will keep for a week or so (though it's so good you probably won't have to worry about that!). 

I tasted it warm out of the pot (couldn't resist!) and it was amazing warm as well!

 Blueberry Chia Jam - makes about 1/2 cup

Gluten free, vegan, sugar free, low fat, healthy

1 cup blueberries*

1 tbsp chia seeds

~1 tbsp water

Optional: sweetener, vanilla, spices etc. 

In a small nonstick saucepan over medium heat place blueberries, chia seeds and water. 

Once the blueberries start to heat and the mixture comes to a low boil stir frequently, lightly mashing the blueberries. 

Keep stirring the mixture until the jam is thick, remove from the head and pour into an air tight container. 

Store the jam in the container for a week or so in the fridge.

*You can use fresh or frozen blueberries (or another berry of your choice!). I used frozen blueberries because... it's winter and I'm definitely not a millionaire :P 

So tell me, what's your favourite flavour of jam/jelly? 
Have you ever made it yourself?