My man declared this incredibly creamy gluten & dairy free, anti-inflammatory artichoke and antihistamine herb pasta his new favourite dish!
I have to agree.
It’s the perfect lunch or dinner, to be enjoyed by two.
For those of you who don’t already know – my man doesn’t have histamine, dairy or gluten issues – he’s just often totally up for checking out whatever I’m eating, if not mostly totally happy for me to feed him my weirdo diet.
That’s not to say that he doesn’t get into all kinds of other treats…
For those of you still primarily cooking separate meals – I’ve found it’s all in the pitch. Don’t tell people what they’re eating – till they tell you how delish it is!
In particular, going on and on about the histamine thing isn’t doing us favours.
People don’t like illness, so they certainly don’t want to eat a “sick” person’s diet. Telling them it’s all about vibrant health, looking years younger (on the inside and out), and enjoying a life with less prescriptions, often yields better results. The fact is that most antihistamine foods (if not all) are also anti-inflammatory – inflammation causes/aggravates so many illnesses that it would be silly not to try and mediate inflammation.
So…even people who are totally “healthy”, who are looking to prevent any yuckiness down the line, might benefit from what’s on your plate.
I had a lot of fun “fooling” people back in my raw food days – the avocado chocolate frosting was a particular success.
One day my nutty green lovelies – I shall have you again!
Till then, I’ll enjoy my incredibly velvety artichoke pasta thank you very much.
Here’s the nutrient breakdown:
Did you know that quercetin is a more effective mast cell stabiliser than the most commonly prescribed medication for mast cell activation and mastocytosis? [1] (Meaning quercetin can prevent mast cells from releasing histamine into our bodies). That’s important news because artichoke is not only rich in mast cell stabilising quercetin, but also fellow histamine-lowering bioflavonoids luteolin and rutin. [2]
The zucchini family possess anti-inflammatory [3], anti-ulcerogenic and potentially antihistaminic properties [4].
Thyme is such a powerful antihistamine that it has been shown to inhibit anaphylaxis (in animals) [5], but some may react due to benzoates.
Basil is a potent H1 and H2 receptor antagonist (like Claritin & Zantac, respectively, for example), in addition to being highly anti-inflammatory [6].
Oregano significantly inhibits histamine release [7].
Garlic is highly anti-inflammatory, suppressing many of the genes responsible for Crohn’s (in addition to other inflammatory conditions) [8].
Shallots are also highly anti-inflammatory, with particular emphasis on prevention and potential treatment of leukemia and cervical cancer [9].
Parsley inhibits histamine release [10].
Olive oil possesses similar anti-inflammatory activity to ibuprofen [11].
Don’t forget to sign up to my mailing list for a 10% discount on my books and to make sure you don’t miss out on the latest histamine research and expert interviews.
Coming up soon: an interview with Dr Ben Lynch of MTHFR.net – we discuss methylation and how it relates to histamine, and, an antihistamine and anti-inflammatory, low oxalate, gluten free flat bread that I am SO incredibly excited about!
And finally, to the recipe!
Creamy Artichoke & Zucchini Pasta w/Thyme, Basil, Oregano & Parsley
Prep Time: 15+| Cook Time: 25 | Servings: 2-4 | Difficulty: Easy
You’ll find more recipes like this in my books Anti-Recipes and The Anti-Cookbook
Ingredients:
4 artichokes, boiled with hearts cut out, or frozen artichoke hearts
2 large zucchini, finely chopped
1 large shallot, finely chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
2-4 cloves garlic
thyme, chopped
basil, chopped
oregano, chopped
parsley,chopped
1-2 cups gluten free pasta (I used rice)
arugula/rocket (optional)
Directions:
Boil your GF pasta of choice.
If you can find frozen artichoke hearts, go for it! I would have but they’re not available anywhere in the UK.
Sauté the onions and garlic in olive oil till fragrant.
Toss in the herbs and zucchini.
Carefully pour in a little water and lower the heat. In about 10 minutes you’ll find the zucchini has become nice and creamy.
Add in the choke hearts and a little more water or oil as needed (carefully!) and sauté for a few more minutes.
Tip the mixture into a blender.
Pour onto GF pasta.
I then usually mix in about 6 cups of raw arugula/rocket or other leafy greens but this is totally optional.
———REFERENCES——-
[1] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19924387
[2] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9802556
[3] http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-DYJZ200405032.htm
[4] http://www.ijrap.net/admin/php/uploads/700_pdf.pdf
[5] http://www.karger.com/Article/Fulltext/93790
[6] https://dev.healinghistamine.com/holy-basil-the-anti-inflammatory-anti-histamine-superstar/
[7] http://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search/display.do?f=2010/JP/JP1021.xml;JP2010002968
[8] http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cyto.10133/full
[9] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3258679/
[11] http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/09/050906075427.htm
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