Deck Your Halls With Bourbon Balls (or Rum Balls) (GAPS, paleo, Primal, dairy free, gluten free)

By Kristen

There is something about food in ball form that pleases everyone, from your lumberjack cousin to your blue-blooded grandmother, everyone will be smiling when they lay eyes on this slightly sinful treat.

Part 1: Coconut Vanilla Cookies (don't worry, you can't taste the coconut once the balls are complete)

Have you ever noticed that honey cookies are always soft? That's because honey is a humectant, which means it both attracts and retains water. However, this dessert desires a dry cookie to start, which is why you have to throw these into the inferno of your oven until they are seconds away from burning.

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1 cup sifted coconut flour

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/4 cup honey

1 pinch Celtic sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a largish bowl combine the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients. Slowly mix the coconut flour into the liquid ingredients using an electric mixer. The dough will be dryish but will still stick together. These cookies do not need to be pretty my friends, they will soon be decimated into tiny little crumbs, so grab an inch-sized ball and smash it down flat on a well greased cookie sheet. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until they are so dry and brown they are almost burned.

Part 2: The Balls

1 batch coconut vanilla cookies

1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons honey 

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons small batch bourbon or dark rum (rum is not GAPS legal)

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate 

1/8 teaspoon Celtic sea salt

11/2 cup lightly toasted pecans (or walnuts for rum balls) pulsed in your food processor until they are fine little pieces.

Pulse the coconut vanilla cookies in the food processor until they are small crumbs. Melt the chocolate over a double broiler or one you make by putting a metal bowl into water that has just been boiled. stir the honey into the chocolate. Stir the bourbon into the chocolate, one tablespoon at a time. Mix 1/2 the nuts into the cookie crumbs along with the salt. Stir the chocolate into the cookie crumb mixture. Form into balls and roll in the remaining nuts. Let sit in your fridge for a day to allow the flavors to mingle. They really are better with age, but who am I kidding? You are totally eating one right now :) One more thing: you can freeze these and they will keep in the fridge for at least a week.

Chocolate Chips and Chocolate Chip Cookies (GAPS, Paleo, Primal, gluten free, dairy free)

By Kristen

Who, besides a smug few, doesn't revel in the indescribable flavor of chocolate? There is nothing else like it, but unfortunately our modern ways have led us to mixing sugar mountains into our precious cocoa. This recipe uses honey and none of the misplaced coconut oil found in other honey sweetened chocolate recipes.

Ingredients:

8 ounces unsweetened organic chocolate

2 tablespoons honey (or a bit more if you like things on the sweeter side, but no more than 2 1/2 tablespoons)

1/8 teaspoon Celtic sea salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Do it:

On super low heat melt the chocolate. Be careful, it can burn REALLY easily. If you have it use a double broiler or make one by boiling water in a saucepan and putting a metal bowl on top. When melted remove from heat and stir in honey and salt. Finally, stir in the vanilla. Take foil and pinch up the sides to make a vessel. Spread the chocolate into a flat bar, about 1/4 inch thick, or thinner depending on what size you want your chunks. Allow to cool. Use a sharp knife to cut it into chunks.

Use it:

Chocolate chips cookies using the Bake Me Home Tonight recipe:

1/4 Batch chocolate chunks
1/2 a stick butter (or palm or coconut oil), melted
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon Celtic salt

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the honey. Hint: if you grease your tablespoon the honey slides right out. Remove from heat. In a medium sized bowl mix the dry ingredients. Add the vanilla to the butter mixture. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Drop overflowing tablespoons of batter on to a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 8-12 minutes depending on your altitude and the actual internal temp of your oven, which can vary from what your dial says.

Zucchini Muffins (GAPS, Paleo, Primal, gluten Free, grain free, dairy free) )

By Kristen

You know when you find that zucchini in your garden the size of a submarine torpedo that you may or may not have been ignoring the past few weeks? This recipe is especially for you.

Ingredients:

2 cups blanched almond flour

1/2 teaspoon sea salt 

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/4 cup butter (or palm or coconut oil), melted

1/4 cup honey

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 eggs, separated 

1 cup raw zucchini, shredded

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mix the almond flour, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Remove from heat. Add the honey to the melted butter, then add the vanilla. mix into the almond flour mixture. Stir in egg yolks. Whip egg whites to form stiff peaks, then gently fold into batter. Divide evenly into 12 paper lined muffins. Bake 20-25 minutes or until lightly brown on top.

Arugula Pesto Sauce ((GAPS, Paleo, Primal, gluten Free, grain free, dairy free, nut free)

By Kristen

Pesto has a ridiculously high flavor to time in kitchen ratio, making it a super simple way to make your summer grilled meats and veggies pop. Additionally arugula is the classiest of greens, once it joins the party your dish is instantly propelled into flavors of the upper class, leaving you feeling like one of the 2%.

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch arugula (about 8 cups), chopped.  Arugula is most often found in your garden, CSA or farmer's market

• 1-2 cloves garlic depending on the strength and size of your garlic

• Juice from 1 lemon, about 2 tablespoons

• 1/2 cup olive oil (add more if you want a thinner sauce)

• Celtic sea salt to taste. Add pepper too if it pleases you.

Method:

Throw it all in your food processor with the regular blade. Process until it has reached desired consistency.

Serve on burgers, grilled chicken fish or shrimp, grilled vegetables, or whatever else inspires you.

Banana Babycakes at the Beach (GAPS, Paleo, Primal, gluten Free, grain free, dairy free)

With Love, From Stage 2 of the GAPS Intro Diet ((GAPS, Paleo, Primal, gluten Free, grain free, dairy free)

                                           

By Kristen

Most of you fellow GAPSters are relaxing into a summer of delectable grilled fresh produce and sipping on iced cold glasses of bone broth (ha ha). Not my father or my sister. No, these brave souls are embarking on the GAPS intro diet just days before the summer solstice. This recipe is especially for them. I promise to support them as much as I can and I will do my best not to eat my juicy watermelon in front of them as they sweat over boiling cauldrons of soup.

This soup contains the following:

1 pound grass fed stew beef

2 quarts bone broth
2-4 tablespoons of your fave saturated fat

1 1/2 onions, chopped

3-4 medium carrots cut into circles or half moons

1 whole bulb garlic, minced

3-4 smallish tomatoes, quartered

1 1/2 cups frozen peas

1 small bunch fresh basil, bonus points if you grew it yourself

Combine beef, fat, broth, onions, carrots,  garlic, and tomatoes in a pot. Boil, then reduce to a simmer for 25-30 minutes, or until the beef is tender.  Skim any meat foam and the tomato skins off the top. Stir in peas until they are heated, about 3-5 minutes. Finish by adding in the basil.

Pizza! (GAPS, Paleo, Primal, gluten Free, grain free, dairy free)

 

By Kristen

Eager as I am to shed the standard American diet and tout myself as reformed Primal/Paleo/GAPS foodie snob with highly developed taste buds (while sometimes secretly wishing I could just eat some mac and cheese) I just can't seem to quit pizza.  I made this almond flour crust that is sure to fulfill the pizza deficiency that resides within us all. While you cannot order this to be delivered to your house, you can coerce your partner/significant other to dress as a delivery person and knock on your front door, GAPS legal pizza in hand.

Make it with: 

Almond Flour Crust

2 + 1/4 cups of almond flour (the type you use wil make a difference in the amount you need. I prefer Honeyville, with which you will need less, more with Bob's Red Mill)
2 eggs
3 tablespoons melted butter or melted palm shortening
1/4 teaspoon celtic sea salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Simple Sauce

1 7 oz jar tomato paste
1 tablespoon Italian herb seasoning, or not
salt, if you wish

Toppings

Dream away my friend. This pizza was made with our favorite toppings; green pepper, onion, black olive, and browned hot link sausage. Don't get hung up on mozzarella being GAPS illegal, I used 1 block of grated Organic Valley raw cheddar and it was delish.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Mix 2 cups of almond flour, salt, and garlic powder. add the melted butter and stir. Scramble the eggs and then blend them in.

Blend the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.

Sadly this is not the kind of pizza you can throw up into the air whilst singing "That's Amore" and end up with a perfect crust. You will need to cover a 16"x14" cookie sheet or pizza stone covered with parchment paper. Plop your dough ball on . Now you can either press it down with your hands or place another piece of parchment paper on top and roll it out. If dough is sticky sprinkle almond flour  on top until every part is covered, then continue pressing or rolling. Add more almond flour as needed if it continues to stick. Make the crust quite thin. Bake in the oven for 10-15 min, or until barely golden brown. Add your sauce and your toppings and heat again in the oven until they are melted into delicious goodness.

Note: My husband says this is better than pizza you can get at a restaurant. He also loves me and really isn't all that hung up on gluteny goodness even though he can eat whatever he wants. You decide.

Chicken Bonus (GAPS, Paleo, Primal, gluten Free)

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By Margaux

I will not insult you by attempting to pass this off as an appetizing photo. We both know it isn’t.  The good news is that this chicken recipe is the opposite of the photo. It’s juicy, flavorful, and comes with two bonuses- jus and stock.

Get it:

·      1 happy chicken

·      a couple of celery stalks (chopped)

·      1 large onion (diced)

·      bacon grease

·      salt & pepper

·      spices- we usually use oregano and thyme and then add things like sumac, or chili powder, or cayenne. Herbs de Provence are a no brainer. Whatever suits your fancy!

Make it:

·      Pre-heat oven to 350 (you can lower temp and roast longer as well)

·      Season your bird with spices of choice

·      Heat a heavy dutch oven type pan (large enough to fit your chicken) over medium high heat. When your pan is good and warm add a scoop of bacon grease, let it melt and then place the chicken breast down in the pan. It should sizzle like the dickens, that’s good!  At this time add the diced onion, and let it caramelize while the breast side is searing.  Stir the onions on occasion.

·      Sear the bird for several minutes until it is a fancy golden brown.

·      Flip over and sear other side.  Once you flip the breast side up, stir the onions some more and add the celery

·      After both sides are seared to your satisfaction and the vegetables are cooked down, place the lid securely on the pan and place in the oven (leaving breast side up).  If you don’t have a pan with a tight fitting lid, first cover the pan with foil and then put the lid on.

·      Bake for approximately 60-90 minutes. It’s done when your meat thermometer says it’s done (measure in the deepest part of the thigh near the bone)

·      When the chicken is done you’ll find the most magnificent pool of juice at the bottom of the pan. Pour through a strainer, mashing the vegetables into the strainer with a spoon, allow to sit for a couple of minutes, then skim the fat off the top or use a fat separator.  Keep the veggies you’ve strained out of the jus for use in the the bonus stock.

·      Serve chicken with jus on the side for dipping. Yum!

Bonus

Don’t throw that carcass away, make it into stock! Keep all bones, skin and the giblets and throw back into your dutch oven with the strained veggies, any stray carrot stumps, celery heads and onion bits you have lying around. Fill with water and simmer on very very low for at least 12 hours. Strain the chunks out and refrigerate. Once cool skim fat off the top. Use the stock now or freeze it for later. 

P.S. This recipe is attributable entirely to my hangry husband who does a whole lot of delicious cooking, especially while I’m in school.

Coconut Butter (GAPS, Paleo, Primal, gluten Free, grain free, dairy free)

By Kristen

Coconuts are clearly a gift from tiny tropical loincloth wearing leprechauns to all Primal/Gaps people. How can something so sweet have so few carbs? How can there be so much nutritional goodness and culinary possibility encased within such an odd hairy shell?

The coconut is classified as a true nut, but has few features in common with its crunch botheren. To start with it does not contain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Fat in the human body is made up of roughly 50% monounsaturated fat, 45% saturated fat, and 5% polyunsaturated fat. So while your body does need some PUFAs, it is easy to go nuts with the nuts and ingest too many, which has been shown to lead to weight gain in women. Coconut oil, on the other hand, is choc full of supurb saturated fat. One key aspect of the fat in coconut oil is that it contains saturated fat that is primarily medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA), also known as medium-chain triglycerides (MCT), which means your skin will love it if you don't mind smelling like a tropical drink all day.

Coconut oil has a zillion other health benefits. It is associated with weight loss, heart disease, healthy thyroid, and cholesterol. Additionally it is antimicrobial, antiparasitic, and antifungal. If you are just beginning the GAPS diet you should go easy on it as it can accelerate die off. Seriously I could go on about the mighty coconuts virtues for ages. Instead I will give you the recipe for the most uncomplicated deliciousness you have ever encountered.

Ingredients:

1 pound dried coconut, shredded (large or small shreds)
1/4 cup coconut oil (I like Dr. Bronner's)

Put the 1/2 dried coconut in your food processor using the regular blade. Process for 2-5 minutes until there is room. Scrape the sides with a spatula and add the rest. Process until the coconut is smooth like  melted butter. You may have to scrape the sides a couple more times. Add coconut oil and stir (sometimes I just swirl it all little, not mixing completely). Store in a pint sized jar.

Coconut oil will solidify at room temperature. It tastes delicious either way.

Permutations:
-If you want chunky butter add some coconut flakes at the end.
-Mix some fruit in and enjoy right away.
-Add some cocoa powder.
-Stir in some chocolate chips.

THE GAPS INTRO DIET (GAPS, Paleo, Primal, gluten Free, grain free, dairy free)

 By Kristen

The title is in all capitals for a reason my friends, the GAPS intro diet is a doozie. Oh people will tell you all sorts of things, like how you will feel so great! and, how there is so many delicious things to eat! Well I am here to tell you the truth. If you have the iron clad willpower to stay with it eventually you will feel fantastic. You may even find yourself dancing to "Walking on Sunshine" in your kitchen, but that, dear reader, is after THE DIE OFF. The die off is not a thing of science fiction. It happens and it is not fun. The first time I did the intro I had 10 days of lethargy and headaches. There is a whole storm of other symptoms that can occur as you switch from a fat burner to a sugar burner and begin to starve out the antagonistic gut flora.

However, the truth is that it IS worth it. You will discover what foods you are sensitive to and heal these sensitivities, as well as sealing your gut. Honestly you should do it, but it is not easy to be sure.

My biggest problem is that I love food, moreover I love a variety of food that tastes delicious, and particularly in the initial phases of the diet your choices or extremely limited and tastes like baby food.

Case in point: Here is what is allowed in phase 1 of the GAPS intro diet:

- Meat or fish stock  
-Well boiled broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, onions, leeks, garlic
-Squash, winter and summer  
-Boiled meat  
-Sea salt 
-1-2 teaspoons a day of sauerkraut juice  

There are 20,000 edible plants alone on our planet, and on the intro you can have 8/20,000. The odds of deliciousness are not in our favor.

To remedy the bland baby food flavor profile I put a whole bulb of garlic in this soup to bring it back into tasty town. Even though the soup sort of looks like it was regurgitated it actually tastes pretty darn good.

In closing here is my advice: Do the GAPS intro, just be prepared mentally. The Yahoo GAPS group is full of supportive people, and just tell yourself that it is not forever, and you will feel much better having done it. For more information on the intro diet visit the GAPS diet website.

Ingredients:

1 bulb garlic, minced
1 pound grass fed beef
1 head broccoli
5 chopped carrots
1 small butternut squash, seeded, peeled, and cut into chunks
1 1/2-2 quarts chicken stock
1 onion, chopped
celtic sea salt to taste

Process:

This is the best part, it is so easy. Just throw it all in a pot and boil until the meat is cooked and the veggies are soft. I am to lazy to form the beef into meatballs so I chop it into chunks with a wooden spoon while it cooks. Also there is a meat foam that bubbles up to the top that I skim off and feed to the dogs. Mmm, meat foam.

Bake Me Home Tonight: Honey Almond Flour Cookies (GAPS, Paleo, Primal, gluten Free, grain free)

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By Kristen

I don't just have a sweet tooth, I have a sweet mouth, that's right all 32 teeth are sweet including my wisdom teeth. Likely this is borne from haywire gut flora and loco insulin that have gone unchecked for most of my life, and I do my best to not overindulge. Therefore this lil mini batch of cookies with only 3 tablespoons honey fit the bill perfectly. I created the recipe while I was in a cabin in the mountains with limited ingredients. It is a bit like a sugar cookie, only lacking the nefarious sugar.

Ingredients:

1/2 a stick butter, melted
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon Celtic salt

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the honey. Hint: if you grease your tablespoon the honey slides right out. Remove from heat. In a medium sized bowl mix the dry ingredients. Add the vanilla to the butter mixture. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Drop overflowing tablespoons of batter on to a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 8-12 minutes depending on your altitude and the actual internal temp of your oven, which can vary from what your dial says.
  
Read more about baking with almond flour here: http://urbanposer.blogspot.com/2012/05/baking-101-almond-flour-basics.html

On Being a Special Needs Eater

By Kristen

Listen, it is time you face it. You are high maintenance. That's right, by choosing to be healthy you have in turn chosen to be difficult. Even so, you have made a good choice, as the Weston A Price Foundation says, "The wise will thrive." As your health improves you will find this to be true. However, at times it will not be easy. Here are some guidelines to ease your journey.

1. Only complain a little. Though being on this diet may seem essential to you and an integral part of healing, to others you have made a choice. Therefore your whining will not endear them to you, in fact it will make you look like a masochist. Just grin and bear it as you sip your bone broth and sit through the work catered lunch, chocolate fountain celebration, Dean and Deluca catered wedding, or trip to Charlie's Chocolate factory.

2. Find some support. This is imperative, as you can actually complain to these people! And they can whine to you! Additionally they will help you stay committed and will be a good source to share information with. Ideally you will find a real live person you can meet up with. You may want to check out your local Weston A. Price chapter, or see if there is a primal or paleo meetup in your area.  Many forums are filled with like minded cyber people. You can find forums on: Mark's Daily Apple, Cave Man Forum, Jack Kruse and many other paleo forums. There is also a GAPS Yahoo group. Once you find some HLHs (healthy living homies) you can obsessively discuss fermented food, your fave CSA, and chat about how your your leptin is totally resetting.

3. Lay low and don't try to convert people. I know I know, once you embark on this journey you will likely want to announce your findings to the world. DON'T GIVE IN. I am here to tell you that exactly zero people in the world want to be aggressively converted. In fact, it will likely make them resist any change. Instead just live the vida low carb. If they are interested I guarantee they will ask you questions, and maybe they will want to follow your lead. Remember, you can always talk to your HLHs.

4. Be Prepared. Bring what you need and do your research. otherwise you will find yourself at the airport drooling over some processed street meat oozing its pink slime juices over the roaster. You can save yourself a lot of misery by looking at restaurant menus online ahead of time and traveling with a Lara bar.

5. Be the hostess (or host) with the mostess. Let's be frank here, you have a lot of needs around food. It is not just a measly shellfish allergy or aversion to gefilte fish, you have some serious food requirements, so many requirements that one practically requires an advanced degree in order to understand them all.  Do not saddle your friends and family with this, instead host gatherings at your house or opt for potlucks in hopes that no one will notice that you are only eating the food you brought and some fruit salad. If someone REALLY wants to cook for you just tell them all you eat is meat, vegetables and fruit. Make sure you ask about the salad dressing.

5. Keep Learning. The more you know the more likely you are to stay on the wagon and remember why you made this crazy choice.

7. Stay Positive. Pretend you are on Iron Chef for life. It's fun! It's a challenge! It's so crispy yet delicate!

Succulent Steak Salad (GAPS, Paleo, Primal, gluten Free)

 By Kristen

I have a love hate relationship with salad. On the one hand it's delicious and nutrient-packed. On the other hand it is frequently the only thing on the menu I can order when I go out to eat, and there's all the negative connotations associated with salad and dieting women. Just looking at these pictures of Women Laughing Alone with Salad is enough to make one want to forgo salad forever. The problem is I just can't quit salad. It must run in my genes, my parents don't think any meal is complete without it.

The Goods:

2 Lbs thin grass fed steak (I used rib eye)

5 oz salad mix

2 avocados, sliced

1 jar salsa

1/2 bunch cilantro, copped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1/4-1/2 red onion, chopped

Dressing:

1-1 1/2 squeezed limes

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon cumin

I am not going to patronize you by pretending you don't know how to make a salad. Just remember to cook your steak perfectly. To do so get a digital meat thermometer and listen to Mark Sisson.

Makes 4 entree size salads

Carrot Ribbon Salad (GAPS, Paleo, Primal, gluten Free)

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By Margaux

This is one of my favorite salads this time of year. It is cheerful in every way, bright in color and flavor. Truthfully, I hesitate to even call this a recipe but what the hay. I’m giving approximate quantities here but this is the kind of thing that you’ll truly want to adjust to your taste. For example, I’m a sucker for lemon so I like to use the juice from at least one large one, if not one and a half.

My vegetable peeler is serrated which I think is swell because my carrots really hang onto the dressing but your salad certainly won’t suffer for lack of serrated peeler.

Salad

Carrots- I use 5-6 medium sized carrots for 2 healthy servings.

Parsley- Italian or curly will do just fine, use as much or little as you fancy.

Dressing

Tahini (1-2 Tbsp)

Lemon juice (about one lemon)

Salt (a pinch or two)

Olive oil (1-2 Tbsp)

Fresh Garlic (optional, about 1 clove finely chopped)

Method

Salad: Peel your carrots, and keep on peeling until you have a big ol’ heap of carrot ribbons in your salad bowl. Chop your preferred quantity of parsley as finely or roughly as you prefer, add to the carrots. 

Dressing: Combine ingredients in a jar, put a lid on it and shake it like you mean it. Pour over carrots, toss, and dig in.

P.S. I ended up adding sliced avocado to this salad and it was super!

Murray's Curry (GAPS, Primal, gluten Free, grain free)

By Kristen

Who is Murray? I have no idea, but I had the inexplicable urge to rhyme with curry. As you know rhyming curry with hurry has been overused.

This delish dish is made in a slow cooker and has a unique flavor which can be attributed the the integration of Indian curry spices and coconut milk.

Ingredients

• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground tumeric
• 1 teaspoon Celtic salt
• 2 inch cube of ginger, chopped
• 1 small sweet onion, chopped
• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 2 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs,or whatever cuts you prefer
• 2 cans coconut milk, Aroy-D is GAPs legal & found in Asian grocers
• 1 cup frozen peas
• chopped green onions for garnish
• 1 quart chicken bone broth
• Optional: 4 Thai peppers, chopped
• Optional: 1 small head cauliflower "rice" (shredded in the food processor)

How To:

Put all ingredients except the cauliflower in your slow cooker. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Stir once or twice if you are around, otherwise forget about it. If you are adding cauliflower rice put it in for the last hour of cooking.

That's Nuts. (GAPS, Paleo, Primal, gluten Free, grain free, dairy free)

By Margaux

I have an illogical aversion to calling this “nutola” but I’ll understand completely if that’s what you call it. Either way it’s crunchy, scrumptious and endlessly tinkerable (not a word but you get my drift). In my house we eat this over homemade yogurt.

Ingredients

·      4 cups of nuts (we typically use almonds and walnuts but practically anything will work including pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds).

·      1 cup of raisins (I prefer golden raisins).

·      About 2 cups of unsweetened shredded coconut

·      About 6 Tbsp vanilla extract

·      3 Tbsp cinnamon

Method

Soak the nuts and raisins in plenty of water for at least 12 hours. I usually soak the nuts separately from the raisins but that probably isn’t necessary.

Strain. Mix the nuts with the raisins if you haven’t already done so.

Pour half of the mixture into your food processor and add half of the coconut, vanilla, and cinnamon.

Pulse in food processor until you can’t really tell it’s nuts you’re dealing with but not so long that it turns into paste.  When it starts to resemble regular granola you’ve achieved the right consistency.  (Repeat with the rest of the mixture).

Spread the mixture onto a food dehydrator tray* and dehydrate at 145 degrees* for about 12 hours or until it’s nice and crunchy. Store in an airtight container.

*If you don’t have a food dehydrator, just throw your mixture in the oven on a cookie sheet at the lowest setting. You’ll have to keep an eye on it as there’s no telling how long it will take but I’m sure it will be tasty!

*We have an Excalibur dehydrator. It’s great.

Tinkering

I’ve posted our current favorite version of this recipe but in the in the past we’ve:

·      Made it without coconut

·      Made it without cinnamon

·      Made it with figs and orange oil

·      Made it with almond extract

·      Made it with dried apricots

Meet "The Pile" (GAPS, Paleo, Primal, gluten Free, grain free, dairy free)

By Kristen

Grain free cooking renders meals so nondescript, I frequently find myself serving “food pile.” This food pile blends the naturally sweet flavors of pastured pork and butternut squash.

Ingredients

1 medium to large butternut squash

1-2 tablespoons butter or olive oil

1 pound ground pastured pork

1/2 onion

1 tablespoon parika

1 tablespoon ground fennel seed

1 teaspoon cumin

2 cloves minced garlic

5-7 cups baby spinach

1 or more tablespoons hot sauce (I used Cholula)

Celtic sea salt to taste

Squash Layer: 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash butternut squash Cut in half lengthwise, scrape out seeds and stringy parts. Place cut side down in lightly greased pan. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Remove cook squash from skin. Add butter or oil and mash with a fork. Salt to taste.

Pork Layer:

In a large pot brown pork. In a separate saucepan cook onions until soft. Combine onions and pork. Add spices and garlic. Stir to thoroughly combine. Add spinach a few cups at a time, stirring continuously until it is wilted.

Stack your piles and serve.

Voila! A perfect pile.

Coconut Cinnamon Blackberry Banana Bread (GAPS, Paleo, Primal, gluten Free, grain free, dairy free, nut free)

By Kristen

Coconut flour is defatted, making it hydrophilic & lipophilic. This means that you usually you have to add a whole nest of eggs to anything you bake with it. Not so for this luscious loaf.

Ingredients:

¾ cup sifted coconut flour

¼ teaspoon baking soda*

1 tablespoon cinnamon (or less depending on how strong it is)

½ teaspoon Celtic sea salt

Optional: a pinch to 1 packet of stevia or ¼ cup honey (add 2 teaspoons coconut flour if you use honey)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

4 eggs, beaten

¼ cup melted coconut oil or butter

2 ripe mashed bananas

1-container blackberries

Preheat oven to 350 digrees

In separate bowls mix the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients. Add the eggs to the liquid ingredients last. Be careful not to cook the eggs with the hot oil. Combine the ingredients into one bowl. Stir in the blackberries. Grease up your standard loaf pan and pour in your batter. You could make these into muffins, just reduce the baking time.

Bake for 45-50 min.**

* Make it GAPS legal by omitting baking soda and whipping the egg whites into stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites in when you add the blackberries.

** We cook at an altitude of about 5,000 feet above sea level.

Incendiary Salsa Soup (GAPS, Paleo, Primal, gluten Free, dairy free)

By Kristen

This super fast scrumptious soup will make you slurp. But not in front of me, I abhor slurping.

Ingredients

1 pound organic grass fed beef

1-2 tablespoons lard or favorite fat

16 ounce jar of your favorite salsa (I used Whole Foods organic medium)

1 quart (or more) chicken or beef bone broth

3 jalapenos (optional)

1 tablespoon cumin

salt to taste

cilantro

avocado

Choose how you like your onions:

Fastest: garnish with chopped red onion

A little more work: chop 1 medium yellow onion & 1 red bell pepper. Saute with 1 tablespoon fat and combine with beef after it has been browned.

Make It:

Brown the beef with 1 tablespoon fat. Add sauteed onion & red pepper (if chosen). Pour in the salsa, bone broth, and cumin. Add the jalapeno and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the jalapenos are cooked through. Garnish with cilantro, avocado, and red onion (if chosen).

Variation:

Omit the broth & chop the jalapenos. Now you have yourself one mean little chili.

Why are we hangry?

Why are we hangry?

 

Hangry is the clever blending of the words hungry and angry.

What are we hungry for?

We are hungry for real food that our bodies evolved to eat.

What are we angry about?

-The copious amount of misleading nutritional information born from questionable science.

-Feedlot animals that are being raised in inhumane conditions and living short & sickly lives.

-The overuse of pesticides, herbicides & who knows what else had depleted our topsoil leading to lower nutritional content.

-Processed food, additives, food dyes, and sugar are rampant in so many products.

-Misguided laws prohibit consumers from buying such things as raw milk and shackle the small family farm.

-The rise of genetically modified foods.

-Monsanto.

-Uninformed politicians & greedy lobbyists.

-The fact that it is prohibitively expensive for many individuals and families to buy food that will help them thrive.

-The overuse of antibiotics, unnecessary C-sections, and a historic push to feed babies formula, and many other factors have left many of us with intestinal dysbiosis.

However

The future is hopeful. The rise of the local food movement has led people to farmer’s markets & CSAs. More than ever people are fed up with conventional dietary wisdom and are searching for food that truly nourishes.