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.

About Us

About Us:

Our mother started us on our quest for supreme health. Throughout our lives we dabbled in a myriad of diets including, vegetarian, macrobiotic, Gabe Mirkin's Fat Free and Flavorful, Aruvedic Indian, Eat Right for Your Blood Type, gluten free, and of course conventional wisdom. At last we have landed on the #1 super diet: The Primal Blueprint. Kristen has taken it one step further & is on the Gut and Psychology Diets (GAPS) in order to heal a lifetime of digestive issues.We love food & hope you adore our recipes.

♥

Kristen & Margaux