Lentil-Tomato Soup

INGREDIENTS:
3-4 T butter or fat for cooking
1 onion
2 leeks
1 red bell pepper
1 zucchini
2 cups of greens
2 cups of cooked lentils
1 bay leaf
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 T dried basil
1 T dried thyme
1-2 cups of GAPS-legal tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes or diced tomatoes
1 quart meat stock
salt and pepper to taste

 METHOD:

Melt butter or fat in a large pot.  Chop the onions and leeks and saute for about 5 minutes,  then add the other veggies, chopped.  Add the salt, spices and crush the garlic into the pot. 

Pour in the stock and tomatoes, and add the bay leaf.  Bring to a boil and simmer until the veggies are cooked and the flavors have had a chance to blend.  Add in the lentils and continue to cook until they are hot.

Remove from heat and adjust seasoning if necessary. 

Turkey Green Chile Stew

I was looking for a creative way to use leftover turkey and came up with this.  It was a pleasant change from chicken soup.  The flavor of the soup would be greatly enhanced by fire roasting some or all of the chiles ahead of time.  I didn't have time and it still came out very nicely.

INGREDIENTS:

1 onion, chopped
2 T butter or other fat for cooking
2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
2 cups various green peppers, chopped (I used a blend of poblano, anaheim and green bell pepper)
1 quart meat stock (ideally turkey, but I used chicken and it was fine)
1-2 cups of chopped cooked turkey (however much you have on hand)
handful of chopped cilantro
salt to taste
dash of lime juice
optional- chile powder or chipotle powder, fresh jalepenos

METHOD:

Fry the onion in the butter or fat.  Add the spices and garlic and let cook a few minutes, than add the peppers.  Once they have cooked down a little, after about 5 minutes, add the stock.  Simmer for another 10 minutes or so until the flavors have blended more and the veggies are soft.  Add the turkey and cilantro and cook another few minutes to allow the meat to warm through.  Remove from heat, add the lime juice, and taste and adjust the seasonings.  This is delicious with sour cream, if you can have it.

For intro, just simmer the vegetables and meat in the stock.

Pepper and Basil Soup

This is a simple yet flavorful soup. It is suitable for intro but can be "dressed up" and enjoyed later in the diet as well.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups of meat stock
1 bell pepper (yellow or red works well)
1 handful of basil
salt and pepper to taste

Cut the pepper into pieces. Bring the meat stock to a boil, add the pepper, and cook until just tender. Add the basil leaves and cook another few minutes. Remove from heat and puree.

For variety, try using cilantro leaves instead of basil and add some lime juice. You can also try adding curry powder.

Stuffed cabbage soup

I was in the mood for stuffed cabbage, but I was too lazy to do the work :), plus I thought I should get my soup in. Along the way, I remembered that I had some roasted bell pepper in the fridge, so I threw them in too. The result is pretty yummy :)

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. fat (olive oil, butter, ghee, tallow, lard--whatever you can tolerate)

2 onions, chopped

2 lbs. ground beef

1 Tbsp. paprika

2 tsp. dried thyme

Salt to taste

2 quarts beef broth

1 head green cabbage, washed, cored and chopped

Roasted red bell pepper strips for garnish, if desired

Method

Saute onions and ground beef in fat until onions are translucent and beef is browned. Add spices and stir. Add broth. Stir in cabbage. Add more broth or water if necessary to cover cabbage completely. Cook until cabbage is done. Serve with pepper strips, if using.

Avgolemono Soup (Greek Egg-Lemon Soup)

This is a very simple soup that is great for intro, once whole eggs are tolerated in soups. It is light and refreshing but also a little bland. It serves as a nice "base" for adding additional ingredients. In the second photo I have added chopped avocado, tomato, and cilantro. This recipe is modified from the one in The New York Times Cook Book.

INGREDIENTS:

2 quarts meat stock
1/2 cup grated cauliflower (replaces rice)
4 eggs
juice of 2 lemons

METHOD:

Bring the meat stock to a boil and add the cauliflower. Cook for about 2-3 minutes until the cauliflower softens. Turn heat off.

Beat the eggs well, then slowly beat in the lemon juice. Slowly add some of the hot soup while you are beating to temper the soup (about 2 cups of soup), then slowly pour this mixture into the hot soup while beating. This is to keep the eggs from scrambling in the soup.

Turn the heat back on and bring the soup close to a boil, but do not let it boil or the soup will curdle. You can serve it as is, or you can add just about anything to liven it up, including leftover cooked meat, veggies, or stew, or add other flavorful ingredients and spices.

Cilantro Lime Chicken

I came up with this recipe as a way to use the chicken meat left over from making meat stock. Soup with meat has not been a big hit around here, and I find the leftover meat too well cooked to use for many things such as chicken salad. My 7-year-old, who is not normally a big fan of chicken, loves this dish. The meat called for in this recipe is the meat from 3 or 4 chicken legs that have been boiled for several hours. This recipe is great served with fresh salsa and iceberg lettuce leaves as taco shells or on top of a salad. At the bottom of the recipe there is a suggestion for making this on the intro diet.

INGREDIENTS:

Meat from 3 or 4 chicken legs, or equivalent
2 T fat for cooking
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 Anaheim or Poblano pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
salt to taste
pinch of chipotle powder
1-2 tsp cumin powder
3 cloves of garlic (or more)
1-2 tsp dried oregano or Mexican seasoning mix*
Meat stock, about 1/4 to 1/2 cup
1 large handful of chopped cilantro

*I use the Mexican seasoning blend from Mountain Rose Herbs, it is a pure spice blend.

METHOD:

Remove the meat from the chicken legs. It can be in chunks or shredded.

Melt the fat for cooking (I use coconut oil) in a large skillet. Add the chopped onions and saute for several minutes to let them soften. Add the chopped peppers and continue to saute several more minutes.

Add the garlic, salt and dry spices and let cook for several minutes while stirring. Pour in some meat stock and continue to saute for about 10 more minutes, pouring in more stock as the mixture becomes dry or to keep it from burning. This part is not precise, it is just to allow the veggies to cook well while staying moist.

Add the chicken and stir to incorporate into the mixture. Add the lime juice and cilantro, and cook and stir just long enough to mix thoroughly and heat everything through. Remove from heat.

Adjust seasonings. You may want to add in more crushed garlic at this point.

For intro diet, start by heating just enough broth to make a stew with the meat. Add in chopped veggies that work for you- possibly peppers, a tomato, greens, chopped zucchini, chopped onion- and let cook until the veggies well cooked. Add in the meat and lime juice, and if you tolerate them, crushed garlic and fresh cilantro. You can cook the cilantro a little if that helps you. Season to taste with whichever spices from the above recipe that you can tolerate. You can stir in egg and probiotic liquid once it has cooled enough.

Braised Belgian Endive

These are really good. I think I'll make them again soon and post a picture :) If you are not doing dairy, experiment with other fats.

Ingredients

2 Belgian endives
2-3 Tbsp. ghee or butter
1 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. honey
salt and pepper to taste

Method

Melt butter in a heavy bottomed pan that is big enough to hold your endives. Wash and trim the ends of the endives. Slice in half lengthwise and add them to the pan. Cook over medium heat, until the edges are nicely browned, butter will brown too. Add chicken broth. Mix lemon juice and honey and drizzle over endives. Cover loosely (allow some steam to vent on the side). Simmer for 20 minutes or until tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pot au Feu

This is French-style pot roast. The broth is supposed to be thin, so you won't feel bad that you can't use flour or corn starch to thicken it. This is a go-to recipe for me, but I don't have a picture right now. I will post one as soon as I can.

Yield: About 4 servings

Ingredients

4 lbs. beef chuck roast, with or without bone
4 quarts good quality homemade beef broth with marrow, if possible
3 sprigs parsley
3 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
1/8 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/8 teaspoon whole cloves
2 onions roughly chopped
1 celery stalk, cut into three inch lengths
1/2 lb. carrots peeled and cut into 3 inch lengths

Method

Place meat in a large stock pot. Cover with homemade broth. Add parsley, thyme, bay leaf, peppercorns and cloves (can be tied into a cheesecloth to make later removal easier). If your broth is unsalted, add about 1 tsp. salt. Cook until meat is very tender, about three hours. About half an hour before meat is done, add onions. About 15 minutes later, add celery and carrots. Remove herbs and spices.

Cut meat into serving size pieces and place in bowls. Cover with broth and cooked veggies.

Celery Root and Apple Puree

This is super yummy and completely appropriate for intro. I had sort of forgotten about it because I couldn't do celery products then. I'm sure that most of you are fine with celery though :) This would also be good with an onion added.

This is a great way to get broth and or fat into your kids. You could definitely experiment with other fats, if you can't tolerate dairy or are still on early intro. Try duck, goose, chicken or turkey. Let us know how it turns out.

Yield: approximately 3 servings

Ingredients

1 bulb celery root, peeled and cut into 2 inch cubes
2 tart apples, peeled and diced (roughly same size as celery root)
Chicken or turkey broth
3 Tbsp. ghee or butter (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Boil celery root and apple in enough broth to just cover. Cook until tender, about 30 minutes. When the celery root is nice and soft, puree the mixture with a handheld blender. Add ghee or butter, if desired. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir.

Egg Flower Soup

The basic technique of this soup is very simple and is suitable for the intro diet early on, once whole eggs are tolerated.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 c sliced shiitake mushrooms (about 5)
1/2 red bell pepper
2-3 green onions
1 stalk celery
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 quart chicken broth
1 egg

METHOD:

 Heat the stock in a saucepan.  While it is coming to a boil, slice or chop the vegetables so that they are in small pieces, and set aside.

Add the ginger and toasted sesame oil to the stock.  Once it comes to a boil, add the vegetables and cook until they soften, about 10 minutes.  Once the vegetables have cooked, remove them with a slotted spoon back into a bowl. 

Break the egg into a small bowl and lightly beat it.  Stir the soup with one hand so that it is swirling around in a circle, and slowly pour the egg mixture in with the other hand. The speed with which you stir and pour will determine how thin and long the egg strands become.

Once all the egg is poured in, remove from heat and add the vegetables back in.  Add salt if needed (this will depend on how salty the chicken stock was).

There are many versions of this recipe which mostly vary depending on which vegetables you add. Other additions include peas, chopped onion, meatballs, tomato slices, a little dry white cooking wine, dash of vinegar, and chili oil.

Carrot Soup

I have to confess that I haven't eaten soup in at least a couple of weeks. My excuse? A broken immersion blender. I really like pureed soups with my homemade chicken broth. Well, a trip to Goodwill yesterday yielded a "new" immersion blender, so I decided to make my favorite carrot soup tonight.







Ingredients

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. butter (or ghee)
1 1/2 large onions, chopped
2 lbs carrots, peeled and chopped
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 quarts (or more) homemade chicken broth
2 tsp. ground coriander
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Chopped cilantro or parsley for garnish

Method

Sautee the onions, ginger and carrots in the fat until onions are translucent. Add coriander, salt and pepper. Stir for about a minute. Add chicken broth and cook until vegetables are very soft. Puree. Add more liquid, if necessary. This is good with coconut milk too, but I don't have any that's suitable on hand at the moment.

You can leave out the coriander for the intro diet, if you are avoiding spices. You can also substitute the fat without worrying.

Hollandaise Sauce

Every time I make hollandaise sauce, I am reminded of how easy it is, and I ask myself why I don't make it every day! Most people have tried something called hollandaise, but many people have not had the "real thing". I was given the packaged stuff as a kid and decided that I hated hollandaise. Of course, once I tried the good stuff, I couldn't get enough of it!

Hollandaise makes practically anything taste better, but it is especially popular on fish, chicken, assorted cooked veggies, and the ever-popular poached egg (with or without ham).

This recipe can easily be adapted for intro by using ghee in place of the butter. I could hardly taste the difference myself. I promise you, boiled veggies and meat taste a lot better with hollandaise!

Ingredients

3 egg yolks

Between 1 and 1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (I like it with 1 1/2. The classic is 1).

1/2 cup cold butter (or ghee), divided

Sea salt, to taste

Method

Mix egg yolks and lemon juice in medium saucepan (cold). Add half of the butter and whisk constantly over low heat.* When butter has melted, add second half, and continue whisking until it is completely melted and sauce is thickened. Remove from heat and add salt to taste. Serve immediately.

Any remaining sauce may be refrigerated and "refreshed" by whisking in a very small amount of hot water before serving. You can also use this technique, if your sauce is too thick. If your eggs have curdled, you can strain the sauce through a fine sieve, and you should be good to go.

*You have to be a little patient here, as the slow melting of the butter allows the sauce to become creamy without curdling. I kind of wedge my whisk into the block of butter and rub it around on the bottom of the pan to melt it.

Light and Fluffy Intro Diet Pancakes with Lemon Honey Syrup

When it came time to try the pancakes for the intro diet- the ones made with nut butter, squash, and eggs- I was not inspired. I couldn't find suggested proportions of each ingredient, and the first batch I made came out dense and very flat and not terribly appetizing. I played around with this recipe until I came up with this version, which are light and fluffy, look like regular pancakes, and taste pretty good.


Ingredients:
1 C pureed, cooked squash
1 C nut butter
5 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 T cinnamon
dash of cloves, nutmeg, and any other "pumpkin pie" type spice

Method:
Separate the eggs, and beat the whites until fluffy (soft peaks are fine). In a large bowl, mix together the 5 egg yolks, the squash, the nut butter, and the salt and spices. Blend thoroughly. Fold the egg whites into this mixture gently, so that the resulting batter is airy and light.

Cook on a well-greased griddle on a somewhat low heat, as they do burn easily. Flip them gently as they do not stay together as well as regular pancakes.

NOTE- Pancake batter provides a great opportunity to "hide" healthy ingredients. This morning, I blended in 2 T of beef marrow and about 1/4 of pureed mushroom soup, and the pancakes looked and tasted fine.

For the syrup, you will need:
1/4 C honey
juice of half a lemon
vanilla (optional)

Combine the first two ingredients in a saucepan and heat over medium heat. They will heat up and become much thinner very quickly. Turn off heat, and add vanilla, if using. At this point you can further thin the syrup by adding in some filtered water.

This would also be good with a different fruit juice, such as pomegranate or cherry. The Knudsen's Just Juice line is supposed to be acceptable for GAPS, and this could offer some welcome variation.

Ginger-Watercress Soup

This is a nice light starter or side soup. If using on intro, you might like to boil the veggies for a few extra minutes and leave out the honey. This makes a striking visual presentation for company.

Ingredients

1 bunch fresh watercress

4 cups chicken broth

1 inch piece fresh ginger

1 scallion, finely chopped

1/2 tsp. honey (if desired)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Method

Wash, trim and chop watercress into one inch lengths. Bring chicken broth to a boil. Add watercress and remaining ingredients to pot and simmer for a minute or two until watercress is bright green. Serve immediately.

Honey lemon curd

This is so good! You can make this for a special occasion during intro, if you've already introduced egg yolk, with the modifications noted.

In the photo, I've put the lemon curd into a simple hazelnut/butter tart crust. You do not need a crust though. It is great as a pudding! I also want to try it with the honey frosting from Breaking the Vicious Cycle.

Ingredients

4 Tbs. butter (or ghee) at room temp.
1/3 cup honey
5 egg yolks
1 whole egg (switch to yolk only for intro)
2/3 cup lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon zest (leave out for intro)

Method

Cream the butter and honey together. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time. Mix in whole egg. Mix in lemon juice. Mix in zest.

Pour mixture into a heavy-bottomed non-reactive sauce pan. Cook over low heat*, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of the spoon. Taste now. You can add a bit more honey if it's too tart, but the flavors will mellow as it cools. If you add more honey, cook until mixture coats the back of your spoon again.

Pour into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap touching the curd (so you don't get a yucky skin). Put in the fridge for several hours. It will keep for several days, but I guarantee it won't last!


*Some people are finding that they need to raise their heat slightly to get their curd to thicken. Feel free to do so, but I would recommend you do it incrementally and be patient. If you heat it too quickly on too high a heat, it will curdle. If that happens, you may strain the whole product through a sieve or cheesecloth to remove the scrambled egg bits.

Zucchini Avocado soup

This is really delicious and light tasting, yet filling. Leave out the avocado, if you haven't reached that stage on intro yet.

Ingredients

1 Tbs. ghee
1 large onion, chopped
2 zucchini, diced
2 carrots, diced
4 cups chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 avocado, diced
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Method

Sautee the onion and carrot in the ghee over medium heat until softened. Add zucchini and stir to coat with ghee. Add broth, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer until zucchini is cooked through. Remove from heat.

Just before serving, add garlic, avocado and lemon juice.

Do not reheat with avocado in the soup. It must be added just before eating.