Almond Flour Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I have thought about trying to make a GAPS chocolate chip since the very early days, but since chocolate wasn't strictly legal back then, and since I hate to waste a lot of food on experimenting, I never did get around to it. Thankfully, the folks over at Our Nourishing Roots did the job instead. I tried their recipe (linked below), but I used unsweetened chocolate in lieu of the cocoa butter/cocoa mixture. I'm not sure if that is why my chocolate came out sort of chewy, like a stiff caramel, or whether it's because I kept adding honey until the chocolate tasted bittersweet to me. Either way, it turned into a delicious and functional chocolaty substance. I left it to cool overnight at (Pacific Northwest, winter, unheated) room temperature. The next day, I cut it into strips and kept it refrigerated. I really needed to work quickly with this stuff to prevent its melting, but it held together beautifully in the cookies.

Do try the coriander. It is a secret little trick that I used to use with my old white flour recipe.

Did I mention they're delicious? They are only very lightly sweet, but my recently off-the-wagon kids gobbled them up as happily as they had done with premium conventional ice cream merely days before.

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup honey
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
3 cups almond flour
1 tsp. ground coriander (optional)
1/4 tsp. baking soda (optional)
2/3 cup GAPS chocolate chunks, cut into small pieces

Method

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut up butter and place it in an oven-proof bowl, and melt butter in oven while it heats. When butter is melted, remove bowl and add honey. Carefully mix in honey. At this point your bowl will probably be cool enough to touch. Blend in egg and vanilla. Add in salt and mix. Add in almond flour and optional coriander and baking soda. Stir well. Dough will be slightly stiff. Add in chocolate chunks and stir through. Place heaping tablespoons of batter onto a cookie sheet and press to flatten* (and round if necessary). Bake for about 10-15 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Using a very thin offset spatula, carefully transfer cookies to a cooling rack. Once they are cool enough to touch, eat them and enjoy. They hold up well, at this point. When they are thoroughly cooled, I recommend storing, tightly wrapped, in the refrigerator.

*This dough does not spread, so you can place them close together, but you need to make each round as flat as you want the finished cookies to be, keeping in mind that if they're too thick, they won't cook through. I go for about 1/2 an inch high.

Kale Chips

Do you think your kids won't eat vegetables? Try these. I am generally against recipes that require me to stand around doing repetitive work, especially when the fruits of my labor are then gobbled up in less than 10 minutes. But I have to make an exception for a recipe that gets my kids chanting, "Kale! Kale! Kale! We want kaaaaaale!" I think we all know that kale is a "super food" and these delicious chips have the added benefit of being crispier than potato chips!

Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 bunches kale (the flatter varieties are easier to work with, but any type will do)

1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil* (or other oil/fat, if desired)

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

Heat your oven to 250 degrees F. Wash kale and remove tough central rib (you can skip this step, if your kids will eat up to the rib, and you don't mind having chewed on stems around). Pat kale dry. Place in a bowl and coat with olive oil (I use my hands to rub the oil on all surfaces). Place kale in one layer on two baking sheets. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper (you can leave out the pepper. I sometimes do). Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until leaves are very crispy (they will easily break apart). Allow to cool until they are easy to handle, then watch the feeding frenzy begin.

*NB, Dr. Campbell-McBride advises against heating olive oil. Personally I do not have a problem cooking with extra virgin olive oil at low temperatures (below its smoke point). I have not read any scientific studies that corroborate the claim that heating olive oil causes it to take on unhealthful properties. I would be happy to peruse any such studies that my readers might know about. (I'm not interested in links to claims, only to actual studies or reports of actual studies, where the journal of publication is cited). If you wish not to use olive oil, any fat would work, but the flavor would be different (though almost surely very tasty). Obviously hard fats would need to be melted first.

Peach Pomegranate Cranberry Sauce

This is a simple yet unusual twist on cranberry sauce that has become our favorite.  If you like cranberry sauce, you can have a lot of fun trying different combinations of fruit, juices, and vegetables.

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups cranberries (one 4 oz bag)
2 cups of peaches, cut into chunks (frozen work fine)
1/4 cup pure pomegranate juice
1/4 cup honey (or to taste)

METHOD:

Combine all ingredients in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to medium heat.

Continue to heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture has simmered long enough for the cranberries to pop, about 20-30 minutes.  The mixture should thicken as it simmers- if it gets too thick, or begins to scorch, you can add more pomegranate juice. 

Lemon Cardamom Cashews

Not to toot my own horn, but these are unbelievably good!  I can't have many cashews because of the oxalate levels but these are worth suffering for :)

INGREDIENTS:

2 T butter or ghee
1/3 c honey
zest of 1 lemon
1 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
2 cups of cashews (preferably soaked and dehydrated)

METHOD:

Dry toast the cashews in an iron skillet or other heavy-bottomed pan on medium heat until they are slightyl browned and crunchy.

Add the butter, allow it to melt, then add the other ingredients.  Stir them to combine and cook until the liquid has bubbled for about 5 minutes.

Pour the mixture onto a cookie sheet lined with greased parchment paper and allow to cool.

Store in an airtight container preferably in the refrigerator.

Spanish Rice

This is a basic and very tasty variation of cauliflower rice.  We had this tonight with lettuce leaf tacos and it was wonderful!

INGREDIENTS:

1 cauliflower, grated
1 onion, finely chopped
2 T lard or other cooking fat
1 green bell pepper or 2 Anaheim peppers
1 1/2 tsp salt
1-2 tsp chili powder (optional)
2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
2 c pureed canned tomatoes
green olives for garnish, optional

METHOD:

Melt the cooking fat in a large skillet and saute the onions for several minutes until they begin to soften.  Add the peppers, the garlic, and the spices.  Stir thoroughly and allow to cook until softened.

Add the canned tomato (I used tomatoes frozen from my garden last year).  Because the cauliflower doesn't absorb liquid the way rice does, I would recommend using 2 cups of tomatoes but not using much of the liquid.  Reserve the liquid for use if the mixture is too dry.  You can use broth instead for that purpose if you prefer.

Add the cauliflower and continue to cook on medium-high to high heat, stirring frequently.  Cook until the cauliflower has reached desired softness, about 5-10 minutes.  If the cauliflower isn't softening well, you can add some liquid and cover it for a few minutes.

Put in a bowl and garnish with green olives if desired.

Blueberry Coconut French Toast

I have been making cake/bread out of coconut flour recently in order to make it low oxalate (the nut butter bread is high oxalate).  I added some blueberries to the batter to "liven it up", which does raise the oxalate content a bit, but not too much.  This was so delicious!  This would make a wonderful brunch for non-GAPS guests.

To make the batter, follow the recipe for Teri's Almond Cupcakes.  Substitute vanilla for the almond extract and add 1 or 2 handfuls of blueberries, depending on preference.  Bake in an 8 x 8 inch Pyrex dish (or in two loaf pans filled only halfway up).  The cooking time will be at least 10 minutes longer. 

To make the french toast, slice the bread into 3/4 inch thick slices.  If you used a square Pyrex dish, cut it into two 4 x 8 halves first, then cut each half into slices so the slices aren't too long to work with.  Soak in a mixture of 2 eggs with a little coconut milk, kefir, or yogurt, and vanilla extract.  Fry the slices in butter on both sides until golden brown.  Serve warm with jam, honey, or fresh fruit on top.

Pork N' Beans

This would go very well with a side of greens cooked with salt pork, or would be good with greens added in before baking.

INGREDIENTS:

 2-4 T cooking fat
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic
1-2 tsp salt
1-2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ginger powder or grated fresh ginger
1 cup tomato sauce or puree
1/4 cup honey
2 cups GAPS-legal beans, cooked and drained
2 cups cooked pork, shredded or chopped into pieces
1/2- 1 cup broth

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 

In a large skillet, melt the cooking fat and add the onions.  Cook for about 5 minutes or until the onions begin to soften.  Then add the garlic and spices and stir.

Add the tomato puree or sauce and the honey.  Stir thoroughly and cook for several minutes.

Add the beans and pork and stir to coat, then add enough broth to reach desired consistency.  Pour the mixture into a greased casserole dish
(I used an oval dish that measured 9" x 13").

Bake for about 30 minutes.

NOTE-

You can vary the ratio of beans to pork as long as you keep the total at around 4 cups.  If you use only beans, it would essentially be baked beans. 

Cole Slaw

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 yellow onion
3 carrots
1 large green cabbage

for the dressing:
1/4 c plus 2 T olive oil
1/4 c mayonnaise
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 T lemon juice
honey to taste

METHOD:

Grate or puree the onion in a food processor.  Grate the carrots.  Put the thin slicing blade on the food processor and slice the cabbage.  Place the vegetables in a large bowl.

To make the dressing, whisk together the ingredients and pour over the vegetables.  Stir to coat thoroughly, then taste and adjust the seasonings.

Layered Popsicles

I'm always looking for a way to make food that is fun and interesting for my kids.  Sometimes it's about making things in fun shapes, other times it's about presentation, and other times it has to do with color.  Popsicles are fun, but they had lost their novelty for us, so I came up with this version.

You can make as many layers as you want in as many colors as you want.  Layers can be either fruit/veggie juice, like popsicles, or can be ice cream.  You can use coconut ice cream, peach ice cream (which can be made with other fruit such as pear or mango), or kefir cream ice cream. 

I found that layers work best with both a strong flavor as well as an ingredient to give it a bright color.  Here are some ideas for layers:

orange/carrot
lime/kale or other leafy green, or celery
raspberry or strawberry/beet
lemon/golden beet

If you want to sweeten the layers, heat the juice just enough to dissolve some honey in it (to taste).  If you put a layer of vanilla ice cream between two orange layers, it's like a creamsicle.

To make the popsicles, pour a layer of juice into the bottom of each mold and let it freeze.  Once the bottom layer is frozen (or nearly frozen), then pour another layer of juice or spoon a layer of ice cream in.  Continue this process until you have created all of your layers.  Inserting the stick or handle can be a bit tricky since you can't stick it into an already frozen layer.  The molds that I have have a handle with a small stick, so it just got frozen into the last layer.  If you do it this way, you have to be very careful when removing the popsicles from the molds or they can come apart at the layers.  It would work better to put long sticks in that go through each layer, and have some way of holding them up, such as covering the molds with plastic wrap or foil that will hold the sticks in place.

Tomato Melts

This was a quick and oh-so-delicious impromptu lunch the other day and it would lend itself to so many variations!  The first batch (pictured here) were simply slices of tomato with provolone cheese melted on top in the broiler to a nice brown.  We later experimented with "pizza toppings" such as green olives and mushrooms, but this could also be faux-mexican (with taco meat and cilantro) or an open -faced version of many sandwiches, such as ham and swiss or a tuna melt.  There are just so many possibilities!

Deviled Eggs

These are yummy, and just in time for Easter :)

Ingredients

4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
2 Tbs. homemade mayonnaise
1 tsp. homemade curry powder*
Sea salt to taste
Celery seeds or paprika for garnish

Method

Remove yolks from whites and place in a bowl. Add mayonnaise, curry powder, and salt. Mash together with a fork. Spoon (or pipe with a pastry bag) yolk mixture back into whites. Sprinkle with celery seeds or paprika.

*I used Alton Brown's curry recipe. It was serviceable, but not great, in my opinion--too much cardamom and not enough complexity. I'll keep experimenting with this.

Amoreena's Peanut Butter Fudge

This simple and absolutely delicious recipe was given to me by my friend Amoreena, and has been a favorite snack for the past week.  It is also a great way to eat coconut oil for those who don't enjoy eating it straight.

INGREDIENTS:

1 c coconut oil
1/2 c peanut butter
honey to taste
dash of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

METHOD:

Melt the oil in a saucepan on very low heat. 

Pour the oil and remaining ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Pour this mixture into an 8 x 8 pyrex dish (or similar glass dish), and place in the freezer.

This fudge is best stored in the refrigerator or freezer. 

Green Beans with Garlic

This is a delicious, simple side dish served warm as well as a flavorful and very portable salad for lunches and picnics.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb green beans
2 T butter or ghee
2 T apple cider vinegar
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
salt to taste
fresh dill (optional)

METHOD:

Rinse and trim the green beans.  Cut them into 2 inch pieces.

Steam them until they reach desired softness.  The time will vary, so keep a close eye on them after about 5 minutes and taste one to check the level of doneness.

Remove the beans to a bowl.  Add the butter, and stir to let it melt and coat the beans.  Then add the crushed garlic, vinegar, and salt, and fresh dill if using.

You can serve this right away or refrigerate for later use.

Dairy-Free "Cheez-It" Crackers

These crackers are about the closest I've come yet to a "junk food" flavor, at least a savory one.  They taste a lot like a Cheez-It or goldfish cracker.  These are based on a recipe I found in an episode of Raw World TV, which you can view here on YouTube.  They present the recipe as a cheese sauce as well as a cracker recipe, however when I made it it didn't have the "cheese-like" texture that theris did.  Maybe you need a Vitamix to make it into a sauce.  It might be worth playing with this for those who are really wanting a macaroni and cheese type sauce.

To make it as crackers, follow the same basic recipe, which is to put one red bell pepper, one cup of macadamia nuts, some salt and cayenne pepper in the blender or food processor and blend until smooth.  Then spread it thin on a dehydrator sheet and dehydrate until it reaches the desired level of dryness.  At 105 degrees this took me well over 24 hours, so I would use a higher heat.  If you want to make crackers in cute shapes I would pull it out partway through, when it is still pliable, and cut it with cookie cutters, then put it back to continue drying. 

Coconut Macaroons

This is a simple and tasty way to use up extra egg whites.  These are also essentially the same as "normal" macaroons so make a nice snack for non-GAPS visitors.

INGREDIENTS:

6 egg whites
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 c honey (you can use much less if preferred)
1 1/2 T vanilla extract OR 1 T vanilla extract and 1 tsp almond extract
3 c shredded coconut

METHOD:

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees.

Beat egg whites until soft peaks form.  Add the salt, honey, and extract slowly as you continue to beat until stiff.  Fold in the coconut or add while the mixer is running (if using a mixer).

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 30-40 minutes, until lightly browned but not scorched.

Let cool slightly before removing from parchment.  Once cool, store in an airtight container.

The Creamiest Ice Cream Ever!

This ice cream is made from kefired heavy cream and is so incredibly luscious and creamy.  The richness out-does Hgen-Daaz but with the tangy flavor of frozen yogurt.  This has become one of our favorite ways to get good fats and probiotics into diet.

To make the ice cream, kefir pure heavy whipping cream for at least 24 hours and strain out the grains (I would use between 2 and 4 pints).  Mix honey and vanilla into the kefired cream to taste, several egg yolks if you want (I add at least 3), and pureed fruit if you want.  Then freeze in an ice cream maker.  This also makes creamy popsicles with the "feel" of a fudge-sicle. 

Golden Beet Noodles

These noodles are a bit more like pasta in their texture than spaghetti squash, and offer another option if you can't find spaghetti squash or are wanting more variety in your meals.  They are also much faster to make (as long as you have a food processor).  To make them, simply grate golden beets.  I found that 3 beets makes a nice amount of "pasta".  You can either eat them raw, in which case they have a harder, crunchier texture, or you can boil them for 2 minutes.  This gives them a texture much more like al dente pasta and reduces the bitter taste that raw beets have.  Serve them with whatever sauce you like or just with butter and salt.

Apricot Rosemary Turkey Breast

This is a simple and delicious way to roast a turkey breast, as well as a way to include some broth.  The sauce that results from this dish is light and tasty and my otherwise broth-averse 8-year-old loved it.  It goes well with cranberry sauce and celery chestnut stuffing.

INGREDIENTS:

1 4 lb turkey breast (I prefer bone-in)
1 c meat stock
1/2 c apricot jam
        OR 1/2 c pureed fresh apricots, or 8 dried apricots
1/4 c honey 
1 T dried rosemary (or fresh if you have it)

METHOD:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Rinse the turkey breast, pat it dry, and place it skin side up in a roasting pan.  Place in the oven and set a timer for one hour and fifteen minutes.

Combine the stock, apricot jam (or pureed apricots), honey and rosemary in a saucepan and bring it to a boil.  Simmer for about 10-15 minutes to allow it to thicken and reduce.  Set aside.  NOTE- if you are using dried apricots, pour boiling water over them and let them stand until soft.  Drain them and add them to the stock mixture as you would the jam, but puree the mixture BEFORE adding the rosemary. 

When the timer goes off, pour the apricot mixture over the turkey breast and return it to the oven for another 15-30 minutes, or until a meat thermometer reads 170 degrees.

Jam

This is a very simple way to make GAPS-legal jam.  It is a bit runnier than "normal" jam, but still works well.  You can adjust the level of sweetness to suit your preference.  I made my jam not very sweet at all, figuring that I could always mix honey in later for flavor.  Also, if you make it less sweet, then you can use it in savory sauces and dishes (such as apricot-rosemary turkey breast).

I used apricots, but pretty much any fruit that you would normally make jam from would work.  I simply cut up the fruit into large pieces- probably into quarters or eights- and then put it in a large stock pot.  I covered the fruit with cold filtered water and brought it to a boil, then turned it down to a simmer.  I think I added the honey at this point- I'm not sure it matter exactly when you add it. 

Simmer the fruit for several hours until it thickens and cooks down to a consistency you like (keeping in mind that it is thicker when cool).  Keep a close eye on it while it cooks so it doesn't scorch, and add more water as needed.  Once it has thickened, remove a little and let it cool enough to taste, and add more honey if desired.


Once the jam is done you can either can it or freeze it in small containers or ziploc bags.  I suggest making large batches in the summer when the fruit is in season and less expensive, but many of us on GAPS don't have as much control over when we are ready for certain foods.  You can easily make this in smaller batches during the winter as well.  Even though it may be more expensive, it can still be cost effective compared with purchasing SCD-legal jam online.

This jam is delicious on toast, in sandwiches, on pancakes or french toast, in crepes, or as a filling in desserts.

Baked Seed Crackers and Pizza Crust

I originally came up with this recipe as a pizza crust (which, by the way, I think is the best one so far), but quickly realized that it would also work well as crackers.  As a pizza crust, it's a little on the crispy side (which I like), and as crackers they are a little on the soft side.  If you like your crackers crispier, then simply leave them in the oven longer. 

INGREDIENTS:

1 c ground pumpkin seeds
1 c ground sunflower seeds
1 tsp salt
1 large or 2 small eggs
1-2 tsp olive oil
optional- crushed garlic, chopped parsley, dried Italian herbs, or any other ingredient for flavor

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Ideally the seeds should be soaked in water overnight, then dried in the oven or dehydrator on a low setting.  Once dry, they can be stored in jars so they are ready when you want to cook.

Grind the seeds before measuring out 1 cup each.  I like to grind mine in a coffee grinder that I use only for seeds, nuts, and spices.  Blend all ingredients with an electric mixer in a medium bowl.  The dough will be very stiff.  Vary the amount of olive oil based on how dry the dough seems- if it is wet enough with one tsp, then omit the second one.  If you are adding herbs, garlic, or anything else for flavor, do it now.  For the batch in the photo, I added 2 cloves of garlic and a handfull of chopped parsley (additional flavors are good for both crackers and pizza crust).

Grease a cookie sheet and sprinkle it with coarsely ground pumpkin seeds.  Pat the dough into a ball shape and place it in the middle of the cookie sheet.  Beginning in the center and moving outwards, squish the dough flat with your hands.  I suppose you could also cover it with waxed paper and roll it out with a rolling pin.  I try to get it to about 1/4 of an inch.  For pizza crust, you may want to make the edges slightly raised, for crackers, make it flat.

 For pizza- bake for 20 minutes (or longer if it looks very wet).  Remove from oven, top with sauce and toppings, then return to oven for as long as it takes for the toppings to get hot and cheese to melt if you are using cheese.

For crackers-bake 25-30 minutes, depending on how crispy you like them.  Cut them into squares with a pizza cutter.  If you left them in a long time to get crispy, you should cut them quickly while they are still a little soft.  Top with hummus, yogurt or kefir cheese, or any other topping you like.  If you made them on the softer side, you could cut them with cookie cutters to make them look fancy.