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Hi, Sierra here.  As many of you know I have another blog called Roo's Clues that covers how I recovered my son from autism, including the GAPS diet of course :)  This blog has been nominated for Babble's Top 30 Autism Blogs for Parents in 2012.  The competition is based on votes, so if you would like to support my blog please go to it and vote by clicking on the banner:
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Thanks for your support!

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.

Almond Flour Brownies

Imagine my delight when I discovered that Dr. Campbell-McBride had decreed that cocoa powder was OK for us advanced GAPSters. Then imagine my sadness when I discovered that there were zero decent almond flour brownie recipes out there on the internet. Of course I had to fill the void. Some things are worth a little trial and error! I believe I have finally got it right. These babies could definitely give the old gluten-laden variety a run for their money. I made these today, and there is one left (only because I don't think anyone else realizes it!).

These make a dense, moist, chewy, chocolaty brownie.

So here it is in all it's simple glory :)

Ingredients

2/3 cup honey
1/2 cup melted butter or coconut oil
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup cocoa (I used raw cacao)
1/4 tsp. baking soda (this can be omitted)
1/4 tsp. sea salt (omit if using salted butter)

Method

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix honey, butter, vanilla and eggs until smooth. (If omitting baking soda, beat eggs until foamy before adding in other wet ingredients.) Add almond flour, cocoa, baking soda and optional salt. Stir to blend. Pour into greased 8x8x2 inch pan. Bake for approximately 25 minutes, until center no longer jiggles and top feels cakey.

Cool on a wire rack at least until sides pull away from the edge of the pan before cutting.

Chili

The problem with chili is that it doesn't photograph well. It's not exactly an elegant dish, but it is delicious and a crowd pleaser. Giving up most beans does not mean you have to give up chili! Real chili doesn't include beans anyway (but you can add navy beans, if you don't mind the look). I have been making this chili for a while now, and it is a big hit with my family and with company. It's also a lot of fun to prepare a variety of toppings for people to add as they desire--chopped tomatoes, chopped avocado, chopped jalapenos (or other chilies), chopped onions (or scallions), minced fresh cilantro, olives, guacamole, salsa, sour cream, hot sauce, etc.

This is another recipe I don't measure precisely with, plus I always make a huge batch and freeze any leftovers. Also, I tend to make my "spicy" dishes mild and let people add more hot sauce, if desired.

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons fat (for browning meat)
Salt and pepper
5 pounds beef stew meat, cut into cubes
1 1/2 large onions, finely chopped (my kid doesn't like chunks of onions)
3 Tablespoons dried ground paprika
2 Tablespoons dried ground cumin
1 Tablespoon dried oregano, crushed in palm before adding
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2-4 Tablespoons red wine (optional)
2 Cups beef broth (or water)
3 cloves garlic, crushed

Method

Sprinkle salt and pepper over meat. In a large cooking pot, brown the meat in the fat over medium heat. You will probably need to do this in batches. Add onions, and saute until softened and translucent. Add all meat back to the cooking pot. Add paprika, cumin, oregano, and cayenne to meat and stir over medium heat for about a minute to coat and allow spices to "activate". Add optional red wine, and stir to blend. When simmering, add beef broth to cover meat at least half way. Bring to a simmer then lower heat to keep at a low simmer and cover. Cook for an hour or two until meat is tender. Add garlic at the end and stir through. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.

If you want to do this in a slow cooker, just add all of the ingredients after you've browned the meat and softened the onions. If you put everything in together at once (raw), it will still taste good, but the onion flavor will be stronger, and the meat will have less depth of flavor and color.

Chicken Salad

This is my favorite chicken salad "recipe". I don't measure with this, but I love this flavor combination. These are my best guesses for amounts, but don't be afraid to experiment.

Ingredients

2 Cups cooked shredded or cubed chicken
4 Tbs. homemade mayonnaise
1 tsp. grated lemon zest or 2 tsp. chopped, preserved lemon peel
1-2 tsp. chopped pickled jalapenos (OR whole non-pareil capers)
1 clove garlic freshly crushed
Salt and freshly ground Pepper to taste (you will probably not need salt if you used preserved lemons and/or if you salt your mayo)
Fresh greens, such as arugula, spinach, butter lettuce, romaine lettuce, etc.

Method

Mix all ingredients except greens together until desired consistency is reached. Serve on a bed of greens.

Sorry we've been out of touch

Hi All,

I'd like to apologize for our having been out of touch for awhile. I have not had regular access to a decent computer. Additionally, we've both been pursuing other post-GAPS foods/diets, but in my case, I'm returning to full GAPS for awhile as a transition to a low-carb/paleo-friendly form of GAPS. I will continue to post new recipes here as I come up with them. I would expect that you will see quite a few sweets in the coming weeks, and then a lot more soups/salads/meat dishes.

I may also start to add more of my musings on food, farming, nutrition, etc.

I hope you all are doing well!

Sincerely,

Teri