Category: GAPS
Coconut almond bread
Deb
A few of you that came to my GAPS workshop last week wanted the recipe for the pumpkin bread, and I discovered I hadn’t put it on the blog yet. So here it is! The basic almond bread recipe in “Gut and Psychology Syndrome” contains just ground almonds, eggs and fat of some kind (eg butter, ghee, duck fat or coconut oil). In “Breaking The Vicious Cycle” Lois Lang’s Luscious Bread also contains dry curd cottage cheese, […]
Making ghee
Deb
After you’ve been off dairy products for a while, and want to introduce them again, you need to start with homemade ghee. Ghee is butter that has the milk solids and water removed, leaving pure butter oil or clarified butter. It is often used in Indian cooking as it is a highly stable cooking oil, with excellent flavour, that aids the digestion. It is often used in gourmet cooking as well. It is considered a lactose […]
Winter Warmer Soup
Deb
This is a quick and easy way to make your daily stock more interesting, when you can’t be bothered making a vegetable soup. Have a mug of this warming soup at first signs of a flu or cold, or when you’re feeling the winter weather. If you get sick, sip throughout the day. 1 litre of chicken, duck or turkey stock 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated or finely chopped 4-8 Tablespoons creamed coconut juice of 1 […]
Chocolate & fudge recipes
Deb
Holidays like Easter or Valentines Day can be a challenge for those on restricted diets. Here are some ideas for chocolate replacements. And the links at the bottom have some non food ideas. Most people on gluten or starch free diets will be able to tolerate cocoa butter, as its fully fat. You need to melt it before using in these recipes. The easiest way is to chop it up finely, then put it in a bowl […]
Easter Spicy Buns
Deb
These gluten-free, starch-free buns don’t have the texture of hot cross buns, but they’re still a tasty treat for Easter. They can also be made casein-free. 1 cup ground almonds ½ cup coconut flour ½ tsp baking soda 1 heaped tsp mixed spice ½ cup sultanas, raisins or currants 2-3 tsp grated orange rind 3 eggs 75gm melted butter or coconut oil 2-3 Tbs honey ½ tsp sea salt ½ cup yoghurt OR mashed, cooked pumpkin (prepared […]
Cheese muffins (no starch)
Deb
We’re going away on holiday for a few days, and my mind has been mulling over what food to take with us – especially for the 9 hour drive north. We usually travel with a chilly bin full of chilled food, another full of frozens (depending on how long we’re away for), and a cooler bag with food for the trip. For snacks, we’ll probably have nuts, fruit (fresh blueberries would travel well), maybe a […]
How to whip raw cream
Deb
Whipping pasteurised cream is easy, but raw cream doesn’t work the same way. It doesn’t thicken for ages, then it turns straight to butter. (If you want to make butter, see how here.) Nobody is exactly sure why this happens. I’ve heard theories like: “pasteurised cream has carrageen in it” – but in NZ it doesn’t, or “your cream isn’t fatty enough” – but this doesn’t explain it either. Traditional ways of thickening cream are culturing, […]
Breakfast ideas
Deb
Many people who are new to GAPS or SCD are at a loss for breakfast, if they can’t have cereal or toast. So here are some other thoughts on what to have for breakfast (depending on what stage you’re at): Start with a cup of stock or soup made from stock Eggs Grain free sausages (eg in NZ – some flavours by Stoneycreek Farm, Harmony, Acme, Hungarian Delicatessan) Homemamde meat patties Cooked mushrooms, tomatoes or spinach Homemade […]
Snacks
Deb
I also get asked about snacks a lot, so here’s some ideas to get you started Stock or soup Fermented drinks such as kombucha or coconut water kefir Milk kefir smoothie “Crispy” nuts A little fried fruit with some nuts. NEW: Correction – fruit fried in some ghee or coconut oil would actually be fine , but I MEANT dried fruit. Fresh fruit with nut butter Cashew bread with ghee Coconut flour muffins Almond flour baking Homemade snack bars […]
Chocolate Orange Drizzle Cake
Deb
When I was surfing about looking for sponge-like recipes for my trifle idea (still not tested, by the way) I came across this recipe for a Coconut Flour Orange Cake that reminded me of a cake Mum used to make. It was a Madeira cake that had orange juice drizzled over the top after baking, making it very moist. The topping was Cadbury dairy milk chocolate melted with a little butter. So I got nostalgic all over again, and had to give it a go. […]
Children’s Party
Deb
While we’re talking about parties, I’m reminded of all the great ideas that Hollie from Auckland posted about a few months back. She kindly gave me permission to repost it here: I know the thought of upcoming parties is tough with our kids limited diets… so I thought you might be interested in some of the party food I created for our sons birthday party. All the food was GAPS (stage 6) friendly. The food was a hit […]
Christmas menu
Deb
When we go to my brothers house on Christmas Day, there will be plenty of meat and veges, and my own starch free Christmas cake, so there’ll be lots we can eat. There’ll also be lots we can’t have, and when my brother ran through the Xmas menu for me, I got to thinking about a Xmas menu that was 100% gluten free and starch free. Since we’re in the Southern Hemisphere, and Christmas Day might […]
Jelly Trifle
Deb
I always think of my grandmother at Christmas, usually when I’m wrapping my presents. When I was at high school, every year I would go down to her house a couple of days before Xmas and sit at her kitchen table doing her wrapping for her. She would go round the house collecting up all the gifts she’d been putting away all year and tell me who each one was for. Things were more leisurely then, and […]
Crackers
Deb
I’ve been investigating a few GAPS friendly cracker recipes based on nuts. This recipe from Elana’s pantry is particularly good, though I used coconut oil instead of grapeseed. It seems you can make them using eggs, egg whites or even egg free. Different combinations of nuts and seeds also work. So here’s a “mix and match” type recipe you can adjust to your own specific needs. This amount will make two trayfuls of crackers. 4 […]
GAPS friendly Boiled Christmas Cake
Deb
Over the years I’ve made various different Xmas cakes recipes, but it all got a lot easier a couple of years ago. I watched Nigella’s Christmas and was inspired to find her recipe for a boiled Xmas cake which looked so easy. The first year, I made a few slight tweaks: Gluten free – ground almonds, rice flour, arrowroot PLUS pectin, xantham or guar gum Unrefined sugar (eg rapadura, shakkar or muscavado) instead of brown […]
GAPS Baked Beans
Deb
This recipe is an alternative to the Baked Beans recipe in the GAPs book. They can used as a breakfast dish with eggs or sausages, a side dish, or added to other casseroles. The Tomato version is aimed to be similar to NZ baked beans in a can. Basic recipe 500g haricot / navy / white beans 2 Tbs whey, lemon juice or cider vinegar Stock or water (but preferably stock) Sea salt Soak the […]
Cashew Bread
Deb
I first came across Cashew Bread in Eat Well Feel Well, a book of SCD recipes by Kendall Conrad. While it was delicious, it wasn’t quite what we were looking for at the time. It was a couple of years before I came back to the idea, when I wanted to develop a GAPS friendly bread for those who were having problems with almond flour. This version has a few changes from the original: 1. […]
Fermented cabbage juice
Deb
If you are doing the GAPS Intro stage where you use sauerkraut juice only, this recipe is a lot easier than making the full sauerkraut recipe. It’s also easier to sip this if you don’t like eating sauerkraut. I found this recipe on a NZ website Jacqueline Organics. Here is her recipe with a couple of my own comments below: Fill a blender with chopped green cabbage and distilled water, which is available at the […]
Milk kefir
Deb
Milk kefir can be made from kefir grains, or from a powdered starter. Here’s how to make it from kefir grains. When you receive your grains: If your grains have been stored in the fridge or freezer for a while or someone has posted them to you, they’ll need some preparation before they make a good batch. Put the grains into a jar with about ¼ of the normal amount of milk (eg. if you […]
Kombucha
Deb
The kombucha starter culture or scoby (a symbiotic colony of yeast & bacteria, sometimes known as a “mushroom”) acts on sugar & tea to produce a wide variety of beneficial acids, such as acetic & lactic acid. It is a therapeutic drink, and is considered a liver tonic, but is also very refreshing as a summer drink. 1 large, uncoloured pyrex bowl 2.7 litres filtered water (3 quarts) 1 cup sugar (white sugar feeds the […]
Sauerkraut
Deb
Another important food, especially for the GAPS protocol, is sauerkraut or other fermented veges. There are a variety of different ways of making sauerkraut, but these are the basic steps: Select your veges, wash and, if necessary, peel them Chop them – with a knife, grater or in a food processor Add sea salt and give them a good squeeze with your hands, or pound with a heavy object, such as a bottle filled with […]
Bone broths & GAPS Intro soup
Deb
Bone broths (or stocks) are a basic for a Weston Price foundation style diet, and for the GAPS protocol. They are a good source of minerals and amino acids, and aid digestion. For more information on the benefits of broth, see this article on the WAPF website. It also has full recipes for classic beef, chicken and fish stocks, towards the bottom of the page. Have a read of this article and familiarise yourself with […]
Where To Shop in NZ
Deb
When you’re eating differently to the people around you, it can be hard to find the foods you need. So we have found sources of some of those hard to find foods. Some weren’t available in NZ, so we’re selling them ourselves through our online shop Nature Foods: Books: Nourishing Traditions – Sally Fallon Cooking with Coconut Flour – Bruce Fife Gut & Psychology Syndrome – Natasha Campbell-McBride Put Your Heart In Your Mouth – […]
Kitchen Equipment
Deb
Whether you’re eating real food WAPF style or following a special diet, you’ll find you’re in the kitchen a fair amount of time. So it helps to have the right equipment. These are the things I use most. Crock pot or slow cooker – for stocks, soups, stews. I actually have 2 – one round and one oval and sometimes they are both going at once. Large stockpot – for stocks and stews. You will […]
Quick & Easy Snow Freeze
Deb
If you prefer a soft serve style ice cream, a fruit flavoured one can be made very quickly, as long as you’ve planned ahead. During the summer, keep a supply of frozen fruit slices or chunks in the freezer, and make a delicious ice cream in your food processor or high power blender at any time. This amount serves 3. It needs to be eaten immediately, so if you want a smaller amount, make a […]