Italian Shredded Beef

I was mourning the loss of using handy spice packets to make easy-crock pot meals.  So I got my creativity flowing to try to recreate this great comfort food, and I got it!  No additives...no gums...no strange ingredients....Enjoy on your next cozy fall day! Serve over rice (for non SCD'rs)

Italian Shredded Beef

3lb chuck roast (trim off any large pieces of fat)
1 1/2 cup Kitchen Basics Beef Stock
1/8 cup dried onion flakes
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
1 1/2 Tbsp honey
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp dried pizza seasoning (I get mine at a local bulk food store that has lots of spices)

Mix stock with spices and honey.  Arrange roast in the crock-pot and pour over stock mixture.  Cook on low for 8-10 hours.  Shred and enjoy!  It will melt in your mouth. :)

Creamy Chicken and Veggie Soup with Cheddar Biscuits

It's getting chilly which puts me in the mood for soup.  To make this more than the ordinary chicken soup, I made it creamy by adding some quick homemade chunky mashed potatoes. 

Creamy Chicken and Veggie Soup

2 carrots peeled and diced
2 stalks of celery diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 Tbsp butter
32 oz. box Kitchen Basics chicken stock
1 large boneless skinless chicken breast cut into cubes
4 medium sized red potatoes peeled and diced
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp oregano
1/4 cup homemade yogurt


In a sauce pan on medium heat, melt the butter and saute the veggies until soft.  Add chicken stock and spices and chicken.  Let simmer.  Meanwhile cook potatoes in a casserole dish in the microwave until tender.  Add yogurt, salt, pepper, and mash into a smooth but slightly chunky consistency.  Add to the soup.  Enjoy. 


Cheddar Biscuits

1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
4 Tbsp coconut flour
4 Tbsp butter
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
4 Tbsp homemade yogurt

You can do this by hand, but I used my food processor to pulse blend until just mixed together.  Put into muffin cups using a cookie scoop.  Bake at 350 until just golden (about 15 minute). 

Peach Pie

Fall is putting me in the mood for pie, but I wanted a nice crisp crust.  So I used the idea of a graham cracker crust to make a yummy crunchy almond cookie as the base.  Top with your favorite fruit filling that you cook on the stove.  Enjoy...

Peach Pie

Crust:
2 cups almond flour
4 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup your choice of sugar (regular, honey, brown sugar, maple syrup....)
dash of salt

Filling:
5 cups of your favorite fruit (peeled and sliced if necessary)
1/2 cup sugar
and I use a 1/2 tsp fresh nutmeg for my peaches (cinnamon for apples)
1 pack of unflavored gelatin to thicken


For the crust, cut the butter into the flour, sugar, and salt.  Pat into the base of your pan.  Bake at 350 until just starting to golden (about 12-15 minutes). Let cool.

Meanwhile cook your fruit, sugar, and spices on the stove until fruit is softened.  Soften gelatin in warm water then mix into the hot fruit mixture.  Remove from heat, let cool to room temp then pour over crust and serve. 

Homemade Fruit Leather

Here is a tasty treat for grown-ups and kids.  Even without a dehydrator, you can use your oven on it's lowest heat setting to create this great snack.

Homemade Fruit Leather

4 cups of your favorite fruit (I like getting big bags of frozen fruit from Sam's Club)

4 Tbsp honey

Puree fruit and honey.  Have a jelly-roll sized cookie sheet with sides lined with parchment paper.  Pour in fruit mixture and spread slightly.  Cook on your oven's lowest heat setting until it is dry to the touch (5-8 hours...especially if you are doing 2 pans at once). 

Coconut Sugar

So I've tried to do some reading on coconut sugar.  There are not a lot of studies, and it is a very new product on the market.  My findings have found the following:

1. It is not as good for you as honey
2. The creation of coconut palm sugar has cut down the growth of regular coconuts driving up the price and limiting regular coconut products
3. It would be similar to maple syrup since it is a sap (which is not allowed on SCD)
4. It does contain a lot of prebiotic fiber called inulin which feeds good probiotics in the gut

I guess coconut sugar is out of the diet....Sad.....It was tasty....Back to honey. :)

Here is a response I found online:

http://paleohacks.com/questions/18798/i-am-on-the-specific-carbohydrate-diet-is-coconut-nectar-a-bad-sugar#axzz27L5cEfdc

I contacted the company Coconut Secrets directly to know more about the sugar composition of coconut nectar/sugar to see if it contained mostly sucrose (like the SCD illegal maple syrup and white sugar), or mostly free glucose and fructose (like the SCD legal honey).
Here are the answer they provided:The sugar breakdown of the fresh coconut sap directly out of the tree is 0.5% glucose, 1.5% fructose, and 16% sucrose. However, when the excess liquid is evaporated from the fresh sap to make our Coconut Nectar or Crystals, the naturally occurring sugars become more concentrated (more so in the Crystals than the Nectar), which causes the percentage of glucose to increase to approximately 8-10%, the fructose 10-12%, and the sucrose increases to nearly 74%. The good news is that the presence of inulin and FOS (soluble fiber) are the key factors that maintain the glycemic index at an average of 35 GI.
My opinion: Sucrose is the main type of sugar, which is not appropriate for either the SCD or GAPS diet. Coconut sugar/nectar would also be contained a high-fructose, or high-FODMAP sweetener. On top of that, the inulin and FOS (FODMAPs) found in this sugar can cause a lot of GI issues for people with IBS, SIBO or fructose malabsorption.
Bottom line: Stay away from it. In any case, sugar should be avoided with SIBO

Caramel Dip

I'm finding lots of good uses for coconut sugar as it will crystallize unlike honey.  It also has a nice brown sugar flavor if you are using the unrefined organic variety.  After buying some local apples, I quickly got the craving for a good caramel dip.  It's one of the best things I've made in a long time.  Enjoy.

Caramel Dip

2/3 cup coconut sugar
6 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp homemade yogurt
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
a dash of salt
a dash of cinnamon (optional)

Simmer in a sauce pan on medium low heat, just enough to keep it bubbling.  Stir constantly until it just about reaches "soft ball" stage, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Enjoy over ice cream or as a great apple dip. Refrigerate leftover.  It might need to be warmed up a bit before using the next time.

Soft Ball Stage:
I just have a cup of water handy.  Drizzle in a little caramel periodically and see if it will stay together.  That's when it's done.  Also, it will start to separate from the bottom of the pan.

Cinnamon Caramel Apples

 

So I was ordering my bulk almond and coconut flour from amazon.com when I came across coconut sugar.  It is low glycemic and full of vitamins and minerals.  I don't know if it is technically in the SCD diet since I can't find much info on it.  If you know any more about this product, I'd love to hear from you.  I got the unrefined organic kind.  It is YUMMY!  You can use it in this recipe or use honey. 

Cinnamon Caramel Apples

4 Gala apples, peeled and sliced 1/4 in thick
1/3 cup coconut sugar (or honey)
1 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp butter

Let all the ingredients simmer in a pot on the stove until the apples start to soften.  Serve plain or with a scoop of homemade ice cream or a dollop of sweetened vanilla homemade yogurt. 

Here is the link to the coconut sugar I bought on Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/Navitas-Naturals-Coconut-16-Ounce-Pouches/dp/B004KPFUCO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1348260060&sr=8-2&keywords=coconut+sugar+organic