My new favorite food

I discovered this recipe last week on Grain-free Foodie. I had to make a few modifications because we can not tolerate honey. My sweet cousin offered to make them for me and she loved them. I love when the food we eat tastes good to other people too. Laura made a batch with 3 lbs of sausage and I froze them by the dozen. They are perfect for snacks or meals on the go. I feel so good when the kids eat them because they are getting protein, fat, and veggies all at once.

Sausage Patties
Combine:
1 lb ground pastured pork
1/4 tsp of liquid Stevia or 1 packet of powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp chopped or grated onion
2 tsp freshly grated ginger
1/4 tsp dried sage
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/2-1 cup of pureed cooked veggies (we used green beans)
2 frozen fat pureed from previously cooked chicken (optional)

Form the meat into patties and fry in fat (lard, tallow or ghee) or coconut oil. I find that smaller patties work better. This is a great way to "hide" healthy things, such as marrow or pureed or chopped soft tissue.

Caring for Us

Many people have offered to help us in some way and I am so thankful. They feel at a loss, as do I, as to what to do. I am attempting to provide a way to make that easier. I am going to make a list of things that would be helpful. It will take me a while to gather all the links to the recipes so this post will be a work in progress.

If you would like to cook for us or have us over for dinner:
All the recipes on the blog are safe to make. If you are unsure of an ingredient you can check the page: what we can eat. The following list are recipes and items we use the most.

Freezable Snacks and Staples
Sandwich Buns (we need these the most)
Sausage Patties (we need these the second most)
Meatballs
Pancakes
Veggie Muffins
Egg Muffins
Egg Pizza
Chicken Nuggets
Chicken Stock
Beef Stock
Banana Pancakes
Yoda Bars

Meals
Shepherd's Pie
Beef Stew
Chicken/Turkey Soup (like chicken noodle soup without the noodles)
Cilantro Chicken Salad
Stuffed Cabbage Soup
Turkey Hash
Roast with veggies
Roast chicken with veggies
Salmon, Tilapia or any fish grilled, baked, broiled, etc. with veggies
Pork Chops
Ribs
Hamburgers with avocado buns or with lettuce wraps
Spaghetti Squash with tomato sauce or with olive oil and basil
Shrimp with avocados
Stir-Fry (without rice)
Broccoli Cauliflower Salad
Pea Soup
Tuna Salad
Roasted Red Pepper Soup in acorn squash bowls

If you would like to run an errand:
It is very difficult to go in any store with three little children, especially when you can't buy them food to occupy them. If you are going to run an errand for yourself, give me a call and see if there is something I might need there too. The places I most often need stuff from are: Target, Trader Joes, Whole Foods, and any grocery store.

If you would like to come spend time with me and my kids:
I could always use company or a helping hand to play with the kids, fold laundry or do some other household chores that are more than neglected.

If you would like to pray for us:
I have prayer requests listed here

Prayer for us

Our sweet church has been so wonderful at caring for me and my family during this season. I was asked today to write down prayer requests. I thought I would share them here in case someone else is led to pray for us too.

1. Healing: That God would heal our tummies, provide our body with the knowing of how to digest food properly
2. Wisdom: That God would provide Brian and me with wisdom in regard to which avenue to seek for healing, wisdom and discernment to sift through all the varied opinions and options regarding how to heal
3. Relief: That God would provide and lead me and my doctor to something that will relieve my painful eczema and intense itching
4. Strength: That God would give me the self-control and strength to avoid food not on the protocol and endurance to keep up with the organization and amount of cooking...and amount of kiddie poop clean-up.
5. Sanctification: That God would draw me closer to Him as I learn to rely on Him and not on myself.

Roast with Rice and Gravy

I really don't have time to be posting right now but I'm too excited not too. Tonight's dinner got rave reviews from everyone...including my husband. My husband is very sweet and supportive but a lot of our "GAPS" meals are not his favorite. He smiles and says thank you on most nights because he knows I might cry if he doesn't. :)

But, tonight's dinner got more than a few "this is really good" comments. Rice and gravy is one of his favorite dishes so I tried to replicate that for him tonight. "More rice," was heard lots around the table.

We ate it with a chuck roast I cooked in the slow cooker. I purchased the meat from Sappington Farmers Market which has become one of my favorite places to shop. The prices on produce are very low and they have a selection of pastured meat and chicken from local farmers. (Pastured means the animals are grass fed and cared for humanely. Grass fed animals produce meat that is much better for you and easier to digest).

The prices on meat are more than if I order from Greenwood Farms and others that are at the Schlafly and Tower Grove Farmers Markets but in the winter I don't have access to those as easily. Sappington FM also usually has some cuts of meat that are highly reduced in price for quick sale.

Here is our dinner and how I turned it into soup for tomorrow:

Crock-Pot Chuck Roast
Put roast (grass fed organic chuck roast) in crock pot in the morning (I had our in by 9am and we ate at 5)
Pour 1-2 cups of home made beef stock in
Roughly chop one onion and spread around
Around lunch time drop in a package of organic baby carrots
Sprinkle salt and seasonings to taste

Cauliflower Rice
Grate cauliflower
Steam 3 minutes
Serve topped with gravy

Gravy (dairy & gluten free)
Scoop juice from crock pot into sauce pan
Heat to boiling
Slowly sprinkle Xanthan gum while whisking mixture (not GAPS legal)
It doesn't take much and the gravy will thicken as it stands
If it gets too thick, add more juice from crock pot

Left over Beef Stew
Pull out any meat that was not eaten
Pour left over gravy into crock pot
Using a hand held blender, mix up all the juice, onions, carrots and gravy in the crock pot
Shred the reserved meat and add to stew
Add more veggies if desired
Tomorrow's lunch!

I just have to add that while I was typing this Grayson ran up to me to say something funny. He then ran away as fast as he could, about six feet...straight into the kitchen cabinets. Literally, straight into them! Not a turn, or a slip, just full speed face right in the cabinet and then bounced back, sprawled out on the floor. He just shook it off and went on his way. You got to love him!

Chicken Nuggets-GAPS style

Tomorrow, when I pick the boys up from school I hope to go shoe shopping. Simple errands are not simple anymore because I can't pack up a simple snack or stop to get something while we're out. Since my children are bottomless pits, I always have to think ahead about what we'll have to eat. I am always looking for food options that we can eat on the go. Today I tried making chicken nuggets for our outing tomorrow. I was inspired by my friend Almut's blog post on recycled chicken nuggets which look awesome. They have a lot of stuff we can't have right now but for anyone else they would be worth checking out.

Ours turned out okay. They taste great but don't hold together very well.

CHICKEN TOTS
by Liz at Pecan Bread

1 cup of finely ground cooked pastured chicken (better boiled than baked)
½ cup of pureed cooked green beans (or another veggie/s)
2-3 ground or cut raw garlic cloves (we can't do this b/c Gray is allergic to Garlic)
unrefined coconut oil, lard, tallow, or ghee
salt
spices (optional)
pastured chicken liver (optional)

1. Combine the chicken, green beans, liver, and garlic in a bowl.
You can also just grind the chicken, green beans, liver, and the garlic together in the food processor.
Add spices or seasoning if you like. It should come out moist and pasty like tuna salad.
2. Roll into little meatballs and flatten like patties.
3. Add sufficient fat/oil in a pan or they'll stick. (I used lard for frying as I have read that heating olive oil changes its nutritional value and turns it into a trans fat. I am also trying to get more saturated fats into the kids diets since we do not eat dairy)
4. Fry the little patties on both sides until brown.

They should look like tiny breaded burgers.
Sprinkle with salt.
Enjoy!

Diving off the Wagon

I would say I fell off the wagon, but that would be describing the last 2 weeks lightly. Running and then diving off the wagon would better describe the eating frenzy I've been on. I knew starting over on the intro diet 3 weeks before the Holidays would be hard but I overestimated my willpower.

Tyler had a Christmas program at school followed by a cookie exchange. The room was filled with probably 50 different types of cookies and they were all calling me. After being strong for at least 30 minutes I decided I could have one bit of one cookie. I walked all around looking for the perfect cookie and tried to savor my one bite. It was not the best cookie. I looked for another option. Took one more bite and was still disappointed. I stopped there but on the drive home I sat with Tyler's "special" cookies on my lap. Mad and feeling sorry for myself, I ate all dozen of Tyler's cookies (knowing it would upset my GI issues the next day).

When I got home I was unstoppable. From that moment on I ate "anything in front of me," as my husband described it. I ate pounds (yes, multiple) of chocolate covered nuts, cookies, and pie.

I recommitted to the GAPS protocol yesterday (1/1). Happy New Year. I am frustrated with myself. My symptoms are back in full force. 2 weeks ago I was feeling so great, I was really making progress and now I'm faced with the reality that I my body may be back in the state it was in in September.

I am debating whether or not I will start over on the Intro Diet. The Intro Diet has 8 stages that start with just stock, boiled meat and veggies and then progressively adds harder to digest foods. I could start all over or I could try moving forward from where I ended. Or, I could eat the full GAPS diet which would seem surprisingly nonrestrictive. I know the best thing for my gut would be to start all over but I just don't know if I can do it. I'm wondering if it would be wiser to follow the protocol that is the least restrictive with the expectation that I can follow it without feeling deprived and without the risk of diving off the wagon for the third time.

The good news is we are seeing great progress with Grayson. Its nice to know that there is a point to this.

Christmas Recipes

I am doing this post more for me that anything else. I've spent the last few days collecting recipes to get us through Christmas. Our celebrating starts tonight.

Dinner:
Ham
Broccoli
Glazed Turnips
-2 lbs turnips, peeled and quartered
-4 T. ghee
-1 cup beef stock
-plunge turnips into boiling salted, filtered water fr 3-5 minutes. Drain and pat dry. Saute in ghee until lightly browned. Add stock and boil down until turnips are coated and liquid has almost completely evaporated.

Breakfast Tomorrow (for opening our stockings):

Egg Casserole

• 6 eggs
• 1 c. milk (I'm going to try to sub with 3/4 c. chicken stock)
• 2 Tbsp. ghee, melted
• 1-2 cups chopped spinach
  
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• about 1 c. diced ham
• Cashew Cheese
  1 tsp olive oil or coconut oil
  1/2 cup cashews, soaked for at least 6 hours
  1 1/4 cup water
  
• drain the cashews and put them in blender with the water. Blend until very
  smooth.
  
• In a skillet, add the cashew milk and turn heat to high.
  Stir frequently to prevent sticking and reduce to a low
  simmer as soon as it boils. Keep stirring and cover to
  keep it from splattering. Continue to cook for a few
  more minutes, then remove it from heat.
• preheat oven to 400. Grease 9X9 pan with ghee or coconut oil. With wire whisk, beat eggs, stock, spinach, salt, pepper, and ghee until mixed. Add cashew cheese. Pour into pan. Sprinkle ham evenly over top. Bake 20 min or until set and golden.
• I may leave out the cashew cheese as this will be a test to see if we can tolerate cashew butter and we can't over do it. Most of the other recipes for the day also have cashew butter in them.
  

Cashew Butter Pancakes
Ingredients:
1 C pureed, cooked squash or zuchinni
1 C nut butter (we used cashew butter made from soaking cashew 6 hours then blending)
5 pastured or free-range organic 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.

Jesus' Birthday Cupcakes
-1 c. cashew butter (made from soaked cashews)
-1 Tbsp. ghee or unrefined coconut oil
-1/2-1tsp. stevia
-2 pastured or free-range organic eggs seperated
-Mix stevia, butter. ghee and egg yolks together. Beat egg whites until stiff then fold into mixture. Pour into cup cake liners.
-Frosting:
--1/2 c. ghee
--3/4 tsp. stevia
--1-1.5tsp vanilla (alcohol free)
--1/8c. nut butter
Bake at 300 for about 20 min for cupcakes

Christmas Cookies
2 cups almond flour (I get mine at Trader Joe's)
4 T ghee, melted (Coconut oil also works)
1/4 cup honey or 1/4-1/2 tsp. Stevia
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp salt

Optional add-ins: 1/2 cup raisins, 1/4 cup shredded coconut, 1/4 cup chopped nuts
350 degrees

1. Cream together first three ingredients. Add the spices.
2. Fold in optional ingredients, if using.
3. Drop by spoonfuls on parchment-lined cookie sheets.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes.