GAPS Thanksgiving

Spice Brined Turkey

Gravy

Cranberry Relish

Garlic Mashed Cauliflower

Grain Free Stuffing and Biscuits

Butternut Squash Casserole

Holiday Green Beans

Pumpkin Pie Soufflé

What are we missing?

GAPS Pumpkin Pie Soufflé

I have wanted to post this recipe for a while now, but I couldn’t find it in my files. I had accidently saved it in my general recipe file instead of my GAPS recipe file, which is fitting since this pie pleases everyone alike, but then again, most of my recipes do : -)

On GAPS there are a lot of eat this at this time, 20 minutes before this and at least 2 hours after that and first thing in the morning or before bed... It takes major choreographing at first and can be difficult to orchestrate. One of these situations is that fruit is not supposed to be eaten with meals because it interferes with digestion. This makes desserts tricky because fruit makes an easy dessert without added sweeteners (honey or ground dates). I am so excited about this recipe because it fits the bill and is based on vegetables!

The idea came to me instantly after reading Kami’s post for Squash Bars on her blog Finding My Niche. I made these bars as given and they are awesome for snacks and even treats. I had to call them pumpkin bars because my kids think they don’t like squash. I added a few spices, sweetened it to my liking and poured it on a grain free crust for a pie. The egg whites make it nice and light. I have not tried this without whipping the whites, but would imagine that it would yield a denser pie like the traditional thanksgiving dessert.

I serve this with homemade yogurt cream for us and we love it. For guests and my husband, who has not lost his sweet tooth, I serve it with a good dollop of amply sweetened whipped cream and it gets rave reviews.

I have used both a pie pumpkin and butternut squash in this recipe and feel that the squash was slightly sweeter. Squash is always much easier to find. Either way, just cut them in half, remove the seeds and bake on a sheet pan, cut side down until completely soft. The spices are completely flexible, nutmeg and would be nice as well. Some people like a lot of spice to their pumpkin, so feel free to add more if that is the case. 


This recipe is for a deep dish pie plate or two regular pie plates.  You can pour leftover filling in any baking dish to have some extra treats on the side.  This is also fantastic sprinkled with my GAPS Crumble halfway through the baking time.

8 eggs, divided
2 cups pureed butternut squash
4 tablespoons melted butter
¼ cup honey
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Separate egg yolks and whites. Place whites in mixing bowl and yolks with cooled pumpkin puree. Whip egg whites until light and fluffy. Combine egg yolks, squash puree, melted butter, honey and spices. Mix well. Fold in egg whites gently. Pour into a deep dish pie plate with optional crust. Bake for 55 minutes for deep dish 30 for regular. The middle should still jiggle slightly . Let cool, then slice and serve. Keeps five days in the fridge.
links; Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

GAPS Shepherd's Pie

One of the best ways to keep your family happy at mealtimes when making drastic diet changes is to remake old favorites.  This shepard’s pie is patterned after our old one, which was laden with grains.

I chose to use a roast instead of ground meat since we are finding a lot of uses to ground meat lately and I wanted to change it up.  The potatoes are replaced by cauliflower.  I would love to do smashed butternut squash, but my kids are not fans.  We stick to cauliflower, but call it potatoes.  This confuses the kids a bit when I say that potatoes are not on the diet, but these special ones are, but it gets them to eat the food easier.

This dish saves well and freezes well and is easy to make in large batches. Sometimes I change it up by adding green beans or tomatoes or cheese on top, but this is our basic standby recipe with all those things I typically have on hand (sometimes I have to leave out the peppers).  It is also easy to make it really heavy on your faves and lighter on the not-so-faves.  Carrots seem to be most kid friendly.  I personally love onions.  Peas are nice on the GAPS diet because they are one of the few legal starches. 

I like to use a bone in roast so that the stock is extra flavorful. A nice flavorful stock is really important in this recipe.  Vegetables do bring a lot of flavor to the party, but the broth penetrates everything with meaty goodness.  Looking back, I used to make this recipe with a powdered soup base to get that flavor punch.  It is such a sad thing that bullion and powders have taking the place of such an incredible traditional food.  Once you get in the habit of making broth, you wonder why everybody doesn’t do it.  Speaking of, I just picked up a new crock pot this week, can’t wait to get another pot of stock going.

2-3 pound roast

6 cups water

1 bay leaf

2 teaspoons salt

2 heads cauliflower

1/3 cup beef stock (from the meat pot)

½ cup butter

1 clove garlic

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons coconut oil or tallow

1-2 onions, chopped
8 carrots, peeled and chopped

1-2 peppers, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons white bean flour

2 cups beef stock (from the meat pot)

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup frozen peas

¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

1 tablespoon fresh parsley leaves, chopped

Boil roast for three to four hours in six cups of water, one bay leaf and two teaspoons salt.  Cut cauliflower into large, even pieces.  Place in a pot with 1/3 cup beef stock, cover and simmer on medium low heat for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, heat a large fry pan on medium high add oil and onions, cook for five minutes or until they begin to brown.  Add carrots, bell peppers and one teaspoon salt, turn heat down to medium low and simmer for ten minutes.  Sprinkle flour over vegetables and cook for two minutes, then mix in two cups stock. Thicken gravy 1 minute. Add black pepper, peas and meat to vegetables. Stir in parsley, reserving some to garnish the top then, check for seasoning and salt to taste. Remove cauliflower from pot with slotted spoon and place in a blender or food processor with one teaspoon salt and ½ cup butter.  Pulse until broken up and grind briefly to make mostly smooth.  Fill a large casserole dish with meat and vegetable mixture. Spoon cauliflower mash over meat evenly. Sprinkle with paprika and parsley and serve.

Real Food Kitchen Tour on Cheeseslave!

5 years ago my kitchen went from a one-butt kitchen to a crowd-of-butts kitchen.  I used to have one counter of work space that was laid across a dishwasher and butted up against a sink, which was next to the stove.  If someone was in the kitchen it was full.  The fridge was the only thing accessible. It was exciting to dream up the possibilities that an addition offered.  We designed it ourselves; it has all the features I love.  Take the tour today featured at Cheeseslave.

GAPS Crumble

Life without rolled oats is rough.  Okay, not really, but I really wanted to make me a darn good apple crisp.  I feel like I nailed the crumble, but can’t post the whole recipe yet because the apple filling part wasn’t top notch.  I am thinking I might experiment with gelatin to thicken the sauce.  Without anything it is too soupy.  Cornstarch and arrowroot are not GAPS legal.  I tried a little bean flour, I may have just added too much, but the texture was slightly gritty, which I assume is what coconut flour would be like to.  Shoot me some suggestions if you have any, I sure don’t mind experimenting on this one, because even when it’s not perfections, it’s still pretty darn good.

In the meantime, try out this crumble on other baked goods.  I stuffed it in some cored apples and baked them for a super easy breakfast.  It also made a delicious topping on my pumpkin pie soufflé.  Half way through baking, I sprinkled the crumble on top and it was nice and golden by the time the pie was done.  I also think it would be wonderful to dress up muffins and make them a little fancier I have had good success with this Banana Muffin recipe.  Do tell what you like to add crunchy toppings to.

1 cup almond flour

2 tablespoons chia seeds

1 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut

1/2 cup butter

2 tablespoons honey

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

1/4 cup dates, chopped

.

Combine all of your ingredients into a bowl and mix until crumbly.

GAPS Chili

The only thing that makes this stand out as diet food is the lack of cornbread. Chili has so many variations and is such a typical cool weather dinner. It is nice to have a few mainstream recipes that everybody recognizes in your back pocket.

This is a robust, thick and rich version. It has a nice balance of meat and vegetables. Since it simmers for a good amount of time, all the flavors meld and you don’t taste one vegetable in particular.

I had made a double batch of this and froze half of it. Just as we were sitting down for our second meal of chili two days in a row, we were invited to family dinner, where chili was on the menu. So I thawed out the other half and we ate chili three days in a row, nobody complained. I am looking forward to making this again.

1 cup lima beans, dried
2 cups water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 pound ground meat
1 large onion
3 celery stalks
3 medium carrots
2 pablano peppers
½ cup butter
2 tablespoons navy bean flour
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 bay leaf
3 cups beef stock
48 ounces crushed tomatoes

Soak beans in two cups water and two tablespoons lemon juice for 24 hours. Brown ground meat in a large pot; add onions, celery, carrots, and peppers. Stir vegetables and let heat through. Melt butter in pot and sprinkle flour on vegetables, stir to coat. Add garlic and spices. Stir in stock and tomatoes and heat to a simmer. Rinse soaked beans and add to the pot. Simmer for one hour. Serve with homemade sour cream.
links; Simple Lives Thursday, Creative Juices Thursday,