Saturday, December 27, 2014

Book Review: 28 days of Low FODMAP AIP by Christina Feindel


Low FODMAP AIP Sherpherd's Pie


This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you make a purchase through the product links, I’ll receive a small commission to support my time in reviewing the product, although this post is sponsored, all opinions are my own. 

When I first learned about the e-book 28 days of Low FODMAP AIP by Christina Feindel,  I was super excited that I am not alone eating off of this seemingly limited menu. For the past few months, I have been stumbling along the AIP ( autoimmune protocol ) path, looking for low FODMAP friendly recipes and it hasn't been easy. Like Christina says in the introduction of her book " As if no grains, legumes, dairy, eggs, nightshades, nuts, seeds, or alcohol wasn’t daunting enough, you’ve also decided to try eliminating FODMAPs from your autoimmune protocol diet. " I did feel like I was crazy trying to embark on a more limiting diet than AIP, but I started to feel the difference after only a few days eliminating the high FODMAP foods like garlic and onions out of my diet. So the low FODMAP journey here I come! 

Instead of only telling you how delicious the recipes are in this book ( that will come later) I want to outline what I have learned about how to enjoy AIP low FODMAP cooking. 
  • Use new herbs, garlic greens might not be as easy to find but are worth the search, no garlic? no problem, use the greens
  • Explore and combine more vegetables; parsnip can beat potato hands down, it is our new stable root vegetables in the house
  • Plan your meals; improving time management means less stress and more satisfied taste buds and happy bellies.
The more I learn about tweaking my healing diet, the more I have to be open to trying new things in the kitchen. As much as I am pretty open to new cooking ideas, I have my comfort zone that is sometimes hard to break out of... who doesn't? In the book, Christina showed me how to uses herbs and spices that are compliant and compliments each other very well. 

The recipe I chose to try in the book is from the "One Pot Meal" section. Running a family is busy business and as much as I am all about starting my healing in the kitchen, it is nice not to be tied to it all the time. Christina talks about batch cooking and meal planning which are key factors in making a busy family run smoothly.

 Sherpherd's pies is a fond childhood dish of mine. This was my go to family meal but as my healing diet changed, more foods had to be eliminated. Glutens was easy to replace, I used tapioca starch instead of corn starch or flour to thicken the mix, then with AIP, I replaced Worcestershire sauce with Apple cider and balsamic vinegar, but when FODMAP came into the picture, I was starting to loose my enthusiasm moving forward with my cooking. After all, how can I make anything tasty without garlics and onions on top of the void of nightshades.

Enters Christina's 28 days of Low FODMAP AIP book.

In Christina's ebook, a wide variety of root vegetables like turnips, parsnips and taro are used to create interesting textures and flavours. Using the greens of garlic, leek, green onions and more herbs means there is no shortage in flavor in these truly flavourful dishes.

Now comes the part that I tell you how delicious the Sherpherd's pie turned out.

Before dinner, my son asked me whether this Sherpherd's pie was sweet or savory, "... is it a dinner or dessert?" I answered that it is savory, but by the time I was trying not to finish the whole pan at the dinner table, I realized this recipe created the effect of a dessert sweet pie. I think the magic comes from the carrots, parsnip and turnip combination. These root vegetables are naturally sweet and pair with my himalayan pink salt flavored grass fed ground beef from my favourite biodiverse farm, the result is almost addictive. I had to remind myself that I wasn't having an off rail ( food cheating ) moment when trying not to polish the whole pan. I was also pleasantly surprised that no thickener was used and the dish did not get soupy. The one thing about the recipe that confused me a little was the topping, I almost missed the part that the cooked turnips were to be food processed smooth and used as the top layer.

I wish I had found this book earlier when I started my FODMAP journey, but then I might not appreciate it as much. I probably would have taken for granted all the hard work Christina had done with organizing the shopping list and meal planning for 28 days. If you are interested in watching out for FODMAP foods to help heal your gut and rest of your body, I highly recommend this book. It will make your life easier. Here is the link for your copy of the ebook.



Saturday, December 20, 2014

AIP Key Lime Crustless pie

This recipe was inspired by two of my respected AIP recipes developer @ieatreadfood.recipe's zucchini cheese and Grazed and Enthused's peppermint fudge

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I have missed this dessert treat for awhile and here is my version of this sweet and sour treat. I left the crust part out but plan to try it next time with the Pie Crust recipe from another one of my favourite ladies The Paleo Partridge  Can you tell that I am still a hesitant AIP baker? 

AIP key lime crustless pie



Ingredients

  • 2 c peeled, cubed and cooked white yams
  • 1/4 c warm water
  • 3/4 c coconut milk (I use AROY D organic )
  • 2 tbsp grass fed gelatin
  • 2-3 tbsp maple syrup or raw honey
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 2 tbsp lime juice
  • 1 tbsp zest of lime
  • 1/2 tsp AIP friendly vanilla 
Instructions

  1. Dissolve gelatin in warm water
  2. Take cooled and cooked yam and combine with rest of the ingredients except zest of lime
  3. Use a hand blender to blend until mixture is smooth, you can also use a high speed blender like a Vitamix.
  4. Fold in zest of lime
  5. Line 9X12 pan or glassware with parchment paper with extra to hangover edge
  6. Pour mixture into pan and refrigerated until firm about 2 hours
  7. Cut into individual sizes and serve with coconut cream and toast coconut flakes
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you make a purchase through the product links, I’ll receive a small commission, I include affiliate link as a resource for ingredients I use,  all opinions are my own. 

Saturday, December 13, 2014

Mexican comfort

I went out for Mexican food with my family last night. I watched them, as I sipped my thermos of bone broth from home,  enjoy their carne asada burrito and chicken flauta and to top it all... with rice and beans. I miss Mexican food, all I want sometimes are some rice and beans, but they kill me. So here is my safe version made with taro root for the consistency and purple carrot for the black bean coloring. I am continuing with my ginger train to add some kick in my dishes. 

AIP low FODMAP "rice and beans"


Ingredients
  • 4c peeled and cubed taro root
  • 1 small fennel bulb, chopped
  • 2 stalk celery
  • 1 small purple carrot
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 large sliced onions
  • 2 tbsp fat
  • 1/2 - 1c bone broth
  • juice of 2" ginger root
Instructions

To make garlic and onion infused oil
  1. Melt fat in med heat pan
  2. Add garlic and onion
  3. Let cook for 5 mins
  4. Remove and discard garlic and onions
Now you have infused oil
  1. Sauté celery, fennel and carrots for 5 mins at med heat in infused oil
  2. add taro and sauté for 5 mins 
  3. add bone broth
  4. simmer for 10-15 mins until all vegetables are soft.
  5. Mash with masher, add more bone broth if the consistency is too thick
  6. Stir in ginger juice for an extra kick
Serve with cauliflower rice and garnish with cilantro, green onions and lime juice

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Soupaholic

I am a bonebrothaholic and soupaholic, there is always bone broth at hand in my house. If my slow cooker is not simmering, I have a surplus bone broth ice cubes in the freezer.

To me, making bone broth is like second nature, but when a friend asked me how I make it, I realize everyone has their own way of doing it and here is mine. If you want to learn more about amazing health benefits of bone broth, here is a great link for you.

>This blog post contains affiliate links. Click here to learn more what it means. 

Easy Slow Cooker Bone Broth

Ingredients

Paleo
Enough Bones to fill 2/3 of cooker, freeze leftover bones from dinners until you have enough or specially prepared knuckle, ribs, or bird carcasses bones just for the broth.
Filtered water add up to 3/4 of cooker
2 tsp sea salt ( I use Pink Himalayan Sea salt because it offers more minerals )
2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
2-3 stalks celery
1 small onion cut in quarters
2-3 peeled carrots
3- 4 cloves garlic
1 tsp peppercorn

AIP
Same as Paleo but omit peppercorn, and choose to add the following other AIP safe herbs
like 2" ginger root, rosemary, thyme, cloves, cinnamon

Low FODMAP
Same as AIP but replace onions with green onion or leek ( just the greens )

Instructions

Bones preparation options

  • Slow roasting them for 30 mins at 350F
  • Blanching them in boiling hot water to remove impurities to give you a clear broth.
  • Rinse the raw bones under tap water and add them directly in the cooker. 
You should try all thress methods of bone preparations to see which one you prefer when it comes to taste and convenience. 

Instructions

  1. Put bones in cooker first
  2. Add water to 3/4 full of cooker
  3. Add vegetables. herbs and spices
  4. Cook at low for at least 10 hrs, the longer the better. 
  5. Remove bones, vegetables, herbs and spices
  6. Strain over strainer into mason jars and place in fridge until fat forms solid on top. 
  7. You can either discard fat, save fat to use in cooker.
  8. Freeze in ice cube trays and put into freezer bags for future use. 
I try to wait until around 18 hrs and have left it until 36 hrs. 
You may need to add more water at a longer cook time from evaporation

Bone broths are great for cooking with in sauces, making quick soups with blended cooked vegetables and drink as is.





Monday, December 8, 2014

AIP Spicy Ginger Turmeric Turkey

My wheels are always turning when it comes to AIP-fying my favorite recipes. Since going AIP with a lowFODMAP watch, I haven't had any spicy food with the removal of nightshades. I knew I need to find a way to add some spice back on my plate. In this recipe, I am using ginger to add the kick, it is more like a zing with a little slow burn. If you want more heat, just add more ginger. The slow baking method makes the turkey nice and tender. The turmeric and acorn squash can almost convince me to be enjoying a mild curry. 

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AIP Spicy Ginger Turmeric Turkey


Serves 4                      Prep time 30-60 mins                  Cook time 2 hrs

Ingredients
  • 2 1/2 lbs boneless turkey breast with skin on

For marinade:
  • 2 green onions
  • 3" ginger root
  • 1" fresh turmeric root or 1 tbsp  turmeric powder
  • 2 tbsp Apple Cider vinegar ( I use Bragg's brand)
  • 1 c water
  • 1 tsp sea salt 
For sauce:
  • left over marinade
  • 1/2 cooked acorn squash
  • 1/2 c bone broth ( 

Instructions
  1. Put all marinade ingredients in blender and blend until smooth
  2. Put turkey breast in plastic bag and pour marinade to cover
  3. Squeeze all air out of bag and knot bag
  4. Let marinade 30 to 60 mins
  5. Set over to broil 
  6. Take marinaded turkey out of bag and keep remaining marinade to make sauce with
  7. Broil turkey in pan for 10 mins
  8. Turn temperature down to 275 F and slow bake until cooked, about 1 1/2 to 2 hrs

To make the sauce:
  1. Heat leftover marinade and bone broth at medium heat in a small pan until boiling 
  2. Add acorn squash and cook for 5 mins
  3. Remove from heat and use hand blender to blend until smooth
For serving, slice turkey into pieces, pour sauce over and garnish with cilantro or parsley




Sunday, December 7, 2014

Virtual Book Tour - The Alternative Autoimmune Cookbook review


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One of my passion is healing with foods and nothing gets me more excited to find great resources to support my goal in life. I am so excited to be part of this book review tour. Thank you Angie from Alt-Ternative Autoimmune for inviting me on this Virtual Book Tour.

The night I received my e-book copy of Angie Alt's The Alternative Autoimmune Cookbook, I wish I had the hard copy in my hot little hands being the cookbook geek I am

Graphically speaking - the layout is clean simple with a cheerful color scheme.

I find it easy to read and welcoming. If there is such a thing as a graphic novel cookbook, this is pretty close to it.

Almost all cookbooks about healing foods start with the elimination phase, Angie follows up with a clear Reintroduction instructions, which can be the scary part of a new diet.  Angie breaks it down to easy to understand and follow steps. I am sure her Food reaction checklist will help a lot of people take the guessing out of, was it the food? dye offs? my imagination?

If you are still confused about the reactions, the Food Journal page will help you track your progress and make it more clear what could be the culprit to a reaction. My food journal has been one of my greatest healing tool.

I caught on to Angie's smart and sneaky intention where she inserted articles, like the emotional aspects of Autoimmunity, in between sections of beautifully photographed dishes and recipes.  Each recipe is labeled with which stage or phase they belong to. Just when you are thinking hard about " can I do this?" you are wowed and encouraged by more mouth watering AIP friendly recipes.


Yes you can.

The Butt manifesto is hilarious and addresses body image in a light and fun way.

There are so many recipes I want to try but the one I went with is the Homey Beef Stew. This recipe is in her Stage 1 category but easily fits into the Elimination phase by removing the black pepper.

I was excited to use my organic rainbow carrots and grass fed beef stew cut in this dish to make it even more colorful.

The only thing was my slow cooker was already in use, making a big pot of bone broth. I didn't feel like taking out my other ( yes, I have two) slow cooker, so I pulled out my vacuum pot to give it a try.
Angie's usage of a carrot and beets puree along with tapioca starch makes a the best, thick and hearty AIP gravy. She also mixes two kinds of vinegar to create a flavorful tartness and can trick anyone into believing there was tomato paste in the stew.




I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a guiding hand towards healing with food. If you would like to get a copy of this awesome Alternative Autoimmune Cookbook, here is the link for the e-book and the hardcopy.

Thanks for reading and Happy Healing in the Kitchen with the Alternative Autoimmune Cookbook



Thursday, December 4, 2014

White soup



Serves 4                      Prep time 10 mins                  Cook time 30 mins

Ingredients
  • 1/2 a celery root ( about 4 inches in diameter ), peeled
  • 1/2 head of cauliflower
  • 1/2 purple skin yam, peeled
  • 1 tbsp bacon fat ( or fat of your choice )
  • 2 whole cloves of peeled garlic ( don't smash it if you are on low FODMAP)
  • 2 c. bone broth
  • sea salt to taste
Optional: 1 tsp nettle tea leaves
daikon cabbage slaw or sauerkraut as garnish

Instructions:
  1. Melt fat in large deep pan over medium heat
  2. add garlic and turn heat down to low for 5 mins
  3. You are making garlic infused fat for the flavour here
  4. Remove garlic and discard let someone else in the family use it
  5. Add coarsely chopped peeled vegetables, sautée on medium heat for 10 mins, add 1/4 c water to prevent it from scorching
  6. Add broth and cook on low heat until the vegetables are soft
  7. Blend with hand blender, add hot water to get the consistency you like
  8. Stir in nettle tea leave for some extra iron, I garnished mine with daikon cabbage slaw.
My husband was craving for a white bean soup for days, so I whipped up this AIP low FODMAP version of a white soup. I am starting to infuse some higher FODMAP foods like garlic and onions in my cooking fat to add some flavor. I think it is better than the bean version, try it and tell me what do you think?





Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Chinese bunless burger in broth


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Ingredients
  • 1/4 lb ground meat of your choice
  • I used grass fed beef here
  • 1 tbsp tapioca starch
  • 1/4 c. chopped vegetables of your choice
  • here I used beets with the greens and shredded zucchini
  • 1/2 tsp  or more minced ginger
  • a bunch chopped parsley
  • 1 stalk of chopped green onion
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • Optional: vary the flavor with you own tolerable herbs and spices. Rosemary, oregano and cilantro are great choices. 
Instructions
  1. Mix all ingredients together 
  2. Spread mixture on a shallow dish with a lip to catch the juice from steaming
  3. Steam for 15 minutes
  4. The meat will shrink up floating in a delicious bath of broth
My steaming set up 

I use a large pot that will fit the size of my dish, with a little extra room to get my plate retriever tongs in while placing or removing the dish. I place a steaming wire rack like this one inside the pot, and fill water up to the height of the rack. I love the plate retriever tongs because I love steaming my food. After the water comes to a boil, I use my plate retriever tongs and place the dish into the rumbling water, I put on the lid and let it steam. 

Last month was extremely busy, I was starting to feel better and managed to keep up with the added demand and switch in gears.
Despite feeling a sense of accomplishment I was really looking forward to this month.  December is usually not a month I look forward to in the past. The weather changes to more grey and wet days but this year I feel different about it. 

This morning I found new perspective, it's only been a few days into the new month and I expected that I can adjust to the changes with the snap of my fingers?  I have decide to regroup, reset and focus on my yoga practice again. Yoga has always led me back to a place where I want to be. With gentle restorative yoga back on my plate, I can get back to more mindful meal planning. The busy month did rekindle an childhood comfort food that has served me well. I stopped making it when I cut out eggs in my diet but figured that using tapioca starch in place of gives a smoother texture. Here is my go to one dish comfort meal - steamed meat cake which I am calling it Chinese unless burger in broth. You can vary the herbs and vegetables to your liking as my recipe is AIP low FODMAP.