Braised Cabbage

I made this from the Internal Bliss cookbook. I never even liked cooked cabbage until I made it this way. The beef bone broth makes it taste rich and meaty and the ghee and coriander are key to cutting the bitter taste and bringing out the buttery sweetness.

You can find the recipe here.

What's in the Pantry or Fridge Now?

Since we started the Gut and Psychology Syndrome Diet back in August we have changed allot of what we keep in the house. I got rid of almost all of my gluten free stuff and went grain free. So we are grain free, real food, sugar-free, and lactose free family now.


Freezer usually has:
Grassfed Beef
Grassfed Organ meats
Organic Chicken
Pastured Pork Fatback
Wild Caught Fish
Homemade Chicken Bone Broth
Homemade Beef Bone Broth
Pureed Butternut Squash
Cooked and then frozen organic veggies
Local fruit- sliced peaches, organic strawberries, organic blueberries, organic apples (sliced and apple sauce)
Coconut Flour
Chicken Bones and parts
Beef Bones


Fridge usually has:
Homemade Coconut Milk Kefir
Homemade Cow's Milk Kefir (cultured for at least 24 hours) Raw Milk would be best if you can get it.
Crispy Nuts in glass jars- almonds, pecans, sunflower seeds, & pumpkin seeds
Lacto-Fermented Mayonnaise
Fresh vegetables all organic (our favorites are: red swiss chard, winter squash, salad greens, zucchini, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, green beans, tomatoes, avocados etc.)
Eggs tons and tons  (pastured would be best.  We go through about 10 dozen eggs or so a week, depending on how much baking I do.)
Probiotics
Fermented Cod Liver Oil/ X Factor Butter Oil Blend
Bubbies Dill Pickles
Bubbies Sauerkraut
Raw Milk Cheddar Cheese or Monterey Jack Cheese
Raw Milk (look here to find a farmer near you)

Fridge, Freezer or Counter Top:
Coconut Flour Baked Items: muffins, bread, pancakes etc.
Culturing Kefir with grains


Pantry:
Local Honey
Coconut Flour or here
Almond Flour
Organic Cashew Butter with sunflower oil (NOT safflower oil)
Organic Peanut Butter (no salt added)
Jarred Anchovies in Olive Oil
Lard
Canned Wild Caught Albacore Tuna in water without salt
Kosher Beef Gelatin Powder
Kelp Granules
Celtic Sea Salt
Herbs and Spices with no additives especially silicon dioxide
 This Coconut Oil or this one (I buy mine from Swanson Vitamins , Azure Standard or CLNF)
Organic Cold Pressed Olive Oil
Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar
Eden Organic Crushed Tomatoes in Amber Glass
Dried Fruits- organic figs, apple slices, & raisins
Organic Shredded Coconut
Napa Valley Organic Sunflower Oil
Homemade Ghee from Raw Milk Butter

Beef Heart Chili

"Beef Heart Chili" not the type of name that makes you start salivating, right? But it is actually the best chili I have ever made! (No, I am not kidding!) My husband and I were floored after we made this at how good it is. Now granted, not everyone finds handling beef heart that easy (my husband cut and cleaned this one for me). But if you can get past that part, you will be amazed at the dish you eat! You could feed this to someone and they would never know that it wasn't made of ground beef. Go ahead, try it. You'll be glad you did!

Ingredients:
1/2 beef heart ( rinsed, cleaned, trimmed and cut into cubes) Be sure to remove all visible fat, silver skin and arteries, capillaries etc.
1/4 lb salt pork (very cold)
2 green peppers diced
1 large onion diced
4 cloves garlic minced
1 Carrot finely grated
1 cup beef bone broth
1 tsp salt
24 oz canned crushed tomatoes
1 Tbsp Cumin
2 Tbsp Chili Powder



Instructions:
1/2 beef heart ( rinsed, cleaned, trimmed and cut into cubes) Be sure to remove all visible fat, silver skin and arteries, capillaries etc.
1/4 lb bacon or salt pork or fat back (very cold)

Grind heart and pork fat in food processor until ground beef texture. (careful not to over process! Use the pulse feature for about 20 pulses or less. You don't want meat paste.)

To a large pan add the ground heart & pork fat mixture and the following

2 green peppers diced
1 large onion diced
4 cloves garlic minced
1 carrot finely grated
1 cup beef bone broth
1 tsp salt

Turn stove on to  medium heat and cook until meat is browned and veggies are soft.

Then add:
24 oz canned crushed tomatoes
1 Tbsp Cumin
2 Tbsp Chili Powder

Cover and let simmer for about 15 minutes.

Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

This is a part Fat Tuesday and Real Food Wednesday

Coconut Flour Pancakes

I make these regularly in my house. I got the original recipe from here. These substitute well for bread as a "pancake sandwich" with anything you like. They are great anyway you can think of. If you want to make them for a savory dish leave out the honey and vanilla. They even work as a stand in for hamburger buns!

This is my version:

4 eggs
1 cup milk of choice (I use unsweetened almond milk or full fat coconut milk)
2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup coconut flour (I use this coconut flour)
2 Tbsp melted coconut oil or ghee

In a large bowl mix eggs, milk, vanilla, honey, salt and cooled liquid oil. Whisk well. Add in coconut flour. Whisk very well, until there are no lumps. In a frying pan on medium-low heat or a griddle at 275-300 degrees. Fry your pancakes. I use an ice cream scoop and ladle them out. The batter will be thick. I just swirl the lump of batter flat with the back of the spoon. Cook well on first side until bottom is brown. Flip carefully and cook until brown on second side. Remove from pan and eat hot or let cool and eat later.

Just an FYI if you have never worked with coconut flour. You need to let your batter rest for a minute to soak up and swell. Coconut flour brands are all different. If you use something other than Wilderness Family Naturals coconut flour, then you may have to adjust the flour quantity up or down to get the right consistency. I hope to take pictures next time I make these so there will be better instruction.

Grain Free Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Here is another variation of the muffin base I used for the banana muffins. This recipe originally comes from here and I changed a few things. Below is my version:

5 eggs
2 cups chunky homemade apple sauce (or store bought if you want)
4 Tbsp Honey
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp cinnamon
1/4 cup lard (or coconut oil or softened butter or ghee)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup coconut flour.

To make applesauce. Peel, core and slice 2 large apples. Place in food processor and blend until chunky. I used two large organic Jonagold apples which are rather tart. You can decrease the honey to 2 Tbsp if you use sweeter apples or applesauce.

In a large bowl put eggs, applesauce, honey, vanilla, cinnamon and lard (or oil of choice). Whisk well. Add coconut flour and salt and whisk again. Let sit for a minute while you grease your 12 cup muffin tin (or more). I got 16 muffins out of this last batch. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from pan and let cool on cooling rack or eat hot.

Grain Free Banana Muffins

I made these by request for my five year old this morning and they were a huge hit! I got the recipe from here

Below is my version

5 eggs
2 ripe bananas (with spots)
1/4 cup lard (or coconut oil or softened butter)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp honey


In a bowl whisk eggs, smashed bananas, vanilla, lard (or oil of choice) and honey together. Add salt and coconut flour and whisk again. Let sit for a minute, while you grease 12 muffin cups. Scoop into muffin cups and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until lightly brown and toothpick comes out clean.

I'll have to take a picture from the next batch. The ones today went too fast!!

Grain Free Apple Pie

I made the most lovely grain free apple pie tonight using this recipe from Real Food Forager.

I used soaked, crispy almonds instead of pecans. (Pecans have been a little steep for my budget right now.)
And I substituted lard for coconut oil. (I was out of coconut oil.) Either work really well in this recipe. I used only 5 organic Jonagold apples.

Now go try it at your house!!

Pumpkin Pie Muffins- Grain Free, Refined Sugar Free and Dairy Free

I bought a lovely pie pumpkin a while back from a local farmer and made the best pumpkin muffins. I found the original recipe here. I tweaked it a bit to get to the flavors I wanted, and I doubled it to make enough for a family of five. The recipe below makes 12 muffins. I made these GAPS Legal too. They taste like eating a pumpkin pie!

1 cup pitted dates
6 Tbsp Honey
4 Tbsp coconut oil melted
1 cup cooked mashed pumpkin (or canned plain pumpkin)
6 eggs beaten
4 Tbsp shredded unsweetened coconut
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp all spice
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg

In a food processor place dates, drizzle in honey and melted coconut oil to make a "date paste". Add in pumpkin and blend again. Add eggs, shredded coconut, vanilla, salt, and spices. Blend again until smooth. Add coconut flour and blend one last time till smooth. Grease a 12 cup muffin cup or use paper liners. Using a scoop put in batter into muffins cups and bake.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes our clean. Let cool and store while just barely warm (if there are any left!)

The picture above is the last muffin. (Sorry for the fuzzy picture.) You can just say that these were so good that they disappeared in a blur....

To make the cooked pumpkin-
place a whole small pie pumpkin in the the oven on a cookie sheet at 350 and bake until a knife goes in easily (an hour or more). Let cool. Cut open and scoop out seeds. Scoop pulp into a container and save for cooking or freeze in quart sized zip bags for later use.

I also use left over pumpkin pulp or cooked butternut squash pulp as a substitute for mashed sweet  potatoes. Add butter, ghee or coconut oil, cinnamon, honey and large pinch of salt and stir together.