Most of us know we should eat more 24-hour yogurt. After all, it’s one of the most powerful gut healing foods: each tablespoon of properly prepared yogurt contains 700 BILLION CFUs per cup.

That’s a lot of probiotics.

With that in mind, I challenged myself to come up with some new ways to eat 24-hour yogurt. (I also had a freezer full of ground meat from hunting over the fall and winter.) The result? Gut-Healing Greek Meatballs with 24-Hour Yogurt Tzatziki sauce.

This recipe sounds fancy, but even my kids ate it. (Maybe because they like anything you can dip!)

Making Your Own Meatballs

I love cooking (instead of baking), because with cooking you can sub stuff out easily without ruining the recipe.

Like if you don’t have fresh parsley, you can use dried. And if you don’t have dried? Just skip it entirely or sub some other herb. The recipe might taste a little different, but it will still turn out.

When I created this recipe, I built it around what I had on hand and what I can tolerate. That means this recipe is really versatile:

• Use whatever ground meat you have around or like best (just avoid extra-lean ground turkey or chicken, or the meatballs will be very dry!)
• Use fresh or dried herbs. If you’re using dried where fresh is called for, cut the amount in half. If using fresh when dried is call for, double the amount.
• If you don’t tolerate eggs, just omit the egg. The meatballs will still come together – they may just crumble a bit more. You could also add a gelatin egg, but it probably isn’t necessary.
• Garlic, coconut aminos, and a little tomato paste build depth of flavor. If you can’t tolerate any of these ingredients, just leave them out.
• The grated onion is a great source of prebiotics and helps keep the meatballs moist. If you can’t tolerate onions, sub in ½ cup grated zucchini with the moisture wrung out instead.

And if you need to make some other modification – or have an idea of something else to add in – don’t be afraid to try it out.

These meatballs are inspired by Keftedes or traditional greek meatballs. However, traditional keftedes use milk-soaked bread to thicken the meatballs, and these meatballs are grain-free.

I’m no chef and don’t want to offend any Greek cuisine purists – so let’s just call these Greek meatballs

Use The Right Ingredients

Any recipe is only as good as the ingredients you use to make it.

Especially with simple recipes like these, high-quality ingredients really shine through.

For high-quality, affordable meat, we recommend Butcher Box.

And while you could use store-bought yogurt, this recipe is infinitely better (and more nutrient rich) when made with homemade 24-hour yogurt.

Yogurt making can seem scary, but with the right tools, it’s actually effortless. It starts with the right yogurt maker (this one is our favorite).

Here’s our complete guide to making yogurt at home.

You can use cow’s milk, goat, sheep – or even camel! But for the Tzatziki sauce, we don’t recommend coconut or almond milk yogurt. It just tastes a little weird.

If you’re worried you can’t tolerate milk yogurts, learn why 24-hour yogurt is different here.

How To Drip Your Own 24-Hour Yogurt (It’s Easy)

Have you ever wondered what makes “Greek” yogurt different from regular yogurt? The difference is that Greek yogurt has been “dripped” to remove the liquid whey and results in a  thicker yogurt.

You can easily drip your own homemade 24-hour animal milk yogurt to create Greek yogurt. Here’s how:

Ingredients & Tools

• Prepared 24-hour animal milk yogurt
• Clean cheesecloth
• Twine or rubber band
• Pitcher or bowl
• Wooden spoon that is longer than the opening of your pitcher or bowl (so it can lay flat across the top)

Method For Dripping Yogurt

1. Prepare animal milk yogurt following directions here.
2. Lay out cheesecloth over the top of bowl or pitcher.
3. Spoon or pour yogurt into the center of the cheesecloth.
4. Use twine or rubber band to tie up the corners of the cloth with yogurt contained in the middle.
5. Hang the cheesecloth bundle over the wooden spoon and lay the spoon across the top of the bowl so that the whey can drip away freely.
6. Don’t squeeze the cheesecloth or wring the moisture out – allow it to drip out slowly into the bowl.
7. The longer you allow the yogurt to drip, the thicker it will become. Dripping for 30 minutes – 1 hour will result in a greek yogurt consistency. You can leave the yogurt to drip overnight for a cream cheese consistency.

Pre- AND Probiotics

I know you’re probably ready to get to the recipe by now, but I just want to make a brief point about prebiotics and probiotics.

Probiotics are what you hear about all the time – they are the “good” gut bugs that are in fermented foods like yogurt and sauerkraut.

Prebiotics are like food for the probiotics.

When you pair prebiotic foods with probiotic foods, you get the most benefit from both.

For that reason, I really like to pair these meatballs and yogurt with cooked and cooled rice. Cooking and cooling rice increases the resistant starch content – meaning more prebiotics.

If you can’t tolerate rice (or avoid all grains very strictly) you could try cooked and cooled potatoes or cauliflower rice, instead.

(If you’re concerned about consuming safe starches like rice or potatoes, here’s a good resource for more information.)

Greek Meatballs With 24-Hour Yogurt Tzatziki Sauce

Ingredients For Meatballs

• 1.5 lbs ground meat (turkey, chicken, grass-fed beef)
• 1 medium onion, grated or minced
• 1 egg (optional)
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped dill
• ½ tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried cumin
• ½ teaspoon dried cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons tomato paste (omit if avoiding nightshades)
• 3 dashes coconut aminos
• 2 cloves minced or crushed garlic
• Salt & Pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix gently to combine. Avoid over mixing or meatballs will be dense and dry. Gently shape into golf-ball size balls. Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes, or until cooked through.  

Ingredients For Tzatziki Sauce

• 1 cucumber
• 1 cup 24-hour yogurt (goat, sheep, or cow), dripped (see above)
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped dill
• Salt & Pepper

Grate cucumber on box grater. Wring out extra moisture using cheesecloth. Combine with all other ingredients and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with Greek meatballs or as a dip for crudites.

I hope you enjoy this recipe!

– Jordan

The post Gut-Healing Greek Meatballs With 24-Hour Yogurt Tzatziki Sauce appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

Was there a “special breakfast” you ate growing up or always made for your kids?

Whether it was Mother’s Day Brunch, Easter, or my birthday, for my family’s “special breakfast” we always had blueberry muffins.

And while I don’t encourage eating baked goodies on a daily basis, eating them for a week straight isn’t likely to hurt your gut and likely may help your emotional body. So if you make them, I hope you enjoy them without shame or blame or concern.

The Right Flour

This recipe uses a blend of coconut flour and tapioca flour for a light and chewy texture that is grain and nut-free.

Why nut-free?

While nuts aren’t an inherently “bad food,” nut-flour-based baked goods are a surefire way to eat too many nuts, too quickly. Instead of almond or other nut flours, we use a blend of coconut and tapioca.

While no flour-based food (be it nut, coconut, tapioca, or any other type of flour) should become a staple food in your diet, we love having the flexibility to make a muffin or pancake out of grain-free flours.

Just Sweet Enough

Just 1/3 cup of honey or maple syrup provides subtle sweetness that allows the other flavors to shine through.

Unlike store-bought gluten-free blueberry muffins that contain 21 grams of sugar per muffin, these muffins have just about 7 grams each. The gentle sweetness allows the blueberry flavor to stand out.

About Baking Powder

This recipe uses baking powder, not soda.

Have you ever wondered what the difference is or when you can switch them out?

Both baking powder and baking soda help the muffins to rise up and be airy. Just like when you combine baking soda and vinegar, the reaction between the soda or powder and an acid create air bubbles in the batter.

The difference is that baking powder contains baking soda plus an acid. If you combine some baking powder with water, you’ll see it fizz up. Baking soda, on the other hand, must be combined with some acid – like lemon juice or vinegar – to create a fizz. If a recipe doesn’t contain an acidic ingredient, you’ll get better results using baking powder than soda.

But many commercial baking powders contain added aluminum. We recommend you look for a brand that either doesn’t contain added aluminum, like this one, or make your own using baking soda and cream of tartar.

To make your own baking powder, just combine 1 part baking soda and 2 parts cream of tartar. For this recipe, combine 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda with 1 teaspoon cream of tartar, stir to combine, and then measure out 1/2 teaspoon of the mixture for the recipe.

An Egg-Free Option

Are you avoiding eggs? This recipe can still work for you.

Make sure you check out this article to learn how to make gelatin eggs.

Replace the 4 eggs in this recipe with 4 gelatin eggs to make these muffins egg-free (If you are wondering – yes, they still taste good).

Year-Round Goodness

This recipe works equally well with frozen or fresh blueberries – that means you can enjoy them year-round!

To keep the batter from turning blue or the berries from sinking to the bottom, try adding the blueberries to each individual muffin tin after the batter has been poured. Just drop as many blueberries as you want on top, mix them in with a spoon, and bake.

I hope you enjoy them!

– Steve

Nut-Free, Grain-Free Coconut And Tapioca Flour Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1 cup tapioca flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder (or see note above)
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 4 eggs (or 4 gelatin eggs)
• 1/3 cup coconut oil or grass-fed butter, melted
• 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk (canned)
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions:

1. Prepare 12-cup muffin tin by greasing each cup or using muffin tin liners.
2. Combine all dry ingredients in a medium size mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
3. Add wet ingredients (except blueberries) and whisk until batter is smooth. If batter is too thick to stir smooth, thin with more coconut milk, 1 tablespoon at a time.
4. Divide batter evenly into prepared 12-cup muffin tin. Divide 1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries on top of batter. Use a small spoon to gently stir blueberries into batter.
5. Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes, until edges are golden and a toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean. Let cool before serving for best texture.

P.S. If you try this recipe, leave us a comment and let us know how it turns out.

The post Nut-Free, Grain-Free Coconut And Tapioca Flour Blueberry Muffins appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

Tell me if this has ever happened to you…

You see a recipe that looks amazing. You click on it, fingers crossed.

Will the ingredients all work for me?

One by one, you read them, getting more and more excited. And then, there it is: some food you just cannot eat, ruining the entire recipe for you.

And I’m not talking about conventional recipes. I mean when you’re already looking at healthy recipes and they still don’t work for you!

I know I’m being a little dramatic here, but when you’re eating a restricted diet, it can be incredibly frustrating to try to find new recipes that work.

And when boredom with the recipes you do have sets in, you’re more likely than ever to stray from eating the foods that support your health and make you feel your best.

That’s why, today, I want to talk about modifying recipes to work for your healthy gut diet.

Every Healthy Gut Diet Is Unique

Something we’ve always said is that the best diet is the one that is customized to you and your unique needs.

What works for me, won’t necessarily work for you. John can tolerate nuts, but Sally can’t. Sally is fine with eggs, but they give John room-clearing gas. And on and on.

This is why it’s critical you go through an elimination and reintroduction diet to find the perfect diet customized to you.

(If you need help with this, check out our Solving Leaky Gut program.)

The problem with this is that people who write recipes (including us!) use ingredients that work for them. And those ingredients may or may not work for you.

So, today I want to share some of the most common swaps – for eggs, nut flours, and dairy – you’ll need to modify healthy gut recipes to work for your unique diet.

Gelatin As An Egg Substitute

Want to bake, but can’t tolerate eggs? For baked recipes – like cookies or pancakes – that call for 1-3 eggs, you can substitute gelatin eggs.

Eggs play 2 roles in baked goods: they lend structure and the yolk’s healthy fat provides moisture.

Gelatin eggs mimic the structure regular eggs lend to baked goods, but they don’t have the same amount of fat. You may need to add extra fat to baked goods when using gelatin eggs, especially if the recipe calls for more than 3 eggs.

There’s an added bonus to gelatin eggs, though: gelatin has tons of health benefits – especially for the gut. Gelatin can help heal inflammation of the gut lining and close the tight junctions that open when a leaky gut develops.

But the type of gelatin you use matters. Look for a plain, unflavored, grass-fed gelatin. The 2 brands we like are Vital Proteins (in the green tub) and Great Lakes (in the red canister). Don’t substitute collagen peptides for the gelatin – collagen peptides dissolve in liquid and won’t work for creating structure in baked goods.

For each regular egg you’re replacing, you’ll need 1 tablespoon of gelatin and 3 tablespoons of water.

• Place the gelatin in a small bowl and add 1 tablespoon warm water.
• Stir well to moisten the gelatin with the water (it won’t be entirely dissolved).
• Then add 2 more tablespoons of hot water and whisk to dissolve the gelatin. You should have a thick but smooth mixture.
• Let the gelatin egg sit for 3 minutes, then add to your recipe as you would a regular egg.

2 Nut Flour Substitutes

Nut flour is one the most common ingredients in “healthy“ recipes. It’s used for everything from making a crispy coating for chicken and fish to healthy cinnamon rolls.

So, if you’re avoiding nuts – or just trying to cut back on how much nut flour you eat – it can be really hard to find exciting recipes that work.

Luckily, there are MANY more grain-free flour options available today than there were even just a few years ago. And if you understand a bit about them, you can swap out nut flours for other flours in just about any recipe.

I use a combination of two grain-free flours to substitute for nut flours: coconut flour and tapioca flour.

Coconut flour is made from (you guessed it!) coconuts. It is lower in carbohydrates than many other alternative flours and very high in fiber. It is also VERY absorbent – coconut flour is like a sponge and soaks up an incredible amount of liquid.

Tapioca flour is made from the cassava root. Cassava is also known as manioc or yuca and is also what is used to make tapioca pearls – the kind you might have had in pudding.

To approximate the texture of nut flours, I use a 1:3 ratio of coconut flour to tapioca flour. If that ratio is confusing to you, think about it like this: take whatever amount of nut flour called for and divide by 4. Use 1 part coconut flour and 3 parts tapioca flour.

For example, if a recipe calls for 1 cup of almond flour, I’d use ¼ cup coconut flour and ¾ cup tapioca flour as a substitute.

Remember that even with healthy foods, “the dose makes the poison.” Occasionally, foods made from tapioca and coconut flour can be a fun way to add variety to your diet. But if you start eating them every day, you will miss out on other, more-nutrient-dense foods – and potentially set yourself back from healing.

How To Make Dairy-Free Options

Most gut-healthy diets are dairy-free.

But some – like the Specific Carbohydrate Diet – allow specific types of dairy, like 24-hour yogurt.

And many gut-healing diets allow grass-fed butter, too.

What’s the deal with that? How can some dairy be OK while other types are off-limits?

First, as with any food, there is the issue of quality.

Most dairy products in the United States come from conventional dairies. Cows are kept in unsanitary conditions and fed an unnatural diet of foods like corn and soy. They’re often treated with antibiotics and artificial growth hormones, too. Then, the milk is pasteurized at high heat and stored in plastic jugs.

If you’re lucky enough to get your hands on high-quality, naturally-produced dairy products, you’ll recognize the difference immediately. Grass-fed dairy products are richer and more yellow in color. And many people who can’t tolerate traditional dairy products are able to tolerate grass-fed natural products like raw milk.

Secondly, preparation makes a big difference, too. Properly prepared 24-hour yogurt is virtually lactose-free. This is important, as many people who don’t tolerate milk are reacting to the lactose sugar in milk. When the lactose is consumed by microbes during the fermentation process, they are able to enjoy all the health benefits of 24-hour yogurt without any symptoms.

Lastly, I’ve noticed a huge group of people who react to the whey and casein proteins in dairy. This is why 24-hour yogurt isn’t right for everyone and lactose-free products often still cause problems.

So, maybe it’s the quality of the dairy, maybe it’s the preparation methods, maybe it’s the carbohydrates or proteins – regardless, it’s out for now, so what can you do?

Ghee is a great alternative to grass-fed butter that you can make at home. It is usually well-tolerated even by the most sensitive individuals. If made correctly, it should be carbohydrate and protein free. However,If you’re uncertain about eating ghee, you should always talk to your doctor first.

To make ghee, you simply:

• Melt grass-fed butter in a heavy pot over medium heat.
• Allow the butter to melt completely and foam two times. This usually takes about 10-15 minutes. Once the second foam has simmered away, the butter will be a bright gold color and there will be browned milk solids at the bottom of the pan.
• Strain the melted butter through cheesecloth to remove the milk solids, and you have made ghee.

Ghee can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container.

For those who want the probiotic benefits of 24-hour yogurt but can’t tolerate dairy, coconut milk yogurt is a great alternative. In this version, we thicken it with gelatin to make a creamy coconut yogurt. The sugar is consumed entirely in the fermentation process and the resulting yogurt is unsweetened.

Thickened 24-Hour Coconut Milk Yogurt

Ingredients:

• 3, 14 oz cans coconut milk (look for one without added ingredients like this)
• 1 teaspoon sugar, honey, or maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon gelatin
• Yogurt starter (we recommend this one)
• 24-hour yogurt maker

Directions:

• Place coconut milk, gelatin, and sugar in saucepan. Heat slowly, while whisking, over medium-low heat until the coconut milk thickens and the temperature reaches about 100°F.
• Remove from heat and pour into yogurt maker vessel. Add yogurt starter and slowly whisk in. Place lid on yogurt maker and allow to ferment for 24 hours at 100°F.
• After 24 hours fermenting, place the tub (don’t stir it yet!) in the fridge to set for 6 hours. The yogurt will separate into layers in the fridge, so stir to combine before eating. Enjoy!

Simple Food Is The Foundation

I hope these substitution ideas make more recipes accessible for you.

But I also want to remind you that the foundation of any healthy diet is simply prepared, whole foods. If you need more help finding the gut-healthy diet for you, make sure you check out this resource.

– Steve

P.S. What substitutions do you use? Share with us in the comments.

The post How To Make Any Recipe Gut-Healthy appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

Having a healthy go-to treat is serious business.

I’m talking about something you can enjoy that won’t set you back 3 days (or more) on your healing journey.

It could be the difference between staying on the right track or completely falling off the wagon (and contemplating never getting back on).

A healthy treat shouldn’t be too much to ask for, but often times it is.

And we don’t want it to be the reason you experience a dreadful setback.

Our dark chocolate recipe meets all the criteria of an amazing treat: simple, versatile, gut-healthy and delicious.

The Problem With Most Chocolate Products

If there’s one ingredient that stands in the way of allowing chocolate to really shine, it’s sugar.

Whether it’s raw, organic, or pure, the bottom line is this – sugar isn’t good for your gut (or for your skin, your heart, your teeth, and the list goes on).

You can think of it like this – sugar “cancels out” all the amazing benefits of cocoa powder (see below).

And this is where honey (SCD legal and gut friendly) and maple syrup (Paleo/Autoimmune friendly) come to the rescue – two sweeteners that, when used in moderation, actually have health benefits.

A sweetener that adds health? Now we’re talking. Don’t forget to use maple syrup when baking too.

And let’s not forget the other ingredients you’re likely to find in a standard chocolate bar – additives, preservatives, milk and genetically modified ingredients.

Now, let’s’ talk a little bit about cocoa powder – the main ingredient in chocolate products.

Not All Cocoa Powder Is Created Equal

While all cocoa powder begins in the same form – cocoa beans from the Theobroma cacao tree – it doesn’t end up the same.

Depending on how the bean is processed, two products can result: Natural cocoa powder and dutch-processed cocoa powder.

With dutch-processed products, the beans are soaked in an alkalized chemical solution to allow for a less acidic and richer tasting powder. Unfortunately, many of the nutrients are destroyed during the process.

In one study, heavily alkalized cocoa powders contained 78.5% less flavanols (antioxidants) than that of natural cocoa.

Natural cocoa powder is minimally processed, which means the nutrients are still intact. In fact, all the latest research studies showing us the health benefits of chocolate are based on raw or minimally processed cocoa, like this brand here.

Speaking of nutrients, the nutritional profile of high-quality, unprocessed cocoa powder may surprise you.

The Health Benefits Of Cocoa Powder

There’s a reason the Latin name for chocolate translates into “Food of the Gods.” The Mayans reserved chocolate for the rulers, warriors, priests and nobles for its energy boosting benefits.

Today, chocolate is still a valued and important part of culinary cultures around the world. And thankfully, there are some great benefits to this ancient food.

Here are just a few of the ways high-quality chocolate can boost your health:

• Rich in plant-derived antioxidants known to decrease blood pressure, fight inflammation and decrease platelet activity (associated with heart disease)
• A good source of fiber (unsweetened cocoa powder contains almost 2g of fiber per tablespoon)
• Dark chocolate (70 – 85% cocoa) provides adequate amounts of magnesium, which helps to regulate blood pressure and is necessary for muscle relaxation and energy production
• 1 TBSP of cocoa provides 23% of the recommended daily amount (RDA) for copper
• Single servings of cocoa contain more phenolic antioxidants than most foods at 50mg per gram
• Flavanols can help boost cognitive function such as mood and memory
• Studies show the larger molecules in cocoa are poorly absorbed through the gut barrier (due to their high molecular weight) and can act as a prebiotic (food for gut bacteria)

Now, let’s’ dive into the fun part – the recipe.

Healthy Dark Chocolate Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup coconut oil – melted
• 1/2 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/8 Cup maple syrup

Directions:

1. Melt coconut oil in a pan on the stove or in a microwave safe dish (be sure to whisk out any clumps)
2. Pour coconut oil into a blender (or a bowl if using an electric hand mixer)
3. Add cocoa powder and maple syrup to the oil
4. Blend well (blender or hand mixer will work)
5. Pour into ice cube trays and place into freezer for at least 15 minutes
6. Remove from the freezer and “pop” the chocolate out of the tray – ENJOY!

Make It Your Own

One of my favorite things about this recipe is it’s flexibility. In other words, you can alter the ingredients and it won’t be an epic failure.

Recipe Variations:

• Extra-dark – Decrease the amount of sweetener OR add ¼ cup more cocoa powder.
• Chocolate dip – Instead of freezing the chocolate in ice cube trays, leave it to sit at room temperature for the perfect chocolate fruit dip.
• SCD Legal Sweetener – Replace the maple syrup with 1/8 cup of honey*. To use honey, place 1/8 cup honey in a glass container and put it in hot water to melt honey safely.
• Sweet and salty – Add a pinch of sea salt to the recipe or add on top after you put the chocolate in the ice cube tray.
• Chocolate covered fruit – Dip bananas or strawberries in the liquid chocolate and place in the freezer (on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper) for at least 15 minutes.
• Chocolate frosting – Place the liquid chocolate in fridge for 5 – 10 minutes to allow it to thicken. Simply spread the thickened chocolate on a muffin, cake or item of choice.

*Please note: If using honey, the chocolate will take much longer to thicken.

Frequently Asked Questions

At SCD lifestyle, we believe in individuality and finding a custom diet that works for you. In other words, what works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for everyone else.

Let these frequently asked questions guide you when deciding if this recipe is right for you.

Does chocolate contain caffeine?

Yes, but in very low levels. The energy boost felt from chocolate actually comes from theobromine – a compound closely related to caffeine. However, research shows it doesn’t exert its effects on the central nervous system like caffeine – so it’s a different type of energy than one might get from a cup of coffee. Theobromine also takes longer to clear from the body systems, providing more of a steady energy. If you’re suffering from adrenal fatigue or blood sugar issues, caffeine in general isn’t recommended as it can make symptoms worse.

Is this recipe SCD legal?

No. If you’re strictly following the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, chocolate is considered illegal.

However, we are all about finding the customized diet that works for you. That means some members of the community are further along on their healing journey and can tolerate small amounts of chocolate. In general, if you’re just beginning the SCD or similar gut healing diet, we’d suggest avoiding it and testing it out later on.

What if I can’t tolerate fat?

If you’re concerned about the saturated fat content of coconut oil in this recipe, test out a small piece and see how you do. If you already know you can’t tolerate much fat right now, this is a recipe to save for later. And if you’re not already taking them, digestive enzymes can really aid in the digestion of fats.

How much chocolate can I have?

The “everything in moderation” rule still applies here. You get to be the judge in determining how much is too much. As always, start with a small amount and see how your body reacts.

What’s Holding You Back?

Bottom line, our goal is to help you succeed in healing your gut. And if you haven’t’ started yet because you’re feeling like you can’t have any treats… fear no more.

We know that part of a successful gut healing journey is being able to enjoy something sweet from time to time (we know because we’ve failed plenty).

Recipes like this make that possible – free of sugar, additives, fillers, dairy or mystery… your gut will thank you.

We think your friends will thank you, too, so don’t forget to share the love!

– Lori Jo

P.S. Did you try this recipe? Leave us a comment and tell us what you think

The post Easy Homemade Dark Chocolate Recipe appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

There’s nothing else like it… warm, gooey, chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven.

(Hey, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to enjoy a cookie sometimes! After all, delicious food is one of life’s greatest pleasures.)

Even if you’re following a healthy gut, grain-free diet like SCD or paleo, you shouldn’t have to give up the occasional cookie.

But here’s the problem: a lot of gut-healthy, grain-free recipes rely way too much on one ingredient that may be holding you back from healing: nut flour.

The Problem With Nut Flours

Most grain-free baking recipes use nut flours like almond as a replacement for traditional wheat flour or gluten-free flours like rice.

But, nut flours can be really difficult for those with a compromised gut to digest. They cause issues for so many people that we call nuts one of the “4 Horsemen of SCD.”

Nut flours are also high in Omega-6 fats. For optimal health, Omega-3 and -6 fats need to be balanced in the body. If you’re eating lots of fats rich in Omega-3, like wild-caught fish, this may not be a problem for you. But most people eat far more Omega-6 than they do Omega-3.

(For more on healthy fats, check this out.)

If you’ve tried other grain-free baked goods and not tolerated them well, it could be because of nut flours. And if you’re eating a lot of nut flour and not seeing progress in healing your gut, you may want to consider cutting back on it.

Enter Coconut Flour

Coconut flour is my favorite nut-free, grain-free flour to bake with. It’s gluten-free, grain-free and well-tolerated by most people.

If you don’t tolerate nut-flour, or just want to stop eating so much nut flour, coconut flour might be your new go-to.

Coconut flour is very absorbent, though – it’s like a sponge and will suck up lots of liquid. For this reason, coconut flour has developed a reputation as being hard to work with and dry.

While it’s true that a nut-flour baked good is usually more moist than a coconut-flour baked good, you can still make a great cookie with coconut flour (I have eaten LOTS of cookies that prove it!).

Trust your intuition when you’re baking with coconut flour – if your cookie dough is too dry, you can always thin it with a little more liquid or fat.

Let’s Talk About Chocolate

At SCD Lifestyle, we are all about finding the customized diet that works for you.

That means some members of our community eat chocolate, while others avoid it.

If you’re strictly following the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, chocolate is considered illegal. (Carob is illegal on SCD, too – but it may be OK if you’re following AIP or another gut healing diet.)

If you’re including chocolate, choose a high-quality dark or semi-sweet chocolate. I use Enjoy Life allergen-friendly chocolate chips.

For those who avoid chocolate, some other options are dried fruit like raisins, unsweetened flake coconut, or carob chips. If you do tolerate nuts, you could also add some chopped nuts to the dough.

Or, you can do like I sometimes do and add a little extra cinnamon and skip the chips altogether!

Remember, you’re the boss of your own diet. Make substitutions as you need to to suit your own body. I’ve included substitutes and suggestions in the recipe as a starting point.

(Are you stuck on a restricted diet, unable to introduce more foods? That can be a sign of leaky gut.)

One For Me Now, One For Me Later

As with ANY food, cookies – even healthy gut cookies – should be eaten in moderation. Plus, these cookies are best fresh from the oven. That’s why I recommend portioning and freezing the dough.

Once dough is assembled, scoop into balls (forming round balls with your hand will result in the prettiest cookies). Freeze on cookie sheet for 30 minutes, then transfer frozen dough balls to an airtight container and keep frozen for a hot, fresh cookie anytime.

This healthy gut cookie recipe is the one I use when I’ve got a cookie craving. Whether you want to experience the joy of baking with your kids, or just want a special afternoon snack, I hope you enjoy it.

Healthy Gut Nut-Flour-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• ½ cup coconut flour
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp cinnamon (more to taste)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (gluten free)
• 1/3 cup coconut sugar OR maple syrup (your preference)
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup coconut oil or high-quality butter, melted
• ½ cup chocolate chips, coconut, raisins, or other add-in

Directions:

Combine coconut flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and coconut sugar (if using – if using maple syrup, add it with the other wet ingredients) in a medium bowl. Mix to incorporate. Then, add wet ingredients and stir to form a dough. Add chocolate chips or other mix-in and stir to combine.

Form dough into medium-size balls (like a ping-pong ball). Freeze or bake immediately.

To bake, preheat oven to 350°F and bake for 12-16 minutes, or until bottom of cookie is golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes before eating.

P.S. Did you try this recipe? Leave us a comment and tell us how it turned out for you.

The post Healthy Gut Nut-Flour-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

Whether you’re following SCD, AIP, GAPS, or just a healthy gut diet, you should be doing one thing: making and drinking bone broth regularly.

Bone broth helps heal leaky gut by restoring the mucosal lining of the intestines. It’s a potent source of glutamine and other essential amino acids. It can help with everything from gut pain, to joint pain, to skin health.

The traditional way to make bone broth is “low and slow.” You start by combining plenty of high-quality bones with water on your stove or in your slow cooker, and then you wait… and wait… and wait a little longer.

24 to 36 hours later, you (finally) have delicious bone broth (plus a hot kitchen with a very particular odor!)

For the past 7 or 8 years, this is what I’ve been doing just about every week. (I drink a mug of bone broth nearly every day). The only time I got a break was when I bought high-quality packaged broth like Kettle & Fire.

The New Bone Broth Tool That Is Blowing My Mind

Some of you are gonna laugh when I tell you what I recently bought that is totally blowing my mind. (A lot of you already know about or own this tool, which is great!)

But other people still may not have heard about it, or may be on the fence about it.

I hope this convinces you.

It’s an Instant Pot.

Basically, the Instant Pot is just a pressure cooker (like what my mom had way back when, but never, ever used).

The Instant Pot is really easy and safe to use – since I bought it on Black Friday, I’ve been using it to cook meats (even from frozen), make quick soups and stews, and of course, make bone broth!

I’m a single dad who works full time. I’m busy. But putting real, nutritious food on the table for my kids is a big priority for me. And the Instant Pot is making it so much easier for me lately.

(On a side note, another thing I love about it is that you can cook meat from frozen in just a few minutes. If you buy grass-fed meats frozen or in bulk (like I do from Butcher Box) it makes dinner that much easier – no defrosting.)

If you’re following a real food diet, an Instant Pot is a kitchen must-have.

Today, I want to share with you not just my recipe for chicken bone broth in the Instant Pot but the actual method I follow all week to make it happen, easily.

How To Make Instant Pot Chicken Bone Broth

You can make bone broth with any kind of bones, but I want to share the one I make most often – chicken bone broth.

I’ve made making fresh bone broth in the Instant Pot part of my weekly routine. Just like I wouldn’t skip taking my garbage out or packing my kid’s lunches, I don’t miss making my broth. Here’s how…

Step 1: The Bones

Now that we’re making bone broth in the Instant Pot, we always have a whole roast chicken one night per week. (Make sure you’re sourcing high-quality, free-range meat. Especially when you’re making bone broth, this is really important).

Logistically, this usually means eating an early Sunday-evening roast chicken dinner with my family. After dinner, I throw everything in the pot and start it. Then, I do the kids’ bedtime routines and my own Sunday-evening stuff. When the timer goes off on the Instant Pot, I strain and package it up, clean up the kitchen, and I’m ready to start the week.

After we eat, the bones go one of two places: into a bag in the freezer (if I’m going to make broth later in the week) or straight into the Instant Pot. Along with the bones goes anything else we didn’t eat (like the gizzards, neck, skin, cartilage etc.). Any extra meat goes into the fridge to eat in the next few days.

Sometimes I add in chicken feet if I have them (you can get these from your butcher).

If your bones are frozen, you don’t need to thaw them – just put them in the Instant Pot straight from the freezer.

Step 2: The Extras

You can make great-tasting bone broth with just bones, water, and a little salt. But I usually like to add a few other things. These are some common extras I throw in the Instant Pot:

• Onions
• Carrots
• Leeks
• Celery
• Mushrooms
• Garlic
• Herbs (fresh or dried rosemary, thyme, sage, bay leaves, etc.)
• High-quality natural salt and pepper

Just about any kitchen scraps you’d normally put in the composter can go in the bone broth instead – onion skins, carrot peels, mushroom stems, celery and carrot tops and ends, and herbs that are about to go bad. I save these up in the freezer all week specifically for making bone broth.

These all go in the Instant Pot, too – frozen or thawed, it doesn’t matter – right on top of the bones.

You can use as much or as little as you want. (That’s the great thing about bone broth – it always comes out a little different, but it never comes out bad!)

I also always add 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar (this helps the bones break down) and at least 1 teaspoon of sea salt. You can always add more salt to taste later – and adjust how much you add at the beginning as you perfect your method over time.

Step 3: Add The Water

To recap, here’s what you should have in your Instant Pot so far:

• Bones, skin, and extras from 1 cooked chicken
• Any veggies you have on hand to add in
• Garlic, herbs, and spices (if you want!)
• At least 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Once all that is in the pot, add fresh, cold, filtered water to just cover everything. You don’t want to fill the pot more than ? full or an inch below the maximum fill line. This is really important – more water isn’t better. Don’t overfill the pot.

Step 4: Turn On Your Instant Pot

Some people say you only need 30 minutes to make bone broth in the Instant Pot. But in my opinion, a really short cooking time like 30 minutes makes more of a chicken broth than a true rich, meaty, thick, might-even-gel-in-the-fridge bone broth.

The more time you give the pot to work, the better your broth will turn out. With that in mind, I like to cook my broth for 2 hours. This means I like to have 3 hours dedicated to making my bone broth, start to finished-and-packaged-in-the-freezer.

Once I’ve got all the ingredients in my Instant Pot and I’ve added the water, I close the lid and select the “Soup” setting, and then manually increase the time to the max amount allowed – 119 minutes. You can also set it manually to pressure cook at “High Pressure” and then increase the time to 120 minutes.

After the time is up, I usually allow the pressure in the Instant Pot to release naturally (on its own) – but you CAN use the quick release pressure valve if you prefer or are in a hurry. It takes about 20 minutes for the pressure to release on its own.

Step 5: Strain and Store

Straining your bone broth is really important, and while it’s my least favorite step, if I try and skimp on doing it the right way, I always regret it.

First, though, let’s talk about the “fat cap.” Skimming the fat off the top of your bone broth is a totally personal choice.

If you’re just getting started on a gut-healing diet and you still have diarrhea or trouble digesting fat, though, you may want to skim at least some of the fat to start.

There are a few different ways you can skim the fat:

• Use a spoon to skim the fat off the top of the hot broth before you strain and package it
• Use a glass “gravy separator” like this with hot broth as you strain
• Don’t skim the fat off, but package the soup as-is and then remove the solidified “fat cap” after refrigeration

Once you’ve decided what to do about the fat, it’s time to strain the soup. If you’re removing the fat by skimming with a spoon, do that before this.

Using either a fine mesh strainer or a regular metal (not plastic) colander lined with cheesecloth, strain the broth. I usually strain into a big glass pitcher (make sure it is heat-safe, like this one). Having the broth in a pitcher makes it easy to portion into mason jars.

I push on the bones and veggies in the strainer with the back of a big spoon to try and extract all the broth.

If you want to reuse your bones, you can separate them out now and freeze them again. Some say that chicken bones can be reused up to 3 times. Personally, I don’t reuse my bones – so I don’t save them. I like to make broth with fresh bones every week (it has a stronger flavor and more nutrients).

If you’re using a glass gravy separator, strain the broth directly into the separator (you might have to do this in 2 or 3 batches).

Once your broth has been strained, give it a stir and make sure there are no bone fragments or other scum in the broth. If needed, strain again with the cheesecloth.

If you’re going to consume your broth within 7 days, you can store it in the fridge. In this case, I’ll just keep my broth in the pitcher, covered – or in a big mason jar with the lid on. You can also portion into individual mason jars if you want to be able to take it on the go.

If you’re freezing your bone broth, store it in glass jars like this. Make sure you leave at least an inch of space at the top of the jars so they don’t explode when you freeze them! I use these reusable jars and plastic lids – but I make sure my broth never touches the lids.

By the time I’m done straining and packaging my broth, it is usually cool enough to go straight into the freezer or fridge – but if yours is still very hot, allow it to cool for 1 to 2 hours on the counter.

Instant Pot Bone Broth FAQs

Here are some of the questions I asked myself when I first started making bone broth and get asked by others:

What if my bone broth doesn’t gel?
The collagen in the bones is what makes bone broth turn into a semi-solid gel when cooled. If your bone broth isn’t gelling, it just means the ratio of collagen to water isn’t quite high enough. But actually, that is OK – your broth is still full of powerful nutrients. If you really want your broth to gel, you may need to use more bones or add in some more collagen-rich parts, like a few chicken feet.

Can I use other bones or a mixture of bones?
Absolutely! You can use chicken, turkey, duck, lamb, pork, and beef bones – and I’m sure a few others I forgot to mention here. If you’re using raw bones, I recommend roasting them in the oven at about 425? until they are golden brown. This helps deepen the flavor of the broth.

How can I use my bone broth?
I drink it straight out of a mug, use it in cooking, to moisten leftovers, as a base for soups and stews, to make rice, and just about anywhere else I’d use water in cooking.

This Is Why We Call It A “Lifestyle”

There’s a reason Steve and I call it the “SCD Lifestyle.” Getting and keeping a healthy gut isn’t just a 60-day project – it’s a commitment to making health-supporting choices for the rest of your life.

If you’re in it for the long haul, having tools that make a gut-healthy lifestyle easier are really priceless – and the Instant Pot is definitely one of those for me.

I hope this tutorial has helped you understand not just how to make bone broth in an Instant Pot – but how to integrate habits that make it an easy part of your routine.

– Jordan

P.S. Do you have tips for me? Other Instant Pot recipe suggestions? More questions? Please leave us a comment below. We can’t wait to hear from you.

Easy Instant Pot Chicken Bone Broth

Time: ~3 hours (30 minutes hands-on)

Ingredients:

• Carcass from one cooked ~4 pound chicken (bones, skin, cartilage, neck, gizzards, etc.), extra bones or chicken feet optional
• Veggie scraps (optional, to taste)
• Garlic cloves, herbs, and spices (optional, to taste)
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon natural sea salt (more to taste)
• Water

Instructions:

1. Place chicken carcass, veggies (if using), and herbs, garlic, or spices (if using) in Instant Pot
2. Add apple cider vinegar and salt
3. Cover with water to no more than ? Instant Pot capacity or 1 inch below the maximum fill line
4. Set Instant Pot to “Soup” and increase time to 119 minutes (maximum time)
5. After time has elapsed, allow pressure to release naturally (~20 minutes)
6. Skim fat (optional), strain, and store

Will keep for up to 7 days refrigerated. For use beyond 7 days, freeze.

The post How To Make Chicken Bone Broth In The Instant Pot appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

You guys know, I’m not a professional chef.

But over the last 10 years, I’ve learned a few things about what makes food taste good.

And one of the things that makes anything taste better is umami.

Umami is the 5th flavor – it’s hard to describe, but the best word is probably savory. It gives food a deep earthy flavor.

You can add umami flavor to food with several ingredients – anchovies have it, tomato paste or coconut aminos are other good options – but my absolute favorite source of umami flavor are mushrooms!

This recipe has a TON of amazing umami flavor from coconut aminos, two types of mushrooms, AND Kettle and Fire’s new mushroom chicken bone broth.

I like it as a hearty appetizer or even as a main course.

Prep time: 10 min | Cook time: 20 min | Total time: 30 min
Servings: 4

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 portobello mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons liquid aminos
• ¾ cup mushroom chicken bone broth
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 ½ cups crimini mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 1 cup cooked chicken breast, chopped
• 1 tablespoon cilantro, roughly chopped

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 400°F.
2. Gently clean the portobello mushrooms with a paper towel and remove the stems. Evenly distribute the liquid aminos by rubbing on each of the mushroom tops. Place mushrooms gill-side up on a nonstick baking sheet.
3. In a large sauce pan over medium heat, warm ¼ cup of the bone broth until simmering. Then add the shallot.
4. Stirring occasionally, cook until the shallots are tender and translucent, about 3 minutes.
5. Add garlic, crimini mushrooms and ¼ cup more of the bone broth. Cook until mushrooms are soft and broth has thickened, about 5 minutes.
6. Add cooked chicken and remaining broth. Stir until stuffing is fully mixed.
7. Scoop ¼ cup of the mushroom chicken stuffing into one portobello mushroom top. Repeat this with the remaining stuffing and mushrooms.
8. Transfer to the oven, and cook mushroom tops, until mushrooms are golden brown, about 10 minutes.
9. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy.

I hope you enjoy this easy dish as much as I do.

Please leave me a comment and let me know how yours turns out.

– Steve

P.S. What other ways do you use the new Kettle & Fire mushroom chicken bone broth?

Let us know in the comments. I’m loving it for cooking and sipping.

The post SCD Chicken-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

If you’re following an ancestral or gut-healthy diet like SCD, AIP, GAPS, paleo, or a leaky gut diet, beans are one of the most confusing foods you’ll hear discussed.

On the one hand, you probably grew up believing beans to be a “healthy food.” They’re versatile, cheap, tasty, and filling… there’s a good reason they are a staple in diets around the world.

But on the other hand, if you’re interested in gut health, you may have heard some bad news about beans…

Like that beans contain anti-nutrients. Or that they damage your gut. That they are actually really bad for you.

So which is true? Are beans good or bad?

The truth is that (like just about any food) beans and legumes aren’t strictly good or bad.

Depending on the individual, beans may or may not be a good food for you right now.

But one thing is certain: to be a healthy food for anyone, beans must be properly prepared.

When prepared properly, beans are a nutrient-dense food that can nourish your body. In this article, I’ll briefly cover the bean controversy plus share how to safely prepare beans at home.

Why Do Beans Have a Bad Rap?

Beans, like all plant foods, contain anti-nutrients.

Anti-nutrients are mother nature’s way of protecting plants from being eaten by other organisms.

Some anti-nutrients you’ve probably heard of:

• Lectins
• Phytates
• Tannins
• Oxalates
• Gluten
• Saponins
• And many more

(A side note – you’ll also hear many of these referred to as acids – i.e. oxalates as oxalic acid, or phytates as phytic acid – for our understanding, it’s just a different way of saying the same thing.)

Beans contain high levels of both lectins and phytates, which is why some gut-healing diets exclude beans entirely.

Are Lectins Making You Sick?

Lectins are a type of anti-nutrient found in many plant foods – everything from grains and beans to squash and nightshades.

Uncooked beans contain high levels of lectins – and when not cooked thoroughly, can make people sick.

Recently, diets that limit or avoid foods high in lectins have become popular.

And while it’s true that over consuming lectins can cause symptoms in sensitive people (especially those with conditions like leaky gut or autoimmunity), most lectins are removed by cooking.

In fact, pressure cooking beans for as little as 7.5 minutes almost entirely deactivates the lectin they contain.

So, as our friend Chris Kresser puts it,

“Suggesting that we shouldn’t eat cooked legumes because raw legumes cause disease is like saying that we shouldn’t eat cooked chicken because we can get Salmonella from eating raw chicken.”

Is Phytic Acid Stealing Your Nutrients?

Phytate contains a form of phosphorus that is not bioavailable to humans and other primates. This means we aren’t able to absorb and break down the phosphorus contained in the phytate. (Animals like cows who have multiple stomachs are better able to digest the phytates in beans and grains.)

The unabsorbed phosphorous then binds to calcium, zinc, magnesium, copper, and iron in the intestinal tract – meaning that not only do we not digest the nutrients present in food high in phytates – you also miss out on the nutrients in other foods because the phytates “steal” them.

Fear over the consequences of phytates “stealing” nutrients led many people to completely remove beans from their diet. While we respect each person’s right to customize their diet to their own needs, you certainly don’t have to eliminate beans to be healthy or safeguard your nutrients.

But by soaking beans before cooking, you can drastically reduce the amount of phytates in beans and make them much safer to consume, even in large quantities. Plus, it’s easy, cheap, and requires no special skills.

Proper Preparation Makes Beans Gut-Healthy

Let’s briefly go back to cows for a minute.

Animals that graze on grains for the majority of their food have multiple stomachs that help them break down anti-nutrients like phytates found in plant foods.

Humans have just one stomach.

Luckily, we have something else that helps us break down our food and make it easier to digest: kitchens!

I’m not kidding! By preparing our foods properly, we can make them less harmful, more beneficial, and much easier to digest.

Beans are a prime example of this. By soaking beans before cooking them, we can greatly reduce the levels of phytic acid present in the finished beans.

In a sense, soaking and cooking (especially pressure cooking) act like 2 extra stomachs for us!

Soaking beans before cooking them also makes them less likely to cause digestive disturbances like bloating and gas.

How to Soak Beans

Soaking beans is very straightforward.

There are 3 elements to consider when soaking beans:

1. Type of bean
2. Length of time
3. And water solution

If all else fails, soaking any dried beans in plain water overnight is better than not soaking at all – but you can customize the soak to reap the most benefits.

Here’s how I soak my beans:

• Using a 4:1 ratio of beans to water, I soak them for 10-24 hours in warm water with either an acid or a base added – or nothing added at all (it all depends on the type of bean)
• For acids, I use either lemon juice or vinegar, and add 2 tablespoons for every 1 cup of beans
• For my base, I add 1 pinch of baking soda per 1 cup of beans
• After soaking, I drain and rinse the beans and then cook them according to my recipe

This chart can help you figure out what to add to your water, based on the bean you’re using:

For example, if I was soaking 2 cups of dried black beans I would combine the 2 cups dried beans, 8 cups warm water, and 4 tablespoons (or 1/4 cup) lemon juice or vinegar. I’d allow them to soak for 18 – 24 hours. If I was planning to have beans as part of my dinner Tuesday night, this might mean setting them out to soak as I was preparing dinner Monday night.

Beans Are Back on the Menu

If you’ve been excluding beans from your diet, I hope soaking and properly preparing them allows you to reintroduce them.

Remember that there isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” diet and the best way to know if beans work for you is to test them out!

If you feel overwhelmed and confused by figuring out what to eat, what foods to avoid, or how to test out reintroducing foods, I hope you’ll consider attending a free webinar on our Solving Leaky Gut course.

In Solving Leaky Gut, you’ll learn how to follow an elimination and reintroduction diet to heal your gut and find the perfect diet – customized to your unique needs.

Does this sound like something you need help with? Sign up for a free webinar here (we’ll email you a recording, too!).

In health,

Jordan

P.S. – Do you have a favorite bean recipe? Please share it with us in the comments section!

The post How To Properly Prepare Beans (So They’re Gut-Healthy) appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

Banana bread was one of my favorite childhood comfort foods – I’d always be excited to see enough brown bananas amass in the fruit bowl for my mom to agree to bake a loaf.

These days I still love banana bread just as much – but now I use my own gut-friendly recipe.

This banana bread recipe is:

• Grain-free
• Dairy-free
• Nut-free
• Sugar-free
• And high in protein!

Rather than being an empty calorie source like most banana bread is, this bread is full of nutrients and is filling. It’s just sweet enough (with no added sugar), dense, moist and banana-y.

I especially like this recipe because it doesn’t rely on nut flours, which can cause issues for some people who are still healing their gut. Instead, it uses a small amount of coconut flour to lend structure to the bread.

Unlike nut flours, coconut flour is highly absorbent – a little goes a long way! If your bread batter is too thick (more like cookie batter) you can thin it with a little coconut milk or oil, or just add a touch of water.

Here’s how I make it:

Ingredients:

• 4 very ripe medium bananas (very brown – the more ripe, the sweeter your bread will be)
• 5 eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon (more to taste)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 3/4 cup coconut flour

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In medium bowl, mash bananas with a fork. Add eggs and whisk to combine. Once eggs are combined, thoroughly mix in salt, baking soda, vanilla extract, and cinnamon (I use a lot of cinnamon – add as much as you like!)

Add 3/4 cup coconut flour, stir to combine with a spoon or spatula. If needed, thin batter slightly with coconut oil or milk, or a touch of water. Batter should be very thick, but pourable.

Bake in pre-heated oven in a lined or greased 8″x8″ pan for 40 minutes, or until done.

Optional Add-Ins:

• An extra banana sliced and set on top of the batter before baking
• Extra spices like nutmeg or allspice
• A teaspoon of all-natural almond extract
• Nuts or dried fruit like raisin, cranberries, or dried coconut (if you tolerate them!)

I hope you enjoy this gut-friendly banana bread as much as my family and I do

In good health,

Steve

P.S. – Did you make any modifications to this recipe? Leave a comment and tell us how you made it!

The post Grain-Free, Dairy-Free, Nut-Free, Low-Carb Banana Bread appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

With Memorial Day coming up, I’ve been thinking about how to celebrate the unofficial kickoff of BBQ season. After all, nothing says “summertime” quite like a day spent outside with family and friends around the grill.

But a “Standard American Barbecue” is far from gut healthy…

• Sauces and marinades full of sugar, gluten, preservatives, artificial colors and flavors
• Inflammatory oils like canola and soybean
• Low-quality meats like hot dogs and pre-made burgers

That doesn’t mean you need to spend your summer alone and inside. (We already know that following a leaky gut diet doesn’t mean you can’t be a Social Butterfly.)

Instead of the usual hot dogs, my favorite thing to grill are kabobs. I love how versatile they are – you can take any veggies, any type of meat, and combine them with fresh herbs and seasonings to make a really delicious, really simple meal.

One variation I make all the time are beef kabobs with chimichurri sauce.

Chimichurri is a South American sauce made of parsley, garlic and olive oil. If you haven’t had it before, it is similar to pesto but with a very bright flavor. You can use it as a marinade or a sauce for meat, eggs, salad, etc.

This recipe is easy (just a few ingredients), fun (there’s nothing like food on a stick) and really flavorful. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

A couple notes on this recipe:

• I use metal kabob sticks like these. You can also use wooden skewers, but make sure you soak them in water for at least 30 minutes before threading and cooking, or they will burn on the grill!
• Choosing a high-quality, grass-fed meat is very important. I like to order from U.S. Wellness Meats, Butcher Box, or from a local farmer (find a farm near you).
• The chimichurri sauce calls for red pepper flakes. You can omit them if you’re avoiding nightshades. I also include bell peppers on my kabobs, but you can either omit the peppers or replace with a veggie of your choice – zucchini works really well here, cut into ½ inch thick slices.
• Finally, for kids, I serve the cooked kebabs with homemade BBQ sauce or ketchup for dipping, rather than extra chimichurri sauce. Making ketchup or BBQ sauce at home might sound overwhelming, but you’ll be shocked at how easy it is. Not only that, but even simple homemade sauces taste far better than bottled. Make a double-batch at Memorial Day and you can enjoy it all summer long.
  • “Paleo” Ketchup from Empowered Sustenance
  • BBQ Sauce from Fed + Fit

Beef Kabobs with Chimichurri Sauce

Ingredients:

For the chimichurri sauce

• 2 cups fresh parsley
• 1 sprig fresh oregano or 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1-3 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper

For the kabobs

• 1 lb grass-fed flank steak
• 1 medium red onion
• 2 medium bell peppers

Directions:

For the chimichurri sauce:

In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast the unpeeled garlic cloves until the peel chars and begins to wrinkle, and garlic is fragrant. Remove from heat, let cool, and peel.

In a food processor or blender, combine peeled garlic cloves and all other chimichurri ingredients. Pulse until herbs and garlic are chopped and blended with other ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste. Divide sauce – half will be used as a marinade, reserve half to serve as a sauce.

For the kabobs:

Slice flank steak into thin strips, cutting against the grain of the meat. Place sliced steak and half the chimichurri sauce in a glass or ceramic bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 hours.

Meanwhile, slice onion and peppers into one-inch pieces.

Thread meat and vegetables onto metal skewers or soaked wooden skewers. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and brush with remaining marinade. After brushing kabobs, discard remaining marinade.

Cook on a preheated and greased grill or grill pan until the beef is cooked to your preference, about 5 minutes.

Serve with reserved chimichurri sauce.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do! Feel free to experiment with different meats and veggies to customize these kabobs to your liking.

What’s your favorite summertime grilling recipe? Please share it with us in the comments!

-Jordan

The post Gut-Healthy BBQ: Beef Kabobs with Chimichurri Sauce appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

I love experiencing the flavors of every season: fresh asparagus in the spring, juicy peaches in the summer, and gorgeous dark greens in the winter.

And then of course, there’s fall, the time when “pumpkin spice” flavors take over EVERYTHING.

And while pumpkin is amazing, there is so much more to experience in fall than just cinnamon, nutmeg, and everyone’s favorite orange squash.

Today, I want to share one of my favorite fall recipes that is an explosion of forgotten autumn flavors: Brussels sprouts, orange, and pomegranate.

Not only does this recipe taste amazing and unexpectedly like fall, but it is packed full of nutrient-dense foods that help promote a healthy gut.  

Just a few of the benefits of the ingredients in this recipe:

• Brussels sprouts: rich in Vitamins C and K, as well as magnesium, potassium, choline and B vitamins
• Orange zest and juice: rich in Vitamins C and A
• Honey: SCD-legal sweetener, rich in micronutrients like phosphorus, potassium, and zinc
• Natural sea salt: provides trace elements like zinc, iron and manganese
• Pomegranate arils: rich in the antioxidant punicalagins and the conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) punicic acid, which may help prevent cancer
• Avocado oil
  • Rich in micronutrients like potassium, choline and glutathione
  • Contains multiple antioxidants like carotenoids, polyphenols, and proanthocyanidins
  • Contains polyhydroxylated fatty acids, which help protect the skin from sun damage

This recipe is SCD-legal and perfect for a leaky gut diet. I’ll be enjoying this recipe not just on Thanksgiving, but all autumn long – I hope you do, too.

Avocado Oil Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Orange and Pomegranate

Ingredients:

• 1/4 Cup Extra-Virgin Avocado Oil
• Juice and Zest of 1 Orange
• 1 Tablespoon Honey
• 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt (ground)
• 1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
• 2 Pounds Fresh Brussels Sprouts (cored)
• 1/2 Cup Pomegranate Arils  
• Coarse Sea Salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Whisk the oil, orange juice, zest, honey, and salt and pepper in a large bowl until well combined. Add the Brussels sprouts to the mix (leave them whole or halve them for quicker cooking time) and toss to coat.
3. Lay on a baking sheet in a single layer, being careful not to overcrowd. Roast until the sprouts start to tenderize and turn brown, about 40-50 minutes. Remove from oven and toss with the pomegranate seeds and a sprinkling of coarse sea salt.  

Leave a comment and let me know how these turned out for you!

-Steve

P.S. I love avocado oil, not JUST for it’s health benefits but also for its delicate flavor and versatility (it has a smoke point of 480 degrees!). I resisted trying avocado oil for far too long because I thought I had all my bases covered with olive and coconut oil and grass-fed butter. As soon as I tried it, I fell in love.

If you haven’t tried avocado oil yet, my friends and the distributor of my FAVORITE avocado oil, Ava Jane’s, are giving away 1 free bottle of avocado oil for a limited time. All you have to do is cover the cost of shipping (even for our community members in Canada!) and there is no club membership or commitment of any type required.

You can get your free bottle here.

The post Avocado Oil Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Orange and Pomegranate appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

When you eat, you have many choices. Do you opt for flavor? Do you opt for convenience? Or do you take a ‘food as medicine’ approach?

The third choice is definitely the wisest. However, sometimes it can be difficult to find flavorful and convenient recipes that also help you heal… especially when many of us are following dietary guidelines, like the Leaky Gut diet, or the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD).

What Foods Fit Within a Leaky Gut Diet?

There are many Leaky Gut Diet-friendly foods that can satisfy your cravings, without leaving you feeling deprived. You can dine on vegetables, fruits, coconut products, grass-fed meats, seafood, poultry, bone broth, healthy fats, herbs, and many more choices.

While a wide variety of foods are permitted, there are some limitations on a Leaky Gut diet. You’ll want to avoid nuts, seeds, beans/legumes, grains, dried fruits, dairy, processed foods, alcohol, chocolate, eggs, and nightshades, at least until you know how you react to them. Keep in mind this is not an all-encompassing list. To learn more about what to eat and not eat on a Leaky Gut diet, check out this free webinar on Solving Leaky Gut.

What’s the Difference Between a Leaky Gut Diet and The SCD Diet?

SCD is similar to the Leaky Gut diet, but with a few notable deviations. For example, some nuts, eggs, legumes, and dairy are acceptable. Other than this, many of the same foods that can be consumed on the the Leaky Gut diet can also work for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.

This means it’s okay to consume high quality meats, veggies, some fruits, and other non-processed foods. For a complete list of foods to eat or avoid on the SCD, click here.

9 Leaky Gut Diet and SCD-Friendly Recipes

We’ve removed all the guesswork and left you with the most flavorful, gut-friendly choices! Here are 9 recipes that fit within the Leaky Gut and SCD protocols.

1 – Herb Roasted Bone Marrow

Photo: Empowered Sustenance

Bone marrow is loaded with health benefits – though many skip this food because it’s slightly unconventional. But be sure to start including bone marrow in your regular diet, as it contains lots of super healthy fat.

On top of this, bone marrow contains omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin A, calcium, iron, phosphorous, zinc, selenium, magnesium, and much more. Bone marrow may also help lead to a healthier immune system, improved digestive health, and even weight loss.

This easy-to-follow recipe is a great way to get started with bone marrow, as it only contains 4 ingredients.

2 – Homemade Beef Broth

Photo: Kettle & Fire

Besides the words “gut health,” there may not have been a more popular term than “bone broth” throughout the health and wellness community in this past year. Bone broth is rich in minerals that support the immune system, plus the collagen heals your gut lining, and can even reduce inflammation. This is, of course, in addition to the glutamine, glycine, and proline found within.

This particular bone broth recipe allows you to make this gut-healing superfood cheaply and easily! It doesn’t get much better than that. However, if you’re short on time, you can purchase high-quality, organic, and grass-fed bone broth online.

3 – MexiCali Kitchen Soup

Photo: Petra8paleo

Speaking of bone broth – this MexiCali soup is loaded with it! Add in the nutritional benefits of cilantro and avocado, and you are left with one nutritionally-dense and very unique soup.

Adding an acidic ingredient, such as apple cider vinegar, at the end of the cooking process is a great way to brighten the flavor. Start by putting in half a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, and add more as desired. Apple cider vinegar contains acetic acid, which has been shown to help aid in the digestion of proteins by naturally increasing your stomach acid production.

4 – Thai Carrot Soup

Photo: Comfy Belly

This soup is a classic for fall or winter, and it also contains loads of gut-healing nutrients. Definitely make this one with bone broth (not water), and try adding turmeric to get some anti-inflammatory benefits.

And if you are someone who enjoys a little bit sweeter taste, try adding a touch of ground cinnamon to this soup, which will also give it a health-lifting antioxidant boost.

5 – Mussel Soup

Photo: Eat Clean, Train Clean

This golden soup is made with lots of gut-healing bone broth, and also packs the nutritional wallop of mussels – hard to beat that! Mussels are a rich source of protein, vitamin B12, selenium and many other nutrients.

If you are following the Leaky Gut diet and avoiding nightshades, remember to leave out the spicy jalapenos in this recipe. Try substituting with a more gut-friendly herb, like sweet basil.

6 – Creamy Potato and Chicken Soup

Photo: My Big Fat Grain Free Life

This creamy chicken recipe doesn’t need dairy, and the broth makes this recipe even better for gut repair. Try pairing this with some nutrient-dense veggies, to round out the gut-healing benefits!

If you are following the SCD diet, remember that starches are not allowed. So make sure you leave out the sweet potatoes in this recipe, and try substituting with butternut squash.

7 – Chicken Zoodle Faux Pho

Photo: Eat Heal Thrive

Do you ever crave Asian cuisine, but can’t enjoy it because many Asian-style restaurants use additives and other preservatives?

If so, this recipe is for you. This delicious faux pho will give you all the flavor of your favorite Asian cuisine without any of the digestive issues. The bone broth found in this dish will help heal a leaky gut and provides a great texture for the rest of the ingredients to blend with.

8 – Tomatoless Soup

Photo: The Primordial Table

The tomato is a nightshade that may cause digestive problems. That’s why this tomatoless soup is so great – all the flavor, but none of the fuss. The beets in this soup will impart the color of tomatoes, but they are also much more gut-friendly. Experiment with different nutritional herbs (like basil or ginger) to really ramp up the gut-healing properties here.

9 – Asian-Style Slow Cooker Bone Broth

Photo: Steamy Kitchen

Bone broth is by far one of the best culinary choices that can improve your digestion, and this Asian variation is very flavorful. With a few different regional variations, this recipe keeps things interesting. We recommend the Chinese style: garlic, ginger, and green onion. Works every time!

Have Any Recipe Suggestions?

Good news – whether you are following the Leaky Gut diet or SCD, these 9 recipes will work wonders in improving your digestive health!

Feel free to tell us your healthy modifications and additions to these recipes in the comments, or even share your own gut-friendly recipes! If we think it’s a great fit, we’ll add it to this list and give you credit.

-Steve

The post 9 Simple Gut-Healing Recipes appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

Imagine it’s a beautiful summer day. The sun is shining, there’s a little breeze to keep you cool, not a cloud in the sky, and you’re… sitting on the toilet.

Yep, another summer day and you’re trapped in the bathroom with diarrhea or constipation.

Summer is for enjoying the outdoors, barbecuing, and sipping a cold drink – not for suffering on the toilet.

But whether you can’t go or can’t stop going, you likely have one issue in common: dehydration.

And more time in the bathroom isn’t the only side effect of dehydration. Being dehydrated impacts every aspect of your life.

At work…

• You might have a hard time concentrating
• You might head to the vending machine at 2 PM (when you’re actually thirsty, not hungry!)
• Your legs might feel restless
• When you stand up at the end of the day, you might feel dizzy or lightheaded

At home…

• You might be too fatigued to play with your kids
• If you try to workout, you’ll find you get tired more quickly than usual
• If you make it through that workout, you’ll be sore for days
• You can sit on the couch all night – not just because you’re tired but because you never need to get up to go to the bathroom
• You wake up in the night with charley horse cramps

And if you don’t address these signs of dehydration early on, you can experience severe reactions like heat stroke, seizures, and even comas.

If you want to support your body in healing, and feel amazing, you have to get and stay hydrated.

How to Tell If You’re Dehydrated

You may think you’re really well-hydrated if you’re drinking eight, 8 ounce glasses of water a day (that’s what we all learned in school after all!).

But if you’re having regular diarrhea, there is a very good chance you’re dehydrated. And if your stools are hard and difficult to pass, it’s likely dehydration is contributing.

Other signs you may be dehydrated:

• Dark urine
• Infrequent urination
• Headache
• Dizziness
• Dry mouth
• Fatigue

While we normally recommend drinking to thirst (meaning drink when you’re thirsty, stop when you’re not), if you’re really struggling with constipation or diarrhea, or you have any of the above signs, you might need to be more intentional about getting hydrated.

But just adding in one (or 7) more glasses of water doesn’t necessarily hydrate and replenish your body. Mark Sisson points out,

“For maximal water absorption, the body requires sodium and glucose/sucrose to facilitate the transport of water through channels in the small intestine.”

That means if you’re trying to get hydrated, you need more than just water.

And if you become dehydrated, your electrolytes may also become imbalanced. Electrolytes like potassium, magnesium, and sodium are like a light switch for your body. They carry electrical impulses across your cells and activate hundreds of processes inside the body (things like nerve impulses and muscle contractions).

Your kidneys are responsible for maintaining proper electrolyte balances in the body. However, this system can be thrown off by lots of sweating or diarrhea, for example.

That’s where electrolyte and hydration drinks come in.

They provide some sugar and some sodium to help your body better absorb water and other important electrolytes.

How to Get (and Stay) Hydrated

But not all hydration and electrolyte drinks are equally beneficial. If you just buy something at the store, you’re likely to get electrolytes alongside artificial colors and flavors, artificial sweeteners, and more.

Luckily, it is really easy to make your own electrolyte drinks. You probably even have all the ingredients you need in your kitchen right now.

Here Are 3 of My Favorite Recipes:

1 – For basic hydration and constipation

This drink is a great choice for those who are feeling dehydrated, sweat a lot (like if you work outside in a hot climate), or are struggling with constipation.

Two common causes of constipation are being dehydrated and not getting enough salt in your diet (which contributes to dehydration). This recipe helps both! (If you need more tips for overcoming constipation, check this out).

Over in the private Solving Leaky Gut Facebook community, this recipe is a favorite for squelching constipation. Plus, it’s the easiest recipe! If you like spending time outdoors, you can learn how to make maple syrup too.

Directions:

1. Add 1 pinch of sea salt and 1 teaspoon of maple syrup or raw honey to 16 ounces of water
2. Mix thoroughly and drink

2 – For boosting digestion

This is my favorite drink on a hot summer day AND it can help boost your digestion while hydrating you, thanks to the addition of lemon juice and raw apple cider vinegar. (Both create a more acidic environment in the stomach.) If you don’t have adequate stomach acid, you can’t break down and absorb the protein that you eat.

I love to sip on this while I’m preparing dinner to get my digestive juices flowing.

(Need something stronger than this? Read How to Supplement with Betaine HCL.)

Directions:

1. Combine in a glass or jar

• ½ cup raw apple cider vinegar
• Juice of one lemon
• Grated ginger (to taste, but 1 teaspoon is a good place to start)
• 1-2 tablespoons raw honey or maple syrup

2. Mix thoroughly, until honey or maple syrup are dissolved. (If you put this in a mason jar, you can just put the lid on and shake!)
3. Dilute with water to taste – you can mix this up by the glass or mix it all up in about 48 ounces of water to share with your friends and family

3 – For diarrhea

If you’re dealing with chronic diarrhea, your electrolyte balance can easily be disrupted. If I’ve had a flare of symptoms, I incorporate this drink (and the rest of the advice to reduce, reverse, and even eliminate diarrhea).

Directions:

Dissolve in 16 ounces of water:

• 1 teaspoon of raw honey or maple syrup
• 1 pinch of sea salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon magnesium

You can also add ½ cup of fruit juice to improve the flavor.

Don’t feel like making a drink yourself?

You can also try some coconut water (make sure the one you pick has no added sugar) or Lyte Balance electrolytes.

I hope you enjoy these drinks as much I do. Let me know your favorite electrolyte drink recipes in the comments!

-Jordan

P.S. If you’re still struggling with constipation or diarrhea, even after adding in these drinks, you may need to dig deeper and look at the other clues your body is giving you. You can learn more by registering for our webinar:

Stop Ignoring Your Body: How Subtle Clues are Telling You Exactly What to Do Next…

Here are just a few things we’ll show you on the webinar:

• How to decode your poop to know exactly what’s broken
• Why cramping is a dead giveaway and the specific steps you need to follow for relief
• If gas is normal and what it means if you’re not healing
• How to quickly come up with THE RIGHT TWEAK to stop nagging symptoms fast, through our “hot seat” tweaking sessions
• How to understand the subtle clues from your body so deeply that your next steps will become obvious

We even share a quick, at-home test you can try immediately if you’re having stomach pain and our bonus 5-day emergency diet handout detailing the exact foods we eat to relieve symptoms in 5 days (this is something we’ve been testing for years).

The post 3 Hydrating Drinks You Need Whether You Have Constipation or Diarrhea appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

If you’re a busy person (like me), then the thought of cooking after a long day of work is a daunting task to say the least. I’m not going to sugar coat it (no pun intended), cooking big meals takes some time… especially when you first start out on switching over to whole foods diets like SCD, Paleo or WAPF.

Most people don’t realize that “cooking” is actually 4 skills…

• Shopping
• Prep and kitchen skills
• Cooking
• Cleaning and plating the food

It’s one of the reasons why beginner cooks can feel very overwhelmed. I know that it took me many months to really start to grasp these different areas.

When I was first starting, I had food spoiling on me, half of my food would be cold by the time I got the rest ready and I struggled to cook more than two things at once. Luckily, as long as you give yourself some grace and keep trying, the skills will develop.

I promise!

Brent is one of our amazing team members, and he’s really talented in the kitchen.  I asked him to come up with a diverse meal that didn’t demand a bunch of fresh ingredients.

He delivered with this delicious meal. Not to mention, he detailed it so that you can see step-by-step how he worked around the kitchen to make sure everything was ready to eat at the same time. If you’ve never eaten Endive… you are missing out, trust me.

Enjoy!

[Enter Brent]

Ingredients:

• 2 Lbs of Ground Buffalo
• 2 Lbs of Frozen, Organic Broccoli (2 bunches of fresh if you have them)
• 1 Bunch of Endive
• 3 Large, Preferably Ripe Plantain (I figure 3 to a pan)
• Sea Salt
• Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
• Ghee
• Olive Oil

Note: I encourage you to substitute for any of these ingredients. In fact, if you’re just starting out, then we highly recommend removing the plantain, it’s a starch and technically isn’t SCD legal.

Utensils:

• Sharp Knife
• Cutting Board
• Large Spoon
• Tongues
• Spatula
• Scissors
• Large Rinsing Bowl
• Large, Deep Frying Pan
• Large Pot and Lid
• Medium Pot and Lid
• 1 or 2 Large Baking Sheets (depending on how many plantain you go for)
• Parchment Paper (preferably from a sustainable source)

Cooking Prep and Directions:

Step 1: Fill a large bowl with filtered water to rinse your endive.

Step 2: While your bowl is filling, add 1 to 2 Tbsp of ghee and 2 Tbsp coconut oil to your large pot, and turn on one of your front burners to low-medium heat. Once the oil has warmed up, using scissors, open your frozen, organic broccoli and add to pot. Sprinkle a little sea salt evenly.

Caution: While I add the frozen broccoli right to the pot as the oil is heating up, be advised there are safer ways of doing this (and more recommended.) If you choose to do it this way, be sure to cover right away and do NOT add to hot oil.

Cover and stir occasionally to ensure broccoli doesn’t burn and stick to bottom of pot. Keep at low-medium heat.

Step 3: Time to prep your endive! Using your sharp knife and cutting board, cut the end of the endive off. That’s right, we’ve got those plantain on deck.

In your medium pot, add a few Tbsps of olive oil and place next to the sink. Thoroughly hand wash your endive in the large bowl of filtered water, getting rid of dirt and debris. As you clean, break the leaves of endive in half and fill the pot as you go.

Note: Don’t try to wash the entire bunch of endive all at once – trust me it’ll be a mess and take longer to clean.

Once you’ve finished cleaning, place the pot on one of the back burners at medium heat.

Step 4: Preheat your oven to 325-350°F. Then, grab your parchment paper and tear off a piece to cover the entire surface of your baking sheet. Pour some olive oil (or any healthy fat) on the parchment paper. Next, peel the plantain, like I did in the picture here. Remove the ends and cut the peel lengthwise – if you’re lucky, the peel will come off in one piece.

Slice your plantain to desired thickness (I like about 3/8”… not too thick or thin). Place your slices on the baking sheet and sprinkle a little sea salt on top. Put your plantain in the oven for 20 mins and flip when they begin to slightly brown.

Step 5: Put your large frying pan on your other front burner on medium heat, and add approximately 2 Tbsps of coconut oil and 1 Tbsp of ghee. Once your fat has warmed up, add your 2 lbs of ground buffalo to the frying pan. Using your spatula, chop up the meat and add sea salt to taste as you brown the beef to desired level of doneness.

Once the buffalo is browned, transfer the cooked broccoli from the large pot to the frying pan. Turn your burner to warm-low heat and occasionally stir with your spatula. Keep an eye on the endive and flip using your tongs.

Step 6: Depending on your timing of everything, you might be waiting a little on the plantain (they typically take a total of 25-30 mins), so use your time to set the table and/or clean the large bowl, cutting board, knife, large pot, and anything else you won’t be using anymore. Once you get done with that, the plantain should be nice and golden brown like these…

Step 7: Everything will be nice and hot and ready to plate at this point. Remember to turn off your burners and oven and most importantly enjoy a delicious meal that you’ll have plenty of leftovers of.

You can mix it up and substitute for pretty much every ingredient, and simply use this process as a template for creating meal after mouth-watering meal.

Enjoy, in good health!

-Brent

Let us know what you thought of the meal and if you came up with your own variations. We’d love to hear about your creations.

-Steve

P.S. – If you want even more help with your meal planning, check out our other free recipe ideas and our ready-for-you meal plans.

The post Delicious Buffalo and Broccoli Served with Endive and Baked Plantain appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

If you’re familiar with any of our her other recipes (like this one), then you’ll know that Angela (from paleokitchenlab.com) likes to create new and exciting dishes.  Well, she’s back at it and has come up with yet another unique one this time around.  The cool thing about it is the choice for the main ingredient (fish) is totally up to you.  As long as it’s boneless, you’re good to go.

So, let your creative juices flow and play around with the versatility of this fun and delicious recipe.  If you can tolerate them, you can really spice the cakes up with some freshly chopped peppers.

REMEMBER: If you don’t tolerate certain ingredients, such as the spices, or haven’t graduated to be able to eat sweet potatoes yet, please don’t let that deter you.  We always encourage you to create your custom diet… and so we know that publishing any recipe won’t work for everyone.  Take this as a blueprint and create your own custom version of it with spices and other ingredients you can tolerate.

[Enter Angela]

These fish cakes are simply divine!  Have fun mixing these up in the kitchen.

Ingredients For Fish Cakes:

• 12 Oz. of Any Type of Boneless Fish
• 2 Tbsp. of Chopped Cilantro
• 2 Tbsp. of Arrowroot Starch or Coconut Flour
• 1/4 Cup of Mashed Sweet Potato
• 3 Tbsp. of Thai Curry Paste (I use Thai Kitchen Red Curry)
• 2 Cloves of Chopped Garlic
• 1/4 of a Lime (juiced)
• 2 Tbsp. of Green Beans or Carrots, diced or shredded
• 2 Eggs

Optional: 1/2 Chopped Serrano or Jalapeno Pepper (if you like it spicy) and/or 1 Tsp. of Fish Sauce for Extra Thai Flavor (I use Paleo-friendly Red Boat brand).  Don’t want to use either, 1 Tsp. of salt will help.

Directions For Fish Cakes:

• Cut raw fish into chunks and throw into high-speed blender or food processor.  Process till fish turns into a paste.
• Mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and add to the fish in the food processor.  Process until all ingredients are mixed well.
• Put in the fridge for at least half an hour for dough to firm up.
• Form dough into patties with your hand and put on a parchment paper lined pan to bake.  Keep wetting your hand if the dough gets too sticky.
• Bake for 35 minutes in an oven preheated to 350 degrees.
• You can also fry these in coconut oil if you choose, but I prefer baking them because it’s less labor intensive and they come out less oily.  (They taste great either way.)
• Garnish with cilantro leaves and dip into homemade mayo or Greek yogurt with garlic.

How to Make Homemade Mayo:

• 1 Egg Yolk
• 1 Tsp. of Dijon Mustard
• 1 Tbsp. of Lemon Juice
• 1 Tbsp of Apple Cider Vinegar
• 3/4 Cups of Oil (I use a mix of olive and avocado oil)
• 1 Pinch of Salt or 1/4 Tsp. of Fish Sauce (Red Boat brand is best)

Optional: You can also flavor it with smoked paprika and garlic powder! 

Mix all ingredients thoroughly.  (An immersion blender works great if you have one.)

How to Make Greek Yogurt Dipping Sauce (for those who can tolerate dairy):

• 4 Oz. (1/2 Cup) Greek Yogurt
• 1/2 Tsp. of Mustard
• 1/2 Tsp. of Lemon or Lime Juice
• 1/2 Tsp. of Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 Pinch of Salt or Fish Sauce
• Garlic or Paprika

Mix all ingredients thoroughly.

[Enter Steve]

In case you’re wondering about the calories and other nutrition data, here are the numbers for the fish cakes based on using 12 oz. of salmon.  There are a total of ~890 calories and 36 Carbs (G), 90 Protein (G), and 39 Fat (G).

Thanks for this great recipe Angela!

Hope you enjoy =)

-Steve

P.S. – Angela Privin is from http://diyhealthblog.com/ and emigrated to the U.S. from Ukraine at the age of 5. She speaks Russian, Spanish, English and Gibberish fluently. She is a former journalist in New York City and battled IBS for years before evolving into a blogger/health consultant. In her early 20s, she got Lyme Disease and was treated with massive doses of antibiotics and NOT followed up with probiotics. She believes this is what created the bacterial imbalance in her gut that set the stage for IBS. She loves to cook, but she can’t follow recipes. You’ll see that she makes up her own as she goes.

Here’s her amazing recipe site: www.Paleokitchenlab.com

The post Thai Fish Cakes (With Green Beans and Homemade Spicy Mayo) appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

Okay… so I mean you won’t actually want to die, because then you could never eat this again (which you will want to). But seriously these pork chops are going to knock your socks off.

This recipe came about because it’s springtime and I wanted to add more fruit into my life as it comes back into season. (And it’s what was on sale at the market.)

These pork chops pair great with a side dish of cauliflower, Brussels sprouts or kale. (At least those are the sides I’ve made with them.) I’m sure they will taste great next to any costar you choose.

Jordan and I are in the thick of preparing the Solving Leaky Gut course for the public and these chops hit the spot at the end of a long day.

Should Balsamic Vinegar Be SCD legal?

Before we begin you’ll note that I chose to use balsamic vinegar in this dish, which according to the SCD legal list is not allowed. And I also broke the chef’s rule of baking with it (whoops). According to my research, Elaine likely made balsamic vinegars illegal because almost all that are found in a supermarket are filled with extra sugar, colorings and other additives. So, for good reason, I don’t think it’s a good idea to consume those cheap varieties.

However, twice in the last year I’ve bought and used 25-year aged balsamic vinegar that according to the producer had nothing added. They both were bought in specialty shops for oils and vinegar. I’ve since run out and was recently reading up on Traditional Balsamic Vinegar, and in my opinion it should definitely be SCD legal if wine is allowed to be legal (which it is).

Here’s the deal: as with all things in life, the world is changing and we now have access to information on traditional balsamic vinegars and other high quality producers of great products that won’t hurt your gut (unless you test and find out they don’t work for your custom diet). This access wasn’t around 5-10-20 years ago when Elaine was doing most of her work and the rules need an update on this subject.

So the rule of thumb when buying balsamic vinegar is to talk with the producer to make sure nothing was added. Then, make sure you’re paying enough money to think hard about it (north of 20 dollars per bottle), otherwise the economics of the industry suggest that cheaper bottle is a junk product you don’t want to put in your body.

Berry Apple Pork Chop Bake

Whew! Okay, on to today’s awesome meal. You’ll need the following:

• At Least 2 – 1.5-2 Inch Thick Pastured Pork Chops
• 1/2 Pint of Blackberries
• 2 Medium Honeycrisp Apples
• Balsamic Vinegar (you can leave this out)
• Cinnamon, Sea Salt and Fresh Black Pepper
• Baking Dish and Tin Foil

So to begin, thinly slice up the apples and berries. Also, pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.

Next, wash and pat dry the pork chops and generously cover both sides in sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Trust me, fresh ground black pepper is way different than the pre-ground stuff. Place the pork chops in your baking dish and drizzle balsamic vinegar overtop of them.

Then, place sliced apples around them on all sides. Also, cover the chops with the blackberries. Finally, generously sprinkle cinnamon all over the dish. Cover and bake for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, take off the tin foil and bake for another 10-20 minutes uncovered to let juices cook down. Serve and Enjoy!

Note: Based on using 1 lb. of pork chops, this meal contains a total of approximately 906 calories and 108.6 Carbs (G), 77.9 Protein (G), and 20.9 Fat (G).

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

– Steve

The post Decadent Berry Apple Pork Chops To Die For (No Leftovers For This Meal) appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

Before we get to the yummy dessert in front of us… I need to tell you this is not “SCD Legal” due to the Carob Powder. If you’re on a Paleo type diet or you’ve already healed quite a bit, this recipe is for you.  If not, please don’t ignore the recipe.  Instead, think about something you do tolerate that can go in its place

With that disclaimer out of the way, let’s party!  (My kids are going to love this one from our friend Angela.)

[Enter Angela]

I think that you’ll love this cute and easy dessert that is nut-free and chocolate-free. It is really simple to make, too!

Ingredients:

Directions:

[Enter Jordan]

For those wondering how many calories are in each “Un-Oreo” (and other nutrition data), here are numbers based on a batch of two dozen (using two medium-sized bananas).  Each “Un-Oreo” is 68 calories and has 4.5 Carbs (G), 0.375 Protein (G), and 6.2 Fat (G).

Thank you again Angela!

Enjoy

– Jordan

The post Dessert: Banana “Un-Oreos” appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

Sometimes my 5-year old son comes home from school asking to “eat the food the other kids have.”  So I do my best to improvise, like the time I made him Apple Sandwiches.

Sometimes the other kids have Mac n’ Cheese and he’s asked about it, but I didn’t have any ideas for him then.  Mostly because I don’t tolerate dairy and eating classic Mac n’ Cheese is partly why I got sick in the first place ha-ha.

But a dairy-free version that still tastes good?  That’s an interesting idea…

That’s why I’m happy to have our friend Angela from Paleokitchenlab.com back to share another cool recipe, this time for Butternut Squash Mac n’ Cheese (including a dairy-free version).  Granted the dairy-free version isn’t quite the same… but it’s still a cool recipe that I can eat.

Woohoo!  I’ll be testing this out with my kids very soon

[Enter Angela]

Ingredients:

• 1 16-oz. Bag of Broccoli Slaw (Can make by shredding broccoli stalks or buy them pre-cut, or use kelp noodles or spaghetti squash)
• Pancetta (Italian Bacon) or Regular Bacon
• 1 Tsp of Sea Salt, Cumin and Paprika
• 2 Cups of Cooked Butternut Squash Flesh or Raw Butternut Squash Cubes (available pre-sliced at grocery stores)
• 1 Cup of Beef Bone Broth or Chicken Broth
• 1 Red Onion, Cubed

Directions:

• Cook the butternut squash in broth and add in spices (you can use other types of squash like delicata or kabocha if you like a sweeter flavor).  If squash is raw, then cook till soft and broth evaporates.  If squash is cooked, then use less broth and let it cook down till it forms a pasty consistency.
• Bake the broccoli slaw in the oven, tossed in olive oil (or if you tolerate dairy, use melted butter or ghee)
• Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes (or until broccoli slaw is soft)
• In a pan, sauté red onion and pancetta (or bacon) in cooking fat of choice (you don’t need too much because bacon is naturally fatty)
• Add bacon/onion mixture to the butternut squash sauce and mix in
• Pour hot sauce over broccoli slaw

Note:  If you tolerate dairy, give it that cheesy flavor by adding a tablespoon of butter or ghee, a little bit of nutritional yeast or grated cheese.  But it’s quite tasty without it.

Enjoy this nutritious spin on a classic American dish.

[Enter Jordan]

Thank you again Angela!

Enjoy

– Jordan

Angela Privin is from http://diyhealthblog.com/ and emigrated to the U.S. from Ukraine at the age of 5.  She speaks Russian, Spanish, English and Gibberish fluently.  She is a former journalist in New York City and battled IBS for years before evolving into a blogger/health consultant.  In her early 20s, she got Lyme Disease and was treated with massive doses of antibiotics and NOT followed up with probiotics.  She believes this is what created the bacterial imbalance in her gut that set the stage for IBS.  She loves to cook, but she can’t follow recipes.  You’ll see that she makes up her own as she goes.

Here’s her amazing recipe site:  www.Paleokitchenlab.com

The post Butternut Squash Mac n’ Cheese appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

The two most common objections we hear from people switching to Paleo or SCD are:

1) I don’t have time to cook all this food

2) What will I eat for breakfast?

Which is why I shared my famous turkey breakfast sausage recipe a few years ago (especially for those that don’t tolerate eggs or dairy).

But there’s one more secret to saving time and still eating a healthy breakfast: LEFTOVERS!

So I’m happy to have our friend Angela from Paleokitchenlab.com back to share this cool leftover breakfast idea.

[Enter Angela]

These are just some ideas for ingredients, but they can be easily tweaked to incorporate your favorite spices, foods or whatever leftovers you have in the fridge.

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup of Homemade Beef Broth
• 1/2 Cup of Leftover Green Beans
• 1 Slice of Bacon, Chopped
• 1 Inch of Pre-cooked Spicy Pork Sausage, Chopped (or try turkey/chicken sausage… click here for Jordan’s turkey Sausage recipe)
• 1 Egg Pasture Raised (totally optional)
• 1 Tsp of Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice (for liver support)
• 1 Handful of Fresh Spinach Leaves
• (If you tolerate nightshades) Spices: Tumeric, Sea salt, Cayenne and Smoked Paprika.

Note: Last 2 spices should be avoided for people with autoimmune conditions.  Simply add your own favorite spices or fresh herbs like oregano, basil or cumin).

Optional Ideas for those that tolerate dairy: 1 Tsp of Crumbled Feta Cheese, Garnish with Fresh Avocado or Cherry Tomatoes (delicious stewed)

Directions:

• Pour the broth into your pan and put on medium heat
• Add in leftover veggies or meat from dinner
• Add in raw bacon (if you like your bacon crispy, cook it separately and add just before you eat)
• Add in raw or pre-cooked sausage (and cherry tomatoes if you like them)
• Add in spices
• Let cook for 5 to 10 minutes on low to medium heat, add water if broth evaporates too much or keep pan covered (make sure steam can escape)
• If you like your egg scrambled, add in the last five minutes of cooking and stir in.  If you like it hard boiled don’t mix in.  If you like your egg extremely soft boiled you can add the egg in the last 2 minutes of cooking (that’s what I did).
• Add in lemon juice and fresh spinach in the last minute or two of cooking
• Garnish with chopped avocado, feta cheese, SCD strained yogurt or eat as is

As I said, this recipe invites so much improvisation.  Go ahead and get creative!  So much gut healing, comforting goodness and a fresh new way to enjoy your bacon and eggs!

[Enter Jordan]

Thank you again Angela!

What is your favorite thing to do with leftovers?  Leave your idea in the comments section below.

– Jordan

Angela Privin is from http://diyhealthblog.com/ and emigrated to the U.S. from Ukraine at the age of 5.  She speaks Russian, Spanish, English and Gibberish fluently.  She is a former journalist in New York City and battled IBS for years before evolving into a blogger/health consultant.  In her early 20s, she got Lyme Disease and was treated with massive doses of antibiotics and NOT followed up with probiotics.  She believes this is what created the bacterial imbalance in her gut that set the stage for IBS.  She loves to cook, but she can’t follow recipes.  You’ll see that she makes up her own as she goes.

Here’s her amazing recipe site:  www.Paleokitchenlab.com

The post Leftover Breakfast Soup appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

Mmmmm, jello.

I love eating food that reminds me of being a kid… and jello is one of those fun foods that takes me right back to childhood.

Plus, gelatin itself is one of the best foods we can eat to heal our gut!  That’s why we recommend eating bone broth so much.

Here’s a few words about gelatin from published work by our friend Dr. Siebecker (1):

To summarize, gelatin (broth) can be considered for use in the following conditions: food allergies, dairy maldigestion, colic, bean maldigestion, meat maldigestion, grain maldigestion, hypochlorhydria, hyperacidity (gastroesophageal reflux, gastritis, ulcer, hiatal hernia) inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis), irritable bowel syndrome, leaky gut syndrome, malnutrition, weight loss, muscle wasting, cancer, osteoporosis, calcium deficiency and anemia.

Sound like it might help you?

If you’re like me, you can only tolerate so much bone broth… which is why a nice break in the form of blueberry jello sounds just right.  And fortunetly, our friend Angela from Paleokitchenlab.com stopped by to share her amazing jello recipe (YAY, thanks Angela).

Before we dive in, please note this recipe calls for dairy in the form of 24-hour SCD yogurt.  I don’t tolerate dairy and I’ve made similar jello by removing the yogurt and it still tastes pretty amazing.  So don’t let one ingredient stop you from making your own batch (minus the diary).

[Enter Angela]

“Jello” is another way to get many of the benefits of bone broth. They are made from the same ingredients after all.  And what a fun way to eat your medicine.

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup of Fresh or Frozen Blueberries (try strawberries too)
• 3 Tbsp of Unflavored Grass-fed Gelatin
• 2 Tbsp of Fresh Squeezed Lemon (or Lime) Juice
• 3/4 Cups of SCD Yogurt
• 1 Cup of Hot Water

Optional: For extra sweetness add 1 tablespoon of local raw honey.

Note:  As an alternative to dairy yogurt, you can use coconut milk kefir.  

Directions:

• Blend berries, yogurt, sweetener and lemon (or lime) juice and set aside.
• Heat water in a pan and slowly melt the gelatin into the water by incorporating a little bit at a time and whisking the water as you temper the gelatin to make sure it melts.
• Wait for the gelatin-water mixture to cool a bit (so it is not scalding) and add to blended berry mixture and stir well.
• Pour your super-food dessert into a container of choice.  (A 9×9 pan works well).
• Let cool for a couple hours in the fridge until it sets.  For a fancy twist you can cut the finished jello into cute shapes with a cookie cutter.

Now you can eat your dessert and heal your gut too. No guilt and lots of healing power. Enjoy.

[Enter Jordan]

Enjoy!  And let us know your fun jello ideas in the comments below.

Thank you again Angela!

– Jordan

Angela Privin is from http://diyhealthblog.com/ and emigrated to the U.S. from Ukraine at the age of 5.  She speaks Russian, Spanish, English and Gibberish fluently.  She is a former journalist in New York City and battled IBS for years before evolving into a blogger/health consultant.  In her early 20s, she got Lyme Disease and was treated with massive doses of antibiotics and NOT followed up with probiotics.  She believes this is what created the bacterial imbalance in her gut that set the stage for IBS.  She loves to cook, but she can’t follow recipes.  You’ll see that she makes up her own as she goes.

Here’s her amazing recipe site:  www.Paleokitchenlab.com

The post Healing Blueberry Jello appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

Sigh…

My Mom was an expert Lemon Bar baker when I was a kid and OMG they were good.

But I still haven’t found a good grain-free recipe like Mom used to make (in all of it’s evil gluten glory).

So when Amy Ervin reached out to us from Nutty Bakery to share her Lemon Bar recipe… I instantly became 8 years old again. But then I saw it was made with dairy and nut flours (I’m still in the camp that doesn’t tolerate nut flours or dairy).

Sigh…

But Amy’s amazing… and when I replied back with my quandary, she sent another set of instructions for those that can’t tolerate dairy and nut flours.

YAY!

So I’m officially 8 years old again this holiday season… making Lemon Bars like the good old days. OMG, I can’t wait for you to try them. Thank you Amy!

Below you’ll find her original Lemon Bar recipe along with substitutions for those like me that can’t tolerate dairy or nut flours.

[Enter Amy]

This has to be one of the most versatile recipes in my collection. Don’t like lemon?…By all means, use something else. Top with some apples cooked up with honey, water and a dash of cinnamon. Try substituting some orange or lime juice for a different twist. The possibilities are only as endless as your fruit basket.

If I’m pressed for time, I sometimes even omit the crust! Just baking the filling gives a nice, tart pudding for dipping fresh fruit or drizzling over another dessert.  And, I’ll admit…if a clean spoon is within reach, warm lemon pudding doesn’t last very long.

Ingredients You’ll Need:

Almond Based Crust:

• 1 and 1/2 Cups Almond Flour
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 2 Tablespoon Melted Butter
• 1 Tablespoon Honey
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla

Note: If dairy intolerant, substitute for the butter with coconut oil. For those sensitive to almonds, an alternate coconut based crust can be made from the following:

Alternative Coconut Based Crust:

• 1/3 Cup plus 1 Tablespoon Coconut Flour
• 1/4 Cup Butter
• 2 Tablespoons Honey
• 1/8 Teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla

Additionally: If dairy intolerant, substitute for the butter with coconut oil. Also, coconut flour and almond flour are two VERY different animals when it comes to baking. You CANNOT substitute one for the other equally in any recipe. Coconut flour soaks up so much more moisture. Bake in the same fashion as the almond flour crust, though.

Lemon Topping:

• 1/4 Cup Melted Butter
• 1/4 Cup Honey
• 3 Eggs
• 1/3 Cup Fresh Lemon Juice
• 3 Tablespoons Water

Notes: If dairy intolerant, substitute for the butter with coconut oil.

For those who are sensitive to egg whites, use six egg yolks instead of whole eggs. You simply cannot omit eggs in the lemon portion of the recipe. Egg is the binder and thickening agent. If you must eat egg-free, then I would recommend going to a fruit compote as a topping.

Directions to Lemon Bar Heaven:

Preheat your oven to 325°F. Grease and dust, with almond flour, the bottom and sides of a 8 x 8 inch glass pan. I rarely bake almond flour with metal pans, especially the dark, nonstick ones. Almond flour burns very quickly in these darker pans. Nothing… absolutely nothing is appetizing about burnt almond flour.

In a small bowl, mix all your crust ingredients well. By hand, press into the bottom of your prepared glass pan. Bake at 325°F for 15 minutes.

While your crust is baking, mix the lemon topping ingredients well. You’ll need to use a hand mixer or blender to evenly mix in the eggs. Your lemon mixture will be very runny at this stage, as if it were water. Pour this over your warm crust and place back into the oven. Continue to bake at 325°F for another 20 minutes or until firm.

Cool on your counter for 30 minutes. Refrigerate for 2 hours before cutting and serving. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

[Enter Jordan]

WOW. This will definitely be part of my holiday treats this year! A big thank you to Amy for sharing her yumminess

Let us know if you like these in the comments section and make sure you head over to Amy’s site, http://nuttybakery.com for more amazing recipes like this one.

– Jordan

The post Amy’s SCD Legal Lemon Bar Recipe appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

Asian-inspired cuisine has always been a delight to my taste buds. Unfortunately, most Asian restaurants use substandard ingredients and lots of additives, so unless I make something at home or come across a rare gem of a restaurant I hardly ever eat this kind of food.

With this in mind, I recently decided to make some ginger salmon and add as much Asian flare that I could think of.

In case you’re wondering, I try to eat at least 4 fish-based meals per week. This allows me to obtain a healthy dose of Omega 3’s without supplementing. If it’s a good week I’ll get 6-8 meals in. A lot of people question whether or not they should supplement with fish oils. I think if you’re eating wild-caught fish at least 4 meals per week, then you likely don’t need to supplement. Unless you’re looking to get out of a flare, lose more than 20 pounds of fat, or dealing with neurodegenerative problems. This could always change but it appears to be a good guideline at this point.

Asian Ginger Salmon

The taste of this recipe has some kick. I wanted to create a sweet and spicy blend but different than your traditional American-Asian experience. It’s heavy on the garlic and ginger so it punches your taste buds up front, and then relaxes into sweetness.

I started by cutting a 1.5 pound wild-caught salmon fillet into 4 equally sized pieces and placed them in a Pyrex baking dish. Then, I created the marinade, which will turn into the sauce. I got the oven ready to go by pre-heating it to 400 degrees. Also, if you plan to add the roasted vegetables, then start them right after you finish the marinade as the cooking time is twice as long as the salmon.

Marinade Ingredients

• 1 Inch of Peeled Ginger Microplaned (get one of these)
• 8 Cloves of Garlic, Minced (or use this, which is way faster)
• 5 Tablespoons of Coconut Aminos
• 2 Tablespoons of Honey
• 1 Tablespoon of Sea Salt
• 1/2 Tablespoon of Pepper
• 1/4 Teaspoon of Roasted Chipotle Powder

Add all of this to a small bowl and whisk it until uniform. Feel free to take a taste at this point, because you may have to add more ingredients to balance it out before you cover the salmon in it. You might find it to be too spicy, too sweet, and/or too salty or not salty enough.

When the sauce is ready, pour it over the salmon fillets in your baking dish. Cover it with foil and place it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, pull the salmon out and put it into your pre-heated oven for about 20 minutes. For me, this produced a medium doneness, which is the most I like my fish cooked. Simply adjust the cook time per you desired doneness.

Olive Oil Roasted Vegetables

Michelle, from Nomnompaleo.com, taught me that there are a couple of key essentials for creating the perfect roasted vegetables. The first is equipment related. It’s all about elevating the vegetables via a drying rack to get them to cook and crisp up perfectly. I used this nontoxic baking pan and this nontoxic cooling rack together. The second essential is to create equally sized pieces if possible. The vegetables all need to be close in size so they will cook uniformly and be ready at the same time.

I found the following organics at my local store, but feel free to use any vegetables you have lying around.

• 3 Bell Peppers
• 1 Red Onion
• 3 Small Zucchinis

Chop the vegetables into 1 inch pieces and throw them into a large mixing bowl. Then, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sea salt to the bowl and toss so they are evenly covered. Next, plan to bake them for 40 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for slightly crispy vegetables. Bake longer or shorter for desired crispness.

Remember to add the salmon to the oven with about 20 minutes left on the vegetable timer so they finish around the same time.

Plate the salmon and vegetables and enjoy!

-Steve

The post Asian Ginger Salmon and Olive Oil Roasted Vegetables appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

If you didn’t carve up all your pumpkins into jack-o’-lanterns, it’s time to cook with them. And what better to do than make a big pot of deliciousness that you can eat for days (or easily feed a family of five).

There’s a six-week span every year in which I’m thinking pumpkin everything. Pumpkin bacon? Yes, Whole Foods has it (I saw it there yesterday). Pumpkin pie? I can’t wait! I’ve been seeing some recipes making their rounds (thanks Wellnessmama), so my engineering brain thought what the heck? Why not pumpkin chili? Let’s see if we can add some spice and take it to the next level.  

Ta DA! It ended up being a very savory and filling dish. It’s spicy, yet sweet and not too pumpkiny. If you want the pumpkin to play more of a starring role, then my bet is you could bring this flavor to the top by simply doubling the amount of pumpkin.

Warning:  Some of you might want to avoid the cayenne pepper, as some research indicates it can harm those with autoimmune issues. However, for the rest of us cayenne adds a fun little warming to the tongue and can have a number of health benefits, including its ability to:

• Help kill fungus (1)
• Help kill cancer (2)
• Help lower inflammation (3)(4)

The interwebs are filled with lots of astounding stories about its use. I’m not sure I believe all of them, but at this point I think the research indicates it can be helpful for our health. I’m not suggesting to use it on a daily basis, but I think it’s a good spice to use weekly. If you can, have some fun with it. Now, let’s move on to the recipe!

SCD Pumpkin Chili

The ingredients I used are as follows:

• 1 Pound of Ground Beef
• 1 Pound of Ground Pork
• 2 Cans of Diced Tomatoes 15/16oz (Organic, Nothing Added)
• 1 Can of Tomato Paste 6oz (Organic, Nothing Added)
• 1 Can of Pumpkin 16oz (Organi,c Nothing Added) or 2 Cups of Cooked Pumpkin
• 16oz Cup of Homemade Chicken Stock (or other stock)
• 1.5 Medium Onions (Chopped)
• 2 Teaspoons Cinnamon
• 2 Tablespoons Paprika
• 2 Tablespoons Sea Salt
• 1/2 Teaspoon Celery Seed
• 1/2 Teaspoon Jamaican All-Spice
• 1 Tablespoon Black Pepper
• 1 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
• 10 Cloves Garlic (Diced)
• 1/3 Cup of Honey
• 1 Bunch of Green Scallions for Crunch

How to Make the SCD Legal Pumpkin Chili

I went ahead and made this recipe the lazy way.  You could speed it up if you sautéed the onions and garlic ahead of time and then added them into the pot. But if you’re like me and you’d rather wait an extra 30 minutes than clean another pan, then follow these steps:

Step 1: Brown meat in large stock pot (8 qt or bigger).

Step 2: Dice the garlic and chop the onion into bite-sized pieces and add to pot. Keep stirring throughout.

Step 3: Add chicken stock to the pot. (Other stocks can be used. This is just what I had in the house.)

Step 4: Add tomatoes, tomato paste and pumpkin to the pot. Keep at a light simmer (uncovered).

Step 5: Add spices and make sure it’s not simmering too hot. Cover and cook for about 30 minutes.

Step 6: After 30 minutes, or the onions are at your desired texture, add the honey and stir. Cook for another 5 min.

Step 7: Garnish and serve!

If you eat dairy, you could always add some cheese to kick it up another notch!

Please tell me below what sort of crazy chili recipes you will be making this year. I’m looking forward to trying some new ones.

-Steve

The post Sweet and Spicy SCD Pumpkin Chili appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

When life gives you lemons make lemonade… right?  Well how about an SCD frittata.

I tried to help save the environment by only taking one paper bag at the grocery checkout (forgot my re-useable ones).  When the bag guy handed it to me, I got a bad feeling in my stomach – it was super heavy.

I returned home, and as soon as I got out of my car, a dozen pasture-raised eggs smashed on the concrete as the bag broke.

Bummer right? Well, when life hands you a problem like a digestive issue, or cracked eggs, you are faced with two choices – do nothing, or take action. As I stood there gazing down at a bunch of cracked eggs I racked my brain for an answer…why not a frittata?!

If you don’t know what a frittata is it’s basically a crustless quiche, which is perfect for SCD.  You can add any type of meat, vegetables or spices you like.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have any leftovers so I had to improvise fast.

I like quick easy recipes and cooking in bulk, and this frittata recipe fulfills both! By following the steps below you’ll have enough food for at least 3 meals.

Frittata Ingredients:

• 16 Eggs (motto in my kitchen – go big or go home!)
• Sea Salt and Pepper to Taste
• 4 Gouda Cheese Slices
• 16oz Bag of Organic Frozen Broccoli

Directions for Deliciousness

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place frozen broccoli in a microwaveable bowl with water and microwave for 8-10 minutes.  (If you’re using left over ingredients, like some extra meat and vegetables, then skip this step.)

Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl and get them good and mixed up.

Then, pre-heat an oven safe pan on medium-low heat.  After it’s hot, add a high quality cooking fat like ghee.  Next, dump your broccoli and eggs into the pan.  Cook for 4 minutes on the stove top, then transfer to the oven.

After 5 minutes of oven time remove the pan.  The mixture should be setting up and it’s time to place your cheese on top.

Then, cook for another 7-10 minutes untill it’s raised up and starting to brown on top.

Now your frittata is finished and ready to eat (enjoy hot or cold the next day, too)!

I’d love to hear how your recipes turned out.  What are your favorite frittata ingredients?

-Steve

The post SCD Frittata (easy and quick) appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

You scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream!

SCD legal ice cream that is…

Ice cream that tastes amazing and heals your body, instead of adding inflammation and toxins. It might sound too good to be true… but it’s not.

And shockingly, you’ll see it’s almost all fat, which is why it’s so healthy. Our bodies need loads of fat, cholesterol and fat soluble vitamins to properly heal. And why not consume it via ice cream?

The key is getting the right kind of fat. Just like how the wrong foods can damage your gut, the wrong fats make your cells sick. These are fats like margarine, canola oil, cottonseed oil, vegetable oil and other “oils” that are from plants that should never make an oil in the first place. These are industrial oils and they make our cells sick.

Most store bought ice cream contains those type of oils and additives like guar gum or dyes and it’s almost impossible to make sure the dairy cows used to make it were pastured, grass-fed and happy. So it’s best to make your own.

NOTE: This recipe is for those that tolerate diary, however the only dairy is high quality butter which most everyone can tolerate.

Full Fat Ice Cream Is Better

Instead of eating the wrong fats, if we consume a meal heavy in saturated fat from things like coconut we feed our hormones, brain, and taste buds.

For those who are having fat malabsoprtion, you’ll want to skip this till you do more healing. But for the rest of us it could be a nightly treat. The recipe comes courtesy of Dave Asprey with some tweaks to support SCD.

I’ve made it many times and served it at birthday parties with people who eat a Standard American Diet and they loved it. My guess is you’ll only be mad that I didn’t get this post up sooner.

NOTE: The amount of vanilla you use will really determine the flavor profile. If you use less, then the subtle flavor from the coconut oil will shine through. Others might never even taste the coconut.

SCD Legal Coconut Vanilla Ice Cream Ingredients

• 4 Whole Pastured Eggs + 4 More Egg Yolks
• 3 Teaspoons of Vanilla Extract
• 1 gram Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) or 10 Drops Apple Cider Vinegar or Lime Juice to Taste
• 7 Tablespoons (100 grams) Unsalted, Kerrygold Grass-Fed Butter
• 7 Tablespoons (100 grams) Coconut Oil
• 3 Tablespoons + 2 Teaspoons (50 grams) Bulletproof Brain Octane (Upgraded MCT Oil)
• 5 Tablespoons of Local Honey
• About 1/2 Cup of Water or Ice (add less than you think you need, then increase the amount)

Directions

Begin by adding all the ingredients to the blender (except the ice/water).

Blend until totally mixed, then blend more.

Next, add in the ice or water. The goal is to reach a creamy yogurt consistency. If you add more water, it will end up tasting icier. Blend more.

Transfer everything to an ice cream maker (here’s mine). If you don’t have one, use a 9×11 inch Pyrex dish and place in freezer for about 2 hours. The 2nd method won’t taste as much like ice cream, but it will still be delicious.

After it’s set up, serve!

I love this stuff. It doesn’t last long.

For those with dairy issues, try using the Kerrygold Butter as you might find that you don’t react to it. Also, the recipe above included several Bulletproof brand products.  And while those are affiliate links, Dave is a friend and you will find all these products and more in both of our kitchens.

We would never recommend anything we don’t use. And we use the best stuff we can find.

There are many ways to change the flavor, what kind of ice cream do you make?

Let me know in the comments below.

– Steve

The post Coconut Vanilla Ice Cream (SCD Legal) appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

As I’m writing this… it’s 95 degrees in Montana.

Perfect time for a cookout!

Not only that, but cookout holidays like The 4th of July are right around the corner.

Are you ready for the cookouts?

Will you have a great time, eat well, and feel great?

Because Cookouts Have the Potential to Make Us Sick

In this post, I’m going to cover a few important mindset tips for attending cookouts this summer, but also share my 3 favorite recipes for the grill, in case you want to impress your friends and family with a cookout of your own…

Last year, Steve had a great psychology post about the mindset of the cookout and how to make sure you’re successful.

Here’s a summary of a few important points to remember this summer:

Step 1.  Get your head right

This step is critical if you’re heading to a cookout hosted by friends and family. Getting your head in the right place is the #1 thing to do. Think about things like: Are you happy that your health is even allowing you attend the party? That you don’t have to worry about your digestive problems as much anymore? You can spend time with people who love you? Start by being thankful for these things and don’t worry about the choices of others.

Know that this year, the choices you make about your food at the cookouts will make you feel great and support your health.

Step 2.  Come prepared

I’m sure you’ve heard “Fail to plan, plan to fail” right?

What are you going to do when someone hands you an ice cold beer? A margarita? A burger with a bun? A hotdog? If you haven’t already thought about putting it back in the cooler going inside and getting yourself a glass of what you brought, then you’re probably in trouble.

Instead, make your mind up ahead of time for any situations like this. It’s not rude, don’t even entertain the thoughts. This is how you honor your body. And make sure you bring the food and drink that will support you in having a fun time and feeling good. (More on this below, when I share my 3 favorite recipes)…

Step 3.  Make your own incredible recipes on the grill

What better way to avoid getting sick and having a great time than hosting your own cookout… or showing up and cooking amazing food for your friends and family?

That’s my usual choice.

And today, I’m going to share 3 of my favorite recipes by the original authors themselves.

3 Cookout Recipes for the Grill

These three recipes are just plain AMAZING!

They are hands down, my favorite recipes for the grill going into this year’s cookout season. There’s nothing better than making an entirely SCD Legal or Paleo meal and watching as your family and friends rave… not aware you’ve removed everything “they can’t live without.”

Tee hee…

Without further ado, here’s my favorite 3 Paleo/SCD recipes for the grill.

1. Whole Lifestyle Nutrition’s Perfectly Grilled Steak

Cooking a great-tasting grass-fed steak is an art. No doubt about that. Steve has continued to tell me that the grill is the easiest place to make sure it tastes great… but these 4 simple steps from Whole Lifestyle Nutrition make it simple. You’ll thank me later

Here’s the URL: http://wholelifestylenutrition.com/recipes/maindish/how-to-grill-a-perfect-steak-every-time/

2. Grilled Wild Salmon from Real Food Forager

I love grilled wild caught salmon. Plus, it’s super fast! Honestly, there’s nothing worse than an overcooked salmon fillet and Real Food Forager lays it out with a step-by-step recipe that can help. NOTE: I prefer to use coconut oil in this case.

Here’s the URL: http://realfoodforager.com/recipe-grilled-wild-salmon/

3. Nom Nom Paleo’s Phenomenal Grilled Green Chicken

When I was growing up… burgers and grilled chicken were at every cookout. It took me a long time to figure out how to properly cook grilled chicken without worrying about it being undercooked… and in fact usually overcooking it. Nom Nom Paleo shares a recipe for one of the most INCREDIBLE marinades I’ve had for grilled chicken. Enjoy!

Here’s the URL: http://nomnompaleo.com/post/7486821187/my-sisters-phenomenal-grilled-green-chicken

Summer Parties and Social Events Still Making You Nervous?

We totally get it. Having a normal social life was something I never thought possible after I started SCD. Whether it’s taking business trips, going to happy hour, or enjoying family parties… these social events used to make me so nervous I’d have digestive problems just from worrying!

Let alone the whole “cheating” thing…

I’m living and breathing proof it doesn’t have to be that way. Believe it or not… you can travel, hang out with friends, and enjoy family parties more than ever now that you’re choosing health.

We created our best tips, tricks and lessons as we’ve crisscrossed the country and created a new social life over the last 5 years. We’ve put them together for you in our  Social Butterfly Class. If your social life is a source of frustration for you, this course could give you your life back.

Check it out here >>> living a normal life again.

Have fun at your cookouts this summer and share your favorite grilling recipes.

– Jordan

The post My 3 Favorite Cookout Recipes for The Grill appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

There’s burgers… and then there’s BURGERS!

Today, we are talking about the latter. And I’m going to share with you my new SCD legal lettuce bun that is actually a bun rather than some sloppy pieces of lettuce that drop the whole sandwich and ooze contents everywhere. Those buns might as well be taco shells.

SCD legal burgers don’t have to be lame and boring. To the contrary, part of learning to enjoy a grain-free life is going the extra mile with real food. Spending the extra 2 bucks to get all the condiments you’d like, for instance, is a must.

Food is fun, a celebration. And in party fashion, as I leave Jordan’s place in Montana, we went out with a bang last night.

We used Alderspring grass-fed beef on the recommendation of Dave Asprey and decided to create some MONSTER gourmet burgers.

What This Monster Burger Will Do for You

Let’s begin with a list of what this burger will do. I don’t want you to be surprised, if you undertake the challenge to recreate it.

• It will fall apart on you
• It will melt in your mouth, and on your hands… and on  your face… and on your table
• It will make you giggle when you build it and it topples over
• It will leave you really, really full… (really)
• It will create hilarious photo opportunities
• It will leave you satisfied (you may not eat for days)
• (NOTE: It may require extra Betaine HCL)

WARNING: Please be aware this burger might change your life.  In fact, I don’t recommend you eat it now, or anytime, Ever.

3/4 Pound Grass-Fed Montana Monster Burger

So to begin… start with bacon ( duh).

Bake it in the oven at 400 degrees for approximately 15 minutes to get those nice, flat picture quality pieces.  No floppy bacon allowed on this burger.

Next, get the highest quality beef you can find. We used 2 pounds of Aldersprings ground beef. We mashed sea salt, ground pepper, organic garlic powder, organic onion powder, organic basil, organic cilantro and cumin in the ground burger. Mix it in a bowl and form 2 large 3/4 pound patties and 2 smaller 1/4 pound patties.

NOTE: From here on out, proceed with caution and keep all hands and feet inside the moving vehicle.

Transfer these bad whammer jammers into a medium heat pan that you have a lid for. Cook for 8-12 minutes per side depending on thickness. Goal is medium rare (don’t you ruin that precious meat).

Ideally, the grill would make these epic burgers even that much more amazing.

As the burgers are browning, mash 2 small avocados in a bowl, add in sea salt, garlic powder, cilantro and 1/2 of juice of fresh lime. Mix up for some fast guacamole and set aside.

Next, slice up the onion and tomatoes or any other vegetables you plan to use.

Lastly, it’s’ time to create the new and improved ‘Lettuce Bun 5000’ (TM).

Begin with a full head of lettuce, remove the outer layers, and get rid of any bad spots. Next, plan to cut 1.5 to 2 inch thick slices from the outside. Start by trimming the root so it sits flat on your cutting board.  Then slice off the 4 sides at desired thickness.  The pieces should be about the same diameter as the burgers.

Assemble the Beauty and the Beast Burger

Begin with half of the ‘Lettuce Bun 5000’ (TM).

Layer on bacon goodness.

Add 3/4 pound grass-fed beef patty of amazingness.

Next add vegetable layers of onion and tomato.

Carefully place large amount of guacamole on top (this will serve as adhesive for top bun)

Assemble rest of ‘Lettuce Bun 5000’ (TM) and bask in the glory of the 13th wonder of the world.

Then chow down with no reservations.

If you dare to re-create this amazing experience, let us know in the comments. Or if you just end up switching over to the ‘Lettuce Bun 5000’ (TM) grain-free buns that’s cool too.

-Steve

The post Monster Montana Gourmet Grass-Fed Burgers appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

Growing up, we took a car ride from Michigan to Florida and I ordered spaghetti for every meal there and back. I also had my mom make me her famous spaghetti for 10 years in a row on my birthday. In other words, I’m kind of a fan of Spaghetti.

And one of the first things my Mom and I talked about when I started SCD was would I ever be able to eat spaghetti again?

I quickly figured out that indeed it was possible with this fun Spaghetti squash I had never heard of. Now, 4 years later I’ve had an on and off love affair with the squash and the noodles it produces.

See, for a brief period in time I got lost in a noodle rabbit hole. I was trying, experimenting and searching the world for the perfect SCD noodle.  After going to the end of the earth and back (and cheating a few times to remember what the old toxic stuff tastes like)… it dawned on me.

It’s Not About the Noodles!

Sure, travel to Italy and meet a nice old lady who hand makes your noodles and it might be worth a night on the toilet. But when it comes down to it, the sauce is what I’ve always loved about spaghetti. The sauce is the star of the show.

These days, many people are too focused on the noodles and almost as an after thought they just dump some sauce on top and voila – spaghetti! Not in my book.

The kind I like is earthy, chunky, meaty, with complex flavors from all kinds of vegetables wrapped in an Italian herb tomato blanket.

SCD Spaghetti for Kids, Families and Singles

A practical meal is one that can be enjoyed by everyone (2 to 90) in the house. And for those who are needing bulk cooking to produce a few days of food, spaghetti fits that bill (specially if you use the quickie short cut below).

Now, there are two options for this recipe. The first is the delicious traditional and the other is the quickie version. Both have benefits and I’d urge you to try them both and let me know what you settle on and why.

You’ll need the following for both recipes:

• 1 Bunch of Scallions
• 2 Green Peppers (or other colors)
• Mini Bella or White Mushrooms (8-12oz)
• 2 Pounds of Grass-Fed Ground Beef
• 1 Spaghetti Squash

The sauces are the biggest differences and we’ll cover the specifics below. But you’ll need noodles for both, so let’s start with the squash.

Cooking Spaghetti Squash Noodles

Start by pre-heating your oven to 400 degrees. Next, slice the spaghetti squash in half. Get out a baking dish that has raised sides like a rectangular Pyrex dish.

Place the 2 halves face down in the dish and then put 1/4 to 1/2 inch of water in the pan. Bake them for 45 minutes to 1 hour. When you pull them out, you’ll be able to use a fork to separate the strands of squash into noodles.

The Traditional Spaghetti Recipe

This recipe is for the SCD purist, as it can be made without the canned tomatoes if necessary. Hands down, it’s the best flavor and well worth the time. It’s adapted from my Mom’s sauce that I grew up loving.

Start by browning the 2lbs of beef in a pan. At the same time get out a 8-10 quart pot for cooking the sauce in. You will need the following:

• Home Canned Tomatoes or 28oz Eden Crushed Organic Tomatoes
• 14oz Fresh Diced Roma Tomatoes or Muir Glen Diced Organic Tomatoes
• 6oz Organic Tomato Paste
• 25oz Eden Organic Spaghetti Sauce
• 2 Bell Peppers, chopped
• 8-12oz Mini Bella Mushrooms
• 1 Bunch of Scallions, diced
• 6-12 Garlic Cloves, peeled, diced
• 2 Tablespoons of Black Pepper
• 2 Tablespoons Oregano
• 2 Tablespoon Basil
• Sea Salt, to taste

Add all these ingredients into your large pot on medium heat. Also, add in the browned beef once it’s cooked. Next bring the mixture up to a slow simmer and cover. Let this simmer for at least 2 hours, 3 hours usually produces the best flavor though.

For best results and timing, start the spaghetti squash at hour 2 of the simmering.

The Spaghetti Quickie

This recipe is for those with limited time, kids or picky eaters.

You’ll need to start the squash as stated above. Next, we’ll move on to browning the beef (or you could use 2lbs of shrimp). As you brown the beef, add in 4-8 cloves of fresh garlic and the following spices to create an Italian flavor:

• Cumin
• Coriander
• Black pepper
• Oregano
• Basil
• Sea Salt

I’m not including amounts, as you’ll need to experiment. But in general, use more of the bottom 4 than the first 2.

Next, chop up the vegetables listed above.

Then, heat a sauté pan with some coconut oil and sauté until slightly soft and slightly brown.

At this point, we have all our pieces together and it’s time to invite everyone to make their dishes.

For the sauce in this recipe, I use Eden Organic Traditional Italian. Some SCD purists might object to this, but I trust the company and think that food production has reached a level in which it’s okay to cut some corners here and there. Make no mistake about it though, ANY sauce you buy will not come close to the healthiness and flavor of a homemade sauce. And you can always go sauce-less.

Serve and enjoy… and for the cook grab a glass of dry red wine

In the comments below, let me know what you think and if you have a special sauce recipe, please share it with the community.

-Steve

The post SCD Spaghetti (forget noodles, sauce is the star of the show) appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

I don’t consider myself much of a cook, but I LOVE flavor. I also LOVE food that’s quick.  That’s why one of my favorite things to do is mix salmon (a true “fast food”) with the intense flavor of citrus.

So, today I invite you to test out one of my favorite meals…

Explosive citrus flavor in less than 30 mins. How does it get better than that?

And please remember, if you don’t tolerate any parts of this recipe right now, customize it with ingredients that work for you!

12-Minute Citrus Salmon

• 1 lb. Wild Caught Salmon
• 1 Avocado
• 1 Sweet Onion
• 1 Head of Cauliflower
• 2 Fresh Lemons
• 2 Fresh Oranges
• 2 Fresh Garlic Cloves
• Spices: Black Pepper, Sea Salt
• Olive Oil
• Coconut Oil

Optional: For best flavor explosion… start by marinating the Salmon in black pepper, olive oil, and the juice of 1 orange for 2-3 hours. I always forget… but it’s totally worth it if you can remember.

The Lemon Roasted Cauliflower…

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and break up the florets from a head of cauliflower and spread them out on a baking dish. In a separate bowl, combine the juice of one lemon, 1/2 cup of olive oil, 1/2 cup melted coconut oil, black pepper, sea salt, and 2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped) and drizzle it evenly across the florets. Bake them for about 25 minutes until the florets start to brown – AMAZING!

The Citrus Salmon…

While the cauliflower is baking, dice up the sweet onion and saute it in coconut oil until it starts to brown (that’s the glazed look). Next, when there’s about 12 mins left for the cauliflower, place the salmon on a baking sheet with some parsley and black pepper and add it to the oven… they both need to bake another 12-15 minutes.  The salmon is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 140 degrees F.

Top off the salmon with the juice of 1 orange and spread the glazed onion evenly on top.

The Guacamole…

I like to keep this simple and mash up 1 avocado, then add sea salt and the juice of 1 lemon. It provides a wonderful compliment to the salmon and cauliflower.

– Jordan

P.S. – How can I make this better?  Share in the comments below…

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I’ve got two kids… so let’s be real. Many nights, those sexy dinner plates we often see on blogs are a fantasy. (Enter the 5-min Paleo fish fry.)

It’s not glamorous, but it gets the job done.

I’d like to share it with you so you can have it in your back pocket, you know for those nights you dream about grabbing a pizza on the way home.

NOTE: This recipe includes water chestnuts, which are a “grey zone” for SCD’ers. I definitely didn’t have them until 2 years into the diet. They aren’t for the newbies. For those interested, here’s what Elaine’s site had to say. If you can’t eat them, leave them out or swap in something else tasty.

How to Make 5-Min Paleo Fish Fry

Ingredients:

• 1 Can Wild-Caught Salmon
• 1/2 Onion (chopped)
• 1 Can Water Chestnuts
• 1 Head Broccoli
• 1 Garlic Clove
• Olive Oil
• Coconut Oil
• Cilantro
• Rosemary
• Basil
• BONUS FLAVOR: Coconut Aminos

Directions:

Start by sauteing the chopped onion in coconut oil and once they start to brown, add the salmon and mix it up.

In another pan, saute olive oil, broccoli, water chestnuts (for the advanced folks), garlic, and spices (basil, rosemary, cilantro).

Each pan will literally take about 5 minutes. For bonus flavor, finish off each pan with a few dashes of coconut aminos.

Enjoy

– Jordan

P.S. – What’s your favorite 5-min dish? Leave the recipe in the comments below.

Note: We earn a small commission if you use the product links on this page to purchase the products we mention. We only recommend products we would use or have used in the past. Your purchase helps support our site and ongoing research.

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Pemmican has never tasted this good!

Bacon really does make anything better and this Bacon Pemmican recipe will change the way you travel.

Pemmican is the original travel food of our ancestors. Developed by the Native Americans, it quickly spread to the European fur trappers and ended up being one of the main food sources for Arctic and Antarctic explorers.

Traditionally, pemmican was made with a 1:1 protein to fat ratio. In those days, it was created with large game meats like elk, buffalo and deer that were dried, ground down, and mixed with the animal fat. At times wild berries were mixed in, as well.

This was a time without domesticated animals, so the groups of people who had access to larger game would make pemmican and use it to trade for things their land didn’t have. Nowadays, most pemmican is made from beef; the best being US Wellness Meats’ Pemmican. It has a unique meaty taste. The kind that takes a little time to grow on you. Always looking to improve ideas… I started experimenting with pemmican.

Bacon Pemmican – The Luxury Travel Food

I’m never fully satisfied with my SCD travel foods. Each year Jordan and I are traveling more, so travel foods are becoming a bigger part of my lifestyle. I’m picky. I want food that makes me feel good and tastes good, too. And while I’ve cooked pounds of bacon and carried them on a plane, I’m always looking to class it up a little.

In case you didn’t know you can take frozen food through TSA checkpoints, which makes this recipe even more appealing as it is frozen and no TSA agent has batted an eyelash about it so far. Not only that, but I cut it into bars, wrapped it in tinfoil and then stuffed it into a plastic bag. It stayed in my backpack cold and frozen for over 14hrs! No cooler needed.

As you can see from the calorie breakdown below, it packs a big punch for being very small. (It’s almost enough calories to sustain a person for 2 days.) Add in some other easy travel foods and you’ll be good to go. Did I mention it’s SCD legal and what I might call a traditional Paleo food?

How to Make Bacon Pemmican

It’s actually really easy to make this and the variations to try are endless. I did try 1/2 raisins and 1/2 cranberries once and did not like it as much as the variation below. I hope as you experiment you’ll return and post the tweaks you’ve made in the comments.

Equipment needed:

• Large Skillet Pan
• Blender
• Square, Glass Baking Dish

Ingredients needed:

• 12-16 Ounces of Bacon
• 1/2 Cup of Coconut Oil (melted)
• 1 Cup of Dried Cranberries

Begin by cooking the bacon in a skillet; the key is cooking it long and slow. You really don’t want to crisp it up too much, it should be soft and flimsy still but the fat should be mostly cooked down. At this point turn the heat off and let it cool.

After it cools down (but before the fat begins to solidify), add everything to the blender. Get as much of that tasty bacon fat as possible into the blender. Then begin blending it down. Chop it as finely as you can. At this point add 1 cup of cranberries and make sure they get chopped into very fine pieces, as well. The last step is to add the coconut oil and blend till it’s good and mixed up.

Next, get the glass dish out and pour the mixture into it. Try to make it an even depth in the dish, then cover and freeze. It will take an hour or so to solidify. At this point you can cut it into bars or whatever size pieces your heart desires.

How Much Rocket Fuel is in this Recipe?

I wondered that, too. My best guesstimate is below:

• 16 Ounces of Bacon (cooked) = 2450 Calories – 68% Fat, 31% Protein, 1% Carbohydrate
• 1/2 Cup of Coconut Oil = 940 Calories – 100% Fat
• 1 Cup of Dried Cranberries = 339 Calories – 4% Fat, 0% Protein, 96% Carbohydrate

Totals = 3729 Calories = 70% Fat (2620 cal), 20% Protein (759 cal), 10% Carbohydrate (350 cal)

The biggest unknown is the bacon numbers. I can’t seem to tell whether or not the 16 oz. of cooked bacon is including the rendered bacon fat or not… I’m guessing not, so these numbers could be even higher. Maybe someone in the comments can figure this out and help us all.

I’ve shared this with a few non-SCD, non-Paleo types and they loved it. And I think you will too (it has bacon in it – duh).

-Steve

P.S. – I will caution against getting freaky and eating like half of it at once. It’s very high in fat (a good thing), but it can be tough on the digestive system for those who aren’t used to munching a 100 grams of fat at once.

The post Bacon Pemmican – The Ultimate Paleo Travel Food appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

Sometimes, we have very special guests on the blog that write amazing posts for us to share with you. Today is such an instance. Jaime, from Healthline.com, wanted to contribute a Christmas recipe post to help all of us create a holiday feast that’s going to make us feel good. And what better way to celebrate than feeling amazing. I want to thank Jaime for contributing this post and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

[Enter Jaime]

The holiday season is upon us and that means one thing — food, lots of food, and possibly a little anxiety. Everything from workplace potlucks to dinners with friends and family to cocktail hours guarantees that there will be platters served and encouragement to eat. And platters alone can leave anyone on a special diet feeling a little anxious.

Who wants to stand out as “the person who didn’t eat anything”? It’s totally understandable. Have a sensitive host and are afraid of insulting them by not eating a thing? We’ve all been there.

Jumping ship from the diet from time to time is okay for some people, especially those who know what their trigger foods are. But if you are new to the SCD diet, it’s completely understandable if you are not ready to deviate.

Here’s the thing: just because you are keeping yourself healthy by being on a “diet” it doesn’t mean you need to be bummed out. Don’t think of it like a diet, but as a healthier lifestyle that will still enable you to indulge while at these events. You may have to provide your own spreads, but during these occasions sharing is caring, and that also means you can still have a very SCD Christmas, holiday party, cocktail hour, whatever you want to call it, and it is guaranteed to be delicious!

We now present you with some great recipes to get you on your way to having a very SCD Christmas.

Who Needs Single Recipes? Let’s Lay Out an Entire Christmas Spread!

SCD Friendly Starters — The meal before, the BIG meal

The Cheese Ball (with or without nuts) — A classic holiday party appetizer, served with veggie sticks, almond crackers, or homemade SCD-friendly crostini bread.

Wolfgang Puck’s Butternut Squash Soup — A recipe so delicious you’ll want to save more for yourself than your guests (Note: You will have to substitute cream with SCD friendly yogurt or coconut milk.)

Buffalo Wings — The perfect finger food, football-watching snack, and an all-around easy app to prepare and make guests happy. Of course, no buffalo wing recipe would be complete without a blue cheese dip recipe to compliment it.

Quickie Tuna Salad or Chicken Salad — One of the great delights about finger foods is that you can (drum roll please) eat them with your fingers! Tuna fish and chicken salad go great on many things, and one way you can make them even more SCD friendly is to place a dollop on a cucumber slice.  Here is a link for the chicken salad recipe and don’t worry about the mayo, we got you covered with this great SCD friendly home-made mayo recipe that can be used for a multitude of things.

SCD Friendly Side — Perfect to bring to a friend’s house or serve at your own

Broiled Asparagus — Takes about 10-15 minutes to make and is sure to please. While prepping your asparagus, remember to turn your broiler on and leave the oven door cracked open. Once the asparagus ends are chopped off, and the stalks are clean and patted dry, all that’s left is to season (whatever you want) and drizzle with olive oil. Place broiler sheet into the oven, and every few minutes rotate the stalks. Depending on how you prefer your stalks soft or crunchy will dictate how long to leave them in.

And for those of you who must have Hollandaise with your asparagus, here you go!

SCD Friendly Main Course — Make way for the BIG meal

Roasted Chicken — Always a classic, the roasted chicken is sure to please. This simple recipe will make you look like a culinary artist and be a great centerpiece to any table or spread. And guess what? It includes bacon!

Roasted Beef Ribs — The name kind of says it all. This recipe for roasted beef ribs falls under the category of keeping things simple, and that’s A-Okay!

Roast Beef — Although making a roast can be a tad bit intimidating, this recipe makes it seem effortless.

Note from Jordan: One thing to consider, the recipe calls for garlic powder because the author can tolerate it. However, you can use your own fresh roasted garlic (also pretty simple). Something else to keep in mind, roasted garlic can be used for so many other recipes. It’s a great tool to have in your cooking arsenal.

A Thanksgiving-Time Treasure Good for the Entire Year — This recipe focuses on the main staple to most traditional Thanksgiving meals, the turkey and stuffing. Plus, it’s SCD friendly!

SCD Friendly Dessert — Admit it, this is the section you were most excited to see

Berry-Topped SCD Cheesecake with Vanilla Coconut Flour Crust — This is a dessert with a long name. So, it’s easy to assume that the longer the name the better it tastes, right? Only one way to find out, make it!

Peanut Butter Cookies — Back to finger foods again. The great thing about cookies is that they look beautiful when plated, stacked, or just sitting idle on a napkin. Cookies are great. They are also perfect for a buffet spread or placing on a table for guests to munch on while enjoying coffee or tea. Here’s a funny note, these cookies are so delicious and filled with peanut buttery goodness that they get a D+ on the “nutrition scale.” ‘Tis the season to indulge, right?

As with any recipe, it can be tweaked to meet your needs. That’s one of the fantastic things about cooking. What’s the other fantastic thing about cooking, you might be wondering?

Eating! From everyone here at Living With Crohn’s Disease: Healthline, we wish you a very merry SCD Christmas!

Follow Healthline on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CrohnsDiseaseHealthline

Jaime (pronounced Jamie is a pop-culture connoisseur, SEO obsessed, social media junkie, and blogger for healthline.com. Read more of Jaime’s work on healthline.com.

The post Have a Very SCD Christmas (With RECIPES!) appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

Who doesn’t have fond memories of buttery smooth pudding on the tongue? With this phat Paleo recipe you can whip up a nutritious snack that will make kids and adults eat till their pants don’t fit (trust me). Pudding from a box is junk and most others are just plain time consuming. This recipe won’t take long at all and it doubles as a great party dip.

At times during the year I see crazy sales on avocados. I love them and think they are a great way to get more nutrients into a SCD or Paleo diet. But often, I’m at a loss for what to do with them. Slice, mash, chop and make guacamole – that’s been the extent of my avocado use these last 3 years.

Then, I stumbled on a recipe called “Pistachio Mousse” in the Practical Paleo cookbook. Intrigued, I had to give it a shot. While I like pistachios, they didn’t seem important enough to make a special trip to the store so I skipped them. The pudding was rather easy to make and I did it in a blender. It might be easier to do in a food processor and I bet it could be done with a stick blender as well. So, don’t let any of that stop you.

In the end, it was so rich and tasty I started using it as a dip for carrots, celery and even spread it on spicy pork tenderloin. It created a rich, cool contrast to the paprika black pepper rub I put on the tenderloin.

Phat Avocado SCD Pudding

• 2 Ripe Avocados
• 2 Teaspoons Almond Extract
• 1/4 Cup Coconut Milk
• 1 Large Ripe Banana
• 1 Tablespoon of Honey
• Pinch of Sea Salt

Directions: I made this in a blender, but a food processor would work just as well. Just empty all the ingredients in and blend until buttery smooth.

Notes on the Ingredients:

Coconut Milk: It can cause problems for some people, however I think the issue is more of buying junk product and over consuming it. Buy one of these brands without gums (Arroy-D, Chaokoh) and don’t make a habit of drinking a can a day and I bet you won’t have problems.

Almond and Vanilla Extracts: Extracts like vanilla or almond are legal on SCD as long as they are PURE and made of the actual ingredients. That means throw away the cheap-o vanilla extract. I like these brands (Organic Almond Extract, Organic Vanilla Extract, High-end Vanilla)

There are probably many ways to utilize a pudding/sauce/dip like this in a SCD or Paleo household. I look forward to hearing how you use it in the comments below.

-Steve

The post Phat Paleo Pudding (or Cool Party Dip) appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

Kid tested, adult approved. These Paleo / SCD pumpkin pancakes are some of the best non-traditional ones I’ve tested yet. They’re very moist but not “eggy” if you know what I mean. They can be used as a cold snack and a great delivery method for nut butters.

Yes, the pumpkin I used came from a can. Are you okay with that?  

The only ingredient on the can was pumpkin. Some of you might not understand what I’m talking about so I’ll take aim at the elephant in the room. According to Elaine in BTVC I would not be following the rules of SCD because I did not get a written letter from the manufacture stating that nothing exogenous was added to the pumpkin during the processing of it.

I understand that when she originally wrote BTVC and when she was treating Judy that she had good reason to make the rules she did. But I also think food manufacturing was less scrutinized and consumers were less educated back then.

The true problem is that almost all canned fruit has added sugars and stabilizers and many common canned vegetables do to (listed on can). But times are changing. And while I’m NOT declaring free rain on eating canned foods, I’m trying to walk a very tight line of keeping a diet that can help millions of people current and evolving with the times.

Pumpkin – I think when the ingredients say “pumpkin” is one of those vegetables that is likely SCD safe 100% of the time. Sure, if you want to cook a fresh one do it. It’ll likely have more nutrients and be a great experience. But I don’t see anything harmful about eating pumpkin out of the can when the ingredients do not contain anything else.

Introducing Paleo Pumpkin Pancakes

This recipe is adapted from Practical Paleo. I doubled the recipe, changed the sweetener and added some spices.

• 8 Eggs
• 1 Cup of Canned Pumpkin
• 2 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
• 3 Tablespoons Honey
• 2 1/2 Teaspoons Cinnamon
• 1/2 Teaspoon Cloves
• 1/2 Teaspoon Allspice
• 3/4 Teaspoon Nutmeg
• 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 2 Pinches of Sea Salt
• 4 Tablespoons Coconut Oil

Step 1. Plan to pre-heat your pan on medium heat with some coconut oil. Then, get a large mixing bowl and start by adding the eggs, pumpkin, vanilla and honey. Using a balloon whisk or your favorite kitchen tool, thoroughly mix. Don’t go light here. The more time spent making sure these ingredients are smooth and blended the better the final outcome.

Step 2. Add in all the spices above and the coconut oil. If the coconut oil isn’t liquid, then slightly heat it using tap water or the microwave to make it more mixable. Stir vigorously.

Step 3. Using a large spoon drop the pancake batter into ready pan. Mine ended up being about 3-4 inches in diameter as they thinned out. When you see bubbles starting to come to the surface that’s a good sign it’s time to flip. Tip – using a fish spatula is very helpful for delicate recipes like this.

Step 4. Serve them up. I didn’t use anything extra as these are very tasty but top with butter, yogurt or honey and berries if you’re feeling creative.

Tell me what you think in the comments below.

-Steve

The post Paleo Pumpkin Pancakes for Fall Family Fun (SCD friendly) appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

What? I’m a lazy man. I respect the French cooking and all. They make some dang good food. But this wasn’t a romantic dinner, it was a hectic Tuesday night. So, I had to do what I do best. Get in and out of the kitchen fast.

But you know me, I like to eat good food, not warmed up chicken breasts. Nope, instead I found some frozen cooked mussels at the big box store and decided to have some fun. Mussels are a superfood if you believe in that kind of thing.

But You’ve Never Eaten Mussels?

Mussels are filter feeders and look like clams, but smaller. They spend their lives latched on to something hard and feed by filtering the water, in turn making it cleaner. This makes them unique in that farmed mussels actually receive pretty high marks. It turns out the only real difference is that farmed mussels are purposely placed into the waters and then harvested. Nature does the rest.

Mussels are extremely high in omega-3s and very micronutrient dense. They are great sources of B12, iron, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium and zinc.

They can be bought shelled or cooked and de-shelled. For the lazy man’s way, in which I made a full dinner in under 20 minutes, go with de-shelled. Oh and if you don’t do dairy, just swap in coconut oil for the ghee and you’ll be all set.

Lazy Man’s Moules Mariniéres in Under 20 Minutes

Start with the following:

• 1 Pound of Defrosted Cooked, Shelled Mussels
• 2 Tablespoons of Ghee
• ½ Medium White Onion, diced
• 6 Small Cloves of Garlic
• Salt, Black Pepper and Parsley

Okay, Trust Me Anyone Can Do This (I’ll Walk You Through It)

Step 1.  Heat the pan on medium heat with ghee. As it’s heating up, start dicing the onion and garlic.

Step 2.  After it’s heated (about 5 min or so), dump the onion and garlic in and sauté it (just move it around a lot using a spatula or spoon) until the onions are turning translucent.

Step 3.  When you’re satisfied with the onions and garlic, take them out of the pan and put them in a bowl until later.

Step 4.  If your pan needs more ghee, drop some more in. Then, throw in the mussels, salt, pepper and parsley. Keep stirring and moving the mussels around. Remember, they are already cooked so we are just heating them and getting some flavors going.

Step 5.  After 3-5 minutes of getting the mussels warmed up, put the onions and garlic back in and stir it all together for a few more minutes. Then plate and serve!

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

-Steve

The post Lazy Man’s Moules Mariniéres (SCD / Paleo Friendly) appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

Back in College, every good study session came with Taco Bell and Arizona Georgia Peach Green Tea.

(And gas, bloating, and diarrhea.)

I still get shivers up my spine thinking about the gut-wrenching stomach pain I used to get from most mexican food.

But I couldn’t resist trying to recreate that flavor in a way that made me feel good. Thus, the Beefy Taco Salad was born.

I have to give a shout out to this recipe at Paleo Dish, which was the starting point for my version. Like most recipes I make, I had to modify it quite a bit for the foods I tolerate well.

Without further ado, here’s how to create your own Beefy Taco Salad.

Beefy Taco Salad (GET IN MY BELLY)

Ingredients:

• 1 Package of Organic Baby Spinach
• 2 Lbs Grass-Fed Beef
• 1 White Onion
• 3 Garlic Cloves
• Spices: Organic Cumin, Cilantro, Black Pepper, and Sea Salt
• Ginger
• 1 Avocado
• 2 Lemons
• ½ Cup Organic Olive Oil
• ½ Cup Organic Coconut Oil
• 1 Tomato (optional)

Directions:

Heat the coconut oil in a pan on medium heat. Chop the white onion and add to the pan, sautéing for 2-3 minutes. Next, add the grass-fed beef, ginger, garlic, and spices to the pan. Cook until the meat is browned.

While the beef is cooking, cut up the avocado into a bowl and add the juice of one lemon and sea salt. Smash the mixture with a fork until it becomes smooth texture (like guacamole).

Put the baby spinach in a bowl and toss with olive oil, sea salt, and the juice of 1 lemon.

When the beef is finished cooking you’re ready to serve.  Plate the spinach and add a serving of the beef mixture.  Next, top it with avocado and you’re ready to dig in.

Note: I still avoid nightshades due to my autoimmunity. The picture above was the plate I made for my wife.  I skipped the tomato on my plate and it was still amazing. If you tolerate nightshades and love spicy food, feel free to add red peppers or cayenne pepper to the beef.

Enjoy

– Jordan

The post Beefy Taco Salad (GET IN MY BELLY) appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

One of the most common problems we see when people start SCD, GAPS, or Paleo is they try to recreate foods they used to eat from the Standard American Diet. Inevitably, the recipes end up full of sugar (honey, sweeteners, etc.) and flours (almond, coconut, and others). Natural or not, a diet full of these ingredients doesn’t support life-long health.

And when too many meals consist of almond flour muffins or coconut flour bread… these people don’t feel better. (You can listen to minute 24:15 of this podcast to hear us talk more about this problem.)

In general, Steve and I still eat a diet of mostly meats, fats, veggies, and some fruit. That’s why you won’t see many recipes from us that contain lots of flour. It’s a rare occasion that we eat those types of food. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a great desert, travel snack, or occasional treat you can enjoy!

So, when Janna from scdmama.blogspot.com sent us a protein bar recipe I asked her if we could share it with you and she graciously revealed her super-secret recipe. You rock Janna – thanks for helping us get some recipe diversity on the blog!

I will preface the recipe with this:

If you’re not in control of your symptoms, this recipe isn’t for you. Find your food safe zone first, then test it out in moderation. Also, read what Elaine had to say about seeds.

Soft Protein Bars (from Janna)

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Pumpkin Seeds
• 1 Cup Sunflower Seeds
• 1/2 Cup Thompson Raisins
• 1 Cup Dates, pitted
• 5-6 Tbsp Nut Butter (I used organic almond butter)
• 1/4-1/3 Cup Honey

Directions:

Throw it all in a food processor and blend until well mixed and all seeds fine in texture (about 2 – 3 minutes).

Get 2 pieces of parchment paper the size of a cookie sheet. Scoop the mixture onto once piece of parchment and place the other piece on top equal in size. Use a rolling pin to flatten the mixture between the 2 sheets. Roll it about 1/4 inch thick. Place in a pre-heated oven (200°F) for about 2 hours. You will know it is done when the top parchment peels off clean. Transfer to cooling rack with the bottom parchment still attached. The protein bar should be soft, and chewy but not wet or sticking to everything.

Note from Jordan: Coconut products would be another option. If you’re worried about trying this recipe, you could try using coconut products as a substitution. But I haven’t tried making it that way, so let us know how it goes.

Thanks again Janna – looking forward to many more great recipes on your blog.

P.S. – Leave any cool modifications you try in the comments below. Experiment away!

The post Soft Protein Bars appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

A fast family dinner can easily taste better than a restaurant if you take a few minutes to marinate the meat before you cook it.

Try this beef stir fry recipe for an explosion of taste! I made this with ingredients I had laying around on a lazy Sunday and it was AMAZING.

Lazy Beef Stir Fry

• 1 Lb Beef Steak
• 1 Sweet Onion
• 1 Yellow Pepper
• 1/2 Lb Broccoli
• 1 Fresh Lemon
• Spices: Black Pepper, Sea Salt
• Olive Oil

The Steak

Start by marinating the steak in black pepper, olive oil, and the juice of 1 lemon for at-least an hour. About 30-mins before you’re going to cook dinner leave it out at room temp… this has a HUGE impact on how tough it will be when you cook it.  If it’s still cold when you start cooking the outside of the meat will become very well done before the inside has even heated up. So, letting it warm up to room temp helps make sure you’ll cook it evenly.

The Stir Fry

Begin cooking by sauteing the onion, yellow pepper, and broccoli in some olive oil, black pepper, and sea salt. Here’s the trick: Pre-heat a different pan on medium heat with olive oil until it reaches temperature. Cut the marinated beef into stir fry strips and drop them in the pan. Cooking the veggies and the meat separately helps you get the steak strips perfect

Cook the strips for about 3 minutes, stir, another 3 minutes, and they should be done. Then, combine them with the veggies and serve!!!

NOTE: If you’re a beginner and still having gut symptoms, eliminate the onion and yellow pepper and replace them with something like carrots and butternut squash cubes… get creative with the foods that you can tolerate.  It’ll still taste amazing!

P.S. – Leave any cool modifications you try in the comments below. Experiment away!

The post Lazy Beef Stir Fry appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

I love citrus flavor when it’s blended with white meats like chicken… and this salad is awesome!

Plus, you can make it in under 20 mins…

Citrus Chicken Salad

• Romaine Lettuce
• Fresh Baby Spinach
• 1-2 lbs. Organic Chicken Breast
• 2 Fresh Oranges
• 2 Fresh Lemons
• Olive Oil
• Sea Salt
• Black Pepper
• Raw Organic Almonds
• 1-2 Celery Stalks

The Chicken

Start by cutting the chicken breast into small chunks and marinating it in black pepper and the juice of 1 lemon for 1-2 hours. Pre-heat a pan on low-medium heat with olive oil, until it warms up. Drop in the chicken breast chunks and sauté.

The Salad

While the chicken is cooking, toss a salad with romaine lettuce, fresh spinach, and sliced celery. In a separate bowl, mix the juice of 1 orange, the juice of 1 lemon, 1/2 cup olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper. Also, peel and cut the remaining orange to serve on top. Once the chicken is done, place the salad on a dish with the cut orange slices on top. Then, garnish the salad with chicken and pour the dressing on top. Salt to taste with sea salt. For those who can tolerate them, top with a few Almonds for added crunch.

Note: If you’re just starting out and still having gut issues, try this  recipe using spaghetti squash instead of lettuce and only use the juice from the orange instead of the whole orange. Also, skip the almonds and cook the celery for better digestion

P.S. – Leave any cool modifications you make to this recipe in the comments below. Experiment away!

The post Citrus Chicken Salad appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

I love salmon with a lemon kick… but sometimes it gets old.

So, lately I’ve been mixing it up with the rich flavor of bacon and greens to make things interesting. This awesome meal takes some planning because the squash has to bake for about 45 mins, but each part of the dish compliments each other so well

Lemon Salmon and Bacon Greens

• 1 Lb. Uncured Bacon (best straight from a butcher to avoid sugar)
• 1 Bunch Fresh Kale
• 1 Lb. Wild Caught Salmon
• Spices: Parsley, Black Pepper, Sea Salt
• 1 Fresh Lemon
• Olive Oil
• 1 Acorn Squash
  

Start by marinating the Salmon in black pepper, olive oil, and the juice of 1 lemon for 2-3 hours. Then, cut the acorn squash in half and remove the seeds. Add black pepper and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in each half for some bonus flavor. Bake it in the oven @ 400°F with the cut side up. Set a timer for 30-minutes and move on to the next step.

The bacon and greens

Cut the uncured bacon into small squares and sauté them on low-medium heat in a large frying pan, stirring often. While the bacon is cooking, strip the Kale leaves off the stem and wash them. Fry the bacon until it gets close to being done (roughly 15 mins) and drop the kale right on top of the bacon. Now, keep stirring on low-medium heat for another 20 mins or so, or until the Kale shrinks down in size and looks like it’s about to get crispy.

The lemon salmon

When the 30 min timer on the acorn squash goes off, place the salmon on a baking sheet with some parsley and black pepper and add it to the oven with the squash… they both need to bake another 12-15 minutes. The squash is done when it’s soft to the touch of a fork and the salmon reaches an internal temperature of 140°F.

That’s it. If you can tolerate honey, it can be a very tasty topping for the acorn squash… but use it sparingly. Also, spinach works just as well as kale – so if you can’t tolerate kale or haven’t tried it yet, just stick with spinach.

P.S. – Leave any ideas you have to make this meal better in the comments. Enjoy

The post Lemon Salmon and Bacon Greens appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

Homemade bone broth can help repair your gut and restore your healthy mucosal lining. Not only that, but bone broth is chocked full of collagen, gelatin, glycine, and proline (great article about their benefits here).

Last but not least, bone broth also contains glutamine, an important fuel for intestinal cells that may help repair a leaky gut (study). I drink 8-12 oz in a coffee mug every single morning and I’ve really found it helps, especially when I’m trying to manage heavy stress or running low on sleep. Not only that, but it was the only thing that brought me back to life during my latest bout with the stomach flu…

In this post, I’m going to show you how to make a basic beef bone broth to help you heal your gut (and what to do if you don’t want to make it at home).

Beef Bone Broth Step 1:

Find a source for your beef bones. I typically mix two types of beef bones when I make bone broth.  I use “Beef Marrow Bones” like these from U.S. Wellness Meats:

For the best healing effects, find a source that uses certified Grass Fed Cows. (For extra credit, grab some knuckle to throw in the pot as well).

You can buy bones and knuckle from a source like U.S. Wellness Meats or your local butcher. Local farmers that raise Grass Fed Cows will also be able to tell you which butcher they typically take their cows to and you can source it from there.

I like to make beef bone broth in a slow cooker, which fits about 5 pounds of bones. So, I use about 2.5 pounds of “Marrow Bones”  and 2.5 pounds of “Beef Soup Bones.”

Beef Bone Broth Step 2:

Add all 5 pounds of bones into a slow cooker.

Don’t forget to add either a few shots of apple cider vinegar OR the juice from one lemon. They provide acids that help extract more nutrients from the bones.

Next, fill the slow cooker with water (preferably filtered) and set it for 24 hours on low heat.

HOT TIP: Sometimes the smell can bother family/friends/pets (ha-ha). Lately, I’ve actually been setting this out in my garage to cook so I don’t have to fill my house with bone broth scent (it’s currently winter in Michigan).

Beef Bone Broth Step 3:

After the bones have been cooking for 24 hours, you can add in a few veggies for flavor. You won’t be eating these, so don’t bother peeling them or cutting off the stems:

• Carrots
• Celery Stalks
• Sweet Onion
• 2 Tablespoons Parsley
• 2 Tablespoons Sea Salt
• 2 Tablespoons Black Pepper

Then, set it for another 12 hours or so… but timing is completely up to you. The longer you cook it on low the more the bones will break down and release nutrients into the broth.

Beef Bone Broth Step 4:

After about 30 hours, check the marrow bones to make sure the marrow has fallen out of the bone. Sometimes I have to pick out the bones with tongs and use a fork to knock the marrow out of the center.

Beef Bone Broth Step 5:

Once the bones have been slow cooking for 36 hours, turn off the slow cooker and let it cool down naturally for a few hours. Then, I will usually skim off the big stuff like the veggies and give them to the dogs. I have heard you can use the meat and veggies to make good soup but I haven’t tried it yet.

The next step is to drain the broth through a mesh colander like this one:

It’s important to ask the question: how am I going to store this broth?

I’ve heard mixed information on how long beef bone broth lasts in the refrigerator, so I’ve been sticking to a week or so. Keep that in mind when you store it. I like to drink about 8-12oz every morning so I need about 70 ounces to last me 7-days.

Glass storage is always a better way to go than plastic… but as you drain the broth through the colander you’ll want to pour it right into the container you choose. I like to store mine in glass mason jars like these:

Freeze what you’re not using and try to drink some every day.

It’s also a great stock to cook with. Enjoy!

What To Do If You Can’t Make Your Own Bone Broth

There are a few reasons why you might not want to make broth at home:

• You don’t have easy access to high quality bones
• You don’t have access to a kitchen or the tools you’ll need
• You’re really busy and just don’t have time to make broth all the time

All of those situations have applied to me at one time or another, too.

Bone broth used to be exclusively homemade – but in the last year the sale of packaged broths has skyrocketed.

This is good and bad – good because it means this powerful food is more accessible than ever. But the bad new is that not all packaged bone broths are comparable to homemade.  

(A good trick is to check the protein content of any bone broth you’re considering buying – regular broth has little to no protein – a true bone broth has much more protein per serving!)

We’ve tried a lot of bone broths, and the only brand we recommend now is Kettle & Fire.

Here’s why:

• It is made from 100% grass fed beef bones and vegetables (and never frozen)
• Has extremely high amounts of collagen, glycine and amino acids which improve digestion
• Slow-simmered so that protein and nutrients are extracted from the bones (like I make it at home)
• Shelf-stable (in safe, non-toxic packaging) so I can keep it in my pantry, travel with it, and always have it on hand
• Actually tastes really good

The folks at Kettle & Fire spent more than a year tweaking their recipe, finding sustainable and organic sources for all the ingredients, and perfecting a unique packaging system that keeps it fresh for up to 2 years in your pantry.

If it isn’t homemade bone broth, Kettle & Fire is what I’m drinking.

P.S. – Leave any cool modifications you try in the comments below. Experiment away!

The post How to Make Nourishing Beef Bone Broth to Heal Your Gut appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

Using a slow cooker is absolutely essential to my lifestyle. It allows me to buy super cheap cuts of meat like chuck roast and slow cook them to perfection (saving money).

But it also creates incredible dinners with only 15-minutes of work… as long as I plan ahead.

One of my favorites is this chuck roast with lemon roasted cauliflower, and trust me – you’ll want to make this tomorrow:

Chuck Roast with Lemon Roasted Cauliflower

• 4 Lbs Beef Chuck Roast
• 2 Sweet Onions
• 1 Head of Cauliflower
• 1 Fresh Lemon
• 2 Fresh Garlic Cloves
• Spices: Black Pepper, Sea Salt, Paprika, Parsley
• Olive Oil

The Roast…

When you get up in the morning, dry rub sea salt, parsley, paprika, and black pepper on all sides of the chuck roast and add it to the slow cooker. Slice up the onions and add them in on top of the roast.  Then, drizzle 1 cup of olive oil around the roast and set the slow cooker on low for 8 hours. No water is necessary.

After eight hours, shred the roast apart with a fork and knife so it gets mixed in with the gravy that formed at the bottom, and finish it off for one more hour in the slow cooker – this time on high.

The Cauliflower…

Preheat the oven to 400°F and break up the florets from a head of cauliflower and spread them out on a baking dish. In a separate bowl, combine the juice of one lemon, a 1/2 cup of olive oil, black pepper, sea salt, and 2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped) and drizzle it evenly across the florets. Bake them for about 25 minutes until the florets start to brown – AMAZING!

NOTE: If you’re a beginner and still having gut symptoms, lose the onion and replace it with another veggie that you can tolerate, even carrots would work.

P.S. – Leave any cool modifications you try in the comments below. Experiment away!

The post Chuck Roast with Lemon Roasted Cauliflower appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

The beneficial effects of SCD probiotics are well documented. Typically, the 24-hour fermented yogurt can help restore healthy gut flora and improve your digestion…

Unless you can’t tolerate dairy products.

Dairy reactions seem to be a problem for our “Tough Case” readers. In that case, they try making 24-hour goat’s milk yogurt, but it usually triggers the same reaction. The casein protein is a common intolerance for people with Leaky Gut Syndrome.

But there’s still hope for getting probiotics in your life…

You can either take them in pill form, which is OK but the best place to get good bugs is straight from a food source, like raw unpasteurized sauerkraut. Remember: store bought sauerkraut is usually pasteurized, meaning they heat it up to kill the germs… which also kills the good bugs we’re trying to eat.

In this post, I’m going to show you how to easily ferment raw sauerkraut without using any special contraptions…

Simple Sauerkraut Step 1:

You’ll need one head of cabbage, a heavy knife, sea salt, a glass bowl, a Ziploc® baggy, and another bowl small enough to fit inside the opening of the glass bowl.

Simple Sauerkraut Step 2:

Cut the stem off the cabbage. Then, take the head and slice it in half so that you can see the area of the stem that’s left inside the head. Make a V-cut into each half to remove the stem on each side.

Simple Sauerkraut Step 3:

Cut each side of the head in half so you’re left with four quarters. Then, take the 1st quarter and chop it into tiny slivers. Some people have really cool choppers to get the job done, but I just use my heavy knife and some elbow grease…

Simple Sauerkraut Step 4:

Take the 1st quarter of the cabbage you finely chopped up and drop it into your glass container… but here’s the trick… add the shredded cabbage in a handful at a time, sprinkling sea salt on each handful after you drop it in.

Next, go through the other 3 quarters and do the same process until the entire head is chopped and in the glass container with salt gently applied to each handful.

Simple Sauerkraut Step 5:

Once you’re all finished with step 4, your glass container should look something like this picture. Sprinkle a little more salt on top. FYI – the reason we’re adding salt is that it will help draw the moisture out of the cabbage (to help us later when we need the juice)…

Simple Sauerkraut Step 6:

Take a few minutes to use your fist (or a meat hammer – but be careful not to break stuff) to pound on the shredded cabbage in the glass container to begin the process of compacting it. Once it’s packed down a bit, sprinkle a little more salt on it and let it sit for 2-3 hours.

Over the next 2-3 hours the salt will keep drawing the moisture out, so stop by every so often and pack it down more, forcing more of the moisture out. Come back in about 2-3 hours for the next steps

Simple Sauerkraut Step 7:

Hopefully your shredded cabbage is filled with juice by now. It’s called the “brine.” If not, sometimes I have to actually use both hands and “kneed” the shredded cabbage depending on how ripe it was when I started making it.

Here’s how to tell when it’s ready… if you push down on the cabbage with your hand, the brine water should rise past the level of the cabbage, as in this picture:

Simple Sauerkraut Step 8:

This is where you build the “Super Sophisticated Sauerkraut Contraption 5000 (TM).”

Take the smaller bowl, which is small enough to fit inside the glass bowl, and set it on top of the sauerkraut. Then, take the Ziploc® baggy and fill it with room temperature water. Set the bag on top of the small bowl… and wallah – it’s done!

The point of this whole thing is to keep weight on the bowl so the shredded cabbage stays submerged in the brine water. If it’s not enough weight to keep the shredded cabbage below the brine water yet, just stop by every couple hours and push down on the smaller bowl to keep compacting the shredded cabbage even more

NOTE: Don’t ever just add regular water to this. If you absolutely have to add water to it to fill it up, then get some filtered water and mix sea salt in it first, then add it. If you still have an old batch in the fridge, add a bit of that brine as a “starter culture” and it will kick it off with some good bugs right off the bat.

Simple Sauerkraut Step 9:

This is the final step, and this picture is a visual aid for you to see what the brine water level should look like before you “set it and forget it.”

If it’s ready to go just set it aside somewhere away from too much heat or too much cold. Room temperature is the best. I’ve heard mixed reports about covering it from light and I’m not sure what the difference is, so I still throw a towel over it to keep it in the dark anyways.

How long it will take to ferment depends on the temperature of the room it’s in. I usually start tasting mine around day 5 to see where it’s at, but 7 days is typically the best length of time for me when my house stays around 72°F.

Simple Sauerkraut Step 10:

When you come back to it 5-7 days later, you might find a few pieces of shredded cabbage on top that were exposed to the air and appear moldy.  Don’t panic It looks like this:

Just use a spoon and skim that part off into the trash. Anything that was below the brine is healthy and chocked full of good gut bugs.

Simple Sauerkraut Step 11:

Once it’s ready, move it to some kind of glass container and set it in the fridge. Enjoy a few tablespoons 15-mins before a meal to increase stomach acid production

It has wonderful probiotic effects, especially if you can’t tolerate dairy and don’t eat the 24-hour yogurt. If you’re sensitive to good bugs it might be a good idea to start with 1/2  tablespoon each day and work your way up slowly.

NOTE: The point of this post was to show you how to make sauerkraut using stuff you may already have in your kitchen. Patrick on Facebook told me about this Picklemeister, which is a cool contraption that makes it easier to ferment sauerkraut by letting gas out of the jar, but not allowing fresh oxygen in.

Enjoy!

P.S. – Leave any cool modifications you try in the comments below. Experiment away!

The post How to Make Sauerkraut – The Fast and Easy Way appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

Cheryl sent us one to review ahead of time and I must say she has some really cool and innovative recipes in it. It is true to its name; you are not going to find entrée recipes. Instead, this cookbook contains tons of ideas dedicated to family parties, snacking and feel good foods.

I think the book fills a really cool niche in the SCD world. It won’t be for everyone but it has a place in my kitchen. Jordan and I are happy to see more and more products pop up in the SCD world. Congrats to Cheryl!

We asked her to put together a recipe out of the book for the blog readers and below is what she sent in.

[Enter Cheryl]

Well, the finishing touches are complete and I just received my first shipment of cookbooks from the printer, just in time for summer gatherings and barbeques!

I am so excited to share with you a “fan favorite,” we are big sports fans in my house. Whether it’s football, hockey or baseball, there is always a gang here gathered around the big screen. In the past, as you know, these types of gatherings were impossible to be at and stay compliant, I would find myself “disappearing” when all the snack foods arrived! No one seemed to understand why I couldn’t have just a little bite, really what would it hurt they would plea. Little did they know just how much it would hurt! So my quest for a recipe that everyone could enjoy and I could eat with no worries began. It took nearly a whole football season of attempts to get it just right, I knew I found it when everyone would request a second batch at halftime!

Zesty Broccoli Dip

1 C. Dry Curd Farmers Cheese
2 C. Broccoli, chopped and steamed
¼ C. Pimentos, drained and chopped**
½ C. Parmesan Cheese, freshly grated
¼ tsp. Cayenne Pepper
1C. Monterey Jack Cheese, coarsely grated
(easily substitutes with any aged cheeses)
Dash of salt

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all but ½ cup of the Monterey Jack cheese well. Mixture will be thick, spread evenly in a quart-baking dish or pie plate. Top with remaining Jack cheese. Bake for 20 minutes until hot and bubbly.

** I have an all-natural marketplace where I buy many of my ingredients. I can get pimentos there that are in olive oil. If you do not have the same ability, you can substitute with a fresh pimento pepper diced and lightly steamed or forego all together (although I don’t recommend this, as their flavor is a big part of the recipe).

I like to give it just a touch of the broiler to really make the cheese on top golden and gooey. I then serve with “simple crackers” (recipe can be found on page 88) or veggie sticks. These crackers are so simple to make and the flavors can be switched up to what you are serving them with: basil & parmesan goes great with the tomato relish, chili powder & cilantro for a Mexican flair and cinnamon & honey for a sweet touch.

This dip travels well, and can be brought to any gathering and heated right before serving. Leftovers reheat very well; I have been told the leftovers were used on burgers the next day! Hmmmm, I guess you are only limited to your own creativity!

Dip away!

-Cheryl

The post Sweet & Savory: Zesty Broccoli Dip with Simple Crackers appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

After I get over myself, I remember that when this happens it’s MY FAULT.

Yep that’s right, just because I’m too lazy to open one of a half-dozen cookbooks or push my cooking comfort zone doesn’t give me the right to proclaim SCD restrictive and boring.

The Specific Carbohydrate Diet is really not restrictive (another SCD myth), there are hundreds of foods allowed on SCD and when combined can create hundreds of thousands of combinations. Usually, the limiting factor is one’s experience or comfort level in the kitchen.

Guided by a reader of our book and a bit of Googling, I decided to take on the prickly artichoke. Prior to this, I had never had a real artichoke (cooked from scratch) that I’m aware of. At first, when Nia started telling me how to do it, I was thoroughly confused and all the steps seemed really taxing.

However, once I got started it was much easier than I expected (as are most new actions in the kitchen).

I must say they tasted great, and once I started salting and putting butter on them even better! I think in the future they will make great appetizers (thinking date nights, dinner parties and family functions.)

How to Cook an Artichoke

Step 1: Choose a method of cooking, boiling, baking, steaming? I choose boiling, if you do to, get a pot out and start heating some water to a boil.

Step 2: Clean your artichokes, by rinsing them under water and scrubbing the outsides if you have a brush.

Step 3: Chop off the top 1/2″ of the artichokes and just a small part of the stem which is an extension of the heart (totally edible). Or if you’re stuffing and preparing them like Nia’s pictures cut the stem completely off.

Step 4: Season the artichokes if you want, or do as I did and just put them into your boiling water (PRO TIP: put lemon juice on the freshly cut tops to keep the yellow coloring)

Step 5: Find a small lid or plate that can be used to hold the artichokes in the boiling water

Step 6: Boil for 30 minutes, a knife should easily slip through the stem area when they are done.

How to Eat an Artichoke

Step 1: It’s about to get messy as you dig into your freshly cooked artichoke! So, get a bowl or small plate ready for all the discards.

Step 5: Eat your heart out!

Big Thanks to Nia, for providing me the encouragement and directions to get started! She also supplied the delicious looking stuffed artichoke pictures. To make yours sophisticated like hers, just drizzle with olive oil and then pack almond flour into the leaves before baking.

The post The Art of Cooking and Eating Artichoke appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

I can’t wait to jump out of bed every morning and fry up my Turkey Breakfast Sausage in coconut oil.

The best part?

It’s dairy- and egg-free for those of us that can’t do either.

I’ve been getting emails from people wanting to know more about it, so without further ado:

My Turkey Sausage Recipe

• 4 Lbs. of Ground Turkey
• 3 tsp. Sea Salt
• 2 Tbsp. Water
• 2 Pinches of Thyme
• 2 Pinches of Black Pepper

I roll the 4 lbs. of ground turkey into a long tube on foil on a pan. Then, I add the water, salt, and spice. The important thing is to knead everything into the meat and then make it into a perfect log. Next, wrap the foil around the log and poke holes throughout. Bake it at 300° F for about 2 hours and check the temperature. Cut up into patties and freeze them for a great breakfast treat. This makes around a dozen 6 oz patties.

Here’s a Video Explaining How I Make It:

Now It’s Your Turn…

1) Make a batch of your own Turkey Breakfast Sausage

2) Leave a comment below telling me how it went and your cool ideas to make it better

Enjoy,

The post What to Eat for Breakfast on SCD (That’s Dairy- and Egg-Free) appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

In light of the holiday times, I decided to make a new SCD dessert that I hadn’t tried before. After searching through some cookbooks, I decided to try an older recipe and settled on the peanut butter brownie recipe in BTVC.

I’ve skipped over this recipe a couple times. It always struck me as sounding good, but I’m very careful with peanuts. There are several reasons why but the most important is that peanuts are actually legumes and have a high chance of causing problems in people with compromised digestive tracts.

The second reason I normally skip this recipe is that a glance at the ingredients told me these would be a high calorie dessert. I’ve been trying to shed as much body fat as possible lately so that goal made this dessert pretty much off limits for me (until now). As you can see from the graph below, at 3,350 calories for a whole pan full, this is not a skinny snack. When I looked at the pan, it seemed like a good idea to divide it up into 10 servings (I bet you can’t eat just one – I couldn’t).

I have to admit they are good, but much different than I expected. They are extremely rich, so much so that after a few bites I needed some kind of liquid to wash the peanut butter out of my mouth. So, while I love the taste, the texture and richness is a bit of a turnoff. I like a brownie that is lighter and fluffier than these. I also don’t like the macronutrient ratios, I would like to see the carb and protein ratios switched or at least better balanced. I’m going to be experimenting to see if I can’t lower the carbs and create a fluffier texture peanut butter brownie.

Until then, here is how to make the brownies…

BTVC Peanut Butter Brownies

• 1 Jar of Peanut Butter 16oz
• ½ Cup of Honey
• 1 Large Egg
• ½ Teaspoon of Baking Soda

Mix Everything in a large bowl.

Line a baking dish with parchment paper and then evenly spread everything out.

Bake at 300ºF for 30 minutes or until a knife or toothpick is inserted and removed cleanly.

If anyone knows of a good way to “lighten” these brownies up a bit, please leave a note in the comments.

Thanks!

-Steve

The post Breaking the Vicious Cycle SCD Peanut Butter Brownies appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

The holidays are a beautiful time of the year – nights filled with easy conversations, loving memories and large bountiful meals. Unfortunately, for me and many other SCD’ers, large family gatherings are also filled with non-SCD time forged family food traditions.

I’m not normally involved in the food planning process, so lately I’ve been fielding questions about how we can update old traditions or forge new ones. This has been causing anxiety for me and my family. Not having full control of my menu tends to stress me out. Of course, I could make separate foods, but considering I’ve been given ample opportunity to have input on the menu that seems offensive to me.

While I’m not at the planning table for these gatherings, many of you are. I don’t have much experience trying to cook for more than 5-8, so I can’t imagine what large functions entail. (My family party will be 30+.) It must be a whole different stress trying to figure out how to please everyone, without compromising SCD principles.

While I don’t think it is possible to please everyone, I do think it is worthwhile to give it a try. With that in mind, I believe the secret to successfully navigating SCD family gatherings is pre-planning. Much like traveling on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, setting up the conditions for success is very important.

In my mind, when it comes to the winter holiday season, food planning is the most important condition to ensure your success.

There are plenty of the SCD legal foods to eat and many SCD replica foods to replace old SAD staples. A couple examples I use are mashed cauliflower for potatoes and butternut squash instead of sweet potatoes. In order to help you plan for success, I want to share an awesome holiday food guide being put together by Mrs. Ed over at Mrs Ed’s Research and Recipes.

She came up with a GENIUS idea of getting everyone in the community to come together and post your best SCD holiday favorites. If you are in the beginning stages of planning your holiday meals, you should check out the growing list of recipes. I do want to warn you that some of the recipes are not SCD legal but they seem to be properly marked. Please enjoy and contribute if you can, the more we share the richer all of our lives become.

-Steve

The post Where to Find the Best SCD Diet Holiday Recipes appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

This recipe was a hit among my friends (non-SCD) and I will be making it again in the near future. If you’re thinking, “But I can’t find any rhubarb this time of year!?!” I plan to try this recipe with apples and peaches soon. I think both will end up being delicious and you should be able to substitute them one-for-one with the rhubarb. Enjoy!

SCD Rhubarb Pork Chop Bake

• 4 pork chops (1″ thick)
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• ½ teaspoon dried rosemary (or to taste)
• ¼ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• ¼ teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
• 2 – ½ cups of fresh or frozen rhubarb (1/2” chucks)
• ¾ cup of honey
• 2 tablespoons of almond flour* (See below)
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground allspice

*Almond flour – I would recommend either omitting or doubling to 4 tablespoons. In this instance, it is only used as a thickening agent for the rhubarb sauce and 2 tablespoons really wasn’t worth it.

In a large skillet, brown the pork chops in coconut oil. Season the meat with rosemary, salt and pepper.

In a bowl, combine the rhubarb, honey, flour, cinnamon and allspice. Stir to coat the rhubarb as evenly as possible.

Next, spread half the rhubarb mixture in the bottom of butter greased glass baking dish (I used a 11” x 7” x 2”).

Place the browned pork chops in the dish and cover with the rest of the fruit mixture.

Cover and bake at 350ºF for 35 minutes. Uncover and finish for 10 more minutes or until juices run clear.

I hope you enjoy this recipe half as much as I do. If you use a different fruit or play with the flour, please let me know how it goes in the comments below!

-Steve

The post SCD Fall Recipe Love – Rhubarb Pork Chop Bake appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.

I’ve been experimenting with pancake recipes for months now and I think I’ve finally found a recipe that delivers pancakes that taste better than wheat flour (I swear it’s not the Irish coffee). With so many recipes I tried, I would end up covering them in honey or feeding them to unsuspecting taste testers because they were too dry, clumpy, or just generally awful (blame my cooking skills on a couple occasions). But, thankfully I’ve figured it out!

Ingredients Needed for Almond Flour Pancake Goodness:

• 1 Cup Almond Flour
• 2 Eggs
• 1/4 Cup Carbonated Water (sparkling water)
• 2 Tablespoons of Coconut Oil
• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
• 2 Tablespoons of Honey

Directions:

Mix everything up in a bowl really well (like 5 minutes longer than you think you should) we don’t want any clumping and we want to make sure the oil, salt and honey are evenly dispersed. Heat up some coconut oil on a griddle or if you’re underprivileged use a pan like I do heated to medium heat.

A little tip I’ve learned is if your coconut oil is solid like mine in the picture, put the 2 tablespoons into a shot glass and microwave until liquid.

I use a ¼ measuring cup to spoon out the batter as I’ve found it gives me about the maximum size for flipping these suckers, which I will admit is mostly luck, some skill and a whole bunch of patience. The recipe makes about 6 – 4 inch pancakes depending on how frisky you get with the measuring cup.

Knowing when to flip is a bit harder as they don’t really bubble like wheat pancakes so just check for browning and then go for it. I use a fish spatula because it’s thinner than most and I can sort of scoop under, pull towards me and then flip. It’s less of a flip and more of slow turn over (not to the side over the top). The best part is if you splatter batter everywhere just scrape it back onto the sides of the pancake and most people will never know.

These pancakes taste so good to me that I eat them smothered in butter, no extra honey and I couldn’t care less about not having any maple syrup. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

In the future, now that I’m happy with the base recipe, I’m going to start adding more fun stuff like blueberries, apples, raisins and cinnamon.

Enjoy!

-Steve

P.S. – For extra credit, double the recipe up and then freeze half of it. They make the perfect SCD legal lazy or in-a-pinch food! They reheat in like 2 minutes in the microwave and still taste awesome. I’m not sure if or when they go bad as mine never make it more than a couple weeks.

The post My Favorite SCD Legal Pancakes (Almond Flour) appeared first on Healthy Gut Company.