Southern Dinner SCD Style!

Roasted Chicken Thighs with Mashed "Potatoes" Squash and Green Beans

Last night I made a delicious dinner that made me feel like I was cheating! haha. I grew up in Arkansas, so I was a meat and potatoes kid and this made me feel like a kid again! Here's a picture...(it's not the best because I didn't think about taking a pic until I had already started eating, so I just snapped it with my phone)

The Chicken

Chicken Thighs (with skin)

Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder

Olive Oil

I rubbed 2 Chicken Thighs with about 1 tbs. of Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder(add as much spice as you like, I just sprinkle it on). Put them in the oven at 375 degrees with top side down for 25 mins, turn over and cook on the other side for 10 more minutes. Remember to check the temp of the chicken before taking it out of the oven it should have an internal temp of 165 degrees. If you don't have a thermometer, poke it and make sure the juices run clear. 

The "Potatoes" 

Butternut Squash

Salted Boiling Water

Salt, Garlic Powder and other Spices(if desired)

I cut a butternut squash in half, put it in a pot with enough water to cover it and boiled it in salted water until it was fork tender. I only used 1/4 of the squash for this meal, I pureed it in a food processor with a little more salt and some garlic powder for taste. (These taste a lot like mashed sweet potatoes, rosemary would be a good flavor to add)

Gravy

I'm not sure if this can really be called gravy but it was flavorful and if went on the "potatoes", so that's what I'm calling it.

2 tbs. of pureed Butternut Squash

Chicken Drippings

Salt, Pepper

After I made the "potatoes" I left some of the squash in the food processor and added the chicken drippings and blended it together for a few minutes, scraping the sides often until is was the consistency of gravy and then I added that salt and pepper to taste. 

Green Beans

Green Beans

Salted Water

Boil the green beans in salted water until tender(I used the water from the squash since it was already salted) you can add other spices if you like, pepper and/or garlic powder would be good too, I added pepper at the table when I ate them.

I hope you enjoy it! Let me know if you try it and like it! 

Moroccan Beef (SCD/Gluten-Free/Paleo)

  As you may have noticed, when I first started eating the SCD way I read thru the legal list and decided to start the diet with eating all the legal foods first. It helped me transition into a more restricted diet, but after eating that way for nearly 2 months I didn't notice any great improvement and after reading the book I decided I should start with the intro diet since a lot of people get better results if they do that. 

  I started the diet on Aug. 30th, 2 weeks and 2 days ago. I have seen a great improvement in my digestion and grossness that comes with the Ulcerative Colitis. The only problem is that I seem to have gotten all of the best parts of the "die-off" and it's still going on, though I'm not as bad as I was last week. It started on day 3 of the intro diet, I started to get a sore throat and as the day progressed it got worse and worse. And then I woke up the next day feeling like some one had stuck me in a bag and beat me with a bat! And I had soooo much mucus! (I was so happy that I got to eat chicken broth!) Before this happened I hadn't read anything about the "die-off" in any of my research. My coworkers were sick and I thought I had caught what they had so I thought, oh it will just go away soon, but no, it lasted nearly a week. I did feel like I had gotten the flu. I think on Sunday I started wondering if this has anything to do with the diet. And that's when I discovered http://scdlifestyle.com/ and that what I was experiencing "die-off" and that it was a good thing. By the way, that is a very helpful website. They have a lot of books and info that you have to pay for, but I like that they have a lot of free info as well, for those of us who can't really afford to buy their things. They have helped me out a lot, hopefully once I get better I will be able to make more money and give some to them!

  I feel like I have gone a long way in just 2 week, but I still have a long way to go. I still haven't incorporated the yoghurt. Mostly because I don't have anything to make it in, but also since I was so mucous-y last week I didn't think it would be a good idea. I'm also allergic to milk and I read that you should wait anyways. But I got a dehydrator that I can use to make the yoghurt it should be here in about a week! So I will get to start incorporating that! I can't wait to make CHEESECAKE!!! I feel like that will help me get over the "die-off". I'm pretty sure it's still "die-off" that I'm experiencing, I'm still feeling really exhausted and some brain fog. I went out last night and I was exhausted from just standing listening to music, I also felt really unsociable. I'm over the "flu-like" symptoms but somethings have stayed. I'm also getting a slight headache around 1 or 2pm everyday and I feel really tired. I really hope that once I start getting the good bacteria from the yoghurt that I start feeling better!

  So you're probably wondering what the heck are you eating...or not (you might just be looking for the recipe). Well, my diet consists of lots of carrots, spinach, apples, pears, bananas occasionally squash. Jello made with pear juice. Grass-Fed Beef, Fish, Turkey, occasionally Grass-Fed Lamb. And I've just started incorporating eggs and a lil pecan butter. The eggs bothered me in the first week, I think it might be too early for the pecan butter, but I have been having insane cravings for cake and cookies and all the naughty things, so in order to have something a little decadent it helps to have a lil pecan butters. I don't eat more than a tablespoon at a time and usually only once or twice a day, every other day, I've noticed that right after I eat it I get a little pain in my stomach, but it doesn't last long and that's the only thing it does, no irregular bms. 

  So on that note here's the recipe that the title mentioned! This is my main go-to dish. I've made it several ways and I've come up with other ways to eat it too, once I'm able to eat more veggies. 

my plate I also sauté some spinach sometimes too

boyfriend(human garbage disposal)'s plate. he eats the squash seeds, so I make him a salad with them. 

SCD Moroccan Beef

Beef (I use 1/2 lb. but you can use however much you are hungry for)

Garlic (some times I use 1-2 tbs. of powder and sometimes I use 3 cloves)

Cinnamon (1-2 tbs.)

Ginger (1 tbs.)

Tumeric (sprinkle)

Parsley (1 tbs. of dry and of course you can use fresh if you want)

Cilantro or Oregano (1 tbs. of dry and of course you can use fresh if you want)

Water (1/4 cup at a time as needed)

This is the base. But usually I start it out in a pan with some boiling water with some carrots and/or squash. Boil until soft. Then I add the beef with all the seasonings until the beef is cooked all the way thru. If it starts to stick to the pan add 1/4 cup of water as needed.

  Other ways I've made this is pureeing the carrots and/or squash with Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder and serving that as a Mashed Potato Substitute with the beef. Before I was on SCD I made Panfried Eggplant Coins and served the Beef on top of them. Once I'm able to eat Bell Peppers I think it would make an awesome Stuffed Bell Pepper, I can't wait to make that! Yummy!

  

Avocado Salmon Salad with Cilantro Lime Cauliflower "Rice" (SCD/Gluten Free/Paleo)

So as most nights go last night I was hungry and looking at what I had in the fridge. I've been trying to keep cauliflower and zucchinis on hand since those are my "rice" and "pasta". I also had a lot of cilantro and an avocado that was hours away from expiring. So after googling some recipes for inspiration I came across a chicken salad that used avocado instead of mayonaise! I've done this with tuna salad before and it was awesome, so I decided to go that route. I only had some frozen salmon steaks so that is why it's salmon and not chicken, also I just like fish more than chicken. But you could do this recipe with salmon, chicken, or tuna...even the stuff from the can if you're in a hurry. You can serve it on a sandwich or in a salad or do what I did and serve it with Cilantro Lime Cauliflower "Rice" and some greens! muy delicioso!

best way to eat it is to mix it all together!

Avocado Salmon Salad with Lime Cilantro Cauliflower "Rice" (serves 2 people, feel free to add more if you need to)
For the rice
1/2 head of cauliflower
1/2 lime, juice
cilantro
salt
I put the cauliflower in my food processor with the shredder attachment and it looks like shredded mozzarella cheese.

Put it in a microwavable glass or ceramic container and microwave for 8 minutes. I've tried this on the stove a few times and I think the microwave does a better job. You do not need to add any water to it.
Once it is steamed add the lime juice and as much cilantro as you want and salt just enough to bring out the flavors of the lime and cilantro, a pinch or two!

For the Avocado Salmon Salad
Salmon, 2 Salmon Steaks
Avocado, 1/2
Garlic Cloves 2-3
Cilantro
Lime, 1/2 juice
Coconut oil
Olive Oil
I cooked the salmon in a 1/4 cup of boiling water and a tbs. of coconut oil to help it stay moist, with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cook each side about 5 mins on med to high heat. Take the bones and skin off and flake it. As I mentioned above, you can also use canned salmon, tuna or chicken(canned or fresh) if you prefer.
While the salmon is cooking you can add the avocado, garlic, cilantro and lime to the food processor or blender. Blend while slowly adding olive oil until you get a creamy texture. Add salt and pepper until you get the flavor you want. I added some garlic powder as well, bc I'm a garli-holic!

you can see in this picture that I used a whole lime slice with the pith, the white parts, I would not recommend doing this, I saw that someone made a smoothie using the whole lime slice like that, so I wanted to try it out. But it was too tart and sour and it didn't blend smoothly, there were some tart and sour pieces that weren't pleasant, so stick with the juice. Unless you're like me and need to try things at least once, then by all means...try it out. Who knows, you might like it!

So after your avocado sauce is creamy and flavored deliciously you can add your protein of choice. Just stir it in, No blending, unless you want a fish flavored mush.

I then served this with the Cauliflower "rice" on the bottom of some greens, I used Super Greens and then topped it with the Avocado Salmon Salad. I ate it with a carrot based hot sauce I made for another meal. AND IT WAS DELICIOUS!

Sweet Carrot Hot Sauce
2 small Carrots
1 large Jalapeno
3 dried peppers
2 Garlic cloves
2 tbs. Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tbs. honey
1/4 cup Orange Juice
Water
Salt
Boil carrots, jalapeno, dried peppers, garlic, apple cider vinegar, salt and water (enough to cover the veg and peppers, adding more as it evaporates until carrots are soft) Once carrots are soft, put everything in a food processor or blender adding honey and Orange Juice. Blend. Add water until you reach the desired consistency, think hot sauce, but not too runny. Add a pinch or two of salt to enhance flavor!
This sauce is good with Mexican and Asian cuisine. It's probably good with other things, but those are the only two I have tried it with!

enjoy.

what are your favorite substitutes? like avocado for mayo or cauliflower for rice! do you have any interesting ideas for SCD substitutes or just healthier ones?

Thai Coconut Curry Noodles with SCD Substitutions

Do you ever watch something that makes you crave certain things? When I was a kid I would watch The Flintstone Kids, there was a certain episode that I could not stand to watch without eating a cookie dough ice cream cone. There's a particular scene where the kids eat ice cream and have a food fight. I guess it just looked so cartoony and delicious, I felt I couldn't go on with out eating some myself. I haven't watched that show in a very long time, I can't even find it online to watch. But that's probably a good thing. Seeing how making cookie dough ice cream while being grain-free and allergic to dairy seems almost impossible. Though I'm sure there will come a day when the urge hits me and I will become inspired, but that day has not come.
I have had a similar experience recently-ish (last Sept). I watched this British comedy series, Red Dwarf, one of the characters, Dave Lister, loves curry and papadums. While we were watching this series I ate more curry than I've ever had in my entire life. I'd never even heard of papadums before I watched the show, and boy are they good! though not SCD :( they are generally made from flour or paste derived from lentils or chickpeas, so possibly there is another kind of SCD legal bean I can use to somehow make my own one day) This recipe that I'm going to share with you was from before I learned I was allergic to corn and before I decided to do SCD, so I'm going to tell you of some substitutions that you can use to make it meet those dietary guidelines. Isn't it crazy how much your diet can change in just a few months...

Thai Coconut Curry Noodles

Broccoli, florets; I use the stem and leaves as well

Red Bell Pepper, sliced

Sprouts

Cilantro

Lime

Thai Coconut Curry Broth, College Inn

Flour, I used Millet

Rice Wine Vinegar

Soy Sauce

Rice Noodles

I usually don't use exact measurements, just whatever I have on hand. 

I started out by making sautéing the red bell pepper and then pushing them aside to make a roux with oil and millet flour (1 part oil to 1 part flour) I think I used 2-3 tbs each.

And then I slowly added the broth until it was the desired thickness. Saucy.

The rice noodles I had just needed to soak in hot water for 8 mins, read your package for cooking instructions.

Add the broccoli to the sauce to cook 5-7 mins, add more broth if the sauce gets too thick. 

You can also add rice wine vinegar and soy sauce, to taste. If you want it spicy you can add  some thai chili sauce or I added some fresh salsa made with tomatos, jalapenos, cilantro, and salt.

Add the noodles to the sauce and combine. Toss in the sprouts, sprinkle with lime and cilantro.

To make this recipe SCD legal I would replace the rice noodles with black bean noodles or zucchini or other squash noodles. The Thai Coconut Curry Broth and Millet Flour with Coconut Milk seasoned with curry powder, garlic, and coriander, you can reduce the coconut milk to make it thick with out adding anything to it, just cook for about 15 mins, or until desired thickness . And I wouldn't use the rice wine vinegar or soy sauce, just salt.

I hope you enjoy that recipe and it's not too confusing! Do you have a silly thing that makes you crave a certain food or dish? I would love to hear about it, if you want to share!

Mashed Potato Pizza (Vegetarian/Gluten Free)

I was just going through some pictures of old meals and it sure is crazy how different my diet is now from back then. I recently made a pizza using coconut flour that didn't turn out too great, it was good and it served it's purpose as food, but I'm just starting out on this SCD and everything is just trial and error at this point. Luckily, I got some practice being Gluten Free first so it hasn't been as hard of a transition as that was. One of my favorite recipes that I can't eat anymore is a Mashed Potato Pizza that is Gluten Free and Vegetarian, it is one of my favorite pizzas. I wish that I could have a slice right now! But since you found this post you must be able to eat potatoes and rice and other starchy things and you must be wondering about what a mashed potato pizza would taste like. Delicious. That's what it tastes like. Almost like pure magic gold. Well, if you use Yukons >.< YUM! and you can top it with a lot of different kinds of veggies too!!! What am I doing babbling? here's the recipe!

Mashed Potato Pizza

Pizza Crust (I used Gluten Free Pantry)

4-5 small Potatoes, cubed

3-4 Garlic Cloves

1/2 cup Almond Milk (or other milk substitute)

(for the veg you can put however much you want, I just used what I had on hand)

Spinach

Broccoli

Mushrooms

Artichoke Heart

Mushrooms

Roasted Red Bell Pepper

2 tbs. Olive Oil

Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, Italian Seasoning

Veg Cheese

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees (or what your crust says) 

Prepare the crust according to directions. 

Boil potatoes and garlic cloves in salted water until fork tender. 

Slice mushrooms, broccoli, roasted red pepper, and artichoke. 

Sprinkle cornmeal on your pie pan. 

Flatten the dough on to the pan. 

Oil pizza and season with Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, Italian Seasoning. 

Drain potatoes, mash and add milk (pour in a little at a time, so it doesn't get to runny) salt to taste.  Spread the potatoes over the crust and top with the chopped veg. then top with cheese. 

Bake for 15 mins(or whatever your crust says) Put on broil for the last 2 mins to crisp the top.

Please try this, so that I can live vicariously through you! Remind me how delicious it is!

Mushroom, Green Bean and Avocado Summer Salad

 I recently bought 3 avocados. And let me just say, all 3 were delicious!!! perfect ripeness. creamy. deliciousness. I love avocados! I could eat a whole one every day probably. Unfortunately, my current budget does not allow for such splurges. A girl can dream though. When I do get my hands on them I do not take them for granted. Out of these 3, I made Guacamole, Avocado, Egg and Spinach Breakfast (2 days worth), Roasted Eggplant and Avocado Salad, and (the recipe I'm going to share today) Mushroom, Green Bean, and Avocado Summer Salad. I'm feeding 2 people so when I make meals I use only a half of the avocado to make it stretch. I use either a lemon or lime and squeeze the juice on the open cut side and put it in a plastic container with lid in the fridge. It might still turn a little brown but if I eat it with in 2 or so days of cutting it, it's still great, sometimes even a little more ripe and creamier.
So this salad that I'm going to share with you today is just something that I whipped together because I didn't have much time and it's too hot to cook anything. So I opted for a salad and I had to use only what I had. I was a little weary because I don't usually use raw mushroom, they're a food I will snack on raw while I'm cooking and I like it, but never think about actually using them raw. But I had them, I also had green beans, something else I don't usually eat raw. So I thought what the heck, you only live once let's eat some raw mushrooms and green beans! And you know, it was so good I had to tell you about it!

Mushroom, Green Bean and Avocado Summer Salad
(this recipe made 2 salads for me, but you can add as much or as little as each veggie as you want!)
1/2 cup Green Beans, cut in half
1/4 cup Mushrooms, sliced
1/2 Avocado, sliced
1/4 Lime, for each salad
salt, pepper, garlic powder (to taste)
All on top of a bed of Romaine
Fresh Cilantro
Pinch the ends off the green beans and cut in half. Slice the mushrooms and the avocado. Quarter the lime. Put romaine in bowls and top with the veggies, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Garnish with cilantro.

I served it with sliced avocado but when I actually ate it, I squeezed the lime over it and mashed it which made a sort of avocado dressing. It was so simple yet so tasty!

enjoy. and please let me know how it turns out. And if you have any interesting ideas to do with avocados feel free to share!

Fresh Coconut Macaroons with Salted Chocolate Caramel (Gluten Free/Dairy Free/SCD/Paleo)

Well I've finally done it! I've been thinking about doing a blog for...ummm....3 years. The idea started when I found out I had a gluten sensitivity, I started doing a ton of research and realized there are a lot of people who don't understand what's healthy or they think it's too expensive. So I came up with this awesome idea for a blog that would list age groups and I would design meals for each certain age group according to what vitamins they needed and make it budget friendly. But the more research I did the more overwhelmed I got, because well....I'm not a Nutritionist. To do what I was trying to do I would need to go back to school and though I do possibly want to do that some time in my future, now is not the right time...but I still had this urge to do a blog. I have to cook dinner for myself every night because of my diet (I have Ulcerative Colitis and I've recently began the SCD, no starch or sugars, I'm also allergic to Gluten/Corn/Dairy/Soy) So I figure, I've gotten inspiration from other bloggers and I take pictures of what I do, why haven't I just done a blog, nothing fancy...nothing that's going to stress me out. Just me and what I eat from day to day. So here it is!

And for my first post I want to share these awesome macaroons I made a few days ago! I seen some delicious looking raw Coco-Roons at Chamberlin's but they were horribly expensive so I decided to make my own (mine are not raw, I didn't have the right ingredients). I made them with fresh coconut, the shredded stuff I had leftover after making coconut milk(I'll share that recipe another day) but you can use dried shredded coconut too.
Fresh Coconut Macaroons
3/4 cup of shredded coconut (about half of a medium coconut)
1/2 cup coconut flour
2 tbs. honey
1 egg, beaten
2 tbs. water
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together. Spoon or scoop onto a silicon mat or parchment paper, I got 12-1 oz. cookies. Bake for 10-15 mins or until firm and slightly browning.
Salted Chocolate Caramel Sauce
1 tbs cacao nibs (or cocoa powder)
1/2 tbs coconut oil
1 1/2 tbs. coconut sugar
pinch of salt (or to taste, I added a bit more)
If using caco nibs, grind a bit in a food processor (i left a few chunks for the crunch). Mix all ingredients together in a non-stick pan and cook on med until bubbly, stirring constantly. Turn off heat continuing to stir until bubbles are gone and sauce is thick. After you take the macaroons out, evenly distribute the sauce over them.


I hope you guys enjoy these cookies! you can do a lot with this recipe, I peeped at the coco-roons website and they have some great ideas and you would just have to add a few more ingredients, like cocoa powder for Brownie, peanut (or almond) butter and pureed strawberries for PB&J or dried apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, clove, ginger, chili powder, and lemon for Apple Pie. There are so many options! Let me know what you think of the recipe and if you make any crazy delicious concoctions!