My favorite breakfast bowl

I have been eating this a lot recently. I created it for a breakfast bowl but it could be eaten for lunch or dinner too. It is delicious and I have even packed it to go. (Once I even ate some when I was stuck in morning traffic on my way to Beverly Hills for work...)

So all you will need is:

1. A batch of cooked spaghetti squash which you can prepare in bigger batches ahead of time and just warm it up in the frying pan or microwave. How to prepare spaghetti squash. Add some salt, olive oil and fresh herbs to taste if you like.
2. Some fried ground beef or bison. Add salt to taste. You could also use any other leftover meat.
3. Sauerkraut or other fermented vegetables
4. Sliced olives (check ingredients so they are AIP compatible if following AIP)
5. You can also add any leftover salad or veggies or sliced avocado is delicious on it too.

Pur spaghetti squash in the bowl and top it with all the other ingredients. Enjoy!

PS. This would make an excellent camping or travel food too that you could prepare ahead of time and eat cold or find a way to warm it up. Don't heat the fermented veggies though, keep them separate. Heating would destroy beneficial bacteria.

Yellow Tail + Mango Ginger Salsa

The kids loved it. They especially love always the fresh fish as it has no "fishy taste" which develops as the fish ages.

(The problem with cooking at night is always the same, the pictures don't look so great as there is no day light! Every time I swear I will save some of the food for next day and take photos and almost every time it fails as there are no leftovers... Oh well.) 

Every week my kids and I go to the farmers market around the corner and buy organic vegetables, honey, fruit and pick up our weekly Community Seafood share. Community Seafood is a local community supported fishery in Santa Barbara, California. Their goal is to support the fishing community and sustainable ways of harvesting seafood.

I signed up a few months ago and our family has enjoyed the variety of seafood. I have tasted foods I have never tasted before, and may not have otherwise tasted, and learnt to prepare them too. Some of the new acquaintances have been mussels, oysters, ridge back shrimp and lobster. Some of the fish are new to me too. I grew up eating fish but mostly salmon, herring and some sweet water fish like perch.

This week's share was yellow tail. We have had it many times before and we usually enjoy it either grilled or fried in a cast iron pan. We like our fish simple. Usually we use just salt as a seasoning and squeeze some lemon from our tree on the cooked fish. For yellow tail I have made a few times a fruity salsa from fresh fruit I have had at hand like pineapple, peach, plums or mango. This week's salsa had mangoes.

I will post my most delicious paleo/AIP fish recipe experiments in future too. Stay tuned!

It is important to start with skin side up.
Otherwise the skin may stick to the pan.

Fried Yellow Tail 

yellow tail filets
salt to taste
1-2 tbsp coconut oil or olive oil

1. Cut the fish in smaller filets if needed. Leave the skin on.
2. Wash the fish and pat them dry with a paper towel or kitchen towel.
3. Heat a couple of spoonfuls of oil in your cast iron pan.
4. When the pan is warm, lay the fish pieces on the pan skin side up.
5. Leave them for a few minutes and turn them over.
6. Sprinkle salt on the fish and cover if you like.
7. Lower the heat a bit and cook until fish meat is white and flakes.

Mango Salsa 

1 ripe mango
1-2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1-2 cloves of fresh garlic, crushed
juice from 1 lime
pinch of salt
a handful of fresh cilantro, chopped or cut small with scissors

1. Peel the mango and chop the meat in small pieces. I like to cut small slices against the pit first horizontally and then vertically to make squares and then cut along the pit to remove the pieces from the mango. Then repeat on the other side of the pit.
2. Put the mango pieces in a bowl and crush some of them with a fork to extract some of the juice.
3. Add lime juice, salt, crushed garlic and grated ginger. Let it sit for a while in the fridge before serving. If it is not spicy enough for your taste buds, add more ginger.

Use fresh ingredients for best results!

Veggie sides

I try to make sure we get plenty of vegetables every day. To help with this goal I have started to make often two veggie sides instead of one as I used to do.

With the fish and salsa I also served steamed asparagus that is in season now and sauteed purple mustard greens I got from the market as well. The asparagus I steamed just enough that it felt soft when I pierced a spear with a knife and tossed them in olive oil and sea salt.

The mustard greens I sauteed very lightly in a little bit of coconut oil and added a touch of salt. For sauteeing them I got instructions from the vendor at the market to heat the oil in the pan, add the greens, toss them in the oil, cover the pan and turn off the heat and let sit for just a little while. The greens stayed a little bit spicy in this way and were absolutely delicious!


What is your favorite way to prepare yellow tail?

Sweet potato, greens and chicken curry (AIP / Paleo / Grain free / Dairy free / Vegan version)

I love buying vegetables from the farmers' market and going home to cook them right away. Today we bought sweet potatoes and water spinach and came up with this creation. It was great and kids liked it too (well, at least one of them). I put only a little bit spices not to make it too strong for them as they are not used to very spicy food.


You can make this vegan by leaving out the chicken.

Coconut oil
Big bunch of greens (I used water spinach here)
Several sweet potatoes
Mushrooms of your choice
Garlic
Fresh ginger
Salt to taste
Turmeric to taste
1-2 cups of broth (can be vegetable or meat broth)
Chicken, optional

Optional (seed based spices are not included in the beginning of AIP diet so these can be left out as well):
Ground black pepper, cumin, coriander and mustard seed to taste

(These are spices included in the curry spice, just like the other spices above like turmeric which gives it the yellow color - I have made nightshade free curry spice myself in the past by mixing these spices but leaving out chili.)

1. Peel sweet potatoes and cut them in cubes. Chop mushrooms and greens.
2. Grate a piece of fresh ginger and chop garlic.
3. Heat up the coconut oil in a big pan on medium heat.
4. Add garlic, ginger and other spices (not salt yet) and stir them in the oil. Be careful not to burn them.
5. Add sweet potatoes and broth and let cook (covered) for a few minutes.
6. Cut chicken in strips and add them in the pan.
7. When the chicken and sweet potatoes are nearly done, add mushrooms and greens.
8. Last add salt and taste it. Add spices as needed.

This recipe can be found as well from Phoenix Helix' AIP Roundtable

Super easy creamy chicken in the oven (AIP, paleo, dairy free, grainfree, gluten free)

This dish has almost a blue cheesy taste although it is dairy free! This food was so good that we were nearly fighting for the last bits. You have to try it, I am telling you! I created the dish kind of accidentally while we were staying in a cabin in the national forest in Finland. We were jetlaggy, tired, needed a dinner quickly and these were the only ingredients I had at hand. I had packed the creamed coconut in my suit case to use in place of milk in cooking. It keeps well, doesn't need refrigeration and I often bring some camping too. Now that I think of it, this would be perfect camp food. It could be prepared ahead of time in bags of foil and just be put on the campfire at dinner time. We are going camping for my birthday this week on the beach, guess what my birthday dinner will be?!

Easypeasy creamy chicken in the oven

2 lbs chicken thighs or breast, cut in strips
small bunch of spinach, chopped roughly (other greens would work too)
1 package of mushrooms, cut in half or quarters
1 package of creamed coconut (I use this one) (half a package might be enough but I used the whole thing)
1/2 lb of bacon (AIP friendly bacon available at US Wellness meats), cut in small pieces
a clove of garlic
salt to taste
coconut oil to grease the pan
A splash or two of water, white wine or broth in addition if the dish feels very dry as you are mixing it, I added some just in case

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Grease an oven pan with coconut oil.
3. Mix all ingredients in the pan. If the creamed coconut is solid, you can crumble it. The crumbles give the dish actually a cheesy feel. Use a garlic press to mince the garlic.
4. Bake in the oven until the chicken is cooked. Keep an eye so it doesn't burn from the top and add water or broth or wine and mix if needed.
5. Serve with salad. (Would be very nice with some gluten free noodles or boiled potatoes too if the dish doesn't have to be AIP friendly!)

TIP: If you don't want to use oven in the heat of the summer, you can just as well sautee the dish in a pan or a pot.

More AIP friendly recipes

Plantain Pancakes (updated recipe!)

We make these grain free and vegan pancakes a lot. They are fast to make even on busy mornings. Kids love them, adults love them. Kids like to help making them. It is our new favorite breakfast in addition to leftovers and homemade maple pork sausage patties (I use the recipe from Nom Nom Paleo book for those). Last week I made some of this pancake batter at home to take camping and we fried them on our camp stove in Joshua Tree. During last months we have made all kinds of updates to the earlier recipe I posted. I started updating that post but there were so many updates that I decided to make a new post altogether.


I found this recipe from Purely Twins for grain free pancakes. I modified it a little to suit our diet. We have kept modifying the recipe to make it our own and here is the result of months of experimenting!

Our newest discovery were burro bananas as our grocery store was out of green plantains. They worked even better than plantains. The consistency of the pancake was amazing.

Grain free vegan pancakes
autoimmune paleo, vegan, grain free

1 green plantain or green burro banana (you can use yellow ones too, the batter will be just less starchy and more difficult to maneuver when turning the pancakes, I suggest adding 2 tbsp arrowroot starch or 1 tbsp coconut flour in this case)
1/2 cup full fat coconut milk or coconut kefir
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted (I buy mine from here, affiliate link that supports my blogging)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
pinch of sea salt (I like Himalayan pink salt, affiliate link)

1. Peel the plantain, chop it and add in the blender or food processor (this is a perfect job for little kids!)

2. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth.

3. Warm your pan on medium-low heat.

4. Spread the thick batter on the pan. You might need to spread it a little bit with a spatula so the pancakes are not too thick.

5. Cook on one side until you are able to turn them. They are ready when they seem solid.

6. Serve them with maple syrup, jam, berries, unsweetened apple sauce, whatever you like. My kids favorites are apple sauce and the other one's maple syrup. You can transform them to a healthy lunch (school lunch too!) or even dinner by adding spinach and making spinach pancakes. Or eat them later cold as "bread".

Have a great Easter weekend! Easter post coming soon!

Sirpa

Coconut Balls (updated: two different recipes)

I have fond memories of making and eating coconut balls as a child. Me and my friends next door made them from time to time in their kitchen as a special treat. The delicious treat contained rolled oats, butter, sugar and cacao powder and were rolled in shredded coconut.  I have been trying to think how I could give my own children also the experience of making coconut balls without using oats, sugar or butter. The other night we came up with a recipe. This recipe is easy for the kids to do themselves with some help with measuring from an adult if needed.






Coconut balls ("Kookospallot")
VERSION 1

paleo, grain free, dairy free, gluten free, egg free, corn free, soy free, refined sugar free

1 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup coconut flour
pinch of salt (I like Himalayan pink salt)
1/3 cup palm shortening (or enough to make it right consistency)
1/4 cup unsweetened cacao powder
1/4 cup honey
(a pinch of ground vanilla bean)

more shredded coconut to roll the balls in


1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Wooden spoon works but some little hands might like to mix it by hand. Be careful not to mix by hand for too long so the warmth of the hands doesn't melt the shortening too much.
2. Form little bite size balls.
3. Spread some shredded coconut on a plate and roll the balls in it.
4. Serve right away or store in the fridge for a few days. (We had nothing to put to the fridge, they were gone very fast.)

Coconut balls ("Kookospallot")
VERSION 2

paleo, grain free, dairy free, gluten free, egg free, corn free, soy free , refined sugar free

1 cups dates, pitted
3/4 cup shredded coconut
pinch of salt (I like Himalayan pink salt)
3 tbsp palm shortening or coconut oil
1 tbsp unsweetened cacao powder
1/4 tsp ground vanilla bean

more shredded coconut to roll the balls in

1. Add all ingredients to a food processor bowl and mix until all the dates are pureed and everything is mixed well together.
2. Form balls and roll them in shredded coconut.

Lemon Panna Cotta with Caramel Sauce

I tasted Meyer lemon pannacotta recently in an event and it was so delicious I realized I just have to recreate it at home. Besides we all know how healing gelatin is to the gut... This does have plenty of alternative sugars so even if it is autoimmune paleo friendly it is meant to be only an occasional treat.

I knew the ingredients because I asked before accepting the food to see if I could eat it: coconut milk, gelatin, lemon and honey.

Here's my version! Enjoy!

Lemon Pannacotta

3 cups full fat additive free coconut milk (I use Aroy-D and Chaokoh)

1/3 cup honey

1 vanilla bean, cut in half (optional, some avoid vanilla bean on autoimmune paleo protocol)

zest of one lemon

pinch of sea salt

2 tsp grassfed gelatin (I use this one)

4 tbsp cold water

1. Mix gelatin with water in a small bowl and put aside.

2. Add other ingredients to a sauce pan and bring to boil.

3. Add the gelatin and mix until it has dissolved.

4. Let sit for a few minutes to let the flavors absorb.

5. Strain in serving bowls and refrigerate for a few hours or until solidified. Serve with caramel sauce.

Caramel sauce:

juice of one lemon

2 tbsp maple sugar (I like this one)

1/2 cup coconut milk

pinch of salt

1/4 tsp ground vanilla bean (optional, leave out if you avoid vanilla bean on AIP)

1. Measure ingredients in a sauce pan. 

2. Bring to boil and simmer on low for 10 minutes. Stir the sauce constantly so it doesn't burn.

3. Let cool down a bit and serve with the pannacotta.

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Homemade Sausage

We don't really buy sausage anymore because it is hard, if not impossible, to find sausage that would be sugar free and night shade free. I took the plunge and bought a stand mixer with the meat grinder and sausage stuffer attachment. The stand mixer is handy anyway in other tasks too like making these corn free and egg free marshmallows with honey as an occasional treat for camping trips.


Homemade Pork Sausage
paleo, AIP, gluten free, grain free, dairy free, corn free, night shade free, egg free, refined sugar free

2 lb pork from Rainbow Ranch Farms, cut in one inch chunks
1/2 lb fat (I used lard)
20 gr salt
5 mushrooms
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp fresh parsley, cut fine with scissors
3 tbsp apple sauce
1 clove of garlic
natural casings (I used these ones, affiliate link)

I made the sausages with a Kitchenaid stand mixer and its meat grinder and sausage stuffer attachment. I followed the instructions on this video. (I am not affiliated with Kitchenaid by the way, it is just the tool I happen to use.)

I first ground the meat with the lard and mushrooms in the food grinder. I gently mixed in all the other ingredients from above (except casings of course) and then changed to the sausage stuffer attachment.

According to the instructions on the video below I made the sausages. The sausages can be boiled, fried or barbequed. The video says you'll need two people to make the sausages but I did it alone. It was a little tricky but not impossible.

This recipe is posted also on Phoenix Helix AIP Round Table. Check it out for more great AIP friendly recipes!

Pineapple Dessert

I came up with this dessert when I cooked Shrimp Pineapple Fajitas and had so much pineapple that it seemed like too much for the main course. I just saved some of the fried pineapple but you can also prepare them separately.

Pineapple Dessert (paleo, AIP)

Serves 4

A third or half of a pineapple cut in bite sized pieces

Coconut oil

Balsamic vinegar

Mint leaves (I like to use small apple mint leaves)

Maple syrup (optional)

1. Fry the pineapples in coconut oil in a cast iron pan and when they have got some color, drizzle a little bit of balsamic vinegar on them and toss a minute or two more to caramelize them.
2. Arrange in serving bowls and if you wish drizzle just a hint of maple syrup on them.
3. Pour some cold vanilla sauce (recipe below) on the warm pineapples. 
4. Garnish with some torn fresh mint leaves.

Vanilla sauce

1 frozen banana (peel it before freezing it)

1/4 cup coconut milk

1/4 tsp ground vanilla bean

Measure all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth.

Paleo BBQ! (AIP friendly) - and VIDEO: How to cut a chicken in half with scissors

I know some of you are covered in snow (I have seen the photos on Facebook!). And this weekend even here in Los Angeles we have some long due rain. But no snow here so we have been using our barbeque all winter long. My seven year old is very jealous of anyone living in climates with snow, outdoor ice skating rinks and where kids can eat their school lunches inside! Being someone who grew up in Finland his comments make me chuckle. I like this weather although I sometimes do miss thew snow. And the seasons.

Anyway, here are some barbeque ideas for paleo eaters and autoimmune paleo protocol followers. Remember that the grill should be clean to avoid cross contamination.

Robin Hood Chicken

A whole chicken (I buy mine from Rainbow Ranch)

A bunch of parsley

A few sprigs of rosemary and thyme

3 cloves of garlic

Salt

Black pepper (optional)
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted on low heat (I use this coconut oil, referral link)

1. Cut the chicken in half with a pair of kitchen scissors. See from the video below where my husband Ville demonstrates how it is done!

2. Mix the herbs with the oil, crushed garlic and spices. Rub the mixture on the chicken halves.
3. Bbq until done, turning over at least once.

TIP: If you don't have a whole chicken, drumsticks work very well for this recipe. Mix all the ingredients and put them in a ziplock bag and let marinade for a while if you have time.

Grilled plantains

Yellow Plantains
Salt
Coconut oil, melted
Ground black pepper or allspice (optional)

Cut the plantains in half lengthwise. Oil the cut side and sprinkle with salt (and pepper if using). Place on the grill skin side down for about 8 minutes and turn them. Grill for a few more minutes until brown from the cut side facing the grill now.

Grilled Yams (sweet potatoes would work as well)

A few yams
Coconut oil
Salt

Boil yams in salted water until they are almost cooked. Rub the yams with coconut oil and sprinkle with sea salt and put on the grill until they are soft.

Zucchinis with pesto

Zucchinis

This pesto

Cut the zucchinis in half an inch slices lengthwise. Spread pesto on one side and place them on the grill that side up. Bbq until soft, don't overcook though.

Skewers

Soak wooden skewers in water for half an hour or use reusable metal ones. I use metal skewers like these (affiliate link to Amazon).

Beef portobello skewers: Cut beef (sirloin, tenderloin or something like that) and portobello mushrooms in one inch cubes. Toss in a bowl with olive oil and salt and black pepper if you wish. Put the pieces on skewers alternating the beef and the portobello pieces. Bbq until cooked.

Pineapple chicken skewers: Follow the instructions above but replace the beef and portobellos with fresh pineapple and chicken thighs!

Vanilla Cupcake With Strawberry Frosting (Grain Free, Vegan, Paleo)

I don't make a lot of sweets but then there are special occasions. I made these for my three year old's birthday. Technically these cupcakes are AIP legal as well but they might be too sugary as some may try to avoid even natural sweeteners. Some avoid vanilla bean as well and that could be left out. I like to make mini cupcakes so that you can eat just a small bite. Then again, if you eat five mini cupcakes because they are soooo good... Hmmm. These were very good. I might have had more than one.

Vanilla Cupcake
grain free, vegan, paleo, refined sugar free
makes about 24 mini cupcakes

1/2 cup coconut flour (I use this one, affiliate link)
1/4 tsp baking soda
a pinch of salt (I like to use Himalayan pink salt, affiliate link)
1 apple peeled and grated/pureed
1/2 tsp ground vanilla bean (I use this one, affiliate link)
1/2 cup maple syrup (or honey)
1/2 cup coconut kefir

1. Preheat your oven to 350F and line your cupcake pan.
2. Mix coconut flour, baking soda, salt and vanilla bean in a bowl.
3. Mix finely grated apple, maple syrup and coconut kefir in another bowl.
4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix.
5. Pour into muffin pan and bake for 20 minutes or until done.
6. Let cool and frost.

Strawberry Lime frosting 
grain free, vegan, paleo, corn free, refined sugar free

1 cup organic palm shortening (this one is great, affiliate link)
1/3 cup maple syrup
a pinch of ground vanilla bean (I use this one, affiliate link)
8 smallish strawberries, cut in small pieces
1 tbsp lime juice

1. Measure all ingredients in a bowl and mix with a hand mixer until desired consistency. You might have to mix for even 5-10 minutes. It starts separating first but just keep going.

2. Decorate the cupcakes and serve immediately or refridgerate.

Oxtail Soup

I like oxtail soup because I like the idea that nothing is wasted if an animal is killed for our nourishment. It is also the most delicious thing I have ever tasted. Even my selective seven year old said that he would like to eat it every day. In Finland oxtail soup is made traditionally from root vegetables and onions. I have added also some greens or cabbage and I like to add some ginger to bring flavor. Here is my slow cooker ox tail soup recipe. I eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner when I have it at hand.

Ox tail soup

One ox tail, in pieces (if you'd have a whole tail, cut the tail in pieces from the joints)
Fat of your choice, I use lard or coconut oil
A carrot
Two turnips
One small rutabaga
A teaspoon of grated fresh ginger
One clove of garlic
A bunch of collard greens or kale of white cabbage
A zucchini or yellow squash
Salt
2 Bay leaves
Some fresh parsley
A couple of quarts of broth (or if you don't have broth at hand like I didn't today, I put in enough water and a couple of beef bones cut in half)
3 tbsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
(a few peppercorns)

1. Chop the vegetables.

2. Melt the fat on a frying pan and brown the ox tail pieces and root vegetables.

3. Put all ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on low overnight or 8-10 hours (talk about a tasty breakfast waiting for you in the morning!) or until the meat falls off the bone.

4. Fish out all the bones and tail pieces. Let them cool. (Fish out also the bay leaves and peppercorns if you want.) In the meanwhile puree the veggies with an immersion blender or press them through a strain. Or leave them as is especially if you have cut them really small.

5. Remove the meat from the tail bones and chop in pieces and add to the soup.

6. If you want to remove fat from the soup, stick it in the fridge and peel the fat from the top when it has cooled down and the fat is a solid layer on the top.

Check out this coconut oil giveaway too!

More autoimmune paleo friendly recipes, check out this roundtable where this post was published too.

Ready Steady Eat: Fast Wraps for Any Meal or To Go (AIP, paleo, grain free, dairy free)

Some days when I have to whip up a meal from the random ingredients at hand it feels like I am on the British Ready Steady Cook show (to be honest I sometimes in my mind pretend I am on it!). They had a similar show in Finland and I used to love to watch it. In the show two chefs competing with each other create delicious and inventive meals from a bagful of random ingredients. They don't know before hand what ingredients they get and they have a very limited time to complete the task. What fascinated me about the show was how these chefs were able to come up with delicious meals in such a short time without any recipes or previous planning from a bagful of random ingredients they had no say over. There was usually also a limit how much the ingredients could cost (not much at all). Those chefs are my heroes especially as I have never been a much of a recipe follower.
I felt like a chef from that show today as I had to prepare lunch quickly to starving family members from the ingredients I had at hand. This is what I had:

1 lb ground beef (organic from Rainbow Ranch Farms)
1 carrot
1 zucchini
a handful of crimini mushrooms
an avocado
coconut wraps (you could also use other tortillas you have, big lettuce leaves, collard leaves or for instance these plantain wraps)
fermented ginger carrots (you could replace this with sauerkraut or just leave out)
lettuce (I picked some from our container garden!)
cucumber (diced)

I also had spices, coconut oil etc. basic ingredients of course (I used garlic powder, oregano and salt).

I put the ground beef on a cast iron pan with some coconut oil on medium heat mixing and chopping it and turning it over every now and then. In the same time grated the carrot and zucchini and chopped mushrooms in small pieces. I tossed them in the frying pan as well. I added some salt, oregano and garlic powder.

The I ran out to get the lettuce and fresh oregano, chopped them and diced the cucumber and avocado.

When the meat and vegetables were cooked I piled all ingredients on coconut wraps and rolled them. Note: Don't cook the fermented carrots to preserve the probiotics.

Alternatively, if you don't have any wraps or leaves to use, you could just mix it all up to a salad and add homemade coconut kefir from your fridge (or olive oil and balsamic vinegar) for a dressing.

Ready, steady, eat!

PS. You could prepare all the ingredients and pack them in your backpack to go and roll the wraps while you are hiking, running errands, at the beach or park.

Have you already taken part in my giveaway that will end in a couple of days?

This recipe has been published on Autoimmune Paleo Recipe Roundtable in Phoenix Helix Blog.

Scrumptious Sides: Creamy Baked Yummy Yam

Creamy Baked Yam
Vegan, AIP, Paleo, Dairy Free, Grain Free, Gluten Free, Egg Free

a few yams, preboiled in lightly salted water and then peeled and cut in cubes or slices
1 cup of full fat coconut milk (or 1/2 cup of coconut cream and 1/2 cup vegetable - or chicken stock if not making it vegan)
1/4-1/2 tsp freshly juiced ginger (or dried ginger to taste)
coconut oil
half a clove of garlic
salt to taste


1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Grease a 9 inch oven pan with coconut oil.

3. Rub the garlic clove half on the sides and bottom of the pan for a slight garlic flavor to the dish. Toss the clove.

4. Place the yam cubes in the pan, add ginger and salt to taste and pour coconut milk evenly on the yams.

5. Bake for about an hour. Mix the yams once so they stay coated with the coconut milk.

I shared this recipe on Phoenix Helix blog's AIP Recipe Round Table. Find more Autoimmune Paleo friendly recipes from there!

Banana Yoghurt (Vegan, AIP, Paleo, Sugar Free)

When I was a kid my favorite yoghurt was banana yoghurt. It was made of cow milk and it was probably full of sugar. I had a sudden urge the other morning to try to replicate it with allergen free and healthier ingredients. So I made some with homemade coconut milk kefir and bananas! It didn't taste exactly the same of course but it was very delicious. It would make a great dessert as well.

Banana Yoghurt
Vegan, Paleo, AIP, Sugar Free, Dairy Free (consumed in small amounts also low-FODMAP)

2 bananas
1 cup homemade coconut kefir
Optional: cinnamon, vanilla (from a bean, not the extract)

Add the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. You can leave it out to ferment for a few hours more if you like or eat it straight away. If you leave it out to ferment, taste it after few hours to see if it is ready or do you want it to ferment more. I left it out for 7-8 hours and the flavor became very rich. I ate some and left it in the fridge overnight and it had turned into a fluffy, slightly tangy banana mousse! I added a pinch of cinnamon and and it was absolutely fabulous little treat.

By the way - if you want my posts directly to your email when I publish them, fill in your email to the field in the side panel on the right. The one under "Get New Posts to Your Email". I am not currently sending any other emails so you'll only get an email about the new posts, about one daily.

I shared this recipe on Phoenix Helix AIP Recipe Round Table this week. There are some great recipes!

What to Eat on Autoimmune Paleo? How to combine it with low-FODMAP diet?

There are many lists and directions online for what to eat and what not to eat on paleo or autoimmune paleo diet. It is quite a jungle when trying to figure out what to eat and what not to eat! Take a deep breath, it is just food after all and listen to your body. There is no one diet. We are all different. But I have been trying to figure out the Autoimmune paleo diet (AIP) last few weeks so I thought I'd share some resources. I also made a chart what to eat if also FODMAP's bother you. read on to find out more.

AIP is a stricter elimination diet where you eliminate a lot of possible gut irritants for 30 days and then slowly introduce foods back to see if any of them triggers something. New food should be eaten for three days before introducing a new one. It might sometimes be a good idea to wait even longer in between new foods. Especially if it causes a reaction I would withdraw the food again and wait a week or two before introducing something new to get the other stuff out of your system.

There is already so much information online that I am not going to research it and write it down all over again. But I will tell you where to look. Here are some sources of information, food lists, shopping lists and meal plans and ideas.

If you are not quite ready for AIP yet, try first paleo diet that allows more foods than AIP. If you are not ready for paleo diet, try going partially paleo. Switch some foods to paleo friendly foods. Or start with one paleo meal a week. Or "paleo" because can we really eat in modern days like the people in paleolithic era did? Or is it even necessary? That is another blog post but just wanted to make a point that we shouldn't get too hung up on the word. Paleo for me means eating one ingredient real foods that make you feel good. It can vary a little from person to person. But there are some general guidelines that work out for most people.

Here is what to eat on paleo diet:

What to eat on paleo diet?
The Ultimate Paleo Diet Food List

An excellent place to start learning about the autoimmune paleo protocol (Phoenix Helix, a blogger who is healing her rheumatoid arthritis with AIP):
What is autoimmune protocol?

Article from Paleospirit: "What is the autoimmune paleo protocol?"

Lots of information about autoimmune protocol by Paleomom

A great detailed grocery list for Paleo AIP by Phoenix Helix 

A wonderfully clear shopping list for autoimmune paleo. I will print several copies of this.

Autoimmune Paleo Print Out Guides

Meal ideas (by me)

All autoimmune paleo labeled posts with recipes on this blog.

And what about FODMAPs? What are they?

FODMAP means "fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols". They are carbohydrates and sugar alcohols found in grains, beans, some vegetables and fruit (check full list of FODMAP's here). They don't absorb well and feed gut bacteria that start fermenting them and this can cause bloating, stomach pain, gas, diarrhea, constipation or both and other gastro-intestinal symptoms.

What has this to do with the paleo diet? When we remove grains from our diet we often increase the amount of vegetables and fruit. Instead of feeling better on our brand new diet that was supposed to heal us, we get more stomach issues. The FODMAPs, that some vegetables and fruits are higher in, could be the bad guys!

But there is a solution. A low-FODMAP diet. You don't have to leave all vegetables and fruit, just some of them. But there will be plenty left to eat. And it can be combined to the autoimmune paleo diet!

It sounded like too much to me first. But after getting comfortable with the autoimmune paleo diet and noticing that on days I overdid FODMAPs my stomach hurt in the evening, I decided to try this.

It seems overwhelming first if you are just mourning after the foods you'll leave on autoimmune paleo or paleo diet, I know. My suggestion is not to do it all at once. Baby steps. Baby steps.

I couldn't find a list of foods that would take into consideration both AIP and low-FODMAP diet so I made one! I looked at many lists and they all had a little bit different views about what is ok and what is not so listen to your body too. Keep a food diary if you still have symptoms.

More information about FODMAP's by Chris Kresser

A list of foods to eat and avoid if you follow both Autoimmune paleo and low-FODMAP diets.

Caramelized Ginger Chicken and Sauteed Greens

Before going on autoimmune paleo we used to sometimes go to a Vietnamese restaurant called Blue Hen in Eagle Rock, Los Angeles to eat yummy gluten free foods like pho and caramelized ginger chicken with greens. I am not going to attempt making pho on AIP (or wait...) but I did make a version of the ginger chicken (without the sugar!). This might be our new favorite food.

Sugar Free Caramelized Ginger Chicken and Sauteed Greens
Paleo, AIP, low-FODMAP friendly

4 chicken thighs
an inch piece of fresh ginger (or more to taste)
garlic (leave out if FODMAP's bother you)
coconut oil
salt
1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp (or more to taste) maple syrup, grade B (optional)
1 tbsp coconut aminos
1 tbsp sugar free fish sauce like Red Boat (optional)

1. Chop ginger in sticks and garlic in thick slices and sautee them lightly in coconut oil. Lift them out but leave the oil that now has the flavors of the ginger and garlic.

2. Salt the chicken thighs lightly and add them to the pan, the nicer side down first. Cook on medium until the chicken has gotten some brown color and turn. Continue cooking until chicken is almost done.

3. Add ginger and garlic back to the pan on the chickens and drizzle the balsamic vinegar, coconut aminos on top as well. Cover and simmer on low until chicken is cooked. If needed, add a little bit of water to avoid them from drying.

4. Just before removing from the stove, drizzle the maple syrup (optional) and toss the chickens in it to caramelize them. The balsamic vinegar has caramelized the chickens slightly too so this is an optional step you can leave out if you want to avoid maple syrup.

5. Sautee bok choy (low-FODMAP!) in coconut oil or home made broth (or little bit of both) and add salt and fish sauce to taste.


This recipe has been published in Phoenix Helix AIP recipe Roundtable

Tangerine Frozen Yoghurt (Vegan and AIP)

I love experimenting with coconut milk based ice creams with my ice cream maker. Making them with homemade coconut milk kefir gives the ice cream a slight pleasant tanginess and a nice dose of probiotics too. The coconut milk kefir based ice creams seem to turn out best if there is some fruit or fruit juice in the mix. Plain vanilla kefir ice cream I tried once wasn't as good.

Probiotic Tangerine Frozen Yoghurt

2 organic tangerines (organic as you'll use the peel too)
Juice of half an orange (for instance the one you have left over from your orange ginger salmon)
3/4 cup coconut milk kefir
1-2 tbsp maple syrup (optional)
An inch or two of vanilla bean
Just a small slice of fresh ginger

Grate the peel of the tangerines and squeeze the juice of them. Scrape the vanilla from the vanilla bean. Add all ingredients except the grated peel to a blender. Blend and last add the peel. Put in an ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's instructions. Enjoy!

PS. IF I ate chocolate, I bet this would be delicious with some home made chocolate syrup...

Baked Orange Ginger Salmon with Roasted Root Vegetables and Bok Choy

Our dinner tonight became quite festive as you can see! It amazes me how with so few basic ingredients make so wonderful dinners. I am pretty sure our dinners are more imaginative and delicious than they were in our pre-paleo and pre-allergy life. Then it was easy to resort to pasta and tomato sauce type of dinners too often.

People sometimes say they feel bad for us that we can't eat certain foods. I wish people didn't feel bad for me because I don't feel bad. I feel great! I really don't miss any food that makes my body feel weird. I have discovered so many new foods on this journey that I bet I am actually eating more different kinds of foods now than when the main part of my diet consisted of grains and cheese, pizza and such things.

Just today I ate a salad with arugula, water cress, shrimp, lettuce, avocado, cilantro, lemon and olive oil for lunch. Yesterday I ate kaboucha squash and chicken and fermented beets and daikons. For breakfast I had tea and berries with coconut milk kefir. And sugar free bacon made of beef. (Did you know that you can make bacon at home? We did it once but that is another story).

Oven Baked Orange Ginger Salmon
Paleo, AIP

Serves 4

4 salmon fillets
2 oranges, sliced
Juice of half an orange
2 tbsp honey (leave out for a low-FODMAP/sugar free version)
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 tbsp olive oil

1. Place orange slices on the bottom of a small oven pan. Lay the salmon fillets skin down on the oranges.

2. Mix orange juice, honey, cilantro, salt, ginger and olive oil together in a small bowl and pour on the fillets.

3. Bake in 350F until fish flakes, about 15 minutes. I baked them in the toaster oven as my root veggies were in the other oven in a higher temperature.

TIP: If your kids find ginger too strong, mix it in last and use on the kids' fillets the mixture before adding the ginger.

Roasted root vegetables

Leftover or your choice root vegetables: rutabaga, turnip, beet, daikon, yams, sweet potato, radish, carrots etc.
Coconut oil
Salt

1. Cut root vegetables in one inch pieces.

2. Put them on a oiled baking sheet.

3. Melt coconut oil if solid and toss the vegetables in oil and salt.

4. Spread them in one layer (use two pans if needed) and bake in 425F for 45 minutes or until done. Serve on bed of arugula.

Steamed Bok Choy

Steam bok choy with grated ginger and toss in some coconut oil and salt when they are done. Don't overcook them. 3-5 minutes is enough for me.

For more autoimmune paleo recipes check out Phoenix Helix weekly Roundtable!




I get my coconut oil from Tropical Traditions by the gallon because it lasts for a long time and buying in bulk is cheaper in the end. Click on the coconut oil bucket below for special sale prices (affiliate link, buying coconut oil through this link will support my blogging!) If you order by clicking on any of my links and have never ordered from Tropical Traditions in the past, you will receive a free book on Virgin Coconut Oil, and I will receive a discount coupon for referring you.

Probiotic Rhubarb-Banana Vegan Frozen Yoghurt (Vegan, AIP, paleo and low-FODMAP)

I always stick the overripe bananas no-one wants to the freezer for later use. I peel and chop them before freezing them in a jar or a ziploc bag. When processed in a blender they make fast and easy ice creams.

Rhubarb and banana are both on the low-FODMAP list. Don't eat too much of it though, it all adds up with the coconut milks and maple syrups. I think this could be done without the maple syrup too if you don't mind it being slightly sour.

Rhubarb-Banana Frozen Yoghurt

vegan, (autoimmune) paleo, low-FODMAP

2 overripe frozen bananas (chopped in pieces)
1 cup frozen rhubarb (chopped)
1/3 cup coconut kefir (you can replace this with coconut milk if you don't have kefir at hand)

Optional: 2 tbsp maple syrup (grade B)
1 inch piece of vanilla (scrape with a knife the black seeds from inside of the bean and use just those)

Put all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. It becomes the consistency of soft serve.