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

Depression is not “just a bad day”. And hold your babies when they cry.

Photo: Hello Pinecone Photography

The death of Robin Williams touched deeply the world who knew him. Me, like many others have been thinking about him, his movies I have seen, depression and suicide. I have been thinking about the reasons that lead to someone to end their own life. And I have been holding by children a little more tightly.

Today I read a touching Facebook post from my friend, mentor, teacher (and at times even my student), Eloise. She talked about times she was “seized by a deep, wordless, horrible existential angst” that came in no pattern. She didn’t know why she felt like that but learnt how to get through it somehow.

“If I had been a little less stubborn, or a little less Aries, or - I might have gotten worse than better - I might have killed myself too”, she says. But she didn't. 

A few years ago the feeling got hold of her again. “Three years ago, I was in that place and a thought bubbled up from inside me that 'this is what it felt like when I was left alone to cry when I was a baby'. That was why it was wordless, it was a feeling before I had words. I was so alone and the universe was an uncaring place and the pain was all-encompassing."

She says after the realization, the blackness haven't come again. 

"I think it is gone because I understood it. I write this for anyone who it might speak to, and I write for parents. The 'let them cry it out' strategy is a mistake with infants.”

She says she is convinced now that being left to cry alone installed “some truely horrific times” in her psyche. She urges people to remember that this goes beyond just having a bad day. “Please don't trivialize it. And hold your babies when they cry.”

If you want to read the whole post, you'll find it unedited below, published with the writer’s permission. Thank you, Eloise. And I am so sorry you were left alone to cry as a baby.

"I am generally a pretty happy person. However, there were times when I have been seized by a deep, wordless, horrible existential angst. Why even try to move -because the hole was deep and formless and lightless - what could fight that? It would come on in no pattern I ever figured out, and blessedly, would leave in less than a day - or at least after a sleep. It started in high school - I remember the in-the-middle-of-it decision to kill myself, and then the next day realizing it might get better after high school, so I bargained myself into hanging on til I was 25. And I thought about it at 25 - I had made a contract with myself - but although the blackness would still sometimes come, I had practiced going through it, I knew it, I had made my way through - and life was interesting enough. 3 years ago, I was in that place - and a thought bubbled up from inside me that 'This is what it felt like when I was left alone to cry when I was a baby'. That was why it was wordless, it was a feeling before I had words. I was so alone and the universe was an uncaring place and the pain was all-encompassing. I haven't had the blackness come again since that realization, and I think it is gone because I understood it. I write this for anyone who it might speak to, and I write for parents. The 'let them cry it out' strategy is a mistake with infants - maybe not with 3 year olds, but with people who don't have words or understanding yet - I am as convinced as I am that there will be another dawn that being left to cry was what installed some truely horrific times in my psyche. If I had been a little less stubborn, or a little less Aries, or - I might have gotten worse than better, I might have killed myself too. If you haven't felt the transporting/transformation of your personality to something bleak and 'not you' - Yay for you. Give great gratitude to the powers that be. But please, understand that this goes beyond 'normal' life, and it is not 'just a bad day', and it is not someone else's fault for not doing the right thing on that day. Please don't trivialize it. And hold your babies when they cry."

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

How to get kids to eat healthy food?

Healthy food can be good. This little boy is
eating grain free and sugar free plantain pancakes.

People often ask me how they could get their kids to eat. Or even better, how could they get them to eat healthy foods instead of only the bread, cheese, crackers and treats they crave. I have been asked to write a blog post about this multiple times but it feels hard. I am no expert in this. How could I tell you what the right answer is? See, I have a selective (or so called "picky", don't like the word) eater in the household too. Sometimes two. But it is getting better. The pickiest eater's favorites now are liver sausage, sushi, mushrooms and fish. He eats vegetables. The other day he said, surprised, as he tasted some fried zucchini: "Mom, this is good!" How did we get here?


I have come to learn that one of my selective eater's reasons for being so selective was due to food sensitivities (yes, food sensitivities can cause kids to be so called picky eaters but that is another post). The other aspect was his parents (my husband and I). We gave him what he wanted to eat. When my selective eater was very young he used to eat only cheese, bread, Annie's bunny crackers and pasta with tomato sauce (and mommy's milk). We gave him those foods as we thought he would otherwise starve and we were scared to say no to him.

Nowadays the selective eater, who is seven years old, eats a rather healthy variety of foods including all kinds of sea food (shrimp, fish, octopus), mushrooms, meats, fruits and berries, liver sausage (we buy the US Wellness Meats one), liver casserole, some selected vegetables like broccoli, carrots, cucumbers and zucchini, cabbage casserole, spinach pancakes, green smoothies, sushi etc. How did we get here?

You drive the bus - but be a gentle bus driver, never force anyone to eat

My advice is - and it sounds simple but don't be fooled - that YOU drive the bus. You (by "you" I mean the parents together, not just one parent, it is easier if there is consensus) decide what kind of foods you want your family to eat (think about it, write it even down and talk about it with the kids - why eating healthy is good and so on, you get the idea). Then serve those foods. Serve them at meal times, sit down together as a family.

Our brunchy breakfast today. I served everyone the same food.

Don't force

Don't force anyone to eat anything but serve only healthy foods, only the foods you have decided are the ones your family should eat. Don't offer a side of crackers or bread in case they won't like the main dish. You could have bowls of carrot sticks, fermented foods, salads and other healthy foods available at the table they can snack on too if you are very concerned that they don't have a choice. Or even better, serve those as appetizers. Then they can fill their stomachs with healthy foods if they don't like the main dish. Or you don't have to serve a casserole where all things are mixed together. You can have different kinds of veggies, meats etc. separately to choose from. But if you know that from a plate like this they will only eat the rice/pasta/other grain or starch filler side and leave all the rest, try leaving that out.

So what if they don't like the main dish? That is ok. Don't get mad, don't make them feel guilty, don't associate bad feelings to the meal time or food. You can in a friendly manner say it is ok, this is our dinner for today and if you are not hungry now, we can save this for later. Put the plate aside and if they ask later for food, you can bring it out again.

If they really really don't like that food, say, they gag when they try to eat it, I never force it. In this case I might offer another healthy choice (other vegetables or meats if I have something available). But if they won't even try the food, I won't offer anything else. I don't think they are necessarily then hungry enough. And this is a shady area because it can happen that you always then have to offer the other alternative food... So I save this strategy only for those occasions I can see clearly that the child clearly just does not like the flavor of the food (spicy or very strong) at all. I don't force myself to eat foods that make me gag or don't like them at all. It can be a sign that you shouldn't eat that food. Maybe you are allergic to it. Although it can happen that you crave the foods you are most allergic to.

Serve the whole family same foods and have the whole family participate in the cooking

Don't make the kids separate meals (or the husband, for heaven's sake, I have heard of this happening too!). This was our biggest mistake in the beginning of our parenting journey. We cooked him separate meals if we ate something we thought wouldn't be "kid's food", too spicy or just unusual ingredients. They need to be exposed to all those foods and see you eat the same food they are being served. You can make less spicy food for a while if you don't want to feed your little one chili. They can eat all veggies, meats, fruits etc. if they are not allergic to them.

With our second child, we offered him same food we ate from the start. I maybe modified our foods so that I felt they were foods I could offer a one year old (we didn't start solids until he was one, he nibbled on some carrots ticks etc. before but he was mostly just breastfed until then - and still is on top of the other foods he eats). He also was gluten and dairy free (and without a few other allergens) from the start as I feel he reacted to those through breast milk - assuming food sensitivities play a role. He eats almost anything. He eats sauerkraut for breakfast. He eats olives, smoked salmon, vegetable soups. He does not like pureed food as we have never given him any but why would he have to eat his foods pureed anyway? I don't even personally like pureed foods except my creamy cauliflower soup, that I have named Happiness.

We started the second child's food journey (in addition to breast milk) with finger foods - he just ate same things we ate but with his fingers - so he has always been able to feed himself too. He doesn't object using a fork and spoon like my firstborn who we fed with a spoon who knows how long. Live and learn.

Have only healthy foods available - have a certain day or two as treat days

Create healthy hunger by avoiding snacks and processed foods. If you need to have snacks, snack only on healthy real foods. And have a special dedicated day or two for treats. You can always refer to those days when they ask for a treat.

I am originally from Finland and I have never been big on as many processed foods as I see kids eat here in the US. By processed foods I mean foods like crackers and cereal that are low in nutrition but have a lot of additives or sugar or empty carbs. I am just not used to them as I didn't have as many available growing up so I had to settle to rutabaga sticks for snacks. No factory made crackers anywhere in sight.  We ate cookies and crackers in parties and on Saturdays my mom made sweet buns we ate after sauna with a glass of milk.

We did eat sometimes crispy bread or bread for snack that was made of whole rye sour dough. With butter. And cheese if you were lucky. I remember that my favorite foods were fried fish or chantarelle mushrooms fried in butter (I picked them from the forest myself and threw them in my mom's hot frying pan with the dirt and pine needles and everything). Or sardines straight from a can (they have the bones in them still so they are full of calcium which I couldn't have cared less of course then!).

The system was that I had mostly healthy foods available. I ate when I was hungry. And on Fridays I had "candy day" when I could buy some candy to eat. I offered a lot of it to others. Like my dad who never refused my Friday candy offerings. On Saturdays I sometimes got a soda after sauna. It was huge deal, we have photos of those occasions when I am drinking my 12 oz soda with a straw from a glass bottle. I didn't have cavities by the way (until teenage when I started eating more sweets and processed foods).

In our family we have a treat day on Wednesdays when we go to farmers market. The treat for my kids is a musubi (seaweed, rice, broiled salmon and sesame seeds) and organic strawberries. They look forward to this all week. On Friday we have a treat day. The treat can be homemade ice cream, paleo ice cream sandwiches or the kids might even get an organic lollipop or small fruit snack bag from Wholefoods (I think they are not fruit snacks but candy!), a piece of chocolate or something like that. Occasionally we have treats on other days too out on a whim. Healthy desserts and treats if we have guests for dinner and so on. It is good not to be too strict, life is supposed to be fun. But I like to have dedicated treat days for one reason: When they beg for treats, I can say: It is not our treat day, just wait until Wednesday or Friday. Or we will make ice cream on Saturday since we will have guests.

Our job is to offer healthy meals. They will eat if they are hungry. 

They are not going to starve themselves and they will be ok if the skip a meal (or even two!) so just relax!

Kids are more likely to eat and try new foods when they are hungry. Don't offer too many snacks. They kill the appetite for the real food at dinner. If you offer snacks, offer healthy foods, vegetables, fruit and healthy proteins, not empty unhealthy calories like sugars and gold fish crackers. If they spoil their appetite with steamed broccoli, carrots, cucumbers or rutabaga... oh well. The other day my kids snacked on fried mushrooms (intended side for dinner) straight from the frying pan and some berries.

If my kids are so hungry they can't wait me to finish the dinner (like really can't wait), I might offer them foods I am cooking with  like cucumbers or carrots I am chopping to the salad, olives, or pieces of meat. Better yet, have them chop the vegetables for you and they can sneak pieces in their mouths! Make it fun. Tell them mock sternly they can chop the vegetables but not eat any of them and they will for sure try to sneak some to eat if you keep playing the game and pretend to get really mad if they "steal" from the salad. (Read the book Playful Parenting for great parenting ideas!)

My first born has had hard time trying new foods, with consistencies of foods, with strong tastes and he would have liked to eat just cheese and bread. It turned out, he was allergic, or became allergic, to all those foods he craved (we did some iGg testing in online labs by collecting stool samples or a finger prick blood test at home, check out the links on my website). He has started trying more foods the more I have been able to track down foods that trigger his body and have removed them from his diet. The biggest shift I saw after putting him on 80-90% paleo diet by removing the last processed foods (I count as processed foods all foods with long ingredient lists): the gluten free pink Trader Joe's bread, store bought coconut milk ice creams and most grains. After that he has tried many new foods. The change is amazing. (This is again another blog post but check out my website for good books and links where to test food sensitivities to get started if you are interested in this route (scroll down to the part "food sensitivities"). Sarah Ballantyne's Paleo Approach (affiliate link) is a good read too about how to do an elimination diet to figure out food sensitivities whether you have an autoimmune disease or not.

Other great posts about this on other blogs:
How do I get my kids to eat (Health Home Happy)

Review: Reintroducing Foods On The Paleo Autoimmune Protocol

When I heard about Eileen Laird's eBook Reintroducing Foods On The Paleo Autoimmune Protocol, A Step-By-Step Guide With Recipes my first thought was that I would have really needed this book a couple of months ago. Then I read it and I know now for sure I would have needed it.

See, I started the autoimmune paleo diet without finishing my research, like I do with most things. I studied very carefully everything I could eat and what I couldn't eat but I didn't give much thought to the life after the original elimination period. It seemed very far in the future and I thought I will just wing it. It took me a long time to combine all the info from different sources (Eileen Laird's website Phoenix Helix was one of them!) to get started with the diet and I guess I was too overwhelmed by all of it. Also, all this information wasn't then to be found in one place. This eBook is great because it will also summarize the foods you eliminate and then go to the most important part - reintroduction.

The elimination period is important because it will kind of reset your body and by then introducing things one by one back you can see what triggers your body. So rushing things will work against the whole purpose you went on the diet.

This guide makes you understand that reintroducing is good to be done slowly, one by one, and in a certain order. I had no idea about this order thing so I introduced back wine first (not good according to this manual) and white rice so I could eat sushi. Oh well. But my body was actually fine with those and I haven't really introduced back much else as I haven't felt I am ready. Or even the need to, I like this diet and I am scared to start introducing too many things back. Oh, I did try a sip of coffee the first thing after the 30 day elimination period when my husband came back from his coffee roasting class. It didn't go well at all so I gave up coffee. Oh, and I have snatched a few pieces of chocolate from the kids too... Oops. But the point is that it is good to introduce foods that are least likely to trigger a reaction first and tricky foods last and give enough time in between. I introduced chocolate, coffee, rice and wine all in the same time I think... I did the mistake #1 Eileen Laird lists on page 13. I rushed. I was impatient. Don't do as I did and get this guide to do things properly. Read it before you start the diet so you are prepared. On the 30 day elimination diet you are busy learning to cook AIP foods.

This reintroduction guide will tell you exactly how to do the reintroductions. I know now. Thanks Eileen! I think I will after the summer vacation take a step back and go again on the strictest version of the diet for a few weeks, no occassional white rice or wine, and start over with all my new knowledge.

The book has also delicious looking recipes for when you are ready to introduce foods back so it makes it pretty easy. They made me miss night shades so much! I haven't eaten peppers or tomatoes in years.

The best part of the book maybe was after all that it is so supportive. Reading Eileen's story and her encouraging comments throughout the book made me feel like I am on the right path. The support of the AIP community has been huge help. I do feel good with my modified diet too but I would like the information my body would tell me if I actually took time to do this properly, now I have the tools. Thanks for providing us all this information, in the book and also on your website, Phoenix Helix, Eileen!

If you want to buy this book, you can do so from here.

New real food blog with paleo foods with a Finnish twist!

May I present my new blog, Rootlicious!

I am slowly, slowly, getting my new website ready! It is still a work in progress but I thought I would publish it now. Feel free to give me feedback and you can in this way affect how it turns out.

I have been thinking about food a lot after our food sensitivity journey and going back to old recipes from childhood. I have been cooking foods from a hundred year old Finnish cook book and many of them work very well for our current diet with just slight modifications!

I will publish on Rootlicious traditional real food recipes - with inspiration from my own roots from Finland - that are all gluten free and dairy free. I will label also the ones that are autoimmune paleo compatible (most of them probably), paleo (most of them) etc.

I will still update Kaiku Lifestyle as well, but the Finland inspired recipes will be only on Rootlicious and other recipes and lifestyle posts on Kaiku.

My two first blog posts are a creamy salmon soup and fish stock (copied from Kaiku Lifestyle!) and Easter Pasha Dessert that works well for a general Spring dessert! Happy spring!

Paleo/Vegan Ice Cream Sandwiches

It was 95 degrees in Los Angeles today. The three year old learned to swim and we made ice cream sandwiches. A good day all in all.

Chocolate Cookies 
paleo, gluten free, vegan, nut free, refined sugar free
Makes 8 big cookies

1/2 cup coconut flour (I most often buy this one)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup cocoa powder 
1/4 cup arrowroot starch
1/3 cup maple syrup powder
pinch of salt (I like pink Himalayan salt)
pinch of ground vanilla bean
2 tbsp unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp coconut milk 
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted  (I might consider adding a little bit more next time, the cookies were slightly dry on their own but just fine with the ice cream)

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix all the ingredients together - first the dry ones and then add the liquids.
3. Form balls from the dough and flatten them on a cookie sheet using the palm of your hand. The size won't change a lot so make them the size you want the cookies to be.

Vanilla Ice Cream
paleo, vegan, refined sugar free

2 cups full fat additive free coconut milk (I use this one for best results)
1/3 cup maple syrup
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp ground vanilla bean (I use this one)

Mix all ingredients together and follow ice cream maker's instructions.

To make the ice cream sandwiches:

Let the cookies cool down completely first before you even make the ice cream because it takes longer, I know now from experience. It takes also longer than the kids can wait so use freezer to cool the cookies quicker if you need to. Take a cookie and press a scoop of ice cream on it and press another cookie on top. Enjoy!


This post contains affiliate links. I recommend only products I like myself. Using the links to purchase them supports my blogging activities. Thanks you!

New Fermenting Support Group on Facebook

Hi everyone!
I just wanted to let you know that I started a fermenting support group on Facebook. Anyone interested in fermenting any food or drinks is welcome to join!
Follow the link to Kaiku Culture!
Cheers!
Sirpa

Barbeque Sauce

I wanted to make country style pork ribs in the oven and googled for recipes. Many recipes required barbeque sauce. I googled next for barbeque sauce recipes and based on my findings I developed this paleo and autoimmune paleo friendly recipe.


Tomato Free Barbeque Sauce
paleo, AIP, night shade free, gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free, corn free, soy free, egg free

1 cup pureed pumpkin (apple sauce could work too)
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp molasses
1/3 cup maple syrup
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp coconut aminos
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated

1. In a saucepan, sautee slightly the garlic and ginger in coconut oil. Be careful not to burn them.
2. Add all other ingredients. Bring to a boil.
3. Simmer on low for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Use on your favorite barbeque meats and veggies. Pour the rest into a glass jar and refrigerate.

Paleo Camping Food

Last weekend we went to Joshua Tree with some friend families to camp and do some rock climbing. I had never been camping yet completely grain free so I had to do some planning and preparing ahead but it was surprisingly easy to come up with a grain free camping menu.

Most of it was AIP friendly too apart from some gluten free sausages that might have had night shade spices and kids had some s'mores with gluten free graham crackers at the campfire. Here are some ideas for your future camping trips!

Check out also my post about traveling while on a special diet. The travel food ideas apply to camping too.

Equipment needed for the camp kitchen (on top of a tent, sleeping bags, pads, warm clothes and other camping gear you need):

a camp stove and fuel

lighter or matches

a frying pan and spatula

cutting board

knife
can opener *swiss army knife works for many of your needs

plates, cups, forks, knives and spoons

paper towels are the thing I always miss when I don't have them

hand disinfectant is handy to use after handling the raw sausage 

flash light, lantern or headlight if you plan on cooking in the dark

Dr. Bronner's liquid soap is handy for dishwashing and hand washing

a brush or sponge for washing dishes

coal if you use a grill

firewood if you want to cook on fire

Breakfasts:

Pancakes

I made ahead of time some plantain pancake batter at home and stored it in ziploc bags to use at the campground.

Breakfast Sausage and fried zucchini

I made a breakfast sausage mix before hand at home and stored it in ziploc bags to use at the campground. I have modified a breakfast sausage recipe from Nom Nom Paleo for this.

2 lb ground pork (at least 20% fat)

1 tbsp maple syrup

1 tbsp salt

fresh herbs to taste (cut them with scissors in small pieces) - I used rosemary, thyme, sage and sweet marjoram

1. Mix everything together. Store in a container or a zip loc bag until you are ready to use them. 

2. Form little patties or sausages and fry in coconut oil or lard.

3. Cut zucchinis in slices and fry in the leftover fat from the patties (or bacon).

Sides: 

Sauerkraut or other fermented vegetables, sliced avocados, fresh fruit, fresh veggies like cucumbers and carrots

Lunches (all of these work as snacks too):

Persian cucumbers

Baby carrots

Crackers

Homemade fermented pickles or other veggies

Canned tuna or salmon (check ingredients)

Smoked salmon (check ingredients)

Avocados

Olives

Salads and coleslaws prepared ahead of time at home and packed in containers or ziploc bags. See a ziploc coleslaw recipe here.

Dinners

Tuna salad

Lettuce (ready cut in a bag is nice and saves trouble!)

Cucumbers, chopped

Olives

Canned tuna (or salmon)

Dressing prepared ahead of time at home and brought to camp in a leak proof jar:

1 part balsamic vinegar / coconut vinegar / apple cider vinegar

4 parts olive oil

1 tsp honey

Salt and pepper to taste

Shake to mix and serve with the salad.

Hobo Aluminum Foil Dinner

This you can prepare already at home to save trouble and time at the campground. 

Raw veggies and meats or fish of your choice 

Coconut oil

Salt

We used: 

turnips (some of us ate potatoes) - these I precooked at home

bok choy

spinach

pineapple

pork

mushrooms

Cut the veggies and meats and pack them in heavy aluminum foil (if you don't have heavy foil, it is best to double the foil). Before you close the packages, add some oil and salt. Put the foil packages on grill with charcoal or wait until the campfire has burnt  for a while so you can put the packages in the coals. Check from time to time to see if they are ready and that they don't burn. 

Happy camping! Please share your paleo camping food ideas in the comments below!

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

Bone Broth And An Every Day Gourmet Soup

We eat a lot of soup. The base of the soup is always the same, homemade broth. The other ingredients vary as I use whatever I have at hand. Every soup becomes different in this way and is always a new adventure! Read on to learn how to make your own broth/stock and how to use it as a base for a soup made of foods you happen to have at hand. I like to eat this soup when I have it at hand for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

Home made bone broth is healthy and delicious

The secret to a really good soup is in the homemade long cooked broth. The best restaurants make their own broths and you can cook delicious foods if you base them on your home cooked stocks. I save all bones and scraps of meat and veggies in my freezer and make broth out of them. You can use any kind of bones. Beef, chicken, pork, duck - all bones will do. You can buy grass fed beef bones from a butcher or health food store or use your leftover carcasses or bones from drumsticks or ribs. If you are not ready to use them, or don't have enough from one meal, you can freeze them in a ziploc bag to wait for a better moment and keep adding bones to the bag.

I prefer to use bones that have a little bit of meat attached to them, because the broth tastes better that way I think, but it is not necessary. I usually leave some meat on chicken carcasses for this purpose or add some leftover chunks of meat. Saving trimmed parts opf connective tissue (in that freezer bag) is a good idea too. Especially beef bones you might be able to use twice for two batched of broth!

Ingredients:

bones
water
(it is believed a splash or two of apple cider vinegar will help in removing minerals from the bones but some don't like the taste - I do like the added flavor)

Optional add ons (pick one or more to flavor the broth):

carrots
celery
bay leaves
whole peppercorns
fresh parsley or carrot tops
garlic cloves

Method 1: Slowcooker

Add the bones and any add ons in your crockpot. Add enough water to more than sufficiently cover the bones. Cook on low for 8-24 hours. Or even longer. I have sometimes had the broth simmering for days and just made sure to add more liquid from time to time. It has been nice to scoop a cupful of hot broth to drink and use in cooking straight from the cooker.

Method 2: In the oven

Add the bones and any add ons in an oven proof stock pot with a lid. Add enough water to more than sufficiently cover the bones. Bake in 200F for 8-24 hours. Or longer.

Strain the ready broth (you can try to use the bones for a second lighter batch) and freeze it or store in the fridge for up to a week and use in your cooking or drink by the cupful.

How to transform your broth into a delicious soup and get called a gourmet chef

1. Add chopped vegetables and meat in a pot. You can use up all leftover scraps from your fridge!
2. Pour in enough broth to cover the vegetables (you can replace some of it with water if you want).
3. Add spices to taste. I usually add salt, grated fresh ginger, crushed garlic, sometimes pepper.
4. Let simmer on low until the vegetables and meat are cooked.

TIP: My favorite soup contains chicken, white cabbage, kale, mushrooms and carrots with ginger and garlic. Sometimes if I am in a rush and don't have broth I boil a whole chicken in water for an hour or longer if I have time and in the meanwhile chop vegetables. When the chicken is cooked, I fish it out, throw the veggies and spices in to simmer and and then strip the meat from the bones and add the meat in the soup. The carcasse I keep for a second round of broth I cook for a longer time.

Marinated Olives

Anytime I serve these olives to anyone, they ask for the recipe. Some even say they are the best marinated olives they have ever tasted. I have to confess now upfront that the recipe is not mine originally. I wish it was. I have stolen the idea from a restaurant called Silvoplee in Helsinki, Finland. Silvoplee serves delicious vegetarian, raw and alive foods. Of course I don't know their recipe exactly but I have done my best to copy it. This is a great appetizer or a snack. Put some in your salad, too.

Marinated Olives

Good quality naturally cured olives (no white vinegar, preferably olives in just water and salt)
A couple of cloves of garlic, crushed
A bunch of fresh cilantro, cut fine with scissors
Good quality olive oil

Add olives, cilantro and garlic to a bowl and drizzle just enough olive oil on them that you can mix them easily. Let marinate in the fridge at least for a few hours, preferably overnight or a day or two.

Finnish Salmon Soup

Fish soup is a very common food in Finland. It is often made with salmon, potatoes and milk and garnished with dill. If you don't have fish stock at hand you can use water only but homemade fish stock is easy to make and gives a delicious flavor to the soup. Stock made from fish bones and heads is also very nutritious, full of minerals and makes a great addition to a healthy diet.


How to make fish stock:

1. Get a few pounds of fish bones and heads from a fish store or the fish counter from a grocery store. You might have to call them ahead to reserve the bones as they sometimes just throw them away. You shouldn't be charged a lot for them.

2. Put the bones and heads in a big stock pot and fill with water. Add 1-2 bay leaves, a carrot and about 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar.

3. Bring to boil and let simmer lid on for at least a few hours or as long as 24 hours.

4. Strain the stock. You can collect the fish meat from the bones and add to the soup or eat as is later.

Salmon Soup

4.5 cups fish stock (some of it can be replaced with water)
1/2-1 cup full fat milk (I use coconut milk)
1 lb salmon, skin removed and cut in cubes
4-5 medium sized turnips (or potatoes if you are not avoiding night shades)
1 carrot
5 whole allspice
1 small clove of garlic
1 tsp salt
dill

Optional: you can saute some onions in a fat of your choice in the sauce pan before adding the stock.

1. Measure the stock to a big enough sauce pan and bring to boil.

2. Chop the potatoes and carrots and add them to the stock as well as the whole allspice berries and chopped garlic.

3. Let simmer for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes and carrots are easily pierced with a fork.

4. Add the fish, salt, milk and chopped dill. The fish takes only a few minutes until it is ready. Check one fish piece to make sure it is cooked.

Check out more great recipes from Phoenix Helix Autoimmune Paleo Recipe Roundtable.

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.

Sailing in Sunshine

It was a beautiful day sailing today!

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 Dishwasher Tablets

I ran out of dishwasher detergent and I don't need anything from the store so I decided after some years' break to make my own. I was inspired by this recipe a friend shared with me recently. I didn't want to use the lemon drink mix, and I am not very good at following recipes, I always change them a little (although I like to think of it as a skill it really is more of a handicap and changing recipes or not measuring because "real cooks don't measure" etc. doesn't always end up well...) so I came up with this recipe:


Homemade Lemon Scented Dishwasher Detergent Tablets

1 cup washing soda (if you don't have washing soda, no need to run into the store, although they have it at laundry aisles, just follow the instructions below how to MAKE some from baking soda!)
1 cup baking soda
1/2 cup citric acid
1/2 cup salt
(no need to use your fancy sea salts or pink Himalayan salts here, just the refined cheap table salt will do)
20 drops lemon essential oil
1 cup water

1. Make your washing soda from baking soda if you don't have any: Heat baking soda for 30 minutes in an oven proof dish in 400F and your baking soda magically becomes washing soda! This has something to do with chemistry, NaHCO3 becoming Na2CO3, but let's not go there. You can google it if you want to know more.
2. After the newly made washing soda has cooled down, mix in all the other ingredients. If you prefer powder form, just leave the water out and use as is.
3. Mix well, let it do its fizzing (I kept thinking that it could be useful for the dishwashing if the fizzing happened in the washer?) and form into little balls and let dry. You can also press the mixture in ice cube trays. I only had heart shaped ice cube molds and lego shaped molds so that's what I got... Fun and fancy.

TIP: Use vinegar instead of rinse aid.

Aren't they cute?

Follow this link to see my other nontoxic and homemade detergents recipes (there is another dishwasher detergent recipe too).

Liver and Mushroom Stir Fry

My tries to incorporate more liver to our meals led to this dish. I used chicken liver for mild flavor but for stronger liver flavor use beef liver. I'd like pork liver for some foods but it is not commonly sold in the US it seems.

Liver and Mushroom Stir Fry

8 oz bacon (check ingredients carefully and for sugar free/additive free bacon, check out US Wellness Meats website)
8 oz liver
8 oz mushrooms of your choice
2-3 handfuls spinach or dandelion greens
2 cloves of garlic

1. Cut bacon in small pieces and slice liver thinly.
2. Fry bacon pieces in a cast iron pan. When the bacon is crispy, remove from the pan but leave the fat.
3. Add thinly sliced or chopped garlic to the pan. Be careful not to burn it.
4. Add mushrooms and fry until they get some color, then add spinach. Continue frying until spinach is just wilted. Remove from the pan but leave the fat.
5. Add the liver in the pan and fry until it gets some color.
6. Add all the other ingredients back to the pan and toss around for a minute or two so they are well mixed.
7. Serve as an appetizer or for main course with salad. Would be a nice breakfast too.

This recipe was posted in Phoenix Helix AIP Roundtable. Check it out for more recipes!

AIP/Paleo Emergency Food

In Southern California we have had a couple of earthquakes in the last week or two and even if they weren't big enough to cause big damage they were big enough to get people reviewing their disaster plans. What are we going to do if the "big one" hits? Our earth quake kit in the garage which is an old suit case filled with this and that is hopelessly outdated. I have been now buying and planning new emergency foods - AIP compatible emergency foods. You don't want to have to eat foods that make you sick in a situation like that on top of everything else. Here is a list of foods I have got / are on a shopping list for our emergency package:


- Canned tuna (ingredients need to be checked as some contain vegetable broth which's ingredients are unknown)
- Olives (traditionally cured in glass jars, no white vinegar or other additives, just salt and water)
- Canned salmon, sardines and chicken (check ingredients)
- Palm hearts in glass jars (Trader Joe's)
- Any suitable canned vegetables (check ingredients)
- Canned meat (check ingredients)
- Raisins and other dried fruits
- Freeze dried blueberries and other freeze dried fruit
- Freeze dried vegetables and meats (Honeyville Grain for instance is a good source)
- Water
- Our camp stove and extra fuel
- Extra coal for our barbeque (don't forget the matches!)
- Plum kids pureed fruit and vegetable pouches
- Plantain chips
- Water filtration system (for backpacking)
- Apple sauce
- Canned coconut milk (or in cartons) - this is a good option
- Seaweed snacks
- Nori sheets for making wraps
- Paleo wraps
- Organic shredded coconut, coconut flour, honey, coconut oil etc. to roll coconut balls for instance (omit cocoa powder for AIP friendly coconut balls)

I keep some water bottles in the freezer so that if the power goes out I can use some of them as ice packs in a cooler to keep perishables from the fridge cold longer.

What would you add to the list?