Gummy Gelatin Bites

Using gelatin, as a healthy food and not just dessert, is new to me.  There are quite a few blogs that address the healthy benefits of gelatin. I haven't read any actual scientific studies, I am trusting someone has done their homework.  I had never heard of Great Lakes Kosher Beef Gelatin before starting my gut healing process.  There are a lot of uses for it.  I even saw a cookbook totally dedicated to gelatin!

I have seen multiple recipes for gummies on the internet.  But they all seem to add honey or pure maple syrup.  I decided to make them without any additional sweetener, these are sweet enough for me.  I want to make some with lemon juice so I might add a little honey to those...ie. sour gummies or lemon heads!

 I used organic Just Concord Grape Juice from R.W. Knudson.  This juice is $8 for 32 ounces, which in my opinion is ridiculous, but it tastes so much better than any I have ever had.  I have also used fresh squeezed orange juice.  I am happy that these little yummy gummy bites have agreed with my tummy so far. 


GUMMY GELATIN BITES  makes about 30 one inch pieces

3 TBSP Great Lakes Beef Gelatin
1 cup organic juice, or fresh squeezed

• Sprinkle gelatin, 1/2 TBSP at a time, over juice in a small saucepan but don't heat it yet.  Stir in trying not to make bubbles. The mixture will get thick, just be patient and keep stirring until mixed well.
• Heat over low heat until dissolved and mixture gets thin.  Don't boil.
• Pour into candy mold
• Refrigerate a few hours then pop out of the mold.

Lemon Chicken Spinach and Carrot Soup



Lemon Chicken soup from our local Greek restaurant has always been a favorite of mine.  But the last two times I had it (before starting the anti inflammatory elimination diet) I became very sick within minutes of finishing it.  Possibly the eggs or thickening agents but my tummy really didn't like it.  So when I thought about making lemon chicken soup that is safe on my anti inflammatory elimination diet, I decided to only use ingredients that I knew my tummy was ok with.  I am keeping it simple these days and trying hard to have flavorful meals.

 

I started with my usual trilogy of Vidalia onions, carrots and celery, along with some homemade chicken bone broth, chicken breasts, spinach and fresh squeezed lemon juice.  I like hiding vegetables and thickening my broth with vegetables that I put in the food processor with just a little broth.  I need all the help I can get eating more vegetables.  I wanted to keep this broth on the thin side, so I only used one onion.  You can also add some cooked chicken with the onion in the food processor for a little more texture to the broth. 

 

I made this in the crockpot.

 

EDITED:  When using already cooked chicken breast, I don't cook this in the crockpot.  I saute the onions and celery in a little olive oil about 7 minutes.  Using immersion blender, blend until creamy.  Add all of the ingredients to a medium size stock pot, bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer about an hour to 1 1/2 hours, or until the carrots are tender.  Add chopped spinach and cook an additional 10 minutes.

 

LEMON CHICKEN SPINACH CARROT SOUP             3 SERVINGS

 

2 skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut in half ( Greenwise from Publix)

4 cups homemade chicken bone broth (make and keep in the freezer in Mason jars)

1 Vidalia onion, rough chop

1 rib (piece) organic celery, rough chop

6 organic carrots, sliced

2 cups organic baby spinach, finely chopped

1/4 lemon juice, fresh squeezed

• Put the onion(s) and celery in food processor with 1/4 cup broth, pulse several times until you can only see tiny pieces of veges or until smooth.  Place in crockpot.
• Add chicken breasts, the remaining broth and lemon juice.
• Cook on HIGH 3 hours
• Add spinach and carrots and cook on HIGH 1 hour.
• Before serving, cut chicken into large chunks

What I Am Eating Today

BREAKFAST:

1 cup homemade chicken bone broth I drink this before eating

3 slices bacon, Maverick uncured no sugar
1 cup Organic Girl Baby Spinach chopped very tiny sautéed with
1 Vidalia onion

SNACK:
1 organic banana, slightly green
5 gelatin protein discs (recipe to come)

LUNCH:
1 Avocado mashed with 1 TBSP lime juice and sea salt rolled up in lettuce leaves
3 ounces chicken breast (it was frozen from the chicken I made bone broth with)
1 sauteed yellow squash

DINNER:
 Beef  Stew   grassfed Beef, carrots, onions, celery, spinach, beets, sweet potatoes

SNACK:
 Blueberry ice slushy with 1 TBSP grass fed gelatin added

one fresh squeezed lemon used during the day in my water

Green Beans, Quick and Delicious

GREEN BEANS  

1/2 - 1 lb fresh organic green beans
1 TBSP organic coconut oil (or olive oil)
2 garlic cloves minced
sea salt to taste

• Wash green beans.  Snip the ends.
• Prepare your steamer, get water boiling.
• Prepare large saute pan with the coconut oil and garlic in it.  While green beans are steaming get oil hot over medium heat and ready for green beans to be sauted once they are steamed.
• Place green beans in steamer and cook 2 minutes.  Immediately place steamed green beans into saute pan, quickly toss in the olive oil and cook 2 minutes.
• Sprinkle with sea salt and eat.

The green beans will be bright green and crunchy!

Meatballs, SCD

  I don't like crunchy onions and celery so I have learned to just saute them before adding them to my recipes.

 
MEATBALLS  makes  8 big meatballs

1 pound grass fed ground beef, on the lean side
1 large Vidalia onion, finely chopped
1 TSP olive oil, or coconut oil
1 large organic carrot, finely shredded
1 rib (piece) organic celery, finely minced
1 cup organic spinach, finely chopped ( don't add spinach if you plan to freeze the meatballs)
2-3 organic garlic cloves, minced
1/4 TSP sea salt

Preheat over to 350 degrees.
Saute onion and celery in olive oil about 5-7 minutes, add garlic and cook 2 minutes longer. Let cool. Mix into the ground beef along with the remainder of the ingredients.
Roll into 8 meatballs.  Place them in a glass baking dish.  Cook for 45 minutes.  I like my meat balls crispy so I cooked them for 55 minutes.

You can make smaller meatballs also, just adjust cooking time less.

**Freezer meal starter - make a double or triple batch of cooked meatballs.  Freeze. I use freezer safe mason jars.  Thaw in the refrigerator.  Warm in toaster over. **

Blueberry Ice Slushy AIP

In the past, the only way I would have eaten blueberries was in muffins.  I have tried to eat fresh blueberries but I don't like the texture and they were never sweet enough for me.  Blueberries are so much sweeter now that I don't eat sugar all day long!  Or maybe it is because they are organic and in season.  I really don't know, but I love eating them now.

See all those 8 ounce mason jars full of organic blueberries in my freezer... my local store had a sale!  It was so nice to finally find something organic on sale.  The blueberries were half price so I bought twice as many!  I can't believe how expensive they are. 

To freeze blueberries:  Wash berries with cool running water and pat dry.  Place berries in a single layer on parchment paper lined, rimmed pans that will fit in your freezer.  This will keep the berries from freezing into a big blob,  Freeze the berries at least 6 hours or overnight.  Once frozen, transfer the berries into your freezer container of choice.  I love my Mason Jars for freezing.

So in my quest to drink something other than plain water, I realized I don't hate fresh blueberries that have been pulverized in the blender!  I saw several recipes for blueberry smoothies but they all had ingredients I am not eating while doing the anti inflammatory diet.  Maybe down the road I will use organic coconut milk in this recipe but for now it is just a blueberry ice slushy.  This is so simple it is silly.

BLUEBERRY ICE SLUSHY  one serving
 
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup ice
1/4 cup filtered water
1 TBSP Great Lakes Beef Gelatin (*optional)

Put all of the ingredients in a blender that will crush ice or I used "the bullet". 
Blend until it looks like a slushy.  You may need to add a little more water depending on your blender speed.

*gelatin adds 6 grams of beef protein

Sugar Detox

It is amazing that I no longer crave sugar!  I used to drink a pitcher of sweet tea every day...2/3 cup of white sugar per pitcher.  I craved butter cream frosting, donuts, frozen yogurt, you name it!  I ate high fructose corn syrup at every meal without even knowing it. It was ridiculously hard for me to give up sugar.  It took a little over a year, but I have finally kicked the sugar habit.  No carb cravings, and fruit actually tastes sweet to me!

I wish I had a magic formula to help you give up sugar, but I don't.  It was hard work for me.  I found all sorts of ways to justify using sugar.  I was convinced that I could get healthy, get to my goal weight and still use sugar.  Well guess what, I was only kidding myself.  At some point last year, I realized there is no such thing as just using a little bit of sugar.  For me, I had to just quit using it all together.

I didn't follow any set rules for sugar detox.  I looked at my biggest source of sugar and high fructose corn syrup and stopped buying it.  It started with my coffee creamer, I weaned from sweetened coffee creamer to half and half, and then I quit drinking coffee.  I didn't need the caffeine in coffee either.

I also quit buying processed foods, period, end of story.  It is ridiculous how much high fructose corn syrup is in processed food.  About nine months into my slow sugar detox,  I ate half a cupcake at my granddaughter's birthday party and paid dearly for it, ending up in the bathroom with horrible cramping, bloating and diarrhea.  I learned my lesson, not even a bite is worth that pain.

I squeeze a lemon every day and that is what I add to my drinking water.  I have also tried adding a variety of fruits and cucumbers to my water.  I haven't perfected any of those drink combinations yet, but this is a work in progress.  I have tried a few organic herbal teas that are naturally no caffeine, but haven't found one that really quenches my thirst yet.

When I started the anti inflammatory diet from my chiropractor, I had an advantage.  I had already detoxed sugar.  For me, that has been the hardest thing.  I don't mind giving up dairy, gluten, nuts and nightshades during the elimination phase.  If it is going to make me feel better, I will give it my best shot.

Since starting the anti inflammatory diet about a month ago, I generally try recipes that don't have any added sweeteners. I get enough fructose from the fruit I eat. But I do still use organic raw honey or organic pure maple syrup in recipes every once in a while.  But I don't crave sweets anymore, that is what is important to me.

And I have never, ever used any type of artificial sweetener.  I read a study in 1984 about aspartame that scared the pee wads out of me!  It was enough to keep me from ever using it or allowing my children to use it. Even as adults, they still won't use it.

Spinach, Baby Organic, finely chopped

As I have mentioned before, I really don't like the taste or texture of most vegetables.  In the past fifteen months, I have learned to like a few more vegetables and continue to try new vegetable recipes. But I am afraid I have a long way to go.

A few years ago I started eating raw baby spinach salads after trying it at my niece's.  She had made this beautiful spinach salad with strawberries, blueberries, feta cheese and Girard's raspberry dressing.  I was hooked after the first bite and forever grateful to my niece for introducing me to raw spinach!  But when I started the anti inflammatory diet I realized the salad wasn't the same without the feta and dressing.  I needed to find a new way to eat spinach!

After trying quite a few spinach recipes, I realized it was the texture that grossed me out, not the taste.  I accidentally discovered how I can easily eat 2 cups of spinach a day.  I stack the leaves, cut the stem off, and then chop the heck out of it like it was fresh basil or cilantro.  Duh!!  Why didn't I know this when my kids were little so they would eat spinach.  I can add it to just about any recipe and not ever taste or feel the texture of it but still obtain its healthy benefits.  I add finely chopped spinach to stir fry vegetables, caramelized onions, soup, chicken broth and just about anything else I cook.

By the way, I am working on a raspberry dressing recipe that is AIP approved.  It might not taste as good as Girard's, but my taste buds really want a spinach salad.

What I Am Eating Today

BREAKFAST:
1 cup homemade chicken bone broth
3 slices bacon, Maverick uncured no sugar
1 cup Organic Girl Baby Spinach chopped very tiny sautéed with
1 Vidalia onion

SNACK:
1 organic banana, slightly green
5 gelatin protein discs (recipe to come)

LUNCH:
1 Avocado mashed with 1 TBSP lime juice and sea salt rolled up in lettuce leaves
1 cup leftover homemade lemon chicken soup (recipe to come)

DINNER:
1 burger patty made from Green Wise ground beef with organic mustard
1/2 cup Eden Organic Sauerkraut warmed
4 small pieces steamed broccoli ( I have found this small amount is all I can tolerate)
Sautéed yellow squash, onion, zucchini and 1 cup finely chopped spinach

SNACK:
Coconut Milk homemade popsicle (recipe to come)

one fresh squeezed lemon used during the day in my water

Chicken Bone Broth Anti Inflammatory Elimination Diet

Chicken Bone Broth  good for healing my gut / makes about 12 cups broth

1 Green Wise Chicken from Publix without giblets (or antibiotic free / pastured chicken)

2 organic carrots cut into chunks

2 organic Celery ribs (pieces) cut into chunks

1 Vidalia Onion cut into chunks, you can use any onion you want, I have just found these don't make me sick

2 TBSP Braggs Organic Vinegar

1 TBSP Pink Himalayan Salt (health food store) or you can use Sea Salt

enough water to to fill your crock pot (mine is a 6 or 7 quart pot)

• Cook on HIGH for 4 hours.
• Remove chicken and pull the meat off the bones ( we eat this for a meal ) leave veges and broth in the pot.
• Put the bones, skin, cartlidge and any meat that you won't eat like the back bone back into Crock pot.
• Add water to fill the crockpot all the way up, cook on high about and hour then cook on LOW 18-20 hours.
• Remove lid and let it cool about an hour.   Remove all of the bones and veges and discard.
• Strain the broth into a fine mesh strainer to remove any small chards of bone or you can use cheese cloth over a regular strainer.  I do this 3 times.

I have Mason Jars that I bought at Walmart that you can also freeze in.  I have several sizes but I like the half pint jars (8 ounces) for freezing the broth, that way I can just thaw one at a time for each day.  I drink one or two of these a day or use it to make soup.

No Tomato Red Sauce, Tomato Free Spaghetti or Pizza Sauce

Tomato Free Red Sauce, use in place of spaghetti or pizza sauce.  Make a big batch, it freezes well.

I first saw this recipe for no tomato sauce on The Primordial Table via Pinterest.  This tomato free red sauce is beyond amazingly good!  For anyone with allergies to tomatoes or nightshades, just give this a try, it is delicious.  I do recommend that you make this a day ahead of time, as it tastes even better the second day!

* I also want to add that I melted my blender gears by not waiting until the sauce was very cool to blend after cooking.  I now use an immersion blender.*

I have made this sauce for my family several times and they can't get enough of it.  My grandson used it for dipping his chicken into instead of using ketchup.  So much healthier!

The following is the way I make no tomato red sauce.  I encourage you to use the original recipe.  I am posting this mainly for my family and friends so they know the changes I made to the orginal recipe.

I also found another version of this recipe called No Tomato Pasta Sauce and it uses canned carrots and beets.  I am not a huge fan of canned vegetables, but in a pinch I might try this!

There is this version also, No Tomato Sauce, but it uses red bell peppers which aren't good for some people on special diets.

Here is how I adapted The Primordial Table's recipe for my family. 

No Tomato Red Sauce   makes about 5 cups

6 organic carrots, peeled and chopped
1 large Vidalia onion, chopped small
3 organic celery ribs (pieces), chopped small
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 organic beet, peeled and shredded (about a cup)**
3 cups homemade chicken bone broth
1 1/2 tsp dried Basil
1 1/2 tsp dried Oregano
2 TBSP organic Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 tsp Sea Salt

*1 cup organic baby spinach, chopped very fine - don't add until you are ready to eat the sauce - if you plan to freeze sauce, don't add spinach*

**I steam my beets ahead of time and freeze them so I have them all ready for this recipe but I think you could use beets that have been washed, peeled and cubed small, then just cook with the rest of the ingredients until beets are soft.**

Put all of the ingredients into a pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer about an hour until veges are soft.  Remove from heat, let cool slightly.

Using an immersion blender, blend until sauce is smooth.  Reheat the sauce before serving.

If you are using a regular blender, please be careful and let sauce completely cool before blending.  I melted my blender gears because the sauce was too hot.
 
I plan to try and freeze some sauce to see if it freezes and thaws well.  So far, we have eaten every ounce that we make...might be time to double or triple this recipe.

EDITED:  I have frozen this sauce several times now and it thaws great in the refrigerator.