Almond Flour Applesauce Muffins, Specific Carbohydrate Diet, SCD

Almond Flour Applesauce Muffins    makes 12

3 Cups Honeyville Blanched Almond Flour
1 TSP Baking Soda
1/2 TSP Salt
1 TSP Organic Cinnamon
3 TBSP Organic or Local Honey
1/2 Cup homemade Yogurt
1/2 Cup Organic Eden brand Applesauce
1 TSP Vanilla
3 Organic Eggs, beaten

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Combine dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.
• Combine wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl with beaten eggs. 
• Add combined dry ingredients into wet ingredients mixing well by hand.
• Using naturally refined Organic Coconut Oil, grease muffin tin.
• Spoon mixture into muffin tins, makes 12 muffins.
• Bake 25 minutes or until golden brown (depending on the brand of almond flour, baking time may vary so start watching muffins at about 20 minutes so they don't over bake)

These muffins freeze well in freezer safe Mason Jars for one month.  Not all mason jars are freezer safe!!

Once a Week Batch Cooking / Freezer Meal Meat Starters / Specific Carbohydrate Diet SCD Legal

Batch cooking saves time and keeps this girl on her Specific Carbohydrate Diet, SCD legal!  When I started making my Freezer Meal Meat Starter Batch Cooking recipes, the hubs wasn't sold on the idea but now he realizes it is the best way to keep me on my diet.  This weekend he cooked chicken breasts and shredded them and also made chicken meatballs.  It is so nice to look in the freezer and see the freezer safe mason jars with shredded cooked chicken, and chicken meatballs ready to eat! No running to the store last minute, or worse, eating out.

The idea I had when I came up with the Freezer Meal Meat Starters / Batch Cooking is to cook and freeze enough of one type of meat recipe to last for a month.  It works for us, but does get pretty boring sometimes.  We do occasionally cook other meat, but not often as my tummy doesn't tolerate most other meats.  I would love to hear from others who might be trying this type of batch cooking. 

Using Freezer Meat Meal Starters Equals Savings?

When I decided to start making Freezer Meat Meal Starters, it was more for convenience than anything but I am realizing that I am actually saving a little money this way.  Generally, I go to the grocery store weekly and just buy what we need for the week.  Since my diet doesn't have a lot of variety right now, I found myself buying what I had planned for the week without much regard for what I was paying.  But this week I realized we actually saved a little money by making Freezer Meat Meal Starters!

The Publix Greenwise boneless, skinless chicken breast that I buy are packaged two breasts to a package and range in price from $5.99 a pound on sale, up to $7.99 a pound not on sale.  Prior to making Freezer Meat Meal Starters, I would buy four packages of chicken breasts a week for four meals with leftovers for the hubs lunch or we would just overeat at that meal. Sometimes they were close to a pound and sometimes they were closer to a pound and a half which can really add up fast.  When paying $7.99 a pound that is $31.96-$40 (depending on weight of each package) just for chicken breasts for four meals!!   Not to mention what I paid for the meat for the other three dinner meals each week.

This week I paid $5.99 a pound for chicken breasts.  I bought four packages with a total cost of $25.96.  Each package was just barely over one pound.  I made Shredded Chicken Freezer Meal Meat Starter and ended up with enough cooked shredded chicken for six dinners, each freezer jar has 6-7 ounces of cooked meat which is plenty for the hubs and I per meal.  Not only did I save money buying on sale with each package closer to a pound, but we got six meals instead of four.  This also forces us to not overeat at meals and forces the hubs to eat healthier and not rely on leftover sandwiches for lunch (yes, he still eats bread with Hellman's mayonnaise and tater tots with eggs for breakfast and did I mention sweet tea LOL).

I know there will be blog readers who think paying $5.99 a pound for chicken instead of $2-3 a pound for conventional chicken is ridiculous.  Sometimes I am not sure if Greenwise Chicken is worth the added expense either. I am just hoping that in the long run, my health improves and I don't have to take medications to feel good. 

Even if you do buy less expensive chicken breasts, give the idea of Freezer Meat Meal Starters a try...it can save you time and money too.

P.S...I actually went back and bought more chicken while it was on sale and made Chicken Meat Balls and Ground Browned Chicken...my freezer is almost full!

Shredded Chicken Salad Specific Carbohydrate Diet Clean Eating

Having chicken in the freezer that is already cooked and shredded is such a time and money saver.  I love freezer meat meal starters.  The hardest part is remembering to put them in the refrigerator the night before to thaw. Tonight's chicken salad dinner was done in 30 minutes. All I had to do was wash the apples, celery, grapes and lettuce, do a little chopping,  mix in some dripped yogurt cream cheese and it was ready to eat!

FREEZER MEAT MEAL STARTER CHICKEN SALAD SPECIFIC CARBOHYDRATE DIET
makes 2 servings

6-8 ounces cooked, shredded chicken, or use one container shredded chicken meat meal starter, thawed in refrigerator
1 organic Granny Smith Apple, washed, peeled and chopped
1 cup organic seedless grapes, washed, cut in half
1 large organic celery rib (piece), washed, chopped very tiny
4 ounces dripped yogurt cream cheese
4 organic Romaine leaves
sea salt to taste
(optional) 1 cup organic spinach, chop very fine like one would chop herbs for a recipe

Wash, peel and chop Apple.  Wash grapes, cut in half.  Wash celery, chop tiny. Wash lettuce. Add container of shredded chicken meat meal starter.  Mix in cream cheese.  Add salt to taste.  Chill for 30 minutes before serving. Serve on lettuce.

Recipe for Shredded Chicken Meat Starter Specific Carbohydrate Diet Clean Eating

Frozen meat starters...I like this idea and think it will work well for following the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.  Actually, this could work well for any diet where chicken is eaten!  This is a huge time saver and money saver! My version of non processed, clean eating freezer meals.

SHREDDED CHICKEN MEAT STARTER RECIPE FOR FREEZER MEAL COOKING

8 Chicken Breast, about 4-5 pounds, pastured antibiotic free
2 organic carrots cut into 2 inch long pieces
2 organic celery ribs (pieces) cut into 2 inch long pieces
1 large onion chopped into chunks
2 TSP Himalayan Pink Salt
enough water to cover all of the ingredients

I used a 6 quart crockpot.  Place ingredients in crockpot or slow cooker.  Cook on HIGH 4-6 hours or LOW for 6-8 hours.  Let cool.

Remove chicken from crock pot and place in a large bowl to shred, or use KitchenAid mixer with the paddle blade to shred.  Place in labeled *freezer safe Mason jars in amounts that are suitable for your family and place in the freezer.

I weighed the cooked chicken and estimated 3 ounces per person. Since it is just me and the hubs we only need 6 ounces per meal.  That fit in the one cup freezer safe Mason jars by packing it really tight.  I cooked 4 pounds of chicken breasts (8 breasts). By dividing the cooked chicken into equal 6 ounce amounts, I was able to get 6 meal starters.  Generally, I cook 2 breasts per meal for me and the hubs.  This gave me 2 additional meals from 8 breasts and the hubs and I didn't overeat!!

Plus you have a bonus!!  The broth left in the crock pot can be frozen for use later on.  Remove the vegetables and strain the broth.  Place in *freezer safe Mason jars and label.  Use this broth for recipes that call for chicken or vegetable broth.  I don't know about you but I think boxed vegetable broth is very expensive and the ingredient list is a little bit scary.

*NOTE:  Use whatever freezing method you like. I prefer freezer safe Mason jars but I do use BPA free Ziploc freezer bags sometimes for items that won't fit in jars such as ground beef patties.

Freezer Meat Meal Starters Clean Eating Specific Carbohydrate Diet

I love the idea of freezer meals.  Do all the prep work one day and have delicious meals for a month that you pull out of the freezer and put in the crockpot.  Unfortunately, I haven't been very successful finding recipes that are Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) legal with food options we will/can eat.

Most freezer meal or batch cooking, contains canned tomatoes/vegetables, cream soup, soy and teriyaki sauce, pasta, potatoes or rice and lots of processed ingredients that I can't/won't eat.  There are foods that are SCD legal but I still can't eat them, such as tomatoes and all peppers and spices derived from peppers, also known as nightshades.  I think the best I can do right now, is make some meat entrees that can be thawed in the refrigerator the night before, then added to some simple dishes.  Our side dishes are frozen or fresh vegetables and salads - no pasta, rice or potatoes.  Just keep it simple and healthy and generally on the low carb side.

Specific Carbohydrate Diet Freezer Meat Meal Starters.  These are so easy it is probably silly for me to post but I hope to help others who were as overwhelmed as I was starting out eating clean and following the SCD.  From each of these basic meat/meal starters, I will add recipes for meals as I come up with them.  Click on the links below to be taken to the recipes. 

Freeze in portions that are the best size for you and your family.  I have a digital kitchen scale so I can weigh cooked portions before freezing.  It is really a big help with portion control for weight loss and in the long run save money by not overcooking or wasting leftovers.  When I was on a weight loss program years ago, I was told to eat 3 ounces of cooked meat so I generally freeze 6-8 ounce portions of cooked meat for the hubs and I. 

So far, I have decided on these 7 choices, one for each day of the week.  Make enough of each Freezer Meat Starter to feed your family once a week for a month or more, freezing in individual containers for one meal. 

1.  Shredded Chicken (cook chicken breasts in crockpot, shred, freeze)
2.  Beef Meatballs no eggs, no flour but full of vegetables
3.  Chicken Meatballs no eggs, no flour but full of vegetables
4.  Hamburger Patties  (press out a couple of pounds of ground beef, put parchment paper between the burgers so they come apart easily and freeze)
5.  Scrambled Ground Beef ( brown 4-? pounds of ground beef, divide into the amount you need for a meal according to your family size, freeze)
6.  Scrambled Ground Chicken Breasts ( brown 4-? pounds ground chicken breasts, divide into the amount you need for a meal according to your family size, freeze)

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. **