Recipe Review for Grain-Free Sticky Buns (SCD)

I guess if I have a resolution for 2011 it is less stalking and more cooking.  I love food blogs and always see so many delicious ideas. I must have poor meal planning skills because my mind goes blank when it's time to write up a shopping list for the week. I'm going to try to start making all of the recipes I have bookmarked. If you're going to have a resolution or a goal, it might as well be a tasty one, right?
  I've had this recipe bookmarked for over a year. It's a recipe review of "Wendy's Cinnamon Rolls" on Heal-Balance-Live. These are sooo yummy. The only alteration I did was use pecan meal in place of the almond flour in the Spice Mix. I haven't had sticky buns since going gluten-free and these were a real treat. Thanks Karen and Wendy!

Fridge Art Gallery - Treasures of a 5 Year Old

It doesn't take much to make my five year old happy. One empty egg carton and he's off on a treasure hunt.

Off the subject, The Healthy Skeptic has an interesting article on Dietary Toxins.

Creamy Shrimp Bisque (SCD)

Did you know that January is National Soup Month? Lauren of Celiac Teen is hosting this months Go Ahead Honey It's Gluten Free. The theme is "Follow the Calendar" and January has more food holidays than you can beat with a stick. Soup is my favorite one, especially creamy bisques and chowders.

The idea for this soup came from Raman Prasad's "Red Pepper and Tomato Soup" in Recipes for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. I love this cookbook! If you are on the SCD, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, or just very serious about a whole foods diet, it's worth checking out.

Today's batch I made with creepy store bought wintertime tomatoes, not the best for flavor. For those of you not on the SCD, you may opt for a large can of whole tomatoes. For those of you on the SCD, this soup is a good inspiration to freeze those fabulous summer garden ones for winter recipes.

The creaminess comes from yogurt. Homemade yogurt that has been fermented for 24 hours has almost no lactose in it, the bacteria breaks it down. Many Celiacs also have lactose intolerance. Oh, I forgot to mention, this recipe makes a lot.

Creamy Shrimp Bisque (SCD)

2 Red Bell Peppers
7 Roma Tomatoes
1 cup Carrots
1 Onion
2 TBSP Butter
2 Cups Chicken Stock
Salt to taste
1 pound Cooked Shrimp, peeled and tails off
1 to 2 cups Yogurt or Yogurt Cream

To roast and skin peppers: Rinse and slice peppers lengthwise into quarters. Remove seeds. Place on an oiled baking sheet, skin sides up and place under broiler until skin is bubbly and has black spots. Turn oven off and let peppers sit in warm oven awhile.

To skin tomatoes: Boil a large pot of water. Drop in tomatoes. When skin splits, remove and add to a bowl of cold water. Skin should come right off.

Pull out peppers and let cool. Peel of the papery skins.

Add carrots and onion to a food processor. Pulse just until finely minced. Heat butter in a large pot, add carrots and onion and saute until tender. Add tomatoes and bell pepper to food processor and puree. Run through a sieve and pour strained mixture into carrots and onions. Add chicken stock and heat to boiling. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Salt to taste.

Put shrimp into food processor and pulse until finely minced. Add to pot and heat through. Stir in yogurt and heat about 1 minute. Serve.

Banana Almond Butter Pancakes (SCD, GFCF)

My parents are visiting and these pancakes were a big hit for breakfast. When it finally dawned on me I had not taken a photo yet, they were nearly devoured, except for this lonely one. I got the idea for these from this recipe on Marks Daily Apple.

This post is linked to "Fightback Fridays" at the Food Renegade


Banana Almond Butter Pancakes

1 ripe Banana
1/2 cup Almond Butter
2 Eggs
2 TBSP Honey
1/4 teas Sea Salt
1/4 teas Baking Soda
1/2 teas. Vanilla
dash of Cinnamon

In a medium size mixing bowl, puree banana, with a hand mixer or with a potato masher. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. Cook over a medium heat on a lightly oiled griddle. They burn easy so you may need to lower your heat a tad. Makes 10-12 palm sized pancakes.

When Good Bananas Go Bad (SCD)

I always buy produce with the best of intentions, but it's not uncommon to get busy and forget about my plans. Then it's too late. Bananas are a little more inclined to give you a second chance. Very ripe bananas are the best state for your baked banana goodies. Don't have time right now to bake? That's OK too, because they freeze very well. Just peel them and place in a freezer baggie, they will keep for a couple months. (However, if the bananas have any mold then you need to toss them) The enzymes will continue to break them down a little while frozen, so they will have even more of a banana aroma and flavor in your baked goods. You will need to thaw them in the fridge and pour off excess juice before you use them.

Here are some SCD/GAPS friendly ideas for using bananas:

Nana Bread from yours truly
Banana Caramel Sticky Buns from Grain-Free Foodies
Banana Souffles from Comfy Tummy
Banana Almond Butter Pancakes from me
Almond Milk Silver Dollar Bananas  and Flourless Banana Pancakes from Z's Cup of Tea
Pure Banana Ice Cream  and Banoffee Pie Canapes from Straight Into Bed Cakefree and Dried
Banana Breakfast and Banana Bread also from Straight Into Bed Cakefree and Dried
Yonana Muffins from Eating SCD
Banana Blueberry Muffins from Comfy Belly
Here's a whole collection of banana recipes at SCD Recipes

Bringing in a New Year

Happy 2011! This time of year we always wonder what's in store for us. I didn't eat my black eyed-peas, so I might be off to a bad start. (but they're not SCD legal, and my husband won't touch them, so what to do?)

When I first started this blog, about 20 months ago, I thought I would have a lot more research type posts and pages up. I also thought I would have all of  "Our Story" pages done. So much for that....people plan, God laughs. I really don't know what this year will bring. My schedule is going to be nutso for the next four months and my posts might be sporadic. But I still have to eat, so I should be able to get a few recipes up at least.

I got a chance to speak at our local natural food group about the role of food and children's mental health. My new "Food and Mental Health" page is the link page I made as a hand out. There are so many more links I hope to add to it, for adults and children. As a mother who has watched my child's health overcome what the medical community has thrown their hands up and said was impossible, I think it's vital the public is made aware of the information on food and mental health. Research confirms there is a link for many people, not all, but MANY. The fact that mainstream medicine still considers this voodoo is in my opinion, an irresponsible atrocity. (the mother grizzly bear in me really comes out here).

Some items of note on the "Food and Mental Health" page:

In the journal article titled " Mercury exposure, nutritional deficiencies and metabolic disruptions may affect learning in children. "  This article discusses many of the additives in the modern diet that cause nutritional deficiencies. Mercury can be found in trace amounts in high fructose corn syrup and can contribute to zinc deficiency.

In the journal article "A good-quality breakfast is associated with better mental health in adolescence", found that the more food groups the child ate for breakfast, the better the mental health. So much for just the usual bowl of cereal.

In the Times article "Wheat-free diet gives food for thought", they discuss a wheat free diet for Dyslexics. There is a school for dyslexics in England. One student was temporarily put on a wheat free diet by his doctor for digestive issues. The child's reading level jumped. So the school tried the diet and 77 percent of the students made a significant improvement. Many dyslexics also have ADHD, and there are a few medical studies linking Celiac's disease as a co-morbid condition with ADHD.

This post is linked to "Fightback Fridays" at the Food Renegade.