Brownies!

Whew! Have I sure missed chocolate! Fortunately I found an easy recipe that allows us to enjoy brownies again. If you have trouble locating coconut flour, check your local heath food store. They will usually stock the cocoa powder you will need as well.

Ingredients

1 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled or coconut oil

1 cup cocoa powder

9 eggs, wow!

1 cup honey

3/4 tsp vanilla

3/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup coconut flour

Butter a 9×13 pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Melt the butter in a saucepan, remove from heat. Add the cocoa powder into the butter, set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs. Add in the honey, vanilla and salt and whisk well.

Add in the coconut flour, little bits at a time, mixing well to avoid lumps.

Add in the cocoa powder-butter mixture and whisk very well. If you do not whisk well enough, you’ll have clumps in your brownies that are yellow when the rest is chocolatey-brown. I use a hand held blender to mix it evenly.

Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Butternut Squash Home Fries with Cinnamon and Chili Pepper

Ingredients

1 butternut squash

3 T olive oil

1 to 2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. chili pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Peel the butternut squash, cut in half and scoop out the inside seeds. Chop the squash into 1/4 inch pieces. Coat a baking tray with olive oil and salt, spread the squash pieces onto the tray and coat with the remaining oil. Sprinkle cinnamon and chili pepper evenly over the squash. Bake in the oven until browned and cooked through, about 30 to 40 minutes. Turn the fries over during the baking process so they may cook evenly.

Apple Clafoutis

I found this recipe in "The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook" and it was easy to make using local apples from the farm stand down the road.

Ingredients

4 medium apples, peeled, cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick

4 eggs

1/4 cup honey (local if you can get it!)

1/2 cup homemade yogurt (see recipe under "Dairy")

1/4 cup salted butter, melted

1 tsp. vanilla

1/3 cup almond flour

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch pie dish with butter and dust lightly with almond flour. Fan the apples in concentric circles on the bottom of the pie dish. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, honey, yogurt, butter and vanilla. In a medium bowl, combine the almond flour, salt and cinnamon. Stir the wet ingredients into the almond flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Pour the mixture over the apples. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until the clafoutis is set in the center and the top is golden. Let the clafoutis cool for 30 minutes, then serve warm.

Pizza with Almond Flour Crust

I was desperate for a thick, cheesy pizza, but unfortunately delivery (and DiGiorno) are illegal on the GAPS diet. I decided to experiment a little and this pizza recipe is the end result. Kid and husband approved, so I consider it a success!

For the crust, I used the Tasty Herb Bread recipe from "Cooking to Heal Little Tummies." I chose to omit the cheddar from the crust since I use it later to top the pizza.

Crust

2 and 1/2 cup almond flour

1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley

1 tsp. basil

1 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1/4 cup water

3 T melted butter or safflower oil

1/4 tsp. minced garlic

Toppings

2 cup crushed tomatoes

2 cup shredded natural cheddar cheese

Optional:

olives, green peppers, mushrooms, basil, oregano, or any other GAPS legal favorites

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine almond flour, parsley, basil, oregano, baking soda, salt and garlic. In a separate small bowl, melt butter. Add eggs and water and beat together well. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together until smooth. Lightly grease a baking sheet and spoon the mixture onto it. Grease your hands a bit and use them to spread the dough into a round, pizza shape. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove the pizza from the oven and spread tomatoes evenly over the crust. Sprinkle cheddar cheese and your other toppings over the pizza and return to the oven. Bake until cheese is melted...about 10-15 minutes.

About the G.A.P.S Diet

G.A.P.S. is a high protein, high fat and low carb diet designed to eliminate all grains, starches and refined sugars. It is very similar to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), but puts more emphasis on fermented foods and the removal of casein.

THE FULL GAPS DIET

For many GAPS patients, the diet should be followed for two years at least. The book Gut & Psychology Syndrome will provide recipes and more explanation about the diet.


The best foods are eggs (if tolerated), fresh meats (not preserved), fish, shellfish, fresh vegetables and fruit, nuts and seeds, garlic and olive oil. Apart from eating vegetables cooked, it is important to have some raw vegetables with meals, as they contain vital enzymes to assist digestion of the meats. Fruit should be eaten on their own, not with meals, as they have a very different digestion pattern and can make the work harder for the stomach. Fruit should be given as a snack between meals.


It is very important to have plenty of natural fats in every meal from meats, butter, ghee, coconut (if tolerated) and cold pressed olive oil. Animal fats on meats are particularly valuable. Fermented foods (sauerkraut, yogurt, and kefir) are also a very important part of this diet in addition to homemade meat or fish stock. It is recommended to take a cup of warm meat or fish stock with every meal as a drink as well as soups and stews made with the meat or fish stock. The stock, kefir and fermented vegetables will over time restore the stomach acid production, which will improve digestion.

It is best to avoid processed foods (any packet or tinned foods). They are stripped from most nutrients that were present in the fresh ingredients used for making these foods. They are a hard work for the digestive system and they damage the healthy gut flora balance. On top of that they usually contain a lot of artificial chemicals, detrimental to health, like preservatives, colorants, etc. Try to buy foods in the form that nature made them, as fresh as possible.

RECOMMENDED FOODS

Almonds, including almond butter and oil

Apples

Apricots, fresh or dried

Artichoke, French

Asiago cheese

Asparagus

Aubergine (eggplant)

Avocados, including avocado oil

Bananas (ripe only with brown spots on the skin)

Beans, dried white (navy), string beans and lima

beans properly prepared

Beef, fresh or frozen

Beets or beetroot

Berries, all kinds

Black, white and red pepper: ground and pepper

corns

Black radish

Blue cheese

Bok Choy

Brazil nuts

Brick cheese

Brie cheese

Broccoli

Brussels sprouts

Butter

Cabbage

Camembert cheese

Canned fish in oil or water only

Capers

Carrots

Cashew nuts, fresh only

Cauliflower

Cayenne pepper

Celeriac

Celery

Cellulose in supplements

Cheddar cheese

Cherimoya (custard apple or sharifa)

Cherries

Chicken, fresh or frozen

Cinnamon

Citric acid

Coconut, fresh or dried (shredded) without any

additives

Coconut milk

Coconut oil

Coffee, weak and freshly made, not instant

Collard greens

Colby cheese

Courgette (zucchini)

Coriander, fresh or dried

Cucumber

Dates, fresh or dried without any additives (not

soaked in syrup)

Dill, fresh or dried

Duck, fresh or frozen

Edam cheese

Eggplant (aubergine)

Eggs, fresh

Filberts

Fish, fresh or frozen, canned in its juice or oil

Game, fresh or frozen

Garlic

Ghee, homemade (many store varieties contain non-allowed ingredients)

Gin, occasionally

Ginger root, fresh

Goose, fresh or frozen

Gorgonzola cheese

Gouda cheese

Grapefruit

Grapes

Haricot beans, properly prepared

Havarti cheese

Hazelnuts

Herbal teas

Herbs, fresh or dried without additives

Honey, natural

Juices freshly pressed from permitted fruit and

vegetables

Kale

Kiwi fruit

Kumquats

Lamb, fresh or frozen

Lemons

Lentils

Lettuce, all kinds

Lima beans (dried and fresh)

Limburger cheese

Limes

Mangoes

Meats, fresh or frozen

Melons

Monterey (Jack) cheese

Muenster cheese

Mushrooms

Mustard seeds, pure powder and gourmet types

without any non-allowed ingredients

Nectarines

Nut flour or ground nuts (usually ground blanched

almonds)

Nutmeg

Nuts, all kinds freshly shelled, not roasted, salted or

coated (any roasting must be done at home)

Olive oil, virgin cold-pressed

Olives preserved without sugar or any other non-

allowed ingredients

Onions

Oranges

Papayas

Parmesan cheese

Parsley

Peaches

Peanut butter, without additives

Peanuts, fresh or roasted in their shells

Pears

Peas, dried split and fresh green

Pecans

Peppers (green, yellow, red, and orange)

Pheasant, fresh or frozen

Pickles, without sugar or any other non-allowed

ingredients

Pigeon, fresh or frozen

Pineapples, fresh

Pork, fresh or frozen

Port du Salut cheese

Poultry, fresh or frozen

Prunes, dried without any additives or in their own

juice

Pumpkin

Quail, fresh or frozen

Raisins

Rhubarb

Roquefort cheese

Romano cheese

Satsumas

Scotch, occasionally

Seaweed fresh and dried, once the Introduction Diet has been completed

Shellfish, fresh or frozen

Spices, single and pure without any additives

Spinach

Squash (summer and winter)

Stilton cheese

String beans

Swedes

Swiss cheese

Tangerines

Tea, weak, freshly made, not instant

Tomato puree, pure without any additives apart

from salt

Tomato juice, without any additives apart from salt

Tomatoes

Turkey, fresh or frozen

Turnips

Ugly fruit

Uncreamed cottage cheese (dry curd)

Vinegar (cider or white); make sure there is no

allergy

Vodka, very occasionally

Walnuts

Watercress

White navy beans, properly prepared

Wine dry: red or white

Yogurt, homemade

Zucchini (courgette)

FOODS TO AVOID

Acesulphame

Acidophilus milk

Agar-agar

Agave syrup - main carbohydrate is a complex form of fructose

Algae - can aggravate an already disturbed immune

system

Aloe Vera - please go to "FAQs" for additional information on when

it can be introduced

Amaranth - is a grain substitute, contains starches

Apple juice - usually has sugar added during

processing

Arrowroot - is a mucilaginous herb and loaded with

starch

Aspartame

Astragalus - contains polysaccharides

Baked beans

Baker's yeast - contains saccharamyces cerevisae

Baking powder and raising agents of all kind - baking soda can be used

for specific medical issues, please view the "FAQs" section

Balsamic vinegar - most found in stores have added

sugar

Barley

Bean flour and sprouts

Bee pollen - irritating to a damaged gut

Beer

Bhindi or okra

Bicarbonate of soda

Bitter Gourd

Black-eye beans

Bologna

Bouillon cubes or granules

Brandy

Buckwheat

Bulgur

Burdock root - contains FOS and mucilage

Butter beans

Buttermilk

Canellini beans

Canned vegetables and fruit

Carob

Carrageenan - is seaweed and high in

polysaccharides

Cellulose gum

Cereals, including all breakfast cereals

Cheeses, processed and cheese spreads

Chestnuts and chestnut flour

Chevre cheese

Chewing gum - contain sugars or sugar substitutes

Chick peas

Chickory root - contains high amounts of FOS

Chocolate

Cocoa powder -

Cocoa is very rich in magnesium and some essential amino acids and, unless your digestive system is not ready for it, there is no need to avoid it.

Coffee, instant and coffee substitutes

Cooking oils

Cordials

Corn

Cornstarch

Corn syrup

Cottage cheese

Cottonseed

Cous-cous

Cream - contains lactose

Cream of Tartar

Cream cheese

Dextrose - in commercial products it is not the pure

form

Drinks, soft

Faba beans

Feta cheese

Fish, preserved, smoked, salted, breaded and canned

with sauces

Flour, made out of grains

FOS (fructooligosaccharides)

Fructose - extracted from corn and has a mixture of

other trisaccharides

Fruit, canned or preserved

Garbanzo beans

Gjetost cheese

Grains, all

Gruyere cheese

Ham

Hot dogs

Ice-cream, commercial

Jams

Jellies

Jerusalem artichoke

Ketchup, commercially available

Lactose

Liqueurs

Margarines and butter replacements

Meats, processed, preserved, smoked and salted

Millet

Milk from any animal, soy, rice, canned coconut milk

Milk, dried

Molasses

Mozzarella cheese

Mungbeans

Neufchatel cheese

Nutra-sweet (aspartame)

Nuts, salted, roasted and coated

Oats

Okra - mucilaginous food

Parsnips

Pasta, of any kind

Pectin

Postum

Potato white

Potato sweet

Primost cheese

Quinoa - 60% starch

Rice

Ricotta cheese

Rye

Saccharin

Sago

Sausages, commercially available

Semolina

Sherry

Soda soft drinks

Sour cream, commercial

Soy

Spelt

Starch

Sugar or sucrose of any kind

Tapioca - starch

Tea, instant

Triticale

Turkey loaf

Vegetables, canned or preserved

Wheat

Wheat germ

Whey, powder or liquid

Yams

Yogurt, commercial

The diet is based on the book,

Gut and Psychology Syndrome Natural Treatment For: Autism, ADD, ADHD Depression, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Schizophrenia Book Description from GAPS website Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride set up The Cambridge Nutrition Clinic in 1998. As a parent of a child diagnosed with learning difficulties, she was acutely aware of the difficulties facing other parents like her, and she has devoted much of her time to helping these families. She realised that nutrition played a critical role in helping children and adults to overcome their disabilities, and has pioneered the use of probiotics in this field. Her willingness to share her knowledge has resulted in her contributing to many publications, as well as presenting at numerous seminars and conferences on the subjects of learning disabilities and digestive disorders. Her book "Gut and Psychology Syndrome" captures her experience and knowledge, incorporating her most recent work. She believes that the link between learning disabilities, the food and drink that we take, and the condition of our digestive system is absolute, and the results of her work have supported her position on this subject. In her clinic, parents discuss all aspects of their child's condition, confident in the knowledge that they are not only talking to a professional but to a parent who has lived their experience. Her deep understanding of the challenges they face, puts her advice in a class of it's own.

Website	http://www.GutAndPsychologySyndrome.com/