GAPS Guide » Recipes

Cottage Cheese Cake & Book Update

Baden — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 03:01:18 +0000

This recipe is inspired by something my dad used to make for us while I was growing up. His version was one of my all-time favourite desserts. Even while leaving the curds fully intact, he called it “cheesecake”. It was only after venturing out into the world that I learned about the difference between my dad’s version of “cheesecake” and that found elsewhere. I find both types delicious, but for clarity’s sake I’m going to call this ‘Cottage Cheese Cake’. This dish makes excellent use of GAPS’ dry curd cottage cheese. The main ingredient, offering a whopping 22 grams of protein per half cup, can be found in most grocery stores.

dry curd cottage cheese, 600 grams
cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon
eggs, three large
lemon juice 1/4 cup
vanilla 1.5 teaspoon
honey 1/4 cup
butter, softened or melted 1/4 cup
salt 1/4 teaspoon

Put all ingredients into a mixing bowl.
Blend with an immersion blender.
Pour into a pie plate.
Bake at 400 F for 50 mins or so -until firm, and top starts to bronze.
Cool at least 15 minutes, to allow it to firm up for slicing.

Tastiest served warm.

My son and I tend to enjoy this as a full, albeit sweet, meal. Nice and firm, this also slices and -for a school lunch, for example- travels well.

Dry curd cottage cheese would also make an excellent base for a savoury pie, but we haven’t done that yet.

On the note of delicious, healing food I want to post a quick note of thanks to the folks at Pickl-It, who suggested an update to my vegetable fermentation instructions. This adjustment is now noted on the ‘Book Updates’ page here: http://gapsguide.com/book/book-updates/(If anyone else has a suggestion for GAPS Guide updates, I always welcome these. Please do let me know so I can share the new information or corrections with readers!) Pickl-It offers a unique tool for fermenting pretty much anything, as well as recipes, tips, and a fermentation forum. Enjoy!

Win The Newest GAPS Recipe Ebook!

Baden — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 19:44:57 +0000

A new GAPS recipe book has hit the virtual shelves! Sarah over at Nourished and Nurtured has recently released her latest work, a cookbook containing 60 nutrient-dense recipes, 57 of which are GAPS-specific. More good news: Currently, it’s just $5! I haven’t had a chance to check the contents out yet but, as a follower of her fantastic blog, I can tell you that I find Sarah’s work to be consistently clear, concise and straightforward. Her contributions to the GAPS community are a gift to us all. You can find examples of Sarah’s presentation and recipes throughout her blog, and details about the ebook here.

For a chance to win a FREE copy, post a comment on my blog, right below this post. (Note: It is not necessary to publicly post your name or email address -those will appear privately for me, maintaining your privacy while allowing you to be drawn and contacted.) One name will be randomly drawn March 10th. The post you are reading this very moment will then be amended to include the winner’s name. I will contact Sarah with the winner’s contact info for receiving the book. The winner: Niki, who posted comment #21, is the winner of the recipe ebook! Congratulations, Niki! Sarah will be emailing you with your copy. Everyone else: Remember, this ebook is just $5, so even if you didn’t win it, it remains super accessible -and for heaps more recipe and support resources, you can check out my blog’s ‘Support for You’ page here.

Thank you, Sarah, for one more excellent resource for healing deliciously!

New Recipes & Thanks!

Baden — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 23:41:21 +0000

I’m excited to share two new recipe resources, as well as to extend a big thank you. Please read on!

New Recipe Source #1:

Mark Sisson, a warm and generous leader in the primal community, offers two e-cookbooks free of charge. What’s the catch? Not much. You sign up to receive the e-books and in the process are automatically subscribed to his newsletter. I waited a few weeks before posting this resource so that I could report exactly on what this ends up looking like in real life. To me, it looks great! Mark’s newsletters are only occasional and also very relevant to GAPS! (It has been uncanny to me that he -who I’ve never met- and I have twice posted on the same theme within hours of each other.) And the e-cookbooks are truly wonderful! While most of the awesome recipes are very GAPS-friendly, they have of course been developed for a slightly different program thus not all align 100% with GAPS, so use these resources when you’ve become very familiar with what is and is not included on GAPS. The occasional non-GAPS ingredient -for example, tamari- can be left out or substituted. The nice thing about primal diet recipes is the emphasis on meats and veggies, inspiring more of this within a GAPS menu than the nut-based dishes some of tend to gravitate toward.

New Recipe Resource #2

GAPS shares many overlaps with both The Primal Diet and the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, the list of foods upon which GAPS was developed from. Erin over at No More Crohn’s, one of my favourite SCD recipe sites, has just sent the following in her newsletter e-announcement:

I’m writing to let you know of the three new booklets available at NoMoreCrohns.com. My mom has been whipping up new recipes and ideas and putting them into three beautiful booklets that you can purchase on our website. They are downloadable and can be printed off as soon as you buy them so you can enjoy them right away! Have a Cooking Day, Do Some Cooking for Now & Later, and Beautiful Brunches will inspire you, speed up your meal preparation, and provide you with delicious new recipes! One of my family’s favorites is the Golden Waffles recipe in Beautiful Brunches!

Have a Cooking Day: Have your own “Dream Dinners” workshop at home, using six delicious SCD recipes from our website (Greek Pork Chops, Mexican Pork Stew, Steak Fajitas, Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Oven Fried Chicken and Mom’s Meatloaf). We tell you exactly how to do it and include a full shopping list! Ideal for advance preparation of meals that will make your life a whole lot easier! 12 pages.

Do Some Cooking For Now & Later: Make a large quantity of one of our three main SCD legal recipes for Roasted Chicken Breasts, Taco Meat and Make-Ahead Mini Meatballs. You’ll be way ahead of the game for weeks to come as you use the precooked and frozen meat when it’s time to make dinner. We give you 15 different recipes that use your prepared meats. The Now & Later booklet also contains additional new recipes for side dishes and two desserts. 16 pages.

Beautiful Brunches: Brunch is a meal meant for relaxing! Enjoy scrumptous SCD food that’s half breakfast and half lunch. Try our eggs, waffles, muffins, smoothies and our gorgeous Fresh Orange Yogurt Tart! Economical egg dishes also make a delicious dinner entree. Our Beautiful Brunches booklet contains more than 23 recipes and we know many will become your favorites. 16 pages.

To learn more and to buy your downloadable copy of each of these booklets, click here: http://nomorecrohns.com/BookletsandPublications.aspx

More…

For more amazing recipe and recipe planning resources, be sure to check the links under the ‘Recipe And Menu Planners’ subheading on this page.

Thank You!

I want to extend a big, heartfelt thanks to each of you who have followed up on my invitation to support my ability to maintain this blog, answer questions, and develop additional resources. In response, folks have linked to this site, tweeted about it, and/or purchased additional copies to donate to individuals or resource centers, while another kind fellow named Mark made a direct donation -with a lovely note to boot- to support the work! I am truly grateful to each and every one of you!

Awesome GAPS Blogs

Baden — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 23:37:24 +0000

When I was heavily involved in GAPS’ online forums, I ‘met’ a lot of people who became very dear to my heart. One of the people whose warm and generous heart has always inspired me is Starlene, whose blog I happily stumbled across last week. What a treat! Besides being delighted to reconnect with Starlene, however indirectly, I was wowed by her blog. So incredibly relevant to GAPS, it details her personal journey: food and supplement experiments, book reviews, tips, recipes. The posts are well-written, focused and very informative. I highly recommend it. Check it out here.

For more awesome GAPS blogs, see the relevant section on this blog’s support page. (Do you have one I don’t have listed? Let me know via the comments section below! If it’s GAPS-focused and otherwise neutral, I’ll gladly list it!)

Taco Salad

Baden — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 17:35:26 +0000

Until I go to use one, I forget how I struggle with recipes for savoury dishes. Three years ago I could cook only brown rice perfectly -I’ve come such a long way in preparing healthy foods from scratch that I tend now to bomb forward in the kitchen, departing from most recipes after the first two ingredients. Nonetheless, recipes are a great inspiration to me, and the one for Taco Salad (p. 83) in the new Internal Bliss GAPS cookbook proved this again!

I was skeptical at first, thinking its ingredients were so familiar in our household’s repetoire, how could it take me beyond my usual fare? I followed the recipe, though, and WOW! We loved it! (In fact, a few days later I overheard my partner exclaiming to a health food store that they needed to make this dish for their deli!) Like no other GAPS recipe I’ve prepared, this one took me back to the days of enjoying the deep flavour of my much loved Mexican fast food -but this was so healthy!

The recipe mixed and matched some of my favourite ingredients in a new way, and added oregano -a flavour I would never have considered for a spicy beef dish. Variations: I used fresh vs powdered garlic and onions, sauteeing these in a pan before adding the beef, skipped the optional yogurt, and spooned some salsa on top.

Fess up, author of the taco salad! Which cookbook contributer were you, please? And thanks for the fantastic meal!!

Internal Bliss: New GAPS Cookbook

Baden — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 01:59:59 +0000

A week ago, I received my copy of the first-ever GAPS-specific cookbook. I squealed with delight right off the bat to see that it is coil bound (so easy to work from!) and that it had a good range of recipes, and by some of my favourite GAPS bloggers. I didn’t get to find out much more about it because a friend was eager to borrow it. We’ve agreed that she can hang on to mine until her own copy comes in, at which time I’ll give a more comprehensive review. In the meantime, here’s what my friend had to say about it:

Love having a book of recipes I don’t have to adapt for the GAPS diet! Love the coil ring format for easy reading while I’m cooking. Love the organization of it into common sense categories! Love the simple and straight-forward instructions! Love that it arrived just in time for the feasting season! Most of all I love the time I will save when I don’t have to search for recipes on the Internet before I spend even more time adapting what I find. [L.F., British Columbia, Canada]

By jove, I think she likes it!

A huge thanks to all those who made this book happen! (When I get my copy back, I’ll be listing and linking to the contributers directly.)

For more information about the Internal Bliss cookbook, or to order a copy, click here.
For more GAPS blogs and GAPS-friendly recipe sources, see the second comment below.

Two New GAPS Books!

Baden — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 18:46:41 +0000

What fantastic news!! One, Dr Natasha has updated her book Gut and Psychology Syndrome by one hundred pages! For information on updates, click here.

Two, International Nutrition has published the first ever GAPS cookbook! For details, click here.

I haven’t received my copies of these books yet, but when I do, I’ll share my impressions. For readers ready to snag these new resources, I didn’t want anyone waiting unnecessarily for this wonderful news!

Lemon Bars & Carrot Cake

Baden — Tue, 04 May 2010 02:37:28 +0000

Two and a half years into SCD and GAPS, I have recently purchased my second related cookbook: Elana Amsterdam’s The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook. Its recipes are simple and delicious and very GAPS-friendly. Substituting honey for the agave, I’ve so far made the Lemon Bars and the Classic Carrot Cake. Both simple to make and delicious! For those committed to SCD or GAPS, I recommend this book.

Fermented Veggie Recipes

Baden — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:16:48 +0000

Improved directions! To download a two-page pdf of directions, click the following: FermentedVeggies.
Note: This pdf may be handed out, so long as no changes are made to it.

Can’t open pdfs? View the instructions here:

Equipment Needed Per Medium Cabbage

mixing container (large bowl, pot, etc)
grater (hand grater, electric food processor, spiralizer, etc)
sea salt. Note: Every salt has a different impact on ferments, so each type of salt is used in different amounts. For more information, you can Google this topic. Per medium cabbage, I use approximately one tablespoon of Sel Marin de Geurande unrefined sea salt from Brittany.
black pepper (pre-ground or freshly crushed peppercorns)
wide mouth mason jar(s) providing 1.5 litre of space (two one-litre jars or one 1/5 litre jar)
tight-fitting lid

Recipes

Ginger Garlic Veg

whole green cabbage
several carrots
two or three garlic cloves
peeled ginger
one whole onion

Curried Carrot Kraut

With thanks to Vibrant Living raw foods guidebook, by James Levin and Natalie Cederquist. As they note in their book, “The carrots provide a bit of sweetness which complements the curry, as well as contributing to a lovely orange colour. A delicious full-flavoured kraut, great as a side dish or over a salad.” Vibrant Living has two more veggie ferment recipes plus six for nut yogurts and cheeses.

whole green cabbage
six to seven medium carrots
one small onion
one garlic clove
two tablespoons of curry powder

Dill Kraut

Fantastic with mixed greens, cabbage rolls, etc. Mix with goat yogurt for a sour cream ‘n dill chip or veggie dip!

whole green cabbage
½ large onion
two garlic cloves
1.5 tablespoon of dried dill weed (or other amount of fresh)

Directions

Remove the two outmost cabbage leaves and set aside (this will be used later)
Shred the vegetables listed in your preferred recipe, above
If doing the curried or dill kraut, add the curry or dill now
Add sea salt. Again, every salt has a different impact on ferments, so each type of salt is used in different amounts. For more information, you can Google this topic. Per medium cabbage, I use approximately one tablespoon of Sel Marin de Geurande unrefined sea salt from Brittany.
Add ground black pepper or crushed peppercorns, to taste
Mix this up a bit and start kneading. You can get extra leverage by placing the mixing bowl on the floor and rocking your whole body over it. Note: Some people skip the kneading altogether by simply adding salt water or salted cabbage or carrot juice over the batch.
After a few minutes, juices will start to form
Continue kneading until firmly pressing your hands flat over the batch draws juices over much of your hands.
Stuff the mixture into jar(s), leaving at least one inch of air space at the top
Press the batch down, to get most of the air pockets out. Juice will rise to the top.
Press pieces of whole cabbage leaves on top, right to the edges of the jar (even going up the sides of the jar a bit), using it to “seal” the top layer of shredded veggies. The juice will rise up over much of the leaves.
With at least 1″ of air space between the veggies and lid, close the jar tightly
Place the jar in an area away from direct sunlight, in an area generally 18-24 Celsius. (In an Excalibur dehydrator, set the machine to its lowest temperature point, ie. just barely ‘on’. Here it runs at mostly 20/21, which is perfect.)
Only after 4-7 days (4 if in an area of the house running closer to 24 degrees; 7 in an area running closer to 18-21), open the jar. It will likely bubble to the eyes and fizzle to the ears. Remove and throw out or eat the top cabbage leaves. Put the jar in the fridge. The batch can be eaten any time from this point forward, but will continue to deepen in flavour over subsequent weeks. It will keep in the fridge for several months.

GAPS Yogurt

Baden — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 04:29:23 +0000

Here is a simple, step-by-step approach to making GAPS yogurt:

1. Slowly heat full fat milk (of any animal) to 180 Fahrenheit.
2. Let cool to 68-77 Fahrenheit (20-25 Celsius).
3. Add starter. Stir to completely dissolve. A hand whisk works well.
4. Pour into containers. (Canning jars work well.)
5. Cover. (Canning jar lids work well.)
6. Set into a place that brings the yogurt (not just the surrounding air) back up to, then maintaining, 95-110 F for 24-36 hours (the latter for people especially sensitive to lactose).

Equipment that may keep your yogurt sufficiently warm includes: oven with a regular lightbulb in it (be sure to remove this bulb before again using the oven as intended); box near a heat source; heating pad; dehydrator; some commercial yogurt makers plugged into a dimming extension.