Autumn

Fall is here, my favorite time of that year. I love everything about it. The aroma, the delicate leaves changing and falling, the feel of my favorite sweater on my face.  There's something incredibly romantic about autumn, don't you agree?

Aside from that, now that the weather has gotten a little chilly, I'm craving broths and soups again. So I'm back to making nutrition-packed bone broths. I seriously can live on this all fall and winter.  However, in the summer, the last thing I want to eat/drink when it's over a 100 degrees outside is a bowl of bone broth.  

So what about you, what's your favorite thing about fall?

Missing paleo

As some of you know, recently I revamped my diet again. I could not strictly stay paleo anymore because I had to remove many foods that I was eating while following that lifestyle.  I would say I miss coconut the most. I used coconut everything.  Coconut oil, coconut milk, coconut butter. I miss almonds as well and other nuts(most are also moderate to high in salicylates).  The only nut I'm eating right now is cashew.  It's been frustrating to be honest, being so limited with foods. It was already so limited before and now it's even worse.  I was doing well until last year when I had pneumonia and had to be on steroids and antibiotics. And then a few months after that, had to be on antibiotics and steroids again. Later on I had to be on antibiotics again. I really believe that jeopardized the integrity of my stomach and cause even more dysbiosis. In other words, all the antibiotics and steroids sabotaged my path to healing.  I'm upset about it but there was nothing I could do. 

I haven't been posting many recipes because I'm still struggling with this low salicylate diet. I'm still learning. Some days I just want to give up and just eat everything and just deal with the consequences!

Kare-Kare paleo style (Filipino dish)

Kare-kare

I apologize for the lack of picture but every time I make this it gets snatched so fast. I don't even get a chance to take pictures.  This is a Filipino dish that I've changed a bit to make it paleo.  I hope you like it. I grew up eating it.  My dad made this with peanut butter and I changed it to cashew butter to make it low salicylate and also paleo.

As always I don't ever measure when cooking(aside from baking).

Ingredients:

4 or 5 pieces of ox tail (yes you read it right!)
a dash of black pepper(optional, omit if low salicylate)
a dash of sea salt
1 tablespoon (eyeballing this) of cashew butter or almond butter(if not low salicylate)
3 or 4 cloves of crushed garlic
a handful of chopped bok choy
A cup or two of filtered water

Put everything except the boy choy in a pot to cook until the meat softens.  After oxtail is soft which takes about an hour for me, add the bok choy. Cook for another 15 minutes until bok choy is soft.  Then it's done!  I grew up eating this with boiled white rice.   I also omitted the shrimp paste because I'm severely allergic to shrimp.

Salicylates

The past month I flared up again in massive hives. Now in the past, I would get them and they would be so bad that the only relief I can get was from Prednisone.  I've had hives coming off and on for several years and I thought this year I may have finally got to the bottom of it.

I'm allergic to Aspirin and have known this for years.  So I've been avoiding it for years.  However, I had no idea I also had to avoid the naturally occurring salicylates in foods as well.  I am paleo and I looked at the foods I'm eating and realized they are mostly high on salicylates.  This past month I've learned a lot(no thanks to my doctors) and have decided to tweak my diet even more.  On some days I feel so desperate that there's nothing left for me to eat! It's very hard. But the good news is the massive hives went away on it's own after removing foods that are high salicylates. I do believe I'm on my way to recovery.  I didn't have to use Prednisone this time and for that, I'm so grateful.  Prednisone messes me up very bad. I have a love-hate relationship with that drug but it's been necessary for me too in the past.

I believe the salicylates have also been the cause of my asthma flare up and doing much research on it, found that that is very common.   So I've ventured into changing as much as I can so I can reduce my salicylate exposure.  I've changed my toothpaste, soap, shampoo, lotion, lipbalm and of course removed the foods that are moderate to high.  I am feeling much better.  We'll see how it goes.  I'm still paleo but there were times I was so hungry that I've eaten rice.

Hazelnut scones

1 cup soaked and dehydrated hazelnuts(for easier digestion).  I buy hazelnuts and soak them for 8 hours then dehydrate them until they are dry. Then I grind it using my food processor until it's "meal" consistency.

1 pastured egg

1/4 teaspoon aluminum-free baking soda

1/4 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla

2 tablespoon raw honey

1/8 cup Spectrum shortening, softened

a dash of sea salt


Mix everything and then scoop them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes but check often.  It's done when you check with a toothpick and it comes out clean.

We really liked this. It tastes a little bit like Nutella!  Next time I make it, I will add raisins or cherries.

Paleo/SCD banana bread

1 cup almond butter (or cashew butter)
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking soda
2 tsp gluten-free vanilla
3/4 cup raw honey
1 ripe banana

Mash the bananas. Mix everything.  Put mixture in a square greased pan.  I used a glass pyrex lined with parchment paper.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until inside is cooked.  Check with a toothpick or a knife.  This comes out sweet so if you want less sweet, use more almond butter and less raw honey.

Paleo chocolate cookies again

I made these twice now because they were a big hit at my house. I've had to hide some just so I can eat one!  This was a recipe from http://howtoeatandlive.com/2012/02/paleo-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe/.

By this way, this recipe is egg-free, great for those who are avoiding eggs.  This was the best paleo chocolate chip cookies I've ever had.   I think the picture speaks for itself!