Vietnamese Caramelized Ginger Chicken (Ga Kho – AIP, Paleo, Low-FODMAP)

August 24, 2016 by beyondthebite4life 4 Comments

Today’s recipe is one that was inspired by Jo Romero’s Chinese Lemon Chicken. Awhile back this winter, I prepared the ultimate comfort food dish – AIP Paleo Lebonese yellow rice a long side the Chinese Lemon Chicken as seen here on Comfort Bites Blog. It was an amazing recipe that I thoroughly enjoyed, which is why how I happened upon today’s recipe, another twist on classic takeout, only a Vietnamese version. Traditionally, caramel chicken includes an equal ratio of vinegar to fish sauce, which creates the ultimate umami flavor profile. Couple this killer taste with sweet coconut sugar and pungent ginger, and you’ve got yourself a chopstick worthy meal. I chose to serve mine with a mixture of peppery green and herbs, including the daikon radish sprouts pictured along side the chicken. Overall, this recipe is incredibly tasty and a great treat sure to squash any greasy takeout cravings.

Vietnamese Caramelized Ginger Chicken

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(Serves 4-6)

Ingredients

2 lb chicken thighs
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp fish sauce
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup minced fresh ginger
1 tbsp Otto’s Cassava Flour
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp coconut oil

Process

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large pan over medium-low heat and saute ginger until fragrant, 1-2 minutes, then remove from the pan and set aside.
In a bowl, mix together fish sauce, vinegar, coconut sugar, and ginger.
Cut chicken into bite size pieces and pat dry with a paper towel.
Heat pan with remaining tbsp of oil over medium heat and sear the chicken on both sides until golden, then pour half of the sauce into the pan, allowing to cook until chicken is 3/4 of the way cooked through.
Whisk cassava flour and water together, then add into remaining sauce and pour the sauce over the chicken and allow to cook until thickened and coating the chicken.

Psalm 116:1-1 “I love the Lord, because He has heard My voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.”

Cassava and Tigernut Flour Iced Ginger Scones (AIP/Paleo)

March 28, 2016 by beyondthebite4life 7 Comments

Scones

I’m a little late on the sweet-treats train, as yesterday was Easter. However, I’ve been a bit busy lately with finishing up my quarter in school (we begin again April 4th), and I simply wanted to take an electronic break. So, today’s recipe will just have to be for another special occasion in your future. I’ve made soda bread, cinnamon rolls, muffins, cakes, cookies, and more, however, I have never tackled a scone recipe, until today. Scones are a pastry that originated from Scotland, where they were originally a type of quick bread made with oats and ingredients of the sort. They then became very popular in England after the Duchess of Bedford fell in love with them. This trend has continued throughout the decades, as scones are lower in sugar and great served at breakfast, brunch, and even dessert, with a nice cup of tea or coffee (if that is your kind of thing). That being said, the addition of mix-ins and icing is certainly an all-American touch, as British scones are typically made with much less sugar and kept plain to then be topped with plenty of jam or preserves. Sometimes they will have added cheese, currants, or raisins. Most all American scones on the other hand, have a bunch of mix ins such as dried fruit, chocolate, nuts, or in the case of today’s recipe, ginger and blueberries. Overall, scones they are one of the most versatile pastries out there, which is why I decided to finally tackle them and make an Autoimmune Protocol friendly version. Please enjoy!

Cassava and Tigernut Flour Ginger Scones

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(Serves 6-8)

Scone Ingredients

1 cup Otto’s cassava flour
1 cup Organic Gemini tigernut flour
1/2 cup pureed green plantain
1/2 cup non-hydrogenated palm shortening
1/2 cup maple sugar
1 tbsp grain free baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup full fat coconut milk

Filling Ingredients

1/2 cup maple sugar
1/4 cup pure coconut cream
1/4 cup room non-hydrogenated palm shortening
1/4 cup fresh ginger – minced
1 tbsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp sea salt

Icing Ingredients

1/2 cup non-hydrogenated palm shortening
1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
1/2 cup maple sugar
1/4 cup coconut flour (or) cassava flour
1 tbsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp sea salt

Process

To make the scone dough, pulse together cassava flour, tiger nut flour, maple sugar, baking powder, and sea salt in a food processor.
Next, drop in cold lard 1 tbsp at a time, pulsing until the mixture has become the texture of sand.
Add in pureed green plantain, vanilla extract, and coconut milk, pulsing until just combined, then scoop the dough out onto a large piece of parchment paper.
Flatten the dough into a rectangle and cover with another piece of parchment, placing in the fridge to chill.
While the dough is chilling, make the filling by pureeing the shortening, maple sugar, fresh and ground ginger, coconut cream, and sea salt in a food processor until smooth.
Once chilled, remove the dough from the fridge and use a rolling pin to roll it out to a large, 1/4-1/8th inch thick rectangle.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Spread the past evenly across the rectangle of dough, then sprinkle remaining tbsp of chopped ginger over it.
Starting from the short end, roll the dough into a long log, then cut into 6-8, like-size rolls, placing them on a parchment lined baking sheet, and putting in the preheated oven to bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown around the edges.
While the scones are baking, prepare the frosting by pureeing everything but the coconut or cassava flour in the food processor until combined, then add in the flour and allow to puree until whipped and smooth.
Remove the scones from the oven and allow to cool slightly before dolloping with frosting and serving.

Recipes Notes

You can get both the coconut cream and milk by chilling 1 can of full fat coconut milk in a fridge overnight.
Reduce the sugar to 1/4 cup if you want a less sweet scone.
1/2 cup of arrowroot flour or Otto’s cassava flour can replace the coconut flour in the frosting.

1 Timothy 2:5-6 “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”

Vietnamese Caramelized Ginger Chicken (Ga Kho – AIP, Paleo, Low-FODMAP)

March 19, 2016 by beyondthebite4life Leave a Comment

Vietnamese Caramelized Ginger Chicken

Print Recipe

(Serves 4-6)

Ingredients

2 lb chicken thighs
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp fish sauce
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup minced fresh ginger
1 tbsp Otto’s Cassava Flour
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp coconut oil

Process

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large pan over medium-low heat and saute ginger until fragrant, 1-2 minutes, then remove from the pan and set aside.
In a bowl, mix together fish sauce, vinegar, coconut sugar, and ginger.
Cut chicken into bite size pieces and pat dry with a paper towel.
Heat pan with remaining tbsp of oil over medium heat and sear the chicken on both sides until golden, then pour half of the sauce into the pan, allowing to cook until chicken is 3/4 of the way cooked through.
Whisk cassava flour and water together, then add into remaining sauce and pour the sauce over the chicken and allow to cook until thickened and coating the chicken.

Psalm 116:1-1 “I love the Lord, because He has heard My voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.”

Chewy Nutter Butter Cookies (AIP/Paleo)

February 8, 2016 by beyondthebite4life 5 Comments

This week is midterm week in school, which means I am pretty much jammed packed with homework and studying. Thankfully, I was able to find time last week to official publish the Organ Meat Makeover, and since Valentine’s Day is less than a week away, I figured I’d go ahead and squeeze in a recipe that I’ve been teasing you all about on Instagram for sometime now. How to start? Well, the texture of today’s cookies is absolutely fantastic. While I typically try and make sweet treats that are “coconut free,” I decided to embrace coconut in this recipe, and much like the name implies, highlight common coconut ingredients. With just a bit of gelatin to bind the cookies, these sweet little morsels have a great crust on the outer edges that, once bitten into, gives way to a perfectly chewy interior. In a way, both the looks and texture of these cookies remind me of the famous peanut butter cookies that have the criss cross marks on the top as well. They are a sturdy cookie that you won’t have to worry about breaking or crumbling if taking them on a trip or traveling with them. When my older brother taste tested this recipe, he thought they were peanut butter coconut cookies before I even said anything. After I told him that it was tigernut flour that gave the cookies their nutty flavor, he still thought they highly resembled a peanut butter cookie, which is why I chose to title the recipe as “nutter butter.” My mother was also a huge fan of these cookies, though to her tastebuds she tasted more coconut than any actual nut. Overall, these cookies encompass both the “nutter” and “butter” part of their name, as they are naturally super buttery in flavor even when using coconut oil (rather than ghee). As noted previously, they have a great crunch and chew to each bite, and can easily be served without any icing, as they are naturally rich in flavor. That being said, if you are looking to spruce up your cookies, topping them with a simple icing, or slathered with a bit of ghee or coconut oil makes for an incredibly decadent treat. Of course, if you do not feel like rolling and cutting the cookie dough, simple make in the style of a peanut butter cookie, using a fork to both flatten the cookie before baking and to create the criss-cross design on top. All in all, either version works good, and it really just depends what you are in the mood for. Of course, for Valentine’s Day, I highly encourage forming them into heart shape cookies.

IMG_0900 (1)

Chewy Nutter Butter Cookies

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(Makes 1 dozen)
Ingredients

1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup tigernut flour
1/2 cup shredded coconut (or) Vital Protein’s collagen powder
1 tbsp grass-fed gelatin
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup maple sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Process

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a mixing bowl, sift together coconut flour, tigernut flour, shredded coconut, gelatin, sea salt, and baking soda.
Melted the coconut oil and add to the dry mixture a long with the maple syrup, maple sugar, and vanilla extract.
Use a spatula or fork to stir the mixture together until a wet dough has formed, then allow the dough to sit for 3-5 minutes to allow the coconut flour to soak up some of the moisture.
Either use your hands to roll the dough int 6 like-size balls, place them on a parchment lined baking sheet, and then use a fork to press them down, making criss cross marks on the top of each cookie (or) roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness and use desired cookie cutters to create shapes.
Place the cookies in the oven and allow them to bake 13-15 minutes if criss-cross, and 10-12 minutes if using the cookie cutter method.
Remove the cookies from the oven and allow to cool for a couple minutes before placing on a wire rack for further cooling and icing if desired.

Recipe Notes

To make coconut oil-free, substitute non-hydrogenated palm shortening or Tinstar Food’s brown butter ghee in place of the coconut oil.

The shredded coconut can be replaced with Vital Protein’s collagen powder (this variation makes rolling them out easier).

Otto’s Cassava Flour can be used in place of the coconut flour, though I personally like the coconut flour version better.

Matthew 5:44 “ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”

Cassava Flour Sugar Cookies (AIP/Paleo, Vegan)

December 16, 2015 by beyondthebite4life 37 Comments

It has been over a year since I posted a sugar cookie recipe, and my, have the times of Paleo flours changed. Last year I had great fun experimenting with different ratios, and came up with the perfect chewy yet crisp sugar cookie that even had an icing free of refined sugar. Since then, tiger nut flour and cassava flour have come to dominate the world of Paleo flours, which is why I decided to make a new recipe utilizing a more readily available flour. Of course, if you do not have mint extract, or you do not care for a minty sugar cookie, I encourage you to simply omit this ingredient and make them a regular, vanilla sugar cookie. Overall, this recipe could not be easier. They have the perfect crumb and because they do not flatten on their own, rolling them out and using cookie cutters to make fun, festive shapes works fantastic. Of course, you cannot have a sugar cookie without something to top it with. I have made various buttercream that do not use refined sugar, however, I wanted to create one more a long the lines of icing that is lighter in texture and easy to spread. All in all, I am thrilled to say I did just that by adding a bit of cassava flour to the mixture, which made for a spreadable icing that freezers great once on the cookies. While it may sound odd to add flour to an icing, the cassava flour acts as what would otherwise be the starch component in a regular powdered sugar. Because maple sugar is typically ground finer than other Paleo friendly, granulated sugars, it works best to make a smooth icing. Overall, the cookies came out fantastic, however, I must admit, my favorite part is the icing. On that note, there are 8 days till Christmas…can you believe it?!

Cassava Flour Iced Sugar Cookies

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(Yields 1 1/2-2 dozen)
Sugar Cookie Ingredients

1 1/2 cup Otto’s Cassava flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup non-hydrogenated palm shortening
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Vanilla Icing

1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
1/2 cup non-hydrogenated palm shortening
1 tbsp vanilla powder
1/4 cup maple sugar
1/4 cup Otto’s cassava flour

Process

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat shortening, maple syrup, and vanilla in a standard mixer or food processor.
In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.
Add the dry to the went and beat until just combined.
Transfer the dough to a large sheet of parchment paper, use your hands to pat the dough down into a round circle, sprinkle it with flour, and then place another piece of parchment on top of it.
Use a roller to roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thick, then cut into desired shapes, continuing until all of the dough is used.
Put the sheet in the oven and allow the cookies to bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown on the bottom.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before frosting.
To make the frosting, puree coconut milk, maple sugar, vanilla, and shortening in a food processor.
Add in ottos cassava flour 1 tbsp at a time, then allow the mixture to puree for another 5 minutes until smooth.
Once the cookies have cooled, frost them with the icing and enjoy.

Recipe Notes

Add 1/3 cup maple sugar for more sweetness to the cookies if desired.
Replace vanilla powder with vanilla extract in the frosting if not on AIP.

For strict AIP coconut milk, make your own or use Natural Value brand.

In order to get the proper constancy of icing, do not stir the coconut cream into the coconut milk before using. Simply scoop out 1/4 cup of both cream and water to make the 1/2 cup measurement.

Alternatively you can use 1/2 cup of pure coconut cream.

I’ve made these into bars in a 8 inch pan, baking for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Luke 1:46-47,49 “And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name.”

Cassava Flour Fried Apple Donut Holes (AIP/Paleo)

October 9, 2015 by beyondthebite4life 24 Comments

It is officially fall, the leaves are changing, the farmer’s markets are ramping up, and yes, the smell of cider doughnuts is in full swing. To be honest, I’ve never actually tasted a cider doughnut. I believe this to be due to the fact that I got sick at such a young age, and therefore the opportunity never really had time to present itself. However, my mother certainly has had a few cider doughnuts in her lifetime, which is where the inspiration for today’s recipe came from. I’ve always wanted to make some sort of “doughnut” utilizing Paleo friendly ingredients. Of course, I hesitate to call a “doughnut,” “Paleo,” but, you get the point. Yet due to never purchasing a doughnut pan, I was always left to making my recipes into muffins or cakes. However, this past spring this all changed, as my family purchased mini, Cuisinart fryer. We have filled ours with lots of healthy lard, and seriously, it is the best thing ever. Automatically, this made my mother think of the doughnuts she had as a kid that were deep fried in lard (not rancid vegetable oil). Therefore, with a mini fryer on hand and apples at their peak of season, I just had to replicate this treat from her childhood. Overall, I was absolutely thrilled with how the doughnuts held together while frying, how they puffed up despite not containing yeast or eggs, and the best yet, how they tasted. The fluffy interior and crispy exterior texture of these doughnuts is so scrumptious that the first words out of my mother’s mouth were “are these even Paleo?!” Yes, in fact, they are Paleo-friendly, and just so happen to be AIP friendly as well! After I got the approval of my mom, the rest of the doughnuts got passed out to my visiting extended family, all of which thought they were absolutely amazing. Truly, no one cared that they didn’t contain the typical doughnut ingredients, as there was no evidence that pureed plantains were used as a binder, or that there was hardly any added sugar. All in all, they were just too plain delicious. Yet I must make note that aside from their taste, these doughnuts are truly very simple and quick to make. If you don’t have a little fryer filled with lard, then this recipe can be your excuse to get one.

Fried Apple Doughnut Holes

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(Yields 16 Doughnut Holes )
Ingredients

1 cup Otto’s cassava flour
2 cups peeled & chopped apple
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup lard
1/4th tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp grain free baking powder
1/2 cup puree green plantain
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp maple sugar + more for rolling
A countertop fryer filled with lard

Process

Whisk together the cassava flour, cinnamon, sea salt, baking powder, and maple sugar.
In a food processor puree the lard, plantain, and vanilla together until smooth.
Add dry ingredients to the wet mixture and pulse until the mixture is crumbly.
Add in chopped apples and pulse until the mixture is no longer crumbly and the dough can be pressed together with your fingers.
Preheat your fryer to 375 degrees.
Roll the dough into 16 donut holes.
Carefully drop the doughnut holes in the oil 3 or 4 at a time, and allow them to cook 7-8 minutes, using a slotting spoon to move them around every now and then so that they cook evenly.
Once cooked, use a slotted spoon to remove the doughnuts from the oil, placing them first on a paper towel lined plate, then rolling them each in the maple sugar.
Place each doughnut hole in a parchment paper lined bowl or plate for serving.

Recipe Notes

370 is the smoke point for lard, and while I have not had any issues with frying the doughnuts at 375, I do not recommend continually using this temperature. If you want to avoid any potential pitfalls, simply cook the doughnuts at 370 and add a couple minutes to the cooking time.

Deuteronomy 13:4 “It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.”

AIP Paleo Strawberry Balsamic Glazed Chicken

July 24, 2015 by beyondthebite4life 4 Comments

At the beginning of the summer, my mom and I were able to go strawberry picking at a farm literally right down the hill. Picking berries has been something I have done with her since I was little, and while my brothers typically chose to eat more than they actually put in their buckets, I was always right there a long side my mom picking as fast as I possibly could. It was almost like a game to see how many berries we could pick in an allotted slot of time, typically only 30 minutes or so. However, I must say, the number we would have picked (or should I say eaten by my brothers?), was impressive, and so the competitive berry picking continues still until this day. Much to our delight, the strawberries this year were gorgeous, perfectly red, plump, and not too big or too small. Of course, this lead me to thinking of how I could high light them in a non-typical way. Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of strawberry rhubarb pie, strawberry ice cream, or even a strawberry shortcake, however, I wanted to do something different. While the combination of balsamic and strawberry is usually mixed with a bit of sugar and served as an ice cream sundae topping, I chose to go the savory route and use chicken legs as my vehicle. By turning the marinade into the actually sauce, no ingredients go to waste. Overall, the sauce is like BBQ, only better, and the chicken turns into sticky, sweet, grilled perfection. That being said, feel free to use the sauce on any other type of meat you have on hand, as I glazed a few lamb loin chops with it, and they turned out absolutely phenomenal.

Strawberry Balsamic Glazed Chicken

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Ingredients

10 organic chicken legs
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
1 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp Otto’s cassava flour

Process

Place chicken legs in a gallon bag, and then pour in vinegar, strawberries, and sea salt, allowing to marinate for 6 hours.
Remove the chicken from the marinade, place on a plate for grilling, and pour the marinade in a sauce pan.
Mix two tbsp of the marinade with 1 tbsp otto’s cassava flour until a thick slurry has formed.
Heat the mixture until boiling, then turn to medium-low, allowing it to simmer and thicken for 6 minutes.
After 6 minutes, quickly whisk in the flour slurry, turn the burner heat to low, and continue to whisk for one minutes until thick and no lumps.
Heat the grill on high, and once hot, place chicken on it, allowing them to cook for 15 minutes, rotating as needed.
15 minutes into cooking, brush the chicken prepared glaze, rotating as needed, and continuing to cook for 5-10 minutes more, until chicken is no longer pink inside.
Remove the chicken from the grill and brush with more glaze as desired.

2 Samuel 7:28 “And now, O Lord GOD, you are that God, and your words be true, and you have promised this goodness to your servant.”

Paleo Autoimmune Protocol Taco Tuesday Roundup

June 16, 2015 by beyondthebite4life 2 Comments

TacoTuesday

Tacos – who doesn’t love tacos? Growing up, my mother would always feed my brother and I tacos, on Tuesday’s of course, as this was the day we hurried off to youth group in the evening. Soft shell or hard? Extra guac? Pinto or black beans? These are the questions that always come to mind when reminiscing of the glorious taco Tuesdays. Whether with ground turkey during the winter, or fresh caught striped bass of our boat at Cape Cod, MA, tacos never fail. Whether hot for dinner, or cold for lunch the next day, the Mexican flavor profile just seems to keep on giving. That being said, without the primary nightshades (pepper and tomatoes), is it possible to eat tacos? I say yes! In fact, you can have tons of fun with creating a delicious, AIP friendly taco, and today’s post will prove just that. Not only have I included taco recipes as a whole, but also all the fixings to create your very own, custom taco…The possibilities are endless!