Oh hey, 2014!

How’s week one of the new year going for everyone? We are in hibernation mode here in Ohio, which has given me lots of time to reflect on what to do with my time in the next 12 months (or rather the next 5 months, since new babies have a way of shifting your priorities).

To help me get my head on straight, I have been going through Lara Casey‘s Make It Happen series; it’s a goal-setting series that I absolutely recommend. Especially if you’re like me, AKA you have a huge desire to get your act together for the new year but have no idea where to start. I’ve got a lot of ideas swimming around in this head and Make It Happen has helped me to organize it all. So, yay, new year! And hooray for a new recipe today! Finally got off my duff and picked up my camera.

This soup was inspired by a lovely lunch I had with my friend Jillian (see how awesome she is below) at Wheat Penny here in Dayton. We sampled a little cup of their curried carrot soup to start our meal; it was grand. I love that curry powder gives such a distinct, comforting taste but doesn’t make things too spicy. For my at-home version, I used all the orange veggies we had on hand- carrots, butternut squash and sweet potato. Pumpkin would also work well; you can use what you have in any combination.

This soup works for a whole variety of diets and is almost impossible to mess up. It would be great with some crumbled bacon on top, or even some homemade croutons. You could kick up the spice by adding some thai red curry paste, too.

And beyond tasting good, this soup has great nutritional benefits:

• Healthy, filling fats
• Cold/Flu-fighting onions, garlic and turmeric
• Orange veggies filled with Vitamin A to boost the immune system
• Bone broth; rich in gelatin, vitamins and minerals and anti-inflammatory

A special thanks to my sweet friends Jillian and Megan for making this post happen- they came over to my house today and did all my dishes PLUS cleaned my fridge! It was amazing, and it motivated me to pull out the camera and get this post up. A clean kitchen = no excuses for this lady. Thanks, girls- you are such a blessing to me! I am ready to re-pay you in soup.

5.0 from 3 reviews

Curried Winter Soup with Carrot, Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash

 

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Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Soup, Main Dish, Appetizer

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• a few tablespoons quality fat (grass-fed butter, ghee, coconut oil, lard, tallow)
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced (optional)
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• ½-1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 tablespoon turmeric (optional)
• 6-8 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 large butternut squash; peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped (you can substitute more carrots or squash if you’re on GAPS or avoiding starches)
• 4-6 cups of bone broth (enough to cover the veggies in the pot)
• plain whole milk yogurt, for serving (optional, you can substitute full-fat coconut milk if you’re dairy-free)

Instructions

1. In a large stockpot or dutch oven, melt down the fat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until they begin to soften. Add the spices and let cook a few more minutes.
2. Add the carrots, squash and sweet potato to the pot, followed by the bone broth. Add enough broth to cover all of the vegetables. Bring it all to a boil.
3. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are fork-tender, about 20-30 minutes. When the veggies are soft, use an immersion blender to blend the soup until smooth.
4. Serve warm with a generous drizzle of yogurt.

#version#

Good morning, hello, how are you?

I made you some pie.

But first, let’s talk about blogging for a minute.

Food blogging is a funny little part of my life. Most people I come in contact with in “real life” don’t even know I do it; whereas you guys only know about what gets posted here, only this little shared piece of me. Sometimes I feel like my head is bursting with ideas and all I want to do is camp out in the kitchen, test things out and share them with you. Other times, blogging is just off my radar completely. We just go about our business as a family for a while and suddenly (usually during a bang-up meal) I realize that I haven’t been blogging.

Blogging has changed a lot in the past five years. Heck, my life has changed a lot in the past five years. When I first started blogging, I did it because I really enjoyed baking and cooking and documenting what was going on in my kitchen. I had no kids, I had plenty of time. Then the blog grew a little bit and I started to put more importance on posting however-many-times a week, making sure I was hitting up social media and doing all the “right stuff” as a blogger. And I went through a period where I felt really guilty if I wasn’t keeping all of those things going. Spoiler Alert: I can not keep all that stuff going. haha

Now, I’m a mom of two, working on putting together a new house and making it a home. You better believe I have been churning out some great meals for my family that I’d love to share, but I just got out of the groove of setting up photos. Lots of good meals have gone undocumented. Sometimes I still feel guilty for not sharing all of that good stuff with you guys, but realistically, I know that you understand that I have a real life to live outside this slice of the web. So, just thanks for being awesome and going with the flow.

I’ll start talking about the pie now.

This Shepherd’s Pie wasn’t some long-thought-out plan to reduce potato consumption or GAPS-ify a classic recipe. I just had a head of cauliflower and some ground beef that needed using and this is what happened. I saw it coming out of the oven all bubbly and brown and my brain said, “Take a picture, fast, and then let’s eat this thing!”

Cauliflower is like the classic nerd-that-turns-popular story, am I right? People never really gave it much thought before, but now it is everywhere! Cauliflower pizza crusts and faux-tatoes and cauli-rice galore. Good for you, cauliflower. Enjoy your 15 minutes of vegetable fame. You and your versatility deserve it.

This is similar to a classic Shepherd’s Pie, just with the potatoes swapped for cauliflower. I did add cheese on the top, but you can leave it off if you must. If you’re on the fence, though, definitely leave it on- it’s awesome. I used extra sharp cheddar. Treat Yo’ Self.

Perfect meal for fall, you guys! Dinner on the table in about an hour. What’s not to love?

4.9 from 18 reviews

Shepherd’s Pie with Cauliflower Topping (GAPS, Paleo, Grain-Free)

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

1 hour

 

Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Main Dish

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower, chopped into florets
• 2 tablespoons fat (lard, tallow, ghee, coconut oil, etc)
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 celery ribs, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound ground beef or lamb
• ¼-1/2 cup homemade beef broth
• 1 tablespoon homemade ketchup or tomato paste (omit if you don’t have a GAPS-legal or Paleo option)
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons fat (lard, tallow, ghee, etc)
• ½ cup shredded GAPS-legal cheese (omit for Paleo)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 2-3 quart casserole dish and set aside.
2. In a large pot, steam or boil cauliflower until tender.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of fat in a large skillet or saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots and garlic and cook until beginning to soften, around 5 minutes.
4. Add the ground meat to the pan and cook until browned. Add beef broth as necessary to keep the mixture wet. Add the ketchup or tomato paste (if using), parsley and season with salt and pepper. Let simmer while you prepare the cauliflower topping.
5. To make the topping, drain the cooked cauliflower. Mash or puree with a stick blender until smooth. Add 2 tablespoons of fat and season with salt and pepper.
6. To assemble, spread the meat mixture on the bottom of the dish. Top with the cauliflower mixture and smooth with a spoon. Cover with shredded cheese, if using.
7. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is brown and bubbly. Serve warm.

3.1.09

I made a real dinner, you guys.

I actually semi-meal-planned it and put thought into it and everything (say what??). Mom/wife of the year!

It’s tough for me to get my head on straight and focus on my every day responsibilities at the moment. The new house is just crazy and it’s consuming my thoughts. I sat down to write my market/grocery list and I reeeeally had to focus, but I got it done. And I actually bought the things on my list at the market without buying any extra stuff (except a strawberry popsicle for my little helper, couldn’t resist). Although.. we did go to Trader Joe’s afterwards and we have about 0.0% self control in that place.. so mission only semi-accomplished. Oops.

We will have to do a whole run down of our Trader Joe’s favorites soon.. I could talk about it all day. Love/hate relationship.

Okay, so these are mini taco-stuffed zucchini boats. Cute, right? I made them smaller so they’d work nicely for kid portions. I actually thought about making them even smaller, but I thought the filling might fall out. After cooking them, I can say that they’d be perfect bite-sized appetizers if you cut them into 1-inch portions. I’d love to serve teeny tiny ones with some margs- GIANT margs.

If you are paleo or dairy-free, I still think these would be tasty without the cheese. We had some extra filling and we fried it up like a little taco burger, and it tasted great. Cheese not necessary.

These little boats are a nice way to switch things up if you like tacos, but you’re getting tired of your typical tortilla or lettuce wrap. The zucchini is basically just another vehicle for getting that taco goodness in your mouth. It’s really all about the filling, isn’t it? It takes a little extra time, but it’s not as messy as a taco if you’re feeding them to your child. This is important at my house, since my daughter has crazy-dinner-mess-face every time she eats. Girl is serious about her food.

Hopefully, I can keep up this meal-planning streak for another few days. I think you probably know how that’s going to end..

Mini Mexican Zucchini Boats

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

50 mins

 

*To make things even quicker, you can substitute about 3-4T taco seasoning for the spices.

Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Main Course

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 4 medium zucchinis, ends trimmed
• 1 pound ground beef (I prefer grass-fed)
• ½ onion, minced
• ½ green bell pepper, minced
• 1-2 garlic cloves, minced/pressed/grated
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste (optional, not Paleo-approved)
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (optional)
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 2 teaspoons salt
• cracked pepper to taste (probably around 1 teaspoon)
• 1 cup shredded cheese (optional, I used a mixture of monterey jack and sharp cheddar)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375. Grease the bottom of a large baking dish.
2. To prepare the zucchinis, cut them in half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh to make a channel. Set aside.
3. To prepare the filling, mix the ground beef, onion, bell pepper, garlic, jalapeno, tomato paste (if using) and spices in a medium bowl.
4. To assemble, fill the zucchinis with the ground beef mixture. Then cut each zucchini in half (or smaller sections if you life). Place the mini zucchini boats in the greased dish.
5. Bake for 20 minutes. Pull out of the oven, top with the shredded cheese and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the zucchini is soft and the cheese is melted. If you’re not using cheese, bake about 30 minutes until the zucchini is soft and the filling is set.
6. Serve warm and enjoy.

3.1.09

I’m pretty much on a diet of chopped vegetable dishes. Every meal I’ve eaten in the past two weeks has either consisted solely of a) potato salad, b) green bean salad with basil, sautéed radishes, and hunks of mozzarella, c) citrusy coleslaw, or a hearty helping of one of those next to some protein that I was mostly eating just to stave off devouring a giant bowlful of one of those salads. Now that tomatoes are starting to come in? Oh boy. Watch out. Is it possible to eat all of your daily calories from tomatoes? Can I try? No? Okay, I’ll throw in some grilled corn on the cob slathered with homemade lime mayonnaise and queso añejo. And some peaches and cherries. That’s fine. God I love summer.

Gazpacho is a little difficult for me. On the one hand, it’s probably one of the best soups you can eat. On the other hand, it seems a little shameful to purée fresh, ripe, local (expensive) heirloom tomatoes. Maybe that’s because I don’t have any of my own in a garden in my back yard. I kind of feel that they’re like precious gems and to adulterate them with anything more than some coarse sea salt and a basil leaf is to somehow cheapen them. But when it’s terrible and hot and gross out, gazpacho is something to live for.

Since there’s not much to gazpacho, you must use good tomatoes. Don’t put off this recipe until the winter or something. Go out and splurge on some beautiful tomatoes. And if you have them in your garden, you are lucky and please send some to me. And as with most traditional and iconic recipes, there are a hundred versions, all hotly contested as being the one perfect one I’m sure. I don’t have too many strong opinions on what vegetables should or not should be included in gazpacho and what the levels of vinegar and oil should be. I do strongly feel, though, that using tomato juice is a no-no. I mean, you’re trying to celebrate gorgeous summer tomatoes. Why would you mix them with bottled tomato juice? Gah. But if you want to leave out the cucumber and red pepper, or add in some parsley, go for it. Topping gazpacho with a hard boiled egg is also extremely acceptable.

That’s it. That’s my gazpacho. It’s wonderful. You can certainly chill it if you need some extra cooling off, but I think room temperature allows the flavors to be their best. Unless room temperature means boiling, which it would be here if my air conditioner ever stopped working. Some garnishes you could use if you haven’t already started to dig in, are finely chopped cucumbers and red peppers, parsley, toasted almonds, and crumbled/chopped hard boiled egg.

Seriously gardeners, send me your tomatoes. I hear that you have wayyy too many to eat. Pretty sure.

Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho (Guest Post)

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

 

Author: Julia Campbell, The Crankin’ Kitchen

Recipe type: Soup

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2.5 lbs heirloom tomatoes, chopped
• 1 medium cucumber, seeded (cut in half width-wise then in quarters length-wise and seeds cut off) and chopped
• 1 medium yellow or white onion, chopped
• 1 red pepper, seeded, deveined, and chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• 1½ tsp sea salt
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

Instructions

1. Mix together the vegetables in a large bowl.
2. In a blender, purée garlic, salt, olive oil, and vinegar. Scoop about half of the vegetable mixture into the blender. Blend until smooth, in batches if necessary.
3. Pour blended veggies back into the bowl of chopped vegetables and mix.

3.1.09

Is that too much already? I needed to get it out of my system.

This is my very first duck dish, you guys. First time I’ve made it and possibly first time I’ve eaten it. We got some wild duck breasts from a friend (thanks, Joe!) and they sat in my freezer for awhile.. just waiting until I was brave enough to cook them. And then they sat in the fridge thawing for awhile.. as I tried to decide what in the world to do with them. #firstworldproblems

Which brings us to skewers. When you don’t know what to do with something, just put it on a stick. (New life motto in progress).

Any brainiac would tell you to put these on the grill, but I am a lazy person (we have a charcoal grill, haha) so I did them in the oven along with some squash that didn’t make the photo. While they were quickly cooking, I made the apricot dipping sauce on the stove. The original plan was actually to put halved apricots on the skewers like I saw in this beautiful post, but I waited too long and the apricots got a bit soft, so I went with sauce instead. Just a little change of plans.

Honestly, I was a little nervous about how the duck would turn out. The breasts had the fat removed, so all of the typical duck cooking advice did not apply and I was afraid it would be dry and bland. The meat ended up being quite flavorful- even the kids were eating off sticks like little cave people. It was kind of a giant mess, but very entertaining at the time. I think next time I would actually baste the skewers with the sauce when they come out of the oven to help the duck retain some moisture- so definitely try that out the next time you’re skewering some duck. It won’t cut down on the mess, but I think it would take the dish up a notch.

These random freezer-clean-out meals have been stretching my culinary comfort zone. It’s been fun, but kind of exhausting mentally. I’m ready to start fresh.

Wild Duck Skewers with Apricot Dipping Sauce

 

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Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Main Dish

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2 lb duck breasts, trimmed
• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar (make sure there is no added sugar for GAPS)
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter or coconut oil
• 1 small onion, minced
• 6 apricots, pitted and chopped
• juice of ½ orange
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (consider removing this or making homemade mustard for true GAPS or paleo)
• chopped parsley, for serving

Instructions

1. A few hours (or up to a day) before you’re ready to cook, marinate the duck in the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use. Soak your wooden skewers in water, if using.
2. Prepare your grill or preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
3. Prepare the sauce- heat the butter in a saucepan and saute the onion until it begins to soften. Add the apricots and cook until they begin to break down. Add the orange juice, honey, mustard and season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking as the duck cooks. Puree with a stick blender if you like a smoother sauce.
4. Cut the duck breasts into small chunks and place on skewers. Grill for just a few minutes on each side or bake in the oven for 5-10 minutes per side. Try not to overcook the duck- it’s okay for it to be pink. Baste with the sauce if you like and serve immediately with the chopped parsley.

#version#

It’s been a minute since I posted a savory recipe, hasn’t it? It’s been all juice concoctions and coffee cake and pancake stacks up in here lately.

It’s a lot easier to post things like fat pancakes and banana bread that  I can photograph during nap time than it is to catch a photo of what we’re actually eating for dinner. (All my food bloggers out there know what’s up.) I have lots of savory meals I’d love to share with you, I just have to figure out the logistics.

I have a bit of a thing with breakfast/breakfast-for-dinner foods. More specifically, baked eggs. The last savory item you saw here on Oven Love was Baked Eggs with Spinach and Bacon, which is a no-brainer combination that I had to share. If you haven’t tried those yet, add ’em to your list- you won’t be sorry.

Now here I am putting a whole skillet of baked eggs in your face. Can you blame me, though? I would eat a tree branch if it were covered with runny egg yolk. (Ugh, please, no one take me up on that.) Dippy eggs for life!

You guys this is a ONE DISH meal. All you need is the skillet. Hallelujah for less dishes! I am the queen of the giant, everlasting dish pile. If you’ve ever spent more than an hour or two at my house, you’ve seen it. You also might have seen it here.

It is also a FIVE-ingredient meal (if you don’t count the cooking fat, salt and pepper). Win.

By the way, I have been toying with the idea of writing an e-cookbook of five-ingredient meals. The recipes would be whole-food, grain-free and labeled as Paleo/GAPS/Whole 30/Blah-Blah-Blah.  Meals like this one that are simple, but not bland. Easy, but still interesting.

Is that something you guys would be into?

Because if you’re into it, I’m into it! I feel like I’ve gotten into a bit of a same-old-same-old rut with the blog and I need a new project to inspire me. If that idea sounds lame and you want me to just continue posting and keeping things normal, then I’m cool with that, too. I just want us all to be a big, happy family with full, happy bellies.

If you have any other cool ideas you think I should take on, share those with me, too! I’d love to hear about them.

Also, a few more things about this meal:

• You can swap out the salmon for any other hearty fish or meat (or even more veggies)
• You can substitute kale, spinach or another dark leafy green for the chard
• You can use pre-cooked salmon for a meal that comes together even faster
• You should probably smother this with mashed avocado, just to be safe

Salmon, Swiss Chard and Egg Skillet

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

35 mins

 

Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Main Dish

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 12-16 ounces fresh salmon (or other hearty fish)
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 bunch Swiss Chard, chopped (stems included if you like them)
• 1 clove garlic, minced or grated
• salt and pepper
• 4-6 eggs
• fresh herbs for garnish (optional; I used a bit of basil on top)

Instructions

1. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat and preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
2. When the skillet is warm, add the butter until it sizzles. Add the salmon and cook on both sides until it flakes easily with a fork, about 5 minutes per side (depending on how thick your salmon is). Set the salmon aside. **You could also use previously cooked salmon to make this an even faster dinner.**
3. Scrape any bits of salmon skin off of the pan and add more butter, if needed. Fry the onion in the butter until it begins to soften. Add the chard and continue cooking until it wilts. Then add the garlic and season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking until the vegetables are soft.
4. While the vegetables are cooking, flake the salmon into large chunks with a fork. After the veggies are cooked through, add the salmon to the skillet. Give it one gentle stir to incorporate.
5. Crack the eggs on top of the salmon mixture. Put the whole skillet in the preheated oven and cook until the eggs are set to your liking (anywhere from 5-15 minutes). Check them often so you don’t overcook and serve immediately out of the oven.

3.1.09

Last week, I shared my favorite summer chicken recipes. Today, I’m back with 16 ways to use the humble sweet potato. (I’m actually not eating sweet potatoes right now, but for some reason, I am still craving them and hoarding sweet potato recipes like it’s the end of the internet. It’s only a little heartbreaking to look at those gorgeous photos. Some day..)

Lots of great options here- fries, chips, soup, stuffed potatoes, and BROWNIES. Get to pinning!

Row 1: Thai Sweet Potato Stacks, Sweet Potato Almond Butter Muffins, Slow Cooker Beer Pulled Pork-Stuffed Sweet Potatoes, Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Cherry Salsa

Row 2: Sweet Potato Breakfast Biscuits, Brown Butter Sweet Potato Doughnuts, Paleo Sweet Potato Brownies, Garlic Butter Sweet Potato Fries with Creamy Feta Dip

Row 3: Roasted Grape, Goat Cheese and Honey-Stuffed Sweet Potatoes, Sweet Potato and Pineapple Salad, Black Bean, Sweet Potato and Red Quinoa Soup, Sweet Potato Pulled Pork Sliders

Row 4: Homemade BBQ Sweet Potato Chips, Baked Sweet Potato Falafel, Sweet Potato Coconut Curry Soup, Loaded Black Bean Sweet Potato Boats

Good day, darlings!

I have been noticing some trends on my Pinterest recipe boards and I thought I might take some time to share my latest favorites with you. I’ve been all about collecting summery chicken recipes, so here are 16 tasty meals to get that protein in this summer. There’s something for everyone- kabobs, burgers, wraps, salads, crock pot meals and a garbage-free CHIK FIL A KNOCK OFF RECIPE. So yeah, something for everyone.

Cluck, cluck, cluck.

Row 1: Chipotle Chicken Kabobs with Avocado Cream Sauce, Caribbean Chicken, Cheddar Jalepeno Chicken Burgers with Guacamole, Crockpot Tex Mex Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Row 2: Grilled Chicken Salad with Chipotle Honey Vinaigrette, Barbecued Chicken, Thai Grilled Chicken Breasts, Raspberry Chicken Thighs

Row 3: Greek Chicken Burgers, Cashew Chicken Mango Salad, Garbage-Free Chik Fil A Nuggets, Slow Cooker Jerk Chicken

Row 4: Pineapple Chicken Kabobs, Pineapple Grilled Chicken, Paleo Jalepeno Chicken Burgers, Tropical Quinoa Lettuce Wraps

We like eggs.

You might already know that. (The backyard chickens are a dead giveaway, no?)

Since we’re moving, we said our goodbyes to the chickies a few weeks ago and they moved in with our friends across town. We no longer have eggs 24/7, which feels really weird. And it means I have to BUY eggs, just like everyone else. Not only do I have to buy them, but I have to buy them in flats (2 1/2 doz) instead of dozens because we can seriously tear. up. some. eggs.

Sometimes I get two flats at a time. And they disappear. Because we really like eggs.

My personal preference is a runny yolk, but not too runny. I like it where it just oozes slowly down your plate and you can dip stuff into it. YUM. Baked eggs are a perfect way to get my fix in this department (although I cooked them just a bit harder than I like in the ones pictured).

You can’t see it too well in the photos, but there’s spinach and bacon hiding underneath those eggs. An awesome surprise to find at the bottom of your breakfast dish. Or lunch or dinner.. or brunch, or midnight snack.

Eggs for President!

One of these dishes was filling enough for one person, but if you’re serving it alongside something else, I’d suggest splitting it up into 4 smaller ramekins. Add some toast/fruit/yogurt/salad and you can spread that meal a little further.

And let’s not forget to mention the cheese. I used raw cheddar, but I think fontina, havarti (GAPS-friendly), parmesan or gruyere would all be excellent choices. You can also skip the cheese entirely, if that’s your thing. The eggs can hold their own.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Baked Eggs with Spinach and Bacon

 

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Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Breakfast, Brunch

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

• 4 slices of bacon
• 4 cups fresh spinach
• 1 cup of shredded cheese (I chose raw cheddar)
• 4 eggs
• ¼ cup heavy cream or coconut milk (optional)
• chopped fresh parsley, for serving

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and butter 2-4 small oven-safe dishes.
2. In a hot skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Set aside. In the same skillet, wilt the fresh spinach.
3. Fill the dishes with the spinach, then top with the bacon (I suggest crumbling the bacon a bit- I left mine in small strips and I would have rather had it crumbled or chopped). Add a bit of the cheese (reserving some to top the eggs), then add the eggs on top of that. Pour a bit of cream on top of the eggs, then add the remaining cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on how set you like your egg yolks. I would check them around 10 minutes (especially if you like your eggs runny).
5. Top with the parsley and serve immediately.

#version#

What did I eat on Stage 4?

With Stage 4, I added olive oil, fresh juice, bread made with almond flour and roasted/grilled meats.

• Scrambled Eggs in Tallow with Avocado and Sauerkraut (my typical breakfast.)
• Poached Salmon and Chicken
• Carrot and Squash Soup with poached eggs and avocado (you might have seen this one on Instagram)
• Roasted Chicken and Vegetables
• Squash and Almond Flour Bread (you can see one of the muffins in the photo above)
• New Cooked Vegetables- spaghetti squash, tomatoes, green peppers
• Fresh Juice- plain carrot or a mixture of carrot/apple/celery
• Chicken Vegetable Soup with Turnips
• Butternut Squash Fries (so good to have roasted squash again!)
• High Protein Chili (pictured above, recipe below)
• Avocado Chicken Salad (just mashed avocado mixed with garlic, salt and cooked chicken)
• Lots of Bone Broth and Tallow and Salt and Garlic and Sauerkraut and Olive Oil

Did I see any changes or patterns in my symptoms?

For the most part, this stage went much better than expected. I have been fearful about trying new vegetables, but it seems to be going well. I did see a bit of a flare-up with my symptoms when I tried the almond flour bread. I tried a little bit at the beginning of the day and it went well, so then I had more later on.. but I think I overdid it. I’ll have to be careful about how much almond flour I take in.

I also feel like I am getting some real energy back- I actually thought about going out and exercising, which I haven’t felt like doing in quite some time. I’m looking forward to some exercise again after Intro is done- I don’t want to push it and start before my body is ready, since working out puts your body in fight-or-flight mode which interferes with proper digestion. And ya’ll know I don’t have time for that.

Any practical advice from Stage 4?

Don’t assume that your body can handle any amount of new food, even if it tolerates a little bit. This was my lesson from the almond flour bread. It is just not worth it to overdo it and experience your symptoms again. Really try to savor the little bits of these foods that you do get to try, even if you end up deciding to leave it out of your diet for a while. You can always try it again later.

I wanted to note here that I did take some liberties with spices in Stage 4. In the recipe for chili posted below, I added some chili powder and paprika, which are not legal until Full GAPS. I was so excited to make chili with tomatoes that I couldn’t resist throwing the spices in. My advice here is that you know your body best. If you get to this point in the diet and you feel you can add in a few ingredients here or there that are allowed on Full GAPS, try it out. But use your judgement- if you have any symptoms, slow down.

Also, don’t quit your detox baths. They are worth doing! (I have been slacking a big- this is mainly a reminder for me.)

Any encouragement for people in Stage 4?

Don’t stop observing and listening to your body. Now that you are adding new foods so often, you want to be careful about recording your symptoms, looking for patterns and making changes accordingly. Hopefully you’ve gotten into a groove with the GAPS lifestyle and you’re making it work for you. But remember, this is a process. Every day will not be better than the last. Sometimes there are bumps in the road. Sometimes we mess up. Keep trying and don’t despair! You are on your way to better health and learning self-discipline along the way. (And don’t quit now- you’ll be able to eat fruit and honey in Stage 5!)

High Protein Chili

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

1 hour

Total time

1 hour 30 mins

 

This is called “high protein” because it’s got three types of meat and is very nutrient dense.

Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: GAPS legal, Main, Soup

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• 1 pound grass-fed beef liver (pre-soaked the night before in the juice of one lemon and then covered with filtered water; cover and keep in the fridge)
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground venison, ground pork or other ground meat/sausage
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups crushed tomatoes (preferably homemade or not from a can with BPA)
• water or beef broth to cover
• 1 tablespoon chili powder (optional)
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika (optional)
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• cracked black pepper to taste
• 4 cups winter squash (optional)

Instructions

1. Drain the beef liver.
2. In a blender or food processor, process the liver until it’s broken down (I like it pretty broken down, right before it reaches a paste. If you like it chopped, you can do that, too. I find it’s practically undetectable if you break it down in the blender first.)
3. In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, cook the liver and ground meats until they are browned.
4. Add onion, garlic, crushed tomatoes and mix. Add spices, if using. Cover with beef broth or water if necessary, stir, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
5. If you are adding the squash (or any other uncooked vegetable), you can add it to the chili about 30 minutes before you plan to serve it.

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