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  • Bacon Muffins Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Made with Coconut Flour

    Bacon Muffins Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Made with Coconut Flour

    Bacon Muffins

    Everyone loves bacon. Have you ever met anyone that doesn’t? There are even entire Pinterest boards devoted to bacon, I even have one of my own. These muffins are moist and taste like bacon! They would be great with any meal, and would be especially delicious under gravy.

    Bacon Muffins

    • 4 whole eggs [affiliate link]
    • 1/2 cup coconut flour [affiliate link], Tropical Traditions brand**
    • 1/3 cup bacon grease, liquid state
    • 1-1/2 cup steamed cauliflower, pureed (about 1 small head of cauliflower)
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 1 cup zucchini squash, peeled, shredded and squeezed (1 medium zucchini)
    • 4 slices thick bacon, fried and diced
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda [affiliate link]

    Steam cauliflower well above water level until fork tender – you don’t want the cauliflower to swim in the boiling water as it will absorb too much liquid and be too wet for the batter. Remove and blend using a food processor, Magic Bullet [affiliate link] or stick blender until pureed.

    Peel the zucchini, and shred it. Measure one cup of the zucchini shreds, place in a cotton kitchen towel and squeeze the liquid out.

    Dice the bacon into small squares.

    Insert cupcake papers into muffin tin, or grease and flour using coconut flour.

    Preheat oven to 350°F.

    To a large mixing bowl add the four eggs, coconut flour, bacon grease, pureed cauliflower and salt. Mix with a whisk or hand mixer for one minute until well blended.

    Allow to sit one minute so that coconut flour can absorb the fluids.

    Add bacon and zucchini into the batter, mix thoroughly with a spoon.

    At the very end, add in the baking soda and mix just until it is well mixed into the batter.

    Drop spoonfuls of batter into the muffin tins.

    Bake 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

    **Remember, if you have never ordered from Tropical Traditions before and order by clicking on any of my Tropical Traditions links, you will receive a free book on Virgin Coconut Oil [affiliate link], and I will receive a discount coupon for referring you. Thank you for thinking of me!

    Diced Bacon

    Coconut Flour, Eggs, Pureed Califlower, Bacon and Zucchini Squash

    Bacon Muffins batter

    Bacon Muffins batter

    Bacon Muffins

    Bacon Muffins

    Bacon Muffins

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    Recipe: Bacon Muffins Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Made with Coconut Flour
    Author: 
    Recipe type: Bread
    Cook time: 
    Total time: 
    Serves: 12
     
    These bacon muffins are great at any meal.
    Ingredients
    • 4 whole eggs
    • ½ cup Tropical Traditions coconut flour [affiliate link]
    • ⅓ cup bacon grease, liquid state
    • 1-1/2 cup steamed cauliflower, pureed (about 1 small head of cauliflower)
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • 1 cup zucchini squash, peeled, shredded and squeezed (1 medium zucchini)
    • 4 slices thick bacon, fried and diced
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    Instructions
    1. Steam cauliflower well above water level until fork tender – you don’t want the cauliflower to swim in the boiling water as it will absorb too much liquid and be too wet for the batter. Remove and blend using a food processor, Magic Bullet or stick blender until pureed.
    2. Peel the zucchini, and shred it. Measure one cup of the zucchini shreds, place in a cotton kitchen towel and squeeze the liquid out.
    3. Dice the bacon into small squares.
    4. Insert cupcake papers into muffin tin, or grease and flour using coconut flour.
    5. Preheat oven to 350°F.
    6. To a large mixing bowl add the four eggs, coconut flour, bacon grease, pureed cauliflower and salt. Mix with a whisk or hand mixer for one minute until well blended.
    7. Allow to sit one minute so that coconut flour can absorb the fluids.
    8. Add bacon and zucchini into the batter, mix thoroughly with a spoon.
    9. At the very end, add in the baking soda and mix just until it is well mixed into the batter.
    10. Drop spoonfuls of batter into the muffin tins.
    11. Bake 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
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    If you love recipes like this, I have two cookbooks you really need to check out ASAP! Naturally Sweetened Treats for gluten-free dessert needs and Mastering the Art of Baking With Coconut Flour.

    GAPS DIET JOURNEY is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to AMAZON.COM. GAPS DIET JOURNEY is an affiliate for several companies and may be compensated through advertising and marketing channels. Therefore, this post may contain affiliate links.

  • Banana Walnut Muffins Made With Coconut Flour

    Banana Walnut Muffins Made With Coconut Flour

    Banana Walnut Muffins Made with Coconut Flour

    When I used to eat gluten and grains, one of my favorite muffins was Banana Nut. My sister is the one that found the recipe and over the years I have made them dozens of times. The original recipe is from the La Leche League’s Whole Foods for the Whole Family. I have been experimenting with coconut flour [affiliate link] and I decided to try converting this recipe. These are light and fluffy and very delicious. They would probably work well in a loaf pan but of course you would need to increase the baking time.

    I ordered some Tropical Traditions coconut flour [affiliate link], to see how it compares to Bob’s Red Mill. I don’t see a lot of difference, but Tropical Traditions seems smoother and moister than Bob’s.

    Remember, if you have never ordered from Tropical Traditions before and order by clicking on any of my Tropical Traditions links, you will receive a free book on Virgin Coconut Oil [affiliate link], and I will receive a discount coupon for referring you. Thank you for thinking of me!

    Preheat oven to 350°F.

    Place cupcake papers into muffin tins, or grease liberally and dust using coconut flour.

    Chop walnuts into small pieces.

    In a mixing bowl, mash bananas until creamy, stir in honey. Melt coconut oil and whisk in with bananas and honey. Add eggs and blend using a hand mixer or whisk. Add salt and baking soda.

    Measure coconut flour into a 1/2 cup measuring utensil. Pack flour into cup firmly. Use a back side of a knife to cut across the top of the measuring utensil so that your measurements is exactly 1/2 cup. Sift flour to remove any lumps.

    Mix half of the coconut flour in with the wet ingredients. Allow to sit for two minutes to give the coconut flour time to absorb. You are looking for a consistency of mashed potatoes. If the mixture is very runny, add the rest of the coconut flour. Again allow batter to sit for 2 minutes. Coconut flour is tricky sometimes. It is better to add the coconut flour in small increments than to end up with your batter being too dry.

    Add vinegar to batter and blend quickly. Add walnuts and stir by hand.

    Fill 12 cupcake forms (slightly under filled). Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned on top and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

    This recipe shared at Fat Tuesday. These muffins were also featured at Coconut Recipes.

    This recipe was slightly altered on Saturday, November 24th, 2012.

    Save Print
    Recipe: Banana Walnut Muffins Coconut Flour
    Author: 
    Prep time: 
    Cook time: 
    Total time: 
    Serves: 9
     
    These light and fluffy banana nut muffins can be eaten with breakfast or served as dessert.
    Ingredients
    • ½ cup coconut flour, Tropical Traditions brand
    • 1 cup bananas, mashed
    • ⅓ cup melted Tropical Traditions Gold Label Organic Virgin Coconut Oil
    • ½ cup honey
    • 3 whole eggs
    • ½ teaspoon sea salt
    • ½ teaspoon baking soda
    • 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
    • ½ cup walnuts, chopped
    Instructions
    1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
    2. Place cupcake papers into muffin tins, or grease liberally and dust using coconut flour.
    3. Chop walnuts into small pieces.
    4. In a mixing bowl, mash bananas until creamy, stir in honey.
    5. Melt coconut oil and whisk in with bananas and honey.
    6. Add eggs and blend using a hand mixer or whisk.
    7. Add salt and baking soda.
    8. Measure coconut flour into a ½ cup measuring utensil. Pack flour into cup firmly. Use a back side of a knife to cut across the top of the measuring utensil so that your measurements is exactly ½ cup. Sift flour to remove any lumps.
    9. Mix half of the coconut flour in with the wet ingredients. Allow to sit for two minutes to give the coconut flour time to absorb. You are looking for a consistency of mashed potatoes.
    10. If the mixture is very runny, add the rest of the coconut flour. Again allow batter to sit for 2 minutes. Coconut flour is tricky sometimes. It is better to add the coconut flour in small increments than to end up with your batter being too dry.
    11. Add vinegar to batter and blend quickly.
    12. Add walnuts and stir by hand.
    13. Fill 12 cupcake forms (slightly under filled). Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned on top and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
    Notes
    This recipe was slightly altered on November 24th, 2012 to include 2 teaspoons of vinegar and there was a modification in the wording of the recipe regarding the coconut flour.
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    If you love recipes like this, I have two cookbooks you really need to check out ASAP! Naturally Sweetened Treats for gluten-free dessert needs and Mastering the Art of Baking With Coconut Flour.

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    GAPS DIET JOURNEY is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to AMAZON.COM. GAPS DIET JOURNEY is an affiliate for several companies and may be compensated through advertising and marketing channels. Therefore, this post may contain affiliate links.

  • Managing Stomach Virus or Food Poisoning on GAPS

    Managing Stomach Virus or Food Poisoning on GAPS

    Chicken Stock

    If you don’t like reading about people being sick then just skip over the next two paragraphs. I’ll tell you when it’s safe in a big bold header.

    I got struck with something over this weekend. It took about 44 hours of my life away. I don’t often have stomach problems, even though I’m a GAPSter my stomach has always been pretty cast iron and I love eating hot foods like jalapeno peppers. Some people think after the Jalapeno Incident how would I ever eat them again, but it wasn’t ingesting them that caused the harm, it was being contaminated with the capsicum particles which absorbed down into the layers of my skin. But enough of that, you can read about the whole thing if you want by clicking on the link above.

    I was feeling just fine on Friday morning but I had a slight headache. I’m not one to have headaches, either, especially not since I’ve been on GAPS and have no allergy problems in my sinuses. But every once in awhile I’ll have a slight headache so I didn’t think anything of it. I was busy working on my computer and had to make some phone calls and was feeling annoyed. Nothing new. Around 4pm my head started to hurt worse and although I usually won’t lay down that late in the afternoon since it will interfere with my bedtime I decided to heck with bedtimes I feel rotten, and I went and laid down.

    My head started to hurt worse. The pain grew more intense. It was behind my left eye and radiating from my eye socket into my head. Pretty soon, I guess within about half an hour I suddenly with no warning at all – no stomachache, no grumblings, nothing, suddenly I knew I was going to puke. I made my way to the toilet just in time and was astonished to be vomiting. This continued for about eight hours until my stomach was completely emptied and I could keep nothing down at all. I know to sip tiny amounts of water after vomiting but even those tiny amounts were coming right back up. I spent quite a bit of time lying on the floor in front of the toilet in a fetal position since it made my stomach feel better to have my knees pressed against it.

    How I Handled This Stomach Ailment

    Electrolyte Replacement. The first thing I did was start sipping on an electrolyte replacement. About 18 years ago I was very sick and I was drinking only water to replace fluids lost. I ended up with severe body aches and pains and I found later that you can’t just drink water when you are losing fluids so dramatically when ill. At that time my mother rescued me by bringing me Campbell’s Chicken Noodle soup but that wouldn’t be an option now that I’m on GAPS.

    I asked my son to come up with something. I don’t know the exact amounts, but he made 1/2 gallon of a concoction that contained Celtic salt, water, fresh squeezed lemon and honey [affiliate link]. It was just slightly sweet and slightly salty and was very refreshing ice cold. I was taking tiny, tiny sips, but could not keep it down. I also had suggestions from the GAPShelp list that I should use coconut water, and I remember I also had this product BodyBio/E-Lyte Balanced Electrolyte Concentratewhich is recommended by Dr. Ben Lynch in his MTHFRade drink. I began adding one capful to about 1 cup of the salted honey lemonade my son had made.

    Homemade Chicken Broth. My husband started a batch of chicken stock. Unfortunately, once it was done he left to cool for too long and within a few hours it was bubbling – I guess it was fermenting but there was no way I was going to eat fermented chicken soup. We have had this happen before where the stock has gone bad and it starts to stink really bad pretty quickly and I don’t think it would be at all safe to eat, especially not with my stomach in the condition it was.

    However, before that pot of soup went bad he gave me a few ounces to drink while I sat in a detox bath with Epsom salts. I drank maybe 1 ounce, but this stayed down and finally I was able to get some relief from the stomach pain and nausea and the headache also lessened. I was able to sleep through the night.

    I Ate Some Dirt. A couple of my GAPSter friends suggested that I try some charcoal or clay. I did not have charcoal on hand, but I did have some Redmond Clay on hand and I mixed 1/2 teaspoon in with the electrolyte drink and I was amazed that I actually like this clay! I don’t know what I thought it would be like, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it has a smooth texture and a nice flavor. I will definitely be using clay more often to remove toxins.

    Detox Baths with Epsom Salts, Vinegar or Baking Soda [affiliate link]. I alternated between these and took about six detox baths over the two days. I was in bed so much that my body was aching from lying down for so long so it was nice to sit in the tub and relax.

    Slowly Reintroducing Foods. So for about 24 hours all I had was broth and the electrolyte drink. Then at about 28 hours I felt like I could handle boiled egg yolks so I had a few with some butter and salt. Today I had about 2″ of banana and more boiled egg yolks, broth and the electrolyte drink.

    I still don’t have much of an appetite.

    As I mentioned, this is the first time I’ve had a stomach ailment since being on GAPS. In my life before GAPS, tossing my cookies meant 7-UP, white rice, Campbell’s Chicken Noodle soup, buttered noodles, and Saltine crackers. Since those aren’t allowed on GAPS, and especially since the latter three contain gluten, I wasn’t about to go there. I figured it would make me even sicker to have these items at a time like this. It was a little scary not knowing what I should have… and I came this close >=< to asking my husband to bring home 7-UP…

    So I made it through. I still don’t know for sure if it was food poisoning or a stomach virus. My husband thinks he might be sick but his symptoms are not the same as mine, and he doesn’t have a headache. I would like for this to be food poisoning, and I suspect it was some nitrate-free sausage that I get from time to time which always has a slight “off” taste but it always has that taste and has never affected me before. The reason why I would like for it to be food poisoning is because then I don’t have to worry about Matthew getting sick. I worry a lot when he gets sick because it is hard to gauge how he’s doing and oh boy let’s just say he can’t make it to the right place in time so uh, yeah. No fun.

     

    GAPS DIET JOURNEY is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to AMAZON.COM. GAPS DIET JOURNEY is an affiliate for several companies and may be compensated through advertising and marketing channels. Therefore, this post may contain affiliate links.

  • Pineapple Mango Pepper Garlic Sauce over Baked Salmon

    Pineapple Mango Pepper Garlic Sauce over Baked Salmon

    Pineapple Mango Pepper Sauce over Salmon

    The sauce for this recipe is very spicy – my younger son told me the typical person will not enjoy this degree of heat, and especially if you have digestive problems it might not be a good idea. However, you can substitute the jalapeno pepper for bell pepper. If you can tolerate a tiny bit of heat, add a piece or two of jalapeno. I really loved the flavor of this, it was sweet and spicy all at once, with a very creamy mouth feel.

    Pineapple Mango Pepper Garlic Sauce over Baked Salmon

    • 2 Tablespoons Tropical Traditions Gold Label Organic Virgin Coconut Oil**
    • 2 cups fresh pineapple, diced
    • 3 jalapeno peppers, or 1/2 green bell pepper, diced fine
    • Flesh and juice from one mango
    • 8 cloves [affiliate link] garlic, chopped
    • 3 pounds of wild caught fresh salmon, cut into chunks with skin left on
    • 1/2 cup butter

    Peel the mango and remove the flesh from the seed. I have found using a melon ball is great to scrape the flesh from the skin and seed, or you can also just take the peeled mango in hand and squish over a bowl. The flesh will squeeze off as you press into it, but be careful as the seed has sharp edges. When you have all the mango flesh from the seed, press through a sieve leaving the fibrous pieces. You should end up with about 1/2 cup of mango “juice”.

    Melt the coconut oil [affiliate link] in a skillet and add the jalapeno peppers and/or green bell pepper. Saute for 5 minutes, then add the chopped garlic cloves. Saute for 5 minutes, then add pineapple and mango juice. Bring to a boil and reduce heat so that the mixture is simmering. Stir frequently and allow to reduce until the mixture is thick, about 15 minutes.

    Wash and cut the salmon into chunks, leaving the skin on. Place in casserole dish skin side up, and pour melted butter over the salmon. Bake at 350°F and 15 minutes for each pound. Test the salmon for doneness by pressing into it with a fork or spoon and see if the meat flakes away.

    The salmon I bought was the kind that has a lot of bones, so I went through the entire fish and removed all the bones I could find. This left me with small flakes of salmon and I just arranged some on a plate, then poured the sauce over the top.

    Serves 4 to 6.

    **If you order by clicking on any of my Tropical Traditions links and have never ordered from Tropical Traditions in the past, you will receive a free book on Virgin Coconut Oil, and I will receive a discount coupon for referring you.

    Pineapple, Jalapeno Peppers, Mangoes and Garlic Cloves

    Pineapple, Jalapeno Peppers, Mangoes and Garlic Cloves

    Fresh Salmon

    GAPS DIET JOURNEY is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to AMAZON.COM. GAPS DIET JOURNEY is an affiliate for several companies and may be compensated through advertising and marketing channels. Therefore, this post may contain affiliate links.

  • The Winner of the Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil

    The Winner of the Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil

    Tropical Traditions Gold Label Coconut Oil

    Thank you to everyone who signed up for the giveaway, and tweeted or shared on Facebook. It has taken me a couple of days to post the winner because I have been under the weather but I’m feeling better now. The winner was chosen by Rafflecopter and I’m very happy to announce the winner of the contest is EW. The entry that EW is signed up for the Tropical Traditions newsletter has been verified by Tropical Traditions and they will be sending out a quart of Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil [affiliate link].

    Please remember if you order by clicking on any of my Tropical Traditions links and have never ordered from Tropical Traditions in the past, you will receive a free book on Virgin Coconut Oil, and I will receive a discount coupon for referring you.

    Stay tuned for another giveaway!

    Thank you again for being a reader of GAPS Diet Journey and following my journey on GAPS!

     

    GAPS DIET JOURNEY is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to AMAZON.COM. GAPS DIET JOURNEY is an affiliate for several companies and may be compensated through advertising and marketing channels. Therefore, this post may contain affiliate links.

  • Recipe Review: Coconut Mama’s Flat Bread made with Coconut Flour

    Recipe Review: Coconut Mama’s Flat Bread made with Coconut Flour

    Flat Bread Hamburger Buns

    The Flatbread / Hamburger Buns

    This is part four in a series of reviews where I’m sharing recipes and products I tried on my birthday this year.

    One of my Facebook fans told me about this Grain Free Flat Bread recipe from Coconut Mama, and I decided to try making them to see if they would be a good substitute for buns.

    I used all coconut flour [affiliate link] (she gives an option for part almond flour [affiliate link] and part coconut flour), I used butter instead of coconut oil [affiliate link], and she calls for baking powder which is not GAPS legal, so I used baking soda [affiliate link].

    Her recipe makes two small flat breads, enough for one sandwich, so I tripled the recipe to make the six you see below. See the little white dots in the bottom left bread? That’s butter. I had smeared butter on my fingers to pat the batter into round shapes and got a little carried away with the butter. If you leave it, you can see in the next photo there will be little craters.

    Flat Bread Hamburger Buns

    Top right flat bread has the craters.

    Flat Bread Hamburger Buns

    Matthew was thrilled and set about forming these babies:

    Flat Bread Hamburger Buns

    I had grilled onions [affiliate link] and mashed avocado on my burger.

    Review on the flat bread:  Using the baking soda instead of baking powder worked out just fine as far as I could tell. I even made one batch with no baking soda, and they were smoother in texture. The baking soda batches had more bubbles in the finished product, I liked the bubbly version better.

    These are definitely a good substitute for hamburger buns, but of course these aren’t exactly the processed wheat hamburger buns to which you might be accustomed. I have a bad habit of taking big bites and coconut flour is a different texture than wheat in that it is much more dense. I found myself reaching for a drink of water to help down the bites which were too big. I love the idea of making these buns, and they were a big hit with Matthew who has missed having “real hamburgers” but I have to admit I will probably reserve them for special occasions. But that is not because I don’t like them – I do like them, and in fact this morning considered eating two of the four that were left from last night (my husband was supposed to have four pieces but he forgot and ate his burgers without) to make a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich this morning.

    Two reasons… it adds a few more time to the cooking process (and you know how much we are in the kitchen as it is) and number 2, they add a few more calories. I don’t count calories, but I am still trying to help Matthew lose weight, and I would like to lose at least twenty more pounds. If we have lettuce buns, that adds only a few calories in comparison to the flat breads – and they don’t add all that many calories. Just a ballpark figure I would say around 200 calories for each two pieces of flat bread. In comparison, lettuce leaves add what, 5 or 10 calories?

    I will definitely make these again, but more than likely only for special occasions or maybe once a month.

     

    GAPS DIET JOURNEY is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to AMAZON.COM. GAPS DIET JOURNEY is an affiliate for several companies and may be compensated through advertising and marketing channels. Therefore, this post may contain affiliate links.