Fall! Time For Vitamin C...

This is the time of year here in Atlantic Canada when the weather begins to shift to chilly air, and this September, also very damp and rainy.  Everybody seems to get the sniffles, maybe even a bit of a cough.  The schools ask for tissues to be sent in for all the runny noses.  Usually, I head to the store to find some decent chewable vitamin C for the kids to ward off the pesky colds but these days I'm more into natural food sources that not only get the job done better but for much less the cost. 

I went out yesterday and picked some rose hips as I've read they're high in vitamin C and will make some syrup out of them hopefully, to most likely be added to the inevitable hot cups of herbal tea the kids will be asking for, especially if they start to get sore throats or coughs.    But talking to Lydia yesterday reminded me of  the big crock of sauerkraut I've had sitting hidden in the back of my fridge!  Sauerkraut is a veritable superfood and you can't get much cheaper than  cabbage, especially this time of year.  It almost makes you think God put cabbage on the earth for such a season as this...it's sauerkraut weather!  When I was growing up my great grandfather used to have a big barrel out on the deck that they'd fill with shredded cabbage and salt in the fall .  They had big mashers and they'd pound it down to release the juices and then it would just sit there and ferment away.  They'd bring in the sauerkraut as they needed it...  I even liked it as a child! 

Sauerkraut is rich in vitamin C and many other nutrients, not to mention the probiotic benefits.

"Sauerkraut contains large amounts of specific antioxidants like lutein and zeaxanthin; these compounds are proven preservers of ocular health in humans. Sauerkraut is also rich in many diverse and vital nutrients include essential minerals such as calcium and potassium, as well as magnesium, and an abundance of the vitamins C and K. The great thing is that, there is no requirement to consume large amounts of sauerkraut to gain health. Eating just a few tablespoons of the pickled cabbage on a daily basis will suffice for most people." (taken from this extensive article on sauerkraut)

The question is, will all of my children eat it???  I already know Amilia (10 mos) will eat it, I gave her some this morning.  She is not a picky eater at all and I love it!  My other children are doing better and better, especially since I've removed all processed foods and  even starches and gluten.   I'm slowly adding back a few of these foods (like potatoes and sweet potatoes in moderation)  while monitering to see how they respond.  But I'd love to see them eating sauerkraut this time of year especially!   They all like coleslaw so I'm thinking I could   play around with a version that included sauerkraut, sounds intriguing to me. 

Another natural source of vitamin C is mountain ash berries.  My parents have a mountain ash tree in  their yard but I haven't gotten any as of yet.  The berries can be dried and then ground into a powder and added to food as a supplement.  You can also purchase acerola powder to be used in the same way, which I think is very economical as well as a natural food source.  For more info on vitamin C and foods that contain it you can check out this little article.

Vitamin C cannot be stored by your body so it's very important that you are taking in adequate amounts through your daily diet.   Bring on the sauerkraut!

Special Treat! Grain-Free (Gluten Free) Chocolate Cake With "Boiled" Icing

One of my favorite traditional family desserts is chocolate cake with boiled icing.  Now we're gluten free (for now anyway), grain free, and only using honey as a sweetner, well almost always.  This recipe uses maple syrup in the icing  and makes a lovely rare treat.  I guess honey would probably work just as easily but you just can't beat the maple flavor which is closer to the traditional boiled icing flavor I grew up with since it was made with brown sugar.  So here is the recipe!

Grain Free Chocolate Cake:

1 1/2 cup almond flour  (finely ground)
1 cup coconut flour
1 cup honey
1/2 cup cocoa powdeer
1/2 cup softened butter
1  1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch sea salt
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups hot water

Preheat oven to 350.  Put all ingredients into mixing bowl ( in order) and beat very well. Pour into greased
9 x 13 pan and bake for 40 min. 

"Boiled" Icing

4 egg whites
1 cup maple syrup (the real stuff!)
1 tsp vanilla

Put egg whites, syrup, and vanilla into a  good size pot.  The egg whites will expand quite a bit.  Beat with hand mixer over medium low heat  until soft peaks form and icing is shiny.  This won't take too long, maybe 4  or 5 minutes.  Spread over cooled cake.  This icing shouldn't sit in the pot too long as it will begin to separate so it's best to make it when your cake is already cooled.

Date Sweetened Cinnamon Cookies (Gluten Free, SCD, GAPS friendly)

I just tried a little experiment and I'm pretty happy with the results.  I do quite a bit of baking around here and like to have cookies and baked goods to throw into the kids' school lunches but I don't want to load them up on sugar, even natural sugar or honey (which is all we're using right now).  Eva likes dates and has used date butter (just equal parts butter and dates processed together) on top of her occasional breakfast oatmeal but my boys don't care for them normally.  But I just tried two experiments with dates and both worked out well and are very popular with the boys!  One is peanut butter balls rolled in flaked coconut (containing peanut butter, dates, flaked coconut, coconut flour, and coconut oil) and the other were cinnamon cookies. 

The cookies are not very sweet but are tasty.  If you're kids are used to refined sugar and flour then these may not go over so well... Here is the recipe!

1 1/2 cup dates (loose dates, nothing added)
1 cup almonds (soaked and dried)
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/4 cup coconut flour
3 tbs soft butter or coconut oil
2 eggs
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla (optional)
pinch sea salt

Preheat oven to 350.   Put all ingredients into food processor and process until dates and almonds are well ground and mixture is a dough consistency.  Shape into small balls and place on parchment lined cookie sheet.  Flatten with the heel of your palm (or you could use the back of a greased spoon, etc...).  Bake 12-14 min.  Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

Win A Free Copy of Eat Well, Feel Well: More Than 150 Delicious Specific Carbohydrate Diet(tm)-compliant Recipes by Kendall Conrad

I got this cookbook Eat Well, Feel Well: More Than 150 Delicious Specific Carbohydrate Diet(tm)-compliant Recipes a few weeks ago and really really love it. I've already made the cucumber wrapped spring rolls with peanut sauce, french toast with bananas in honey caramel sauce, and more.  Every recipe I've tried has been excellent and the kids have loved it.  So I decided to offer it as a free gift to any readers who would like to enter my little contest.  I'm trying to help promote my friend Lydia's recipe ebooks so here's the deal:  If you buy her September edition for $7.95 and comment here and let me know, I'll enter your name 1 time in a drawing.  She is offering the August edition free with the September edition so you're getting a great deal.  Her recipes are amazing with pictures of every one and all the recipes I"ve tried are excellent and very healthy, gluten free, low carb, low natural sugar etc...

If you have already purchased her ebook this month that's fine, just let me know and I'll enter your name!  If you tell a friend about this contest and they buy a book you can have your name entered again, 1 for each friend you tell who buys a book.  If you buy a subscription, I"ll give you 5 entries, and 3 entries for your friend who buys a subscription.  All you have to do is tell me in the comment section and in one week, Sept. 23, I'll  do the draw and announce the winner.  I'll email you and get your info and have the book shipped to your door.  Either way you'll be winning because Lydia's recipes are amazing!!!!!!!

Click here to go to  her ebook page where you can view the table of contents, pictures, and make your purchase.

Good luck!

Best Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies (honey sweetened)

I've tweaked this recipe a couple of times and I think I will stick to this recipe.  They're very good and makes a large batch which for my family it's a waste of time making small batches of anything!   All the kids like them.  Here's the recipe:

2 cups natural peanut butter (I used smooth, crunchy would be good too)
1 cup softened butter
1 cup honey
3 eggs

Beat together very well.  Then add the following:

1 cup arrowroot flour
1/2 coconut flour
1 tsp baking soda

Beat well, scraping the sides of the bowl.  Shape into small balls and place on cookie sheet, flatten with a fork in criss cross fashion.  Bake in pre-heated oven at 350 for 10-12 minutes until edges brown a little.  You may have to let them cool a bit before removing from the pan.


As soon as they're cool enough I wrap some up and throw them in the freezer so they don't all get eaten up.  That way I still have something for school lunches, which comes in handy if I get behind in baking or low in groceries etc...  If you are doing SCD or GAPS I would just omit the arrowroot and increase the coconut flour to 1 cup and add an extra egg.  The texture will be a bit heavier  but they'll still be delicious.

Oh, and a glass of cold and creamy raw milk would sure come in handy about the time you're taking a pan of these out of the oven!

Frozen Peanut Butter Pie (SCD, Gluten Free, GAPS friendly)

I'm not  a GAPS or SCD diet expert by any means, but this pie I whipped up yesterday is as far as a know compliant.  We are newly trying to follow the basics and so far I really like this way of eating, lots of room for creativity and yumminess.  This is a crustless pie but you could easily add a press in nut type crust, or even a baked coconut flour crust.  Cooking With Coconut Flour by Bruce Fife is an excellent resource and has several good pie crust recipes.

Here's the recipe for the filling:

1 cup natural peanut butter (no additives)
1 cup plain yogurt, NOT low fat (preferably homemade)
1/4 cup butter or coconut oil
1/3 cup honey
4 egg whites
pinch of sea salt

beat the first four ingredients until light and fluffy
in separate bowl, beat egg whites and salt until stiff
fold the egg white into the peanut butter mixture in two parts (half at a time)
pour into buttered pie dish and smooth out, cover and freeze until hardened if you can wait that long! 

I served this with homemade vanilla ice cream and it was good.