GastroChef 's Tumblr

http://www.GastroChef.org Creating meals that are grain-free, sugar-free, gluten-free and most importantly taste great!

[gastrochef]

Fresh Avocado Frites!

Originating in Puebla, Mexico, the Avocado has become popular in kitchens around the world. While high in fat, it is mostly monounsaturated fat making up 75 of the caloric count (This is the good fat!).  Interestingly, some studies have shown regular avocado intake can lower blood cholesterol levels and may contain some cancer fighting properties due to its natural aliphatic acetogenins. After my last post on Zucchini fries, I looked around my kitchen only to find a few firm avocados. The rest is history, or more to the point the rest is in this recipe. These lovely fries are not only easy to make but also have a wonderful texture. Once baked the avocados have a nice crispy exterior with a soft interior so make sure you let them cool for a few minutes once out of the oven or you may burn yourself!   As always I like to spice creations like this with turmeric due to its natural anti-inflammatory properties, a key spice for anyone with ulcerative colitis or inflammatory based chronic condition. In addition to turmeric, I put in a bit of garlic to give it a kick. Neither will over power the tastes of avocado so don’t worry about ruining the taste. As a final note; If you don’t plan to immediately use your peeled avocado, add some lemon or lime juice to the flesh as they are prone to enzymatic browning and will do so shortly after exposure to air. No one likes a brown avocado... well they do, they just don't look as great! haha! Happy Baking (…and eating!) -GC        

RECIPE PDF ----> Fresh Avocado Frites <---- RECIPE PDF

[gastrochef]

Turmeric Spiced Zucchini Fries

Since 1802 when Thomas Jefferson was served "potatoes served in a French manner" at the White House Dinner, French fries have become common place at almost every restaurant, fast-food establishment and food truck. As Ronald Reagan once said "All great change begins at the dinner table". While perhaps he wasn't referring to my personal goal of re-creating dinner classics into a grain-free option, it is a good place to start.

After almost 3 years of watching friends, loved ones and hormone crazed teens at the mall scarf down fries without being able to partake, I finally now have my own guilty pleasure. Yet, at its core, there is nothing to feel guilty for with these SCD friendly zucchini fries. Zucchini is one of the wonderful veggies that is packed full of health benefits. A single cup of zucchini has only 36 calories and 10% of your daily requirement of dietary fibre which helps lower cholesterol and prevent it from oxidizing in the body's blood vessels due to its high vitamin C and Vitamin A levels, preventing the onset of atherosclerosis!

Of course one of the greatest aspect of zucchini and turmeric spice is its natural anti-inflammatory properties. Anyone with IBD (Ulcerative colitis, Crohn's Disease, etc) and to some extent IBS knows the burden chronic inflammation plays on our digestive health and well-being. The high levels of Vitamins A and C along with copper in zucchini help deter inflammation throughout the body. Turmeric, that wonderful yellow spice, contains more than two dozen anti-inflammatory compounds as well as six different COX-2 inhibitors, which essentially help block pathways in our body responsible for inducing pain and inflammation.

So go ahead, indulge and for once, don't feel guilty about having some fries with dinner or as a snack.

*Recipe Tips*

There is no right way to cut zucchini for this, cut strips as thin or as thick as you wish. The thicker the slicer the longer it may take to crisp up

Before rolling zucchini in almond/cheese mix, ensure excess egg mix has drizzled off

Instead of Turmeric, use any combination of spices or garlic to make a range of tasty fries

-GC

PDF -----> Turmeric Spiced Zucchini Fries Recipe <----- PDF

[gastrochef]

Cauliflower Risotto with leek and bacon (Rice-Free)

Risotto, a classic italian dish is usually made with rice cooked in a broth and butter to form a creamy consistency. For a classic risotto dish one would choose a rice high in starch, however, here at GastroChef, we not only avoid starch products but also anything containing high levels of lactose, sugar or grains.

In order to make a risotto we decided to use cauliflower and process it until it resembled small grains. Now as you can see from the picture you can tell the difference between the rice and cauliflower versions, taste on the other hand is out of this world for our dish. Not only does it taste great with so many flavours, there is no starch you need worry about, so dig in.

To add extra flavor to the risotto I first cooked up some fresh bacon and leek to bring out all the flavours and then cooked the minced cauliflower with them in a broth base. A chicken or vegetable broth is acceptable (each brings its own unique flavor). Finally to get a bit of a creamy consistency I added in a bit of a coconut milk. Just before serving, stir in freshly grated parmesan and sprinkle some on top with chives and herbs to garnish!

Enjoy!

-GC

PDF ----> Cauliflower and leek risotto<---- PDF

[gastrochef]

Pumpkin Pie with a pistachio almond crust (Sugar & Grain Free)

 For anyone who loves to bake, Autumn is synonymous with pumpkin flavour. Pumpkin pie for most is an absolute requirement for thanksgiving and holiday feasts! In an effort to create a healthy grain/sugar-free pie I have been playing around with ingredients. The first attempt sadly turned out horrible and lacked flavour, however, when experimenting with sugar and grain free desserts this is bound to happen here and there.

For today's pie, I've made a crust using a variety of ground nuts. For some, almond flour will be enough but if you want to add a bit of flavour try any combination of ground nuts.  Instead of the traditional pie pan I decided to bake these pies in extra-large muffin pans with wrappers and remove the wrappers once the pie's had baked and cooled. To ensure the pie holds its shape I added 1 Tbsp of gelatine. For this reason, the pies must be cooled completely before they can be removed from the wrapper and served.

Finally, for those health minded bakers out there, never fear, pumpkin is wonderful for the body. The beta-carotene present in the flesh from pumpkin has anti-inflammatory properties which with regular consumption can help provide relief from inflammatory driven conditions like colitis, arthritis, etc. The rest of the benefits are numerous including high levels of vitamin A, C, magnesium, potassium, zinc and high levels of dietary fibre.

Recipe PDF ---> Pumpkin Pie with a Pistachio:Almond Crust <--- Recipe PDF

[gastrochef]

Grain & Sugar Free Granola

 Just because you have decided to cut down or eliminate grains from your diet doesn't mean you need to sacrifice the foods you love. You just need to find substitutes that make you wonder why you didn't make this choice sooner! Personally I have always loved granola, whether it be granola bars or as part of a fruit and yogurt parfait. After doing some searching and getting ideas from different sources i came up with a few great granola recipes. One the ingredients that helps the granola bind and form clumps after baking is your choice of nut butter. I personally love cashew butter but this recipe is great with any nut or seed butters you love. I chose to use a pumpkin seed and a cashew based butter to make a few variations. One great thing about this recipe is that it is a basic one, you can add or take away ingredients you love! Just remember you will need to increase your honey oil mix and your nut butter with the more ingredients you add!

Finally, if you are looking for a really crunchy bar I would recommend changing the cooking time to an hour or two on 275 to slow cook the granola.  I like mine a little chewy so i do a quick 20 minute bake on 350! This is all up to you so play around with it and see what you like. Alternatively you could always throw the mix in the dehydrator over night instead of the oven!

Enjoy! And post any ideas or modifications you have made to share!

-GC

PDF ----> GastroChef’s Grain Free Granola <----PDF

[gastrochef]

Traditional Ethiopian Beef Tibs

After many, many, many trips to a little Ethiopian restaurant here in Toronto (Nazarth’s Café) I decided I would try my hand at it. Traditionally Ethiopian cuisine is made of spicy vegetable and meat dishes served as a thick stew or “wat” which is served on top of “injera” which is like a large spongy sourdough pancake.  When served your dish you use the injera to pick up the wat and enjoy the meal with your hands! Pictured above is my version of this Ethiopian classic with a beef and vegetarian dish separated with a hard cheese on top of large iceberg lettuce leaves instead of the classic injera. I find using lettuce instead of injera to make the meal a lot lighter and allows you to enjoy a large meal without feeling overly full! plus it eliminates grains, gluten and sugars. Tibs, what I have chosen to make for today’s post is one of my favorite dishes. To make a successful Tibs you will need two key ingredients, Berbere Spice and Niter Kibbeh, which are often best prepared the day before you want to make your dish. Niter Kibbeh is essentially a spiced butter that is slow cooked until the milk solids from the butter can be strained out leaving a clarified butter. The whole process takes a minimum of 2 hours cooking on low.

*NOTE* The SCD diet lists fenugreek as an “illegal” spice, however, I have chosen to challenge this and include it as many clinical studies have found benefit to digestion with the moderate consumption of this spice. I would give a note of caution to use your own judgment with this dish as some people in the early stages of SCD, Paleo, GAPS or elimination diets will not tolerate a lot of spice and often find it can aggravate their stomachs. If you find you have tolerated spices quite well before then go for it and enjoy this awesome meal!   Finally the last thing you will need to create is a simple Berbere Spice blend. Feel free to process this mixture if you want to make it more of a powder. I choose to leave the blend as is. Visually it is stunning when mixed into your meat or veg. Other than that it is time for you to try it! I have linked the recipes below as PDF’s. If you feel so inclined to be authentic then give Goorsha a try when you make this. Goorsha is an act of friendship often seen practiced when eating Ethiopian food. A person uses his or her right hand to tear off a piece of injera, roll some wat in it and essentially feed their friend.  It is said the larger the Goorsha the stronger the friendship, although this practice has been slowly disappearing. I will hopefully follow this post up with information on the vegetarian version of this, Mesir Wat. Mesir wat is a great and spicy and uses lentils instead of meat. Enjoy! -GC

RECIPES

PDF----->  Ethiopian Beef Tibs  <----- PDF

PDF----->  Berbere Spice Blend  <-----PDF

PDF----->  Niter Kibbeh  <-----PDF

[gastrochef]