Applesauce Cake with Creamed Cheese Frosting

This is my first dessert since starting on the Special Carbohydrate Diet and it turned out delicious! The best part was that it was easy to make! While most of the ingredients are household staples, it does use two unusual ingredients. I was able to find the almond flour at my local grocery store. It was in the natural food section and is made by Bob's Red Mill. The dry curd cottage cheese was a little more challenging. Luckily, I found it at a local farmer's market. It seems to be a cross between cottage cheese and ricotta cheese. I am not sure what you can use as a substitute, so you may need to experiment on your own. The original recipe suggests that you may be able to use drained yogurt in its place, but I have not tried this. Enjoy!

Applesauce Cake

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2/3 cup applesauce (natural, no sugar added)
• 1 cup nut flour (I used almond flour.)
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped
• 3/4 cup raisins

Directions

1. Melt butter in the microwave or in a double boiler.
2. Stir in honey, eggs, and applesauce.
3. In a separate bowl, mix baking soda with nut flour and then stir into butter mixture.
4. Stir in raisins and walnuts, saving a few walnut pieces for the topping.
5. Pour into a greased 9 inch square pan.
6. Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes.
7. Cool in pan and serve with creamed cheese frosting (recipe follows).

Creamed Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups dry curd cottage cheese
• honey to sweeten, add to taste

Directions

1. Place a little honey in a blender or food processor.
2. Gradually add dry curd cottage cheese.
3. Blend until smooth and creamy
4. It may be necessary to stop the processor or blender to stir up the cheese.

Shepherd's Pie with Mashed Cauliflower

This dish made with lamb turned out very flavorful, rich, and hearty! Two thumbs up from Carl.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 pounds ground lamb
• 2 onions, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 ounces, button or cremini mushrooms, chopped
• 15 ounces canned chopped tomatoes
• 12 ounces frozen green beans, defrosted or lightly cooked or bunch of chopped greens such as swiss chard or kale
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest or 1 teaspoon dried
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley or 2 tablespoons dried
• 1 medium head cauliflower, cut into florets (or 2 bags of frozen cauliflower)
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the lamb, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring as needed until browned. Drain and remove from pan.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium high heat and add the onion. Saute until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and cook for 4 minutes.
4. Return the lamb to the pan and add the tomatoes, green beans (or greens), thyme and zest. Cook for 1 minute. Turn off the heat and add the parsley, stirring thoroughly. Transfer mixture to an 8 or 9 inch oval baking dish.
5. Steam cauliflower until tender. Mash the cauliflower with the butter and nutmeg until smooth. Spoon the cauliflower over the lamb mixture.
6. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the top is lightly browned.

Grain Free Pizza Crust

This crust turned out really nice. It is VERY rich and filling, so as small as this pizza was, I could only eat half of it after having a salad as a starter.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325F and line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl.
3. Spread dough thinly on prepared baking sheet to a 6-8" diameter. You can also cover the dough with a piece of plastic wrap and pat it flat.
4. Bake without toppings in the oven for about 10 minutes.
5. Add desired toppings and bake another 10 minutes or until crust is light brown around the edges.

Colorful Coleslaw

This wonderful tangy and slightly sweet coleslaw recipe is a nice change from the typical creamy mayonnaise based coleslaws, especially for those following the SCD diet. I left out the poppy seeds and cilantro when I made this, but I think they would be a nice addition for a slightly different twist.

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp mustard
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 2 Tbsp cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• Cabbage, red or green, shredded (about 4 cups)
• 2 large carrots shredded
• 1 small red onion finely chopped or 4-6 radishes shredded
• 1 Tbsp poppy seeds (optional)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Directions

1. Chop & shred vegetables. I use a food processor to chop the cabbage, carrots, and onion/radish.
2. In a large serving bowl, whisk together the mustard, honey, lime juice, cider vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
3. Add the cabbage, carrots, onion/radish, cilantro, and poppy seeds and toss well to combine.

Fish Chowder

This Fish Chowder recipe is one of my all time favorites that I've adapted to the SCD diet. I hope you enjoy it as much as my husband and I did. He didn't even know that I had modified it to fit the SCD protocol.

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp butter
• 3/4 cup diced onions
• 2 Tbsp finely chopped carrot
• 2 Tbsp finely chopped celery
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 2 Tbsp gluten-free flour or coconut flour
• 4 cups chicken, fish, or vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup SCD yogurt or light cream
• 2 Tbsp finely grated cheddar or other SCD legal cheese
• 1 pound fish fillets such as cod, tilapia, or other light fish

Directions

1. Heat the butter in a 2 quart saucepan until softened.
2. Saute the onions, carrot, celery, and garlic, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes.
3. Remove the mixture from the heat and slowly stir in the flour.
4. Return the pot to the stove and cook, stirring for about 1 minute.
5. Slowly add the stock to the flour mixture, stirring well as you do.
6. Bring the stock to a bowl, whisking constantly, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
7. Add the fish and simmer 10-15 minutes longer or until fish is done and flakes apart.
8. Stir in the yogurt and cheese and simmer until the cheese melts, about 5-8 minutes.
9. Season with salt and pepper.

Grain Free Banana Pumpkin Pancakes

Try these easy to make and wonderful tasting grain-free pancakes. You won't even know that there is not any grain flours in them! Since this recipe only calls for 1/4 cup of canned pumpkin, I recommend that you measure out the rest of the pumpkin into 1/4 cup servings and put them on wax paper and let them freeze. When they are frozen, peel them off the wax paper and put in a zip lock freezer back for the next time you want to make these pancakes. You just have to remember to leave time for defrosting. I usually just pull out a frozen pumpkin lump the night before and let it defrost in the fridge. Or you can put it in a small container with a water tight lid and let it soak in warm water.

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 ripe banana
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon clove
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• berries or chopped nuts for garnish

Directions

1. Mash the banana in a medium sized bowl.
2. Whisk together the banana, eggs, honey, and pumpkin
3. In a separate bowl, thoroughly mix the almond flour, vanilla, salt, and spices.
4. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix well.
5. Drop 2 spoonfuls of the mixture into a hot fry pan. I like to use coconut oil for cooking these pancakes. Cook as you would any other pancake.
6. Serve with sprinkled nuts and maple syrup (or make the honey syrup below).

Honey Syrup

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

Heat all ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat until melted. Stir frequently.

Gluten-Free Carrot Cake for Two

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 1 egg, separated
• a pinch of cream of tartar
• 1/4 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon sugar, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon cardamom
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup finely grated carrot
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons raisins (optional)
• 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
• 1 tablespoon finely shredded unsweetened coconut (optional)

For the frosting:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Powdered sugar to taste

Directions

For the cake:

1. Preheat oven to 325F and place two 6-ounce greased ramekins on a baking sheet
2. In a small bowl combine egg white and cream of tartar and whisk vigorously to form soft peaks
3. Add 1/2 tablespoon sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
4. In another bowl, combine remaining ingredients.
5. Gently fold in the egg white mixture until just barely incorporated.
6. Divide batter between the two ramekins.
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and the cake starts to pull away from the sides.
8. Transfer to a rack and cool completely.
9. When cooled, top with frosting.

For the frosting:

1. Beat butter until creamy.
2. Add in yogurt and until well blended.
3. Add vanilla and mix well.
4. Add powdered sugar to taste.