Category Archives: sauces

Monday, January 27, 2014

Nightshade Free Roasted Veggie Pasta Sauce (SCD, Paleo, AIP, GAPS)

To the average person pasta sauce is a pretty healthy choice.  But if you suffer from an auto-immune disease and trying to decrease pro-inflammatory foods, tomato-based pasta sauces can be quite aggravating on the system.  Some folks find great success and relief by eliminating nightshades from their diets.  What are nightshades you ask?  Good question.  Nightshades are the following foods: Potatoes, tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, eggplant, tomatillos, tamarios, pepinos, pimentos, paprika, tobacco, goji berries, ground cherries, and cayenne peppers (and more).  See this post by the Paleo Mom with a complete list of all nightshades.  
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Labels: AIP, GAPS, main dish, Paleo, sauces, SCD.

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Thursday, January 23, 2014

Fresh Cabbage & Herb Spring Rolls with Sunbutter Honey Dipping Sauce

 About a month after I started blogging I posted a recipe for baked spring rolls and they were my favorite food for months.  I made them over and over againuntil like most things I make over and over againI became satiated (and over it).  I haven’t really made spring rolls in a while.  Last month (in December) I was looking for a recipe to bring to a holiday party.  I thought, “What would everyone like, carnivores and vegetarians alike?”  So I made some raw spring rolls and wowza they are fun to make and super yummy.  I forgot how much I enjoy stuffing those little rice wrappers.  And the sauce, oh the sauce!  The sunbutter honey dipping sauce that accompanies these little rolls has such a delightfully complex flavor.  Sunbutter is a great sub for peanut butter in traditional peanut-based sauces.  Definitely give it a try.

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Labels: allergy-friendly, appetizer, sauces, spring cuisine, summer cuisine, vegetarian.

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Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Homemade Pizza Sauce (SCD Friendly)

I make pizza every week for my family.  My kids love it – especially my son who’s never had “real” pizza, so it’s such a treat for him.  I make an allergy friendly crust (that I will be sharing with you on Friday) which he loves.  For a long time I purchased a popular canned organic pizza sauce, but then one day it dawned on me that I could make the sauce, and another added bonus, I can have an SCD pizza sauce on hand.  It’s so easy to double this batch and freeze for the following week.  Many store bought brands add sugars or thickeners (boo).  You can control every ingreidnet in homemade (yay).  And making your own pizza sauce is yet another way to decrease waste in your kitchen, thus one more step toward a greener kitchen (double yay).  There are only a few ingredients (and summer garden ingredients too).  So give it a try and have fun adding your own twist and flavors.    

Ingredients 
-1 pound of small slicer tomatoes, chopped 
-1 medium yellow onion, chopped 
-1 ounce fresh basil (about 1 1/2 cups)
-1/2 teaspoon of salt (or to taste)
-1 1/2 teaspoons garlic granules
-1/2 teaspoon dried Italian Seasoning
-1/4 teaspoon dried oregano 
-1 tablespoon oil
-1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon honey (optional) 

How To:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
1.  In a large roasting dish, combine above ingredients (except honey) and toss to incorporate.
2.  Roast veggies for 25 minutes. 
3.  Remove from oven and cool.
4.  Blend in food processor or blender of choice, add in honey at this time if desired.  I add in about 1/4 teaspoon, just to offset the acidic tomatoes – add more if using very acidic tomatoes. 

Notes:
*Using the right tomatoes is important, as some tomatoes have much more juice.  The key to a successful pizza sauce is minimal liquid.  So, I add just a bit of oil for roasting, use meaty tomatoes, and squeeze out any juice (I like smaller slicers or big meaty heirlooms).  Romas are very watery, but if this is all you have, try and squeeze out all the liquid before roasting.  
(free of: gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, yeast, nuts, and sugar) 

Shared on:  Melt in your Mouth Mondays, Keep It Simple Mondays, Monday Mania, Mealtime Monday My Meatless Monday, Just Another Meatless Monday, Made from Scratch Monday, Fat Tuesday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Recipe Box Tuesday,  

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Labels: sauces, SCD, spreads.

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Friday, May 4, 2012

Chicken, Mango, and Black Bean Salad Topped with Vegan Cilantro Lime Sauce (SCD Friendly)

Last month we were out to dinner at our favorite restaurant, Dos Coyotes (a certified gluten-free establishment)*, and Scott had the most amazing burrito: chicken, mango, and black beans with a cilantro lime sauce.  Let’s just say we had the exact same thing the very next night, here at home, SCD style. 

Ingredients
-1/2 cup cashews, soaked for 8-10 hours
-1/2 cup cilantro 
-1/4 cup filtered water
-3 tablespoons oil
-3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
-1/4 teaspoons salt
-1/4 teaspoon garlic granules 

How To
1.  Blend above ingredients until creamy 
2.  Serve with grilled chicken and mango salad (or skip the chicken and rock this salad vegetarian style).

Notes:
*This restaurant (North Davis location) is not only certified gluten free, but also eco-friendly.  All their to-go boxes are biodegradable, no plastic is used, no plastic bags, and they utilize sustainable energy sources.  

Build your Chicken and Mango salad!
#1: Curly (aka savory) green cabbage
I also mixed shredded romaine with the cabbage
#2: Black Beans  
These were soaked for about 48 hours, boiled, then cooked with water, Mexican spice mix, and onion
#3: Grilled Chicken 
Top with mango, red onions, tomatoes, avocado, cilantro lime sauce, and fresh cilantro 
Serve with a side of grain free Spanish rice 
Salud!
Shared on: Fat Tuesday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Traditional Tuesdays, Whole Food Wednesdays, Pennywise Platter Thursday, Melt in You Mouth Mondays, Monday Mania, Fresh Bites Friday, Freaky Friday, Fight Back Friday, Friday Food, Lunchbox Love Friday, Feed Your Soul Friday,  Super Food Sundays, Summer Salad Sunday
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Labels: main dish, salad, sauces, SCD.

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Monday, February 27, 2012

Super Simple Super Tasty Marinara Sauce – and a funny for your Monday.

I’ve been working on a SCD lasagna recipe.  Almost there!  Can’t wait to share the recipe with you soon.  In the meantime, I wanted to share my homemade marinara sauce.  I have trouble with store bought pasta sauces, as they are just too salty for me.  So with homemade I can control the seasoning.  Plus making your own sauce is a great way to cut down on your kitchen waste (no cans or jars to throw out).  There are a zillion recipes for marinara sauce out there.  What I have for you today is a base sauce, this is delish on its own, but from here you can add in a variety of other ingredients.  See below in notes for some suggestions.  A quick word about tomatoes.  It’s very important to choose meaty tomatoes, or the sauce gets a bit watery.  I find that little slicer tomatoes are very meaty with little juice.  And in the summer it’s all about those gorgeous heirlooms.  I’ve also made marinara with Romas, but the sauce was awfully acidic and watery (see notes below about how to make a less watery sauce, especially if making this sauce for lasagna).  If you find your sauce too acidic, add in a little honey or other sweetener of choice.  Or add in some cashew milk, other thickened nut milk, or full fat coconut milk (just a few tablespoons or until desired taste/texture).  This will create a creamy sauce and cut down on the acid factor.  It’s fun to experiment with marinara.  I hope this recipe will serve as a nice base and get you going. 
Ingredients
-1 medium yellow or red onion, chopped
-3 stalks celery, chopped
-2 1/2 lbs organic tomatoes, chopped (find small slicers during winter and big fat meaty heirlooms during the summer).  If using this sauce for a lasagna, make sure you squeeze the juice out of each tomato.  This yields a thicker sauce.  I don’t recommend Romas.  Round slicers or any meaty heirloom works the best – they are lower in water content and have more tomato meet.  
-A big handful of fresh basil (about 1 1/2 cups)
-1 teaspoon celtic sea salt
-1 tablespoon garlic granules (or 3 cloves fresh garlic, chopped)
-1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
-2 bay leaves 
-Oil of choice 
-Fresh ground pepper

How To
1.  Coat the bottom of your favorite pot with oil, add onions and salt and saute for 3-5 minutes.  Add celery and saute for additional 3-5 minutes.
2.  Add chopped tomatoes, stir and add in garlic granules, Italian seasoning, and basil.  Stir until well combined.  
3.  Mix in bay leaves and fresh ground pepper  
4.  Cook uncovered on med heat/low heat until tomatoes release their juice (about 10 minutes).
5.  Cover and cook on low for 20 minutes.
6.  When tomatoes are cooked down, remove bay leaves and blend.  I use an immersion  blender.  This yields a thick and slightly chunky sauce.  For a smooth sauce, blend with high speed blender or any other counter blender. 


Notes:
*If you are making this sauce for a lasagna, be sure to squeeze all the juice out of the tomatoes before you put them in the pot.  A watery tomato sauce will not work well with lasagna. 
*Here are a few other veggie suggestions for your marinara sauce.
-Red, green, or yellow bell pepper
-Zucchini
-Mushrooms
-Yellow winter squash
-Roasted cauliflower
-Carrots 
-Celery root
-Fennel
-Roasted Parsnips
*


I always say: start the week (or day) off on a funny note.  I love this girl – she always makes me giggle!  So awesome.  I’ve said like 99% of this stuff at one point or another.  Come on, you just have to laugh!! 

 Just Another Meatless MondayMelt in your Mouth Mondays, Monday Mania, Ruth’s Real Food 101 (Mondays), Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Fat Tuesdays Real Food WednesdaysGluten-Free WednesdaysWhole Food Wednesdays, Wellness Weekend, Freaky Friday, Fresh Bites Fridays, Friday Food Fix
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Labels: ACD, dairy free, gluten free, sauces, SCD, vegan, vegetarian.

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Friday, January 27, 2012

Raw Cranapple Sauce

After I made my sweet and savory applesauce for pork chops, I knew a raw sauce was in order.  I had some leftover dried cranberries and thought, hey, this might work.  Yummers!! No sweeteners needed for this one, just a bit of orange juice.  Really delicious, healthy, refreshingand raw!  

Ingredients
-6 organic red apples of choice, chopped. (3 peeled, 3 with skins) 
-1 cup dried cranberries, soaked in filtered water for about an hour (try to find dried berries with no sugar added or sulfur dioxide) 
-1/4 cup orange juice (I used two small Clementines, but adding orange juice is totally optionalI just happen to love anything tart!
How To
1.  In a food processor fitted with the S-blade, blend apples until they start to release some of their juice.
2.  Strain cranberries and add to apples, blend until well incorporated.
3.  Add orange juice and continue blending until desired consistency.  I went with a traditional applesauce texture.  
Shared on: Lunch Box Love Friday, Wellness Weekend, Pennywise Platter Thursdays, Freaky Friday,  Fresh Bites Fridays, & Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays,  Raw Foods Thursday, Friday Foodie Fix, 
Posted by Amber at

Labels: dairy free, gluten free, raw, sauces, SCD, sugar free.

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Saturday, November 19, 2011

Raw Pasta Two Ways (with two delicious raw sauces)

 “The way you cut your meat reflects the way you live.”
–Confucius


“The way you cut your veggies reflects the way you live.” 
– Me, earlier today

I love vegetables, but like most things I get b.o.r.e.d very easily.  So cutting veggies up like pasta is nothing new friends, but what I have dressed them with today, well, hello gorgeous (yes you) and what I am tasting in my mouth.  I’m eating the “pasta” pictured in the top right as we speak. I often eat and blog at the same time.  That’s why my keyboard looks like a barnacle (so gross).  

I’ve been making pesto for years and this is my favorite recipe but I find it gets a bit washed out on pasta, so I added one simple ingredient and bam – love! 
The perfect raw pesto.  I adore pesto in any form.  It brings back lovely memories of my beloved Gramie (who was a die-hard cook).  Growing up I spent the summers with my Grandparents (and lived with them for many years).  Gramie often made fresh pesto and I vividly remember her explaining what it was and how to make it with nothing less than grand enthusiasm over the entire process from leaves to paste. Of course I thought it was awesome, and she allowed me to do the best part of the jobdrizzling in the oil.  Magic.  If my Gramie was alive today I know she would LOVE my heart-healthy version.  This one’s for you Gramie! 
Sauce #1: the perfect raw pesto
Ingredients:
-1 large beautiful organic avocado

How To:
1.  Make pesto recipe as specified above and add in the avocado (cut into chunks and blend in food processor with other ingredients)
2.  The avocado gives it just the right “something” that creates a creamy, substantial sauce 
3.  Toss sauce with raw zucchini & carrot “pasta” made with this tool.  You may need to drizzle in some oil to help incorporate the sauce with “pasta”  


Notes
*This sauce also works great with cooked gluten-free pasta (this is how I tested it originally

*Pesto is best served at room temperature (in my opinion)
*I use this gadget to get the zucchini to look like pasta noodles.

*Or this awesome julienne peeler works great too for both the carrots or zucchini.
Sauce #2: Fabulous Fig Balsamic Dressing.  This is a sweet/savory sauce from one of my favorite restaurants on the planet, Cafe Gratitude.
The first time I ate at Cafe Gratitude I fell in love; I was smitten like a lovesick teenager, seriously!  Check out their website and I dare you to not feel warm, fuzzy, loved, and excited about their philosophy and their food – my goddess the food!  I’m sure I scared the poor man sitting next to me as I moaned, groaned, and talked to myself through the entire meal (who does that? oh, crazy people like me – okay, I was having a foodgasm if you must know).  I was still chewing my first bite when I spotted their cookbook, ran to it, grabbed it, and proceeded to hold onto it (while I ate) like a miserly mouse clenching the last piece of cheese.  So if you are headed to San Francisco for a visit, call me and I will meet you there and we can be crazy about this place together!  

The fig sauce is located on page 45.  It’s fantastic.  I adapted it slightly with what I had on hand, so the original recipe is different.  My adaption is below. 


Sauce #2: Fabulous Fig Balsamic Dressing
Ingredients:
-7 black mission figs, quartered
-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-Juice from 1/2 a lemon
-A few turns of the pepper grinder 
-Oil of choice

How To:
1.  Add figs, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and lemon to food processor, blend until Incorporated

2.  Drizzle in oil until creamy 

Shared on: Wellness Weekend over at Diet, Dessert and Dogs, Real Food 101, Fat Tuesdays, Friday Foodie Fix, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Raw Foods Thursday, 
Posted by Amber at

Labels: dairy free, gluten free, raw, sauces, sides, soy free, vegan.

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