Custard

At our Wellington Xmas GAPS group meeting, I asked what foods people would miss at Xmas, and someone said that being dairy free, she missed custard. So here are three different custard recipes.

The first one is RUSSIAN custard, from the GAPS book. The Healthy Home Economist has the recipe HERE. This is a raw dish, made from just egg yolks and honey. It is usually used as a cream substitute on GAPS. But if you added a little vanilla, it would taste more like the custard we're used to. 

The second is a MILK custard, but using honey instead of sugar. This is only GAPS friendly in the very last stages when you can have a little unfermented dairy, as long as it is raw.

• 1 cup raw milk
• 1 cup raw cream
• 3 egg yolks
• pinch Celtic sea salt
• 1 Tbs honey
• ¾ tsp vanilla essence (or one vanilla bean)

This makes a hot, runny custard. Heat up the milk & cream to just short of boiling. Meanwhile, if you have a double boiler, beat the egg yolks and salt together in the top part. Otherwise, find a bowl that will sit on top of a pan of boiling water, and use that. Pour the hot milk & cream slowly into the egg yolks, whisking most of the time. Set on top of a pan of simmering water, and whisk till it thickens (about 10 mins). Take off the heat, whisk in the honey and vanilla essence and serve immediately with fruit crumble, pie, ice cream or fruit.

Variation 1: 

If you are using a vanilla bean, scrape out the seeds and add them to the milk and cream in step 1.

Variation 2: If you want a thick custard for something like a trifle topping:

Instead of putting the cream in with the milk, put into a small bowl and let it come to room temperature before starting the custard. Sprinkle 1 Tbs gelatin over the top of it, and carry on with the custard. After it has thickened, stir in the cream & gelatin and stir till the gelatin has dissolved. Let cool a little, pour onto the sponge & jelly layer of your trifle and refrigerate.

Variation 3: Thick custard with banana (the version pictured)

After taking off the heat and adding honey & vanilla, add one or two sliced banana, and stir. Cool a little, then refrigerate.

The third version is COCONUT custard.

This is the same as the milk custard, except that you use 1 1/2 cups of coconut cream. Look for a brand with no preservatives & other additives.

Fruit Jelly and Fruit Mousse

Another gelatin recipe we've been having quite a bit lately is real fruit jelly. To get a consistency more like commercial jelly, you can use fruit juice, but we've been using the whole fruit.

• 2 cups blueberries
• 1 cup black currants
• 1 1/2 cups room temp water
• 3 Tbs gelatin
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• small amount of natural sweetener of your choice

If your berries are frozen, get them out a couple of hours beforehand to defrost. 

Put the water in a medium sized pan and sprinkle the gelatin over the top. While it softens, zizz everything else together in a blender or food processor.

Gently heat the water and gelatin until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Add about half to the blender and zizz. Then add the rest and zizz well.

Pour into 4 or 5 dishes and put in the fridge to set. You can put it all in one bowl, but it;s then very tempting to just have another mouthful and another and so on!

Mousse

To convert the recipe to a mousse, replace the water with 1 cup raw milk or cream and 1/2 cup yoghurt or yoghurt cream. Sprinkle the gelatin on the milk or cream and add the yoghurt to the blender separately.

You can make all sorts of different flavours of mousse or jelly just by changing the fruit around. Strawberry & banana is also nice.

The version in the photo is Berry Mousse with another layer on top of Yoghurt mixed with fermented cream and raspberries. And a little gelatin in that layer too.

Gummy Stars

This is a Mommypotamus recipe, which I found  posted on the Auckland Mums: Super Nutrition for Babies and Beyond facebook page.

I'm in the mode of thinking of Xmas recipes at the moment, and these would be a great recipe for GAPS kids who are ok on honey.

• 1/3 cup lemon (or lime) juice (about 3 large lemons)
• 3 Tbs gelatin
• 3 Tbs honey
• Mummypotamus added some natural food colouring, but I didn't and they still came out a nice colour.

Put the lemon juice in a small pan and sprinkle the gelatin on top. When it's softened add the honey, and stir all together over a low heat till the gelatin is dissolved.

The first time, I just poured it into a glass dish, put in the fridge till set, then cut it up into squares. The second time I used some chocolate moulds. They went into the freezer for a while, then into the fridge. I used the pointy end of a sharp knife to prise a corner out, and then peeled each one out. This amount made about 24 gummies.

Now go and visit Mummypotamus and see all her other great recipes, including her guide to the Ultimate GAPS Xmas recipes. 

She also has a fabulous looking book full of DIY organic beauty recipes. Just what every GAPS household needs.

Christmas Morning Almond Muffins

I tried another version of the Xmas morning muffins, this time with almond flour, for those who can't have coconut. The texture was quite different, but still very good.

• 2 cups ground almonds
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon or mixed spice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3 eggs
• 8 Tbs (100gm, 4oz) butter or coconut oil, melted
• 4 Tbs honey
• 4 Tbs juice from an orange
• Grated zest of the orange
• ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
• 1 cup frozen cranberries

Line a 12 muffin pan with patty pans. In a large bowl, combine almond flour, baking soda and spices.  Stir in cranberries. Blend together eggs, butter or oil, orange juice, honey, salt and zest.  Mix the two together. Pour batter into muffin pans. Bake at 350° for about 20 minutes. If the tops start to get too brown, cover with some brown paper or foil. Cool and serve.

Twice Baked Pumpkin

Ya know, I've never been that fussed on pumpkin. I love butternut pumpkin in soup, but the usual big grey pumpkin leaves me cold. But there are 4 ways that I actually quite like it - which is good, cos it's such a handy GAPS vegetable.


The first is in bread or cake - I've already posted recipes for Cashew Bread and Coconut Almond bread, which both have pumpkin as an optional ingredient.


The other 3 are "Twice baked pumpkin".


Cut your pumpkin into pieces, scrape out the seeds and place spaced out on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake for about an hour at 175C, till a knife goes through easily. Scrape the flesh away from the skin and put into a food processor with a little salt and some ghee. Process till smooth.


1. With feta (not GAPS friendly, or at least not till later stages):


Put 1/2 of the pumpkin into a baking dish. Sprinkle a generous layer of feta on top (1/2 to 1 block). Pour on the rest of the pumpkin. Grate some tasty cheddar cheese and mix with breadcrumbs or ground almonds. Sprinkle on top. Put back in the oven for about 15 minutes till the cheese is nicely browned.


2. With peanut butter


A chance comment from a client about putting peanut butter into pumpkin pie lead to this variation. When you add the ghee and salt to the food processor, also add a couple of large spoonfuls of peanut butter - preferably either Reilly's or your own homemade. Zizz till smooth, pour into a baking dish and bake for about 15 mins. It's amazing the difference this makes to the taste.


3. Souffle.


This version comes from Emma on the GAPS Australasia Support Group. She makes it with butternut squash and calls it Pumpkin Pie. Her version is a sweetish breakfast dish. Make the peanut butter version above but also beat in 6 eggs that have been whisked up in a separate bowl. Bake for 15 minutes or so till firm and lightly browned. Serve as a vegetable side dish. Or for breakfast or dessert, top with shredded coconut, ground up nuts or berries.


Versions 2 or 3 can be part of our GAPS Xmas Feast.

Spinach Roulade

A spinach roulade is a classic dish that can be varied by using different fillings. The mozzarella and tomato version, which is good either hot or cold, comes from Rose Elliot’s Vegetarian Kitchen. A couple of other variations have been included. The red with green looks very festive and this would make a nice Xmas entrée, side dish or to cater for a vegetarian family member.

Note that the recipe as it stands isn't suitable for GAPS as these cheeses are not GAPS friendly. You may be able to tolerate them later in the diet, or you could substitute harder cheeses. 

The Roulade:

• 450g (1 lb) fresh spinach or 175g (6oz) frozen
• 15g (1/3 oz) butter
• 4 eggs, separated
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• grated nutmeg
• 4 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese           

Set the oven to 200°C/400°F. Line a 23 x 33 cm/9 x 13” Swiss roll tin with baking paper, extended a bit up the sides.

If you're using fresh spinach, wash well in sinkfuls of cold water, then put it into a large saucepan & cook over a high heat for 7-10 minutes, or until it is very tender. Keep pushing it down into the pan with a fish slice as it cooks. Or, cook frozen spinach in a tiny amount of boiling water, just enough to prevent it from sticking to the pan; it takes the same length of time.

Drain the spinach into a colander and press it very well to extract as much water as possible. Put it into a food processor, along with the butter, egg yolks and the seasonings, and whizz it all at top speed to make a smooth, creamy-looking puree. Whisk the egg whites until they stand in stiff peaks, then gently add the spinach mixture and carefully fold into the egg whites, incorporating as well as you can without stirring too hard. Tip into the tin, level the top gently and sprinkle it with 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the top is springy. While the roulade is baking, prepare a piece of baking paper to turn it out on to, by sprinkling it with the rest of the Parmesan. 

The Filling:

• 2 x 150g/5 oz Mozzarella cheese, packed in water (OR 100g feta, OR 250g ricotta)
• 4 medium tomatoes (OR a red capsicum)
• 3 - 4 sprigs of fresh basil (OR small bunch fresh parsley)

Drain the Mozzarella & slice thinly (or crumble the feta); cut the tomatoes into thin rounds (or capsicum into chunks) & chop the basil (or parsley).

Putting it together

Take the roulade out of the oven and turn it out on to the baking paper. Peel the paper off the roulade, and add the filling:

• Cover with a layer of Mozzarella slices (or other cheeses) 
• Then a layer of tomato rounds (or capsicum)
• And finally chopped herbs and salt and pepper to taste.

Roll up the roulade, starting at one of the long ends. Serve immediately, or put on a plate, cover with foil & put it into the oven, at 160°C/325°F, for 15 minutes or so. 

Mushroom Nut Roast

A few years ago I went in search of a nut roast recipe, and was interested to find they were all so different. So I made up my own composite, picking all the tastiest sounding ingredients. And I was surprised how delicious it was. It keeps well in the fridge, and can also be frozen. 

This is a handy recipe if you have vegetarians in the family. For Xmas Day, they're festive made in star shaped tins, or mini loaf tins, and can be made in advance. At other times of the year, it's a satisfying any time snack for even a dedicated carnivore like myself.

If you’ve only got a small food processor, or are only feeding 1 or 2 people, it might be easier to make a half mixture.

• 1 Tbs each butter & extra virgin olive oil (or 2 Tbs olive oil)
• 1 large onion, roughly chopped
• 1 baby leek (optional), sliced and rinsed
• 5 cloves garlic, crushed or chopped
• 2 large mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups crispy cashews
• 1/2 cup crispy brazils
• 1/2 cup crispy walnuts
• 1/2 cup crispy almonds
• 2 small slices bread (starch free is fine, or you could omit it), roughly torn into chunks
• ½ tsp sea salt
• Your own favourite fresh or dried herbs
• 1 egg (can be left out, if you don’t tolerate eggs)

In a large food processor, grind together almonds, cashews, brazils & walnuts until they’re the consistency of large breadcrumbs. Add the bread. Process again. Sauté onions, leeks and garlic in the oil and butter. Add mushrooms, and cook till softened. Add to the food processor along with seasonings, herbs and the egg. Process till smooth. Cook in a greased, lined ring tin, for about 40 mins at 180C, or in four individual tins for less time. 

Gingerbread Xmas Cookies

Last Xmas I had a go at making gingerbread Xmas shapes, which turned out reasonably well. This year I was going to tweak my recipe, but discovered that another GAPS blogger has beaten me to it. So no need to reinvent the wheel. If gingerbread is something that appeals to your Xmas spirit, I'll just send you over to Thinking Outside the Box. Thanks yet again dansmumm.

Marinated fish in coconut cream

Usually I serve this in a bowl. But at the moment, my thoughts are on Xmas and I can just see a platter full of kebabs, with the white of the fish alternating with red and green veges. If Xmas Day is hot (but with it having dropped to 12C in Wellington today, who can be sure it will be?), fish kebabs would be a light and refreshing alternative to a roast. They could even be tossed on the BBQ for a minute on each side. Here's my regular recipe, plus thoughts on kebabs.

• ½ cup lemon juice (3-5 lemons approx)
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 500g (1/2 lb) firm white fish (see note below for good types of fish)
• approx 100ml (1/2 cup) coconut cream
• slice of red onion, chopped up finely
• about ¼ telegraph cucumber, chopped up small
• handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
• mesclun or other lettucy type greens

Start preparation 24 hours before you want to serve. Mix the lemon juice and the salt together in a medium sized bowl. Cut the fish into chunks that are roughly 2 cm (just under 1 inch) a side, and mix together well. Press the fish down, so that the juice covers it. If the lemon juice doesn’t cover the fish, add a little extra. Marinate in the fridge for 24 hours, stirring occasionally.

Drain the fish well, put into a clean bowl and stir in the coconut cream. I don’t measure it; I just slosh in enough so that the fish has a nice coating. Chop up the salad veges and stir them in. 

The amounts given are approximate and will depend on your taste and how you are going to serve it. If you are serving it as a main meal, you’ll want to add more vegetables than if it’s an entrée. You can vary the vegetables as well, eg by using spring onions or capsicum.

Kebabs

Leave the fish to sit in the coconut cream for an hour or two. Then thread onto skewers, alternating pieces of fish with your choice of raw salad vegetables – e.g. cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, capsicum, radish or baby turnips. Cold, cooked roast vegetables such as pumpkin could also be interesting.

Xmas kebabs

For the red veges: cherry tomatoes, capsicum or red onion

For the green: cucumber (or zucchini if going on the barbie), celery, green capsicum

What fish should I use?

Good fish to use: terakihi, kawahai (with the brown meat cut off), cod, mullet, halibut, skipjack or albacore tuna

Fish to avoid: Gurnard, bluefin or yellowfin tuna

If in doubt, ask the fish seller for a recommendation 

Beetroot dip

I love baby beetroot, and we got some picked fresh from my sister's garden last week. I turned them into a beetroot dip which we served with fish for dinner.

• Baby beetroot (5 of them made a dip that served 2 of us for 2 dinners)
• Cultured cream, homemade yoghurt or yoghurt "cheese" (ie after dripping out the whey). For a dairy free option, homemade mayo would probably work fine.
• A little himalayan or celtic sea salt

You can add extra flavourings, though I didn't this time. Some possibilities (choose one only!):

• Horseradish cream is a classic addition (check for non-GAPS ingredients)
• I've used PureWasabi by Coppersfolly as a horseradish substitute before
• Lemon juice, ground cumin, ground coriander seed, crushed garlic
• Or just the lemon juice and cumin

Trim the beetroot, leaving about a 1cm of stalk and tail. Wash well, but leave the skins on. Put into a pan and cover with cold water and a little sea salt. Simmer till they can be pierced with a skewer, approx 45-60 minutes, depending on size. Drain off the water and cover them with cold water, till they're cold enough to handle. Slice off the two ends, and you'll be able to slip the skins right off.

Put into food processor with a couple of tablespoons of the sour cream or yoghurt, and zizz. Add more sour cream till it comes to a good consistency, and seasonings to taste. (Sorry, I didn't measure anything). I didn't even take a photo, the one above is pinched from another site. But it's there so you can get a rough idea of what the colour and consistency will look like.

This would  make a lovely Xmas dinner starter, with a bowl of guacamole and maybe a third bowl of chicken liver pate. Make some biscotti from starch free bread, or cut up some vege sticks or chunks to go with it.

Sauerkraut Salad

Some people love sauerkraut. And some people just don't like it at all, but know it's good for them. When you're first introducing a tiny bit of kraut into your diet, you can usually hide it in something, but once you're up to 2-3 tablespoons, it's harder to hide. One way you can make it more interesting is to vary what goes into your sauerkraut - carrots, red cabbage instead of green, some beetroot.

We've recently been enjoying sauerkraut salad. This would be good if you're still easing into GAPS, or later on, when you're digesting raw vegetables well. It's not suitable for the early stages of GAPS Intro.

This is enough for two people:

• About 4-5 Tbs sauerkraut
• A carrot
• Or an apple
• Or 1/2 a beetroot
• A little red onion, finely chopped (optional, if you can digest it)
• 1-2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 1-2 Tbs chopped nuts and seeds or homemade dukkah

Grate the carrot, apple and/or beetroot. Or roughly chop them, then zizz in a mini food processor till in small chunks. Mix everything except the nuts and seeds together, then stir those through.

This particular salad looks very carroty, as the original sauerkraut also had carrot in it.

For Xmas, I'd use zizzed beetroot and apple, and some chunkier pieces of almond. Maybe serve it on a lettuce leaf  such as baby cos.

Christmas Morning Muffins

I love Nigella Lawson's recipes, even though most of them are full of white flour and sugar and other things we don't want to have on a WAPF diet, let alone GAPS! I love her passion for food and her ideas. This morning her recipe for Xmas Morning Muffins arrived in my Inbox, and I could immediately see how to make them GAPSy. My recipe is a variation of Bruce Fife's Honey Blueberry Coconut Flour muffins.


For those who can't have coconut, see the almond flour version I tried later in the week.

• 1/2 cup sifted coconut flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon or mixed spice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 6 eggs
• 4 Tbs (50gm, 2oz) butter or coconut oil, melted
• 4 Tbs honey
• 4 Tbs juice from an orange
• Grated zest of the orange
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 cup frozen cranberries

Grease a 12 pan muffin tray with Dr Fife's magic oil, or line with baking paper. Sift the coconut flour, baking soda and spices into a bowl and mix thoroughly. Blend together eggs, butter or oil, orange juice, honey, salt and zest.  Mix the two together until there are no lumps.  Stir in cranberries. Pour batter into muffin pans.  Bake at 400 degrees F (205C) for about 16-18 minutes.  Makes 12. (If you want to make less bigger muffins, adjust cooking time accordingly.)

Note that there is a small amount of baking soda, which is technically not GAPS legal. For most people, that small amount shouldn't cause a problem, and I think the texture would really suffer if you left it out. Use your own judgement, or talk to your GAPS practitioner about it.


For my first trial, I used just the mixed spice (in place of the original cinnamon and nutmeg). Ian thought it was spicy enough, but I didn't, so next time I'll add the 1/4 tsp nutmeg as well.


They came out a nice consistency, both warm and cold, and didn't need a spread. But they would be extra good with ghee, sour cream, or yoghurt cheese. Or maybe even sour cream or yoghurt cheese mixed with some lemon juice and honey.


Next day PS: We just had one each out of the fridge for morning tea. Ian had his plain and I cut mine open and spread with coconut ghee. Both ways were great.

Cranberry Sauce

Turns roast turkey, chicken or duck into a Christmas treat.


This is an easy sauce, made from the recipe on the frozen cranberry bag, but using natural sweeteners instead of sugar.

• 1 cup frozen cranberries
• 1 tart apple, peeled and grated
•  Juice of one orange
•   Zest of half the orange
• a bit under 1 cup rapadura, shakkar or muscavado sugar

Simmer berries, juice, zest and sugar together till sugar melts and glazes the berries, and berries are hot. Add grated apple. Simmer lightly for 5 minutes. Put into blender and pulse blend until berries are broken up but still chunky. Serve at once. Or make ahead of time, store in the fridge or freezer till needed, and reheat. It's also good cold.


Use the leftover turkey and leftover sauce to make a yummy meatloaf.

GAPS friendly version

Replace the sugar with 1/2 cup honey. After pulsing, taste and add more honey if needed.

White Christmas slice

We recently discovered dried strawberries. Not the sugar coated, preservative laden things you might have seen in the supermarket, but ones where strawberries are the only ingredients. I found them in Hardy's Health food shop. They're so sweet, it's hard to believe there's no added sugar. Anyway, I got thinking about how they would be a good substitute for glaced cherries in some Christmas recipes, and had a hazy memory of something called White Chrismas.

When I googled it, it turned out to be a rice bubble slice with glace cherries, Kremelta, and dessicated coconut and of course lots of icing sugar. So today I've been playing with versions of creamed coconut slice, and here's what we've got so far.

Version 1 used creamed coconut, coconut oil, vanilla essence, dried strawberries and sultanas. I didn't add extra sweetener. It tasted ok, but nothing special, just an everyday slice. For version 2, I used cocoa butter instead of the coconut oil. I added some mixed spice, and replaced some of the strawberries with dried pawpaw (cos I didn't have enough strawberries). It was much more Christmassy.

If you wanted extra sweetness, you could add a little honey. If you wanted some rice bubble like crunch, you could add some chopped nuts.

So here's the final recipe - well, as final as these things get. I'll probably tweak it again next time I make it. But we've got a lot of slice to eat before the next trial!

• 250ml (1/2 jar) creamed coconut
• 50g coconut oil -OR- cocoa (cacao) butter
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1-2 tsp honey (optional)

• 50g dried strawberries (or other red dried fruit of your choice)
• 50g apricots, pawpaw or pineapple
• 50g sultanas or raisins
• 50g almonds, cashews or macadamias (optional)

First, get your jar of creamed coconut softening in a bowl of hot water. (If you've got a jar already prepared, you won't need to do this). Next, line a plastic container that's about 15x20cm, or 12x25, or similar, with baking paper. Prepare your fruit: stir through the raisins and sultanas and remove any stalks; chop the rest into small pieces with kitchen scissors or a sharp knife. (note: choose fruits that are free of sweeteners and sulphites)

If you're using nuts, chop them up. (Best nuts for flavour, texture and digestibility are ones that have been made into "crispy" nuts, but raw or roasted unsalted will also do).

When the creamed coconut is soft enough to get out of the jar, scrape it all into a food processor and zizz till smooth. You might need to jab any big bits with a knife to break them up a bit more, and zizz again. When it's smooth, pour half back into the jar for another batch later on, or for adding to soups or stews.

If you're using cocoa butter, grate that and add. Or just spoon in the right amount of coconut oil. Add the other flavourings and zizz till it's all mixed together and smooth. Add the chopped fruit and nuts and pulse just enough to mix them in, but not mush them.

Pour into the container and mix around a bit to make sure the fruit and nuts are evenly dsitributed. Refrigerate for an hour or so, till hard. Lift the baking paper and contents onto a chopping board, and use a large knife to cut into small pieces, 1-1.5 cm wide. Gather up the corners of the paper, and you'll be able to stuff the whole lot back into the container, put the lid on and back into the fridge.

If you want to make them look pretty, spoon the mixture into mini muffin patty pans that have been stuffed into mini muffin trays. Or use foil thingies that are designed for truffles.

More GAPS festive ideas...

A quick post to pass on someone else's great ideas. I spotted them on Thinking Outside the Box blog and didn't want them to get lost. Thanks Dan's mum!

• GAPS maypole cake
• A simple GAPS birthday cake
• Train GAPS birthday cake
• GAPS friendly birthday party food
• Halloween Pumpkin Faces
• GAPS Xmas Mince pies
• GAPS Xmas Cake
• GAPS Xmas Pudding
• GAPS Xmas dinner

Click on the Festive category over on the right for a bunch of other GAPS festive ideas including boiled Xmas cake, Easter buns, chocolate and fudge, party menus and Xmas menu.

Chocolate Spread

I'm very excited that the stock of our new product - creamed coconut - has arrived today! One of the first things I did was whip up a nutella type chocolate spread for people to sample, but free of dairy, sugar and even nuts!

• 250gm (1/2 a 500ml jar) of creamed coconut
• 125gm coconut oil 
• 2 Tablespoons raw cocoa powder (it doesn't have to be raw, but raw tastes better)
• 2 Tablespoons honey (or your favourite sweetener)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla essence

Zizz it all together in a food processor till smooth and pour into a jar. Eat as you would any chocolate spread, or just off the spoon.

Chocolate & fudge recipes

Holidays like Easter or Valentines Day can be a challenge for those on restricted diets. Here are some ideas for chocolate replacements. And the links at the bottom have some non food ideas.


Most people on gluten or starch free diets will be able to tolerate cocoa butter, as its fully fat. You need to melt it before using in these recipes. The easiest way is to chop it up finely, then put it in a bowl on top of a pan of gently simmering water. If you want to maintain its raw status, melt it a small bowl inside a larger bowl of hot tap water. Keep replacing the hot water, until it’s completely melted, which will take a lot longer.

Another whole food that’s good for making fudge like confections is creamed coconut (or coconut butter). It’s very solid to start with, but softens up when gently heated, which can also be done over a pan of simmering water.

Coconut oil is also used in some of these recipes. You can place your whole jar of oil in a container of hot water, or measure out what you need and melt it in a pan.

Try different combinations of these, flavoured with vanilla essence, dried fruit, citrus fruits, spices or raw cocoa powder. Although GAPS doesn’t allow cocoa or carob, some people find they can tolerate them if they're far enough into healing, so use your discretion.

I prefer a little honey as the sweetener. When using honey, it doesn’t mix well with the oils and often separates out. So for the recipes that use a lot of fat, let the mixture cool in the fridge, still in the mixer, taking out and beating from time to time, till it’s almost set. THEN add the honey and process again. Or try your own favourite sweetener instead.

Pour into a flat tray lined with baking paper, mark into squares, then refrigerate till set. Or roll into small balls to make truffles. The oilier mixtures can also be poured into chocolate moulds. In the picture below I've used Easter egg, star and heart shaped moulds.

Store in the fridge. The ones that are mostly creamed coconut might need to sit at room temp for a few minutes before serving, but the ones that are higher in cocoa butter or coconut oil will melt if left out too long.

WHITE CHOCOLATE with nuts

·         2 cups raw or crispy (ie. soaked then dehydrated) macadamias or cashews

·         75g cocoa butter, melted

·         25g coconut oil, melted

·         2 Tbs honey

·         1 tsp vanilla

Zizz up the nuts in a food processor. Melt the cocoa butter and coconut oil. Add to the food processor, along with the vanilla, and combine well. Put the food processor into the fridge until nearly set. Take out a couple of times and give it another zizz, then back into the fridge.

Once it’s thick but not completely set, add the honey and zizz well. Spoon into chocolate moulds or into a flat tray lined with baking paper. Or roll into small balls to make truffles.
 
Variation: & 2-3 Tbs raw cocoa powder

Try these other combinations using the same basic method, or make up your own.

COCONUT WHITE CHOCOLATE 

·         100g creamed coconut, softened

·         100g cocoa butter, melted

·         1 tsp vanilla

·         2 tsp honey

Variation: & 2-3 Tbs raw cocoa powder (pictured)

COCONUT ORANGE FUDGE

·         1 cup creamed coconut, softened

·         1 teaspoon coconut oil, melted

·         1-2 tablespoons honey

·         1-2 Tbs grated orange rind

·         Optional: orange oil
 
Variation: 
Replace the orange oil and rind with 1 tsp vanilla and a splash of almond or other essence. 
Mix in a handful or nuts and/or raisins before forming into truffles.
 

COCONUT FRUIT FUDGE

·         200g creamed coconut 
·         1-2 teaspoons coconut oil
·         a little honey added at the end if needed

·         some chopped dried fruit, eg:

o        4 fresh dates – or –

o        4-6 dried apricots

COCONUT CHOCOLATE FUDGE

·         200g creamed coconut 

·         1 Tbs raw cocoa powder

·         1 Tbs carob or extra cocoa

·         1-2 tsp natural sweetener of your choice

Variation: & 2-3 Tbs raw cocoa powder


OR for something completely different, this chocolate substitute recipe that Shelley sent me:
Mix together pureed dates, pecan butter and a little honey


For more Easter ideas, see this post and this post on Baden's GAPS Guide. There are also some great ideas on Pecanbread.com