Loaded Sweet Potato Fries (AIP & Paleo)

I’m not really a big Super Bowl (or football) person, though I do love a good Super Bowl party, mainly for the food, time with friends, and the commercials. This year, things will be much different, since we’ve moved to the middle of New England Patriots territory & they happen to be playing in the 2017 Super Bowl. Let me tell you…. people around here take their NFL football *very* seriously.

While I might feel more inclined to cheer for a particular team this year, I’m still most excited about the food! Specifically, I’m excited about making some AIP/Paleo options to share with our new friends. Last year, I made plantain chip chicken in nugget form, cutting chicken breasts into pieces before coating them in the plantain chip crust & baking them on a rack. I also made the red sangria mocktail from The Healing Kitchen, and some amazing paleo brownies from Joshua Weissman/Slim Palate (the brownies require an egg & chocolate reintro; I also subbed coconut oil for the butter). All super delicious. (haha, pun intended!)

I’m still debating exactly what I’ll take to this year’s party, but these loaded sweet potato fries are a serious contender. I first made them on a whim last summer for one of our burger nights & they were such a fun twist on normal sweet potato fries. Plus the arugula pesto they’re topped with adds some extra veggie power.

If you’re looking for some other party food ideas, whether for yourself or to share with others, here are a few more options:

• Paloma Mocktail/Cocktail (AIP) or Cocktail (Paleo)  
• Red Sangria (AIP)  
• Chicken Liver Pate (AIP)  
• Marinated Flank Steak (AIP)  
• Bacon & Prosciutto Wrapped Dates (AIP)  
• Plantain Chip Chicken (AIP)  
• Blood Orange Gummies (AIP)  
• Simple Guac (AIP)  
• Coconut Macaroons (AIP) 

Loaded Sweet Potato Fries (AIP & Paleo) 
Yields 2 generous servings; batch can be easily doubled or tripled for a larger group 

For the Fries:
1 pound white sweet potatoes (I prefer Hannah)
28 g (2 tablespoons) duck fat, melted
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F. 
2. Wash and cut the sweet potato into thin fry-shaped pieces, 1/4 to 1/2 inch in width. 
3. Pour the melted duck fat into a bowl, add the sweet potato fries, and toss to coat. 
4. Arrange the fries on an un-lined rimmed baking sheet (I used a quarter sheet), making sure there is a little space between each fry. Dust the fries with sea salt & garlic powder.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, then remove the pan from the oven and carefully flip the fries over. Roast for an additional 10 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. While the fries are roasting, prepare the toppings (see below). 

To Assemble: 
1 batch of sweet potato fries (see above)
2 tablespoons arugula pesto, plus additional for dipping, if desired
3 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 tablespoon thinly sliced scallion
1 to 2 teaspoons cilantro leaves
sprinkling of smoked Maldon sea salt

1. Just before serving, drizzle the roasted sweet potato fries with the arugula pesto. Top with the crumbled bacon, sliced scallion, and cilantro leaves. Sprinkle with smoked Maldon to taste. Serve with additional arugula pesto for dipping, if desired. 

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Sweet Potato Casserole with Tigernuts (AIP, Paleo, Vegan)

Though I did not grow up eating many sweet potatoes, I’ve been a big fan ever since tasting sweet potato casserole for the first time while visiting my grandparents who wintered in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Traditional sweet potato casserole, with its delicious sweet filling & nutty topping doesn’t work well for my body anymore, but with Thanksgiving & other holiday gatherings on the horizon, I wanted to develop an AIP-compliant sweet potato casserole that I could still eat.

Today, I usually prefer white sweet potatoes (Hannah or Japanese varieties), because they’re a little less sweet and a little more reminiscent of regular white potatoes. However, since traditional sweet potato casserole is almost a dessert masquerading as a side dish, orange-fleshed sweet potatoes are necessary. Orange sweet potatoes provide naturally sweet flavors, needing only minimal additions of real maple syrup (or other AIP-complaint sweetener).

Tingernuts work as a wonderful substitution for pecans when making the topping. If you haven’t worked with tigernuts before, know that they aren’t actually a nut, but a tuber. I’ve worked with them in several forms: whole, ground into flour, and most recently “sliced.” The tigernut flour is a bit gritty, but I think that texture works well in this case where it is replacing actual nuts. The whole tigernuts can be really hard on your jaw, unless they’re soaked ahead of time. Organic Gemini, my favorite tigernut company, has recently released sliced tigernuts, & I find they work just perfectly in this recipe. Sliced tigernuts keep some of the crunch of whole tigernuts, but they are not nearly as tough to chew.

Aside from this sweet potato casserole containing ingredients that are AIP-compliant, I also appreciate that it can be made ahead of time. AIP advocates not only dietary changes, but also stress reduction, and typically holidays can be stressful!! With this year being my second holiday season on AIP, I know from experience that often AIP holiday meals require much more preparation (and many fewer convenience foods) than my previous “standard” holiday meals. I like having AIP-variations of my traditional holiday favorites, but often that means I have to make them entirely from scratch myself.  Thankfully, both this sweet potato casserole and the green beans I posted last week can be prepared ahead of time & reheated just before serving. Also, this recipe is vegan, just in case you have any vegan guests.

I would encourage anyone thinking ahead to Thanksgiving and other holiday meal preparations to plan ahead as much as possible, & to make things a couple days in advance if you can. Turkey & gravy (here’s a link to my favorite AIP gravy from last year) are often best made the day of, but many side dishes can be prepared a couple days in advance.

If you’re looking for holiday dessert inspiration, stay tuned for my next post & a very exciting announcement! 

In the mean time, here are some other resources:

• My friend Bre’anna at “He Won’t Know It’s Paleo” has a new holiday e-book "AIP Holiday"  
• Holidays on the Autoimmune Protocol : compiled by "Autoimmune Paleo"
• The Paleo Mom has a new e-book available: Thanksgiving Feast
• Paleo Magazine's 2014 AIP Thanksgiving Meal Plan

Sweet Potato Casserole with Tigernuts

yields 6-8 servings as a side dish

For the Sweet Potato Filling

3 pounds orange sweet potatoes

1025 g (4 1/3 c) sweet potato flesh (from the 3# of sweet potatoes above), room temperature

42 g (3 Tbl) Coconut Oil, melted

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

1 to 2 Tbl Real Maple Syrup (Grade A dark amber/Grade B preferred), depending on sweetness preferences 

1/2 tsp Sea Salt

1/4 tsp Vanilla Bean Powder

For the Tigernut Topping

60 g (1/2 c) Tigernut Flour

40 g (5 Tbl) Arrowroot Starch

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/4 tsp Sea Salt

39 g (2 Tbl) Real Maple Syrup (Grade A dark amber/Grade B preferred)

28 g (2 Tbl) Coconut Oil, melted

25 g (1/3 c) Sliced Tigernuts

1. Prepare the sweet potatoes for the filling: Preheat the oven to 350 F. the sweet potato filling: Wash the 3 pounds of sweet potatoes. Prick them with the tip of a sharp knife & place on a parchment lined sheet pan. Bake for 1-2 hours, or until very soft. Cool at room temperature & peel off the skin. Note: this roasting process can be done 1 to 2 days in advance of assembling the casserole. Store the baked/peeled sweet potatoes in the refrigerator
2. Make the filling by mashing the room temperature baked sweet potatoes with the remaining ingredients. Spread evenly in a baking dish. I used a 24 oz (2.3"x 9.8"x 6.3") Le Creuset Oval Gratin Dish but you could use another baking dish of comparable size. 
3. Make the tigernut topping by stirring together the tigernut flour, arrowroot, cinnamon and sea salt. Drizzle in the maple syrup and coconut oil. Mix until combined, but still a little clumpy. Stir in the slivered tigernuts. 
4. Sprinkle the tigernut topping evenly over the sweet potato filling. Bake in a 350 F oven for 30 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are warmed & the topping begins to brown. 
5. Serve warm or at room temperature. Refrigerate any leftovers. 

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Beef Skillet Supper (Low FODMAP, AIP, Paleo, Whole 30)

Everyone needs staple meals. Easy dishes that can be made when time is short (and that dirty fewer dishes during preparation). Things that require regularly “on-hand” ingredients. Meals that remain economical (AIP/Paleo isn’t always cheap) without compromising on food standards. And things that are tasty, of course :)

We’ve eaten variations on this beef skillet supper on many occasions over the past year & it seemed only fair that I share it with you, my beloved readers. The last couple times I've made it, my husband has even licked his plate to ensure nothing is wasted! I would have shared the recipe sooner, but alas, I never took the time to write down exact measurements... But that is sort of the beauty of this recipe: it doesn’t require exact measurements & it adapts well to whatever veggies you might have on hand.

My husband and I concocted this meal last summer (2014) after desperately staring into our refrigerator, wondering what to make out of the random mix of ingredients we had on hand. The skillet has gone through several transformations, most recently when I went back to strict AIP + adding in a low FODMAP component. But it still remains as easy, economical, versatile & delicious as ever.

I haven't timed it out precisely, so don’t quote me, but I do believe this skillet supper could be made + on the table faster than if one was to order & pick up a pizza. Even if the ground beef is initially frozen (I’ve included some quick-thaw guidelines in the recipe below), this meal is still quite speedy. Often it is one I fall back on if I discover the protein I had planned to cook has not yet thawed & dinner time is looming! As a bonus, the leftovers travel well & we don’t mind eating them either cold or room temperature, though sometimes it is difficult to actually *have* any leftovers (just ask my husband!) ;)

Note on FODMAPs: FODMAPs are confusing things... Certain resources will say that one item is “ok” and other resources will list that item as “avoid.” I am choosing to get my information about FODMAPs from Monash University & their app. Monash is continually updating their information & they are great about listing what quantity of food (both by volume & by weight) keeps it within the low FODMAP guidelines. As always, though, you know your body best. Just because one list says a food is fine, doesn’t always mean your body will be fine with it. Or on the flip side, just because one list says a food is on the avoid list, doesn’t mean your body is automatically going to be bothered by it. Do what makes your body & mind feel the best.

Beef Skillet Supper (Low FODMAP, AIP, Paleo, Whole 30) 
yields 3 low FODMAP servings for people with hearty appetites 

1lb grass-fed ground beef (my preference is 85/15, but more lean will work too, though more fat may be necessary)
1 tsp Solid fat (such as duck fat, bacon fat, lard...), plus additional if needed
300 g / 3 c / 1/2 a medium cabbage, sliced
210 g/ 1.5 c diced White Sweet Potato, (I used Japanese variety this time)
3 Tbl Coconut Aminos
1 tsp fresh Ginger, grated (optional, I’ve developed a sensitivity to ginger, so I often leave it out....)
100 g / 1 c / 1 large Carrot, very thinly sliced (I use a mandoline slicer set to the medium thickness, but a sharp knife could work too) 
140 g / 1.5 c / 1 medium-ish Zucchini, very thinly sliced (I use a mandoline slicer set to the medium thickness, but a sharp knife could work too)
Fresh herbs, such as cilantro or parsley, for serving
Scallion, green parts only, for serving
Sea Salt, for serving (Smoked Maldon is my favorite)

1. In a large skillet (I used my 12-in cast-iron skillet , melt the fat over medium high heat. Brown the ground beef in the melted fat. 
2. Once the beef is 2/3 of the way browned, add the cabbage, sweet potato, coconut aminos, and ginger. Cover the skillet & cook for 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sweet potato is cooked through. Add additional fat if any of the ingredients begin to stick to the pan.
3. Once the sweet potato is cooked through, turn off the heat. Add the carrot & zucchini. Toss everything together, replace the cover & allow the carrot/zucchini to steam for 3ish minutes, or until they are done enough to your liking. Turn the heat back on low for a minute or two if you desire more “cooked” veggies, but I prefer them a little on the crunchy side. 
4. Portion the hash on to plates, making sure to divide it into no fewer than 3 servings if following a low FODMAP diet. Top with a sprinkle of fresh herbs, scallion, and sea salt. 
5. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator. 

FODMAPs in this recipe

• I find that I can tolerate cabbage just fine, though some FODMAP lists say to avoid it. Monash states that green cabbage (NOT savoy) in quantities of less than 150 g / 1.5 c fits within Low FODMAP guidelines. 
• Some sources recommend eliminating most starches while on Low FODMAP. I attempted removing most starches, but found that my body needs some starch for energy. I prefer to use small quantities of white sweet potatoes (they are less sweet), but in keeping with Monash guidelines, limiting my servings to 70 g / 1/2 c (pre-cooked) at most. 

To Quick-thaw frozen ground beef

• If the package of beef is wrapped in paper or on a plastic wrapped tray, place it in a ziplock bag. If the beef is in a fully sealed plastic package already, leave it as it is. 
• Fill a large bowl (or sink) with hot water. Immerse the package in the hot water & allow to sit until the edges are no longer frozen--it is ok if the middle is still frozen if the beef is to be sauteed. Sometimes, I’ll use a water-filled pan or dish on top of the beef to keep it fully submerged. 
• Cook the beef immediately. 
• This quick-thaw method is only safe if the meat is cooked immediately! Thawing the meat in cold water or in the refrigerator is a safer method if the meat is not going to be cooked immediately. 

If not following a low FODMAP diet, feel free to add in.... (you may need a bigger skillet!) 

• 1 onion, diced
• 1-2 cloves of garlic
• additional sweet potato (or even substituting regular potato, if not AIP) 

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Sweet Potato Lefse (AIP)

Chances are, unless you grew up somewhere with a large Scandinavian population, you’ve possibly never heard of lefse. If that’s the case, it’s ok, I won’t hold it against you :) Lefse is a potato flatbread cooked on a griddle. Think of it like a scandinavian tortilla. It remains very flexible after cooking and is usually spread with butter (and sometimes sprinkled with white sugar) before it is rolled up into tubes and eaten.

I grew up eating lots of lefse, especially at Thanksgiving & christmas time, but never making it.  Every lefse recipe is a little bit different & many families are staunch traditionalists when it comes to “their” family recipe. Families will gather together sometime during the holiday season and spend an afternoon making loads and loads of lefse. Most versions include white potatoes, butter, dairy of some sort (cream, milk, etc), salt, sugar, and flour. My good friend Kelli & her family make lots of lefse each year & I’m very thankful she consulted on this recipe with me :)

To be honest, neither Kelli nor I were very confident that an AIP version of lefsewas possible. It was a tall order, since I needed to find AIP appropriate substitutions for every ingredient, minus the salt. The salt was fine, haha. But, the thought of having to go yet another year without lefse was a hard thing for me. In past years I’ve had to skip out on the lefse because it isn’t gluten free. This year, I felt like I should at least attempt a version, even if it didn’t taste or look exactly like traditional lefse.

The first order was to find a substitute for the white potatoes. Though I’ve been able to tolerate reintroductions of some things to my AIP diet, white potatoes, a member of the nightshade family, are not one of them... Instead, these days, I eat a lot of sweet potatoes, in different varieties.  Funny, prior to AIP, I had no idea there even were different varieties and colors of sweet potatoes. Hands down, my favorite kind is the white sweet potato, the Hannah variety, because it is a little less sweet & a little more starchy in texture.

I’m not sure if it was a good thing or not that I’ve never actually made homemade lefse before this adventure. From what I can tell, and I am most definitely not an expert, the rules for this AIP lefse are very different from it’s traditional counterpart. I’m not entirely sure how this AIP lefse works, but it just does :) And for that I am very thankful. Traditional lefse can be quite finicky and require an experienced touch. This lefse is more forgiving. I’ve made a couple batches, just to try to troubleshoot any challenges & to ensure that my first recipe success wasn’t just a fluke. The dough is more forgiving & doesn’t require as delicate a touch. Because it doesn’t contain gluten, you don’t need to worry about overworking it when mixing the dough & rolling it out.  It’s best mixed, rolled & cooked all in one day, but I find that it tastes more lefse-esque the day after it’s been made.

If you’re someone who is missing lefse because you’re following Paleo or AIP or are gluten free, I hope this recipe will be a great resource for you. Traditionally, I’ve really only eaten lefse during the holiday season, but given the reality that my “bread” choices are pretty non-existant, I forsee us making this recipe often & using the flatbread in a similar manner as tortillas.

Sweet Potato Lefse
yields approximately 16 small pieces 

14 oz White Sweet Potatoes (I used the “Hannah” variety)
Water, to cover

12 oz Riced White Sweet Potatoes
2 Tbl (22 g) coconut milk
28 g (2 Tbl) coconut oil
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp Maple Sugar
90 g Tapioca Starch, divided approximately in half
1 1/2 tsp Coconut Flour

a lot additional Tapioca starch for dusting

1. Wash & peel the sweet potatoes. Cut them into rough cubes & place into a stock pot. Add enough water to cover the potato pieces. 
2. Bring to a boil over high heat & cook until fork tender, approximately 20 minutes. 
3. Drain the potatoes into a colander. 
4. Rice the potatoes back into the stock pot, using a potato ricer  Return to the burner over low heat & cook, stirring constantly, for 1.5 minutes, to help evaporate some of the residual water. 
5. Remove from the heat & add the coconut milk, coconut oil, salt & maple sugar. Stir to combine. 
6. Add half the tapioca starch & the coconut flour. Mix well. Add the remaining tapioca starch. 
7. Divide the dough into 2 Tbl pieces. Roll into small balls. 
8. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. 
9. Liberally sprinkle the work surface with additional tapioca starch. Flatten a ball of dough & sprinkle with more tapioca. Roll out, trying to keep the shape as round as possible, until very thin--almost see-through, but making sure the bottom isn’t stuck. Use a small offset spatula to run underneath the rolled out dough. If the dough tears, don’t panic--gather the dough together into a ball again & re-roll it. 
10. Very gently lift the dough & slide your hand underneath the dough. Transfer it to the preheated skillet. Cook until lightly browned on one side, flip, and continue cooking until that side is also lightly browned. Once flipped, the lefse may bubble--use a heat tempered spatula to gently press down on the big bubbles. On our electric stove set at roughly 4.5, mine took about 1 min 15 sec on the first side & an additional 1 min on the second side. 
11. Transfer cooked pieces to a plate & repeat with the remaining dough. 
12. Once the lefse cools completely, store in an airtight container. Keep at room temperature for one day maximum, then refrigerate or freeze for longevity.  I find the lefse tastes more like traditional lefse the day following when it was made.   

Notes: 

• The recipe doubles very well, but the individual cooking process is more laborious. I cut my original batch in half because I got tired of running back and forth from rolling the lefse to cooking the lefse. 
• I do not recommend making the dough ahead of time & refrigerating overnight--I found  the dough to be much more fragile the second day. 
• If you have an actual lefse griddle, feel free to use it, though I do not personally have one & have not tried using any surface other than a non-stick pan. 
• A lefse stick won’t work because the dough is too fragile. 
• To serve, roll the lefse sheet into a tube. I usually like my lefse with butter and sugar on it, but this sweet potato version is naturally sweeter & I find it doesn’t need any additional butter or sugar. My husband, on the other hand, likes his spread with jam. 

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Sausage & Kale Soup with Sweet Potato (AIP)

It’s not surprising that I would turn to soup, as I branch out into posting about more savory foods. I love to both make soup & eat it.

Many of my previously favorite soups contain ingredients that no longer like me--tomatoes, potatoes & beans, I’m referring to you! But really, there are so many, many other ingredients I can use that I just need to think a little more creatively.

This soup is a rift on a sausage & Kale soup with white potatoes that I use to make frequently in my pre-autoimmune protocol (AIP) days. I’ve swapped the regular pork sausage, which is often filled with nightshade ingredients, for Garlic & Herb Chicken Sausages. And I now use white sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes.  Not to mention that anything that includes homemade stock (aka “bone broth” in the AIP world) is really, really beneficial for the healing process.  The flavor becomes a little more complex & a touch sweeter (from the sweet potatoes), but still makes a fantastic, filling, nutrient-dense lunch option, even if you aren’t Paleo or AIP.

Chicken Sausage, Kale & Sweet Potato Soup 
yields 2 to 4 servings, depending on how hungry you are

1-2 Tablespoons of solid fat (I used duck fat)
1 medium onion, diced (mine weighed 176 g)
2 medium carrots, peeled & sliced (mine weighed 113 g)
1 medium/large Sweet Potato, peeled & diced  (I used a white sweet potato & it weighed around 300 g)
1 package of chicken sausages, sliced on the bias (I used Trader Joe’s Garlic & Herb Chicken Sausages, which are free from nightshades, but do contain black pepper, so proceed with caution if on strict AIP)
1 quart of stock (I used homemade chicken stock, but you can certainly use purchased)
6 ribs of kale (mine weighed 50g)
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste (omit for strict AIP)

1. In a medium/large pot, melt the solid fat. Add the diced onion & sauté over medium heat until the onion becomes slightly translucent, approximately 5 minutes. Add the sliced carrot & sauté an additional 2-3 minutes, or until the carrot softens just slightly. 
2. Add the peeled diced sweet potato, sliced chicken sausages & stock. Bring the soup to a boil, then cover the pot, reduce to medium low & simmer for approximately 20 minutes, or until the sweet potato is tender. 
3. Add the kale & cook an additional 5 minutes, or until the kale is wilted. Taste, and add salt & pepper as needed, depending on the flavor of the sausages & stock. 
4. Ladle the soup into bowls & serve. 
5. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator. The soup may be frozen, although the potatoes do break down, so the consistency will be different after thawing.