Tonight, the weather was cooler and I was eager to try a gluten-free, low lectin recipe that is more hardy and similar to a normal meal we might have on an average evening when we're just hanging at home. I got some ground beef out of the freezer to thaw and decided to make meatballs with it. Then I found this recipe for noodles and meatballs from one of the low lectin blogs I mentioned earlier, called Lectin Free Foodie. Just like the low lectin chocolate cake I posted over the weekend, we could not tell this was any different from a wheat-containing meal. I'm reading the book The Plant Paradox which is a diet trend called the P.P. Diet. It's more than just a low lectin diet, as it also limits sugar and meat intake. I was looking for an anti-inflammatory diet when I ran into the The Plant Paradox and it spurred my curiosity.
Here's what I learned making this recipe, as recommended by the author of the P.P. diet:
1. Sea salt is better than regular kosher salt because it is harvested from evaporated seawater instead of mined and processed. Iodine is a nutrient essential for thyroid function so you get the best of both worlds if you use iodized sea salt. Hain and Morton products are available in most grocery stores.
2. Butter's protein called casein, turns into a lectin-like protein during digestion but you can get butter with a easier-to-digest form of casein called casein A-2. Dairy cows from Southern Europe (Italy or France) are rich in A-2, as is goat milk or buffalo milk. I used buffalo butter in this recipe that I found at our local grocery store.
You can see that it is pure white, not yellow at all. It looks like Crisco shortening but it smelled similar to goat milk butter. I'm not sure I'd eat it plain but it's good for cooking.
3. Coconut aminos is a substitute for soy sauce (contains gluten), tamari (which is high in soy) or Worcestershire sauce (contains gluten). Coconut amino is made of coconut tree sap and salt. It is still dark in color and has that salty, umami flavor, though contains far less sodium and has a more mild, slightly sweeter flavor so it's a perfect substitute.
4. If you don't want to make your own noodles, you can buy them. The best gluten-free pasta is made by Cappellos. I found some at my local grocery store in the freezer section.
My sister gave me some of her homemade pesto which is a low lectin food and it will also go well with these homemade noodles or Cappello's. I also learned that if you want to save money on all these special food items, you can purchase them online from a good source called Thrive Market. Some people don't live in areas where the grocery store would carry a lot of these items so ordering online may be your best option.
We got out our leftover spinach salad from last night and it turned out to be a great dinner tonight. The noodles were not any harder to make than say, homemade biscuits, for example, so it's not a big deal. Now you have a dessert recipe, a salad and a main dish meal that are all low lectin. This is not a bad eating plan and I am looking forward to continuing my experimenting.
Serves 4
Lectin-Free (gluten-free) Noodles
1 cup tapioca flour, plus extra for dusting
1 cup almond flour (super fine texture)
1 tsp. iodized sea salt
2 large eggs
olive oil
1. Mix together tapioca flour, almond flour and salt in a bowl.
2. Make a well in the flour mixture and crack the eggs.
3. Stir eggs with a fork and work your way out, incorporating more and more of the flour.
4. Once the egg is mostly incorporated, knead with your hands on a dusted cutting board, adding in a bit more tapioca flour if the dough sticks to your fingers.
5. Divide dough into 3 portions.
7. Use a pizza cutter to cut into desired width of noodles.
8. Use a large spatula to scoop the noodles so they don't break. Place on a floured tray until ready to cook.
9. In a large pot, boil 4 quarts of water and drizzle in about a tablespoon of olive oil. Once water is boiling, add noodles and cook for 2 minutes.
10. Drain noodles from water and serve warm.
Meatballs
Make 16 meatballs
For the meatballs:
1 lb. grass fed ground beef
1 egg
4 large mushrooms, minced
1/4 cup onions, minced
1 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. mustard powder
1/4 cup parsley, chopped finely
3 Tbsp. almond flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper, freshly ground
For the sauce:
1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup onions, sliced
4 large mushrooms, sliced
2 cups beef stock
1/2 Tbsp. coconut aminos
1 tsp. fish sauce
1/4 tsp. mustard powder
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp. parsley, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1. Preheat oven to 425 degree F. Line a cookie sheet with foil.
2. Mix together ground beef, egg, mushrooms, onions, spices, parsley and almond flour
3. Roll into evenly sized meatballs for a total of 16 meatballs and place on foiled cookie sheet.
4. Bake for 10 minutes, turn, and continue baking another 10 minutes until nicely browned and cooked through.
While meatballs are baking, start making the sauce.
5. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and melt butter in skillet.
6. Add onions and mushrooms and saute for 3-4 minutes, until onions are translucent and mushrooms are soft.
7. Add beef broth and deglaze the pan, making sure to scrape up any brown bits.
8. Stir in the coconut aminos, spices, balsamic vinegar, and fish sauce and simmer 5 minutes.
9. Add in the cooked meatballs and continue to simmer over medium heat for 6-8 minutes, until the sauce is slightly reduced.
10. Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream and sprinkle with parsley.
11. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
12. Serve over the noodles.
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