Curried Summer Squash Soup - AIP/Paleo-Friendly

This morning, there were a few huge summer squash in our garden.  They were perfect soup squash, and I had enough to make a double-batch!  I found an old cookbook with lots of squash recipes, and modified it to my new AIP Paleo dietary restrictions.  The recipe below is for a single batch of soup.

Curried Summer Squash Soup
Serves 4-6

• 4 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 4 tsp of AIP-friendly curry spice mix
• 4 cups of veggie stock or chicken bone broth (homemade or nightshade free)
• 4 cups of summer squash (about 1.5 lbs)
• 2 tablespoons coconut butter (aka coconut cream concentrate or coconut cream)
• Himalayan salt to taste

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and saute for 10 minutes, or until golden brown.  
2. Stir in the curry spice mix and cook for one minute more.  
3. Stir in the broth, add the squash and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat to low and cook for 10 more minutes, until squash is soft.
5. Puree using either an immersion blender or in batches in a traditional blender.
6. Add salt to taste and enjoy!

Curried Carrot Soup - AIP/Paleo-Friendly

I had tons of carrots in my crisper drawer a few weekends ago.  I didn't want them to go bad, but I wasn't sure what to do with all these carrots.  I saw a carrot soup recipe from the Paleo Mom in my Facebook feed, so I decided to make it, with some modifications of my own.  This is my new favorite soup!

Ingredients:

• 6 cups broth (veggie stock or chicken bone broth)
• ¼ medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 lb carrots, roughly chopped
• 1 sliced baked sweet potato, skin removed
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated
• 1 tsp AIP-friendly curry spice mix (click for spice recipe)
• 2 Tbsp coconut butter (aka creamed coconut or coconut cream concentrate, depending upon the brand)
• Himalayan salt to taste

1. Bring broth to a rolling simmer over medium high heat. Add onion, carrots and sweet potato and let simmer until carrots are extremely soft, about 35-40 minutes.
2. Add ginger and curry mix and let cook another 5 minutes
3. Blend soup with an immersion blender until smooth.  You can also use a regular blender, being very careful not to explode the hot contents (I've done this before!) and pureeing in a few small batches.
4. Add coconut butter and salt and stir to combine

AIP Paleo-Safe Seedless Curry Spice Mix

One of the biggest challenges for me with the AIP (autoimmune protocol) Paleo diet is figuring out which seasonings and additives I can use to flavor recipes.  Now that most seed-based and nightshade-based spices are out, I've really had to amp up my substitutions!

Recently, I've made two vegetable soups that called for curry powder, which is a no-go with seed and nightshade ingredients.  I knew the soups would be too bland without the required seasonings, so I did some searching and found a seedless curry seasoning mix.  I decided to make enough to fill an empty spice jar, so I'd have enough for future recipes.

AIP Paleo-Safe Curry

In a medium bowl, combine the following:

2 Tbsp Granulated Garlic
2 Tbsp Granulated Onion
2 Tbsp Turmeric
1 Tbsp and 1 tsp dried Basil
1 Tbsp and 1 tsp dried Dill Weed
1 Tbsp and 1 tsp Cinnamon
2 tsp black pepper (only if you've confirmed it's safe for you)
2 tsp powdered Ginger
1 tsp ground Cloves

Mix together and pour into storage container.  I used a funnel to prevent everything from spilling all over the place.  I keep empty glass spice bottles on-hand to store my own spice mixes.  Just make sure to label the bottles, so you know what's what!  Use this in place of any recipe that calls for curry powder.  Enjoy!

Cauliflower Rice Pumpkin Risotto - AIP/Paleo-Friendly

Before I moved into the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Paleo diet, I used to eat a lot of rice.  At least a 1-2 days per week, I'd have rice with a stir fry, as a risotto, in soups, or mixed with vegetables.

Now that I'm completely grain-free, it requires a bit more experimentation and creativeness.  I heard about making "rice" out of cauliflower, and using that as a replacement to make modified rice dishes.  I finally gave it a whirl last weekend.

Inspired by my new cauliflower rice, I tried to find a risotto recipe that could work with AIP ingredients. I found a few cauliflower risotto dishes, but many had forbidden ingredients.  I decided to experiment with a new twist on a pumpkin risotto recipe:

Cauliflower Rice Pumpkin Risotto

• 1 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 head of cauliflower, riced in a food processor
• 1/2 cup stock (veggie stock or bone stock)
• 2 tsp ume plum vinegar
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp ground mace
• 1/2 tsp black pepper (omit for AIP diet)
• Himalayan salt to taste 
• 1 3/4 cup pumpkin puree (you could also use butternut squash puree)
• 2/3 cup coconut milk (I recommend the Natural Value brand, as it does not have any additives)

Directions:

1. Roughly chop one head of cauliflower and pulse in a food process until rice-sized.  This will probably require two batches in a large food processor.  Don't over process the cauliflower.  There will be a few larger-sized pieces remaining.
2. Cook the onion in the coconut oil in a large pan until soft and translucent.
3. Add the cauliflower, stock, vinegar, garlic, pepper, salt and mace to the pan and simmer for 10 minutes, until most of liquid is cooked off.
4. Add the pumpkin puree and coconut milk and simmer for 5 more minutes, until it is thickened.
5. Serve and enjoy!