Monte Cristo Sandwich | SCD, Gluten-Free

A Monte Cristo sandwich is a fried ham and cheese sandwich, a variation of the French croque-monsieur. The Monte Cristo is sometimes covered in powdered sugar and served with maple syrup or preserves. Growing up, this was one of my favorite dishes my dad would make and I would literally jump up and down with excitement when he announced he was making Monte Cristo sandwiches for dinner, just as I did when he made crepes for breakfast. While I still have yet to master the SCD crepe (thankfully my dad has!) my kids do love this healthy, SCD version of the Monte Cristo sandwich.

Crab Meat Stuffed Grey Sole | SCD + Paleo

Our family eats seafood several times a week, but sometimes it's hard to find a fish that everyone enjoys. My oldest doesn't like "fatty" fish, although fatty fish like King Ōra Salmon contain some of the highest levels per serving of healthy long-chain Omega-3 oils. Grey sole, along with Dover sole, has a mild and delicate flavor that takes little preparation and seasoning. In fact, you can lightly sauté the fillets in butter and simply add salt and pepper and you have a delicious healthy dish. Sole fish is low in calories and fat but high in protein and select micronutrients like selenium and vitamin B12.

Crab Meat Stuffed Grey Sole
SCD, Paleo, Gluten-Free

Ingredients
4 (4-oz) grey sole fillets
1 cup crab meat
1 small celery stalk, finely chopped
1 Tbs parsley, chopped
2 Tbs mayonnaise, I use this SCD compliant one
salt + pepper
1 tsp paprika

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. In a small mixing bowl, combine the crab meat, celery, parsley, mayonnaise, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
3. Lay sole fillets flat with darker side up on a baking sheet lined with parchment or use a silicon baking mat and season with salt and pepper. Divide stuffing among fillets, placing it in mounds on the thicker half. Fold thinner half of fillet over stuffing, tucking the end under.
4. Sprinkle with paprika and bake for 2o minutes.
5. Serve with a steamed vegetable and lemon butter sauce.

Lemon Butter Sauce
4 Tbs unsalted butter
1 Tbs lemon juice
salt & pepper

Place the butter in a saucepan or small skillet over medium heat. Melt the butter, whisking occasionally, until it turns golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately pour into small bowl. Add lemon juice and a pinch of salt and pepper. Whisk and adjust seasonings as necessary.

Honeybell Shrimp Scampi | SCD + Paleo

Did you know the Honeybell Orange is actually a cross between a tangerine and a grapefruit? The Honeybell is grown mostly in Florida and is only available during the month of January, perfect for an extra boost of Vitamin C during the prime flu and cold season. Honeybells, like oranges, are packed with Vitamin C and other vitamins and minerals like Folic Acid and Potassium. They can also help lower your cholesterol and can reduce your risk of heart disease. Eating Honeybells is helpful for people who are trying to manage Diabetes. They are a low Glycemic Index food, meaning that the natural sugar in Honeybells is easily broken down by the body and used for fuel instead of being stored in the body and converted into fat.

Lemon Raspberry Whoopie Pies | SCD + Paleo

This cookie recipe is very versatile and can essentially be tweaked to any flavor to fit any season. If you search though my recipe index you'll notice I have used it a couple times. To make this special Valentine's Day treat I added a touch of lemon, which always pairs well with raspberry. For the pop of color, I rolled the assembled whoopie pies in ground freeze dried raspberries.

Almond Tartlet with Dragon Fruit Yogurt Filling | SCD

This recipe was originally created for Babiekins Magazine Print Issue Eleven.

As with any holiday, Valentine's Day brings the pressure and stress of scrambling around to create something unique, tasty, satisfying and, of course, meets our dietary needs. While I have always loved the classroom parties, any parent with a child who has dietary restrictions knows how stressful these times are for us as parents and for our children. I try so hard to make sure my son is not "different" then his peers, but at the end of the day, we are different. We have an autoimmune disease and that makes us different, we have a different outlook on life and we eat different. For so long I have tried to make sure his foods "fit in" with everyone else's. I have even gone as far as making his own pizza and putting it inside a carryout pizza box.