The only Navy Bean Soup I ever had growing up came out of a can and I didn’t like it very much, so I wasn’t inclined to make my own – until I had clients needing a version that was delicious and easy to digest for myriad special diets. This Navy Bean Soup version is legal for Specific Carbohydrate Diet. Navy beans are one of few beans and legumes allowed on this diet. That means it has no grains and no starches in it that are tough for a compromised gut to digest. Kids with Crohns, inflammatory bowel conditions, irritable bowel, or multiple food allergies may be able to enjoy this satisfying soup. The key to this recipe working well for tender tummies is soaking the beans overnight before preparing the soup.
As I poked around for versions to launch from for this recipe, I found old standards like Senate Bean Soup – a thick and smoky soup that, in some versions, leans on mashed white potato to thicken it so it has a rich chowder-y texture. Potatoes are a no-go for SCD folks, so those are omitted here – but add them if you like! For the broth, I often use my own homemade chicken broth which is SCD legal in its preparation. If this isn’t an option, look for unsweetened plain organic chicken broth in quart boxes such as  Imagine brand Organic Chicken Bone Broth.
Make this for a hearty cold weather meal. I love it with a favorite bread like Kim and Jakes Peasant Loaf (not SCD legal, but gluten free and full of other nutrients and fiber). For kids avoiding grains, try it with Chebe rolls baked from a mix.
Navy Bean Soup - Simple and SCD Legal
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Easy to prepare, and easy to expand with more ingredients if you like. Consider adding chopped carrots, onion, or finely cubed white potato if those foods work in your household.
Easy to prepare, and easy to expand with more ingredients if you like. Consider adding chopped carrots, onion, or finely cubed white potato if those foods work in your household.
Rinse the dried beans in a colander with running water until foamy bubbles diminish or disappear.
Place the rinsed beans in a large pot and cover with filtered water. Add ~ 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cover and let soak overnight, or for 8 hours.
After soaking, drain the beans and rinse thoroughly, then set aside.
Wipe the large pot dry. Add bacon fat, ghee and olive oil and melt over medium heat. Add the minced garlic, celery, parsley, and scallions. If desired, add other vegetables here also.
Cook these til nearly soft, about five minutes. Add thyme and bay leaves, and stir vegetables to blend herbs throughout.
Add rinsed beans and stir with vegetables and herbs to evenly combine everything. Then cover with 8 cups (2 quart boxes) of chicken broth. Stir again to distribute everything evenly throughout the broth.
Bring to a low boil. Add honey, optional maple syrup, tamari, and lemon juice. Cover to simmer at low boil for 2-3 hours, or until beans are very soft.
Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Serve with sprinkling of fresh parsley leaves and enjoy!
Enjoy these GF CF double chocolate chip cookies with boosts from nutrient-dense sprouted pumpkin seeds (protein, healthy fats, minerals), organic cocoa (zinc, antioxidants), and reduced cane sugar! There’s no shortage of junky treats for kids who can’t eat gluten or dairy, with little more than cane sugar in them. No need to go there… Kids need and deserve random food celebrations, and this one can be enjoyed with confidence. A little more work than a standard chocolate chip cookie recipe, but worth it. This recipe is a variation from one I’ve found in The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook, a favorite book in my kitchen. Modifications here make it safe for most kids with nut allergy, and enhance texture with the addition of egg and a different gluten free flour strategy. I’ve also shifted the profile of sweeteners for more nutrition from sources that give some minerals with the sweet, and deliver a lower glycemic index. Favorite ingredients that I’ve tested and liked for this recipe include Bella Gluten Free Mix (a Boulder original), Lily’s GF CF stevia sweetened chocolate chips, and Navitas Organic Cocoa Powder.
Double Chocolate Chip Gluten and Dairy Free Cookies
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A semi-crisp cookie treat with cocoa-y goodness, dotted with chocolate chips. Stir in walnuts as a last step with the batter, for even more crunch and nutrition.
Double Chocolate Chip Gluten and Dairy Free Cookies
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A semi-crisp cookie treat with cocoa-y goodness, dotted with chocolate chips. Stir in walnuts as a last step with the batter, for even more crunch and nutrition.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two baking sheets with coconut oil and line with baking parchment.
Place coconut oil, maple syrup, agave, ground almonds, ground pumpkin seeds, sugars, salt, egg and vanilla together in a stand mixer. Blend on high for about 2 minutes.
In a separate bowl, combine Bella GF baking mix, xanthan gum, baking powder, and xanthan gum.
Add dry ingredients to wet in the stand mixer. Use a dough hook to mix at slow speed until evenly blended. It will form a stiff, wet cookie dough.
Fold in chocolate chips, and walnuts if you're using them.
Form dough into balls in the palm of your hand, then flatten gently, and place on cookie sheet. If desired, press a half walnut, half a dried cherry, or an almond in the center of each cookie. Bake for 8-12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Cookies will harden as they cool.
Recipe Notes
Many of the super-sensitive kids I work with don't like the stronger flavor or aroma of virgin coconut oil. It works just as well to use refined coconut oil, as I've done here.
Add ground or finely chopped walnuts as a last step, for kids who are nut-safe and for extra flavor and nutrition. The original recipe also suggests trying dried chopped cherries too.
A mini-food processer or coffee grinder works well to grind nuts or seeds in this recipe.
I'm at altitude, so baking time was only 8 minutes to make these just right. You may need more time.
This recipe makes something between a stiff batter and a dough - a wet stiff dough, which still needs rolling in your palm to make the right shape and texture for the cookies. Your palms will get good and sticky with chocolate batter!
Don't skip the step of rolling the batter in palms then flattening on cookie sheet with a spoon or fingers. Spooning the batter directly to baking sheet will create sharp peaks or uneven lumps for you that won't feel good to eat.
For for kids with egg allergy, omit the egg. This will make a more dry dough, so reduce baking time. For me, this step made too dry and crumbly a texture. If you want to omit egg and keep more chewy texture, use ground chia seeds. Here's how.
For a more chewy texture, use 2 eggs instead of 1, if you find that the final product is more dry than you'd like.
If even almonds are unsafe for you child, you can use 1/2 cup of the ground pumpkin seeds, or use 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds with 2TBSP ground flax meal or 1 TBSP ground chia seed.
Lily's brand chocolate chips are GF, CF, and sugar free, with erythritol and stevia as sweeteners. Enjoy Life brand has some cane sugar but is GF CF. Both are non-GMO verified.
I have no affiliate relationships with any products mentioned here.
Soothing, easy to digest, helpful for kids who need to gain weight, or a low sugar treat for any occasion. Cook this longer to make it even more digestible and nourishing. In Chinese medical tradition, congee is a slow-cooked, white rice porridge used as a base for many ailments, and for weak digestion in particular. Medicinal herbs are often added to congee. This recipe emulates that tradition with ginger (anti-inflammatory), cinnamon (modulates blood sugar), cardamom (eases nausea and constipation), and adds easy-to-assimilate coconut fats. Raisins, though a higher FODMAPs food, become more digestible here also, with long slow cooking. For further sweetening, this recipe calls for maple syrup and coconut sugar in small amounts. Coconut sugar has a lower glycemic index than cane sugar. It also adds inulin, a pre-biotic for healthy bacteria strains in the gut, along with some zinc, iron, and short chain fatty acids that benefit the large intestine. Organic stevia is always an option, for those unable to tolerate any sugars. In that case, use 2-5 drops for the entire recipe, or to your taste. Lastly: Brown rice is a suitable option here for those with no digestive issues; cook it even longer, up to 2 hours, and increase the liquid in the recipe. Otherwise, use a good quality organic white rice.
“But it’s not Paleo! It’s not GAPS! It’s not SCD!” True, it isn’t. But if there is one thing I’ve learned in my decades working with babies and kids, it’s that there is no dogma. Every child is different, every gut is different. Individualizing care for each child, each gut, each circumstance is what works best. Don’t forget to bend the rules, to find what works for your child.
Dairy Free Creamy Coconut Rice Pudding
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A slow cooked soother for tender digestion. Ready to eat after 45 minutes of cooking, but cooking longer is fine also, as long as you continue to add liquid to keep the porridge from drying or burning.
A slow cooked soother for tender digestion. Ready to eat after 45 minutes of cooking, but cooking longer is fine also, as long as you continue to add liquid to keep the porridge from drying or burning.
Place a medium sized pot on stove. If you are using fresh minced rather than powdered ginger, soften this in the pot first, with a teaspoon of ghee or coconut oil, for 5 minutes, on low-medium heat. Then add coconut milk, almond milk, cinnamon, cardamom, maple syrup, coconut sugar, and vanilla. Stir and heat together on low-medium heat until well blended. Do not boil.
If you are using powdered ginger, heat the milks gently. Blend in powdered spices, maple syrup, coconut sugar, and vanilla. Stir and heat to steaming but not boiling.
Add the cooked rice and mix til evenly blended. Turn up heat to medium high until just boiling, then reduce heat to low simmer. Liquid should just cover rice. Add more coconut milk if needed to cover rice. Add raisins.
Whisk the egg with a small amount of almond or coconut milk. Add to the pot, mix well.
Cook on low heat for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally. Add more liquid if needed, or if you would like a softer porridge: Use additional almond milk, coconut milk, plain coconut water, or water as needed. Serve warm.
A twist on usual dahl recipes that rely on a tomato base. For kids who need grain-free, easily digestible carbohydrates (which help them gain weight), this can work well, as long as the lentils are cooked long enough to be very soft, about 2 hours. This recipe uses garlic salt instead of raw garlic, which seemed too pungent with the pumpkin. For meat eaters, this dish is good with chicken apple sausage like Applegate brand (GF, CF, organic). For vegetarians, if grains work, a black rice paired here is hearty and delicious. Makes 6 generous servings or 8 smaller ones.
A twist on usual dahl recipes that rely on a tomato base. For kids who need grain-free, easily digestible carbohydrates (which help them gain weight), this can work well, as long as the lentils are cooked long enough to be very soft, about 2 hours. This recipe uses garlic salt instead of raw garlic, which seemed too pungent with the pumpkin. For meat eaters, this dish is good with chicken apple sausage like Applegate brand (GF, CF, organic). For vegetarians, if grains work, a black rice paired here is hearty and delicious. Makes 6 generous servings or 8 smaller ones.
Place uncooked lentils in pot with broth, bring to low simmer. Add the cider vinegar and cook for about 30 minutes, or until they begin to soften.
While lentils are cooking, prepare your vegetables: Chop potato, cauliflower, onion, and ginger root.
After lentils are softened, add potatoes, coconut milk, and canned pumpkin. Cook for 20 minutes more.
Once potatoes are softening after about 20 minutes, add chopped cauliflower, onion, and ginger root. Add the spices ( turmeric, curcumin, and garlic salt) now too.
Cook until vegetables are soft, adding more broth if needed. I usually let this simmer for 2-3 hours and longer is fine too, as long as the dahl does not dry out or burn. Stir in maple syrup and serve.
Butternut squash can be a hard sell for some kids unless you make it better. Here’s a version that’s well rounded for flavor, healthy fats, a smidge of protein, and extra phytonutrients that are anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant. Be sure you buy organic when buying winter or summer squashes: Data show that squashes are a little too good at pulling chemicals called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) out of soil. These are extremely toxic waste products left in soil from gas energy production sites, and they can accumulate in our water supply (drink filtered water) or air, especially near gas, oil or coal production sites (fracking, gas wells, oil wells, coal power plants). For more on the many benefits of butternut squash click here.
1 teaspoonalmond flourflax meal may sub if almond is allergenic
Servings: kid size servings
Instructions
If not already prepared, buy 2 small or 1 large butternut squash. Slice lengthwise and then cut into smaller pieces, leaving rind on. Place on steamer tray in a covered pot and steam til flesh is soft when poked with fork, about 15 minutes. When cool enough to handle, scoop cooked flesh away from rind and store or use as needed.
Melt the ghee with coconut manna and chicken broth. Stir to blend. Do not boil. Remove from heat.
Add cooked squash, with warm melted ingredients and broth together in a food processor, immersion blender, or use a hand mixer. Pulse or blend until smooth. Serve warm.
