“Elimination Diet” – can I just say how much I…
Apple Pie Gummies (Paleo, AIP)
As you work damn hard to recover from autoimmunity, the healing journey can be hazy and obscured, leaving that horizon of yours swollen with the thickest and most vexing of cloud covers. I’ll admit that in my earliest days of using food as medicine to reverse symptoms of Crohn’s Disease, I felt frustration at participating in what seemed a cruel and relentless game of one-step-forward-two-steps-back. Some days I felt completely devoid of clarity, crestfallen at the thought that I’d never attain, let alone envision, remission.
Let me assure you, fellow autoimmune warriors, that skyline does indeed open up, most blissfully, with the clearest of blue. So don’t lose hope.
I reflect on the darker times of my healing journey because they give me perspective and make me grateful for those lucid A-HA moments, one of which I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts and which occurred as I came to this sentence on page 89 of The Paleo Approach by Sarah Ballantyne: “Protein is required for healing, and the easiest way for the body to heal is if all twenty amino acids are consumed in the diet.”
That succinct and concise sentence resonated deeply. In my proverbial (and literal) “gut,” this made sense! And so this was the point at which I took to heart nutrient density. This was the point at which I began my pilgrimage as a nutrivore, determined to consume as many of those amino acids as I could.
And that’s why incorporating gelatin as part of my gut-healing arsenal is so important. While I like to get as many as of my essential amino acids from regular consumption of organ meat and bone broth, a dose of gelatin does the body good as it contains glycine and proline, two amino acids that are harder to come by in the food we eat. Plus, gelatin is renowned for soothing the digestive tract. (“Yes, please!” says this IBDer.)
I get that some people don’t dig playing for #teamliverpâté. I also get that not everyone likes to sip regularly on mugs of bone broth, and while the nutrient seeker in me encourages you to put on those big boy/girl pants and get noshing on organ meat and broth, I’ll go easy on you with this treat of a recipe – Apple Pie Gummies. You won’t even have to put on your big-person pants to nom on these because they appeal to the kid in all of us. Actually, though, please do wear pants while eating. Always advisable, particularly in the company of others.
Make these Apple Pie Gummies a part of your healing arsenal!
Apple Pie Gummies (Paleo, AIP)
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Martine Partridge
Recipe type: Treat
Ingredients
- 3 c apple, peeled and sliced (about 3-4 apples)
- 1 c water
- 1-2 tbsp. maple syrup
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp ginger
- ½ tsp lemon zest
- 3 tbsp. grassfed gelatin
- ½ c cold water
Instructions
- Lightly grease an 8x8 pan with oil of your choice. Set aside.
- Place the apple slices in a small saucepan and cover with the 1 cup of water. Bring to a gentle boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- While apples are simmering, prepare the gelatin. Sprinkle the 3 tbsp. of gelatin over the ½ cup cold water in a bowl. Allow to bloom for about five minutes.
- Pour the apple mixture, after it has simmered for the 10 minutes, with all the liquid into a food processor (or use an immersion blender) to purée.
- Return the mixture to the sauce pan and stir in the cinnamon, ginger, and your desired amount of maple syrup. (I find that one tablespoon is enough, depending on the sweetness of your apples.)
- Return the pot to the lowest heat setting on the stove and add the gelatin. Stir to thoroughly dissolve.
- Remove from heat and stir in the lemon zest.
- Pour into the prepared 8x8 pan and refrigerate until set. Cut into squares. Or fun shapes!
