15 Minute Meal: Garlic Scallops

Sourcing well is always important for any meat. In landlocked states, it’s a great idea to buy flash frozen seafood because it is fresher. Check where your scallops are caught. You want wild caught scallops and not caught off the coast of China if possible. Scallops are filter food through the water where they live. Try to get clean living scallops.

If you get live scallops, make sure to put them in salt water for several hours to allow them to expel their sand. You can change the water as needed.

Scallops are rich in iodine. Iodine is an important mineral for our bodies.  Iodine is used by the body to make hormones in your thyroid. Fluorine and chlorine compete with iodine in your thyroid because they’re a similar enough molecule. Both fluorine and chlorine are toxic to our cells, meaning they damage the cells function. If there is not enough iodine in your cells, your body will quickly uptake whatever it can find that’s closest - meaning fluorine and chlorine. Being well nourished and having enough iodine will prevent your body from trying to use fluorine or chlorine in your thyroid. Learn more about iodine and why we need it in this blog post.

Ingredients for Garlic Scallops:

• 16 oz Wild Caught Scallops

• 3 tbsp Butter

• 4 Large Cloves of Garlic

• ¼ cup White Wine

• Pinch of Cayenne Pepper

• 3-4 Shakes of Salt

• Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Directions for Garlic Scallops:

If your scallops are frozen, thaw them on the counter for approximately 30 minutes.

Rinse scallops. Mince garlic. Add butter into cast iron pan or other heavy skillet and heat medium high heat.

Add the garlic to the hot butter. Stir to coat. Continue to stir on medium high heat until the garlic starts to brown. Do not allow the garlic to burn. It will burn quickly.

Add the scallops to the hot butter and pan. Brown the scallops on both sides. If you have too much liquid from your scallops, drain off the liquid. Add more butter so they will brown.

When scallops are brown, add white wine, cayenne pepper, some salt, and freshly ground pepper.

Cook for a few minutes on the higher heat until the wine cooks off. Do not overcook the scallops!

Serve hot on their own or alongside a thick and hearty slice of sourdough bread with butter.

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Easy Jambalaya

I know from personal experience that eating soups for most or all meals can become routine and unappealing. So I have been looking for soup recipes with unique tastes or flavor profiles to shake things up. 

I’ve never really had traditionally made jambalaya so I’m not sure how well this stacks up but it is delicious! It’s legal on Stage 4 of the GAPS Diet as long as you are tolerating nightshades (tomatoes and peppers.)

One of the most important ways to replenish a malnourished body is to eat a variety of nutrients that come from a variety of sources. Depending on where you live (i.e. a landlocked state like Colorado) seafood may not be a class of food you commonly partake in. When you purchase seafood, it should always be wild caught and sourced from a location that is not off the coast of China. When seafood is fresh, it tastes very mild. As it ages, it will become more and more “fishy.” Flash frozen seafood is often the best because was preserved in the freshest state possible.

Jambalaya is traditionally served over rice. While rice isn’t GAPS Legal, if it is something you are tolerating or eating currently, I have a blog post on how to properly prepare rice here. If you are on full GAPS, wild rice is legal and you can learn how to properly prepare wild rice here. I think it’s delicious to eat this jambalaya on it’s own and don’t miss the rice.

Ingredients for Jambalaya:

• 3 tbsp Lard

• 7 cups of Stock

• 2 Chicken Breasts, cubed

• 1 lb. Scallops

• 10 oz. Salmon

• 2 lb Jumbo Shrimp

• 9-10 Medium Tomatoes

• 3 Stalks of Celery

• ½ Large Onion

• 2 Bell Pepper

• 2 ½ tbsp Salt

• 1 tbsp Paprika

• 1 tbsp Cayenne Pepper

• 1 tbsp Freshly Ground Pepper

• 1 tbsp Dried Oregano

• ⅛ cup parsley

Directions for How to Prepare Jambalaya:

In a large stock pot, add 2 tbsp of lard and heat on medium high heat. Add chicken once it’s heated and stir to cook in lard. 

In a bowl, combine the spices. Roughly chop the parsley.

Generously coat the chicken with a few shakes of the spice mixture.

Remove the chicken pieces from the pan while leaving the juices in the pot.

Roughly chop the tomatoes. Add them to the pot. Add 1 - 2 tsp of the spice mixture. Simmer for about 10 - 15 minutes until soft. Stir constantly to prevent sticking. Immersion blend them tomatoes slightly. You still want a few chunks in.

Pour the stock into the pot with the tomatoes. Add in chopped parsley.

Chop celery into small half moons. Add the celery to the pot with the tomato and stock mixture.

Chop the onions into bite size pieces. Cut the bell pepper into chunks. 

In a cast iron skillet, heat 1 tbsp of lard. When it’s melted, add the onions and bell peppers to fry. Sprinkle with 1 - 2 tsp of seasoning mixture.

Mince the garlic. Add to the pan with the onions and bell peppers. Cook for about a minute.

Add the chicken back into the tomato mixture pot. 

If necessary, remove the skin from the salmon. Cube the salmon into chunks. Add the salmon to the onion and bell pepper mixture.

Rinse the scallops with filtered water. Add the scallops to the onion and bell pepper mixture. Sprinkle the remaining seasoning mixture over the top of the scallops and stir. Let cook for a few minutes.

Rinse the jumbo shrimp. Add them directly to the pot of the tomato mixture.

After a few minutes, add the scallops, salmon, onions, and bell pepper mixture to the large stock pot with the tomatoes.

Simmer everything for about 15 to 20 minutes to allow the seafood to cook and the flavors to meld. Be careful to not overcook your seafood.

Enjoy!

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Print

Easy Jambalaya

Author: The Be Well Clinic

Prep time: Cook time: Total time:

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp Lard
• 7 cups of Stock
• 2 Chicken Breasts, cubed
• 1 lb. Scallops
• 10 oz. Salmon
• 2 lb Jumbo Shrimp
• 9-10 Medium Tomatoes
• 3 Stalks of Celery
• ½ Large Onion
• 2 Bell Pepper
• 2 ½ tbsp Salt
• 1 tbsp Paprika
• 1 tbsp Cayenne Pepper
• 1 tbsp Freshly Ground Pepper
• 1 tbsp Dried Oregano
• ⅛ cup parsley

Instructions:

How to cook Easy Jambalaya

1. In a large stock pot, add 2 tbsp of lard and heat on medium high heat. Add chicken once it’s heated and stir to cook in lard.
2. In a bowl, combine the spices. Roughly chop the parsley.
3. Generously coat the chicken with a few shakes of the spice mixture.
4. Remove the chicken pieces from the pan while leaving the juices in the pot.
5. Roughly chop the tomatoes. Add them to the pot. Add 1 - 2 tsp of the spice mixture. Simmer for about 10 - 15 minutes until soft. Stir constantly to prevent sticking. Immersion blend them tomatoes slightly. You still want a few chunks in.
6. Pour the stock into the pot with the tomatoes. Add in chopped parsley.
7. Cop celery into small half moons. Add the celery to the pot with the tomato and stock mixture.
8. Chop the onions into bite size pieces. Cut the bell pepper into chunks.
9. In a cast iron skillet, heat 1 tbsp of lard. When it’s melted, add the onions and bell peppers to fry. Sprinkle with 1 - 2 tsp of seasoning mixture.
10. Mince the garlic. Add to the pan with the onions and bell peppers. Cook for about a minute.
11. Add the chicken back into the tomato mixture pot.
12. If necessary, remove the skin from the salmon. Cube the salmon into chunks. Add the salmon to the onion and bell pepper mixture.
13. Rinse the scallops with filtered water. Add the scallops to the onion and bell pepper mixture. Sprinkle the remaining seasoning mixture over the top of the scallops and stir. Let cook for a few minutes.
14. Rinse the jumbo shrimp. Add them directly to the pot of the tomato mixture.
15. After a few minutes, add the scallops, salmon, onions, and bell pepper mixture to the large stock pot with the tomatoes.
16. Simmer everything for about 15 to 20 minutes to allow the seafood to cook and the flavors to meld. Be careful to not overcook your seafood.
17. Enjoy!

Created using The Recipes Generator

How to Shop Like Betty: Tips on Nutrient-Dense Shopping

In the last post we discussed the differences in food quality, and explored the intricate way God designed our senses to be able to taste, smell, and see the difference. But, as amazing as all this is, we hit a reality check.

We can't all grow our own garden vegetables, have our seafood overnighted, or raise a cow in the backyard. It can be a struggle to even afford purchasing these things.

And that's okay. Most of us are in the same boat.

While I still encourage people to think differently about food budget—considering it instead as part of your health-care budget, I understand that at some point, cash-flow is a limiting factor. You can only do the best you can, prioritizing the things that seem important to your body and family, and go from there.

I want to share a few tips with you. Ones that can help you put more nutrient-dense food on the table. Today let's talk about how to shop.

Nutrient-Dense Shopping:

• Shop sales, coupon, or go to wholesale stores (like Costco), and buy in bulk when the food is a good price.

I actually specifically recommend Costco because of their conscientious sourcing, and their larger selection of organic items. This automatically leads to better quality food options. Buying in bulk, and on sale are also great ways to get things like coconut oil and sugar (to feed your SCOBY, of course), as well as non-grocery items like Epsom salt, soaps and shampoos.

• Find out when your favorite organic-carrying grocery store marks things down for quick-sale.

Stores go through their produce, dairy and meat products on a regular basis in order to catch and mark-down food that is about to expire. Usually this is scheduled, and if you know the time and day you can show up soon after (or during) this mark-down period and get incredible deals! You can also check to see if there is a local discount grocery store, that takes almost out-of-date items and sells them at a large discount.

Produce: The small health food stores that I shop at usually put the older assorted produce in $2 bags. Often times it comes out to roughly a 90% discount! You have to be creative with using it, and be willing to give away food you may not be able to eat (like maybe potatoes, for example), but I often walk out of these stores with $15-30 worth of organic produce that cost me $4-6.

Meat: Similarly, stores mark down meat when it is nearing it's expiration date. Find out what days they go through the organic produce, and shop at that time. Again, I have found even better deals in smaller stores, where they have more to loose by throwing away food. And don't be afraid to buy frozen meat! Very few nutrients are lost when the meat is frozen. If it comes down to buying fresh commercial meat, or frozen natural or organic meat, the latter will definitely give you more nutrition for your buck.

• Know when to spend your money: when quality really matters, or when it varies tremendously.

There are some foods that are more difficult to find on sale, and ones that I recommend paying more for. Many of these items can be purchased much "cheaper," but the quality ranges from very poor to very good, and you get what you pay for. Dairy products in particular are very manipulated by manufacturers, and should be bought with that in consideration.

Dairy: If you can get raw milk, then do it! Otherwise, I do not recommend consuming pasteurized milk unless it has been cultured, like in yogurt or cheese. Aside from milk, most dairy products tend to keep longer, and may be more difficult to find on sale. Organic is important here, because commercial cows are given many antibiotics and hormones that will come through the milk and affect you. Don't "buy cheap" in these areas, especially butter, as it may be a main source of cholesterol (fat) for you. Cream can be purchased at the store, and although it has been pasteurized (some more than others), it is more stable than milk, and is less affected by pasteurization. Cheese, yogurt and sour cream have all been cultured, and those active cultures are working hard to counteract the damaging effects of pasteurization.

Eggs: Deciding which eggs to buy will depend on your area. If you can't purchase them from a local farm (real free-range are better than store-bought organic), then choose your egg based on the color of the yolk, and the taste. The yolk should be bright yellow or orange, meaning the chickens have been out in the sun and may even be able to eat bugs and fresh greens. Never buy eggs from vegetarian-fed hens. Believe me, hens are not vegetarians! Eggs are another large source of cholesterol, and it's best to buy the best quality of eggs you can find (these are not always the most expensive).

• Look for bulk ordering companies or clubs.

You don't have to join a CSA to get farm-fresh produce. There are companies like Azure Standard, Miller's Organic Farm, and others that send you meat and produce from a farm (maybe in another state) and deliver it to you. This is a great way to buy things that are more difficult to get, like lard, nuts or dried fruit. This can also be a good way to get non-grocery items.

I hope these tips help you make more nutrient-dense food purchases. What other ways have you found to make nutrient-dense food affordable? Share your knowledge with the community in the comments below. Happy shopping!

Onward!