A few of my favorite things...: Going Grain Free/Salmon with Yogurt Sauce

So much has happened in the last few weeks, it's been sort of a blur to me. After my youngest son broke his wrist, we had a full, awesome week of VBS at our church. The following week (last week) my oldest got sick, my husband drilled through two of his finger bones at work, and then he and two of the kids got a stomach bug. :P Since then we have had a slew of doc appointments and what-not. Such is life! :) I don't even want to think about where I'd be without the hope and peace I have in Christ!

In the midst of all the chaos, we have also decided to make another major change to our diet. We have been gluten, dairy, egg, soy, peanut, and yellow corn free for four years. Last year (as I mentioned in a previous post) we were able to work in raw dairy and farm eggs - woohoo! Although we have made huge strides in our health and the boys have come a long way, there is still much work to do. After a lot of reading, I have finally decided to take the plunge and go grain free. We are basically following what's called the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. When the health of the gut is compromised, and the body isn't making enzymes properly to break down and digest food, it sits in the intestines and ferments. Not only does this cause nasty bacteria and yeast to grow but it also makes it difficult for the body to absorb the needed vitamins and nutrients from the food. By eliminating all grains and starches, the intestines can heal and things can start functioning the way they should. You can read more about the subject by Googling Specific Carbohydrate Diet or "grain free." We are not doing the different stages of the diet, just eliminating the grains and starches. I hope to get a list posted soon of general ideas for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Since we are now on week 2 of being grain free, the recipes I post will not only be gluten free, but grain free altogether. To start off, I'm posting the first dinner I made. :) At the bottom of this post, I will include a few links to blogs with more recipes, or helpful cookbooks. If you are having gut problems I suggest checking into the SCD.

Baked Salmon with Yogurt Sauce

1 pkg frozen salmon (wild caught only) or 1lb fresh wild caught salmon
paprika
salt

Grease a stone baking sheet (or other baking sheet lined with greased foil), and place salmon on it. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Sprinkle salt and paprika all over the salmon according to taste (we like a lot). Add any other spices you like. Bake uncovered until salmon is done in the middle and flakes apart easily.

Yogurt Sauce

1 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup dijon-type mustard
1 garlic clove, crushed
salt

Mix all ingredients well. Place baked salmon over lettuce leaves and pour yogurt sauce all over the top.

I served fresh snap peas sauteed in onion, garlic, salt, and sesame oil as a side.