Many with Lyme disease tend to follow the paleo diet in attempt to aid in healing, or at the very least some sort of low/anti-inflammatory diet. Inflammation is often considered the root of illness, so it makes sense that we would want to lower or try to eliminate inflammation to help our bodies heal from disease. Paleo eliminates many foods that are considered to be inflammatory, especially gluten and grains. These can also affect the gut, leading to leaky gut and increasing symptoms or autoimmunity. Anti-inflammatory diets focus on whole foods and many with Lyme also lean towards eating organic in order to avoid any extra toxins that could suppress our immune systems further.
Since Lyme disease and all the co-infections and co-morbidities that come with it can be very hard on the body, affecting every organ and system, it’s important to support the body as much as possible while in treatment (and beyond!). One of my favorite ways to do that is with nutrition. I know that making sure I get enough calories, vitamins and minerals, and overall nutrients into my system is important to help my body fight disease, support my immune system, and heal!
Being a paleo eater can be tough sometimes, especially when you are dealing with a chronic illness! Who misses sandwiches or wraps?! *raises hand*. Who has time to make everything from scratch all the time? *doesn’t raise hand*
I recently discovered an amazing brand called Nuco which makes coconut wraps. These are completely grain and gluten free and absolutely delicious. They are also completely vegan, organic, and AIP compliant! Basically, they fit any dietary restrictions and we all know how hard it can be to find a product that fits numerous food allergies or intolerances.
Nuco wraps have become my new substitute for making delicious wrap sandwiches for lunch. They are a great substitute for many of your typical dishes that require a bread, but they’re extremely versatile for incorporating in new recipes, as well. They have 4 different flavors of wraps, all made with whole foods and natural ingredients. The variety gives you the option to create savory or sweet dishes. It’s such an easy way to make a quick meal or snack with little effort.
The different flavors are original (for easy ability to go any direction in flavor), turmeric (great for anti-inflammatory benefits), moringa (#superfoods), and cinnamon (great for blood sugar balance or sweeter recipes)!
The company itself is also fantastic. They work with local coconut farmers in the Philippines and work to support the organic and natural coconut industry there. They also only partner with “businesses that support local and global communities.” You can read more about their company and values here.
I’ve also had a chance to try their grain free Coconut Crunch cereal. Ya’ll, it didn’t last long! I missed cereal and this is a no-sugar added, grain free alternative that was absolutely scrumptious. Mixed with some dairy-free milk and fresh berries…. seriously, that bag of cereal was gone in only a couple of days.
I created a low-sugar, paleo friendly dessert below using their cinnamon wraps: Apple Pie Cups! A fun and easy way to have a little treat in your day. Also, be sure you are following me on Instagram because I’ll be a hosting a giveaway with Nuco in September!
While you are chopping your apples, melt your coconut oil over medium heat in a medium saucepan.
Add all ingredients, except the wraps, to the saucepan and stir evenly to coat apples. Let apples cook for about 7-10 minutes until soft and most liquid is cooked off, stirring occasionally.
Cut each wrap into 4 equal squares and press one piece into a muffin tin (so that you are basically creating a muffin liner with the wrap). Scoop 1-2 tbs. of the apple mixture into the wrap. Repeat until all wraps are filled.
Bake for about 15-20 minutes, until wrap edges are crispy and it smells like fall (aka apple pie).
While apple pies are baking, soak your dates in hot water for 5 minutes.
Drain the dates, saving the water, and place in a small blender or food processor (if you only have a big blender, you will have to make a larger batch of this to get it to blend well. You’ll just have leftovers and that’s okay!) with the salt and 1/4 cup of liquid. I like to use coconut milk to get a nice, creamy caramel but you can also use the reserved liquid from draining the dates or a combo. Blend until creamy, adding liquid 1 tbs. at a time to reach desired consistency.
Remove and let cool slightly. Place your caramel into a piping bag with a small tip OR into a ziplock bag, pressing all the caramel into one corner of the bag. Snip off a small piece of the corner, then pipe caramel over the mini apple pies before serving. I like to serve these with a dollop of coconut whipped cream on top, too.
I finally took the plunge and ordered some tiger nut flour. This is the first time I’ve ever baked with it! It’s nice because it has a natural sweetness and that nutty flavor I miss. I also am forever craving foods out of season. It’s not quite fall (okay, kind of far from it), but I was craving apple pie, one of my favorite desserts ever! I love making bars for the ease of snacking and being different from a full on pie, but you certainly could use this recipe as a sort of apple crumble pie (just make it in a pie dish instead).
I love these bars for a dessert with some coconut whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
AIP Apple Pie Bars
Makes 9 squares
Ingredients:
Crust-
1/2 cup tiger nut flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
2 tbs. tapioca flour
1 tbs. maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut oil
3 tbs. of water
Filling-
4 apples, cored and chopped
1 tbs. coconut oil
1 tbs. lemon juice
1 tbs. honey (use maple syrup for vegan)
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Topping-
1/4 cup tiger nut flour
1/2 cup coconut flakes
2 tbs. coconut flour
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 tbs. maple syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 tbs. coconut oil (may need more)
Preheat the oven to 35oF
Mix all dry crust ingredients in a bowl then add the wet and combine. You should have a wet but easy to handle dough. If dough is too dry, add water 1 tbs. at a time
Press the dough into the bottom of a 9×9 inch baking dish.
Bake crust for about 10-15 minutes, until just beginning to golden.
While crust is baking, start your filling. Melt the coconut oil over medium heat in a deep saucepan. Add the apples and lemon juice, cook for about 3 minutes. Add all the remaining filling ingredients, stir well. Turn heat down to medium low and simmer for about 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until apples are soft but not mush.
When the apples are done, work on the topping. Combine all the wet ingredients in a bowl then ad the remaining ingredients and combine until you have a nice crumble that holds together.
Once the crust is done, pour the apple filling evenly over the crust. Then pour the crumble on top, gently pressing it together.
Bake for another 20-25 minutes until topping is golden brown.
Let cool completely before cutting. I suggest also letting it set in the fridge to become cool before cutting.
I’m pretty sure I’m never going to buy ice cream from the store again, now that I’ve figured out how to make delicious, creamy ice cream at home. I love making my own because there are no weird additives or flavorings, I can make whatever flavor I like and adjust it to my preferences, and I am able to use less sweetener. I have to be honest, store bought ice cream is usually just slightly too sweet for me. They add so much unnecessary sugar (in my opinion), that my mouth starts to hurt when eating it.
Actually, that is the case with almost anything store bought. Why do we feel this need to add SO MUCH extra and/or unnecessary sugar to everything?! I don’t understand. That is why I love making everything myself at home, because I can use less junk and really enhance the true flavors of a dish.
I don’t have an ice cream maker, so this is a no-churn version that still turned out delicious. The key is using only the milk-fat from the coconut milk cans. I’m sure this would be even more divine if you are able to get your hands on an ice cream maker.
No-Churn AIP Strawberry Ice cream
Makes about 1.5-2 pints
Ingredients:
2 cans full fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight
3 cups frozen strawberries
2 dates, pitted
1/8-1/4 cup maple syrup (depending on how sweet you like your ice cream. 1/8 cup provides a very mild hint of sweetness to match the dates and strawberries, but it’s not super sweet like your typical ice cream)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Pinch of pink himalayan salt
Directions:
Scoop out the thick coconut cream from the coconut milk cans and place in a blender. Save the liquid (coconut water) at the bottom of the cans for a later use.
Add the remaining ingredients to the blender and blend until combined. If you like to have some chunks of strawberries in your ice cream, use only 2 cups of strawberries initially. Then add the remaining cup and pulse until you reach your chunky desire.
IF you have an ice cream maker, you can pour the mixture into at this point and follow manufacturers directions.
IF you do not have an ice cream maker, pour the mixture into a freeze safe container and cover. Freeze for 6-8 hours, whisking the mixture every 30 minutes for at least the first 4 hours to help keep it creamy and prevent it from getting super icy.
Serve immediately or if using once ice cream is completely hardened, let sit out for about 5 minutes to soften slightly before scooping.
I posted the recipe for these cookies on my Instagram a couple weeks ago, but I decided to get the recipe up on the blog for those of you who aren’t on IG and to properly archive it.
These cookies utilize tiger nut butter which isn’t actually a nut, but a tuber, so it’s perfect if you follow the AIP diet. The tiger nut butter can be subbed for any nut or seed butter of your choice, though! I’ve had tons of people remake this recipe using almond and peanut butter and they love it.
I use Roots Tiger Nut butter which is a new company specializing in AIP “nut” butters. They are a great, family run business and make the delicious butter I used in this recipe.
Tiger Nut Butter Cookies
Makes 6-8 cookies
Ingredients:
1/2 cup tiger nut butter (if using other nut butter, may need to add 2 tbs applesauce or oil if batter is too crumbly)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3 tbs. coconut flour
pinch of Himalayan pink salt
Preheat oven to 350F.
Combine butter and maple syrup in a bowl, mix well.
Add remaining ingredients and mix to combine. You should have a wet but mailable dough.
Divide dough into 6-8 balls on a parchment lined baking sheet, then press down gently (use a fork if you want the fancy lines on top).
Bake for 8 minutes until edges are just beginning to turn golden brown. They may seem underdone, they aren’t.
Let cool for a couple minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
These are DELICIOUS for ice cream sandwiches. So go make one and enjoy your life 😉
Yes, you read that right! Pop tarts weren’t a household staple in my family, I was a much bigger fan of toaster strudels. To be honest, these may resemble more of a toaster strudel since they aren’t quite as crispy as a pop tart… they are somewhere in between. Anyway, not only did my mom never really let me eat pop tarts (I’m pretty sure that’s right, she’s probably going to yell at me about this post), but I also remember not loving them. All my friends loved them so I thought I was supposed to, but they always tasted too sweet, too much like artificial sugar (ha!), and just tasted off to me. I much prefer this homemade version!
This recipe came about totally by accident. I wasn’t even trying to make an AIP version of pop tarts. Then I turned a failed bar recipe into dough and they were pretty good. I posted a picture of the botched original-recipe-turned-sort-of-pop tart on my Instagram and people said they wanted the recipe. So, of course, I had to try and make a legit recipe to post! This recipe is great because it is completely AIP and vegan, so it fits many different diets. These paleo, gluten free, and dairy free pop tarts will be a crowd pleaser.
These pop tarts have a secret ingredient in the crust: sweet potato! Yes, get your veggies in with your dessert (or breakfast, whenever you want to eat pop tarts, I’m not judging!). These are a much healthier version than the original and utilize a real fruit for the filling. They are extremely versatile, though, and you can fill them with whatever you want. I used blackberries in mine but you can use other fruit, nut/seed butters, chocolate, and more!
A healthier take on an American classic. This recipe is completely gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo, and AIP. Fill your pop tarts with whatever your heart desires!
Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American
Keyword classic, comfort food
Servings 6-8 pop tarts
Ingredients
Dough
1cupsteamed and mashed Japanese sweet potatowhite fleshed sweet potato will also work
First, chop and steam your sweet potato. Let cool before mashing with a fork so that you have 1 cup of mashed sweet potato.
Blend the sweet potato, flours, coconut butter, maple syrup, and milk in a blender until smooth.
Transfer batter to a bowl and cut in the coconut oil until it is combined in the dough (don’t over mix). You should have a pretty soft dough at this point, almost too soft to really work with.
Place dough in the fridge for an hour so that the dough can harden up some. It should be like sugar cookie dough- hard but malleable. If you leave it in the fridge longer or it becomes too hard, just leave it on the counter for a little until it begins to soften and become easier to work with.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Take half of the dough and form it into a ball with your hands, then roll it out between 2 sheets of parchment paper to be about 1/4 inch thick. Cut rolled dough into the shapes you want for the pop tarts (mine were about 3×3 inch squares). Make sure when you cut a shape, you cut two matching ones so you have the top and bottom of the pop tart.
Repeat with the other half of the dough. You should have a total of 12-16 squares, depending on how big/small you make them.
Using a spatula, gently transfer one cut shape (bottom of the pop tart) to a parchment lined baking sheet and transfer the other shape (top of the pop tart) to a holding tray (I used a cutting board to keep the top layer of the pop tarts separate).
Scoop up the scraps of dough from cutting and repeat the same process. If the dough becomes too soft to work with, just place it back in the fridge for a few minutes. This may apply to the cut shapes, as well. If dough begins to soften too much on the baking sheet, just throw it in the fridge for a couple of minutes (you don't want it to get too hard that it crumbles when working with it though).
Repeat this rolling and cutting process until you’ve used all the dough to cut your pop tarts.
Take about one tablespoon of the filling and place it in the middle of the pop tart dough that is on the baking sheet. Spread the filling slightly on the dough, leaving about a 1/2 inch around the edges. [See image]
Dip your finger in water and run it along the edges of the bottom crust, place the top crust piece overtop so edges line up and gently press the two pieces of crust together with your fingers. Repeat with all the pop tarts.
Use a fork dipped in water to crimp the edges of the pop tarts.
Bake for about 35-40 minutes until golden brown. I’ve found that flipping them half way gets them crispier but if you want softer and more visually appealing pop tarts, don’t flip.
Ice with coconut butter, if desired. You can also mix some berry juice with coconut butter for a colored icing.
Notes
*I used frozen since it is winter, just thaw and pour off excess juice. You can also use fresh. Alternatively, you can use whatever filling you want like nutella!
The other week I made Nourished Wellness’s AIP Chicken Flautas (so good, I highly recommend). I wanted some sort of relish to serve over them and that is how this recipe came to be. This relish works well in these winter months while citrus is still in season. There is a sweetness and saltiness plus creaminess from the avocado that makes this relish super fun and hits so many areas of your palate.
This is a great substitute for a corn-based relish (often used in many Mexican dishes). It would be great on top of tacos, fish, or alongside a basic chicken dish. There are so many ways to use this recipe!
Yellow Squash, Citrus, and Avocado Relish
Ingredients:
1-2 tbs. olive oil or avocado oil
2 yellow squash/zucchini, diced
1 orange (most citrus varieties will work, I like mandarin oranges or even half a grapefruit)
1 avocado
1/4 tsp. himalayan pink salt
Optional: 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Heat your oil over medium heat in a large frying pan. Add the diced yellow squash and sauté until soft, about 7-10 minutes. If at any point the squash begins to stick, add more oil.
While squash is sautéing, peel and separate the orange slices. Using a sharp knife (this is key so that you don’t end up squishing the citrus), gently cut the citrus slices into about 6-8 pieces (they should be small, not quite diced).
Slice your avocado in half, scoop out the flesh with a spoon, and cut the avocado into chunks (again, not quite diced but small chunks).
Once your squash has cooked, let cool completely. Once cooled, combine all ingredients in a bowl and lightly toss.
Serve immediately (tastes best fresh, but it can be kept refrigerated for a couple days).
What do you want to serve this relish with?! Let me know in the comments! I love hearing all your cooking ideas 🙂
Hi! I'm Victoria. I was diagnosed with Lyme in 2012 and have been on a healing journey ever since. I love helping others on their road to healing through allergy friendly recipes, exercise, and overall well-being.
