Sides

The right side dish is really easy to adjust to match the seasons and to match the main entrée, once you get the hang of it.  Because this blog is basically composed as a diary of dinners, I started to want to refer to the many side dishes that I made here and there, more or less all in one place, for this kind of inspiration.  So I am extracting and generalizing the list with links to available blogged side dishes in meals.  Generally sides are classified by either being a "Filling" side (such as sweet potatoes) or a "Veggie" side (such as asparagus) so one of each can be paired with a main entrée to build a meal.

Here is an index to the side dishes that are noted down with every meal blog post.  Click on the headers to sort by column.

Side Dish Recipe Index

Side Dish Recipe	Featured Ingredient	Filling or Veggie	AIP	Vegan
Braised Fennel	Fennel	Veggie	X	X
Cremini Rice Pilaf	Rice	Filling		X
Rainbow Chard	Chard	Veggie	X	X
Parsley Lime Rissoto	Rice	Filling		X
Broccoli Al Dente	Broccoli	Veggie	X	X
Curried Cauliflower Couscous	Cauliflower	Filling	X	X
Cream of Carrot Soup	Carrot	Filling	X	X
Braised Kale	Kale	Veggie	X	X
Canneloni	Canneloni	Filling		X
Easy Baked Polenta	Polenta	Filling		X
Rice Chickpea Patties	Chickpea	Filling		X
Grilled Pineapple	Pineapple	Veggie	X	X
Easy Breakfast Hash O'Brien	Potato	Filling
Steamed Artichoke	Artichoke	Veggie	X	X
Rice Chickpea Pilaf	Chickpea	Filling		X
Cauliflower Sweet Potato Pilaf	Cauliflower	Filling	X	X
Breakfast Hash	Potato	Filling		X
Scones GF Vegan	Sorghum	Filling		X
Cornbread GF Vegan	Cornmeal	Filling		X
Apple Galette	Apple	Filling		X
Sautéed Spinach	Spinach	Veggie		X
Steamed Potatoes and Mushrooms	Potato	Filling
Quick Roasted Winter Roots - Carrots and Parsnips	Carrot Parsnip	Veggie	X	X
Black-and-White Rice Pilaf	Rice	Veggie		X
Asparagus Al Dente	Asparagus	Veggie	X	X
Quick Roasted Potatoes	Potato	Filling		X
Quick Mashed Sweet Potatoes	Sweet Potato	Filling	X	X
Quick Peas and Corn	Peas	Veggie		X
Quick Spaghetti Squash Noodles	Spaghetti Squash	Veggie	X	X
Quick Steamed Spinach	Spinach	Veggie	X	X
Mashed White Yam	Yam	Filling	X	X
Fresh Corn on the Cob	Corn	Veggie		X
Classic Mashed Potatoes and Gravy	Potato	Filling
Easy Peas	Peas	Veggie	X	X
Quick Parsley Cauliflower Couscous	Cauliflower	Filling	X	X
Asparagus Al Dente (2)	Asparagus	Veggie	X	X
Quick Fried Plantains	Plantain	Filling	X	X
Grape Bacon Romaine Salad	Lettuce	Veggie	X
Quick Green Rice	Rice / Chickpea	Filling		X

Here are a list of ingredients for AIP, sorted by means of preparation, in two columns:  "Filling" and "Green & Veggie" for quick reference.

AIP Side Dish Featured Ingredients

Filling Side

Green & Veggie Side

Fresh / Raw  Carrot Cauliflower Yellow Squash Zuchinni Rice / Couscous Cauliflower Couscous Fried Pan-fried Plantains Sweet Potato/Yam Hash Sweet Potato/Yam Zuchinni Hash Mashed Mashed Cauliflower Mashed Parsnip Mashed Parsnip/Cauliflower Mashed Parsnip/Turnip Mashed Taro Root Mashed Turnip Mashed Sweet Potato Mashed Yam - White Mashed Yam - Red Mashed Yam - Purple Noodles Noodles, Kelp Noodles, Konnyaku (yam) Noodles, Spaghetti Squash Zoodles (zuchinni) Roasted  Roasted Eggplant Roasted Roots, Carrot Roasted Roots, Parsnip Roasted Roots, Sweet Potato Roasted Roots, Turnip Roasted Roots, Yam Roasted Squash, Acorn Roasted Squash, Butternut Roasted Squash, Yellow Roasted Squash, Zuchinni Roasted Yucca Thickeners Tapioca Coconut flour Dried / Dehydrated / Baked Biscuits - Plantain Biscuits - Parsnip Bread - Tapioca Chips - Coconut Chips - Parsnip Chips - Plantain Chips - Sweet Potato Chips - Turnip Crackers - Plantain Flatbread - Cauliflower

Fresh / Raw Avocado Broccoli Cabbage - Coleslaw Chives Cucumber Daikon - zoodled Celery Endive Escarol Kohlrabi Lettuce - Butter Lettuce - Iceberg Lettuce - Red Leaf Lettuce - Romaine Mustard Greens Onion - White Onion - Red Peas Radish Salad Greens Mix Spinach Squash/Zuchinni flowers Preserved / Pickled Cabbage - Sauerkraut Cucumber - Pickled Beet - Pickled Daikon - Pickled Ginger - Pickled Kelp - Dried Olives Rhubarb - Pickled Wakame - Dried, Pickled Zuchinni - Pickled Steamed / Sauteed / Roasted / Baked / Grilled / Broiled Artichoke Asparagus Beet Bok Choi Broccoli Cabbage - Green Cabbage - Red Cabbage - Napa Celery Chard Collard Greens Endive Escarol Fennel Kohlrabi Mustard Greens Kale - Baby Kale Leeks Okra Onion - White Onion - Red Shallot Radish Rhubarb Smoothies / Juiced Kale, baby - smoothie Beet - juiced Carrot - juiced

A Note on How to Use the Side Dishes Index

Maybe I have a nice sausage from the butcher, for example, and instead of mashed root veggies and broccoli, I feel more like using the fresh rainbow chard at its peak in the season and on sale at the market but want to go with a main staple such as a pilaf or couscous to round out the meal.  So I could look up in my index for the various starchy sides for energy to accompany my protein and greens.

The Satiation Challenge

As the story suggests above, the sides are grouped into fresh veggies, and starchy sides that feel filling.  I have found that the single biggest challenge with Auto-immune Paleo has been the filling side.  I can always whip up a great meat and fresh or frozen veggie or salad loaded with nutrition and antioxidants and enzymes and what have you, but the filling side that helps sustain the energy of a meal and give the sensation of satiation has been the most difficult piece to master.

Healthy Fats - & - Essential Fatty Acids

Going deeper into the matter, there is the critical bit of healthy fats as well.  Healthy fats are emerging as generally MIA from the SAD or standard American diet.  Auto-immune Paleo derives this from animal protein sources, and this can be new to most modern home cooks like myself who are not familiar with preparing offal, rendered fats, bone broths, etc.  Sustained energy from carbohydrates plus brain power from healthy fats is a must to respond to the immense stresses and demands of modern life.  And I find healthy fats are another key to satiation.

Healthy fats supply essential fatty acids, which are called 'essential' because our body needs them for brain function and other vital bodily functions.  A protein source in the main entrée may or may not supply this fat, and if not, the starchy side can be another great place to include this part.  For example, a simple salmon and asparagus meal is great and a nice wild-caught salmon will supply a great balance of Omega3 and other fatty acids, but this meal won't give satiation without some type of side such as mashed roots, sautéed plantains, etc.  Without nuts and pre-soaked grains to supply essential fatty acids and critical enzymes, the auto-immune paleo diet must find other ways to supply these nutrients.  For those who are allergic to nuts, for example, this great source of fatty acids is a no-go.  Since my boyfriend is allergic to nuts, and many people avoid nuts as part of allergen elimination with the Autoimmune-Paleo diet, I exclude them from all of my recipes.  Because I am able to tolerate certain grains, legumes and seeds, and because I want to include these in our diet for carbohydrate energy, variety, and to re-supply some essential enzymes and other possible nutrients, I have reintroduced certain grains and legumes and seeds into the meals. However there are wonderful options to substitute these starchy sides in the chart below, so please do so freely.  So if the meal blog post says, serve with rice, don't!  Serve with cauliflower couscous or fried plantains or mashed roots or tuber noodles or a bed of fresh salad greens; you have wonderful options to go with, so explore for your favorites.

Avocado

A tip to supply a feeling of satiation in meals is to add one of the best sources for essential fats, the avocado.  For a meal that is missing a source of sustained energy, satiation and fatty acids, avocado is a kind of meal making miracle!

Finish of Flavor

Herbs and spices and cold oils such as EVO along with flavored vinegars, sauces, and other things can be a really fun way to personalize meals, not to mention power pack them with amazing nutritive compounds for health and nutrition along the way.

My solution is a weekly purchase of fresh cut herbs standing in little glass jars on my kitchen shelf, and sprinkle with lemon-infused EVO over freshly prepared dishes.  It is easy to sprinkle this right over the plate on top of hot and fresh entrees or salads, and this preserves the nutrients from heat damage.  A simple salad dressing of lemon-infused EVO with raspberry-infused balsamic vinegar and maybe some fresh parsley or mint is magical and effortless.

Turmeric is amazing, and while not strictly on the Autoimmune Paleo protocol, is turning out to be so powerful that it is showing up in other healing protocols everywhere.  I include it in breakfast hash, cauliflower couscous, and infused in bone broth as a quick and soothing sipping tea.

Prepared spice blends are such a fantastic way to season meats especially, so I include a post on some spice blends.  Experiment with your own blends as well.

Apertifs, Digestifs, Bone Broth and Bitters : No-more-indigestion

Further, loading the digestion with proteins and fats take a healthy gut able to power through and fully process the nutrients intended for the body.  Nutrition loading only works as well as the gut.  The primary line of fortification for this is probiotics.  Sauerkraut (raw, fresh and refrigerated, not on a shelf in a sealed jar) is probably the most touted probiotics item to include in the pantry.  Other options include kefir water or coconut yogurt.  These are all fantastic things to reach for and are easy condiments, or to precede or follow a meal.

One of the foundations of healing touted in the approach is healing the gut. Bone broth is an essential pantry item for every Autoimmune-Paleo protocol which I've seen.  Healing the gut is gaining in general popularity.  Rebuilding a healthy digestive system is important before reintroducing foods that the body previously was not equipped to properly process and absorb, such as grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, dairy, eggs, etc.  Bone broth may be the first step for someone who is very ill as it provides rapid healing.  Think: chicken noodle soup as a panacea, and bone broth is even much more touted.  My approach to easy bone broth can be found in my Easy Bone Broth post (coming soon.)  Bone broth is so easy to use that I usually use it all up!  It is so easy to add to soups or mashed veggies or anything that requires liquid, that it is easy to "hide" in your dishes nicely.

Bitters are great apertifs or digestifs for those who have been healing on bone broth for a while and can safely and gently nudge the liver into lubricating the digestive tract with bile.  The Weston A. Price foundation has an in-depth article about the importance of bitter flavors in our diets, and goodbelly.com has a few fun tips on making your own non-alcoholic digestifs.  However, it is important to work with your doctor / health care practitioner, to make sure you take the steps appropriate for your health.  Once everything is flowing nicely in the belly, it is a pleasure to eat a meal knowing you won't have to suffer for it later on!

The Autoimmune-Paleo Frontier

The auto-immune paleo approach is not just elimination but additive as well.  Allergen elimination is the eliminative side of any Autoimmune-Paleo protocol, where nutrition loading and healing for better nutrition absorption is basically the additive side of Autoimmune-Paleo.  Both sides serve the dual objectives to quell the inflammatory response while simultaneously loading the body with nutrition.  Sounds so nice, right?  But how?  That's the great big question this blog aims to answer.

Since I am allergic to garlic, eggs and cow dairy, and my boyfriend is highly allergic to all nuts, I completely eliminate these ingredients from my kitchen entirely.  However I am slowly reintroducing ingredients such as seeds and pre-soaked grains and legumes.  I liberally use what apparently are leptin-imbalancing nightshades, so I'm looking into meals that ease away from them, too.  As you regain strength in your digestive system, you too can experiment with adding in foods to supplement the Autoimmune Paleo protocol, and see how you respond.

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