This super simple — and frugal — recipe is easy to adapt to you (or your kid’s) tastes.
You need only one ingredient: Dried chili peppers. And a heavy-duty blender or food processor.
That’s it. Of course you can make more complicated versions, like Alton Brown’s Chili Powder. But for those on the SCD, simpler is usually better.
The instructions are easy too:
Remove the stems (and seeds if you prefer less heat or can’t tolerate them) from the dried peppers of your choosing. (Make sure to use gloves for this part.) I used New Mexico chilis in these pictures.
Then place them into the Vita-Mix. Turn it on low, then quickly to high. Use the tamper to grind the peppers to the consistency you like. When finished, let the powder settle before you open the container.
I found that the peppers we grow and dry our selves are dryer than those I purchase. So, if you’re using the store-bought ones, be aware that the little bit of moisture they contain affects the texture of the chili powder. When I use purchased peppers, I store the powder in the refrigerator.
Enjoy!
Why I Love My Vita-Mix — SCD Chili Powder
Back to Basics: SCD Apple Butter
I love my 1986 copy of the book Stocking Up III: The All-New Edition of America’s Classic Preserving Guide. I appreciate the simplicity of the recipes, many of which are SCD legal, for their fundamental ingredients and back-to-basic techniques.
I adapted the Stocking Up apple cider and apple butter recipes for the final product below, which I have to say, we all thought was pretty tasty. And any recipe that we can all eat—and like—is a winner in my book.
Here is the list of ingredients for apple butter, from page 269 of the book:
3 cups of apple cider
5 pounds of apples, unpeeled and uncored, sliced thin
honey to taste
ground cinnamon, to taste
ground allspice, to taste
ground cloves, to taste
I know the list of ingredients is vague, but it does allow you to modify the recipe, which is helpful especially since personal preference for spices can vary greatly.
Although I used the list of ingredients listed above, for SCD reasons I peeled and cored the apples. Then, instead of using a large enamel pot, I cooked the apples in the crock pot. 
I did not have any apple cider so I used the recipe from pages 292 through 294 of the book. I was thrilled to find that using the Vita Mix was a suitable way to make apple juice as evidenced by the picture of an older model on page 292. Since no volumes or masses are listed for how many apples to use, I just winged it until I got 3 cups of juice.
Following the instructions on page 293 and illustration on 294 I made the juice by first pureeing the peeled apples in the Vita Mix. 
Then I strained the puree through a muslin bag, 
reserving the juice for the apple butter recipe. 
By the way, I saved the puree, which we later ate with potato latkes. However, the taste was quite concentrated and the puree probably would have been better in cake or muffins.
At this point, the five pounds of cored, peeled, and sliced apples were already cooking in the crock pot. I added the three cups of juice, a half-cup of honey, a teaspoon of cinnamon, a half-teaspoon of allspice, and a half-teaspoon of cloves. Later, after many hours of cooking, I tasted the mixture and added more spices.
Initially, I cooked the apples on high until they softened, remembering to leave the lid ajar to allow the liquid to evaporate. Before I went to bed, I set the crock pot to low (8-10 hours). This was a little risky. First thing in the morning, I thought I had ruined the whole batch because the edges were very dark. However, it tasted delicious and we enjoyed it on regular and SCD pancakes right away. 
I stored the rest of it in half-pint jars in the freezer since there was not really enough to can. The Stocking Up recipe lists the yield as four half-pints, which is probably accurate if you don’t add any honey. After eating some with breakfast, we had four jars left to store.
What apple recipes are you cooking up this fall?
SCD Mayonnaise, Just Like Grandma Used to Make
I have fond memories of my grandmother making mayonnaise when I was younger. I did not get to see her often since we lived in a different state, but whenever I visited she tried to broaden my taste bud horizons. She was Scandinavian, having immigrated to the U.S. from Sweden in 1950 with her young family, bringing with her not only some beautiful artwork and antiques that I’m blessed to now own, but the preferences for what I considered to be odd foods as well.
During one of my visits, I remember her making mayonnaise. MAKING mayonnaise. I couldn’t believe it. Although my friends now think I’m somewhat of a health nut, they laugh when I tell them that back then I did not know that corn didn’t come from a can. Really. Really. That’s ironic since now our cabinets contain fewer processed foods than Laura Ingall’s did.
Although the following recipe is different from Grandma’s in that it’s pasteurized, it still comes straight from the heart—and yes, from my Vita-Mix. I know what ingredients go into it, and I know that my younger daughter can eat it safely.
Is it harder than buying a jar at the store? You betcha. But the whole process takes less than ten minutes, and THAT is faster than driving to the store to pick it up.
I have to admit that because my husband is more patient than I am, he is much better at obtaining the correct consistency with this recipe than I am. Oh, and I didn’t develop this recipe; I’ve adapted it from multiple others online.
Here is the step-by-step tutorial.
Mayonnaise Recipe (SCD)
Ingredients:
2 egg yolks (the fresher, the better)
2 Tablespoons white or apple cider vinegar (or fresh lemon juice)
2 Tablespoons water
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon dry mustard
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup canola oil (Please note that canola oil is listed as “Legal, but not recommended” for SCD; I’ve also used olive oil. Choose your favorite budget-friendly SCD-legal oil.)
Place all ingredients into a non-stick skillet with the stove set to medium-low.
Stir continuously with a wooden spoon until the mixture JUST begins to thicken. One way to determine this is to “pull” the mixture toward you with the spoon. As soon as you notice that it does not flow back as quickly, remove it from the heat. This process takes about two minutes. Please note that in my experience, if the mixture has any clumps in it, it has cooked too long and will not thicken properly.
Place the bottom of the pan into a shallow dish of cold/ice water to stop the cooking process. After the mixture has cooled for two to three minutes, pour all of it into your Vita-Mix or blender. Another note: the directions for machine speed below are specifically for the Vita-Mix. You know your blender better than I do and will have to adjust accordingly.
Turn the power on and set the machine to low=1.
Start pouring the oil in right away, but very slowly, in a constant drizzle.
Keep the machine on low=1 until the mixture starts to thicken, then turn it to 2, then 3.
After all of the oil is in the blender container, turn the machine up slowly to 10. Then switch it to High until you see the tell-tale “clover” sign indicating the mayonnaise is properly thickened. Turn the machine off.
Put the mayonnaise into a clean jar and store in the refrigerator for approximately two weeks. It will keep longer if you don’t “double dip,” and instead, use only clean utensils every time you apply the mayo.
Why I Love My Vita-Mix Part VIII
I can make quick, easy, and economical compost.
For you gardeners out there, you know how long it can take to make compost if you utilize a traditional compost pile, especially if you’re like me and don’t turn it that often.
Last year, being the frugal-minded gal that I am, I decided to make compost out of a crock pot full of fish from which I was trying to make an SCD broth for my daughter. The harried mom in me beat out the frugal gal and left the pot on the counter all night. After that, I wasn’t comfortable serving the food to my daughter and I didn’t want to just throw it out. So, I ground it up—bones and all—in my Vita-Mix. Then I just poured it around some cauliflower and broccoli seedlings that I had in my Square Foot garden at the time.
The benefit: beautiful plants. (Please ignore the weeds in the photo. I promise that my garden normally looks tidier than this. Really.)
The drawback: Serious cat attraction! Yeah, I know. You’re thinking the cat problem should have been obvious to me before I put the homemade fish compost in my garden. But hey, I’m just another hardworking mom like you, trying to squeeze in a little gardening ;) And we don’t even have cats, but apparently every cat in the neighborhood got the memo. So, I solved the cat problem by mulching around the plants with leaves.
Click here to read more about making compost with the Vita-Mix.
And if you want to read more about composting in place (without a Vita-Mix), check out Patricia Lanza’s Lasagna Gardening book. I love her sheet mulching method, which can utilize both aged and new compost, as well as her description of a tomato-cage composter.
Since spring is upon us, I’d love to hear your unusual composting techniques! Or cat foiling methods ;)
Why I Love My Vita-Mix Part VII
I can make coconut milk (and puréed soups).
Today I was making what we call coconut-lentil soup. Its real title is Indian-Style Lentils, a vegan recipe from Susan O’Brien’s Gluten-Free Sugar-Free Cooking book. The recipe requires coconut milk, another product that is hard to find in SCD-legal form. So, I whipped out my trusty Vita-Mix and made some.
Recipe:
1 cup unsweetened, dry coconut
4 cups filtered water
Add ingredients to Vita-Mix, turn the machine on low, then quickly turn the dial increasing speed; flip the switch to high and blend for about two minutes. If you need the milk to be completely smooth/without particles, you may need to strain it.
This is another recipe that you can alter to fit your taste and budget by increasing or decreasing the coconut-to-water ratio.
Of course, after I cooked the soup, I puréed it in the Vita-Mix to get the texture my daughter likes.
There is some discussion online that puréeing foods in the Vita-Mix increases the bioavailability of the food, and I have looked into some of the research, but that’ll be a post for another time. What I do know is that my daughter loves this recipe, and although it contains cauliflower and mustard seeds (which can be a challenge for some people on SCD), she’s never had a problem with the puréed version of this soup.
Why I Love My Vita-Mix Part VI
I can make applesauce and fruit leather.
You can choose to make raw or cooked applesauce, and raw or cooked fruit leather. Since my daughter doesn’t tolerate uncooked fruits and vegetables as well as cooked, I cook hers.
Here’s my most recent recipe for cooked applesauce.
Recipe:
8 medium organic apples (3 Granny Smith, 5 Fuji)
2-3 Tbs. honey
½ cup filtered water
Juice of 1 key lime (the tiny ones)
Cinnamon, SCD legal and just a dash
I peeled and cored the apples. Then I added the other ingredients and cooked the contents in a saucepan on the stovetop until the apples were very soft. While the apples were still hot, I dumped the entire contents of the pot into the Vita-Mix and pureéd it on high until very smooth, since this is how my daughter likes it best.
Then I poured 1/7 of the mix into 7 of the aluminum containers that I use for her SCD freezer meals.
You can also use this or your own recipe to make fruit leather. The less liquid you start with the better, as it will take less time to dry/dehydrate. The addition of the honey makes the leather more pliable, but also stickier.
Recipe:
After making fruit sauce, such as apple sauce, above, pour the contents onto the solid, plastic trays of your dehydrator, or alternately, onto cookie trays that have a lip (like jelly roll pans). Dehydrate approximately 12 hours in your dehydrator, depending on the quality of your dehydrator (mine is a very inexpensive one), the setting you use, and how dry you want the leather to be. I have not made fruit leather on the cookie trays in the oven before, but know that you would have to dry it at approximately 200-250 degrees Fahrenheit for many hours until it is at the texture you prefer.
One last note, if you tolerate raw fruit and fruit peels alright, the Vita-Mix makes it really easy to make fruit sauces/purées and leathers since you don’t need to peel the fruit. Just quarter the fruit, place it into the Vita-Mix, use the tamper while processing it on high, then pour it directly onto the dehydrator trays or in a bowl to eat.
Why I Love My Vita-Mix Part V
I can make almond milk.
Since kids on the SCD (Specific Carbohydrate Diet) can’t drink milk due to its lactose content, it can be handy to have nut milk available for recipes. Commercial nut milks often contain ingredients that are illegal on the SCD. However, with the Vita-Mix, making nut milk is super easy and fast. And you know exactly what’s in it.
Feel free to alter the proportions of this recipe’s ingredients to suit your taste and budget. I have used a 1-to-4 ratio of nuts to water before successfully.
Recipe:
Filtered water, 2 to 4 cups, depending on how dilute you like your milk
Raw, blanched almonds, approximately 3 cups
Honey to taste, optional
Place all ingredients into the Vita-Mix. Turn the machine on low, then quickly turn the dial up. Flip the switch to high and blend until the nuts are completely liquefied.
My daughter does not tolerate any residue in her almond milk, so I strain it in the funnel I purchased just for this reason.
Why I Love My Vita-Mix Part IV
I can make nut butter.
It’s hard to find raw nut butter as a finished product. So, if you don’t want to consume roasted nut butters, the Vita-Mix is an easy way to fix that.
Recipe:
Your choice of raw nuts, such as almonds or cashews, blanched if your diet requires it.
Approximately 3 cups of nuts
Extra virgin olive oil, approx. 1 Tbs., optional
Add the nuts to the Vita-Mix. Make sure you have the tamper ready. Turn the machine on low, then turn the dial up. Next, flip the switch to high. Immediately start pushing the nuts down toward the blades with the tamper. It is important to listen carefully to the machine. If you hear the pitch change, you may need to stop it. I have over heated my Vita-Mix before while making almond butter. I find that adding a small amount of olive oil makes the process easier, and the nut butter a little smoother.
With the recent peanut butter recalls, I feel like I need to point out that you can make safe peanut butter at home. Most ASD kids who are on the SCD are not eating peanut butter, but for those of you who are, here's a link.
Why I Love My Vita-Mix Part III
I can make almond flour—and save a lot of money!
The last time I checked my closest Whole Foods, almond flour was about $14 per pound. However, I can make it in my Vita-Mix for less than $5 per pound!
There’s a trick to it however. And that is to never use more than a cup of nuts at one time. Otherwise you’ll probably end up with nut butter.
Recipe:
¾ to 1 cup of raw, blanched almonds
Place almonds in Vita-Mix. Turn on low, then turn the dial up. Flip the switch to high until you see the very fine particles of flour spinning around in the top of the Vita-Mix reservoir. Turn off your machine.
Check to make sure the particles are the size and texture you prefer. If they’re too big, you can turn the machine on again, but be forewarned, the transformation from nut flour to nut butter is pretty quick.
If you need the flour to be especially fine, you can sift it, but honestly, I never do.
Why I Love My Vita-Mix Part II
I can make high-calorie, high-nutrient smoothies for my daughter who needs extra calories and iron.
Smoothies have almost as many variations as there are stars in the sky. So, pick what you and your family like, what’s on sale, and what works for you in your stage of the SCD (Specific Carbohydrate Diet).
I particularly like this smoothie because you can’t taste the spinach, but get the health benefits of it, like iron, which my daughter needs.
Use your best judgment with regard to amounts, based on what you and your family will eat, and how much your blender will hold. My Vita-Mix holds substantially more volume than my old Oster.
Recipe:
Frozen blueberries
Very ripe banana, frozen if possible
1 to 2 cups of fresh spinach (omit if uncooked veggies are not yet tolerated)
1 to 3 baby carrots (omit if uncooked veggies are not yet tolerated)
½ to 1 cup of homemade SCD yogurt (base the amount on what stage you’re at with the probiotics)
¼ to ½ cup of raw, blanched almonds, cashews, or other nuts if tolerated
Coconut oil (to increase calories)
Orange juice, SCD legal or homemade; enough to cover at least half of the contents. You can also use SCD legal pineapple juice if you prefer/tolerate it.
Add all ingredients to the Vita-Mix in the order listed. Turn the Vita-Mix on low, immediately turn the dial up all the way, then switch it to high. If necessary, use the tamper to push the fruits and veggies into the blades. Turn the machine off when the fruits and veggies are completely pureéd.
Why I Love My Vita-Mix Part I
I can make Shrek Juice.
Shrek Juice is our version of a green smoothie/green lemonade. My SCD girl and I love it. I adapted the recipe to make it work with the Vita-Mix and SCD, the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.
Use as many organic fruits and veggies as you can afford.
Recipe:
½ to 1 head of romaine lettuce (the kind that come three to a package, not the large heads you purchase individually)
1 sweet apple, quartered, but not peeled or cored
1 small piece of fresh ginger, according to taste. I keep mine stored in the freezer so it stays fresh longer. You can peel this if you like, but it’s not necessary.
½ to 1 whole lemon. If you have organic lemons, it is not necessary to peel them, but you may choose to do so for flavor alteration. Quarter it before placing into the Vita-Mix.
1 cup of ice
2 cups of filtered water
Add all ingredients to the Vita-Mix in the order listed. Turn the Vita-Mix on low, immediately turn the dial up all the way, then switch it to high. Use the tamper to push the apple, lemon, and romaine into the blades. Turn the machine off when the fruits and veggies are completely pureéd.
Use a fine mesh strainer or sieve to filter the pulp out of the juice to make it SCD compliant. (I bought the one you see in the photo below in the homebrew supply section of an international food market.) I filter it for my daughter, but drink it with the fiber myself.
To make a purple, and slightly sweeter version of this, add fresh or frozen red or black seedless grapes, about 1 cup.
The Story Behind My Vita-Mix
For my recipes, please scroll down.
As someone who feels overly governed by her frugal sensibilities, it took me a few months of research, internal negotiation, and resource creation before I took the plunge.
As an illustration of my frugal nature, I’ll tell you that in our 18 years together, my husband and I have purchased only two new pieces of furniture. No, we don’t live like college students, but we’ve chosen to utilize our resources elsewhere (like graduate and medical school programs).
So, when after much deliberation I decided to purchase a Vita-Mix to help me prepare some of the specialized foods my younger daughter needed to help treat her malabsorption disorder, I needed to figure out where to get the money to buy it. Our commitment to our Dave Ramsey budget meant no credit card purchases. By the way, I did look at used Vita-Mixes but did not find one at what I considered a bargain. And honestly, I was interested in getting one with the new plastic containers that are BPA free.
When my grandparents, aunt, and dad immigrated to the U.S. from Sweden in 1950, my grandmother brought with her a slew of looms for weaving. I inherited them from her before she died, but never learned to weave. I knew weaving was not in my near future, and eventually was able to let go of the guilt associated with selling them.
It took much longer than I hoped to sell them, but I finally did. That money I earned, along with some from my aunt for Christmas, was just what I needed to buy a new Vita-Mix 5200 in February of last year.
So, my Vita-Mix is extra special to me. I traded this dusty old loom, in addition to its many accessories and a few other looms, for the shiny Vita-Mix you see here.
It feels as though my whole family, even my grandmother who is no longer with us, is invested in helping my younger daughter get better, and I think of all of them when I use it.
For Vita-Mix Recipes:
Why I Love My Vita-Mix Part I: Shrek Juice
Why I Love My Vita-Mix Part II: Green Smoothie
Why I Love My Vita-Mix Part III: Almond Flour
Why I Love My Vita-Mix Part IV: Almond Butter
Why I Love My Vita-Mix Part V: Almond Milk
Why I Love My Vita-Mix Part VI: Applesauce & Fruit Leather
Why I Love My Vita-Mix Part VII: Coconut Milk
Why I Love My Vita-Mix Part VIII: Compost for the Garden
SCD Mayonnaise
Homemade SCD Apple Butter
Why I Love My Vita-Mix: Chili Powder
