SCD Kitchen Tips and Shortcuts
Use prepared, “ready to use” staples as long as you are sure there are no additives: frozen veggies, deboned no-skin chicken breast, etc.
Have some legal cans of chicken, tuna and salmon- for emergency as well as for a quick meal at the end of a long busy day.
Over the weekend mix uncooked meat and marinade in ziplock bags and freeze. For use: place in the fridge over night, where it will thaw and marinate in time for an evening grill the next day.
Freeze food in individual portions. It allows for easy, fast thawing and allows for a varied menu.
Mix triple batches of dough for cookies, crackers or pizza.
Cooling cookie dough allows easy shaping. Shape long logs, wrap in parchment paper and then plastic wrap, and freeze. You need the parchment to prevent sticking! When you need a batch of cookies, thaw a log lightly to allow for easy slicing, then slice the logs of dough into thin coins and bake.
Pizza and cracker dough can be shaped as a flat disc, wrapped in parchment first, and then plastic wrap to be frozen. For baking, thaw lightly and roll or pat the disc of dough flat onto an oiled large Pyrex baking dish or a parchment lined baking sheet.
A CrockPot is a wonderful time saver and great for making soups, stews, brisket and cooked apple sauce.
One pot meals, soups and stews are great time savers and are very versatile. It is easy to freeze meals in single portion Pyrex dishes to later be thawed and heated at home or in a microwave at work/school.
Each week create a menu for the following week, make a shopping list, and get all the groceries you will need before the weekend. Use the weekend for cooking.
Clean as you go. Don’t leave all the mess for last or it will be overwhelming!
SCD calls for a lot of baking: breads, crackers, muffins, cookies, etc. A good quality parchment paper and muffin paper-cups are helpful. We love the “if you care” brand for parchment paper and muffin cups, because it works great with sticky almond and coconut flours. For cookies we use Silpat silicone baking liners.
Have a collection of different sizes and shapes of Pyrex dishes with covers, glass and plastic food containers, and Ziploc bags for storing and freezing food.
Also have a collection of sandwich bags, mini snack bags, paper wraps, and containers that travel well. Additionally, we use a variety of lunch boxes, thermos for hot/cold, and bottles for water or diluted juice. All these items insure that bagging lunches or bagging food for an outing or travel doesn’t become a reason for stress.
Last but not least, when planning and shopping for SCD, don’t neglect yourself! Cooking SCD for your child will keep you in the kitchen for many hours. If you want to keep the precious SCD food for your child, make sure you have good, healthy store-bought food options for the rest of the family on hand, including yourself. A few store bought frozen meals, ready made salads and soups, and some healthy pantry food work well, and you will need some quick and easy options after a long day in the kitchen.