Paleo Fettuccini Alfredo - Dairy free, Egg free, Gluten/Grain free

Why Paleo?

I’m Italian so I grew up eating pasta and cheese. You might be wondering, why don’t I keep eating these foods?

Over time, my microbiome (the ecosystem of bacteria in my gut) has undergone severe stress from environmental toxins, chemicals, and highly processed sugar, grains, and dairy. The stress from these triggers has depleted the health of the ecosystem in my microbiome causing wholes in my intestines and foods to leach into my bloodstream. This is called “leaky gut”.

To help heal the gut, I avoid wheat and gluten and dairy while I focus on gut healing foods like broth and fermented foods. This is why I make my noodles now out of non-starchy grain-free vegetables like squash or carrots!

In this paleo fettuccini alfredo, I made the noodles using yellow summer squash and a carrot peeler! It made amazing fettuccini style wide noodles that fit my distant reminiscent memory of noodles perfectly.

The Truth about Dairy

Dairy-free sauces are easier on the gut too when you are healing leaky gut and acne especially if you are intolerant to real dairy. This is because dairy is a common sensitivity, not to mention most conventional dairy is "DEAD" to us and inflammatory. Conventional dairy undergoes two distinct processing techniques in our modern industrialized food system which deplete the nutrient density of dairy and promote inflammation in our body once consumed.

All dairy, whether organic and grass-fed or not, has to be pasteurized before sold in the grocery stores. The pasteurization process heats the milk, yogurt, cream at a high temperature which kills all of the beneficial vitamins, enzymes, and probiotics.

Most milk is homogenized too. This process changes the sizes of the fat and protein molecules so that the milk will not separate. Why is this bad? When these molecules are altered, they are often unrecognized in the body when consumed and can cause inflammation because the immune system treats it as a foreign invader.

Raw Milk Dairy

If you tolerate dairy, you are better off eating organic grass-fed RAW milk dairy and even better to start with fermented dairy in the forms of kefir, yogurt, sour cream, or cheese. RAW milk is only allowed in certain states by purchasing a portion/share of the cow or goat that you will drink from.

The raw milk contains live enzymes and when fermented, the proteins are easier to digest because the bacteria help pre-digest those proteins. You also get the benefits of live probiotics from fermented dairy. Grass-fed dairy contain high amounts of fat-soluble vitamins like Vitamin A and D. It is rare to find raw milk but the best sources are the connections to local farmers through your farmers market or local Weston A. Price chapter.

Paleo Fettuccini Alfredo Sauce

Natalie Earle

• prep time:10 min
• cook time:15 min
• total time: 25 min

Servings: 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cauliflower
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 can or 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 tbsp avocado oil or coconut oil
• 1 cup diced yellow onion
• 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp gelatin powder

Instructions:

1. Heat avocado oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add onion to pot and saute for 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Add garlic and sauté for 60 seconds until fragrant ensuring you do not burn it.
2. Add coconut milk to pot and bring to a boil. Add cauliflower and cook until tender, about 8 minutes.
3. Transfer contents of pot to a blender with apple cider vinegar and nutritional yeast. Blend until pureed and silky smooth. Stir in gelatin powder until well combined.