Pork, apple, and bacon breakfast casserole: the morning meal that changes your weekday

One of the harder parts of the AIP elimination phase is breakfast. Eggs are out. Most grab-and-go options are out. What is left can feel like a short list, and mornings are not when most people have energy to improvise. This casserole solves that. You make it once - on a Sunday, or any evening with an hour to spare - and you have breakfast ready for most of the week.

The binder here is pumpkin and cassava flour in place of eggs. It works because pumpkin is dense with moisture and natural starch, and cassava flour has a mild, flexible texture that holds without gum or grain. The result is a slice-able, satisfying casserole that holds together on the plate. Pumpkin also brings beta-carotene, which your body converts to vitamin A - a nutrient involved in maintaining the mucosal lining of the gut and supporting the immune barriers that the ARM protocol is working to restore.

Delicata squash goes in unpeeled. The skin softens in the oven and you do not need to deal with it. Its sweetness balances the savory pork and the salt of the bacon. If you cannot find delicata, any winter squash will work - kabocha, butternut, even acorn cut thin.

Source the bacon carefully. You want sugar-free, nitrate-free, and ideally without smoke flavoring that contains chemical additives. Several AIP-friendly brands exist; it is worth having a few packs in the freezer once you find one you trust.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs ground pork
• 1 large delicata squash, halved, seeded, and sliced 1/4 inch thick (unpeeled)
• 1 1/2 cups filtered water
• 1 cup canned pumpkin or cooked winter squash, mashed
• 1 large apple, diced and unpeeled (or diced onion)
• 2/3 cup cassava flour
• 1 package AIP-compliant bacon (10 to 12 oz / about 8 pieces), sugar-free and nitrate-free
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
• 2 teaspoons dried sage
• 1 teaspoon baking soda, sifted
• Several sprigs fresh thyme

Method

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Lay the delicata squash slices in a single layer on a sheet pan. Drizzle with a little avocado oil and season with a pinch of sea salt. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges are golden and the flesh is tender. Set aside.

While the squash roasts, cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until it just begins to crisp. You want it cooked through but not brittle - it will finish in the oven. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Reserve a tablespoon of the bacon fat if you like; it can go into the pork mixture for flavor.

In a large bowl, combine the ground pork, mashed pumpkin, diced apple (or onion), cassava flour, water, apple cider vinegar, sea salt, sage, and baking soda. Mix thoroughly until everything is evenly incorporated. The mixture will be wet and soft - that is correct.

Transfer the pork mixture into a greased 9x13 baking dish and spread it into an even layer.

Arrange the roasted delicata squash slices over the top of the pork mixture in overlapping rows. Lay the bacon pieces across the top. Tuck the fresh thyme sprigs in between.

Bake at 375 F for 40 to 45 minutes, until the center is set and the top is golden. A knife inserted in the center should come out without wet, raw pork clinging to it.

Let the casserole cool for 10 minutes before slicing. It sets more firmly as it cools, which makes cleaner slices. Refrigerate leftovers covered for up to 4 days, or freeze individual slices for easy weekday mornings.

*Adapted from eatbeautiful.net*

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*Provenance: method rebuilt in ARM's own words from source file aip-source-archives/eat-beautiful/apple-pork-bacon-breakfast-casserole.md (eatbeautiful.net). Ingredient list used as factual reference. No third-party text reproduced. Health claims flagged in verify_flags.*