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How-to Make Easy Chia Seed Jam {+ Video}
This Easy Chia Seed Jam is a wonderful way to preserve the fresh fruit of the season and enjoy delicious homemade jam without artificial colors and flavors or an ungodly amount of sugar. It’s a breeze to make, ready in about 15 minutes, plus there is no canning equipment necessary and you can control the level of sweetness leaving out refined sugar and instead using natural sweeteners like honey, maple or any other alternative you choose (or leave it out altogether and go al naturale).
Best part, this simple chia seed jam formula works with nearly any fruit you’d like, so go with the best the current season has to offer and get creative. Try strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, cherries, cranberries, apples, pears, peaches, plums, etc. Experiment with blending various fruits and if you really want to have some fun, add in vanilla bean, fresh herbs or spices, rosemary, basil, fresh mint, cinnamon, nutmeg or ginger – the flavor combos are endless, really.
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Grilled Romaine Salad with Blueberries, Avocado and Creamy Lemon Tarragon Vinaigrette
As I sit to write the posts for this website, 2-3 times a week, often I find myself lacking the words. I am no writer, have never claimed to be. I am sure my sentence structuring is atrocious, I am certain my posts are littered with typos and poor punctuation skills. I generally didn’t start this website to share my personal thoughts on life or my beliefs, as often as they do trickle into the pages by default. I mostly have always had a strong desire to help make a difference for those, like me, that struggle with their health, are challenged by navigating the ever-evolving landscape of eating and food and what it truly means to be well.
As our worlds are all constantly changing and shifting, as life seems to get busier than ever for us all, I find myself more called to want to simply live my life without a filter, to share my experiences in all their realness and hopefully, simultaneously, inspire you to be excited about getting into the kitchen and tapping into your own creativity. I want you to approach food and your health without fear. I want you all to feel empowered to be your own advocates and to never settle for anything other that feeling amazing, every day. My hope is also that through sharing my recipes, how-to’s and other tips here on the website and on social media, that everyone knows eating well doesn’t always have to be about the crazy flavor combos and complicated ingredients that you can only buy online or at a specialty food store. I think we all have to admit that even though weeknight meals deserve a little flair sometimes, a totally boring, basic
bitchmeal of veggies and some baked fish, that isn’t exactly instagram-able – that’s totally OK, too. -
Grain-free Blackberry Earl Grey Mini Muffins
Part of living with dietary challenges is learning to find joy in events and celebrations without your traditional go-to foods! We all have been there and we can attest that the struggle is real! It’s really real. I know many of you will call me crazy for this next admission, but at times I find so much joy in creating foods that I myself cannot currently have, just because I want to share them with others. I am not talking about gluten-containing baked goods, I reserve that for once or twice a year when the hubby makes a special request. More, I am talking about the occasional times I find that I am avoiding a food or foods for an elimination diet or whatever reason.
Most times this desire to create for others goes hand-in-hand with baking for a special occasion. So I think I would like to rename all of this to “baking therapy”. For me, there is just something so special about spending time in the kitchen, with the oven heating up and bringing that comforting warmth, whipping up a recipe and then smelling the glorious aromas from the oven as your creation bakes. I suppose it reminds me of my mother and my sister. Both love to bake and do so for nearly every special occasion. For the last 10 years of me being gluten-free, although I couldn’t eat 95% of what they made, I took great comfort in knowing that the creations that they lovingly made would be there. I also love watching the happy faces of everyone enjoying those creations, whether or not I can be part of it personally.
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Mixed Berry Basil Sparkling Agua Fresca
You didn’t think I would skip out on sharing a recipe for Cinco de Mayo, did you? I know when most of you think of Cinco de Mayo and Mexican food, you think of margaritas – I know I do. How could you not? But, today I am sharing the recipe for another traditional Mexican drink (also popular in Central America), this one non-alcoholic. Agua Frescas are traditional drinks, a blend of fruits, botanicals, seeds, etc., sweetener and water is added. It’s refreshing and a great way to celebrate what is in season. Of course, we already know how I feel about fruit infused water concoctions.
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Summer Berry Probiotic Smoothie
I am sure you have read plenty of articles and posts about the many benefits of probiotics by now. Rather than carrying on about their many wonderful benefits and why you should be including them in your daily life, I though it better to just share a delicious Summer Berry Probiotic Smoothie that is sure to make your belly happy.
If you do want to read all about how wonderful probiotics are and all of their many incredible benefits, I encourage you to check out this great post: 3 Tasty Ways to Heal With Priobiotics. I also encourage you try your hand at making your own probiotic-rich water kefir or my simple homemade coconut milk yogurt – two wonderful ways to easily include more of that beneficial bacteria in your life.
This smoothie is not only rich in probiotics, from the yogurt and probiotic drink, but I also included other super-food ingredients sure to please your tummy! Ginger, which has long been known to alleviate symptoms of gastrointestinal distress, and provide calming, anti-inflammatory and immunity boosting properties. Cinnamon, another digestive aid, known not just for it’s comforting, warming, aroma, but for it’s powerful anti-bacteria properties, its help with reducing bloating, and its help in improving circulation and digestive discomfort. Finally, I added some chia seeds, which is a great way to include healthy omega-3 fats and of course, one of your digestion’s other friends – fiber. Plus, I really love how thick chia seeds make my smoothies!Read the rest of this entry »
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Grain-free Mixed Berry Crisp (Vegan)
Going to the farmers market each week and being inspired by what is in season at that moment, is something I will never tire of. Walking the aisles, smelling the sweet aroma of what is most available – there really is no experience like it.
I have been dreaming of a delicious Spring inspired berry crisp for sometime now and I finally made it happen over the weekend. I have been making various fruit crisps for years, using all-purpose gluten-free flour and rolled oats, but I wanted to get creative and come up with a way to make the crumbly crisp topping topping be totally grain-free, in addition to dairy-free.
