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How-to Make Ghee at Home
Ghee is a kitchen staple around here. For the longest time I was buying it, and I still do in a pinch, but as I discovered the cost efficiency and simplicity of making it at home, I have made this part of my DIY repertoire.
For those unfamiliar, ghee is a clarified butter, of sorts, that has been cooked down for some time, removing any moisture, milk solids and impurities. What remains is a pure and delicious butter oil, that has turned a beautiful golden color, it’s taste and flavor are slightly sweet and nutty. Ghee brings an aroma, taste and flavor a lot like butter, but even better. The difference between clarified butter and ghee is ghee’s lengthier cooking process, to remove all the moisture and the milk solids are browned in the fat and then strained out, bringing the slightly nutty taste. Ghee has a longer shelf life, due to all the moisture being removed.
Ghee is a wonderful option for those who are lactose or casein intolerant and want to enjoy the taste of butter. Ghee is also clearly a much better option than those scary hydrogenated oil-filled margarines and other highly processed vegan spreads. It does not burn, unless heated excessively, so it’s a wonderful option for stir fries, sautéing, frying, roasting, sauces, ettc. It’s also delicious as a spread, on toast, pancakes, scones, over rice and more. It can also be used on the body, as an oil for massage, as a base for healing herbal treatments, for burns, skin rashes, etc.
In India, ghee is a sacred and celebrated symbol of nourishment and healing, especially in daily rituals. It is also used in every day cooking. Ayurvedic physicians celebrate this liquid gold as being important to health and well-being, balance and vitality. If you don’t wish to make your own, ghee is usually found in the ethnic section of any big grocery store, in most Indian/South Asian stores or online.
Always make ghee with high-quality grass-fed organic butter. Cheap butter contains a lot of water and chemicals and it tends to burn faster. Due to the reduction and straining process, always start with 25% more butter than the amount of clarified butter desired. 1 pound of butter = approximately 1 1/2 cups ghee.
The Benefits of Choosing Ghee:
Rich Butter Taste without the Lactose or Casein. Made from butter ghee has the buttery flavor, but the milk solids have been removed, so if you are lactose or casein free, enjoy without issue.
Ghee has a high smoke point. 485ºF. You can cook and fry with ghee and it will not burn nor will it break down into free radicals, like so many other cooking oils can.
Ghee doesn’t spoil easily. Without the presence of milk fat and water, this makes ghee shelf stable. If you desire, it can be stored at room temperature rather then refrigeration. Ghee will last a couple months in an air-tight container at room temperature. If you aren’t sure if any moisture or milk solids remain, you can certainly play it safe and store in the fridge, to maximize it’s shelf life. That’s generally what I do.
Ghee is rich in fat soluable vitamins A D and E. If you have gluten sensitivity, leaky gut, IBS, Crohn’s or certain pancreatic disorders, you may have a problem absorbing vitamin A. By using ghee for cooking, and as a replacement for butter, you can increase your intake. Vitamin D can be made in the body, after exposure to sunlight, but obviously in the colder winter months is can be challenging for us to make enough. Ghee benefits the body by improving moisture and contains vitamin E, which is an antioxidant whose role is to repair damaged skin, balance hormones, improve vision and help to balance cholesterol. Fat-soluble vitamins are absorbed with fat and stored in the gastrointestinal tract — and they are essential to maintaining a healthy metabolism and various biochemical functions in the body. (1)
Ghee is also rich is K2 and Conjugated Linoleum Acid. Studies show K2 is better for building bones than calcium and proper levels of K2 can help fight tooth decay, bone loss and aid in the fight against the calcification of arteries. CJA is antioxidant with anti-viral properties, when sourced from grass-fed cows. Studies indicate that it may help to reduce tumors, lower cholesterol and high blood pressure, reduce inflammation, and actually lower body fat.(2)
Like coconut oil, ghee is rich is medium chain fatty acids, which are quickly absorbed directly to the liver and used as energy. This quick burn can actually lead to weight loss.
Ghee and butter are rich in butyric acid, a short chain fatty acid great for protection against fungal infections and aids in colon health. It’s been shown to support healthy insulin levels, is an anti-inflammatory, and may be helpful for individuals suffering from IBS, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. (3)
Ghee Reduces Inflammation. Ghee’s levels of butyrate play a role in reducing inflammation in the digestive tract and throughout the body. In Ayurvedic practice, ghee benefits the body by creating a more alkaline system that overall reduces inflammation by reducing the leukotriene secretion and reducing prostaglandin in the body(4)
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Honey Sweetened Orange Marmalade
We are closing in on three years of living in Southern California and I can tell you with so much confidence that the novelty hasn’t worn off, I don’t take a single day here for granted and I feel like I am exactly where I was always destined to be. This place is truly magical. While hailing from Buffalo, I had a little bit of snow-day envy as the blizzard made it’s way across the east coast this weekend, walking outside in a t-shirt to your very own orange tree – that is certainly not lost on me. Not one bit.
We got so very lucky that the house we ended up in, here in Long Beach, has a beautiful yard, complete with an abundant orange tree, grape vines, the biggest fig tree you ever did see, an avocado tree and so many other amazing fruit trees. I have been learning to get creative with everything we have been so graciously gifted from this land, but despite the constant creations I still have so many oranges that need to get eaten. So, this marmalade was created and even more excitingly this week I purchased a canning kit, to *finally* learn to preserve. It gets here in just a few days and I plan to make lots more of this marmalade to enjoy throughout the year. In the fall I certainly plan to preserve my Fig Honey Jam and some grape jam, too.
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10 Homemade Holiday Gifts
10 Homemade Holiday Gifts
With the holiday closing in on us, I am sure many of you are doing the last minute gift scramble so prevalent in these final days before Christmas. Rather than throwing money at the wall and going with whatever it sticks to, instead of just grabbing another gift card from the big box stores, why not get creative and craft up some beautiful, thoughtful homemade gifts this year?
Drop the cottonball snowmen, leave the popsicle sticks in the popsicles and leave the salt dough for the kids. Finally put away, I repeat, put away the glitter. Spread the holiday cheer with some of my favorite sweet (but sometimes savory) and simple handmade holiday gifts.
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How-to Make Essential Oil Holiday Room Sprays
The various aromas of the holidays and the feelings they evoke are certainly synonymous with this time of year. The rustic evergreen of a fresh cut christmas tree; spicy, warming cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves; bright, citrusy orange or the fresh, minty smell of candy canes – these can all bring the good feelings of seasonal cheer, the reminder or family and love and the promise of a season full of joy and happy memories.
As someone very triggered and often driven by scent, I am also someone who is very sensitive to scent. I always have been. Would that make me scentsitive? heh. I find the fake, synthetic aromas to cut through the air, not in a good way, and often times they provide an instant headache. They linger and simply mask any existing odors, they can overpower a room and even more alarming, they are often loaded with so many chemicals. The more I clean up my life and the more I cut out, the more I am aware of and sensitive to where all nasty stuff is hiding. That connection of your brain to your body and that innate knowing of what to avoid, certainly becomes more heightened. The more connected and in-tune I become the more I seek for natural, clean alternatives.
These holiday inspired all-natural scents will not only provide a welcoming and cozy, seasonal setting perfect for holiday gatherings, but you’ll also be reaping the many therapeutic benefits of the essential oils, too. Purifying the air, warming your soul and uplifting your spirit, these room sprays are inexpensive to make, you can customize your scents and your blends to make your own personalized aroma and of course, they make an amazing gift.
This formula and the various blends fill a 4oz bottle, but feel free to double or triple your recipe. As always, I provide you with printable labels to customize your gifts. I left the area where the oils are listed, blank, so you can make your own custom blends.
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Real Food Halloween Treats
The last remnants of summer have all but disappeared, the sun is setting early, leaves are changing colors and the smell of fall is definitely in the air. Or maybe it’s the cloud of the pumpkin-spiced-everything obsession always wafting just above us. Either way, this is one of my favorite times of year. Jack O’Lantern carving, houses all throughout the neighborhood are decked out in their spooky accoutrements, and the very visceral excitement from all the kids for this year’s costume can be felt no matter where you go. Though it’s been quite sometime since I’ve thrown on a mask and taken to the streets for some good old fashioned trick or treating, I do still find myself wanting to indulge in the treats. I am only human, after all.
I am not so extreme or excessive in my approach to eating and food to that I think that Halloween should be celebrated with raw veggies and dollar store toys, rather I try to encourage the idea of homemade, real food options wherever possible. So, I thought a list of some of my favorite Real Food Halloween Treats would be a great idea and it might inspire you to try a few homemade options this year, rather than the creepy, scary packaged stuff, loaded with high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils and artificial colors and flavors! Also, I am really showing my cards here and you’ll clearly spot my obsession with chocolate.
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How-to Make Homemade Energy Bars
I’m leaving town tomorrow. No, not for good, just for a few days. I am hitting the road to head up to Lake Tahoe for the Wanderlust Festival in Squaw Valley. With an 8+ hour drive ahead of me, I have to plan ahead with snacks and food for both the drive and when I get there. It’s super important for me to know that I have what I need to be nourished and energized, especially when I am away from home and my routines, but also with how active I will be over the 4 days of the festival. Lots of yoga, hiking, maybe some stand-up paddle boarding and definitely some dancing!
One of my favorite things to make are homemade energy bars. They are so simple to make, a great way to energize with healthy fats, proteins and fiber and they are always soo yummy! I have gone from baking my own with oats and nuts, to keeping it super simple with these no-bake, grain-free, date-sweetened bars, reminiscent of the LÄRABAR®.
The great thing about making these yourself is not only having full control of the quality of the ingredients, but also having fun with various flavor combos. You can get creative with by pairing your favorite flavors or you can simply go nuts with whatever you happen to have on hand in the pantry, that you need to use up. The latter tends to be the case for me.
For the sake of this tutorial I whipped up two of my favorite flavor combos: Coconut Mango Lime and Berry Cobbler. The Coconut Mango Lime Energy Bars on top of being grain-free and vegan they are also totally nut and seed-free, so they are perfect for those with allergies or intolerances or even someone following the autoimmune protocol. The Berry Cobbler bars, I made bite-sized and those do contain nuts.
All you have to do is follow my simple base recipe and then you can get creative from there. Trust me when I tell you, these are really hard to screw up. Once you’ve made your base mixture and get creative with your flavors, you can decide if you want to opt for full-sized bars, smaller bites or little balls. If you really wanna get crazy, dip them in some melted chocolate.
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How-to Make All Purpose Cleaner
It’s easy to walk down the aisles at the market and get sucked into the varying claims of cleaning products. Afterall, we want to protect ourselves and our families from all the nasty stuff, the dirt, germs and bacteria. When you see this simple recipe for making your own all purpose cleaner you may think ‘is this enough to disinfect? What about those store bought version with tons of ingredients and chemicals, don’t we need those to make sure we are killing off bad bacteria?’
To be honest with you, the long list of toxic chemicals filling the cleaning products at the store, are likely causing us far more harm then good. Just click into this list and peruse the posts on any of these disinfecting all-purpose cleaners and read the long lists of health and safety concerns on each. It’s alarming at best. Skin irritants, carcinogens, eye irritants, poison if swallowed, some if just inhaled. YIKES! We use this stuff day in and day out around our house, near our children and our pets. This is scary stuff.
Much like making your own food from scratch, the wonderful thing about making your own household cleaning products is the opportunity to know exactly what’s in it. We use most all purpose spray cleaners throughout our houses, several times a week, if not per day. It comes in contact with our skin, it’s in the air that we breath and it’s around our food, why shouldn’t you know exactly what it contains?
The beauty of this simple homemade all-purpose clearer is how we use all-natural, high quality 100% therapeutic grade essential oils for their natural disinfecting properties. All essential oils have varying natural antibacterial, antifungal & antiviral qualities, some stronger than others.
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How-to Make Vegan Mayonnaise
It wasn’t that long ago that I shared a tutorial for How-to Make Homemade Mayonnaise. Right now, that feels like a lifetime ago. I am currently just over 2 weeks into a 6 week elimination diet with my naturopathic doctor, as we work to support my health, after I was diagnosed with IgA Nephropathy, an autoimmune form of kidney disease. We are working through what could be several rounds of an elimination diet to explore what in my diet could possibly be causing an autoimmune response and affecting my kidneys. This round of the elimination diet, in addition to all meat which was removed from my diet 4 weeks prior, (as animal protein is highly taxing to the kidneys), she has also had me remove eggs and dairy for a minimum of 6 weeks. Dairy has been no big deal, I ate so little of it as it was, it’s the eggs that has been quite challenging for me.
With all of my current restrictions on this elimination diet, plus my already existing intolerances and dietary choices, I have to be honest and tell you it’s been a challenging 2 weeks. I have found in my current state, even without meat, eggs and dairy, legumes are simply not agreeing with me, likely the leaky gut I was diagnosed with at the first appointment. I work hard to limit my intake of grains on a daily basis, I avoid soy and of course, we all know I can’t have gluten and I don’t eat processed foods – so as you can imagine I have been working really hard to rethink my meals and meal planning, to rethink my snacks and I have been looking for protein and healthy fats in new places. Some days it feels easy and I am simply focused on the other side and what I am working so hard for, and other days, you may just find me in the corner of the kitchen crying over the egg sandwich my husband is starting his day with. Read the rest of this entry »
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Chocolate Covered Stuffed Dates
You didn’t actually think I would let Valentine’s Day come and go without some sort of sweet, did you?
In the world of candies and sweets, baked goods and other treats, in my opinion, these Chocolate Covered Stuffed Dates for sure fall somewhere in the world of a “healthy sweet”. Sure, sugar is sugar, but if the options include these naturally sweetened treats, than I am all in, especially considering I have been avoiding all traditional sugary sweets the last handful of weeks.
Stuffed dates have always been one of my favorite ways to indulge in something sweet, without the guilt. Generally I opt for coconut butter, coconut oil or almond butter, but I also love a little crunch, too. The best part about this recipe, is that it’s more of a guide and you can easily make these tasty dates however you would like. Stuff them with whatever you fancy, top them with whatever makes you most happy, but however you make them, I suggest you enjoy them with some warm Valentine’s Day love in your heart and share them with those around you, whom you adore the most!
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How-to Make Homemade Mayonnaise
Homemade mayonnaise might be one of my favorite, simple DIY foods. The very first time you make it, you’ll be wondering why you haven’t done it before. Once you see how simple it is to make and how incredibly delicious it is, you’ll be hooked, too. As usual, beyond the taste, what I really love is how I have control over all of the ingredients and I know the quality of the eggs and oil used and I know that there are no additional preservatives or stabilizers being added.
We get farm fresh pastured-raised eggs delivered to our home weekly, the farmer himself, drops them by. Before you even taste Tony’s eggs, you will notice a significant difference in the color of the yolks, compared to regular store-bought eggs (even the fancy organic, “free range” ones). The color is so vibrant, more of a golden orange color, much like the sun, rather than a pale, pastel yellow, like most eggs. There is truly nothing like farm fresh eggs, everything you make with them is tastier than you can ever imagine.
Most store bought mayonnaises rely on canola oil and other less ideal vegetable oils. What I love about making my own mayo at home is that I can use the highest quality eggs and oils. I generally prefer to use a mix of organic extra virgin olive oil (Terra Delyssa, of course) and either coconut oil or MCT oil. Avocado oil and macadamia nut oil are also both really great options.
For the purpose and ease of step-by-step photos and for dramatics (and a good arm workout), I made this batch by hand, just a bowl and a whisk. That’s all you need. But generally I make it in my blender or food processor, which is much easier. An immersion blender would really do the trick. (and it will be done probably in less than 1 minute)
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How-to Make Crock Pot Pumpkin Butter
For all of the crazy detailed, tutorials I have shared here, with lots of steps and tons of testing on my part, I equally love super simple, one step DIYs, as well. This week I show you How-to Make Crock Pot Pumpkin Butter and it seriously couldn’t be any easier. Let’s first clear the air for those of you that don’t know… Pumpkin Butter has no butter in it. No dairy of any kind. Discuss. Seriously though, it’s just that it’s thick like butter I guess? I don’t know who came up with the name.
This super simple recipe requires very little of you. You literally dump the ingredients into your crock pot, stir, turn it on, let it cook. Done. I find the crock pot to be easier than the stove top and because it cooks low and slow, I like the flavor so much better. I do suggest still keeping an eye on the crock pot, since it can stick and you do not want scorched, burnt pumpkin butter, it won’t taste good that way. I personally recommend fresh pumpkin puree, which is stupid easy to make and provides the best flavor, but canned pumpkin will also work perfectly, I have made it both ways and they are both crazy delicious.
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Apple, Tahini Toast with Honey and Thyme
I realize that this is less a recipe and more simply, instructions. It is after all – just toast. So let’s just consider this a how-to on making some of the tastiest, most kick-ass toast you will ever eat. Trust me.
I know we are all aware and obsessed with avocado toast, but let’s branch out a bit, shall we? As someone that doesn’t care much for simple toast and jam, I say we all need to put more things on our toast.
These days it is rare I eat toast or really, have any bread in the house, even. I tend to avoid grains much of the time, but on a rare occasion I want a little something of comfort and something easy – Hello there toast! Toast is another one of those things that I have a weird emotional tie to, it always reminds me on my grandmother, my Yia Yia. Her kitchen would always smell of slightly burnt toast and tea. I can’t ever help but think of her whenever the smell of toast is wafting through the air, so there is always a sense of comfort around that crispy, browned, morning goodness!
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Chai Spiced Coconut Fig Popsicles {Vegan}
Though the end of summer is just around the corner, I would say it is hard to know that at times here in Southern California. We had some pretty hot days last week and since we don’t have any air conditioning at home and we both work out of the house, I found myself with a serious craving for some tasty, creamy homemade popsicles. And the beach.
I had been craving some of my homemade chai recently, but the idea of hot chai tea was very quickly dismissed, while I found myself sweating in the summer heat. Naturally, the next logical thought was a popsicle version of the tasty hot coconut chai lattes, that I make during the winter months. With the abundance of figs we have coming from our tree, I was dying to find a way to incorporate them into whatever popsicle I made, so the idea was born for these delicious, creamy Chai Spiced Coconut Fig Popsicles.
For lack of sounding like I am bragging, these are THE BEST homemade popsicles I have ever made. They are full of amazing chai flavor and they are so perfectly creamy and rich. The only bad part of all of this amazingness was the day I decided to photograph these, it was well over 90 degrees in our house and the popsicles were melting so fast I couldn’t keep up. I was scrambling, running, yelling and snapping. I was able to snap these two photos and before you know it I had a puddle of creamy goodness on my hands. I tried to pull the few remaining popsicles out and they had melted so quickly in the molds they were disfigured and wonky, the sticks came out of a couple, it was just a hot mess. Literally. The remaining few were more than good enough to eat, but not really pretty enough for photos. A shame really.
I thought about remaking these and photographing them again, but that would just delay me getting this amazing recipe to you, and I couldn’t bear that thought of that. These are far too delicious not to share. So, please excuse the photos, but trust me when I tell you that you need to make these ASAP.
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Cucumber Ribbon Salad with Garlic Tahini Dressing
As always, I am late to the party on this one, but I finally got a Spiralizer last month and I have been obsessed with it, ever since it showed up. I have been having so much fun making salads, veggie noodles, curly cut sweet potato fries and all that good stuff. So, be on the lookout for many more recipes very soon.
For now, I have this super simple cucumber ribbon salad for you guys, that I have been living off of, with the beautiful cucumbers we’ve been getting in our CSA boxes. This garlicky tahini dressing is just so amazing, it is simple to throw together and full of so much great flavor. I’ve been making my own tahini* lately and that, in my opinion, really sets it over the top.
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How-to Make Coconut Butter
This is a super easy tutorial this week you guys, literally One Step. One ingredient.
How-to Make Coconut Butter.
What is Coconut Butter?
Coconut butter is basically just ground up coconut meat that has been processed until it is smooth and creamy. The same idea as nuts being used to make nut butter. Though it isn’t quite as creamy as a store bought creamy peanut butter and the texture can vary.
What is the Difference Between Coconut Butter and Coconut Oil or Coconut Cream?
Coconut butter includes the meat of the coconut and coconut oil does not. Coconut oil is used more as typical oil is, when cooking or baking, where coconut butter is more of a spread or dip, it could also be used in baking as nut butters would be.
Additionally, coconut butter is different from coconut cream which contains water. Coconut cream involves cooking down as much as 4 parts coconut to 1 part water, then straining out the coconut. Coconut cream is also what is found at the top of a can of full fat coconut milk. Coconut cream contains less water then coconut milk but coconut butter contains no water at all and there is no straining involved, the meat is left in.
How-to Make Coconut Butter:
Start with a quality brand of unsweetened organic shredded dehydrated coconut. Unsweetened coconut flakes will also work. Not fresh, not low fat, not sweetened, not toasted. Just regular ‘ol unsweetened flaked or shredded coconut. Use somewhere between 2 cups and 4 cups of shredded coconut, depending on the size of your food processor or high speed processor blender. 4 cups of shredded coconut will make about 1 cup of coconut butter. I find in my 14-cup food processor, that using 3 or 4 cups of coconut works much better than just 2 cups.
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Honey Lavender Vanilla Bean Simple Syrup and Martini
Homemade simple syrups have become a staple in my kitchen, much like homemade nut milks, nut butters and even sprouts. It’s a simple treat that you can easily make with your favorite fruits, herbs and/or botanicals. Occasionally, I will make them with organic raw sugar, but since I really adore the lovely the depth of flavor that you get when you use good local raw honey, I usually opt for that instead.
The possibilities are really endless for flavors, you can experiment with whatever you like best and expand your flavors and combinations from there. This particular flavor combination is one of my absolute favorites. Lavender and vanilla bean together are what dreams are made of, add in the honey and just forget it. It really doesn’t get any better.
Sweet, fragrant, earthy and unique. A few teaspoons of this syrup is wonderful topped with sparkling water for a refreshing non-alcoholic beverage. You can also use it as a traditional syrup, pouring it over yogurt or ice cream, cereals and granolas you can even add it to a homemade almond milk latte, which I am telling you – is life changing!! I am kind of obsessed.
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How-to Make Nut Milk
How-to Make Nut Milk
I am super excited to share this tutorial with you guys! Many of you have asked for a tutorial on nut milks, since I started the Tutorial Tuesdays Series. I have been making my own nut milks for quite a few years now. Once I realized just how simple it was, I have made a quart of almond milk nearly every single week.
I also love making variations on the flavors, at least once a month I make a quart of raw cacao almond nut milk. It’s the perfect sweet treat for me.
Much like my nut butter post, this is a general overview on how to make nut milks, but really the sky is the limit. If you have a favorite nut – I say MILK IT! As with the nut butters, I recommend soaking your nuts first, but for nut milks dehydration isn’t necessary, so it’s that much easier. Below you will find a chart on soaking times for various milks.
What Nuts Can You Milk?
First of all, let’s just get all the giggles out now. Sooo many amazing innuendos when it comes to nut milks. Oh, and guess what? It doesn’t get old. Everytime I pull my nut bag out. A good laugh is had! Anyhow – I myself have made nut milks from almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts and pistachios, but from what I understand the same rules apply no matter what nut you choose, so you can create nut milks from any of the other nuts listed below and likely many others, too. FYI macadamia nut milk is amazing, so rich and full of incredible flavor, but literally it may be the most expensive nut milk you can make. I made a batch for this testing and I kinda wish I hadn’t. It was so good.
How & Why to Soak Your Nuts
Why I Choose to Soak: Most nuts, seeds, grains and beans are covered in natural chemicals – enzyme inhibitors and toxins – that protect them while growing, both from sprouting prematurely and also from predators. These nutritional inhibitors and toxic substances are enzyme inhibitors, phytates (phytic acid), polyphenols (tannins), and goitrogens. Once harvested, those same chemicals, the major one being phytic acid – are indigestible to the human body and must be broken down before consumption. When food containing phytic acid is consumed, the acid combines with important minerals like calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and especially zinc in the intestinal tract and blocks their absorption which inhibits our digestive systems’ ability to break the nut down properly.
The very simple process of soaking releases these chemicals, helping you to absorb your food’s essential minerals and nutrients. Additionally, by soaking the nuts with the removal of these nutritional inhibitors and toxic substances, the flavor and taste is much more ideal and appealing.
To summarize: Soaking nuts makes them easier to digest and improves their flavor.
How-to Make Homemade Nut Milks
1) Soak your nuts in filtered water for the appropriate time, drain and rinse.
2) Blend your soaked nuts with filtered water, adding in any flavorings you would like.
3) Pour into your nut milk bag and squeeze. Separating the pulp from the milk. Read the rest of this entry »
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How-to Make Perfect French Fries
I have a dirty little secret that I have been keeping from you guys. I am not proud of it. But… I have a love for french fries that cannot be tamed. There, it is finally out and in the open.
I know, I know – I eat so healthy, I carry on about how important it is to eat your greens, blah blah. I don’t care, we all have our vices and I love fries!! No one can ever take that away from me. Everything in moderation, right?
That said, having a gluten intolerance means that many times eating fries at a restaurant is out of the question, whether because the fries are coated in some sort of flour starch or because they are cooked in a shared frier, doused in denatured, hydrogenated vegetable oils. Regardless of the gluten intolerance, I also prefer to not eat foods that have been cooked in poisonous oils that also cooked battered or breaded foods. Most fries are. It sucks.
Besides that fact, we all know what makes the fries so darn tasty and addicting, it’s the fact that they take a nice long, deep swim in a huge vat of oil. Fat makes us happy. But it’s important that we are eating the right fats and oils.
OK, so the honest truth is that I generally try to keep this addiction in check, I don’t eat fries nearly as often as I would like to. But, if you have been reading this blog for sometime, you know that I truly believe in moderation. With the exception of the foods that are just not good even in moderation, the make me physically ill or that I know are really, really bad for me – I do like to indulge on occasion and eat those certain special foods that are reserved for very special rare occasions. I think this is important part of allowing myself to eat this way. Read the rest of this entry »
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How-to Make Homemade Nut Butters
How-to Make Homemade Nut Butters
I am so excited about this next post in the Tutorial Tuesday series. It has been quite the undertaking sampling, soaking, dehydrating and playing with different flavors but it is so easy and so totally worth it to make your own homemade nut butters. OK, so I may have gone a little overboard, but hopefully all of your nut butter questions have now been answered.
Besides the simple how-to instructions, I wanted to include some insight as to why I recommend soaking your nuts and seeds, how to also dehydrate them after you have soaked them and all of the various times for doing so. Plus, you will find some various flavor combinations that I love and even a nut-free sunflower seed butter recipe. Hope you guys enjoy.
What Nuts?
Basically if it’s a nut (and even many seeds) and you like it, you can make a butter out of it. I have sampled so many different types of nut butters and the sky is the limit. I wish I could afford to buy enough of each of the nuts pictured to sample making nut butters with all of them for you guys, but that is certainly out of the budget when buying organic. So for this tutorial, I just went with a couple of my personal favorites. Almond, cashew, pecan, hazelnut (in a homemade nutella) and I even made a nut-free sunflower seed butter for you.
To Soak or Not To Soak.
Why I Choose to Soak: Most nuts, seeds, grains and beans are covered in natural chemicals – enzyme inhibitors and toxins – that protect them while growing, both from sprouting prematurely and also from predators. These nutritional inhibitors and toxic substances are enzyme inhibitors, phytates (phytic acid), polyphenols (tannins), and goitrogens. Once harvested, those same chemicals, the major one being phytic acid – are indigestible to the human body and must be broken down before consumption. When food containing phytic acid is consumed, the acid combines with important minerals like calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and especially zinc in the intestinal tract and blocks their absorption which inhibits our digestive systems’ ability to break the nut down properly.
The very simple process of soaking releases these chemicals, helping you to absorb your food’s essential minerals and nutrients. Additionally, by soaking the nuts with the removal of these nutritional inhibitors and toxic substances, the flavor and taste is much more ideal and appealing.
To summarize: Soaking nuts and seeds makes them easier to digest and improves their flavor. Read the rest of this entry »
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Iced Dirty Chai Almond Milk Latte {Gluten-free and Vegan}
Many of you already know that I generally try to avoid most ALL dairy in my diet, but what you may not know is that I made the switch a long time ago to nut-based milks, even before I stopped consuming dairy in other places. The difference in how I feel consuming a plant-based milk versus regular dairy milk – is incredible. I find myself less bloated, I feel lighter and I can tell that it requires much less on my digestive system to process than cow’s milk dairy.
Most of you know, I generally prefer to make my own almond milk whenever I can, but there are times when our schedule is just so crazy – when we are traveling, we have house guests or I am just bogged down with work. When life gets busy like that, it usually means stopping to make my own almond milk, just isn’t in the schedule.
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Gluten-free Christmas Cookie Exchange
This year I had amazing intentions of organizing a gluten-free Christmas Cookie Exchange with some of my favorite gluten-free bloggers. Ya know the kind, where you each make one or two types of cookies and you make one dozen for every person participating. Then you exchange cookies with everyone in the group (we were just going to mail them off) and then you each end up with a few dozen different types of cookies for all of your holiday entertaining. Or just to eat yourself, if that’s your thing!
Well, life happened and I have barely had time to finish my Christmas shopping this year, so we’ll have to save this idea for another year. Instead we decided on a little virtual cookie exchange or sorts. A bunch of my very favorite gluten-free bloggers came together to share some of their favorite holiday cookies recipes. Check out this amazing round-up below of 15 gluten-free holiday-worthy cookie recipes!
Oh and I’d love to hear from all of you, what is your favorite Christmas cookie recipe? Feel free to post a link in the comments to a recipe on your own site (or a favorite bloggers’) that you would bring to the cookie exchange party!
