Tag Archives: organic

  1. What is Glyphosate? And What Does Glyphosate Residue Free Labeling Mean?

    If you have paid any attention to health and wellness, nutrition and environmental impacts, you have likely heard the word “glyphosate” at this point. If you haven’t yet, let’s do a quick debriefing. Read on to get answers to your question: What is Glyphosate? Why you should care, plus learn what Glyphosate Residue Free Labeling really means.

    What is Glyphosate? And What Does Glyphosate Residue Free Labeling Mean? 

    What is Glyphosate?

    Glyphosate is the number one herbicide and antibiotic used in the US; its use has skyrocketed over the last decade with the introduction of GMO crops. Glyphosate works as a broad spectrum systemic herbicide that kills weeds and is used as a desiccant. Glyphosate is used heavily in GMO Agriculture and in conventional growing (it’s sprayed on grains at harvest to desiccate them and make them easier to harvest and process i.e. oatmeal, grass grains, wheat), It is also used in home gardens and commercial parks, schools, etc. but is banned in organic agriculture. 

    A typical GMO crop gets many treatments of glyphosate over time (every few weeks through the summer). It needs to be continually applied to be effective. A growing number of countries are banning its use, as well as the promulgation of GMO crops. In 2015, 89% of corn, 94% of soybeans and 89% of cotton produced in the US were genetically modified to be herbicide-tolerant. 1https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/adoption-of-genetically-engineered-crops-in-the-us/recent-trends-in-ge-adoption.aspx

    Despite multiple claims that glyphosate is safe, the World Health Organization has classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic in humans” and it is linked to lymphoma. Additionally, the California Environmental Protection Agency has added glyphosate to the Prop 65 list of carcinogenic chemicals and it is now identified as “known to the State of California to cause cancer.” Glyphosate may also be contributing to the Monarch Butterfly decline. 

    While the industry research miraculously touts glyphosate as “safe” and we can anticipate an ongoing scientific debate – for my taste, there is far too much research that says the contrary. As far as I am concerned, too much independent research points to it being unsafe and I am not willing to take the risk.  

    What is Glyphosate? And What Does Glyphosate Residue Free Labeling Mean?

    Why Should You Care About Glyphosate? 

    • Glyphosate is regularly found in our food and water 2https://detoxproject.org/glyphosate-in-food-water/. Even on non-GMO food, if it is grown in proximity of farms that use glyphosate, there is a chance that residue will still be present. Traces of glyphosate can be found in conventionally grown crops as well, because some farmers use glyphosate as a desiccant to dry out crops just 7 to 10 days before harvest, so the residue is present in the final food product as it goes to market.
       
    • Numerous scientific studies conducted independently of the agricultural biotechnology industry have found that the toxic effects of glyphosate, even in small amounts, include disruption of hormonal systems and beneficial gut bacteria, damage to DNA, developmental and reproductive toxicity, birth defects, cancer, and neurotoxicity. 3https://detoxproject.org/glyphosate/how-safe-are-safe-levels-of-roundup/ 4Antoniou M, Habib MEM, Howard CV, et al. Teratogenic effects of glyphosate-based herbicides: Divergence of regulatory decisions from scientific evidence. J Env Anal Toxicol. 2012;S4:006. doi:10.4172/2161-0525.S4-006. 5Antoniou M, Habib M, Howard CV, et al. Roundup and Birth Defects: Is the Public Being Kept in the Dark? Earth Open Source; 2011. 6Vandenberg LN, Colborn T, Hayes TB, et al. Hormones and endocrine-disrupting chemicals: Low-dose effects and nonmonotonic dose responses. Endocr Rev. 2012;33(3):378-455. doi:10.1210/er.2011-1050. 7Séralini G-E, Clair E, Mesnage R, et al. Republished study: long-term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize. Environ Sci Eur. 2014;26(1):14. doi:10.1186/s12302-014-0014-5. 8Romano RM, Romano MA, Bernardi MM, Furtado PV, Oliveira CA. Prepubertal exposure to commercial formulation of the herbicide Glyphosate alters testosterone levels and testicular morphology. Arch Toxicol. 2010;84:309-317. 9Gasnier C, Dumont C, Benachour N, Clair E, Chagnon MC, Séralini GE. Glyphosate-based herbicides are toxic and endocrine disruptors in human cell lines. Toxicology. 2009;262:184-91. doi:10.1016/j.tox.2009.06.006.
    • The way that we are growing and producing our food is destroying the top soil. Glyphosate is a patented antibiotic sprayed on the living structure, the plants and soil. The soil our food is grown in, much like us, has a delicate microbiome. The health of the soil directly affects the health of the food grown in it, which in turn affects our health. Being a broad spectrum antibiotic, glyphosate is used to kill weeds, but it is also destroying the microbiome of the soil. 10https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2017.00034/full11http://news.cornell.edu/stories/2017/06/aristildeglyphosate

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    References   [ + ]

    1. https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/adoption-of-genetically-engineered-crops-in-the-us/recent-trends-in-ge-adoption.aspx
    2. https://detoxproject.org/glyphosate-in-food-water/
    3. https://detoxproject.org/glyphosate/how-safe-are-safe-levels-of-roundup/
    4. Antoniou M, Habib MEM, Howard CV, et al. Teratogenic effects of glyphosate-based herbicides: Divergence of regulatory decisions from scientific evidence. J Env Anal Toxicol. 2012;S4:006. doi:10.4172/2161-0525.S4-006.
    5. Antoniou M, Habib M, Howard CV, et al. Roundup and Birth Defects: Is the Public Being Kept in the Dark? Earth Open Source; 2011.
    6. Vandenberg LN, Colborn T, Hayes TB, et al. Hormones and endocrine-disrupting chemicals: Low-dose effects and nonmonotonic dose responses. Endocr Rev. 2012;33(3):378-455. doi:10.1210/er.2011-1050.
    7. Séralini G-E, Clair E, Mesnage R, et al. Republished study: long-term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize. Environ Sci Eur. 2014;26(1):14. doi:10.1186/s12302-014-0014-5.
    8. Romano RM, Romano MA, Bernardi MM, Furtado PV, Oliveira CA. Prepubertal exposure to commercial formulation of the herbicide Glyphosate alters testosterone levels and testicular morphology. Arch Toxicol. 2010;84:309-317.
    9. Gasnier C, Dumont C, Benachour N, Clair E, Chagnon MC, Séralini GE. Glyphosate-based herbicides are toxic and endocrine disruptors in human cell lines. Toxicology. 2009;262:184-91. doi:10.1016/j.tox.2009.06.006.
    10. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2017.00034/full
    11. http://news.cornell.edu/stories/2017/06/aristildeglyphosate
  2. Crispy Paleo Chicken Fingers {Buffalo-Style and Original}

    These Crispy Paleo Chicken Fingers are a grain-free peek into my childhood. Buffalo-Style and Original with option for stove-top or baked. Growing up in Buffalo chicken fingers were a staple, but going gluten-free and consequently paleo, I have forever been on the hunt for the perfect, crispy tenders. I have perfected my recipe over the years and I am finally sharing with you.


    Crispy Paleo Chicken Fingers

    Crispy Paleo Chicken Fingers

    We all had those foods we heavily mourned over, then forever lusted after when we first went gluten-free. Being a true Buffalo girl, growing up in the land of pizza, chicken wings and epic bar food, that food for me was chicken fingers. I have no shame in admitting that. I can fully remember the day I discovered my gluten intolerance, being so sad that I would never have chicken fingers again. A loss of great proportions. That said, I literally feel like I have spent the last nearly 13 years of being gluten-free, testing, making and perfecting my chicken finger game. I take my chicken fingers very seriously.

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  3. Is Your Olive Oil the Real Thing? Terra Delyssa Is.

    Is Your Olive Oil the Real Thing? Terra Delyssa Is.

    Is your olive oil the real thing? Can you trust that what you are cooking with is safe? I know you are all concerned about fake, substandard olive oils. We’ve all seen the news reports and media coverage of the market being flooded with olive oils making big health claims, yet many being found to be mislabeled and adulterated with other substandard oils like soybean or canola – it’s SO important to find an olive oil you can trust. There are so many reasons I choose to cook with Terra Delyssa Olive Oil and why I personally stand behind and recommend it, to my nutrition clients and to you, my readers, as well as my very own family.

    Terra Delyssa does not hide it’s origin. Their olive oils are one of very few that are actually offered to consumers directly by the farmers / producers. Obtained from the first cold press of freshly hand picked olives grown on farms that have been passed on and run for many generations, cultivating and producing Olive Oil, the traditional way, known to the region of Sfax in Tunisia, situated on the Mediterranean coastline.

    Terra Delyssa fully controls their olives from tree to bottle, crushing all of their olives within 24 hours of harvest, testing every single batch in their state of the art laboratory. By honoring of traditional production methods of hand selection and true cold-pressing this keeps the oil’s acidity low, while maintaining it’s high levels of antioxidants and phytonutrients high.

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  4. What You Need to Know About Eggs – Pasture Raised vs Cage-Free vs Free-Range, etc

    Selecting eggs these days can be a bit overwhelming. There’s Free-Range, Organic, Caged, Cage-free, Pasture-Raised. There are brown eggs and white eggs,  Omega-3 enriched eggs. Not only are there significant differences in the animal care with these various types of eggs, but in addition, depending on what the hens themselves ate and their access to sunlight, the end result in the eggs we eat, also show drastic nutritional differences, as well. Read on for What You Need to Know About Eggs. Let’s get right to it:

    What You Need to Know About Eggs - Pasture Raised vs Cage-Free vs Free-Range, etc

    Look at the difference in the color of the yolks from a conventional egg (left), to a pasture-raised egg (right).

    What You Need to Know About Eggs - Pasture Raised vs Cage-Free vs Free-Range, etc

    The Various Labels – What Do They Mean

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  5. How-to Make Sauerkraut {+ Video}

    Tutorial Tuesdays // Tasty YummiesHow-to Make Sauerkraut

    Sauerkraut and all it’s live culture, raw, funky smelling goodness, it’s been a favorite of mine for sometime. But, it wasn’t until this past year, while taking on the arduous task of healing my gut, that I have truly learned to love and appreciate this stuff for all of it’s magical healing qualities. I have shared this simple tutorial at workshops, including retreats I have hosted and cooking demos. It’s a very simple process, a food that has been around for thousands of years that produces incredible, tasty and healing results. While not very cumbersome at all, sauerkraut is a timely process, but I can tell you that patience is very much a virtue in this game. It’s worth the wait. For those new to sauerkraut, I do recommend starting out consuming a very small amount, a tablespoon or two, used as a condiment of sorts. As with any fermented or probiotic rich food, too much too soon, even when it’s good bacteria, can have some gnarly affects on your gut. More isn’t always better. Take it slow.

    This tutorial offers the step by steps on making small batch sauerkraut, in a glass mason jar. To make a larger batch in a fermentation crock, you can just double or triple the recipe, as necessary.

    How-to Make Sauerkraut

    All You Need:

    1 or 2 quart wide mouth glass canning jar or 3 pint size glass jars, with tight fitting lid(s)
    1 medium head organic cabbage
    1 tablespoon sea salt
    additional spices, vegetables or fruit you wish to add
    glass mixing bowl
    sharp knife and cutting board (or food processor with shredding plate)

    HOW IT WORKS:

    Letting the cabbage ferment at room temperature invites beneficial bacteria to grow via lacto-fermentation. These microorganisms feed on sugars in the vegetables and raise levels of lactic acid, giving fermented foods their tang while also preserving them. Most commercial sauerkraut is required by the FDA to be pasteurized—which effectively destroys all the bacteria in it, including the beneficial bacteria— so making your own sauerkraut at home is definitely a better choice to improve your digestive health.

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  6. Spicy Garlic Roasted Broccoli

    Spicy Garlic Roasted Broccoli

    Spicy Garlic Roasted Broccoli

    What is most interesting to me about cooking and food, is it’s role as a common thread to connect us. Food is something that we all experience on a daily basis (at least I hope so), we can all connect over this need to eat for sustenance and also the collective memories we have created over this nourishment, on our own or together. Food knows no boundaries, it sees no limits. We all need to eat. Where you go with your choices for food and your personal approach to eating, that’s up to you. But we can all bond over the nourishment, the community and the beautiful moments and memories food can elicit, too.

    Spicy Garlic Roasted Broccoli

    When I created this website way back nearly 6 years ago, simply a hobby at the time, I had hoped to create a space where you, the readers, would always feel encouraged and inspired to get into the kitchen. Too often I find that cooking and recipes can become elitest and overcomplicated, so much so that it becomes less accessible to people with for-real busy lives and in some cases it can actually intimidate people from ever stepping into the kitchen first place. Then it’s back to the fast foods, the take out, the packaged foods and the meals of convenience. This idea is absolutely devastating, soul-crushing and heart-breaking, to me.

    Spicy Garlic Roasted Broccoli

    I always want to elicit excitement around cooking and creating in the kitchen. Some days I feel like this is my true life’s mission. There is so much joy that can come from constructing beautiful, nourishing meals, made with love. That said, I also think about cooking the way I do about most other things in my life: Less is more, keep it simple, don’t overcomplicate things and focus on what you love. These simple ideas have never failed me in life and they have also never failed me in the kitchen, either.

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  7. Roasted Sweet Potato Rounds with Garlic Infused Olive Oil and Fresh Herbs

    Roasted Sweet Potato Rounds with Garlic Infused Olive Oil and Fresh Herbs

    Sometimes, less really is more. I feel like there can be a lot of pressure in the recipe developing world, to go further, to come up with super crazy flavor combinations, to mix unsuspecting ingredients together or to be the first to come up with the next big food idea. Those big ideas and crazy creations often spread like wild fires amongst other bloggers, some ideas may become infamous on Pinterest, but ultimately I find for me it can all just be a thankless rat race. When I am cooking for myself or others, I always come back to the idea that less is more, don’t over-think it, K.I.S.S. (keep it simple, stupid). The most simple recipes here on Tasty Yummies are typically the most popular. I like to be able to cook recipes with ingredients that I already have on hand, on a week day, I don’t want to run to 45 stores to get all the ingredients for one dinner. I like easy, smart and quick.

    Roasted Sweet Potato Rounds with Garlic Infused Olive Oil and Fresh Herbs

    Life has been busy this month, one of the busiest I can remember in a long time. There have been countless trips, more hotel rooms than I can count, flights, visits with family, conferences, events and so much more. When I come home and I look at my to-do list and the next round of travels, I feel overwhelmed, so the last thing I can imagine doing is developing some epic creation in the kitchen. If I feel that way, I have to imagine that many of you do, as well. The last few weeks have been about easy meals, bone broth and homemade soup, crock pot meals, grilled local grass-fed meats, ALL the veggies and lots and lots of salads.

    Roasted Sweet Potato Rounds with Garlic Infused Olive Oil and Fresh Herbs

    As life has me spinning and the message to “Honor Yourself” has continuously presented itself to me over the past few weeks, I have been trying very hard to give myself the space to do this. This isn’t an easy feat when life is feeling wildly out of control. I found myself fighting a cold last week, likely from all of the going and not properly taking care of myself and I am sure being on planes and in hotels with lots of germs, didn’t help either. Since I didn’t have the space to fully allow my body to heal, earlier this week I felt myself fighting off a sinus infection. I realized no matter how hard it would, I had to stop. Breathe. Give myself space to ground in. I found time to meditate, I sat with my feet in the sand at the ocean, I took a walk with my hubby and our pooch.

    Roasted Sweet Potato Rounds with Garlic Infused Olive Oil and Fresh Herbs

    It isn’t easy to stop going when life is crazy and it doesn’t always feel good to say no to the bigger and “better” things in life, but ultimately when we can nourish ourselves, we are in a much better place to then nourish those around us, in our family and in our community. A fact I was reminded of recently by a friend.

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  8. Charred Carrots with Carrot Top Pesto

    Charred Carrots with Carrot Top Pesto

    For me, carrots fall into the category of vegetables that I simply don’t give enough love! I find myself thinking of the boring, mushy steamed carrots we were served as kids and I find myself bored before I even take a bite.

    Charred Carrots with Carrot Top Pesto

    I tend to forget how amazing roasted and charred carrots can be. That roasted goodness, where the carrots get tender but still retain a bit of their bite in the middle. The slightly caramelized brings out the natural sweetness of the carrots.

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  9. Roasted Potato, White Carrot and Garlic Soup

    Roasted Potato, White Carrot and Garlic Soup

    Hey guys! Happy New Year! I hope your holidays were perfect and amazing. After a busy final few months of the year, I decided to take the holiday time away from all the work and projects and simply enjoy my husband and our life. Really relish in the magic of the holidays, one of my favorite times of the year. We went to Palm Springs for a few days, went on hikes, to the beach, lots of walks and bike rides in the neighborhood and all that good stuff. It was a break I needed very much and I was happy to get grounded in what really matters this time of year.

    I came back to it all yesterday feeling refreshed and excited for this new year ahead. I had time to get organized and focus on what my goals are for this new year. It always feels good to step away and bring an awareness and clarity to the important things in life.

    Roasted Potato, White Carrot and Garlic Soup

    I made lots of comforting and healthy food during the break, with just a little indulging here and there. We worked our way through all of our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) goodies from our box from Beachgreens. With these beautiful organic Russian banana fingerlings potatoes and the unique organic white carrots, I was simply going to roast them, one of my favorite ways to enjoy veggies this time of year, but with the cooler weather a bowl of comforting soup was calling my name. I had some chicken bone broth in the freezer from one of the chickens we got from our farmer a while back, so it was perfect.

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  10. How-to Make Homemade Vanilla Extract

    Tutorial Tuesdays // Tasty Yummies

    How-to Make Homemade Vanilla Extract

    I know it’s been a while since I have shared a Tutorial Tuesday post with you guys, but it’s been a busy few weeks. So, I thought an easy, no frills tutorial would be perfect. No need for step-by-step photos on this one, just one quick step and then we wait.

    Making homemade vanilla extract is so easy. You literally need just two ingredients, alcohol and vanilla beans and just a few minutes of prep time. You do need a little patience while the flavor of the vanilla beans is extracted, which takes several weeks. But, it is all more than worth it when you end up with the tastiest, most incredible flavor – perfect for all of your baking needs. Plus, this delicious homemade vanilla extract makes an amazing thoughtful gift.

    How-to Make Homemade Vanilla Extract

    To start, for a standard vanilla extract, I recommend an inexpensive vodka, at least 70 proof. Cheaper, many times, is better since there are no distinguishing flavors from the vodka, as it can be with a pricer spirit, which can interfere with the vanilla flavor. If you are sensitive to certain grain-based vodkas, I do recommend selecting a certified gluten-free vodka, I like and use Tito’s.

    The recommended ratio of vanilla beans to vodka that I have found works best is 1 quart vodka to 1/4 pound of dry vanilla beans. This makes things very easy as I divide this amount among four 8-ounce containers, and it’s very easy to divide the 1/4 pound of beans amongst them. Simple, no crazy math, no crazy precise measuring.

    How-to Make Homemade Vanilla Extract

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  11. Meet Our Sponsors: Terra Delyssa Olive Oil

    Meet Our Sponsors: Terra Delyssa Olive Oil

    As a Greek girl, I grew up on olive oil being the main everyday cooking oil in the house, it was used for savory cooking, salad dressings and even some baking. Sadly the quality, authentic single-source olive oil I knew as a child, isn’t always so easy to find, these days. Many olive oil companies are producing subpar multi-source oils, created from orchards treated with pesticides and chemicals or even worse, they are stretched further by adding cheaper vegetable oils or other olive oils made from olives coming from place other than what they clai . As someone that truly loves and appreciates good olive oil, this is always apparent on the first taste.

    Authentic, Single-Source Olive Oil

    I happened upon Terra Delyssa’s delicious high-quality olive oils at Expo West, earlier this spring, as I perused the aisles and aisles of natural products. Their booth was literally the first one that I stopped at. What struck me immediately was the bright colors and the bold graphics (come on, I am a designer, after all). But, what really kept me interested, as I got to chatting with them and tasting their delicious oils, was learning that their oils are all single source, that many of their products were organic and that all of their oils are produced without the use of pesticides or chemicals.

    Meet Our Sponsors: Terra Delyssa Olive Oil

    An Olive Oil That Does Not Hide It’s Origin

    I love that Terra Delyssa can boast that their oils are produced and sold by the same farmers who harvest their olives by hand and care for their trees without the use of any pesticides or chemicals. Their olives are all harvested by hand and crushed within 24 hours of harvest — most of the time, within four hours of harvest — guaranteeing a fresh aroma and a lower acidity level. Terra Delyssa is the only 100 percent Tunisian olive oil on the market.  The olives used for Terra Delyssa Olive Oil are grown in orchards that have been passed down through generations of olive growers. Tunisian olives produce oil with a delicate, mild flavor with hints of fruit and olive. Every single bottle of Terra Delyssa Olive Oil is 100 percent traceable and can be traced back to the field where the olives were grown.

    As I got to cooking with Terra Delyssa’s delicious olive oils, what really struck me most was the smooth and fresh flavor profile, which makes it versatile enough to cook with every single day. Terra Delyssa Extra Virgin Olive Oil is made from the first cold press of handpicked olives, so there isn’t that acidic burn and intense aroma, that some olive oils can have. You’d think being a high quality, single-source, organic olive oil, that the prices would be outrageous, but that’s the best part – it is priced just right. The retail price of Terra Delyssa products range from $2.99 for a 250 ml to $24.99 for 3 liters. The extra virgin, organic, infused and specialty oils all fall within this price range. Amazing, right?

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  12. Forbidden Rice Spring Veggie Bowls with Tahini Lemon Dressing

    Forbidden Rice Spring Veggie Bowls with Tahini Lemon Dressing

    To know me, is to know that I get weirdly obsessed with things. Currently I am obsessed with two things, first is my new spiralizer (yes you will see lots of recipes made with it very soon) and secondly, any and all meals that can be served in bowls! As you can imagine the cross-over on these two obsessions is quite high so one is perpetuating the other right now.

    Today we are just talking about my love of any and all meals served in a bowl. I am not talking about your traditional soup or salads, though I still love both of those, I am talking more about creative, complete and hearty meals with everything you might possibly need or want, all served in one big bowl.

    Forbidden Rice Spring Veggie Bowls with Tahini Lemon Dressing

    To me, there is something just so comforting and so appealing about a meal in a bowl. Whether it be a Sprouted Quinoa with a Kale Almond Pesto Bowl, a 30-Minute Sweet Potato and Kale Coconut Curry over rice, a Buddha Bowl with Garlic Turmeric Cashew Cream or just a big ‘ol salad with loads of gorgeous bits and bops from your pantry and fridge. Mostly I find these bowl meals to be an opportunity to cram as much seasonal goodness as I can into one dish and to arrange it in a beautiful color coordinated way that turns it into a work of art.

    The other bonus of a bowl meal, is the organized and seemingly planned out way to eat up what you have on hand and to make it appear that it was done with great purpose. I have been known to do that a time or two around here.

     

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  13. How-to Make Coconut Butter

    Tutorial Tuesdays // Tasty Yummies 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

     

    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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  14. Fairly Modest Mule Cocktail made with FAIR. Quinoa Vodka – {Gluten-free and Fair-trade}

    From-FAIR-Web_FAIR_Press_kit-USA-1-copy-7

    We are all very aware of the well loved, super-food, quinoa, by now. How could you not be? It could nearly have it’s own section at a Whole Foods now and we certainly can’t eat at a trendy healthy restaurant without seeing it on the menu somewhere, if not in multiple places. I am personally a big fan of quinoa and it appears I am not alone! The United Nations actually declared 2013 the International Year of Quinoa. I love that! Quinoa is the mother of all grains and is an ancient power food used by Incan warriors 5000 years ago. The popularity of the seed, (which is commonly referred to as a grain) has grown exponentially over the past few years, I’ve seen it in everything from savory dishes, cookies, cakes, breads and now VODKA!! I mean really, does it really get any better than this?

    Yup, it actually does. FAIR. Quinoa Vodka is an ethically sourced, one-of-a-kind spirit made with unique ingredients that is certified gluten-free and fair-trade, too!! FAIR.’s long list of boast-worthy qualities won me over, before I had ever even tasted it. Then, in a moment just like those in blockbuster chick-flicks, with a slow move in towards my lips, it was love at first sip! OK, who am I kidding, I am not that dainty, it was first a sip, then a good ‘ol fashioned vodka gulp. This stuff is really good, guys. It’s clean, smooth and fresh, no strange aftertaste like many vodkas can have. It’s full flavored while still being delicate with a slightly warm fruity finish. I have been loving it paired with a homemade coffee liqueur on the rocks, but it is also incredible in a simple dirty martini. Read the rest of this entry »

  15. Cocoa Dusted Macadamia Nuts – Gluten-free, Vegan + Refined Sugar-free

    Cocoa Dusted Macadamia Nuts - Gluten-free, Vegan + Refined Sugar-free

    A few months back, I was lucky enough to have a very sweet and lovely Tasty Yummies reader, Rina, offer to send me some of the beautiful macadamia nuts she and her family grow here in California. Their company is called CaliMac Nut Company. I obviously said ‘yes!’ Macadamia nuts are something I don’t often splurge on at the store.

    First, I used some to make the crust on my 4th of July Vegan “Cheesecake” and then I struggled to decide what to do with what remained. I didn’t want to waste them and just use in any ‘ol boring recipe. I wanted them to shine! I originally wanted to make a fun homemade macadamia nut version of “Nutella” with them, but to be honest I worried if it didn’t come out properly, I would be wasting so many beautiful nuts. I wanted to savor each and every one of those beauties. But I loved the idea of combing the cocoa flavor with the slightly sweetened toasted nuts. I decided on a snack that we could take on our pending road trip to San Francisco let month and enjoy easily while in the car and at our booth for the weekend. Enjoying each and every one and celebrating the lovely place and family that they came from with every bite, I love food with a story and I am always so grateful when I can know exactly where it came from and the love that went into growing it.

    Cocoa Dusted Macadamia Nuts - Gluten-free, Vegan + Refined Sugar-free

    These beautiful cocoa dusted nuts are full of so much flavor! They have a wonderful roasty crunch, a subtle sweetness from the maple and the cocoa gives a nice punch of rich, earthy flavor. I like that they aren’t overly sweet, so the flavor of the nuts aren’t overpowered and I really enjoy that you get the flavor of the sea salt, which I personally find compliments chocolate more than almost anything. Macadamia nuts are higher in fat than many other nuts, which is why I think this recipe is a wonderful way to enjoy them. A few of these nuts are all you really need, they are rich and satisfying. Close the package up and come back to them again later. No need to consume them all at once. I do feel it is important to note, concerning the fat in macadamia nuts, between 78 to 86 percent of the fat is monounsaturated (the good for you, heart-healthy kind of fat). Monounsaturated fat helps lower cholesterol and decreases your risk of heart disease and stroke. In addition, macadamia nuts are one of the only food sources that contain palmitoleic acid (a type of monounsaturated fatty acid that may speed up fat metabolism, thus reducing the body’s ability to store fat). (SOURCE)

    Feel free to use raw cacao (which is what I did) instead of traditional cocoa. The health benefits on raw cacao are incredible and so worth it. Did you know that raw cacao has more antioxidant flavonoids than any food tested so far, including blueberries, red wine, and black and green teas. In fact, it has up to four times the quantity of antioxidants found in green tea. Additionally as we all know, cocoa in any form is great for your cardiovascular health.

    You can play with the recipe a bit and add some cayenne pepper and/or cinnamon for a fun and spicy “Mexican Hot Cocoa” twist on the recipe. And, if you can’t get macadamia nuts or you would like to use a different nut, this recipe would also be great with almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts or cashews. These would make a wonderful gift wrapped up in a cute handmade package or in a vintage canning jar. Oh gosh, is it bad that I am already thinking about edible holiday gifts?

    Thanks again Rina for sharing your delicious macadamia nuts with me. I will certainly be ordering some when the season starts back up again! I cannot wait.

    NOTE – as a dog lover who is ALWAYS obsessed with the things that are unsafe for my baby girl, it is very important for me to note that macadamia nuts are toxic to dogs, inducing a temporary yet severe weakness and other possible and very serious side effects. Keep those tasty babies high up and out of Fido’s way, please!!

    Cocoa Dusted Macadamia Nuts - Gluten-free, Vegan + Refined Sugar-free

    [print_this]Cocoa Dusted Macadamia Nuts – Gluten-free, Vegan + Refined Sugar-free

    • 2 cups raw organic macadamia nuts
    • 3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey (if possible, choose organic and/or grade B, for both)
    • 2 teaspoons sea salt
    • 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder or raw cacao powder

    Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

    In a large bowl combine macadamia nuts, maple syrup and sea salt. Use a rubber spatula to mix together, fully coating the macadamia nuts. Spread the nuts in a single layer on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, stirring at least twice during baking to prevent the nuts from burning.

    Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Immediately return macadamia nuts to the bowl, add cocoa powder and toss to coat, making sure the nuts are all evenly coated with the cocoa powder.
    Fully cool and store in an air tight container. [/print_this]

  16. How-to Make Your Own Apple Cider Vinegar Facial Toner

    How to Make Your Own Apple Cider Vinegar Facial Toner
    How to Make Your Own Apple Cider Vinegar Facial Toner:

    I am sure many of you keep apple cider vinegar in your kitchen pantry for a variety of different dishes, vinaigrettes, pickled whatevers and so on. But did you know it is also a great item for keeping in the bathroom medicine cabinet as an amazing all-natural beauty product, too?

    For the past two months I have been using a mixture of apple cider vinegar and water as an all natural toner, every single morning and every single evening after I wash my face. I saw a noticeable change and improvement in my skin in just a weeks time. No joke.

    This simple concoction can help improve your overall complexion by balancing and restoring your skin’s natural pH. Our skin is naturally acidic but when our levels are in balance our skin will live at the perfect level between oily and dry. When you pH levels are out of balance, that is when you break out, when your pores get clogged, you are too oily or too dry, your skin can be itchy or irritated, and the list goes on and on.

    ACV has a pH of 3 and when diluted, the acidity from the toner helps bring your skin’s pH back to its normal levels. By restoring your skin’s balance, this apple cider vinegar toner helps your skin function optimally, warding off bacteria and shedding dead skin cells at the proper rate so your pores do not get clogged and your skin remains healthy.

    I have noticed my skin tone has evened out significantly, my skin is softer and I have less dry and itchy red patches, plus less oiliness in my trouble spots. I no longer can see the tiny pores on my nose that seemed to always be there. I have also definitely noticed less everyday “regular” breakouts and a significant decrease in the amount and severity of my hormonal breakouts each month. I have observed that many of my previous breakouts were seemingly due to clogged pores and no matter how much I washed my face, I would still have that problem, this toner has seriously been the answer I was looking for.

    Read the rest of this entry »

  17. Photo Fun Day Friday

    After some serious down time on the website yesterday (so sorry if you were unable to get the site to load if you came here) and not being able to log in to the back side of my and post anything for the first half of today, I am so happy to be here and happy to be sharing some photos from the last week.

    We have a busy work filled weekend ahead, but then we are taking a couple days off at the start of next week that we are planning to fill with some fun adventures. What do you have planned for this weekend?

    Photo Fun Day Friday
    This house of ours gets incredible light. It shines in every morning so perfectly right as we are waking up.

    Photo Fun Day Friday
    Got up early over the weekend so I started a fire and then made some grain-free banana chocolate chip muffins over the weekend using this recipe. Instead of strawberries and basil I added in two mashed ripe bananas (added a bit more almond flour), some cinnamon and some mini dark chocolate chips.

    Photo Fun Day Friday
    How beautiful is this juice? My post run juice Monday morning – orange, beet, carrot, ginger and strawberry. The photo hardly even does it justice.

    Photo Fun Day Friday
    I adore this cat.

    Photo Fun Day Friday
    Got our first CSA since moving out here. Until my veggie garden is in full effect, this is the way to go. All this for just $15 and certified organic.

    Photo Fun Day Friday
    I am still totally amazed that this is where I live now. Feels like perpetual vacation.

    Photo Fun Day Friday
    A new donation-based yoga studio opened here in Long Beach, Yogalution Movement and Ayurveda. I’ve been to several of their classes, it’s been great!

    Photo Fun Day Friday
    While obsessively trying to perfect a cookie recipe, I inadvertently didn’t eat or make dinner. So spicy chipotle stove-top popcorn was the answer.

    Photo Fun Day Friday
    I love getting texts from my 3-year old niece, Teagan.

    Photo Fun Day Friday
    In cleaning off some of the photos on my phone, I realized I never shared the two new tattoos I got just before I left Buffalo. First this “Seester” tattoo that both my sister Vicky and I got matching.

    Photo Fun Day Friday
    And of course I needed a little something to represent my hometown! B U F F A L O

    Photo Fun Day Friday
    We went to the opening party last night, for a new business in Santa Ana called Best Wines Online, where our very good friend Patrick is working. Drank wine and spent time with our good friends. Actually got a nice photo of the two of us out of the deal, this was before I splashed red wine on my ivory lace dress. Weee!

  18. Crispy Baked Beet Chips – Gluten-free + Vegan

    Crispy Baked Beet Chips - Gluten-free + Vegan

    See, I told you that I would use up the beets from our CSA share. I wanted to do something fun and different with the beets, since I usually just juice or grill them. My husband, Mark, absolutely HATES beets, he despises them and won’t try them no matter how good I tell them they are. He thinks they are gross and taste like ‘ground’ or ‘dirt’!

    Well, I can officially say – I have WON the beet war in our house! I got Mark to eat beets and he actually liked them. I didn’t even have to sneak them into something else. I just said “here, just try this beet chip, don’t be a jerk”. He tried it and he liked it, then he had another and then a few more. Then he proclaimed “I have never,ever liked beets before, ever, but these I actually like!” S U C C E S S !

    Crispy Baked Beet Chips - Gluten-free + Vegan

    Crispy Baked Beet Chips - Gluten-free + Vegan

    These beet chips are super easy to make and you can keep them simple with just a little sea salt, or you can add some fun things like onion powder, or rosemary or any other spices or herbs you desire. I used a mix of both golden beets and red beets that we got in our CSA share from Porter Farms. Once you peel the feels and slice them, you will not believe the vibrant bright colors. They are almost too pretty to eat. Almost. These chips are so crispy and satisfying that you won’t be able to eat just one or even a couple. I made this batch and had planned to eat a few for a mid-afternoon snack and then save the rest for an evening snack. That didn’t work. At all. We ate them all.

    As far as storing goes, these chips will likely lose a bit of their crisp when you store them, so as with most crispy baked foods, best to eat these up right away when they are their crispiest. Darn.

    Besides being super delicious and so vibrantly beautiful, if you need even more reasons to eat beets here are a few of their wonderful benefits, beets are a unique source of phytonutrients called betalains. The betalains found in beets have been shown to provide antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and detoxification support. If that isn’t enough, the combination of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory molecules in beets makes this food a highly-likely candidate for risk reduction of many cancer types. Oh and don’t forget the fiber! Beet fiber (along with carrot fiber) are two specific types of food fiber that may provide special health benefits, particularly with respect to health of our digestive tract (including prevention of colon cancer) and our cardiovascular system. More info about the wonderful benefits of beets can be found here.

    Crispy Baked Beet Chips - Gluten-free + Vegan

    Crispy Baked Beet Chips - Gluten-free + Vegan

    [print_this]Crispy Baked Beet Chips – Gluten-free + Vegan

    • 3-4 medium beets (or 6-8 small beets), peeled and sliced thinly about 1/16 – 1/8 inch – using a mandoline slicer is the best and easiest way to do this
    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • Sea salt to taste
    • Feel free to add any additional seasonings  that you wish *

    Preheat oven to 350º F.  Toss beets slices with oil in a medium sized bowl until they are all well coated and lay them flat in a single-layer on a rimmed baking sheet (bake in multiple batches, if necessary).  Bake for 20-30 minutes, until chips are crispy. Check after about 15 minutes since the time will vary based on thickness of chips and how dark your baking pan is, mine took about 30 minutes since my baking pan was really light in color. The second batch I made was on a much darker baking pan and they cooked up much quicker. Sprinkle a little sea salt over top when you take them out. Transfer to a wire rack and they will crisp up a bit more as they cool.

    * Play around with adding in different spices and herbs. I made one batch with some fresh rosemary, another with some onion powder and then just a plain batch, all were very good.

    [/print_this]

  19. Dark Chocolate Coconut Treats – Vegan, Gluten-free + Refined Sugar-Free

    Dark Chocolate Coconut Treats - Vegan, Gluten-free + Refined Sugar-Free

    I know I have already mentioned that we are going away at the end of this week for the SXSW Music Festival and Flatstock Rock Poster convention, and that I didn’t know how many recipes I would get up before we go. But I HAD to make time to share this recipe with you guys. I threw this together the other night when I was craving something a little sweet but I wanted something different. I made a small batch as I was almost out of coconut, but I knew I would be making them again VERY soon once I could get more coconut, so I could perfect the recipe and share it with all of you. I do hope to get one more recipe up before I go, then I have a group of lovely bloggers that will be guest posting while I am away. I can’t wait!

    I had come across this lovely healthy “Mounds” candy bar inspired treat from Tessa the Domestic Diva and it inspired me to make my own version in the first place. I honestly had forgotten how much I used to love Mounds Bars until I saw her recipe on Kalinda’s weekly Vegetarian, Gluten-free Round Up on Wheat Free Meat Free. The combination of coconut and dark chocolate is perfection and it has always been a favorite of mine, I wish I had started making these sooner.

    Dark Chocolate Coconut Treats - Vegan, Gluten-free + Refined Sugar-Free

    Like Tessa’s version, I wanted to make a healthy homemade version that wasn’t too sweet and I really wanted to make it with a good quality dark chocolate. I used Dagoba’s Organic Unsweetened Chocolate, which is so delicious, their chocolates are some of my favorites, but you can use whatever your favorite is. And as I mention in the recipe below, if you’d rather just melt some dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips to make it even easier, you can do that, too. I just wanted to make these refined sugar free and lightly sweeten it myself. If you taste either the coconut filling or the chocolate topping and find you want it to be sweeter, just add a little more maple syrup or whatever sweetener you are using. You could also add an almond or two at the bottom or top to make it more like an “Almond Joy” instead of a “Mounds Bar”.

    I used a regular sized muffin tin to create these little “bars” but you could really use whatever you want, a mini-muffin tin would be really fun, and you’d end up with even more treats. I almost bought one just for this recipe, but hubby told me I am cut off. In his words I “officially have too much kitchen stuff”. Hehe! If you have a candy mold, that would probably also work. This simple dessert treat is so easy to make, it’d be perfect dessert to make and share at a party if you know there will be a vegan or someone with food allergies and everyone else will enjoy it, too.

    Even with these not being too crazy sweet, these are wonderfully rich and satisfying, I love that about dark chocolate. You may even want to cut one of these in half and share it and make them last even longer. In an effort to not eat all of these myself, plus with some gentle begging from one of my yoga teachers on Facebook after she saw a photo I put up, I plan to bring some of these to my yoga studio tomorrow morning. This is good, I fear if I keep these around I will eat them up in a day, they are so good.

    Something I wanted to mention and almost forgot, I have avoided using maple syrup as a sweetener in recipes for a very long time, since I assumed the maple flavor would be so strong and would over power whatever I was making. I don’t know what gave me that idea, but sometimes the flavor of maple syrup on it’s own or maple flavored foods, can be a bit too much for me. Honestly it is really amazing what a great sweetener it is and you don’t get any of the maple flavor. I am not sure why, but you don’t. Maybe in larger quantities you might, but it is perfect in a recipe like this. Plus, maple syrup has many health benefits, including being known for it’s anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties and being rich in trace minerals manganese and zinc. Of course sugar is still sugar, natural or otherwise, so don’t go consuming syrup or honey or other refined-sugar alternatives in huge quantities, but know that things like honey, maple syrup or coconut nectar are wonderful alternatives and much smarter choices then refined-sugars and synthetic syrups.Thought the bit about the flavor was worth mentioning though, in the event that you, like me, have been avoiding it for that reason.

    Dark Chocolate Coconut Treats - Vegan, Gluten-free + Refined Sugar-Free

    [print_this]Dark Chocolate Coconut Treats – Vegan, Gluten-free + Refined Sugar-Free
    Makes 12 cups

    Coconut Filling:

    • 2 1/2 cups unsweetened organic coconut, finely shredded
    • 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
    • 1/4 cup maple syrup (you could use honey, coconut nectar or any other liquid sweetener)
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

    Chocolate Topping*:

    • 6 ounces 100% unsweetened organic dark chocolate (aka bakers chocolate) I used this
    • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
    • 1/3 cup maple syrup (again any other liquid sweetener would work)

    In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the coconut filling ingredients and mix together until well combined. Evenly divide up the filling between the 12 muffin cups, pressing it in very tightly, making sure it is even. Don’t worry they won’t stick. Place the muffin pan in the freezer make sure it is sitting flat, and freeze until hard, about 30 minutes.

    While the coconut filling is cooling, melt the dark chocolate with the coconut oil. Either very carefully in a double boiler setup on the stove top or in small increments in the microwave. After the chocolate and coconut oil is melted and whisked together and well combined, remove from the heat (if you melted it on the stove), and add in the maple syrup. Stir well to combine. Give the chocolate topping a little taste to see if you want it any sweeter. Add more syrup, if you wish. Take the muffin tin with the frozen coconut mixture out of the freezer, and divide your chocolate mixture over it, spooning it on top and smoothing the chocolate out to make sure it totally covers the coconut.

    Put the muffin tin back into the freezer, and freeze until the chocolate has set, about another 30 minutes or so. To get the treats out of the pan, slide a knife around the outside of the treat and it will very easily pop out.

    After these are set, you could store them in the freezer and keep them really cold and solid or just in the fridge. I keep them in the fridge, myself. Just don’t leave them sitting out on the counter as they will get pretty melty.

    *NOTE: if you aren’t worried about making this refined sugar free, you could just melt semi-sweet chocolate chips, I was just hoping to avoid the sugar, so I made my own chocolate topping.

    [/print_this]

  20. Smashed Potato Puffs

    IMG_7267

    I didn’t get a chance to get on here Thanksgiving Day to wish you all a Happy Day, like I had planned but I was cooking away in the kitchen and watching the parade, the dog show and football! I hope all of my American readers had an incredible day surrounded by people they love most and filled with delicious and tasty fresh foods made with so much love and care. If you aren’t in the US – I hope you have a beautiful Thursday, still!

    Our day was perfect, I spent the day cooking in my kitchen and relaxing with hubby, we really needed a day like that, then we headed to my parents to see a ton of family for dessert. It is going to be an insane few weeks coming up so I was very happy to have the perfect balance of a quiet and calm day, with a bit of the usual holiday fare with the extended family.

    Of course the best part of making a big feast for 2, is that we have a ton of leftovers. This is so perfect since we are leaving on Friday of this coming week to head to Chicago – so finding time to cook is probably going to be tough. Besides just reheating things, I plan to come up with all kinds of fun and creative ways to eat up the leftovers. This morning I saw a post on the Kitchn with this very topic – lots of great and delicious ways to eat up those leftovers! One of the hardest things to just simply reheat are the mashed potatoes, they are never as creamy and delicious as they are that night! You could certainly make a shepherd’s pie with them or potato pancakes of some sort, which I had planned on doing until I saw this post. The Kitchn had this delicious recipe for Mashed Potato Puffs that caught my eye instantly. Their puffs included ham and cheese, though this was a bit too rich for me after the two days of eating that I just had, so I skipped the cheese and ham and just added a small amount of turkey and some fresh chives from my garden. If you had a vegetarian Thanksgiving, these would still be equally as delicious without any meat at all. These adorable little puffs were super simple to put together and ready in 20 minutes. We had ours for breakfast and we put the leftovers in the fridge for either a side dish or another breakfast. They were puffy, had a slight crisp on the outside and were perfectly soft and creamy inside. I almost always make my mashed potatoes as garlic smashed potatoes, which I add a smidge of Nancy’s Organic Cultured Cream Cheese to for a little bit of creamy and tart flavor. I make my smashed potatoes with red potatoes, leaving the skins on – so my puffs were a bit more rustic and chunky than the original recipe, which I really liked. They can stick a bit when coming out of the muffin tin, at least they did for me, so make sure you grease your tin, even if it is non-stick. I personally didn’t care about that little bit of sticking – they were delicious regardless.

    Well we’re off to the country to cut down our Christmas tree today and then to walk around beautiful Elicottville to really get even more into the Christmas mood! I cannot wait!

    Tomorrow I plan to make a gluten-free turkey pot pie with some of the leftovers and I am going to cook down the bones to make a turkey stock for soup. What are you making with your leftovers?

    IMG_7247

    Smashed Potato Puffs
    makes between 12 and 24 puffs, depending the size of the pan used
    Adapted from The Kitchn

    2 cups leftover smashed (or mashed) potatoes
    3 large farm fresh brown eggs, beaten
    1/4 cup minced fresh chives
    1/4 cup shredded leftover turkey (optional)
    Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

    Heat the oven to 400°F and lightly grease the cups of a regular muffin tin or a mini-muffin tin.
    Whisk together the smashed potatoes, eggs, chives, and turkey. Taste and season, if necessary, with salt and pepper.
    Put a spoonful of the mixture in each muffin cup. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the potato cups are set, browned on top, and hot through and through. Serve immediately.

  21. Butternut Squash, Arugula and Goat Cheese Pizza

    Butternut Squash, Arugula and Goat Cheese Pizza

    After being on a cleanse for two weeks, removing meat, fish, dairy, sugar, caffeine, alcohol, the usual gluten and processed foods, etc – I was looking forward to slowly adding some things back in this week. I love that after two weeks of removing those things from my diet, I no longer crave them, I don’t feel weighed down, exhausted, sluggish, bloated, etc. I feel like the change of seasons is the best time to wipe your slate clean and start fresh and new. Personally, in my life I like to subscribe to the idea of ‘all things in moderation’. That’s not to say I eat junk food, corn syrup laced sodas, processed foods, factory farmed meats and all that other yucky junk in moderation or at all, but there are some things that, though I know in excess can be bad for you (specifically for me – caffeine, alcohol, dairy, meat, sugar), I think in moderation are OK and in some ways good for you.

    I like cleansing because I can reset myself and my cravings and start over with the new season. I don’t see myself giving up dairy entirely anytime soon, or cocktails for that matter, so by doing a cleanse I can clean myself of all the junk in my body and any excessive cravings I may have for these things, especially after months of traveling and eating and drinking more than I would like to.

    Once I am off a cleanse, I don’t go all in again the very next day and make a drink to have with my massive cheese and meat platter, all finished off with a huge plate of cake – but instead I slowly start adding small amounts back into my diet. This is partially so my system isn’t shocked after two weeks of eating mostly vegetables, whole grains and legumes, but also so I don’t just jump back into old habits and cravings. This week I wanted to enjoy and add back in small amounts of locally farmed dairy and meat and some sweets – but only those made from alternative sweeteners such as honey, maple syrup or coconut sugar, no straight cane sugar just yet.

    This pizza was the first real treat after coming off the cleanse and I felt like it was a good way to go back in. I made the crust with flaxseed egg replacer (2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds with 6 tablespoons of warm water) and I got the goat cheese from First Light Farm & Creamery, a wonderful local farm with delicious goats milk products. In addition, the arugula, squash and onion were all from the farmers market and the rosemary was from my own garden. It doesn’t get much fresher and tastier than all that!

    This pizza is loaded with delicious fall flavors, everything pairs together so well. The arugula retains a nice subtle and spicy crunch, the squash is tender and so perfect with the rosemary and onions and the goat cheese finishes everything off with a super flavorful, rich and creamy tang! As mentioned in the recipe below, please feel free to use your own favorite pizza dough recipe (with or without gluten, it doesn’t matter) or even a good store-bought dough or crust. Since it was a busy weeknight, I used a package of Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free pizza dough mix. Although I have made some delicious gluten-free pizza doughs completely from scratch, I really love how easy and delicious the Bob’s Red Mill dough is for when you don’t have all that time. It is a pre-mixed blend of flours (without any additives or other wacky ingredients) and it comes with a package of yeast. You just add olive oil, eggs (or a flaxseed egg replacer) and warm water, that’s it. I like their crust because it is light, it has the perfect balance between chewy and crispy and it isn’t too thin or too thick. When I don’t have the time to make my own dough it really is a great alternative.

    I made this pizza earlier in the week and since then I have had a small amount more of organic dairy and some pasture-raised local meat from our farm.  I am still feeling really, really great! I am really looking forward to having a glass or two of wine this weekend in celebration of my birthday and I am also looking forward to experimenting this weekend with making some healthy sweets made from sugar alternatives. Look for a recipe tomorrow for my gluten-free pumpkin oatmeal raisin cookies made with honey instead of sugar and grapeseed oil instead of butter. Sunday morning we are going apple picking so keep an eye out for an updated version of my gluten-free apple crisp, I am going to try to make a version without butter or sugar! I can’t wait to play.

    Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

    Butternut Squash, Arugula and Goat Cheese Pizza

    Butternut Squash, Arugula and Goat Cheese Pizza
    makes 8 pieces

    1  – 1lb ball of  your favorite gluten-free (or not) pizza dough or a ready-made crust. You are looking for a 14-16″ round crust (I used a package of Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free pizza dough mix and made one large pizza with it instead of two)
    2 1/2 cups cubed local butternut squash (about 1/2-inch square pieces)
    2 tablespoons olive oil (half for the squash and reserving the other half for the crust)
    1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
    1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
    1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, roughly chopped (you can use dried rosemary here, just use less)
    3 cups organic arugula, roughly chopped
    6 ounces crumbled local goat cheese

    Preheat oven to 425º. If you are making your own pizza dough, have it already mixed and rising. While your dough is rising, on a large rimmed baking sheet, toss the squash with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, half of your salt, half of your freshly ground black pepper and half of your fresh rosemary. Cook the squash until slightly browned and tender, about 25 minutes, tossing occasionally to ensure even cooking. Set aside.

    While the squash is cooking, caramelize the onions in the other tablespoon of olive oil with a dash of salt in a large skillet over a medium-high heat. Stir often and cook 10-12 minutes until perfectly browned and caramelized. Set aside.

    Once all of your toppings are ready, pre-bake your dough without the toppings (mine took approximately 10 minutes), then remove from the oven and top with squash, onion, arugula, crumbled goat cheese and the remaining rosemary, salt and pepper. Bake until the crust is crispy, lightly browned and the cheese is melted, about 15-18 minutes.

    Obviously whatever pizza dough recipe or ready-made crust you choose to make this with will be fine, just adjust your cooking temperature and times accordingly (if necessary).

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