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Anti-Inflammatory Turmeric Golden Milk {+ Video}
Before you beat me to the punch, I will stop you right there, I realize that golden milk has become a bit of a “golden child” (pun intended) in the food blogging world. I am not the first to share a golden milk recipe and I am sure I won’t be the last. It’s a buzz food, currently and I am not one bit mad about it, I love the stuff, I have been enjoying it for years. I decided to still go ahead and share my personal recipe here on the site, despite the mass amount of golden milk recipes floating around the web, with the intent to share with you some important bits, tips and thoughts often left out, in regards to the proper means to assimilating all of the many benefits of turmeric.
The term “superfood” has certainly become a bit of a buzzword in recent years, an often overused term, at that. Often, these foods that have been used for healing for many centuries become adopted by modern culture and as the foods become more readily available, we reap the benefits. Win win! But, people tend adopt these foods and run wild making claims for health and healing, often without doing the research for themselves or fully understanding the claims they are making. Unfortunately, often, much like the phone call game we played as kids, the details and important facts can be lost along the way.
Before I get into what is often left out and what we aren’t always told, let’s talk about the benefits! Turmeric and curcumin, the well-studied main bioactive component of turmeric, have been found to promote health and protect against a wide variety of health conditions.
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Immune Boosting Chia Pudding
With the stress and hustle of the holidays upon us and for so many of us, this also means traveling, our immune systems are certainly working overtime right now to keep balance within our body and to promote overall wellness and vitality.
It’s inevitable we are exposed to more this time of year and our immune system often struggles in these compromised settings. With or without travel, this busy time puts an extra stress on our bodies, which in turn can stress our immune systems. Besides the usual basics, like staying hydrated, getting lots of sleep, treating your body well with nutrient-rich fresh, whole foods and some much needed movement, I also think any extra boosts you can include, certainly can’t hurt and should be considered whenever possible. Read the rest of this entry »
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Grain-Free Strawberry Basil Goat Cheese Tart {w/ Vegan option}
You guys know that it’s quite rare you’ll find a recipe on my site with dairy these days, after I cut dairy out of my diet two years ago – due to some digestive yuckiness. However, over the last 6 months or so, I have been enjoying, in moderation, small amounts of sheep milk and goat milk cheeses – as they always do OK for me and my sensitive gut. Both seem much easier on my little emo tummy so I have just been going with it and seeing how I react. I am all about listening to your own body, realizing we are all very different and that there is no single diet for everyone! I personally don’t believe in forcing labels and titles onto my diet (outside of the necessary gluten-free, one) and I find that when I eat intuitively and pay attention to my body’s cues, it really is easy to know what works for me and what doesn’t and this can change from day-to-day. Realizing all of this has been quite freeing, actually.
This Grain-Free Strawberry Basil Goat Cheese Tart is very simple to make and it is obviously great as a dessert, but it would also be a wonderful addition to a fancy schmancy brunch menu. The tart crust is totally grain-free and so simple to make. After that, no more need for the oven and you can just throw this together and be ready to serve it up in no time. Oh, and I have to say – god bless the people of the internet that have the patience to arrange strawberry slices, one-by-one, in a perfectly symmetrical pattern across the top of a tart or cake. You know the ones. We all want to be them/secretly despise their incredible attention to detail. Well, if you couldn’t tell from the photos,that’s not me. I am a dump and serve kinda gal, it all tastes the same anyhow, right? Read the rest of this entry »
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Dairy-free Peppermint Mocha or Hot Cocoa (Gluten-free with Vegan Option)
This time of year, I am all about the familiar comforting flavors of the holiday season. Gingerbread, cinnamon rolls, egg nog and of course, chocolate and peppermint, etc. The Starbucks Peppermint Mocha used to be one of my favs, but I just really don’t love all of those sugary syrups and other junk, plus since I prefer to avoid dairy, my only option there is soy milk, which I really don’t like drinking, either. That said, those flavors are the perfect way to get me in the holiday mood. We have been known to go out of our way to get peppermint mochas, just to sip on while we pick out our tree or check out the holiday lights. It’s holiday perfection in a cup!
Though I am not a regular coffee drinker these days, I do enjoy a cup of joe – now and again. It’s a nice treat once in a while, but I love not being a slave to the caffeine like so many regular coffee drinkers. I only drink it when it sounds good, not because I have to. I find I enjoy coffee and coffee drinks so much more since I tend to indulge only about once a month or so.
This holiday season, I was determined to recreate the classic Peppermint Mocha, so that I could enjoy it without the junk. Dairy-free, refined sugar-free, made with high-quality ingredients! I am super happy with my homemade version, I like it better than any that could come in a cardboard cup with snowflakes on it. It’s thick and creamy, rich in chocolatey goodness and it has just the right amount of peppermint flavor. Read the rest of this entry »
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Fig Honey Jam – Gluten-free + Refined Sugar-Free
If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, it is likely that you have seen how figs are overtaking my life right now. Our huge black mission fig tree is producing so much fruit. I love it. I have been getting quite creative with the figs; making pizzas, muffins, cakes, smoothies, adding them to salads and more. Fig season begins as early as June in some areas and it can run as late as October. My tree didn’t really start producing until mid August, but given how much small unripe fruit is on there, I have a feeling that I am going to have figs for quite some time. Yay!
Figs are quite perishable so I have been doing everything I can to use them up as quickly as I can. Stored at room temperature fresh figs keep for about for 1-2 days or 2-3 days in the fridge. Besides what I have been using in recipes, I have been freezing them whole and even dehydrating some so I can enjoy them in the off season, still. Look for lots of fig recipes over the next few weeks, I am loving having so many to play with.
Besides being delicious and so beautiful, figs are a wonderful source of calcium and dietary fiber. Figs have the highest amount of calcium of any fruit. Just 1 cup of figs has as much calcium as a cup of milk. Figs are also a good source of iron, magnesium, potassium, B vitamins, as well as vitamin K. Read the rest of this entry »
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Homemade Ginger Ale – Honey Sweetened – Gluten-free with Vegan option
As part of our Six Month Mindful Living Challenge I am going to be sharing recipes that follow that compliment the theme of the month, when possible. This month, with our plastic consumption being the focus, I wanted to share a recipe that is simple to make at home that is not only delicious but can single handedly cut down on your plastic use.
This homemade ginger syrup has a great kick to it from the fresh ginger and it is full of beautiful, bright flavors. Not only is it great for this refreshing and delicious homemade ginger ale, but it would also be great drizzled over homemade ice cream and yogurt or even over your morning oatmeal or other cereal. I sweetened this with local raw honey, since honey provides a variety of amazing benefits, but I also just love the flavor. If you are vegan, play with your favorite sweetener, anything will work. Granulated sugars to liquid, they’ll all work just as easily. For some of the amazing benefits of raw honey, check out this post from Body Unburdened. See the notes at the end of the recipe if you wish to retain the full benefits of the raw honey in this recipe.
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Strawberry Honey Simple Syrup – Gluten-free + Refined Sugar-free
I am a sucker for summer beverages. I love a good refreshing cocktail, beer, sangria, champagne or prosecco cocktails, agua fresca, etc. Most times it is either the bubblies or the fruit that really attracts me. If you can get them both together in one drink, even better. I love a good, subtly sweet carbonated beverage.
I don’t drink much alcohol these days, I reserve that for special occasions, but I still love having fun with my drinks at home. Although making fruit infused simple syrups is one of my favorite things, I really don’t love consuming refined sugar, even if it is organic and raw, etc. Sure, you can absolutely just let the fresh fruit infuse or you can muddle it right into water, sparkling or flat, without any sweetener. But, there is something about the subtle sweetness from an infused simple syrup, even in the smallest amount, that gets me every time. Obviously I don’t consume traditional HFCS laced soda’s anymore, so I prefer to just make them myself at home.
In an effort to try making a fruity simple syrup without my usual raw organic sugar, I gave some local raw honey a try instead and I am sooo excited about the results. This strawberry honey syrup is thick, perfectly sweet and full of incredible flavors from both the fresh strawberries and the good quality local raw honey.
I would personally suggest always consuming raw honey over the processed stuff. Even though you cook it down in this recipe, raw honey is still the better choice. Raw honey provides a slew of amazing benefits, but regular pasteurized honey is processed with damaging levels of heat stripping it of these beneficial properties through the heating process, making it just as unhealthy as refined sugar. Also, many times store bought pasteurized honey is actually cut with corn syrup. YUCK! I prefer to get my raw honey from a local farmer, either at the farmers market or a local grocery store.
