2nd Edition Cookbooks have Arrived!!!

The day is here!  

My second edition cookbook, 

"Organic, Gluten-Free & Delicious" 

is now available for purchase online and select retailers to come! 

Hear what the Long Beach Bloggers at  

Sea by the City 

say about my cookbook.

Order your very own copy today.

They also make great gifts for your fellow healthful friends & family!

*Also available for wholesale orders for health food stores, yoga studios, other retail stores, Celiac Disease support groups, and more.

Contact me for more information.

Recipe Test: Women's Fertility Smoothie

 Women's Fertility Smoothie 

**Using ALL ORGANIC Ingredients** 

3/4 Cup Frozen Strawberries

1/4 Cup Frozen Blueberries

1/4 Cup Frozen Corn (in season use fresh)

1/4 Cup Raw Walnut Pieces

1 TB Homemade Elderberry Syrup

1 Cup Almond Milk

3/4 Cup Filtered Water (or more if mix is too thick)
1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon 

1 tsp Maca Powder (up to a TB if you like the flavor)

1 tsp Hemp Protein Powder

1 tsp Bee Pollen

1 TB Raw Honey

1TB Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

Place all ingredients into a wide mouth mason jar, and blend with immersion blender 

(Can also use regular blender if you do not have an immersion hand held blender).

*Can be stored in the fridge for 24 hours

This smoothie recipe is in the 'testing phase' for me since it is the first time I have made it. 

But even when I have a test recipe that is tasty and nutritious, I have to share it.

See if you can take this test recipe and make it all your own.

Have fun boosting your fertility through blending!!

Cast Iron Cookware: Healthful items to cook with

Your Great Grandmother was right (about a lot of things of course)! Her times were much more about simplicity, quality and frugality.
Now in the year 2012, we are living in a time where things are made to be cheap & disposable.  It feels great to do things that go back to our roots and get back some of that simple more sustainable living.

For all you that have cast iron wares from your ancestors, congrats! You are some of the luckiest people around. For the rest of us there are a few good options out there that wont take 20 years to be seasoned the right way.
We have had great luck with Lodge Cast Iron cookware, the trick is in the care you give them (more on that in a moment). 

Cast Iron Cooking & Health

Cast iron cooking has many benefits to our health and the health of the environment.  They last practically forever if you take care of them, which is why they are the #1 cookware items that get passed down for generations.  Since iron is a great heat conductor you get a nice even heat for cooking and browning.  You never have to worry about harmful chemicals making their way into your food.

We favor our cast iron pans not only because they are durable and cook well, but they also are a safe choice to cook with.  There are many cookware items out there that are simply unsafe to cook with.  The chemicals used to treat the metals for "non-stick" pans, leach into the food you cook as well as into the air you breathe in your home (this is especially important if you have small animals or children in your home, they are very susceptible to the chemical in the air when teflon is heated).  It has been linked to birth defects, cancer, hormone gland malfunction, and more.  America's obsession with teflon coating is simply a huge step in the wrong direction for the health of our world and the people in it.
Read more about chemical coating dangers here.

You can have a "non-stick" pan without any help from a chemical treated coating.  

Cast iron cookware simply does that.  You create your very own non-stick coating every time you use it!  Seasoning your pan is what will make your pan last for many generations and creates a non stick surface.  Your secret weapon...Fats & Oils.

• When using your pan be sure to heat up your oil or fat in the pan first.

• After cooking wipe out pan with water only (NO SOAP), use a scrubber pad for any stuck on food if necessary at first (over time you will only need to rinse with water to get a perfectly clean, ready to use pan).

• Give your pan a light coating with oil and place it in a warm oven to get the oils to bake on

• Be sure to allow your pan to dry thoroughly.  Air drying is fine, as long as there is no water pooling.  If any water is left on the pan for too long it will create rust spots (if you do get a rust spot, simply scrub out the spot, season with oil and bake in oven).

Lodge Cast Iron has a whole page of more tips on how to care for cast iron cookware. 
Click here.

Happy cast iron cooking everyone!

*This post also is featured on a great blog:
Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways

Help me go to the Wanderlust Festival!!

Among the Trees

If you have not heard of these great events, I highly recommend you look into them.

The Wanderlust Festival 

is a festival filled with yoga, music & mindfulness.

This Spring I am undertaking my first (of many) Yoga Teacher Training. 

To celebrate the completion of my first training, my dream is to head up to Vermont for the

Wanderlust Festival.

Lucky me, right now they are having a contest on their FaceBook page to win tickets to this fantastic event!

  

I need YOUR HELP to win!

All you have to do is head over to the Wanderlust Festival FaceBook Page, 

and click "like" on my photo

(it is the same photo featured in this post)

THANK YOU for your "Likes"

and as always, thanks for stopping by the blog!

Are you microwaving your popcorn?

These days most people seem to be aware of the dangers of microwaving certain things like breast milk, plastic wrap & plastic containers. That really should make you think twice about microwaving anything you are going to consume.  The way a microwave heats up food actually changes your food, and radiates the nutrients right out. 

In our home we have an old microwave hidden away, but it is strictly used for one purpose, and one purpose only.  We may as well call it the heat wrap oven.  When we have aches and pains we use herbal heat wraps that are designed to be microwaved for a moist heat pad.  Since we are not consuming things heated in it (and stand no where near it while it is microwaving away) I am ok with it being there in the back corner of our home (for now).

One of the most popular microwave foods:

POPCORN

I honestly can not remember the last time I made or ate microwave popcorn, and that makes me feel great!  Especially each time a new study comes out that shares just one more danger about either microwaving food or the toxic coating on the bags of microwave popcorn. 

Have you heard about the countries in Europe that have banned the microwave oven?

Or how about the non-stick coating on the popcorn bags?

Read Dr. Mercola's comments with links to further information. 

Our simple solution to this is to go back to making popcorn the old fashioned way.

And you can too, right on your stove top!

Home-Popped Buttery Popcorn

This recipe makes two large bowl fulls.

We like to save our extra batch in a glass jar or bowl, it is even better leftover!

1 Cup Organic popping corn kernels

2 - 3 TB Coconut Oil Ghee

Real Sea Salt, to taste

Garlic Salt, to taste

In a large stainless steel pot (can also use a cast iron or ceramic if you've got the biceps to shake it)

melt coconut oil ghee over medium high heat, add in popcorn kernels put lid on tight.

Shake the pot every minute or so to make sure the kernels are all coated well with the ghee inside.  When you hear the popping action begin, shake a little more frequently.

Wait until you hear the popping start to slow down almost to a stop, if there is more than 5 seconds between pops*, remove immediately from stove top and pour into metal or glass bowls.  

Salt immediately while the popcorn is still warm.  This will allow the salt to stick better.

Serve and enjoy!  Store in glass container for a great snack all week long!

*Tip: Use your nose.  If you smell the popcorn getting burnt or toasty, either lower your heat or remove from stove top and put in bowls. 

This post is also featured on another wonderful Blog

Frugally Sustainable

Recipe Test: GF Chocolate Chip Cookies

Often when I want to bake something different, or try a new version of an old favorite, I first head towards recipes I know are a 110% success.  A success to me means that they 

1. taste great 2. have good texture & consistency and 3. could stand up next to a gluten filled version 

So I wanted to try and get an even better chocolate chip cookie than we have made in the past.  The recipe we usually use is great, but they are a more crispy cookie and use a good amount of granulated sugar.  I wanted more fluffy cookies with less sugar.  So that is what I got when my buttery maple coconut cookie recipe was adapted. Actually too much so, these are delicious, but they are very cake-like in consistency.  Some bites without chocolate chips taste a bit like a butter cookie.

I will be doing more batch tests until I get what I am looking for, but I wanted to share this tasty recipe.  I encourage you to try it yourself and see how you can adapt it for your taste!

This recipe is adapted from a cookie recipe in my cookbook,

"Organic, Gluten-Free & Delicious"

Cakey Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 Cup Coconut Oil Ghee, room temperature            2 tsp Baking Powder
3/4 Cup Packed Brown Sugar                                      1/2 tsp Real Sea Salt
1 Organic Egg, room temperature                               1 Cup Dark Chocolate Chips
1/2 Cup Pure Maple Syrup, room temperature                   
1 tsp Vanilla Powder
1 1/2  Cups Flour (1/2 Cup each; Brown Rice, Coconut, Tapioca: Sift flours together)

Preheat oven to 375° 

In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, mix the ghee and brown sugar until creamy.    

Then beat in the egg, and syrup until well mixed.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and vanilla powder.
Then, mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, a little at a time. Do not over mix.  

Fold in chocolate chips. 

Drop by tablespoonfuls (or use small ice cream scoop) onto parchment lined baking sheets, and flatten with your hand slightly. 

Bake at 375° for 10 - 12 minutes or until lightly golden brown. 

Eating with the Seasons: Winter Vegetables

In our home we are very conscience about eating foods that are in season for our area here in the North East.  Winter is obviously the most challenging season for vegetables, and by the end of it we are jumping for joy when the spring crops start to come in!  At the same time the limitations can fuel our creativity to come up with new and interesting ways to cook the same old winter veggies.

Seasonal eating is important for many reasons.  It is for the health of our bodies, as well as the health of the earth.  When a vegetable is picked at the right time of year it is the absolute highest in vital nutrient content.  It also means you are eating what is appropriate for your region, so your food is not traveling to you from thousands of miles away.  

You can always try growing some of your own winter vegetables, its easier than you think!

Winter Squashes

Butternut, Spaghetti, Acorn, Pumpkin, Buttercup, Carnival, Delicata, Kabocha, Sweet Dumpling

Recipes featuring winter squash 

Curried Butternut Squash Soup, Zucchini (or Squash) Pancakes, 
Herbed Spaghetti Squash Side & Pasta Bake, & Pumpkin Bread

Kale

Green, Purple, Dinosaur, Scotch Curled, Leaf & Spear, Siberian
Recipes featuring kale
 Meat Pie with Greens, Fancy Spiral Meatloaf
Throw some chopped kale in a soup, or simply steam and toss with your other favorite veggies

Mushrooms

Shitake, Crimini, Clamshell, Trumpet Royal, Pioppini, Oyster, Maitake, Enoki, Portabello
Recipes featuring mushrooms
 Chicken Marsala, Egg Fu Yung, Creamy Chicken & Rice Soup, Millet Stuffing,
Simple Savory Mushroom Gravy

Onions

Brown, White, Yellow & Red
Recipes featuring kale
 Brown Rice Vegetable Quiche, Deli Style Macaroni Salad, Greek Chicken Egg Lemon Soup

Leeks   
Recipes with leeks
Corn, Collards & Bacon (& leeks), Leek Pie
Add leeks to soups, greens or meatloaves to add something different.

 Cabbage 

Green, Red, Savoy, Napa
Recipes with cabbage
 Egg Fu Yung, Seasonal Stir Fry
Or you can make your own coleslaw, add it to any vegetable dish, or create a cabbage salad.

Brussels Sprouts
Type of Cabbage
Recipes with brussels sprouts
Braised Dijon Brussels Sprouts, Roasted Sprouts with Balsamic

Parsnips 

Recipes with parsnips
These are fantastic if you roast them in the oven with other root veggies like, carrots & beets.

Carrots

Rainbow, Yellow, Baby

Recipes featuring carrots

Coconut Topped Carrot Cupcakes, Seasonal Stir Fry, Crock Pot Curried Lamb, Vegetable Lo Mein, Zucchini Carrot Loaf, Millet Stuffing, Greek Chicken Egg Lemon Soup, Carrot Coconut Salad

*Most of the recipes listed can be found in my cookbook & healthy eating guide,

"Organic, Gluten-Free & Delicious"