Me: Gluten Free

I have been gluten free for several weeks now and am starting to notice a difference in the way I feel.  I also was very happy to see the scale needle start heading left this week.  I didn't believe it, but I really do notice a difference in my cravings and it is so nice to be able to whip something up that will satisfy my sweet tooth without making me feel guilty and sending me into a downward spiral of guilt eating.  I thought that I would make a list of the changes I've noticed.

• I get fuller much faster and stay fuller longer.  I often times really am not that hungry for meals, but know that I should eat, and since I'm not that hungry, I don't eat as much.
• I don't get that lethargic, I'm going to fall asleep if I sit down for more than a second feeling in the afternoon.  I think that it's because I try not to eat foods that will cause a blood sugar low.  Try is the key word here.
• I only drink one cup of coffee a day.  Well, this one is kind of a stretch.  I have been starting my work day with a travel mug of coffee using two Starbucks Via packets, so I guess that's two cups.  But on the days that I'm not working, I usually find my coffee cup in the afternoon, still over halfway full.  So I think that evens out.  I used to live on coffee.
• My flaky, itchy scalp is way better.  As long as I don't let it completely air dry, I don't have any dandruff problems.
• The bumps on my arms are almost completely gone.  I have had this rash of sorts on my upper arms since I was in junior high.  Well, at least I remember going to a dermatologist and getting this really stinky cream for my arms when I was in junior high.  My upper arms are almost always red with these little bumps from my elbows to my shoulders (I didn't want ugly arms for my wedding pictures so I rubbed liquid foundation all over my arms- that's how self conscious I was).  And when I rub my hands on my arms now, they are almost completely smooth.
• I'm eating a lot more vegetables.  I know that they are good for me, I just don't eat them as often as I should.  It probably also helps that the farmer's market on Saturdays has such good tasting produce it doesn't feel as much like a chore to eat them.
• I don't really have cravings for things like bread or sweets like I used to.  It used to be a daily fight of will power to not give into temptations.  Last night we went out to dinner and I wasn't tempted by the bread basket.  Even though I actually was really hungry (I realized as we sat down that I hadn't had anything since breakfast).  
• The sweets that I do eat aren't that bad for me.  I've been keeping low fat frozen yogurt in the freezer and will have that with frozen mixed berries, some unsweetened coconut and slivered raw almonds for some crunch.  Or I will make something like the treat I made today.
• I've lost a couple pounds finally, but I haven't really noticed a difference in my clothes yet.  Although scrubs and pajama pants may not necessarily be the first to show a difference......

 Today, despite the completely unnecessary heat wave, I was really in the fall mood so I wanted to make something fall like.  What's better than pumpkin in the fall.  Well, maybe apples, but pumpkin is still up there pretty high.  Last fall I made Pumpkin Whoopie Pies that were a big hit in our house.

They are bite size, so I could get more out of the batch

I wanted to try this out again, but gluten free.  Since we had church tonight, I figured it was the perfect opportunity to take extras, if they were ok to leave the house.  I thought they were pretty good!  I really didn't change too much, I substituted the flours for one cup coconut flour and one cup almond flour.  Then I switched out the brown sugar for stevia, added an extra tablespoon of molasses and pumpkin and about 1/4 cup coconut milk (to make up for the dryness of the coconut flour) and that was it.  For the filling, I used a different recipe that I felt was healthier.  I used 16oz of cream cheese, 3 tablespoons maple syrup and 4 tablespoons of stevia and whipped them together with a hand blender.  There were only three left when I gathered my dish at church.  And the best part.  I could eat them and not feel the slightest inkling of guilt, these were probably healthier than most restaurant salads.

Serve With Extra Love

I got this email and first thought that you can't go wrong with Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie, and then when I read the accompanying story I was in tears by the end. 

"All she wanted was for us to make pie and share it with someone we love."

Wow.

It makes me want to make a pie tonight.  If only Munchkie's Daddy would appreciate the gesture (he's not a sweets kind of person and probably wouldn't eat it anyway). I will find someone to make pie for. You never know how long your loved ones are in your life.  Cherish each moment.  And "serve with extra love."

For Jennie & Mikey- Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

In Jennie's Kitchen:
For Mikey 

And if you aren't already crying-
One Last Dance  

Happy Birfday A-mare-ca!

 Memorial Day always signaled the beginning of summer to me growing up, we were always days away from summer vacation and it was just starting to get warm enough out to be allowed to leave the house in shorts.  Now that I've lived in the Northeast for a little while, my thinking has changed.  I think it's partly because the kids around here don't get out of school until late June and partly because once you're all grown up and working there just isn't a "summer break" anymore.  This may be the reason why I love a summer get together.  It makes me feel like there is a break, even if it's just for a day.  It also gives me a reason to spend time being creative in the kitchen.

Munchkie's Daddy tells me that I go overboard every single time we go somewhere.  I think for him it's work to put together several dishes to take somewhere, but I on the other hand, truly enjoy it.  It's something that makes me happy and I get to do something for others as well.  Double win!

I was asking my coworkers the other night at work what I should make for a July 4th party and one of them suggested a cake she had seen somewhere.  I'm all about creative cakes, so I decided to go look for this cake idea.  Thanks Make it and Love it for this wonderful cake idea!  It was a huge hit!  If you want to know how to do it, click on the previous link.  Ashley of Make it and Love it has great, easy to understand instructions, and a super cute Tshirt idea for next year!

Honey Whole-Wheat Strawberry Shortcakes for Mother’s Day

This looks freaking amazing!  Hey Munchkie's Daddy, are you keeping up with my blog?????  Hint Hint.....

Honey Whole-Wheat Strawberry Shortcakes for Mother’s Day

The Monster of All Cookies

If you have not heard of Monster Cookies, then I don't know how you have survived life to this point of time.  These cookies are basically every delicious thing baked into lumps of amazingness.  Lent is almost over and I have been thinking of all the things that I can do and have once the forty days of sacrifice are up.  Monster cookies came to mind because they have peanut butter, chocolate and oatmeal, a perfect blend of sweet and salty.  I decided to make some tonight and take some into work with me tomorrow night, then freeze the rest and take with us to Munchkie's Grandparents's for Easter.

We went to the store for the ingredients and on the way Munchkie was so excited.  She kept saying, "make cookies!  Yeah, make cookies!" Then her face lit up and she said "make cookies like Mimi! Uncle Yushin  likes cookies (nodding her head)." So I said, "Yes, Uncle Justin does like cookies, you're right." To which she replied "send Uncle Yushin cookies?  Yeah!  Send Uncle Yushin cookies!"  So we are going to send a package to both of Munchkie's uncles I think, since they are away from home.  So with Munchkie's help we made some hopefully yummy cookies (do you have any idea how difficult it is to not try the batter, or the product of your baking?).  I pulled from a few different recipes because I wanted to eliminate corn syrup, cut down on the butter, stuff like that, but don't think that makes these cookies healthy.  One of the great things about Monster Cookies is that you can put whatever delicious things you want in them.  Most of the time I've seen chocolate chips and M&Ms as a staple, but you can switch it up to whatever you think sounds good.

Monster Cookies

1. 6 eggs
2. 2 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
3. 2 cups granulated sugar
4. 1 teaspoon salt
5. 2 teaspoons vanilla
6. 4 teaspoons baking soda
7. 28 ounce jar of creamy peanut butter
8. 2 sticks of softened butter (yes this is cutting down)
9. 1 bag M&Ms
10. 1 bag semisweet chocolate chips
11. 1 cup crunched up pretzels
12. 9 cups quick oats

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. (Parchment paper is my new favorite thing!  It's so great, you don't even have to wash whatever you baked on, you just wipe it down, dry it off, and put it away.)
• In a large mixing bowl, or Kitchen Aide mixer, combine eggs and both kinds of sugar until creamed together.
•  Add in the salt, vanilla, baking soda, peanut butter and butter.
• Gently add the M&Ms and chocolate chips.
• At this point in time you have two options.  If you are using a large enough mixing bowl, you can continue to add the ingredients. If you are like me, and started in your Kitchen Aide, then you need to transfer the dough into a larger bowl.
• Mix in the oatmeal and then the pretzels.  

• Drop onto cookie sheets at your desired size, but keep them 2 inches apart.  I tended to go smaller, but they are supposed to be monster cookies.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes. DO NOT OVER BAKE! They are supposed to not look done.
• Let stand on cookie sheets for 3 minutes before transferring to wire racks to fully cool.
• Once completely cooled, store in airtight container or ziploc bag.

While these cookies are super easy, and fast to mix up.  They are called monster cookies are several reasons.  One of which is because it makes a monster batch.  I ended up with 86 cookies.  This is great for me because I have several plans for these cookies, but unless you plan on sharing or are practicing for competitive eating, you might want to cut the recipe down.  They do however, freeze quite well, and I intend on freezing most of mine for the next 6 days until I can enjoy sweets again.

Lenten Sacrifice

With each year that passes the season of Lent becomes more meaningful to me.  Throughout the year I find that I am making sacrifices for a variety of reasons.  Some are selfish, some out of necessity and some because I'm a wife and mother.  Each year there is a period of time in our lives that demand us to spend some serious time focusing on sacrifice and bettering yourself in a way that is different than the time of resolution making for the New Year. I realize each year how important it is to have this designated period of time to focus on how I can become a better and stronger individual, wife, mother, family member and friend. 

I recently read this article from KitchenStewardship.com and it made me start thinking even more about the importance of the preparation for Lent.  I did a quick google search which of course took me to the most reliable source, Wikipedia.  So naturally that's where I decided to get my basic Lent information from.  The time of Lent is in remembrance of the 40 days the Jesus spent in the desert alone.  For this time he fasted for the forty days and was tempted by Satan three times.  While he was tempted he was able to prevail against the devil by using scripture as his arguments.

So this means to me that I need to focus for these forty days on several things.  I need to figure out what is something I depend on that would be a difficult sacrifice for me to make.  I need to examine my life and find what consumes my idle time, keeping me from becoming a better person and christian. Then I need to focus strengthening my relationship with this man who made so many sacrifices for me (and I don't mean my husband or father).

After much examination I have determined my plan of attack for this season of Lent.

• I will be giving up sweets because this is something that I crave and feel like I "have to have."  I have given up sweets each year but I also struggle with it each year because I am tempted every time desert crosses my path during these forty days.  
• Munchkies Daddy and I have decided to give up TV.  We know that we spend a lot of time wasted in front of the television and want to find other valuable, productive ways to spend our time.  
• During this time I am also going to spend time daily in prayer and devotion.  I find time daily to waste time online, in front of the TV or doing who knows what.  I want to spend some of that wasted time studying the Bible so that I can have the strength to get through difficult times in life.

So for tomorrow, Fat Tuesday, I will spend my last day until Easter eating chocolate and watching chic flicks with a good friend.  And then my plan of attack starts Wednesday morning.

My least favorite holiday

I hate Valentine's Day.  Hate it.  Again, I hate it.  I always have.  I know that Munchkie's Daddy doesn't understand, but 22 years of being single and alone isn't completely negated with 7 years of being with someone.  My wonderful mom would always give me Valentine's care packages and send me fun things while I was single.  And even after I was with Munchkie's Daddy.  These cookies are what I think of when I think about Valentine's Day.  My mom would send them to me every year.

Ginger Valentine's Cookies

1 cup sugar
1 cup shortening
1 cup molasses (I actually didn't have any so I used 1/2 cup dark brown sugar and 1/2 cup maple syrup)
2 eggs
4 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ginger
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Raw (or coarse) sugar
Dove chocolates

1. Cream together the sugar and shortening.
2. Add molasses and unbeaten eggs.
3. Mix well.
4. Sift together the dry ingredients and stir in.
5. Roll into 1 inch balls.
6. Dip the balls in a bowl of raw sugar until coated.
7. Place balls on greased cookie sheet about 3 inches apart.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.
9. When you take out of the oven press a chocolate into cookie while still warm.
10. **Dough keeps indefinitely in the refrigerator**

And now I am going to bed because I am exhausted.

So young and naive,  if only we had an inkling of what our life would be like.

Frozen Chocolate Covered Banana Coins

As I've already said I enjoy spending time in the kitchen, especially to relieve stress, frustration or a bad mood.  Yesterday I first make breakfast for the fam, then a batch of granola bars, popped some of these in the freezer, tried out a homemade playdough recipe (fail on that one), then cut up a ton of peppers (for my dinner at work and Munchkie daycare lunch).  I am trying very hard not to be stressed, but I'm just not doing very well with that.  I guess I'll just keep spending time in the kitchen for now and keep praying for peace.

I want to start off by saying that I cannot stand bananas.  I don't like to eat them, to have them in smoothies and will pick them out of a fruit salad.  However, I do like them in things like banana bread and frozen.  This is weird, I know.  When I was little my mom would make us these frozen banana snacks.  One was whole bananas dipped in chocolate, rolled in nuts and frozen while the other was sliced bananas and peanut butter in a graham cracker sandwich, again frozen.  A little while ago I decided to make these to both bring me back to my childhood and also have a chilled chocolate snack available so I wouldn't turn to something way less healthy.  I can pull a couple pieces out of the freezer, slowly eat them and have my cravings filled.  They are super easy and the active part only takes a few minutes.  I never really like dark chocolate, but the sweetness of the banana makes the dark chocolate much more tolerable, so I recommend trying out a darker chocolate than you think you would like, because the darker, the better for you.

Frozen Chocolate Covered Banana Coins

3 Bananas
3 large bars of dark chocolate
Almond butter (or any nut butter)
Almond pieces
Aluminum foil or wax paper
Freezer space

1. First cut the banana lengthwise.
2. Then cut the bananas into one inch "coins"

3. Place a small dab of almond butter in between each piece of banana coin.
4. Freeze these for at least an hour, preferably until firm.

5. Take the chocolate bars and break up into small pieces.
6. Once the bananas are frozen, melt the chocolate in a small pan.
7. Dip the banana coins in the chocolate and place on aluminum foil.

8. Drizzle the left over chocolate over the top of the bananas.
9. Sprinkle the almond pieces over top.
10. Drizzle more chocolate over the top of the almond pieces.

11. Freeze until chocolate is firm.
12. Break apart and store in a Ziploc or airtight container in the freezer.
13. Enjoy!

Chocolate Fix

Since I was in elementary school I have been eating yogurt for lunch, snack, whenever.  I may take occasional breaks from it, but I always go back, it's something I never tire of.  It's basically my peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  I haven't made yogurt in a little while and just got a large container of greek yogurt so I could take some to work this week.  It's a food that is quick, easy and filling when there isn't time to sit down and eat at work.  I usually spice it up with some raw honey and then fruit, ground flax, granola, etc.  Mmmmm.  There are many benefits of yogurt including probiotics, calcium and protein so it makes me feel even better about loving it.
When the commercial first came out where all the people talk about eating their favorite desserts and loosing weight, then it ends up being yogurt, I just had to try them.  Those are quite tasty, but it's almost scary what kinds of chemicals they must use to make them taste identical to something like apple pie.  And they do taste exactly like what they are supposed to.  Since we already know that I also love sweets this was a great option for me to get that dessert fix.  I just was kind of uncomfortable with the additives, etc.  When I found this recipe for a little chocolate fix in the issue of SELF magazine that featured Jillian Michaels (another favorite of mine), since it includes yogurt, it was definitely the first one I tried.  I have to say that I didn't have super high expectations at first, but now I'm hooked!  If you want something that's just slightly chocolatey and sweet this is great.  It's not going to taste exactly like a boston cream pie and be around 100 calories, but you'll know exactly what's in it, and it will still be good for you.

1 cup fat free plain Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons honey (preferably raw)
1/2 tablespoon cocoa (the recipe actually calls for 1 teaspoon, but I think it tastes better with more)

Mix together.  Enjoy.

I guess I never paid attention, but I didn't realize that cocoa powder only had 10 calories in a tablespoon, so you can probably add more than half a tablespoon if you wanted it more chocolatey.  Here are the nutrition facts for the above recipe.

Calories 189
Fat 0.3g
Total Carbohydrates 22g
Fiber 0.8g
Sugars 20.6g
Protein 23.5g (Wow!)

If you feel that Greek yogurt is too expensive you can make it with regular fat free plain yogurt, and the nutrition information would be as follows.

Calories 157
Fat 0.3g
Total Carbohydrates 31.9g
Fiber 3.5g
Sugars 27.8g
Protein 11.3g

MLK Jr. GIVEAWAY!

The cool thing to do when you have a blog is to have giveaways.  I have entered countless giveaways on the blogs I follow and have, sadly, never won anything. Since holidays are for great deals, and I am close to having 2,000 hits on my blog (wow!) I thought I would try out a giveaway on my blog, even though it's not a cool new product.

I had talked earlier about how we made our Christmas presents this year and how much work it had been.  We had made extras because we didn't want to run out after all of the work we had put into them.

I bet you're wondering what exactly are these presents? A cookbook, pure homemade vanilla, a small utensil set (our favorite, we have about 4 sets of these), and all of this is wrapped in a dish towel.

We compiled our favorite recipes from all different sources into a cookbook for our friends and families.  The recipes came from scribbles on scrap papers in a folder, cookbooks, internet searches and our families.  We enjoy cooking and wanted to pass along some tasty recipes to others.

 The recipes are divided into nine different sections including Breakfast, Breadmaker Breads, Soup, Starters and Snacks, Sauces, Sides, Entree, Dessert and Beyond Food.  There are also occasional color photos of the items taken by us.  The recipes range from an amazing blueberry muffin to stinky shoe solution. 

 We also made homemade vanilla.  Many kinds of vanilla have additives, including the dreaded high fructose corn syrup, and aren't really pure vanilla.  Don't worry I opened, scraped and sliced the vanilla beans myself.  This is pure vanilla.  I actually haven't baked since it was finished brewing in my cabinet, but I hear it is very good.

So, I am going to offer two of these to two people who read my blog.  I don't have any neat computer program that will randomly select a winner, so I will have to do it the old-fashioned-pick-a-name-out-of-a-hat way.  In order to enter this giveaway leave a comment here on my blog with your email address. To have a second entry, become a follower of this blog and leave a comment saying that you are a follower. I will put all of the email addresses into a hat and draw from there. 

This giveaway will end Wednesday January 19th at 8:00am.  (Mostly because that's when I'll get home from work to see who entered.)  If you are a winner, I will email you and ask for your mailing address.

Good luck!

A "little" dessert?

Today I was riding in my car when a commercial started playing.  It was a Walmart commercial, which I don't know if I've heard on the radio before.  The commercial started off by talking about how Walmart can help a busy mom by having already prepared meals in their freezer section  (more to come about that at a later date).  The commercial then said- and you can grab dessert while you are in the freezer section because "a little dessert never hurt anyone."  Seriously???

While I feel there are many things wrong with processed foods, I'm not going to go off on that today.  My problem, today, is with the statement: "a little dessert never hurt anyone."  How many people buy a container of ice cream and eat the specified 1/4-1/2 cup serving size?  The only people I know who strictly abide by the serving size are people on weight watchers or other dieters.  So how does this  "not hurt anyone"?  Well let's see, when I was a nurse taking care of adults my back hurt constantly from the increasing size of my patients.  Obesity is a HUGE problem in this country, as has been reported in various media outlets.  Heart disease, diabetes, joint and back problems are just a few of the diseases connected to obesity frequently seen in hospitals around the country (I'm speaking strictly from experience, not from research I've done).  These problems seem to contradict the idea that "a little dessert never hurt anyone."

Now I am in NO way saying that I'm healthy, because I am JUST as guilty as anyone else when it comes to sweets and portion control.    However, when we hear a commercial telling us how they can make our lives easier, it catches our attention.   And then we hear something like "a little dessert never hurt anyone."  Come on, can we have something in our lives to help us out for real?  Something to encourage us to strive to be healthy?  Just last night, when I was watching some television  (because I'm lazy sometimes) there was commercial after commercial advertising for food during the supper hours.  These commercials were not for raw fruits and veggies, coupled with healthy fats--they were fried chicken and greasy hamburgers, topped with huge slabs of bacon.   Now, not only do I want that huge juicy hamburger after watching these ads, but if I'm going to be "bad" I might as well have dessert too, because that's what I really crave.

I don't want my daughter to have dessert be the norm.  I don't want her to think that all foods come out of a carton or bag of some kind.  I want her to realize how amazing a juicy nectarine is, or the way a pear melts in your mouth--not a frozen ice cream sandwich or frozen cake.  I want her to actually experience the taste of real strawberries, a homemade Popsicle made of yogurt and fresh strawberries.  These really won't hurt anybody, and take seconds to mix up, plop in a dixie cup, and throw in the freezer.

So, I may not have all the time in the world, and I may have cravings for all kinds of bad food, but it doesn't help when there are commercials telling me that it won't hurt to eat dessert.  How about a commercial that says "and you can stop by our frozen section and pick up a bag of unsweetened frozen blueberries for a cold, sweet and refreshing dessert."  Now that is really convenient and helpful for a working mom!


Come on Walmart, how about whole, raw, pesticide and chemical free food to help your family have more energy, better health and an overall longer life, because that really "never hurt anyone."

*Soon to come, how a working mom can avoid those premade processed frozen dinners that are oh-so-convientent.*