Another Fad .... Giving Up All Sugar

Well it’s that time again ... the time when I roll my eyes at the effort, results and overall well being of the attempt that was given at healthy living. Long time followers of the blog know that auto-immune issues plague my system and that makes life super super hard when it comes to weight management.

People look at someone who is overweight, especially women, and think they are lazy or they must over eat or that they just don’t care. Well I am going to run through with you what I consume on a typical day and you can tell me if you think I am over eating.

Weekdays
Breakfast - 2-3 eggs either scrambled with cheese or hard boiled along with a banana
Morning snack - String cheese
Lunch - 1 serving of lunch meat (6 slices) I take those slices and break them into 2’s and roll them with a slice of Colby jack cheese. I also have 1-2 small orange (cuties) and then another string cheese. 2 ounces of peanut butter and 1/2 a cup of baby carrots
Afternoon snack (or at lunch if I am super hungry) - Another fruit, either strawberries (5 of them), peach, plums, nectarine, etc.
Dinner - I serving of meat and 1-2 vegetable servings. If one of the servings is a potato I never add rice to the meat dish. If I want rice with the meat I have two non - starch veggies (carrots, green beans, broccoli, peas, etc.)
I also drink 140-160 ounces of water a day.

So tell me ... is that too much food? Am I over eating? Sometimes if I am feeling really daring I will add a vanilla pudding at lunch just for fun. My co-worker thinks I am starving myself with this food intake, he thinks I’m crazy.

This has been my exact diet for idk, maybe 3 months now. Keep in mind I’ve done the 100% gluten free, 100% processed sugar free, 100% vegan, 100% vegetarian and now this adaptation ... I try to limit my gluten to eating out since I dont really buy it at home except for bread for the kids. I also don’t drink milk. The only milk I get is in the cheese. I’m down 10 pounds total and that is including all the crappy meds the docs shove inside me to assist with weight loss.

People can call it excuses all they want but life is hard for someone with all these auto immune diseases. In all the diets what I do know has helped me actually feel better are two diets, the gluten free and the insulin-resistance diet. And that diet is super easy to follow. It is all about balance. If you have 1 serving of carbs you have at least 1 serving of protein to balance it out with and no more than 2 servings of carbs per meal. I try to follow that 100% of the time. Which is why I always have cheese with my fruit. And when I say servings I mean legit servings. I measure so much out. And your protein : carb ratio has to be 7:30.

So now my husband and one of my best friends have challenged me to go 14 days at 100% sugar free. That means no fruit. I am pretty sure I may die and suffer a painful death from this. Not because there is no cookies or no Dr Pepper or any of that ... but because I can’t have my fruit! As you can see I am getting in 3-4 servings of fruit a day and it is a true staple in my life. Now I will have to give that up.

I am tired of all the medications I have to take and I am willing to try anything to see if it helps me. My husband went sugar free and lost 50 pounds really quickly and my friend doing this is at almost 30 pounds now and she looks great.

So I am going to give this fad a try for 14 days starting Monday. I told her I am probably going to end up super bitchy over this ... so we will see.

So my meals are going to look like this .... blah!
Breakfast - 2-3 boiled eggs
Snack - string cheese
Lunch - meat & cheese roll, celery, cream cheese for dipping,
Snack - ?
Dinner - meat with green beans or broccoli or spinach & more cheese.

This is gonna suck! Guess we will see how this comes out.

I realize I can also make salads with this, like ground beef, lettuce, cheese, hard boiled egg, etc. But we’ll go one day at a time.

I’m curious if any of you have ever done something like this and what your results were?

Leave a message if you have with how it went.

Good luck to all of you who have this FAD issue too. We’re all in this together.

Happy Readings and I’ll talk to you all on the flip side.

Going Vegan? Just Another LIfestyle Change

( My Daughter, My Motivation )

Some days it feels like trends and fads pop up quicker than we can research them. At the heart of them I strongly feel is the desire to become healthier and manage a higher quality of life. At least that's the case for the trends and fads in my home.

After the past 6 week mental struggle with hearing that Lupus is almost a guarantee part of my future I've been seeking out reasons as to 'why' these auto-immune issues keep happening to me. Why Why Why ... isn't that the great question?

There just ins't a definitive 'why' but there are things to be done to improve the auto-immune turmoil that I feel is my life.

The first step - Acceptance. This is where I have been working towards for five years. First it was acceptance of fertility issues then it was acceptance if insulin resistance then PCOS and on and on. How with the Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis looking back at me it is no different. I've come to understand that I cannot change what is going on in my blood stream all I can change is how my body handles it.

The second step - Being Proactive. Growing up as a Nemer one of the greatest things I feel like I learned from my father was not waiting for life to come at you but being prepared ahead of time. Those who know me really well may tell you I overplan for everything. I am extremely efficient and it isn't often that I am thrown for a massive loop. So when the doc gave me this 'dooms day' revelation that I am probably going to end up with this diagnosis my mind starts to freak out, then it accepts it and now it is time to be proactive. I start reading about diets and a friend of mine gives me this auto-immune diet plan and I think to myself "give up cheese no way!"

Then July 5th happens ... I watch the movie "What The Health" and I squirm and shiver as I watch about what humans do to the animals we deem and food and then I learn that cheese is a bi-product made up of 'cheese puss.' Yuck.

The icing on the cake was my doctor telling me that I should give serious consideration to adapting a lifestyle that is without animal products.

Now, step three - Implementation. Today is day 1, of the 14 day vegan challenge. To be fair I personally am going to try and adapt to this life style just like I've done with gluten free and processed sugar free. I'm dragging my kids along for the ride with me because I want them to be healthier too. They don't need all those unnecessary chemicals in their bodies either. And my hubby ... well, he is up for the two week challenge. I hope that he notices a drastic enough difference that he will continue on the path with me.

I'm not sure how a cheese loving woman like myself is going to handle the new lifestyle. I'm not upset at all about giving up meat, I could take it or leave it. But cheese, she and I were BFFs.

But when it comes to health there isn't anything I would not do it live a LONG and happy life. I am not looking to be stuck on medications my entire life. I want to be free of the drugs and then if that means trying new ways to reset my body then so be it.

I mean, the food can't be all that bad ... Just fruits and veggies right?

I am curious if anyone of you have gone vegan and if so what was your experience with it. I really am looking forward to feeling better and having more energy. I think if you go into a new lifestyle with an open and positive outlook then you are bound to have a better success rate.

And of course, since this is a journey I will be posting 'vegan' and 'gluten free' journey updates and recipes. Last night I made an apple cobbler that was delicious. We will see how my dinner goes tonight before I post anything.

Happy Monday! 

The AutoImmune Struggle ...

Unless you or someone you loved is faced with an autoimmune disease I think it is relatively safe to say not many people know about it or how much it can affect someone's life.

I've lived with at least one autoimmune issue for the last decade and it is safe to say that the health issues that come from it affect pretty much every facet of my world. The ways it changes and shifts what would be my normal existence may not seem significant to you the reader but to individuals like me who face these challenges day in and day out, it is a great challenge.

There are over a hundred documented autoimmune diseases and its claimed that once one is unlocked more can follow. They also never seem to know the 'triggers' and of course they are a life long condition that some have treatment for and others don't.

Personally I think some of the problem is that in today's world we as a society don't talk openly about our issues enough. People end up ashamed or judged. I know in a lot of situations that is how I've felt before.

I've had quite a start to my 34th year of life. One that I had originally hoped would begin a turning point in my physical life. That is still up in the air but I am certainly hopeful for year 35 in 11 months.

The people who have known me for some time are aware that I've had a few diagnosis that I have been dealing with since I was 24. The list seemed to make each of them worse because one would cause an effect that would increase or decrease the symptoms of the other.

In 2007 I was diagnosed with the following:

- Ulcerative Colitis

In 2009 I was diagnosed with the following:

- Thyroid Eye Disease
- Insulin Resistance
- Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

In 2013 I was officially diagnosed with:

- Endometriosis
- Celiac Disease

Three of these four were suspected to be the main cause of all my pregnancy related trauma and they made each other worse in terms of hormones. If you're keeping count we are at six confirmed autoimmune / hormone related issues that I was learning how to deal with and conquer.

Now in 2017 due to the random happenstance of my left ankle that I broke in college and my right wrist that I injured in marital arts both suddenly acting up on me we had a series of blood work done.

Now I am waiting for confirmation for the following autoimmune diseases to become added to the list of issues my body is facing:

- Systemic Lupus
- Sjogren's Syndrome
- Antiphosphlipid Syndrome

The waiting game now begins for this next part of the tour through hell that my body must take. And when it is all said in done, it is the Antiphosphlipid Syndrome that we are pretty convinced was the cause of all the babies I've lost over the years. Not the PCOS, Insulin Resistance or Endometriosis, but the blood clot factor that a simple aspirin a day could have helped prevent.

Kind of a lot of information to take in after having a major abdominal surgery that has pretty much left me confined to my home. The hysterectomy to relieve me of the endometriosis and PCOS issues opened a whole new can of worms just by happenstance.

This blog I know doesn't make a lot of sense, it is a bit random in posting. But I have been reflecting on my emotions and I need to start getting them out. My blog used to be a source of therapy for me and I feel an urge to write again. But not fiction, my emotions.

I do hope one day I can find a way to be at peace with all of these issues that get slapped in my face. I'll be honest the last 28 days have been some of the hardest emotionally for me that I can remember since my last baby died in 2009 and I am really struggling with coping.

There is a lot of things people do in their lives to stay healthy but I honest feel like no matter how hard I work something always comes back up that throws me back down a peg. I am really praying for a miracle. That in two months when the next round of tests come back they show that I don't have Lupus. That's just one more issue that I am mentally not ready to accept.

They say God doesn't give you more than your an handle but I am really having a hard time handling this.

But it is also said that during your lowest moments it is those who stand by you that show you who your real support system and friends are so I am thankful to those individuals who are helping me through this. And Lord knows that I never would have been able to face these uncertain doctors appointments without my step - mom. Between her and my hubby I know I'm not alone but it is really hard to remember that when you're sitting in your bed feeling the pain in my abdomen from the surgery where my intestine had been scraped clean of scar tissue. Or when you're riding in a car home from dinner with your grandfather and a bump on the highway makes you want to cry from the pain.

One day I will wake up and the nightmares will be over ... and I pray that day is tomorrow.

Life Style Changes ... 15 days in

Two weeks into the new life and yes I have changed. You wouldn't think so much could change in such a short time but I am walking around and FEELING the difference!

I am going to try and start taking pictures of myself every weekend to track the progress.

The hardest part for me is finding something new to eat so I am not eating the same ole thing every day. It's fine when you're a kid and you love the same meal for lunch but sometimes as adults we want a variety.

What I think I am going to try this next week is pre making my food today (Sunday). I am thinking of baking 4 chicken breast and then adding a 1/3 cup of rice, peas, carrots and maybe some eggs and mixing it all together in a Tupperware and eating that for lunch. This would be in place of the current lunch I bring.

My current lunch consists of:
2 Slices of gluten free bread
1 teaspoon of organic peanut butter
1 teaspoon of raspberry preservative
1/2 cup carrots
3 tablespoons of organic peanut butter
1 serving of fruit (Grapes, Banana, or Apple)
1 String Cheese
This comes to just under 500 calories for lunch a day

My breakfast is either 1/3 cup of oatmeal or 3 eggs and diced turkey. So calories at breakfast never exceed 250.

I think my problem may be I am not eating enough. When you add in dinner that is never more than 600 calories unless I eat out. But even at Taco Cabana my dish was only 610 calories.

Who knows. Guess we will see once I plateau if maybe I need to up it some.

I am really excited about this new life style choice though. I really do feel a lot better mentally and physically. And seeing the inches shed off of your body and the weight vanish doesn't make this a bad thing at all :)

Here is a pic of me on the 8th and a pic of me on the 15th. I am going to attempt to wear the same outfit in each picture

January 8th 2017

January 8th 2017

January 15th 2017

January 15th 2017

LIfe Style Changes ... 10 Days In

It has been ten days since I cut out processed sugar and went 100% gluten free and I really can tell a difference. Here is what I have experienced ... the good and the bad.

Pros -
I sleep a lot better, like a lot. I am not as restless and I feel like my sleep is deeper than it used to be. I wake up feeling revived a lot easier than before.

My pants ... fit better. I took measurements on Sunday and I have already lost inches and pounds! My hips lost 5%! Can you believe it!! And my right leg for some reason, haha.

I feel better, like all around. I know that I am taking in the proper foods and I can feel my body feeling better. I don't feel as swollen (that is because of no gluten) and it has really helped my eyes.

My thyroid eye disease isn't acting up near as bad in the mornings as it had been. My eyes were swelling in the morning and that made my vision blurry or it gave me bad headaches, that hasn't happened since like Jan 4th!

My daughter says her TMJ has started hurting a lot less (just as a side note...)

Cons -
I am super tired. I am told by my husband this will wear off, and it better! But keeping my eyes open is KILLING me some days. It is like UGHHHH I need a nap!

I go to the bathroom constantly! I feel like it must be ever 30 minutes! But I am trying to consume 100 ounces of water a day so logic would tell you that you need to use the bathroom more ... I suppose.

There is no getting around it, almost every meal every day, every week is made at home. The convenience of fast food or going out to dinner has to stop for every. Meal except one cheat day a week.

That cheat day OH MY GOD I felt so yuck afterwards it was like it wasn't even worth cheating!!! UGH. So note to self, no more cheating.

All in all clearly the pros outweigh the cons and we will continue the life style changes for the next year. This all feels like good progress.

Next week we are going to work on adding in some walking I think. Kick start my pounds to be shed by increasing my hear rate more.

The Life Style Change .. Money a real motivater

New Year New Choices, right?

Lead by Example. I'll teach her to be proud of
herself by showing her Mom can be that too

That is how a lot of people start out their year. Of course everything is began with good intentions but who keeps it up or who achieves their desired results, that is the question.

This year my family is no different, we set goals. Again not resolutions ... You see, my daughter's TMJ doctor told her she can't have hard foods, candies or soda's anymore. She was devastated. So being the supportive mother that I am I told her I would give up Dr Pepper with her (I don't really eat candy so it wasn't an issue.) Then my son is getting braces in a few days and he won't be able to eat his favorite candies anymore either. And obviously we have to maintain a pretty gluten free life style because of my health.

So after talking with my hubby we decided, 2017 our family would be Gluten Free and Processed Sugar free. Which means ... life is gonna be hell for a while!

All 4 of us made a pact that we would start January 1 and we would do this for each other and with each other. My son and I need to trim down, my daughter needs her jaw to not hurt and my hubby is just crazy about wanting to continue to lose. He looks like he already has lost half a person! (He has been doing this for about a year now)

Let me tell you about yesterday ... day 3 of the life style .... it was so awful. I swear it was like the hardest thing in the world to keep my eyes open. I was worried I would fall asleep driving! It was crazy. The hubby listened to someone on a podcast who says sugar addiction is as bad as heroine. Gez it was a bad day. Not only did my stomach not feel well but the headache was horrid and again it was the worst chore trying to stay awake. I only got about 4 hours sleep the night before because I just couldn't get comfortable. It was a nightmare.

I went to sleep at like 9:30ish, I would have to check my Fitbit to be exact, but I woke up at 4:05 this morning. Over 6 hours of peaceful sleep according to the ole sleep tracker. Thank god. And more importantly I do not feel like I need to sleep non stop.

Now what I find so weird is, I didn't eat unhealthy to begin with. Because my hubby was already doing this life style everything I cooked at home and bought is pretty much sugar free anyway ... it was just the Dr Peppers. I would have about 1 drink from Mc Donald's a day. Which didn't seem like a lot because it would last me all morning and that was it. So in reality that is what I am cutting out ... Dr Pepper.

But the way I feel today compared to the way I felt the past two days ... I can see a real difference.

Now I was chatting with one of my besties yesterday and she is working on her life style choices as well. And she made the comment ... we should put money on it ... so now ... we have a $200 bet. From today's weigh in / measurements to April 1st deadline follow up ... whoever loses the most in inches and percent combined will with the 200.

I have never in my life made a bet of that much money before ... this is a huge thing for me.

But I want to be healthy ... I want to get to a weight that I am proud of. I want to keep feeling good for my family. And I want to make sure I am around for a very long time.

So I am putting myself out there ... I am giving myself real accountability. I have 3 months to shape up. I have 3 months to make this 'diet' a real life style and to make it worth it for my family and kids.

As of this morning I am down 3 pounds from Jan 1. One pound a day. I can do this. I can keep it up. I will conquer this goal.

And I will not be ashamed of myself. How can I teach my kids to be proud of themselves if there are parts of me I can't be proud of?

So there we have it ... $200 is on the line along with my health. Who's with me on this challenge? Anyone? Let's do it together and see how much we can improve our lives in 3 short months...

Gluten Free Friday Home Made Recipe #15: Ground Beef Kabobs with Veggies

There is Mediterranean restaurant near my father's house that I absolutely love. Cafe Mezza. If you are ever in the Galleria in Houston I suggest you check it out. They have my current new favorite dish, Ground Beef Kabobs. It is seriously amazing and they serve it with this special rice and garlic butter dipping sauce. It is seriously heaven. So this is my attempt at recreating that lovely sensational dish. While it didn't turn out Cafe Mezza quality, it was still pretty darn good.

As always all my ingredients are organic and gluten free.

Enjoy cooking and as always, Happy Eating!

You will need these supplies
4 Kabob Skewers
1 Greased Baking Dish
1 small boiling pot
1 strainer
1 larger boiling pot
1 hand held blender

Ingredients:

1 pound of ground beef (as lean as possible)
Olive Oil - as needed
1 t of Thyme
3 cloves of ground Garlic
1 T of Cinnamon
1/2 large (or 1 small) Chopped Onion
Fresh Crushed Pepper (as needed)
Garlic Powder(as needed)
5 Small Sweet Potatoes, cleaned
1 cup of Green Beans
1 stick of Organic Butter (1/2 cups)
1/2 cup of Organic Sour Cream
1/2 cup of Hemp Milk

Directions

Kabobs (Do this step first)
Spread the beef out on a clean surface and spread Olive Oil along the surface of the beef. Spring equal bits of the Cinnamon, Thyme chopped Onion and Garlic along the surface. Mix it all together with your hands making sure the spices and olive oil make it along all of the beef. Pound it back out flat on the surface and cut into 4 equally sized sections.

Place the cleaned skewer in the middle of each section. With your hands mash the beef along the skewer until it is evenly distributed along all 4 of the kabobs.

Move the kabobs carefully into the baking dish. The beef isn't welded together very well so move quickly and over as small of distance as possible.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Make sure you drain any fat that seeps out before serving. You don't want a soggy meal. :)

Mashed Sweet Potatoes (Begin this step once the beef is in the oven)
Skin and slice the sweet potatoes and place them into the larger boiling pot. Make sure you fill it with enough water to completely cover the sweet potatoes and then a little extra for evaporation.
Let it cook on medium heat, watching to make sure it doesn't spill over, for 20-25 minutes. Once you can easily slice through the sweet potatoes with a knife its done. Drain them and move the sweet potatoes into a mixing bowl. Cut the bar of butter into 1/4's and drop in random places in your mixing bowl. Pour the milk and sour cream into the mix and with a spoon gingerly mix. Then with the hand held blender mix until the contents are fluffy. Be careful as these will splash. I put a paper towel over the bowl to limit the mess. Season with fresh ground pepper to your liking.

Green Beans (Start this right before you begin mashing the potatoes)
In the small boiling pan put enough water in to reach 3/4 of the pot. In a strainer (that fits inside this pot) place the cleaned and halved green beans. Place a lid on top of the strainer and let it steam for approx 10 minutes. Season with cane salt and fresh ground pepper to your liking.

Obviously you can use any vegetables you want but these offer a nice taste with the beef.

I am giving this a solid 4.5 stars!

Gluten Free Friday Home Made Recipe #14: Granola Bars

I was on a quest to try and find a source of protein that was healthy and tasted good. That's when I thought of Granola Bars. Now I personally love them. They are easy to grab and toss in a bag to carry with you to work. And they tend to fill you up. So I did a little research on different recipes and I took a little bit from all of them. And here is what I came up with.

Remember, as always, everything is organic and gluten free.

Enjoy and Happy Eating!

Ingredients

Wet Ingredients - Glue
1/4 cup honey
1/4 stick of butter
1 tablespoon of vanilla
1 tablespoon of water

Dry Ingredients
1 cup of rice crispy
1 2/3 cup of oats
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2/3 cup of quinoa flour
1/4 tablespoon of cinnamon
2 cups worth of dried fruit, nuts or chocolate chips. I used 1 cup raisins and 1 cup chocolate chip.

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl together and mix thoroughly

Mix the wet ingredients together over a low burner. Once melted and mixed slowly pour over the dry mixture. Once the pan is empty set aside and begin to stir the wet and dry ingredients until they all have the 'glue' on them.

In a square or rectangle pan place parchment paper down. Pour the mixture over the paper and smooth out evenly at the thickness level you want.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. When you pull it out let it cool. If you go to cut into pieces and it's still soft place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to harden.

Make sure you wrap each individual piece properly or place in an air tight container.

This was an easy sweet dish that I give 3.5 stars too.

Gluten Free Friday Home Made Recipe #13: Bread Loaf

This actually turned out a lot better than I had expected it too. Especially since I was using the quinoa flour. Remember, most of the time I am getting these gluten free recipes from somewhere else and tweeking them to what my husband and I have available and like.

I've actually used this loaf and made garlic bread out of a few slices. That added some extra nice flavor to it.

This still had a touch of an issue with crumbling. But I often find most home made bread I've made (in the bread machine) crumbles some. So I am not sure if that was my error or the nature of the beast.

Now I don't have an oven cooking time since I used the Basic Function on my Bread Machine and it cooked it for 3 hours and 20 minutes. I doubt that's how long you would cook it in an oven.

I mixed wet ingredients first and then added dry ones second inside the bread machine container.

Good Luck and as always, Happy Eating!

As always all products are organic and gluten free

(If you need the method to create the flour used in this recipe please see blog post here)

Wet Ingredients

3 Large Eggs, Lightly Beaten
1/2 cup of Vegetable Oil
1/2 cup of water
1 cup of hemp milk.

Dry Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of quinoa flour
1 1/2 cups of wild rice flour
1/3 cups of pure cane sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
1 tablespoon of yeast (although I don't think this actually did anything, as this didn't rise)

In a small bowl combine the wet ingredients and once properly blended pour into the bread maker container.

In a different bowl combine the flour and mix together. Then add the salt, sugar and yeast. Thoroughly mix together and then pour into the bread maker container.

With a rubber spatula mix the wet and dry ingredients together in the container.

Pres start on the bread maker, cook on the 'basic' function.

Overall this was about a 3.5 out of 5 star bread loaf!

Gluten Free Friday Homemade Recipe #12: Sweet Potato Muffins

Here is a delicious yet some what complicated recipe for muffins. It's a 5 Star winner.

When I read the original recipe it seemed very easy, it was all white flour. But then I wanted to make it gluten free, organic and milk free. That's when it got complicated! So in the event you don't want to make it gluten free just substitute white flour for all my flour ingredients and that should work for you. And regular buttermilk instead of the buttermilk I made.

If you are making all of the products at one sitting this should take you roughly 1 hour to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.

I think this would taste extremely good with raisins inside of it. I'm going to try it next with that added. You could also add nuts or anything that you feel would compliment sweet potato flavor.

It should be noted the Quinoa flour tastes and smells a bit nutty. So please make sure you use this in a recipe where there are other strong main ingredients. Unless you simply love the taste of nuts!

At the bottom of the post are the instructions for the homemade buttermilk and flours used inside this recipe. I encourage you to make these before you start cooking to make the prep time about 20 minutes instead of an hour.

As always, all the ingredients are organic and gluten free

Happy Eating, and Enjoy!

Ingredients):
Dry Ingredients:
1/2 cup wild rice flour
1/2 cup quinoa flour
3/4 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal
1/4 teaspoon Mediterranean Sea Salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Wet Ingredients:
1 egg
1 cup hemp buttermilk
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons organic butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 1/3 cups cooked mashed sweet potato (about 1 medium-large sweet potato)

Streusel Topping:
2 tablespoons organic butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup quinoa flour
2 tablespoons oatmeal (rolled oats)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
freshly grated nutmeg

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with organic oil.


Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well. Set aside.

In a pan boil 1 sweet potato until soft enough to mash. Once completed mash prior to putting into the 'wet' dish.

Now combine the wet ingredients in a medium bowl, whisking everything together.

Moving on to the streusel topping, cream the butter and brown sugar together in a small bowl, then add the flour, oatmeal, cinnamon, and nutmeg to taste. Blend with your fingers to form a crumbly mixture. Set it aside, too.

Stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture until not quite blended,  with just a couple of strokes, so the mixture is just barely combined. Spoon into the prepared muffin tin. Divide the streusel evenly, sprinkling over the tops of the muffins.

Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool slightly on a rack, then serve, warm.





Additional Directions:

If you do not have these flour and buttermilk already made here are the instructions.

Wild Rice Flour:
Wash rice thoroughly and then soak in cold water for 3 hours. I put ice cubes in my water bowl and had the rice in a strainer. Then place into a sauce pan and turn heat on low. Let the rice dry out but not brown in the pan. Once rice is ready for grinding take 1/2 cup of rice at a time into a blender. Once its the texture you want place it on a cheese cloth overnight to dry out. When the rice has dried out place in an air tight container and refrigerate.

 Quinoa Flour:
Wash Quinoa seeds thoroughly until the water runs clean. Then place on a flat sheet and bake in the oven at 350 for 15 minutes. Once they have cooled off place 1/4 of a cup full at a time inside the blender. Place inside a sealed container and refrigerate. Will last up to a year.

Hemp Buttermilk:
Take 1 cup of Hemp Milk and place it into a sauce pan. Take 1/4 cup of lemon juice and mix in. Put the burner to low to medium heat and place the pan on it for 5-10 minutes. Stir it moderately to make sure it doesn't burn. Remove from heat and let cool. Then place in a sealed container and refrigerate.

Gluten Free Friday Homemade Recipe #10 Beef and Noodles

One of the things people miss most when they give up bread is the pasta. Well have no fear, they do make gluten free pasta you just have to watch your sugar content.

This one is super easy and always a yummy choice for a quick meal.

As always everything is Gluten Free and/or Organic

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

16 oz shredded cheese

1 box gluten free noodles

1 jar gluten free tomato sauce

chopped onion

Salt & Pepper

First you need to saute your beef with the onions and seasoning. I always like to add fresh lemon juice when I saute beef but this is a personal preference and not something you HAVE to do.

Boil your noodles until they are ready to eat

Combine your beef and noodles (drained) into one skillet and pour in the sauce. Make sure you mix it all together evenly.

Let this combination simmer for five minutes then sprinkle on the cheese. You can put as much on as your family likes to eat.

Let it sit with the cheese on top for about ten minutes then remove from heat and serve.

An easy and excellent meal with a 4 star rating!

Enjoy and Happy Eating

!

Gluten Free Friday Homemade Recipe #9 Roast and Veggies

This was the first Gluten Free / Organic meal I made for my Dad and Step-Mom. They loved it and I am sure you will too.

I think the key to this one was the meat. The organic makes all the difference in the world and man, let me tell you, it was so tender and good!

As always - everything is Gluten Free and/or Organic

Ingredients:

Roast - make sure you get enough pounds per the number of people you are serving. Two people need at least one pound.
Two Carrot Sticks - Sliced horizontal
Potatoes - sliced/chopped
Onions - sliced
Chicken Broth - home made
Seasonings of your choice - I used cinnamon (a lot of meats from the Middle East are seasoned with this.) oregano, and parsley


Take the roast and clean it off with cool water, removing as much of the fat as you can before you cook it.

Place it in a roasting pan and pour enough Chicken Broth into the dish until half of the pan i full.

Season your meat.

Add in your sliced Carrots and Potatoes and onions.

Bake at 350 degrees. For each pound of meat you have you need to cook it for at least an hour.

This turned out perfect and is probably one of the best meals I have ever cooked.

Solid 5 stars!

Enjoy and Happy Eatings!

Gluten Free Friday Homemade Recipe #8 Pineapple Chicken

It gets hard coming up with new things to cook. You get stuck in your same ole habits and that makes life slightly boring. So this time I was looking at my fridge at all the fruit I had and got an idea. Chicken and Pineapple! My husband was like um, what the hell Ashley ... but in the end, it was a win!

As always everything is gluten free and/or organic

Ingredients:
Chicken - breast or thighs
Seasoning - I used oregano, parsley, salt, pepper and celery salt
Fresh Chopped Pineapple (not from a can!!)
Potato
Shredded Cheese
Chicken Broth (Homemade)
Stick of Butter


Take the potato and slice three slices into each side of the potato. Cover it in butter (I ran a stick over each one) and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for one hour.

While that is going on .... about 20 minutes later start the Chicken ..

Place the chicken on the skillet after you have fully seasoned them to your liking.

Fill one quarter of the pan with chicken broth

Place tow-three chopped pineapples on-top of each chicken.

Cover and begin to cook.

Once the Chicken broth has evaporated add water until the same amount of the pan has been filled.
Flip each chicken onto the other side and move the pineapple on to that side.


Once the potato and chicken are done arrange on the plate and serve!

While this meal didn't produce 'a lot' of food it did fill us up. Remember the organic meat takes less to fill you up so while it isn't a lot it will do the trick. You could always add a nice green veggie to this, peas or green beans.

Don't forget to share your pics and experiences with all the cooking fun!

I give this a solid 4 star review!

Enjoy and Happy Eating!

Gluten Free Friday Homemade Recipe #7 - Meatloaf

I love beef, what true blue American doesn't? Sometimes it takes a minute to figure out what kind of dishes to serve with ground beef. Well here is my own little concoction of what goes into the perfect meat loaf!

As always, all ingredients are Gluten Free and/or Organic.

    1 pound · Ground Beef
    1 clove · Chopped garlic
    2 oz · Chopped celery
    2 oz · Chopped green onions
    2 oz · Chopped tomato
    ¼ cup · Shredded Cheese
    1 large · Egg
    ¼ cup · Flour
    ¼ cup · Baking seasoning


Directions

    1 Mix all the ingredients into one large bowl, except the cheese
    2 Put into a loaf pan and make sure it is distributed evenly
    3 Sprinkle the amount of cheese you want on top of the meat once you place it in the loaf pan
    4 Bake for 45 minutes at 350°F

This was a bit time consuming chopping everything up but the end result was worth all of the time put into this dish. An easy 5 star addition to anyone's meals!

Enjoy and Happy Eating!

Gluten Free Friday Homemade Recipe #6 - Banana Blueberry Muffins

Anyone on a diet knows it is hard to come up with new and exciting things for breakfast. So one of my challenges has been coming up with 'bread' products that don't taste horrible or like diet food. So here is my recipe for muffins. I think this would work with anything not just Blue Berries and Bananas. I really want to try some chocolate chips with this.

Let me know what you all think.

As always, everything is Gluten Free and / or Organic!

2    C Gluten Free Flour
2    tsp Baking Powder
1/2  tsp Salt      
1/2  C Softened Butter     
1    C Sugar      
2    large Eggs      
1    tsp Vanilla      
1/2  C Organic Milk   
1/4  tsp nutmeg, grated      
2    C Blueberries      
1    large Banana

Mix all the dry and wet ingredients separately leaving out the fruit. With a blender, add the wet and dry together and then slowly blend in the banana. Once the mixture is consistent  fold in the blue berries.

Evenly place the mixture in 18 muffin tins

Place in the oven and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

This was a really easy recipe to make. The prep time took about 10 minutes, which is how long it takes to preheat the oven. With little effort this was a gem for breakfast material.

The taste was good too. I liked to reheat them in the microwave and place a bit of butter on top of it when I ate them the next day. It was still delish and I know you will like them too! I give this an easy 4.5 stars!

Enjoy and Happy Eating!

Nutrition Facts courtesy of All The Cooks

My Gluten Free Adventure - One Year in the Making

365 Days - That is how long it has been since I have changed my life style choices and made a real and honest attempt at healthy living.

365 Days - That is how many days I have woken up in the morning feeling better than I have in years. You read that right, Years, with an S!

Like so many women in America and the world my day to day lifestyles and beliefs have been manipulated and molded by the media, society, family, co-workers and my own views of how 'I' should be. People pigeon hole individuals into categories and life experiences that don't always indicate the best choices for one another.

August 12, 2013, I took my life back. I made a goal for myself and I busted my ass until I couldn't take it anymore, and then I started over. I took my life back!

Being an overweight woman in this day in age is very hard. Sometimes, it's so depressing you don't want to leave your bed, home or your pajamas to get out of the house and fight the day to day tasks. Being overweight in America is an easy trap to fall into. One that far too many people I know and see get hung up on.

Here are some realities that I faced, that pre-gluten free (I'll just say P.G.F. in the future) used to make my whole demeanor worse and my desire to get healthy less.

-Infertility - This kept me up at night so depressed that some mornings I didn't even recognize myself.
-Weight - That damn Wii Fit scale went up every time I stood on it. I was encroaching on pounds that I would be so ashamed to even admit I had on to myself. It was horrible.
-Depression - Anyone who has this knows it can be the #1 enemy to getting a better life style.
-Financial Worries - I don't think there is one family in America that can say they have never stayed up at night worrying about one thing or another related to money. Some people deal with it on a grand scale and others on a smaller one. Either way, we all deal with it.

For those that go through similar issues in life you know that each of these issues make your own lives worse. It is a cycle that you just cannot break. One that, kills you. One that, eats at you like you cannot believe. One that slowly makes it almost impossible to recognize yourself at any given moment.

So what changed for me?

Honestly? My Step-Mom.

Step parents always get a bad rap. They have the short end of every stick. Not only are they competing with everyone else in the family for attention and love from you but they are also competing with your birth parents. Most of which you still have relationships with and are very much involved in on a regular basis.

That was no different for my own Step-Mother and I.

In 2000 (or maybe it was 2001) my Step-Mom (Let's just call her SM from now on, okay?) My SM gave me a book. She had been working with me over the summer 3-4 times a week at the local YMCA. She paid for me to have a private trainer, took me to the gym, encouraged me and pushed me. All with the hopes that when I started college I would be closer to 150 pounds. A more healthy weight for my height and build. Alas - it never worked. At most I would lose 10-15 pounds, on a good day weighing in. It was very discouraging and extremely disheartening.

As a child/teenager I used to think that my parents pushed me to lose weight because they were ashamed at how I looked. That I was an embarrassment to be seen with. It wasn't until I was much older that I realized it had nothing to do with being embarrassed to be seen with me but had to do with the fact they wanted me to live a long and healthy life.

As an adult, I look back, and I am thankful. Thankful they gave a damn. Because not all parents do.

So the SM gave me the book, Insulin Resistance Diet and what did I do? I read two chapters and tossed it in my drawer. I still have the book. It sits on my shelf with the pages tabbed the same as I had it that summer when I was bored one day. As an adult, I have read the book in full, but as a teenager I didn't care. I blew the SM off.

And that is something that has cost me an entire decade of happiness.

You see, looking back it's easy to do this, had I just listened to her for a minute a lot of my issues I faced in my 20's would have been eradicated. Or at least, I would have had a better chance at fighting against them and being happier earlier in life.

My 30th year sucked. I had gotten in a car accident that left me nothing but a pain in the ass, I wasn't happy at my job, my hubby and I were fighting over the stupidest things because I wasn't happy with myself.  And my weight ... it had toppled the worst of numbers and I finally felt like I had hit rock bottom.

I mean, it couldn't have gotten any worse than that, trust me!

My family and I had taken a trip to New Orleans to visit my grandparents and I had excused myself to use the restroom. Inside, there was a scale. I slowly placed my feet on top of the grey device and my heart started to speed up its beats. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. When I exhaled I looked down and my stomach dropped out of my body.


That number was looking back at me. God, that was the worst moment. Knowing I had let myself go so badly that now, now I was ashamed to even walk out of that bathroom.

After I shed a few tears and cleaned off I returned to the family gathering where my Dad and SM had begun talking about this book she had been reading. The Wheat Belly Diet. She said that she really believed that a lot of the health issued my husband and I had experienced in the last decade seemed to stem from gluten and we should really look into it.

This was the last week of July. I said I had a convention to go to the second week of August but I would give this GF deal a try.

So I went to Vegas. I enjoyed as much good and unhealthy food as I could guilt free because 'Monday' I was giving it up.

And I did.

Now am I 100% GF 100% of the time? No. I'm being honest here. About 90%  of the time I maintain the lifestyle and I feel so good for that. And every time I cheat and have something I know I shouldn't, I feel the pain of it. Either in indigestion or lack of sleep or overall feelings of unhealthiness. I feel the difference.

August 12th, my husband and I started this journey. At the same time my Dad and SM were trying out the GF 'fad.' My dad and SM lost 10-15 pounds I think. They are pretty lean individuals as it is. I think my dad said he stays about 80% of the time GF.

But the hubs and I ... yeah. GF was the way to go.

By February 1st he and I had done amazingly well. He had lost 40 pounds and I had lost 35. I felt so good, I slept so much better. And I was actually happy!

And all I did was stop eating wheat flour products!

My co-worker said I wasn't losing the inches the way I had wanted too because I wasn't working out and I should really consider it. So, Feb 1st, I joined the gym. Now before work Mon-Fri unless I am not feeling well (or I sleep in past the alarm and have to rush to work) I am at the gym working out from 5:10-5:45.

It feels amazing. I love it. There is never a better way to wake up and start your day then a nice  drip of sweat running down your body. Knowing that you are doing something to better yourself.

Soon I gained 10 pounds right back and I freaked out. FREAKED! I was like OH MY GOD NO!!!! Thank god it was just muscle mass! But two weeks later, I started going down. And not just in the pounds but in inches.

Now I waver between 50 and 55 pounds total and many inches from my body. I was a size 26 when all of this started. Now I can fit into some of my size  18, 20, 22 clothing. Just depending on the cuts of the material.

Believe me when I say I am fitting into cloths that I have not worn in YEARS.

Now I know the next step is for me to completely give up Dr. Pepper, not the half assing it like I have been doing for a year. I know that once I do that, then it will really kick into gear.

My goal for these 365 days was to lose 100 pounds.

I know I fell way short of that goal, but did I fail overall? No way. I am doing something people dream about. I am losing weight, I am happy, and I am healthy. And I am NOT taking any drugs to do it or to maintain my weight loss.

That's the other part that people tend to forget about. Anyone can find some way to lose weight but keeping it off is the real goal. Because who wants to put it back on when we just got it off right? I am so proud of how well my husband and I have been doing. I think the real key is to switching things at a slow pace. That way you get the hang of it. And giving yourself permission to fall off the wagon without sending yourself into guilt trip hell.

So what do I do now? Well my 'new' thing for these past few weeks has been organic food. I found an online grocery vendor who sells only organic materials from local farms in Houston. The best part, they freaking deliver! Bye bye grocery store, hello more time to write.

This is great though. Not only is it practically a guarantee I stay on my budget (as I get the same foods at each of the deliveries I have pre set out) it is free of chemicals. The chemicals that infested the wheat grains and caused so many Americans to have an intolerance to Gluten.

I am learning to bake GF foods. I have home made recipes for pancakes/waffles and cobbler. I want to work on home made bread. I miss meat pies and I really want to make them again but I have to work on the dough.

So here is to a happy and wonderful 1 year celebration of the Gluten Free lifestyle. I hope all of you stop and look what it is you are putting in your mouth and think about it.

Is that bite worth it?

Also, food for thought ... now days people are very quick to label kids with ADD, depression, bi-polar, etc... Did you know the chemicals in all of these typical foods can cause mood disorders? How much better would your family be if instead of popping pills to level your sons mood out you just simply bought foods with no chemicals.

In the end - I am glad I finally listened to my SM. Because she saved me from myself.

I just wish it hadn't taken a freaking decade to realize that sometimes your parents know best. And you know the part that made it all perfect? Once I became happy with myself, with the help of the SM's push for GF - the rest of my life, worked itself out.

And now, I know what true and honest, happiness is.

Gluten Free Friday Homemade Recipe - #5 Baked Chicken

Yum yum yum! Somethings smelling a-foul! Ha.Ha., get it?

I'm in a great mood today because I just baked some chicken and it turned out good so now I just had to share it with all of you. I assume this would also work for turkey. Someone should test it out and see!


(As Always, everything is Gluten Free and/or Organic)

4  skinless chicken breast

1 diced tomato
1 cup of milk
2 sliced potatoes
1 stick of butter
1 cup shredded cheese (optional)
Your choice of spices


Pour the cup of milk into the baking dish
Line up the chicken after its been cleaned on the milk
Sprinkle the diced tomatoes around the chicken
Line out the sliced potatoes around the dish with enough room for them to bake
Cut up the stick of butter and put them over the chicken and potatoes
Sprinkle your spices on top of the items until you're satisfied
Bake at 350 degrees for one hour
When there is 15 minutes left sprinkle the cheese on top to allow it to melt

I thought this was a great way to have a lovely healthy meal and have a pretty dish.

On a scale of 1-5 I rate this a solid 4.

Enjoy and Happy Eatings!

Gluten Free Friday Homemade Recipe - #4 Peach Cobbler

Everyone thinks the hard part about the Gluten Free lifestyle is you don't get to have any sweets. Well, that is quite wrong! Not only are Snickers Gluten Free but so are any home made recipes you make with the Gluten Free and Organic products.

I have never attempted Peach Cobbler before but I do love how it tastes at restaurants. So my first batch I was very scared but, I am thankful it turned out quite yummy!

Here we go! (As always, all ingredients are Gluten Free and/or Organic)


1 Cups of Flour

1 Cup of Sugar
1 Cups of Milk
4 - 5 Sliced Peaches
1- Stick of Butter

In the baking pan melt the stick of butter.

In a pan of water boil the peaches until softened then remove and drain.

In a separate bowl combine all of the other ingredients together and then once the butter is melted pour into the baking dish.

Cook in the oven at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.Can serve with gluten free ice cream if desired
 

This was absolutely perfectly delicious. I give this a 4.5 outta 5 star.


Enjoy and Happy Eating!

Gluten Free Friday Homemade Recipe - #3 Chicken Pot Pie

Now I will confess, I have only ate this once or twice in my life but I have always wanted to make it. I don't eat it in restaurants because I never know what is going to be on the inside. So after toying with things I decided why not make it at home, I mean how hard can it be right? haha...very time consuming!

So here is what I did .... (As always, all ingredients are Gluten Free and/or Organic)

Turn the oven to 350 degrees and let it heat up . Put a stick of butter in your pan and put it in the oven during this processing.

Chop up into tiny bits:
1 Stalk of Celery
1 Stick of Carrots
1 Head of Broccoli
1 Stalk of Green Onion

Boil 4 chicken breast in water and once they are fully cooked, chop them up

Remove corn from 1 ear and include in the above mixture. Make sure you mix everything together so it isn't all clumped into 'like' items.

In a separate dish combine:

1 1/3 Cups of Flour
1/3 Cups of Gluten Free Baking Seasoning
1/3 Cup of Sugar
1 1/3 Cups of Milk

Remove the pan and make sure the stick of butter is fully melted.

Pour 1/3 cup of the liquid mixture into the baking dish.

Pour the veggies and chicken into the baking dish evenly.

Pour the remaining liquid mixture on top of the veggies and chicken. Make sure all of it is evenly distributed.

Be careful, the baking dish is hot!

Put into the oven and bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes.

This yields about 6-8 servings.

Overall I rate this a 4.5 Stars out of 5!

Nutrition Facts brought to you by All The Cooks

Gluten Free Friday Homemade Recipe - #2 Corn Bread

If you are like me and you are planning ahead for the holidays and you start to freak out because you realize you now can't make stuffing at Thanksgiving and Christmas have no fear. Ashley's here for you!

I love corn bread, it is so delicious and when I realized I could bake it form home and make it Gluten Free I was like, SCORE! So here is my secret to having an excellent corn bread dinner.

(As Always, everything is Gluten Free and/or Organic)

1 Cup of Corn Bread Mix
1 Cup of Flour
4 Tablespoons of Sugar
4 Teaspoons of Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoons of Salt
1 Cup of Milk
2 Eggs, Beaten
1/4 Cup of Vegetable Oil

Mix all of the ingredients into a large bowl and beat until a smooth consistency is reached.

Pour into a pan and bake at 425 degrees for 15-18 minutes.

This yields about 9 servings.

I love this recipe and I hope that you do too.

Let me know if you try it and make sure to show me pics!!

On a scale of 1-5 I rate this a 4.5. Don't forget to add butter and honey to give it that extra kick when you are ready to serve.

Enjoy and Happy Eatings!