Category: Healthy Living

My daughter loves sweets. A lot of the sweets she does eat are fruits, but occasionally she’ll eat cookies. The thing is, if/when she does consume them, they cause skin issues. I suspected it might be related to flour/dairy and after some trial and error, that has been confirmed. How did we find out? Well… I challenged her to go whole foods plant based only for two weeks and I gently pushed her along with a few murmured protests from her. Of course, this meant no dairy or white sugar. The whole foods plant-based she was fine with (It’s mainly how she eats anyway), but eliminating the dairy and sugar? Oh boy… now that was a challenge, and she was successful. At the end… she did see that mom MIGHT be right when it came to what triggered her skin issues. Her skin is brighter and the skin disruptions are starting to subside. Guess what? She’s still eating this way.

 

Last evening, we made gluten free chocolate chip cookies, and… they’re vegan. However, they taste like your regular cookie. I didn’t think I had time to make anything today, but… we managed to squeeze in the time to prepare the cookies.

The semi-sweet chocolate morsels (Sunspire) was 75% Cocoa and the cookie dough sweetened with natural fruit juices. It’s how I make most of my desserts (naturally sweet) when I do prepare them. I was introduced to that when I was 21 by a young lady, who avoided white sugar because of yeast infections. Although I didn’t have that issue, sweetening desserts naturally captured my interest and so I willingly tumbled down that creative rabbit hole. 🙂

I don’t bake too much, however, since my daughter loves her sweet treats, I will have to step up my game and give her more few baking lessons. I am not a big sweet eater (I much prefer savory) but I did have a cookie and I must say that I did like it a lot My daughter loved them and had a few… without milk. I do believe I’ll tweak the recipe a bit.

Which means… making more cookies, which of course makes my daughter very happy.

What was the flour that was used? Sorghum flour and Tapioca flour and I added Xanthan gum. I’ve been sitting on purchasing a ‘proper grain mill’ for years, most likely I’ll get around to purchasing that sooner rather than later. If any of you follow my website, you already know that I’ve narrowed it down to two (although one is clearly ahead) and the added bonus is all the parts are made right here in the USA.

Instead of the canned cooking sprays (check out those ingredients some time and research the ingredients) I use an oil mister as seen above. I paid a little over $20 for it, but it will last me a long time. This particular bottle contains olive oil and I must say it does an excellent job spraying my baking trays.

 

My idea for creating the grain/free chocolate chip cookies was the above book. I didn’t follow the recipe exactly. However, it was my source of inspiration.

I’ve made my own supplements for over twenty years. Last evening, I decided to make some more herbal supplements. I make them for some of the herbs that I purchase in bulk. I’ll take them if I don’t feel like consuming them in a tea or adding to a meal. Last evening, the herbs that made their way into my vegetarian gel capsules were all bitter herbs and while I do drink this blend (or other bitter herbs) as bitter tea or consume bitters in my food, at times, I like adding them to capsules also. 😉

One of the many fabulous things about making your own herbal supplements is you know exactly what’s going into what you create, it’s cheaper, the herbs I purchase are much better quality since I get it from a trusted source (and harvest my own), and you get more of the actual herbs in each supplement because… there’s no filler. 😉 I’ve been creating my own supplements for over twenty years. I use The Capsule Machine, it holds 24 capsules. The capsules used are vegetarian. I use the largest size, 00. The only thing left for me to do is grind the herbs and… put them together.

I’ve taken quite a few herbology courses and as I mentioned in an FB post, that I wrote a few weeks ago, my “go to” Herb Bible is Planetary Biology.

(I’d recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about herbs. I met the author back in the late 1990s.

By the way, I’ve had this book in my possession for over twenty years.

Many nutritionists, herbalists, and other health experts believe that far too many modern industrialized humans are deficient in bitter substances, which in part contributes to our epic rise in digestive related illnesses, inflammatory conditions, immune challenges, diabetes, and more.

Some of you might already know the importance of consuming bitters, but others might be thinking… why do I consume bitter things? Bitters are great for your liver, it stimulates digestion, controls sugar cravings, and an entire host of other benefits.

Of course, understanding, respecting herbs/spices, and their benefits are something that I’m passing on to my daughter. God has placed created many natural things in our world that we can use to enhance or heal ourselves of a variety of ailments. I’m honoring him, by utilizing what’s available to me.

In other news…

This evening, we’re making gluten-free chocolate chip cookies. Actually, they’re in the oven now and my daughter has already taken a few pictures.

Resources

5 Reasons Why You Should Eat Bitter Foods and Herbs

 

Items Used

Herbs

The Capsule Machine

 

 

I wrote about grain mills back in 2013. Wow… I didn’t know it was that long ago that I wrote that post. My goodness time does fly by, right? At that time, I had thought I was going to purchase the Country Living grain mill. It’s manual with the ability to upgrade it to electric if one so desires. However, although I had every intent to purchase it back then, something told me to wait a bit longer and so I sat on that want (nothing new here). Sure, I’ve thought about buying a dedicated grain mill since that time, but I still am waiting, but I still set aside money for the future purchase.

A few days ago, I stumbled upon the Diamant (made in Denmark) and the GrainMaker Grain Mill. I was really interested in the GrainMaker and it received bonus points since  everything is made in the USA (as is the Country Living Grain Mill)  and on the forums that I frequent, it ranks higher than the Country Living Grain Mill, but the one I would purchase costs a few hundred dollars more, which puts the price a little under $700. Of course… I’ll pay for that in full at the time of purchase, no credit, cash. I dislike debt. I’m still going to do my research, but I do know that eventually, I’ll get around to purchasing one. Currently, the GrainMaker Grain Mill is in the lead of what I might purchase. I really did enjoy watching the video that I’ve included below.

1. Resources
   Grain Mill Comparision

Yesterday, I made oatmeal for breakfast. It was simple, delicious and of course… nutritious.

In our house, we use oat groats or extra thick rolled oats. Yesterday, we used the extra thick oats. We love the chewy texture and the natural sweetness of the added strawberries and blueberries just heightened the experience. In addition to the fruit, I also added cinnamon, crushed walnuts, and cashews.

This year, this book turns 30 years old. (It still smells faintly of Nag Champa incense.) I met the author, in 1997, at a local New Age store, which is also where I purchased the book. That year also began my journey into aromatherapy, becoming a certified aromatherapist (a course taken at the same store) and creating many essential oils blends/formulas.

Herbs (seemingly) has always been part of my life. My mom would plant herbs in her garden and ‘wild harvest’ them also. Planetary Herbology is a book I still flip through. I consider it my herb bible. Because of this book, I was able to answer many of the “whys” I had about various herbs. I’ve never been one to take someone’s word. Even if I respect you, I’ll research. This book helped answer a lot of questions. Several herb books (and numerous herb-related classes later) and I’m still learning and blown away by all the natural remedies God has given us.

Of course, I’ve been able to incorporate numerous herbs into my daily lifestyle. Many are used in meal preparations and teas. I’m not trying to eliminate a health-related issue. I’m just being proactive, but if the need arises… I (usually) have an herb/spice that effectively eliminates the ailment.

I make my own teas, tinctures, salves, and toothpaste using herbs, spices, and essential oils. Also, I’m teaching my daughter what to use. Just as with my mom, a lot comes naturally since she’s observed it effectively used to combat various ailments (cold, flu, headaches, nausea, earaches, cramps) over the years, but… we’re taking it to the next level. I must say that it is fun sharing my experiences with her. It’s something that’s been part of my daily life for such a long time.

I flipped open my book and it landed on… Mandrake!

I remember the name from one of the Harry Potter movies. When I saw the movie, I had to chuckle since I was thinking of Mandrake root. It’s great for the liver and colon an has been used (effectively) with some types of liver disease. No… that wasn’t the same herb mentioned in the movie.

Last evening, I finally got around to making a salad.

The beauty of this quick meal is that it can be eaten plain or you can create a sandwich, see! My daughter and I opted for a sandwich.

What’s in it? Cucumbers, kale, yellow onion, red bell peppers, and hummus. The hummus was made by me a few days ago and it’s the creamiest one I’ve made… yet. The hummus had black beans, red beans, sweet potato, garlic, turmeric, and lime.

I don’t eat too much bread (neither does my daughter) but when I do, I typically reach for a sprouted grain bread. Yesterday, was the first time I tried this type of bread and I must say that I’m really enjoying the chewy texture.

I purchased the bread from MOM’s organic market. This is a store that I’ve been wanting to check out since my VeganMomma (website) days, so that’s was well over nine years ago. That store was over an hour away. I never got around to visiting that location. Well, a few years ago, they opened up a store that is about 15 minutes away from our home., which is close to where my daughter has her homeschool co-op, so I figured… why not? After her class was over, we finally stopped by and we both loved it a lot. I purchased a few items, like their rice, extra thick rolled oats, ginger beer, coconut sugar and two tomatoes. Perhaps I should write a post about what I bought or even better when I go back to the store… take pictures. The employees at MOM’s organic located in Nottingham, MD,  are super friendly and I’ll definitely be going back there.

Currently, I’m sipping on rooibos tea. I purchase my spices/herbs in bulk (typically whole) to my rooibos, I’ve added milk thistle and black cumin seeds.

Isn’t my silicone tea infuser adorable? I purchased it from Amazon. Yes, that’s an affiliate link.

Here’s a picture of one of my cabinets. The other cabinets look a lot like this. We mainly eat whole foods, so processed food is almost non-existant.

Earlier today, I made Teff for my daughter and myself.

 

Teff originated in Ethiopia and is a tiny seed that you can cook and eat like a porridge. I’ve seen it made in numerous other ways such as cookies, crackers and also in combination with meats and vegetables. To this dish, I added a chopped banana, blueberries, and I crushed up some walnuts. In addition, I ground cardamom, fennel seeds (from our garden), and cinnamon.  The results? My daughter really enjoyed this dish. The sweetness was provided by the fruits that were added to the dish and of course the freshly ground spices.

 

Teff is loaded with health benefits a few of them is that it is a great source of iron, calcium and it can help keep our bowels regular.