Gluten Free Blueberry Scones

Luckily for me, I stumbled upon a deal at Whole Foods the other day where they were selling boxes of blueberries for 1.99 each! (Regularly 7.99) So I bought four boxes.

I had to make something with them instead of just eating them out of the box like I did. (I pounded down one whole box in one sitting...)

Scones or pancakes?

I decided on the scones.

1 2/3 cups all purpose gluten free flour

1 1/3 cups gluten free oats

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 stick of unsalted organic butter

1 Tbsp olive oil

splash of almond milk (optional)

1 cup organic blueberries (or less... or more)

Preheat oven for 400 degrees F, mix together dry ingredients and then chop up the cold butter into cubes. Mix/massage in butter until it is mixed completely with dry ingredients and then add olive oil, forming a dough. If you feel like this mixture is way to dry to pack into scone sized balls, add almond milk (however much is needed to create a solid crumbly dough). Next, add blueberries and mix gently with hands.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and put scones down. I sprinkled mine with a little bit of hemp seeds and dusted cinnamon on top. Feel free to sprinkle with more oats, raw sugar, brown sugar, or whatever you want. This recipe made 8 scones for me, but if you want them smaller you can do so. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Perfectly, surprisingly, gluten free <3

Farmers Market Haul + Easy Mushroom Balsamic Sautee

So after working 6 days this week, I decided to make the most of my day and wake up early for a pilates class. Once this was accomplished, I realized I still had some time to head to the farmers market!

I bought some fresh poi, local/organic cremini mushrooms, kale and beets!

So as soon as I got hungry, I was extra excited to use my new ingredients... ESPECIALLY the mushrooms <3

First I chopped up the mushrooms vertically, heated up some olive oil and let them sit in the scaulding oil a bit to sweat. I added a good amount of balsamic, chopped garlic, salt, pepper and a small drizzle of agave.

Can you see the big chunks of garlic? ;)

Once the balsamic vinegar was reduced to a think sauce, I added a bunch of dried rosemary and sauteed until the reduction was fully absorbed by the mushrooms.

Then I threw it on top of a bed of the kale and chopped/skinned beets (that were boiled during all this mushroom madness).

a tri-fecta!!! 

Easy Sunflower Butter Dip

If you haven't tried this stuff... It's time!!

Sunflower seeds are loaded with healthy omegas, minerals, fiber, and the amino acid tryptophan, which  balances serotonin levels and aids a restful sleep.

So I mixed

about 3 or 4 spoonfuls of sunflower seed butter

~1 tsp dijon mustard

~1 tsp garlic chili siracha sauce

and a dollop of greek yogurt

salt and pepper

Great for dipping veggies into.

The Fear of "Paleo Diet" (Lavender/Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies)

I'm sick of these fad diets. Like low carb/no carb/no sugar/candida diet/gluten free/grain free/blahdeeblah. 

The key to maintaining good health (including an ideal weight) is to not adopt a temporary diet that "worked for that lady on the internet" but to adopt healthy choices when it comes to food. 

Listen to your body. If you react to gluten, don't eat it! If you don't, enjoy that scone from the local  bakery you've been eyeing in the window the past week. Everything in moderation, right?

Don't restrict yourself from the things you love, however you probably shouldn't eat a pint of ice cream every night... Healthy mind, healthy body :)


So, I saw this recipe for paleo cookies, and immediately I think of the things I've read about the "Caveman Diet". Tons of meat, no seasoning, no processed foods, sugar, etc. I was definitely skeptical! But I actually read further into the ingredients and it wasn't bad at all.

My apologies, but I'm unable to find the original recipe!

2 cups coconut flour

3/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

3 eggs

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/2 tsp baking soda

3 Tbsp raw honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of salt

1/4 cup dark chocolate chips (I just cut a dark chocolate bar up)

2 Tbsp dried lavender leaves/flowers (?)

Mix wet ingredients first, then add dry. Once combined, add chocolate chips and lavender, mix. With a spoon, scoop onto a baking sheet greased with coconut oil and then mold into desired shape. Bake at 375 for about 15 minutes or so, or until light gold brown. My oven is kind of funky so I had to use convection bake for about 14 minutes.

Deliciousness... and I don't feel like a caveman!

Watching Portlandia, eating a kale salad and cookies :)

The point I'm trying to make here is that you don't have to follow a crazy strict diet to get to where you want to be physically. You also shouldn't be afraid to try new foods or new ways of eating. Expand your palate, keep an open mind, but make healthy choices. 

It's Flu Season!

For Christs sake it's always flu season. People are always sick. There's always "something" going around.
What will get you through a cold?

These bad boys.

Essiential Oils in general have relaxation effects on the body, calming our minds. Eucalyptus in specific is a natural decongestant! The smelling is almost like tea tree and is very strong but very nice and minty. The smell will flood your sinuses immediately, especially putting drops around in a steaming shower.

Oil of Oregano is AMAZING. Seriously. It is from the oregano herb (used in most Italian and Greek recipes) and this one I have pictured above in particular is from the Natural Factors brand. It's organic and with EVOO so it's not as pungent and easier to consume than pure oregano oil.

It promotes immunity because it's a natural germ killer and it's loaded with antioxidants. It's great for getting rid candida albicans infections/overgrowths or psoriasis because of this. Believe it or not but I read that people who have HIV/AIDS have taken it, bed ridden and unable to function, and have gotten out of bed weeks to months after consuming oil of oregano 3 times a daily.

As soon as you ingest it (I just drop it straight into the back of my mouth) and it feel a burst of energy and freshness! It also helps clear up mucus if you're congested!

Bio Zinc, but actually zinc by itself if crucial for producing natural killer cells, neutrophils and other white blood cells which function as immunity in the blood. This is what will directly get rid of your cold, it'll raise your immunity! 

But don't forget the importance of enough rest during a cold! This is the most important.

Benefits of probiotics and Kombucha

We live in a society where the word "fermented" makes anything sound unappealing.
According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, the word fermentation means the following:

a : a chemical change with effervescence

b : an enzymatically controlled anaerobic breakdown of an energy-rich compound (as a carbohydrate to carbon dioxide and alcohol or to an organic acid); broadly : an enzymatically controlled transformation of an organic compound.

Basically, it's when a sugar is converted into an alcohol, via yeasts or bacteria (or both). Beer, wine, sauerkraut, miso, yogurt, and a long list of other foods go through this process as well.
The result?
Living food.
Why is this good?
It put's a load of "healthy bacteria" aka probiotics in our gut to aid digestion, recover from the use of antibiotics by replenishing what our body needs, boosting immunity, maintaining a healthy weight, minimizes inflammation, treating skin problems, etc. There are a million and one studies on the benefits of probiotics in the human body, however let me just tell you, THEY'RE AWESOME FOR YOU!

Everyone, I'd like you to meet my mother.

My kombucha mother! It's also known as a "scoby" and this is the bacteria aspect of the fermentation process. Its basically a big cartilage like pancake. 

I know what you're thinking....

What the f**k?!

But it's actually quite delicious and extremely good for you! Especially when you add fresh fruit, ginger, mint, and lemon... It's great. 

Energizing,

replenishing,

soothing.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Boil a large pot of water with a lot of white sugar. (I'd say about 1/4-1/3 cup to 4 cups of water.)

2. Once sugar is dissolved, steep 3 tea bags in the large pot. (a combination of black and green, one or the other. As long as there is caffiene and it is PLAIN TEA with no flavorings or additives.) 

3. Keep the tea bags in the pot until it cools. You want this tea STRONG!

4. Pour into a large glass jar. Make sure it's GLASS and not metal or plastic. Kombucha likes glass the best.

5. Add the scoby and a little bit of plain raw kombucha. You can also buy a bottle of plain raw kombucha and add it to your sugary tea to make your own scoby! That's how I started.

6. Cover the top with a towel and rubber band so it can breathe.

7. Let it sit for 1-2 weeks in a dark-ish place and you've got yourself homemade kombucha!

You can also add a little bit of raw apple cider vinegar to speed up this process. (Apple cider vinegar is made the same way but with apple juice and is fermented for up to 2 months!)

The first one is kombucha with mint and fresh lilikoi, the second one is kombucha with fresh ginger and gotu kola.

Ginger Sesame Marinated Tofu with Red Cabbage Ginger Slaw

Ginger Sesame Tofu

Half a block of firm tofu, cut into slices (however you please)
Chunk of fresh ginger
1 garlic clove
Small chunk of fresh turmeric root
Sesame oil
Shoyu or Bragg's Liquid Aminos
Fresh lemon juice
black sesame seeds

Cut tofu and pat dry, mix the ingredients above (just a little bit of everything) so that the tofu slices are fully covered in a plastic bag. Marinade for about 2 hours.

Pan fry!

Red Cabbage Slaw

~1 cup of chopped red cabbage
1 tsp salt
2 generous tbsp apple cider vinegar
chunk of ginger
1 small clove of garlic
fresh cilantro
fresh spinach
drizzle of shoyu/Bragg's Aminos
3 tbsp plain non fat yogurt
drizzle of agave (optional)

Massage chopped cabbage with salt and vinegar untill fully saturated and the red color starts to bleed. Grate fresh ginger and garlic and chop up cilantro and spinach. Stir everything up, add yogurt and shoyu. If needed, add agave.

Not a big tofu fan... But garlic ginger and cilantro make anything taste amazing. They're also extremely cleansing and good for a metabolism boost!