When life gives you lemons, well, you make chia pudding on a nectarine. As I continue my healing journey I find that my palate is definitely starting to change. I no longer crave dairy-based desserts and I've weaned myself off of all artificial sugars/sweeteners! Life is good as long as I have tasty substitutes for my sweet cravings and this is by far one of the best.  I used no oils/fats for the nectarine I simply placed a pan on very  low heat and put the cut half of the nectarine on the hot pan for about a minute then served it on a plate with my coconut vanilla chia pudding. It's been a long and difficult "health" journey but so well worth it for my health is much more important than my desire to eat oh-so-tasy foods! Till next time my loves!!

I remember that as children, there would always be pan dulce (sweet bread) on the table to eat after dinner. I am definitely a lover of bread, especially when its loaded with sugar. How many of you can relate? My favorite??? Polvorones and an occasional concha. Unfortunately, my health will not permit me to indulge in all of that sugary goodness so I had to find a way to satiate the sweet tooth, and voila! I present to you the most satisfying and delicious "dessert" of all time!

The ingredients are definitely staples at home and are probably at yours too! Recipe? Too simple. Cut up a banana, about a tablespoon or so of almond butter, a generous drizzle of raw organic honey and a few dashes of organic Vietnamese cinnamon! I like to make my own almond butter with no added ingredients other than the almonds but if you're looking to purchase an almond butter that is out of this world, try Justin's Almond Butter, I always keep a small jar of their Classic Almond Butter at work for emergencies! You can purchase it through Thrive Market along with any other staples you might need. Chew slowly and savor every single bite, you'll absolutely love it. Do I still crave sweet bread? Yes, because it reminds me of my childhood but I am creating new and healthier memories for my family and hopefully yours too. Enjoy!!

Well, well, well..... I had to go and get hooked on this deliciously satisfying drink by Rebbl Tonic.  I've had some of their other tonics and elixirs but this one takes the cake. When you first open the "Turmeric Golden-Milk", the creamy and rich looking liquid looks more like if you're about to drink soup, but once you take the first sip it is absolutely delicious! I'm open for comments and questions if you'd like more info on this elixir. Don't believe me? Try it for yourself! Thank you Rebbl for making my morning!!

Dairy free, Non-GMO and naturally caffeine free.

So it seems like I've been off the grid for a while but not really by choice.  I have my good and bad days, having an underactive thyroid is not fun. I went to the endocrinologist and he insisted that diet has nothing to do with the cause of the disease or the healing of it either. I beg to differ, when I eat something that contains gluten or dairy my body reacts and not in a good way.  Who wants to wake up tired, have brittle nails, and have no energy at all? I remember an acupuncturist telling me once that I had the power to make the changes to heal my dis-ease. Boy, was she right. We cannot expect others to fix or heal us, we must take responsibility for our own lives and heal ourselves.

I started doing some research and decided that as much as I love being a foodie, things must change if I wish to live a full and healthy life. Making a drastic change is never easy though, it's like learning to walk all over again. Will it be difficult? Yes, but just for a short while. Will you want to pull your hair out? Yes, but please don't. :)  

Around Christmas time I purchased a book for my boyfriend that explained what paleo was and why we should eat paleo. It has been sitting on the shelf for a few months and I finally made the decision to start reading it a few weeks ago. The book, "Practical Paleo" is such an easy to follow guide and recipe book that makes it very easy to succeed at eating clean. Because I've had to take the initiative to take control of my life again, she has provided an easy to follow blueprint of the autoimmune meal plan. I am not going to say it's a piece of cake to follow because we all have become accustomed to a certain way of eating. But like I said, my health is at risk. There are many restrictions when you follow the Auto Immune Paleo protocol but it gets easier with time. Just ask yourself, "is my health worth it"? For more details, check out the Practical Paleo site! Enough of that and lets get to the good stuff!

What you see above a dish similar to the shrimp louie I had posted before. I used canned wild caught salmon in water with no salt added, organic cucumbers, a whole avocado and yellow onion. I created a dressing with coconut oil, dried sage and rosemary, ground cumin and himalayan sea salt along with the juice of half of an organic lemon. I mixed that into the salmon mixture then garnished it with micro greens.
This follows the AIP meal plan and I must tell you that it really was as good as it looks. I then dumped it into the organic red lettuce leaf, wrapped it up and enjoyed every single bite.  

Although this may seem like a summer dish, I believe avocados should be eaten year round.  I have always loved avocados and cannot remember ever saying I was tired of eating them. A few years ago I stumbled into Lemonade, the restaurant, and I've got to say that the endless choices of items on their menu made me an addict.  If you've ever been to Lemonade you know that it can be a bit intimidating.  Cafeteria style, and endless choices could have you dashing for the door.  But no, not me.  I had to have some of the mouthwatering dishes!  I was no more than 5 people away from ordering when I saw something amazing....... An avocado stuffed with shrimp?  I could not contain myself!! Nevertheless, I waited in line like a good girl thinking of nothing but that stuffed avocado. Yes I ordered it, nothing else. Yes I devoured it, to the last spoonful.  Needless to say, I had to make this at home and keep it in rotation.  What you see above is my interpretation of it and I must say I outdid myself with this!  Cilantro, lime, cucumber, salt and pepper.  Oh, I must not forget the two tablespoonfuls of coconut oil that I cooked the shrimp in.  There is heaven on earth.  :) 

There’s just something so amazingly comforting to me when I bite into a vanilla cupcake with a rich, buttery frosting.  Would you believe me if I told you that I had to make these three days in a row? I could not keep up with the demand! (:

You see, I had such a craving one night after dinner to eat something sweet. With nothing on hand I sat here and thought, “What could I possibly make that wouldn’t take all night?” I looked inside my pantry and noticed I had plenty of Gluten Free Baking Flour.  Vanilla paste? Check. Unsalted butter? Check. Eggs? Check! I must say I was ecstatic and I got to work immediately.

If you notice, I’m using spring themed baking cups. That was a total accident as I just grabbed the first ones I found but these will definitely be on the Easter dessert table because they’re just “that good!”  So, these beauties you’ll be seeing again on Easter with a little more decoration for the kiddos.  The frosting? I’ll be talking about that at a later date. This frosting deserves its own story. Till next time !

If you love coffee creamer, raise your hand!

Have you every looked at the ingredients though? I mean, I can’t pronounce most of the ingredients let alone know what they are! So, because my boyfriend loves to add vanilla creamer to his piping hot coffee I decided to make a creamer just for him.  I must say, this is a creamer I can and will cheat with on the rare occasion that I do not have any coconut creamer made because I rarely consume dairy. With it being so easy to make, why wouldn’t you make it yourself? Plus, it’s absolutely delicious! Don’t believe me? Try it for yourself, I dare you!  I am now in search of an old fashioned creamer container to put this in, wish me luck! Make sure you post a comment to let me know what you’ve added to yours to make it marvelous!

On a side note: I’ve added a splash of this creamer to my Banana-Almond Butter Ice Cream recipe and I must say it is delicious!

Recipe Follows:

This creamer recipe is very versatile.  You can add any flavor you’d like if plain vanilla isn’t your thing.  I find that if you also add a splash of almond extract to this recipe it is also very good but that is just a personal preference.  This recipe makes about 2 cups and stays good for about 10 days in the refrigerator.

½ cup organic whole milk

1 ½ cups of heavy cream

3 tablespoons of organic grade A maple syrup (medium amber)

1 tablespoon of vanilla paste

Pour milk and heavy cream into a saucepan and whisk in the maple syrup. Turn on the heat to medium and whisk until right before a boil. Add vanilla paste and whisk until fully mixed. Turn off the heat, cover the pot and let it sit for about 30 minutes.  Pour into a mason jar through a sieve and refrigerate. Voila!

I am always in the mood for a good breakfast. Especially when it looks like this! Remember when I said I was a foodie? I truly am but the problem is, I usually end up eating all of my food before I remember to take a photo! This time I was patient enough to wait. Haha. Now, you might ask " But aren't you gluten-free". Why, yes I am! 99% of the time anyway. I mean come on, could you resist this? You have this warm toasted, buttery English muffin with a hearty portion of smoked salmon, sautéed spinach, poached eggs and their homemade hollandaise sauce. I must tell you, it was well worth the cheat! This place, The Novel Café, is located in Pasadena California. If you're ever in town you must stop by, and the best part about it is breakfast is served all day. Thank you for making my cheat meal a meal to remember!