Time for Cookies! Vegan - Gluten Free

There are so many biscuits around at this time of the year, most of which I can't eat!

I pulled my sleeves up and got to work on a healthy alternative of course, hehe

I've been working on my biscuit recipe for awhile now. To my taste, this one, and it's variations hit the spot, especially the peanut ones, yum!  I was amazed that without gluten they held together while I was cutting them out, and when they came out of the oven much better than any wheat flour biscuit I've ever made. And they aren't tooth breaking hard like some wheat biscuits turn out if you leave them in the oven for a minute or two too long.  They also freeze really well, just grab them out and leave them to defrost on some paper towel. I take one out of the freezer at a time and dunk them in hot tea or coffee, does the trick.

Of course if you want a lower carb version, that you can eat more often ;-) my original recipe can still be used with all the variations I've provided. I'll type it out again at the end of this post...

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl

1 cup rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
Pinch sea salt

In another bowl combine wet ingredients

1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1 tsp pure vanilla bean paste

Preheat oven to 160 Celsius.
Pour wet into dry and mix to a dough. Roll out on a floured board to 1 cm thickness and cut cookie shapes. Sprinkle with a little coconut sugar if desired. Place on greased oven tray. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

And vary to suit....

Variations...

Cinnamon
Add to dry ingredients
2 tsp cinnamon
Finish biscuits with a sprinkle of coconut sugar before they go into the oven

Spice
Add to dry ingredients
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ginger
Finish biscuits with a sprinkle of coconut sugar before they go into the oven

Ginger
Add to dry ingredients
3 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon

Macadamia nut
Replace the maple syrup in recipe with 1/3 cup coconut sugar, add to dry ingredients.
Also add,
1 cup macadamia nuts,
pop half nuts in food processor and grind up, semi fine,
Place in dry ingredients,
Then, place rest of nuts in food processor and grind quickly to just slightly shatter nuts.
Add to dry ingredients and proceed with original recipe.

Peanut
Add,
1 cup peanuts,
pop half nuts in food processor and grind fine,
Place in dry ingredients,
Then, place rest of nuts in food processor and grind quickly to just slightly shatter nuts.
Add to dry and proceed with original recipe


Sarah's nutty biscuit recipe

2/3 cup rice flour
1/3 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup dessicated coconut
1 cup of mixed seeds and/or nuts variations
I use either....
half/half cashews and almonds
Or...
pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds
Or vary it to suit you.
Place nuts and seeds in a coffee grinder and grind finely then add to dry ingredients
1/3 cup maple syrup
Pinch salt
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 lemon juice and zest
1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Combine in a bowl and then place spoonfuls of mix onto a baking tray, press down as they won't spread with baking, bake at 160 C for 20 - 30 minutes

Enjoy, and happy holidays! xx S

The Lady of Joy

Whilst daydreaming in my garden, I looked up at the sky at our beautiful moon, I noticed that a jet was flying by in a path that would pass right next to the moon, for what would make an amazing photo opportunity! I live for these moments! Excitedly I ran inside to grab my camera, but of course I was too late :-( I still got a photo of the moon, and the jet, just not together. 

So, I went back to daydreaming....... 

When I looked up again....I saw something mysterious in the sky, almost out of eyesight range, right by the moon, oh my gosh now they were two mysterious objects!  I quickly came to the logical conclusion that they must be alien ship's! 

"Aliens!!!" said Pip, startled from his sniffing.

Seriously, aliens always freaked me out. 

They are one of the earliest fears I remember, well that and Dame Edna, the band Kiss, flying monkeys, anything in a mask or makeup, sheer terror! Lol!

I'm not so terrified of aliens anymore but I still find anything with a mask on disturbing!  Lol! 
OK.... Flying monkeys still scare me.... 

Arrgh!

"I'm afraid of gnomes mummy..."  aww...poor baby,  you're just going to have to get over it,  mummy loves her gnomes... Be a good boy and they won't eat you. 

Hehehehe,  I'm not so mean truly. Most of the time... Haha! 

Luckily I had my super zoom camera with me, and discovered it wasn't aliens at all, but eagles! "well, that's a relief! "

Eagles soaring through the sky, how excited, blessed and joyful I felt. They happen to be Wedge Tailed Eagles, the second largest bird in Australia, with a wingspan of up to 2.5 meters and soar to an altitude of 2000 meters! That's amazing!

This came the day after I lost a little baby bird I've been looking after. We heard a lot of squawking one evening, it was a little blackbird, on the grass, fallen from its nest, it's parents trying hard to defend it,  poor cat was hiding, the parents were feirce lol. They kept trying to pick it up, show it how to fly to this branch, then the next. I made nests for it,  kept putting it up higher,  but it preferred the ground. The parents looked after it, fed it, I kept it in what I thought was a safe area of the garden, try as we might, it still ended up jumping in the pond and finding it there dead was horrible, it's mother still hanging around, distressed. It was all so sad...I apologized over and over.

Click to visit source 

Love is what binds us all together, everything, everyone, if we open our hearts and minds we see it and feel it,  and I can tell you,  it's a true gift to be in tune to this kind of knowing.  I buried the baby in our fur, feather and fin resting place, and cried my tears....

Click to visit source

I couldn't help feeling I had failed and could have done a better job at protecting it.  So I sought my Wendy Froud Heart of Faerie Oracle Cards trying to find my lesson so I could move forward, it showed me the Lady of Joy card, which made no sense at the time.

 Fast forward a day and The Eagles brought the meaning to light, life is about the moments, the kindnesses, and joys, not about the end result, but the minutes, the seconds and how we use them. We can all feel joy and share joy....nothing and no gesture is too small to bring joy to the world...the baby gave me joy and a purpose, and though I was so sad it had to leave this world early, feeling loss and sadness isn't a bad thing, in our endless struggle to be happy, we forget that it is a key ingredient to the magical rhythm of feeling joy... the eagles brought it back around again...and I feel it deeply.

Click to visit source and read a wonderful poem

Which brings me to the other lesson the little bird taught me, burden and self worth. With been chronically ill, not having independence or control of a lot in my life, I often feel I don't contribute enough in life, my family, my friendships, and the ever-present feeling of being a burden. No one makes me feel this way, it's just part of the mind games chronic illness play. This little bird taught me that it was enough, just being itself, it had its own gifts to bring to the world, even for a short time. I realised that we all play our part in the web of life. I'll carry on doing my bit, whether it's doting on my puppy dog, pottering in my garden or relocating beetles and spiders from inside to outside, it's just as important and is perfectly enough...thank you little birdie 

Love and joy to you all, please share it  x S

must eat cookies!!!!

Spring is always a difficult time for me, spring for all its beauty, brings weather changes and pollens out in force which puts my immune system into  hyper drive, not good with auto immune diseases, so I haven't had a great time of it lately.  I really thought I'd fly past the season this year in good health but life is never smooth sailing unfortunately!  I realised quickly I'd not failed, I've just needed to jump some more hurdles, ninja style of course, I'm stronger for it.

I think spring is so pretty to compensate us on how bad she makes us feel lol!

The Addison's disease brings about lots of weakness and stomach troubles so eating has been a bit of a challenge!  I ended up eating a few processed foods during my worst time, potato chips and a cup of continental soup, resulting in hives, I always had this problem, it had gone away, now I know why! I'm still finding it hard to eat some foods like nuts, so I have created some new recipes so I get some goodness in me easily.

I made the first lemon cookies while I was really sick and needed to eat solids again, they were very easy to eat.

2 cups Gluten free flour
1 flax egg
1/2 lemon juice and zest
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
1/3 cup coconut sugar

Mix together and place spoonfulls on a tray and bake for approx 20 mins at 160 C

The next recipe combinations I'm eating now so I have some nuts and seeds back in my diet, very scrummy and hopefully working to build me back up again!

1 cup gluten free flour
1/2 cup dedicated coconut
1 cup of mixed seeds and/or nuts variations
I used for my first batch...
half/half cashews and almonds
And for my second batch...
pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds
Place nuts and seeds in a coffee grinder and grind finely
1/3 cup coconut sugar - alternatively maple syrup works great too.
Pinch salt
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 lemon juice and zest

Combine in a bowl and then place spoonfuls of mix onto a baking tray, bake at 160 C for 20 - 30 minutes

Hope you enjoy and enjoy the flowers too!

Happy Anniversary To Me :-)

My Anniversary Pie, full of healing ingredients, raw, vegan, gluten free, refined sugar free, full of taste and scrumminess!

banana cream pie recipe

I followed the recipe from here, but used maple syrup instead of the agave and powdered sugar.

As we say goodbye to winter here, my year is also up, it was a year ago when I wrote my first blog post and made the decision to dedicate the rest of my life to healing myself through holistic means instead of tried and failed conventional methods. It has meant not only eliminating sooo much from my diet but bringing in healing to every part of my life...mind, body, spirit.  Was it easy, nope, did I think I couldn't do it, nope ;-) . I've always had undeniable faith in myself and my ability but I still had to come to terms with my situation perhaps getting a lot worse without intense medical treatment. I was ok with that, I was at peace with all and life's cycle when I made my decision.

Sitting here a year later, I feel like a new person, in every way, feeling on top of the world, I live each moment in happiness of how well I feel compared to how I used to feel, each new thing I'm able to do, is a cause for celebration, I cant help it, I'm blown away with the impact its made on me, even if I'm having a bad day I'm still happy, I realise it part of the process of healing now, my body is talking to me, I have learned to listen! I've still got a long way to go, but, its been SO worth all the effort, learning, tweaking, trying again, researching, brainstorming with like minded friends, tweaking and trying some more....I'm still going too, I don't think this process will ever stop, but I'm ok with that, I enjoy every minute.

So, I was so happy and loved that other pie so much...I made another pie....with strawberries! 

The theme song that's been running through my head the whole year has been Jon Bon Jovi's, Never Say Die chorus, ...yeah long time BJ fangirl hehe...now its The Carpenter's, On top of the World one of my favourite songs since I was 7....I love life, I love our earth and its universe, I love my family and friends, I appreciate everything, so much, I love being me, always, but especially at this moment in time, one year I have never once lost my determination, I DID IT!!!  And I'm unashamedly super proud of myself!

For the year ahead, I want to keep moving forward of course, I want to keep sharing the methods that have worked for me and hopefully help people who are in my old situation or want to start living this way of life but don't know how, it can be so overwhelming to begin this journey, added to the mix doctors or even friends or family who don't take it seriously or fight you on your decision. I know I wish I'd started years ago, but it was overwhelming, I was so sick I couldn't even think of how to begin.....I know there are already loads of help sites blogs etc out there, but we are all links of a powerful chain of hands, helping each other...

I already have a group on Facebook where we chat about things to do with healing
Healing in the Kitchen

well, I can't wait to see what happens next, -things I can't even imagine-, so my spirit guide tells me and I have trust in her...

Thanks for reading....

TTFN x S

Moon Shadow....

Following on from my last post....

I certainly did enjoy the full moons energy tonight, took some photos of her beauty and popped my crystals out to cleanse and recharge with healing energies...
 Isn't she lovely

And what's that?  My moon shadow is following me! Hehe, we used to sing this song from Cat Stevens at school, it used to freak me out back then lol

Good night, full moon blessings )0(

wintry stirrings...

I love this time of year, just after Yule, still a chilly month or two of winter to come but the earth is beginning to stir and the wake up.  Whenever I see the bulbs emergeing from their slumber, I am always reminded of one of my favourite childhood books, The Secret Garden.

I remember reading this book for the first time when I was about 10 or 11, I have a memory of sitting outside reading it on a cool sunny spring day, feeling the wind stirring around me and feeling so much as I read, words on paper described the wonder, magic and love I felt in the garden and around nature.

I got this book one day in the supermarket with my mum and granny, the book was in a centre aisle bin full of books, I asked mum if I could have it, she said "no", haha, and so my granny bought it for me, funny the things we remember huh 

We are having a very chilly winter and night tonight, I love looking down the hill of our street and seeing everyone's house lights, cozy.  Let's hope I can see the full moon tonight!

TTFN x S

Wintery Treat to Warm your Tummy...

Gluten, dairy and cane sugar free, 

Apple Spice Slice

Yum, yum, yum! Inspired by my gorgeous Dutch friends apple cinnamon cake http://www.chococolette.com that looked so good in the beautiful photos on her blog I could almost smell it...I really wanted a slice!  So with the wintery weather keeping me indoors, it was perfect timing to get to work on tweaking a recipe to suit my food restriction requirements, I came up with this delicious slice.  

The yummy smell of cake baking...waiting by the hot oven for the timer buzzer to buzz...and the satisfaction of breaking the rules and cutting into the cake...before its cooled...and eating a slightly sloppy piece of warm cake with a hot cup of tea....do rainy days get any better???

- To make the cake base, add to a mixing bowl,

3 medium apples, purée in blender raw, my small $15 blender does the trick, one apple at a time.

1 cup gluten free flour

1 TSP cinnamon

1/2 TSP ginger

1/2 TSP nutmeg

1/4 TSP ground cloves

1/2 TSP sea salt

2 eggs

4 TBS maple syrup

4 TBS coconut cream

3 TBS coconut oil, melted

1 TSP vanilla extract

 2 TSP gluten free baking powder

- Mix until all combined and pour into a slice tin and then start with the crumble topping

- For the crumble, mix together

1/3 cup ground almonds or cashews

1/3 cup shredded coconut

1 TBS coconut sugar

1 TSP cinnamon

3 TBS coconut oil, melted

- spread evenly over slice base

- bake in a preheated oven 160 C for approximately 30 mins or until cooked through to centre

Enjoy 😊

Pretty Pansy..

Pressing flowers, it's something I used to enjoy doing as a child, I haven't thought about it for a long while but I used to love my little flower press, I think my mum bought it for me from one of those book catalogues we found in magazines (not sure if those places still exist, but its what we did for book bargains before the internet lol)   I used to press all sorts of flowers, even sour sobs hehe, I made bookmarks and decorate lavender bags and all sorts. The little book that cane with my press had ideas and other information, such a small thing but I used it a lot, I loved and still love my books and stuff...

So, in an effort to keep my spirits at their highest this past week to cope with feeling poorly again, I decided to think back to simple happies, coinciding with our first heat wave arriving and probable crisping of my pansy plants, I decided to get picking and pressing! 

I went out in the beautiful sunny breezy morning -delishious, I love fresh country mornings! Making sure I thanked the flower faeries, (and left some for them too, they are at the height of their clothes making season after all!), I collected quite a pile of beautiful blooms.  

Pansies have the flower meaning "think of me", which is special to me today because it's been one year today that my dog Kira went over the rainbow bridge.  I have been thinking of her a lot.

Place them spaced out on absorbent paper, I used the old fashioned technique, between heavy books, simple, enjoyment, nothing too hard or serious here.

 Pile them up to squish the flat and load up the fat books on top, quite an impressive tower I have hehe

 I can't wait to see them dried out and pressed ready to use in some art journal pages, and perhaps a bookmark or two.

x Sarah