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

dairy free ice cream perfection!

With our first mini heat wave almost over, I've been in an ice cream making frenzy once again! The most exciting news is that I've perfected my recipe! Yay!

When I first made ice cream I was using the raw egg, or, no egg techniques, the main reason was, I wanted ice cream in an hour, tops, not 5 hours with lots of preparation over a hot stove.  However, I knew the cooked custard way would probably taste better...

So, I decided to stop being a wimp and experiment some more over the hot stove! It really wasn't that bad or long, and if you're ok with using the microwave, even quicker!  I used the recipe I created in my last post, only I cooked the egg through first in the coconut cream, maple syrup, lemon juice and salt, then added the fruit  ingredient.... Chilled, And, ice cream maker or ice mould freezy magic time later....perfection, sooo delishious, it's certainly worth the prep time and wait time.

I also decided to try using silicon single serve cake moulds and kids ice block moulds, they worked fabulously!!!

So here are the photos...

And here is the recipe

Ingredients...

1 can coconut cream
2 eggs
Pinch salt
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 TSP vanilla essence (one day soon when I can afford it I'll try the real stuff!)
Squeeze lemon juice

For berry ice cream
250 g raspberries or your favourite berry

OR for banana ice cream
one mashed banana

OR for coffee ice cream
1 heaped teaspoon instant coffee, dissolved in one teaspoon hot water

To make...
Whisk together coconut cream, eggs, salt, maple syrup, vanilla, lemon juice.  Stir over low - medium heat until custard thickens.  Add berries or banana or coffee, then chill in your fridge or freezer for a quicker chill!  Then add the mix to your ice cream maker and follow your machines instructions, or, pour directly into your silicone or ice block moulds and freeze a few hours until frozen solid.

Yum!!!!!

Did I say yum?!!! :-)