Food/Health

I received the second part of my Valentine's gift from my sweetheart, late but not his fault and so worth the wait. My nosebleed expensive Isopure!!!! I tried it today and must admit, It is the first protein that has not upset my stomach and that I like the taste of. I am notoriously difficult about protein powders but with my difficulty absorbing nutrients, I needed something. My Poppa Bear got me vanilla cream and it's delicious!!!
Will try some recipes with it and get back to you, today I added a frozen banana and some cinnamon. I made a lot bcs I was sharing it with a friend, here's my 7.5lbs of Isopure with smoothies. Big smiles and smackas for my love!!

Sunday cool

I found this drawing of Batman & Wonder woman and I had to share along with the Wonder woman kicks that would make for a lovely addition to my closet.
Have a positive and loving start to the week sweetpea's!

Garlicky Lime Fish

This is the easiest recipe ever, it's great when you are in a crunch, feeling tired, lazy, or not sure what to do with your fish but want it to taste good. As always pics follow to guide you.

Garlicky Lime Fish:
Ingredients
-4 Tilapia filets or any white fish you prefer
-4 Cloves garlic
-S&P (salt & pepper)
-1 Fresh lime
-1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Method:
-Place fish in a heat-proof, non-reactive dish.
-Sprinkle with S&P on both sides
-Crush a clove of garlic on each piece of fish & rub it in but only use half of the clove on one side, the remaining half on the other side.
-Pour olive oil over all the fish and rub in gently.
-Zest lime over all the fish, cover and refrigerate 1-4 hours, if you are unable to wait try to give it 15mins before you cook it.
-Preheat your oven to 375F bake fish for 10-15 mins until flakes easily but is not dry.
-Serve hot with vegetable slather , guacamole, or sautéed mushrooms with caramelized onions. Goes well with mashed sweet potatoes and asparagus too!
Makes 2-4 servings depending on the size of your fish and the appetites of those you serve.

Miss Macadamia Bliss Smoothie

Super easy breakfast to go, was not uber hungry and wanted nutritious but soothing. The macadamia butter eases the acidity in the strawberries and the vanilla gives a nice perfume along with a gentle, welcome awakening for your taste buds. I hope you enjoy it, the recipe and pics follow below.

Miss Macadamia Bliss Smoothie:
Ingredients
-1/14 C Strawberries, frozen
-1/2 tsp vanilla powder
-1/4C Raw macadamia butter
-2 Tbsp Cold pressed organic coconut oil
-1/4 C Raw organic agave nectar
-1 C Water

Method:
I have to slice my strawberries before putting them in the blender because my prayers for a Blend-tec blender have yet to be answered, so I help the Osterizer along by slicing before it gets it's blend on.
Throw all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth, taste to adjust sweetness as some strawberries can be more sour than others. Be careful to add a TBSP of agave at a time when needing to adjust sweetness because it becomes unbearably saccharine so quickly when too much is used.
Enjoy a delightful, healthy, and bright
start to your day my lovelies.

More recipes to follow later on today, fish and vegetable slather as requested and promised.

Take care, be well, & love freely. K

New Toy for my Kitchen

I finally replaced my no stick pan, my other one disappeared a ways back rather mysteriously. I have been making due with a slightly bubbled middle old pan from my mother but it was craptacular to say the least. I am not big on no stick equipment for various health reasons but if treated with great care I find them to be invaluable for pancakes, crepes, potato galettes, and eggs. Tomorrow we have a fish recipe going up that is SUPER easy, not expensive and best of all, really fast. Kitty requested it so I will be posting it along with the vegetable slather as promised. This post is labeled under things I hope for because I am tickled pink to learn that The Kinky Coconut has finally made it on google search, this was a feel good moment in a really rough week. I am giving thanks and am feeling very blessed. This calls for an ice cream cone, well at least a picture of one since dairy and I don't hang anymore. ;P
Have a delightful evening my lovelies!

West Indian Cornmeal Breakfast Porridge

West Indian Cornmeal Porridge:
Serves 4-6 can be reheated, just add a bit of milk.

Ingredients
-1 C FINE cornmeal, not coarse!
- 3 C water + 1/2C for blooming cornmeal
-1/2-1C milk of your choice, I use almond
-Spice mix: 1stick cinnamon, 5-7 whole pimento berries(Jamaican allspice), 6 scrapes off of a whole nutmeg, 1-2 whole cloves, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon.
-1 Can of condensed milk
-1 Tbsp real vanilla

Method:
-Pour cornmeal into a heavy-bottomed pot, add 1/2 cup of water and stir through. Allow to sit and "bloom" for 5-10 mins.
-Add spices, 3C water, vanilla, & stir.
Now is the time to make sure you have ALL your ingredients at the ready, that means opened, measured, along with whisk and spoon. Everything must be right next to you because once you begin the cooking process you can't leave it or stop stirring. If you do not follow these instructions, it will lump and burn every time.
-Place pot on medium-low heat, no higher than 5. Stir often, it will start to thicken after 5-10 mins.
-When thickened add the condensed milk
and stir very well. Cook 1min then add milk.
-Continually stir, you may use the whisk if any lumps appear at anytime. Cook until it thickens to consistency you prefer, shorter cook time for a more runny porridge and longer cook time for a thicker porridge.
-Remove from heat and dip your wooden spoon in to coat the back of it (napper la cuillére, as Chef's refer to it), then run your finger through it. The line should stay, that means it's ready.

You are aiming for a thick sauce consistency but not as thick as oatmeal, although my son likes it pretty close to it. I prefer a more runny porridge, it's really up to you. Serve with fresh crusty bread for dipping, biscuits, hard dough buns from the West Indian market, or even buttered toast. This is very rich, nourishing, and filling so don't serve more than 11/2 C of it at a time. Remember to take a few deep breathes before eating, to give thanks for your lovingly prepared meal, & to share it with those you love.
Here are pics to help you on your culinary adventure, enjoy!

Need to Give Myself Some TLC

Rough one so I am bunkered down with all the things that bolster a bruised spirit. Yes there was chocolate. Turning that frown upside down and giving me some TLC. Tough times require us to give gentle, nurturing moments back to ourselves. Thank you God for keeping me going, I feel you.
If you are struggling today, know that you are not alone no matter how lonely it feels. Reach out, there are hugs and warmth to be found & you do deserve them. I am putting pics up, if you really need a hug, use the hug coupon and tell them it's accepted everywhere in the world.

Take care, be well, love freely...K

Family

I missed my, not so little anymore son. We had fun, will post tomorrow along with recipes. I am just exhausted, the day flew by with so much happening. It's a blessing to have one's days full, so thank you Lord, in Jesus name.

Pikelets test run

So the Pikelets recipe I tried that were grain-free and gluten-free, ended up being quite delicious with savoury foods added to them. I ate mine with fresh basil, tomato with Herbamare, & a nice piece of garlicky fish I had left over in my fridge. I added a dollop of mayo to one just to see if it made a difference. Honestly, homemade mayo is so good and fat makes the taste buds dance so of course it tasted great but that's being kept to a minimal while I clean eat. Here are the pics below, I will be coming up with my own variation of this recipe which was not mine. The reason is that I found it tastes way too strongly of baking soda, the strong tastes of the food I paired with then covered this offensive taste until I tried them on their own. Will be posting that at a later date. I have not made my vegetable, vegan sandwich slather yet but will when I get home so it will be posted as promised soon.
Have a lovely blessed week sweetpea's!

To the one I love

Happy Anniversary Poppa Bear! Our love grows stronger with every day that passes. I am my beloved's and he is mine.

Playing in the kitchen

I am in the process of trying out some recipes that are grain-free flatbread/crepe re-placers. I have never had pikelets but am looking forward to having something portable that I can eat fillings with as I go off gallivanting tomorrow. I will post pics along with my thoughts, this recipe was given to me by someone who follows Paleo diet. I am not a Paleo follower as I have a really hard time with red meat of any kind and I don't eat pork, they just don't digest well and being woken up at 2am with debilitating cramps is not my idea of fun. My man recommends branch chain aminos along with my digestive enzymes, I will test this out once I stabilize my current digestive/reactive challenges.
I am making a sandwich vegetable slather but forgot to soak the nuts overnight so I will post this tomorrow along with pics.

I am feeling really great today, the bloating is going way down, my face is not itchy, I have more energy than I have in weeks, and I even managed to do some gentle yoga stretches today. Digestive health really impacts overall health, I feel the probiotics are making headway and steering clear of all grains is definitely showing promise. Wow, more food challenges in the kitchen to dive into in such a short period of time. It seems when I finally felt confident in the gluten-free genre, life decided I should not rest too comfortably on my laurels.
Sidebar: I am eating a nectarine as I write this and it is the best I have had in longer than I can remember. It's the little things that bring happy moments too ;D

Looking forward to bringing yummie's to your tummie's tomorrow. Have a beautiful Sunday my lovelies.

As always, take care, be well, & love freely. K

Puppy Love

I came across these pics of Labradoodle dogs and puppies and have become obsessed! I want one of these so badly, I hear they are safe for allergy sufferers. My boyfriend says that once were married and living together, that if I want that dog it's mine but he refuses to walk it cuz he's not into wimpy dogs. We both originally wanted a husky but they make me super sick so now I am looking at alternatives. I can't help but think he'll fall in love with a cute, furry chocolate Labradoodle puppy as quickly as I will. Here's the dog we would have had and after comes the one we will one day make room for. Prepare yourself for cuteness overload!

What you Should Know About Going Gluten-free and Grain-free

Today is groceries day, we ran around to about 4 different stores but something is always missing. It seems buckwheat is considered "exotic" as a food staple in my neck of the woods. Ugh! It's alright though because I will be making a stop in the next few days to grab my missing ingredients at the health food store. So, I have been in an allergy cycle for the last week that has been making me feel physically miserable even though I have been in a positive frame of mind. I had finally calmed my reactions to the final day or two of bloat and itchies and was in a great mood about it.
Then I went to my Vietnamese joint I adore because I can actually eat gluten-free there, well, maybe not so good for me after all as I reacted to the rice noodles which is the same dish I have been having for a long time but the last few times I have been reacting to it and nothing has changed in the recipe. I am on friendly terms with the staff & Chef so it's easy to ask. Now it seems that I will be making more changes to my already complicated eating regimen. I am reacting to all manner of grains, gluten free grains!!! I had gluten-free rice crackers and my body flipped out, same with my quinoa bread and various other foods. Not cool. It seems this may be an autoimmune response which may be linked to my thyroid. More tests yippee!!!!!! NOT!
Actually, it deserves a good giggle. It's become de rigueur to have complications somewhere along the line for most gluten-free eaters. I read a whole bunch of info on a great blog at:
Betterbydrbrookewordpress.com

This is what she had to say and I think it's going to help save my life and bring balance back to my days.

Why You're not Losing Weight on a GF Diet.

You Could Be Reacting To The Gluten Free Grains You’re Now Eating
A sensitivity to gluten increases the chances that you’re also sensitive to many of the foods you’ll turn to on a gluten free lifestyle including sorghum, millet, tapioca, amaranth, quinoa, rice, hemp, corn, and potato. These foods do not contain gluten but may still be a problem for you, this is called “gluten cross reactivity”. And if you’ve got a gluten issue, I’ve got some really bad news: coffee and chocolate are among the most common cross reactors. Tragic, I know.

Consider a grain free diet and utilize non-grain based starches such as sweet potato, pumpkin, squash, and legumes (note: autoimmune patents are also at high risk for reacting to the lectins in legumes, sorry! Best for you folks to leave them out as well.) Cyrex Labs offers a gluten cross reactivity panel if you’ve committed to gluten free and wondering which grains, etc might be good alternatives for you. Visit www.cyrexlabs.com and look at Array 4.

You May Have Increased Intestinal Permeability (AKA Leaky Gut)
This means larger proteins are getting through a leaky intestinal barrier causing inflammation and winding up you immune system. A “leaky gut” is due to inflammation in the gut that has caused a bit of swelling in the cells of your intestines, damaging the junctions between the cells allowing larger proteins to get through. Normally only small things pass through such as a single amino acid or a molecule of glucose. When these larger proteins end up in our blood stream where our immune system sees them and attacks, causing inflammation, bloating, puffiness and trouble shedding fat.

This creates inflammation in and of itself, which makes it hard to lose weight, but it also increase the chance that you’re have any of those cross re-activities I just mentioned.

We can get a leaky gut from years of a bad diet, eating foods that we are sensitive to, taking antibiotics or doing anything that disrupts the delicate balance of probiotics in our gut, various medications, having hypothyroidism or being under high stress.

Gluteomorphins May Be At Play
You may be reacting to gluteomorphins, a byproduct of our own digestion of gluten which act in the brain on opiod receptors causing a “high”. When we take that away, you obviously feel worse for a period of time as you go through a withdrawal period. Crazy huh? Our food is literally medicine!

When people have this reaction, they not only feel pretty lousy when they first come off gluten but their cravings for it sky rocket. If they manage to stick to their gluten free guns, they will usually end up eating a lot of other carbs to satisfy the cravings causing weight loss to stall….or worse, causing a weight gain.
Hidden Exposure
Despite your best efforts – you may still be eating gluten. Here’s a lengthy list of at least some of the more common places you’ll see it:

Gluten Containing Grains:
Wheat
Barley
Spelt
Kamut
Rye
Triticale
Most processed cereal
Oats (unless specifically labeled gluten free and note: oats are common cross reactors as well)
Couscous
Bulgar wheat

Short List of Commonly Used Gluten Derivatives:

Alcohol made from grains: beer, whisky, vodka (unless purely potato), Scotch, most liquors and cheaper wines.
Artificial coloring additives
Chewing Gum
Battered Foods (i.e. fish sticks, fried appetizers, occasionally sweet potato or regular fries) and foods fried in same oil as battered foods (French fries).
Biscotti, pastries and any baked good made from flour, not specified as gluten free
Bran
Many juices and fruit drinks
Sauces in general, horseradish sauce and most pre-made salad dressings (unless gluten free)
Canned meat containing preservatives, canned vegetables (unless in water only)
Items containing hydrolyzed vegetable protein (often made with wheat)
Caramel (other than from US and Canada)
Imitation seafood (usually made with a starch, common in sushi)
Instant hot drinks (coffee, tea, hot chocolate, etc)
Ketchup and most condiments (anything made with modified food starch has corn and/or wheat)
Rice syrup (may contain barley malt)
Soups (most commercially made canned or frozen soup)
Spices including white pepper, curry powder, bouillon cubes or powder
Soy sauce (except Tamari wheat free soy sauce) and most Chinese sauces
Malt
Veined cheeses (may be made from molds that may be of bread origin)
Mustards (unless specifically gluten free, read label for modified food starch)
Margarines
Sausages
Flavor enhancers including MSG (monosodium glutamate), glutamic acid, monopotassium glutamate, ammonium glutamate

Note: gluten free grains include rice, millet, quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth and teff.

And one final thing: gluten may simply not be as inflammatory for you as it is your friend who had the skies part and the heavens sing when they cut it out. In this case, there may be another reason why your weight loss has plateaued and some gluten containing foods on occasion will probably not make or break your health.

So, if going gluten free was less dramatic than you’d hoped, consider these things and take another pass accounting for the reasons above.


Thank you Dr. Brooke, so I am now going to clean & cleaner eating and praying for positive results. I will be incorporating digestive enzymes, good probiotics, Aloe Vera whole leaf juice, liquid iron, and protein that is allergen friendly. My beloved who is also a weight trainer specializing in sports nutrition recommends Iso Pure. I will get back to you on all of this.
In the meantime, I am happy to post a snapshot of my fridge which I feel very blessed about being filled with a powerhouse of healthy foods. Thank you God for making such things available to those of us in need, I know how lucky we are.
Here is what a clean eating fridge looks like:

Valentine's Day

Remember...