Coconut/Almond Flour Pancakes

Happy (almost) 2013!  What a year it has been.... I think 2012 can be summed up in one word- CRAZY.  At one point in 2012, Brenton and I looked at each other and had the exact same thought:  "This is the strangest thing we have ever done" (referring to the last minute trip where we flew CMH-PHX-LAX-LAS so he could play onstage with 311 at the MGM Grand Arena).

 
















2013 will have a new word.  Sure, spontaneity is always fun (...sometimes fun, or maybe just exhausting), but this upcoming year needs to chill back a little.

Breathe.

Ah.  That sounds nice.   Breathe.  More exercise- more breathing.  More meditation- more breathing.  More practicing of music- more breathing.  You get the picture.

So who wants pancakes (lol)?  I made some awesome coconut flour/almond flour pancakes this morning that were totally om nom nom worthy.


4 eggs, room temperature
1 cup coconut milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 T honey

1/2 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup almond flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Blend all of the ingredients together in a food processor or blender

Then scoop into a 'pre-heated coconut oil greased' skillet and cook both sides until done!  We added some chocolate chips to a few of them....

Happy New Year, my dears.  Good things to come in 2013- maybe even some VLOGGING.  Lord help us all.

xoxo

In a rush - No-Bake Pancakes

Good day, everybody!  December is a-flying by (holy.cow.) and I feel like in another blink of an eye, Christmas will be here!!  I have a good amount of time off of work during the time between Christmas and New Years, and I've gotta say, I'm REALLY looking forward to it.  2012 has about done me IN!  I feel like I have been in a rush to get something done every day for the last few months.  In an effort to try to help keep my stress level down, I have been trying to do really quick or cook ahead meals lately.  I've been eating eggs for breakfast almost every day, which is great because they're nutritious and very quick to make, but this morning I wanted something a little different.  So, I adapted Ani Phyo's Raw Coconut Breakfast Cakes this morning and I've gotta say, they came out really good!

Coconut Breakfast Cakes

Ingredients:

1/2 C Flax Meal (Ground Flaxseeds)
1 T Shredded Coconut (Unsweetened)
1 T Coconut Oil
1 t Raw Honey
1/8 t Sea Salt
1/2 t Cinnamon
1 T Water

Mix all of the above ingredients in a bowl until a soft dough forms

Pat the cakes into "pancakes" on a plate

Top with grass-fed butter and berries of your choice (or maple syrup)

Be sure to enjoy these with a big glass of water!  Your tum tum will thank you  :)

xoxo

Why I am back on meat.

Yep, you read that correctly.  Here we go.  I have already lost a few Facebook Fans with the comment that I am eating meat again, so we'll see how this goes!  It's true, I am back on the meat.  To keep from going into a dissertation, I'll give you a cliff-notes version as to why I decided to make this switch.

First of all, let me tell you why we decided to go OFF of meat in the first place.  It was because of this movie, Food Inc.  It is a sad, but enlightening movie into the food industry, but after seeing the inhumanely treated animals, our hearts caused our brains to not want to eat meat again.  We were vegetarian for 2 years (I went on and off fish).

And now, why I decided to go back ON meat.

1- Gluten-free, Soy-free.  When we started eating vegetarian, we were NOT gluten free or soy free.  Eating out at restaurants being vegetarian is a piece of cake.  Eating out at restaurants being gluten-free, soy-free, and vegetarian is not.  In fact, I had a meltdown at Walt Disney World back in 2011 (where the chefs are AWESOME with food allergies) because I felt like I was starting to develop an eating disorder by being so restrictive.  Being a recovering emetophobic (yes, I am working on this), I am prone to eating issues, and this was something that was adding to my list of anxiety-causing situations.  I am gluten-free and soy-free for health reasons, but vegetarian by choice.

2- Energy.  I am a very healthy eater. You all know, I eat almost completely organic, unprocessed foods.  Even with eating a zillion plants, nuts, seeds, fruits, eggs, dairy products, etc., I felt hungry and drained all the time.  I wanted to eat every 2 hours, I wanted to take naps, and I was super irritable.  My busy lifestyle couldn't support me feeling this way, and I knew that if I felt like this, there was a reason, and I needed to make a change.

3- Acne.  Holy heavens.  When I went gluten-free and soy-free, my acne ERUPTED.  I attribute this to one main factor- sugar.  I was replacing the wheat products I was used to with gluten-free products...sugar from grains, sugar from dairy, sugar from fruit, sugar itself... sugar was in most everything.  Within the first WEEK of adding pastured/free-range meat to my diet, my acne calmed WAY down, and is now almost non-existent.  I also attribute this to my hormones becoming more regulated from being off the soy.

4- Travel.  The last trip to Disney about did me in.  I cried in 3 of the restaurants, had to get up and leave one of them a couple of times.  It wasn't pretty, and was probably the worst Disney vacation I had ever had.  Hubs and I do like to travel, and we didn't want food restrictions to get in the way of us having a good time.  Life is too short for that.  So, this past trip we went to the Canadian Rockies, and had an AMAZING time.  We were able to eat at restaurants without feeling 'different'.  They're so gluten-free friendly in that part of Canada (it was wonderful), and I didn't have to live on salad or brown rice pasta.  I'll do a bloggie about my foodie adventures there soon.  We're planning on going to Disney in September, 2013, and Norway in 2014, with some smaller trips in between, and it's so much easier to dine out gluten-free when you can eat meat- that's just the way it is.

5- Life.  It was a big, emotional decision to start eating meat again.  We are very picky about the type of meat we get- all free-range, pastured meat.  We don't buy any conventional, factory-farmed meat because we know it's not good for our bodies.   I have lost 5+ pounds, I'm more emotionally stable, my acne has calmed down, I have more energy, my 'cycle' has regulated (TMI, sorry), and I feel GOOD.  That in itself is plenty of proof that I'm doing the right thing for MY body.  I'm sure there are people that do very well on a vegetarian/vegan diet, but over the past two years, hubs and I found out that we don't.

Now, I do have an eating routine that I'm sticking to-

1- Increase the amount of veggies I eat each day (lots of different types, both cooked and raw)
2- Increase the amount of probiotic foods (Bubbies Sauerkraut, Kombucha, Yogurt...)
3- When cooking for myself at home (which is 95% of the time) only use pastured eggs, free-range meat, raw dairy (if available) or at least organic.
4- Limit gluten-free pre-packaged products.
5- Eat some fruit each day, mostly berries.
6- Limit beans, rice, corn, and other legumes/grains.
7- Increase water intake

I have been doing this for a couple of months now, and I really do feel a difference.  This is right for ME, though not right for everybody, I'm sure.  I'll continue to post gluten-free and soy-free recipes, both vegetarian and non, and to all of my veggie and vegan followers out there, never fear- I still love a good raw meal every now and again ;)

xoxo

Who Wants Apples?! Crust-less Apple Pie a la Mode

Good afternoon everyone.  Who wants apples?!  Tis the season (thank gawd)- apples are in full swing, and I'm noshing away on them!  I made a SUPER EASY dessert this weekend that is TOTALLY worth a try!  Check it-

Crust-less Apple Pie a la Mode

Serves 2

1 Organic Apple, chopped into bite size pieces
1 t Cinnamon
1 t Nutmeg
1 t Vanilla Extract
1/4 c Water

Add all of the ingredients (except for the water) to a saucepan

Put a lid on the saucepan, and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes

Add 1/4 cup of water, remove lid, and allow to simmer for 5-8 minutes

Once the liquid is reduced and the apples are soft, it's done!   Eat as is, or top with vanilla ice cream.

















This makes a great topping for pancakes, too!  Enjoy!  xoxo

4 Ingredient Grain-Free Cookies (Egg-Free)

HOLY TGIF, Batman.  To celebrate the end of a ridiculous week, I decided to try a new cookie recipe.  What better way to celebrate, huh?

Here we go.

4 Ingredient Grain-Free Cookies (Egg-Free)



Note:  This recipe makes 8 small cookies, or 4 normal size cookies- you pick!

3 T Coconut Flour
2 T Cold Butter (unsalted)
1 T Raw Honey
1 pinch Sea Salt

Preheat the oven to 365* (odd temperature, I know)
In a food processor, process all of the ingredients until the dough forms

Roll dough into little balls and flatten on a parchment-lined cookie sheet
















Bake 9 minutes, or until golden brown.


In the meantime, eat what's left in the food processor with a spoon LOL.  This, mixed with Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips would make a FANTASTIC cookie dough.  I'm going to remember that for next time.  GASP- mix that with some vanilla ice cream.... omg it's getting dangerous now.

















The finished product.

Om nom nom.  Just enough to have a cookie fix without making a dozen and eating them for the next few days...or all at once.  The finished cookie would be a great crumbly topping on a baked apple or in the Pumpkin Pie Smoothie that I made the other day!!   Oh the ideas I'm having....


xoxo

Completely Unsolicited GF Pizza Review

Good day, everyone.  As I got home from work yesterday, I remembered that I had picked up a frozen pizza to try from our local-ish health food store.

Here it is!

Against the Grain Gourmet Pizza.  I had never tried it before, but what caught my eye was the small ingredient list.

Yeah, ok, that looks great.  And it gave the option for crispy crust or bendable crust.  What?  You can have bendy gluten-free pizza crust?  Since wheeeennnn???


I decided to put the frozen pizza on a my weathered baking sheet (it builds character) because  frankly we're selling our house and 99% of my baking stuff has been packed away.  It's fun- lots of fun.  Kind of like living out of a rental vacation home and I have to clean up every crumb as it happens.  FlyLady would be proud, I suppose.

In to the oven it went.  Then hubs says to me "can we put sausage on top??"  Why, of course!

Yes, yes, I know what you're thinking.  WHAT?!  YOU'RE EATING MEAT?!  SINCE WHEN?!  Well, since a few months ago.  I'll address this in more detail in another bloggie, don't worry.

And yaddy yaddy yaddy bingo bango, the pizza was done- about 15 minutes!  I topped half of the pizza with the sausage that I had cooked up, just so we could try the pizza as it was meant to be, too.

Holy.Heavens.

This was THE best frozen gluten-free pizza I have EVER had.  I'm not being paid to say that, I didn't get the pizza for free to review (though, Against the Grain, I would LOVE to get a pizza for free to review....just sayin').  The crust was doughy, the cheese was stringy, the pesto was awesome, and the pizza was huge.  We have leftovers for hubs' lunchie today, so for only paying a little over $13 for the pizza, and it was money well spent!  Quality ingredients, and totally an indulgence.  Of course my waistline wouldn't want to eat this every day.... but my taste buds sure would!  Way to go, Against the Grain!  You did a great job on this one!

xoxo.

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Good morning, everybody!  Another frigid day in central Ohio, but I looooove fall so I can't say that I'm complaining!  What I also love about fall is anything and everything PUMPKIN.  I decided last night that this morning I would use the leftover canned pumpkin from yesterday's grain-free pumpkin bread to make myself a pumpkin pie smoothie for breakfast.

SIMPLE ingredients, and oh so good.  These can of course be adapted to fit your dietary needs.

1/2 c Canned Pumpkin
1/2 c Coconut Milk (Cow, Almond, Cashew.... milk of your choice!)
1/2 c Water
1 t Cinnamon
1 t Nutmeg
1/2 Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder (I use the French Vanilla from LifeSource, but hubs can't have stevia so he uses the unflavored with a dash of vanilla extract and maple syrup)
1 T Chia Seeds
5-6 Ice Cubes

Throw all of the ingredients except for the ice cubes into the blender.

Blend baby, blend.

Add the ice cubes, blend some more, and pour into a big glass.

Glug glug glug.  Bottom's up!  Have a great Monday!  xoxo

Grain-Free Pumpkin Bread

Good Sunday afternoon to you all!  Fall.is.here.  Or maybe it's winter already, I can't really tell....brrr..brrrrrrr.

How about some paleo-friendly grain-free pumpkin bread?  Uh, yes please.

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1/2 can Pumpkin
1/4 c Coconut Oil
1 TBS Honey or Stevia
1/2 t Sea Salt
1/4 t Baking Soda
2/3 c Coconut Flour
1 t Cinnamon
1 t Nutmeg
1/2 t Vanilla Extract

Preheat oven to 350*

Mix together all of the wet ingredients

Blend in the spices, salt, and baking soda (action shot!)

Gradually blend in the coconut flour and mix until combined.  Pour into a coconut oil greased loaf pan.

Bake at 350* for 40-45 minutes.  Let cool 10-15 minutes before serving.  If you can wait that long.  Om nom nom.

xoxo!

Raw Cheesy Kale Chips

Enjoy!  Om nom nom nom....





Recipe:

2 bunches of kale, stems removed, washed
1 cup nuts, soaked for 30 minutes 
1 red bell pepper, de-seeded
1/4 c lemon juice
1/3 c apple cider vinegar
1/2 c nutritional yeast
1 t salt
1 t garlic powder
1/4 t chili or chipotle powder
1/4 c water (as necessary to blend)

blend ingredients (except for the kale) in a blender until smooth
mix with kale
dehydrate 6-8 hours at 110-118 degrees

And the winner is....

I obviously had a sophisticated way of drawing the name of who won my Coconut Oil Giveaway!  Ha.... ...and of course it's on Disney paper!  I don't own anything else.... :)

Congratulations, Eileen!  Send your name, address, telephone and email address to me at anniessimplelife@gmail.com, and your Coconut Oil will be on its way!

Thanks to everyone who entered!

A Monday Song

I think this is an appropriate song for this Monday evening.  Hope you all had a good day- mine was SO.BUSY.  An afternoon of meetings didn't allow me to get done everything I needed to... but there's always tomorrow I guess!

Hubs and I are off for a walk!  Have a good evening!  xoxo




Don't forget I have a giveaway going on! You have until Wednesday, April 4th at 5pm EST to enter!

Coconut Oil - GIVEAWAY!

***THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED***

Hi everyone, happy Saturday!  This is no April fool's joke- I have a giveaway!!  YAY!  My friends at Tropical Traditions sent me a HUGE 32oz jar of their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil to review (only if I wanted to, of course).  And what's awesome about Tropical Traditions is that they wanted me to review the product honestly, even if I didn't like it.  So cool!  Anyway, here's a short video about their product.



Now, you all know me- I eat coconut oil like it's going out of style, but I hadn't tried this particular type before.  Most coconut oils are either really bland or REALLY annoyingly coconutty (is that a word?).  This oil wasn't either of those, but instead a nice mix of coconut flavor and neutrality that could be added to any dish without making it feel like you're dining in the Caribbean (ha... though that would be nice I guess).  I used it as "butter" on my toast, as the oil in my coconut flour bread (recipe to follow in another bloggie), as a lotion, as a hair conditioner, as a facial moisturizer (nope, it didn't make me break out!), in my green smoothies, and as a cooking oil in EVERY-THING I made this week.  No eggs, pancakes or cheese stuck to any of my pans, and my food didn't taste like it needed topped with a cocktail drink umbrella.   There are a TON of uses for coconut oil- what I used it for just scratches the surface.  Here are some more ideas.

Now, you've heard how much I like this coconut oil- do you want one for yourself?!  My friends at Tropical Traditions are going to send one of my readers a FREE quart of their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil!   Can you believe it?!   Here's how to enter:

Subscribe to Tropical Tradition's Free Newsletter and leave a comment below letting me know that you subscribed.  For an extra entry, leave a comment on my Facebook Page telling me how you like to use coconut oil.  You have until Wednesday, April 4th at 5:00pm EST to enter-ok, ready... set... go!

Have a lovely weekend!  Xoxo.

Where oh where has my little Annie gone?

...where oh where can she beeee??

Enough singing.  Happy first day of spring!  Or is it summer already?  Feels like it.

So where have I been?  Again, life has gotten tooooo busy, with no one to blame but myself.

A week and a half ago Brenton and I went to Las Vegas!  Why?  Well, not really for a vacation, though we tried to make it into one since we were out there.   To make a long story short, he was invited to play with the band 311 at 311 Day at the MGM Grand Arena.  We knew if he didn't go, he would regret it for the rest of his life- what an opportunity!  Not to mention that he would be playing in front of THOUSANDS of people, with a band he has been a fan of for... 13-ish years?!  Almost a no-brainer if you ask me!  The scramble to make travel arrangements began, since we had just under 2 weeks to get everything in place.

The event went off without a hitch, and though we were exhausted, it was well worth it.

The MGM Grand, where the concert was held.  What an awesome hotel!

We stayed at the Excalibur... aka KMart.  HAHA.  It was fine for the amount of time we were actually in the room.

I do have to say, our favorite part of the trip (besides the concert stuff) was watching the fountain at the Bellagio.   We watched it many times :)

So enough sight-seeing... what about the show?!?  Well, it was the craziest most awesome experience ever.

Here is the empty arena... you don't ever really see arenas empty, do you?!

Our badges

Brenton warming up before the show (backstage)

And me... waiting....waiting....waiting....



Equipment being set up on stage.

SHOWTIME!  Here's Nick, Tim, Jeff and some UNLV Percussion Ensemble players.

Brenton is on the far right.

Needless to say, most awesome experience ever.  EVER.

Lots of people have put up YouTube videos of the 4 songs that they played with 311.  Here are a few I found (I don't own these...)















xoxo