toasted nori...

I love toasted nori, but after dissecting the labels of some store-bought containers I found many to have added canola oil, sugar and other ingredients I try to stay away from so we started toasting our own at home.  We just put a sheet in the toaster oven for about a minute, toasting subsequent sheets for a shorter time since the oven will already be warm and the seaweed burns easily.  Then we spread it with coconut oil, sprinkle with himalayan salt, fold it up and cut/rip into pieces.  This tastes really good when you're craving something salty and is very satisfying with the added coconut oil.

   

coconut oil at costco...

I was in Costco earlier today buying organic sugar for kombucha and saw that they now are selling Nutiva Coconut Oil 78 oz(!) for $21.49, which is cheaper than Amazon.  Unfortunately this brand is packed in a plastic container (although it is non BPA), but it is organic, unrefined and cold-pressed.

There are so many health benefits to using coconut oil I will not even attempt to list them here.  If you're interested on learning more I recommend the book Coconut Cures by Bruce Fife.  I love that it keeps us healthy and protects against bacteria and viruses.  I've been slathering it on my son after every bath for the last three or four years.  If I try putting lotion on him now he freaks out.  One night close to Christmas he said, "Mom!  I know what we can get everyone for Christmas presents...coconut!"  Yes, he's a little brainwashed...or as I like to say 'UN-brainwashed'.

Our favorite ways to use coconut oil:

cooking eggs
sauteing veggies
frying brown rice tortillas
all baking in place of canola/vegetable oil
in my tea
stirred into oatmeal
spread on honey toast with a little himalayan salt
spread on a toasted sheet of nori and sprinkled with himalayan salt
face & body lotion (try whipping it first for extra creamy-ness!)
oil cleansing for soft skin & makeup removal
mixed with a little melted beeswax and lemon oil for wood polish
making chocolate
deep conditioning treatment for hair
anti-microbial/anti-bacterial toothpaste
healing rashes/skin issues
healing ear infections
healing everything, really...

i LOVE coconut oil!

Other organic/eco items I've found at Costco lately:

organic sugar
organic sweet potatoes
organic butternut squash (chopped and ready to make soup)
organic raisins
organic coffee
organic apples, carrots, spinach (juicing, anyone? they sell Vitamix blenders, too!) and other produce
organic chicken
organic hamburger (although I don't like theirs)
organic eggs (don't like these, either, sorry)
mary's gone crackers
ecos laundry detergent-magnolia and lily



  

fresh pumpkin...

 Organic Pie Pumpkins were on sale last week so I roasted two of them.  If you've never roasted pumpkins there is a HOW TO here, but in a nutshell...

cut into halves and clean out

 place face down in a baking dish with 1/2 inch water

 roast at 400 degrees for 45 minutes

 scrape out and puree in blender.

 

I miss the heat already, but healthy, comforting food, a fire in the fireplace and snuggling into a cozy blanket with a great book are making fall a close second!

Usually this time of year I start craving my Mom's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread.  After a slight binge on Halloween candy, however, it is not what my body needs at the moment.  Searching for an alternative I found a recipe for Pumpkin Bars.  This version is just as good as the bread, grain-free and sweetened with honey.  It could be doubled and baked as a quick bread...I'd double the baking time as well.  I've made it twice this week and have been brewing my new pukka cleanse tea, adding a teaspoon or so of coconut oil to go with it...mmmm.

My two pumpkins yielded about 5 Cups of puree...anyone for Pumpkin Pie?

I experimented with a recipe from Cooking With Coconut Four.  Being gluten-free, the crust was a little tricky-may have been easier had I followed directions...  We ended up piecing it together, but it tastes great!

*Pumpkin Pie-GF

crust:
1/2 Cup Coconut Flour
1/2 Cup Almond Flour/Meal
2 Eggs
1/2 Tbsp. Raw Honey
1/4 Cup Organic Butter, melted
1/4 tsp Himalayan Salt

Mix all ingredients.  Roll between two pieces of wax paper.  Peel one side off and place crust face down in pie plate before peeling away the second layer (I didn't do this-oops).  This crust will burn more than a wheat crust so it's best to use a pie guard (I didn't do this either...obviously!).  Then make filling:

filling:
2 Cups Organic Pumpkin Puree
3/4 Cup Sucanat or Coconut Sugar (sub with 1/2 Cup honey for GAPS)
3/4 tsp Himalayan Salt
1 tsp ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground Ginger
1/4 tsp ground Nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground Cloves
(or 2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice)
4 Eggs
1/4 Cup Organic Coconut Milk or Organic Heavy Cream (optional)

Mix together and pour into pie shell.  Bake at 400 degrees for 45-50 min or until knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Cool.  Top with raw whipped cream.

I whipped Organic Pastures Raw Heavy Cream in my Vitamix and added a little maple syrup-it is so thick, rich, and delicious-the best whipped cream I've ever tasted!

breakfast for my sunshine...

But first, these are my new favorite eggs!  No corn, no soy, non GMO.  If you're sensitive to corn and soy, eggs from chickens fed corn and and soy, even if organic are probably not good for you!  And what about GMO corn and soy?  An organic label doesn't guarantee your food is non GMO.  GMO plants are engineered to contain insecticides causing the stomachs of the insect that eat them to explode...but then WE eat the plants.  Any guess what is going on in your gut?...and beyond?
Pretty please vote YES on 37!

This is why I buy these eggs at our local Farmer's Market.  They are also sold at the Nutrition Shoppe in Vacaville. 

 WHY everything else in this picture?...

Sprouted Bread: Sprouted grains are easier to digest.  When I don't have time to make sprouted bread or coconut bread I buy this brand for my son.  He will only eat eggs on french toast or hard-boiled, whites only...so he has french toast a lot!

Coconut Oil: Oh how I love thee, let me count the ways...benefits + a good book (he also doesn't like butter spread on anything...so I cook it in butter!)

Raw Local Honey: The only GAPS approved sweetener...and it's great for seasonal allergies (along with the GAPS diet) and has tons of health promoting benefits!

Raw WHOLE Milk: Pasteurization destroys enzymes, diminishes vitamin content, denatures fragile milk proteins, destroys vitamins C, B12 and B6, kills beneficial bacteria, promotes pathogens and is associated with allergies, increased tooth decay, colic in infants, growth problems in children, osteoporosis, arthritis, heart disease and cancer. *source: RealMilk.com

Himalayan Pink Salt: quite simply, "The Purest Salt On Earth"

I think he likes it!...