lemon lavender cookies & avocado mint chip ice cream.

yesterday was a busy and delicious day.

My first adventure was Lemon Lavender Cookies. See, we LOVE lavender in this house. Our favorite ice cream (well, my old favorite... now I can't eat it) is Lavender Honey from Salt and Straw. We have lavender in our bathroom and kitchen. I have lavender face wash. "Going to a lavender field" was on our summer bucket list. So I've been so excited all week to try this recipe that I found from Elana's Pantry:
http://www.elanaspantry.com/lemon-lavender-cookies

I followed her recipe almost exactly except I used some Xylitol instead of Agave Nectar.


They weren't too sweet and you could really taste the lavender, lemon, and almond flavors. Nothing was too overpowering and they were just really DELICIOUS. So if you like lavender and are intrigued by those three flavors together, then I would highly recommend giving these a try. I would assume that white flour would work as well... but almond flour is so yummy and SO much better for you!

ICE CREAM TIME

Anyone who knows me knows that I love ice cream... fro yo... gelato... sorbet. I'll take any of it. That is probably what I've been missing the most on the Candida Diet. So before my roommates and I went to a BBQ last night, I threw together this recipe in my VitaMix and we devoured it when we got home. I found the recipe here:
http://detoxinista.com/2012/03/mint-chocolate-chip-ice-cream-dairy-free/

I know, I know... avocado ice cream sounds weird. BUT, it honestly was very good. Creamy. Healthy. Dairy/sugar/soy free.

This recipe called for honey, so used about a tablespoon of Xylitol and about 10 drops of Liquid Stevia. This is what it looked like all blended up.



And then I shaved some dark chocolate (which I got the okay to eat now) into it. Let it sit in the freezer for about 5 hours. And then TA DA!


[the picture isn't too appetizing, I know. But if you're feeling adventurous, give it a try]

try something new. i dare you.

candida burgers and almond flour.

I have never really been a big meat eater. Growing up, I would always ask for fish when my parents made steak and I would pick chicken or turkey or fish over red meat any day. But every once in a while I just crave a big juicy burger... and tonight was one of those nights. Maybe it was my anemia talking, but I just really wanted some good ol' beef.

But no bun, no cheese, no bacon... sad day. So what could I do instead? I made some socca for the "bun."
Socca is a very simple "bread" made from garbanzo bean flour and water... that's it!
To make mine tonight I used:

1/4 cup Garbanzo Bean Flour
1/4 cup Water
dash of sea salt
sprinkle of fresh Rosemary

You can bake, broil, or cook it on the stovetop which is what I did tonight.... kind of like making pancakes.

I also threw on some spinach, tomatoes, and goat cheese (allowed and tolerable on the Candida diet!) with herbs spread [from the farmer's market] and a side of snow peas with garlic. It most definitely hit the spot.



In other news, I got my Almond Flour in the mail today. I've done some research and apparently this is one of the best brands out there. The Bob's Red Mill variety is good, but it is much more grainy and rough... not ideal for baked goods.

I can't wait to bake this weekend : ]

chicken fried rice, right?

wrong.

cauliflower rice.

yes, I said cauliflower.

I was inspired by urbanposer.blogspot.com. See, I love rice... but rice is one of the many foods on the Candida diet that is ify. For every source you find that says it's a-okay, you find 5 more that say it isn't. So sadly, I am avoiding it. So when I first saw this idea for cauliflower fried rice I was instantly intrigued. I threw some together today in about 15 minutes and although I would like to polish the recipe and add some more things next time, I was DELIGHTED with how it turned out. It was very satisfying and not full of starches/carbs like normal fried rice would be... and it's candida friendly :)



Here's what I used:

2 tbsp Coconut Oil
1 tbsp Bragg Liquid Aminos (Similar to soy sauce, but gluten free and Candida friendly)
2 cups Grated Cauliflower
3 oz Ground Free Range Chicken Breast
1/2 Zucchini
3 Green Onions
1/4 cup Broccoli Slaw w/ Carrots
1 Organic Egg
Sea Salt
Pepper


That's it! Super simple. I just lightly sauteed the Chicken and Vegetables first. Then in a separate pan began to fry the cauliflower and the egg together. Then I combined all of it and added the Bragg Liquid Aminos and continued to sauté, (or fry, if you will). It made 2 servings. Next time I might add some garlic, ginger, snow peas. You could easily add whatever vegetables you have on hand or even shrimp or pork if you prefer that to chicken. It was easy, light, delicious and didn't taste overly greasy like fried rice sometimes can.

Candida cooking can be delicious.... thank goodness!

optimism.

I have loved baking since I was a little girl.... my passion for cooking came MUCH later in life. There is something I love about all the baking utensils and gadgets, making sure all of your measurements are precise, and of course the delicious smells. I think perfectionists make great bakers :) I got the opportunity to work at a Young Life camp as a baker and fell even more in love with baking, which is somewhat surprising that I still enjoyed it after making 600+ biscuits/cookies/breads every single day. The next summer I did a kitchen internship where I learned the ins and outs of the culinary world. It was so enjoyable. I am so thankful for these opportunities because they not only revealed some of my greatest passions but also gave me such valuable hands on experience. All this to say, when I got diagnosed with a gluten intolerance.... I didn't really know how to bake anymore. Then once I was put on the Candida diet, I REALLY didn't know how to bake anymore. At first I felt like a hopeless little child learning to bake for the first time again. But then, I found this quote:

“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”

So I decided to be optimistic. To re-teach myself how to bake without the usual staples: white flour and sugar. Let me tell you, it is a WHOLE new world. But I am learning. I am learning to bake with almond flour and coconut flour.... with stevia and grapeseed oil.... I am learning to find the opportunities to appreciate new flavors and textures, to make baked goods that are healthier and don't put you into a sugar coma upon finishing them.

I don't know how many of you saw the movie Julie & Julia, but this movie totally inspired me. Julie is just your average young woman working a boring job but has a love for Julia Child, a famous chef. She decides to start a blog that documents her working through Julia Child's famous cookbook as well as what she learns along the way. I've decided that I want to do something similar. I have found a couple of really amazing blogs that I am now following and am going to try to challenge myself to try a couple new recipes a week. Hopefully you will enjoy coming along on this journey with me. I hope that you all will be inspired to eat better, to try to new things, and to see the opportunity in every difficulty.