Wednesday, January 9, 2013

GLUTEN FREE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

I have been trying to eat less refined wheat and sugar in my diet.  When I am eating gluten free,  I feel  less bloated, heavy, congested and more healthy and vibrant.  I have a weakness for treats and even though this recipe has sugar, there are so few other ingredients to cause problems that I feel it is a good alternative to expensive store bought gluten free snacks that are still loaded with less than healthy ingredients.  They whip up so quickly that you can have cookies in minutes.  



Ingredients
  • 1 cup natural peanut butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten 
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Coarse sea salt (opt.) or sugar
Directions
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place racks in the upper and lower third of the oven
  • In a medium bowl, mix the peanut butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until well combined
  • Spoon 1 tablespoon of mix about 1 inch apart onto un-greased baking sheets; flatten mounds with the tines of a fork, making a cross-hatch pattern on the cookies
  • Sprinkle coarse sea salt on top of the cookies
  • Bake until golden around edges (approx. 10 mins), switching the position of the pans halfway through baking; transfer to racks to cool; repeat with the remaining dough
Makes approx. 18 cookies.
Since there is no flour the peanut butter flavor really stands out!

Monday, January 7, 2013

LOVING PROBIOTICS

Since it is the New Year - out with old clothes, bad habits and bad bacteria.  I have been on a probiotic kick lately and have been eating keifir every morning and saurkraut every evening.  I have avoided the Christmas cold and feel invincible. I accredit it to probiotics. There are lots of great websites on the benefits of probiotics and recipes for making sauerkraut and  kefir.  I have made both and found them easy and affordable.   How expensive is a head of cabbage or quart of milk compared to the health benefits you will receive?  Avoid sweetened store bought kefir or yogurt and instead make your own.   Probiotics are the best thing I have discovered this past year.  Start out the new year with less bad flora and better health.





How I make sauerkraut:

Remove outer leaves of a large cabbage and put them aside.
Finely shred cabbage and layer it with salt in a large bowl.  Use about 3 tbsp of salt and 1 large head of cabbage.
Pack tightly into a sterilized jar.  Press down on cabbage to remove air.
Cover cabbage with water.
Roll the outer leaves of the cabbage into bundles and place in jar on top of cabbage
Lightly screw lid on
Check daily, but you can enjoy your probiotics after 5 days.  Once opened it can be kept in the fridge for unto a month.



http://www.wildfermentation.com/making-sauerkraut-2/

http://kimberlysnyder.net/blog/2011/09/11/get-better-skin-and-more-energy-through-probiotics/