Gluten Free Beer: New Grist

For all of ya'll who are (or were) beer drinkers and are now gluten free, have you tried New Grist GF beer?!  

Gluten free beer is straight up nasty.  

There is no other way to put it.  Every GF beer I've cracked open and sipped I've had the same reaction..."It's...good." But what I really meant was, "How the eff can this actually be labeled as beer?!  This sucks!"  

Last night my honey, Lammer, and I went to my old hood - New Paltz!  It was our friend's birthday so we made a night of it and booked a room in my old college town.  While we were out for a fantastic dinner, there was 5 (yes, 5!) gluten free beer options to choose from, so I had to order one.  I used to consume a copious amount of beer back in my college days (not proud of that fact), so I was itching to drink some since I NEVER do anymore.  

New Grist has been the first and only GF beer that I LOVE the taste of and that actually tastes somewhat like the light beer I used to adore.  I highly recommend it!  

Summer Fruit Salad

My friends and I have healthy potlucks every now and then.  Tonight is a "Farm to Table" themed potluck so I'm bringing a summer fresh fruit salad.  I chopped up a ripe cantaloupe and honeydew with some fresh figs from the tree in our front yard.  Tossed it all in some fresh mint from my garden with lime juice and raw honey.  Delicious, and I'm sure even better the next day!

Backyard Summer Meditation/Yoga Practice

On Saturday and Sunday mornings I love rolling out my mat into a patch of sunlight and flowing for a bit.  Once I start sweating from the morning sun (doesn't take much), I plop onto my meditation cushion for a few moments of zen.  I love taking in the sounds, smells, and feelings of the summer.  It's so grounding and completely recharges me from my week.  

Where is your home meditation/yoga practice?

Workout Routine Cards

Being organized makes my mind happy.  

Working out makes my body happy.

Lately I've felt flustered before working out.  There is so much to do that when I'm dressed and ready to go I'm swimming in a million different workout options.  I've got kettlebells that I can do dead lifts with, or swings, or prayer squats, or sit ups with, etc.  I can do lunges, or lunge side to side, or lunge with weights, or lunge with a press, etc.  It's endless!  

The other day I took some time to write out a bunch of exercises.  I choose some colorful index cards and started creating workouts from there.  The best part, they're quick to blast through so I can do them with the timer on my phone and be done before I'm tired of it all!  

Working out doesn't have to be long...they can be short, quick, sweat-fests that make you feel great for the rest of the day, or sore the next!  I encourage you to put together a few of your own routines.  If you need help, shoot me a message, I now have many!

Healthy Homemade Jello for Gut Health

Do you get my monthly e-newsletter?  If not, this month I discuss MSG and give a healthy recipe for homemade jello.  Check it out here and be sure to sign up!  

Happy Birthday, Stanley!

My sweet baby boy turns 12 years old today!  

Stanley, is the love of my life.  Even though he's an old man, he still has the personality of a puppy.  Each and everything this boy does makes my heart pitter-patter!  

Happy Birthday, big boy!  

L & J = Love

 Lammer and I took a paddle out in Sandy Hook the other night and stopped for a bit to watch the sunset.  Sometimes I'm bursting with so much love for him that I have to express it!  

That night I wrote it in the sand.  

Quick Snack: HB Egg with Ghee

A hard boiled egg slit in half with a small dollop of ghee, 

sprinkled with paprika & sea salt is a bit of decadence!

Give it a try.

Beige foods are bad...except for today's lunch!

I usually don't recommend eating "beige" foods, but today I'm making an exception.  That's because everything that's beige on this plate is totally yummy and oh-so-nutritious!  Usually beige foods include fried foods, chips, or bread-foods (think cakes, cookies, bread, etc.) which are no bueno.

Quinoa Tabouli made with all garden fresh veggies and herbs.

Sauerkraut (yay for digestive health!)

Roasted garlic hummus with flax cracker chips

Hard boiled egg (ok, well maybe that's not beige!)

What is on your plate today?

Alternative Ant Killer - Splenda!

Lammer & I had an ant problem this summer.  Small black ants seemed to set up camp over this one corner of our kitchen counter area.  NOT COOL.  Ant killers (or any insecticide) is dangerous stuff that I don't want in our home, especially around our food.  Sooo, I stole a few packets of FREE Splenda from around town, broke a few open and sprinkled along the edges of our walls and wherever I saw the little buggers. 

I observed them at first.  They'd pick up a morsel of the toxic Splenda and march back on their way to wherever their "base" was.  My heart broke a bit because I knew they would never make it back to our countertop...because once they went home and consumed that sweet Splenda, it would kill them.  So little by little, less and less ants were apparent.  This went on for about 2-3 weeks, so it does take time.  But it DOES work.  

The makers of Splenda were scientists trying to design an insecticide.  Instead, they came up with something that is super-duper sweet and packaged it in pretty little packets for humans to stir into their coffee or other drinks.  The world we live in is so backwards. 

Uh, what's the difference between an ant and us?  SIZE.  What's going to kill that ant will eventually kill us.  So Splenda is something that I would NEVER, EVER, in a million years recommend to anyone.  This includes any other artificial sweeteners...Equal, Sweet N' Low, Nutrasweet, etc. 

Splenda = Ant Poison

Candy Bar Smoothie for Hormone Health

A smoothie that's a sweet treat for your taste buds & your hormones!

(Makes 1 smoothie)

Ingredients:

1 frozen ripe banana 

1 teaspoon unsweetened shredded coconut 

2 tablespoons almond butter 

1 tablespoon raw cacao nibs 

1 tablespoon maca powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Almond or coconut milk 

Directions:

In a blender, place the banana, coconut, almond butter, maca, cacao nibs, cinnamon, and vanilla. Cover with almond (or coconut) milk and blend until smooth, adding more to achieve your desired consistency.  YUM.

Benefits of Maca:  Maca is a root vegetable grown in high altitudes in Peru.  You can find it in powder form in any health food store, or online.  Maca is classified as an adaptogen, which would explain why it would be helpful at balancing hormones.  Maca is generally safe, but if you’re on any hormone-related medication be sure to talk to your doctor before enjoying maca.  I personally enjoy it because I'm hypothyroid and it stimulates my under-active thyroid, which is a great thing!  

Beach Day Watermelon Juice

My beach day drink = Watermelon Juice!

Throw about a handful of watermelon chunks into blender with about a cup of coconut water, a mint sprig and 2-3 ice cubes.  Blend and pour into a bottle for the beach.  Sip on the shore and ENJOY!

4 Grams = 1 Teaspoon Sugar

Did you know?

Post-It Note Wisdom: Without awareness, nothing can change.

A silly example of this quote above:  I have a terrible habit of

gnawing at my cuticles when I'm anxious or nervous (which is pretty

often).  My boyfriend is disgusted by the nasty habit (as am I) and

reminds me that it's just as bad as when someone picks their nose in public.

The more I thought about his statement (now I've got the awareness),

I've been much more conscious of stopping myself when I bite.  

Moral of the story = picking your nose or biting on or around your nails is gross...so stop!  But also, once we have awareness regarding something, we also have the ability to change it.  Whoo-hoo!

Coconut Oil Ghee

Green Pasture's Coconut Ghee blend is heaven-sent!  Not only am I head over heals in love with Green Pasture's products (their Fermented Cod Liver Oil is literally altering my overall health for the absolute better!), but this is the most delicious stuff I've had in a while.  I fry my morning eggs with it and/or cook my greens with it and the flavor is unreal.  A great company - a great product - a must try!