Health-a-licious

So my hubby was selected by his company to be a lead in a certain group which meant he would be traveling for 4 days. Perfect, I thought. I will only eat vegies or fruit, and drink coffee, tea or water. My fav foods are vegies and fruit. I know I need protein so I eat it, but if I didn't have to I wouldn't eat it everyday. I love, vegies, fruit and desert. In fact one of my fav meals is a huge vegie plate and a pint of Hagen Daaz Gelato. So...I decided to do a detox while my hubby was out of town. $72.00 for what I felt was 4 days worth of fruits and vegetables. I did the detox. Only water, coffee or tea. Only vegetables or fruits. No sauces, no sugars, no condiments except herbs and spices. Every day about 3p, I started getting a headache. I would eat a piece of fruit. That wouldn't help. I decided after those 3 days that I am addicted to sugar. So I am now working my way to be sugar free with the exception of fruits. The holidays are proving challenging because of f

     The beautiful thing about being Health-a-licious is that it can take place in your body, mind or soul or all at the same time. I often focus on body and mind because that is where I find I am most deficient. I have always had a strong faith and feel my soul is filled on a daily basis through prayer, reflection and meditation.      Yoga, takes the Health-a-licious trio to a new level. It works your body and slows down your mind. In yoga, the term "Monkey Mind", defines a mind that won't slow down. It has been said that our mind thinks 48.6 thoughts per minute. An average of 3,300 thoughts per hour and 70,000 thoughts per day. '      It is easy for us to be Human-Doings. It is our nature to "do" all day long. It is difficult to be a Human-Being and just be: even for a few moments throughout the day. A yoga instructor is your "tour-guide" to being-ness . A great instructor will help you get your body tired enough in 55 minutes to allow your

        Gluten -Free is definitely a lifestyle. Like it or not you once you claim a gluten-free life, you have differentiated yourself from most of society. Some people have gone gluten-free due to GMO issues. Some because of the awful Celiac Disease. I personally decided to go gluten-free because of a nerve disorder that began taking charge of my life, Chronic Migraine Syndrome. Whatever your reason or your family members reason, know that we do it for the "Health-of-It". It is a difficult journey not only for you, but for those around you.          Sometimes family members feel they need to tip-toe around the subject. Most times, they want you to know that they understand your needs and want to accommodate you. If you are like me, deep inside, it bothers you immensely and hurts your heart that others feel they need to adjust their lifestyle for you. After a few years, people close to you begin to adapt their thinking and understand that a GF diet is a normal part of your l

My life is about healthy eating sprinkled with junk food...or is it about junk food, sprinkled with healthy eating? From day to day, I am not quite sure. I am guessing you are like me. We try to find the balance between optimum nutrition and the foods we love to eat and hate the consequences of eating them. The Consequences : The gelato and jelly beans filled with sugar that make your heart beat fast like a little kid at the local ice cream shop.  The Saturday pizza binge that makes your tummy so bloated that you decide to wear your "fat" clothes.  Ah, regret. However, mmmm, love those yummy foods of satisfaction and loathing. The beauty of eating gluten-free today is that now you can have the satisfaction without the loathing. Or, a least, less loathing. I am putting a couple photos of my favorites here. New staples in our household, that are especially purchased for me because I need to be gluten free for health, however, the entire family can and will enjoy them t

In my family's effort to remain, healthy, energetic and eat delicious foods, we have discovered through trial and error that our sweet furry babies can no longer tolerate processed foods. One of our furry babies spent Easter weekend 2016 in the animal hospital. It was life-changing for our family. We found over the course of two months, several food brand changes and food prescriptions that the only food which will not induce vomiting is a homemade food blend. We mix the homemade blend with a little bit of Rachel Ray's hard dog food (for vitamins and nutrients). By the end of  the day each furry baby has eaten about 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups of food. We do feed them smaller amounts twice a day instead of once a day feeding, otherwise they will over eat and throw up their food. Once one of them throws up a food, they will both no longer eat any food for two-three days. Health-a-licious Homemade Recipe for your Furry Friends Ingredients 3 lbs Ground Turkey (With rosemary extra

I always taste the cookie dough? Do you? I know we are not supposed to because of the raw eggs, but I have been eating cookie dough since I was a kid. The dough is an indication to me of how the cookies will taste once they are baked. GF dough is an especially sensitive indicator of how cookies will taste after baking. This dough tasted different than the other recipes I have adapted and I thought...THIS ONE IS GOING TO BE DIFFERENT! May even on the verge of greatness! So, here it is. My newly adapted sugar cookie recipe. It has taken 3 years and many batches to find this adaptation. I hope you enjoy them. GF Fluffy Sugar Cookies Ingredients 3/4 cup All Purpose GF Baking Flour (Bob's Red Mill brand) 2 cups White Rice Flour (Bob's Red Mill brand) 1 tsp Baking Soda 1/2 tsp Baking Powder 1/2 cup Butter (softened) 1/2 cup Butter Flavored Crisco 1 1/2 cup Sugar (This batch I used white sugar. Next batch I will try organic cane sugar.) 1 egg 1 tsp Madagascar Va

This casserole is similar to the Chili Tot recipe I shared last year. My husband is always my gauge on whether the family will love any dish. He is a very picky eater. Picky in the sense that he will only eat items that are flavorful, preferably with a protein ingredient and preferably with some type of sauce. This dish was a home run! Pizza Tatar Tot Casserole Ingredients 1-1 1/2 lbs of Ground Meat of your choice (we used 7% lean hamburger) 1 medium Green Pepper (chopped) 1 medium Onion (chopped) (we prefer a sweet onion) 8oz of Mushrooms 1 jar of your favorite Italian Sauce (or homemade sauce) Basil Oregano Garlic Salt Tatar Tots Shredded Mozzarella Cheese Shredded Cheddar Cheese (mild, sharp or extra sharp for your taste preference) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine ground meat, chopped green pepper, chopped onion and mushroom in a large pan. Cook on medium heat until meat is fully cooked. Drain cooked mixture. Put back in pan and add Italian sauce, basil, oregan

After years of trying to eat together as a GF family, my husband and I sometimes get it right. He decided to make tacos and looked for GF ingredients for me. He ended up finding products that we both love together. This is definitely a keeper recipe. We recommend you change the spice level for younger children. Teenagers will love this because it is like Doritos and a little edgy. Spicy, Semi-Homemade Tacos Ingredients: 1 lb ground meat (hamburger, turkey or chicken) 1 packet of Old El Paso brand gluten free, low sodium taco seasoning 1 can of Rotel brand diced tomatoes and green chilies (drained) 1 small can of tomato sauce (for thickness) 1 cup of lettuce (chopped) 1 tomato (diced) 1/2 cup Mexican mix shredded cheese 1 package of Old El Paso Bold Spicy Cheddar Flavored Taco Shells Salsa, hot sauce, sriracha, tapatio of your choice Prep time: 20 minutes Brown ground meat, drain. (Do not cool). Prepare cooked meat according to the taco seasoning instructions. Add Rot

    GF Frustrations - Can you relate?    Remember that moment when you discovered YOU NEEDED to adopt an elimination diet and/or gluten free lifestyle in order to live a better life? It have been because you have a clinical health condition or maybe experience chronic pain or maybe your doctor recommended the diet change. It is difficult for one person in a household to adapt to a gluten free diet, let alone a large family. Wow! Talk about a curve ball in life. Adopting a GF and elimination diet changes everything about family meal time.       When your family wants to eat pizza, you have to make 2 pizzas; one with a GF crust and sauce and one with regular crust. When its Italian cuisine night, you have to boil two pots of water, one for GF pasta and one for any other kind of pasta your family would like to eat. If you have ever eaten GF anything that is trying to mock a wheat flour product,( pizza crust, pasta, cookies), you know that the wheat flour tastes better and cooks easie

I would venture to guess that you either love peppermint or hate it. There are not many in-betweeners, I have found.  I always carry something made of peppermint in my purse. I believe a little "Peppermint makes everything better."  A peppermint candy puts a smile on a child's face, a peppermint breath mint is refreshing, peppermint gum cleans your breath and teeth, fresh peppermint leaves smell earthy and heavenly all at the same time. For those of us with chronic migraines, peppermint does so much more. Peppermint essential oils , help to relax our brain and give us energy. Peppermint oils on our temples, give some symptom relief. For me, when a migraine is so intense that I ache from my head to my toes, I put a couple dabs of peppermint oil on my feet. My new favorite for migraine symptom relief is peppermint tea. I've learned in the last year or so that ginger root gives me a migraine if I don't already have one and increases a migraines' intensit