No chick pea hummous

A recipe I want to try for a dip!

One head cauliflower, broken up into pieces and roasted (spray with Coconut oil).  Roast cauliflower at 450°F for 20 minutes. Then add all ingredients to blender including 3 cloves garlic, juice of one lemon, grated zest of one orange, 1/2 tsp salt and some spices of your choice (add a little chipotle seasoning and a dash of coconut aminos).  Blend it until smooth.  If needed add a little water while blending.

Carob powder coconut balls

I experimented in the kitchen again! The outcome was a yummy treat that even the boys loved. My first attempt wasn't so pretty as I was short on time and had them done in about 25 minutes. Prep and clean up was really only about 20 mins but I suggest chilling the balls about an hour before coating with the "peppermint chocolate". Total time from start to finish is about 1.25 hours.

This recipe can be made AIP compliant or paleo.

1 cup unsweetened fine coconut flakes
3 Tbsp coconut oil
4 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla

Mix contents in blender until well mixed. Chill mix 10 mins in freezer and then use a spoon and hands to form into balls. Place balls on cookie sheet (I lined mine with tin foil). Place in freezer to chill for about an hour. You want them frozen and very cold for next step.

Just before removing the coconut balls from freezer, in a sauce pan add the following ingredients and warm over low heat constantly stirring until melted:

1/4 cup coconut oil
1 Tbsp carob powder OR 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
5 drops peppermint essential oil
1 pinch sea salt

Remove from heat. Create a shallow ice bath and place sauce pan in to begin cooling. Pull coconut balls from freezer. Stir the saucepan mix to cool but do not let it completely thicken. Slowly pour spoonfuls of mix over coconut balls so that it freezes over and coats them. If the mix thickens, reheat, freeze coconut balls and use ice bath. Don't worry if they don't look pretty, the taste will make up for the looks! These tasty treats are worth the effort!

AIP Coconut Yogurt

I searched for the perfect coconut milk yogurt recipe but alas couldn't find one that used both probiotic capsules, gelatin (for thickness and texture) and natural sugar. So I researched and put together the below. These directions are for an instapot with yogurt setting or a yogurt maker. They can be used in the oven but oven temperatures would have to be determined.

4 - 8.5 oz containers of aroy-d coconut milk  bought on amazon
2-3 tbsp of pure maple syrup
2 tsp great lakes gelatin
3 capsules of garden of life 90 billion refrigerated probiotic capsules (likely a similar count probiotic will work as well) OR about 1/4 cup previous batch of coconut yogurt (my second batch will use this so I will keep you posted on results)
Food thermometer
Instapot or yogurt maker / oven (but research the temperature needed to not kill the fermenting bacteria)
4 pint ball jars and lids or 2 quart ball jars and lids - my IP wouldn't fit the quart jars.

1. Pour 3 boxes of c. Milk into a sauce pan.
2. The 4 th box put half in a bowl and pour the remainder into the saucepan. Heat milk to just below boiling use thermometer to be sure it doesn't boil.
3. Add gelatin to bowl and mix in geletin working out clumps as much as possible.
4. Once heated, remove from heat and add the bowl contents and the maple syrup. Stir well with whisk.
5. Once cooled to below 90 degrees F (I placed sauce pan in an ice bath), open and add the contents of the 3 probiotic capsules whisking well.
6. Pour into jars (pints were half full) and add lids.
7. Put jars in instapot or yogurt maker, add lid and select yogurt option. Increase time to 12 hours. If using oven put on cookie sheet and determine the correct temperature to ferment the yogurt.
8. Once cycle finishes, test yogurt to be sure it fermented. If it doesn't taste tart add more probiotics and cycle for another 4 to 12 hrs.
9. Chill in fridge for at least 6 hours before eating.
10. Add fruit puree with a touch of honey for a fruit yogurt.
Note: I put it back in instapot for 4 additional hours and I chilled for 24 hours before eating.

Edited to add photo and update making with prior batch of coconut yogurt. Instead of step 5 add a heaping spoonful of yogurt and follow remaining instructions.

Real food treat

This recipe is reposted compliments of Grazed and Enthused  at www.grazedandenthused.com!

AIP Caramel Chews & Caramel Fudge

Makes 12-15 pieces | Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes | Freeze Time 4 hrs to overnight

1 cup coconut milk (full-fat or light may be used)

1/3 cup maple syrup

¼ cup coconut sugar (or maple sugar)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon sea salt

¾ cup melted coconut butter

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1. Combine coconut milk, syrup, sugar, vanilla, and sea salt in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a low simmer, whisking every couple minutes until this happens, then turn the heat to medium-low to maintain a simmer for 12 minutes. Continue to whisk every couple minutes as it simmers. 
2. The sauce will thicken slightly during this time but will remain rather liquidy. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the coconut butter until smooth and thickened. Now stir in the coconut oil until well combined. 
3. Line the bottoms and sides of a 7"x5" glass dish such as a Pyrex container with parchment paper. Pour the caramel into the parchment-lined dish and smooth. Follow the directions below depending on whether you want to make caramel chews or caramel fudge. 
4. For Caramel Chews: Freeze for at least 4 hours until semi-firm. The caramel should be soft enough that you can roll it into a ball in your hands without it sticking to your hands. Roll it into a traditional log shape for the most appealing look. If wrapping in parchment paper, wrap loosely and freeze until ready to serve. Instruct any recipients to do the same or the caramel with soften too much to unwrap nicely. 
5. For Caramel Fudge (my favorite!): Freeze overnight to allow the fudge to firm up completely. Slice into squares (it's rich, so the smaller the better) and serve directly from the freezer. 

Store all caramel products in the freezer until ready to serve for best texture. You know how it goes with coconut products!

Good Article

Will Your Child be Rich or Poor? 15 Poverty Habits Parents Teach Their Children

SEPTEMBER 24, 2013 BY THOMAS C. CORLEY 422 COMMENTS

When I travel the country speaking to high school and college students about exactly what they need to do to become financially successful in life I always begin my presentation by asking three questions:

“How many want to be financially successful in life?”

“How many think they will be financially successful in life?”

Almost every time I ask the first two questions every hand rises in the air. Then I ask the magic third question:

“How many have taken a course in school on how to be financially successful in life?”

Not one hand rises in the air, ever. Clearly every student wants to be successful and thinks they will be successful but none have been taught by their parents or their school system how to be financially successful in life. Not only are there no courses on basic financial success principles but there are no structured courses teaching basic financial literacy. We are raising our children to be financially illiterate and to fail in life. Is it any wonder that most Americans live paycheck to paycheck? That most Americans accumulate more debt than assets?  That many Americans lose their homes when they lose their job? Is it any wonder that most Americans cannot afford college for their children and that student loan debt is now the largest type of consumer debt? 

What’s worse is what our children arebeing taught by their parents, the school system, politicians and the media. They are teaching our children that the wealthy are corrupt, greedy, have too much wealth and that this wealth needs to be redistributed. What kind of a message do you think that sends to America’s future generation? It is teaching them that seeking financial success by pursuing the American Dreams is a bad thing. The Occupy Wall Street movement was a manifestation of this “wealth is bad and needs to be redistributed “mindset. .

Here are some statistics from my five-year study on the daily habits that separate the wealthy from the poor?

1. 72% of the wealthy know their credit score vs. 5% of the poor
2. 6% of the wealthy play the lottery vs. 77% of the poor
3. 80% of the wealthy are focused on at least one goal vs. 12% of the poor
4. 62% of the wealthy floss their teeth every day vs. 16% of the poor
5. 21% of the wealthy are overweight by 30 pounds or more vs. 66% of the poor
6. 63% of the wealthy spend less than 1 hour per day on recreational Internet use vs. 26% of the poor
7. 83% of the wealthy attend/attended back to school night for their kids vs. 13% of the poor
8. 29% of the wealthy had one or more children who made the honor roll vs. 4% of the poor
9. 63% of wealthy listen to audio books during their commute vs. 5% of the poor
10. 67% of the wealthy watch 1 hour or less of T.V. per day vs 23% of the poor
11. 9% of the wealthy watch reality T.V. shows vs. 78% of the poor
12. 73% of the wealthy were taught the 80/20 rule vs. 5% of the poor (live off 80% save 20%)
13. 79% of the wealthy network 5 hours or more per month vs. 16% of the poor
14. 8% of the wealthy believe wealth comes from random good luck vs. 79% of the poor
15. 79% of the wealthy believe they are responsible for their financial condition vs. 18% of the poor

The fact is the poor are poor because they have too many Poverty Habits and too few Rich Habits. Poor parents teach their children the Poverty Habits and wealthy parents teach their children the Rich Habits. We don’t have a wealth gap in this country we have a parent gap. We don’t have income inequality, we have parent inequality.

Parents and our schools need to work together to instill good daily success habits as follows:

• Limit T.V., social media and cell phone use to no more than one hour a day.

• Require that children to read one to two educational books a month.

• Require children to aerobically exercise 20 – 30 minutes a day.

• Limit junk food to no more than 300 calories a day.

• Require that children set monthly, annual and 5-year goals.

• Require working age children to work or volunteer at least ten hours a week.

• Require that children save at least 25% of their earnings or gifts they receive.

• Teach children the importance of relationship building by requiring them to call friends, family, teachers, coaches etc. on their birthdays and to send thank you cards for gifts or help they received from anyone.

• Reassure children that mistakes are good not bad. Children need to understand that the very foundation of success in life is built on learning from our mistakes.

• Punish children when they lose their tempers so they understand the importance of controlling this very costly emotion.

• Teach children that seeking financial success in life is good and is a worthwhile goal. Children need to learn what the American Dream is and that it is something to be pursued in life.

• Children need to learn how to manage money. Open up a checking account or savings account for children and force them to use their savings to buy the things they want. They need to learn that they are not entitled to things like cell phones, computers, fashionable clothes, flat screen T.V.s etc.

• Require children to participate in at least two non-sports-related extracurricular activities at school or outside of school.

• Parents and children need to set aside at least an hour a day to talk to one another. Not on Facebook, or on the cell phone, but face to face. The only quality time is quantity time

• Teach children how to manage their time. They should be required to create daily “to do” lists and these lists need to be monitored by parents. The goal should be to accomplish at least 70% of their tasks on their daily “to do” list.

Wealthy people do certain things every single day that sets them apart from everyone else in life. Wealthy people have good daily success habits that they learned from their parents. These daily habits are the real reason for the wealth gap in our country and the real reason why the rich get richer. Unless we teach our children good daily success habits, and level the playing field, the rich will continue to get richer and the poor will continue to get poorer.

Home Improvements don't come easy...

The process is long but the final outcome is so worth it. The planning of our backyard remodel began over a year ago. An unexpected setback when our loving yet goofy dog ate a rock that almost took him from us. This spring began the quote process. Not many companies sign up to do concrete jobs less than 500 sq feet. With all the trials and weather mishaps our patio is perfect and ready for entertaining. Phase 2 is the new privacy fence and then gardens and grass move into phase 3!

Final photos!

My morning consisted of making some gluten free treats for my boys and I. Unfortunately my husband doesn't share in our delight of all things pumpkin! These little things delighted my gluten free taste buds and by making a double batch (1 can if pumpkin is 1.5 cups of pumpkin) gave me enough to do both the pancakes and inspired me to come up with the converted muffin recipe. I added just a little more sweetness to makeup for the lack of syrup that is present in the pancake waffle variety. Next time I might try making a banana compote to add to the top rather than maple syrup. Pumpkin and bananas! Yum! I hope you enjoy as much as we did. We will be freezing our extras for a quick toaster pancake on busy mornings!

Gluten Free Pumpkin Pancakes or waffles:

3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree (or fresh by cooking and puree just make sure to drain any liquid)
2 eggs
2 TBSP maple syrup
1 TBSP melted coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup coconut milk or cashew milk (I use vanilla flavor)
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp all spice
1 tsp cinnamon
1.5 cups gluten free flour (ready made or make your own)

Combine all wet ingredients and mix well. Add dry ingredients one at a time mixing well in between. Add flour last. Makes pancakes or waffles. We don't have a gluten free waffle iron so we do pancakes.

To make muffins:

Make batter as above add the following:

1 extra TBSP melted coconut oil
1 extra tsp baking powder
2 TBSP honey

On top for garnish:
cinnamon to taste
sugar to taste

Once batter is complete pour into muffin cups. Bake at 375 F for 5 mins remove briefly from oven and sprinkle generously with cinnamon and sugar mixture. Bake an additional 5 to 7 mins until toothpick comes out clean.

Note: I filled my muffin cups about halfway...if you add more you will get fuller muffins!