Hello Fairy Followers.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!  The media has given a lot of attention to the subject of happiness since the new year began, which leads me to believe a lot of people set their New Year’s resolutions to inch closer to becoming happier.  According to the book THRIVE by Dan Buettner (author of THE BLUE ZONE), there are 6 domains that can be shaped to boost our chances of happiness:  Community (is it an environment that helps you to feel good about your life?), Workplace (is it an environment that facilitates meaningful work?), Social Life (do your friends influence you to reach your potential?),  Financial Life (is it easier for you to save or spend?), Home (is it set up to nudge you into behaviors that favor happiness?), and Self (do you have capacity for gratitude, openness to give and receive love?).  A component of the Self domain is Health Strategies.  As they say…you have nothing if you don’t have your health. If you don’t feel good, how can you be happy and project a positive attitude?  My wish to everyone reading this blog is to make healthy food and lifestyle choices in the new year.

My New Year’s wish for 2014 was to color my hair using safer products.  I did not make this change.  What I did change was my hand soap.  Soft-soap brand contains 5 chemicals that you should not be using, so our household switched to a safer brand of soap.  A small change… but one that will remove 1 more toxin from our house.

On New Years Eve we had a fabulous dinner at El Chorro in Paradise Valley, AZ.  When I made the reservation thru Open Table, they asked if any diners had special dietary needs, so I added “1 person gluten free”.  As soon as we sat down, I was presented with a fairly large GF menu, so I didn’t need to ask any questions!!  That is soooo nice!!  When my lemon sorbet dessert appeared on the serving tray with a cookie next to it, the waiter promptly whisked it away and a fresh bowl was served.  They did not just remove the cookie – they served a fresh order.  That gesture tells you a lot about GF dining at that restaurant.  I highly recommend El Chorro if you are ever in the Scottsdale, AZ area.  This is not a Mexican restaurant.  It is a very nice restaurant that used to be a girl’s school – thick adobe walls and a beautiful, walled “pueblo” style outside dining area.

IMG_0913Who is this man?  He is Tom, my sometimes contributing editor.  Doesn’t he look more like a Chief Financial Officer?   Happy New Year, Tom.  Thanks for your continued support of this blog.

I have a great bon-bon recipe from my sister, who voluntarily eats gluten free and sends me “have IMG_4286you tried this product” texts all the time.  She has made several batches of these cookies, and has perfected the ratio of ingredients – as you will see in the following recipe:

8 oz cream cheese, softened.

1 bag Kickernick brand GF oreo-type cookies.  She has tried several different brands of cookies and says Kickernick is the best.

Chocolate and white almond bark.

Toothpicks.

Now you will think this is crazy, but first thing you do is open the package of cookies and eat 1.  Just 1.  This will give you the perfect consistency of dough.  Crush cookies in food processor.  Beat cream cheese with hand mixer until fluffy.  Combine the 2 ingredients.  Chill for 2 hours.  Roll into balls and place on cookie sheet.  Insert toothpicks and then freeze for 1 hour.  Melt chocolate bark.  Dip balls to coat evenly, letting excess drip off, and place back on cookie sheet.  When chocolate is set, remove toothpicks and drizzle with melted white bark.  Store in fridge.  If decorating with sprinkles, decorate right after dipping in chocolate so they stick.  Yields 3-4 doz. bon-bons.

So during the last 3 Christmas, my mom would get sick – stomach ache, UTI, respiratory infection.  My sister the nurse finally figured out why.  My mom bakes A LOT before Christmas, and she also samples A LOT of her baking – her favorite being fudge.  So this year, as she was starting to complain about a belly ache, we took all sweets out of her house, and guess what, her stomach ache went away, and she never developed a UTI or a sniffle!!!  So this was the 1st Christmas in 4 years that we didn’t have to drag her to the ER during the holiday season!!!

Here are 2 tidbits from my GF group at the library:

Namaste brand spice cake – add shredded carrots and frost with cream cheese frosting.  Fabulous!!

Glutenator Beer – large bottle.  This beer is not processed to remove gluten.  It is made with all GF ingredients.  A gal in the group, whose husband brews his own beer, could not believe this was a GF beer.  It is sold at Whole Foods in some larger markets (not our little market yet, but we’re working on it).

Dang coconut chips – comes in several flavors like chocolate and salted caramel.  They are FABULOUS for a sweet snack.  About $2.50 for a small bag.

Hippocrates said 2000 years ago:  Our food should be our medicine and our medicine should be our food.  He also said all disease begins in the gut.  He also said walking is man’s best medicine.  What took us so long?

Until next time, stay healthy.

facebook95-1149764328THE GLUTEN FREE FAIRY

 

 

 


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