After 30 years of standing at the sidelines of my own life, I am ready to "Pick Me!" first. Follow me on my journey of finding health and happiness in my every day...
Tag Archives: gluten-free
Flourless Lemon Blueberry Chia Muffin in a Minute!
Here is another one minute flourless muffin recipe, which is actually my favourite one that I make!! It tastes kind of like a lemon poppy seed muffin with blueberries.
What you will need…
Ground Flax, an egg, chia seeds, baking powder, packet of stevia, Barlean's omega swirl- lemon zest
Flourless Lemon Blueberry Chia Muffin
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup Ground Flax
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 Egg
- 1 tsp Barlean’s Omega Swirl Lemon Zest(You could substitute 1 tsp coconut oil, and some lemon extract if you cannot find this or do not want to.)
- 1 tsp Chia Seeds
- 1 packet of Stevia (I used Krisda)
- Small handful of Blueberries
1. Place all ingredients, but blueberries in a large mug, and stir until fully combined.
2. Lightly stir in blueberries, and place in microwave.
3. Cook in microwave for approx 1 minute. If you microwave usually takes longer to heat, it might be as much as 1 min 20 seconds, or less than a minute if your microwave cooks quicker than normal.
4. Slide a butter knife around the edge, and invert onto a plate and enjoy!
Nutritional Info: Calories : 246kcal , Carbs: 13g, Fat: 19g, Protein: 12g, Fiber: 9g
This is filled with healthy Omega 3 fats. Fats are good for you… don’t freak out– it will be okay! I promise! All but 4g (from the egg) are from the flax, omega supplement, and chia seeds. :)
They are great for a warm comforting breakfast, or cut into thirds like a homemade vitatop. Without the top 
A New Phase of Life…
Well… I had my naturopath appointment on Friday, while there I had a live cell blood analysis done. The Naturopath took my history, and we spent about an hour and forty-five minutes discussing what he saw on the slides, and comparing them to my allergies and other symptoms I have.
My RBC stacked instead of floating freely, and yellow spots are yeast in my blood.
It really was fascinating! I know some do not believe in blood analysis done by naturopaths, but I am putting some faith into the ideas and believing my body can heal itself from within if treated right!
He thinks I can improve my Allergies, and my Hypothyroidism, and Arthritis if I eliminate the yeast in my blood through diet. So… in the next 12 weeks I am going to try and follow the 2 Phase Dietary plan he suggested. It is a Yeast-free, Gluten-free, Sugar-free diet. It is GOING to be HELL!!!
The grain-like products I am allowed are Quinoa, Millet, Amaranth, and Buckwheat. There will be no rice on the plan. Which makes finding substitutions a lot harder than people who normally embark on a Gluten-free diet.
No pork or shellfish allowed.
The only sweetener I am allowed is Stevia.
Oils: No corn or canola oil
I plan on sharing as much as the journey as I can… Please bear with any possible sugar detox meltdowns I may encounter.
I think the hardest part will be giving up caffeine. I drink a lot of diet pop, coffee, and tea. I am sure my Soda Stream will come in handy to give me the sparkly bubbles I crave, with a little lemon or lime added. But I will miss my warm mugs of coffee and tea, luckily non-fruit herbal teas ARE allowed…
At least you know I will be experimenting in the kitchen, and will be sharing it on here! Here’s to the next 6 weeks of my life. I can do this!!
This week’s Meal Plan:
This is my plan… but as we all know actual is sometimes different. Some snacks are left open to give myself some options if I want. I will still follow the plan for these snacks, just don’t know what my body will be wanting by then. I assume by the end of the week I will be struggling with the plan, and I want to allow myself the freedom to satisfy a clean-craving 
Well I am off to bed, as I think I will need all the rest I can get! —Fingers crossed I am not a bear without my caffeine tomorrow!
I’m Still Kickin’ Giveaway!
Wow… I did it to the two people who read this–AGAIN! —Sorry Mom!
I dropped the ball, got busy, overwhelmed, and guess what, this is the first to go.
So I decided to repay you for your loyal support, I am going to host my own GIVEAWAY!!! Be excited as it’s the first one ever! Plus, I am cheap and I am paying for it myself—and no, for those of you who know me personally, it isn’t the end of the world, I am just feeling generous!
FREE STUFF!! Who doesn’t like Free Stuff?!?!
So if you comment below saying what you would like to read about on my blog, or what types of posts you miss most, you will be entered to win. And if you are new and just googled freebies, and came to here, leave a comment too… but if you were looking for “Next Door Nikki” I am NOT showing you my boobies 
[It was one of the search keywords that lead someone to my blog--- I goggle'd it myself, and was uhmm... surprised! lol]
(Sadly I’m limiting this to North America due to shipping, but if you are overseas and read my blog, please comment anyways, I would love to hear from you!)
So what am I giving away? It is a couple of my favourite things, with a new thing added in! In honor of Valentine’s Day—There is something for heart health, something that tastes like cinnamon hearts without the sugar, and Cinnamon Protein bar I recently found!
Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia Seeds! Webber Naturals Organic Chia seeds!
Good Earth Sweet & Spicy Original Tea
The Simply Bar - Cinnamon
I have not talked about The Simply Bar before on here, but have been enjoying the Coconut Pineapple one for some time. I have not tried them all, but they are Gluten free, Vegan, Milk-Free, Kosher, and a Canadian Brand! I plan on ordering some flavours I haven’t tried online asap as they have a sale on! (I’ve previously bought them at health food stores or bulk barn)
So there you have it… My first ever giveaway, and it is all Gluten-free my friends who are following a GF diet!!
Good Luck, I am leaving it open till Tuesday, February 14th, 2010 11:59pm MST —Valentine’s Day Night
Remember to leave a comment to enter! (For those of you new to leaving comments click on the green “__Comments”)
Leftovers…
This Morning I started my day off with leftovers.. no, not steak from last night, but some Pumpkin oats that I had made the other day. I added a little water and microwaved till warm. Topped it off with a couple of these Pumpkin Quinoa Pancakes from Sunday, a couple pecan halves also warmed up in microwave, and a spoonful of Sunbutter! All of these items are good on their own, but together=perfection! (for those of you with wheat allergies this combo is nice and gluten-free!)
Lunch was some leftover Chicken and Gnocchi Soup I had made on Friday which also needed to be eaten up or thrown out soon.. and never being one to waste food, I happily ate it!
Here is the recipe I neglected to share with you the other day…
Chicken and Gnocchi Soup
- 2 baked chicken breasts dicedo
- 1/2 c diced red onion
- 1 T minced garlic
- 2 T butter
- 3 T power flour or regular
- 1.5 c shredded carrots
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 1/2 c julienned red pepper
- 2 T liquid chicken bullion
- 1 c greek yogurt
- whole wheat gnocchi
- Fresh ground pepper to taste
- 2 cups chopped spinach
- 1/4 t dill weed
- 8+ c water
- grated parmesan cheese
Into a stockpot went onion and butter, I sauteed till the onions were transparent, then added the garlic. To that add your flour and a couple tablespoons of water to make a roux.
After it had thickened I added the carrots, celery, peppers chicken, bullion, dill weed and 8 cups of water and lowered the temp to a low medium heat to let simmer. Add some fresh ground pepper to taste, and your gnocchi to the simmering pot. I used greek yogurt as my creamy base, and added it after the vegetables were soft. Not sure if that is the appropriate time, I just don’t like to add dairy to soups too early.
Once gnocchi is cooked it will float to the top, it doesn’t take long. Let simmer on stove top till you are close to eating, then add in the chopped spinach. It tastes good even if you add it earlier or reheat, but I like to add it closer to the end so it still has a tiny bit of texture to it. Top with some grated Parmesan cheese if desired, and enjoy! It is like a “souped up” version of creamy chicken soup with dumplings, and easier too!
By using the 0% greek yogurt instead of half and half or real cream you lower the fat content of the soup without compromising on taste, plus you get some added protein!
Well I am off to clean some more, and do a little painting outside before the kiddos and hubby get home from work!
What is your favourite leftover?
