Lemon Lavender Rice Krispie Treats

Leather and Lace by Stevie Nicks and Don Henley
Have I ever told you about the time Stevie Nicks and I shared a soul?  No?  Well, I'll save that for another post.  But today I'm sharing a dessert that's scented with lavender.  And in my mind the thought connection goes like this - lavender ~ lace ~ romance ~ Leather and Lace by two of my favorite artists of all time.  Stevie Nicks is spellbinding when she performs.  Don Henley is my favorite Eagle and his voice is balm to my soul.  Another thing about Henley - he reminds me a lot of my uncles in his appearance - hairline, eyes - he could be related.  And that's all I'm going to say about that.

I know Valentine's Day was yesterday

but romance is in the air in my

home right now as my

youngest is getting married in a

couple months!

All the preparations!!

Well, neither she nor her fiancé

like frosting and have 

chosen to not have the traditional

wedding cake.

So what do they like?

Rice Krispie Treats!

Roasted Apples

You Make Me Feel Brand New by The Stylistics
I got desperate today and felt like I just HAD to have a dessert type of food.  So I figured I'd give roasting some apples a try - without any sweetener.  I was expecting average at best.  But folks, I could have cried!  These were sooooo good!  And soooo easy!  And I truly felt new life being breathed into my soul with every bite!  I felt brand new!  And I felt that maybe I will be able to see this experiment to the end!  Sugar Free Roasted Apples - who knew?!?!

There once was a woman who wasn't 

allowed to have sugar for awhile.

This made her very sad because

she LOVED dessert.

Every day she went without sugar

she felt much better

but, still, she missed it so much!

One wintry day, she felt like

she just couldn't handle it any more!

Snowy cold days were usually

when she would make something yummy

and sweet in her oven - 

warming her home and her tummy

at the same time.

With hope and optimism in her heart

she heated her oven to 375 degrees.

She went to her refrigerator to see

if she could find some inspiration.

She also couldn't eat anything with flour

or butter or eggs so it was a challenge.

She noticed that she had an 

abundance of apples in all sorts of 

varieties and colors.

She selected five of them

and washed them and peeled them 

and cut them into big chunks.

She sprinkled them with a little salt

because she knew that doing

that would bring out the sweetness

already in the apples.

Then she added a bit of cinnamon, too.

Then she went to her pantry to see

what other ingredients she was 

allowed to eat that she could add.

She found some coconut oil

and a bottle of vanilla bean paste.

After heating the coconut oil,

she stirred in some of the vanilla

and covered all those apple 

slices with it.

The apple slices thanked her!

The woman placed the apples into

a sprayed baking dish and,

with a prayer in her heart that

the lack of sugar would not

hinder the satisfaction she craved,

she put the dish into the oven.

Within minutes her home

was filled with the scent of

apples and cinnamon - much to the joy of 

the inhabitants therein!

She peeked now and then and

was pleased to see the transformation

of the apples with tiny bits of

caramelization here and there.

The caramel color told her that

the natural sweetness in the apples

was being made even sweeter.

Her spirits soared!

After 40 minutes she

removed the apples and stirred

them around to coat them with the

drippings in the dish.

She scooped some of the 

soft apples into a dish.

"Oh! If I could only have some cream

to go with these beautiful apples!" 

she cried.

But then she remembered

how often she had used

coconut milk to fill the need

for cow's milk!

She warmed some coconut

milk and then ladled a few spoonfuls

over the steaming apples.

She raised a spoon of the

scented fruit to her lips

and tasted her creation.

She made a loud

"MMMMM!"

and then exclaimed

"Oh my goodness!!"

and all those around

became desirous to taste

the apples, too.

And she shared.

She felt like a new woman!

She was filled with hope

and with a new determination

that - if she could have

something that tasted THIS GOOD

and still be within the confines 

of her diet - she would be able to

be completely satisfied!!

Her apples were good!

They were very, very good!

Fit for a queen, even!

With triumph in her voice

she exclaimed, 

"Who needs sugar!!"

"Not I," said the woman.

"Not I," said her grandchildren.

"Not I," said her daughter.

"Not I," said her husband.

And the woman happily dreamt of the next day

when she would roast more apples.

Roasted Apples

serves 5

Printable Recipe Card

5 - 6 apples

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 Tablespoons coconut oil

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or

beans from half of one vanilla pod

1/2 cup coconut milk, optional

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Peel and core the apples and cut into large chunks.

Coat a baking dish with cooking spray and place apple chunks in it.

Sprinkle with the salt and cinnamon.  Set aside.

Melt the coconut oil and then stir in the vanilla.  Pour over apples and stir to coat evenly.

Place in heated oven and roast for 40 minutes or til starting to brown on edges.

Remove and serve with cream or coconut milk.

Mini Lamb Meatballs in Mushroom Sauce

Hold On by Wilson Phillips

This has been my mantra for 31 days now.  My post will explain further.  But I've been doing something very difficult - for me - with hopeful promise of better days ahead.  And at the end of each day I congratulate myself for making it one more day - and send myself encouraging thoughts to just hold on for yet one more day.  Day by day.  That's how you do hard things.

Right after my last post I went to an 

appointment with my endocrinologist.

I've had concerns with the growing number of

autoimmune issues I've been having.

She had some encouraging words for me

and gave me some homework.

First, to read a book about the root causes of

autoimmune diseases.

Second, to check out something called the

AIP diet - which stands for Autoimmune Protocol.

The book was very clinical and difficult for me 

to get through but I pressed forward

and learned about some hopeful new thoughts

about my situation.

Then I checked out the diet.

This isn't a diet to lose weight -

with which I am very familiar!

This is a diet designed to heal your gut.

It's not meant to be a lifetime way of eating.

It's diagnostic to see what foods

could be making your body ill 

and attack itself.

You begin by eliminating a vast amount

of food from your diet by either a weaning process

or by cold turkey - your choice.

Then you go through a 30 day elimination

phase without these foods - designed to 

give your gut time to settle down and heal.

Then you begin reintroducing foods back

 in a slow and methodical manner.

There are a few differing opinions in

the AIP diet community as to which 

foods are OK to eat and which are not.

But the majority of the foods are agreed upon.

It took me a good long week to

rumble with myself as to how would be 

best to approach this huge undertaking.

I chose to start cold turkey because

I wanted to start getting results faster.

Cold turkey - even though we had a two week

vacation the first part of January!

Was I nuts?!?!?!

Probably - but we are ALWAYS traveling

and trying to find a long stretch of time

where I'd be home just wasn't feasible.

So, January 1, I started.

My list of NO foods are as follows:

Grains

Dairy

Legumes

Soy

Nuts

Seeds

Eggs

Nightshade vegetables (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant)

Shellfish

Canola, sesame, sunflower, flaxseed oils

Sugar

Chocolate (let's pause for the impact with this one!)

The YES foods:

Meats

Poultry

Fish

Fruits

All vegetables that aren't nightshades

Coconut, olive, avocado oils

Animal fats

And I allowed myself Rice

Scary right?

I eat simply now.

And the results?

I feel better than I ever have!

I am beginning to think I've never known

what it's like to not feel bloated and gassy.

It's a beautiful feeling!

Weight loss has been a pleasant 

side effect for me.

Today I start to reintroduce.

I've made up a calendar for when I get to

say hello to all the foods I've eliminated.

Shellfish is my first one.

March 15 is chocolate.

I'm LIVING for March 15!

One of my YES foods is lamb.

I haven't cooked much with lamb

but, when your choices are limited, you 

expand your horizons, right?

I came up with this recipe and am 

really happy how it turned out!

I thought I'd share it in case others out there

might be looking for foods within

the protocol.

Or even if you just wanted to

try lamb and were afraid to try!

I made them mini for my grandkids

(who, incidentally, ate them up!)

but you could turn it into a loaf or larger meatballs!

Mini Lamb Meatballs with Mushroom Sauce

serves 4

Printable Recipe

For meatballs:

1 lb. ground lamb

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 1/2 Tablespoon coconut oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon grated ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix ingredients together in a bowl until well combined.  Shape into mini meatballs and place in a mini-muffin tin.  Bake for 20 - 25 minutes.

While meatballs are baking make the Mushroom Sauce.

Mushroom Sauce:

8 oz. of mushrooms, sliced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 - 2 Tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup chicken stock

1/2 - 3/4 cup coconut milk (I used light)

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium high heat.  Add the mushrooms and stir to coat with the oil.  Sprinkle with the salt and cook until they start to get a dark golden brown.  Stir in the chicken stock and cook until it reduces by half.  Remove pan from heat and stir in the coconut milk.  Return to heat and continue to cook it down until it reduces by half.  Remove cooked meatballs from the oven and toss into the pan with the mushroom sauce and stir to coat.  Serve while hot.