Today I'm going to define some words. Dictionaryophiles, beware. If you are a Webster's addict, you might want to sit down with a glass of tasty red wine while you read this to take the edge off. I won't be using a dictionary for my definitions. I will be using my common sense. My what? Yep, that's right. I'm being crazy today. I'm using my common sense to think through my decisions. I haven't consulted one single book, website, pamphlet, or expert (or even another human being, in fact). I haven't done a lick of conventional research. I haven't enlisted the use of any kind of specific gadgetry designed for just this task. Nope. It's just me and my noggin. A threatening combination to be sure.
That is not to say that my words are uninformed or that there is nothing to back them up. Quite the opposite. Fortunately or unfortunately, my tumultuous relationship with food and the food-body-mind connection goes back a long way. I can remember at age seven being aware of looking different from the other (spindly) girls my age and making certain food and exercise decisions as a result. So that's almost thirty years of what we'll call "field research" that I have been racking up just as part of my every day dealings with my food and the (sometimes painful) fact that we have to eat to live.
Enough of that - if those qualifications qualify me to you, read on! If not...read on anyway! At the end you'll find a tasty recipe and some pretty pictures to look at along the way.
Definitions that govern my food choices, straight from my head to your screen:
Healthy food: Items we eat that make us feel good in body and mind; items we eat that taste good. Items with ingredients we can pronounce; items that fill our tummies but don't cause that Ick feeling. Items we can eat just a bit of and feel satisfied; items that we could eat often and still feel good in body and mind every time. Items that do not cause us to have to go lay down on the couch and "sleep it off."
Good food: see "healthy food"
Tasty food: see "healthy food"
Unhealthy food: Items we eat that cause our stomachs or minds to feel yucky; items we only allow ourselves to eat when we are already feeling bad (perhaps). Items that contain few or no ingredients that are naturally occurring. Food that is not canned or frozen or jarred, but will keep indefinitely, unrefrigerated.
The above summarizes the the totality of factors that go into my eating decisions. Over time, just what my personal "healthy" and "unhealthy" foods are has changed as I have tried different things, experimented with eliminating various foods from my diet, adding more of certain nutrients, etc. At this point in my life, I sort of, maybe, kind of, a little bit feel like I am figuring out what works to keep my body and mind and life in harmony. And all of it tastes good, surprisingly. Or maybe not so surprisingly.
And therein lies the whole point of this post: what works for one person will not necessarily work for another person, but whatever works for you should feel and taste good. Eating healthfully does not in any way consist of depriving yourself. Eating healthfully is actually quite the indulgence, and should allow you to enjoy the act of eating again, or to discover joy in eating for the first time.
It's worth keeping an open mind and trying new ways of eating that might seem strange to see how they affect your digestive system and your body and your mind. The three are not so separate as you might think. That would make things way too easy.
For example (more of my "field research"): I never would have guessed I had a wheat intolerance or that I would do better on fewer grains and lots more protein. But I tried it, and the results are in: Not only is my tummy happier, but my body and muscles have responded very positively. At first, I tried for two weeks, then went back to my previous way of eating for two weeks. Then I tried four weeks. Consistently, I was better off without the wheat...and that has led to all kinds of food explorations...and a little blog about gluten free eating. You may have heard of it.
I urge you all to buckle up for the ride (sometimes up, sometimes down, sometimes rough, but always worth it) and buckle down to the project of figuring out what healthy eating is for you. When you do, you will see why some of us giggle at the prospect of "healthy food" as a some kind of negative idea. It's just plain silly.
(Bacon-beef burger topped with grass fed unpasteurized mozzarella over tomato coulis w/bacon, accompanied by roasted broccoli and banana peppers - YUM!)
=====
Healthy Almond Butter Cookies (or Cashew Butter, if you have it!)
Adapted from Blackberry Bakery Gluten-Free, by Karen Morgan
Caveat: Dough needs at least 1 hour in the fridge to set! It will be good up to 1 week in the fridge, so use a little bit at a time or all at once, but be sure to get that first hour of setting time in before you attempt to bake. Once dough has set, THEN preheat oven to 330 (yes, 330 - 350 works, but you have to watch them REAL close. Believe me, I tried.).
1/2 cup almond butter or cashew butter
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour (Bob's Red Mill!)
1/2 cup arrowroot starch
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon guar gum
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter (1 stick) at room temperature, soft enough to mash
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Mix all dry ingredients minus the sugar in a medium bowl.
Cream the butter with the sugar in a separate and larger bowl.
Add the almond butter and combine.
Add the eggs then vanilla, blending to completely emulsify.
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and beat until combined.
If you would like to add chocolate chips, do so last, and fold in about 1/2 a cup or a bit more if you'd like.
PUT IN FRIDGE TO SET FOR ONE HOUR!!!
Preheat oven to 330.
After dough is set, cut parchment paper to fit or grease 2 cookie pans.
Use a large spoon or ice cream scoop to scoop 1 1/2 inch balls of dough 2 inches apart on your prepared pans (or smaller or bigger if desired - adjust baking times accordingly).
Bake for 8 minutes, then rotate pan and set your timer for another 7 minutes.
Cookies are done when they are golden brown around the edges and slightly firm to the touch, bouncing back when pressed in gently.
Eat 'em up!
~GFG
That is not to say that my words are uninformed or that there is nothing to back them up. Quite the opposite. Fortunately or unfortunately, my tumultuous relationship with food and the food-body-mind connection goes back a long way. I can remember at age seven being aware of looking different from the other (spindly) girls my age and making certain food and exercise decisions as a result. So that's almost thirty years of what we'll call "field research" that I have been racking up just as part of my every day dealings with my food and the (sometimes painful) fact that we have to eat to live.
Enough of that - if those qualifications qualify me to you, read on! If not...read on anyway! At the end you'll find a tasty recipe and some pretty pictures to look at along the way.
Definitions that govern my food choices, straight from my head to your screen:
Healthy food: Items we eat that make us feel good in body and mind; items we eat that taste good. Items with ingredients we can pronounce; items that fill our tummies but don't cause that Ick feeling. Items we can eat just a bit of and feel satisfied; items that we could eat often and still feel good in body and mind every time. Items that do not cause us to have to go lay down on the couch and "sleep it off."
Good food: see "healthy food"
Tasty food: see "healthy food"
Unhealthy food: Items we eat that cause our stomachs or minds to feel yucky; items we only allow ourselves to eat when we are already feeling bad (perhaps). Items that contain few or no ingredients that are naturally occurring. Food that is not canned or frozen or jarred, but will keep indefinitely, unrefrigerated.
The above summarizes the the totality of factors that go into my eating decisions. Over time, just what my personal "healthy" and "unhealthy" foods are has changed as I have tried different things, experimented with eliminating various foods from my diet, adding more of certain nutrients, etc. At this point in my life, I sort of, maybe, kind of, a little bit feel like I am figuring out what works to keep my body and mind and life in harmony. And all of it tastes good, surprisingly. Or maybe not so surprisingly.
It's worth keeping an open mind and trying new ways of eating that might seem strange to see how they affect your digestive system and your body and your mind. The three are not so separate as you might think. That would make things way too easy.
For example (more of my "field research"): I never would have guessed I had a wheat intolerance or that I would do better on fewer grains and lots more protein. But I tried it, and the results are in: Not only is my tummy happier, but my body and muscles have responded very positively. At first, I tried for two weeks, then went back to my previous way of eating for two weeks. Then I tried four weeks. Consistently, I was better off without the wheat...and that has led to all kinds of food explorations...and a little blog about gluten free eating. You may have heard of it.
(Bacon-beef burger topped with grass fed unpasteurized mozzarella over tomato coulis w/bacon, accompanied by roasted broccoli and banana peppers - YUM!)
=====
Healthy Almond Butter Cookies (or Cashew Butter, if you have it!)
Adapted from Blackberry Bakery Gluten-Free, by Karen Morgan
Caveat: Dough needs at least 1 hour in the fridge to set! It will be good up to 1 week in the fridge, so use a little bit at a time or all at once, but be sure to get that first hour of setting time in before you attempt to bake. Once dough has set, THEN preheat oven to 330 (yes, 330 - 350 works, but you have to watch them REAL close. Believe me, I tried.).
1/2 cup almond butter or cashew butter
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour (Bob's Red Mill!)
1/2 cup arrowroot starch
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon guar gum
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter (1 stick) at room temperature, soft enough to mash
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Mix all dry ingredients minus the sugar in a medium bowl.
Cream the butter with the sugar in a separate and larger bowl.
Add the almond butter and combine.
Add the eggs then vanilla, blending to completely emulsify.
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and beat until combined.
If you would like to add chocolate chips, do so last, and fold in about 1/2 a cup or a bit more if you'd like.
PUT IN FRIDGE TO SET FOR ONE HOUR!!!
Preheat oven to 330.
After dough is set, cut parchment paper to fit or grease 2 cookie pans.
Use a large spoon or ice cream scoop to scoop 1 1/2 inch balls of dough 2 inches apart on your prepared pans (or smaller or bigger if desired - adjust baking times accordingly).
Bake for 8 minutes, then rotate pan and set your timer for another 7 minutes.
Cookies are done when they are golden brown around the edges and slightly firm to the touch, bouncing back when pressed in gently.
Eat 'em up!
~GFG
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