Mango and Avocado: Two of Gods Most Delicious Gifts

Without question, it is my opinion that avocados are one of the most delicious foods God ever created. I'm fairly certain I could eat them every day with every meal and never get tired of them.

The following recipe was made by a very creative friend of mine and it has become one of my all time favorite ways to enjoy avocados!Thank you so much Heidi for introducing me to this delicious mixture of goodness :)

I'm not certain my proportions are the same as what she uses but this is how I've been making it and my family LOVES it!!  We could eat it by the bucketfuls if not for the fact that it really is very filling.

Mango Basil Avocado Dip

2 large avocados diced (I dice them in the skin before scooping the fruit out  

     with a spoon)

2 ripe mangos

Generous 1/2 cup or more of finely chopped fresh basil 

4-5 large cloves of garlic, minced

1 medium sweet onion finely diced

4 med tomatoes peeled and diced (blanch briefly and the skins will peel off 

     easily. I don't bother peeling the tomatoes when they come from my
     garden or other reliable source but if have to buy them from the
     supermarket I don't want to eat or feed my family the "food grade
     polyurethane" and other who knows what that they coat store bought
     tomatoes with,which is why I take the time to peel them  )

1/4 of a large jalapeno crushed, more if you like things hot! (I used my garlic
     press)

Juice of 1 lime

Sea salt to taste

Fresh ground pepper to taste

Splash of apple cider vinegar

A couple three good tablespoons or so of olive oil

Mix all that deliciousness together in a bowl and enjoy!!

This is amazing on chips as dip or on veggie sticks, salad, chicken, fish, off a spoon from the bowl....

 

Creamy Mexican Chicken Soup (Dairy Free)

I cleaned out the fridge the other day and found I had quite a bit of cauliflower I needed to use up, some chicken and 1/2 an onion. I was pleased with what I came up with using these ingredients so I thought I'd share it with you:

1/2 gallon chicken broth

1/2 can of diced green chillies (I get mine from Trader Joes bc I read once that as of fall 

   2011 all their veggies are in BPA free cans. I really should check this out to be certain its true 

   but bc I don't use canned chillies very often I went ahead and hoped for the best)

1 head cauliflower cut into large chunks and lightly boiled

1 med carrot (boiled with the cauliflower)

a few drops of oregano essential oil 

a heaping tsp or so of paprika

a large heaping tsp of cumin, 

about a tsp of coriander

3 cloves crushed garlic

1/2 a small onion minced 

2 or so cups of cooked chicken cut into bite size pieces

sea salt and ground pepper to taste

Bring the broth to a boil, add all but the chicken and let simmer a bit. Blend until smooth with an immersion blender, add chicken and continue to simmer until flavors are all nicely melded together. If you prefer to have the soup completely smooth you can blend the chicken in too.

Serve with some fresh chopped cilantro, diced avocado, a touch of fresh lime juice, also sour cream and grated cheddar cheese if you can have them.

Tooth Paste

Here is how I make our family's toothpaste:

I fill a pint jar about 2/3 full of coconut oil

add a couple squirts of Dr. Bronners Peppermint Castile Soap

about 20 - 30 drops of thieves essential oil (you can use others or none if you 

  prefer) 

add a couple good spoonfuls of aluminum free baking soda (leaving enough 

  room to stir it all together)

about 1/4 tsp sea salt (more if the taste doesn't bother you)

mix it all together, put a lid on it, and there you go :)

Homemade Deodorant (It works and won't hurt you)

As most people know, antiperspirants contain aluminum which of course is horrible for your health, as well as a host of other nasty harmful chemicals. 

After trying several natural versions that either didn't work, caused my pits to break out or left me feeling sticky. I came across two brands I almost really liked. Pit Putty by Bubble and Bee and Clean and Fresh by Personal Care. 

The Pit Putty worked well but was way too messy and so hard it was almost uncomfortable to put on. The Clean and Fresh didn't work quite as well as the Pit Putty but had a nice texture. Also for whatever reason, while it smelled nice in the tube I didn't like the smell of it on me. So, I decided to take ingredients from both and come up with what I think is the perfect deodorant. It works better than anything I've used ever and I can customize the smell to suit my mood or hormones. 

Here's what I do....

In a small sauce pan melt

2 T beeswax 

Turn off the heat (but keep it on the burner) and add...

1 heaping T coconut oil

1T  aluminum free baking soda

1/2 T zinc oxide powder

1/4-1/2 tsp vitamin E oil (castor oil works too I discovered one day after  

         realizing I was out of vitamin E oil) 

20 drops Tea Tree essential oil

10 Drops Lavender Essential oil

10-20 drops whatever other oil you like to achieve the smell you like, (I 

          currently like Patchouli and a bit of rose for me & for my husband I 

          add myrtle or fir)

Now remove it from the burner and let the mixture cool as much as possible making sure it is just warm enough to pour/spoon into my recycled deodorant bottle but, before you transfer it  add...

3 capsules (broken open) of a good probiotc, I use  Bio-kult or NTV adult complete Biotic . (Thank you Pinterest for this idea ;) )

Now I pour/spoon the mixture into a recycled deodorant tube and let it cool.

You may have to adjust this recipe to fit your particular container but this should give you a good starting point. I'd love to hear from you if you if try it.

Laundry Detergent

I've been making our own laundry soap for years now but its taken me a while to tweak the recipe to get it just the way we like it without the use of Borax. Here's the combination I am finally very happy with...

1 bar of Dr. Bronners Castile soap grated
1 cup washing soda
1 cup baking soda
1/2 cup salt

I use about a tablespoon of this soap per load of wash in my HE front load washer.

Our Favorite Pancakes (grain free with dairy free options)

I've not been posting bc my camera is broken and blog posts to me are just so much more interesting when there are pictures included. 

It may be a while before I can replace my camera though, so I'll share with you now and add the pictures later.
 
We had our favorite pancakes for breakfast today and while they are not the lovely fluffy flour pancakes you're used to, they are the best GAPS legal alternative we've tried.

Using my Vita Mix, bc it makes the whole process so much easier, I throw in...

2 med bananas (we like banana flavor, if you don't, use 1 instead instead of   
                 two, you won't notice the flavor but the banana helps the texture)


2 cups coconut milk, raw dairy milk or cultured buttermilk  (unfortunately kefir 
                             does not work well) 

8 Organic pastured eggs


2 good pinches of baking soda

A nice big splash of vanilla

A couple good pinches of cinnamon 

About 1/2 a tsp or so of a good sea salt 

3/4+ cup coconut flour

Spoonful of a good beef gelatin (this is optional, you won't notice a difference in the pancakes if you add it or not, but I like to add gelatin to anything I can)

Some delicious additions we often add are organic blueberries or sliced bananas. Obviously we stir these in by hand after we have blended the rest of the ingredients.

Fry them as you would any pancake in butter, coconut oil or Ghee and enjoy with honey butter, some nice pure grade B maple syrup (sadly maple syrup is not GAPS legal)  or some fresh fruit and yogurt.  

I recommend you make these the size of a silver dollar or just slightly larger bc they can be a bit tricky to flip if they are too big.

Lemon Kefir Smoothie (Popsicles and Ice Cream too)

I love smoothies, my kids love smoothies, and even more they love popsicles made from the leftovers! They are fast, filling and super easy plus I can pack loads of nutrition, protein and good fats into them. Because of this they are often my "oops I forgot to plan something" meal if dad's working late or they serve as the perfect breakfast for hurried mornings.  Lemon Kefir happens to be one of our favorite smoothies so I thought I'd share the "recipe" with you. 

Ingredients:

-Raw whole milk kefir,  enough to fill my vita-mix about 2/3's full (can you

                           see all that beautiful cream on top of mine :)  )

-One whole Meyer lemon with ends sliced off, cut in half and any visible  

                           seeds picked out

-Good splash or two of vanilla

-5  raw egg yolks ( I leave these out if making it for myself as I'm allergic but

                                   they add loads of nutrition and nice rich creaminess if not
                            allergic. Also omit them if you don't have access to good 
                            eggs from a source you trust. I would never use store 
                            bought eggs raw.)
-Good tablespoon of a clean beef gelatin free of MSG (I get mine in bulk 
                             from Azure Standard but Bernard Jensen is a good brand
                             too)
-Raw honey to taste (a pure stevia extract can be used instead if you have 
                            blood sugar issues)
-Nice big spoonful of raw coconut oil (optional but a good way to get more 
                             coconut oil in you)
-Extra kefir grains if you have them (smoothies are a great place to use up
                            extra kefir grains if you have them to add a nice extra
                            dose of fantastic probiotics and no one will ever know)

* See below for tips on making this into ice cream 

Instructions:


Place all in blender and blend until nice and smooth. If there is any left over it makes great popsicles! 

* This also makes a beautiful ice cream! However, I have always omitted the oil when I make it into ice cream, I'm not sure if the texture would be as nice with it in. Also when making ice cream a very nice addition to this is a few good scoops of homemade sour cream.  If I get carried away with the vanilla, as I sometimes do, it doesn't set up well (due to the alcohol in the vanilla) so I prefer to use the seeds from a few vanilla beans in order to get a nice rich vanilla flavor without compromising the set up of the ice cream.