Harvest Cake with Vanilla Cream

I. love. food. blogs.

I receive so much satisfaction from my daily blog browsing.  How do I find these awesome blogs?  Stumbleupon.com is AWESOME.  It knows me better than I know myself. :)  Anyway, I came across this amazing harvest cake, and much to my surprise, it is grain-free, dairy-free, and extremely low in sugar.  The only sugar in the cake is about 1/4 cup of honey and some natural sugars from apples and such.  You even get some veggies in and the end product is a dense, but moist cake perfect for the fall and winter seasons. 

I try only to have dessert once a week, but I could hardly call this an indulgence-though it tastes as good as any dessert I've ever had.  Not too sweet, and very filling, this beautiful cake convinced me that nice ingredients are worth the investment for an amazing cake.  Make this with a cup of coffee and it will give you a lovely post dinner treat (though there is no need for guilt with this cake).

Photo from roostblog.com

Harvest Cake (Makes 1-9inch cake, to make a layered cake like pictured above double the recipe)

• 3 cups almond flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup ghee (or oil of your choice) if you use ghee make sure it is melted
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup grated carrot
• 1 cup grated zucchini
• 1 cup chopped apple

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9inch cake pan (you can use a regular cake pan if you prefer, not the fluted one pictured above). In a bowl combine dry ingredients. In a seperate bowl combine wet ingredients. Pour wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir to incorporate. Pour into prepared cake pan and cook in oven for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Vanilla Cream (makes almost 2 cups)

• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked for three hours, water discarded
• 1/2 cup fresh apple juice
• 2 Medjool dates, pitted
• 1 TBS honey
• 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped and pod discarded

In a high speed blender combine ingredients until very smooth. Spread on cake or muffins.
Cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 4 days or in the fridge for 1 week.

Thank you roostblog.com for your beautiful recipes and this lovely cake!

Enjoy!

Coffee Talks: Discussing Diets

Join my husband and me on Tuesday at 2pm Eastern Time.  We will be discussing diets, what to eat, what to avoid, among many other things.  Though these topics are not always black and white, life experience and lots of reading in this area of understanding have led us to develop our own conclusions about food, fitness, and life wellness.  We would love to answer your burning health, diet, and exercise questions, though I don't guarantee that we will know everything.  Regardless, we will certainly help you find answers.  Join us on Tuesday!

Coffee Talks Video Series

Hello everyone!  I am starting a video series called "coffee talks" that I will post a link to on this blog.  I plan to do at least one a week, more or less.  These will be short videos on a topic of health of my choosing.  I would also love to take requests.  Essentially, these are live events and you can join in and ask your own question live via video or through the chat.  So feel free to join me live whenever you see that I am having a live event.  I will post via facebook, twitter, and on this blog ahead of time so that everyone knows!  The first episode was on socializing and eating healthy... Feel free to comment, request topic ideas, etc.  Enjoy!

Here is the first "coffee talk" episode:

Weekly Chore Schedule

I have recently become enamored with the idea of being a homemaker.  I love reading blogs and deeply admire and respect women who maintain their homes well, live "green", and promote community and good family values.  As newlyweds, Matt and I realize more and more how different life is from college.  Hard work really does pay off, and that means IN the home, too! 

Based on blogs and advice I have received, I now have a weekly chore schedule so that the work doesn't pile up.  I know that my husband feels more loved and respected when he can come home to a clean house.  Bible scriptures teach women to be hardworking and to maintain their homes and family and I am excited about getting better about this.  God is teaching me so much about becoming a Godly wife and while a clean house and daily chores don't make me more or less acceptable, I feel better knowing that I am honoring God and my husband by working hard in and out of the home.  In addition, I have begun to gather that being a follower of Jesus means taking care of the planet, conserving, and being aware of the needs in the world.  There are people all over the world without food and clean drinking water, much less appliances that make our everyday life so privelaged.  I thank God for the many blessings he has given me and will continue to blog about living frugally, green, and in a way that glorifies the God of the universe.



Printable Chore Schedule



The following chore schedule can be adjusted depending on if you have children (who can help out), your schedule, etc. Every day usually has a major chore and a minor chore to accompany:

Monday-  Laundry day!  I try to conserve and batch my time by only doing laundry one day a week.  Many will need to do it throughout the week, but with us we only need to do it once.  This includes sheets and pillow cases.  Every fourth Monday I include the comforters, quilts, etc.  Any clothing repair or folding that needs to be done gets done on this day.

I also do a quick kitchen wipedown for fingerprints and crumbs, as well as inspecting the fridge for things that need to be thrown out!

Tuesday- This is the day to mop the floors and vaccuum in the whole place.  Again, we have small living quarters and no pets so we don't need to do this very much.  High traffic areas need vacuuming more often during the week!

Also, do a 15 minute pick up of clutter and wipedown of the house!

Wednesday- This is errand day!  This would include grocery shopping and any small things that need to be done out of the home.

The  minor chore is to clean out the care and the entryways of the house.

Thursday- Deep clean of the bathroom.  Wiping down the bathrooms daily will reduce the work that needs to be done on deep clean day.

Friday- Deep clean kitchen day.  Again, it will be easier if you do a daily wipedown on the counters and sink, etc.

The minor chore is dusting the house.

Saturday- project day; any home maintenance projects or things that need to be done; Usually this is family and friends day, however!

Sunday- Plan for the week ahead.  This may include meal planning, pre-cooking meals for busy days ahead, scheduling, etc.  I also like to grocery shop on Sundays instead of on errand day, but that can vary from person to person.

Every day- kitchen and bathroom wipedown and sweeping, set the timer for 10 minutes and pick up clutter or misplaced items. 

The California

My honey is the most wonderful man in the planet.  We have both been sick for the past several days and being the sweetie that he is, he prepared one of my favorite meals the other morning.  In Nashville, there is a coffee shop called Frothy monkey that we used to eat something called "The California" every time we went.  It was really simple and easily made at home, but we have been missing that coffee shop so badly.  When my husband prepared a dish resembling The California the other morning, I smiled remembering all the wonderful memories that Frothy Monkey used to bring me.  Soon we will take a visit to Nashville again and I will get to revisit that wonderful place, but until then...we will suffice with our own homemade renditions...

The California

Ingredients:

2 slices Ezekiel bread
1 (or two if you want more) egg
bean sprouts (about 1/4 cup)

your fav. salsa
cheese
avocado

Instructions:

Toast your bread and fry up an egg to your desired personal taste.  When the egg is pretty close to done, put a slice of cheese on top.  Put one piece of toast on the plate and place the avocado on the toast.  Put the egg/cheese on top of the avocado (stacking), and lastly add sprouts on top.  The extra piece of toast is just for yummy fun!  Add a dab of your favorite salsa on the plate for dipping and keep a few slices of avocado on the side.  Enjoy!

Poached Egg Salad

This dish would make an awesome and healthy breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  Poached eggs are super easy to make, quick, and complement salads extremely well!  Now before I get into the recipe, let give you some of my favorite reasons to eat eggs...There was a fad a few years back that told us to stay away from eggs, but recent research indicates that they are quite healthy for you:

1.  Due to the lutein and zeaxanthin in eggs, they help prevent cataracts and keep our eyes healthy.
2.  One egg contains 6 grams of protein and all 9 amino acids.
3.  There is no significant evidence that egg consumption leads to heart disease.  In fact, they may even prevent blood clots and heart attacks.
4.  They contain healthy fats.
5.  Eggs contain healthy source of choline, which helps regulate the brain and nervous systems.
6.  Contrary to previous believe, eggs do not have a negative impact on cholesterol levels.  In fact, many researches now believe that eggs may improve a person's lipid profile.
7.  They contain naturally occurring vitamin D.
8.  Eggs strengthen hair and nails because of the sulfur content.

So there ya go!  There are many more reasons to eat eggs, but I want to emphasize the importance of paying a little extra for the cage free eggs, and make them local if you can manage.  They taste infinitely better and ensure optimum healthy benefits.

Poached Egg Salad


Ingredients:

Small Bunch of Broccoli
Asparagus
Shallot
Almonds
Apple Cider Vinegar
EVOO
1 Egg

* I didn't give amounts because I just estimated for one person and added the amount I wanted on a small plate

Chop up a small shallot and put it into a heated pan with a small spoonful of coconut oil.  Cut the broccoli and asparagus into small pieces.  I cut the asparagus into coin sized pieces.  After the shallot has softened, throw in the vegetables and cook for about a minute to warm through.  Throw in some almonds and put onto a plate.  Toss with a small amount of olive oil (use sparingly) and a cap full (or two) of apple cider vinegar.  Toss together.

Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to simmer and crack an egg into a cup without breaking the yolk.  Getting the cup as close to the water as possible gently drop the egg into the simmering water.  It will only take a few minutes and the longer it stays in the more done the egg becomes, but once white surrounds the yolk and you can barely see through to the yellow, the egg is done.  Remove with a slotted spoon and place on top of your salad. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and some lemon zest.

*You can use just about any vegetables and different combinations, or different dressings.

New thoughts

God has been doing quite a work in my life lately.  I can hardly articulate what it means right now, but I thought that getting it out here might connect with someone out there and maybe someone would have some thoughts.

The best way I know how to describe what has been happening is to say that God has been pruning me;  Pruning my character, my marriage, my health, my knowledge and discernment, even my career path.  I have so many emotions running around in my cluttered brain that I can hardly contain my excitement, frustrations, and fervor for the Lord.  As many of you can probably relate, when God prunes, it is sort of painful.  It is beautiful, but also a painful process of weeding out the negativity, the bad parts of my character, bad habits, anything that surfaces as a distraction from intimacy with God.

Right now I'm learning so much about being thankful.  In the days of my pruning, I certainly don't feel like being thankful.  I feel like complaining.  I feel like giving up a little bit.  But the Lord commands us to "let the message of Christ dwell among (us) richly as (we) teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in (our) hearts" (Col. 3:16).  I find myself encountering the idea of peace and thankfulness in my time spent in the Word and can't help but think God is whispering to my spirit and washing me these beautiful fruits even in times when my sin seems so ugly.

Recently, I have been think a lot about social justice, community, apostleship, discipleship, The Great Commission, and how my gifting corresponds with all of it.  These are just thoughts that I will probably go into more at some point on a more specific basis, but I might request that my brothers and sisters in Christ would pray for strength, peace, and discernment in these time of transition in my life.

"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe..."  Ephesians 1:18-21