Snicker Doodle Cookies

These are FANTASTIC. I made them last night for the Bike-A-Thon at my daughters school. They were a HIT at snack time with all those adorable three year olds adorned in over sized helmets. OH! TOOOOO CUTE!

I just Love Love Love all these little people! It was crazy madness, but by the looks on their faces, it was worth the work. Thank you school - for putting this on to help St Jude Hospital.

OK, I know. I know. You are here for the recipe....well, now you know it is kid tested and approved, as well as School tested and approved. So here it is:

SNICKER DOODLES

3/4 C Zylotol (sugar or sugar replacement- I use Zylotol in all my baking)

1 egg (room temp)

10 TBS butter (room temp)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract(alcohol-free)

3/4 C sweet rice flour

1/4 C brown rice flour

1/2 C potato starch

1 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 tsp Atlantic Sea salt

1/2 tsp guar gum

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3 Tbs Zylotol (or sugar)

2 tsp cinnamon

Combine dry ingredients: flour, starch, salt, tartar, gum. stir and set aside.

Cream together Zylotol and room temp butter until mixed well.

Add egg and vanilla. Beat on medium until mixed well and fluffy.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter/egg/zylotol mixture. Stir until mixed then blend on medium for several seconds.

In a separate bowl, combine the 3 Tbs zylotol and Cinnamon. Roll dough into balls (smaller than a ping pong or golf ball) roll them in the mixture and place them on a cookie sheet using parchment paper.

Bake at 340 degrees about 10-13 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

In-Joy!

Dannielle

Keep on - Keepin' on!

Well, I have to say, Kyla. I am so proud of you! You are so strong and willing. I admire your strength during this cloud in your life, and I am encouraged by your willingness to make adjustments and drive to "keep on - keepin' on". You are a blessing to have as my friend. I am fortunate to be able to share this journey with you, even though it is a journey neither of us would have chosen for ourselves or each other. Sometimes the best times are on the trips that aren't planned...I think we both know that from our many impromptu road travels. So, with that said...Keep it up MEAN GREEN KYLA JEAN! I am proud of you, I will be your cheerleader. or I will be your silent partner. Which ever you need me to be. I will. LOVE YOU!

In Joy,
Dannielle

Getting back on track

I know that PCOS and Insulin Resistance is the number 1 reason I have a hard time losing weight and getting pregnant. I have been doing allot of reading lately and recently came across this website that provided the below list of steps to getting control of your PCOS. Most of these points are not new to me but it was a good reminder and as someone who loves to make and stick to lists I think that this might be the answer to getting back on track with my health.

TEN TIPS TO KICKSTART YOUR PCOS DIET

1. Eat low Glycemic Index (GI) carbohydrates such as vegetables and whole grains. It is very important for women with PCOS to completely avoid refined carbohydrates including sugar, white flour, whole wheat flour and products made from them eg pasta, breads, desserts, pop, and candy)
2. Keep your blood sugar stable with a daily schedule of meals and snacks every three to five hours that includes some protein and good fats (for example some nuts/nut butter, seeds/seed butter, hardboiled egg, hummus dip). Protein foods take up to 5 hours to digest while carbohydrate foods digest within 30 minutes.
3. Eat at least five servings a day of vegetables including two of leafy greens
4. Have a daily serving of legumes like black beans or lentils.
5. Enjoy grass or pasture fed meat up to three times a week
6. Eat at least three daily servings of fruits like berries --which have a lower glycemic impact fruit as part of a meal or with a protein.
7. Limit or eliminate milk and dairy as these can aggravate internal dampness. If you do have dairy have only non homogenized full fat milk
8. Pay careful attention to portion sizes in order to moderate glucose load and minimize insulin resistance
9. Add one or two Tbsp of cinnamon on cereal each morning to help decrease insulin resistance.
10. Include prebiotic and probiotic foods which promote the growth of beneficial bacteria in the intestinal tract. Prebiotics are found in whole grains, onions, bananas, garlic, honey, leeks, artichokes and some fortified foods. Probiotic foods are found in fermented foods (sauerkraut, live culture yogurt, kim chi, miso).

I plan on using our blog to journal the changes that I making in my life to combat PCOS.

Sauerkraut

I have been reading allot lately about Fermented foods and they were number ten on my new PCOS list. So I decided to give it a try.

I googled allot of different recipes and then combined that with what I have read in the Body Ecology Diet and came up with a recipe /system that would work with what I had on hand.

I shredded half a head of organic cabbage and massaged in some sea salt. Then I layered the cabbage in a small mason jar smashing it down with a wooden spoon. I added a little water between each layer until my jar was full. Then I washed one of the outer cabbage leaves and used it to create a seal. I added water to a smaller jar and used that as the weight. I set the whole contraption in a bowl and covered it with a dishtowel. This was really easy and I am excited to see how this turns out.