Juicing shopping done

I just finished shopping for my five day juice fast. I got all of my produce at Sprouts farmers market that used to be called Sunflower farmers market. It cost me $60 for all of it and that comes out to $12 a day which pretty good especially considering that if you got fast food it would be way more than $10 a day for food. Kind of nervous about some of it. Never really used basil or parsley or even mint before. It will be interesting to see how that comes out but I looked at the recipes on the website and it all seems pretty good. I'm nervous about the coconut water too. I'm not a coconut dan and read that a lot of people doing this fast found it to be really gross. 

I'll be starting this on Monday and keeping y'all updated. 

I'm baaaaaack!

I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted. My life has been insane. I am still very busy with school but will hopefully be doing more regular posts when the semester ends. I have lots of reviews to post.

Also, a friend and I will be starting a 5 day Juice reboot on Monday so I'll be writing about that too. If you want more info on the reboot check out rebootwithjoe.com . There are recipes and reboot meal guides. I have been cheating so much on my GF diet since my birthday last month and I am seriously in need of a reboot. Not only do I have digestive issues with gluten but it also makes me extremely tired. I have a very hard time not eating gluten or sugar. I know I'll feel much better without these and am hoping this juice reboot and help me get back on track.

Homemade Apple Fruit Leathers

I recently discovered that you can make fruit leathers in the oven, no dehydrator needed! I didn't have enough fruit on hand so I used apple sauce. I went online to find out details on how to do it. It calls for a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. I didn't have any. The paper is used so it won't stick to the pan and so you can roll it up after and it won't stick to itself. I just poured the apple sauce straight on the pan. It didn't stick as bad as I thought it would, mostly just the sides. The rest just peeled right off. Next time I'll definitely use paper. When I peeled it off, tiny parts of the metal on the cookie sheet came off with the fruit.

I used a 48 oz. container of regular apple sauce. In hindsight, I should have used half that. Pour the apple sauce into the pan, smoothing it out to make it all even.

Set the oven to its lowest temperature. For me, that's 170 degrees.

It took around 8hrs. When you poke it and its doesn't come of on your finger, it's done. Someone online said it should not be sticky anymore. Once it's totally cooled, cut, peel and enjoy. It's really good. My daughter and I bother love them and I will be making then again soon. I'll be experimenting with other fruits too.

I give them 5 out of 5.

Baked Lentil chips

I got these baked lentil chips at Sprouts marketplace (previously Sunflower Market). It's a health foods place. I don't remember the exact price but it was around $4-5.

They are crispy with a nice crunch. They taste like beans with a slight cucumber aftertaste. Personally, I don't like them. Their taste is not very strong but just not what I like. My four year old, however, loves them. She asks for them all the time.

I'd give them a 3 out of 5. Decent chips, just not what I prefer.

Rice Krispies cereal

I'm so glad they finally came out with gluten free Rice Krispies so I don't have to miss out on Rice Krispies treats. The taste difference is almost not noticeable. I've made these with family and friends that are not gluten sensitive and they liked them. I also like to add seasonal M&Ms for fun color.

I give these 5 out if 5 stars.

Better Batter GF Flour

I read great reviews about Better Batter Flour online and wanted to see if it was as awesome as everyone says. I must say, it's really good.

I bought the flour at Good Earth Natural Foods for about $20 dollars for a 2.5 lb bag. It is cheaper in bulk but I wanted to try it before buying a huge thing of it.

I have tried one other GF flour and several packaged things like muffin mix and they were all kind if sandy in texture (only before cooking) because of the way rice is when ground up. This is the first flour I've seen that actually looks like flour. You couldn't tell why looking at it that is gluten free. It smells a little different though.

I have made two big things with it. The first was bread. I just substituted the flour into my regular recipe. It tasted ok but didn't rise. I guess I needed to make more changes. The second were the cookies. I've also used it in small amounts for dinner recipes.

Tonight I made peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. I used a recipe from a book called Gluten Free Recipes for Kids (book cover and recipe below). The cookies are the same as regular ones, texture wise. They cooked in 12 minutes. They taste very similar to regular cookies. Because it is GF flour, there is a little taste difference but its not too noticeable. Someone who doesn't have a good sense of taste probably wouldn't notice. My 4 year old likes the cookies too.

I really like this flour. It's texture and taste are so much like regular flour that in most recipes I can just substitute it when called for regular flour. I would give this flour 4.5 stars out of 5 and definitely buy it again.

Ham and bean soup

I wanted to share a recipe that's been a family favorite for years. I grew up with it and every winter I start craving it. It's also about the easiest recipe ever.

Ingredients
1 lb bag of dried 15 beans
Ham

The ham can be almost any kind. My mom usually made this soup after a ham dinner and just throws the ham bone (with the left over ham) in the soup. Sometimes I just use thick ham slices or ham chunks. It's really up to you but it has to be thick enough that it doesn't disintegrate while cooking.

Put the beans in a big bowl and put enough water in it that the beans are covered. Let them soak overnight.

In the morning, rinse them and put them in a crock pot. Cover with water. Add any seasoning you want. I usually just do garlic powder, onion powder, and salt.
Cover and let it cook for a couple hours. Stir occasionally.

After a couple hours, add the ham. If its a ham bone you can add it sooner. The only reason to wait for adding the ham is so it doesn't fall apart. Don't wait too long to add the ham though because you want the ham flavor in the soup.

By the evening, the beans are soft and it is ready to go. I like mine cooked a little longer so that the beans have turned into kind of mush but its a personal preference.

This recipe is enough food for a few people. The beans are only a couple dollars a bag so its super cheap and goes a long way. It's delicious, filling and gluten free. Only two ingredients and a crock pot. Can't get easier than that!

(Pictured below are the kinds of ham and beans I used most recently for this recipe. Although the beans say "Cajun" I just don't use the Cajun packet they include. I used about half of the ham. )