This week my kids and I had a contest who could design the best gingerbread house.

My tried and true recipe is one I make every year, and it tastes sooo good PLUS it's dairy free and gluten free, as I have an allergy to those ingredients. I have included the recipe below. 

For my private, semi-private, and group class clients, I thought you all would get a chuckle at this coffee mug I found online: 

Funny eh? My sets of ten normally turn into sets of 12...15...18 :D

It seems I am not alone with my struggle of ten, lol!



Dairy Free and Gluten Free Gingerbread Recipe

Ingredients:
1 Egg
0.5 cup Brown sugar
0.25 cup almond butter
3 tbsp molasses
0.25 cup earth balance
0.75 tsp ground ginger
0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
0.25 tsp ground nutmeg
0.25 tsp salt
0.5 tsp baking soda
0.5 cup quinoa flour
0.5 cup oat flour
0.5 cup buckwheat flour

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, add egg, softened butter, molasses, almond butter, brown sugar, salt, spices, baking soda and beat on low with a mixer, or...

I rarely purchase packaged snacks, but I always have sugar, butter, and flour for my kids to make their own snacks.

Lately my daughters have been making chocolate covered biscottis which look soooo good. I am allergic to gluten and dairy so I can't eat theirs, but my craving was strong enough to bake my own.

I used to bake amazing "paleo" biscottis from one of my favourite cookbooks called Make Ahead Paleo by Tammy Credicott. So I pulled out my old cookbook and in the end the biscottis are as yummy as I remember!

Dry Ingredients

• 0.25c coconut sugar
• 1.5c almond flour
• 0.25c coconut flour
• 0.33c tapioca flour
• 0.33c arrowroot flour
• 0.5c chopped almonds
• 0.5 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients

• 0.25c maple syrup
• 0.5 tsp almond extract
• 1 orange, juiced and zested
• 0.25c coconut oil, melted

Coating Ingredients

• 0.5c Enjoy Life dark chocolate chips, melted in microwave
• 0.5 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp palm shortening, melted in microwave

Preheat oven 350F

Combine all dry ingredients. Combine...

This isn't something I often advertise to my clients, but I have a condition called IBS: Irritable Bowel Syndrome. I was diagnosed in my early 20s and I have lived with it's symptoms for over 25 years. I attribute it to beginning my mission to eat healthy. 

IBS is caused by abnormal muscle contractions in the intestine. What causes these atypical  contractions is unknown, however, specialists believe that abnormalities in the nerves in the digestive system can cause a faulty connection between your brain and your large intestine, causing it to either slow down contractions or speed it up. There are certain triggers: specific foods, stress, hormones, and the condition may be hereditary. 

Symptoms of IBS

• the number one symptom is severe diarrhea
• the other symptom is constipation, though I rarely experienced this, I know other IBS sufferers do
• pain in the lower abdominal area
• bloated abdominal area
• fatigue (from lack of nutrients being absorbed)

When I...

Several years ago my husband and I had a quick lunch at Nature's Fare grocery store in Langley. They have a small cafeteria in their store with lots of healthy options available. Being allergic to gluten and dairy is sometimes challenging when eating out, but I can always trust that at Nature's Fare there are a few healthy options available. 

I discovered their "protein bowl" which was a yummy mix of baked sweet potato cubes, chickpeas, 3oz of chicken breast, and pumpkin seeds drizzled with a tahini dressing all on a bed of spring mix. 

Since that lunch I have been making this protein bowl at home almost every week. 

Chicken Protein Bowl

• 4-5oz baked skinless, boneless chicken breast (45min in 350 degree oven, check internal temperature 165F) (150 calories)
• 1/2 cup baked cubed sweet potatoes (30min in 400 degree oven) (200 calories)
• 1/8 cup chickpeas (100 calories)
• 1/2 tbsp walnut pieces (25 calories)
• 1/2 tbsp cashew pieces (25 calories)
• 1...

This dish is one of my family's faves. Months ago, I was logging my macros on my My Fitness Pal app and I came across a mouthwatering video on how to make a low carb shepherd's pie. Presently, I can't find a link to the video, but I found the original recipe here.

I don't know about your kids, but mine are sometimes adverse to vegetables, and trust me, because their mother is a health nut those poor kids are given a LOT of vegetables. The first time I made this recipe I forgot to tell them that the top was made from cauliflower, and the funny thing is they didn't even know the cauliflower mash wasn't potatoes!

For the first several times making this I followed the recipe exactly as it states on the My Fitness Pal website, but I didn't care for the flavour combos. In the end I replaced the bison with extra lean ground beef, because while I would LOVE to always use bison in this recipe, I just can't afford it at this time. I experimented and came up with a recipe that...