Quick & Easy Gifts From My Kitchen....

I love to make pampering gifts like my body butter for my friends. With all the cold weather outside and heaters working overtime inside a little bit of pampering can go a long way to keeping your skin healthy. This is a perfect time of year to spend a little bit of time to make personalized gifts for those special friends in your life.

Thanks to the wisdom of Cheryl Harris, I realize that I also need to take a little time for me so that I can be there for the people I love.

Cheryl hosts a December Sanity Retreat on her blog. My dear blogger friend Shirley of Gluten Free Easily introduced me to Cheryl's blog a couple of years ago. I did a post about it at the time. Please  check out Cheryl's blog, she's switching things up a bit this year with guest bloggers and has links to previous years' posts, I bet there will be something that speaks to your heart.

Taking a quiet afternoon to make with a hot cup of tea and happy noise in the background (and then actually setting aside a jar or two for myself) made the time feel indulgent, rather than stressful. How much more relaxing does that sound than running to a mall and running all over trying to find things your loved ones may or may not be able to use?

My goal these last few days before Christmas is to be mindful to avoid stress and find time to relax while caring for the people I love. Each day between now and Christmas is a little more booked than the last so I need to find time in each day for the things that count. For me that means Bible devotional time, getting moving and eating wisely to stay healthy. I have a great devotional app and am enjoying Advent messages through She Reads Truth. Moving is easy when you live with a dog so I'm trying to up our walks. Being outside is always good for me and the weather has been cooperating more days than not. Eating wisely is just that - no diets or deprivation at all. Just making good choices so I don't get glutened or get too much sugar which also causes issues for me.

So now to our gifts, since the ingredients overlap, it's easy to get everything out and make all three recipes, if you want to, in less than two hours including computer time for the labels.

Avery Labels are a great, easy and economical way to dress up your gift. Avery.com has lots of cute designs you can personalize with your own text. It took just a couple of minutes to find the cute bee design and customize each version. I bought my labels years ago and just print up a sheet with a different label with each batch.

I like to use four ounce ball jars for the scrubs and body butter. It's a nice size to give and a handy size to reuse. However, for those gifts I ship I have been using plastic. The PET plastic bottles and jars are easy to find online or at most any health food store that stocks essential oils. This time I used a couple of sturdy Rubbermaid containers for shipping that I had purchased for my last batch. I'm switching over to glass and PET as I go.

My beauty/body care supplies and tools are kept separate from my other pans and immersion blender. Getting melted beeswax and oil scented with lavender off can be a struggle. Having inexpensive doubles and keeping everything in a box together makes making so much easier.

There are a lot of quality essential oils to choose from. My own box of oils has Young Living, Plant Therapy and Florihana. You can use whichever you enjoy but for these projects Florihana was my choice. I buy them through Tropical Traditions, my favorite coconut company. Florihana's Bergamot is Bergapten free, meaning it isn't photo toxic. Most citrus oils are photo toxic, meaning you shouldn't use them on skin that is exposed to the sun, you may get patchy brown splotches. Citrus oils are a great choice for a hand cleanser/sanitizer making Florihana's Bergamot my first choice.

This is a great gift for a friend with littles to throw in their diaper bag. It literally takes five minutes to put this together, including attaching your labels. The recipe below is safe for young children but can be used by adults. If you aren't using it for small ones, go ahead and add up to double the essential oils.

Bergamot and Lavender Hand Cleanser/Sanitizer

1 2 ounce Pet Bottle with dispenser top

Aloe Vera Gel
9 drops Bergamot Essential Oil
1 drop  Lavender Essential Oil

Pour Aloe Vera Gel into clean Pet Bottle almost to the top, leaving room for your oils. Add the essential oils drop by drop right into the bottle.

Make a cute label and attach. I like to use clear packing tape over the label on these bottles to keep it attached and looking good.

I like to use mine (double strength) after leaving a store before getting into my car or in a public restroom that has awful soap (pink soap with scents and dye cause reactions for me). In that case I rinse and scrub my hands in hot water, dry and then rub in a squirt of my hand cleanser.

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A sugar scrub is wonderful to get the dry patches off and reveal smoother skin underneath. You can substitute Olive oil for the Avocado oil. An easy way to measure the liquid oil and the solid coconut oil is to pour one cup of the Avocado oil into a two cup measure and scoop enough coconut oil into to reach two cups. Frankincense and Myrrh were an obvious Christmas combination but you can certainly substitute oils you prefer one to one.

Golden Frankincense & Myrrh Sugar Scrub

3 Cups Organic Sugar (or more if you like)
1 Cup Coconut Oil
1 Cup Avocado Oil
1 teaspoonVanilla Bean Powder
30 Drops Frankincense Essential Oil
10 Drops Myrrh Essential Oil
Containers

Pour everything into a glass or metal mixing bowl and combine. If you like a more dry sugar scrub feel free to add a bit more sugar in 1/4 cup increments. Mash up the solid coconut oil with the back of your spoon or with an immersion mixer.

Pour into jars and put the lids on and then label. You will probably get about eight four ounce jars or more depending on how much sugar you added.

They are a admittedly a bit more beige than golden, but humor me so the name works!

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Body butters save my skin this time of year. This one, is one I've been making for ages. I love it and it works well but I wanted a more simple version. One that had fewer ingredients and no whipping required.

Simple Hand and Body Butter

1/2 cup Organic Beeswax Pearls
1 cup Coconut Oil
1 cup Avocado Oil
1 teaspoon Lavender Essential Oil
Containers

Pour everything but your Lavender Essential Oil into your pot and let melt slowly over low heat. While everything is melting I measure the Lavender Essential and pour it into one of the small jars. Stir to mix and once everything is combined turn off heat and pour the Lavender Essential Oil into the mixture. Stir again to combine and pour into your jars. Depending on the sizes you use, you will have about five four ounce jars.

Let cool completely before putting the lids on. Put on your label and you're done! Easy Peasy.

I spent more time at the post office today standing in line to ship some than I did making any one recipe.

When I use the sugar scrub I rinse well at pat dry. Rubbing in a little of the hand and body butter afterwards will keep your skin soft and glowing. Try the combination on your hands at night before bed, you should wake with nice, soft hands.

Wishing you a peaceful and relaxed holiday season so you can focus on what's important to you.

Happily shared on Gluten Free Wednesdays, thanks one last time Shirley! You are the best!!

I'm A Celiac's Magic Five Layer Bars!

Pam Jordan of I'm a Celiac is a super busy working, running, gluten free blogging and speaking mom of three who's niche is delicious, fast family meals. She's written yet another ebook just in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas, called Easy Gluten Free Holiday Recipes.

You'll find great tips for not getting "glutened" while eating out. The recipes are quick and easy and everything sounds delicious.

Appetizers, main dishes, sides and desserts are all laid out for you and there's a list of resources in the back. Easy Peasy.

The recipe that jumped out at me was the Five Layer Magic Bars. I used to love the similar bars my grandmother used to make. For some reason I've never tried to make them gluten free. Pam's genius idea is using gluten free gingersnaps instead of graham crackers. 

Even with the quick crushing and chopping of nuts these came together in about ten minutes. They are decadent and awesome.

The photo shows them after cooling about an hour, still warm and a little gooey and oh so yummy. After another hour they were cool enough to hold together into beautiful, perfect squares.

A batch will definitely make it to the Thanksgiving dessert table this year. 

Pam is kind enough to share her recipe from Easy Gluten Free Holiday Recipes here!

Pam's Five Layer Magic Bars

2 cups of GF ginger snaps

1/2 cup of butter, melted

14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

1 1/2 cup chocolate chips

1 1/3 cup flaked coconut

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x9 casserole dish. Place the GF ginger snaps in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin. Pour the crushed ginger snaps into a bowl and combine with the melted butter. Firmly press into the casserole dish for the first layer. The second layer is condensed milk over the ginger snap layer. Theird comes the nuts, fourth the chocolate chips and the fifth layer is the coconut flakes. Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool and serve.

Check out Pam's site and book and follow her on Facebook, too.

Don't forget to enter to win two great products from gfJules HERE.

GFJules - Gluten Free Thanksgiving with Jules EBook!

I'm so excited to share this amazing Thanksgiving ebook with you! 

Gluten Free expert Jules Shepard is sharing her newly updated 60 page ebook with us absolutely free if you download it before November 13th.

I've already downloaded my copy and love it. I think you will, too. 

Are you a guest at someone else's home this Thanksgiving? Jules has loads of tips. Are you hosting? Again, Jules has you covered.

There are delicious looking photos and recipes for the entire Thanksgiving spread and Jules has added a planning checklist to keep you on track. Even substitutions for other allergies are included. And so much more.

The link to the eBook page is www.gfjules.com/shop/gluten-free-thanksgiving-ebook/

Your code is: gfjules54601c422cb45

After you put the eBook into your cart on the gfJules site, you can just copy this code from this page and paste it into the box next to the orange "Apply Coupon" button in the gfJules cart. (You can also paste it into the 3rd box at the top of the Checkout page). They hit "Apply Coupon" and the $12.95 price will be deducted instantly, making the book available for immediate download. You'll see Download File: Gluten Free Thanksgiving EBook in red. Click it and start reading!

Hurry because this free offer expires on November 13th!

I'm looking forward to receiving two of Jules' yummy products soon and can't wait to tell you all about them.

Enjoy!

b.good - healthy, local, delicious and gluten free

b.good is a restaurant we fell in love with on a recent trip to Portland and Wiscasset Maine. We visited the Portland store at least three times in our five days in Maine. The other two days we were in Wiscasset.

The Portland, Maine store employees were friendly and helpful in keeping our food gluten free and so delicious. The six of us tried just about every gluten free item on the menu from burgers to salads to kale and quinoa bowls. Everyone absolutely loved everything. Especially awesome are the kids meals. We loved it so much it just didn't seem worth the bother to look up other safe restaurants.

The photo on the right is our last visit up in Maine. Loved the brick and the photos of the local farmers.

So the wait for the Raleigh store seemed ever so long. But open it did last week!

Chris, Joe and I went on Friday for lunch. This was their second day open and the line started clear across the restaurant. We obviously were not the only people anxiously waiting for them to open. The line moved quickly and the young man taking our order was friendly and capable. He quickly told us the couple of items we couldn't have and assured us the rest were safe.

The look of the Raleigh store is fresh and new and the farmer photos are local to our area. I was happy to later hear that JMF Photography took their photos.

We ordered and found a spot at the counter in front of the window to sit.  While I all but stopped drinking sodas years ago, at b.good I indulge with their outstanding Maine Roots soda. My family loves lots of their flavors but I always get the root beer. It's just like what we had growing up ages ago - creamy and perfect.

The guys' burgers and my chicken sandwich were perfect. The toppings are fresh and local, as are the burgers and chicken breasts. The veggie patties are house made and vegan (but not gluten free).

But the fries are amazing. If you're gluten free you know what a big deal safe gluten free fries are but at b.good you can get sweet potato or regular fries. Both are absolutely awesome.

The next day Marc, Marie, Aiden and I ran in for lunch. We arrived just before the doors opened and by the time they did open there was another family waiting with us. Several others filled tables before long.

The crowd Friday at lunch was definitely a work crowd and the Saturday lunch crowd was mostly young families. Steve Woodward, the owner said he was pleased with the lunch turnout but also pleasantly surprised by the dinner crowds, many of whom live in the apartments above the restaurant. How convenient would it be to just pick up dinner and take it right upstairs?? It seems a perfect location for everyone.

Marc and Marie ordered burgers and I ordered the spicy avocado lime kale and quinoa bowl.  It was my first b.good bowl and I ordered it as a healthy and maybe lighter choice. It was such a great combination of fresh veggies with a very spicy and flavorful sauce that I have a new favorite. So fresh and satisfying.

One thing I really love about b.good is their kids meals. Our sweet Aiden loves to eat and Marie and Marc feed him real, whole foods. The kids meals at b.good live up to their requirements and Aiden loves them.

Saturday he enjoyed a bunless turkey burger (freshly grilled and juicy) and a side of veggies. He loved the tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots and kale.

Aiden - so happy and busy with his kid's meal.

It's so nice to be able to walk into a restaurant and know that we can all enjoy healthy, local and delicious food without a worry about gluten. I can't recommend b.good highly enough.

Happily shared on Gluten Free Wednesdays at Gluten Free Easily!

Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

For the last year I have been making Elana Amsterdam's brownie recipe. It is so perfect in taste and texture and since calls for an entire jar of almond butter it's got a good protein to carbohydrate balance for us. Everyone who tries it likes it, it is simple and fast to make so I haven't tried another in all that time. I usually cut the honey a bit and the end result is still sweet and delicious. They also tend to stay moist and pack well without getting crumbly, unlike some I've made with gluten free flours.

Elana's Pantry is such a great resource and while I have given many of my cookbooks away, I hold on two of Elana's. They are carefully written and everything I have tried has turned out perfectly.

Yesterday I used peanut butter and upped the cocoa for a little change. While the almond butter gives a mild flavor in the original recipe, the same amount of peanut butter really jumps out. The extra bit of cocoa seemed to balance it nicely. I like to sprinkle mini chocolate chips on top to dress them up a bit instead of mixing them in the batter.

Because almonds are a high salicylate food making Elana's recipe with almond butter is Feingold stage 2, this peanut butter variation makes them a Feingold stage 1, gluten free, casein free treat.

Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies
Preheat oven to 325 degrees

16 ounces     Organic Creamy Peanut Butter
1 1/4 Cups.   Honey (yes, 1 and 1/4 Cups)
3/4 cup        Cocoa
2 large.         Eggs
1 teaspoon   Vanilla
1 teaspoon    Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Himalayan or Sea Salt
1/2 cup         Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips

Mix everything together except the chocolate chips. I use my KitchenAid and it takes just moments. Spread into an un-greased 9 x 13 baking pan and bake. In my oven it usually takes 35 to 40 minutes.

Enjoy!

This recipe happily shared on Gluten Free Wednesdays at Gluten Free Easily.

Feingold information can be found HERE.

Primal Food & Spirits

The Raleigh Gluten and Allergen Free Expo kicked off with an amazing blogger/vendor dinner the night before the expo at Primal Food & Spirits in Durham. Primal welcomed the very large group in their private room and overflow in the dining area.

Chris and I were fortunate enough to attend the dinner. The ample private dining room was nearly full by the time we arrived so we sat in the dining area with Nikki Everett's awesome family and with vendor Stephanie of SAF Organics and her husband Ken of JMF Photography.  (Nikki is the amazing woman who coordinates the GFAF events all over - check the expo site to see when one will be near you).

I could say so much about Primal but I think that photo of the bucket of bread says it all! When was the last time you had delicious gluten free bread at a restaurant? Sometimes its the little things that mean the most and make you feel welcome.

We all ordered off the menu which could not have been easy for such a large group but our server made it look simple. Chris and I shared Crab Cakes with citrus cabbage slaw and orange aioli. Honestly, I cannot remember the last time I've had crab cakes since it had been a long while before I had to go gluten free.  Every bite was perfection. If I could order only one thing at Primal from now on, this would keep me happy.

Chris' fish was melt in your mouth good. Fish isn't my forte and although I grill, saute and bake it a couple of times a week I can never get it to this level of perfection.

The veggies were crisp and flavorful and the almonds were a perfect bit of crunch and flavor.

I had the veggie lasagna which was a really delicious layered dish of veggies and cheese. No pasta to get in the way of the fresh flavors.

After dinner Chris ordered a pot of French press coffee and we each picked a dessert. At this point we were both very content and probably should have skipped or, at the very
least, shared a dessert. The dessert
options were just too tempting.

Chris had the berry tart and it was sweet and creamy with a crispy crust and piles of beautiful berries. I chose the flour-less chocolate torte.

I have a beloved old recipe for a flour-less chocolate torte that I have been making for decades and it's the recipe I gauge others by. If you had me do a blindfolded taste test between the two, I don't think I could have told the difference.

It was dense and oh so chocolaty without being cloyingly sweet. Just exactly the way I love it.

So we finished our meal completely stuffed to the brim and happy. Our dinner companions were charming and interesting and we can't wait to go back to Primal Food and Spirits.

Feta & Kalmata Cheese Spread

This Feta Kalmata Cheese Spread is so simple and delicious.

It's great on crackers, melts into warm crispy bread, tops a salad, makes an instant creamy sauce on hot veggies, can be mixed into mashed red potatoes and more.

The briny soft cheese, salty olives and seasoning adds layers of flavors and makes just about anything taste amazing.

Because it's so simple your ingredients matter. Use your favorite Feta, most flavorful olives and best olive oil.

Feta Kalmata Cheese Spread

14 ounces Feta in Brine
6 to 8 Kalmata Olives, pitted and chopped
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Oil Oil
1 teaspoon Organic Oregano, dried
Dash Organic Garlic Powder
Dash Black Pepper

Put all ingredients into a large bowl and mashed. Use right away, but the flavor improves as it mellows.

Tonight I'll be spreading it over some delicious focaccia.

Next time I make it I will likely add sun-dried tomatoes and some chopped artichoke hearts. I think that spreading that combination over a partially baked pizza crust would be awesome.

Don't forget to enter to win a pair of tickets to the Gluten and Allergen Free Wellness Event in Raleigh on August 9th! Comment on this post to enter.

Enjoy!

Happily shared on Gluten Free Wednesdays at Gluten Free Easily!