You're My Person

Like many women in this country, I am a lover of the show Grey’s Anatomy… amidst the medical stories, relationship drama, McSteamy McDreamy duel, and heart-stopping story lines, the show teaches us about relationships, friendships, and the point we will all go for each other.

One of my favorite pairs is Christina Yang and Meredith Grey, making up an inseparable duo, and creating the basis of the line “You’re my person”.

This idea is carried throughout the show, throughout their emotional turmoil’s and love lives, keeping the pair woven tightly together through thick and thin.

I think this can apply to any one of our lives. We have the people with whom we are acquaintances, put up with on a daily basis, people we work with, and then there are the people that we can look in the eye and say “you’re my person”.

These people are who shape our lives.... literally.

They come over at 2 in the morning, they become our roommates, they are the people we call when we need anything, and they are the people we place our complete and utter trust in to hold our deepest secrets.

They accept our flaws and love us anyways, they somehow always know exactly what to say, they know what makes us tick and what makes us happy, and they are the ones who will get us through our lowest points.

and they have all of our ugliest snapchats saved in their camera roll...

We all know who these people are, if they don’t come to mind immediately, they aren’t it … and most of us are blessed with more than one “person”.

Everyone deserves to have this relationship, whether it is a family member, spouse, or best friend, I pray that everyone has it in their life.

But more importantly, be it, be someone’s “person”, immerse yourself in relationships and if it isn’t worth it, you’ll know.

My friend Mel said something to me this spring when I was going through a rough couple of weeks. 

I will never forget it.

“Friends are there to kick you in the ass when you are too much of a baby to do it yourself”

Your person will kick you in the ass, they will help you be a better you, and they will help you see things you are blinded too, whether by love, or fear.

So be someone’s “person” heck, be a lot of people’s “person”

Channel your inner Mer and Christina.

Happy Living!

~M

GF Chocolate Mug Cake

After a cold night of lifeguarding, I came home wanting to bake something hot and homey, but also not wanting to clean up the inevitable big mess I would make.. soooooo... here it is 

This cake is heaven... in a mug... actually, i believe mugs often hold happiness.... coffee, hot chocolate, tea... lets just agree that mugs hold the secret to happiness, in the form of hot comfort. This mug cake recipe is an adaption from: http://www.mugcake.com I changed some things to make it GF so we can ALL enjoy it! :)

Ingredients:  4 tablespoons GF flour: i used my silvana's mix from my previous post... i keep a big jar of it in my freezer at the ready... just substitute this or another all-purpose GF flour from the store. 4 tablespoons sugar I used half brown sugar and half white sugar... the more fudgier you want, use more brown sugar. 2 tablespoons cocoa powder 2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil 2 tablespoons water (or slightly more, as needed) a pinch of salt microwave oven and of course a mug Add in and top as you wish: Chocolate chips, Nutella, whip cream etc.

Instructions:  1. Mix all the dry ingredients for your mug cake (flour, cocoa powder, sugar and salt) in your mug. 2. Add the wet ingredients (water and oil) for your mug cake and stir until no powder is visible. You may need to add a bit more water. 3. Add in your desired additions to the mug cake and mix thoroughly. 4. Cook your mug cake on the high setting of your microwave for 1 minute. The cooking time can vary depending on your microwave, so cook for 1 minute and then try for 10 second intervals until your cake is at your desired consistency. 5. Enjoy with a glass of cold milk and a good movie :)

New recipes and Chocolate Covered Marble Loaf cake

Hey all!! So I am super excited because I bought a book, and not just any book, but a Gluten free miracle.... I have had it for 48 hours and am in LOVE!

I met a mom at work who recommended this book to me... I googled the book and was sold after looking at 1 recipe.... She gives you the easy recipe for her all-purpose flour blend and uses it in most of her recipes.. so make a big batch and bake away! 

Baking this way also saves a ton of money, as buying store-bought mixes and all purpose flours adds up pretty fast.... 

This fabulous cookbook is Silvana Nardone's Cooking for Isaiah

Even though it is a dairy-free cookbook, I substitute cows milk for her "rice milk" as I am not dairy-free

Her All purpose flour recipe is as follows: 

6 cups white rice or brown rice flour

3 cups tapioca flour

1 1/2 cups potato starch

1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons xanthan gum

mix all flours together and ta-da! you've got the perfect base! 

Now I would love to be like that girl in the Julia Child movie "Julie and Julia" who makes her way through the cookbook in a certain amount of time, but nursing school is my #1 priority so that commitment may send me over the edge. 

I am, however, going to try as many as I can over the next couple months! 

Today I am going over to a friend's house for dinner, so of course i offered to bring a dessert. 

I chose Silvana's Chocolate Covered Marble loaf cake: 

Ingredients: 

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tablespoons boiling water

2 large eggs, at room temp

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup water

1 cup Silvana's all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 

3 tablespoons, all vegetable shortening, room temp

Directions: 

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 and grease a 4.5 by 8.5 inch loaf pan.

2. in small bowl, whisk together cocoa powder and boiling water

3. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar and eggs until yellow and frothy, add in water, oil, and vanilla

4. In separate small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt, whisk into egg mixture until just combined. transfer 1/3 of batter to smaller bowl. 

stir in cocoa mixture into the smaller bowl of batter, making one bowl of white batter and one of chocolate

5. spoon batters into pan, alternating colors

6. bake until golden, about 50 minutes, use toothpick to test 

7. let cool completely in pan on wire rack and remove when cool to rack once more. 

8. in medium microwavable bowl, melt together the chocolate chips and shortening and stir until smooth. Let cool slightly, then pour over cake and spread with spatula.

9. cool in fridge to help harden chocolate coating faster if needed

Happy Living!

~M

Adventures

The summer is picking up speed, and so is the summer of fun with G and C!
I swear it is going a mile a minute! School supplies are out at target...gulp

Here's some updates on our recent shenanigans.....


Plenty of Beach time:

and pool time

and homemade ice cream time

and craft time

and dress-up time

and froyo time

and blast to the past time

and mini door time

and yummy breakfast time-

Trying to cram in as much fun as possible is a full time job! Literally! But I continue to be thankful for this blessing, spending a wonderful summer with my cousins whom I love dearly.

Always count your blessings.

Happy Living!

~M

The people that come into our life

http://www.someecards.com/friendship-cards/friends-friendship-lazy-funny-ecard

We have all heard the phrase “Things happen for a reason” well I am a huge believer in that statement, but also the idea that people come into our lives for a reason.

To teach us a lesson

For support

For Wisdom

Guidance

To lean-on

To let us know we deserve better

You meet your best friend because you both happened to be sick on the day of a test freshman year.

A shared caribou addiction (A&K)

The privilege of chasing your dream with 75 amazing girls in your nursing program

Meeting that random woman on the light rail who shares her life wisdom with you

Your shared love of Blue Bloods during a freshman year Nursing course.

The beloved family friends who came into your life when your brother wandered off to the pool one summer day by himself.

Visiting a family across the country leads to newly-formed friendships

We meet people throughout life. Some come and go. Some stay.  Some help us love ourselves, and some force us to learn the hard way that we deserve better.

Let those lesson folks come and go real fast. Know yourself and know when your relationship with someone is not meant to be… it’s a hard lesson but never settle for less than you deserve. 

Never underestimate the amazing things that can happen from meeting someone, whether they become a friend for a day, or your future spouse.

God probably put them there for a reason.

So introduce yourself and share a smile, you never know!

Happy Living!

~M

"Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for a while and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same" Unknown

Why gluten is hard to give up

 Make a list of all of the foods that you consider comfort foods. The food you make at 1 in the morning, food associated with holidays and family events, what you turn to after a bad day, what came out of Grandma’s oven during visits. These foods create what we call appetite….not hunger…. Appetite as I learned in nutrition class with my good friends Gabbi and Nicole, is the emotional attachment and the part of us that craves a certain food. Hunger is the physiological need for nourishment.

Here’s a couple examples:

Pie- Fresh from grandmas oven anyone?

Mac and Cheese- Kraft, homemade, take your pick…

Grilled cheese

Casserole- from Minnee-sooota don't ya know 

Stew or Soup

Chocolate Chip cookies and Milk- before bed?

Pancakes- (and waffles, and French toast, and donuts, and croissants)

Gravy (Happy Thanksgiving) oh and stuffing

Christmas cookies, girl scout cookies, GINGERBREAD

Takeout Chinese-boo soy sauce

Pizza-you can still eat the cheese and sauce.. anyone? 

Popcorn- THANK GOODNESS it’s GF!

Brownies

BREAD (don’t even get me started, the bread basket at restaurants kills me every time…. You can look, smell, waft, gaze, feel,  but can’t eat!) 

These foods can sometimes be make GF, but.    

1. they do NOT taste as good
2.   they cost a bloody fortune (I pay 6 dollars for 8 slices of bread
3. they do NOT taste as good

the repeat was on purpose… you get the hint.

 Those foods that most of us commonly associate with memories or childhood, contain the one thing us Celiacs and gluten-intolerants cant eat, and that is why eating gluten-free is difficult.

For me… it wasn’t a hard decision to stop eating it…...psht getting diagnosed was the best news of my life.. it explained why I was sick and was a path to getting better. No-brainer! The pro’s outweigh the cons by a million and one.

The hard part at first was making sure I didn’t accidently consume anything with gluten in it…. it was a foreign concept. I became a label detective, however after a couple months, eating GF became second nature.

But…. you never stop craving those comfort foods. 

Now don’t get me wrong, going gluten free doesn’t mean you automatically eat healthy, there are still chips and ice-cream to get you through the day. You just have to make more of an effort to re-create those comfort foods in a way that is both good and edible.

So I’m on a mission, a slow mission though y’all, I mean I am making my way through nursing school here. I want to find and create those foods in a way that I can enjoy, because watching people eat good gluteny things is it’s own kind of torture. 

So for now I’ll stick to popcorn, ice cream, and potatoes, but I am building up my recipe base slowly, but surely.

Happy (Gluten free) living

~M

picture retrieved from google images