So, okay.  Today I was watching TV and a commercial came on and the announcer said the product was “very unique”. Does this bother anybody else?  Either something is unique or it isn’t.  You cannot quantify uniqueness.  It’s like being pregnant.  Either you are or you’re not.  I am so tired of hearing news people, announcers, commercials, reality show personalities, talk show hosts, etc. saying things like “this is really unique”, this is awesomely unique”, “this is soooo unique”.  You are unique, there is only one of you.  If there were more of you, you would not be unique.   Even twins are unique, no matter that they look alike, are they exactly the same?  NO!! 

            Something can be rare, or rarer, or the rarest.  Think books.  A first edition can be rare if there are only three copies, but rarest if there is only one.  However, if there is only one then it is unique.  If there are three, it is NOT unique.  It is rare. 

        And while I am on the subject of words, does anyone else have a problem with bring and take?  Bring me a glass of tea, take this tea to your mother.  I saw a sign on Chik-fil-A in town the other day and it said “Bring our iced tea to your next picnic”.  This is just plain bad English.  It is grammatically wrong and I almost flunked English in High School and even I know this is wrong.  IT SHOULD READ “TAKE OUR ICED TEA TO YOUR NEXT PICNIC”.  Bring is toward, i.e., bring me that glass of iced tea.  Take is away.  Take that glass of iced tea to your mother.  If you happen to be standing next to mother then you could possibly say “bring your mother a glass of iced tea”, but if you are in another part of the room or house or wherever, it would be “take your mother a glass of iced tea”. 

        I don’t think they actually teach English in school any more.  I don’t know how many times I’ve heard “educated” people say “I seen them”.  THIS ACTUALLY HURTS MY EARS, and sets my teeth on edge.  I just want to scream at them “IT’S – I SAW THEM – NOT SEEN”.

        I know this is a short rant this week, and not too sweet, but Thanksgiving is coming up next week and we all have a lot to be thankful for.  America is a GREAT country, we have freedoms others envy, we have wealth beyond comprehension and I’m not just talking monetarily.  SO TAKE TIME OUT OF YOUR BUSY SCHEDULE TO GIVE THANKS, SAY A PRAYER, and bring that iced tea to your very unique party where you seen all your family.  

Thanksgiving always makes me think of turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and family gathered around the table stuffing their faces.  It is also a time to reflect on what we are thankful for.  

        I have a long list:  the fact that I wake up every morning and am still breathing, my sweetie-pie hubby, my great children and grandchild, my cat, my house, the sun shining or the rain, toilet paper, toothbrushes and paste, microwaves, my church, the fact I can go to church and not be afraid, my friends, living in the Greatest Nation on Earth, computers, telephones, cars (no cleaning up after them), Dr. Who, my doctors who keep me well (or at least try).  There’s so much more, actually too much to list.  When you think you’ve thought of everything, something small pops into your head and then off goes another stream of thankfulness for things you seldom think about.

        I was watching Buying Alaska the other day and all the “cabins” had outhouses and no inside running water.  You had to use the outhouse and bring water in from a well.  That got me to thinking about how thankful I am for showers.  And that led to general indoor plumbing, then air conditioning and heating (no more chopping wood or hauling coal), and that lead to microwaves and Weber grills.  See, one thing always leads to another. 

        So when you sit down to eat that turkey be thankful you did not have to raise it, feed it, see it everyday and then kill it and de-feather it and prepare it for cooking.  All you had to do was go to the store and pick one out.  I am thankful there are other people who do that for me.  I am also thankful there are people who grow cranberries and make sauce.  I cannot imagine the first person to say, “hey, those look tasty, let’s see what we can do with them”.  I like jellied canned cranberry sauce; I do not like homemade sauce with the berries.  Just saying, I am thankful there is an alternative, some people like the berries.

        And talking about food, we cannot forget the pumpkin pie.  I have food allergies, my children have food allergies, and we all love pumpkin pie.  So this year I was going to make a pumpkin pie that was wheat free (crust), dairy free (cream cheese), soy free (tofu), and starch free (corn starch, tapioca starch, etc.).  It took 4 tries, but the 4^th time turned out okay.  It’s still not quite custardy enough, but it does look and taste like a real pumpkin pie.  I am thankful for all the recipes on the internet and in all the cookbooks I looked at and finally came up with my own recipe, which follows this rave.

        This is not really a rave, except I do love Thanksgiving and all the trimmings, and it gets the Christmas season off on a good start.  Now the shopping gets serious and the decorations and everything else for the celebration of our Lord’s birth.

         Happy Turkey Day All……..

BIZZYLIZZY’S PUMPKIN PIE

Crust:    Set oven to 350 F.

½ cup chopped pecans

½ cup chopped walnuts

½ cup almond meal or flour

about 4 T. melted coconut oil (it might take more or less)

Put pecans in VitaMix blender if you have one, turn on low and hit the high button two or three times to make the pecan “flour”.  Do the same with the walnuts.  If you don’t have a VitaMix any food chopper will do.  It will just take longer.  Mix pecan flour, walnut flour, almond meal or flour in a bowl and began adding the coconut oil, one Tablespoon at a time.  Mix between additions.  When the flour is substantial enough to spread without breaking apart, then you have added enough oil.  Spread in a 9” pie pan.  ((If you are using a deep-dish pan, you might want to double these ingredients.))

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 350 F.  Let cool completely before filling.  Turn oven off.  You will not need it for the next steps.

Pumpkin Pie Filling: 

1 cup almond milk (or rice, soy, coconut, or cow)

4 T. coconut flour (at your local “health food store”)

½ t. cinnamon

½ t. nutmeg

1/8 t. cloves

1/8 t. ginger

(OR JUST USE 1 teaspoon PRE-MIXED PUMPKIN PIE SPICE MIX)

½ cup brown sugar

1 15oz. can Libby’s Pumpkin (ingredients:  pumpkin)

Pour milk into boiler and begin heating.  When it begins to form bubbles around the edges, begin adding the coconut flour.  Use a whisk and whisk flour into hot milk.  When you have added all 4 T. it should begin to thicken (this step will happen fast, so be prepared).  Take it off the heat and whisk in spices and brown sugar.  Make sure all are dissolved.  Then add the pumpkin.  Put boiler back on burner and cook and stir (I use a wooden spoon), for 15 to 20 minutes.  Let cool somewhat.  I let mine sit for 30 minutes.  Pour into baked nut crust and refrigerate. 

It needs to sit in refrigerator for at least 24 hours to form that custardy texture. 

When you are ready to serve, just remove from fridge, cut and serve with your favorite topping.  Be careful and try to use a cake server, this has no eggs nor any starch (corn, wheat, tapioca, or rice) so it will not hold together quite like a regular pie.

RANT OF THE DAY

MEN!!!  This weekend I was out and about and I began to notice men.  Not just any men, but men in shorts and flip-flops.  UGH!!!  There is nothing more disgusting than a hairy-legged man with dirty feet and no pedicure in camo shorts and flip-flops.  It is not only disgusting, it is offensive.  It offends me.  

No male person over the age of 8 should be seen in public in shorts and flip-flops unless you are at the beach.  Grow up.  Put on long pants.  And if you must wear sandals, GET A PEDICURE. Didn’t your mother tell you there was a time and place for everything?  Out in public is no place for naked dirty toenails.  Put on shoes, at least athletic shoes.   Gnarly toes and dirty toenails are not appealing, especially at the grocery store or a restaurant. 

Men, and women, lose the camo.  It’s appropriate at hunting camp, fishing, playing in the backyard with the kids or grandkids, but not in public.  And while I’m on the subject, what’s with the baseball caps?  It doesn’t matter if they are on correctly or backward, what is the allure?  Are you trying to cover up something?  Balding?  Bad hair day?  I don’t get it.  Camo shorts with flip-flops with a baseball cap on backwards?  And you wonder why you are out of work, or wonder why you are single, or wonder why people tend to avoid you except for your immediate family. 

Come on, grow up.  Be a man.  Put on shoes and long pants and lose the caps.  Look like you care.  About yourself, about what other people think when they look at you, about what your kid’s friend’s parents think when they see you.  A pair of clean jeans, a clean non-message t-shirt and athletic shoes goes a long way to saying you care about yourself.

Now for hoodies.  Hoodies should only be worn when they are appropriate for the weather.  Hoodies are not a fashion statement.  They are an “I don’t care about how I look or present myself” statement.  I have a hoodie.  I wear it when it’s raining, when the wind is blowing, or the temp calls for something more than a sweater.  They should not be worn to cover up your hair or face or to try to disappear. 

I just want to know where the pride has gone in America.  Why are people, men and women, adults and children, dressing like they don’t care?  They act like if they are covered they are okay.  It’s not okay.  It is offensive to the better senses of some of us. 

Dressing clean and neat is not expensive.  It doesn’t have to cost a lot.  I have bought some terrific things at thrift stores.  I bought a brand name dress that originally retailed for $85 for $8 at a thrift store and I still wear it and get compliments on it.  All you have to do is care.  Care about what you look like, care that you don’t offend other people with your clothes (some x-rated message t-shirts), and care about what you are teaching your children.   

Let’s clean up America.  When we have pride in ourselves it’s easier to have pride in our Country.  America needs all the help it can get, and I believe dressing not to offend is one small step in the right direction.

AMERICANS – CLEAN UP YOUR ACT

RAVE OF THE DAY

Since I have been wheat free I have had a hankering for spaghetti.  I know, no pasta, not even rice pasta, because it raises your glucose levels, so I have been searching for something to substitute for wheat or rice pasta.  And I finally found it.  KonJac noodles. 

These noodles are made of the root of the konnyaku tree, which turns out to be just fiber.  These noodles have no protein, no cholesterol, no fat, no sugar, NO NOTHING, just fiber.  They can be considered vegan and they are gluten-free.   

          The only problem is they also have no taste, and when you open the package they smell like fish.  Just rinse in cold water for 3 or 4 minutes and the smell goes away.  Drain and put in boiling water for about 5 minutes and drain.  Put them back in the pot and pour the sauce over and let stand for about 10 minutes.  If you have a really good homemade spaghetti sauce you really cannot tell the difference. 

          They fill you up without adding calories.  They give you extra fiber, which we all need, and they absorb whatever sauce you put on them.  I’ve even put them in soup.  After boiling for 3 minutes, I drained them and dried them on a paper towel then cut them up into shorter strips and added them to the soup.  Yummy!!!

          This started out as a rave and ended up a recipe.  So this week you get two for one.  Another recipe follows.

          If you want to try these noodles the best place to get them is Amazon.com.  A box of 6 packages (one package is one serving) is about $15.00.  I know this sounds a bit pricey, but if you can’t eat wheat or are just looking for something with no calories, you can’t beat these. 

          As always, all opinions on this site are mine, and mine alone.  I get no endorsements, money, entitlements, payments or anything for trashing or recommending any products or services.  As “they” say, it’s just my opinion, like it or not.

          

RECIPE OF THE DAY

The other day I was trying to decide what to have for breakfast.  I had eggs the day before, and the day before that I had lunch for breakfast – vegetable soup – and I didn’t want that again, and then I thought - - - PANCAKES.  But, alas, I cannot have wheat, so what to do?  Look in Dr. Davis’ Wheat Belly Cookbook for something.

And there it was.  A recipe for wheat free pancakes, but it was not dairy free.  No problem.  Where he uses butter and milk, I use olive oil and Almond Milk.  I also like to add my Seedola instead of the Flaxseeds.  (Recipe for Seedola on previous post.)

WHEAT-FREE, DAIRY-FREE PANCAKES

Makes 4 to 6 pancakes

1 cup Almond Meal

1 t. ground Flaxseeds or 1 T. Seedola

1/8 t. salt

1/8 t. baking soda

1 large egg

1/4 cup Almond Milk (more or less)

1 T. olive oil (more or less)

Combine dry ingredients.  Whisk together wet ingredients.  Gradually whisk flour mix into wet mix (add more milk 1 t. at a time, if needed).  It should be the consistency of regular pancake batter.  Lightly oil skillet and heat.  ¼ cup mix equals 1 pancake.  These are delicate, so be careful when turning. 

          Serve with sugar-free syrup or regular syrup, jam, jelly, preserves, and they are really good with peanut butter and bananas.

          

These are really tasty, a little nutty, and if you add Seedola, there is just a hint of sweetness (from the dried fruit).  Once you get used to the texture I think you will like them.  They differ from regular pancakes in that the almond flour has no gluten, therefore, the texture is a little crumbly and well, just different.  Try them out.  I think they will become a new favorite.

Today is the first day of my blog and it’s a real doozy.  While in the grocery store the other day I started noticing what people were putting in their carts and the relationship between the products and the way the people looked. 

          The ones that had fresh vegetable, fruits, meats, dairy, cheeses, in other words, real food, seemed to me to be slimmer, brighter (you know that bright eyed, bushy tailed look).  They just looked better.

          The ones with 3 loaves of white bread, hot dog buns, hamburger buns, (doesn’t matter if it’s whole wheat or white), no fresh anything except a bag of white potatoes, and to top it all off frozen dinners.  You know the ones, Lean Cuisine, Weight Watchers, frozen pizza, frozen lasagna, frozen vegetables with all that artificial sauce, then potato chips, cheetos, fritos.  Not to mention all the carbonated soft drinks and BEER!!!  YUCK!!!

          These are the people who wonder why they can't lose weight, have no energy, scream at their kids, can’t sleep at night, AND ARE FAT.  It’s all that wheat (or what passes for wheat), artificial ingredients, artificial sweeteners, etc.  DO YOU WANT TO EAT ARTIFICIAL CHEMICALS?  It should be a resounding NO.  I guess my rant this week is people who complain about everything then don't do anything about it.  There are tons of information to lose weight, cook better, using fresh ingredients and not killing yourself or your kids with this fodder.

          That’s what it is, fodder.  Not food.  Fodder just fills you up with no health benefits whatsoever.  Food is nourishing.  It fills you up, it makes you regular, it feeds your cells.  PEOPLE WAKE UP.  Read a lot.  Use the library (what a novel idea), use the Internet, use your friends.  JUST GET REAL AND GET BETTER.  Stop complaining and do something.

I guess I have two raves this week.  One is my Vita-Mix blender and the other is my local Kroger store.  I have had my Vita-Mix since March and use it for everything.  I make smoothies, salad dressings, and soup; YES you can actually make soup in the blender.  I even made a form of Italian Ice once when making a smoothie, I put in too many ice cubes and it froze.  It was yummy for breakfast, too.  Ice cream(?) for breakfast?  YES.  Except I don't use cream, I use almond or coconut milk, or just water, and ice, and any flavoring I want.  Sometimes berries, sometimes just vanilla flavoring, sometimes vegetables, YES, a vegetable smoothie turned into an Icee. 

          The other shout-out is for my local Kroger.  It is a new store and they are on the ball.  The choices of fresh vegetables and fruits are amazing as is their “Health Food Section”.  I always thought this was a stupid label as all food should be Health Food, but alas it’s not.  See my rant.  Anyhow, the people at Kroger are at least making an effort to bring healthier choices to those of us interested in real food.  You don't have to spend a lot of money at specialty shops for healthy food.  Just look around your local grocery.  If it’s lacking, talk to the manager and explain what you are looking for.  Maybe it’s almond milk (shelf safe in the carton), or an organic vegan vegetable broth. 

           If you really want to get healthy, you have to have a Vita-Mix.

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DISCLAIMER

I do not get paid to mention any product, place or anything.  All opinions are mine and mine only.  Any product I mention has been used by me and has my endorsement or not, it’s up to me if I like it or not. 

THE RECIPE OF THE DAY

(OR WEEK OR MONTH)

We have all heard of Granola, we've all eaten Granola, and there are thousands of recipes for Granola.  I have been off ALL GRAINS for two months and cannot tell you how much better I feel, however, I was missing my Granola snacks.  Here’s my take on Granola, I call it Seed-ola.

I will give you the ingredients and the amounts I use.  However, I am aware that all people do not like the same things, so feel free to delete or add whatever you want, as long as it’s not a grain.  Remember, NO oats, oatmeal, rice, rye, barley, tapioca, wheat, corn, or any starches using these grains.  No tapioca starch, no rice starch or flour, AND NO CORNSTARCH. 

I researched this recipe from cookbooks, magazines, the Internet, wherever I could find a granola recipe.  I have to give credit to Lyn-Genet Recitas author of The Plan for getting me off to a good start, however, I wanted something I could carry in a baggie as a snack, not have to add anything at any time, and was basically hassle free after made.  I store mine in the refrigerator in a glass bowl with a plastic lid (I found these awesome Pyrex bowls at my local Kroger store).

Don’t be off-put by the look of this.  My husband says it looks like dirt.  Maybe it does, but it sure doesn't taste like dirt.  You will be pleasantly surprised.

SEED-OLA

Pre-heat oven to 250 F.

1-cup flax seeds (golden or brown, doesn't matter)

¼ cup chia seeds (yes ch, ch, chia.  Black or white)

¼ or ½ teaspoon of the following – all or just some

Nutmeg

Cinnamon

Ground ginger

Ground cloves

1-tablespoon ground flax seeds

1-tablespoon ground chia seeds

½ cup slightly warm water

Mix together everything and put in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.  I leave mine overnight.  Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spread mixture on it.  Don't grease anything.  Cook in pre-heated oven for 45 minutes.

Take it out of oven and let it cool for about 10 minutes.  Do not turn off oven.  Break it up with the back of a spoon to make sure everything is roasted.  At this time you can add:

¼ cup pumpkin seeds (raw and unsalted)

¼ cup chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans)

Put it back in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes.  It should be roasted and ready to cool.  Now add:

¼ cup dried fruit (I use a combo of craisins (dried cranberries), dates, plums, or whatever I have on hand.  (ATTENTION:  Please read the ingredient list on the dried fruit packages.  Some of them have strange things added; you don't want to use these.  Get the ones that have the least ingredients.)

Now just put it in a glass bowl and store in the refrigerator. 

USES

1-cup seed-ola with ½ cup almond milk as a cereal.  You can add berries or other fruit (apples, grapes, etc.).  It is really filling, protein filled and you will not have that 10:30 before lunch slump.

Consider adding ¼ cup seed-ola to your salad after adding salad dressing.  It adds crunch, fiber and more protein.

I like to add it to soups.  I make a broccoli soup in my Vita-Mix and add leftover vegetables (after I pour the soup out of the blender) and add ¼ or ½ cup seed-ola.  It adds bulk and will make you regular, if you know what I mean.

In the coming weeks I will be giving you a recipe for the best non-grain (no wheat, rice, oats, etc.) pancakes you will ever taste and I add ¼ cup seed-ola to the pancake mix.

Well, folks, that’s about all for this week, so until next time, HAPPY EATING.    

                     BizzyLizzythefoodlover