Gluten free, Vegan Apple Crisp!

Yesterday, my family and I picked more apples than I care to admit.  Today, I'm baking the family favorite.....Apple Crisp.  My original/usual recipe is a bit unconventional from other apple crisp's out there.  One, there are no oats (hubby hates them) and two, I enjoy less topping and more of the apple goodness underneath.  If you prefer this type of crisp, than this is the recipe for you!  If you do not want a GF / Vegan option, just replace the flour with regular all purpose, and use 1 stick of soft butter for the Earth Balance---easy peasy!!

I used my stoneware baking pan as you can see pictured here.  The following recipe filled this pan nicely (heaping, it boils down as you bake it)-- If you wish to half it, just use a smaller baking pan.

For bottom:
14 apples (peeled, cored and cut into pieces) - mix and match as you wish.  I used a combo of Macs and Golden Delicious

1 cup of organic sugar

1 tsp. organic cinnamon

1/8 tsp. cloves

Mix together the sugar and spices and coat the apples with it in a large bowl, set aside.

For topping:

3/4 Cup of Bob's Red Mill Gluten free all purpose flour
1/4 Cup of Trader Joe's Ground Almond Meal (you can omit this and just use 1 c. flour if you wish--I wanted to add some more texture)
1/2 cup of packed organic brown sugar
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup of Earth Balance butter

Mix together the above ingredients, will be a crumbly mixture.  Place cut apples into baking dish, top with the crumb mixture and bake at 350 degrees for approx. 60 mins or until bubbling on sides and texture of apples are soft.

I'm making progress!

I have made some great progress since my last post!  Got my latest panel done and my total cholesterol went from 280 to 230!  Down 50 points!  My bad cholesterol (LDL) changed substantially too.  My tri's are still higher than I'd like, but I'm working on it.  Still trying to limit my sugar consumption, and my wheat/carbs.  It's a really tough diet to stick with though, but I'm allowing myself to make mistakes.  I'm doing my best!  Hoping to get my numbers under 200 soon!!!

Back to basics...

Had my annual visit with my doctor and got my latest cholesterol results.  283.  lovely.  So, back on the meds I go....

I am determined to be off the meds by September (my next blood draw)--So, I have done a bunch of googling and research to see what is actually the best diet to adopt for these few months.  My local naturopath feels that a vegan diet is not the way to go (feels it causes too much inflammation...not sure why)--and obviously it's not helping me much because my numbers have really not moved.  My triglycerides were 100 and thats the highest they have ever been for me...I'm usually in the 40-60 range.  So, I need to make a desperate change.

From the reading I've done online, it appears I need to remove all sugar from my diet, along with wheat/breads and anything processed.  So, this is what I'm trying to do.  I guess it's sort of a combo paleo-gluten free kind of deal.  I've also added a green spinach smoothie to my daily routine, and trying to be sure to finish all my dreaded oatmeal every day.

These first couple of weeks have been hell.  I'm going through a massive sugar withdrawal.   I'm allowing myself to sweeten things with stevia, which seems to be the safest out there (for now), and I'm not all that jazzed up about the flavor.  But, it's better than nothing I guess......

Looking for some great paleo, low fat or gluten free recipes that are tried and true.  If you have any, feel free to share with me!!

Ta ta,

Callily

Avoiding a sore throat!

As I type, I look outside and see some of the biggest snowbanks I have ever seen in Maine.  It has been a long, snowy winter here and I am counting down the days until Spring arrives! (twenty-two).....

I woke up this morning with another scratchy throat (the third time this winter)--and immediately went to my "go to" remedy that I've been using all winter.  So far, it has worked every time I feel that sudden "twinge" at the back of my throat.  Figured I would share it with you.

What you will need:

Bragg's organic apple cider vinegar

organic honey

cayenne pepper

warm water

 First, measure out 2 Tablespoons of the apple cider vinegar into a cup.

 To that, add 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.  I have since purchased organic pepper from Frontier, but this is what I was using at the time I took this photo a couple months back.

 Add as much honey as you wish.  I just use the honey to make the drink more palatable.  If you want to omit it, feel free.

Mix well.  Now, at this point, you can just chug-a-lug the concoction right down. I find it a little too strong, so I add a little bit of warm water and gulp it down quickly.  It really isn't too bad tasting and give you that very "warm" feeling from the pepper---almost as if you just took some NyQuil.  ;-)

I will do this for a couple days, or until I feel the scratchiness is gone.  This has worked amazingly well for me all winter.  I also use this same remedy for heartburn/indigestion as recommended by my chiropractor.  I thought it seems really odd that vinegar would help heartburn, but it really did help.  Figured I'd just share that with you.

I am onto making clay diffusers today.  I will share that in my next blog post!

Hugs,
Callily