January 31, 2011

Coconut Oil. Snow.


Well, let's see if I can fit all this in one blog post without making YOU go nuts.

Hi all. I have been so busy I haven't had time to even think! Between finishing up a GED online program, working out, church, Bible study, practicing the piano, and playing around with food I'm swamped with business. Or not. Whatever you like to think, I feel busy and have been.


A young coconut.
Two weeks ago I listened to a talk radio show by David Sandoval on Coconut Oil....love him! He's a world-renown nutritionist, into disease prevention through whole foods, and an expert on all the qualities of coconut oil. Here's some things you may not know about coconut oil:

1. It does not make you fat. The fat in CO is a MCT (medium-chain triglycerides), which strengthens the immune system and gives a quicke energy boost. CO is a stable fat, and because it is not stored in your body & it doesn't turn into a trans fat, it will in fact burn fat & calories....resulting in WEIGHT LOSS! One year farmers fed CO to their cattle thinking it would make them fat...they had cattle so skinny nobody would buy their meat! I eat 1 to 2 tablespoons of CO a day, and lost 4 pounds when I started this.

2. Doesn't raise your cholesterol like other saturated fats. It's anti-viral & anti-microbial properties prevent heart disease. Increases your energy & metabolism. If you have an over-active thyroid or an under-active thyroid, it balances it out. Keeps fungus, mold & bacteria out of your blood, and rids the body of parasites. Only coconuts & breast milk have monolaurin, which is similiar to colostrum for disease fighting properties.

3. When you heat normal oils, they become trans fats that are unstable, prone to oxidation, the free radical production speeds up, and because of this, they are very inflammatory inside our bodies. Through this heating process, oils like canola, cottonseed, safflower, corn, soybean, and grapeseed cause problems like diabetes, heart disease, & other degenerative diseases. CO is very stable, resistant to oxidation; it is PERFECT for cooking and has a long shelf life. We use it in place of any cooking oil. Here's a recipe for a delicious, quick drink I made & lost weight drinking:

Vanilla Coconut Shake
by Ani Phyo from her book "Ani's Raw Food Kitchen"

1 cup pecans/walnuts                   1/2 pitted dates or sweetener of choice (I used honey)
1 teaspoon vanilla                       2 tablespoons coconut oil (melted works good)             3 cups water

Blend the pecans, honey, vanilla, coconut oil, and water until smooth. Tasted a little like cream! So yummy.

"Cereal": sesame sprouts, hemp seed, apple, cinnamon, honey

Tried sprouting....and then saw how it's similiar to Christian life & growth.
First you clean the seeds/nuts. This is Christ regenerating our heart, saving & drawing us to Him.. Then you soak them for a few hours. Remember as a new Christian reading your Bible for hours on end? (wish I had time for that!) Then you rinse them a few times, drain, and then put them by the light for 3-8 hours so they can grow. We must be rinsed of the worlds dirtiness and drained of our selfish desires, refreshed by Scripture reading & prayer, and walking by God's light to grow. Then the seeds must be continually rinsed, and drained, 3-8 hours later, rinsed and drained, etc. We will not grow as God's little Sprouts if we do not read our Bible and pray every day! What happens when we do? Even though others may not always see it, we will grow, grow, grow like sprouts grow.   :-) Thank-you Lord for earthly symbols...simple people may know You and grow in Your wisdom because of it!

Buckwheat sprouts


Allison & I shoveling snow

 Made "Chicken Wild Rice" soup....since the cooked soup is so addictive I had to think-up a barely raw recipe so I didn't feel guilty every time I ate it. Sauteed some chopped onions, celery, and carrots lightly in the skillet. Mixed hot water with chicken base and then added to un-sweetened nut milk with spices. Added vegetables, and then some soaked wild rice. (wouldn't use the rice again though) Great broth, not perfectly raw, gluten-free, but it was so delicious!! And quick too.  
Chia Pudding...1 cup nut milk with 1 teaspoon vanilla, pinch sea salt, honey/sweetener to taste, and ground or whole chia seeds. Shake everything together in handy little Blender Bottle, sit in fridge for 10 minutes. Enjoy this quick one!

Little raw dog Schatze. Here she is begging for her favorite food...walnuts. She also loves kale, flaxseed, lettuce, corn, coconut oil, greens, and fresh-picked blueberries. Constant source of amusement. What a funny, sweet little thing.

My family have been pestering me non-stop, and it's getting a little bit annoying. ;-) And I'd like to know what YOU think. They want me to start selling my Cookies to the world. Like Nature's Pantry the world. Scary, but cool. They're just a little chocolate dehydrated cookie filled with nutrient-rich seeds and superfoods that I dreamt up & for some reason my family raves about them & believes I could make a lot of money on it. What do you think? Is it worth a try? Or is my family stark-raving mad? ;-)

In Christ alone and striving to be a likeness of Him,
Kendle

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:21

January 4, 2011

...to save us all from Satan's pow'r when we were gone astray....

Greetings dear friends of mine...time for me to be the selfish creature I am by nature and write something about myself.

Laycock family with Ellis grandparents
Christmas 2010
Whoever you may be, I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and hopefully you didn't get everything you think you deserve. ;-)

My family really scaled back on the presents this year: each of us got one book & one movie plus whatever was in our stockings. Less is more...the simpler the better. I am really enjoying my new Mansfield Park (Jane Austen) book and using my sturdy hair clip from Lilla Rose. Also ate all 5,000 calories worth of Reese's Cups chocolate given to me....oh the sugar high. Had a jolly good time visiting & playing card games with Grandma & Grandpa Ellis who came up from Arizona for a day.

Mom, dog Schatze & I relaxing after Thanksgiving


L-R: Lauren, Catherine & I pulling taffy at Missouri Town 1855 for the Christmas Celebration in the Luttrell Cabin.

Allison & I goofing
This is my sister Allison. I was born in 1990, she was born 2 1/2 years later. After my Savior Jesus Christ, she is my best friend. We drew together, dressed up as princesses, indians, princes, cowgirls, etc., made mud pies, stole chocolate from under Mom's nose, ran around in our woods with the dog, made blanket houses & indian teepees, listened to Disney cassette tapes, water-painted, and rode our bicycles barefoot down our dirt road for hours at a time. We disagree on quite a few things, and even have a selfish or hormone-driven fight every once in a while...but we also have spent many long hours talking in our parent's bathroom, (the bathtub or the sink-top is the comfiest spot) giggling about nothing, playing pranks & scaring each other, crying & praying together, and laughing about all the funny things the kids say out at camp. I love you, Allison. I know I would be a lot less sane if you weren't around to talk with or keep things lively.

Making sweet tea.
I may be a raw food, gluten-free, "don't-cook-the-majority-of-your-food" advocate, but there are just some cooked, heated things I could never get away from. Sweet tea is one of them. In this photo I'm making mint green sweet tea using the Bigelow brand. Used honey and (eeeekkkkkkkkkkk!) white SUGAR! Soooo yummy.

Speaking of healthy food....I have to tell you about one of the best meals ever!! First you fix a simple romaine lettuce salad with tomato and top with a light vinagrette dressing. Then:

Braised Red Cabbage with Bacon

And then, for the crowning glory of the meal:

Spaghetti Squash with Homemade Marinara

Oh....meat-sauce is delicious but this is a great veggie meal, except for the bacon in the cabbage. Makes my mouth water...and isn't it beautiful? Yes, I know I'm weird. But food is very pretty. I don't like it to look ugly.

Well, I am looking into college possibilities and a potential job might be on the horizon. These ain't set in stone, but two things that keep coming up in my brain are dental hygenist & physical therapy assistant. Any ideas? Still praying and asking the Lord for guidance on what to do with the rest of my life. Prayer would be appreciated. My greatest desire will always be to be a wife & mother, but until then I want to work on a back-up if that never happens. Most of all, I just want to glorify my Savior with whatever I do and constantly draw closer to Him & serve him in my daily life by loving others as He loves a sinner like me. Saying that is easy, but doing it can be done only through Christ working through & in me. "Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." Romans 12:11-12

Well my precious friends, have a good couple of weeks. Don't be shy...even though I hide in the deep, dark recesses of my personal cave, I still want to communicate with others around me. ;-)

In Christ alone,
Kendle

"You'll never know that Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have."-Adrian Rogers