Healthy Happy and Free

I love gluten. I like bagels and real pizza crust and a nice hearty slice of bread never hurt anybody either. Or did it? Recently, I have been experiencing some less-than-glamorous digestive issues. I won't get into detail for your sake  . According to my symptoms, one of the first protocols suggested was to cut out gluten to eliminate the possibility of something like Celiac disease. I eliminated gluten for TWO whole weeks! How did I survive? If you ever need to follow a similar protocol or if you already know you can't consume gluten, here are some tips I used to not only survive, but still enjoy food! Instead of focusing on what you can't eat, think of all you can eat! Try out something new! Find gluten-free substitutions for things you ate before! Pay attention to labels - gluten may be sneaking in places you never thought!  Bread Replacement - Canyon Bakehouse Cinnamon Raisin bread turned out to pretty dang tasty! I recommend it and I've hear...

A box full of goodies showed up at my house. I can't be mad about that! Daily Goodie Box sends boxes of new products - more that just a tiny sample, but actual products for people to review. They send the reviews to the company - all without obtaining your credit card information! You don't even pay for shipping! I thought they really packed a lot into this small box. My box had: Andalou's Naturals Renewal Face Cream Pods Prince of Peace Ginger Chews with Orange Sun & Earth On the Spot Stain Remover Hydralyte Effervescent Tablets ViterEnergy Mints Kay's Naturals Protein Snack Mix Prince and Spring Organic Coconut Oil Single Serving Packets and  Herb Guru Herbal Tea I haven't had a chance to try all the products yet but here's what I have: Andalou's Naturals Face Cream Pods - I honestly didn't notice anything visibly but my skin did feel nice and hydrated. ViterEnergy Mints - These mints are sugar free and "zero calories...

It's time for FRIDAY FINDS! No time for chit chat - let's just get to the goods! Skinny Dipped Almonds These are *lightly* chocolate coated almonds I spotted at Target. They have a few flavors and are sold in small bags or large bags. I snagged a small bag in the dark chocolate espresso flavor. At first sight, I was disappointed because they looked more like chocolate dusted, however, upon eating them, I discovered it was, in fact, a light chocolate coating that melts in your mouth. I really liked them! I would buy them again! Check them out here:  getskinnydipped.com . Cozyna Air Fryer photo from amazon.com I've yet to actually break this baby in but I purchased the Cozyna Air Fryer after much research and debate. It was on two separate lists for the best air fryers under $100, had good reviews and some nice features. It included a cookbook, dishwasher safe pieces, a toasting rack and skewers. I think I may try it out tonight! I purchased mine he...

Are you familiar with Enlightened Ice Cream? If you're not, you should be! They are a lower calorie, higher protein ice cream that come in tons of fun flavors! Now they've come out with five NEW flavors to add to their line up! Cookies and Cream French Toast Glazed Donut S'mores Movie Night 1. Cookies and Cream  - This is the most classic of the new releases and it did not disappoint! It had mostly small cookie bits but did have a few bigger cookie chunks. It had a creamy texture and tasted just like the real deal cookies and cream ice cream! It's a win! 2. French Toast - I found this one to be super sweet (not a problem to me), with a sweet base and a thick maple swirl which verged on a caramel flavor. Again, it was creamy and tasty! The second time around was even better than the first - I love it! 3. Glazed Donut - I had read reviews before mine saying it tasted like Enlightened's Birthday Cake flavor with the addition of a c...

You've seen edible cookie dough recipes all over the World Wide Web. You've some cookie dough with garbanzo beans, cookie dough with flour, dough with sugar, without sugar, maybe even with sweet potato. But, have you ever seen cookie dough with... Cauliflower. That's right, folks. I said cauliflower. And then I said "folks" which is weird. The idea popped into my head as I was thinking about the versatility of cauliflower! It's used as rice, as a mock mashed potato, as pizza crust, even added into smoothies! So what can't this vegetable do!? This recipe is SO SIMPLE, you have to try it! Not Your Mother's Cookie Dough Makes 2 generous servings. Ingredients: 210 g cauliflower, steamed then cooled 1/4 cup powdered peanut butter 1/2 tsp imitation butter flavor 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 tsp salt 2 tbsp almond milk sweetener to taste (I used approximately 1/4 - 1/2 cup erythritol)  2 tbsp mini chocolate chips (I used KNOW foo...

Skinny and Chocolate in the same breath? What does this mean? While I don't necessarily encourage the pursuit of "skinniness", I do encourage chocolate consumption. SkinnyMe Chocolates are another choice of sugar free chocolates which means people who limit their sugar intake for whatever reason, can still enjoy these chocolates!  It's Keto-friendly, suitable for diabetics or people who count calories or macros. It's sweetened with erythritol and stevia. Some of their defining characteristics are: Zero Sugar Gluten Free No Malitol Easy to digest Won't spike blood sugar Delicious! SkinnyMe has a range of chocolates in individually wrapped squares and truffles. I was sent a box of assorted squares to try!  Flavors of the Squares: Dark Chocolate Sea Salt, Bold Dark Chocolate, Dark Roasted Almond, Dark Chocolate Strawberry, and Dark Chocolate Mint. They also have Orange and Raspberry flavors but these are not included in the Assortm...

It's Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday! If Rebecca Black is in your head now, I apologize. But the good news is, it's Friday! Some of my recent finds: Cauliflour Foods Pizza Crust The concept of a cauliflower crust for a pizza has been around for a while now but I had never actually tried it. It seemed like too much work for a sad excuse of a pizza. However, I had a discount to use on Cauliflour foods and I had heard good reviews so I gave it a go! The crust is comprised of just four simple ingredients, 8g carbs and 180 calories for the whole crust. I went classic and topped mine with hearty pizza sauce, fresh mozzarella and basil. It was really good! I found that the toppings were a bit heavy for the center of the crust but I was able to eat it pretty much mess free. It obviously didn't taste like ordinary pizza crust but a nice alternative especially if you follow a gluten free or low carb lifestyle.Check them out here:  https://www.califlourfoods.com/ ...

Another injury. Another setback. Another emotional roller coaster. During one of my runs recently, my ankle suddenly began to hurt very badly. I stopped running and walked home. Several days passed and I was hoping it would get better. I taped up with kinesiology tape and tried to run again. I couldn't. I couldn't even manage a quarter mile and I didn't want to further damage myself. Several more days passed and I imagined it was getting better. However, about a week after my initial pain, it started hurting a lot more. I could hardly walk or drive. I decided to see an orthopedic doctor. He said I had a stress fracture on my fibula - a common runner's injury. I have to wear a boot for 4 weeks and then I will go back in 5 weeks to see if it is healing. This is a frustrating process as I've been through many times. My exercise routine has been interrupted previously by a broken shoulder, broken neck, broken foot, broken toe, shin splints and even an ingrown ...

If you dip anything in chocolate it's instantly 10x better, right? I like freeze dried fruit and I like  love chocolate so combining the two is a recipe for success!  That's what Tru Fru has done.  The fruit is harvested fresh, freeze dried to lock in the majority of the vitamins, taste, and nutrition. The fruit is then coated in rich chocolate for a snack that is both nutritious and indulgent tasting! You don't have to choose between a nutritious snack or a tasty treat. You can have both in one. That's the concept, so let's get taste-testing! They have several different varieties including: Raspberries, Cherries, Coconut Melts, Strawberries, Bananas, and Cranberries. I first tried the Strawberry variety because chocolate covered strawberries are classic! I really liked it! The dark chocolate coating was smooth and rich while the freeze dried strawberry interior was crunchy and sweet with a slight tang. I found this to be perfectly balanced with ...

 How many vegetables do you eat in a day? How about probiotics? How about snack cakes? Now which of these is your favorite? Wait! You don't have to choose! Farm and Oven has changed the snacking game. They want to help people find the joy in healthy. Their bakery bites are packed with veggies, probiotics, and fiber! Just listen to these flavors (and try not to drool on your keyboard): Beet Dark Chocolate Brownie Bites, Zucchini Lemon Poppy-seed Muffin Bite, Pumpkin Maple Pecan Bread Bite, and Carrot Cinnamon Cake Bite! The first one I tried was the Beet Dark Chocolate . I've never had beets before but my mom told me they're gross, however, I didn't notice any weird or unpleasant taste. It was like a lightly sweetened Cosmic Brownie. #throwback The texture was dense and moist like a brownie bite should be! They have mini chocolate chips for an added bonus! They're made with simple ingredients: flour, sugar, eggs, oh yeah and beets and zucchini! Did I me...