Tea time tea, time time for you and me time - Chai Tea

Chai tea is my favorite. I used to drink it 3 times a day. It was the Oregon Chai packed full of caffeine and sugar. I was so unhealthy I had to stop drinking it. I no longer use caffeine or sugar I decided to make my own chai. I needed to start with a good base tea. I chose Rooibos. It has a flavor close to black tea but no caffeine and many healthy benefits. See below. Then I added all the Indian whole spices ( cinnamon, ginger, cardamon, cloves, black pepper, and to add chocolate flavor because I am a chocoholic, cocoa nibs)  I like in my chai and yum! It turned out so delicious. Then you can sweeten it with anything you like. I add chocolate almond milk or coconut milk. It turns out super good every time!
Health Benefits of Rooibos

The health benefits of Red Bush are very similar to tea made from camellia sinensis leaves.

1. Contains similar amounts of polyphenols and has been shown to be anti-carcinogenic, anti-mutagenic, anti-inflammatory and anti-viral activity.
2. Naturally caffeine-free so is ideal for people who want to cut back on caffeine or want to drink it before going to bed. Actually it’s recommended you drink it before going to bed as it can help with insomnia. It’s also very low in tannins.
3. Contains calcium, manganese and fluoride to help build strong teeth and bones.
4. Can be given to infants suffering from colic, sleeping problems or stomach cramps. 
5. Contains alpha hydroxy acid and zinc which is great for the skin. You can even apply it directly to the skin to help with acne, eczema and sunburn etc.
6. People with kidney stones can drink it because there’s no oxalic acid.
7. Full of vitamins and minerals such as zinc, copper, calcium, manganese, magnesium, potassium.

Sweet potato cookies for a chilly nilly fall morning!

On a chilly morning I decided to make some cookies, to warm the place up a bit. I started with some coconut flour. My new addition to my gluten free baking. This flour is a little hard to work with. If you take a recipe with wheat flour use a little bit less coconut flour and add more wet ingredients then your set.
I wanted to make some pumpkin cookies but ended up making sweet potato because that's what I had. So they turned out delicious. First I made an ordinary batch then added some goodies. Yummm...
Here is the recipe. Enjoy!

Sweet potato cookies

1/2 cup coconut flour and 1/2 cup almond meal

1 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cardamon

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup coconut oil

1 cup canned puree sweet potato

3 eggs

1/4 agave nectar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Mix dry ingredients together and then mix wet ingredients together in a separate bowl. Combine together add pumpkin seeds and chocolate chips. spoon onto cookie sheet and bake for 15 to 29 minutes. Cool a bit and eat. Now you have a warm house and delicious cookies to eat. They wont last long because they are so tasty!

My two favorite bands right now.

I have not figured out how to add music to my blog, so I thought I would post about some music I like. Here are the lyrics to some great songs. 

I am amazed at how well they write these and mix them with the music. 

Living in the twilight

You look darkly on the day

With memories to light your way

A little sad but it's all right

We are always living in twilight

No one knocks upon your door

Until you don't care anymore

A little alone but it's all right

We are always living in twilight

Living in a dream, walking in between the sunrise and sunset

Living in a dream, walking in between sunset and sunrise

You get tied up in your day, so I let go and walk away

And now we're loose ends of the night

We are always living in twilight

So it goes, though no one knows you like they used to do

Have a drink the sky is sinking toward a deeper blue

And you're still all right

Step out into twilight

So I stumble home at night

Like I've stumbled through my life

With ghosts and visions in my sight

We are always living in twilight

By "The Weepies" this song

This is my new favorite band. They have great folkie tunes. All about love. Once again like "The Submarines " my other favorite band they are married and write songs together. I love it! I would listen to Be my thrill, Add my effort, Be my honeypie, Hummingbird, and How do you get high. Those are my favorites. I like the old songs as well like the one above. Good rain music.
The New Weepies album "Be my Thrill" you can listen to on the Whole foods blog. Here is another song that I think is awesome! Their video's are cool, artistic and kid friendly. Can't go back now

Shoelaces

I've had better days than this

Words trip like untied shoelaces

Still you're worth falling down for once in a while

And I'm inclined to admit

With you and I this could be it

And something's telling me we'll know before too long

Are you really going out there on your own?

These tangled lines all come undone

How did it feel when you let go?

You try your luck in your best suit

Tied to a broken parachute

It's the hole in my heart you fell through

Try eating tea leaves and the stars and all the days we were apart 

Maybe my mind wasn't made up but I chose love

Still I'm inclined to admit

With you and I this might be it

These failed predictions kept us wondering all the time

I never want to let you down

So why not cut these strings before we hit the ground?

And now you're out there on your own

These tangled lines all come undone

Tell me how it feels letting go

You try your luck in your best suit

Tied to a broken parachute

It's the hole in my heart you fell through

If you say I'm wrong I'll say you're wrong

No one has to be right

I've had better days than this

And if you say you're wrong I'll say I'm wrong

Nothing could be worth this fight

We try our luck not our strong suit

We can't give up this parachute

Oh the hole in my heart you fell through 

by "The Submarines" this song

Of course I still love The Submarines here is their link. They have a more rocking tech no sound. I love the two singing together. They have this new album, the old songs are so good!  Myspace The Submarines
Have fun listening. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. The Submarines have a soft place in my heart! They have really good video's too! You can check them out on youtube. 
My other favorite song Tigers! Call in the tigers...

The wreath shop with flowers hanging to dry.

We made head dresses of flowers.

Robin liked the cows!

The pyramid, Evangeline is at the top in a blue tank top.

This weekend we attended the Hoe's Down festival at Full Belly Farm. We drove into the farm, into a line to get in. There were thousands of happy farm goers there. As we waited in line Robin said, " oh I know what it means now!" "What?", I said. He answered, " The Hoe's in Hoe's Down means they put their Hoe's down and have a party." We all laughed, myself, Evangeline, and Gillian( by the way, I love this name!) As we pulled in we were so excited to be on the farm and also out of the car after a long, over an hour drive. We proceeded to find the activities, while walking along the orchard we found some fig trees. The girls ran to find figs that were ripe. We all ate many of them, they were wonderful! Nothing better than fresh off the tree fruit! We continued our walk through the orchard. the girls tried to find out what kind of trees they were. Gillian said they were walnuts. Indeed she peeled the skin and stepped on the cover and out popped a walnut in it's shell. She stepped on it again to discover a delicious walnut and shared it with us all. Robin picked some too. They were good, fresh and moist. As we approached the festival we saw pumpkins, and many vendors selling all kinds of crafts. There was a kids area that had a huge hay bale pyramid with tunnels inside. The girls ran to it climbing right to the top! They hid from each other, they chased each other and had a great time. We made head dresses, the girls painted gourds and saw the circus act. Then we went in a weed maze and carved pumpkins then we saw a story telling magician. The girls fell asleep in the car on the way home.  It was a fun time on the farm!

I want to ride my bicycle!

I rode my bike for the first time in years. It was so fun! It almost feels like flying. I like to walk but riding a bike is faster and you can still see all the little things you can see when walking. Like flowers, people, tree's and all of nature. My rusty old cruiser bike was so happy to be going again. She was tired of sitting in the garage. While riding I saw a beautiful victorian house with an amazing paint job. Purple my favorite color tan and brown. It was super cool. One of the balconies had overlapping shingles, stained glass on the windows and a tower on top. I wonder who lives there? If they are happy when they are at home? There was a beautiful sounding fountain in the back yard. There was also some beautiful plants all around. I bet the back yard was full of plants as well. Hey maybe I will make a weekly entry for the adventures on my bike. So, until another time on my bike, look for another one soon!

Delicious Pancakes

This morning I made some delicious, wheat free, sugar free pancakes! They are so light and fluffy. I got the recipe from Mark Sisson. Who is my boyfriends favorite guy. He is 50 years old and looks 30. He has many cookbooks. The one this recipe is in is "The Primal Blueprint Cookbook" It is called Coconut pancakes. http://www.marksdailyapple.com/ This is his daily blog. I think he has a lot of interesting things to say about nutrition. The thing I don't like is all the meat recipe's but there are some good recipe's in there. This recipe is great! It is very simple. I added chocolate chips to this mornings pancakes because I love chocolate. I used the grain sweetened chocolate chips. Delicious! I have been trying to make more baked goods with coconut flour an noticed they are very crumbly. So I am thinking maybe it is because there is nothing to hold them together. So possibly the 3 eggs in these pancakes is what the baked goods need. So if your interested in making a great wheat free, sugar free pancake recipe then try this one.