Red Apple Lipstick

 

-Wearing Red Apple Lipstick in Sunkissed-

I'm taking a quick break from my holiday shenanigans to let you all know about one of my favorite beauty finds of 2012, Red Apple Lipstick! I first heard of Red Apple through the magazine I write for, Delight Gluten-Free Magazine. I've been hard pressed to find a gluten-free lipstick that was also soy-free, allergen-free, and non-toxic, but this lipstick seems to have it all; creamy, smooth application and vibrant healthy color. It's also safe for all of you lovely vegans out there.

Looking in my search stats, I see that many of you have been scouring my site for more safe beauty finds. I know firsthand how frustrating it can be to pick up a product at the drugstore after attempting to read a long list of unclear ingredients, taking a chance, and then suffering the consequences with an allergic or celiac reaction. My honest and unsolicited opinion is that I know when I put this lipstick on, there's no guessing and no surprise reactions. I believe all of their rich shades would flatter any skin tone, as I've never been able to find a bright shade of red that looked great against my skin until I tried Red Apple Lipstick. "Red!" and "Sunkissed" (modeled above) are both two of my favorite shades. I plan to try their glosses and eye-shadows in the near future, so stay tuned for reviews to come. Check out all the Red Apple Lipstick products here. In the meantime, back to my holiday hiatus. Thanks for the great color Red Apple Lipstick, I am definitely an obsessed Red Apple Gal!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ringing in the New Year

I"m savoring the season with family, friends and loved ones this week. While I'm still around in the kitchen cooking up some gluten-free, allergy-free goodness, I'm taking a nice break from most things on the blog and work related before the start of the year. These times are just so rare and magical that I can't help but live in the moment as much as possible, before a busy norm ensues. Wishing you and yours a peaceful holiday season. Here's a little preview of mine. 

 Light & love, --Bethany.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Celiac: In the Family

Since my diagnosis nearly four years ago, I've had the pleasure of conversing with some wonderfully pleasant people about living gluten-free, Celiac disease, other food allergies, and health obstacles. Reaching out to this community is probably my favorite thing in the world to do, as making connections with people who share the same winding road is an invaluable experience.

One thing in my conversations as of late has been more than troubling to me though. When faced with the facts that Celiac is a genetic disease, many people who were cordial to me just moments ago turn angry and lash out, refusing to believe that their parents, their children, or even their grandparents may carry the gene. I become the bearer of supposed "bad news" and am shunned as the "bad guy". Well, bad girl I suppose. It is understandable that such breaking news may be a shock to some, but in the wake of an attitude that is truly reckless and selfish, I have to call foul.

The University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center states that genes related to Celiac disease are passed down through generations. A first degree relative (parent, child, brother or sister) of someone with Celiac disease has a 1 in 22 chance of developing the disease while a second degree relative (niece, nephew, aunt, uncle, grandparents, and half siblings, etc) has a 1 in 39 chance. A great place to start with the breakdown of testing is through this U of Chicago pdf. While some carriers of the gene may not have active Celiac, they could develop symptoms at any point in their lives. Routine testing is recommended in these cases. It's also possible the gene was not inherited, which in that case is a fabulous thing to know.

So many people are brushing these facts aside in a "why bother testing?" attitude that is really doing a major injustice to themselves and the health of their family. In one instance, a mother struck up a conversation with me to talk about her recently diagnosed daughter. I responsibly let her know the risk that her other children may face as well as her and her husband. The genes had to come from somewhere in that immediate family, but she refused to believe me and stormed off.

I strongly urge all of us with Celiac disease to speak out and make these facts well known! Knowledge is power and when lives could be at risk, we need to know we are doing all that we can to improve the situation. I've always said this disease was a blessing and a responsibility. It is now more than ever. It doesn't have to be Celiac Disease Awareness Day, Month, or Year for us to spread the word and maybe save a life in the process. Please feel free to forward, repost, share, and link back to this post.

Resources:

• The University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center
• Celiac.com
• Delight Gluten-Free Magazine
• Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rustic Grain-free Apple Blackberry Tart

Happy belated Thanksgiving to all! I've just returned from a much needed vacation in Philadelphia. I'm feeling recharged and even more inspired to make things happen. Here's a quick easy recipe I baked last week before departing for the holiday. I had some leftover apples and sweet blackberries that I wanted to use up since I wasn't bringing them to Philly. I love throwing bits and pieces of leftover ingredients together to make new delicious creations and this one just happens to be completely grain-free and SCD legal (specific carbohydrate diet safe).

Rustic Grain-Free Apple and Blackberry Tart

This recipe makes about 6-8 servings and is free of: Gluten, Grain, Dairy, Soy, Eggs, Peanuts, Yeast, Sugar, and Legumes.

This recipe uses my almond flour pie crust recipe.

Tart topping:

• 2 ripe apples, sliced very thin with a knife or mandolin slicer.
• 3/4 cup fresh blackberries
• 1/2 cup xylitol (birch sugar) or sweetener of choice. I choose xylitol from birch because it's candida safe, and has no actual sugar. Stevia can be substituted here instead, just decrease the proportion used.
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1/2 tablespoon cinnnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup raw chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
  

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Use this almond flour crust recipe and press with fingers into a flat oval (about 1/2 inch thick) on a greased baking sheet.
2. Place sliced apples, blackberries, xylitol, vanilla, cinnamon, and coconut oil in a sauce pan and heat over low-medium heat for 5 minutes until well combined. The blackberries may start to break apart a bit and release juices. This is normal.
3. Remove from heat and cool. Arrange filling in rows on the crust and top with raw chopped walnuts, chia seeds, and sprinkle with coconut flour to absorb some of the juices.
4. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes or until crust is golden brown and fruit is cooked through. Serve warm or cool with dairy-free vanilla ice cream.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My Allergy Friendly Kitchen

I'm lucky to have a mostly dedicated gluten-free kitchen, thanks to the help of my boyfriend, who isn't exclusively gluten-free. He's a kitchen whiz and a fast learner. Sometimes I think he knows how to handle my allergies better than I do. So when we're at home, this is where the magic happens. I happily spend most of my time in this room. Some readers have been asking about how I keep my kitchen functional and allergy friendly at the same time so I decided to give everyone an inside look at the staples, setup, and equipment that are always in my kitchen.

Left to right: Centrifugal juicer, Sodastream Maker, Black & Decker High Speed Blender

 We set up an exclusive beverage station since raw juices, smoothies, seltzer water, and homemade soda are constantly happening in our kitchen. Instead of coffee, we down a large glass of green veggie juice or a fruit and veggie smoothie which I feel is even more energizing than a large cup of joe. The vitamins hit your system immediately and alkalize on the way. What better way to start the day?

A wide variety of spices are always on hand in my kitchen. My parents are big on bold flavors and it definitely rubbed off on me. No matter how simple a dish, you can always spark it to life with a good combination of herbs and spices.

I love that most herbal tea is naturally allergen free and gluten-free. Our tea and bar cabinet is a great addition to keeping things organized. Some of the liquors on the bottom are exclusively Y's since we haven't checked the whiskey for gluten content yet (please excuse the Wild Turkey...) My staples include a good organic red wine, chamomile, pau D'arco, some Yogi teas, and all Traditional Medicinal teas.

Fridge magnets hold up our Ph balancing chart, which is a basic breakdown between some highly alkaline and highly acidic foods. I believe a slightly alkaline body is a healthy goal to shoot for, so we try to minimize our intake of highly acidic foods. We usually eat meat 1 to 2 times a week and always have vegetables and greens on hand via juices, smoothies, sautes, and more. Low glycemic fruits such as berries and apples are also a staple on the menu.

Some of my favorite flours/gluten-free grains to cook and bake with are quinoa, millet, buckwheat/buckwheat flour, almond Flour, hazelnut flour, brown rice flour, coconut flour, corn meal.

Staples in the pantry: Black rice, brown rice, wild rice, Tinkyada brown rice pasta, canned olives, canned pumpkin, coconut milk, raw nuts and seeds, Terra sweet potato chips, almond milk, xylitol, coconut sugar, agave nectar, coconut oil, olive oil, Namaste foods mixes, King Arthur gluten-free mixes, Enjoy Life snacks and more.

Many meals are happily shared here (but no "Happy Meals" mind you!) If any soy or gluten does make it's way into the kitchen on occasion, we have dedicated dishes and pans for keeping things segregated.

Our kitchen has lovely natural light that I love utilizing in my photography. At the end of the hallway, it takes a right towards the backdoor which leads out to one of our mini gardens...

And what would a gluten-free, allergy friendly kitchen be without a raw produce section on hand? We call it the farmacy. It's getting cold out, but our mighty kale is still standing strong. The flavors of fresh produce and herbs is truly incredible and I'm lucky to walk out my door to have my pick. I hope you enjoyed the inside look!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~