Oatmeal Cookie Makeover

I like to find hiding places.

By this I mean, I enjoy sneaking healthy ingredients into otherwise perfectly mainstream things (although I also like finding places to hide too - the cardboard boxes at work are perfect.)

Here's an unrelated photo of a
spontaneous feather gathering party this summer.

When I first got married I went on a naughty smoothie kick. Every morning Calvin would be delighted to receive his yummy strawberry-banana smoothie. What he didn't know was that it also contained liquid vitamin D, omega 3 fish oils, a live probiotic dose and acacia fibre. Not soon after that, my mother-in-law shared her recipe for naughty pasta sauce which involves blending tomatoes with spinach, green peppers, carrots and broccoli. I have flawlessly devised and executed plans to swap 3/4 of the rice in a recipe for quinoa, serve two boys tempeh instead of chicken moments before an ice hockey game, convince my dad that soy is beef (okay, that was just funny), and make flaxmeal a wanted edition to every single thing I bake.

My latest freaking joy is oatmeal cookies. Oh my goodness, you can put anything in there. A quick peruse through my museum of weird stuff in jars (more commonly known as a baking pantry) will turn up 20 - 30 things that would willingly ride in a 1/2 cup measure directly into a bowl of oatmeal cookie dough only moments before being rolled, baked, digested and lastly, metabolized into the now healthy bloodstream of my latest victim.

Try this:

Preheat oven to 350. You know the drill.

Mix up a bit less than a cup of vegan margarine and a bit more than a cup of sucanat (fine, you can use sugar). Add a handful of ground flax and an equal amount of water. Put in a splash of vanilla.
On top of that pour just over a cup of flour (I used wheat because I know my family isn't coming over, but alternatives would probably work in this case), just less than a spoon of baking soda, some spices and 3 heaping cups of oats.

At this point you have oatmeal cookies. Feel free to roll and bake for 12 minutes, or...

Return to the previously mentioned museum of weird stuff in jars. How about you pour in some:

Shredded, unsweetened coconut
Dates
Carob chips
Puffed millet or amaranth
Chia seed
Sunflower seeds
Hemp
Walnuts
Molasses
Orange zest
Clove oil
Coconut flour

Can you see how this is just bordering on as exciting as discovering that you fit perfectly inside the packaging that your boss's new printer came in? Folks, yoga is always handy.

The Homeopathic "Flu Shot"

Homeopathic medicine is something that deserves the following caution:

I don't understand as much as I'd like. I know that it's safe, I know that it works. Beyond that, I'm only attempting to be right.

The way I've been taught it, the premise of homeopathic medicine is the philosophy "like cures like". Some one, long ago, realized that things that cause symptoms (poison ivy causing a rash, for example) when diluted and taken as a small dose, can actually cure that symptom. It isn't really the same science as vaccinations that cause your body to react and then learn, this is on so much of a smaller scale that there's no way it could prompt your body's immune response. Rather the energies work to eliminate the symptom. (For more on my beliefs and struggles with energy medicine - request a blog about it!)

Certain ingredients (bee pollen, ragweed, tree bark) are put into a series of dilutions, are tapped when they decant, and are packaged as small pellets (there are liquids and others available) that you take under the tongue as various frequencies. For example, if I noticed bruising from an injury I might take 4 pellets of Arnica Montana, 30c (the potency), every 2 hours until I notice the bruising going down. I use a preparation called Traumeel on Calvin's foot inflammation after he plays hockey and I used other remedies when I was suffering from tooth pain. One that I know of, Acetea Ramosa (probably the wrong spelling, sorry) , can help induce labour in someone past their due date and even help with the pains of it.

Homeopathics are safe in every situation I can think of, including during pregnancy, and for young children. They don't interact with other medicines. And they work every time I've used them. The reason why they haven't received more attention is that there are no major companies backing them up with research and promotion dollars. Talk to anyone who has used them and they'll promote them for free.

One homeopathic remedy that really gets my attention is Influenzium. It is, more or less, an alternative to the flu shot. Depending on your preparation, you can take either one tube per week for six weeks and it will cover you for the entire winter season, or you can receive a one-time dose from a homeopathic professional, and it will also cover you for the season.

Today, the health food store I work full-time at is offering the flu dose for free from 11am to 3pm to anyone who wants it. A hospital in my home city that forces its workers to get the flu shot in order to work has recently recognized this method as a legitimate alternative and will allow their employees to work if they have chosen this route instead.

So if you don't want the flu, and you don't want the flu shot, try the homeopathic flu dose!

Zucchini Fritatta

This morning a browsing of 101cookbooks.com and a sudden breakfast-jones hit at exactly the same time. As my stomach screamed for something other than the chamomile tea I'd been sipping on while reading my lectures, my Google Chrome showed a dazzling photo of sauteed zucchini with dill weed. It didn't take long for my hands to hit the cast iron skillet, and here goes:

Go to the farmers market and buy: eggs, milk, zucchini, goat cheese, parmesan cheese, red bell pepper, dill weed...

Preheat oven to 350.

With a bit of oil if you like, sautee 1 large or 2 small zucchini chopped in coins.
After a minute, add a handful of diced red bell pepper and turn off the heat.
In a cereal bowl, whisk 4 farm-fresh eggs, a splash of milk (oh how I wish it was raw), a monster pinch of fresh dill weed chopped, some sea salt and some grated hard parmesan.
Take the veg out of the skillet and pour in your whisked up egg mixture. Neatly place the zucchini and pepper in the egg mixture and top with cute pieces of goat cheese.
Cook in the oven for 15-ish minutes. (If you double the recipe which you'll need to if you're feeding more than me and my two currently video game playing boys, cook for 5 minutes longer.)
Pull out, and add some more cheese, then broil until the top gets bubbly and wonderful. (Almost a "that's what she said", so close)

Serve with pears. Why? Because I said so.

Side note: my photos as of late would be a heck of a lot fancier if I hadn't drained my camera battery on a video of me singing - oh nevermind - and then lost the charger. If you know where the charger is and would like to see better quality than camera phone snaps, do help.

A Spicy Home Remedy

Just a quick note to pass along a neat home remedy I learned today at work.

A cut I had sustained after using a broken mason jar to irritate a former burn wound (polenta pie injury) had just begun scabbing and I knocked it hard on the desk at work causing a pretty bloody scene. My co-worker Andy suggested, first that I am accident-prone, and also to douse it in powdered cayenne pepper to stop the bleeding.

It worked. I sprinkled a little right on the cut and it healed up quite nicely.

I thought you'd like to know.

Harvest Muffins

It's autumn and that means one thing: everything I eat must have pumpkin in it. Okay, it's true: I'm getting a little sick of pumpkin, but I still want to pay homage to the changing leaves and smell of cinnamon candles in the air. So I made these:

First, preheat your oven to 400F and begin soaking 1 cup-ish of raisins in hot water to plump.
In a large (yellow, if possible) bowl mix:

2 Tbsp ground flax seed + 2 Tbsp water
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 cup apple cider
1/4 cup vegan margarine
Then add:
2 cups flour (or GF flour mix)
4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup grated carrot
1/4 cup grated beet
1/4 cup grated apple
The soaked raisins
Any spices + nuts you think are nice

Mix up and spoon into muffin cups (I filled 12 to overflowing, he he).
Bake for 20 minutes or until you can just tell they are done.

They turned out yummy, pink and not begging for butter-soakage as muffins usually do. Try them before harvest season runs out!

Go Ahead Honey: A Face Mask Recipe by My Sister

Photo "by": Sarah Goertz

Sweet, delicious honey and seductive, ever-tempting coffee team up in my sister's latest homemade creation: honey-coffeebean face mask.

Honey keeps your skin hydrated by retaining moisture and preventing drying. It is an antioxidant and an antimicrobial agent, and can absorb toxins which may be just what you need in the case of a blemish. Honey can be used in sunscreens, baby care products and lotions, but if you don't know the way to mix it up properly you might not want to use honey in something that you won't be washing off. That's why this mask works.


Coffee is, of course, a great source of caffeine. This is nice when my friends want to start watching a movie at midnight, and it's also nice if you want to constrict blood vessels directly under the skin. This does a few things. In the case of your under eye area it can reduce puffiness and discolouration that make you appear tired (oh, let's be honest, that make me appear tired). When applied to chubby or pudgy skin it can smooth it even as far as reducing the look of cellulite. Coffee, like honey, is an antioxidant, but unlike honey it is rough in texture so it can act as an exfolliant, helping to remove dead skin cells and rejuvenating the look of skin. Coffee goes well with honey, even outside of the mug, because unfortunately coffee dehydrates cells so it needs the honey to bring moisture back. Remember, however much I endorse coffee, any overindulgence that damages your liver makes your skin looks worse and this includes heavy coffee drinking.

The instructions:

Mix together a heaping spoonful of fine ground coffee. Decaf will not do the trick. Using a liquid honey drizzled slowly into the mix, make a paste about the consistency of cake icing. Smear this mask concoction all over your face, avoiding the eyes. Leave on for ten minutes and rinse off, wiping with a soft cloth.

Remember, take care of your coffee and your coffee will take care of you. Crap, did I already use that one?