Food, Glorious Food!

It's been a little bit since I posted a recipe, so I thought why not share a little somethin', somethin'!  If you have any requests for recipes or items to be adapted, please let me know.  I am always looking for a new challenge!

It's no secret that I love desserts!  So, when I found this recipe, I thought why not give it a shot.  Let me tell ya, these delightful little nuggets are delish!!  Some  of you may recognize them from the Mother's Only Luncheon.  I cannot have almonds any longer, but if you can, by all means, enjoy!!

Coconut-Almond Macaroons

1/3 Cup Sugar (I would use raw sugar, normally I prefer honey, but it might mess up the texture here)
1 Large Egg White
1 Cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
1/4 Cup Slivered Almonds, broken into small pieces
1/2 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
Pinch of Sea Salt
1/4 Cup Bittersweet Chocolate Chips, melted (could totally leave off and still be delicious)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Whisk together sugar and egg white in a large bowl.  Stir in the remaining ingredients.

Spoon or use a small cookie scoop to make 12 small mounds, and drop each onto sheet, 2 inches apart.  Bake macaroons until golden-brown on bottoms and edges, about 15 minutes.  Let cool on sheet for 5 minutes.  Transfer to wire racks, and let cool.  using a spoon, drizzle melted chocolate over cooled macaroons.

Macaroons will keep, covered, for up to 1 week.

Each cookie is only 108 calories (with chocolate)!

Sorry, I don't have any pictures this time.

Sometimes you gotta live a little

I am writing this 40,000 feet in the air on my way home from a trip to New York City. I love the city & looked forward to the trip with eager excitement and a little apprehension, mostly because of food. New York is such a foodie city & I didn't want to miss out & I didn't want to spend the week sick-or worse! I had no desire to add a hospital to the list of places to see!

Since my husband & I love to travel & are usually adventurous, especially when it comes to food I really didn't know how this was going to all work out. It was hard to reconcile eating safe & enjoying what the city has to offer. I felt like I had to choose one or the other.

I started to week my usual cautious self, asking lots of questions & making sure my food was free of my worst allergens. I was happy that I was able to eat some delicious, safe, healthy foods & have fun doing it. Then, I started asking fewer questions (especially when I knew the food I was ordering) & just tried to make good choices. Food stands & super crowded tiny restaurants where barely a word of English is spoken can't really do substitutions & I really wanted to experience the food of this awesome city to the fullest extent!

I feel like it helped me to trust God without testing God. I continued to make good choices most of the time without being neurotic & to carefully choose when to splurge. I didn't eat any of the foods that are anaphylactic for me. The good part of all this is that I realized that my dairy allergy is not an anaphylactic one, so I can safely have it occasionally! I realized I never gave dairy a chance, I just freaked out & stopped eating it.

Eating a Canoli

As I continued to mostly make good choices, I just chose to "live a little" on occasion and to make sure I was wise about it and able & willing to suffer the consequences. I was also able to at least try bites of most "New York" foods! I didn't eat any pizza, hot dogs or cheesecake, that just didn't seem worth it to me. But I did have a bite of bangers & mash at an Irish pub, a bite of a black & white cookie, and I ate a Canoli (see the pic)! Another benefit of a large city is access to the "hippie foods" I love and know are safe! I found a little organic place & got a delicious "pastry" that had good ingredients, was raw & tasted so good! I ate that at my "Breakfast at Tiffany's"(see the other pic).

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Overall, this trip was a great success! I was able to curb my neurotic tendencies & let go on occasion! I was still wise & cautious when it called for it, and made good food choices 90% of the time. I feel like this trip was very good for my heart. I think I have learned the balance between trusting and testing God. This is something that is typically a challenge for me as I tend to lean one way then the other. These scriptures are very helpful in this matter. Deuteronomy 6:16 says "Do not test the Lord your God..." and Romans 15:13 says "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

With that, I wish you joy & peace on your food journey!

-Melissa