Wednesday, February 26, 2014

An apology... in transition!

To all of my followers (if I have any left after my hiatus?!)... I am so very sorry I have been away for so long, the holidays were a ruckus all their own, but the new year brought some new challenges. I am happy, no, I am ELATED that those challenges have since become history, as they were heartwrenching and draining for my family. Many of my followers are probably already aware, due to Facebook and the message boards I frequent, but in the short of things, we had a scare with Tiny Tornado's health, but he has now been checked head to toe by the University of Michigan Motts Children's hospital specialists and has been given an "all clear".

So, all is well in the Tuttle household at the present.

Personally, all is far better than it has been for me in a very long time!

Towards the end of last year, I mentioned some changes coming to my blog... Well, as life would have it, I began on a new journey of mostly "clean" eating, and so the changes I planned on for this blog have been replaced with a change in the type of food I will be posting. This is actually really exciting, y'all!

I began eating clean about 5 weeks ago now, and it's been full steam ahead for this train. My family, unfortunately is not all on board the same train I am, so I am still cooking many of the hearty meals I have in the past for them, making an alternative meal for myself. Hey, it's their bodies, their choices when it comes to food (I don't feel this way about all things... but food yes). The two youngest ones are eating mostly clean and they are too little to even realize it unless the older siblings enlighten them. My husband has so far been happy with the foods (at least I think so anyway), but most dinners are meat, veggie, and I make a potato for the fam.

I can't even begin to tell you how much better I feel, Friends! It is amazing. I used to look at the clean and whole foods on my various social media outlets and think "grosssss...." BUT, I didn't realize just how delicious things can be, even without refined sugars and flours. I am loving it! Not only that, but I have lost 13 pounds in 5 weeks! SCORE! I'm telling you, you should at least check it out, research it a bit, if it's not for you, so be it, but if you choose to take on this lifestyle, I think you will love it as much as I do. :)

I'm not going to post a novel, but there is one recipe I MUST share... it can not wait another minute. It just can't... it's too good not to share. Double bonus, it's a completely clean recipe, but you would never know it... you will be drooling over it. Okay, OKAY! I'll stop teasing... here it is. Try it. NOW. If you don't have the ingredients on hand, buy them. Make these cookies, you won't regret them...
Clean-Eating Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies -- these skinny cookies don't taste healthy at all! They're so soft & incredibly chewy. You'll never need another oatmeal cookie recipe again!

This is not my picture, I can't take credit for it, I borrowed it from the recipe site...

Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies

1 c instant (quick-cook) oats (measured correctly)
¾ c whole wheat flour (measured correctly)
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 egg, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ c honey
¼ c dried blueberries
  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the honey until thoroughly incorporated. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in the blueberries. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes. (If chilling longer, cover with plastic wrap, ensuring it touches the entire surface of the cookie dough.)
  2. Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.
  3. Drop the cookie dough into 15 rounded scoops on the baking sheet. (If chilled longer than 1.5 hours, flatten each slightly.) Bake at 325°F for 13-15 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for at least 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

Notes: It's really important to measure the oats with the spoon-and-level method (like with flour; see link in ingredients). If you scoop the oats into the measuring cup, you end up with 1.5 times as many oats, which will result in very dry cookies. 


Melted unsalted butter or melted margarine may be substituted for the coconut oil. Regardless of which is used, be sure that the egg is at room temperature before whisking it in. A cold egg added straight from the fridge would rapidly cool the fat source, resulting in small blobs of semi-solid coconut oil or butter.
You can thank me later ;)

FYI, I tripled the cinnamon in my second batch, and it was Ah-MAZING! Used unsalted butter rather than coconut oil. Also, I used fresh blueberries, where the recipe called for dried. I'm glad I did, biting into a fresh blueberry, tasting the juice squeeze out as you delve into this magnificant cookie... Yeah. These are Heaven.

I will be back at some point, with a few of my new favorite recipes and some easy snack or lunch ideas I have played with over the last month or so. :)

ENJOY YOUR COOKIES!

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