Veggies in Bread

I have always liked baking my own bread and rolls, but I don't have the time usually. But it is possible and tastes great not to mention that I always know exactly what is going into the food i am eating.
Now we all know that whole grains are better than white flours and organic is better than conventional so organic  whole grain bread has got to be amazing. As it turns out, its not that simple. Firstly, not all grains are created equally and secondly grains that are high in gluten tend to create more sourness in the body when they are being digested. I have been thinking about this a lot lately because I want to eat more alkaline building foods. So the next step was to try making bread that was more alkaline.
I went for a basic recipe with spelt instead of wheat for a start and then added quite a bit of grated zucchini. The result form this experiment was delicious but very dense and moist. Thankfully I didn't make all too much, but it got me wondering a few things:
1. How much grated veggies can I put in my dough before it greatly changes affects the texture?
2. How can I make this taste just a little bit better? Because there are so many other things that should shift the scales towards the more alkaline end that sound delicious.
So I figure that I would not post the recipe because it needs improving, but it seemed worth posting about because it has occupied my thoughts. So please please let me know if you have tried something similar and have any tips. Also what is your take on alkaline diets? I have mixed feelings but I want to try this out and see how my body responds. If you want more posts like this one or about nutrition let me know.
Thanks for reading!

Candied Orange Slices

I missed yesterday! And I feel so badly about it but I just couldn't get it done in time, so I hope this recipe makes up for it. 

1 cup of water and 1/2 cup sugar go into a pan ans come to a boil. Gently stir until the sugar is dissolved at this point in go the orange slices I have mine at about 3/4 or a cm thick and organic. I recommend organic because the peels stay on so it is just a smidge more relevant. Let them simmer until the white bit of the peel turns translucent and the syrup has thickened a little bit. 

Then once they are done they need to drip of, ideally on a rack. Unfortunately I do not have a drying rack but laying them out on some parchment paper overnight will do the trick in a pinch. Then once they have cooled and dried some roll them in sugar and lay them back out to dry fully. 

These are do delicious and the syrup is wonderful too! The orange slices are also wonderful covered in dark chocolate or in any number of other forms. 

An Herb Concoction for the Scalp

with the colder season comes cold and dry air which causes many of us to suffer from dry skin.

I personally also have quite the dandruff problem in the winter. This is the kind of thing that I'm sure some people can ignore or are not too bothered by, but I am very annoyed by the little flakes that perch on my shoulders and sit in my hair for a while. So I whipped a little something up to combat this little thorn in my side causing an itch on my scalp.
This is not a science, it is just a combination of natural remedies that have in fact helped me. I muddled up a couple sprigs of rosemary and thyme in a mortar and pestle then I filled them into this little bottle and filled it almost all the way full with olive oil and added a few drops of tea tree oil.
To use it give the bottle a good shake and then I take about a tablespoon in multiple smaller droplets onto my hands and rub them into my scalp. It helps significantly to take the time to massage your scalp for a few minuets and them allow it to sink in for a little while longer. You can wash it out almost immediately after or put a shower cap over the oily strands and sleep on it. Obviously you will want to wash you hair thoroughly before contact with society, and that may take two shampoos as the oil doesn't just rinse out like conditioner or store bought masks. Also the olive oil is wonderful for your hair, and it just so happens that most of the ingredients are so helpful because the increase circulation, which also helps increase healthy hair growth.
This is the kind of thing you have to believe in and try for yourself, if you have any allergies then leave it, otherwise feel free to give a shot and see if it works for you.

Homemade Caramel

This next one is a recipe I got from a pamphlet last year, but only tried out the other day and it makes for a very sweet weekend theme. So for all the caramel lovers here goes!

This takes a little time and patience but is totally worth it so start by bringing 175g sugar, 1tbsp honey, 200ml heavy cream, 80 grams butter to a boil and the reducing the heat and letting it continue to caramelize until it turns a lovely golden brown color. Stirring occasionally so it doesn't burn check how it has thickened up. Then once its done let it cool a little until it can be handled and then it can be formed into balls, or spread out and then cut into shape. 

Topping up the finished treats is the fun part. Salt is a delicious option. I went for candied ginger on these because I am a huge fan, but you can go nuts with whatever suits your fancy. 

This might be a whole lot of things that are apparently bad for you in one pot, but it is delicious and a lovely treat. And several of my relatives will be getting a selection of homemade candies for Christmas this year. They also make a nice little something to bring to all those dinner parties that seem to take place right around this time. 

Vegan Sweets

This is greatly variable since this is so easy to substitute and change to suit your taste. I went for a an orange, date and coconut combo here.

So if you have a blender in goes, 4 dates and some coconut shavings until a crumbly slightly sticks mixture forms. If you don't have a blender or, like me, your blender is broken roughly chop these until the same consistency is arrived.

In a pan go the juice or an orange about 1 1/2tbsp coconut oil and some finely chopped candies ginger until the orange juice thickens and the mixture starts to caramelize the give is a good whisk before is goes into a bowl with the dry ingredients. Once it is all really well mixed up and not too hot to touch form the mixture into little balls and let them cool completely. The mixture will firm up a little more once it has cooled down.

These are really delicious and very tempting. Cherry almond is also a lovely combination with some dried cherries and dates as a base with almonds, and almond butter. Experiment around. If you have any other combinations let me know!  

Sulfates - My Experiences

The topic of sulfate free shampoo has been around for a while. I don't remember when I started hearing about this, but I do remember very clearly that it was a big deal when cleansing conditioners were hot on the market and L'Oreal came out with their first Ever products. I believe it started with the ever pure line. I also remember liking that shampoo, it smelled like rosemary and mint if I am not mistaken. As a teen fascinated with beauty I was convinced that every beauty guru on the internet was righting some new scripture! But I have just avoided shampoos containing sulfate for the most part since them. I currently own one cleansing shampoo and I always notice that it leaves my hair squeaky clean(over dried and stripped), makes my hair color fade faster and makes quite a lot of hair fall out. I don't wash my hair very often and of those times I use this shampoo about ever 4th or 5th time. At this point I really just want it to be empty! Because I find that this over irritates my scalp and removes color that I purposely put in my hair.
I feel as though a lot of people think it is normal to loose lots of hair when they wash their hair. While it is normal to loose some hair and rinse out hairs that were already loose but still caught up in the bunch, but there are limits to what can be considered normal, a big handful certainly exceeds that limit for most. Also it is important to mention that there are any number of other ingredients in your shampoos that could be irritating your skin and scalp.
All of this said, I do use shower gels that contain sulfates. I find that most of my skin is not irritated, but the skin on my head seems to be sensitive. And by that I mean not only my scalp but also my face. I find that the skin on my face dries out easily and a sulfate free face wash feels better. In the case of sulfates I know where I stand on sodium laurel sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate from the experiences I gathered from trying products and reading the ingredients. That's not to say I didn't read up on them, but I also listened to my body and the messages it was sending me about what was doing it good versus what was causing more harm than good.

Vegan Spaghetti Squash

This was something I threw together with vague recollections of a stuffed spaghetti squash recipe I once made and then just adapted as I went along and the result was beautiful, delicious and entirely plant based and even gluten, lactose and soy free.

Spaghetti squash is pretty easy to cook, it just takes a little time if yours is as big as mine was. also my biggest casserole dish was not big enough to fit both halves side by side. Essentially a decent amount of water goes into a pan and the squash halves go cut side down into the pan an roast in to oven until the outside starts to brown and the inside is tender when tested with a fork. depending on the size this takes between 45-75mins. 

In a pan I started by melting some butter and letting it brown just ever so slightly before adding half a chopped onion and soon after some roughly chopped mushroom. Once this started to fall into itself a mixture of chopped walnuts, cranberries, sage and pumpkin seeds go into the hot pan along with some chopped green pepper the nuts and spices just need to toast a little and the pepper is best when it still has a little crunch. the result is almost a faux meat. The sage along with nuts and mushrooms in this constellation and a flavor that is slightly meaty but also a texture that resembles ground beef a little bit.

Once the spaghetti squash is done and scooped into a bowl or onto a plate the veggie nut mixture can either just be added up top of mixed int thoroughly. for any cheese lovers like myself this does also do well with a little grated cheese of your choosing over the top. I would recommend a Gouda but almost anything will do the trick.

Enjoy!