Now let’s talk weird food. For my parents generation, there have been four food trends: hippie food, homemade food, fast food or fake food. Hippie food makes up your original 70s whole foodies that rely on green juice and carrots to survive. Homemade food makes up the butter idea that everything is made with butter or else it tastes nasty. Fast food makes up any microwaveable meal or “fast food” chain restaurant. Finally, fake food makes up the twinkles and ho hos and other food that never go bad. My mom landed right in a mixture of all four; so, I got a nice little taste of everything. With the health conscious society that we live in today, food is always a main topic (hence I put it on my blog a lot). I believe food was created to naturally nourish your body. However foods with GMOs and other additives have been creating allergies and causing stomach and digestive problems for a lot of people in my generation.
My Story:
When I was 14, I, out of nowhere, became gluten intolerant. I had raging headaches and stomach cramps that could not be easily explained by doctors. I spent about 6-8 months in a state of sick where very few foods left me feeling normal. After trying to be off of many different food types, like dairy and meats and poultry, my mom’s friend suggested I stop eating gluten. What do you know 2 weeks later I felt great. And then I started to notice that dairy out of moderation gave me similar symptoms to my gluten intolerance, so I made the switch. I, also, grew up drinking very little milk and having rice milk products instead of whole milk; which I think played a role in this “allergy”. Both of these don’t show up in my blood. It’s about my stomach and the bacteria in my stomach not my blood results. If you are struggling with these symptoms, try cutting gluten out. It could change your life.
Anyways, I have been exposed to so many health fad foods that became my everyday food like almond milk, quinoa, kale, brown rice, coconut milk, squash substitutes and the list goes on. My life became very consumed by everything I ate and the easiest thing to eat was microwaveable gluten free dinners. They were perfect for a long time. However, I love to cook. It is so fun to create a meal that people commune over. I am all about community! And recently, I found out that some almond milks can carry a cancerous chemical…. I LOVE ALMOND MILK (http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/melissa-ramos/almond-milk-carrageenan_b_4719193.html) that could potentially harm your body. My aunt told me about how she makes almond milk so I decided to give it a try.
ALMOND MILK
Ingredients:
- 1 cup raw almonds, soaked in water
- 3.5 cups filtered water
- 2-4 pitted Medjool dates*, to taste (I used 2 large)
- 1 whole vanilla bean*, chopped (or 1/2-1 tsp vanilla extract)
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- small pinch of fine grain sea salt, to enhance the flavour
Directions:
- Place almonds in a bowl and cover with water. It’s preferred to soak them overnight (for 8-12 hours) in the water, but you can get away with soaking for 1-2 hours in a pinch.
- Rinse and drain the almonds and place into a blender along with filtered water, pitted dates, and chopped vanilla bean.
- Blend on highest speed for 1 minute or so.
- Place a nut milk bag over a large bowl and slowly pour the almond milk mixture into the bag. Gently squeeze the bottom of the bag to release the milk. This took me about 3-5 minutes to get all the milk out.
- Rinse out blender and pour the milk back in. Add the cinnamon and pinch of sea salt and blend on low to combine.
- Pour into a glass jar to store in the fridge for up to 3-5 days. Shake jar very well before using as the mixture separates when sitting. Enjoy with Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies for a real treat. This milk is also lovely with cereal.
Notes: If your dates or vanilla bean are dry/stiff, soak in water to soften before use. You can also use another sweetener of your choice like maple syrup. Same goes for vanilla – feel free to use vanilla extract for a more subtle vanilla flavour.
It turned out absolutely delicious! I was so amazed by how easily and simple it was! Go give it a try and don’t fret if you are gluten and dairy intolerant! There are plenty of foods that can still help you enjoy all of the weird and really cool food options out there! I have been exposed to so many super yummy healthy and good foods because of my intolerance and I am so thankful for that! Let me know if you have questions or need any recipes. Good luck and keep eating!
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here’s a handwritten picture because I firmly believe in handwriting even though I love blogging(:
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