Thursday, September 3, 2015

Chocolate Chip Cookies {V}


I originally made these chocolate chip cookies for my dad. I wasn't intending on posting the recipe. I just felt like doing something nice. Buuuut they turned out amazing, and I got a few requests on IG to post the recipe. So, here it is!

Fair warning: These cookies are not like the recipe on the back of the Hershey's chocolate chip packet. Those cookes are oily, gooey, and thin. These cookies are puffy, moist, and wholesome (not in a bad way, I swear!). To be honest, as partial as I am to gooey cookies, I do prefer these over the Hershey's recipe. You can eat 6 of these (as I did) and still feel great. Although, I would like to experiment with more oily, vegan cookies in future just to get a bit more of the flattened gooey thing going on.

Chocolate Chip Cookies:
  • 2 1/4 cup spelt flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 flax eggs (5 tbs water mixed with 2 tbs flax)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup coconut sugar
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1-2 tbs almond milk (as needed)
  • 3/4 cup vegan chocolate chips or chopped vegan chocolate
Start off by prepping your flax eggs. Whisk the water and flaxseed together and leave in the fridge until it reaches an eggy consistency (mine always take a minimum of 15 minutes). Once your "eggs" are ready, pre-heat the oven to 190 C fan-forced and mix together the olive oil, vanilla and coconut sugar. After it forms a crumbly mix, add in the flax eggs and mix until combined. Whisk your dry ingredients together in a separate bowl and slowly add them to the wet mixture. Add 1-2 tbs of almond milk, depending on how dry your cookie dough is. I normally add 2 tbs. The dough will turn out quite sticky. This is okay! Now it's time to add the chocolate. If you've been using a mixer, you're probably going to need to use your hands at this stage to ensure that the chocolate gets fully mixed in. Place a sheet of baking paper and on a baking tray and lightly oil it. Form the cookie dough into balls (just so you know, this part will be pretty messy) and place on the tray. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until cookies are slightly brown and don't completely deflate when you press on the top of them. Wait for them to cool, and then enjoy them six at a time (you know you want to ;)).


Sunday, May 17, 2015

Type 1 Diabetes & The {Infamous} "Pill"

Alright, I know there's a lot of hate directed at the contraceptive pill, especially in the vegan/health movement, because it involves putting hormones into your body. Plus, a lot of versions of the pill contain lactose. So, it isn't exactly vegan friendly. Not to mention the increased risk of blood clots, and other undesirable side-effects such as weight gain.

That being said, as a type 1 diabetic, going on the pill has been one of the best decisions I have ever made for my health. As I became more conscientious of my blood glucose levels and gained better control of my levels through changing my diet, I realized that almost every week was different in terms of my blood sugar levels. One week, I'd have nearly perfect levels. The next, I'd constantly be low. The week after, I'd be high. The week of my period was the worst. The amount of insulin my body required would nearly double.

So, I came up with this hypothesis that taking the contraceptive pill might eliminate these fluctuations. Since the pill prevents you from getting pregnant by stablizing your hormones and hormones affect insulin requirements.

I went on the mini-pill and everything was hunky-dory. I stopped having the weekly changes in insulin requirements, and I didn't have any side effects. Since my blood sugar didn't randomly change, I was able to pretty much perfect my basal and bolus insulin. It seemed like I'd found the holy grail of diabetes management. For awhile...after a few months, I ended up with really bad spotting. So, I went off the pill. I didn't immediately go back to my GP and get a new prescription, because I wasn't so keen on the increased risk for blood clots and whatnot. I figured I'd just try going without it for awhile. I thought it might have been all in my head, and the pill wasn't making a difference.

Well, that wasn't the case. When I went off the pill, the glucose level fluctuations came back and they were even more noticeable than before. I don't think they were more severe, but I had gotten so used to the consistency. So, I was much more aware of the changes. It was so frustrating, going from having the best control I've ever had in my life to feeling completely powerless, constantly changing my basals. As soon as I figured out the right amount of insulin to take, my levels would change again.

So, I went back to my GP and got a prescription for the combination pill. I struggled a lot more when I first started taking the combination pill than when I took the mini-pill. When you google diabetes and the contraceptive pill, you'll find that diabetics will generally require more insulin when they're taking the pill. I didn't experience this when I was on the mini-pill, but I did have to significantly increase my insulin dosages when I went on the combination pill. It took awhile to figure out what the right levels were, but once I did, I was glad I stuck with it. Once again, the weekly fluctuations were eliminated, and I wasn't constantly trying to change basals. I also found that even though I significantly increased the amount of insulin I was taking, after a few weeks I was able to slowly start decreasing it until it was nearly back to what it was before I went on the combination pill.

This has nothing to do with sex. This has nothing to do with contraception. If I didn't have diabetes, I wouldn't take the pill for contraceptive reasons. I would, personally, just use condoms and chart my cycle. I don't look too favorably on the increased risk of blood clots and other side effects. But when it comes to type 1 diabetes, it's a bit of a dialectic. I can take the pill and have an increased risk of blood clots and put hormones into my body, or I can struggle to keep my glucose levels under control and be put at an increased risk for nerve damage, blindness, kidney failure, and constantly be nauseated/dizzy/eating junk food to bring up my blood sugar/repeatedly checking my blood sugar and changing insulin levels. Obviously, everyone's priorities, values, struggles with side effects from the pill, struggles with the effect of their cycle on their glucose levels is going to be different. But I wish that I had been exposed to stories/information about this sooner, rather than having to figure it out myself. So, I just wanted to put my experience out there in the hopes that if people with diabetes or other diseases share their stories and experiences, eventually there will be more information on different methods of management available.

Cashew Cheese {R, V, GF}

Cheese has always been my favorite food. Especially the cheese that comes on enchiladas. Oooofffttt. 

Therefore, it's only appropriate I make up a recipe for cashew cheese. While I never find faux-cheeses to be a real replacement. This is pretty dang delicious. It tastes very fancy and pretentious. I made this one up while I was trying out Raw Till 4, and was craving protein all day erryday. So, my body gave me a giant thank you card with glitter and a sound byte and everything for feeding it some of this. Plus, since it tasted very fancy schmancy, it worked really well with my figs and crackers. Which I was a bit suspicious of, to be honest. But now, I wish it was fig season again so I could get a massive tray of figs off the side of the road for fifteen bucks, and whip up this little snack.

Cashew Cheese:
  • 1 cup of cashews (soaked in water for at least an hour)
  • 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 1/2 tbs apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 to 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (start with 1/2 and add more to taste)
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp salt
Simply blend all the ingredients together in your food processor until you're satisfied with the texture, and store in a jar in the fridge.


Almond Joys {R, V, GF}


In the interest of full disclosure: I hate Almond Joys. Every Halloween, I'd sort through my plastic pumpkin full of delicious goodies, and give all those nasty, super-sweet coconutty bars to my mother. 

So, I made these fully expecting to hate them. I received some insanely delicious salted almonds from Blue Diamond Growers, and I was having trouble coming up with ways to use them (aside from shoveling them into my mouth, ten almonds at a time, because yummmmmm). But those nasty candy bars popped into my head, and I thought they'd be fun to make and my mom might enjoy them. 


Little did I know that I'd be obsessed with them. OBSESSED. I could barely muster the strength not to eat them all and share them with my mom. They're the best raw treat I've ever created, and possibly the best raw treat I've ever had (those are big words, I know). So, without further ado...

Raw Vegan Almond Joys:
  • 3/4 cup coconut butter (roughly 3 1/2 cups shredded coconut blended in a food processor with 1 tbs coconut oil until it combines)
  • 1/4 cup cashew butter
  • 1/4 cup shredded coconut
  • 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
  • 3 tablespoons rice malt syrup
  • 24 Blue Diamond salted almonds
For the chocolate coating:
  • 1/4 cup cacao/cocoa powder
  • 2 tablespoons rice malt syrup
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • Hot water
Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl and form into rectangles. If it is really wet (because coconuts are really oily) and doesn't want to stick together, squeeze it in your hand until some of the excess oil drips out. Press two almonds on top of each bar. Pop in the freezer to harden.

After the bars have hardened up, mix the cacao powder, rice malt syrup and oil together and slowly add hot water until it reaches your desired consistency. Dip each almond joy into the chocolate to coat it, and stick them back in the freezer for a few hours (until the chocolate coating firms up).

Lamingtons {V, GF}


These lamingtons were the biggest pain in the butt. Seriously. I made them three times. THREE TIMES. And why? Basically because I'm a doofus. I didn't realize I was using a gluten-free bread mix instead of gluten-free flour.

They kept turning out hard and rock-like. And I just couldn't understand why. Until I suddenly read the ingredients on the bread mix packet and noticed it had things like leavening and oil. DOH. 

So, then I re-made them with actual gluten-free flour (probably a smart move, aye?) and I was quite happy with them. They aren't super sweet, because that's how I like 'em. Maybe add a bit more coconut sugar if you like them suuuppaahhh sweet. Also, I tested the texture of these gluten-free ones against a gluten-ridden one, and really they're pretty similar. These ones are slightly different, but I actually liked these ones better. They're earthier...in a good way. ;)

Lamingtons
For the sponge cake: 2 chia eggs
1 and 1/3 cup Almond Breeze unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 tbs white vinegar
2 cups gluten-free flour mix (I used Bob's Red Mill)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda (aka bi-carb soda)
1/4 cup coconut oil
3 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 cup coconut sugar

Mix 2 tbs chia seeds with 6 tbs water and let sit in the fridge for at least 15 minutes to make the chia eggs. Preheat oven to 180C fan-forced. Blend the chia eggs. Whisk the vinegar and almond milk together and set aside. Mix dry ingredients together. Mix coconut oil, vanilla essence and coconut sugar with the almond milk and vinegar. Slowly add the wet mixture to the dry mixture. Pour into an oiled and floured baking pan and bake for 18-25 minutes, until a knife comes out clean. Let cool. Remove from pan. Let cool completely before slicing.

For the chocolate coating: 3/4 cup cocoa/cacao powder
6 tbs coconut nectar
3 tbs coconut oil
apprx. 6 tbs hot water
Desiccated coconut

Mix cocoa powder, coconut nectar, and coconut oil together. Slowly add hot water until you reach your desired consistency. Dunk the sponge cake in the chocolate and sprinkle with desiccated coconut. Pop into the fridge for about an hour before enjoying. Continue to store in a sealed container in the fridge.

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Feeling Alone

It's been a long time since I have written about my illness on this blog. And I realized why just a few seconds ago, I only want to write about it if I have something somewhat helpful to say.

But maybe that isn't how I should look at this. Maybe I shouldn't feel like "I can only blog if I've conquered something. I can only blog if I have advice." Maybe I can share things that I can't deal with or don't know how to deal with. Maybe that could be helpful too. Because one thing I always feel is alone.

No one understands me. No one understands what I'm going through. No one is sick. No one cares. I'm just alone. 

Sometimes I desperately wish that I could read stories from people that are struggling. Sometimes success stories make me angry. Sometimes I wish there was just one person who hadn't gotten better, or recovered, or was happy. Sometimes I wish there was someone out there who feels miserable sometimes, who is struggling, who cries uncontrollably for no real reason.

Maybe there's someone else out there who feels like that too? And maybe, by some stroke of luck they might find this. And maybe, we can take comfort in knowing that we weren't quite as alone as we thought we were. Just maybe.

I feel like lately I've realized a lot of ways my illness has impacted me. When I was younger, I used to feel like I was fine.


All I have to do is take shots and prick my finger. That sucks and it's painful. But some people have to live in the hospital. I look fine. I look normal. My hair isn't falling out. I just need to take insulin and check my blood sugar. So, I'm fine...right?

People don't treat you like a sick person, because you don't look like a sick person. You aren't in the hospital every week. So, you must not be sick.

It's just like having a peanut allergy. Something is wrong with you. But something is wrong with almost everyone. We all have our cross to bear.

I think that shapes how you feel about yourself too. For example, I get really exhausted when I go out with people. It seems like other people can just go go go. They'll be out for eight hours and they'll still be laughing and running around. After about two or three hours, I'm basically done. Especially if my blood sugar goes high or low. I either feel unbearably sick and like I might fall asleep standing up. Or my heart starts racing, I get dizzy, and I feel the urge to start bawling like a baby. Only just now have I realized that it's probably related to my diabetes. When I was younger, I would just ignore being tired and try to act energetic. Because nobody understands that. So, you take insulin or eat some lollies and push through.

I remember one time I eating lunch with friends, and my blood sugar was over 400 mg/dl (four times higher than it should be). Plus, the smell of the food my friends were eating was making me feel even sicker. I felt horrible, nauseated, tired, and anxious (Because there's always that fear when your blood sugar is high. What if it doesn't come down? What if I've developed insulin resistance? What if I go into DKA?).

So, I just sat there with my head on the table, trying to remain calm. The next day, my friends asked me "Why were you angry yesterday?" I tried to explain that my blood sugar was high. So, I felt really sick and the smell of the food they were eating was making me even more nauseated. In the back of my mind, I knew no one would understand. They might say "Sorry." They might believe me that I wasn't angry, but they wouldn't give it another minute's thought. They'd go about their business and maybe feel a bit relieved knowing I wasn't mad at them. But one of my friends said, "If that happens again, you know I'll just go and sit somewhere else with you?" Even now, that is one of the most understanding and caring things someone (aside from my family) has ever said to me or offered to do for me.

Recently, I had to go to an appointment with my endocrinologist and since she works at a diabetic clinic, I was able to get my feet and eyes checked at the same time (because as a diabetic, I'm at risk for diabetic neuropathy (nerve damage) and diabetic retinopathy (swelling of blood vessels in the eyes that can result in blindness)).

So, I spent three hours in the clinic. Getting my blood tested. Being weighed. Being measured. Talking about my medical history. Getting my blood results back. Getting the readings off my pump back. Trying to come up with a way to regulate my brittle blood sugar levels. Having my feet prodded. Having my feet touched. Having eye drops put in my eyes. Slowly not being able to see. Having bright lights shone in my eyes. Trying not to blink. Waiting. Waiting. Hearing results.

The whole thing was traumatic. Especially the eye test. I joked in the waiting room to my mom, "At least I get a free trial of what it's like to go blind." Except I didn't even go blind. I could still see. But I couldn't read a single word on my phone or in a magazine. It was terrifying. I don't really know why it was so terrifying. Maybe because I was relating it to going blind in the future? Maybe because it's just scary having one of our senses taken away? I don't really know.

Then, I had lights shone in my eyes and I had to look up and down and all around, trying not to blink. It couldn't have taken more than fifteen minutes, but it felt like an eternity. Waiting. That's something that really strikes me about being sick. There's a lot of doing. Taking shots, going to appointments, pricking your fingers. But there's also a lot of waiting. Sometimes it almost feels like the doing is just to distract you from the waiting.

Once I left, I just started crying uncontrollably. Nothing really bad even happened. My a1c was 6.9, practically perfect. Nothing was wrong with my feet. Nothing was wrong with my eyes. My blood sugars had gotten a bit worse, and that was scaring me a lot. Even though my a1c was still good (not as good at the last time I got it checked), my blood sugars are brittle. I go high and I go low and it just bounces up and down and up and down all day long. So, yeah. That wasn't so good.

Since I was crying like my dog had just died, my car broke down, and I spilled my ice cream on the pavement. Someone asked me "Did you get bad news?" And I couldn't really say I did. I mean, I did. My blood sugars and a1c were worse, but it wasn't life threatening. The a1c was still good. The blood sugars weren't good, but in the end, the a1c level is what you're really concerned about.

Later I started thinking about it. When you're sick, you get bad news every day. You wake up in the morning and test your blood sugar and it's high. You're still sick. You eat something and feel nauseated. You're still sick. You have a low and get dizzy and are forced to eat something you don't want to eat. You're still sick. You have to schedule a doctor's appointment. You're still sick. You have to be poked and prodded and you have to wait and wait and wait. You're still sick. And hey, one day, you'll be even sicker.

I wish that I could end this saying that I've found a group of perfect friends who are empathetic and understand me, or are patient with me. But I haven't. My friend offering to sit with me while I felt sick still makes my eyes well up.

And I wish that I could say that I've figured out how to deal with people not understanding. That I don't need people to understand, because I understand. And I have enough understanding for everyone. But I don't. I get angry and lonely and I cry uncontrollably.

And I wish that I could end this on an uplifting note and say that it's okay. It's okay that I don't have a perfect group of friends, and it's okay that I get angry and lonely. But it isn't. It's a reality of life. I think it's a reality of everyone's life, regardless of whether you're sick or not, but it isn't okay. And I desperately wish that one day, everyone will magically understand and care for each other. But that probably won't happen. We're only human. So, I guess the most uplifting thing I can say is that, while we might each be suffering alone, I don't believe that we are alone in our suffering.

Friday, January 23, 2015

Vegan & Gluten-Free Pizza


I've never been a massive pizza fan, as far as I can remember. However, my little brother has been eating pizza non-stop, and I started to feel pretty left out. I tried a bit of his awhile ago, and felt extremely sick. Clearly, Pizza Hut or Dominos wasn't an option. 


Ultimately, I decided to try making my own. I'm pretty terrible at thinking up fun and healthy lunch ideas. So, I'm really thrilled that I ended up trying this. Not to mention, it tasted awesome. I actually liked it better than the Pizza Hut pizza. Their crust is all weird and sugary....like why? Plus, I didn't feel ill afterwards! #bonus


Vegan & Gluten-Free Pizza

Toppings of choice (I used onion, spinach, broccoli & pomegranate seeds)
Pasta/pizza sauce

For the crust:
2/3 cup gluten-free flour mix
1/3 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (bi-carb soda)
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegan butter substitute (e.g Nuttelex)
1/2 cup unsweetened Almond Breeze almond milk

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 fan forced. Mix dry ingredients, add butter and mix again. Add Almond Breeze slowly, until the dough just sticks together. Knead the dough on a floured surface 8 times. Then roll the dough out until it's about 1/4 inch thick. Bake for 10 minutes.

In the mean-time, prepare toppings (eg. sauté spinach and onion, boil broccoli, de-seed pomegranate). After ten minutes, spread a few spoonfuls of pasta sauce onto the pizza and add toppings. Bake for another 3-5 minutes, and enjoy!

Thursday, January 8, 2015

PB & Acai Nice Cream Slice


Oh hai little abandoned blog, how've you been? Good? Not so good? I see. Well, even though the treats on here are healthier than their traditional counter-parts, it's still not good to eat them all the time. So, I've been trying to cool down on making like a billion healthier goodies, and just trying to eat in a healthy, balanced manner. As a result, I haven't been around.



Buuuut today was a special occasion! I got an eye exam and there were no signs of diabetic retinopathy (a complication of diabetes that results in swelling of the blood vessels in the retina, or in the final stage, the development of new blood vessels. anyway, it can result in blindness and it's super freaky). Plus, I now have 2,000 amazing followers on IG (which is seriously insane!!!). So, I figured I should make something to celebrate.


I haven't been eating much acai lately, but I had an acai bowl the other day and I was like "Umm...I've been missing OUT!" Additionally, I've gotten on the PB & Acai boat. As weird as it sounds (or at least sounded to me), IT IS BLOODY DELICIOUSSSS! And this Choc-Peanut Butter & Strawberry Nana Ice Cream Slice is probably my favourite recipe on here. So, naturally, I decided to make a PB & Acai Nice Cream Slice. And it definitely did not disappoint.

PB & Acai Nice Cream Slice

for the base: 1 cup oats
1/2 cup shredded coconut
8 (pitted) medjool dates
2 tablespoons coconut nectar

for the acai layer: 1 1/2 frozen bananas
1 cup frozen blueberries
1/4 cup cashews
4 heaped teaspoons acai

for the peanut butter layer: 2 1/2 frozen bananas
4 tablespoons peanut butter
2 tablespoons cashews

Soak the cashews in water for at least 2 hours. Line a pan with baking paper. Put all the ingredients for the base into the food processor (ensuring you have already pitted your dates), and blend it up until combined. If it isn't sticking together properly, add a little bit of water/more dates. Press the base mixture into the bottom of the lined pan, forming a crust.

Wash out your food processor. Toss all the ingredients for the acai layer into it, and blend. If the frozen bananas aren't combining, add a splash of almond milk or even water in a pinch. (If you don't have frozen bananas on hand, that's okay. But be careful when adding the peanut butter layer, it will try to sink beneath the acai layer, and you won't have an even distribution of both layers. Make sure you freeze it long enough that it's semi-solid, or that you spoon and spread the peanut butter layer on top VERY carefully.) Spread the acai layer on top of the base, and place in the freezer to set.

Wash your food processor again (sorry, I know it's annoying). Chuck the ingredients for the peanut butter layer into the food processor, whizz it up. If you didn't use frozen bananas, this is where you either need to make sure you've waited until the first layer has set, or keep waiting for it to set, or take your chances and carefully spoon and smooth the peanut butter layer on top of the acai layer. Otherwise, spread the peanut butter layer on top of the acai layer as recklessly as you please.

Top with your favourite granola (the recipe for my fave is here) and some fruit (I used raspberries). Put the pan in the freezer and enjoy in the morning.