Hey, my friends! How are you? I hope that you all are having a beautiful day and finding much to be grateful for. Even though I am incredibly grateful for everything I have in my beautiful life, I have been dealing with some challenges lately. In my last post I revealed to you the reason behind my long absence from blogging. Since I found out about my hypothyroidism, some more blood tests results have come in, including my food allergy results. Well, they are not exactly "allergies", but they are foods that my body is not tolerating and having reactions to. It is a LONG list which includes many of my favorite foods! :-( The major ones are gluten (I kinda had figured that one out on my own!), dairy (except for goat dairy...yay!), eggs, almonds, peanuts, garlic, soy, avocado, pineapple, mushrooms...and many others. My doctor says that my digestive troubles and my intolerance to so many foods is probably a result of my thyroid issue. So, these food sensitivities are probably not permanent. It is still an adjustment though and not very awesome. The day I found out about all of this, I had a good, long cleansing cry, just releasing emotion and the frustration that came from me realizing that my body is just really not in prime form right now. It's especially frustrating because I feel like I have been taking such good care of myself for so many years and have been such a health conscious person. It really makes me wonder why some people are more sensitive than others. Why are some people affected by health issues and others not?
As much as I don't want to be "unhealthy", I am trying to view this whole situation as a positive thing, an opportunity for self-discovery, healing, change and growth! I have been thinking a lot about how my emotional and spiritual health is taking part in all this, how it is affected by my physical body and vice versa. For instance, the thyroid gland is connected to the throat chakra which is associated with intuition, truth, creativity and self-expression. So, I've been trying to think about how these aspects may be impacting me, or how the lack of them might be affecting my health. I like to take all aspects of my being into account when it comes to my health, because I know that everything is all connected and all levels of my self affect each other. I have been taking a lot of time to think and feel about my current state of being to fully investigate what's happening. I feel like I am a huge puzzle and I'm struggling to put the pieces of myself together. Aside from the physical ailments going on, I feel like I am at this point in life where I just don't know who I am or what I'm doing or what my path is or what my soul's purpose is. I feel like something is missing. But, all these feelings and thoughts I'm having make me feel like I am on the brink of figuring it all out and having it all fall into place.
Woah. I didn't mean to get all deep and heavy. But, I feel like it needed to come out. So, there it is.
On a much lighter note, I do have a wonderful recipe to share with you! Unfortunately (for me) it is a recipe that I can no longer eat, at least for now, but don't let that stop you! You should totally make these delicious scones and eat them for me!
Apple Almond Cinnamon Ginger Scones
2 cups Pamela's Gluten-Free Baking Mix (or other gluten-free baking mix)
5 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tsp lemon juice
1 egg
1 tsp almond extract
1 apple chopped
1/3 cup chopped crystalized ginger
1/3 cup slivered almonds
1 tsp cinnamon
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and coconut milk. Whisk in the egg and almond extract. Pour the baking mix and cinnamon into a separate bowl. Add the coconut oil and massage with your hands until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry and mix. Then fold in the crystalized ginger and almonds. Mix together. Grease a baking sheet with coconut oil or another oil of your choice. Place large spoonfuls of dough into baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes or so.
These scones are delicious! They were totally my favorite thing a few weeks ago. I made them a few different times. I have a good friend who is a muffin maniac. He tasted these and had to pull me aside one evening to tell me that they were the BEST thing I've ever made. And this was coming from a man who doesn't even really eat scones. He is strictly a muffin man:-)
I hope you enjoy this recipe, my unloading of thoughts at the beginning of the post and most importantly....your beautiful, shining, gorgeous self! No matter what challenges you have going on in your life, find something to be grateful for. Seek the positive in your life and smile. Enjoy the journey and the beauty of being. Much love.
