Recipe: Cauliflower Cheese Sticks

There are a lot of great recipes out there for Cauliflower Cheese Sticks and I've tried a number of them. I've gone through a process of tweaking and combining recipes until I came up with something that worked just right for me. Here's what I came up with:

• 1 Cup of Riced Cauliflower
• 1 Egg (beaten)
• 1 Cup of Shredded Mozzarella -or- 1/2 c. Shredded Mozzarella and 1/2 c. Shredded Parmisan
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Salt
• 1/2 tsp Oregano
• Olive oil or cooking spray

Topping:

• 1/2 c. Shredded Mozerella Cheese
• 1/2 tsp Parsley

Dip:

• Marinara Sauce

*Makes about 8 cheese sticks

How to rice cauliflower: Shred Cauliflower (I use a food processor with a shredding wheel.) Put shredded cauliflower in a pot of boiling water for 2-3 minutes or until tender. drain water using a FINE wire strainer. Let it drain for several minutes, shaking occasionally, to remove excess water. Note: One head of cauliflower yields about 3 cups riced.

Combine riced cauliflower, egg, shredded cheese, garlic salt and oregano. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and grease parchment with a little olive oil. Spread mixture thinly onto baking sheet. You don't want it too thick because the cheese needs to get a little crispy. I use an 18x12 inch baking sheet and there is a good 3 inches of margin on each end and maybe 2 inches on each side.

Bake for 15 minutes and 450. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and parsley then return to the oven until cheese is melted. Cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving. I like to dip mine in marinara sauce when I eat it.

Its an easy recipe to split if, like me, you only cook for two. If you double the batch, make sure you only spread one batch per baking sheet or it won't set up right. Enjoy!

Talking about adoption and infertility

Here are some helpful do's and don'ts I shared with my friends and family about how to talk to me about infertility and adoption. I can't promise that every women who is going through these things will feel the same as I do but I hope someone out there will find this useful.

Don't be afraid to tell me when you get pregnant. I care about you and I want to be a positive part of your experience, not a stresser. One friend of mine was awesome about this and simply asked me how I would prefer to find out when she got pregnant.  It meant a lot that she cared enough to just ask me.

Do let me hear it from you when you begin announcing your pregnancy. You don't need to make a big deal out of it. Be as nonchalant as possible and if you tell me in person, it may help if you don't tell me one on one. If you tell me in a group, I won't feel singled out and if I'm having a rough day, I can slip out unnoticed and collect myself in privacy.

Don't tell me about your sister/cousin/friend/neighbor, who tried and tried to have a baby and couldn't but adopted and then immediately got pregnant. If I've heard it once I've heard it a thousand times.Telling this story has got to be the number one response that people have to someone with infertility. I know it really does happen sometimes but only to about 4% of couples who adopt. The first couple years you are trying to get pregnant, people say "when this happens, you'll get pregnant," or "when that happens you'll get pregnant." I know its kindly meant, but there comes a point when you realize that you need to stop making an emotional investment in these types of things and just take things as they come. As a means of coping, it eventually became difficult for me to respond to frequent retellings of the "adoption=pregnancy" story with anything but apathy. If I adopt and then get pregnant, that's fan-freaking-tastic but can't afford to make an emotional investment in this type of thing anymore. My emotional credit cards are pretty much maxed out.

Do be there for me and show that you support me in whatever stage I'm at in this little journey. When I'm low, I just need to be reminded that I'm not alone or forgotten in the sea of pregnant women and babies that fill my landscape these days. My friends and family have been amazing!

Don't tell me adoption is "the easy way" or that I'm lucky I don't have to be pregnant. There is no easy path to parenthood. I have it on good authority that pregnancy, labor and delivery are wicked hard and I truly respect that. But in my particular situation, to even imply that there is a correlation between my not having biological children and the difficulty of pregnancy and childbirth...its a bit hurtful (even if you don't mean it that way.) I know you may just be trying to help me focus on the positives but you have no idea what I'd give to just up and get pregnant like other women. I'd be so stoked if I could make a body for my child.  I can see why it might sound glamorous if you've been though pregnancy etc. but consider that even though you knew what it was like to not have children once, that's not quite the same as not being able to have children. I could lie like the 3rd grader who is put out when the other kids won't let him play and say "I didn't want to get pregnant anyway" but that wouldn't be altogether truthful.

Do help us celibate adoption. This is how you can help us focus on the positive! We don't have to say adopting is almost-just-like raising biological child to make it acceptable. Adoption is happy just being what it is and what it is, is pretty amazing. The Mr. and I have come to realize that adoption deserves to be celebrated in its own right and not just as a substitute for something else. We don't need to talk about adoption as if it almost never really happened. When we adopt a child, we want adoption to be a positive part of our child's identity and we will need the help and support of our family and friends to reinforce this. Also, when discussing adoption with me, you don't have to say things that you think will make me feel better about my infertility in the same breath. In fact, its better if you don't because it probably won't have the intended effect anyway. Infertility=bummer. Adoption= Beautiful Miracle. The feelings surrounding each are real but sometimes its ok to deal with them separately.

I've been going on long enough so I'm going to bid you adieu! 

Peanut Butter Chocolates (Gluten Free)

Ingredients: 

1 Cup Peanut Butter (I use Adams brand so I can't guarantee your results if you use something like Skippy)

1/4 Cup Real Maple Syrup

1/4 Cup Coconut Flour

5-6 oz Dark Chocolate for melting

1) First, Place Peanut Butter and Maple syrup in a small mixing bowl. Add Coconut flour and mix in quickly with a spoon or your hand if mixture becomes too thick. Once its is well mixed, let it sit for 5-10 minutes to thicken. 

2) Mixture should be thick enough to roll into little balls now. Place PB balls on a wax paper or parchment paper lined tray. Place in freezer for about 20 minutes.

3) While PB balls are freezing, melt down dark chocolate in a double boiler. 

4) Dip Frozen PB balls in chocolate one at a time using a fork and place back on tray. Place back in freezer till chocolate sets up. Once chocolate is set up, place in a container or plastic zip bag for storage. I like to store mine in the fridge or freezer. Enjoy!

Homemade Facial Masks

Here are some household foods you can use to make your own facial masks (this is really fun to do with friends for a girls night or something.)We did this in cosmetology school once and it was super fun!

Decide what your skin needs and select two or three of the ingredients bellow. Ratios are not super important. Just mix things that will give you a spreadable texture (you will need at least a bit of something moist or liquid to bind it all together.)

Yogurt: Softening, hydrating, and like other dairy products, it contains some lactic acid which can act as a mild exfoliant.

Avocado: Moisturizes and contains vit E which promotes healing. Avocados are oily so I don't recommend it if you are breaking out but it can help the faint red scaring heal once things are already clearing up.

Raw Honey: Raw Honey has anti bacterial properties. Its great for cleansing those pores and has a tightening effect on the skin. Raw Honey is excellent for acneic, blemished and oily skin.

Chamomile Tea: This makes an excellent and soothing toner for all skin types.

Oats: Oats soothe inflammation and itching and promote healing. Chop some oats up in the blender or food processor before adding to your facial mask.

Tomato: Deep pore cleanser. Mix in food processor or blender.

Diluted vinegar in water: clarifies pores, soothes inflammation, and softens skin.

Witch Hazel: soothes puffy eyes.


Tips:

-Careful not to over mix. Its easy to get carried away but keep in mind that even if you are with a few friends, you really don't need to wind up with several cups worth of facial mask. I like to mix in those little disposable cups you get for rinsing after brushing your teeth---the ones that are shot class sized. If I wind up with a tablespoon worth of mask, that's more than enough for just me.

-Sometimes it helps to lay a piece of gauze over your face before spreading the masks on to prevent the mask from landsliding off your face. The gauze just helps to stabilize it.

-Cleanse skin before applying mask. Leave mask on at least 10 minutes and after you rinse it off, tone and moisturize your skin.

-If you have extra, you can put it in a sealed container and store 5-7 days in the fridge.

My Personal Favorite Homemade Mask: Yogurt, Oats, Honey.

Oh, and Here is one more fun recipe:

Cucumber Toner

Cucumber
Water
cheese cloth or a loosely woven towel

Directions: I like to make a small batch since it only keeps about a week in the fridge but you can make the batch as big as you want. I put about a 2 inch, peeled section of cucumber in the blender with enough water to make it spin. Mix till pureed and strain through several layers of cheese cloth to remove the pulp. You should be left with a light green liquid. Use it to tone as usual. store in a small jar in the fridge.

Greasy Hair

Someone asked me if I have any advice for people who have greasy hair. I do have a few bits of advice as I can relate to greasy hair issues. My hair is not nearly as greasy as it was in my teens but my hair is a little on the fine side so I still have to employ a few tricks from time to time. First of all, just know that if you are in your teens, your sebaceous glands (or oil glands) are probably at their most active. Its just kind of a fact of life and there is only so much you can do but hopefully some of the things that help me will help you too (forgive me if you've heard them all before.)

1)Keep Product toward the ends of the hair. That means when you use conditioner, gel, blow dry lotion or any other styling product, try to keep it away from your scalp and just focus it on the last half of your strands. Just make shampoo the only product that ever touches your scalp. Its basic but worth bringing up in case its not something you have thought of yet.

2) Check your water softener settings. I love my water softener as much as the next person but its a good idea to play with of the settings. When I have my water softer up too high, my hair is greasy by the end of day 1 when I can usually go 2 or 3 days with no problem. So check and see if you can do with turning your water softer down a little.

3) Use a clarifying shampoo 1 or 2 times a week. Clarifying shampoo deep cleans the hair and scalp so you can really feel like you are starting fresh. I don't recommend it for daily use because if you keep your scalp too squeaky clean your sebaceous glands can overcompensate and 2 hours after washing, you are all greasy again. But, a clarifyer is great to use once every few shampoos. I know a lot of people like to use Pert Plus to fight greasy hair and it works well for them. For me, I feel like even though it clarifies the scalp well, it is pretty hard on the hair but as I said, my hair is a little on the fine side so maybe other people have no prob. I like Redken Cleansing Cream Shampoo http://www.redken.com/products/haircare/specialty-products/hair-cleansing-cream-shampoo.

4) Use baby powder or hair powder. If I'm getting greasy but want to milk and extra day out of my hair, I sprinkle a little baby powder or colored hair powder like Bumble and Bumble's Hair Powder at my roots, message it in and then flip my head upside down over the tub and tousle out the excess. Baby powder is great for people with light hair but some people with darker hair feel like it shows up too much. If you feel that way, go for a colored powder. I usually put my hair up on the days that I use powder and I'll add a picture of my hair this morning so you can see how I styled it.

If you have any tips on things that work for you, please leave them in the comments below. Thanks for stopping by!

Picture: Inside out, messy french braids on the sides ("Frau" style.) My hair is still pretty short so I just secured everything in the back with a few clips and didn't fuss too much about making it look pretty.

Sugar Scrub Recipe

I had the opportunity to sit down with a lovely group of young ladies last week and talk about skin and hair. I'm making good on my promise to them to post my homemade sugar scrub recipe.I tried to post last week but my laptop was giving me grief again (it was ugly and ended in the blue screen of death,) so I've got a new laptop and I'm back to blogging!

Sugar Scrub

1/2 Cup Sugar
1/3 Oil (I like Grape seed, olive, or almond oil but you can use whatever you like.)
2 drops of essential oil (optional)

Mix it all up and put it in a small jar for storage. I like to use it on my face once a week before using my regular cleanser. Its also great for elbows, knees and use it on your entire leg before shaving to get a silky smooth close shave.

I've got a few more skincare recipes up my sleeve that I will save for later so stay tuned.

Review: ghd Flat Irion

I've had a bad run of luck with my Chi tools the last few years. My dryers have given out within a few months and though the heating element on my flat irons lasts a long time, the plates become scratched within a month or two and this is really hard on hair. You can actually feel scratched flat iron plates pulling on the hair and this leaves small cuts on the hair strand, making breakage a problem.

In April, I replaced my Chi dryer with a Bio Ionic and my 1 1/2" Chi flat iron with a 1" ghd and a 2"ghd. I wanted to give it a couple months before I reviewed these. Only time will tell about how well these tools will last but thus far, I am very pleased with my new dryer and my flat irons. I had heard really good things about ghd flat irons and when I saw this pixiwoo video ( http://www.youtube.com/user/pixiwoo#p/search/3/dDm0hvIccgs ) ghd really started to peak my interest. In the video, Sam uses a cloud 9 which I don't think is available in the U.S. but is made by the ghd. She also uses a larger plate size than what is typically used. I had come to think of larger plates as being clunky and out dated but now I love my 2". As you will see in the video, if you use your flat irion for making curls or waves the result is a much more relaxed curl with the larger plate size.

My Ghd flat irons heat up really fast. They are very gentle on the hair and I get a TON of shine out of them. The curls and waves they create are beautiful and the hair glides through these irons with much more ease than the flat irons I previously used.

They're not cheap cheap flat irons and may not be worth the extra bucks to some people but especially where they are the tools of my trade it really feel like its worth it for me.