Featured

Vegan Cinnamon Scone Recipe!!!

Vegan Cinnamon Scone Recipe

Hey all! Happy September long! I know it’s been forever but I’m not going to apologize for that! Life’s been crazy and I haven’t been able to come up with a good working routine for anything since having our third baby. #3under3

I write or better yet should say, I start making my cup a coffee, just sit down and, “MOmmmy, I need to go PPPOOOOOP!!” or one of my favourites, “Whatchu doing mummy? What we doin’? We go to the park?!!,” even though he was just outside for over an hour or was playing perfectly fine inside till I sat down.

Let alone my spastic brain that will think about it all day and then numb out all my creativity on watching Instagram reels and forget to actually get my own content done. Or I’ll get the content created and just not find a time to post it at a godly hour.

Today however I will get it done and hopefully it will be something decent worth reading. I think I might just explain my Vegan Cinnamon Scone recipe I’ve created and go from there and I’m not feeling super motivated to get anything done right now.

So, if you’ve been following me on IG then you’ll know that I have had an obsession with Cinnamon Scones during my last pregnancy and it got me into this frenzy of perfecting this veganized version. I wanted to make something delicious and remarkable and I believe I did just that! Hold the applause!

This recipe has a few more steps than your average muffin or cookie recipe but I promise if you stick with it it will make sense and be work it in the end! This recipe pairs really well with cappuccinos and we love them best still a little warm from the oven! My kids, hubby and parents all love them so I sure you and your family and friends will too!!

Here we go, Vegan Cinnamon Scones, originally based off of this recipe (https://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/vegan-cinnamon-scones-vegan/) and then tweaked and perfected to my liking! Now you can clap!! ;p

Vegan Cinnamon Scones:

Ingredients:

For the Cinnamon chips/swirled in mixture:

(Make and then divide into two)

2/3 cups organic cane sugar

3 Tbsp. ground Cinnamon

2 Tbsp + 1 Tbsp vegan butter

2 Tbsp pure Maple syrup

½ Tsp. vanilla extract

Cinnamon Scones:

Dry Ingredients:

2 cups All-purpose flour

2 Tsp. baking powder

One part of the cinnamon mixture as Cinnamon chips (see directions)

A generous pinch of Course Cane sugar on top of each scone

Wet ingredients:

¾ cup cold Vegan butter

¾ cup full fat canned coconut milk, room temperature

1 Tsp. vanilla Extract

1 part of the cinnamon mixture to swirl into the dough

Preparations:

Let’s make the Cinnamon mixture!

To a medium sized bowl add first the organic cane sugar and cinnamon and stir till combined.
Then, add in the first 2 tablespoons of butter, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Break the butter up into the mixture till it’s all combined. The texture should be crumbly to the touch.
Divide into two. Put one part aside so it can get swirled into the dough later and move the other part to a small sauce pan on medium-high heat along with the other tablespoon of butter. Stir the butter in till it melts then let it sit and come to a boil (approximately 2-3 minutes.)
Once the mixture has come to a boil let it stay there for another minute or two and gently continue to stir it.
Then reduce the heat to a simmer and let it stay there for another 3-4 minutes; occasionally stirring and keeping an eye on it. It should be nice and bubbly and get to a nice dark amber colour and be slightly thickened.
Once this has happened remove from heat.
On a parchment-lined cookie sheet, pour the mixture and let cool in the freezer for about 10 minutes till it has hardened.
Once its cooled and hardened put the bark into a Ziploc bag and break it up into small pieces. Set aside for later.

Let’s make the scones!!

Preheat the oven to 425F
In a large bowl, add all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt and stir to combine.
Add cold vegan butter and vanilla and break it in with a fork then add coconut milk till it’s well combined.
Once you have a workable dough, fold in the cinnamon swirl mixture and the cinnamon chips. It’s okay if it’s a little sticky however, you can add more flour in 1 tablespoon at a time till the consistency is right if necessary.
Turn out onto a well-floured surface and kneed it just a few more times!
Shape it into a circle about 6-7inches in diameter and let chill for 3 hours. This will keep the edges of the scones from bleeding into the others. If you skip this step they will just look a little more rustic.
With a sharp knife cut the dough into 8 equal sized wedges.
Place onto a parchment lined baking sheet leaving some space between the scones.
Generously cover the scones with the course sugar.
Bake in a preheated oven for 14-20 minutes, depending on how crispy you like your scones. I usually do mine for about 18 minutes or till golden brown.
Serve once cooled and Enjoy!!

I hope y’all enjoy these as much as we have! Unfortunately, I have not had a chance to experiment with any flour alternatives for this one yet however, if you do please share your experience in the comments down below!!

Xoxo, Amber!!

Featured

WHY/ HOW I BECAME A VEGAN.

How I Became a vegan.

Hello everyone! I am so excited for todays post because I am finally going to tell you why I became a vegan, but more so, “how.” I realized while answering some of my DM’s on Instagram that I’ve never actually told this side of my story and that very few actually know the true origin of the vegan lifestyle I’ve adopted. The truth is, this one ended up being a bit of a long one so grab a cup of coffee and let’s get started.

If you like this sort of content, then please let me know in the comment section, by liking this post and following! I know to some people, these sorts of gestures seem small and meaningless but they actually mean a lot to us creatives and it’s actually really helpful in knowing that someone, YOU, is actually on the other end listening. So thank you for doing so and I hope I can inspire even one of you to share your passions and story with others.

So, my story of how I became a vegan is very different than most I’ve heard. It wasn’t because I had a bad experience at Mc Donalds, where I bit into a raw chicken nugget (though that did actually happen). It wasn’t because I grew up vegetarian and vegan was a natural switch, like many of the vegan influencers I’ve discussed this with. It wasn’t that I loved animals SO much I couldn’t imagine them getting slaughtered inhumanly so I could eat their carcasses, which now I find pretty appalling.

It wasn’t that I had any concept or desire to change the planet or see people choose a better, healthier and sustainable way. These sorts of thoughts and ideals I’ve only really developed over the last couple years, as I’ve questioned more and more for myself why I eat the way I do.

“Back” story…

To give a little backstory, I grew up in a very normal American family. As a child, I was a very picky eater and had a very sensitive and nervous stomach but, in reality, lived before the day of food allergies so that’s all my family and my self ever thought it was.

At a young age, I gave up drinking cows milk altogether, because I didn’t like the taste. I didn’t like when my mom cooked raw meat at home and except for the one time, I got food poisoning and decided not to eat turkey for the next many consecutive holidays, that’s basically as far as it ever went.

Fast forward to the year or two after I had graduated high school and I started to notice my stomach becoming increasingly more sensitive. If it weren’t for the fact that I had lots of friends with food allergies and intolerances, I probably would have struggled for a long time in the dark. I started trying to avoid gluten and dairy but I wasn’t very consistent with it and then I’d bloat up like a balloon, feel frustrated and start the cycle all over again.

I struggled to know what to do because, sometimes I could eat these foods and be fine and other times it was the death of me. When my husband and I got married in January of 2016, my stomach pain had significantly worsened. I always struggled to get a straight answer from doctors because I didn’t have a family doctor at the time to go to.

I tried to see the same one at the walk-in but this wasn’t super reliable. I was told to try Tums, Zantac and the like but it never fixed the problem. I always felt misunderstood and shoved aside for the next more pressing issue. Because I wasn’t, “bleeding out my anus” or “losing weight rapidly” or able to produce how a reaction on the spot, I was always told the same things.

Fast forward to the end of 2016, where I put my back out and had to quit the job I had just started. I had herniated a disk in my back and had badly pinched my Sciatic nerve. It was so bad that I was basically bed ridden and could barely walk without pain. It was also in this same year that I started developing some mental health problems and I had some of my first panic attacks.

No matter what I had tried for my back, whether that was meds, physiotherapy, chiropractic care, deep tissue massage, acupuncture, essential oils, medicinal ointments to rub into sore muscles, ice/heat therapy and who knows what else, literally nothing made it better. I was starting to lose hope and feel pretty down and then 2017 began.

January 2017 I decided to actively pursue God in prayer for my life and my health. (For those that aren’t religious please don’t tune out now! I promise to due my best to not get too preachy and just share my experience.) I was desperate for something to change and was feeling really lost. The church I attend spends the month of January, corporately praying and fasting and so I decided, I needed to take a different approach to my health.

I decided to do what’s called a “Daniel fast,” where basically you don’t eat processed food, sugar or animal products for 21 days based on the story in the Bible of how a man named Daniel had been taken captive by the Babylonians (along with the rest of the Hebrews.) Daniel and his friends were taken into the kings palace to be specially trained but didn’t want to dishonour God and their bodies by eating the kings food, that most likely would have been offered to idols.

I decided to do what’s called a “Daniel fast,” where basically you don’t eat processed food, sugar or animal products for 21 days

Instead, they proposed (to simplify it) to eat only plant-based foods for the next 10 or 21 days (there’s two different times where Daniel does this) to see if they would still keep their strength and health in comparison to the others being trained in the palace. The Bible says that at the end of the fast, Daniel and his friends looked better and stronger than the other men who had eaten the choice wine and food and so this got me intrigued.

Remember, I knew absolutely nothing about veganism at this time. The only real reference I’ve ever had was my aunt whose vegetarian and used to eat at least lots of cheese and carbs.

I have had friends do this fast in the past but they always talked about how they only were eating raw fruit and vegetables and were cold, hungry and borderline cranky all the time and this didn’t sound doable to me. No, if I was going to do this, I needed to have an actual plan and meals to fuel my body. And so I set off the next few days “Pinning” recipes and articles like a mad woman till I actually had a plan for the next 21 days.

It was frustrating, because I had family members who thought I was, “just dieting” and didn’t either understand or see the point of what I was doing but I tried to smile and just go on with my day.

I also spent a lot of time praying late at night and stubbornly going for walks hobbling down my lamp-lit street. I cried out to God and stubbornly planted my feet in the ground outside our apartment or sitting in my car at our churches parking lot, till 3am, drinking coffee and waiting for God to move.

The Results.

At the end of the 21 days my problems weren’t magically taken away and my back wasn’t miraculously healed but, my hope had returned and my body had started to feel A LOT better. I did have more strength and energy and my stomach hurt less and less and so I decided I might as well stick with it to the best of my abilities. It was in this time that I discovered I was in essence eating a vegan, gluten-free diet and that’s where it all began. Technically, however, a Daniel fast would be way more similar to Paleo and Veganism combined along with no alcohol but that’s not the point.

Months later after much more prayer, physio and other treatments, I got rear-ended and fell hard on the pavement directly on my tailbone. I thought I would be out forever BUT, it was miraculously the combination of these two events that healed my back and I was able to start moving again more freely and with less and less pain. My family jokes that God was my chiropractor that day and finally got me adjusted back to the way I needed to be. 6-8 months after my injury, I was finally able to work again and it was amazing to say the least! Plus I had had an X-ray done of my spine, which showed no signs of injury!

Now I say all of this not to say I think God wants everyone to be Vegan but that God cared about me as an individual enough to point me to the right track that was perfect for me. However, I do believe that Veganism, done right can be one of the best if not the healthiest ways to live. If your vegan or interested in going vegan please reach out and comment down below or personally DM me and I’d love to chat with you.

Sometimes, it’s messy and hard to know where to start with social media sending so many mixed messages. Let me help you and let’s start the conversation to a whole new you!

XOXO, Amber!!

Featured

How to make Vegan French Toast

Vegan French Toast Recipe

Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYh2h2cPhuQ

Hey all! I hope you have been having a great week! I’ve missed y’all so much as I have been busy diving into the Youtube realm and learning how to film and edit videos. The short version of the story is it’s very time consuming, at least right now in the learning stages, so please stick with me as I try to balance them and try to find a good routine and schedule for both.

To check out my channel you can go to this link here: https://youtu.be/f7e5RxDK7LI

The majority of my content currently on Youtube will be all about bullet journaling and some of my go-to easy vegan recipes, however at some point I’d love to create content on other topics like “Low-waste living and Sustainability” and whatever else fixes my fancy. At this point however, we’ll be sticking to vegan food and bullet journaling, so please make sure to go check it out and like, subscribe and comment!

Now with that out of the way, let’s get into todays post: How to make Vegan French toast that’s out of this world!!

This recipe is one I’ve had for a very long time now and I think because it’s been on our regular routine to make so often, it totally slipped my mind to share it with you here! Plus I’m sure I’ve shown this one thousands of times on my IG “Story” that, I probably thought I had shared it when I hadn’t!

And just as a side note: In the video I shared how sourdough bread is a must however after I realized for most people it would probably be quite difficult to find a vegan version. The truth is this bread I used for my husband we found out afterwards isn’t vegan but for him it was okay. I just didn’t want it to seem misleading!! However, for those that are curious, I definitely did find vegan sourdough breads to buy online, so maybe check your grocery store or specialty bakery or the Internet, if this interests you.

For myself, I use a vegan and grain-free bread I find at the grocery store. The nice thing about this recipe is you can really use whatever bread suits your needs and it will still taste and work out great.

So, next time you have brunch with your family or friends, depending on where you live in the world due to COVID, I challenge you to try this recipe instead of your classic one filled with eggs and milk and see what everybody thinks. Or just make it for yourself! Brunch is still good even if it’s just for one! But I dare you! If you’re on the edge of trying a Vegan/vegetarian diet, than start with something like this that you know just CAN’T go wrong! And comment here and share your experience on IG! You can tag me @buhler.amber and #thekaleko and I’ll see you in the next one!

Vegan French Toast

Ingredients:

1 cup Almond milk

2 Tbsp. Ground Flax Seed

1 tsp. Cinnamon

¼ tsp. Nutmeg

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Pinch of salt

About 6-8 slices of bread per recipe.

Directions:

Put all the ingredients except the bread in a medium sized bowl and stir vigorously till well combined. Then let mixture sit for 5-10 minutes to rest and thicken.

Place a frying pan on Medium-high heat and spray with cooking spray to help the French toast not to stick to the pan. Once it’s hot, quickly restir the mixture and dunk the bread into it, letting the excess run off a bit before putting it on the pan.

Let it cook for a minute or two on each side and flip till it’s golden brown.

Serve right away with your favourite toppings: Maple syrup, fresh fruit, powdered sugar, whip cream (?), nut butter etc.

Eat & Enjoy!!

Xoxo, Amber!!

Mennonite New Years Cookies (Vegan & Gluten-free) aka. Oliebollen/Portzelky.

Mennonite New Years Cookies

Vegan & Gluten-free

Hey Guys! Happy almost New Years! I can’t believe we finally made it to the end of 2020! I don’t know about the rest of you but this year has kind of felt like it would never end! With so many highs and lows, I thought it would be good to end the year with an epic dessert recipe: “New Year’s Cookies,” (aka. Oliebollen/Portzelky.) Don’t worry if you don’t know what this is because by the end your mouth will literally be watering! If you want to stay more up to date with my life and the recipe testing and tasting process than please make sure to follow my Instagram @buhler.amber!!

So, what is a “New Years Cookie” and how on EARTH did I make it taste so good both vegan and gluten-free??? Well, to put in simply, a New Years cookie is kind of like a doughnut but to be much more specific, it’s a fritter filled with raisins and typically covered in powered sugar. Now, from what I understand, this is generally speaking a very Mennonite dessert and wasn’t something I grew up with in sunny California and Nashville, TN.

The first time I actually had one of these was at my church here in Southern Manitoba. New Years Eve tradition at our church is to have a large worship service, where we prayer for the upcoming year. Then, once our hearts are full we fill our stomachs with these delicious fried dough balls. Sense going vegan and gluten-free and eventually Paleo and then Keto and then, well you get the point, I haven’t been able to partake in this tradition but, overall it didn’t bother me too much.

However, with it being a slightly different kind of year, I thought it was appropriate to see if I could find a recipe or something worth tweaking to share with all of you. This is the recipe I tweaked and adjusted and I am very happy with the results and I hope you are too. If you end up trying it, please comment down below and tag me on IG @buhler.amber!! And now for the recipe!!

Original Recipe here: https://recycledwithlove.wordpress.com/2017/01/02/gluten-free-oliebollennew-years-cookiesportzelky/

Mennonite New Years Cookies (aka. Oliebollen/Portzelky)

1 cup of All Purpose Gluten-free flour (already containing Xanthan gum)

11/2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

2 tbsp. Organic cane sugar

1tbsp. Psyllium Husks (vegan egg subt.)

¾ c. Almond milk (or other plant-based milk)

1 c raisins

*And a non-flavoured vegetable oil like Canola for frying.

Directions:

Blend all dry ingredients except raisins in a medium-sized bowl with a whisk.
Add Almond milk and mix well, then add raisins and mix again. Let the dough rest for about 5 minutes so it can thicken.
While your dough is resting, put your vegetable oil in a large pot to heat up on Medium. If the oil gets too hot they will burn, so make sure you’re keeping a close eye on them.
Carefully drop large spoonfuls of batter into the oil. The oil will foam up a bit but it will dissipate. Give it a minute or two of each side then flip till its completely golden brown.
Let some of the oil drain off first before rolling them in the powdered sugar! Then eat and enjoy!!

For me I got about 6-8 medium sized fritters.

XOXO, Amber!!

Let’s cut the B.S on “self-care…”

Featured

*GF, V Gingerbread cookie recipe included*

Hey all! I hope you had a very Merry Christmas! I was planning on writing a post last week on self-care but it seemed I needed to actually practice it more first before I could speak about it. I was a little too stressed out I guess, but now we’re here; better late than never I guess.

Also, I have some exciting news in the works! I am planning on working on some video content in the new year so please stay tuned in for that! I will keep updates on my IG account on my story @buhler.amber! J

So, I’m going to try to keep this pretty simple today because we’ve all heard probably too many long spiels about how we need to love ourselves and manage our time better and create “margin” for ourselves and we can’t give from an empty cup and as important as all of this is, I want to cut the BS and get straight to the point. We need to learn to manage stress and take care of ourselves on a daily basis.

Yes all of these things are great and so important to talk about but if you’re actually stressed and burnt out, that’s NOT going to fix anything and if your like myself, deep down, even if it’s just unconscious you’re going to feel pretty shitty and inadequate after listening to something like that. All it’s going to sound like is Charlie Browns teacher mixed the newest social media influencer you’ve been following – a bunch of nice words for nice people who have it all together and their lives are in perfect order.

If your anything like me, by the end of the day your eyes are glazed over, your coffees been reheated so many times you’ve probably almost given up on it and your just scrolling to numb out how exhausted and disappointed you actually are with your life that you don’t want to feel guilty and ungrateful about. And I know for some even the word “stress” will trigger you, but I promise to try not to talk in a way that makes you feel like you have a whole new list of things your not doing right or at all.

I just want to share my experience from this last week and again, hopefully by me cutting out some of my own crap it will at least make you laugh and feel like a normal human again.

So, the beginning of last week for whatever reason, we were all very heightened and stressed in our house or at least I was and I wasn’t handling it well. My sweet boy whose now been potty-trained during the day for around a month almost flawlessly, started to refuse wanting to go to the potty and had accident after accident. I was getting flustered and really was trying to have a calm approach to it but I was starting to lose it my edge.

Lot’s has been going on for me personally and I’ve been trying to sort through my emotions and handle more of my stress on my own and with Jesus but, because I’m a verbal processor, I sometimes slip up. My son is a little me personality wise: we both like control, having the last word, are emotionally driven and passionate people and yet very, very sensitive.

So it went a little something like this: (please, please try not to judge me. I’m only human, you can laugh though.)

Bennett: Potty (already the 2^nd or 3^rd time saying this.)

Me. You need to go potty?

Bennett: Nope.

Me: Okay, but you’ve already told me a couple times so I think we should go.

Bennett: NNOOO!!

Me: Bennett, do you need to poop?

Bennett shakes his head “yes” says, “no”

Me: Well, I think we should at least try-

Bennett: SCREAMS!!! No potty, no potty!

(Not giving excuses just context) Me exhausted (being up with a teething baby at night), sore (Fibromyalgia) and nauseous (pregnant), taking a deep breathe. Trying to remind him of the potty songs we’ve played at least 1,000 times by now and the treat he’d get if he went and somehow we miraculously make it to the bathroom but it wouldn’t go well. The yelling and “reasoning” continues and in the end we both feel trapped and don’t get what we want.

The point is despite my efforts, I was actually supressing how I felt by trying to control his behaviour and he obviously retaliated and I couldn’t handle it. I had to learn the hard way that my inability to handle my stress was actually stressing out my son and the fact that a new sibling was on the way was actually starting to affect him.

After I sorted through things and got my act together, I apologized in a non-manipulative, non-guilt tripping or threatening way. I owned my side and allowed him to be real with how he felt. I tried to listen and ask him questions and helped him understand he wasn’t going to be forgotten even with a new baby on the way.

And sense I owned my side, started taking better care of myself, I’ve had a lot more patience and my son has had less tantrums and accidents. We’re both learning to identify what’s really going on and have been all the better for it.

So, like I said I’m going to leave it there for now. If you want a follow up post on what I personally did to actually work through my stress and the actual “self-care” actions that worked for me, than please just leave a comment down below so I know you appreciate this sort of content. And like always, it wouldn’t be a “Kale Ko.” post if there wasn’t also a recipe attached, so here’s my favourite recipe for Gluten-free, Vegan and Refined sugar-free Gingerbread cookies and I’ll see you in the next one!

Recipe: https://theinspiredroom.net/2018/12/05/winter-kitchen-gingerbread-cookies/

Xoxo, Amber!!

Featured

Realistic Vegan Eating.

Vegan Veggie Pizza

Hey Everyone! Welcome back! For those that don’t know, I took the last week off to potty-train my son. To stay informed on these things and/or when I have to take sometime off, please make sure to head over to my IG account @buhler.amber and give me a follow! And now onto todays lovely post!!

I mentioned a few posts ago that my dad and mom have been working together with me to adapt a plant-based diet for my dads heart health, due to the fact that he has high cholesterol and was given the prospect of having to take prescription drugs as the assumed only treatment option. They were not pleased with this concept and so, through working together and individually, we decided that he should do a plant-based diet and see if he could drop his LDL levels naturally.

I had my mom take photos of some of the foods they’ve eaten in the last while to show you what it realistically could look like for someone whose also interested in making the jump over and how it is totally doable to heal your body naturally through foodwith a little guidance.

I find we as people, generally speaking have a hard time with change but, especially ingrained thoughts and beliefs. For example, typically at least in Western society and America especially, your raised to believe meat is the life-blood of society, cows milk is idolized for all it’s supposed “health benefits”, vegetables are just a “supposed to” (be eaten) and everything is fried and made as quick as possible to be eaten even quicker. We’ve bought into a corrupted system that manipulates us to want more and more and stay stuck like a hamster spinning its own wheel. Even after tripping on it’s own feet time after time it keeps running and falling on loop.

Breakfasts:

Left: Gluten-free Banana Oatmeal Blender Pancakes with Strawbs and Coconut Whip cream. Right: Gluten-free Pumpkin Muffins, Fried Farm Egg and fruit.

We eat like crap, we’re not exercising as we should or managingstress in healthy ways. We work ourselves to death and even though we have a million and one ways to stay connected to others, we’re the most lonely and depressed generation yet; regardless of Covid. At the same time, more and more people are dealing with serious health conditions, illnesses, and so forth. Here’s just one recent statistic I found on mental health in Canada: “In 2013, an estimated 3 million Canadians (11.6%) aged 18 years or older reported that they had a mood and/or anxiety disorder.Footnote1”

The reality is, we are a very sick nation and we are told to manage our symptoms through pharmaceutical drugs (which is a business that makes a killing by the way), instead of getting to the root causes and fixing those instead. According to Dr. Cheryl Barton, “… the worldwide pharmaceutical market was worth nearly $1.3 trillion in 20191 and the top 10 pharma companies accounted for around a third of sales ($392.5 billion).”(ThePharmaLeter.com)

Soups:

Top Left: Veggie Soup Top Right: Vegan Zappa Tuscan’s Bottom: White Bean chilli with Lentils.

Now, before I get too far ahead of myself, I do want to say I’m NOT entirely against taking medications or people who do, because I do take them for certain things. I just think it’s important to think about the WHY and how Urgent the need and if there are suitable and effective alternatives or if it can be accompanied with other things for a short term usage. Yes, medication does have a place, I just personally believe that meds are mainly there to help manage the symptoms of an underlying root cause and BOTH should be evaluated at least equally, if one truly has the hope to get better.

And this was the hope of my dad and mom, that they could get healthier, but particularly my dad in this situation. They were willing to be disciplined and put the hard work in to get the results only known to a few. They, poetically speaking, took the road less traveled and have found themselves with more energy, enjoying new foods they never expected could be as good as they are, and more to give each other and those around them. They’re also finding new ways to eat old favourites, like homemade pizza and lots of yummy soups and some baking!

Suppers:

Top Left: Roasted Broccoli w/ BBQ Chickpea wraps. Top Right: Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Wings, dip and Baked Sweet Potato Fries. Middle Left: Vegan Burrito Bowl. Middle Right: Yummy Leftovers. Bit of everything! Bottom Picture: Veggie Pizza and Veggie Straws.

You’ll see the random egg or a tad of low-fat dairy cheese in some of the pictures, but we’re all at a different stage of the journey and we should love and embrace everyone no matter where they’re at! This is still a huge undertaking and I am quite proud of them and all the changes and improvements they’ve taken, their humility and openness to change! I wish you all a great and fabulous day and to be a ray of sunshine wherever you go!

Xoxo, Amber

Sources:

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/diseases-conditions/mood-anxiety-disorders-canada.html#fn1

https://www.thepharmaletter.com/article/annual-revenue-of-top-10-big-pharma-companies

Baking and Snacks:

Left: Gluten-Free Gingersnaps. Right: Nut-free trail mix baggies for school B/c my dads a teacher!!

Why am I hopeful?

Hey all! It feels so good to be writing again! Vegan Keto has proven to have many tasty and delicious recipes, if you’re willing to have an open mind to new possibilities. Even in this short time of my first experiment or two to three weeks and the last couple weeks, I have found so many amazing new recipes and plenty of more to also try. I hope you continue on this journey with me to better your health and be inspired to eat well and enjoy doing so!

If you like content like this then please let me know by hitting the “like” button and consider reaching out through the comments or by following! You’re support is greatly appreciated. 😘

Today I want to share with you an easy Vegan Keto granola bar recipe that I’ve now tested twice and have absolutely loved. It’s sweet and kept in the freezer so it can work as a go to breakfast, snack or my favourite way, as a dessert with fresh black coffee. I can not take credit for the recipe though! I am just sharing my experience, which was pretty bomb.. just saying!

Also, I’m super pumped I’m not the only weirdo who tries out things like this haha 😂 so, know it’s okay it you are one too! The more the merrier I always say!!

Something I mentioned in my last post was eating this way for me is VERY filling and satisfying. The foods that I now eat everyday, consistently are REAL and wholesome and don’t cause me to get bloated whatsoever!!

My pain levels and chronic fatigue are being managed quite well now but most importantly, I am HOPEFUL and excited about my life. The weight of being sick has lifted and I can finally (don’t take me too literally, but in essence) actually start living life again!

I struggled to accept this at first but just because I’m not fully healed of my conditions, that doesn’t make being able to manage them invalidated! Maybe this is obvious but I really struggled to accept this. However, if someone broke their leg it would make sense to cast it and even potentially be of crutches for a good while. And it would be okay and totally normal if they couldn’t go about their same daily activities for a while as well, needed to do physiotherapy and never quite have the full mobility they had before they broke it!

And again, maybe I’m just speaking to the choir, however being able to accept this has been crucial in sticking to my new way of eating and actually continuing to experience the benefits from it!

However, even though I now eat super healthy and clean like 24/7, that doesn’t mean I don’t still have cravings or a sweet tooth. I just have more capacity to actually figure out what I need and what would satisfy those desires best. Sometimes that’s spending sometime quieting and being mindful of what’s really going on on the inside that maybe I don’t want to deal with. Other times, it’s finding a replacement for those cravings, like salted nuts instead of popcorn or chips. And sometimes it takes taking a step deeper into the physical and asking what micro-nutrient am I missing? Or do I need more water or sleep? Am I stressed, etc?

By the way, if your ever curious what micro-nutrients you might be missing based on your cravings, there are many lists available of the internet with food alternatives that can fulfil these things to give you something to start with. However, if you believe you need more help for whatever reason, always contact a professional.

I don’t have a degree in anything so I won’t be able to give you tons of specific medical advice however, I do have a lot of experience and love researching health, fitness and nutrition (specifically veganism) for fun!

If anything, I hope you will consider keeping me in your back pocket as a resource and a friend on your own personal health journey. My DM box is always open! 😇

If you have a specific health condition and would love to know how you can change things like your nutrition, physical activity level or mental health/mindsets let me know! I hope you have a great day!!

Xoxo, Amber!!

Recipe link: https://pin.it/7AMX4eb

Featured

Dear Old Sick Self…

Dear old sick self,

Hey guys, sorry it’s been so long. Lot’s has happened sense I wrote last and I was hoping to keep you more updated on my journey, but I wasn’t in a place where I could put it all properly down into coherent thoughts and sentences. In the end, I realized I just needed some space from food and social media and I needed sometime alone with my own thoughts and questions before I shared them with everyone else here.

About two months ago, I tried an experiment with my body by going vegan keto for at least two weeks and then I was going to revaluate from there. If you want I can do a whole post on my experience, my why and the research I did, however I’ll try to keep it short for now. The short version is what I was doing wasn’t working anymore. I was still constantly sick and bloated and dealing with chronic pain and fatigue and so, I knew something had to give.

Then I stumbled across some very educational videos on what’s called “carb tolerance” and how those with a low carb tolerancewould do better on a higher fat concentrated diet; most commonly known as “Keto.” Again, I won’t go into tons of detail on what a Ketogenic diet is here. I’ll just give the basics and let you Google it if you’re interested in further researching it.

So the basic explanation of Keto is: eating a diet where the major energy source is fat, you eat a moderate level of protein and a very low level of carbs; typically only 5-10% of your daily caloric expenditure. By switching from carbs to fats as your main energy source, you switch on your bodies ability to burn stored fat as energy through the process of making more Ketones. When you eat carbs, your body has a spike of insulin in the blood and is stored as glycogen.

Now that insulin has 3 main places it will go. It will go to muscle cells, other cells or gets stored as fat and when your body has a hard time digesting and processing carbs, your bodies internal alarms go off and make more and more insulin.If the muscle and other cells don’t respond, it’s going to get stored as fat. Which means, in essence, such a person would be starving at a cellular level. Typically, they’d crave more and more carbs and never feel full, they’d be bloated and fatigued, inflamed and so on.

Considering these we’re all symptoms I was having I knew Iwas onto something, however there was one major problem. A ketogenic diet is typically high in animal based fat and a vegan diet is typically high in carbohydrates as the protein source (ie. Chickpeas, sweet potatoes, quinoa, oats etc.). I already knew meat and animal products we’re out however, did that mean Icouldn’t do Keto as a Vegan??

Again, I did TONS of research before starting this as I knew Iwas already quite restricted and didn’t want do end up with a nutrient deficiency. If you’re interested in a post on all the supplements that are specifically recommended for when trying a vegan ketogenic diet, just like this post and comment down below “interested” and that will really help me out!

What I learned was that both could coincide alongside each other however, it would take a lot of planning and diligence to make it work. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed and then I actually came across a two week meal plan for this specific dietand I was so happy! This is not sponsored, I am just sharing what helped me on my journey in hopes that it will help you.The blog I found it on is called “Meat Free Keto.” Literally this has become my main source for recipe inspiration!

Not having to make the plan or the grocery list really helped a lot in the beginning because it felt like relearning how to ride a bike; awkward and a bit uncomfortable. I didn’t know what to tell people I was eating, I didn’t want to eat specific things on the plan and social settings got even trickier. I was seeing amazing results physically (ei. Chronic pain gone by day 4?!!!) but I allowed the emotions I felt of isolation, fear and insecurity get the better of me. I got through the “experimental stage” and then some, but my emotions took over and unfortunately, I let them sabotage my results.

Here I was face to face with the end result I wanted and I fled in the opposite direction. See, what I learned (the hard way) was my goal and the result I wanted didn’t line up and until I could come to a conclusion, I was stuck at an impass and would never be able to change. I realized the goal to be able to eat whatever I wanted didn’t line up with the result I wanted of being healthy and whole.

As I was struggling with my emotions on the matter, I realized how flawed my thinking was and how it made no sense to eat super duper healthy to get well only so I could eat poorly and not be held responsible for it. You see, for me personally, I originally thought that with being so restricted I was missing out on so much but, I really wasn’t. I realized that even if I could,for example eat meat or dairy, etc., I wasn’t missing the healthy stuff. I was just missing the ability to eat away my emotions with food instead of dealing with them. In essence, I was in a dopamine withdrawal and I needed (or so I thought) a way to numb my emotions.

In this time, as I was face to face with myself and all I wanted was to shut the world out, I realized I could either stay stuck, sick and desperate or choose to do the hard thing and yield the results I deep down wanted from it. I could face my fears of what people would think of me or I could do what was best for me AND OTHERS, which was to accept this as the solution to managing my health and humble myself and move on.

While I was going through this testing time, I found a “Ted Talk” where a lady explained how after working through her mental health journey she wrote a letter to her old suicidal self and that inspired me to write a letter to my old sick self. I wrote this so that when I’m tempted to get prideful or insecure I can look back at how far I’ve come and know I don’t want to go back to being sick and desperate. That this is a start of a new journey and God’s not finished with me yet.

I can relate a lot now even more to the Apostle Paul when he asked God to remove the thorn in his flesh: “Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12: 7-10, NIV.)

God will answer our prayers, it’s just not always the way we expect it. Sometimes, God heals disease where there literally no trace of it being there and sometimes it’s a process with lots of sacrifice and a constant coming to Him to be enough for us.

So, to answer your question, no I am not healed but I am in the process and getting healed in God’s eyes is so multifaceted. He doesn’t just want my body to work, he wants all of me to be whole and renewed and He wants the same for you. So, join me on the journey and be willing and brave enough to ask yourself the hard questions. I’ll see you here again soon!

XOXO, Amber!

MIA…

Hey all, it’s me. Sorry I’ve been MIA but it’s been one of those weeks. Honestly, I’m not even sure why I’m doing this anymore… except that I still believe I’m onto something great with this.

Have you ever been there, where your loving life and things are going pretty good and all of a sudden it’s like you redlined? This has been me this pregnancy. Nauseas I have been yes, but mental fog, forgive me for saying it this way but it’s been more of a HELL Yes.

I’m talking for real here, hard-core slumps emotionally, lacking passion and a decent ability to cope with stress and everyday life issues. I’ve been learning I need to be extra gracious with myself and I try to tell myself often that this is just a season and it will get better. Growing a baby is a lot of work and the crazy surge of hormones doesn’t make it any easier.

With this in mind, I try to focus on positive things and what is going well, but I’m human and often can get discouraged or thrown off course. My issues with food and other health issues have tried to take their tool on me too, as I’ve shared a little bit so far. Sense of smell heightened and taste buds are off along with continual bloating and other digestive problems.

I was having a hard time telling what was because I’m pregnant and what was just because of my normal struggles and so this made me do a lot of thinking and soul searching. I now know I would love God to heal me and I know he can but is that for the best (not just my own but others and the furthering of his kingdom.)

In prayer I just struggled to know what to say and so I did my best to leave it up to him and trust he would show me when I needed to know. However, with everything going on, I started thinking about how last time I was pregnant it was actually easier on my body and mind to give up my vegan diet and eat “normally” again.

I held off as long as I could, but one night after a stressful day, I decided to order us pizza for supper and not make supper. I literally almost cried in the pizza shop waiting for it because, it made me so excited and hopeful to be able to eat this way again. That night everything sat well and my body acted normal so I wasn’t too concerned.

I was going to take it slow, leave it a few days before trying something else but I couldn’t wait. I wanted eggs and “Junior Chickens” and quote unquote “real breakfast” and was making a list of everything I wanted to try again before going back. After being restricted so long, I couldn’t help but want everything and that’s what blew it. Sadly, my body apparently isn’t able to switch anymore while pregnant and so it will be vegan again from here on out.

I have had people ask me in the past why I don’t cheat and this is I guess the why. Having even some makes you want more and more until you no longer are even eating the way you’re supposed to and then it’s so much harder to get back on track. Maybe having cheats works for you and if this is the case, then I am truly happy for you and admire your willpower to resist the binge of overdoing it.

I have an “all in or all out” personality so I have avoided cheats so I don’t have flare-ups. So, this is why I’ve been kind of unavailable. I have had so much going on and I just needed sometime to sort through it alone first. Also, I haven’t been doing a lot of real cooking lately, so I haven’t felt like I had anything really interesting to share.

Like who really wants to see my supper of fake chicken strips and fries? If you do let me know and I’ll share the lazy and easy things I’ve done, but that kind of stuff is really all I’ve been able to do lately.

I hope this encourages you that your not alone in your struggles and your not the only one who wants to throw in the towel. Pray for me as I try to rock this as best as I can and I’ll be doing the same for you!

Peace, Amber!!

Popcorn.

Coconut Oil Popcorn.

Hey all. Have you ever needed to bring a snack to a party and you wanted to make sure it would be safe for your friends with allergies yet you weren’t sure what to bring? Or maybe you knew some of the basics like fruit, veggies and corn tortilla chips with salsa, but you just had to make something?? Sound familiar, anyone?

Let me give you an easy go-to for those times that you really want to make something with out spending too much time or money… drumroll please… popcorn!

In my experience, I’ve only known one person to dislike popcorn (my husband) so this is for sure going to be a crowd pleaser. In fact, it was just this week that I was with some friends in the evening and there were tons of baked goods and cheesy snacks, but there was nothing I could eat. The host was really apologetic and had her mind set that I had to have something too, which I really appreciated.

We settled on making popcorn for me and then sadly she was all out of it. 15 minutes later one of the other ladies returned with a bag of dry popcorn and we were off and running. Something I’ve realized again in the last little bit is how important it is to have community with others. Winters in Manitoba can be such a drag and add to the list of excuses of why we want to stay inside, but then (I can say for myself) if we don’t connect with others we slowly begin to die inside.

We begin to get indrawn and lonely and can start to believe everyone else is just too busy and we shouldn’t bother trying. The truth is that some people will be busy but that doesn’t mean everyone one is or that trying to connect isn’t important. I know that for myself when friends have tried to reach out to me it has meant the world to me, regardless if it always worked out or not.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy this easy “recipe” and that you try it next time you need to bring an allergy friendly snack somewhere; just make sure you clarify what allergies/intolerances your working with.

Coconut Oil Popcorn

¼ cup dry popcorn kernels

1 tbs. coconut oil

Pink Himalayan salt to taste

Directions: Put kernels into popcorn maker and make sure it’s turned on; have a bowl ready to catch the popcorn. Melt coconut oil in the microwave and once all the kernels have popped, turn off the machine and pour oil over the freshly popped corn. Salt to taste and toss it till it’s all evenly coated. Eat and enjoy!