GF Carrot and Zucchini Muffins

Good Morning Lovelies!

It's a quiet and drizzly day here in our little corner of Germany, so the hubby and I have been spending the morning lazily listening to Jack Johnson while getting grownup chores done.

I took a break from cleaning, hanging laundry to dry, and filing nutrition forms for clients to try a new recipe and make some fresh carrot and ginger juice. Here is the recipe I followed. A few months ago I ordered coconut flour and ended up with 6 bags instead of 4; which was a lot already! I have been searching for coconut flour recipes ever since and hadn't come across many that sounded tasty until this one. The recipe includes 6 eggs, so the end result is a little "eggy", and dense (which is to be expected from a lot of GF recipes), as my hubby and I discussed- haha. I think I will try to make them again but next time just use 4 eggs, add some lemon or ginger, and see what happens.

We have been adding more and more gluten free meals and recipes into our nutrition for the past 4 months. So the one thing I have learned already is that often times going gluten free means there is a lot of trial and error. I thought I would share this experience today so that hopefully, if you are trying GF recipes as well, you are encouraged that you are not alone in the quest to find yummy grain free food : ). My motto is: If your baked goods fall too flat- get your spirits up and try try again. Hahaha.

We are not going gluten free completely, but we have wanted to go 50/50 just to see how we feel. So far we have definitely noticed a difference in how our bodies digest and process glutenous products. We often feel like we swallowed a brick (in my terms) after a meal that involves wheat pasta, etc. Our favorite GF past is a quinoa pasta. It's delicious and satisfies our carb craving like a flour pasta used to for us. This is probably the one permanent change we have made with a gluten free product. We've eaten quinoa pasta the whole past 4 months so we are used to it and often forget it's not a flour pasta.

Anyhow, back to today :). After putting the muffins in the oven I juiced about 8 carrots, 2 inches of ginger, and half a lemon. We enjoyed our juice while we waited for the muffins to be done.

Now we are back to work on our 'To Do' lists while the pup sleeps lazily.
Happy weekend!
~Meg

'All Treats & No Tricks' Giveaway!

Though I am not a huge fan of Halloween, I do love to give away toys and healthy GMO free candies to little ones that ring the doorbell. There aren't very many little goblins, princesses, or superheros that trick-or-treat from door to door here in Germany, so I thought I would be creative and host a giveaway on my facebook page The Nourished Sparrow ( keep in mind that I am in the middle of transitioning from this blog to my website The Nourished Sparrow, so there are times when the two names will be mingling until I am fulling moved in and able to make my little 'nest' over at that website domain nice and neat :). Until then keep checking my posts here for updates and giveaways!

To enter the 'All Treats No Tricks' free 1 hour (via Skype or in person) nutrition and wellness consultation, please click the fb link in the paragraph above for more info. Once you read the description, 'Like' and then share the post to your own facebook page, I can enter your name in the raffle for the consultation giveaway. It's that easy! I will be picking the winner on November 1st at 6 PM CET (Central Europe Time).

Best of luck and may you have a happy, healthy, and festive eveing dressing up as whatever your little heart desires!

Meg                                    

Exciting Changes and a Hopeful Heart

Well hello there faithful readers!

This little bird has been so busy lately!There has been so much going on that my poor little blog has really been left in the corner of my mind all by it's little self! Well, dare I say it... 'I promise' to not leave you my dear readers in the dark anymore :). There are a lot of changes about to take place, one of which is that I will be moving myself from this little corner of the internet to a new spiffy website sometime in the next few months. I am currently trying to either 1. obtain a copy of Website Designing for Dummies, or 2. find a wonderfully creative person to help me make my little site the perfect home for all the great recipes, health info, and personal stories I have to share with you! Either way it will happen-haha.

I want to give you a little update on my health and what has been happening since I last wrote. The most recent blood work done by an endocrinologist, which is who I've wanted to see for a looong time (the military medical system has it's protocol though), has come back and I am meeting with her tomorrow to discuss what exactly the results could mean. There is definitely some significant evidence that my adrenals and pituitary gland are struggling to maintain homeostasis; which is the most probable reason I have been struggling with near syncope episodes, low blood pressure, fight-or-flight malfunctioning responses, etc. the past 2 and half years. We will find out more details tomorrow and hopefully know how to go about healing my adrenals even further than what I have been doing on my own (I will write a post soon about what my daily regimen for this has been.).

Some studies show that it is possible that nearly 80% of people suffer from Adrenal Fatigue; which can result from chronic ongoing stress in a person's life, a medical crisis, or even the intense stress your body suffers when you experience the loss of a loved one. In my case I truly believe that the loss of Tyler in Afghanistan in '09, and all the additional emotional stressors associated with that experience, was what threw my adrenals into this whirlwind of a ride. I suffered from panic attacks for a while as I journeyed through the initial grief, but eventually I was able to heal from that by using 5-HTP (and lots of prayer!); which I learned from the book The Mood Cure. Before Tyer died I had never had much reason to see a doctor and could count on one hand the times I was in a doctor office. Now I have lost count of how many trips I have made and tubes of blood I have given, in the desperate hope I would find a answer and feel normal again.  

I have been on this journey to find those answers and heal from my near syncope/"scary episodes"  for the past 2 and half years. It's been exhausting and oftentimes quite discouraging, but I refuse to lose hope- no matter how much I may feel it is slipping from me. In one of Tyler's facebook posts, and an e-mail that he sent while he was deployed, he said: "Tough days make the good days that much better". That is what I cling to...the faith that the trials I face now are only going to make my future days even better :). 

Stay tuned for more posts, updates on when I am moving to my official website, and even my You Tube channel that is in the works! I'm looking forward to making some videos and hosting giveaways from affiliates on there! 

  

My hubby surprised me with these wildflowers when I recently returned home from a trip to the States for my beloved grandad's funeral. Flowers have a way of lifting the spirit and making you smile even when you don't feel like it. Don't underestimate the power of buying some for yourself too ;). 

With hope, Meg

Sounds of Healing

What we think, speak, and even sing has so much power over the body. I have talked about this fact, and shared books on the topic, in many posts before.

A friend recently told me about music artist Julie True who has been gifted with the ability to write music that quiets the mind and soothes the soul.

I have already bought a few of her songs on iTunes and one of her CDs I ordered on amazon just showed up today :).

Definitely check her music out and be prepared for a wave of encouragement and relaxation to take over your worries and stress. It's like water for the soul's little sprout :).

Love,
Meg