Other than a bit of hard Cheddar and Parmesean in salads I have pretty much given up on dairy. Cow's milk is very mucus forming and my body is working just fine without it. So far I haven't missed it. We have been using oat milk, and eating this yummy yogurt.
Cashew Yogurt
Makes 2 cups or more
Ingredients
1 cup water
1 cup raw cashews, unsalted
2 capsules of Pro-biotic acidophilous (easily available at a pharmacy)
Preparation
1) There is really no need to soak cashews because they loose a lot of their flavor if you do. Place cashews in a coffe ginder and process them into a powder.
2)Pour the cup of water into a blender and add the cashew powder. Blend until creamy. Open the capsules and stir them in.
3)Place cashew mixture into a glass jar, and cover mouth of jar with a towel of napkin.
4)Place the jar in a warm area
5) Check yogurt after 36 hrs. If a thick layer of curd has formed on top and a layer of whey at the bottom, then transfer it to the fridge. You may eat eat after it has been in the fridge for at least an hour. To eat just simply stir until the whey and curd have mixed.
Then for a special treat make:
Bircher Muesli (a famous Swiss recipe)
to the above yogurt add :
1 cup of rolled old fashioned oats
juice from 1 lemon
1 Granny Smith apple grated
1 guava grated
3 Tablespoons raw unfiltered honey
Mix and let sit in fridge over night. I could eat this everyday!
Your tummy will thank you. Bloating and discomfort will become a thing of your past.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Happy Birthday to the Worlds Sleepiest Girl!!
Malaina turns 19 today. Where has the time gone? At 7 lbs. 11 Oz. she was my smallest baby, but her vocal chords where the strongest! She could scream the house down. Until she was 3 I thought she was insane. The problem was, was that she was a late talker, and her brain was a fast thinker. She couldn't communicate.
Times changed, Malaina is the quietest woman now. She is happy to let others lead the discussions, and never wants the limelight. Malaina loves to cuddle and when she cuddles she sleeps. We have a cute collection of photographs of the sleepy Malaina. She has missed lots of good sights because she can't stay awake! The one above was in India! You would not believe the road conditions. You have never seen such potholes! We swerved for cows, people, trash vomit spewing from bus passengers up ahead, you name it we saw it. She slept through it all.
This is a picture of Malaina asleep while riding the subway in Tokyo. I don't know how she does it! Granted, Tokyo was so orderly and tame, it was a rather peaceful subway ride. 
This is one where we are on the way to Hong Kong. I love that she has the same look when she sleeps. She typically sleeps spread eagle on her bed. She wears ear plugs, and an eye mask. We Gaddis' are serious about our sleep!
Happy birthday Malaina. I wish you a peaceful night's sleep. Enjoy it now before school starts in the fall!
Times changed, Malaina is the quietest woman now. She is happy to let others lead the discussions, and never wants the limelight. Malaina loves to cuddle and when she cuddles she sleeps. We have a cute collection of photographs of the sleepy Malaina. She has missed lots of good sights because she can't stay awake! The one above was in India! You would not believe the road conditions. You have never seen such potholes! We swerved for cows, people, trash vomit spewing from bus passengers up ahead, you name it we saw it. She slept through it all.This is a picture of Malaina asleep while riding the subway in Tokyo. I don't know how she does it! Granted, Tokyo was so orderly and tame, it was a rather peaceful subway ride. 
This is one where we are on the way to Hong Kong. I love that she has the same look when she sleeps. She typically sleeps spread eagle on her bed. She wears ear plugs, and an eye mask. We Gaddis' are serious about our sleep!
Happy birthday Malaina. I wish you a peaceful night's sleep. Enjoy it now before school starts in the fall!I've Gone Coconuts!
Last week when in Ko Samui, Thailand, I learned how valuable the coconut is. We drank several coconuts each, and it is amazing how good we felt afterward. I wanted to share this info with you.I believe it helped me kick my salt addiction!
Here is some information about Coconut Water:
"It's a natural isotonic beverage, with the same level of electrolytic balance as we have in our blood. It's the fluid of life, so to speak." In fact, during the Pacific War of 1941-45, both sides in the conflict regularly used coconut water - siphoned directly from the nut - to give emergency plasma trasfusions to wounded soldiers.
Most coconut water is still consumed fresh in tropical coastal areas - once exposed to air, the liquid rapidly loses most of its organoleptic and nutritional characteristics, and begins to ferment.
Coconut Water is More Nutritious than whole milk - Less fat and NO cholesterol!
Coconut Water is More Healthy than Orange Juice - Much lower calories
Coconut Water is Better than processed baby milk- It contains lauric acid, which is present in human mother's milk
Coconut water is naturally sterile -- Water permeates though the filtering husk!
Coconut water is a universal donor-- Its identical to human blook plasma
Coconut Water is a Natural Isotonic Beverage - The same level we have in our blood.
Coconut water has saved lives in 3rd world countries thru Coconut IV.
"Coconut water is the very stuff of Nature, biologically Pure, full of Natural Sugars, Salts, and Vitamins to ward off fatigue... and is the next wave of energy drinks BUT natural!", according to Mortin Satin, Chielf of the United Nation's Food & Agriculture Organization.
Coconut water contains more potassium (at about 294 mg) than most sports drinks (117 mg) and most energy drinks.
Coconut water has less sodium (25mg) where sports drinks have around 41mg and energy drinks have about 200 mg!
Coconut water has 5mg of Natural Sugars where sports and energy drinks range from 10-25mg of Altered Sugars.
Coconut water is very high in Chloride at 118mg, compared to sports drinks at about 39mg.
Data is based on a 100ml drink.
"It's a natural isotonic beverage, with the same level of electrolytic balance as we have in our blood. It's the fluid of life, so to speak." In fact, during the Pacific War of 1941-45, both sides in the conflict regularly used coconut water - siphoned directly from the nut - to give emergency plasma trasfusions to wounded soldiers.
Most coconut water is still consumed fresh in tropical coastal areas - once exposed to air, the liquid rapidly loses most of its organoleptic and nutritional characteristics, and begins to ferment.
Coconut Water is More Nutritious than whole milk - Less fat and NO cholesterol!
Coconut Water is More Healthy than Orange Juice - Much lower calories
Coconut Water is Better than processed baby milk- It contains lauric acid, which is present in human mother's milk
Coconut water is naturally sterile -- Water permeates though the filtering husk!
Coconut water is a universal donor-- Its identical to human blook plasma
Coconut Water is a Natural Isotonic Beverage - The same level we have in our blood.
Coconut water has saved lives in 3rd world countries thru Coconut IV.
"Coconut water is the very stuff of Nature, biologically Pure, full of Natural Sugars, Salts, and Vitamins to ward off fatigue... and is the next wave of energy drinks BUT natural!", according to Mortin Satin, Chielf of the United Nation's Food & Agriculture Organization.
Coconut water contains more potassium (at about 294 mg) than most sports drinks (117 mg) and most energy drinks.
Coconut water has less sodium (25mg) where sports drinks have around 41mg and energy drinks have about 200 mg!
Coconut water has 5mg of Natural Sugars where sports and energy drinks range from 10-25mg of Altered Sugars.
Coconut water is very high in Chloride at 118mg, compared to sports drinks at about 39mg.
Data is based on a 100ml drink.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Two Trips for the Road
Right below is 
Pulau Tioman. We had not really ventured to the East Coast of Malaysia before. My good friend Karen found a delightful place that slept her family of 6 and the
3 of us. So we drove about 8 hours each way. We all liked road trips and it was good highway the entire stretch. Pulau Tioman is the setting of Bali Hai from the musical South Pacific! You can see a picture here of the high jagged peak. It really was lovely. The water surrounding it was so clean and blue. Not Caribbean blue but a lovely rich deep blue. Kind of like swimming pool with dark blue tiles instead of sky blue ones. We did some snorkeling, hiking, spa wraps, yum.
Then a week after we got back from the beautiful island of Tioman, Christina and I went to Koh Samui, Thailand for 7 days. I was told by a friend of the great new direct flight to Koh Samui originating in Penang. I checked it out and I decided to look for a fun "backpacker" style of trip, since Koh Samui is a really big backpacker stop. As I was surfing I hit upon an interesting website for "internal cleansing". I was facinated, it was like I had found the door to Narnia! I knew this was the answer to my eternal yeast problems! http://dharmahealingintl.com is the coolest thing since the Red Sox won the Series! Let's just say I have one CLEAN colon!
Pulau Tioman. We had not really ventured to the East Coast of Malaysia before. My good friend Karen found a delightful place that slept her family of 6 and the 3 of us. So we drove about 8 hours each way. We all liked road trips and it was good highway the entire stretch. Pulau Tioman is the setting of Bali Hai from the musical South Pacific! You can see a picture here of the high jagged peak. It really was lovely. The water surrounding it was so clean and blue. Not Caribbean blue but a lovely rich deep blue. Kind of like swimming pool with dark blue tiles instead of sky blue ones. We did some snorkeling, hiking, spa wraps, yum.
Then a week after we got back from the beautiful island of Tioman, Christina and I went to Koh Samui, Thailand for 7 days. I was told by a friend of the great new direct flight to Koh Samui originating in Penang. I checked it out and I decided to look for a fun "backpacker" style of trip, since Koh Samui is a really big backpacker stop. As I was surfing I hit upon an interesting website for "internal cleansing". I was facinated, it was like I had found the door to Narnia! I knew this was the answer to my eternal yeast problems! http://dharmahealingintl.com is the coolest thing since the Red Sox won the Series! Let's just say I have one CLEAN colon!