Last week I shared the Healthy Living How To version of a healthy chocolate chip cookie made with almond and coconut flour. The end result was an amazing gluten-free, dairy-free, low-carb cookie that is guilt-free and satisfies your inner cookie monster. I didn't think healthy chocolate chip cookies could get any yummier....but that didn't stop me from trying. I am a deep dark rich chocolate lover. An obvious upgrade to the original healthy chocolate chip cookie recipe is to amp up the chocolate by simply adding more of it. Instead of adding more chips, I added more chocolate, in the form of dark cocoa powder and reduced the almond flour. After making a fresh batch of healthy Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies, I let my own tastebuds do the testing and then showed up at a Jim LaValle lecture with sweet treats for my Life Time Weight Loss friends. Feedback was good and I came home with an empty container. If you are a chocolate lover this is the cookie for you, with the combination of dark cocoa powder and 70% dark chocolate pieces you won't be disappointed. Just when I thought I had died and gone to chocolate cookie heaven I got one more idea. What else goes well with chocolate? We all know the Girl Scouts got something right when they created Thin Mints, and it wasn't the "thin" part. I don't think anyone would buy their cookies if they were called "fat" mints. Anyways, moving along... Last week, I was standing on a kitchen stool doing some rearranging in our baking cupboard, when I noticed I had a fresh unopened bottle of pure mint extract. I moved it down a few shelves so it was more visible and have been waiting for the right inspiration to use it. Another family celebration over the weekend, this time my dad's birthday, and I was inspired. Voilà, healthy Mint Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies. On Sunday, my family gathered for a birthday celebration. I showed up with four dozen cookies and fresh made almond milk and once again left empty handed. These healthy cookies were a hit with everyone, even the little kids. And to be perfectly honest, it makes me feel a little smug knowing my niece and nephews who are no strangers to sugary-filled treats were noshing on these cookies none the wiser!  Chocolate Chocolate Chip CookiesRecipe by Healthy Living How ToPrintable RecipePrep Time: 10 minutes Bake Time: 17 minutes Makes: 2 dozen Ingredients
Directions1. In medium mixing bowl, sift together almond flour, cocoa powder, coconut flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and xanthan gum. 2. In a separate bowl, with electric beaters on medium, cream together coconut oil, extract stevia and erythritol. Then beat in eggs one at a time. 3. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredient and mix until dough starts to form. 4. To the dough add chocolate chips and mix with your hands. 4. Divide dough and roughly shape into 24 balls. 5. Bake on parchment lined baking sheet at 350 for 7 minutes. 6. Remove from oven and with the bottom of a glass slightly flatten cookie. 7. Return to oven for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. 8. Cool on rack. 9. Enjoy with a glass of almond milk!  About the Author
Vanessa Romero, owner of Healthy Living How To, is a healthy living enthusiast with a background in Personal Training, Metabolic Testing and Weight Loss. Her passion is to help others achieve optimal health through a wellness approach that encompasses living healthy in mind, body and spirit.
Copyright © 2012 Vanessa Romero, Healthy Living How To
This article is not intended for the treatment or prevention of disease, nor as a substitute for medical treatment, nor as an alternative to medical advice. Use of recommendations in this and other articles is at the choice and risk of the reader.
I have lived in Minnesota my entire life, except for a short two-year detour in Houston, TX. When people ask if I liked Houston, my response is always the same, "it's not that I didn't like it, it just wasn't home." Even though Houston is a melting pot of origins, the locals knew I wasn't from their parts. It's funny the reaction people had when they learned I was from Minnesota, I might as well have been from Antarctica.  Walleye Caught By My Dad Ice Fishing in the Land of 10,000 Lakes I readily admit we have some pretty brutal winters in Minnesota, heck last year we had one of the snowiest winters ever on record. It was a stereotypical snowy and cold, and I mean really snowy and cold, winter. While many believe you hole up and hunker down in the Minnesota winter months, that's just not true. When the season changes from fall to winter, and the snow and cold arrive, the outdoors is still enjoyed. We wouldn't be able to go ice skating, sledding, snowshoeing, skiing, snowboarding or ice fishing without winter.
 I recall having a funny conversation with a jewelry store security guard. His perception of living in Minnesota came from the movie Grumpy Old Men. If you haven't seen the movie, it's a romantic comedy that was filmed in Minnesota in the dead of winter. Ice fishing is a pastime the characters enjoy and several scenes are shot on the ice.
To the security guard, a Native Houstonian, who had never seen snow, this ice fishing concept was unbelievable. I fielded question after question about how this possibly could be. He just couldn't conceive that we actually drive our cars/trucks on ice, drill a hole in said ice and drop down a line or two and catch fish. When I explained that some fishing fanatics actually have quite elaborate ice fishing houses, complete with bunk beds and propane heaters, he lost his mind.
 This winter has been the exact opposite of last winter, unseasonably warm and very little measurable snowfall. In fact, the snowplow has only come to clear our driveway, twice this whole season. The snowmobilers and fishermen have had to travel further north to find safe ice and trails. A few months back, my dad, an avid fisherman, was able to escape with some buddies and haul in a nice catch. The fish have been on ice until today. I pulled the cleaned fish from the freezer first thing this morning and let them defrost in a bowl of cold water. Meanwhile, I set out to make my own version of Shore Lunch, it's what Minnesotans use to bread fish with. I was unable to find the ingredient information online, so I e-mailed the company and they quickly responded: ENRICHED BLEACHED WHEAT FLOUR, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN AND/OR COTTONSEED OIL, SALT, LEAVENING, DRIED WHEY, GARLIC POWDER, SUGAR, BUTTERMILK SOLIDS, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, POTATO FLOUR, ONION POWDER, SPICES, DEXTROSE, NATURAL FLAVOR, CORN STARCH, HYDROLYZED SOY PROTEIN, EXTRACTIVES OF PAPRIKA.
Decode these ingredients and you have GLUTEN, TRANS FATS, DAIRY, MSG AND SUGAR.
You can have delicious breaded fish without these unhealthy ingredients. Coconut flour and coarse ground almond meal make a fabulous breading spiced up with a little garlic, onion, salt and paprika. I oven-baked some of the fish as well as pan-fried with ghee and both methods were successful, although we preferred the pan-fried fish. If you don't have access to Walleye, try this breading on Tilapia, or panfish like Sunnies or Crappies, you won't be disappointed.  Almond Crusted WalleyeRecipe by Healthy Living How ToPrintable RecipePrep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 20-25 minutes Servings: 4 Ingredients
Directions1. In a nut grinder, coffee grinder or high-powered blender, make coarse ground almond meal by placing a cup of nuts in canister and pulsing until coarse. 2. In a glass pie plate, mix together almond meal, coconut flour and spices. 3. In a second glass pie plate, scramble together egg and coconut milk. 4. Rinse and pat dry fish fillets. Dredge through egg wash and then place in breading mix completely coating. 5. Pan fry in ghee on medium heat about 3-4 minutes per side or oven bake at 400°F in a glass dish greased with ghee for 20-25 minutes.
Yes two weeks in a row, I've got cupcakes for you. Last week it was my husband's birthday, in which we celebrated with healthy rich Dark Chocolate Cupcakes and today it is mine. It seems like it was just yesterday that my husband threw me a surprise 40th birthday party and now I am 41. How that happened, I don't know, as I feel like I was just in my 20's. At any rate, it's my birthday and birthday cake or rather cupcakes are in order. "Healthy" Vanilla Cupcakes
Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free & Low-Carb
Printable Recipe  Healthy Vanilla Cupcake with Chocolate Frosting Over the weekend, I was inspired to do a recipe makeover for a simple vanilla cupcake and then decided to spice the recipe up a little and make a mocha cupcake as well. Hence, the title of today's post, not one, but two, healthy cupcake recipes that are gluten-free, sugar-free and low-carb. Just for fun I did a little side-by-side comparison of ingredients and nutritional information. Remember it's not just about the calories, but what those calories do to our body and our blood sugar.
"Healthy" Vanilla Cupcakes
Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free & Low-Carb
Printable Recipe
Nutritional Info 145 cals | 13g fat | 4g carbs | 2g fiber | 4g pro
Ingredients
Makes 6 cupcakes Directions 1. Preheat oven to 350 º F and line muffin pan with paper liners & spray with non-stick spray.
2. In medium bowl, sift together, coconut flour, stevia, baking powder and salt.
3. In another bowl, whisk eggs and slowly drizzle in melted ghee, along with vanilla extract, coconut milk and water.
4. Add wet to dry and whisk until well incorporated.
5. Fill each cupcake with 1/4 c. batter and bake for 22 minutes.
6. To check for doneness, cupcake should spring back when touched or toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
| "Un-Healthy" Vanilla Cupcakes
Source
Nutritional Info 210 cals | 9g fat | 30g carbs | 0g fiber | 3g pro
Ingredients
Makes 6 cupcakes
- 1/2 c. White Sugar
- 1/4 c. Butter
- 1 Egg
- 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
- 3/4 c. All-Purpose White Flour
- 1 tsp. Baking Powder
- 1/4 c. Milk
- Pinch Salt
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Onto healthy cupcake recipe number two....even though the Dark Chocolate Cupcakes I made last week are divine, I got a few requests from my paleo friends for a recipe that is not made with beans. I was happy to oblige, as I don't eat beans myself (unless they are in cupcake form). And if you are shrugging your shoulders going, what's wrong with beans, I'll send you off to read what Mark Sisson, author of The Primal Blueprint, has to say: Beans & Legumes.
"Healthy" Mocha Cupcakes
Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free & Low-Carb
Printable Recipe
 Mocha Cupcake with White Frosting To go from Healthy Vanilla Cupcakes to Healthy Mocha Cupcakes all we need to do is add a little cocoa and coffee. It really is that simple. Follow the basic recipe above and to that add 1/4 c. Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa Powder and instead of 1/4 c. water add 1/2 c. decaf dark roast coffee. Baking directions are still the same, however, this will yield a few more cupcakes, making 8 instead of 6. Are you properly confused, no worries, you can print out the recipe, where it's all spelled out for you. Recipe Notes
*I am currently abstaining from dairy as I outlined in my Casein Confession. In place of butter I have been using Ghee with no signs of intolerance or sensitivity. If you can handle dairy, go ahead and use unsalted butter in your cupcakes and in your buttercream. *If you want more of a coconutty flavor, you could use coconut oil instead of ghee. While you are at it you could use coconut extract instead of vanilla extract as well. *Again if dairy suits you, go ahead and sub out the coconut milk for heavy cream or even sour cream. Either way, there is enough liquid and fat in these recipes to yield a very moist cupcake. Which isn't always easy when baking with coconut flour. | Once again, we can thank Lauren at Healthy Indulgences for the frosting recipe. I used her Healthy Buttercream Frosting, only this time I split the recipe in half and left half white and then added cocoa to the other half. Oh yeah, and skipped the coconut milk all together. Ingredients Directions
1. Powder erythritol by placing granules in a coffee grinder, Magic Bullet or other high-powered blender and pulsing until it resembles powdered sugar.
2. With a rubber spatula, gently mix powdered erythritol, stevia, salt and vanilla extract with shortening, once incorporated, use electric mixer to fluff.
3. Divide into two equal portions and set one aside.
4. Add cocoa powder to one half, first mixing with spatula and then mixing with electric mixer.
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God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well. ~Voltaire
This weekend was my husband's birthday. We celebrated by doing exactly what we love to do, spending time together. Oh yeah, and eating cupcakes, very moist and delicious chocolate cupcakes. If you don't mind, before I get to the cupcake recipe, I would like to gush a little over my handsome hubby. He is my best friend and confidante and I truly believe he is the most awesome husband in the world!  January 2012 Tom's Birthday Dinner! Tom's Top Ten 1. Hard Working, thank you for being the hardest working man I know. You work hard to support our family and to provide a respectable living for us. You never seek recognition for the work you do, always humble and modest.
2. Integrity/Honesty, thank you for being a man of great character. You do what you say you are going to do, you have high standards and you would never tell a lie.
3. Goal Setting, thank you for being self-driven and self-motivated always setting goals to reach and strive for.
4. Supportive, thank you for always supporting me and believing in me. You allow me to be me and love me the way I am.
5. Discerning, thank you for being the one to take time before making a decision and holding your ground even when I try to convince you otherwise.
6. Trustworthy, thank you for being a man of your word, I know I never have to doubt you and will always trust you.
7. God Loving, thank you for pursuing a relationship with our Heavenly Father and for being the one all those years ago to encourage me to read my Bible.
8. Health Conscious, thank you for taking care of your health and your body, I love your muscles and your heart.
9. Self Improving, thank you for always looking for ways to improve yourself and always seeking to learn more.
10. Committed, thank you for being committed to everything you set out to do. You finish what you start and don't give up or give in.
Happy Birthday Honey
I Love You! XOXO My go to recipe for birthday cakes comes to you via Lauren at Healthy Indulgences. She took a flourless chocolate cake recipe (shhhhh, it's made with black beans) and turned it into a HEALTHY gluten-free, sugar-free & low-carb masterpiece. In the past I have made the recipe with butter, but this time, since I am now dairy-free, I used coconut oil for the cupcakes and NON-hydrogenated ( very important as hydrogenation = trans fat) organic shortening for the frosting. I also used Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa Powder for very deep and rich chocolate cupcakes. The end result is delicious, moist and oh so chocolatey! If you have a special celebration coming up, give this recipe a try. Dark Chocolate Cake (or cupcakes)with Dark Chocolate FrostingRecipe by Healthy IndulgencesAdapted by Healthy Living How ToPrintable RecipePrep Time: 30 minutes Cook Time: 22-25 minutes for Cupcakes, 42-45 minutes for Cake Makes: 12 Cupcakes or one 9" Layer Cake Cake IngredientsFrosting Ingredients | Cake Directions
1. Drain and rinse black beans.
2. In a high-speed blender, puree beans along with water until smooth.
3. Add eggs through cocoa powder to blender and mix until incorporated.
4. Finally add baking powder and baking soda and mix one more time.
5. Liberally grease cake pan with shortening or coconut oil and dust with cocoa powder OR if making cupcakes, liberally spray cupcake liners with non-stick spray.
6. Bake at 350 º F 40-45 minutes for cake OR 22-25 minutes for cupcakes.
7. Check doneness by inserting a toothpick in center of cake, when done it comes out clean.
Frosting Directions
1. Powder erythritol by placing granules in a coffee grinder, Magic Bullet or other high-powered blender and pulsing until it resembles powdered sugar.
2. With a rubber spatula, gently mix powdered erythritol and stevia with shortening, once incorporated, use electric mixer to fluff.
3. Add coconut milk, vanilla & sea salt, and mix again.
4. A little at a time, add cocoa powder, first mixing with spatula and then mixing with electric mixer.
5. Once all cocoa has been added and incorporated, mix on high for 30 seconds or so to fluff it up.
Notes
The frosting is enough to generously frost 12 cupcakes. If you make a 9" layer cake, you can split it in half, very carefully, so you have two layers and then fill and frost. You might even have a little frosting left over depending on how thick you like to lay it on. Any leftovers will keep well in the refrigerator for about a week or so. Shhhh, don't tell anyone, but I feel like a kid again, sneaking a spoonful of frosting here and there! |
I did not win the FastPaleo recipe contest I entered last week, but this recipe is still a winner in my books! I've gotten some great feedback from those of you who have tried this recipe. I appreciate each and every one of you who voted for my Healthy Beef Enchilada Cabbage Rolls. And yes, the dinner invitation still stands! As promised here is the recipe for you to try or print out and file away for later use! Chicken breast was on sale at our local food co-op a few weeks back and we stocked up, so you know that what that means......Chicken Enchilada Cabbage Rolls are on the menu. In fact, that may be what's for dinner tonight! Easy Enchilada SauceRecipe by Healthy Living How ToPrintable RecipePrep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 5 minutes Serves: 4 Ingredients- 2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Cold Pressed
- 2 Tbsp. Organic Chili Powder
- 1 c. Pacific Foods Organic Beef Broth
- 5 oz. Bionaturae Organic Tomato Paste
- 1/2 tsp. Organic Dried Oregano
- 1/2 tsp. Organic Cumin
- 1/2 tsp. Celtic Sea Salt
Directions1. In saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk together all ingredients except olive oil. 2. Bring to low boil then reduce heat to low to keep warm. 3. Before pouring over cabbage rolls, whisk in olive oil. | Beef Enchilada Cabbbage RollsRecipe by Healthy Living How ToPrintable RecipePrep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Serves: 4 Ingredients- 1 lb. Grass Fed Ground Beef
- 1 Small Organic Onion, Chopped
- 1 Clove Organic Garlic, Crushed
- 1 tsp. Celtic Sea Salt
- 1 tsp. Fresh Ground Black Pepper
- 1 Recipe Easy Enchilada Sauce
- 1 Medium Head Organic Cabbage
- 2-4 Small Organic Avocados
Directions1. In a large stockpot, add a couple cups of water and bring to boil. 2. Remove core from cabbage and very carefully peel off 10-12 leaves. 3. Place leaves in boiling water and turn off heat. 4. While cabbage leaves are softening, pan fry ground beef, onion, salt & pepper in cast iron skillet. 5. Once ground beef is cooked though, remove from heat and add crushed garlic. 6. With tongs, remove one cabbage leaf at a time, fill with beef mixture, roll tightly and lay in glass baking dish. 7. Cover cabbage rolls with enchilada sauce and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. 8. Serve with avocado slices and enjoy! *If you are able to tolerate dairy, you can smother the top with shredded cheese before baking as well as a little sour cream on the side. (sniff, sniff, I unfortunately cannot) |
Yesterday I talked about stepping out of our comfort zone and doing things afraid. While creating healthy recipes is not necessarily stepping out of my comfort zone, submitting the recipes to a contest is. There are few sites I go to when looking for ideas and inspiration for healthy foods and one of them is FastPaleo. If you haven't checked out this site, you should. FastPaleo is a recipe sharing site, a place where healthy cooks and bakers can share their recipes for all of us to enjoy. This week FastPaleo and US Wellness Meats are sponsoring a New Year's beef recipe contest. As a regular contributor to FastPaleo, I figured why not enter a recipe, plus the added incentive keeps my creative cookery juices flowing! While there are many flavorful cuts of beef, I have to be honest, my favorite is simply ground beef. We make a conscious choice to buy grass fed beef and even though we do splurge once in awhile, the price per pound is one of the reasons we buy ground beef. Add to that how easy it is to cook and the versatility of it, the recipes are endless, any given week we eat 4-6 pounds of it. Hamburgers are a weekly staple, sometimes twice weekly, so is ground beef seasoned with taco seasoning atop a bed of greens. I work from home, and nothing is easier for lunch, then a quick ground beef bowl, my favorite is mushrooms, onions, garlic, spinach and crumbled bacon. You can make an easy beef chili, sloppy joes, zucchini boats, a bacon roll or even a meatzza with ground beef. To spice up our ground beef recipe rotation and to use up the leftover cabbage I had in my refrigerator I came up with this AHHHHMAZINGLY DELICIOUS meal, Beef Enchilada Cabbage Rolls. While the ingredients are simple, don't let that fool you, there is nothing boring about this Mexican favorite. And don't even think of using canned enchilada sauce, making your own is easy and quick! If I tickled your tastebuds and you think I deserve a vote, please visit FastPaleo and "vote" for my recipe, Beef Enchilada Cabbage Rolls. Once the contest is over, I will post the recipe here as well. To cast your vote for my Beef Enchilada Cabbage Rolls CLICK HERE and then LIKE my recipe! If I win, I will make you dinner!
Want to learn how to take your wrapped gifts from blah to beautiful? Learn how to make your own Christmas bows, with wire trimmed ribbon, scissors and tape. No more buying a gift bag to hide your presents in and no more flimsy cheap bows from a bag. Don't just save your newly found bow making talent for Christmas gifts either, there are some gorgeous ribbons out there that make stunning bows for wedding gifts, birthday gifts, anniversary gifts, you get my drift. Believe me when I say, your gift will be the center of attention!
Ok my friends, I made my very first video. Don't get too excited, except for a couple of the later clips, you don't get to actually see "me", just my hands. What can I say, I made this at 8:00 am, still in my pajamas, no makeup with bedhead. You do however get to hear my Minnesota accent and my sweet little voice. This being my first video, forgive me for tripping over my tongue a few times. I did not plan anything I was going to say, but just pressed record and began. For whatever reason, my first recording stopped about a quarter of the way through, so I had to start over, this was take two. I also set the video camera up in portrait setting instead of landscape which was a mistake as it doesn't make the best visual. Push play and turn up the volume, we are making CHRISTMAS BOWS!
I know some people dread food shopping, especially if you are like the billion other people who do it on Saturday afternoon. Maneuvering a cart through narrow and crowded aisles, dodging kids who are running free, isn't my idea of fun either. Come winter, try pushing that cart to your car through a foot of snow, fun times, I know. To make our weekly shopping trip fun, we play a little game, who can spot an unhealthy product with healthy claims (remember my Veggie Pasta post or the Bac-Os post). Check out this beef jerky......Perky Jerky
 Perky Jerky is the new high-protein, ultra-premium, functional food for active lifestyles taking the nation by storm. (from the Perky Jerky website)Looks pretty good, with it's high protein, no preservatives, no nitrates claims. I am not quite sure what "ultra premium beef" is but sounds pretty healthy to me. The bag is rather sophisticated looking with it's nice deep dark colors as opposed to the bright red and black of their competitors. And just in case you were wondering, it is stamped with the approval of the USDA. So far, the only drawback of this would be the price tag, as the front of the package sure screams "I'm healthy, eat me". It's missing our favorite health halo, "low-fat", we spotted this on the competitor brands of jerky. Don't be too disappointed though, the Perky Jerky people cite this claim on their website.
 Ok, so far, so good. This looks like a pretty healthy product. I might even be tempted to buy it, say I spotted it at the airport and needed a quick meal. Whole slices of beef, good, good, not grass-fed beef, but sometimes you take what you can get. Soy sauce. Now this is interesting, as the second ingredient, it is used heavily to cure the beef. It contains wheat which equals gluten and is made from GMO soybeans (unhealthy, very unhealthy). Further down the ingredient list is organic soybeans, which are non-GMO (when it comes to soy, you most definitely want soy that has not been genetically modified). Next up is sugar in the form of brown sugar and then later organic evaporated cane juice. I am beginning to suspect they throw in the organic ingredients to attract customers who see "organic" and think "healthy". And then we spot the PERKY in this JERKY. Guarana. SERIOUSLY? Caffeine added to beef jerky. This is where we died of laughter in the aisle at Target. How ridiculous is that? Come on, it's ridiculous, right?! All in all, is this the worst thing you could eat, NO! It is just one more product among a sea of products where the commercial food industry banks on our naïveté to convince us to buy. Incidentally, the folks at Perky Jerky ain't stupid, the energy-drink industry is HUGE and has seen steady increase in sales over the years. They want a piece of that pie and in society where people feel like the walking dead, they might even get it. My advice, I know you didn't ask for it, instead of reaching for the Perky Jerky or the energy drink, get some sleep, 8-9 hours a night.
Here's my version of HEALTHY beef & soy with a caffeine kick!
Gluten and soy are two highly common suspects that contribute to food allergies and sensitivities. While this recipe does not contain any gluten, it does contain soybeans. Ditch them altogether and this chili is still fantastic! You can also substitute the ground beef with ground turkey or even ground chicken. And if you you want a "kickless" chili, use decaf coffee, but make sure it is a bold dark smoky variety.
 Easy Beef Chili with BeansRecipe by Healthy Living How ToPrintable RecipePrep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes Serves: 4-6 Ingredients- 1 lb. Whole Foods Grass Fed Ground Beef
- 1 c. Pacific Foods Organic Beef Stock
- 1 c. Fair Trade Organic Sumatran Reserve Extra Bold Coffee
- 1 c. Costco Organic Salsa
- 1 can Eden Organics Black Soybeans
- 4 Tbsp. Chili Powder
- 2 Tbsp. Hershey's Dark Cocoa Powder
- 2 tsp. Celtic Sea Salt
Directions1. Brown and drain beef and return to pan. 2. Drain and rinse soybeans. 3. To the beef remaining ingredients and bring to boil. 4. Reduce to low and stir until thick, about 10 minutes.
Recently, our local Christian radio station, hosted a free Brandon Heath concert at the Mall of America. I knew people would be there quite early to get a seat or in line for an autograph. However, I was okay with standing, so, I arrived with about 45 minutes to spare. What I saw when I got there was quite amazing. It was packed. Every level had people seated and standing, a few rows deep, around the entire rotunda.  I finally found a spot, behind the stage, however, the view was completely blocked by the elevator. No biggie I thought, I'd still be able to hear. I sat down and got comfortable on the hard floor. Shortly thereafter, one of the radio personalities came out on the stage to greet everyone. I couldn't hear a word she was saying, not because it was loud, but because of where I was sitting. If I was going to hear the concert, I was going to have to move.
As I was deciding where I was going to move, a family of four (mom, dad, & two elementary school age kids) got off the elevator. From listening to the conversation of the parents, I gathered, they had been looking for a spot on the other two floors with no success. They quickly realized third floor was no different than floor one and two, so they devised a plan. They were going to go back down to the second floor and then this is what they said to their kids, "we will just push our way in".
 I decided to move and found myself a spot left of the stage, sitting down next to a family with two darling little kids. I didn't have a great view, but as least I could hear. The concert was wonderful and I enjoyed every song. Throughout the entire concert though, I couldn't stop thinking about what I had overheard. It really bothered me. I mean it really bothered me. I thought about what a non-Christian would think if they heard this. I thought about what the children were learning. I thought about the irony of being at a Christian concert and "pushing your way in".
This morning, I was watching a Joyce Meyer telecast. She said something that resonated with me and I quickly wrote it down in my journal....after we receive Christ we are given a ministry, a ministry to be an example of Christ everywhere we go. Revelation. I was exactly where God wanted me to be that day. He wanted me to overhear the conversation I did, not to condemn or judge others, but to reveal to me my actions. Reveal to me when I am not an example of Him. My first thoughts turned to earlier in the week when I met a friend for coffee. There I was gossiping and at the very next table sat a women's Bible study group. I wonder if they were bothered by me, I mean really bothered, just like I was.
 Give me Your Eyesby Brandon HeathGive me Your eyes for just one second Give me Your eyes so I can see Everything that I keep missing Give me Your love for humanity Give me Your arms for the broken hearted The ones that are far beyond my reach Give me Your heart for the one's forgotten Give me Your eyes so I can see
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