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Gluten-Free Pumpkin Donuts

2/25/2018

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I'm always on the the hunt for gluten free recipes for my daughter Juliet. Donuts are one of her favorites that we have had to cut out. She was over the moon for this recipe! 

Ingredients
  • 1½ cups gluten-free all purpose flour ( I use Bob's Redmill)
  • ⅓ cup coconut sugar or sugar of your choice
  • 1 tsp . baking powder
  • ½ tsp . baking soda
  • ½ tsp . sea salt (or Himalayan salt)
  • ¾ tsp . pumpkin pie spice
  • ¼ tsp . ground nutmeg
  • ⅓ cup pumpkin puree
  • 4 Tbsp . extra-virgin organic coconut oil , melted, divided use
  • ½ cup canned coconut milk or almond milk
  • Nonstick cooking spray

Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350º F.
  2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and nutmeg in a large bowl; mix well. Set aside.
  3. Combine pumpkin, 2 Tbsp. oil, an  milk; mix well.
  4. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture; mix until just blended.
  5. Place batter in large re-sealable plastic bag. Cut off one corner to create a piping bag. Pipe batter into a donut pan lightly coated with spray, filling ¾ full. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool to room temperature.
For the glaze I made two kinds: plain and chocolate.

All you need is 1/2 cup of confectioner sugar and 1.5 TBS of water for the plain. Mix together well and dip the entire donut into the bowl and then let dry.

For the chocolate you will need 1.5 TBS of unsweetened cocoa powder, 1/2 cup of confectioner sugar, and 1.5 TBS. 

Chocolate was the favorite here!! Recipe made 8 donuts for us so you might want to double!

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1 Comment

Do More Of THat.

2/8/2018

1 Comment

 
I shared this with my challenge group on day one of our group. We are focused on purpose this month and getting in tune with ourselves so that our reasons for self care are rooted in truth. A healthy body is only part of our journey. I hope you find it encouraging as well!

" I am so glad that each of you is here with a desire to care for your body but I want you to know that your success and worth as a person does not rise and fall depending on how many times you exercise each week, how well you do with nutirtion in this group, or how much you weigh. You have entered the circle of self care. It's not just about how we treat our bodies, it's about finding balance physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. It's about admitting that something is out of tune in our life and we are seeing that in the form of weight gain, weight loss, stress, negative inner dialogue, feelings of self loathing, loneliness, fear or shame...and the list goes on.

Something I believe without a doubt is that we are all created with an incredible purpose and when we are walking in that our life has balance. We are less stressed, we are excited to wake up in the morning, we want to feel good so we eat well, we don't feel the need to self medicate. Food becomes fuel and something to enjoy and not something to battle with emotionally or mentally and there is no shame in eating as well.

The greatest thing I have gained through my health journey has actually getting back in touch with my purpose and the work that gives me energy instead of draining me of it. I've learned to recognize when people or situations or expectations are not in line with my true desires and that has helped me make decisions that energize my life.

I dont want you to be battling your food addictions with the thought that you have to have more will power. I want you to look at that impossibly painful craving and realize its the root of a deeper issue. I don't want you to wallow in shame after a binge, I want you to tie that "need" with something out of balance in your life. You don't take a crutch a way from someone with a broken leg, right? You heal the leg so they don't need it anymore! Who wants to walk around with a crutch when they don't need to??

This is an emotional journey as well as a physical one. You are going to learn in here that you have issues you didn't even know where there. You store your stress in your body and its going to come out when you work out, when you say no to unhealthy food. It's not about the self care, it's about the pain that lies beneath the surface in your life.

Each day I want you to acknowledge what is painful to you, acknowledge what you are proud of and what you enjoy about yourself, look for things in your life that are not blessing you and look for things that are.

Making time for a work out and focusing on self care affected my whole life! I started making time for myself and seeing myself as more than just a servant to my family. It got the creative juices going again and gave me back my passion for writing. It has helped me form my desires as a coach. Paying attention to what activities are worth my time and which are not has transformed my life.

For you that might look like a work out three times a week and not seven. Or having a cheat meal once a week to look forward to, or maybe you need to follow the program to a T while you are getting started. It's about navigating your own needs in every area of your life.

These programs are amazing and if you follow them to a T you will see incredible results HOWEVER, it's more important that you create a healthy lifestyle that YOU can live with more than it is walking through this perfectly.

For example some people feel energized after a work out and some feel drained, you may need to find out how to balance your nutrition and work outs in a way that leaves you prepared for work. Ashley and I are here to help you figure that out! Don't throw in the towel! Don't get frustrated when you have a bad night and binge. Be here with us and dive into self discovery!

Here are things I've learned that I want to pass on to you:

1. You are worthy just as you are. Physical progress cannot add to or take away from that.

2, You have an incredible purpose on this earth and your entire mission in life is figuring out what that is! It does not matter how long it takes you, you just have to work toward it!

3. When you are working towards your purpose you feel empowered, energized, and excited about life. Stress, shame, anger, and fear are signs that you are off course, get to the root of where those are coming from and they will lead you to things that need to change in your life.

4.Growth is the most important thing. It doesn't matter how fast you are growing, it only matters that you are moving in the right direction! Do not compare your growth to others EVER. You are on your own journey!

5. Serve in a way that makes you glad to do it, that's purpose! I do believe we are here to serve the world but not in a way that sucks the life out of us. If we are feeling sucked dry its time to look at how we are spending our time, why we have those expectations of ourselves and who we can ask for help. ( Does hubby need to help with the dishes at night? Do you need to say no to babysitting a friends children regularly?Are you taking on too much at work? ect.) Dig into the reasons you feel obligated. Purpose never feels like an obligation, it's a passion, a fire in your soul!

THAT is what I want you fired up about in here, finding your purpose, because when you get there you WANT to take care of yourself! You WANT to feel good! It becomes a form of freedom instead of a punishment for not meeting society's standards of beauty. I will tell you this: the most important and influential people in my life are people that followed their purpose and inspired me to grow. I don't give a rat's ass what they look like! They have changed my life! I want to be that person for someone else and my appearance is not going to get me there! My body is a vehicle to help me reach that goal. If we can get that into perspective, we are already on our way!

For starters I would love for you to identify something that causes you stress, fear, or shame. I recently realized that I was feeling shame that I am a jack of all trades kind of person with no one true "talent". I have changed careers several times, gotten several different degrees. At times I feel like I should have completed more, but I have realized that everything I have pursued I have enjoyed...until I wasn't anymore! It's wisdom to move on and to continue discovering myself as opposed to staying in one thing just to feel established or respected. My love of photography, my love of psychology, of reading and writing, of health and wellness..its all connected! It led me here! It led me to my own healing. it encouraged me to see that!

Confronting the stress, fear, or shame is how we overcome it. If something came to mind, share it below!!"
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    "And Aubrey was her name. A not so very ordinary girl or name."(Or so says David Gates ;) I'm a wife to Phillip, a mother to Scarlett and Juliet. We live in the beautiful city of Thornton, Co. I'm a recovering red bull addict. I love to read. I hate to cook. I seek to be inspired and also to inspire others.  I am a Beachbody Coach on a quest to be truly healthy mind, soul, and body and challenge others to do the same.

    "Liberate the minds of men and ultimately you will liberate the bodies of men."  Marcus Garvey

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