Gluten-free Cornbread and Soup

I guess you’re asking, “What is this woman’s obsession with cornbread?” I’m a southern born and bred girl. There are just some things that have to be eaten with cornbread. My experiment was to answer the question about flour substitutions to teff or oat flour. Today I used Quinoa flour. I have eaten quinoa but I have never used the flour. I used my gluten-free cornbread recipe and substituted quinoa for soy flour. The taste was great but it didn’t rise as much as expected. I was very pleased with the browning. The other breads didn’t brown as pretty. This is not my last experiment  with cornbread.
My next experiment will be using aguafaba instead of Ener-G egg replacement. I’ve read that aguafaba can be whisked to form a meringue like product that can be used in baked goods in place of eggs. It’s suppose to make a lighter texture in baked items. Stay tuned.The soup also provided an opportunity for experimentation. I made vegetable soup with meatless Italian sausage. Pretty straight forward. The problem: to much basil. I used Young Living Essential Oil’s basil vitality. This oil is very concentrated and intense in flavor. I only intended to use 1 drop but a second one dropped before I could lift the bottle. So how do I neutralize this basil. I added chickpeas to the soup and let it simmer. Side note: I cooked a batch of chickpeas earlier. I avoid can goods when I can. The chickpeas mellowed the basil intensity and added more texture to the soup. This was a great lunch.

Raw Vegan Tacos

I tried something new today. I made vegan tacos without tempeh or TVP. I used mushrooms to give the meat texture but I marinated the chopped mushrooms in Mexican spice seasonings first. I discovered I had run out of dry oregano so I used Young Living Oregano Vitality. I made spicy salsa and used “cheese” that I had made for another meal. Romaine lettuce leaves were the shells. Oh yeah, also used the pinto beans I made the other day. Now their gone.

Sorry there are no pictures. We ate them before I realized I hadn’t taken a picture. I guess we were hungry.😀

Making Vegan Sausage Patties

(I made these sausages on the 21st)
A year ago at least I searched the web for a vegan breakfast sausage pattie recipe. I found several but this one appealed to me. I don’t remember why it has taken me so long to try it. Maybe it’s because of the TVP and the Vital Wheat Gluten. I wanted to eat clean back then. I don’t know the source of this recipe so I can’t give the appropriate credit. I gave it a try.


Breakfast Sausage

1 c black beans*
1 c veggie broth
2 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP Tamari
2 TBSP Maple syrup*
1 TBSP sage
1/2 tsp thyme*

1/2 tsp rosemary *
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp whole fennel seeds*
1/4 c nutritional yeast
1/4 c TVP
1 1/4 c vital wheat gluten
Red pepper or cayenne to taste

*My substitutions
   White beans
    Rosemary Vitality Essential oil
     Thyme Vitality Essential Oil
     1TBSP ground fennel seeds
      1/2 tsp raw blue agave

Soak the TVP for about an hour in the veggie broth. Combine all ingredients.  Bake in a 350° oven.

The flavor is good but the texture was not comparable to store bought vegan or vegetarian sausages. On that I was disappointed.

Mom’s Buttermilk Biscuits

Good biscuits are a necessity in southern kitchens. I was happy to find several recipe’s in the Young Living Cookbook using Einkorn flour. Naturally I had to try one. I chose Mom’s Buttermilk Biscuits to try first. I eat primarily a vegan dietary plan so I had to make substitutions. I used coconut oil instead of butter and cashew milk instead of buttermilk.

The results were as expected. It was much like using 100% whole wheat flour. They weren’t flaky but they were tender on the inside and a little crunchy on the outside. The taste was acceptable. If you are not accustomed to eating 100% whole wheat bread products, this taste will require some getting used to. Some of my biscuits are thinner than others because I rolled the dough too thin at first. I left some to compare to the thicker one’s. The thin one’s had a crunch like cookies and the thicker satisfied the “biscuit” criteria.😊 My husband said they were good enough to repeat. They passed the test.

Get the Young Living Cookbook and get cooking. Click on the Young Living link on the page. It will have my information already filled in. Just follow the prompts. Welcome to the YLEO family and YLEO cooking.

Einkorn Waffles and Pancake Mix

This mix is a blend of Einkorn flour, brown rice flour, Amaranth, Tapioca flour,Sorghum flour and Garbanzo(Chickpea) flour.

My first try was edible and that’s all I can really say about that. I left iut the syrup and the vanilla flavoring. You wouldn’t think that would matter but it did. The vanilla, not so much but the removal of the sweetener was a mistake. Because I’m vegan I used E-nerG egg substitute. I didn’t let it sit long enough before i used it.

On my next try, I used blue agave sweetener and I allowed the egg substitute to fully complete its transformation.

The batter was a little thicker than I like but the waffles were much better. I will try again using the egg replacement equivalent of 2 eggs and I may add a little more milk if needed. The Einkorn really absorbs the liquid. I will keep you posted.

Einkorn Pancake and Waffle Mix

Join my journey through the Young Living nutrition products. The recipe for the waffles are on the bag. Click on the Young Living link on this page and purchase the book.

Gary’s True Grit Einkorn Flour

What the heck is Einkorn flour? According to The Young Living Cookbook, “Einkorn is the original “staff of life” grain, dating back to the beginning of agriculture. This grain is unhybridized and has a low gluten level. It is higher in protein, phosphorous, potassium and vitamin B6, twice as much vitamin A, 4 times more beta carotene and lutein and 5 times more riboflavin than our modern wheat grain.

That all sounds good but what does it taste like? Many of us had trouble going from white flour to 100% whole wheat. Is this going to be difficult? Like any other product you have know their properties and might have to make some cooking, taste and mouth-feel adjustments. In the next few posts I will share my experiences with this ancient grain.

The Young Living Cookbook

When I decided to re-activate my account I knew the nutrition area would be my dominant focus. How do you use YLEO in food preparation? It has been made easy to know which oils are ingestible. They are labeled Vitality. To avoid wasting my time and product I purchased the Young Living Cookbook. These recipes have been submitted and tested by YL cooks. I knew that some adjustments would be made because we follow a vegetarian/ vegan dietary lifestyle. Sometimes eating out or at other people’s homes you have only vegetarian options. Otherwise I will follow the recipes 😉.

So let’s do this.

Purchase the cookbook and join me on the journey. Click on the YLEO link to purchase.

Basil Vitality to the Rescue!

Awww Man! I’m out of basil, dried or fresh.

In the middle of preparing vegan gumbo, I discovered I had no basil. Now before you get your pants in a twist I know you gumbo loyalists say there is no such thing. Yes we have to make substitutions but we can make our version. Please let us have that.

Now back to my story. First I was frustrated and then I remembered…. I have Basil Vitality. I have been planning to meal prep with my Young Living oils so here was my opportunity to kick start it.

I used two drops in a 2 quart pot where my vegan sausage aand vegetables lived. The aroma, awesome. The taste was good but 2 drops might be too strong for some people. Next time I’ll use 1 drop and add another if needed.

In those 2 drops were flavor and all the benefits of Young Living Essential oil Basil Vitality.

This is the solution to those cold winter months where fresh may not be so available. Or those times you just don’t have the time or desire to go to the store. Click on the basil links or the picture to order yours.

Next goal is making my homemade spaghetti sauce using the vitality oils. I might even let you share the experience.😉

It’s that Young Living Black Soil Living!

My Friend, Stress

August was a very stressful month. I didn’t know how stressful until a few days ago. But I’m getting a head of myself . Here’s the story.

Four and a half years ago my husband had a massive heart attack and our shared responsibilities became all mine and I became his primary caregiver. The stress created by all that has become so familiar that I didn’t realize I was stressed. Then August 2019 came.

Event 1 – husband began having difficulty breathing. Fluid had accumulated around his heart and lungs. His right foot was so swollen it looked like his ankles had tumors on each side. Water pills were prescribed but in the meantime there was the breathing issue. I rubbed Raven a Young Living Essential oil on his chest and put some in the diffuser. That helped but I still received interrupted sleep.

Event 2 – Trip to Alabama. I went to visit my uncle who has become debilitated. He insists on living alone to retain some independence. It was a 3 day turn around that was stress-filled. I functioned on adrenaline and caffeine. I did what I could in that short time to help him and to relieve some cconcerns my mother, his sister, had.

Event 3 – I began having chest pains. My left arm and hand began to tingle. Fear stepped up and said you are having a heart attack. I began to pray and declare that I was not. I didon’t have time to be sick. I absolutely refused and the pain worsened. Finally, I listened to my husband and ddaughter and went to urgent care who redirected me to emergency. After several test I was admitted for observation and more tests. All test were negative. My heart and lungs are healthy.The doctor told me whatever I was doing to keep doing it. I am healthy. Yes, Lord. STRESS was blamed for all my pain. The intensity crept up so I didn’t notice until it took control. I began massaging my feet at night with Peace and Calming oil and that helped me sleep.

This is how August ended. So how did September begin? With pain. I decided to exercise to begin relieving the stress. The next morning, September 2, I could not walk. Literally could not walk. So now I am fighting that pain. I need to exercise because I will not take a boat load of pills for the stress. I will continue with exercise, Stress Away essential oil and Peace & Calming Essential oil.

This is my time for ME!

YLEO Listened!

🎉Budget-Friendly Starter Kit 🎉

PayPal now makes Young Living’s Starter Kit even more affordable! You can grab your Premium Starter Kit and choose PayPal credit as your payment option to get a payment plan for monthly installments of approximately $27 (depending on what country you’re located in) over 6 months! What? Yes!! That means you can grab this user-friendly kit for $27 per month!

👉 How does this work?

* You have to establish a PayPal account for this.

* Go to YoungLiving.com

* Choose your Premium Starter Kit & Diffuser.

* Enter the member number of your friend/family that introduced you to Young Living.

* Checkout and choose PayPal credit to get the payment plan option.

* You receive your starter kit from Young Living while making your payments to PayPal.

This is an amazing option – just goes to show how Young Living has essential oils for every budget!