So I Decided to Make Refined Sugar Free Coconut Milk Caramels...

Sometimes I get a little obsessive: I get an idea and I can't shake it until I see it through. On Sunday, the hubby, our daughter and I went to the Mill Valley Arts Festival and stopped by the Mill Valley Market to grab something to drink. While in the check out, a colorful bag of candy caught my eye. In bright white letters on a baby blue background, it read "Coconut Milk Caramels." Unable to contain my excitement I yelled "oh sh*t!" at the top of my lungs, frightening my husband and several old ladies standing in line. I didn't intend to be so vulgar, but these are COCONUT MILK CARAMELS we are talking about here and I haven't had a caramel in almost a decade! I turned the bag over to glance at the ingredients and was disappointed to see that they were made with brown rice syrup and so untouchable for the new, grain free me. But that didn't stop me from fantasizing about how I'm going to come up with the most amazing grain free and refined sugar free coconut milk caramels recipe.

So at 10pm, I decided it would a superb idea to try making caramels for the first time ever. Needless to say, by 10:30 the stove was covered in caramel sauce and I was ferouciously scraping off burned and blackened sugar off the burners. Luckily, the hubby was already asleep because had he been awake, I would have been throughly scolded for my impulsiveness. And so, I'm not sure if I actually made caramels, but I did make a tasty caramel sauce, which I can use for dipping apples. I'll try refridgerating it overnight and seeing if it hardens. It it turns out, I'll post the recipe. But lesson learned: do not attempt to make caramels at 10pm after a long hard day at work, especially if you've never made candy before.

But there is some good news, I did manage to make a tasty soup prior to delving into the candy making debacle. When I did the CAN CAN Cleanse last week, I ate/drank the most amazing soup for lunch. CAN CAN Cleanse's, Teresa Piro created a really delicious and satisfying lunch and I really wanted to make it at home. After one failed attempt to recreate the recipe, I decided to shoot Teresa and email. She was so kind to share her recipe with me and so I am sharing it with you.

CAN CAN Cleanse's Zucchini Basil Soup
Ingredients:
3 medium Zucchini
1 stalk Celery
1 Leek (white only)
1/4 Onion
2 sprigs Basil
1 tsp Sea Salt and more to season as you like
1/4 tsp Cayenne
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1-2 cups Filtered Water

Process:
1. Cut zucchini in half length wise and drizzle with olive oil and a large pinch of salt and place on baking sheet on unbleached parchment paper

2. On another baking sheet, place leek, celery, and onion and also drizzle with oil, salt, and cayenne pepper

3. Roast for 45 minutes at 325 degrees

4. Remove all ingredients and blend in a Vitamix or a blender with water to get desired consistency

5. Serve with a little coconut milk and dash of cayenne

6. Enjoy!

Last day of my CAN CAN Clease, Easy Jerky Recipe, and Finally The Juil Contest Winner Announced!

So today, I finished my last day of the CAN CAN Cleanse. I do have to say, I won't be doing that for a while. It was by far one of the harder things I've done in my life. I seriously recommend it to anyone who loves a good challenge. But I definitely feel more clear headed and my skin is glowing. So call the girls up and tell them I sent you!!

I'm ready to get back to eating my food vs. drinking it. I prepped my meals for tomorrow and am treating myself for a very special snack: beef jerky! Jerky happens to be one of my favorite snacks, but it's a difficult one to find without soy sauce, sugar, wheat flour, and other ingredients I try to stay away from. I usually buy my beef jerky from Fatted Calf, but it also happens to cost $40lb! That's some expensive meat! So I decided to save a few bucks and make my own.

Beef Jerky
Ingredients
1/4 lb of lean cut beef (I used flank steak)
2 tsp fine grain Celtic salt
2 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar
2 tsp raw honey

Process:
1. Place beef in freezer for 2 hours
2. Remove beef and cut into thin slices
3. Put all ingredients into Glasslock container and shake for 1 minute

4. Place container into refrigerator for 6-24 hours, depending on how long you prefer to marinate it. I did it 24 hours.

5. Set oven on dehydrate setting and set temperature to 145 degrees. If you don't have a dehydrate setting then set on lowest setting (could be 200), and prop oven oven doors leaving a 3 inch gap using a dish towel.

6. Place meat on Silpat mat. You can also just do it on the oven rack. Don't use parchment paper or foil, because you won't get the same results. You need air to circulate all around the pieces.

7. Dehydrate/Bake for 8-12 hours (depending on your oven)

8. Enjoy!

And finally, I would like to thank the wonderful team at Juil for sponsoring this contest. I hope everyone that entered will consider buying a pair or 2 or 3 of these amazing sandals and shoes. Personally, I'm looking forward to the Mary Jane's they are working on! Using, RANDOM.org, I put everyone's name in a list to randomize and the winner is Maryin Quezada! Please email me your address, the shoe you would like as well as the size to Gabyatacraftygourmetdotcom. Congratulations to you and thank you to everyone who entered. Please don't forget to enter my The Spice House Contest and good luck to you!

Learning More about CAN CAN Clease and day 2/3

Day two was much easier than the first day, which was actually pretty surprising. I was expecting it just to get worse but it actually wasn't a hard today. The schedule was the same:

8:00am Juice #1 (Lemon Lime Juice)

9:00am Juice #2 (Green Juice)

10:30am Juice #3 (Hibiscus Tea)

12:00 Juice #4 (Zucchini Basil Soup)

2:30 Juice #5 (Watermelon Juice)

5:00 Juice #6 (Green Juice)

7:00 Juice #7 (Nut Milk)

8:00 Juice #8 (Lemon Balm Lavender Tea)

I didn't find myself as hungry today as I was yesterday. Also, it's pretty nuts at work and even on the juice cleanse, I was able to think straight and concentrate on my tasks. 

I spent much of the day thinking about how well organized the cleanse is. I could tell that much care went into planning the juices and developing the recipes. I was extremely curious about how the idea came to be, so I gave the girls and CAN CAN Cleanse a call to ask them some questions about their amazing business.

CAN CAN Cleanse's was founded by Teresa Piro, a Seattle, Washington native who moved to San Francisco 11 years ago.  Her childhood experiences with her grandparents home garden in Portland and her studies in Holistic Nutrition at Bauman College really shaped her views on nutrient rich foods and how they make us feel. The idea for the cleanse came from the desire to remind others how their food choices make them feel. According to Teresa, "letting the digestive system relax and reset leads us to discover physical and mental clarity." I couldn't agree more!

I was also interested in the unique concept of combining juices, soups and teas. Teresa felt that people often times have a hard time drinking cold juices all day long, especially in San Francisco where it's never really that hot. So, she found her clients did much better with the hot soup and hot teas. She found that it was more satisfying and more enjoyable that way. This is the sole reason I chose CAN CAN over all other cleanses: I loved the idea of warm beverages during a cleanse. She also adds cayenne pepper or cinnamon to most of the blends to give them more warming qualities.

Finally, CAN CAN knows that the cleanses aren't easy and they don't believe they should be. Teresa believes in an act of mindfulness to follow the schedule and to be fully aware of what you are consuming. She believes: "the result is an invigorating and inspiring feeling that puts us back on a healthy track."

CAN CAN recommends that your do cleanses seasonally, and I'm definitely looking forward to trying their updated flavors 3 months from now.

Dancing the CAN CAN while on the CAN CAN Cleanse!

So after all the eating out and indulging in cake since I ended my detox cleanse, I was thinking that I'd like a little reboot. I didn't really care to do anything major since I did just do a 21-detox cleanse, but just a little pick me up! I'd done a juice cleanse once before, about 2 years ago when I bought 18 bottles of 16oz juices from Whole Foods. At the time, I was feeling sick after eating Chipotle daily for lunch for 6 months. By day three, at 10:30 am, I hopped on the bus to the nearest gluten-free bakery and bought a sandwich!

When I was researching cleanse companies in the SF Bay Area, I found CAN CAN Cleanse! I called the girls up and they were kind enough to let me try their cleanse! The cleanse consists of 8 juices, teas, a nut milk, and an amazing, absolutely delicious soup for lunch!  But honestly, the best part of the cleanse are these jars that they come in!  I can't wait to come up with all the crafty ways to utilize them.

So yesterday was my first day. It started with a Lemon Lime Juice at 8:00am. When I drank it, it reminded me of the Master Cleanse, but without any sweetness. It was super tart, but I really enjoyed it. It was a great pick me up in the morning.

At 9:00am, I had the Green Juice, which is made with celery, cucumber, green cabbage, broccoli, fennel, romaine, spinach, kale, parsley, ginger, lemon and apple. I have to say that for all those veggies, I found the juice a little light. The flavor was amazing, but I wanted it to be more thicker. I think that's more about personal preference, since store bought veggie juices don't usually contain pulp. Because I own a slow juicer and a Vitamix, I tend to like juices on the thick and pulpy side. When I had the Breville the juices definitely contained very little pulp and I know people love that juicer.

So by 10:30, my stomach was growling and I was thinking: "why am I doing this again?," but I kept at it, since it's for both personal and blog related R&D (research & development). I love challenging myself :). I didn't realize until today (day 2, 9pm) that I could've actually just had a snack. CAN CAN provides a great list of "cheat" foods you can snack on, that won't affect the effectiveness of the cleanse.

Speaking of effectiveness, you're probably all wondering: What's the point? I believe, juice cleanses are a great way to clean on all the gunk hanging out in the intestines and organs. It's like an oil change for your car. It helps with cravings and with aches and pains, which I've been suffering from. Here's a great summary of the health benefits of juice cleanses.

So with my stomach was growling, I had juice #3, a very flavorful Hibiscus Tea.

By 12:00, I was beyond ready for lunch. I was in luck, because Juice #4 was actually a soup, a bowl of hot, nourishing soup. The Zucchini Basil Soup was actually incredible! Thick and creamy, it's made with Zucchini, Basil, Broccoli, Celery, Leeks, Garlic, Onion, Cumin, Coriander, Cayenne Pepper, Lemon Juice, Sea Salt, Filtered Water. I think I will be making this one at home once I'm done with the cleanse!

At 2:30, I had a treat with Juice #5, Watermelon Juice made with watermelon, apple, & lime. It was a nice satisfying drink, especially since juices 1-4 weren't that sweet.

The next juice wasn't until 5:00pm and by that point, I was ready to chew off my own arm. Again, this was totally my fault since I could have had a snack, but was trying to follow the juice program 100%. At 5:00, I gulped down another Green Juice and was somewhat satiated.

Because I was busy, picking up my daughter from pre-school, feeding her and the hubby, I didn't have time to think about that my next juice wasn't until 7:00pm. The good thing about Juice #7 is it's actually a nut milk made with vanilla and dates. It was really rich and creamy, but not super sweet like the Blueprint Cleanse's Cashew Milk, which also has a really thick gooey texture.

An hour later, I had Juice #8, a Lemon Balm & Lavender Tea, which was very aromatic. Lavender and Lemon Balm are both relaxing and calming herbs, so this was a perfect way to end the day.

Overall, I really enjoyed all of the flavors of the juices and teas, but I was definitely hungry. I think that's the point of a cleanse though, you aren't meant to enjoy it, but your insides are enjoying it on your behalf. Cleanses are a really great way to reboot and recharge, so even if I'm feeling a bit tired and hungry on day 1, I know that once I'm done, I'll be feeling refreshed. Or at least that's my hope. Stay tuned tomorrow to see how I'm doing!