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Sunday, August 4, 2013

Chocolate Chip Cookies | Gluten Free | Refined Sugar Free

I am on a mission to find the most delicious gluten free and refined sugar free recipes for baked goods.  I have read and tried many such cookie recipes. I look for recipes with few ingredients and I prefer to bake with almond flour. I also prefer to use low glycemic index sweeteners like honey or maple syrup.

I've combined ingredients from several recipes and added a few of my own to make my version of the perfect chocolate chip cookie. These are soft and delicious and have almost a cake-like consistency inside :)


Yields 1 dozen (I like to bake in small batches, but you could easily double this recipe to make more)

1 cup Honeyville Blanched Almond Flour

1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp fine sea salt
2 tbs melted Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil 
1/8 cup pure maple syrup
1 egg
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp lemon extract
1/4 cup Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips


Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix wet ingredients in another bowl. Combine wet and dry ingredients, then add chocolate chips. Drop tablespoons of batter onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 350 for 8 minutes, or until edges turn slightly brown. Let them cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before moving them to a cooling rack.

Enjoy!

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Monday, July 29, 2013

Lua Handbags | South Florida Designer

Ladies, if you're looking for a DSLR camera bag, look no further than Lua Handbags. I first found Lua Handbags from a post by Kelle Hampton of Enjoying the Small Things. I had been casually looking for a new camera bag/purse. While I loved the look of the one I had, it was leather and weighed a ton before even adding my camera. Plus, it was not super roomy inside. Once I discovered Lua Handbags, with Kelle's stamp of approval, I knew I had to have one. I emailed Lola, the designer and owner. She was super sweet, and we chatted back and forth via email, and discovered we were both part of the Nova school system :).  I ended up purchasing a chevron camera bag and clutch. I couldn't wait for them to arrive, and I was immediately in love. The bag is super soft and light, and has a TON of room inside. I can fit so much, it's incredible. It has inner pockets and 2 outer pockets that are great for my phone and keys. The lens that barely leaves my camera body is the 24-70 f/2.8, and those who have it know that it's a beast. I love that I can put my camera in the bag standing up, with the lens hood on! (I am one of those sticklers for keeping lens hoods and caps on ;). ) It is SO easy to quickly grab my camera, pull it out of the bag and snap a picture. No awkward rearranging of everything just to get to my camera. I can also fit my flash, another lens, and then all the usual suspects - wallet, snacks, juice, wipes, jackets (yes, 2 kids light jackets!). And the best thing about this bag is that it feels like you are holding a comfy pillow. It is so soft and smooshy!


And onto the clutch. This thing is awesome to throw into your towel bag for trips to the beach or the pool. Before finding this clutch, I was putting my camera in an insulated lunch bag, gah!



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Monday, July 22, 2013

GrooveBook

My first GrooveBook arrived in the mail this week, and I love it! 

GrooveBook is a company that prints 100 of your iPhone pics in a neat little 4x6 book for $2.99/month. The app is very simple. You choose 100 photos from your camera roll, upload them via the app, and they print the book and ship it to your door! The book cover is a silver matte cardstock and the photos are glossy, but they are not your typical glossy print from an express print shop. They have a slight matte texture in the background. They are perforated so that they can be removed from the book. This is a perfect way for my kids to share the photos and display them however they like. They also have a date /time stamp, and the location the photos were taken.

My 4 year old is into taking pictures with my phone and always asks if I can print them for his photo album. GrooveBook makes printing the photos simple and economical for me. And he loves being able to hold his pictures in hand.

Want a free GroveBook? Use coupon code TICHIO5


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