Home made ghee - yippee!

Because of my GAPS Diet (post coming soon regarding that), I can't have many raw ingredients. The only raw food I can have right now is avocado! Because of that: no butter. No RAW butter, that is, until Ghee came in to the picture. 

I followed a step-by-step tutorial on how to make it, and it was so easy!

1. Start with butter. Salted or unsalted. However much you want! I used 6 sticks. Place them in hour crockpot.  

2. Turn the crockpot on high. Leave UNCOVERED and set your timer for about 2 hours. Each crockpot is different, and some crockpots take 3 hours for this process, while others take 7! So, be sure to do it when you're home. The butter will start to foam after about an hour (in my crockpot - pic below). 

After 2 hours:  

3. You'll know when the ghee is done when the edges start to form a brown soft "crust" and it starts to give off a pleasant, nutty aroma. It actually smells REALLY good!! Four hours in, and done!

4. Prepare a glass jar (it has to be glass or stainless steel, according to what I've read) with two coffee filters or a cheese cloth. Secure with a rubber band. Ladle some of the ghee in to your coffee filters (that's what I used) and wait for it to drain. The curds and ghee will separate. And it separates SLOOOOWLY. I ended up switching to just one coffee filter and kept changing them after every straining. I filled 2 glass jars about three-quarters full. 

Done!! Let it cool on the counter for a bit, then put the lid on. Apparently ghee can be stored on the counter or in the frig! I'm putting mine in the frig...cause I'm just like that 😉 It will solidify and begin to look like animal fat drippings when they solidify. 

I tried some ghee on my sweet potato...and OH MY GOODNESS, it's good!

Have you made ghee? How did you make yours? I'm all for tips and tricks!

My First Facebook LIVE Broadcast

Oh my gosh. I'm pretty sure I just mentally blacked out. 

Have you ever "rehearsed" something in your head, only to actually try and remove the words from your brain and through your mouth and wonder, "What just happened there?" Pretty sure that just happened - haha!

BUT, all that to say: I'm always asking my coaches and challengers to get of their comfort zones. Life isn't comfy. Fitness isn't comfy. It's not always convenient to eat healthy. We don't always FEEL like doing our best. But you know what? We do it.

People tell me all the time: "I'm so glad coaching is working well for you!"

NEWS FLASH. 

It's not working well for me. I'm working for IT. Because anything worth having doesn't just happen. No future security is going to fall in your lap. You're not going to magically wake up 40 pounds lighter and in great shape. It's the LITTLE things that make the big things. The little things ADD UP and make who you are. But sometimes the little things I choose and the little things other people choose are different. And that's ok!

What drives me nuts: when I ask people, "How are you?" And they reply, "I'm good!" 

Are you?

Are you REALLY good?

Because when you wake up frustrated at your kids, or your racing out the door to the job you hate, or you are tired of being overweight, over whelmed, and you're just over it? Are you good?

My life isn't anything sparkly. I am a stay at home mama. My hair stays in a pony tail just about 100% of he time. I get frustrated with health issues. But the difference between me and whoever else? I never quit. Because quitting is the enemy of success. 

And I plan on being successful. 

Not just for me - but for every woman who has felt gross, unloved, and ugly. For every mama that has dealt with anxiety and postpartum depression and doesn't feel like herself any more. For ever family that is stressed to the max with medical bills because they just can figure out what's wrong. 

Because dang it. 

I've been there. And it sucks. And I hated it. And I want to wrap my arms around every person that just needs to feel loved. 

This is the YEAR OF VICTORY, and I want to help you be victorious. 

What will YOU change? What will you do? When will you say, "I won't quit" and mean it. 

Because you'll get there. I promise. 

If you need help, reach out. Email me at fragrantrose616@gmail.com, and I would love to help you. 

Healthy {to die for} Chocolate Fudge

I like chocolate. Like...LIKE chocolate. Like, feed it to me by the spoonful. So that's what I did. 

I have about 2.4 million allergies (ok, not quite that many...) so it's VERY difficult for me to find desserts that TASTE like dessert, that I can eat. 

So, I bring you...

Healthy superfood chocolate fudge. 

Ingredients:

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp nut or seed butter of choice (separates)

1 scoop chocolate Shakeology 

2 tbsp cacao nibs (or dark chocolate chips)

1 tbsp milk of choice 

Directions: in a microwave safe bowl, warm the 1/4 nut/seed butter, so it's stirs easily. Add in the 1 scoop Shakeology. It WILL be thick, but just keep stirring! In a small dish, combine the cacao nibs and the milk. Microwave for 30 seconds and stir, until you have a chocolate sauce. Add the chocolate sauce to your nut/seed butter + Shakeology mix, and stir, stir, stir! Once well combined, lightly stir in the additional 2 tbsp nut/seed butter, until you have a swirl effect. Spread out the mixture on a silicone baking sheet or waxed paper, and freeze for about 30 minutes. Remove from the freezer, cut in to squares, and store in the freezer in an air tight container. 

Voila!