Merry Christmas from me, myself and Mimi

Wishing you all a blessed and merry Christmas. 

Thank You God for sending Jesus to save us from our sins and restore us to fellowship with You! Thank You for bringing Mimi and me safely to Texas for this chapter of our lives.

Let me fix that

While I was attempting a photo shoot in the backyard this morning, my dad decided my mom's earring needed untangling. In the end, this turned out to be my favorite photo of the batch. Love that look on my mom's face! (My mom's birthday is coming up on Monday.)

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care

I'm home for Christmas this year, and was left in charge of decorating. So I got new stockings for the three humans in the house (couldn't find any cute dog stockings or else I would have gotten some). We have camouflage for my dad, red sparkly ruche stocking for my mom, and a satin-frill topped high-heel boot for me. 

My decorating style can be summed up in two words: Hobby Lobby.

Low-sugar, gluten-free Snickerdoodles

Ingredients:

2 eggs (I used organic eggs)

1/3 cup Stevia for Baking blend

1/4 cup softened butter (I used organic stick butter)

1/4 cup shortening

2 cups Bisquick Gluten Free mix

Ground cinnamon

Steps:

1. Heat oven to 375°F.

2. In large bowl, mix together eggs, Stevia blend, butter and shortening.

3. Add Bisquick and mix until dough forms

4. Drop biscuits on cookie sheet that has been sprayed with Pam.

5. Sprinkle the top of each cookie with cinnamon.

5. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Notes:

• This makes a cake-like cookie that is slightly sweet, but not too sweet. Tastes yummy with a cup of bitter black coffee!
• If you have never used gluten-free flour before, the unusual texture of rice flour vs. wheat flour may catch you off-guard at first. I like it though. 
• Usually snickerdoodles have a crisp texture, and have sugar sprinkled on top. These are a little different than the traditional snickerdoodle.
• My goal was to make something tasty that was (1) gluten free, (2) sugar free, and (3) used as many organic ingredients as possible. I realized after making the cookies that the Stevia Baking blend actually DOES have some sugar in it, but it is far less than I would normally use. I doubt shortening is a healthy ingredient, but I had no alternatives for that one.
• Stevia is natural … no artificial chemical sweeteners for me. (Fact: I gave up Diet Cokes on August 1, 2013.) These cookies have all natural ingredients.

Benefits of eating low-sugar, gluten-free foods:

• Reduces pain and inflammation for those suffering from arthritis, fibromyalgia, heartburn, or intestinal ailments like Celiac disease. I was in constant pain until September 17, 2013 when I stopped eating wheat and sugar products. The pain went away overnight.
• Besides all the things you already know about sugar, did you know that it feeds cancer cells? 

In China, I had no access to Gluten-free Bisquick or Stevia for Baking. For me to eat gluten free and sugar free, it meant a diet of meat and vegetables. That kind of diet helped me lose weight and reduce my pain tremendously.

However, since I'm in the U.S. for Christmas this year, and have access to a few more specialty ingredients, I thought I might make a batch of cookies -- ones that are not too bad for me -- to help me get in the Christmas spirit. I don't plan to make or eat them often, but it's certainly nice to have at least one recipe to turn to when the cookie mood strikes!

(By the way, I had no intention of being the organic, gluten-free kind of person, and was more of the type to make fun of those who were. I'm now of the opinion that there is really something to it.)