Gluten-free Vegan Homemade Oreo cookies

Recipe by: Forknbeans.com

Makes about 2 dozen cookie sandwiches (approx 48 individual cookies)

Gluten, dairy, and egg free

(Inspired by the Baking Illustrated Icebox Cookie recipe/procedure).

INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 c. brown rice flour
• 3/4 c. sorghum flour
• 1/4 c. potato starch
• 1/4 c. arrowroot powder
• 1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa
• 1/4 c. Enjoy Life chocolate chips, melted
• 16 Tbs Earth Balance butter
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. powdered sugar
• 1 Tb Ener-G egg replacer + 2 Tbs warm water, mixed until thickened
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cream butter and sugars with an electric mixer. AVOID MIXING TOO MUCH–1 minute TOPS (if you beat for a longer amount of time, the cookies will flatten out because too much air has been added into the mix). Add melted chocolate chips and mix. Add Ener-G egg replacer and vanilla and mix until well combined.
2. In a medium bowl, mix flours, starches, cocoa, and salt completely.
3. Add wet ingredients into dry mix bow and stir with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. Dough should not be sticky (if so, add 1 Tb of flour at a time until soft still, not sticky.
4. Transfer 1/2 the dough onto a piece of parchment paper. With your hands, roll dough into a log that is 6″x2″. Smooth with hands. Wrap a piece of clear wrap around the dough and chill for 2+hours (i chilled my dough overnight and they were perfect. If you do not chill it long enough, the cookies will spread. You want them to stay in the same shape pre and post baking!) Do the same with the other 1/2 of the dough.
5. Once dough is chilled long enough, preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
6. Unroll the dough out of the plastic wrap and slice cookies with a sharp knife at 1/4-1/2″ thick slices (It is important to cut them on the thicker side so they don’t spread, rather keep their shape).
7. Place 1/2 of the cookies a Silpat-lined baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes (you might need to cook longer but at 15 minutes, keep your eye on the doneness of the cookies).
8. Allow to cool fully on the baking sheet. The cookies with toughen up and become crunchier the longer they sit.

For the filling:

• 1/2 c. vegetable shortening
• 1/2 c. powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

1. With an electric mixer, combine all of the ingredients together until cream becomes thick and smooth (about 2 minutes).
2. Using a spatula, scrape the cream into a ziploc baggie, make a small slit in one corner, and thickly distribute the cream in a circular motion onto one cookie. Gently sandwich another cookie on top. Wa-la.

Read More

Raw Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake

Raw Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake
Makes one 8" cake

Crust - choose any one of the crusts from my last cheesecake post
I like to do a simple almond raisin or almond date crust.

Filling

2 cups cashews
2/3 cup maple syrup
2/3 - 3/4 cup water
2/3 cup cacao powder
1 tablespoon pure vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup melted coconut oil
1/4 cup melted coconut butter

Blend the cashews, maple, water, vanilla and salt until smooth and creamy in a high speed blender.
Add the coconut oil and butter. Blend to incorporate.
Add the cacao powder last and blend again.The mixture is thick.
Pour over the crust and set in the fridge for at least 12 hours or in the freezer for 6 hours and then transfer to the fridge for a few hours.

Recipe by: Sweetlyraw.com She has a great blog Check it out! 

http://www.sweetlyraw.com/2012/08/raw-chocolate-cheesecake-and-22-more.html

Read More

How a fever benefits your health

(NaturalNews) Most of our society lives with the idea that health is a state of "feeling good" and "not being sick or diseased." We fear contact with bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms. We use antibacterial soap, sprays, pills, potions and lotions. We are constantly "gearing up" for the next big flu pandemic, etc.

In traditional cultures, fevers were always well respected and understood. Most people knew that the fever would build up and then break, much like a wave rolling into shore. Now, our society tries to suppress the fever immediately using antipyretics, or substances that lower temperature.

These antipyretics include acetaminophen and ibuprofen. These quickly lower the temperature, but they also silence the body and hinder the development of the immune system. This allows the invading organisms to survive and contribute to the formation of chronic disease.

Your immune system is a muscle:

The immune system functions like a muscle in that must be challenged in order to grow stronger. Without resistance the immune system cannot get any stronger. An appropriate resistance may at times give someone a cold or fever. This is a natural adaptive response that the body makes in order to allow the immune system to function at a greater level.

Getting a cold or a flu and having feverish symptoms may be the best expression of health for someone. Their individual immune system's metabolic capacity may have been so weak that they couldn't handle the natural environmental stressors. So the body became vulnerable and developed a viral or bacterial infection.

Fevers stimulate the immune system:

The immune system responds to fend off infection and strengthen the body. Microorganisms can only survive at unique temperature ranges. The innate intelligence within our body understands this and has adapted since the beginning of time to create an environment that is incompatible for these infectious organisms.

As our core temperature rises, it reduces the microorganism load in the body. The body will not want to elevate temperature to the point of killing off all its good microbes but will if necessary. When the body is under extreme infection, the core temperature has to regulate the internal ecosystem by increasing the temperature and killing off microbes.

Our normal body temperature is said to be 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. A fever is defined by an oral temperature that exceeds 100.4 degrees. At 101 degrees, most bacteria are unable to survive, and at 102 degrees, the viruses are unable to replicate and spread in the body. Fevers are typically self-limiting and short in duration. They are not dangerous until they get up over 104 degrees in temperature.

The increasing temperature activates the immune system:

As the core temperature elevates, it activates the CD8+ cytotoxic T cell. This is a special lymphocyte that is able to destroy cancerous cells and cells infected with viruses. Researchers have found that higher body temperatures raise the number of CD8+ cytotoxic T cells. This creates a significantly greater immune response against infection.

The increase in core temperature also elevates neutrophils, which are unique immune cells that selectively target infectious bacterial cells. The temperature increase also improves enzymatic activity to create an environment that is unkind to the infectious microbes.

According to Dr. John Wherry, PhD, deputy editor of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, "Having a fever might be uncomfortable, ... but [research reports show] that having a fever is part of an effective immune response."

Over-sterilizing our environment and using synthetic chemicals, such as drugs, artificial vitamins and fever reducers, only makes our body weaker. These products are like a crutch that does not allow the body to adapt and get stronger. So we end up weak and vulnerable and unable to effectively adapt to a challenging environment.

The role of mucus formation:

Mucosal surfaces are the primary entry points into the body for pathogenic microorganisms. Until recently, most scientists viewed mucus as simply a physical barrier that helped to prevent against the invasion of infectious organisms. It was also thought to play a lubricating role between tissues. However, the latest research shows that mucus appears to be the primary home of unique organisms called bacteriophages.

Bacteriophages, which are also called "phages," are viruses that infect and replicate within bacteria. They selectively target antagonistic microbes and thus enhance the health of the host.

Wherever bacteria and other microorganisms reside you will also find phages.

Researchers have found evidence that phages partner with host animals and humans to kill off unwanted bacterial colonies and control the composition of friendly microorganisms in the body. This reduces infectious organisms and improves the immune system.

In times of fever, the body increases mucus to trap bacteria and enhance the activity of phages in order to reduce infectious organisms. This is an intelligent response by the body to prevent chronic infection and disease development. Trust the body and trust your symptoms!

When is a fever dangerous?

You should always consult your natural health physician when fevers go over 103 degrees or last longer than four days. If the fever causes tremendous discomfort, trouble breathing or convulsions at any time, it would be an indication to go to the emergency room.

One should drink tons of clean water and use electrolytes such as fresh squeezed lemon. This will support the body as it uses up fluids and electrolytes quickly in an effort to rid itself of the infectious organisms. If the temperature gets up over 104 degrees, an ice bath can help bring it down a bit so as to not cause damage to any of the vital organs.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/043390_fever_health_benefits_immune_system.html#ixzz2pOixk4Z8

Read More

Recipe if the day-Vegan Hot Cocoa

I've always loved hot cocoa, especially as a kid. When I gave up milk I thought my hot cocoa days were over. But I found this great recipe from Littleveganeats.com I made mine with coconut milk instead because thats what we use around here. But it tastes pretty dang good.

Quick 'n' Easy Vegan Hot Cocoa
servings: 2
What You'll Need:
2 cups soy (or almond) milk*
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp sugar**
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Vegan whipped topping of choice (optional)

What You'll Need to Do:
Add soymilk to a small saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring frequently with a small whisk (this will help you get maximum frothiness), until desired heat is reached. Once milk is heated through, add vanilla, sugar and chocolate, stirring continually until fully dissolved. Remove from heat, pour into mugs, and serve immediately!

Tips and Tricks
You may want to increase the amount of cocoa and sugar (by about 1tsp or so) if you prefer a richer flavor.

Read More

Vaccine lies: Whooping cough outbreaks being triggered by vaccinated children

(NaturalNews) It is a common myth perpetuated by both the entrenched system of monopolistic medicine and the mainstream media that unvaccinated children are the social scourge responsible for triggering outbreaks of rare diseases like pertussis (whooping cough), measles and shingles. But the scientific literature suggests otherwise, showing in many cases that vaccinated children are the ones largely responsible for triggering and spreading disease.

A recent study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences for instance, found that, despite more than 50 years of population-wide vaccination, cases of whooping cough are on the rise. The culprit? Antigens of Bordetella pertussis that not only are completely ineffective at preventing infection with Bordetella parapertussis, a whooping cough bacterium similar to B. pertussis, but actually promote it by interfering with the body's natural infection clearance protocols.

"[W]e show that aP [whooping cough] vaccination impedes host immunity against B. parapertussis-measured as reduced lung inflammatory and neutrophil responses," wrote the authors. "[W]e conclude that aP vaccination interferes with the optimal clearance of B. parapertussis and enhances the performance of this pathogen. Our data raise the possibility that widespread aP vaccination can create hosts more susceptible to B. parapertussis infection."

In other words, children who are vaccinated for whooping cough actually suffer from decreased immunity and are more susceptible to B. parapertussis infection than their unvaccinated peers. Vaccinated children, in essence, are the carriers of disease when it comes to all these whooping cough outbreaks, infecting other mostly vaccinated children and putting massive strain on local healthcare resources.

Oddly enough, it is the unvaccinated children that remain largely healthy during these outbreaks, as their immune systems are not crippled by exposure to artificial vaccine antigens. This was definitely the case as far as http://www.naturalnews.com, where more than 600 confirmed cases of whooping cough, a 10-fold increase over previous years, was documented. As you may recall, most of those infected with the disease had already been vaccinated for it.

More recently, a study funded by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) verified that the whooping cough vaccine, which is also contained in the combination DTaP injection, does not even prevent the spread of whooping cough as commonly claimed. On the contrary, the vaccine allowed the disease to fester inside the bodies of test baboons for up to five weeks, debunking a widely believed myth.

"[These findings] could explain the increase in pertussis that we're seeing in the U.S.," admitted FDA researcher Tod Merkel, affirming what many are now suggesting about the dangers of the whooping cough vaccine.

Should parents who vaccinate their children be held liable for spreading disease?

What all this suggests, of course, is that the ongoing demonization of parents who refuse to vaccinate their children is completely misdirected. If it is public health that we are all concerned about in the vaccine debate, then it appears as though parents who choose to vaccinate are the ones about who we all need to be concerned.

Perhaps the time is ripe to set the record straight and put blame where it is truly due. The tables have turned, and based on the latest available science, it is now abundantly clear that parents who vaccinate are the ones putting everyone else's children at risk.

Will the pro-vaccine lobby, which is all too quick to demand that non-vaccinating parents be held liable for putting others at risk, now be held to the same standard?


Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/043330_vaccines_whooping_cough_disease_outbreaks.html#ixzz2obKKgwn6

Read More

Recipe of the day- Coconut Cookie Bars

My Dad used to make these all the time. They were my favorite, once I became vegan I thought I would never eat these again. They called for condensed milk and lots of milk chocolate. But guess what I found a vegan version! I was so excited to find this recipe and I can't wait to try it out. It calls for a few different ingredients then the one I grew up with, but I'm sure it will be just as good.

Recipe from PostPunkKitchen. I love her blog!

These bars require a good overnight chilling to really firm them up before slicing, so plan accordingly.

Tip: You’ll want to use only sweetened, fluffy white flaked coconut for these. Save the natural shredded stuff for a healthy curry.

Tip: Press the graham cracker crumb crust like crazy into the pan; the more you pat it down the firmer the resulting crust will be.

One 14 oz can (regular or lite) coconut milk (about 1 3/4 cups)
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
2 cups vegan graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup melted margarine
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips or chocolate chunks
2 cups flaked, sweetened coconut
1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped

In a large saucepan whisk together coconut milk and brown sugar over medium high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mixture may form a thin skin on the surface; just stir it back into the liquid. Remove from heat and let cool while preparing the crust.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan with parchment paper. In a large bowl combine graham cracker crumbs, melted margarine and sugar; mix well to moisten crumbs completely. Firmly press mixture into prepared pan, pressing evenly from center to sides of pan.

Pour warm coconut milk mixture evenly over crumb base. Top with an even layer of chocolate chips, flaked coconut and nuts, in that order. Firmly pat everything down until coconut milk mixture soaks upward into the toppings. Bake for 28-30 minutes or until coconut is deeply golden and filling is bubbling, remove from oven and let entire pan cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Transfer pan to the refrigerator to completely cool and firm up for at least 4 hours, even better overnight or until very firm. Use a sharp, heavy knife to run along the edges of bars, slide bars on parchment paper out of pan onto a cutting board then to slice into 24 squares. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator. These also freeze well, tightly wrapped and allowed to thaw for 20 minutes before serving.

Read More

Timeline: What Happens After Drinking a Coca-Cola Soda

Even if you like soft drinks, you can tell by the taste that they are a potion of chemicals and man-made toxins. They don’t taste like anything natural, besides maybe sugar. And unfortunately, diet soda is no sound alternative. So what really happens after you drink a Coca-Cola or a similar soft drink?

Here is what could happen in your body after you drink a can of soda. In the first 10 minutes, it stops you from gagging on the 10 teaspoons of sugar by buffering the sweet stuff with phosphoric acid. Twenty minutes after consumption, your blood sugar levels jump alarmingly.

But the effects of your soda don’t stop there—with changes like increased blood pressure, blocked adenosine receptors (leading to that caffeine high), and increased dopamine production (think heroin). Further, calcium, zinc, and magnesium are depleted from the body.

One of the most prominent ingredients in soda is something called orthophosphoric acid—a compound that must be transported with specially designed cisterns due to its high acidity. The reservoirs are designed to withstand the effects of “highly corrosive materials”, and with each swig of Coke, you are putting this stuff in your body.

Read: Is Diet Soda Bad for You?

As our own Christina Sarich reports, this isn’t the only scary ingredient in a can of soda. Coloring E150D, for example, is made of processed sugar and ammonium sulfate—a chemical also found in Monsanto’s best-selling herbicide RoundUp and known to increase the symptoms of asthma. Another ingredient E950, also known as Acesulfame Potassium, “aggravates the heart, vascular system, and nervous system.” Other harmful ingredients include citric acid, sodium benzoate, and more.

Lest you think diet soda is any better, diet sodas contain aspartame, a genetically modified component with numerous health risks. Diet soda has been linked to increased risk of kidney problems, altered metabolism leading to heart attack and stroke, obesity, cell damage, and even depression.

Soft drink makers don’t have your health in mind when they create their beverages—even when they create those with “all the taste and none of the calories.” Their primary concern is making money. As a consumer, it’s your job to make health decisions and abandon soda for the benefits of healing beverages like natural vegetable and fruit juices, teas, and filtered water.

Read more: http://naturalsociety.com/effects-daily-coca-cola-soft-drink/#ixzz2nkePgrJM
Follow us: @naturalsociety on Twitter | NaturalSociety on Facebook

Read More