SS&GF: Simply Sugar and Gluten Free

I love the holidays for the great food and time with friends and family, but I always like to add in some downtime for me.  I wish I could tell you that I’m great with downtime on a daily basis, but I’m not.  I’m a ‘doer’ by nature – so I stay pretty busy.  I’ve gotten better at going to bed a little early so I have 10 minutes or so to read a good book, but it’s the exception instead of the rule.

I am always looking for ways to eat healthier – and though my diet is by no means perfect – I like to know that what I eat is good for me.  This takes some time and energy because part of eating well is educating myself.

So, instead of a recipe round-up, here’s what I’ll be reading to learn a little more and refuel my cooking inspiration over the long holiday weekend:

• Nourishing Traditionsby Sally Fallon – I recently picked up a copy of this and it’s full of research based information.  I can’t wait to sit down with a hot cup of tea and dig through all the pages.
• The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbookby Ali and Tom at Whole Life Nutrition – This is another recent addition to my collection.  I’ll tell you more about it next week, but I’ll be digging through their book too looking for new cooking methods and ingredients.
• The most recent editions of a few of my favorite magazines, Eating Well, Cooking Light, and Cook’s Illustrated.  I still haven’t gotten to crack them open – they’ll go in my carry-on for the plane.
• Some blog reading to catch up on – The Nourishing Gourmet and Gnowfglins.  Both of these blogs closely follow many of the principles in Nourishing Traditions and take time to educate their readership about the why behind the how.  The ideas here fascinate me, and though I’ve not yet given them a test run in the kitchen I love what I’m learning.  I have more to dig through and plan on trying some dishes out after the holiday.

Reminder –

Next week Slighly Indulgent Monday is moving to Tuesday.  I’ll be back on Monday with a post about some of what I’ve learned from The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook.

Thursday, December 3rd I’m hosting Holiday Food Fest! Come by for Cocktails, Mocktails, and Appetizers – and link your favorite.  Also, I’m giving away two fabulous gifts from Honeyville – a 5 pound bag of almond flour and a gift assortment that includes their fabulous flax seed, gourmet hot cocoa, and their top-knotch dried apples.

Remember last month’s baking day? Well, it’s back – but now renamed to Once A Month Cooking.  You can register to participate here.  I’m going to be making lots of food that will help save me time as the holidays get hectic – and things I need on a regular basis that I can’t buy at the store.  I hope you’ll join in, too!  Look for the hashtag #oamc (once a month cooking) on Twitter next Tuesday and Wednesday to follow along.

I wish you a joyful Thanksgiving full of lots of love.

What are you going to do to recharge after the all the pots and pans have been washed?

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