Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Vegan Gluten Free Lemon Chia Waffles

I had so much fun coming up with this recipe. 
 It comes out nice and crispy and has a nice flavor.  I was not sure how it would taste without eggs, but I have to say, this tastes pretty good!!  

Simply top with your favorite fruit, yogurt, nut butter or syrup and enjoy ...
Here's our video making our vegan, gluten free and totally yummy waffles!!



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Wednesday, January 7, 2015

30 Day Gratitude Challenge ... Day 7 ...

Take A Deep Breath

How 10 seconds can change your life ...

It's now day 7 and you should be feeling great!!  You are now writing something you are thankful for every day, focusing on only positive things and doing something kind every day.   Now it's time to kick it up a notch and write down 3 things that you are thankful for every day.  It doesn't matter if you just write them on a piece of paper, use a journal, a thankful jar or just email a list to yourself every day.  Just taking the time to think about it and write it down is all that is necessary.  

I know how hard that it is sometimes to come up with something to be thankful for.  Before my mother passed away she went into the hospital and was put into a coma so they could hopefully make her better.  Not only did it not work, but we were never able to talk to her again.  I believe that was probably the worst time of my entire life.  Watching someone you love die is simply heartbreaking.  As difficult as that time was, I still remember thinking about how lucky I was to have had my mom for so long.  I saw so many of my friends and family members lose their parents in their 20's and 30's and here I was about to turn 50 years old. I had 50 years with her and that is an incredible gift.  As hard as this time was, I was so grateful I had so much time with her.  Even in our worst times in life, we can try to find something to be grateful for.  Just after my mother died hurricane sandy hit our town and severely damaged our home.  I remember during that time that all I could think about is how lucky we were our home was not destroyed.  Yes our entire house suffered severe damage and we lost so much, but it was still standing and could be repaired.  People died during that storm and many homes washed away or burned down.  I was thankful it was not worse and that we were all safe.  I cried for what we lost, but I was thankful for what we still had.  

This challenge is about focusing on the good things in our life.  It's not about having the perfect life, it's about appreciating what we have and making the best of all of it.  It's about how we look at things that happen in our life and how we react to them.  It's about how we treat others, regardless of how they treat us.  We can always choose to be bitter and angry, but that only makes us and everyone around us unhappy.  That would be the real tragedy.  Picking ourselves up and moving forward takes strength, but it also takes believing in ourselves.  Being bitter and angry only means we gave up.  The hardest times in my life also seem to be when I find the most inner strength.  

This weeks exercise is about your reaction to everyday things that happen and to how we react to the people around us.  

Are you patient?
Are you considerate?
Do you think of other people's feelings?

Anytime anything happens during your day that can stress you out, follow the 10 second rule.  Take a deep breath and count to ten before you speak.  You will be amazed how that 10 seconds can change your life.  

Thank you for reading and our next post will be in a few days ...  be sure to follow the steps below every day ...

Write 3 things that you are thankful for every day ...
Focus on only positive things ..
Do something kind every day ...
Follow the 10 second rule ...

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Saturday, January 3, 2015

30 Day Be Thankful Challenge ... Day 3

Kindness Really Matters ...

It's day 3 and so far you should be writing something to be thankful for every day and noticing anything good that is around us.  

The next step is to now begin to focus on how you are treating the world.  

Ask yourself some questions... 

How do I treat people?  
Am I kind?  
Am I a good listener?  
Do I genuinely care about other people?  

My mother used to say you get more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.  She also used to say to always be nice to people because you never know what someone is going through in their lives. This is a principle I have always lived my life by.  I always tried to help anybody who needed it.  I never really thought about it, it's just the way I was.  When I was working in the medical field dealing with insurance companies, I was always told by insurance reps that they would be happy to help me because I was nice to them.  There was another girl in our office who was always mean to them and they would tell me they always put her claim to the bottom of the pile, and mine to the top. 

You don't have to do something huge to be kind.  Just being thankful for someone in your life and letting them know, opening doors for people, saying thank you or just helping someone find something in a store can be kind.  It's the small things that we do every day that can really make a huge impact in people's lives.  The kinder you are to the world, the kinder the world will be back to you.  Take note about how you act when you are impatient or frustrated.  Start treating others as you would want to be treated.  When someone is not kind to you, show them how to be kind by you being kind to them.  

Kindness really matters ...  

Thank you for reading and our next post will be in a few days ...  be sure to follow the steps below every day ...

Write something you are thankful for every day ...
Focus on only positive things ..
Do something kind every day ...

  Be sure to follow us ...

Friday, January 2, 2015

30 Day Be Thankful Challenge ... Day 2

So it's day 2 of our Be Thankful Challenge.  Today, I am most thankful for having a home to live in filled with warmth and love.  I am so excited to see what wonderful things the New Year has in store for us!!

One of the reasons I wanted to do a thankful challenge is because I find that so many of us focus on what is wrong in our lives and forget to notice all the great things all around us.  What we focus on becomes bigger, so if we focus on all of our problems, they become even bigger and before you know it, your world is surrounded by all of your problems, and your Blessings seem so small.  

For the next 30 days you are writing down something you are thankful for every day.  Now I want you to spend time looking around you during the day and find something that's good about your day.  If someone smiles at you, I want you to take a moment and say thank you for that smile.  If someone opens a door or you see a pretty flower, take notice of it.  Before you go to bed, take a few minutes to remember what you are thankful for and what good things that you noticed during the day.   You want to start changing your thought process to a more positive outlook.  It's retraining yourself to focus on positive things, rather than negative.  The more you practice this, the easier it becomes.  

Here's a video we made of our fun New Years ...  


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Thursday, January 1, 2015

30 Day Be Thankful Challenge ... Day 1

It's a brand new year and it's the perfect time to start fresh.  Join our 30 day Be Thankful Challenge today by emailing shoregirl1000@aol.com and subscribe to us on our You Tube channel.

It's so simple and it will change your life.  You will be amazed at how incredible you will feel!  When you focus on the positive in your life and are truly thankful for what you have, amazing things will happen.

Join today and let's do this together ... thank you for following me on this journey ...


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Thursday, December 25, 2014

Merry Christmas from Gluten Free Jersey Girl, Carries Kiddies Closet & L...

Merry Christmas Video Card from all of us at 

It's been a wonderful year and we would like to thank everyone for following us and supporting us through the year.  We are incredibly Blessed and thankful for everything we have and hope to bring new and wonderful products, videos and reviews in 2015.  Thanks for watching!! 






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Lego Chocolate Gingerbread Men

Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year!  Every year my son and I make a chocolate gingerbread house and we always make it into a Lego house for fun since my son loves Lego's.  It's a tradition we do every year and it's such a fun thing to do as a family.  This year, I used a pre-made gingerbread house and we made up the adorable chocolate gingerbread to use for our house.

We had such a ball making them and I made up a tutorial video below and a video of our decorating the gingerbread house ...




Decorating gingerbread house and decorating Christmas cookies.



What fun traditions do you have?

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Sunday, December 21, 2014

30 Day Be Thankful Challenge


What are you thankful for?  
What makes you smile?  
What makes you feel good?  

Sometimes it's as simple as someone smiling back at you or holding the door for someone and hearing them say thank you.  I know that for me, it's about the little things.  Many years ago I gave my mother a gratitude journal and after she passed away I found the journal with her things.  I opened the book, and it opened to the only page it had writing on.  She wrote, "I am thankful for the thoughtfulness of my daughter Carolyn" and for my dad.   Other than that, the book was completely empty.  Perhaps coincidence, but I choose to believe it was a message to me and I cherish that book.  

Years ago I wrote in my gratitude journals, meditated, read books by writers like Louise Hay, Eckhart Tolle, Marianne Williamson and followed many different positive speakers.  Life can get so busy and between getting married, having kids, starting a business; life goes so fast and sometimes we need a nudge to remind us how important it is to be quiet and spend time each day being thankful.  After Hurricane Sandy, I struggled with this.  We lost so much and looking back, I now realize just how important that moment in time was.  Our home was destroyed and we were homeless for awhile, sleeping on the floor for months and living without a kitchen and our life was in boxes for nearly a year.  One night I had a dream that God told my mother the hurricane was going to come and she asked him why this had to happen to her daughter.  God leaned over to whisper to her, but I was not allowed to hear. I woke up and felt shaken and this has haunted me ever since.  I may never know why things like this happen in life, but I do know that I am finally finding my way back to a place of peace and love.  It's been a long journey to get to where I am now and I am so excited to see what the future holds.  I would love for you to join me and take the journey toward living life with gratitude, joy and love every day ... 

Join us by emailing shoregirl1000@aol.com with Gratitude in the subject and we will email you when the challenge starts.  

Let's do this together ... thank you for reading and I hope you join!!  


30 Day Challenge .. Coming 2015 


Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Tea Time Tuesdays With Carrie ...

It's tea time! 

Come and hang out with me ... 

This is my new weekly Tea Time Tuesdays series ... today it's about tea, cookies and portion control.

I started the day with a wonderful breakfast with my friend at The Turning Point Restaurant.  It's such a pretty place and my favorite is their no yolks about it omelette with no cheese or muffin.  It comes with salsa and a fruit cup ... I forgot to take a picture, but took a picture of my tea. I had a delicious Chamomile Tea ...  


I love the adorable tea pot you get with your tea. 



After breakfast we shopped at Christmas Tree Shops where I found this adorable small tea pot, sugar and creamer set.



Then it was back home to making Christmas Cards and labels for my online store, Carries Kiddie Closet.  I made a few of my 3 ingredients truffles for a snack with my tea.


I drank a delicous Mango Passionfruit tea by Stash.  The taste was very mild and I flavored it with some of my homemade cashew, hemp and chia milk with cinnamon.  

I loved it!  


Check out my video below and be sure to follow us (links below) and come back tomorrow for What I Ate Wednesday!  


We hope to have some awesome gluten free food scoops coming soon!!


Tuesday, November 18, 2014

What I Ate Tuesday and (Almost) Raw Fudgy Bite Cookies

My week started out a little crazy.  We are doing with some re-organizing because our spare bedroom is eventually going to be my new office.  I was hoping to get it set up before the New Year, but with the chance of having to raise our home in front of us right now, those plans are put on hold.  I need to go through boxes and organize some things so if we do have to pack up to move out for 3 to 4 months, I will be prepared.  It's not a fun process, but it has to be done.   I kept my food really simple today because it was hectic, but here's a brief snapshot of what I ate (mostly drank).

For breakfast this week I've been trying a new Raw Protein Shake.  I mixed Garden of Life Protein Powder with 1 spoon of Wilderness Poet's Hempspread.  I also added a little almond milk and dash of stevia.  It tasted ok.


For lunch I had hummus and some veggies.


My friend asked me to go for a coffee and I thought it would be a nice break from all the craziness of my house, so we headed off to Manasquan and found a cute little place called Green Planet Coffee Co. on Main Street..  I was delighted to see they now offer almond milk cappuccino's. 


It's so cold here at the Jersey Shore today, only in the 20's so it was nice to enjoy an almond milk cappuccino and hang out with a friend for a bit.  It's a cute place with a nice ambiance and a perfect place to hang out and stay warm.

There is another one located on Arnold Avenue in Point Pleasant and you can see my review here.

I love the decor and it was nice to be a be able to get spend time with a friend.  The place is smaller than the Point Pleasant location, but it's still a charming little place to stop in and relax, especially when it's so cold out!  It's a great time to meet up with my friend Hiedi before all the crazy preparations for Thanksgiving start!  


 Next it was time to take Mandy for a walk around the neighborhood.  She does not like the cold, so it was just a 1 mile walk by the water. 


Inspite of the cold, it was an absolute beautiful day! 

 

After our walk I made these yummy protein fudgy bite cookies (recipe below).  They tasted so good, almost like a brownie.   


For dinner I kept it simple by making another protein shake.  I blended 1 scoop of protein powder, 1 cup of mango/pineapple mix, 1 cup of almond milk, 1 teaspoon of nut butter, stevia, handful of pumpkin seeds and a couple big handfuls of spinach.  


Here's the ingredients I used in my cookie:

Garden of Life Raw Protein Powder


Wild Friends Chocolate Almond Butter with Sesame Seeds


Wilderness Poet's Hempspread


Artisana Raw Coconut Butter


Coconut Secret Coconut Nectar


Here's the cookie recipe ...


(Almost) Raw Fudgy Bites
Recipe by: Gluten Free Jersey Girl
Gluten free, dairy free, paleo 

Serves 1-2

Ingredients 

1 Tablespoon protein powder
1 Tablespoon chocolate almond butter with sunflower seeds
1 Tablespoon coconut butter
1 Tablespoon coconut nectar

Instructions

Mix all ingredients together

Be patient as the batter will be very thick.  If you need too, add a touch of almond milk.  Be sure to stir enough so the batter becomes as smooth as you can get it.
Roll into balls and refrigerate for a half an hour.

Enjoy


Notes:  You can use any protein powder or nut butters that you like.  This recipe works well with peanut butter, almond butter and cashew butter.  Makes approximately
5-6 small round cookies.

After dinner Mandy was enjoying lounging with her blanket while I worked on my laptop.




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Sunday, November 16, 2014

Sunday Fun Day around the Jersey Shore

I found my happy place!


Fall Sundays at the Jersey Shore are a great time to drive around and see different areas that we have not been to, especially since the summer crowds are gone.  I have been living here for 15 years, but I had no idea this beautiful little jem was this close to me.  I grew in Upper Montclair surrounded by beautiful parks and since moving to Brick, have missed them so much.  Brick is set up more like a city, so there are no parks like this here.  The bay is a half a block from my house and it's absolutely beautiful here, but I miss parks.  After having lunch in Belmar the other day, my friend and I happened upon this beautiful lake.  We didn't have time to stop, so I brought my husband and son and we had the best time walking, taking pictures and of course climbing trees.


It was so much fun watching the ducks swimming in the water and enjoying the serenity and beauty of nature.


My son and I had quite a fun time climbing this awesome shaped tree. 


I almost fell off!  


I did it!  Ok, well it was not that high, but it was fun!



I had to hug the tree!! 


Kevin (almost) hugged a tree!!


It was a cloudy day, but it was still beautiful and I enjoyed every moment ... I found my happy place!
 I find such peace and serenity when I am in nature.  God's beauty is so inspiring and no mater what is going on in life, all I have to is go out in nature, smell flowers, even looking at beautiful pictures can all make me feel so much better.  I am so incredibly Blessed and I try to embrace every moment.  The world around us can be so chaotic and it is so important that we take time for ourselves to simply be still, and enjoy what surrounds us.   I have been trying to do more of that these days.  I am not one to love the winter time, but I am learning to embrace it more every day.  God whispers to us every day, we just need to listen.  


After enjoying the  walk around this beautiful lake, we stopped in Belmar for something to eat. 
We went to Stay Gold Cafe in Belmar and I had my favorite Guido Salad, yum!!  I also had a delicious almond milk cappuccino.  They had a band playing and we definitely had a fun time!  They also have Acai Bowls and an awesome juice bar!!  


Best salad ever!!  


Yummy almond milk cappuccino!


Neat wall decorations!


Don't miss the juice and smoothie bar -  Acai bowls look amazing (next time). 


Next we stopped at Shore Antiques Center in Allenhurst and Kevin and Davey had some fun looking at antiques!  







Then we stopped at our friends house for a cup of tea and finally, home to relax!
That was our fun Sunday at the Jersey Shore!  

Everyone needs one ... find your happy place !!  

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