A Week of Raw Milk and Honey in Pictures

Posted on January 14, 2013 by glutenfreesalafi

Well, almost a week… I didn’t take pictures of absolutely everything I made and even then I think I started off with baby steps. I didn’t want to overdo it so decided to try some of my favourite things with raw milk/cream and had them a couple of times.

I’ve mentioned how we thought I had some kind of dairy intolerance after eating cheese on my paleo pizza as I had dry skin and this happened a few times and I was getting some rashes. A full week of drinking raw milk and eating cream and alhamdulillaah, everything seems to be quite good so far and I genuinely believe it is because raw milk is a cure as mentioned in the Sunnah and a drink mentioned in the Qur’aan. It is a cure and I firmly believe that. I don’t believe it’s a placebo affect thing. My skin has looked nicer, brighter, clearer and felt a bit smoother. Almost “plump” like but without added weight gain if that makes any sense?! This was also something I checked for. Some people are afraid of raw milk or cream and full fat because they think it’ll make them fat. I definately haven’t gained any weight this week but I think I may have lost a little. I have been eating well, I assure you. I’ll probably edit this tomorrow to confirm the weight issue again for any skeptics out there.

Overall, I feel really well maashaaAllaah and I do believe it’s because I’m living my life more according to the Sunnah now. With my increased eemaan and tawakkul in Allaah and the desire to become better through the means that Allaah has revealed to us in various ways, there is a cure and a healing for us all no matter what our health may be like.

Raw milk, raw cream and raw butter from Hook and Son

Raw and unpasteurised honey from the New Zealand Honey Company (purchased from Asda) I used to use raw acacia blossom honey which I purchased over the internet on a few occasions but that was heated slightly and apparently this hasn’t been so I figured this would be better. Acacia was easy going on the palate… this however is an acquired taste, for me anyway but I am getting used to it

Hot chocolate made using raw milk and then I mixed in a little raw cream for added indulgence. It was pleasing and different to having it topped with whipped cream or marshmallows

One of my favourite fruity snacks and how I like to enjoy bananas and strawberries. Slice the fruits, drizzle with honey, sprinkle on dark choc chips, ground almonds (or chopped hazelnuts) and a sprinkling of (mixed) seeds. Awesomeness and so simple! I’ve tried this with Sidr honey, Raw Acacia and the one pictured above. All good.

The infamous chocolate waffles made with raw milk instead of coconut milk. Made such a difference I think. That or I just hadn’t had them in ages so forgot how good they were. Topped with raw honey, raw cream and bananas and strawberries. Yummers!
Btw, I also added raw butter to my waffle iron instead of a spray of oil, worked just as well, if not better! Made no real difference to the taste though. It was unsalted butter anyway

Purple Rawberry Smoothie I think I should call this. Just under a pint of raw milk blitzed with half a banana (they can be overpowerign in flavour so never use a whole one for a small amount) and strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. I had blueberries too but forgot to add them, oops! Very yummy maashaaAllaah. Though it kinda ‘splits’ after a bit, not sure if this a characteristic of raw milk or what. Drink it up real quick!

Flourless Chocolate Cake (pr brownie to me), recipe was posted earlier today with loads of pictures. Very rich so you can’t have a lot in one go but as a rare treat it is worth it! I got 14 portions out of this and have frozen the rest.

I made about three different hot chocolates. The one above, one with cinammon and honey and another with peppermint. I also made tea with raw milk and honey (and some sugar but I have reduced the amount I have) and that was better than the regular tea I remember.

InshaaAllaah I’m going to make more smoothies, maybe go back to my banana, turmeric and cinammon ones I was having back before I started blogging. They were also very good and I was having them daily. However, since raw milk is really expensive I won’t be indulging that much! I prefer it to coconut milk, that’s for sure. Afterall, what can be better than something that Allaah has created for us?

Post about Raw milk coming soon… inshaaAllaah tomorrow!

Hayakumullaah!

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Posted on January 14, 2013 by glutenfreesalafi

I actually don’t like chocolate cake but because it was paleo and looked good I figured I may as well try it out and perhaps it’ll get me off my chocolate waffle addiction (yeah right).

Making this cake, with thanks to Rebecca over at the Barefoot Coconut for the recipe, was pretty fun and very different to what I normally do. I’ve never had to whisk just egg whites and it felt strange making a cake for myself.

My thoughts on this cake: At first it did have a bitter smell and taste to it, I thought I baked it for too long as it ended up needing 28 minutes. I initially had it warm but later in the evening I had another slice (they were tiny, honest!) and it tasted much better. It’s a really rich cake so you can’t have a lot in one go and if it’s just for one person, I hear it freezes well. I’ve frozen mine, not defrosted a slice yet but when I do I’ll edit this post to give you my verdict then. Oh, I forgot to mention, it’s more like a brownie than a cake but that’s a good thing if you like them. I think in total I got about 14 slices out of a 9″ round cake. Won’t be baking this for a while I think!

Now you have the recipe, here’s how I did it (kind of… didn’t show you everything, just the fun bits)

Whisk the egg whites into fluffy clouds

Turned upside down to make sure they’re stiff enough. I’m not nasty enough to hover it over my head (or brave enough!)

Melted butter and chocolate is so glossy and nice. Added vanilla, honey and something else to this… forgot what so check the recipe! Added raw honey btw, almost got through the whole bottle!

Seriously, that’s one way to get through honey you’re not keen on but know it’s good for you. For me, it’s an acquired taste but living according to the Sunnah is very important… even if it does come in the form of a chocolate cake

Fold the glossy melted choc mix in with the fluffy cloud-like egg whites. It does look a little gross at first I’ll admit and it takes a lot of folding to make sure you mix it properly. Every time I thought I was done I found another large unmixed bit of melted choc! Got there eventually… I think

Egg whites and melted choc folded together. Looks much more appealing now!

Put it into a 9″ baking tin. I use reusable greaseproof sheets. Unlike my normal GLUTEN cakes this fell out the tin nicely and wasn’t stuck to the sheets. Much easier when it came to cleaning up. Awesome.

Cake baked. It did smell a bit strange and bitter to me. The size was overwhelming for someone who doesn’t actually like chocolate cake *gulp*

Out the tin – nice smoothish edges and sides

Chillaxing before being attacked….

…Attacked!

Et voila! Oh it looks so good maashaaAllaah! Topped with raw honey, raw cream and served with yummy fruits. Makes it feel oh so much healthier and good for you!

Benefits of Raw Honey

Posted on January 12, 2013 by glutenfreesalafi

Honey is a natural cure mentioned in the Qur’aan, Allaah says:
“…There comes forth from their bellies, a drink of varying colour wherein is a healing for men…”
(Qur’aan, 16:69)

The following image was produced by Oasis Advanced Wellness

Additional benefits of raw honey:
• Harmonize the liver
• Loaded with ‘good’ bacteria including Acidophilus
• Neutralize toxins
• Blood pressure
• Relieve pain
• Anti-Cancer properties
• Wipe out toxins that cause diarrhea
• Calm the nerves
• Digestion
• Anti-Allergenic
• Anti-Inflammatory
• Expectorant
• Laxative
• Ulcers
• Sedative
• Anti-Toxic
• Anti-Anemic
• Fever-Reducing

Honey Has Treated:
• Chronic Bronchitis
• Diabetes and blood sugar issues
• Asthmatic Bronchitis
• Bronchial Asthma
• Chronic Rhinitis
• Cholesterol
• Allergic Rhinitis
• Sinusitis
• Nerve Damage

Honey Throat Remedy
Symptoms: Course, Dry Cough, Hoarse throat
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Raw Honey
• Water

Instructions: Gargle

Raw Honey Vitamins
• Vitamin A
• Beta-Carotene
• All of the B-Complex Vitamins
• Vitamins C, D, E and K
• Minerals magnesium, sulfur, phosphorus, iron, calcium, chlorine, potassium, iodine, sodium, copper and manganese

Enzymes & Other Health Promoting Substances
• Raw honey contains live enzymes (these help your body break down foods and undigested particles)
• Proteins
• Carbohydrates
• Organic Acids
• Hormones
• Anti-microbrial factors
• Anti-biotic factors

Additional information was found from the following website and it contains other beneficial information: www.bee-pollen-buzz.com

Stuffed Omelette Calzone

Posted on January 7, 2013 by glutenfreesalafi

I mentioned yesterday how I was going for a blood test, I had this gluten sensitivity/coeliac disease blood test form from Sept 2012 when I was told to consume gluten for 10 days straight in order to be tested. I decided against it and later discovered that gluten can lurk about for up to 6 months or something so figured I could have a blood test now. Plus with all these negative remarks about a paleo diet (because I eat fat and I’m not afraid of it!) I figured it was time for me to personally bust a few myths like “you’re cholesterol will be high” and so on. I want to prove paleo is a diet that everyone should adopt. Mostly because of the health benefits but also because it is a part of our Deen, Islaam (See previous post and download the audio inshaaAllaah).

If you follow me on Facebook you’ll also see that I’m expecting a raw milk delivery tomorrow inshaaAllaah… so excited! I’ll post more about this in the coming days, that is, the benefits of raw milk and what has been mentioned about it in the Sunnah. Yes, dairy is not a paleo food, however I can see why – when we’re talking about supermarket dairy and similar! Raw milk on the other hand is full of goodness, I doubt anyone can deny it having done some research. So I’m going to revive this Sunnah and take care of myself properly inshaaAllaah.

So anyway, I was hungry last night after a very early and very light dinner. Fasting for this blood test did not help and after that I went food shopping. Hungry old me bought an array of fruit, veg and meat and then I was stumped about what to have for breakfast. I eventually decided on a beefy omelette type thing after reading the Barefoot Coconut’s Facebook post whilst I was sat in the waiting room of the blood test centre. I came up with a new concoction: a stuffed omelette calzone. Aptly named because it contains a stuffing, the outer bit is made using an omelette and the shape or concept of it resembles a calzone. You know, the semi-circle stuffed pizza thing.

I apologise in advance for my lack of measurements. As usual I eyeball everything and today’s mixture should make 3 small omelette-calzones or 2 normalish sized ones. It depends on the size of your frying pan – I use a smaller than normal one!

Ingredients
Stuffing:
Minced beef (or other mince, finely dices meat, etc)
Half a small onion, chopped
Mixed herbs – dried or fresh, whatever you have handy really
Salt and pepper

Fresh garlic or it you’re rushed for time, garlic granules
Crushed red chilli flakes
Light spray of oil just so it doesn’t stick/burn

Omelette:
3 eggs
Spring onions, sliced (I used leeks, bit of the top and bottom)
Fresh Corriander
Dried, crushed corriander seeds and cumin seeds
Crushed red chilli flakes – fresh green chillies finely chopped are best
Salt and pepper
Chopped tomatoes
Sliced Mushrooms (I forgot to add the latter two ingredients, oops)

Prep
Mince beef: pop it all into a saucepan, mix until cooked, shouldn;t take long as you’re not making a ton
Omelette, whish all ingredients in a small bowl. It’s not rocket science really. See images below and captions for further instructions.

Pour some of the omelette mix into a frying pan, make it kinda thin and make sure you have a good mix of everything in the omelette

As the omelette cooks through, add soem mince beef mix to one half. Leave a ‘border’ so when you fold the other half of the omelette over it seals the stuffing in. The omelette needs to be wet still otherwise it won’t stick and seal when you fold it.

The omelette should be sealed once you’ve folded it. If the stuffing’s spilling out you’ve probably added too much. Helps to turn the gas off at this stage if you’re a little slow with it.

Dish up and serve with tomatoes which you forgot to add to the omelette mix *blush*

Serve the omelette-calzone cut in half to better your presentation skills #yeahright

Gluten Free Salafi

~The dietary needs, food & drink of a gluten free Salafi according to the Qur'aan & Sunnah~

Monthly Archives: January 2013

A Week of Raw Milk and Honey in Pictures

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Benefits of Raw Honey

Stuffed Omelette Calzone