Pinkalicious Cupcakes...(2 variations: whole wheat or Gluten Free)

GLUTEN FREE PINKALICIOUS CUPCAKES

Ingredients:

1 cup sorghum flour or white rice flour 
1 cup tapioca starch 
1 cup organic cane sugar or 3/4 cup honey or agave nectar (for sweeter cupcakes use 1 1/4 cup)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt 
1 teaspoon baking powder 
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1 teaspoon xanthan gum 
1 cup vanilla soy, rice, coconut, or almond milk 
2 organic free-range eggs, beaten or Ener-G egg replacer 
3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
1 tablespoon bourbon vanilla extract 
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice 

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a 12-cupcake tin with paper or parchment liners.

In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, starch and dry ingredients together. Add in the non-dairy milk, eggs or egg replacer, coconut oil, vanilla and lemon juice.  Beat with a mixer until the cake batter is smooth. Do not over-beat. 

Using an ice cream scoop, plop the batter into the twelve liners. Smooth out the tops with wet fingers. 

Bake in the center of a preheated oven until firm and dome shaped. For me this took about 15-18 minutes at sea level but they may take up to 20 to 22 minutes, depending upon your particular oven and altitude. 

Cool the pan on a wire rack briefly, then gently pop out the cupcakes and continue cooling on a rack (this avoids steaming the bottoms). 

Make your icing. 

Read more: http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2009/08/vanilla-cupcakes-with-mocha-icing.html#ixzz2KFR6iL6w

SODA ADDICT? Try this tip...

I was once very much addicted to a certain Diet Soda.  It happens so easily doesn't it?  One day after having a new baby, I was so tired I couldn't function so I stopped at my favorite gas station and the rest is history.

Weaning myself off was not pretty.  But I did it.  And so can you.  I haven't had a soda in ages and have absolutely NO desire for one.

Some people can quit cold turkey.  I was not one of those.  I weaned gradually but once I discovered how to make the following flavored waters my task became MUCH easier.

What you need:

1.  liquid or powdered 100% stevia.  (that 100% is very important.  Truvia is not stevia.  If it has xylitol, that is not 100% stevia, so check those labels!)  NOTE:  liquid stevia comes in many different flavors and honestly I'm not sure what all of them have been flavored with, so use your head and check those labels.  I love the peppermint flavored one, but I know there is even a "root beer" flavor.  Just be careful.

2.  Filtered Water

3.  Any fruit and herbs:  lemon, watermelon, cucumber, mint, rosemary, strawberries, lime, orange, etc.

HOW TO:

Simply fill up your glass of water.  Toss in some sliced fruit and/or herbs of your choice.  (lime, watermelon and mint...YUMMY!)  Add 4-6 drops of liquid stevia or 1-2 pinches of powdered stevia.

Stir well.  Sometimes I will even crush my fruit to release its flavor a little more.

EXPERIMENT AND HAVE FUN!  You will be SO shocked at how delicious and easy these are...AND HOW YOU WON'T EVEN WANT THAT POP AFTER JUST A FEW DAYS!

HOMEMADE ANT KILLER: SUPER EASY TO MAKE

I've had an invasion of those tiny black ants.  And i'm not talking just a few on my counter...I'm talking INVASION complete w/ nests and eggs that happen literally OVERNIGHT.  GROSS!  Happyhearthome.com products "Sweet Peace" and "Aint Got Bugs On Me" bug spray have deterred but only temporarily.  The product "Shake Them Tailfeathers" (which is a natural powder of crushed fossils called Diatomaceous Earth) has completely done the trick but it's very messy to have that all over my counters!  While it absolutely does what it says it will do, that powder really is for outdoors, in the coop, around the base of the house, etc.  So what to do???

Today I looked up the ingredients of a very popular ant killer many of us have bought at local stores.  I didn't like what I saw on their website under "ingredients":  Contains sodium tetraborate decahydrate (Borax) (5.40%) and other ingredients (94.60%).  I HATE it when companies list "other ingredients" and fail to inform us what it is!  It COULD be completely harmless "other"...but the problem is, WE DON'T KNOW!

THIS is EXACTLY why I started making my own household cleaners 6 years ago.  THIS is why I've spent hours and hours pouring over science journals, reading all kinds of medical journals and pouring over research that makes my head spin.  KNOWLEDGE.  There is power in it.  With KNOWLEDGE comes the power to make CHANGES.  Take back control.   (ok, done w/ the tangent...back to ant killer!)

Today I found a website:  http://www.fightbugs.com with HOMEMADE ant killer.  I'm sure you can find these recipes and similar ones all over the internet, pinterest, etc...so have fun looking it up and comparing.  (COPY/PASTED DIRECTLY FROM WEBSITE LISTED ABOVE)

1. This homemade ant killer uses water, sugar and boric acid to attract and poison ants. Most of these ingredients can be found at home, and the bait is simple to concoct. First, mix a ¼ cup of water, ½ cup of sugar, and 1 tbsp. boric acid into a microwavable jar. Then, microwave the contents until they are warm. Shake the mixture until the sugar and the boric acid have dissolved. Then soak cotton balls in the mixture and place them on pieces of wax paper. Be sure to place the wax paper in areas where the scouts have been detected. It may take several days for the colony to be infected, but you will know the ants have been poisoned when no more visit the trap. The job of the sugar in this solution is to attract the ants to the bait. So if you find that another ingredient is more effective, you could use it. For example, some types of ants are more attracted to salty and oily substances, so you could use peanut butter as a substitute for the sugar.

2. This homemade natural ant killer comes from ecosites.org and is very simple. You need three things for this concoction: Dr. Bronner’s dish soap, water, and at least an 8 oz. spray bottle. Just add 1 oz. of Doctor Bronner’s dish soap and 7 oz. of water to the 8 oz. spray bottle (note: If you are going to use a larger spray bottle, just make sure you adjust the recipe so it is 1 part soap to 7 parts water). Then, shake the solution gently to mix well. This solution is animal friendly and healthier than other poisonous solutions. You can use it to kill ants that are invading places in your backyard such as your bird feeders, grills, or light fixtures. It can also be used inside to kill ants that are crawling around places like your kitchen counter.

3. There are quite a few household ingredients that can be used to repel ants. Any fruit that has citrus is a great natural ant repellent, but lemons are probably the best. Mix one cup of lemon juice with four cups of warm water in a bucket. Then, spread the mixture onto you countertops, cupboard insides and other surfaces using a clean cloth. This should keep them away because ants are known for being repelled by the lemon scent.