Up and Running in 2012

As you can see we haven't been using our family blog this past year. Heidi started to focus more on her cooking blog: Homemade and Dairy Free Kitchen. Kevin forgot to focus on any of it. :)

In August of 2011 we joined the launch team for a new church plant called Harvest Bible Chapel. Through this new church we became part of a small group that has been such a huge blessing in our life.

The last couple months of 2011 we focused on our Vision; both for our marriage and individually. It became really powerful for us as we entered in

to a new year. Neither one of us are big new year resolution people; but sitting down together and looking at our long term and short term vision for 2012 was really beneficial. Several items came out of this process for us but one of them being starting back up on our family blog.

We plan to update once a month on our family adventures and the areas God is teaching and testing us in. It holds excitement to see what will come of 2012. Feel free to join us in this adventure by the following ways:

* On the Right Hand Side ----> enter your email address for an update every month when we post.

* Also on the Right Hand Side ----> if you already blog or are connected to Google you can follow us through that link.

* OR just check back!

Don't forget to check out Heidi's Cooking blog - she posts weekly!

Homemade and Dairy Free Kitchen.

For technology or theology related content, check out Kevin's blog Kevin's Blog of Technology, Theology, and More.  

Happy New Year!

New Blog.

Heidi started a new blog for the new year. No we won't have a new blog with every new year but it was time to move her cooking and dairy-free adventures to a new space.

Homemade and Dairy Free Kitchen - Check it out!

So visit us here to see family updates and events in the Gunn Family Life and visit Heidi's new blog for all the delicious recipes and meals we will be enjoying in 2011!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Friday: What's Cooking In The Kitchen...

I am torn between baking and being outside today. It is the second half of November AND 60 degrees! I love Colorado and today is a great reminder, not that we needed it, as to why we love where we live!

I did make some awesome Granola this week though that I wanted to post. This recipe is adapted from a cookbook called Skinny Bitch In The Kitch.

Gunn Family Granola:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees

2 cups oats - heat in oven till lightly toasted (about 10 mins)

mix together - 1 cup sliced almonds, 1/2 cup shred coconut, 1/4 tsp. fine sea salt, 1/3 cup flax seed

wisk together - 1/4 cup maple syrup, 3 TBS agave, 2 TBS grape seed oil

Stir all together and bake on a cookie sheet for 20 mins. Add dried fruit (apples, cranberries, raisins, etc) and let cool.

I ate this with yogurt on Thursday morning and it was Fantastic!

Ok seriously headed outside with my puppy! Enjoy your weekend!

Vegan.

I know there have been some questions about whether Kevin and I are going Vegan. AND after my last post there were even more questions.

Kevin answered "NO"

Heidi answered "kinda, but not really"

So not to confuse any of you more I will get straight to the point. For the past year of my life every time I ate I was miserable. I would have horrible stomach pains for at least two hours after every meal. We were really frustrated and decided to try an elimination diet to figure out if it was gluten, dairy, sugar, salt, etc. After 6 months of elimination diets we narrowed it down to dairy. In October I spent the entire month to the best of my ability staying completely off dairy/lactose. I felt amazing for the first time in 8 months!

I began to pick the brains of some educated friends and do some of my own extensive research. I spent hours on the internet, in the library, and with the dairy department at our local Whole Foods! They were great, by the way. :)

Our goal for 2010 was to figure out my stomach issues. We had a lot of success. I am un-officially lactose intolerant and we know my body does not break down the sugar when I consume any dairy products. Taking a dairy enzyme helps but the best solution we have found is to cut it completely out. This is where the term "vegan" plays a large key. Dairy is such a huge substance in our culture that it is contained in so many products. When an item is marked "vegan" it means that the product does not contain any animal by product. This is a safe and healthy way for us to determine if I can have it or not. So in our household we use the term "vegan" often, but not fully by the definition.

Our goal for 2011 is to visit a holistic doctor and become officially diagnosed. One of the women at our church who just moved here from IL with our church plant happens to be a holistic doctor who will be working Boulder. We know we found a perfect fit for me to see her and we are excited about the testing and information she can provide for us in our research.

As we come upon our almost one year mark of this journey I have LEARNED so much and am GRATEFUL for my health and knowledge regarding lactose intolerance and vegan diets.

So don't get scared away by our recipes that we post just because it says Vegan BECAUSE

... you HAVE to try that Vegan Chocolate Cake recipe... It is A M A Z I N G!

Friday: What's Cooking In The Kitchen...

Finally back again! I have taken a bit of a break... not from the cooking and being in the kitchen

but rather just from blogging.

Since I last posted Kevin and I have enjoyed a trip to New Mexico to see some of our best friends and enjoy the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta (hot air balloons). Turns out our trip to Snowmass to see the balloons was just a small taste; because in New Mexico we saw over 200!!! It was magical and beautiful and overall a wonderful trip.

My parents came to visit in mid October. Dad was here just for a weekend and mom stayed with us for two and half weeks. We made lots of great food and had fun at the Molly Brown House, Coors Tour, Painted Platter and lots of other adventures. She worked hard in our kitchen too; making cinnamon rolls and cooking down and freezing three giant pumpkins!

Thanks Mom!

Speaking of pumpkin... I tried a new recipe today. In our house we LOVE hummus so here is my recipe for an attempt to make pumpkin hummus.

Pumpkin Hummus

• 1 3/4 cups dry garbanzo beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 1 TBS lemon juice
• 1/3 cup tahini paste
• 2 cloves garlic
• salt to taste
• • 
    
• • I just throw it all in the food processor and then add a little water to get the right consistency. I was hoping that it wouldn't be too overpowered with the pumpkin and tahini paste always makes me nervous but...
  • • It turned out perfect!

We are also meeting up with friends tomorrow (saturday) for a double date at the Painted Platter (paint your own pottery place). When we are done we are planning to eat dinner and play some games here at the house. I'll be placing Vegan Chili in the crockpot before we leave in the morning and for dessert making Vegan Chocolate Cake.

Vegan Chocolate Cake

INGREDIENTS:

• 1-1/2 cups unbleached flour
• 3/4 cup sugar or other sweetener
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 1 tsp. Baking soda
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 cup cold water

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and cocoa powder in a bowl and stir with a fork until mixed. Make a well in the center and add the vanilla, oil, vinegar, and water. Stir with a fork until well mixed. Pour into a 9x9-inch baking dish (or cupcake pan), and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool completely, then frost with Chocolate Cream Frosting

Chocolate Cream Frosting

Makes enough for one 9-inch cake or 8 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tablespoon softened margarine (Earth Balance)
• 1-1/3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2-4 tablespoons water

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cream the margarine in a small bowl then add the sugar, cocoa, vanilla, and enough water to make a thick but spreadable frosting.

YUM! Can't wait to try this... the batter was good :) So now you might be wondering why everything is vegan... NO, we did not go Vegan but close. I will post more on this later this week because this is already overly long! Watch for that post!

Enjoy your weekend!

Snowmass Balloon Festival: September 17-18, 2010

We had so much fun this weekend in Snowmass. We went with friends of ours Noah and Sarah and enjoyed a nice little getaway in a fun hotel and playing at the balloon festival! Here are some pictures of the amazing hot air balloons we saw!

the dirty dozen cheat sheet.

This was too cute and helpful not to post!

No real post happening this weekend. I am not cooking much and not home a ton either on this beautiful FOUR day weekend I have! Out and About busy celebrating my birthday with family and friends! My husband has planned all my favorite activities and places around town in order to celebrate!

Estes Park

Boulder: larkburger, only natural pet store, ellies, tea and cakes, etc

Movies

Relaxing

Mini Golf

Yardhouse Happy Hour

Drive In Movie Theater

Taste of Colorado

Bus Ride Downtown

BBQ and Sunshine in the Park as a family

and much more!

HAPPY LABOR DAY!!!