Happy Valentine's Day!

Today, these Raspberry Rice Krispie Treats seem just the right recipe to share. They are sweet and sour, which in my mind, defines the emotional spectrum that many of us experience this time of year. Not to mention that my Caramel Kamut Krispie Treats continue to be one of my most popular posts, and are overdue for a follow-up companion recipe!

My husband and I occasionally celebrate Valentine's Day, but more often we agree that it is too gimicky for our taste, putting a lot of strain on even the best relationships. Though my husband does have the quirky habit of buying me candy the day after the holiday, so that he can get the 50% markdown. Which I find absolutely hilarious and impossibly annoying at that same time. But this year, we are neck-deep in a labor of love that is both joyful and very stressful. There is not much left to spare on discounted candy for the moment.

Right now, we are in the midst of trying to flip a house. Which in theory should not be terribly hard with my background in real estate and my husband's in construction. I refer to it as our "Radical Side Hustle House," because for me it is a step on a path to possible early retirement and something that I work on in between training clients and trying to build this blog. But for my husband it is a new full-time business venture. It is also why, more recently, my posts here are less frequent. In my limited, less experienced way, I am trying to contribute what I can to help complete this project.

For this to happen, we sold our beautiful home, put most of our things into storage, moving with our 2 dogs and 1 cat into a relative's house where we try to co-exist peacefully with one bathroom and a semi-functional kitchen. The arrangement is awkward, and after more than a year of this set-up, let's just say it's getting a bit stale for everyone! 

We have also cut way back on everyday joys, like shopping, eating out and going to the movies to ensure that we're not mindlessly overspending. I even cancelled a 40th birthday trip to NYC and asked my husband not to buy me anything. He did anyway, ironically bringing home all the just released full-price Valentine's stuff (my birthday was weeks ago), which made me laugh. 

Do we have to go to this extreme? Maybe not. I tend to be ultra conservative. More so when I feel unsettled with so many unknowns in our future. It's a mindset. I grew up feeling very poor, even though I had plenty of food and things to entertain myself. But my discipline and frugality coupled with my husband's amazing work ethic will likely see us through this and into a better position than when we began.

Currently we are in the last quarter of the renovation stage. I'm in charge of the budget - paying the bills, organizing and recording the receipts for labor/materials, trying not to stress my husband out with my stress about the budget, house demolition work (complete), co-designing the house itself plus various painting and clean-up projects. My husband is the general contractor, completing many of the renovations himself or with the help of other contractors, as the budget allows. Our plan is to have the property on the market by spring, move into it until it sells, then acquire a smaller inexpensive home while we continue on this new path. The ultimate goal being to flip a few houses until we build up enough to afford a multitude of rental properties.

Behold Our Labor of Love! 

That about sums up the sweet and sour of how I am living right now, minus a few details. I still actively blog, just not as frequently as before. Eventually, I will return to posting at least twice a week.

Also in the pipeline are two e-books that I have started to write - one on planning a manageable, affordable first-time trip to Scotland. The second is a vegan cookbook, the specifics of which I am withholding until closer to completion. 

In the meantime, if you tend to crave fruity things like sour gummy candies or twizzlers, give these Raspberry Rice Krispie Treats a try. They are incredibly simple and quick to make. I prefer them just as pictured, or occasionally dipped in chocolate for extra sweetness.

Ingredients:
​1/2 cup freeze dried raspberries, plus 1/2 cup reserved
1/3 cup solid coconut oil
2/3 cup brown rice syrup
1 tablespoon pure vanilla paste or 1 teaspoon extract
4 cups brown Rice Krispie cereal

Directions:
Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside.

In a blender, grind the first 1/2 cup of the raspberries into a powder. Using a large non-stick saucepan, melt the oil and syrup over medium-high heat. Stir in the vanilla and ground raspberries. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Fold in the cereal and reserved whole raspberries until completely coated. Firmly and evenly press the mixture into the lined pan using a rubber spatula. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Use the parchment paper to lift from the pan. With a chef's knife, carefully cut into 8 squares. Store at room temperature. 

​Yield: 8 bars

A simple soup. And a life full of chaos. 

For those of you who have been following along on my blog journey, thank you for being patient and my apologies for being absent. I will get more in depth as to why I have been a bit MIA in my next post. In a roundabout way, it ties into the Valentine's themed recipe I have coming up.

In the meantime, I have been trying out nutritional yeast and lots of simple prep meals. Gradually, I am trying to ween myself off of cheese. Or to have a bit less of it if nothing else. It is the one holdout of all the dairy products I have cut from my diet due to severe lactose intolerance. Since hard, aged cheese contains very little of the sugar lactose, those of us missing the enzyme lactase are better able to digest certain cheeses with minimal symptoms. But, these cheeses also contain high amounts of saturated fat and sodium. 

Nutritional yeast is a pasteurized inactive yeast that contains a variety of B-Vitamins, high levels of protein, fiber and a variety of minerals such as iron, potassium and zinc. It is grown on beet molasses or cane sugar and is a completely different, beneficial strain of yeast than Candida albicans, which is known for causing illness due to overgrowth. For those trying to avoid GMO products, look for organic and/or cane sugar grown nutritional yeast products, as sugar beets tend to be genetically modified in the U.S. and currently, nutritional yeast is not approved for non-GMO certification.

Based on my research, it seems there is a bit of controversy surrounding an amino acid in nutritional yeast called glutamic acid, which is also present in MSG. In nutritional yeast, L-glutamic acid is a pure protein-bound, naturally occurring amino acid. It serves as a protein building block, but is also essential to the central nervous system, acting as a neurotransmitter. Even if we take every precaution to avoid consuming glutamic acid, our bodies can and do use other amino acids to produce it. In fact, glutamic acid is present in a great number of foods including meats, fish, hummus and soy. MSG, on the other hand, is factory made by breaking down L-glutamic acid using a chemical reaction that separates the glutamic acid from the protein it is bound to, and isolating the sodium salt component. Contaminants such as D-glutamic acid and carcinogens are introduced during production of MSG. These toxic byproducts and the extremely high sodium content are what contribute to the symptoms and illnesses many experience after consuming MSG. So to be clear, nutritional yeast is safe to eat and is free of MSG. The confusion lies in the fact that both products contain the same amino acid: one in its purest form, the other altered and refined.

Often described as nutty or cheesy, I personally find nutritional yeast to be a bit earthy in flavor. When sprinkled onto meals, it is milder and less salty than parmesan. I think it takes a little getting used to if you are a loyal and frequent consumer of cheese, but worth trying. Give it a chance the next time you make a nice soup, like my version of Tuscan Bean Soup. 

Bon Appétit!

Ingredients:
olive oil
1 small red onion, minced
1 celery stalks, diced
1 carrots, diced
1 tomato, chopped
1 cup chopped kale
1 cup white kidney beans
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 cups vegetable broth or water
​1/4 cup nutritional yeast

Directions:
In a sauce pan, heat the oil and add the onion, celery and carrots. Saute over medium-high heat until the onion becomes translucent. Add all of the remaining ingredients, except the nutritional yeast. Turn the heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. When ready to serve, spoon into serving bowls and sprinkle each with a tablespoon of nutritional yeast or parmesan cheese. Serve with warm bread or a side salad.

Yield: 4 servings