Christmas: Hope, Joy, and Yum!

Disclaimer: This post has little practical information. Just a loving rant to my family.

I love Christmas. Always have. I have fond memories of reading Laura Ingalls Wilder's The Long Winter under our family Christmas tree, waking up my brother in the wee hours of Christmas morning and tiptoeing down to our stockings, and the smell of mom's cinnamon buns wafting over from the kitchen after we opened our stockings. Not to mention listening to Nat King Cole's record "The Christmas Song" over and over again (still my favorite Christmas album!). Though some of these traditions have fallen by the wayside (pretty sure my brother's wife may not like me jumping on their bed at 5:30 in the morning), my affection for Christmas time remains. It being my first married Christmas (hooray!), a conversation with my husband led me to reflect upon why I can't get enough of this holiday. Two thoughts occurred to me. The first thought was how many people's outlooks on life change during the holidays, especially in the first weeks of the season. Suddenly, our focus shifts from getting through the routine of the daily grind to those who are in need and to those we love. If only this joy could remain for the rest of the year. Think how much better our world would be.  The second reason I love this season is because of the hope that it offers. At the heart of the season is the birth of Jesus, a helpless babe born to a young couple, who could not have foreseen how their child would change the course of history and who continues to offer hope to our broken world. Hope and joy -- two reasons I love Christmastime.

This year gave me another reason to love Christmastime. I admit that following the Specific Carbohydrate Diet can be tough during holidays because of the sheer amount of sweets that inundate us. But this year, my family went above and beyond to ensure I had "BFF" (Becca Friendly Foods) at our celebrations. I was overwhelmed with the amount of options I had to choose from! So I wanted to take a moment to thank my family for all the work they do to support me and being on my diet. Thank you mom for the yummy pumpkin muffins and for all the hugs. Thank you to my in-laws for all the delicious options for our Christmas fondue and for welcoming me into your wonderful family. Thank you to my sweet sister for the delicious coconut flour cookies (I can't get enough!). And thank you to my husband who never ceases to amaze me with his continuous support, through good times and bad. How blessed I am. I love you all.

Cereal!

So one of the few cravings that has endured since becoming a SCDer, is the lack of a good cereal substitutes. Last week, I finally found an adequate equivalent. Part of the problem was that there are few things allowed on SCD that could take the place of the crunchy grains used in most cereals. But, with the help of an absolutely delicious SCD granola I found through Digestive Wellness, which I had been using on my yogurt, I was on my way to a crunchy and delicious SCD cereal.  I had never thought to use the granola as a cereal, mostly because I never had a substitute for milk. I had been meaning to make almond milk for a long time, but had never gotten around to it. My first attempt occurred last week, since I was off from school for the holidays. It is a bit of a laborious process, but with a good food processor, not as difficult as I had expected. The recipe I used for almond milk was from the website www.ohnuts.com. Here it is:

Almond Milk Recipe
yield: about 5 cups almond milk

• 1.5 cups whole blanched almonds or other whole raw almonds
• 4 cups water
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1.5 tbsp maple syrup or honey
• dash cinnamon

Other equipment:

• Blender
• metal strainer
• cheesecloth

Not sure I got 5 cups of milk out of it, but close to it. But I digress. Back to the cereal portion of this post. Once I had my almond milk (you will want to chill it before serving), I poured it over my granola, added some sliced almonds, a dash of cinnamon, raisins, and a drizzle of honey and ... drum roll please.... ta da! Cereal. Delicious cereal. Oh how I've missed you.

Oh sweet SCD cereal!

Do you have cereal ideas for us SCDers? Please share!