Vegan, Gluten-Free Strawberry Muffin recipe and My Food Allergy?

There's a saying that goes, "You are what you eat." I have begun to realize that these words mean a lot to me lately. I have been struggling with the fact that I may have an allergy to certain foods. Dairy? Gluten? Wheat? Soy? I have no idea. But, whatever it is that's messing with my system, has gotta go. Starting now. I no longer have the urge to satisfy the cravings I have for the dairy foods, and processed desserts and snacks. Not when the end result puts me through H*** and back! Do I sound a little peeved? Yes, I absolutely am. I used to be able to eat and drink whatever I wanted, no matter what the ingredients were, and nothing ever bothered me, but now, after two pregnancies and now that I am approaching 40 in just a few more years. Now, I have no other choice than to find out what it is that is causing this illness. I will get tested, go dairy free, gluten free, whatever it takes to get my health back in the happy place it should be. I'll start by changing my eating habits of course. I already have made some adjustments. I could not believe what I saw in my refrigerator and pantry, when I started to actually read the labels and saw that almost everything that has an expiration date contains some form of dairy, wheat, gluten, soy or Casein (a dairy derivative used in a ton of products for freshness). So here is a couple of Healthy recipes I found to share. I hope these recipes taste as good as they sound. I will try them and let you know! Thanks to fitsugar.com and Martha Stewart! My favorite crafty woman! P.S. If anyone knows where I can find the ingredient Xylitol, please post here or leave me a fb message. Thanks!

Berry Puns Are Berry Annoying" Strawberry Muffins (GF, Vegan, Sugar-Free) (Adapted from Babycakes Apple-Cinnamon Muffins) Dry Ingredients: - 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour - 1 tsp baking powder - 1 tsp baking soda - ½ tsp xanthan gum - ½ tsp salt - 1 tsp cinnamon - 1 generous pinch of nutmeg - 1/3 cup xylitol Wet Ingredients: - ¼ cup coconut oil (melted) - ½ cup almond milk - 1 tbsp apple sauce - 6–8 large strawberries (chopped) Directions: - Set the oven to 350ºF. - Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. - Add the wet ingredients except the strawberries. If the mixture is a little too dry, add more almond milk or apple sauce. Mix it up with a spatula — or your hand. It works best if the consistency is in between a cake batter and a pancake batter. - Add the strawberries. - Use ¼ cup of batter per muffin cup. - Bake for 20 minutes in total, but as Babycakes recommends, turn your pan 180 degrees every seven minutes or so to get an even bake. - Eat standing up. It feels good like that. Yields seven to eight cupcakes.

Strawberry, Fennel and Orange Salad Ingredients: 2 navel oranges 8 ounces strawberries (about 16), hulled and quartered or halved 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced lengthwise, some fronds reserved for garnish 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt Coarsely ground black pepper 8 Boston or Bibb lettuce leaves Directions Zest one orange, and reserve zest (2 teaspoons). Cut peel and pith away from both oranges. Use a paring knife to cut out the segments, letting them fall into a bowl, along with the juice. Add strawberries, sliced fennel, orange zest, and fennel fronds to the bowl of orange segments and toss together gently. Stir in the lemon juice and olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Add lettuce, toss, and serve.