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I had no idea the camps were suffering. That fact saddens me. I hope your letter gets a real response. This is all kinds of awesome. And opens my eyes a bit: Rethinking the cookie order. Numbers of scouts, numbers of dollars. When my now 24 year old daughter was 10, selling boxes of cookies earned her about two free weeks of already reasonably priced camp, plus money for the troop to pay for activities, camping, badges, Abe trips to savannah and New York.
About this time, programming was changed based on asking non-GSs what they wanted out of scouts, rather than focusing on what current Scouts wanted. All so that they could attract new girls. My oldest made it through Seniors, but with the changes, my youngest stopped after 6th grade. While it was hard after the years of commitment, I let her. Apparently the girl scouts need to hook up with Amazon Prime. Good for you on writing that letter and asking extremely well thought out questions. I wondered this years ago. Oh the smack down! Personally I left, never let my daughter get involved as the group here, well eww gross, and no one Ever has answers!
I feel now they are simply trying to float what looks like a hedge fund under a good name. I agree with your questions and hope you get some answers for your concerns. You are my HERO. Because that sounds amazing. All of the questions are entirely reasonable things to be asking, and all are well-framed. I hope the answers you receive in return are of equal quality. Please be sure to give us an update if you receive a response.
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Anyway, one of the Girl Scout cookie factories is in my town. Not that I condone crime of course…. I hand them twenty bucks and make them promise to keep me away from the cookies. If the troop has a way to take credit cards it is a much better option to take manual orders an deliver to your customers as you normally would. Your troop leader or cookie parent should be able to answer these questions for you or send you to the correct person within your service unit or council to be informed. As a mom I feel you pain on making sure the girls are informed on the proceeds f the sale as well as ensuring that the money goes where it should.
They closed our Red Rock camping facility a couple years ago, and our Cookieland camp ground is underused, falling into disrepair. I was not aware of the extortionally high shipping cost of online cookie sales — SOMEONE not the Post Office is making some big bux off that because shipping a whole case of cookies would barely cost that much, let alone a box.
These discounts are not available to a smaller retailer or a non-profit organization like the Girl Scouts. But even if they do and you do, can you please make your own club too? My daughter and I both want to join. I am with you all the way on this one. You do not sound crazy. Also, both my daughter and I were hoping to join the Dr. We will happily pay dues. I think taxidermy should be worth at least 3 types of badges.
Shannon akaMonty recently posted This is Hoping for some good answers to your great questions. That letter is fantastic! I absolutely recommend 4-H. I learned a lot of skills that still help me today. This and other GS related insanity is why we switched over to 4 H, where I became a co-leader.
It is a whole hell of a lot less hassle and the leaders are treated like intelligent and rational adults. Plus we have more options of how to run and host clubs. Also, I have a boy and a girl. GS meant I had to drive one child to a thing one night and then find a thing for the other kid another night.
The hell with that. I like things that are Inclusive, and to be treated like a functioning adult with her own mind. I was in scouts through HS, and spent most of my summers first as a camper, then a junior counselor, and finally a counselor. I was also the only GS in my high school, so cookie selling was quite easy because I just sold to my classmates.
As an adult, I also realize just how much the boy scouts focus on the outdoors skills and how little exposure I had to them as a girl scout. Yeah, what if people just donated without buying cookies? Or tell the people buying the cookies that the girls only get 60c. Thank you for not only asking these questions but making the rest of us aware of these potential issues as well. That shipping cost is extreme. I know my sister-in-law paid less than that to ship cookies from my nieces to us in Canada.
Girl Scouts has become greedy in my opinion. Then we sat through an HOUR of awards and back patting for adults who worked for the council. There was much more lead up to our decision to leave, much of it including cookie sales and many things like those you mentioned, but that was the last straw. I had no idea the camps were suffering, and honestly, that flatly sucks because I had some of the best times of my life at GS camp all paid for with those sweet, sweet cookie sales!
If we role play? I now feel a lot less guilt about not trying very hard to sell Girl Scout Cookies when I was a Brownie 30 years ago. Thanks for the free therapy! I think unfortunately that when the Girl Scouts connected with Nestle, they lost some credibility with me.
A corporation with very little values should not be endorsed by an organization that is supposed to be all about helping young women develop their own values. Maybe they should re-think their pension investment plan. Because that could further support gender inequality arguments. May officially opt out this year. Stuck with the job myself. Fundraising opportunities would be much cooler too. By on the other hand…. First world problems for sure. Excellent letter Jenny, way to educate others in your quest for answers! Awesome job reaching out to them.
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It sucks that this is the only way you can reach out to them and, hopefully, get a response. But unless they get their act together, we will not be joining the Girl Scout family. I am a Member-Volunteer and Trainer there. I am also the founder of the Outdoor Journey Project. We are wanting more official Outdoor Program back in Girl Scouting. I hope you get some answers this way or another way. I liked the idea of using the USPS instead of another shipping service and saving money. I also hope we can all wrap our minds around the debt problem we may have soon nationally and in some councils too.
I will bookmark this to come back again. Rea recently posted The school's verdict is in Both my girls were in the GS and I was cookie mom for 8 years. After many ignored emails and phone calls I basically told them that they were a bunch of pimps, whoring out the girls to pay for their admin costs. You, as always, rock! I tell the cookie sellers that I do not support the cookies but I give them a cash donation.
Happy New Year, Jenny!!! Thanks for being you, you anxiety ridden, depressed angel compatriot, you!
After dealing with with Boy Scouts for 12 plus years, I have found the best way to support the local troops was to donate money directly to the Troop. I always felt the same way about popcorn sales. I do hope you get some answers — FWIW, it sounded like a perfectly rational, polite, and sane letter to me. I just sent a message to the national headquarters suggesting they get on this. I hope someone from your media team is online tonight or tomorrow — The Bloggess has noted some problems with the online cookie sales and other sales and I HIGHLY recommend that someone contact her. Have you seen some of her other successful media campaigns?
The Girls Scouts definitely wants to have a positive experience with her followers. You mean there are people in that organization who get pensions? Hardly anyone gets a pension these days. The company where my husband works stopped funding its pension plan 6 or 7 years ago. When did the Girl Scouts get so big that the people at the top get to rake in pensions? All of the revenue earned from cookie activities—every penny after paying the baker—stays with the local Girl Scout council.
Each council determines its own revenue structure depending on its cookie cost, local retail price, and the amount that is shared with participating troops and groups. On average, Girl Scout council net revenue is approximately 65—75 percent of the local retail price, and the amount that is shared with participating Girl Scout troops and groups, referred to as troop proceeds, is approximately 10—20 percent of the local retail price.
Cookie program revenue is a critical source of funding for local Girl Scout councils, and it is often what makes it possible to serve girls in hard-to-serve areas, and maintain camps and properties. Girl Scout troops and groups must pool their proceeds to pay for program supplies, activities, and group travel. Girl Scouts may not earn proceeds as individuals; however, Girl Scout councils offer a wide variety of recognition items, program- and store-related credits, and travel experiences that girls are eligible to earn individually based on their sales.
Girl Scouts of the USA is paid a royalty by its licensed bakers for use of Girl Scout trademarks based on gross annual sales. Girl Scouts of the USA provides contractual services and approves all program, marketing, and sales materials developed by the bakers. GSUSA also provides coordination and training for national media activities, safety standards for girls and volunteers, our world-renowned girl-leadership program, and full support during cookie season. The local girl scout councils get most of the profit. The big national girl scout offices make money with royalties and licensing. The issue is that starting tomorrow the majority of local girl scout councils will have to start paying for the pension deficit and so a lot of the money they might have been able to spend on community projects, camps, scholarships will be sucked up by pension fees.
This is my first year as a Daisy Scout leader, and I had no idea this was going on. Please keep us posted! It sounds like a lot more fun than Boy Scouts ever was. Oh way to go girls! My daughter decided to quit Girl Scouts for cookie reasons Well, this was one of the many we discussed. Try to NOT sell cookies and see what Council says! That was rough, She had just completed her Bronze, and both her brothers are Eagle Scouts.
The decision was tough, but between cookie sales and some moral issues she had with the Girl Scouts, we both quit. Are they trying to deter people from buying cookies online with that shipping price? I would not buy online if I was going to be gouged that much on shipping. I hope you get some answers. I had no idea the GS were so corrupt.. Good luck with your Bronze Award, Hailey! And I love that you commented because I think this is the main problem I have. The council have always been focused on doing great things for girls and maintaining camps but so few people are aware of the changes starting tomorrow regarding council budgets and deficit issues.
Do they not sell the calendars anymore? Not as exciting for the girls because there are not all the crap prizes but for a 3. We would have to sell 7 boxes of Cookies to earn the same money. I was a box seller when I was a kid to go to camp. But even our troop knew we were being exploited. Juliet Gordon Lowe would be appalled. Less fattening, at least.
By all means, let the GSA weasel out of its commitment to the people who accepted lower wages in exchange for a solid pension. Thank you for addressing this! I am on the board of a non-profit formed to try to save a 70 year old GS camp when the council decided to sell it to developers. GS corporate structure needs a huge overhaul, and they need to put the scouting back into Girl Scout!
Girl Scout cookies sales has always been and still is encouraged to be a face-to-face interaction thus no extra fees. These generous folks are willing to pay the little extra to have the cookies delivered directly to their home while helping a Girl Scout earn money for their Girl Scouting experience. We can sell Jammie Dodgers and Jelly Babies. Everyone wears a fez to meetings. And the fact that the CEO referred you elsewhere is scandalous.
I am so glad you are taking them to task Jenny. Please update us if you get a response. I have always been a big supporter of the girl scouts even though I was kicked out of the brownies after 1 meeting. I have never had any problems that karen or mrs. It is due to weight and where you are shipping. There is no fee from what I can see. Also they have a full answer and question that she has not read. Also, cookies are lots of different prices depending on where you are. I agree that you and every scout parent should ask these questions and you should get answers.
So, I hope the answers are clear and get well disemminated so the misinformation getting out there is minimized. As for the pension question, I have no info or comment. About the cookie questions, I have been told a few things that might put perspective on this. Caveat- this is heresay, take this with a grain of salt! Council is not profiting from shipping. The cookies will be shipped from the baker.
The baker is charging a handling fee to pay for the manpower to sort, box, label, etc. Add to that the actual postage. Every box ordered and therefore paid for online will include an extra fee. This is the credit card fee. If someone orders cookies from your girl online, but chooses in person delivery, they must pay for them online with their credit card, and pay that online processing credit card fee.
Council does not profit from this fee, it goes to the website people to pay the banking fees. This is the first year for online cookie sales nationwide. All of us are new to it, and there will be questions and problems to iron out. But no one expects online orders to account for a large share of the cookie sales. Girls will still sell the majority of their cookies in person, as usual.
The vision for online sales is to allow a convenient method of selling to out-of-town friends and relatives. Online sales by girls are not open to the public. The troop is phenomenal and the girls are amazing. If it was anything else I would had written about it without trying to get answers that made sense first. I believe we have to hold our organizations to the same accountability we hold our girls and we do a disservice to them by not.
Those girls changed my mind about the organization. I just want the organization to be worthy of the girls and I think we can do better. Thanks again for your comment! It was really lovely. At least in our council. The troop leader and treasurer hid the money one year and absconded with it the next year and I had the local council harassing me for the money until I proved to them that I had turned the cookie money over to the bitc—uhhh the treasurer. I loved your letter. I was a cookie mom for years. Have you read the ingredients.
The chocolate mint cookies contain no chocolate. Is there a way to donate directly to the GGs or by virtual cookies that are actually pictures of kittens and goats? That is a wonderful letter! And if you start the doctor who club I have two members just waiting for the word go! I was a Girl Scout, earned my Gold, and later became a leader. That lasted 3 years.
I resigned at the end of that year. I never received any support from my council. I will buy at least a box of cookies from every girl who comes to my door, but I will not buy from the parents or online. I am a GS leader and am so conflicted about cookie sales. I was curious how I could just donate directly to the troop. Wait, so… Girl Scout cookie sales are going towards paying the pensions of former GS Council employees? Should there be a boycott? Maybe a kickstarter for troop expenses instead? Most parents pay all the expenses and such. The main issue is that as I understand it a portion of the money that used to go for at-risk girls, scholarships, camp maintenance, community stuff will now be going to pay off a pension deficit issue.
First off, this really gives me pause. Now we have a HUGE troop because no other parents can take one on so we have all these girls. So far our efforts are paying off. On to the cookies: Now I was under the idea that they were making closer to. We do see a decent amount and we use it for special activities for our troop. As much as I like eating Girl Scout cookies, the troupes get far too little money for the work they do to sell them. Not to mention, wide disparities in how troupes are run means that many troupes will never see a campground.
I left the scouts as a kidlet because, after seeing all the wicked cool stuff my brother did in Boy Scouts, I was frustrated that all we did in Girl Scouts was sell cookies. I know both of my kids will want to join. I was an avid Girl Scout Leader, supporter, cookie coordinator, camp leader, Caddie trainer….. I walked away from the organization when I was faced quite rudely, by a council employee…whose pension I am now supposed to provide for by buying cookies?!?!?! Since we are questioning GS cookie sales, I would like to know why there are different prices for different areas of the U.
This is why our troop stopped selling cookies. You are better off finding out ways to raise troop funds. What Anne said in I have no idea what pensions have to do with it though. You have to buy a case? This is exactly what bothers me. NO there should NOT be a boycott!! Only some councils start sales tomorrow, others get to wait one or two months. If you boycott now you are harming some troops, but not others, and you are not touching GSUSA because they do not benefit from cookie sales!
This issue with the pensions has been going on for years as groups SUE the scouts to stop sales of camps, some of them historic and very high value. The folks at HQ and council offices refuse to discuss the issue, without lawyers involved so sadly, no one is going to answer you.
They replied to me online and said that they would be in touch when business hours resume…I hope that works for everyone for now…. I think I am done buying girl scout cookies. Bravo to you and Hailey for asking the hard questions. I am avidly awaiting the GSA response.
All these should be transparent! I am a Cubmaster for Boy Scouts and we have the same problem with popcorn. Then that money stays right in the group and council never sees it oops did I say that outloud? Who knew they got pensions? I was in it until 8th grade when it was no longer cool.
Our Cub Scouts receive 70 cents of every dollar raised that comes back to the council, district, and pack from our popcorn sales. It has paid for various activities my son has participated in over the past four years as a Cub Scout. I was a Girl Scout working in my Silver award when I had to quit due to school activities and work.
I hope you get some answers Jenny! I loved GS horse back camp and hate to see camps like the one I attended being closed. My nieces are GS members and I support their fundraisers. However, I may just start giving them the money directly. And there are councils in the country. If I order something online and pay that much for shipping, I kind of expect it to be beamed directly to my house…. Jenny Well said as I too had same concerns. Having been to 2 leader meetings, having 3 of my 4 girls attend camp, I question where the funds go.
As I saw cost of cookies rise as the troop gets such a small portion. I know it is supposed to teach being strong independent young ladies but I can teach my girls that in a much better productive way. Maybe they need to review all their programs and look at why and how boy scouts tend to stay in longer and are more successful.
I always hear from friends who have boys that they at least stay in til 13 or My girls were out by age 8. Skip the Thin Mints and try these. Let us know if you get any answers — even bad ones. Good luck with the group your daughter is in. I was 9 and had no clue what she was talking about I digress- this is for the lady who said no one could say no -just saying ;0.
It makes me sad as I was a scout many moons ago and am disappointed at the bureaucracy. Good for you for supporting your daughter. Can I link to this on my facebook page? If an organization cannot be transparent with their money and its allocations, then that is a BIG problem. Also, the fact that the CEO just blew you off and referred you to someone else with your valid questions reeks of shadiness.
I work for a large GS Council myself — my team of 3 council employees oversees about registered Girls plus leaders. We are a small piece of a large council. We struggle all the time to try and help our volunteers and girls succeed with just the 3 of us — we are understaffed in my opinion.
I was in Girl Scouts and then…things happened…. The important thing is: If I had the same shipping model for my business I would be out of business. They even let us adjust awards to fit the needs of the kids, including the special needs kids like my daughter. Now about your possible Dr. Can it be for grown ups, I mean kids, I mean everyone, instead? Thanks for standing up to the cookie pushers. It has become a corporate entity that has lost focus on their mission. I love this letter!! Those prices are not right!
This just makes me sad. I had a great time as a scout, but even back in the 80s I think a huge part of my experience was because my FATHER was my troop leader. Oh, it was scandalous back then! He found that the state would give you a patch for camping in 4 or 5 state parks in one year, so we earned that sucker.
As a senior scout we joined up with one of those last remaining Mounted Girl Scout troops and had a blast. The group is still going, just not as scouts anymore. Got bitched at nine ways to Sunday. This here is a bad business model. Moreover, this shit of online sales…selling the cookie sales was once about teaching girls lessons of social interaction, teamwork, self presentation, business…now? Yea, those diabetic comas you sell were meant to support the camps and scholarships for at risk girls. I have a troop of low income girls.
We need the money from cookie sales. If you have a problem, you should deal with it directly with Council, not hurt the rest of us. My daughter also has a disability and was kicked out of Girl Scouts after her leader physically assaulted her and the council blamed it on my daughter having a disability. Okay, so let me get this right: The Girl Scouts are using child labor to fund their own retirements.
I feel the exact same way about GS. Both my daughters are in, but I was never thrilled with the scouts myself. If you decide to make that Dr. Who troop, my oldest daughter will love to join. She has the dress and all!! Thank you for giving voice that I, as a leader, and I, as a gs mother have been asking for ever. And if they kick Haley out, check out venturing in a few years. All have spent time as a Girl Scout. In our area over the last 17 years In have watched almost all our camps close but yet 2 very high class Girl Scout Headquarters be built.
At one point 4 of my daughters were members in the same troop. When they went before the local counsel to petition for approval for their project they were told they need to sell x amount of cookies or no approval would come……… only 1 of my girls are still involved….. We have lost our respect for the organization. I know many good women who still try to cling to the original ways and meaning of the club so they can pass it on. I have the greatest respect for them. Sadly i feel they are fighting a loosing battle.
So sad… Well said Jenny. I hope your letter goes viral. It is past time for your message to be addressed. Girl Scout Barbie is dressed in a Junior uniform why? Because 6th grade girls have boobs? Lynne Cantwell recently posted The Grumpy Cat calendar caper. Apparently the pension problem has been an ongoing issue the GSA has been trying to tackle since the collapse of the economy in and an unfortunate choice in freeze their pension under the old rules in that ended up hurting them by not allowing them to take advantage of the pension relief available in I am assuming that they are just running out of options.
They did go 7 years before turning to cookie sales — I will give them that much. I still support Girl Scouts and hope they can resolve these issues soon. But, I too will be waiting to hear what they have to say on these questions — there needs to be clarity! I hope that the powers-that-be at the Girl Scout Headquarters do read your letter and do not consider you a psychopath with a blog, because you bring up some excellent points about screwed-up business models. Sounds like making the almighty dollar to feed into the system to create more money for the system is their f-ing priority, rather than spending the money serving at-risk girls with resources — and that sucks.
Kudos to you, Jenny, for writing this letter and asking the questions. This is important stuff. I hope that you get a response from them. Low salt Ritz crackers, Ghirardelli dipping chocolate and a drop of peppermint extract. I rarely post comments. When I first read this post, I did not give it much deep thought to question your reasoning. Instead, I sent the link to a friend who I thought would appreciate your feisty letter and your attempt to get answers to some valid question. By friend responded, but made me see why your letter is focused on some of the wrong things. I think someone from the organization should respond to you and explain things.
In terms of budgeting, therefore, they have to put money to pensions first. Also, the blogger admits that she has heard the GS is pursuing funding for this. Why not ask for details on that instead of framing an accusation? Could the Girl Scouts approach a shipping company and get a better deal? Possibly, but they need serious bulk orders to do that. Finally, shipping cost could also include the cost of packaging, printing labels, and labor. This bread recipe is one of the best. Thankyou Sarah for sharing and helping so many. This bread is so wonderful! Its been life changing.
I love the original recipe and have now successfully substituted rice flakes for oats sponger and needs extra water , also worked with cooked buckwheat rather than oats. Have used olive oil instead of coconut oil, have left out maple syrup. It all works and tastes great. Hi there, Could you please tell me how much water extra you used when you replaced the Oates with rice flakes?
Hope to hear from you soon. As an Australian coeliac I make this loaf all the time with quinoa flakes and never add extra water I never add or replace the maple syrup either. I absolutely LOVE this bread! This is so perfect! My 2nd batch I ran out of flax seeds and used ground flax with the addition of a little extra water. Then I tried adding a little extra maple syrup, cinnamon, and golden raisins.
Like half a cup at a time. I make it in a bowl, let it rest hours, squish handfuls into the muffin pan, and then keep the 2nd bake phase to 30 minutes. It still works perfectly. Hi there, I made a loaf of this and froze it whole without slicing and am regretting it now! HI, Vinz, I refreeze a number of things. With bread in general, and this one in particular, the main reason to avoid re-freezing would be the change of texture, a weird freezer taste that could possibly appear, and the coconut oil could turn rancid.
Try toasting the slices before re-freezing them, to evaporate the extra moisture and avoid any change in flavours. So tasty with the coconut oil and the crunchy hazelnuts — and healthy too Ps love your raw brownies tooooo!!! Made them loads of times — they really satisfy that sweet fix! Psyllium replaces yeast to bind and eliminates the need for so much grain and opens the door to more seeds, nuts and fruit than ordinary bread. Also I add lots of pumpkin pie spices — cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, ginger.
I stumbled across this bread when it appeared on my FB feed. It is definitely on my to do list for this week. If I wanted to add farro to this bread, not removing any other ingredient, what other adjustments would I need to make? My first loaf is in the oven as I type. I DID use farro. I cooked boiled it just a little to soften it up just a bit. I had to use Flax powder instead of seed which means, I think, more water was necessary BUT I used a little less water because I also I cut back a little on the oatmeal thinking it would all balance out.
I had left it over night wrapped in plastic wrap holding it together. This morning when trying to take the plastic wrap off it was wanting to just fall apart. Oh well, if it tastes good…. I needed more liquid. I like it a lot; in a cold salad, or soup or oatmeal. Adaptable in the same way rice or quinoa might be…or barley. After reading this I went to the kitchen to make this no-bread immediatly! Are the psyllium seeds really necessary? I am excited to bake this loaf of bread! I am baking mini loaves as gifts for my clients this year with a homemade side of fall harvest butter.
Has anyone had any experience with mini loaves and baking times? Any feedback would be much appreciated. We have just launched a blog about activities from our everyday lives in the Arctic. It is great to be able to blog and chat with people around the world even when we live in sparsely populated parts of the world. We have very much benefit from your tips to promote our blog. Thank you and welcome to visit, comment and share our blog too. Hi everyone, I tried this and after the first 20 minutes of baking removed the loaf from the pan and placed it upside down directly on the rack.
It sort of oozed around and I had to remove it or it would have fallen through the rack. What did I do wrong? Any help appreciated, thanks. I would recommend letting it sit for an entire 24 hours before baking it for best results. IT will not hold the shape of the pan, but try it out! I do not use grains and would love to make this. Any suggestions of what I can use instead of oat? I have replaced the oats with veggie pulp from whatever I juiced.. It is amazing to find such a great recipy from yourself. We have been developing a bread of that type for some time and has come to fantastic results.
The Heart of Nature we call it and we have created it as vegan and vegetarian friendly. It is really great to see your article because it makes us feel right about what we do. Hi — I am so thrilled to have found this bread — and everyone seems to love it! Can I ask — why do you turn it out of the pan half way through baking? And if you keep it in pan, what difference is there?
Many thanks — Bec. Thank you so much for this recipe!! I have been making 1 life-changing bread every week for the last 6 weeks; I will never go back to regular bread! This recipe is so easy, the bread is juste so tasty, and the toasts… the toasts!! The nuttiest toasts ever!! I do have to bake it longer than what is was recommended — 25 minutes in the silicone loaf pan, than around 45 minutes on the grills. Thank you for the positive feedback — it means a lot! Wow, it was amazing, nutty and crunchy and really delicious.
Love your book and your blog, keep it up. I used uncooked, the soaking process sorts that out. Yesterday made the break with white quinoa and it was just as nice. When you used quinoa, did you make any adjustments to the liquid amounts? Thank you so much for an awesome recipe. My brother loves it. I have always thought, I wanted to make this for him. This guide helped me a lot in preparing it and my bro just loved. Keep posting recipes like this. Omg, this recipe looks so promising! But can I just say something about your writing style?
Your climax moment when you meet the loaf for the first time… It just made me horny for bread! I friend makes it into a flat bread with dried coconut and raisins. Love the olives and carraway addition as well. Has anyone tried a sweeter version, maybe adding cinnamon and nutmeg?
Thank you for this again. These are the modifications I have made to the original recipe qty is for 2 loves of bread: In another bowl I mix all the dry ingredients together. I find it easier to gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ones in a mixing bowl.
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When all the mixture are completed mixed, I scoop them to the silicone loaf pans. Now my 3rd attempt is perfect. Thanks very much Sarah for sharing the great recipe with us. I have stopped buying supermarket bread. Thank you so much for this amazing recipe. I have been making, and eating this wonderful bread since November, Hemp hearts and sunflower seeds are wonderful additions. This recipe is very forgiving…. I use ground Flax seed and am surprised at your suggestion of using the seed whole as they are indigestible and have no benefit unless ground.
I would like to leave it out all together. Have just made this again for the first time in ages. It is at the resting stage. Looking forward to the eating stage. I love this loaf bread I will come back again for picking up any recipe from your site thank you. We especially like it toasted and spread with ricotta cheese and homemade raspberry jam. Be sure to refrigerate or freeze, as it gets moldy in a warm kitchen. Made this today, but used buckwheat instead of oats.
I also added some lingonberries I had in the freezer. It turned out perfect. This recipe is beautiful. I would like to use buckwheat instead of oats. Did you use the same measurement of buckwheat as the oats in the recipe? Thanks so much for sharing! The loaf turned out beautifully. How much buckwheat did u add, same as oats? I made this last night and had some for breakfast, delicious! Thank you, thank you for this recipe! I have been making it weekly for the past 4 months or so and cannot remember life without a loaf in the fridge! To anyone wanting to try substitutions — just try, the recipe is so forgiving.
Every single week I do something different, depending what I have on hand. If I add lots more nuts common — this week I added a cup of pecans in addition to the almonds then I add a touch more water until it feels right. I also tried cacao nibs this week. They perfectly complement the coconut oil. Love trying different things too! This bread is amazingly wonderful, a God send!
I make it with rolled Rye as I have intolerances to so many grains, I substitute the maple syrup with Malt, delish! It means that I can eat some carbs again, I have energy to get past lunch time again, a real bonus, it has healing properties too where it matters. Well done truly life changing. Your recipe has them! The only substitution that I will have to make is replacing the almonds for pumpkin seeds since I have a nut allergy.
It is such perfect fuel this bread! I made this and it was good! I am looking for a quick portable breakfast, so I put mine in a muffin tin. I made 6 muffins the first time, then put the dough in the fridge and kind of forgot about it. More than a week later, I baked the rest of the dough. I did add more water. Instead of putting them directly on the oven rack, I used a pizza tray with holes in it. This made 18 short muffins. BTW, I really like that the ingredients were in weights!
Do you use salted or unsalted? I use organic unroasted sunflower seeds. I always double the recipe and thenI put 1 tablespoonful of salt — but even more could be used! If I put only 2 teaspoonfuls like in the recipe it would be way too low-salted for my taste. But also this can be adjusted. When you bake, you notice what changes you personally need. This bread really changed my life!
Since then my breakfast problems have been solved! Dear Sarah, this IS definately a really amazing and tasty bread, for sure. But after realising how many calories it has, I was shocked!! It might be good fats and carbs and lots of fibre as well, but at the end of the day, there are people like me who have to look down for the calories. Having calories per slice and I definately have to eat at least two slices to eat myself full, this is a huge factor and has to be pointed out!
It might be a healthy alternative to usual bread with flour, but definately with health restrictions for some of us as well. Thanks for the feedback! If the rest of your diet is full of low-calorie plants, then you have found the right balance. Maybe put in less coconut oil and sugar … I made this loaf about a year ago or so and found it a tad bit too oily and sweet, but still yummy. Thanks for developing and share this recipe. I baked it in one of those glass convection table top ovens, degrees F for the times given.
Condensation all over the glass sides of course, a little concerning at first — loaf a bit moister than expected but that is so much better than too dry and crumbly! And it may be from the convection oven, heating it longer would have dried it some. Toasted a second slice…crisped up a bit, very nice. Hope the psyllium plays gently on my system but 3 Tablespoons of the powder in the entire loaf should not be a problem. Here are the changes I made: I also used Ground Flax Meal which i normally keep stored in the freezer to help keep it fresh. The flax meal simply meant longer baking time by about 10 mins.
I used a regular loaf pan lined with parchment paper that hung over the sides so i could easily lift it out after 20 mins. Has any one tried to make this without coconut oil or ghee? My husband hates the taste of both of these oils. He does not mind any other oil ironically but I cant think of another oil that is solid at room temp, so maybe they wont work?
I tried it with coconut oil but he immiditaly tasted it and would not have it. I left the oil out by accident once and the bread turned out just fine. I now just add 1 Tblsp. I have to point out that there are plenty of other reputable brands of odourless coconut oil out there, but I find this one to be very good value for money. I added NO oil. This is such a high fat recipe. Oil is not necessary. The end result is much better without that extra added grease. Eliminating good the oil reduces calories as well.
You can try the refined coconut oil that has no taste. I get organic refined coconut oil by the gal online. This happened for me, too, as I hate the taste of coconut oil. At first I used olive oil, and it worked well. I only put oil in the pan before putting the dough there, to avoid it sticking to the walls of the pan though it makes it anyway, maybe I should use baking paper. So for me olive oil and rapeseed oil work well, the only change I noticed was better taste! Lol Probably the quality of my psyllium is not so great! This recipe uses Psyllium seed Husks.
In a lot of places online, they sell Psyllium Husks not seed husks. Can Psyllium Husks be used? I subsitituted ground hemp seeds in place of the psyllium and the bread came out perfectly fine and tasted delicious. Hemp is a lot easier to find and has a lot of health benefits. Orla, so happy to come across your comment. How much water did you use? Is it much more than in the original recipe? Olive oil would probably cause your bread to not firm up properly or burn.
Avo oil has a high burn point and a buttery taste. Can I use ground flax seeds instead of chia seeds? Will the bread come out of the pan easily in the 1st part when you bake for only 20 mins? What a wonderful looking recipe! At the moment I am completely grain free, is there any way to make this paleo? I love this recipe, and your whole site! I made this with cooked rice a mix of brown, red, white instead of the oats and it worked really well. Has anyone tried food processing the mix into a flour-y consistency before adding the wet ingredients? My husband makes this for us every week it really IS life-changing!
I am like you, not a fan of big chunks, so I ran the rolled oats, nuts and seeds in the food processor. Not until flour, but just to break it up a little. Maybe five one-second pulses. I made this bread a while ago and loved it! Thanks so much for this recipe, I absolutely love it! I made this bread with quinoa flakes instead of oats as well and it turned out great, no need to add extra water. So you just put the bread upside on the actual rack in the oven? I just did that, but it was very difficult to handle.
Is there an easier way? I works really and this way my 3 year old loves it. I started making this bread once a week, several months ago. A week or so after I started making and eating this bread I realized that my craving for sugar had almost disappeared. This is life-changing bread! Thanks for this comment. I was thinking about adding hemp seeds I was going to half the chia and add the other half hemp. I am out of sunflower seeds do I was going to run to the store. I make this every week and I love it.
During the fall I make a pumpkin spice variation using nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon. I substitute the sunflower seeds for pumpkin seeds. I also decorate the to with a handful of these seeds too. The pumpkin itself becomes half of the water. Also instead of maple, I use molasses. Also, the high amount of fibre in the bread probably reduces the actual number of calories we absorb unless you chew your food very very well, i suppose.
If you add a teaspoon of butter which is really all that will fit! Could you potentially double the amount for one loaf without ruining the consistency of the final product? I was thinking of using the toasted bread for veggie sammies, but the pieces of bread end up being a little too short. Can I bake this whole grain bread in a bread machine, or is that really Really not needed? Am super psyched about making dark whole grain Scandinavian bread,.
My bread machine warns that using a lot of nuts and seeds will damage the non stick pan in time so best to not use your machine, I know I am addicted to mine! Yes, I always use honey instead of maple syrup for this recipe. You can probably sub flax seeds with sesame seeds. Basically, the hotter you heat it, the more potential for reducing nutritional value. Excessive heat can have detrimental effects on the nutritional value of honey. Heating honey higher than degrees F for more than 2 hours will cause rapid degradation. Heating honey higher than for any time period will cause rapid degradation and caramelization.
I replace half of the flax seeds with millet. I also toast all the seeds and oatmeal in a cast iron pan on top of my stove. This breaks the husk of the flax and makes the seeds pop making this even more nutritious…. You could try dates and perhaps other diced and dried fruit or molasses for its iron content, coconut syrup or stevia like Sarah mentioned with spices. This bread would be great as a savory, stuffing bread with sage in it and thyme. I was once, in the late 70s, a non meat, whole foods person… I eventually in the course of spiritual development began to see the power of grace and gratitude in all things including food.
While remaining much the same, I do include some meats, depending on the source… Thank you. My student brought in some that her father made and now we are all addicted. I over load mine with the slivered almonds and cut back a tiny bit on sunflowers. I am also working on turning it into a savory loaf by adding more savory spices salted nuts and a little tiny bit of Italian sausage. A work in progress…. And then the phytic acid and other anti-nutrients and just in the water than then gets cooked into the bread.
Cooking kills all good stuff about it. General questions — not just for this post: Chia — anyone know how to get phytic acid off of chia?? Soaking it just turns it into goo. And eating it without soaking it just binds all other good micronutrients to which just get pooped out. And has anyone heard about regular chia consumption causing leaky gut symptom? And Sarah has mentioned that hemp hearts do not need to be soaked because they are already really digestible, but what about the anti-nutrients? Should they be soaked too? Should we be soaking all our nuts? Any way to make them yummier?
Can you roast them after soaking, or would that kill the good stuff? Thanks anyone who can teach me a few things on these topics! To answer the soggy nut query — from what I have read, I understand you can soak and rinse nuts then dehydrate them at a low enough temperature to bring back the crunch without damaging nutrients. You know, you just asked ALL the questions I was confused about…theres really so much of info to absorb..
I hope someone responds!! I suggest soaking most nuts and seeds then draining that water before drying the nuts and seeds on a very low oven temp or dehydrator to retain nutrients. Roasting reduces phytic acid while the bread is baking. Flax is heat sensitive so yes, some nutrition is lost in roasting the bread. Ground flax oxidizes quickly so if you want to use this form, always grind some yourself to use right away.
Never buy already ground flax. Sprouted chia, flax and hemp are actually beneficial for leaky gut due to the great fiber that supports good gut bacteria. After soaking and drying nuts, you get a yummy crunch. Soaking activates an enzyme phytase that neutralizes phytates. You are not soaking out the phytase. Here is an article that explains it relatively simply. Do you have a breakdown of calories, carbs, fiber, protein, etc.
It baked ok in the oven but ended up very crispy and raised on the outside and sloppy inside, so basically just too much water — hard to avoid with the soaked oats. Once you grind flaxseed, it begins to become rancid, so only grind it right before use. Came out just as in the picture and tasted delicious. I substituted pumpkin seeds for the nuts, which worked really well.
I found it crumbles quite a bit when I tried to cut some slices to freeze it had cooled completely — so I ended up eating three instead of one oops. Should leaving it in the oven longer make it less crumbly? Try giving the nuts and seeds a quick blitz first, and then add at least two cups of water. This comes out perfectly held together when I make it that way. I have had this recipe book-marked for a while and finally tried it. It is just the hearty addition I need to go with my soups and salads for lunch. I halved the recipe and made a mini-loaf, no silicon loaf pan so I lined my metal pan with parchment paper.
I just made it today! I think I will try it with the ground flax next time. I like the taste but the texture bothered my son. Maybe the ground flax will help that. Ground flaxseeds contains thio-cyanate—a cyanide-like compound and should never be given to children. Would you mind sharing the source of your information?
I grew up on homemade bread, toasted every single day however sadly I seem to be in the gluten intolerant camp so life with morning toast now means I often skip breakfast and have a second coffee instead ahem.. This turned out beautifully. I put some butter and a bit of honey and OH MY! This bread is life changing and so easy to make I can see myself pre-mixing the dry stuff into ready to go portions so all i have to do is all the wet ingredients. Thank you EVER so much for sharing this truly life changing bread!! Do you grease the pan? Could you substitute any type of seed for the chia seeds?
Such as pumpkin seeds or sesame seeds? Also, could you chop up the almonds? And, what about honey instead of syrup? Hi, I have tried a few recipes since I came back from a holiday in Copenhagen, they were expensive and ridiculously laborious. Some friend put the link to your recipein her page before Christmas. Thank you so much for sharing this!!! I baked my first loaf and absolutely love it. I take two slices to work and toast it up for a snack.
I have made this wonderful bread and substituted the rolled oats with quinoa flakes. I use a nonstick pan as I will not use silicone and otherwise following all instructions. Unfortunately, the bread comes out looking beautiful but is still very damp inside, even after cooking for much longer. I love the taste and will persist but can someone please tell me what I can do to remedy this?
Wonder if, after baking time is done, leave the loaf in the oven after you have turned it off and let it cool in the heat a bit longer. Would that possibly help to make the center less damp? Also, have you checked your oven temp to make sure it is right? Just another thought as I typed! You have to remove it from the pan after the first 20 minutes and bake it further not in pan. I made it the other day for the first time,I love it, and what I did, I used a regular breadpan but used parchment paper in it and baked it for the 20 minutes, then I lifted it out of the pan, easy with the parchment paper , took that off and placed just the bread on the rack in the oven and baked for 40 more minutes, not damp at all after that, hope that helps you.
I followed the instructions exactly and also checked my oven temperature was correct. I cooked it until it looked burnt on the outside but still wet inside. I did replace the oats with quinoa flakes as I can not eat oats and think this may be causing the problem.
I just do not know how to fix it! Thank you for this amazing recipe! Hi this is a fabulous recipe and we make it every week — especially great as I am intolerant to yeast and sour dough so this is the only bread I have been able to eat regularly for ages. TIP — I discovered by accident that if you use boiling water you do not need to soak the recipe overnight, or at all.
Works perfectly every time. I also never bother with the maple syrup, or chia seeds as they are really expensive here. This is possibly the reason some people find the bread tasteless: I so much love this bread. Thank you for sharing all your wonderful recipes Sara. Holiday joy with this bread! I also am so in love with this recipe which a New friend bestowed to me on our first meeting. I thank her every time we meet for such a gift. They keep me sane. Especially my big fluff-kitty that I can hug like a teddy bear! I used to use heat for muscle spasms, then my chiropractor turned me on to ice.
I have a huge one in my freezer and I love it. Gotta have my coffee in the mornings, even if it is decaf these days! I buy a bag and hide them in the freezer for a secret, late night snacks. Perfect with a glass of milk for dunking. It brings me so much guilt-free pleasure when my insomnia is running my brain on overtime! Chips ahoy and my happy pills. I can get new books, classics, whatever for me, my classroom and my kids for dirt cheap prices. I am a foot person and hate to have ugly heels. Seriously, find anything at all that you enjoy making or you think sounds like it might be fun knit, sew, bake goodies, buy a pre-made boring looking something and decorate it all sparkly and pretty…anything , and have fun making it for someone else.
Disposable fountain pens and nice stationery. Tombow adhesive pen thingers Books and my Kindle Coffee. Helen recently posted Revising Web Content. Pangea Organics facial toner — spray. Lavender neck wrap that heats up in the microwave. Love everything it does, love the search for recommended books, plus it makes me smile every time I pick it up because my son bought it for me.
Especially the Disciplined Breakdown cd. There is so much on your list I already love, including Dr. Who and Neil Gaiman. I am cooking with it and moisturizing with it. Chriss recently posted 30 in Even when finances are tight, I can slip on down there and find a wonderful new book to read. You should know that for our last anniversary, the husband and I gave each other metal chickens.
My surprise 70th birthday party. Yes, I know I shouldnt be watching things like Matt Smith running naked at my age but what the hey just….. My lovely new great grand daughter Egg custard cup cakes, my Doctor Who birthday cake made by a neighbours daughter and Jammie Dodgers Better mention my grandkids too who managed to keep the secret about the surprise party for 6 months despite being here with me almost every other day!!!!
Last but not least…Jennys blog which keeps me sane on the bad days….. Anything Doctor Who — I covet a life sized Tardis replica that is, in fact, bigger on the inside. So many great authors out there! I cannot live without yarn. Next is the knit beard I promised my 5 year old niece. I love turning on old Disney music, it is so much fun and always makes me happy. Mastering the Art of French Cooking, because everyone should have a copy. Even when I start out with a different recipe, I inevitably come back to Julia.
I love cooking, and it makes me so happy to be in the kitchen with my mother making 5 batches of mayo just to prove that we can get it right. Carmex, but only in the glass tubs with the metal top. Slather it on and rub the excess on the back of your left hand…or right if you apply left. Carmex just makes everything better. It is an acquired taste…like most of us. Like you I have always been a voracious reader, reading up to 3 books a day. These stories twist and curve around and through each other, and they are alternately scary, beautiful, funny, sad, maddening, and a host of other adjectives.
The book itself is gigantic nearly five lbs! It is a fucking work of art. The download file is huge because of all the color pages, somewhere around a gigabyte and a half. It comes in PDF format, and you can read it on your Kindle if you have one. Anyway, here it is: It is a beautiful piece that explores in detail the frustration of trying to explain mental illness to those who have never experienced it. Adrasteia recently posted We saw some excitement on the side of the road. My heated mattress pad.
I have joint pain issues, and some extreme intolerance to cold. This thing is aaaaaawesome. It is so warm and snuggly — like a bed sized heating pad. My memory foam mattress. I love stationery, and pens are my kryptonite. I love my re-full able Parker fountain pen and have collections of coloured pens esp Slicci, Frixion, and Staedtler. Our Family Game Cabinet. Looking forward to teaching my 9 year old Risk soon!
About 7 years ago, my mother-in-law and I were shopping at Tuesday Morning, and I saw an electric griddle and mentioned that I wished I had one, so she bought it for me for Christmas. I love that thing. I have literally never been able to burn a pancake on it. It makes me happy every time I use it. Fun to read all these! Essential oils and all that. Sometimes I still have to take the tylenol or advil with it, but that stuff helps take the edge off and lets me relax until the real drugs kick in.
Reading these comments makes me realize even more how lucky I am to have found my people. I so love you guys. Jenny the bloggess recently posted Like Oprah, but for poor people. Curling up with a super soft blanket, my dogs and a great book. They know how to live in the moment. And as for tech- my iPhone iPad and Netflix! And the What Should I read Next site made me laugh. ShiKai Yuzu body wash and my electric blanket. Excellent book for geeks. He loves me so much and works so hard to take care of me. That counts as a discovery, right? Jean recently posted Recommendations From a Lifestyle Guru.
One of our favorite weekend night activities is making mixed drinks, putting on a movie or TV show in the background, and playing Scrabble. Which are also great by themselves. The last mascara I bought, and my new favorite. One of the funniest websites ever, making fun of celebrities who dress poorly and celebrating all that is cheesy. Yes, I own the entire series on DVD. Could it BE any better? I legitimately love it. A price this perpetually broke girl can appreciate. Every time we drink out of them, we feel so classy.
Plus, the company is really wonderful. I accidentally broke one of the glasses and tweeted about it — and they contacted me and arranged to send two brand new replacements, free of charge.
If I ever make enough money to afford to buy their products myself, they will have a customer for life. Fat Family Night Fridays. Then we pop popcorn, the adults pour some wine, and we turn the lights out and watch something on Netflix until the wee hours. I also suffer from depression and no matter how bad my week is, I just tell myself to hold on until Friday, when I can be with my people and let things be good for awhile. Cannot put a price on contentment. Also for the way it shows us how the most ordinary people are actually extraordinary when given the chance.
My MacBook, which is over five years old. It keeps me connected to a wonderful community of women that developed over on another, now defunct, blog. A Britta water pitcher so I can always drink clean, chlorine-free water. I drink a ton. My Camelback water bottle. JASON lavender body wash. And, also, a bath sheet. Youtube and Stephen Fry.
And the two combined: Miranda recently posted I hate English. Maybelline Baby Lips in Quenched. And for the furry set, the only toy my cat will even glance at, the Cat Dancer. Seriously, the weird ball of floof has no interest in catnip or the other toys ive purchased for her but just hearing me touch the Dancer brings her running. OMG tardis beach towel! Tanya recently posted All music by Jonathan Coulton. Glitter bottles take an empty bottle, fill with hot water, squeeze in glue, add tons of glitter, glue on cap then duct tape for good measure.
Totally mesmerizing and works wonders on my autistic son. My family now has four including one made from a tiny whiskey bottle. When it comes to material items, the one at the top of my list is yarn. My grandma taught me how to knit and crochet as soon as I was old enough to properly hold the needles and hook and not just try to stab myself in the eye with them. That was seriously one of the greatest gifts I was ever given. I work with technology and people all day, to the tune of a great deal of stress, and I take medication for clinical depression.
I make socks — I love to make socks. I also make other things, like baby blankets and amigurumi Cthulhu and Tom Baker Dr. I can see them taking form as I work on them. The first and foremost is my camera.. The second is laptop lunch box, yes, a lunch box. I use it all the time!! It goes great with nutella on pancakes for a sinfully delish breakfast!!! Lisa-Marie recently posted Seeing Stars!
Every morning before I get the kids up for school, I take a few minutes to put their dry school uniforms in and leave them for about 3 minute. When the kids are ready to get dressed, they put them on straight out of the dryer—warm and fluffy. They say its like a hug, and they especially like it in the winter.
Do you belong to Costco? They are fabulous books and even better as audio books narrated by the amazing Davina Porter. They really take me to another time and place when I need that. I use it in place of Chapstick, etc. I cannot sleep without it. Who for sure tardis swag is my favorite swag , but also Supernatural recently and Rumchata.
In fact, they go really well together. Jenna Ann recently posted The History Brogues. It helps me Make Stuff, which is pretty much the best feeling there is. These things are made of crack. Every beverage is more delicious when consumed through a straw. I would definitely not be the person I am today without having read his work. People always say their children. I know, I understand. I could have become that helicopter parent and realized it when she was 2 weeks old — so I started going out of my way to not be the helicopter. There were and are times that I just want to be done, but, I can not possibly leave her with all of the shit we survived together.
I go on so that she can have better. In my mind making it is having a towel warmer we live in Wisconsin, so, yeah, cold. I told her that I was getting one for her first apartment. Mine lives in the freezer and is the best thing for migrains. It was a gift from a friend. Cris recently posted Zen and the Art of Toast. I am an avid reader, and I love having a ton of books with me at all times that I can carry in my purse. I got a kindle fire, which I also love, but the regular kindle is just so great for sitting and reading and not being distracted by millions of other apps.
Also, sock it to me socks. They are a little pricey, but come in tons of fun patterns and are super durable. My husband asked me to add these headphones: They can be used as an eyemask, too. My wooden tortilla press. I hardly make tortillas, but when I do, they come out perfectly round and perfect. I like to find talented, but not-so-well-known musicians and going to see them when they play in my area. Not only are the venues smaller and more intimate, but they are less expensive, which means I get to go to more!
I also love making people treats just because. Skype, I can read my nephews nap time stories and tour my brothers newish house…awesome when you live too many miles away. Books, in all forms. Takes me on adventures, takes me out of myself, teaches me, reaches me! I knit baby blankets or hats. I have knit many other things but those two are my favorites. Jalepino jelly…on taquitos, rice and chicken, chips, just enough spice for me. Peach frozen margaritas Petunias pies and pastries, it is a local portland or gluten free bakery that has all the yummy things I miss from being gluten free although being gluten free lets me eat meals without running to the bathroom and my migraines are down to about 1x monthly…amazeballs!!
Okay, I have to bookmark so many of those! That way when I win the lottery I can buy them. I swear, if I am having THE worst day it can turn it right around. Just makes me smile! Vemma, the best liquid vitamin and mineral supplement in the world, and Verve, the healthy energy drink. Without those two products I would be less than half as productive as I am now. Yay for feeling energetic and healthy. This lap desk has a USB-powered laptop fan plus room for a water bottle and a mouse. Its height adjusts and you can adjust the tilt of the laptop part. PLUS it folds so small it can fit in my laptop bag and come with me.
Montgomery books Anne of green gables series, Emily of new moon serirs and others. Emily books reminds me that bad things happen, but stuff turns out all right. My husband knows that if he comes home and sees me curled in a chair, reading one of these books that he needs to bring me booze and chocolate and leave me alone until I am ready to come out of my world.
I miss Texas every day, and tortillas with butter make me less homesick. I foster for a feline rescue group, specializing in taking on the pregnant, very young, and sick. Their Rose scent is awesome as well, but lilacs will always be my favorite. The Venus Breeze has saved me so much time shaving my legs. I love playing Mystery Manor on my ipad daily. Especially for making my morning yogurt smoothie, but also good for pancake batter or scrambling eggs if I want something more substantial.
It is much easier to clean than my regular blender and the to-go cups are super-convenient. Seasonally available in mid-winter. They have the supercrisp flesh I love while tasting like apple cider. If you dice up one of these apples and mix it with french vanilla Oikos greek yogurt and Archer Farms Pecan Sticky Bun granola, then you have the dessert I ate for two months straight because it was even better than ice cream!
Books to borrow, for free. Films, music, reference books, assistance with research! And all of it provided by staff and librarians who are some of the loveliest people on earth. Awesome bath and body stuff from an awesome lady. My favorite is the Smack! It comes in a whole bunch of different single notes that you can combine up to four to find awesome scent combos. I feel ultra badass after I use it. Also, best first line of a book ever: Woman in the Hat: Fiona Apple — Every Single Night: Everything about this is just the best thing ever.
Bucky sleep masks, Twistband hair ties, Bounty paper towels, Cadbury mini eggs and memory foam pillows are all things I cannot live without. Also probably oxygen and other organic nutrients. But mostly the other stuff. I get…uh…gastronomic distress…from the vast majority of veggies, and I almost never eat enough fruit, so every morning I drink a cup of this instead of tea, and I rarely get sick now. Making nutrition super easy FTW, lemme tell you.
They just had their kitties adopted in the last two days, so, until a new pregnant mama is found, there will be no new kittens…Oh, here. I also am now aware of how many books I abandon. I read it in a couple of sittings, and laughed until I literally cried at several points. And though she is not new to me, I love reading anything by Mary Roach. Wendi recently posted Touring.
Honestly it might just be coffee. It tastes just like sugar cookies, and reminds me of being in my grandmother in her kitchen. She baked cookies every time we visited, and was the best grandmother anyone could have wished for. Barbara recently posted Does anyone speak English there?
I use it all the time! Others have said it, but I could not live without Netflix. I first read it when I was 18 and it changed the way I thought about the world. I re-read it every few years and get something new from it every time. Katherine recently posted Fall. More specifically, all of his music, comedy, satire, humor, sarcasm, genius, and eyeliner. It makes every day of deployment more bearable. I am truley grateful for this technology. First off, in the general categories, cats and books. There are times when my cats have been the reason to get up, so I can take proper care of them and spoil them!
All sorts of fantasy literature, definitely including Gaiman. Sanuk shoes and Tervis tumbler. I dislike flip flops intensely, but Sanuk also makes all sorts of Sidewalk Surfers that still have the comfy sandal footbed. I even have black suede Sanuk books. Insulated glasses are phenomenal to have, especially so when I lived in Florida. Finally, I have two new things.
It holds sixteen ounces and has a built in metal mesh filter in the bottom. You let the tea steep, and then set it on top of your mug, which toggles open a valve in the bottom allowing your tea to strain directly into your cup. For me, this stuff works. I know the people to whom I have recommended it were favorably impressed. Loose leaf and from a teapot. The process of making it is as soothing as the drinking of it. It is a ritual I love and that helps me when I am anxious or down. I have a neuro disease that has stolen a bit of my sight and I find reading small text impossible even with my glasses although I know i need new ones but who can afford that..
So the kindle allowing me to make the text nice and big means I can read still. Plus its so small and handy to cart around. I am from New Zealand and its local chocolate that is pretty gosh darn good. They put out a new one about a week ago and its scrummy. Alisa recently posted Booklove - The book thief. I just found Allie Brosh up for preorder! I also second the Jennifer Cruise and Nalini Singh books recommendations. For a buck and a half, I can get a veggie start that feeds me for months. I recommend Straight Eight. We just got the first few peppers. Sweet Gypsy peppers are good for fresh salsa!
Soon we will have too many beans. Blue Lake pole beans can grow straight up in a small amount of space. Just semi-decent sunlight and some puttering. Now to take a bunch of notes. Assuming that haywire is actually wire that binds hay, which is what I think I need for my hair. No, not THAT kind of massager… All my stress goes to my shoulders, and then they get all tight and pulled up to my ears and basically it sucks.
Especially now that I have realized that the buttons actually change settings, and some are way more useful than others. Let me tell you though, it is bliss to get in freshly washed sheets that smell like they do when I use that laundry soap! I find my joy in crochet hooks to keep my hands busy and my mind focused, and a pilot varsity disposable fountain pen to make me feel fancy whenever I write something down.
Any foods with lavender, coconut, and rhubarb. But in fairness neither did you: Books, especially the ones made of actual paper. I need to control this flow of words, words that are I feel important to say but I think are kind of distracting and counter-productive to my agenda of spreading the important things humanity should preserve.
That music video with Will. Am about spending with self and masturbate. That bit of selling Vatican paintings away. All important to the burgeoning of the Filipino society I can cry for. You hear that, Filipino Congress? You can never have enough people to steal from, right? And all of them are free. Iced Frap with Cottage Cheese! Safe food, safer than the Pungko pungko shoddy street food!
An open letter to the Girl Scouts: UPDATED (AGAIN)
Filipino Congress, buy everyone a tumbler and Al Gore will be your friend. You can steal from Al Gore, too, right? Doctor Who for sure, and Merlin. And they have amazing stuff in general. My music collection, having been a musician for most of my life nothing makes me happier or calms me down better than putting on a recording of a concert I performed in. I think that your list is wonderful.
I also found so much more from reading your blog. I found my tribe and the strength that comes from knowing you are not alone in the world. My skin was getting so dry that my knuckles were cracking and bleeding. I use it nightly with gloves, and my skin stays ridiculously soft. Let go or be dragged. And the video even features a fabulous Red Dress! This movie breaks my heart and then puts me back together again. And I was just amazed because it looked like this mass of dots, and none of it made sense until I pulled back. Life looks like that mass of dots to me sometimes. They fill my entire house with scent and cover up the olfactory evidence of my inadequate housekeeping.
But especially books by physicians who are also gifted authors. Bath and Body Works Eucalyptus Spearmint candles. I can feel the tension leave my body when I smell this. Just go into a Bath and Body Works and take a whiff. Then watch for them to go on sale. But can find him in some awesome movies and BBC series. My goats and chickens. But the farm… it needs tending. So every morning, for months, I would drag myself resentfully out of bed to milk and clean and collect eggs and the thousand and one other chores one has to do to run a small urban farm.
And bit by bit, it got better. Sometimes it is still the best I can do, to get out of bed, attend to the farm, and crawl right back into bed, despairing. But some days I stay up.
I sit in the pasture and watch the ongoing chicken drama. I feed the goats carrots and scratch their soft ears. I thought the idea was so ridiculous when my husband mentioned it… Why would I need a separate machine for cooking eggs, when we have a 5-burner stovetop? But he ordered one, and it rocks my world. My default favorite is The Phantom Tollbooth, though sometimes I feel like I should chose a favorite grown-up book. Wonderfalls on DVD—I watch this over and over again all winter to get me through the grey days seriously, I love that show.
The Wee Free Men audiobook by Terry Pratchett—hysterically funny, wise, poignant and perfect for a preteen girl too. It brought me so much closer to my nephews. So can be super corny and say love and the sun. Neither expensive but both make everyone happy…. And I typed out a few things that are expensive. Because these two things are keeping me going right now. So much faster than the stove my stove sucks for heating water, and it plugs in anywhere. This one is really at the top of the list.
I love my kindle to bits. And so many good reads are free or really cheap and carrying hundreds of books in my purse is the best thing ever. Never going to run out of reading material again. Love this one though. And there are perfect for cooking when you are handling hot peppers -no finger to eye transmission and screaming later on- or anything that leaves a smell on your hands.
And costco carries them, so they are easy to keep on hand. Soda Stream water carbonator — settles my stomach without having to buy tons of bottled fizzy water. Microfiber Hair Turban — who needs a bath towel on your head after a shower? Anything written by David Sedaris.
His films before he started doing bromances? BeautyLabo Shake Hair Dye. It comes in a milk shake type container, and spreads on your hair like whipped cream. They even have light colors that go over dark hair without bleaching. I have the Narwhal and a Panda. I try to visit shirtoftheday. They have loads of cool fabric. Even some from Doctor Who.