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Yes, this post is about things I don’t spell out in my recipes, Do I have to spell it out?  I will get to that in a minute.  But first …

It’s a beautiful, almost Fall, Saturday morning, well I say beautiful with tongue in cheek, because it is drizzling outside but it’s all good.  All mornings can’t be sunshine and green smoothies.  We reserve Saturday mornings for Gluten Free Buckwheat Pancakes, especially rainy Saturday mornings.  I have to confess I’m a little disappointed it’s raining, don’t get me wrong I love the rain, (okay I know now you’re thinking, she really is crazy.) but I’m just not quite ready for cooler days, drizzle and gray.  I’ve lived in the Pacific Northwest now for nineteen years and I love it.  I love the rain (which we probably don’t get as much as most people think).  I love the green, with rain comes green.  I love the water, the Puget Sound beauty is amazing, I honestly don’t think I could, not live near the water.  Today will be a dreary farmer’s market day, but still a great day for buying some great vegetables I don’t grow in my own garden, and want to use in a few recipes.

Let me get to my point for this post.  I know I should never assume that my readers know how I feel or think, so I wanted to share and let you know a few things that apply to all my recipes.  Things I Don’t Spell Out in each recipe because to me its a given.

1. 95% of the ingredients I cook with are organic, probably 100% but I’m not perfect so there’s room for grace here.  I just don’t put the word Organic in front of every ingredient.  
2. Most of my ingredients are unprocessed, or processed my me. There are a few things I buy like extracts and mustards, but they’re on my “recipes to make” list.
3. All of my recipes are gluten-free.  Many of them are grain free.  I’m doing a lot less grains these days.
4. Majority of my recipes are corn and soy free.  There are a few that I use gluten-free Tamari sauce in, and a kernel of  organic corn or two.
5. All my recipes are refined sugar-free, I use pure maple syrup, honey and occasionally Stevia leaf.
6. I’m not vegan, but I am  98% dairy free, I tend to like crumbly goat or sheep feta, that’s the only dairy I  use.  But many of my recipes are vegan.  If you don’t add the feta cheese than it will probably be vegan.
7. I also use raw local honey in some of my baking so that technically disqualifies some of my recipes from being vegan.
8. I stay away from GMO’s, but I’m sure I might make something that has a GMO ingredient that I’m not aware of.
9. The coconut oil I use is always Organic Extra Virgin Coconut oil, I use Nutiva, which I buy from Costco.
10. The Olive oil I use is always Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, which I also buy at Costco.
11. I use unbleached parchment paper.
12. I only eat Wild Alaskan Salmon, no farmed fish for this girl.
13. I primarily use coconut milk, but most recipes you can substitute any non dairy milk.
14. I do eat eggs, so some of my recipes do include eggs, I haven’t always eaten eggs so some of my recipes use flax meal plus water.
15. I use only freshly squeezed lemon juice, because besides tasting better, the bottled stuff has chemicals and preservatives, that I don’t want in my recipes.
16. The maple syrup I use is always Pure maple syrup
17. The coconut I use is dried shredded organic coconut-not the sweetened stuff out of a bag that has preservatives.
18. I use mostly fresh herbs, but they’re not always available, then I use dried.
19. If I need to use canned something, I buy the brand that is BPA Free, or see if it comes in a glass jar.
20. I primarily use whole foods, I want as preservative free as possible and concentrate on eating real food.

Now I’m sure this list is not conclusive and so I very well may be adding to it, however I hope it helps you to know me and my recipes a little better and know that when I cook and create a recipe, I’m striving to make it optimally the most healthy way possible.

Now it’s up to you what you choose to use to make a recipe, organic, non-processed, raw, etc.  I encourage you to cook and bake as clean and real as possible

Now I ask my readers Do I have to spell it out?