Gluten Free, Grain Free, Low Carb, Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know, I am surprised to see me too!  While this blog is no longer my main family space, there will be a few posts coming and I will also likely use this as a place to post  some recipes that I am working on, as the little scraps of paper that I currently use are easily lost and kind of bug Nick. 

This recipe came about through some diet changes that we have made.  Changes that have given me more energy and made me feel great.  However, I certainly would not have felt great if I had to give up chocolate chip cookies – they are something that my Mom always had around and are a “soul food” to me.  I tried a few recipes that were recommended on a few blogs and was unhappy with them – one batch even made Nick gag…  Things were getting serious and I knew I had to do something.  This is my recipe and I am really happy with it, it has received good reviews in my test kitchen and my 8 year old brother loved them!  They aren’t a mediocre substitute for the real thing, but a truly tasty cookie that has the added bonus of some healthy protein, while also being very quick and easy to make!  Here it is, possibly the first recipe I am offering with exact measurements, enjoy!

Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 16 Cookies

1 1/2 cups Almond Flour

1/4 cup Organic Turbinado Sugar

2 Tablespoons Canola Oil

1 Large Egg

1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoon Vanilla

1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt (This is one of the Most Important Ingredients!!!)

3/4 to 1 cup Chocolate Drops or 1/2 to 3/4 cup Mini Chocolate Chips (Read the ingredients on your chocolate and make sure there are no icky extras.  )

Whisk together Egg and canola Oil until thick and well combined, add vanilla and sugar and whisk again.  Add Almond Flour, Baking Soda, and Sea Salt and stir with a fork.  Fold in Chocolate Drops.  Drop in 1 inch forkfuls onto a parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 11 to 12 minutes until slightly golden.  Yum!!!

Third Anniversary Session

No baby yet, so I am free to blog more pictures of just Nick and I (haha).  This year in all the busyness, we decided to opt for simplicity with our anniversary pictures.  We wanted to spend time together at our favorite place, Manchester by the Sea, and didn’t want to use one of our few days remaining in Mass to dress fancy and find the world’s coolest location.    Therefore, we packed some snacks, threw on our swimsuits and headed for the beach, Polaroid in hand.  The images were difficult to scan, but still fun.  They are all about love!

Here is a collage of some of the images:

Visiting Richmond July 2010

I am making up for lost time in the blog world.  My goal is to deliver the remaining posts of the Summer before I deliver the baby.  This is a race against the clock folks!

In July, just after Jon and Ainsley’s wedding, Nick and I hopped in the car for a quick trip to Richmond.  We knew that we wouldn’t be able to take any more trips later on because we were already pushing it with how far along I was.  The trip was definitely more difficult than others, what with the restless legs and bathroom breaks, but we enjoyed the ride together as we always do and it was such a joy to spend time together.  Nick and I are so looking forward to November when hopefully we can make the trip again with our boy and see the whole family (Lindsay, Joey, Ella and Eden – we missed you!)!

One of the highlights was meeting Miss Avery Grace for the first time.  She was just one month old!

Nick loves being an Uncle and is going to be THE BEST DAD!  We were shocked at how much Hannah has grown up since Christmas!  I enjoyed holding Avery too and she even took a nap with me, so I guess she didn’t mind being kicked by her cousin too, too much.  I was able to have some fun bonding time with Hannah too, which was special.  It can be difficult being so far from family, but our times together are very sweet!

A quick one of us as it’s always nice to have a non-self portrait!

Grammy with her newest girl!

The cute picture of the other W’s.

We spent a nice (almost) week swimming in the pool, relaxing and eating.  We can’t wait until we have the chance to do it again!

Waiting for Our Boy

We are in the count-down now!  I am officially full-term and Nick and I are finishing preparations for the arrival of our son.  We are excited, nervous, and emotional, but our hearts are ready.  According to my ultrasound a few weeks back, he is going to be a big boy, but we’ll see how accurate those estimations are.  We finally made time to take some maternity photos the other day.  We always have fun doing pictures together.  We spent most of the time laughing, actually we spend most all of our time laughing.  Nick begins work full-time next week and I confess I have been hoping that our babe will have his birthday before then.  I have peace either way though – he will come when he is ready.    Please pray for us, that the birth experience would be wonderful and that we would all be healthy and strong.  We will update as things change, but for now this is a waiting game.  I haven’t had any real labor signs, although apparently I have been having Braxton Hicks regularly without realizing it.  The midwife let me know in the middle of one as she went to measure my belly – haha.  I noticed the tightening, but never stopped to consider it since they were painless – oh well.

The two of us.

A 3-D of Our Boy.  (Sorry for the quality – our scanner isn’t hooked up, so I took a picture with my phone.)

Jon and Ainsley Got Married

In the beginning of July, my brother Jon got married.  His new wife Ainsley is wonderful and we have felt like she was part of the family for awhile now, so we were all happy to celebrate with them.  They had rain in the early morning that finished up just in time for the wedding and left the day clear and lovely.

Nick did all the photography and he did an amazing job, but I will only post a couple photos because we need to get them to Jon and Ains first.

Beth and I were pretty excited!

Hooray!

We did a bunch of quick/basic family shots for posterity.

A goofy one showing off the “Mercer” sibling personalities.

Jon’s immediate family – Nick was able to hop into one of these – the only one he appears in for the day.

The beautiful bride and groom!

CONGRATULATIONS JON AND AINSLEY!!!

Three

At the end of June Nick and I celebrated our third anniversary.  We celebrated by loading the moving truck and saying goodbye to our first home.  It was very emotional and a huge change, but we made one of our biggest life changes on the same day three years earlier, so in a strange way, it was fitting.  It was a very long day and we weren’t able to actually move as we had planned, so we ended up staying at the Hotel James after we returned our keys.  Thanks again Emily and Reed!  I have to say, the accommodations were very elegant and Chef Reed made us pancakes to order the next morning – I highly recommend it. 

Nick and Beck in Review

Starting Out

One

Two

And a Polaroid picture we snapped at nearly midnight on our anniversary.

Three – Taken in front of our tiny apartment stove a few minutes before we walked out the door for the last time.

Beck’s 26th Birthday

Way back in May, I turned 26.  In light of all the other major happenings in our life, we kept it low-key on the actual day.  We spent a lazy day at the beach followed by dinner out.  It was exactly what I needed in the midst of a busy season.  (We had also celebrated in Vermont.)  In June, before we moved, my wonderful husband and friends gave me a surprise birthday party.   That makes 2 years now that Jenny has made me my birthday dessert – whatever will I do next year???  I’m thinking maybe I won’t turn 27.    It was a bit of a last hurrah before our group moved to various parts of the country, but that made it an especially sweet time for me.

Here are a couple of pictures.

Nick and I at Singing Beach on my birthday

Emily and I – Jenny and I at my surprise party

We’re Back

Online that is.  Just wanted those of you who still remember that we have a blog to know.  I have been horribly unfaithful to blogging in general, and am sorry to report that our hard drive still does not have space for our new pictures, so photos of our anniversary, Jon and Ainsley’s wedding, our new apartment, our visit to Virginia, and my huge belly will have to wait a bit.  Hopefully not too long though.

Just wanted to let the world in general know that we are moved in and doing well.  I found a new doctor in NJ and will be seeing him soon, which I feel good about – that was one of my biggest concerns in moving, and I am so thankful to have that settled.

Even though we are back near family and in a familiar area, we know it will take a little time to make this old place our new home.  I am sure that the birth of our precious boy will be a big part of bringing that about as well.  We are more excited each day for his arrival, but are thankful for the weeks we have remaining as we have much to do to prepare for him.

Our friends Reed and Emily stopped for a visit this week on their way back to Oklahoma – they have also taken their leave of Massachusetts and while it was WONDERFUL to see them, we wish Oklahoma wasn’t quite so far!   As Anne Shirley says, “true friends are always together in spirit.” We didn’t have time for pictures and I have no space for them anyway, but I thought I would share this gem of Emily and I from awhile back, you know, so you won’t find this post boring!

London Broil

I found this recipe from a year ago and figured I would post it.  I remember that Nick and I both really liked it, but I haven’t tried it since then.  I would guess that it would be delicious grilled!  We might have to make this soon, but probably after we are moved into the new place.

1 London Broil

3/4 Cup (Extra Virgin) Olive Oil

1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar

4 Cloves Garlic Crushed

1/2 Cup Roasted Red Pepper Chopped

2 T Agave Nectar, Honey, or Sugar

Marinade at Room temp for up to 2 hours

Broil on High 10 minutes Each Side

P.S.  You can marinate it in the fridge, just make sure to bring it back to room temperature before you cook it.

Babymoon in Scenic VT

I am taking a break from packing because I am very tired.  This is the last week of my Second Trimester, and I am starting to feel BIG.  Good gracious, pregnancy moves quickly!  We are moving in a few short days (on our 3rd Wedding Anniversary…I guess June 30th is a good day for life changes) and have so much to do.  Anyway, I told Nick I was going to take a nap, but he knows me too well.  I do not wake up from naps easily, it would be tomorrow before anything else was done.  So, I am taking a different kind of break and posting a few pictures from our trip last month.

Vermont has long been on our list of places to visit, and since it will probably never be closer than it is now (while we live in Mass.) we decided to go for it.  We found a great deal at a little resort and the trip was the perfect way to celebrate Nick’s graduation, my birthday, and one of our last getaways before our boy arrives.  We didn’t realize until afterward, but the area we stayed has some of the top scenic roadways, hedged by gorgeous mountains and rivers – we were laughing at ourselves while driving because of how many times we said “wow” “look how beautiful” or the like.  We visited Buttermilk Falls where Nick waded in one of the pools, walked the strange little downtown, and had lunch and a tour Harpoon, other than that, we spent most of our down time in the resort pools.  They were both really nice one indoor and one outdoor – both saltwater and heated.  The weather was pretty hot, so swimming was extra fun.

Somewhere near the Vermont/New Hampshire border on the drive.

Ludlow, VT is the home of the most Covered Bridges – all the angles are so beautiful.  We have more covered bridge pictures, but no computer space yet.  Perhaps someday I will share more pictures from this trip, as this is just a sampling.

Nick and Beck

One of the buildings at the resort.  The restaurant where we had breakfast and some fancy rooms are located here.  No pictures from the inside, but it was beautiful with copper ceilings and lots of polished wood.

A funny one of me and baby at 23 weeks.

We weren’t in a rush, so we wanted to make the drive home its own adventure, making as many stops as we wanted to.  Our first stop was so strange, I will admit it freaked me out a bit.  We stopped and toured a Shaker Village.  The belief systems were very strange and not at all what I expected.  I all but ran out of the chapel at one point.

These are the list of rules for visitors (obviously, haha).  The rules seemed very strange to me, but apparently (and I definitely need to do more research), when a family joined the shaker community, the family unit disbanded.  Husbands became brothers and wives became sisters and children were raised commonly by the group.  Any orphans, or otherwise unattached children, were also raised by the community and given the choice to join as adults.  Since they didn’t procreate, it makes sense that the movement died out.  I think that being pregnant and being there was all the more creepy for me, although Nick felt similarly.

Our next stop was much more fun.  We visited Robert Frost’s house!  I was so excited and loved seeing the farm that inspired so many of his poems.  We didn’t take a tour, but were able to see the little rooms where he ate and wrote as well as his barn and the fields surrounding his house.  It is a New Hampshire State Park and is preserved and kept by the parks department.  The staff were very kind and even helped Nick look for me when he thought I was lost.

I am in the corner of every picture Nick took while we were there.  I was oblivious to the camera apparently. 

After we left Robert Frost’s house, we had a wonderful dinner together at Cracker Barrel.  I ordered the Sunday Chicken and it was amazing.  So is my husband, and I loved taking this trip with him!!!