Paleo Friendly Cookies/Bar

By: Victoria Kulig

I found this recipe and decided to give it a try. I love cookies, so having a cookie on hand that is safe to eat is always welcome.

After I made these, I did alter the recipe a tiny bit, and I found they were more like small granola bars almost. They weren't as sweet as I would like in a cookie, but they are great as just a snack. I also found that they were much more tasty cold!

Ingredients:

• 2 bananas, smashed
• 1/3 cup coconut flour
• 3/4 cup almond butter
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup raw walnuts, chopped
• 1 apple, finely diced
• 1 cup coconut milk (I did not have coconut, so I used sweetened almond milk)
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• Optional: cup shredded coconut, or cup of dark chocolate chips. Or if you're me, both!

Directions:

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Peel your bananas, put them in a bowl, and use a fork to smash them up.

 

3. Add the coconut flour, almond butter, and baking soda, and mix well. Chop up your walnuts as finely as you can, and dice your apple.

4. Add the walnuts, apples, coconut milk (or almond milk) and cinnamon to the bowl and mix well.

Optional Step: If you want to add shredded coconut, or dark chocolate chips - now is the time!

5. Grease your cookie sheet, and spoon our big tablespoons of the mix onto it, about two inches apart. Bake for 30 minutes.

As I said, they're big, and a bit more like a granola bar than a cookie. They aren't sweet - but they are delicious! They're quite filling, however. I kept them in the fridge and would use them as an afternoon snack at work.  My husband was rather fond of them as well.

Tips:

Almond milk and coconut milk are becoming more and more popular, so you can likely find them in the milk section at your local grocery store. I've been able to find both at Winn-Dixie, Publix, and Wal-Mart.

Coconut flour (or almond flour) are not quite as common. I've found them in Publix in the Greenwise section, or in Wal-Mart in their 'gluten-free' section.

Almond butter can be found near the peanut butter, and I've seen it in Winn-Dixie, Publix, and Wal-Mart.

Paleo Friendly Waffles

By: Victoria Kulig

I am following a Paleo lifestyle in my on-going process to become more healthy and take better care of my body. In this dietary change, it has eliminated a lot of processed foods from my diet - as well as dairy, legumes, wheat, gluten, pastas... and a wealth of other foods.

While it is an overall healthy diet - full of meats, vegetables and fruits, sometimes I miss things.

One of those things is the convenience of frozen waffles.

I found a recipe for making Paleo friendly pancakes, then tweaked it a bit to make waffles out of it.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups almond flour
• 6 eggs
• 3/4 cup of water
• 3 tbsp honey
• 3 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tsp cinnamon
• Coconut oil (or butter, or ghee... I use it to keep them from sticking to the iron)
• cup of dark chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients into a large bowl and whisk it all together.
2. Get out your waffle iron, grease it, and heat it up.
3. Pour mixture into waffle iron. Cook waffles.
4. Enjoy heavenly aroma of honey, vanilla, and chocolate.
5. Take out cooked waffles, put into a gallon sized Ziploc bag, and put into freezer immediately.

Now that you have cooked and frozen your waffles, you can have them whenever you need them. Just pop them into the toaster and they will smell as good as they did when you first made them, and they'll be crispy - much like an Eggo waffle would be.

This recipe would make about 12 waffles - so if you eat two at a time, you're looking at 6 servings. If you make smaller waffles, you could stretch it out a bit more. They taste fine plain, but I love to drizzle a little honey on them when I eat them.

I used dark chocolate chips because I am a sucker for chocolate. Feel free to swap that out with fresh berries or even nuts to try different combinations!

Upcycling a Monitor into a Pet Bed

By: Victoria Kulig

Not that long ago, we all used CRT monitors. They were big, clunky, and took up a large portion of our desks.

I'm sure some people out there still use them, but a large number of people seem to just toss them out into the trash (although I would hope they're being disposed of properly and not just tossed to the curb!)

I saw a monitor turned cat-bed once, and decided to see if I could do it as well. How hard could it be? So, I set to work.

A word of caution: This. Is. Dangerous. CRT monitors can hold an electric current for up to two years after being unplugged. Hitting the screen the wrong way can break the vaccuum seal and cause it to explode. The Divine Domestics can not be held liable for anyone trying this and getting injured. If you don't know what you are doing, please find an electrician to help you. Getting hurt trying to make a bed isn't worth it.

I got my hands on an old CRT.

Nothing fancy, and in fact this one still worked. The next step is to take it apart. At this point, I do need to caution you about handling the inside parts of the monitor. Please wear rubber shoes during this process to protect yourself from electric shock. Don't stand near or in water.

 

 

There are a lot of wires and other pieces inside of a monitor. Please do not fiddle with the wires if you don't what they are, and be VERY careful not to break the monitor itself. A CRT can hold an electric charge for quite some time, so don't think that just because it has been unplugged for a week or two that it is completely safe.

In the monitor I used, everything came out in one solid piece, and we put it in a card board box and took it to our city's trash facility to be recycled. Please do not throw these in the trash.

Once it is apart, reassemble it, and paint it anyway you choose, then put a pillow inside. Now you have an adorable cat bed.

My cat isn't particularly fond of having her photo taken, but you can see here that is a cozy fit for a cat.

You can do this with virtually any type of CRT monitor, and here is an example of six in progress:

Cats fit in them best, but very small dogs could use them as well. I try to find pillows that fit, but you can always make your own pillow the really customize it.

Remember to be very, very, very careful in taking apart the monitor, but have fun making creative beds!

Deck Box

By: Victoria Kulig

A few months ago, Kandis introduced me to Magic the Gathering. I have always been aware of the game, but had never played before.

After a few rounds... I started to really enjoy the game, and wanted to keep playing more. So, of course, since her room mates played as well - I joined in and we had a lot of fun together.

So when her roommate's birthday came up in January, I thought that making him a Cthulhu-Lovecraft themed deck box would be a perfect gift.

I started with a very simple, plain box. It even looks as cheap as it was in this photo. I figured I could stain it a darker color to make it much nicer - and then use my wood burner to etch some designs into the box.

The directions on the finish said to paint the stain on, and wipe off any excess that wasn't absorbed by the wood - then repeat that step in a few hours.

I applied three coats of stain to the box to give it a very rich, dark, cherry wood color.

After I had stained it and let it dry completely, I looked up some of the symbols surrounding Lovecraft horror stories, as well as Cthulhu. (We had also played a table-top RPG that he had designed before, which sort of help guide my selections in the symbols.)

Once I found the symbols I wanted to use, I need to trace them on to the box. For me, I found it easy enough to just flip the paper over, and scribble all over the back with a pencil.

Then I pressed the paper to the box, and traced over it while pressing firmly - to trace the design onto the box.

Once I had traced it onto the box, I went over it again with an ink pen to make the design easier to see.

When all designs had been traced, I got out my wood burner. There are a lot of different types of burners, and different brands but they all work the same way. They have a point, and they get very, very hot very quickly. I don't think I need to overly stress that this part should be done by an adult, or at least under very close supervision.

The next step is just to use the burner to etch your designs. The harder your press and the slower you move, the deeper your burns are going to go.

Once the designs are all etched into the box, your designs will really pop!

I also decided to throw in some nice Cthulhu card sleeves I had found, a few Magic cards, and wrapped it up in My Little Pony wrapping paper that I quickly put together.

The gift was incredibly well received, and although I gave it to him late, he really appreciated the work.