Almond-Date Energy . . . thingies

It's been a long time since I've posted, but I am on the GAPS diet and would like to share a snack recipe.
This recipe sort of evolved from one for "coconut sweets" in the GAPS book, but we would add sunflower seeds or almonds, and then found out we preferred them without the coconut.
Ingredients:
2 cups almonds
2 cups dates
2-3 tablespoons coconut oil
1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional but yummy!)
shredded coconut (optional)
Instructions:
1. Blend the almonds in the food processor until finely chopped - they don't have to be like nut flour, but a bit like the crumble topping for a cake
2. Add the dates and blend - this will make a scary sound, but don't worry, your food processor is working fine.
3. Add coconut oil, salt, and cinnamon, and more dates if it isn't very sticky. You can add a bit of shredded coconut here if you have some on hand.
4. Remove lid and blade, and shape into balls. You can do large balls and shape these into bars, but we like them just as balls. You can also press the "dough" into a pan and cut into squares once it's chilled. Don't worry if they are hard to form: they will firm up in the fridge.
5. Refrigerate, and in a few hours you will have a yummy snack!

Win good books!

Go to Food Renegade to win a couple of nutrition books!

Book review: The Patron Saint of Butterflies

I read the book mentioned in the heading today. It featured two girls, Honey and Agnes, both raised in a cult/commune known as Mount Blessing. Honey hates the cult, but Agnes wants to be a saint. The two girls had been very close, but are drifting apart. Agnes' grandmother, Nana Pete makes an unexpected visit during a holy week, and discovers a sinister secret about the cult. She smuggles both girls and Agnes' brother Benny away after Emmanuel, the cult leader, does a botch job of reattaching Benny's severed finger, endangering his life. Honey is happy away from the cult, but Agnes wishes she were back in Mount Blessing, and is still trying to be a saint. But Agnes changes, and finally must confront Emmanuel.

I liked this book because it doesn't have ex-cult members becoming atheists upon leaving the evil cult. There was one other book like that but it wasn't as exciting. This book shows Agnes realizing she can be against the cult and still emulate her namesake Saint Agnes.

Random cuteness: Baby Dolphin!

Random cuteness: Kittens nursing!

Melt-and-Pour soap is easy and fun!

I purchased 32 oz of soap base, molds, lavender fragrance, and some dried lavender/orange peel to make soap. So far I have made three batches of soap, two of them lavender and one of them tea tree oil. What I found interesting is that even though the instructions say you can get burned, it is only likely to happen if you use the microwave. Heating the soap to melt in a double boiler is more like when you have a candle at church, and some of the wax drips on to you. It doesn't hurt, but it feels hot. Now the microwave, it will make the soap hot enough to burn you.
You might say that making soap from a melt-and-pour base is not really natural. Granted, there are some strange ingredients in the base, but really nothing that wouldn't be in ordinary soap. It is also possible to purchase all-organic melt-and-pour base at Bramble clBerry. Also you can choose to use only natural coloring and pure essential oils as fragrance. I'm not quite a purist yet with the fragrance, but I'll probably be m when I have more money to buy the essential oils. Someday I want to have a business selling handmade natural soap, hand-dipped aromatherapy beeswax candles, and undyed handspun natural fiber yarns. That would be so cool.

What is Disney REALLY telling your child?

I haven't really posted in a while - maybe because I've been busy spinning and just generally haven't had much to say. But this article really caught my eye and I would like other peoples' opinions on it.
This link tells of the messages in Disney films which are specific to young men. It seems as though in every Disney movie, the men are exalted for being physically strong and large, and are portrayed behaving in sexist ways toward women.
This link shows the messages Disney is showing to girls, which is basically that you have to be pretty, thin, white, etc. I would like anyone reading this post to comment on it about what they think.