Back to School: It's All Fun and Protien Bars...

It's September! Time to start actually accepting that school is starting and there's no way of getting around it. I was very anxious for school this year, with my health seemingly stable I was afraid to once again offset the precious balance. Whenever someone would ask the dreaded question, "So are you ready for school to start?!" I would say to myself, "Seriously? No! Who is ever actually ready for school to start at the end of a glorious summer? Definitely not me!" I dreaded the early mornings, the homework, the stress, the cussing in the halls, etc.

This year however, after failing at trying to trick myself into thinking that it wasn't going to happen, I decided to do something about my anxiety at the prospect of starting school. I prayed that I would find the strength to make it a good year and that the Lord would comfort me and soothe my fears. In my daily scripture study over the next few days, I focused on school and what I could do differently to change my situation. Through those nights of study, God gave me strength and faith. Somehow, every verse I read directly related to something that made me nervous about school. One by one, the fears slipped away, replaced by faith in a wise Heavenly Father who I know will protect me. Through this process, my testimony has grown and most of all, my faith is fuller! I know that when we trust God with our weakness He will take us and make us stronger than we ever thought we could be. I am most certainly not perfect, and I still have a very long way to go to become like our Savior Jesus Christ, but I do know that God has prepared a proven successful path to perfection. He takes us every step of the way, never leaving us alone. If we do the things He asks, it's a no brainer, we will be blessed beyond measure and be worthy to live with Him again. He has given us so many tools to keep us on His chosen path, including scripture study and prayer. They seem like simple, almost trivial commandments, but what a difference they make in our lives! The scriptures have strengthened me so much in my life! Do not let them go to waste! They were prepared for our day and what a blessing they are. I can testify of the strengthening power of daily scripture study and sincere and honest prayer.

So once again comes the question," Are you ready for school to start?" but now I can answer with a valiant "yes!" I am excited for early morning seminary, learning new things, testing my limits, and missionary opportunities. I may still have small fears of what this year holds in store for me, but every time I worry, I remember that God is driving and the road is a beautiful one. If I let Him take the wheel then He will surely lead me where I need to go. I know now that whatever comes my way this year I will be able to do it with Christ.

Read Ether 12 with a journal ready to write down impressions and feelings

Another thing that I know will help me get through this year are...protein bars! We have this amazing recipe for gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, soy free, egg free snack bars that are great for lunches and after school snacks! These kid-approved bars are not only a good source of brain power, they're really good even if you're not gluten free! I haven't met anyone who didn't like them. Affectionately known as "Birdfood Bars" around our house, we always make sure to have some in the fridge.

Practically Perfect Chocolate Protein Bars

1/2 cup honey (I prefer agave, but it's all a matter of taste)
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup raw cocao (or cocoa powder)
1 tsp. vanilla (gluten free)
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 cup shredded coconut
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup ground flax seed

Grease an 8x8ish pan. (Depending on how thick you want the bars to be you can choose an appropriate size pan) We often use coconut oil to liberally grease the pan because they like to stick.
In a medium size sauce pan add oil, honey, and cocao. Bring to a boil while stirring frequently. Allow the sauce to boil for one minute to get kind of syrupy.
Remove from heat (or turn to low heat) Add all remaining ingredients, stir until evenly mixed in syrupy stuff.
Pour into greased dish and refrigerate to harden.
Cut into squares and store in a closed container in the fridge or freezer.

We have tried replacing the seeds with nuts and they are just as delicious! We used pecans and almonds but you can experiment with anything! And if you end up loving this recipe and making it a lot (which I know you will!), you can save a little money by buying the seeds and coconut in bulk. Most of these ingredients can be found at your local grocery store but for some (cocao or maybe ground flax) you should be able to get them at any health food store.

Read lessons learned from my first week of school and more next Friday!

Heaven-Sent Banana Pancakes..and many other blessings

This is my first time ever posting on our blog and I am so excited for this new opportunity! I cannot even pretend to be as cool as my sisters, but I'll do my best!
I guess I'll start with introducing my "story." In February of 2013, when I was fifteen years old, I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. I was completely devastated at the news and I was out of school for weeks. I was forced to be humble and put my faith in the Lord. I am so grateful for the opportunity I had during that challenging time to come much much closer to my Father in Heaven and my Savior Jesus Christ. My family was a tremendous support to me. I can speak from experience that whatever you are going through, however worthless and weak you may feel, God is always aware of you and He has a plan you. Sometimes it's like climbing a mountain, you know deep down that the summit is up there, but you can't see it. You feel exhausted and you want to give up, but God knows your potential better than you do. Don't stop! You can do anything with God.
Anyway, after a year I had things well under control and I was finally feeling a little more comfortable with my new condition. I felt like I knew what I was doing and I had quite a few ideas of how the rest of the school year was going to go. But God had a better plan for me. In February, I started feeling constantly and extremely fatigued. I couldn't drag myself out of bed in the morning and then, if I found the strength to go to school, I would come home and crash. It got worse and worse until it got to the point where some mornings I felt that I couldn't move my legs at all. As a dedicated runner, this was a very frightening thing. Once again, I was forced to rely on the Lord. After months of searching for answers, I was diagnosed with celiac disease, which basically means I am extremely gluten intolerant. Unfortunately, the diagnosis didn't really solve any problems immediately. I went on a strict gluten free diet but my energy didn't return and I was then trying to juggle two life changing diseases. That was the hardest time of my young life. After a few weeks I also found that I was lactose intolerant and unable to eat rice, beans, and potatoes. But once again I found tremendous support from my wonderful friends and my amazing mother and family. I have been blessed every day with renewed energy and strength and now, I am closer to God than I ever could have been had I not been given the chance to endure what I did. Sorry, I know the whole story is kindof a downer.
But now, despite the fact that I have 2 life-long diseases, I live a beautiful life full of blessings. I am a (somewhat) normal kid with ambitions and desires and passions. It's still very hard but I know where I'm going and I know who I'm following. I am living proof that Heavenly Father loves his children and strengthens them through trials designed just for them. These trials have blessed me with testimony and experience.

 This picture was taken this summer when my Dad and I climbed Mt. McLaughlin. I am so blessed to be able to climb! Especially with someone as amazing as my father!

I took this from the summit. The hike is hard but oh so worth every moment!

Sooooo, one of the many blessings in my life has been...banana pancakes! I know it sounds crazy but I truly appreciate this recipe (tweaked by my mom about 50 times now). It's the best recipe for gluten free, dairy free, sugar free pancakes you'll ever find! If you are going gluten free, or looking for a dang good healthy pancake, or you don't know how you got here but you just happen to be reading this random blog, please give them a try!

Heaven-Sent Banana Pancakes!

2 mashed overripe bananas
4 eggs
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4-1/2 tsp. baking powder
6 Tbs. almond flour (or tapioca starch-tapioca makes them a little more dense but more banana-ee)

Whisk together, cook on griddle as a normal pancake. Cooks slowly at 300-325 degrees.

Try them with any combination of butter, maple syrup, agave syrup(my personal favorite), mashed berries, whipped cream etc.

Makes 12-14 four inch pancakes. (6-7 carbs per pancake)