Healthy Living with Mads

🎄 chestnut praline syrup 🎄

1 cup raw pecans
110g chestnuts (about 9 chestnuts)
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cup water
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt

1. Roast chestnuts and pecans together at 350F for 10 mins
2. Chop nuts into smaller pieces
3. Put sugar, water and nuts together in a pot and stir on medium heat until sugar dissolves and comes to a boil.
4. Turn off heat and stir periodically to cool off.
5. Once cooled, strain and bottle in an air tight container

🍏 Organic Apple Butter 🍏

Hand picked apples from the family’s backyard by Peter. These apples were used to make apple juice and the leftover pulp used to make this handmade apple butter. It is thicker than your average apple butter but has lots of flavour!

Enjoy straight on toast, baked Brie, baked goods, ham, pork, and much more!

Perfect for Christmas gifts or stocking stuffer. Only while quantities last. DM to order- $8

🎄 Speculaas cookies 🎄 (depending on where you’re from)

If you aren’t familiar with this type of cookie that’s okay because I only knew it existed since meeting my husband. It is essentially a soft gingerbread sheet cookie and tastes more closely to biscoff 🤤

Ingredients 🎄
3 cups white flour
1 cup softened butter, cubed
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp clove
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

1.Put all the ingredients together in a stand mixer or bowl and mix together until uniform (it can take a while depending how warm your butter is). If you dough is still dry add only a splash (emphasis on splash) and mix some more, it’s also probable that you might just need to mix it longer.
2.Preheat oven to 350F
3.Spread dough evenly onto an oven tray (no greasing needed because of how much butter)
4.Bake for 10-12 mins. Let rest before cutting so you don’t have to cut again

It has been suggested to me to also add almond butter as a swirl for added yummies

🎃 Pumpkin Spice Syrup 🎃

Super easy and minimal ingredients! Of course this is slightly different than Pumpkin Spice Sauce but same concept.

Ingredients for ~500mL yield
🎃 2 cups water
🎃 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
🎃 1 tsp ground cinnamon
🎃 1 tsp ground ginger
🎃 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
🎃 1/2 tsp ground clove
🎃 2 cups white sugar

🍂 Put puree and spices in a pot on medium and cook for about 1 min to get rid of the raw pumpkin taste
🍂Add in sugar and water and boil until thicken, approximately 5-10 mins (do not cover as you want the water to slowly evaporate)
🍂Once cooled off mostly, add to an airtight container and store in fridge using before 2 weeks. Add to your coffee, ice cream, or whatever makes you happy
🍁 *Additional step* strain the sauce before pouring into jar to decrease sediment

🎄 Homemade Velvety Eggnog 🎄

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 cinnamon stick or 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 eggs separated
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream (also called liquid whip cream)

1. Whisk together whole milk, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg in a pot on medium heat, bringing to a low boil (make sure not to burn the milk!)
2. While the pot is heating, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy, making a custard (it will change colours to a pale yellow/orange)
3. Once the milk has boiled, add spoonfuls to the custard and mix well
4. When half of the milk is mixed with the custard, pour everything into the pot mixing very well and bring to a boil whisking constantly to ensure no burning. The custard will thicken and coat the back of a spoon
5. Remove the cinnamon stick if used
6. Stir in the heavy cream
7. Whip the egg whites until light and fluffy (peaks will form)
8. Fold in egg whites
9. Chill for 2-4 hours before serving

Trust me, homemade eggnog is sooo much better than store bought and with the egg whites added it makes it so fluffy and velvety 😍 This is a non alcoholic version but if you’d like to make yours alcohol, using a spiced rum, brandy, dark rum, bourbon, or cognac using a 1:5 ratio of alcohol to eggnog (or more alcohol if you choose). You’d add the alcohol with the heavy cream. Homemade eggnog only lasts 3 days in an airtight container in the fridge and with alcohol (5% or higher) will last a few weeks.

How to know when your eggnog is bad?
Any or all of the below:
- it’ll separate and be lumpy
- smells rotten
- tastes sour (just like normal milk)
- mould growth

Flip through to see the progression of my hair over the course of the missions trip to Mexico with my youth group

So I thought I’d give y’all a lil life update especially since I’m posting on both accounts but also because most people don’t know what’s shaking.

•on top of working at SMH part time and casually at Elim Christian Village, I started a job in October at Columbia Bible College as their Athletic Trainer. In other words, I do first aid and taping and only for home games for both men’s and women’s volleyball and basketball. So I work at Elim when school is on pause.
•I will be going to Mexico with my youth group at Hope Community Church in March to build a house for a family through Yugo Ministries. If you are wanting to donate please find my church online and you’ll be guided in the correct direction. Please also pray for our team for safe travels, relationships, finances, and deepening our relationship with God.
•lastly, my mom recently got diagnosed with Stage 2 kidney cancer and we are waiting to complete some more testing before surgery can happen to ensure the tumours have not spread more. For those of you who like to pray with names, it is Sharon. Pray for healing, joy, peace, Pain, energy, for the surgery, that it does not spread more, and any thing else you’d like. Any and all prayers are welcome.

Xx Madi (if you want to keep up with me more and what I have a passion for, follow )

Sourdough discard crackers ✨

Super easy to make and of course I don’t follow a recipe anymore but I’ll share the one I first used when I started. You can add whatever seasonings you’d like and even make cheesy ones!

3/4 cup discard (200g)
2 tbsp melted butter (28g)
1/4 tsp fine sea salt (1g) (I use table salt..)
2 tsp dried herbs (I use rosemary, basil, thyme, garlic)
1/4 tsp fine sea salt for sprinkling on top

•Mix all but the last ingredient together until combined.
•Spread the mixture evenly on to a baking tray with parchment or silicon mat (doesn’t brown as easily when on silicon)
•Sprinkle with salt
•Put into the 325F oven for 10 mins and score it into squares. Put it back into the oven for another 20-30 mins
•let cool before breaking apart and enjoying

I have been taking beef liver supplements for about 2 months now and have noticed a change in my energy levels, mood, and not needing to take iron or b vitamins anymore!

Here is a brief look at the benefits of taking these supplements that I highly recommend - I also have their gelatin & collagen

A lot has happened in the month of July so I thought I’d share some of the things with a couple pictures from Cannon Beach and Mayne Island.

Canada long weekend spent at house and dog sitting for my parents followed by 2/5 days at my first Punjabi wedding celebrating my coworker (nurse) and immediately followed by one of Peters bible school friends wedding across the border which was our first trip across the border together & since the virus started. Then did a day in a Seattle before heading to Cannon Beach for a vacation. Obviously we stopped at Fred meyers and trader joes while I’m the states. The day after we got back we hoped on a 10 hr delayed flight to Calgary to spread my grandfathers ashes (9 months later) finally and peter got to meet some more of my family.

Once we got back, Peter started working with his best friend at their shop & business closer to our home and works normal hours so we both aren’t waking up at 4 or 5 in the morning (amen) and peters stress has decreased significantly but this was a huge change for both of us and we are still working on a new rhythm as we are hoping to start going to the e gym together again. The following weekend I worked and I forgot to mention that on Canada day I worked and a resident pretty much ran away in my watch - good thing he is older and it was uphill and really hot but it took us at least 15 mins to get him back inside. That weekend we also house and puppy sat for peters oldest sister & brother in law which was stressful in its own way because I over scheduled myself and that’s what was stressful.

Now we are at the last weekend of July and we spent it with our friends at one of the friends family cabin on Mayne Island and it was so much fun. Played lots of card games and spent lots of time on the water (that being the ocean) and boated over to some other islands. Caught some large red rock crabs with our hands in some tide pools and saw seals and sea lion - unfortunately no whales which I’m still bummed about.

Looking at august it will be just as jam packed because I’m working a lot of extended days and we will be going to Harrison to celebrate our anniversary