Blog Love – Luisa Naughton’s Greens and Sweet Things (and a pumpkin scone recipe!)

Meet Luisa Naughton, a woman who is on a healthy path in life. Four years ago, Luisa lost her father to cancer. This changed her way of thinking when it came to eating and nutrition. “I think we all know someone who is or has battled cancer,” she says. “As a society, we are getting sicker and sicker.” She started reading about healing and this brought her to the realization what an incredible impact the food choices you make have on your health. “It’s something that we can control, with time and effort. Our society has a mindset that if you are sick, you need to take a pill. But we have a monumental health crisis today. We also have a society that eats mostly food-like substances instead of real food.”

Cooking real food, foods that have one ingredient (cucumber, chicken, lettuce, apple, celery, onions, etc.) can change how you feel, she says. “But sickness and disease do not just show up suddenly. They have been building in our bodies for years. Likewise, we are not going to feel perfect after eating healthy for a week. It takes time and effort. But you will feel better,” she explains.

Luisa just moved from Crested Butte, Colorado to Northern California with her family to attend a Natural Chef program in Berkeley for the year. “We are learning what healing properties different foods have and what a balanced menu would be to provide someone all the necessary nutrients, macro and micro, for a healthy meal.”

She continues, “We all have our own health issues and I hope to help people learn to heal, teach people to cook, help children develop healthy habits early in life and to understand why that is important. It’s not complicated, but like anything, it takes some time and effort. I want to teach people of all ages how to cook really delicious foods that are good for them.”

While living in Crested Butte, Luisa started her blog www.greensandsweetthings.com. It began as a way for her to write about what she was learning with the goal of inspiring people to cook. She shares both gluten-free wholesome recipes and personal stories, the struggles and joys of raising her family.

Luisa, a wife, mother, ceramic artist, health coach and cooking enthusiast has an amazing view on living life. “Live a healthy life so that you can spend your time living, not dying. And take care of your body, because it’s the only one you get.”

When Luisa was eight years old her father asked her what the purpose of life was. She answered simply, “to have fun.”

Luisa shares, “He always reminded me of this conversation and I still feel that it is so important. If you aren’t having any fun in life, something has to change. Have fun, eat real food, move your body, challenge yourself, be a good friend, and indulge every once in a while, whatever that means to you.”

Find the delicious recipe for Luisa’s Gluten-free Pumpkin Date Scones after the jump.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Date Scones

yield: 6 large or 12 small scones

1 cup gluten free oat flour (you can make your own by grinding oats in a Cuisinart)

1 cup almond flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1 Tbsp baking powder (alum free)

3/4 cups dates, pitted and soaked in water for a 10 minutes

6 Tbsp butter, COLD

1/2 cup pure pumpkin puree

1 fresh farm egg

2 Tbsp heavy cream

2 Tbsp pure maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 (unless you are chilling dough overnight)

1. In a Cuininart, add flours, flax, salt, cinnamon, ginger and baking powder. Pulse several times to incorporate all ingredients. Add the dates and pulse several times.

2. In a medium bowl, mix egg and cream. Add pumpkin puree, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Stir together well.

3. Cut the cold butter into 6-8 pieces and add to Cuininart, pulsing until you have course crumbs. Add the wet ingredients to the Cuisinart and pulse several more times until ingredients are just blended. Take care not to over blend. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface (using either almond or oat flour) and shape dough into one large disk or 2 small discs for smaller scones. Wrap in parchment paper and refrigerate for at least one hour (or overnight). Place cold dough on a slightly floured cutting board and slice into 6 pieces.

3. Place each scone on a baking sheet lined with parchement or a silpat.

4. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes until scones are lightly browned on top.

Check out Luisa’s blog at www.greensandsweetthings.com

A special thank you to Luisa Naughton for allowing us to feature her story. She is one amazing gal who has a contagious passion for living a healthy life. I can’t wait for Luisa, Eric and the kids to be back in the Butte after their year in California. Now I’m off to try her new recipe for lentil soup…

–Melissa

all photos (except photo of Luisa) by Melissa, copyright alice & lois design studios