About Carrie

photo by: Jennifer Yandle Photography & Design

From August 2007 - mid 2015 this blog was primarily a gluten-free food blog known as Gingerlemongirl.com. My life has changed significantly the past few years and these days I'm keeping it simple. I don't cook much anymore, but I'll always be a writer and a storyteller so I'm sharing more of my writing, photography & art, life philosophies, and my nerdy love of all things library.

I'm honored to be married to my best friend and life partner, Michael. He is the uncelebrated hero behind nearly everything I've accomplished in my adult life. From helping me soldier through and graduate with my batchelor's degree (a lifetime ago) to encouraging me to become a 35+ year old graduate student. Without his unwavering support and love, I'm not sure I ever could have accomplished writing 5 books in a little under 3 years, survived the loss of a very dear friend, braved through long-term family medical challenges alongside the loss of several beloved family members the past few years.

You should probably know...
  • I'm liberal in my politics. 
  • I love Jesus with all of my heart. 
  • I think Buddha was a swell guy and he's taught me a lot about understanding and living life. 
  • I owe a hell of a whole lot to my wellness coach and mentor, Cheryl Harris... if you need nutritional guidance or help with living the best life possible, please check out her website: Harris Whole Health
  • I'm passionate about social justice, mental health, and issues regarding LGBTQ rights. We're all just people, let's be nice to each other. 
  • We live in a beautiful world and we need to take care of it... remember your 3 R's from elementary school: reduce, reuse, recycle. 
  • Team Ravenclaw, all the way man. 
  • Animals matter. So do you.  
  • I'd never turn down a cup of hot tea, dark chocolate with caramel, or a warm blanket and a good book. 
  • I've seen every single episode of Murder, She Wrote (several times)... Jessica Fletcher is the bees knees. 
  • I'm a serious introvert who thinks cats are the best kind of people... 



About Gluten-Free Baking Ingredients used on Gingerlemongirl.com:
If you have purchased any of my cookbooks (thank you!) you'll know what my favorite flours are... but I've listed them below for folks who are curious about what I use when creating recipes. These days (in the spirit of keepin' it simple) I nearly always use Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 GF Baking Mix for the brown rice four/arrowroot starch recipes and I still love baking with almond flour and Elana Amsterdam's first cookbook (My all-time favorite! Smooches Elana!) for lower glycemic recipes. 
  • For most baking recipes on my blog you'll need 3 flours: 2 whole grains and 1 starch. My flours of choice are: brown rice flour, sorghum flour, millet flour, and arrowroot starch. I often add additional fiber to recipes with ground flax seeds. For lower glycemic baking, I use almond flour and coconut flour. You can make almost ALL of the baked goods on this site using these ingredients. I buy almost all of my gluten free flours and ground flax seeds from Bob's Red Mill. These flours have all been ground in a dedicated facility and are batch tested to make sure they are gluten free. Please note that I am absolutely not in any way affiliated or paid by the company, I'm just a huge fan of Bob's awesome employee-owned establishment! I purchase almond flour from Honeyville Farms.
  • For lower glycemic recipes I try to use 1/4 cup of sugar or less. I also often bake with other alternative types of sugar such as honey, maple syrup, coconut palm sugar, and agave nectar
  • My bff's in the fat department: Coconut oil. Olive oil. Grapeseed Oil. Almond butter. Ground nuts. Organic, free range eggs. For the occasional cookie, Spectrum Palm shortening is sometimes used. If Spectrum is too dang hard to find... go with Crisco... it's tried and true and it makes dang good chocolate chip cookies

About Gluten Free Nutrition Information: Please remember that I am not a doctor, nutritionist, or health practitioner of any type and therefore I cannot give dietary or health advice. I can only passionately share what I have learned about gluten free baking, cooking, and nourishing, healthy foods. Please consult your natural practitioner or doctor about any personal changes in diet or exercise. 

About Using Carrie S. Forbes/Gingerlemongirl.com Recipes or Photos:

Please don't steal. If you would like to use any of the recipes and/or pictures that appear on my site you may use them as long you give me full credit and link back to Gingerlemongirl.com. 

Please do not copy or republish any of my writings or posts. Keep it classy, share your own thoughts!

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