 Hi, this is Michelle Getzinger. I am here. I want to introduce you to my new cooking show that I'm going to get started. And it's about being a gluten-free vegan and how I'm surviving that whole process. I recently have been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and autoimmune disease, which I haven't been able to put the direct diagnosis down yet. So I'm still trying to figure out exactly what I have. I've been through a series of three different types of medicine. I've been on a malaria pill, chemotherapy, and now I'm on a biologics. And we're still trying to get this flare that they call or this into remission so I can kind of progress a little bit better in life. But one of the ways I've been doing that is by trying to do as much as I can control-wise on my end. It's like taking supplements, taking better care of myself, and I'm changing my diet. So about a year ago, I completely changed my diet. I went on a AIP version diet, and I'll go ahead and put a link down below so you can see what it is. And that didn't work. So after four months, we went ahead and went to a full-on gluten-free vegan diet. So that means I eat no meat, no eggs, no fish, nothing like that. I do eat honey, but a true vegan would not eat honey. No milk, so no butter or anything like that. And then also I avoid gluten altogether. So it makes it for a very difficult diet, but at the same time, I know that it has helped. If anything, it's helping mentally because I know I can do it, and I was able to do it. Number two, I did lose 53 pounds, and my joints are doing a little bit better because of it. So one of the things I wanted to do in this cooking show is kind of help you show you some of my coping mechanisms, because when you change a diet and your lifestyle like that that quickly, you lose a lot of things that you're used to and that you really do love and that are comforting. So one of the things that was very comforting to me was coffee, and it was one of the things I had to cut out for 30 days. And then when I reintroduced it, I wanted to make sure that it was very special because it was. I am lucky that I'm able to have coffee. So one of the things that I do is I always use a fancy cup, and it's usually the same one. I also use a special type of cocoa whip. That's exactly what it's called. It's made from coconut milk and coconut fat. And I grind my coffee, I make it in a French press, and I make it like a little special routine treat for myself. I only drink two small cups of this a day. Now I know that that's probably going to be kind of hard for you to do. So you do whatever is best for you, but this is what I'm going to do, and I'm going to show you how I've made coffee special for me again. And I can't wait to show you some of my other vegan recipes out there. So thanks for watching, and we're going to go ahead and get started. So the first thing I did was, I decided I wanted to use a French press. I actually had a pour over that a friend of mine got for me. That's what got this whole thing started. Unfortunately, the pour over took too long for me to make a cup of coffee, and by then I was, I have a short tension span, so I was bored. So I went ahead and I got myself this little pot here, and we'll go ahead and get that turned on. And then the next thing I do is don't ever buy any of this stuff in bulk, because when you're on a diet like this, you have to have organic fresh stuff. Now I know this here isn't organic, but things go bad quickly. So if you're going to be doing these things, you'll have to get used to going to the store every couple of days. If you want to make sure that you are going shopping frequently and buying fresh produce, same with coffee, it's best if it's fresh roasted. I really got kind of addicted to this one type of coffee that La Prima makes here in Pittsburgh, and it's called the Rachel Carson Blend. And I only picked it because I grew up right by the Rachel Carson Homestead in Springdale, and I thought it was cool, but it actually is some of the best coffee I've ever had. And they roast it fresh, and then I buy it, and it's all part of my special little routine. And I get to go down to the Strip District and go to La Prima. I mean, who doesn't want to do that? But so I get my water boiling. That's the first thing I do. And then I come over and I measure out for the coffee grinder. Now you're going to learn what your formula is. Just pay attention. I like to put it right below the line for the size of my new pot. I broke my last one. I've already gone through two French presses now, and it has even been here. So you will be able to learn what your formula is if you go this route. The whole point of this really is just to help you start setting up some things that make these little rituals fun again. So I'm going to go ahead and I'm going to grind the coffee. And I like to have it to a little powdery consistency. And then the next thing I do is put in the French press. Like this is super easy. That's why anything that I'm going to do in this cooking show is going to be the lazy man's version of anything because I am lazy. And this is super easy. If I can do this, you can do this. Put it in there. Had our water boiling. And that's it. Loom, you let it steep. Three minutes later, come back. Three minutes later, I'm just going to push down that pumper, which I'm having problems with. And I'm probably going to be on French press number four real soon. And when I do, I'm going to go back to glass because I'm not a huge fan of this one. The one nice thing is it is not glass, so I haven't broken it yet. So I take the cocoa whip. And how I got to cocoa whip was I drank a whole lot of coffee made fake creamer because brew milk always bothered my stomach, unless it was heavy whipping cream and then I could tolerate it. But when I got back on this, I couldn't find anything I like to put in my coffee. I don't like soy milk. I couldn't have soy milk in the beginning. I didn't like almond milk. None of them quite tasted fatty enough. So I tried whipping cream that wasn't made with real cream. They have like an almond milk version of it. And I started putting that on my coffee. I'm like, oh, this is good. But the problem with that is those whipped cream cans, they get clogged up with something. So you get like two good squirts and you're done. And it was like so expensive. So I went to a store down in Pittsburgh called the East End Co-op. And they actually had this. It's called cocoa whip. And it's made with coconut. So it's like coconut fat, coconut milk, and all that stuff. But it really does a great job substituting. It actually tastes like a fancy latte. So I just put two tablespoons in teaspoons. Actually, I think that's what these are. So that's not a whole lot. And then I go ahead and I pour hopefully there's no grounds that come out the coffee right over top of it. I just let it let it melt it right on the top. And then that's that's my cup of coffee. And I'll let it sit there for a second and all the cocoa kind of just spreads out and gets all nice and because I keep it in the freezer. So I don't have to drink hot coffee either doesn't burn my mouth. But yeah, it is the best Starbucks. I tell you what, if somebody comes up with this, they're going to give you a run for your money. It has been a great way for me to really enjoy coffee again. And since I can only have two small cups of it, it does make it special. And just for the record, I'm going to show all of my epic fails in this video. And I went to teach you how to do coffee right and I totally screwed it up. I did not make the water hot enough. So when we make the B roll version of this, I'll make sure it tastes better.