BEAUTY IS A LIFESTYLE THING

I'm still Spring cleaning are you? I guess I actually Spring clean year-round, but once you get out of Spring/Summer, it's just simply called deep cleaning. To me, however, Spring cleaning is where we can throw open the windows from the long and closed up winter to feel and breathe in the freshness of Spring. The fresh air fills the house and then the allergies start! Oh well; can't win them all I guess. I often frequent farm stands and farmer's markets all through summer and early fall. I go to as many as possible. Our regular supermarkets are now even buying from local or near local farmers because they even realize that the seasonal fruits and vegetables grown as close as can be are the freshest and lessen their carbon footprint. Most farmers of late are trying smaller batch growths to try and eliminate as much harmful fertilization as possible. So fruits and veggies need to be clean before we eat them. I have a little recipe hack that you can try. It is so su...

The summer holidays are here. Most of America is lifting all of the Covid 19 restrictions, so off to the family BBQ we go. What goes better at a BBQ other than dip? Dips do not have to contain sugar, and this recipe is probably the easiest on the planet to make. So today I'm highlighting a homemade Low carb and Keto-friendly ranch dip and dressing. Making home made recipes controls the amount of "bad for you ingredients" or just unecessary ingredients. If you become a consumer who reads the labels, you would be shocked. Did you know that condiments carry a ton of sugar in them and often times we may descriminately overuse them? Did you know that by reading the label on the Coke can one can find out that in a 12 oz can there is 39g of sugar and compare that to just 1 TBSP of Ketchup carries about 3.7 g of sugar. That starts adding up. Look for alternatives now that contain little or no sugar. If you don't see it, ask your grocer, they will try to stock it or report...

Happy Holidays! Well if you're still on your weight-loss journey or on Ketogenics for health reasons, welcome to phase I of the holidays. (I just made up these phases to illustrate my thought processes LOL) Phase I of the holidays is in my mind simply passing the first holiday with some assemblence of eating the keto-friendly diet you were adhereing to previously. So with Phase I down, we now are approaching Phase 2 (Christmas) and that consists of so many, many ways to cheat; I do love Christmas cookies and all the fun desserts; they were truly a downfall for me. But remember to try really hard to not beat yourself up for partaking in a few of the treats. It's hard to be on a specific lifestyle when the whole house is not. This year I will include a small container of keto-friendly Christmas cookies for myself while I'm baking for everyone else. I've Included a very easy recipe for what I call Cheese Tidbits. These tasty little things can act like a chip or ...

 HOLIDAY TRADITIONS I have found over the course of my four children growing up, we've not only passed on family traditions, but we have created many of our own. We make a very big deal out of meals. We, in fact, highlight them especially Christmas meals and treats. Christmas mornings usually are filled with presents and laughter, and then, of course, a lot of eating. We would let our kids when they were little, pick something that they loved the most to be included in their "big breakfast" on Christmas. Usually, the kids wanted donuts, coffee cakes and of course cinnamon rolls. So naturally, I did include an assortment tray of pastry, and they were delighted. But they grew up, became teenagers, and now adults, their tastes change and we suddenly were now including hot cocoa into our morning. The little ones "big breakfast" now also became brunch. Hot Cocoa I also have three grandchildren now and made really wonderful homemade "crockpot' hot coc...

Homemade Keto Blueberry Muffins Often times in this Keto journey if  I don't eat enough food sometimes I get the "muchies" and I want something else to eat, or sometimes I do want something quick and easy to eat in the morning. I love making these Keto Blueberry Muffins. I am not sure where this recipe originated because I follow so many foodie and Keto people. But I wanted to share this recipe with all of you. Part of why Keto is successful is because the person can control exactly what is going into their food because they are making it. This recipe does call for Almond flour (usually blanched), I only had an almond flour meal on hand so this is what I used.  *Coconut flour is not the same please refer to this helpful conversion website: https://www.dummies.com/food-drink/special-diets/paleo-diet/substituting-coconut-flour-for-almond-flour/ Here are the ingredients 2 1/2 cups of  almond flour 1/3 cup of Keto friendly type sugar (erythr...

It's the end of August and the kids are back at school, and now you can make the most of what is left of the long hot summer days, but by yourself! Are you in the pool with the large mattress float, are you exercising with the music blaring, or how about binge-watching your favorite shows on the patio (with a huge bucket of popcorn)? Whatever you're doing, I hope that you can find your beachy waves if you want them still. Source: Pinterest For myself, I deep clean the house! So many neglected spots and dust bunnies, I've lost count. I also embark on picking the haul in the garden. My family loves pickled foods and I  have just the easiest of all pickling brine recipes. This recipe is tried and true! I have been using it for many years. It is a cold pickling method instead of the boiling canning that once was the prominent way to make pickled foods. This method uses only a few ingredients and within the week they're ready to eat. Easy Pickling Recipe (D...

A Crafty Welcome! Nothing says welcome to my home more than a sign saying it! Here’s a D. I. Y. welcome sign that I started after attending so many craft shows and upcycle fairs, and saying to myself, “Gosh, I really could make this!”  I have a severe case of procrastination at times, but on this occasion, I stuck to my guns and said I’d do this project. My original intent was to just white-wash some kind of found board and then stencil the word welcome on it and stick it out on my porch. But this project felt so flat and it seems that everyone had this sign. As I thought about the project my new desire for mixed media arts reared its head. I wanted a three-dimensional image. So I started to look around for things that would form the letters. I went to Home Depot with my husband one day. On an end-cap to one of the aisles was an open flooring carton. It contained grey wash slat boards for flooring and some were already missing. I took just one (I should’ve taken more) up...

My Ketogenic Journey For the past three months, I have journeyed into the “keto” diet. I was looking for a diet that I could make what I wanted and lose weight. I have struggled with other diets, feeling deprived and not being able to stay on them. At first, I delved into the list and thought “Oh wow, this is going to be tough”, it’s so restrictive! But for some reason, at this point, it has been easy. I feel better, i.e. way less bloated and I did lose weight immediately! This helps to keep you in the game. So….. I’m pasta-less, potato-less, bread-less and I love it.  Mostly, keto is everything I was eating already, just remove all the carbs and sugar and voila! Pounds gone, I highly recommend. At this writing, I have successfully lost 21 pounds. Here’s my take on lunch the other day: My own keto take on salmon salad (faux salmon nicoise) ½ C= about 4 oz.  (Mixed greens: spinach, kale, chard, arugula) 7g of carb, 3 g fiber, 4 net carbs 40 calories 1 ½ C =...