SPLENDID LOW-CARBING BY JENNIFER ELOFF

Frozen Fruity Yogurts (GF)

2012-01-30T09:16:00.001-05:00

STRAWBERRY FROZEN YOGURT

Thesegood-for-you, delicious frozen yogurts can be eaten every day on this diet. Use yogurtmade with live bacterial cultures and one that is not too sour. I used my fabulous homemade yogurt (actually my DH's new recipe which I should share soon - so easy and makes thick, wonderful yogurt - much cheaper to make one's own) to make this yogurt yesterday. I waited a little long to photograph it as it was beginning to melt. It was a very hot day. It is summer-time here, but frozen yogurt treats are good for you any time of year.

1cup frozen strawberries, (250 mL)

(unsweetened)

2cups plain yogurt (500 mL)

Liquid sucralose to equal ³/₄cup (175 mL)

SPLENDA^® Granular

¹/₂cup heavy cream (125mL)

1tsp vanilla extract (5 mL)

In small bowl, microwave strawberries on high power1 minute. Chop strawberries andmash. In medium bowl, combine yogurt,strawberries, liquid sucralose, OR SPLENDA^® Granular, heavy cream andvanilla extract. Freeze in ice creammaker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Freeze for an hour for a firmer texture.

Yield: 5 cups (1.25 L)

¹/₂cup (125 mL)per serving

76.9calories

2.4g protein

5.4g fat

2.3g carbs

Variations: Blueberry: Use ³/₄cup(175 mL) frozen unsweetened blueberries. In small bowl, microwave blueberries 1 minute.

Yield: 5 cups (1.25L). (2.2 g Carbs)

Raspberry: Use 1 cup (250 mL) frozen unsweetenedraspberries plus another 2 tbsp (30 mL). In small bowl, microwave raspberries and 1 tbsp (15 mL) water 1 minute50 seconds. Mash with fork and pressthrough sieve.

Yield: 5 cups (1.25L). (2.1 g Carbs)

Maple Walnut: Omit vanilla extract. Use 2 tbsp (30 mL) maple extract and ¹/₂cup (125 mL) walnut pieces. Yield: 4¹/₂cups (1.125L). (2.0 g Carbs)

Cappuccino: Use 1 tbsp (15 mL) instant coffee stirredinto 2 tbsp (30 mL) cream; microwave 20 seconds to dissolve. Use ¹/₂tsp (2 mL)vanilla extract. Yield: 4 cups (1 L). (1.8 g Carbs)

Peach Vanilla: Use 1 cup (250 mL) canned unsweetened peachesin juice, drained and chopped and use 2 tsp (10 mL) vanilla extract.

Yield: 5 cups (1.25L). (4.0 g Carbs)

FruitCocktail: Use 1 cup (250 mL) canned unsweetened fruitcocktail in juice, drained. Yield: 5 cups (1.25 L). (3.9 g Carbs)

Lemon or Lime: Use ¹/₃cup (75 mL)lemon or lime juice and ¹/₂tsp (2 mL) lemonextract. Omit vanilla extract. Yield: 4¹/₂cups (1.125L). (2.1 g Carbs)

Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes (GF)

2012-01-28T16:08:00.001-05:00

FLUFFY BUTTERMILK PANCAKES

Delicious,hearty pancakes for breakfast.

Homemade Buttermilk:

1tbsp lemon juice (15 mL)

²/₃cup Carolyn’s Low-Carb Milk,(150 mL)

page___

Pancakes:

1¹/₈cups Gluten-Free Bake Mix, (300 mL)

page___

1tbsp baking powder (15 mL)

Liquidsucralose to equal 2 tbsp (30 mL)

SPLENDA^® Granular

1egg

2tbsp olive oil (30 mL)

¹/₄tsp salt (1 mL)

Homemade Buttermilk: In measuringcup, pour lemon juice and fill with Carolyn’s Low-Carb Milk, page___. Set aside 5 minutes.

Pancakes: In medium bowl, combineGluten-Free Bake Mix, page___ and baking powder. In food processor, processegg.

To food processor with egg, add homemade buttermilk along with oliveoil and salt; process. Add dryingredients; process l minute.

Onto greased, hot nonstick frying pan, pour ¹/₄ cup(60 mL) batter. Spread out with back ofa spoon. Flip when underside is done andcook briefly again until done and sides of pancakes feel dry to the touch

Helpful Hints: To get perfectly roundpancakes, purchase 2 to 4 pancake rings. Spray inside of rings with nonstick cooking spray. Place on greased, hot nonstick pan. Pour or scrape ¹/₄ cup(60 mL) batter into ring. After 1 minute,remove ring with tongs and flip to cook other side.

Yield: 8 pancakes

1pancake

117.7calories

3.9g protein

9.3g fat

4.0g carbs

English Muffin - Really! (GF)

2012-01-23T08:25:00.000-05:00

ENGLISH MUFFIN

I love thiscrispy English Muffin recipe. It is a take off of the one minute muffin (made with flax meal) onLowcarfriends.com, but some of them have a sponge-like texture and this onedoes not. This recipe was born the day Iopened my refrigerator and found nothing to spread my Strawberry Jam on. Try it – you will feel like you arecheating without a conscience. I think it is some kind of breakthrough. We love it! Pictured are the toasted muffins with a poached egg, ham and hollandaise sauce; a substantial, tasty breakfast! That is a regular-sized dinner plate, so we're looking at an English Muffin that is bigger than a regular English Muffin. This is a bland English muffin, just like the original - you don't taste the cheese in it.

P.S. I was really chuffed to find a review of the English Muffin by Ginny Larsen. Ginny will be joining us as an author in volume 3 of Low-Carbing Among Friends.

1 egg

¹/₈tsp salt (0.5 mL)

3tbsp Gluten-Free Bake Mix, (45 mL)

page___

¹/₄tsp baking powder (1 mL)

2tbsp shredded Monterey Jack (30 mL)

cheese

In cereal bowl, beat egg and salt with fork. Add Gluten-Free Bake Mix, page___ and bakingpowder. Whisk in well with fork. Stir in Monterey Jack cheese until wellcombined.

Nuke 1 minute and 10 seconds. Immediately loosen sides and invert muffin. Using a good, serrated bread knife, slicehorizontally in two. Set an ordinarytoaster to the last setting and toast. If desired, toast it one more time after that as well (maybe not for thefull length of time - depends).

Helpful Hints: The muffin should be dry wheninverted; i.e. no wet, soft spots in the center. My microwave oven is a powerful one and runshot, so your times may differ depending on the strength of your microwaveoven. This bread-like muffin may be usedtoasted for a variety of sandwiches or as a toasted bun for hamburgers. What is neat about this recipe is that it isready in a jiffy. It doesn’t come moreconvenient than that! It is bland likean English muffin (have you ever had one not toasted?), therefore, greattoasted and buttered with sugar free preserves or a little honey and shreddedcheese to go with a cup of tea or coffee any time of day. Yummy! Essentially, it is "bread" in a jiffy for busy people.

I have also tried it with Pepper Jack Cheese in an Egg McMuffin. I used it in the muffin and also on top.

Yield: 1 serving

1 EnglishMuffin

223.2calories

13.1g protein

16.0g fat

5.2g carbs

HOLLANDAISE SAUCE

This sauce isuseful for serving over poached eggs, asparagus, green beans or fish.

3 egg yolks

1tbsp lemon juice (22 mL)

¹/₂cup butter (125 mL)

In double boiler over hot water(not boiling), whisk eggs and lemon juice. Add one third of butter, whisk constantly until melted; repeat withremaining butter. Remove from heat asmixture thickens and is completely heated.

Helpful Hint: Some people make this sauce in ablender. Pioneer Woman has a neat way ofmaking it. Check out her blog forstep-by-step instructions for this sauce made in a blender. You might want to make half her recipe ashers is substantial.

Yield: ²/₃cup (150 mL)

1 tbsp (15 mL) per serving

99.6 calories

0.9 g protein

10.7 g fat

0.2 g carbs

Eggplant Bruschetta (GF)

2012-01-22T09:52:00.002-05:00

EGGPLANT BRUSCHETTA

This is one ofmy favorite appetizers of all time. Ilove eggplant and especially Japanese eggplant which are a perfect size forappetizers and far less bitter than the larger variety of eggplants. There is no need to soak them in salt water or peel them or anything like that.

7 tbsp olive oil (105 mL)

1small onion, chopped

1garlic clove, minced

14.5oz can diced tomatoes (411 g)

¹/₂cup water (125 mL)

Liquidsucralose to equal 2 tsp (10 mL)

SPLENDA^® Granular

¹/₂tsp dried oregano (2 mL)

¹/₂tsp dried basil (2 mL)

¹/₂tsp No Salt^® (2 mL)

¹/₂cup Gluten-Free Bake Mix, page___ (125mL)

¹/₃cup grated Parmesan cheese(75 mL)

¹/₄tsp Italian seasoning (1 mL)

¹/₄tsp No Salt^®(1 mL)

¹/₈ tsp black pepper (0.5 mL)

¹/₈ tsp salt (0.5 mL)

2eggs

1tbsp water (15 mL)

1lb Japanese eggplant slices (about ¹/₄-inch (0.6 cm)thick) (0.45 kg)

1cup grated Mozzarella cheese (250 mL)

In large skillet, in 1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil, cookonion and garlic until translucent and tender. Stir in tomatoes, water,sucralose, OR SPLENDA^® Granular, oregano, basil and No Salt^®. Simmer over low heat 10 minutes. On dinner plate, spread Gluten-Free Bake Mix,page___, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, No Salt^®, black pepper andsalt. In small bowl, beat eggs and watertogether with fork. Dip eggplant in eggwash and then lightly in Parmesan cheese mixture on both sides. In large nonstick saucepan, in 1 tbsp (15 mL)hot oil, fry eggplant slices until golden brown on both sides. Repeat.

Place a little tomato mixture along with some cheeseon each eggplant round. They may bereheated if desired; however, they are tasty at room temperature as well.

Helpful Hints: Ifyou think you will run out of “breading” then stir in some more Parmesan cheeseor bake mix. You will need a goodnonstick saucepan that is still in good shape to use the amounts of oilindicated otherwise the eggplant absorbs too much oil.

Yield: 8 servings

1serving (about 6)

246.7calories

8.5g protein

20.4g fat

8.0g carbs

Prizes to be Won!

2012-01-21T09:20:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! This is the first day that our internet has been fixed. It's been down for a number a days (the internet line was flying in the breeze - it came loose in a terrific wind storm) and I was barely connected via my Blackberry. My good friend, Judy Barnes Baker, has launched her brand new low-carb cookbook, Nourished (see front cover above for the full title) and is having a fabulous giveaway on her blog, Carb Wars. I do have her previous cookbook, Carb Wars. It is a fabulous cookbook and I cannot wait for her new one. I will do a review of her new cookbook as soon as I receive it. Meanwhile you can read all about it on her blog. I have seen the PDF and it is just fabulous! You will definitely want to add this cookbook to your low-carb cookbook library. It's beautiful and has a ton of gorgeous photos. You are getting real value for money as the cookbook is very under-priced in my opinion.

Lower Sodium Eggplant Parmigiana (GF)

2012-01-16T09:58:00.000-05:00

LOWER SODIUM EGGPLANT PARMIGIANA

A popularvegetable dish which is often quite high in sodium. I could eat this as a side with almostanything. I love it!

7 tbsp olive oil (105 mL)

1large onion, chopped

1garlic clove, minced

14.5oz can diced tomatoes (411 g)

¹/₂cup water (125 mL)

Liquidsucralose to equal 2 tsp (10 mL)

SPLENDA^® Granular

¹/₂tsp dried oregano (2 mL)

¹/₂tsp dried basil (2 mL)

¹/₂tsp No Salt^® (2 mL)

¹/₂cup Gluten-Free Bake Mix, page___ (125mL)

¹/₃cup grated Parmesan cheese(75 mL)

¹/₄tsp Italian seasoning (1 mL)

¹/₄tsp No Salt^®(1 mL)

¹/₈ tsp black pepper (0.5 mL)

¹/₈ tsp salt (0.5 mL)

2eggs

1tbsp water (15 mL)

1lb Japanese eggplant slices (about ¹/₄-inch (0.6 cm)thick) (0.45 kg)

1¹/₂cups grated Mozzarella cheese (375 mL)

In large skillet, in 1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil, cookonion and garlic until translucent and tender. Stir in tomatoes, water, sucralose,OR SPLENDA^® Granular, oregano, basil and No Salt^®. Simmer over low heat 10 minutes. On dinner plate, spread Gluten-Free Bake Mix,page___, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, No Salt^®, black pepper and salt. In small bowl, beat eggs and water togetherwith fork. Dip eggplant in egg wash andthen lightly in Parmesan cheese mixture on both sides. In large nonstick saucepan, in 1 tbsp (15 mL)hot oil, fry eggplant slices until golden brown on both sides. Repeat.

Layer half eggplant slices in 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33cm) glass baking dish, cover with half tomato mixture, sprinkle with halfgrated Mozzarella cheese; repeat. Bakein 350°F (180°C) oven 25 minutes.

Helpful Hints: Ifsodium is not a problem for you, then you may replace the Gluten-Free Bake Mix,page___ with an equivalent amount of Parmesan cheese. Bread the eggplant lightly on bothsides. If you think you will run out of“breading” then stir in some more Parmesan cheese or bake mix. You will need a good nonstick saucepan thatis still in good shape to use the amounts of oil indicated otherwise theeggplant absorbs too much oil.

Yield: 12 servings

1 serving

241.0calories

16.7g protein

19.2g fat

6.7g carbs

Weight Maintenance Needs A Pro-Active Attitude

2012-01-15T09:10:00.000-05:00

It's sad but true. Our bodies want to return to our highest weight. We have to use our minds/intellect to prevent that. Yes, once we are maintaining and no longer losing weight, we can eat a little more and exercise a little less, but we have to stay the course of the diet we adopted to lose the weight in the first place. Also, we may not be able to eat as much as another person at the same weight, who has been that weight most of his/her life. Our metabolisms have geared down and I believe what this article does not mention is leptin resistance. Here is more about that from Dr. Briffa.

Sugary Soda Tax - Will it help reduce consumption?

2012-01-15T08:57:00.000-05:00

Here is the article. I sure hope it helps because drinking sugary drinks adds so many extra calories to one's daily intake, plus, of course, constant insulin surges - very fattening!

First, the facts: Americans drank 13.8 billion gallons of soda, punch, sports drinks, sweet tea and other high-calorie, nutrient-free beverages in 2009, according to industry data. That works out to about 70,000 calories per person. The sugar in all this “liquid candy,” as it is often called, is considered to be a major contributing factor to the obesitycrisis, which in turn has fueled the rise of Type 2 diabetes and other diseases.

Review of Low-Carbing Among Friends by Dr. Parker (Mediterranean Low-Carb Diets)

2012-01-12T16:13:00.000-05:00

Please hop over to Dr. Parker's blog to read his review of Low-Carbing Among Friends. Thanks, Dr. Parker. :)

We are so grateful, so humbled and thankful for the lovely, kind responses to Low-Carbing Among Friends. I think all authors walk around with their "skin off" for a while until one knows if one's work is well-received.

I'm encouraged. There is plenty of work ahead of me and for all of us this year with 2 follow-up volumes of Low-Carbing Among Friends planned (I get butterflies in my tummy when I type that!).

Thanks everyone for your support. It is very much appreciated and spurs us on to continue to provide this service for our low-carbing friends. Some of the authors have full-time jobs and/or several young children, so it is amazing what they have accomplished and what they continue to do.

Cheesy Eggplant and Cherry Tomatoes (GF)

2012-01-11T17:29:00.002-05:00

CHEESYEGGPLANT AND CHERRY TOMATOES

A very attractive vegetable dish andvery tasty as well. It is easy toprepare. 'Scuse the photo!

2 Japaneseeggplants

3tbsp olive oil (45 mL)

1tsp seasoning salt (5 mL)

¹/₂ tsp paprika (2 mL)

1tbsp olive oil (15 mL)

19cherry tomatoes (approx.), halved

1 cupshredded Monterey Jack (250 mL)

Cheese

Preheatoven to 425°F(220°C). Washeggplant and slice into ¹/₄-inch (0.6 cm) pieces. In mediumbowl, combine 3 tbsp (45 mL) olive oil, seasoning salt and paprika. Add eggplant slices and toss. On rack of broiling pan, place eggplantslices. Bake approximately 25 minutes,or until tender.

Inlarge skillet, in 1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil fry cherry tomato halves just untiltender but not mushy (they must still keep their shape). Line the bottom of 9 x 13-inch (2 L) glassbaking dish with cooked eggplant slices. Place one half cherry tomato on each eggplant slice, more or less. Sprinkle with Monterey Jack cheese and bake 7minutes.

Yield: 8 servings

1serving

193.5calories

8.0g protein

16.2g fat

5.1g carbs

Walnuts - A Super Food!

2012-01-10T21:09:00.001-05:00

Walnuts can prevent breast cancer...wow, that is amazing! Here is the interesting article.

"Studies have clearly shown, however, that multiple ingredients in walnuts reduce the risk of cancer or slow its growth.

Using genetic analysis, the Marshall study found that the walnut-containing diet changed the activity of multiple genes that are relevant to breast cancer in both mice and humans. Other testing showed that increases in omega 3 fatty acids did not fully account for the anti-cancer effect, and found that tumor growth decreased when dietary vitamin E increased."

It also helps in the case of prostate cancer.

CABBAGE ROLLS (GF)

2012-01-07T17:02:00.002-05:00

CABBAGE ROLLS

I think youwill agree that this recipe is delicious! You won’t miss the rice! Theymake great little snacks too. Yum! I just had one.

Haha - hubby said, "That is an awful photo - what were you thinking? Should have photographed it in the dish that came out of the oven. Those are not cookies!" So not one of my best attempts here. Truth be told it was night time and DH was hungry, so I didn't interrupt him for photos. I took these photos the next morning.

2 lb lean ground beef or pork (0.9 kg)

¹/₂cup Gluten-Free Bake Mix, (125 mL)

page___

2tbsp dehyrdated chopped onion, (30 mL)

OR some finely chopped fresh onion

2eggs

1¹/₂tsp salt (7 mL)

¹/₂tsp black pepper (2 mL)

¹/₄tsp garlic powder (1 mL)

14large cabbage leaves

Tomato-ChiliSauce:

14oz can tomato sauce (284 mL)

³/₄cup water (175 mL)

5¹/₂fl oz can tomato paste (156 mL)

2 tbsp SPLENDA^® Granular (30 mL)

1 tsp dried basil (5 mL)

¹/₂tspchili powder (2 mL)

¹/₄tsp salt (1 mL)

In large bowl, combine ground beef, Gluten-Free BakeMix, page___, dehydrated onion, OR fresh onion, eggs, salt, pepper and garlic powder.

In large electric frying pan orlarge pot, with hot water, place 3 cabbage leaves at a time. Cover and allow to soften at least oneminute. Remove to clean dinner plate. On another clean dinner plate, place onelarge cabbage leaf. Cut harder, stalkyend off. Form some of meat mixture intosmall roll to fit cabbage leaf, fold in sides and roll up to form bundles;secure with wooden toothpicks as necessary. Place cabbage roll in 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33 cm) glass baking dish. Repeat with remaining meat and cabbageleaves.

Tomato-Chili Sauce: In blender combine tomato sauce, water,tomato paste, SPLENDA^® Granular, basil, chili powder and salt. Pour over cabbage rolls. Cover with foil.

Bake in 375°F (190°C) oven 2 hours. Remove foil, baste cabbage rolls with sauceand bake another 20 minutes.

Yield: 14 to 16 rolls

1 cabbageroll

204.7/179.1calories

15.5/13.5g protein

12.1/10.6g fat

7.0/6.1g carbs

Helpful Hints: Ifyou like spicy food, then adding a few drops of hot sauce to the cooked cabbagerolls is possible or you can add some to the sauce if everyone in the familylikes spicy food. Personally I like themjust the way they are.

Lazy Days of Summer Are Here Again!! Seriously!

2012-01-07T15:36:00.002-05:00

In South America! LOL

So, I have a few out-of-place recipes to share - popsicles and ice creams, but you can squirrel away the recipes for some other time, or if you don't mind eating cold treats in a warm, air conditioned house, then that will be okay too. ;)

CREAMY PEACHVANILLA POPSICLES

These are quite creamy.

4 peach halves from canned

(drained and rinsed), OR 2 fresh peaches

1 cup heavy cream (250 mL)

Liquid sucralose to equal 1cup (250 mL)

SPLENDA^® Granular, OR to taste

¹/₂ cup sour cream(125 mL)

¹/₂ tsp vanillaextract (2 mL)

In food processor or blender, combine peach halves,heavy cream, liquid sucralose, OR SPLENDA^® Granular, sour cream and vanilla extract. Process until smooth. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze.

Yield: 12 servings

1serving

81.5calories

0.8g protein

7.7g fat

2.4g carbs

Now Stevia is Coming In for Criticism too Just Like Other Sweeteners!

2012-01-06T13:20:00.001-05:00

Many people who are health conscious have gravitated to what sounds more natural amongst the sweeteners. It seems now some people are taking pot shots at Stevia. Not so unusual as any of the sweeteners that hit the big time, encountered such things and worse.

Truvia (mix of erythritol and stevia) is one of the low-carb, sugar-free sweeteners to hit the market, but like Steviva Blend and many other new sweeteners, they are very pricey. I won't buy very pricey. Sorry, I just won't. In fact Splenda Granular has become expensive too and so I've started using sucralose which is liquid Splenda. I use EZ-Sweetz available at Netrition.com So because Truvia is so very expensive, people have apparently been stocking up on the little packets at restaurants, etc. I don't mind the Steviva Blend but find in excess I have tummy problems. I notice I'm not the only one as many have that problem with Truvia too.

Anyway that aside my only bias is that I've always used Splenda. In fact, I have the unusual distinction of being the first cookbook author in the world to produce cookbooks using the product. Oh wait a minute I have another problem with stevia. I have yet to find a stevia product that I can actually taste as sweet. It tastes yucky to me - rather bitter, but I don't mind Steviva Blend (have yet to try Truvia). Apparently some people have that problem with stevia. Judy Barnes Baker did an article about that recently - she had a rather comical last paragraph. By the way, you are going to want Judy's new cookbook called Nourished!! I will be doing a review on my blog soon. I've seen the PDF and it is awesome!

So, really, poor stevia is coming in for pot shots too now; par for the course!

"But some concerns linger. Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest points to studies in which animal and bacterial cells were administered a stevia component closely related to Rebaudioside A and showed genetic damage, which raises the prospect that it may cause cancer, CSPI said. (Other cell studies didn't show the same genetic damage, Mr. Jacobson says.)"

I'm happy people can use their own preferred sweeteners in our Low-Carbing Among Friends cookbook. With the next volumes, we'll be careful to give sugar equivalents for the stevia used by some authors. I am going to make a note to the authors about this today as some people have expressed a desire to have that clarification.

I'm very happy to point people to recent discoveries about sucralose which may set some people's minds at ease despite all the bad press through the years (which only began after we had Splenda in Canada for almost a decade and it was then finally made available to US citizens. Hmm - fishy! Some people probably felt threatened.). Remember my family has consumed mega-quantities of Splenda over 20 years and we're fine. I do think now though that Splenda Granular is less desirable than liquid sucralose (click here to purchase - I use the 0.5 oz bottle (24 drops = 1 cup sugar/Splenda Granular). We don't really need the maltodextrin bulking agent in Splenda Granular in our low-carb diets; extra carbs! (24 g carbs per cup with the maltodextrin).

Green Bean and Bacon Salad (GF)

2012-01-04T21:01:00.000-05:00

GREEN BEANAND BACON SALAD

I often make this salad for largeget-togethers or if I need to take a salad to a function. It always goes over well. This recipe is in Low-Carbing Among Friends, vol-1, page 23.

2, 16 oz cans green beans, (0.9kg)

(not French-style)

¹/₂ cup chopped onion (125 mL)

¹/₂ cup olive oil (125 mL)

¹/₄ cup vinegar (60 mL)

¹/₂ tsp salt (2 mL)

¹/₄ tsp pepper (1 mL)

¹/₄ cup mayonnaise (60 mL)

3 tbsp sour cream (45 mL)

2 tsp vinegar (10 mL)

1 tsp mustard (5 mL)

¹/₄ tsp salt (1 mL)

4 hard boiled eggs

4 slices bacon, crisplyfried and crumbled

6 large lettuce leaves

¹/₈ tsp paprika (0.5 mL)

In medium bowl,combine green beans, onion, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper; tosslightly. Cover and refrigerateovernight. In small bowl combinemayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, mustard and salt. Stir in chopped, boiled eggs.

Just before serving,drain green beans and toss with bacon in medium bowl. In a 9 x 13-inch (2 L) glass baking dish,place lettuce leaves to line the bottom of the dish. Spread green beans over top and then add eggmixture; spread evenly. Sprinkle withpaprika.

Yield: 8 servings

1serving

168.6calories

7.4g protein

13.1g fat

4.3g carbs

HelpfulHints: This salad may also be assembled asindividual servings on pretty salad plates as an appetizer before a meal. I estimated how much olive oil, etc. wouldcling to the green beans (after draining) for the nutritional analysis.

Freezer Peanut Butter Cookies (GF)

2012-01-03T08:46:00.000-05:00

FREEZER PEANUTBUTTER COOKIES

These soft cookies have a more subtlepeanut butter flavor and, frankly, they are probably one of the nicer ones Ihave made. Keep them in the freezer. Atfirst I used ¹/₃cup (75 mL)erythritol, however, there is a cooling effect. I suspect xylitol would be fine to use instead, but give it a skip ifyou have dogs. Xylitol is deadly fordogs. I dare not use it on account ofSmiley.

¹/₂ cup butter (125 mL)

¹/₂cup smooth peanut butter (125 mL)

1egg

Liquidsucralose to equal ³/₄cup (175 mL)

SPLENDA^® Granular

3 tbsp granulatederythritol (45 mL)

1 tsp vanilla extract (5mL)

1 cup Gluten-Free Bake Mix,(250 mL)

page___

¹/₂tsp baking powder (2 mL)

¹/₂tsp baking soda (2 mL)

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). In food processor, processbutter, peanut butter and egg until smooth. Add liquid sucralose, OR SPLENDA^® Granular, granulated erythritol and vanilla extract;process. Add Gluten-Free Bake Mix,page___, baking powder and baking soda. Process until smooth (the batter will be moist).

Drop tablespoonfuls ongreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes oruntil brown underneath. Allow cookies tocool on cookie sheet. Transfer to sealedcontainer and place in freezer.

HelpfulHints: These cookies would probably be very nicewith a frosting such as the Betty Crocker^® -like frosting, page___.

Yield: 24 cookies

1 cookie

90.2calories

2.3g protein

8.2g fat

1.8g carbs

Broccoli Salad (GF)

2012-01-03T08:34:00.001-05:00

BROCCOLI SALAD

I love theaddition of sunflower seeds. I didn't actually use sunflower seeds in the salad in the pic as I didn't have any. I didn't have red onion either, so I used regular and added some chopped orange sweet pepper for color. It was great! Kent Altena has a nice broccoli salad in Low-Carbing Among Friends which uses bacon. It received rave reviews on lowcarbfriends.com

3 cups broccoli florets, chopped (750 mL)

¹/₂cup saltedsunflower seeds (125 mL)

¹/₄cup choppedred onion (50 mL)

¹/₄cup gratedCheddar cheese, (50 mL)

(optional)

MayonnaiseDressing:

¹/₂cup mayonnaise(125 mL)

¹/₄cup sour cream(50 mL)

1tbsp SPLENDA^® Granular (15 mL)

1tbsp lemon juice (15 mL)

Lightly steam broccoli florets about 3 minutes. Transfer broccoli to medium bowl andrefrigerate, while preparing dressing.

Mayonnaise Dressing: In small bowl, combine mayonnaise, sourcream, SPLENDA^® Granular and lemon juice.

Assembly: In largecasserole dish, combine broccoli, sunflower seeds, red onion and Cheddarcheese, if using. Stir in Dressing. Serve.

Helpful Hints: Tofurther reduce the carbs, omit sunflower seeds and red onion, if desired.

This salad makes a wonderful addition to a summerpicnic.

Yield: 6 servings

1serving

227.7calories

4.0g protein

21.6g fat

4.4 g carbs

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!

2011-12-31T18:29:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone - Happy New Year to you all. May 2012 see all your New Year dreams come true. What an amazing time we live in. I can remember when we didn't have the internet and yet today I could not imagine my life without it! I can remember a day when we didn't have TV - in fact, we only got TV in 1974 in South Africa - the year I graduated from high school. I can remember simpler times and a time when I thought drugs were something you bought only in a pharmacy. I can remember lots and lots about a simpler life than I lead today and definitely a slower pace than I lead today. Do you think life has become more stressful with all our high-tech gadgets? I mean I can remember a time without my Blackberry - not so long ago actually. Now I would feel lost without it. What did we do in the days before cell phones? - called home from a call box? :) What would I do without email or blogging? Eeek!

Anyway, interesting times, more stressful perhaps, but interesting all the same and I wouldn't want it any different now that I'm used to it. How about you? What do you remember? Would you want to turn the clock back with regard to some things?

Merry Christmas, Smiley - Some Photos of Smiley and His Present (Clearly Smiley is a low-carber)

2011-12-30T14:59:00.002-05:00

Any doubts as to whether a doggie is a carnivore? Just look at Smiley finding his ham bone under the Christmas tree! He has spent many an hour sleeping next to or under the tree since finding the ham bone there. I imagine he is dreaming of another ham bone. We are leaving the tree up at least until January the 11th, which is the day we adopted Smiley and it is the day we called his birthday. He will find another ham bone under the tree for his birthday. I think we will make this tradition every year as he loves it so much.

Smiley discovers the packet with his ham bone present.

Dog with head in packet - important mission to retrieve ham bone! You can see my eldest son's (27) laptop on the table. On the other side was another for youngest son (24). They were visiting over Christmas and we had a wonderful, quiet family Christmas for a change. Just lovely!

Finally - Smiley takes his ham bone into the living room.

This is how Smiley looked for the next while until he picked it clean. He hardly lifted his head. lol

Smiley had made some inroads by now. I left a lot of meat on the bone so it was literally a meal for little Smiley (or not so little - he has quite the appetite and each day it seems his life's mission is to make sure he gets to eat as much as possible!).

This year there was an extraordinary selection of hair trimming and beard trimming devices under the tree for my guys. This was Ian's selection of those presents. The funny thing is DH knew about his presents (as we often do. Haha.) and so he would often tease Smiley before Christmas that we would take a photo of Smiley finding the hair trimmers (since he has so much hair on his face, in his ears and everywhere) and DH finding the ham bone! We didn't do that of course, but it was funny to hear DH talking to poor Smiley that way.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!! Say it with something sweet.

2011-12-21T10:12:00.001-05:00

Here is last year's confection list.

Say Merry Christmas with Shortbread Cookies and other cookie assortments (see previous posts) for tea time. Merry Christmas my low-carb friends and blog friends. Thank you for a wonderful year of friendship and sharing. Blessings to you and yours this wonderful season. Let's also remember the reason for the season and spread the joy, the love and the good news.

SHORTBREADCOOKIES

These cookies have a slight twist withthe lemon juice in it – actually makes them rather interesting. You may dressthese up with a frosting glaze, if desired. This dough would make wonderfulpastry for a pie crust or for little pastry tarts.

1 egg

Liquidsucralose to equal 1 cup (250 mL)

SPLENDA^® Granular

¹/₂cup (1 stick) butter, softened (125 mL)

1tbsp lemon juice (15 mL)

¹/₈ tsp almond extract (1 mL)

1³/₄cups Gluten-Free Bake Mix, (425 mL)

page___

Infood processor, combine egg and liquid sucralose, OR SPLENDA^® Granular, butter, lemon juice and almond extract;process. Add Gluten-Free Bake Mix,page___; process. Form into couple ofballs, place in a plastic bag and refrigerate until easy to handle. If you refrigerate it overnight, you’d needto leave it out for at least half an hour.

Thenroll each disk into ¹/₈-inch to ¹/₄-inch (0.3cm to 0.6 cm) thickness between sheets ofplastic wrap. Remove top sheet and cut out cookies. Otherwise form two, 6-inch (15 cm) rolls and slicethe cookies from the rolls. Place the cookies ongreased foil on a cookie sheet and bake in 350°F (180°C)oven 8 to 10 minutes, or until brown underneath.

Yield: 24 to 30 cookies

1 cookie

73.9/59.1calories

1.6/1.3g protein

6.6/5.3g fat

1.7/1.4g carbs

OR SAY MERRY CHRISTMAS with Apple Spice Cheesecake

APPLE SPICECHEESECAKE

This delightful recipe may replace applepie, a beloved, traditional dessert. Serve with a few extra slices cooked apple, if desired. I tossed the cooked apple with a little cinnamon, melted butter and sweetener.

Crust:

³/₄cup ground almonds (175 mL)

³/₄cup Gluten-Free Bake Mix, (175 mL)

page___

¹/₄cup butter, melted (60 mL)

Filling:

2cups peeled, chopped apple (500 mL)

²/₃cup water (150 mL)

1tbsp lemon juice (15 mL)

Liquidsucralose to taste

16oz regular cream cheese, softened (500 g)

¹/₄cup sour cream (60 mL)

2eggs

Liquidsucralose to equal ¹/₂ cup (125 mL)

SPLENDA^®Granular

¹/₃cup granulated erythritol(75 mL)

1tsp vanilla extract (5 mL)

1tsp ground nutmeg (5 mL)

¹/₂tsp ground cinnamon (2 mL)

¹/₄tsp ground allspice (1 mL)

CrèmeFraiche, page___ (optional)

Crust: In medium bowl, combine groundalmonds, Gluten-Free Bake Mix, page___ and butter. Press into bottom of 9-inch (23 cm) piedish. Bake in 350°F (180°C) oven 10 minutes.

Filling: Whilepreparing the filling, place chopped apple in water and cook over medium heat 10minutes. Drain and stir in lemon juiceand sucralose to taste.

In food processor,process cream cheese and sour cream. Addeggs, liquid sucralose, OR SPLENDA^® Granular, erythritol, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice; processuntil smooth. Stir in apples. Bake in oven 30 to 35 minutes, or untilcenter is set. Cool. Frost with Crème Fraiche, page___, ifdesired.

Yield: 12 servings

1 serving

259.6calories

7.4g protein

22.6g fat

6.4g carbs

Pizza Crust A La Peggy-Style (GF)

2011-12-18T13:11:00.001-05:00

PIZZA CRUSTA LA PEGGY-STYLE

This excellent thin, crispy pizza crust was inspired by Peggy Hardaway’s pizza crust. I followed her basic recipe but usedmy bake mix, a little oat flour and only1 egg. Do visit her blog: http://buttoni.wordpress.com/ I perfected this the other day as there were a couple of problems with it. I think it is really nice now - thin, golden crust.

4 oz creamcheese, softened (125 g)

1 large egg

1 tbsp olive oil (15 mL)

1¹/₂ tsp Parmesan cheese (7 mL)

²/₃cup Gluten-Free Bake Mix, (150 mL)

page___

2 tbsp oat flour (30 mL)

¹/₂ tsp baking powder (2 mL)

¹/₂ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese, OR (125 mL)

Mozzarella cheese

1 tbsp olive oil (15 mL)

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a12-inch (30 cm) pizza pan with foil or parchment paper (also possible to justfit the foil inside a bigger pan). Sprayfoil with nonstick cooking spray.

In food processor,combine cream cheese, egg, 1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil and Parmesan cheese;process. In medium bowl, combineGluten-Free Bake Mix, page___, oat flour, and baking powder. Add to food processor along with MontereyJack, OR Mozzarella cheese; process. Drop dough on prepared pizza pan. Using a large piece of plastic wrap, press dough out and use a rollingpin to further roll out the dough.

Bake 10 minutes onmiddle rack and 10 minutes on lower rack. Remove and brush crust with 1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil. Top with scant ¹/₂ cup (125 mL) thick Pizza Sauce*, page 56 in Low-Carbing Among Friends, Volume-1. Add meat and vegetable toppings of choice andshredded Monterey Jack, OR Mozzarella cheese. Place back in the oven on middle shelf and bake 10 minutes. Then place on the lower rack and bake another10 to 12 minutes. Check the crust as it shouldbe evenly brown underneath.

Yield: 10/12 servings

1serving

131.3/109.4calories

4.7/3.9g protein

11.2/9.3g fat

2.7/2.3g carbs

Helpful Hints: *For thicker Pizza Sauce, page 56, Low-Carbing Among Friends, Volume-1, usea few tablespoons less water than stated; seems to work really well with thispizza crust and ensures a crispy crust. I have a small rolling pin which is great for rolling out pie crustdough in the pie dish – this is ideal but a small can of food will work almostas well. It is possible that differentovens will require shorter or longer baking times, but once you’ve figured itout, this pizza crust is a real winner!

Low-Carb Diets vs Standard Low-Calorie Diets -STUDY

2011-12-16T18:01:00.003-05:00

Hmm, this was rather an interesting study, I thought. Here is the article. Both the low-carb diet variants (which were for only 2 days a week) did better than the low-calorie Mediterranean diet alone (7 days a week). Interesting! However, even more interesting is that it helped to keep calories in check with a low-carb diet as well - it was more effective. Guess that makes sense! What surprises me though is that 2 days of low-carbing was enough to lose weight.

However, one should be aware that there are low-carb Mediterranean diets by Dr. Steve Parker who wrote 2 books, the Low-Carb Mediterranean Diet and the Advanced Mediterranean Diet; now these diets are bound to be even better - i.e. low-carb and a Mediterranean diet combined - that is superior!

"Harvie and her colleagues compared three diets during four months for effects on weight loss and blood markers of breast cancer risk among 115 women with a family history of breast cancer. They randomly assigned patients to one of the following diets: a calorie-restricted, low-carbohydrate diet for two days per week; an "ad lib" low-carbohydrate diet in which patients were permitted to eat unlimited protein and healthy fats, such as lean meats, olives and nuts, also for two days per week; and a standard, calorie-restricted daily Mediterranean diet for seven days per week."

Cookies, Cookies and More Cookies for Christmas and the Holidays!

2011-12-14T17:28:00.001-05:00

Carolyn Ketchum, one of the authors of Low-Carbing Among Friends did a fabulous post featuring her cookies and cookies from several famous bloggers and authors in the low-carb community. Many of us have begun our Christmas baking and are freezing cookies, for instance. Here are some lovely ideas. Enjoy!

Low Carb, Gluten Free Holiday Cookie Round-Up

Jimmy Moore Recognizes and Praises one of the Authors of Low-Carbing Among Friends!

2011-12-14T13:53:00.000-05:00

Kent Altena has the unique distinction in Low-Carbing Among Friends as being the only male chef. His book is after the ladies in Low-Carbing Among Friends as the publisher said, "Ladies first;" to his daughter's chagrin. His recipes are very sought after by the folks who enjoy his many detailed food videos on YouTube and who adhere to stricter low-carbing guidelines. He is so comfortable in front of the camera and a delight to watch. His eldest daughter is now also following the Atkins Diet and is also an athlete (long distance runner) like her dad. She seems to be a real chip off the old block as they say and she even looks a lot like her dad! Kent has many talents and cooking is only one of his hobbies as he works in computers (don't ask me exactly what he does), volunteers as a Fireman and a Paramedic and a few other things he does as well (I forget now).

This discovery today was a lovely surprise. Congratulations, Kent! Here is the wonderful post by Jimmy Moore: Five New Must See Videos for December 2011.

Coconut Cookies Your Way (GF)

2011-12-13T18:27:00.002-05:00

COCONUTCOOKIES YOUR WAY

These lovely, flavorful, soft cookies canbe custom made to your own taste. ForChristmas you could add sultanas or dried sugar free cranberries. You can add ¹/₂tsp (2 mL) coconut extract or pineapple extract orwhatever you fancy. You may leave out the lemon peel. You can keep themcompletely plain and simply add a bit of vanilla extract or another flavor ofextract that you prefer.

¹/₂cupfinely grated coconut, (125 mL)

(unsweetened)

2 tbsp SPLENDA^® Granular (30 mL)

¹/₂cupbutter, softened (125 mL)

2 tsp finely grated lemon peel (10 mL)

1 egg

Liquid sucralose to equal 1 cup (250 mL)

SPLENDA^® Granular

1³/₄cups Gluten-Free Bake Mix, (425mL)

page___

¹/₂tsp baking soda (2 mL)

¹/₈tsp salt (0.5 mL)

¹/₂cupsour cream (125 mL)

¹/₂cupsultanas, OR seedless raisins, OR (125 mL)

dried sugarfree cranberries

Preheat oven to 350°F(180°C). Combine coconut and 2 tbsp (30mL) SPLENDA^® Granular and spread out on dinner plate. Set aside.

In food processor or in bowlwith electric mixer, process butter and lemon peel. Add egg and liquid sucralose, OR 1 cup (250mL) SPLENDA^® Granular; process.

In medium bowl, combine Gluten-Free Bake Mix,page___, baking soda and salt. Add tofood processor alternately with sour cream. Mix in sultanas, OR raisins, OR cranberries. Leave mixture on countertop 20 minutes.

Roll teaspoons or heaped teaspoons of cookie batterinto balls and roll in sweetened coconut. Place on lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake in oven 10 to 14 minutes (depending on size of cookie), or untilgolden brown underneath. Keep at roomtemperature.

Yield: 24 or 48 cookies

1 cookiewith cranberries

96.8/48.4calories

1.9/1.0g protein

8.6/4.3g fat

2.3/1.3g carbs

Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies (GF)

2011-12-13T17:34:00.000-05:00

CHOCOLATECHIP CRANBERRY COOKIES

I love the touch of cinnamon in thiscookie. It is a substantial, crunchycookie. The cranberries give it a distinctive, festive accent, however, if desired use 1/4 cup (60 mL) raisins snipped in half instead.

2 cups Gluten-Free Bake Mix, (500 mL)

page___

³/₄tsp baking soda (3 mL)

¹/₄tsp baking powder (1 mL)

¹/₂tsp cinnamon (2 mL)

1large egg

Liquidsucralose to equal 1 cup (250 mL)

SPLENDA^® Granular

³/₄cup (1¹/₂ sticks) butter, softened (175 mL)

¹/₄cup granulated erythritol (60 mL)

1tsp vanilla extract (5 mL)

1¹/₂ cups sugarfree chocolate chips (375 mL)

¹/₂cup dried sugar free cranberries, page___, OR (125 mL) See Vanessa Romero's Recipe
fresh cranberries, chopped in the food processor

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). In mediumbowl, combine Gluten-Free Bake Mix, page___, baking soda, baking powder andcinnamon. Stir to mix well.

Infood processor with metal blade, process egg. Add sucralose, OR SPLENDA^®Granular, butter, erythritol and vanilla extact; process.

Adddry ingredients to wet ingredients and process about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips and sugar freecranberries. Using heapingtablespoonfuls, place dough on greased cookie sheet. Flatten dough slightly with back ofspoon. Bake 10 minutes or until goldenunderneath. Allow to cool 5minutes. Transfer to freezer orrefrigerator.

Variation: ChocolateChip Raisin Cookies: Substitute with raisins if desired, but halvethe amount and snip the raisins in half as well.

Yield: 28 cookies

1 cookie

124.9calories

1.9g protein

9.9g fat

2.3g carbs

Low-Carbing Among Friends needs another little "friend" in the kitchen

2011-12-13T16:41:00.001-05:00

This cookbook holder (made out of perspex or acrylic) is wonderful for all my perfect bound cookbooks. I find it to be perfectly stable on my countertop. The reason I like it is that I'm a bit of a messy cook sometimes and this keeps my books clean from splatters and messy fingers even with all the busyness around me. I tend to use too many pots, pans, bowls, knives, spatulas and you name it. Haha. Just me doing the dishes too - and no dishwasher!

My cookbook holder is a little worse for wear as I brought it all the way from Canada in the container which went by ship. I would like a new one but this one still does the job even although there is a serious crack in the base of it. They are a one-time investment usually and cost about $9 on the internet. I use it for practically all my cookbooks - even some of the spiral bound ones in order to keep them clean. As an aside: I've used my older low-carb cookbooks so much that they simply fall open on the spot I desire - and stay open! I don't bother with the holder when I'm referring to them at my desk.

I hope this idea helps some people as it has helped me.

Chicken, Bacon and Broccoli Quiche (GF)

2011-12-12T15:20:00.001-05:00

CHICKEN,BACON AND BROCCOLI QUICHE

Rich, super-tasty, creamy quiche thatbecomes much firmer upon refrigerating. I even like it cold! You can even use leftover Christmas turkey in this quiche.

Crust:

¹/₂ cup groundalmonds, OR (125 mL)

almond flour

¹/₄cup Gluten-Free Bake Mix, (60 mL)

page___

3tbsp butter, melted (45 mL)

Filling:

6bacon slices

2cups chopped broccoli (500 mL)

¹/₂ cup choppedonion (125 mL)

2cups diced, cooked chicken, OR turkey (500 mL)

¹/₂ tsp salt (2mL)

¹/₂ tsp Italianseasoning (2 mL)

¹/₄tsp black pepper (1 mL)

8oz light cream cheese, softened (250 g)

¹/₄cup sour cream, OR yogurt (60 mL)

5eggs

4oz shredded MontereyJack cheese (125 g)

¹/₄cup Parmesan cheese (60 mL)

2tbsp shredded MontereyJack cheese (30 mL)

1tbsp Parmesan cheese (15 mL)

Crust: In mediumbowl, combine ground almonds, OR almond flour, Gluten-Free Bake Mix, page___and butter. Press into 9-inch piedish. Bake in 350°F (180°C) oven 10 minutes.

Filling: In largeskillet, cook bacon until just before it gets crisp. Set aside to drain on paper towels. In bacon fat, cook broccoli and onion untiltender. Stir in chicken, OR turkey andstir fry couple of minutes. Sprinklewith salt, Italian seasoning and black pepper. In food processor, process cream cheese and sour cream, OR yogurt. Add eggs one at a time while processing. Stir in 4 oz (125 g) Monterey Jack cheese andParmesan cheese. Add to skillet alongwith chopped bacon and stir everything well. Pour over crust. Sprinkle with 2tbsp (30 mL) Monterey Jack cheese. Bakein oven 40 minutes or until set. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Allow to cool 10 minutes before cutting.

Yield: 8 servings

1serving

453.4calories

41.4g protein

28.9g fat

4.9g carbs

Variations: Chicken, Bacon and Leek Quiche: Use 2 cups(500 mL) chopped leeks. (8.9 g carbs)

Turkey

, Bacon andBroccoli Quiche: Use turkey instead of chicken. (4.9 g)

Crepes with Peach Custard Sauce (GF)

2011-12-06T07:34:00.001-05:00

CREPES WITHPEACH CUSTARD

Comfort Food for sure! This custard makes a nice pudding all byitself. This recipe may be halved. The crepes will keep a week in the refrigerator and the custard might keep a few days.

Crepes:

1 cup Hood^® Calorie Countdown (125 mL)

milk, OR Carolyn’s low-carb milk, page___

6 large eggs

³/₄cupgluten-free oat flour (90 mL)

6 tbsp vanilla whey protein,optional (90 mL)

¹/₄cup butter, melted (60 mL)

1 SPLENDA^® packet

¹/₄tspxanthan gum (1 mL)

2 tbsp olive oil (30 mL)

PeachCustard:

2 cups half-and-half cream(500 mL)

Liquid sucralose to equal ²/₃cup

SPLENDA^® Granular

6 egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla extract (5mL)

¹/₄tspxanthan gum (1 mL)

12 oz canned peach halves,drained and rinsed (375 g)

(chopped), OR fresh peaches, chopped

¹/₈ tsp ground nutmeg for garnish (0.5 mL)

Crepes: In blender,combine Hood^® CalorieCountdown milk, OR Carolyn’s low-carb milk, page___, eggs, oat flour, vanillawhey protein (if using), butter, SPLENDA^® and xanthan gum. Blend well, stopping to scrape sides of blender a couple of times.

Into cereal bowl, pourolive oil. Using a pastry brush, brush a tiny amount of oil to cover a 6-inch(15 cm) nonstick pan. Pour 3 tbsp (45mL) crepe batter in pan (tilt to cover) and cook over medium low heat untiledges turn brown and bubbles form. Flipcrepe and cook the other side briefly. Transfer to a dish with a lid to keep the crepes warm.

PeachCustard: In double boiler, combine half-and-half creamand liquid sucralose, OR SPLENDA^®Granular. When scalding, pour into smallbowl with 6 egg yolks; stir. Return todouble boiler and stir constantly until custard begins to thicken (about 5 minutes). In food processor bowl, pour custard and addvanilla extract and xanthan gum; process until smooth and thickened. Stir in peaches. Place crepes (folded) in a single layer on anattractive, large platter. Pour custardover the top and down the center of the crepes. Sprinkle with nutmeg and serve.

Yield: 16 servings

1serving

159.3calories

5.5g protein

12.1g fat

6.4g carbs

Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookies (GF)

2011-12-03T19:49:00.001-05:00

CHUNKYCHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

These are excellent, substantialcookies! No one will guess they are gluten-free, sugar-free and low-carb. That’s the best part, I think! Keep them in the refrigerator or the freezer (they become quite crunchy),depending on your preference.

2 eggs

Liquid sucralose to equal 1cup (250 mL)

SPLENDA^® Granular

¹/₂ cup granulated erythritol (125 mL)

³/₄cupbutter, softened (175 mL)

¹/₂tsp vanilla extract (2 mL)

1¹/₂ cups almond flour (375 mL)

1¹/₄cupsGluten-Free Bake Mix, (300 mL)

page___

1 tsp baking soda (5 mL)

¹/₄tspsalt (1 mL)

2 cups sugarless chocolatechips (500 mL)

1 cup chopped walnuts (250mL)

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Spray large cookie sheet with nonstickcooking spray.

In food processor,process eggs, liquid sucralose, OR SPLENDA^® Granular, erythritol, butter and vanilla extact. In large bowl, combine almond flour,Gluten-Free Bake Mix, page___, baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to egg mixture andprocess at least one minute. Stir inchocolate chips and chopped walnuts. Letcookie dough rest 10 minutes.

Drop heapingtablespoonfuls of dough onto cookie sheet. Flatten dough with back of spoon. Bake 10 minutes. Allow to cool atleast 5 minutes on cookie sheet. Transfer to a plate and place in freezer. Refrigerate later or keep in freezer in an airtightcontainer.

Yield: 34 cookies

1 cookie

150.7calories

3.2g protein

12.3g fat

1.9g carbs

New York Times Article - Should We All Go Gluten-Free?

2011-12-02T08:52:00.001-05:00

Wow, this really makes one realize that gluten intolerance and Celiac disease is on the rise. I wonder why? At any rate, reading the article and the enthusiasm of General Mills to produce tons of gluten-free products to address this fairly new and growing market, one realizes that it is not likely to be a fad diet. There is a real need for gluten-free products as many people are discovering that they feel better without gluten in their diets. Certainly my husband is intolerant of gluten and whenever he gets "glutened", his weight goes up by about 5 to 6 lbs in one day. It's hard to believe. It takes a few days for that water weight (reaction to inflammation in his body) to come off. The extra water weight puts pressure on the blood vessels (a closed system of pipes really) and pushes his blood pressure up. Gluten is not a good thing for my husband. Not everyone is gluten sensitive. I don't think I am, however, I'm now of the opinion that it doesn't hurt to cut down on gluten and we already know that the wheat people are consuming is not good for them. One only has to read Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis to realize that. Wheat (as in a slice of whole wheat bread) raises blood sugar more than a candy bar, plus wheat has a protein in it called gliadin which stimulates the appetite and also gives one a "reward" - a feeling of mild euphoria similar to being on a drug like opiates (eg. morphine). No wonder bread has such an allure for many of us. It's addictive.

This article makes me realize that the cookbook team is on the right track and that our cookbook could not be more timely. Not only are we addressing gluten-free, but also those folks who must control their weight (including me) through a low-carb diet. I know that if I was on a high-carb diet, I'd be eating all manner of junk in no time flat (especially sugary things with white flour) and I can gain 5 lbs in 2 weeks. Imagine if at this age with my thyroid and hormone problems (perimenopausal) if I kept that up for an entire year! No, the only way I can control my weight is by low-carbing and now I realize, too, that gluten-free gives me even better control over my appetite. I suspect gluten-free will remain main stream! Most low-carb diets in their early stages are gluten-free, however, many of us used to add in gluten (eg. in my earlier bake mixes) fairly soon to help out with creating familiar comfort foods such as bread and desserts. Again, I must reiterate that gluten is not a problem for everyone - only a certain percentage of the population is affected, but still it bears thinking about and doing a little test. Go gluten-free for a month and see how you feel. :) It's actually not that difficult if one is already low-carbing.

Some of the Benefits of Low-Carbing to Consider

2011-11-29T08:20:00.001-05:00

A peaceful river scene to enjoy.

Guest post by Isabella Woods - the links are to a business that she freelances for.

Low Carb: Who Benefits?

Many people who start low-carb diets do so with theintention of losing weight, often over a short period of time after which theyplan to go back to eating 'normally'. Sometimes they are encouraged bycelebrities who have lost weight quickly and publicly when following low-carbdiets, such as Jennifer Aniston and Geri Halliwell. Low-carb diets tend to beseen as a quick-fix solution to weight problems. However, the potential oflow-carb is much greater than that. It can help many people, whether or not theyneed to lose weight. Low-carb diets can have some specific health benefits forpeople with certain conditions, and can also contribute to general well-being.While low carb diets are not a cure-all, they can be a very useful way for manypeople to change their lifestyle for the better. Here are some of the ways inwhich eating low-carb can help people live well and healthily.

1) Long-term weight loss

Low-carb doesn't need to be a quick fix. In fact,low-carb has been shown to be generally more effective in inducing long-termweight loss than calorie and fat restriction diets. They work because theyforce the body to burn stored fat for energy, and also because calories fromprotein tend to be more filling than those from carbohydrate. So, someone whorelies on processed carbohydrates for a large part of their diet is likely toeat more as they don't stay full for long. Low-carb doesn't have to meanexcessively restrictive either. Many people who don't need to lose weight butjust want to stop the pounds creeping up and stop their hunger pangs canbenefit from restricting their carb intake.

2) Diabetes control and prevention

Low-carb diets can help keep insulin levels undercontrol, and therefore they can be good for anyone who suffers from diabetes,or who is at risk of it. Of course, losing weight will help prevent diabetes initself, and so low-carb diets can be beneficial for that reason. However, theyalso help regulate glucose levels. High-carb foods turn into glucose veryquickly once eaten. This can mean that the body has more glucose than it canprocess. That can obviously be dangerousfor diabetics, and help contribute to the development of diabetes too.

3) Improvement in epilepsy

While epilepsy is a complex disorder which needs tobe treated medically, there is some evidence that low-carb diets can help.Specifically, ketogenic diets have been shown to help reduce the number of fitssuffered by some epileptics. Ketogenic diets are very low-carb diets which putthe body into a state called 'ketosis'. That is, because there is littleglucose in the diet, the liver converts fat into products called 'ketonebodies'. These are vital for energy in the brain, and they seem to help improveepilepsy symptoms as a result. Ketogenic diets can sometimes be prescribed bydoctors for patients with epilepsy.

4) Improvement in poly-cystic ovary syndrome

Poly-cystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, is suffered by10% of women. It can cause problems with fertility, weight can, menstrual difficultiesand susceptibility to diabetes. Women who have PCOS do not produce enough ofthe hormone which helps the body to metabolize fat and sugar and as a resultsuffer from insulin resistance. Low-carb diets can help sufferers because theyreduce insulin resistance.

5) Lowered blood pressure.

High blood pressure is often called 'the silentkiller', as it has few obvious ill-effects until it becomes dangerous,increasing the likelihood of heart attack and stroke. Low-carb diets can helplower blood pressure partly because they lead to weight loss, which is one ofthe best ways to help lower blood pressure. However it also seems to have anextra effect when compared to weight loss caused by other kinds of diets.

6) Improvements in mood and well-being

A low-carb diet can help people feel happier and moreenergetic, as well as bringing the usual weight benefits of any balanced dietwhich is a big allure for many wanting to squeeze into tighter clothing. Eating too manycarbs causes insulin spikes, which in turn makes people sluggish and tiredbetween meals. A carb-heavy snack will tend to increase energy levels briefly,before sending them crashing back down. That often leads to a cycle of snackingand crashing, which tends to lower the mood and to cause weight gain. Low carbdiets can help keep energy levels steady throughout the day.

Leftover Turkey Recipe Ideas

2011-11-25T07:31:00.001-05:00

Turkey Alfredo in Crepes

Turkey Enchiladas

Turkey Curry with Peaches

Turkey Linguine Alfredo

Turkey Tacos

Turkey and Macaroni Casserole

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Say it with Pumpkin Cheese Pie! (GF)

2011-11-21T10:50:00.001-05:00

Here is the Pumpkin Cheese Pie Recipe. It's a popular one and folks have tested it on lowcarbfriends as well. Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. Remember the other ideas? Here and here and here.

If you want a really fun post for many Thanksgiving ideas, visit Carolyn Ketchum's website. See Lisa's Thanksgiving in One Bite! See Red Kuri Squash at Judy's Carb Wars Blog. See Maria Emmerich's Green Bean Bundles. Kent Altena's Pumpkin Muffin-in-a-Minute. Ginny Larsen's Thanksgiving Recipes. Peggy's Sausage Calabacita Casserole. Jimmy Moore's Decadent Strawberries and Cream Cheesecake with Dark Chocolate Drizzle.

Glazed Almond Chocolate Chip Bars (GF)

2011-11-19T18:16:00.001-05:00

I wanted to show off my pretty flowers from the garden in this pic - hibiscuses, bougainvillea, and jasmine. :) It is hard to believe that I can harvest flowers year round, but you know right now in the jungle it is like monsoon season with so much rain that our internet is a bit spotty lately. Mid-December the dry season begins and I will have to spend 1 1/2 hours a day watering the garden (one half one day, and the other half the next day). We do have a gardener who comes once a week and makes me feel very spoiled.

GLAZEDALMOND CHOCOLATE CHIP BARS

These lovely bars are addictive, rich-tasting and good. No one would guess that they are lower in carbs. Storein closed container at room temperature for three days maximum. These bars maybe frozen. Haha - who am I kidding? I totally overate when it came to these bars. Be warned! Invite friends, pack up the leftovers and send 'em off with them!

1 extra-largeegg

¹/₂cup (4 oz)butter, (125 mL)

softened
Liquid sucralose to equal ¹/₂cup SPLENDA^® Granular (125 mL)

2 tbsp granulated erythritol (30 mL)

¹/₂tsp almond extract (2 mL)

1¹/₈cups Low-Carb Bake Mix, (300 mL)

page___, OR 1 1/3 cups Gluten-Free Bake Mix

¹/₂tsp bakingpowder (2 mL)

²/₃cup sugarlesschocolate chips (150 mL)

Vanilla Glaze:

¹/₂cupConfectioner’s Sugar Substitute, page___ (125 mL) (see recipe below)

1SPLENDA^® packet (optional)

1tbsp butter, softened (15 mL)

1tbsp whipping cream (15 mL)

1 tbsp Da Vinci^® Sugar Free French VanillaSyrup (15 mL), OR use
water and 1/8 tsp vanilla extract

In food processor, or in bowl with electric mixer,process egg, butter, SPLENDA^® Granular, erythritol and almond extract. In medium bowl, combine Low-Carb Bake Mix,page___ , OR Gluten-Free Bake Mix and baking powder. Reduce speedto low and add dry ingredients, processing until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread in greased 8-inch (20 cm) square glassbaking dish. Bake 20 to 25 minutes in350°F (180°C) oven, or until edges are golden brown. Spread Vanilla Glaze over surface while barsare still hot. Refrigerate. Cut into bars andstore at room temperature in a closed container or keep them refrigerated like I did.

Vanilla Glaze: Insmall bowl, combine Confectioner’s Sugar Substitute, page___, SPLENDA^® (optional), butter,whipping cream and Da Vinci^® Sugar Free French Vanilla Syrup until smooth.

Da Vinci^® Alternative: Use water and ¹/₈ tsp (0.5 mL) vanillaextract and a drop liquid sucralose, if desired.

Yield: 16/25 servings

1serving

146.9/94.0calories

2.5/1.6g protein

12.1/7.8g fat

3.1/2.0g carbs

CONFECTIONER’SSUGAR SUBSTITUTE

This is a newer confectioner’s sugarsubstitute recipe. If desired, you can replace half the milk powder with a nice-tasting vanilla whey protein powder.

¹/₃cupSPLENDA^® Granular (75 mL)

¹/₃cuppowdered erythritol (75 mL)

¹/₄cup whole milk powder, OR (60 mL)

skim milk powder

¹/₄tsp xanthan gum (1 mL)

In coffee grinder orblender, place SPLENDA^®Granular, powdered erythritol, whole milk powder and xanthan gum and processuntil a fine powder.

Helpful Hint: I do use granulated erythritol sometimes,however, the resulting product is not quite as fine as with the powderederythritol.

Yield: 14 servings

1 tbsp(15 mL) per serving

13.8calories

0.6g protein

0.6g fat

1.5g carbs

Women Drinking 2 or more Sugary Drinks a Day increase Heart Disease Risk

2011-11-19T07:57:00.001-05:00

Here is the interesting article. Quick shocking actually but considering that sugar and fructose (often HFCS is used in pop) raise triglycerides, it makes sense. Also, those substances raise inflammation in the body - the kind of inflammation implicated in heart disease.

Chicken Alfredo in Crepes (GF)

2011-11-18T21:15:00.001-05:00

CHICKENALFREDO IN CREPES

Deliciously good and satiating savorycrepes. Serve with cherry tomatoes or aleafy salad, if desired.

1 roastchicken

Alfredo Sauce:

8oz regular cream cheese (250 g)

¹/₂cup Parmesan cheese (125 mL)

¹/₂cup Hood^® Calorie Countdown (125 mL)

Milk, OR Carolyn’s Low-Carb Milk,

page___

¹/₂cup butter (125 mL)

Crepes:

2 cups Hood^® Calorie Countdown (500 mL)

milk, OR Carolyn’s low-carb milk, page___

12 large eggs

2 cups gluten-free oat flour(500 mL)

³/₄ cup vanilla whey protein powder,optional (175 mL)

¹/₂ cup butter, melted (125 mL)

4 SPLENDA^® packets

¹/₂tsp xanthan gum (2 mL)

3 tbsp olive oil (45 mL)

Cut up roast chickenand cut the chicken meat into small pieces.

AlfredoSauce: In large frying pan, combine cream cheese,Parmesan cheese, milk of choice and butter. Allow cream cheese, cheese and butter to melt over medium heat and stirto blend well. Add chicken. Set aside. {about 4 cups (1L)}

Crepes: In foodprocessor or blender, combine Hood^® Calorie Countdown milk, OR Carolyn’s low-carb milk, page___, eggs, oatflour, vanilla whey protein (if using), butter, SPLENDA^® and xanthan gum. Blend well, stopping to scrape sides of food processor or blender acouple of times.

Fill each crepe with 2tbsp (30 mL) of Chicken Alfredo (warm briefly again in the frying pan). Fold edges over to middle.

Variation: Canapés: Excellent, tasty appetizer. Serve cold. Fill Crepes, fold over and refrigerate. Before serving, slice into bite-size pieces.

Yield: 32 crepes, filled

1 crepe

173.0calories

7.7g protein

13.8g fat

4.2g carbs

Beautiful Letter I received from my friend, Donna Hodach-Price

2011-11-17T16:24:00.001-05:00

AMONGFRIENDS WEBSITE

Such a nice letter I received from my friend, Donna Hodach-Price! You remember - she is the wonderful lady that inspired me to get off my....to find a nice bake mix that was low-carb as well as gluten-free. At the time, I didn't seem to have a whole lot of energy and she helped me out a great deal with initial testing of several bake mix ideas. Although we abandoned the bake mix we both liked on account of the flax meal, the whole baking experience with Donna got me excited and moving again...in the right direction. :) Hence, the lovely Splendid Gluten-Free Bake Mix (not perfect but really not bad considering the tall order for such an unusual bake mix) was born and soon thereafter the cookbook, Low-Carbing Among Friends which was really my husband's brainchild and more than likely divine inspiration.

We've been receiving lots of lovely letters. Please write us and let us know what you think as we've all worked so hard on this cookbook for almost a whole year. My email addy is in my profile.

By the way, I've yet to see the cookbook. Here is an analogy of how it feels for me: It's like giving birth to a "baby" - writing a book has been likened to that and certainly one gains weight with writing a cookbook just the same as being pregnant (thankfully, since it is low-carb, not as much weight). Then they put my "baby" in an incubator and all the relatives and friends are getting to see my baby before I do and someone has driven me far away to the wrong hospital! Waah!

I asked Donna if I could share her letter on my blog, and being the sweetie she is, she said, "Yes!"

Hi Jennifer,

Oh my goodness...I was gone all day yesterday and when I got home around 10:00, there was my copy of Low-Carbing Among Friends. I was SO excited to receive it and IMMEDIATELY opened it to scan the pages.

I was first 'struck' by how large it is! Compared to your other books, this one is HUGE!...and SO much great information and recipes from each author. L-O-V-E the tips and extra info (the other participants must have gotten that from your other books ;-) From what I am seeing, I can tell that you must have been working really hard to pull this off.

Overall, I am truly impressed and I'm certain that this will become my 'go-to' book for some fresh ideas and recipes to make my LC-GF life much more interesting and diverse.

Congrats my friend...you are AWESOME and I am so happy that I could help out just a little bit :-)

Sending hugs, love and boatloads of blessings,

Donna

Another PODCAST interview - this time with Dr. Robert Su

2011-11-16T16:34:00.001-05:00

Here is the interview. Hope you enjoy it. I have not yet listened to the whole thing. Our internet has been a bit flaky the last few days. Hope to get it fixed soon. This sucks! It's amazing though how much time is spent on the internet. It's quite addictive and when one doesn't have it, one misses it, but it's also amazing how many other things I'm getting done! LOL

Artisan Hamburger Buns (Improved Recipe) (GF)

2011-11-16T13:55:00.001-05:00

ARTISANHAMBURGER BUNS (IMPROVED)

Great for hamburgers, tuna burgers oranything you would normally put on a bun. This is a substantial bun and very bread-like. Slice into 3, if desired.

12 oz regular cream cheese,softened (375 g)

6 large eggs

1 tbsp olive oil (15 mL)

1 tsp vanilla extract (5mL)

2¹/₂cupsGluten-Free Bake Mix, (625 mL)

page___

1¹/₂tsp baking powder (7 mL)

³/₄tspbaking soda (3 mL)

2 cups shredded MontereyJack cheese (500 mL)

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Grease 2nonstick muffin top pans (with 6 large forms each). In foodprocessor with sharp blade or in large bowl with mixer, process creamcheese. Add eggs, olive oil and vanillaextract; process well on low speed. Inmedium bowl, combine Gluten-Free Bake Mix, page___, baking powder and bakingsoda. Add to cream cheese mixture and process until thickened. Add cheese and process untilincorporated. Place 2 level ice creamscoopfuls in each form (use a spoon to scoop out the dough). Using a frosting knife, smooth the surfacesand shape the buns.

Bake buns in oven 25to 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool and refrigerate; keep a few out as their texture changes in therefrigerator. Nuke refrigerated bunsbriefly or toast them to enjoy again.

HelpfulHints: If you do not have muffin top pans, line alarge cookie sheet with foil and grease well. Drop the dough onto the foil.

Yield: 12 buns

1bun

322.2calories

14.6g protein

26.0g fat

6.3g carbs

Ian and I interviewed by Jimmy Moore - PODCAST

2011-11-15T09:09:00.001-05:00

Hope you enjoy the PODCAST! Remember this interview happened minutes after this incident.

Go to the 37 minute mark if you want to skip over the first one due to time constraints.

Here is the write up on Jimmy's Blog.

Bobotie Dinner with Cauli Mash, Fried Tomato and Stir-Fry Veggies (GF)

2011-11-14T19:08:00.001-05:00

This was my dinner the other day and it was very tasty and very satisfying with tons of veggies. I often make Bobotie, a traditional South African curried meat loaf. However, I needed to make a gluten-free version. I used one Artisan Hamburger Bun for the "bread" part. I have a new and improved Artisan Hamburger Bun recipe - the buns are HUGE - at least as big as commercial buns! I'll post the recipe shortly.

Notice I have my dinner table decked out for Christmas already? I was bored one day when the electricity went out! ;) Now to put up the Christmas tree next week. We have company coming on the 5th of December. What fun. I can hardly wait! I love Christmas and everything about it really. How about you?

STIR-FRYVEGGIES

Use the veggies you have on hand. Simple stir-fry but tasty!

2 tbsp oliveoil (30 mL)

1 small onion

2 cups chopped broccoli (500mL)

1 raw carrot, cut into thinsticks

1 yellow pepper, sliced

1 red pepper, sliced

2 tbsp soy sauce (30 mL)

1 SPLENDA^® packet

¹/₂ tsp ground ginger (2 mL)

In large skillet inolive oil, fry onion until beginning to get tender. Add broccoli, carrot sticks, yellow pepperand red pepper. Stir-fry 2 minutes. Add soy sauce, SPLENDA,^® and ground ginger. Stir-fry briefly, keeping veggies tender-crisp.

Yield: 6 servings

1serving

71.4calories

1.0g protein

4.7g fat

6.4g carbs

FRIED TOMATO - I often fry tomato in olive oil and sprinkle with a little Italian seasoning and then flip and briefly fry the other side. Yummy!

BOBOTIE

Introduced to South Africa by the CapeMalays, this Indonesian curried meatloaf is to South Africa whatMoussaka is to Greece andLasagne is to Italy. Traditionally, Bobotie is served with yellowrice (add turmeric), chutney and banana slices dipped in milk.

1Artisan Hamburger Bun, page___

²/₃cup half and halfcream (150 mL)

2lbs ground lamb, OR (0.9 kg)

lean ground beef

1cup diced onion (250 mL)

1¹/₂ tbsp curry powder (22 mL)

2tsp salt (10 mL)

1tsp ground turmeric (5 mL)

¹/₂tsp black pepper(2 mL)

2 tbsp seedless raisins, (30 mL)

snipped in half

2tbsp SPLENDA^® Granular (30 mL)

1tbsp lemon juice (15 mL)

4eggs, divided

4bay leaves, (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Slice Artisan Hamburger Bun, page___ into 3and toast in regular toaster until crisp. Soak in half and half cream. Set aside. In large skillet, fry groundlamb or beef and onion, until meat is browned. Pour off fat. Stir in currypowder, salt, turmeric and black pepper. Squeeze bun slices to remove some ofhalf and half cream. Set aside half andhalf cream. Break up moist bun and stirinto meat mixture along with raisins, SPLENDA^® Granular, lemon juice and 2fork-beaten eggs into meat mixture until well combined.

Turn into 2 quart (2 L) casserole dish and pressdown firmly. Stick bay leaves in uprightposition in top of meatloaf. Bakeuncovered in oven 20 minutes. In smallbowl, beat remaining eggs and leftover half and half cream together; pour overmeatloaf. Cover and bake another 20minutes. Remove bay leaves.

Helpful Hint: Foreasy low-carb, sugarless chutney, take a jar of sugarless apricot jam, add somevinegar and Worcestershire sauce for instant, tasty chutney.

Yield: servings

1serving

369.0calories

27.3g protein

25.2g fat

6.7g carbs

CREAMED FAUX MASHED POTATOES

Honestly, I prefer this tomashed potatoes.

1¹/₂lbsraw cauliflower (680 g)

3oz regular cream cheese, (90 g)

softened

2tbsp whipping cream (30 mL)

1tbsp butter (15 mL)

¹/₂tsp salt (2 mL)

¹/₄tsp white pepper (1 mL)

Steam cauliflower 25 minutes, or until soft. In food processor, combine cauliflower, creamcheese, whipping cream, butter, salt and pepper. Process until smooth and thickened. Add 1 tbsp (15 mL) extra cream or water, ifnecessary.

Yield: 8 servings

1serving

80.9calories

2.8g protein

6.1g fat

3.4g carbs

Peanut Butter Cookies and Chunky Peanut Butter Banana Cookies (GF)

2011-11-12T07:42:00.001-05:00

PEANUTBUTTER COOKIES

If you like peanut butter, then these cookies should be a hit. If youfreeze them, they actually become crunchy. The Peanut Butter Banana variationis super and probably my favorite of the two (Ian prefers the former) – theybecome chewy if you freeze them. Photos: the bottom photo depicts the ones with banana in them - chunky, softer cookies.

¹/₂cup butter, softened (125 mL)

¹/₂cup creamy peanut butter, (125 mL)

no sugar added

1egg

Liquidsucralose to equal ³/₄cup (175 mL)

SPLENDA^® Granular

¹/₄cup granulated erythritol (60 mL)

1tsp vanilla extract (5 mL)

¹/₂tsp molasses (2 mL)

1¹/₄cups Gluten-Free Bake Mix, (300mL)

page___

¹/₂tsp baking powder (2 mL)

¹/₂tsp baking soda (2 mL)

Powdered “Sugar” Topping:

2tbsp SPLENDA^® Granular (30 mL)

2 tbsp granulatederythritol (30 mL)

¹/₈ tsp xanthan gum (0.5 mL)

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). In food processor, combinebutter, peanut butter and egg; process. Add liquid sucralose, OR SPLENDA^® Granular, vanilla extract and molasses; process.

In medium bowl,combine Gluten-Free Bake Mix, page___, baking powder and baking soda. Add to peanut butter mixture and process atleast one minute. Make 1-inch (2.5 cm)dough balls. Place on greased cookiesheet. Use a fork to make a criss-crosspattern on the top. If the fork sticksto the dough, first dip the fork in the powdered “sugar.” Bake 12 to 14 minutes.

Powdered“Sugar” Topping: In blender, combine SPLENDA^® Granular, granulated erythritol and xanthan gum. Blend. Sprinkle baked cookies with topping.

Yield: 22 cookies

1serving

103.7calories

2.6g protein

9.3g fat

2.3g carbs

Variation: Chunky Peanut Butter Banana Cookies: Use 2 eggs, ¹/₃ cup (75 mL) erythritol and1¹/₂ cups (375 mL) Gluten-Free Bake Mix, page___ and halfof a small banana.

Yield: 24 cookies, 1 cookie: (105.6calories; 2.8 g protein; 9.1 g fat; 2.8 g carbs)

Microwave Meatballs (GF)

2011-11-11T07:49:00.001-05:00

MICROWAVEMEATBALLS

These terrific meatballs converted myson, Jonathan. He did not like regularmeatballs, until he had this lovely recipe sent from his ouma and oupa. Ouma and Oupa are my mother andfather-in-law, Kay and Dr. Danie Eloff, who live in sunny Cape Town, SouthAfrica, where they have retired. Sorry, the photo is not the greatest but you get the idea. Hope you like them as much as we do! Looks like I got 12 meatballs instead of 10. I ate one before remembering to photograph the dish.

18 oz extra leanground beef (500 g)

1 egg

3oz onion, grated* (90 g)

1 tbsp gluten-free oat flour (15 mL)

1 tbsp low-carb Ketchup** (15mL)

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce(15 mL)

1¹/₂tsp whitevinegar (7 mL)

1clove garlic, crushed

³/₄tsp salt (3mL)

¹/₄tsp whitepepper (1 mL)

Sauce:

2tbsp low-carb Chutney*** (25 mL)

1tbsp Worcestershire sauce (15 mL)

1tbsp low-carb Ketchup (15 mL)

1tbsp olive oil (15 mL)

1tsp curry powder (5 mL)

In large bowl, combine ground beef with egg, onion,oat flour, Low-Carb Ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, white vinegar, garlic, saltand pepper. Form into 10 meatballs. Place in 2-quart (2 L) microwaveable bakingdish. Pour sauce over meatballs. Microwave uncovered on high power 10 minutes(1 minute per meatball).

Sauce: In smallbowl, whisk together low-carb chutney, Worcestershire sauce, low-carb ketchup,olive oil and curry powder.

Helpful Hints: *Use2 tbsp (25 mL) dehydrated onion (pour a little boiling water over it and letsit for a while), instead of grated onion, if desired. **I used Atkins Ketch-A-Tomato^® for convenience, however,you may use Splenda Ketchup, page 89, SplendidLow-Carbing, if desired. ***You may either use acommercial product or low-carb apricot jam, or use Microwave Peach Chutney,page 102, Splendid Low-Carbing.

***I make a very easy chutney with sugarless apricot jam: Just mix a little vinegar and Worcestershire sauce into it and wallah, you have very tasty, instant low-carb chutney! :)

Yield: 10 meatballs

1meatball per serving

137.9calories

10.5g protein

9.5g fat

1.6g carbs

Go to Dr. Eenfeld's Blog and Listen to This! Why People Become Obese.

2011-11-09T15:11:00.000-05:00

Dr. Eenfeldt interviews Prof. Robert Lustig. According to Dr. Eenfeldt who has been attending the Obesity Conference in America, Prof. Lustig understands perfectly why people get fat more than anyone practically. It's a HUGE eyeopener as to why we are seeing people getting bigger and bigger. It's not actually their fault when things go awry - something goes horribly wrong in the body and really it's very sad and it's time that doctors wake up as to the reason and give people the help that they need to regain their health and normal body weight. It's very cruel to simply blame the person and then put them on a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet and when that fails, again blame the person. Sorry, but that is cruel and unusual punishment in my opinion.

1 in 10 adults in the world is obese. But to me something even more unfair than this is little children that become obese. It is tragic - children or adults that have this burden to bear but....there is a solution! I just wish more people knew about it. See my next sentence...

It was interesting that one of the easiest antidotes besides drugs is a very low-carb diet - i.e. one that does an end run on insulin, the fat storing hormone.

Study Says Teens are seeing 20% more Ads for Soda

2011-11-09T09:32:00.001-05:00

Here is the full article.

Excerpt: "Studies also show that when children think they are getting a food as a reward, they will likely prefer that one. Parents usually tell children to eat their broccoli then they will be rewarded with ice cream.

But if parents told them the opposite, to eat their ice cream so they would be rewarded with broccoli, children would more likely prefer the broccoli."

Do you believe the latter statement? I don't.

Drinking 2 drinks of sugary soda each day nearly doubles the risk of pancreatic cancer.

Nutrition and Cancer (Guest Post)

2011-11-08T18:05:00.003-05:00

Nutrition and Cancer

By: Leroy Templeton

Manycancer patients wonder what they can do to improve their health. When combinedwith the current methods to fight cancer, nutrition can be an essential andsignificant tool patients can use to fight cancer.

The Science behind Nutrition as a Means of Fighting Cancer

ScientistOtto Warburg discovered a connection between oxygen and cancer. In fact, he wona Nobel Prize in 1931 for his research that showed that a lack of oxygen in thecellular environment is the number one cause of cancer. Warburg studies show thatcancer cells are anaerobic, which means that cancer cells thrive in anenvironment that is oxygen depleted. However, in an environment that is rich inoxygen, cancer cells die.

The Type of Foods That Contribute to an Oxygen RichEnvironment

A dietthat is rich in alkaline foods helps our bodies to increase oxygen in thecellular environment, thus keeping our bodies healthy and vibrant. An acidic diet sucks the oxygen from cells andcreates an environment that is ripe for disease. This not only takes awaynutrients from the fruit but also puts one at risk for respiratory cancers suchas epithelialmesothelioma.

How to Measure Where You Fall on the PH Scale

The pHscale ranges from 0 to 14. The optimal blood pH level is 7.365. When the pHlevel falls below seven the body is too acidic. When the pH level falls aboveseven it is alkaline. There are urine pH strips on the market that patients canbuy to measure their pH levels.

What Should Cancer Patients Eat

Cancerpatients should eat foods that are alkaline rich that supply the body withenzymes and oxygen. Alkaline foodstend to fall in the fruits and vegetables category. Fruits and vegetablesprovide nutrition that can not only heal and repair the body, but give cancerpatients lots of energy as well.

How Much Fruits and Vegetables Should Cancer Patients Eat

Thebest plan is to eat 80% of each meal using fruits and vegetables. The other 20%of the meal can be a side dish. It’s also important to remember to eat avariety of fruits and vegetables because when combined a variety or nutrientswork best to fight cancer cells.

Inconclusion, when combined with the current methods of treating cancer,nutrition can be a significant tool patients can use to fight cancer.

Pumpkin Cheesecake With Caramel Topping (GF)

2011-11-08T08:23:00.002-05:00

PUMPKINCHEESECAKE WITH CARAMEL TOPPING

This is a firm but deliciously creamycheesecake with subtle spices that do not overwhelm the sweetness of thefilling. This cheesecake does not evenneed the topping. If you like, you cantop it with a Crème Fraiche topping.

Crust:

³/₄cupGluten-Free Bake Mix, (175 mL)

page___

¹/₂cup almond meal, OR flour (125 mL)

3 tbsp SPLENDA^® Granular (45 mL)

¹/₃cupbutter, melted (75 mL)

1 egg yolk

Filling:

24 oz regular cream cheese,softened (750 g)

3 eggs

Liquid sucralose to equal 1¹/₄cups (300 mL)

SPLENDA^® Granular

1 cup canned pumpkin (250mL)

¹/₂cup sour cream (125 mL)

¹/₃cuperythritol (75 mL)

2 tbsp unsalted butter,melted (30 mL)

(optional)

1 tsp vanilla extract (5mL)

¹/₂tsp cinnamon (5 mL)

¹/₄tspnutmeg (1 mL)

¹/₄tspallspice (1 mL)

CaramelTopping, page___

Crust: Preheat ovento 350°F(180°C). In medium bowl, combineGluten-Free Bake Mix, page___, almond meal, OR almond flour, SPLENDA^® Granular, butter and egg yolk. Place in 8-inch (20 cm) nonstick springformpan. Cover with plastic wrap and pressout crust to cover surface evenly. Bakein oven 10 minutes.

Filling: In foodprocessor, process cream cheese. Addeggs; process. Add liquid sucralose, ORSPLENDA^® Granular, pumpkin,sour cream, erythritol, butter (if using), vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg andallspice. Pour over slightly cooledcrust. Bake 40 to 50 minutes untilset. Allow to cool at room temperature. Add Caramel Topping, page___ and refrigerate.

Yield: 12 servings

1serving, topping/without

378.7/310.6calories

11.6/8.4g protein

33.6/28.0g fat

7.6/6.2g carbs

Food Addiction, Rewiring of the Reward Centers in the Brain and Why People are Getting Fatter

2011-11-06T15:15:00.002-05:00

Hmm, remember when we first started figuring out that tobacco smoke was killing people? There were many law suits. The food and beverage industry my face the same in the future.

Here is a very interesting article, although I think the heading is misleading. Sure the body craves fat - but usually in combination with sugar! When I was doing the Fat Fast many years ago due to weight loss resistance and Hashimoto's thyoriditis, I didn't find myself craving more and more fat, even although 80% or more of my diet came from fat. I was actually losing weight on 1000 or fewer calories a day. I knew of other insulin resistant folks that were having similar success and losing over 100 lbs that way!

Here you will find help for binge eating.

Here are some excerpts from the article but do read the whole article if you are interested, it's an eye-opener.

"Sugars and fats, of course, have always been present in the human diet and our bodies are programmed to crave them. What has changed is modern processing that creates food with concentrated levels of sugars, unhealthy fats and refined flour, without redeeming levels of fiber or nutrients, obesity experts said. Consumption of large quantities of those processed foods may be changing the way the brain is wired.

Education, diets and drugs to treat obesity have proven largely ineffective and the new science of obesity may explain why, proponents say. Constant stimulation with tasty, calorie- laden foods may desensitize the brain’s circuitry, leading people to consume greater quantities of junk food to maintain a constant state of pleasure.

The rats that had access to these foods for one hour a day started binge eating, even when more nutritious food was available all day long. Other groups of rats that had access to the sweets and fatty foods for 18 to 23 hours per day became obese, Paul Kenny, the Scripps scientist heading the study wrote in the journal Nature Neuroscience. The results produced the same brain pattern that occurs with escalating intake of cocaine, he wrote.

Researchers are finding that damage to the brain’s reward centers may occur when people eat excessive quantities of food."

More Thanksgiving Ideas - this time for breakfast!

2011-11-04T19:21:00.004-05:00

Thanksgiving in America has interesting roots. It started with early Pilgrim settlers on Dec. 13th, 1621 when they were so thankful to God for a bountiful harvest after many starved to death in the winter before. The native Indians helped them reap the harvest.

Pumpkin muffins with a nice cup of coffee or tea.

Strawberry Cream Cheese-filled Crepes (GF) for breakfast - add a sausage and some scrambled egg for a King or Queen's breakfast! Totally yummy - but you might want to have an evening dinner then. This should tide one over until then. :)

Donna's Pancakes for breakfast (GF)

Thanksgiving Ideas

2011-11-03T21:48:00.000-05:00

Pumpkin Cake Roll

Pumpkin Chip Muffins (GF)

Spicy "Apples" with Sweet Almonds (GF)

Crispy Potato Skins (better than fries!)

Pumpkin Spice Loaf

Cranberry Sauce

From Fit to Fat in 6 months!

2011-11-01T09:26:00.001-05:00

Oh, this is almost unbelievable! This amazingly, fit, strong-looking man (very muscular) goes from looking like that to a typical overweight gentleman. Eek! How did he do it - and in 6 months flat?!! Apparently, he simply ate the junk food everyone eats in North America. Check out the full post on Dr. Eenfeldt's blog.

Do you know about Sugar Addiction Awareness Day?

2011-10-30T19:41:00.003-05:00

I believe it is today - 30th October!! Here is an interesting podcast with two women interviewed by Dr. Robert Su.

"Ms. Escher is the organizer of a campaign, the first “Sugar Addiction Awareness Day October 30, 2011.” She is a former sugar addict and has been actively helping prevent others from falling into the same trap, from which she has successfully escaped with lots of efforts.
Ms. Kvist is a nutritionist who joins Ms. Escher in this important movement with her enormous knowledge in carbohydrate addiction."

Dr. Su also wrote an interesting article about carbohydrate addiction.

Stop! Don't Eat The Reeses Peanut Butter Cups! Have this instead.

2011-10-29T07:07:00.002-05:00

Above is a safe treat. Do check out the rest of my Confections section and make something safe to eat so that when faced with all that candy (I don't get Halloween, but don't mind me, I didn't grow up with it), you have something you can indulge your sweet tooth in.

Here is the recipe: Also, in the Cookbook, Low-Carbing Among Friends.

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CANDY

This yummy confection isgoing to very strongly remind you of peanut butter cups! My family and especially Jonathan lovedit.

¹/₄cup unsalted butter (60 mL)

¹/₄cup coconut oil (60 mL)

1 oz unsweetened chocolate (30 g)

9 SPLENDA^® packets

¹/₄cup vanilla whey protein (60 mL)

¹/₄cup whole milk powder (60 mL)

¹/₄cup peanut butter,* (60 mL)

sugar free (can contain salt)

1tbsp whipping cream (15 mL)

In doubleboiler, melt butter, coconut oil and chocolate. In food processor with sharp blade, blender or in bowl with electricmixer, pour melted chocolate mixture. Add SPLENDA^®,vanilla whey protein, milk powder, peanut butter and whipping cream; process.Pour into 8-inch (20 cm) square glass baking dish. Freeze very solid. This candy needs no thawing; using a knife,pieces break easily. If desired, you maypour the candy mixture into candy molds instead or into pretty little foil bonbon cups.

Variation: Chocolate Almond Butter Candy: Use almond butter and a pinch of salt. (0.7g carbs)

Helpful Hints: *If peanut butter is unsalted, add a pinch ofsalt to the recipe.

The above analysis is a rough estimate, as thepieces that break are not uniform in size. Do not be worried by the texture of the pre-frozen product – it tasteswonderful and different once completely frozen. Double the recipe – you’ll be glad you did! The whole milk powder I buy is finer in texturethan skim milk powder. You may use skimmilk powder – just blend it finely first.

Yield: 36 pieces

1piece

47.4calories

1.1 g protein

4.5g fat

1.0g carbs

What's in a Back Cover? And some Drama before a Jimmy Moore Interview!

2011-10-26T15:11:00.003-05:00

This cookbook and the wonderful reception (better than I ever accomplished on my own even in the hey day of low-carbing) has got me seriously excited about producing a series of similar cookbooks and 2 volumes are planned for next year and maybe the year after that and the year after that! Next year's books will most likely come out simultaneously in December 2012 or before. We have a couple more big players coming on board, plus a blog/internet friend of mine with loads of talent and good standing in the low-carb community. There is room for one more player and in time who that will be will become clear to us. Jonathan, our son, is learning the ropes of the publishing business from Ian and he is pretty excited as well. He is the author of the 2 novels, Africa's Snow White, available on Amazon.com, plus he is writing a science fiction novel as well.

For now, to focus on this cookbook, Low-Carbing Among Friends: The back cover speaks volumes about the Low-Carbing Among Friends team. What a fun project this has been and working with the team members has been a good experience. The thing about this book besides the obvious fact that there are 5 authors and 5 mini cookbooks, is that most of us have been low-carbing for a while, so we are bringing experience to the table and also the most innovative ways (and products!) of baking and cooking low-carb and gluten-free. For instance, when I began low-carbing in 1998, we didn't have access to coconut flour or peanut flour (a few recipes use this), but also there was nothing much out there to "copy". Now we've learned from our own experience and also from being a part of a large low-carb community. This community is like a family and we share recipes and ideas all the time! Low-carbing has evolved and many are jumping ship from Atkins to Paleo - there are some differences, the main one being that some variations of Paleo disallow dairy. People say that more fruit is allowed on the Paleo way of eating. I've never allowed Atkins to limit me in that regard. Certainly there is a fruit rung and also a grains rung, for that matter. Since Paleo is a gluten-free diet, it is with great pleasure that I can say that many of the recipes will be fine for that diet as well, however, substitutes for dairy products will sometimes be needed.

This morning I had an interview about the new cookbook with Jimmy Moore (airing November 14th - the book will be shipping by then). Actually Ian and I were both interviewed at the same time. I love it that Ian comes on the interviews with me. It's tough to talk for 45 minutes on my own, but my dear hubby has the gift of the gab!

Before the interview, which was to be at 11:00 am EST and 10:00 am our time - there was some drama though. I took Smiley for a walk in Happy Glen (so-named for our precious Happy who passed away about 2 years ago now) along the river. As we turned around to go home, a big, black Doberman Pincher came running up towards Smiley and me. I crouched down near a rivulet that enters the bigger river and cradled Smiley, trying to protect him. My back was to the dog and the Doberman bit me on my back! Fortunately, he got my dress, ripped it, and just scraped his teeth on my skin. Anyway, my pretty dress (and a favorite one) is a right off! While that was happening, a second dog - a big white lab came running up and by now Smiley had wriggled free from my arms and out of his collar and off the leash! It looked like a dog fight was ensuing with the black dog, however, the white lab wanted to play with Smiley! I was still badly frightened, grabbed the bear spray, removed the pin and ran after the dogs, yelling for Smiley the whole time! What a circus! The owner came and sort of managed to calm his dogs down while I threatened to spray 'em. Oh dear! Anyway all my screaming brought hubby running down the hill from the house in his silly crocs (you know those shoes? Dangerous things and outrageously ugly in my opinion!), but thankfully he didn't fall. I got cleaned up at home, changed, disinfected the spot where the dog got me (not terrible) and now there were 20 minutes left before the Jimmy Moore interview. Eek! I was in a horrible state, hair all over the place, shaking all over and angry with the guy and his dogs. Imagine if I had been a little kid running and screaming - that dog's instincts would have made it run after the child and maybe cause a serious injury! I have no time for that sort of irresponsibility on the behalf of dog owners. Almost everyone thinks mistakenly that their dogs would not hurt anyone. Anyway, one small drink later (Ian insisted!) and a prayer and we were chatting to Jimmy. Considering that the electricity also decided to go out and we had to put the generator on for the interview...considering all those things, surely the only way now was up? The interview went well, thankfully. Jimmy is a funny character and tends to put a person at ease. First of all when he skypes one, this face of Jimmy pulling a funny face with a cell phone comes up on the screen. Haha!

Dr. Su's Interview - Type 2 Diabetes Can Be Reversed!

2011-10-22T21:34:00.000-05:00

This is a very interesting interview by Erin Chamerlik, a holistic educator; she is interviewing Dr. Robert Su. It is interesting that the fasting blood sugar does not tell the whole story. Dr. Su has written the book, Carbohydrates Can Kill. This is what Dr. Su said to me:

"A normal reading of blood glucose at fasting and/or 2-hour postprandial or post-glucose tolerance test does not tell us the whole story. It is more important to have a less fluctuating and lower blood glucose level throughout the entire postprandial period. A Silent Killer: Hyperglycemia At Anytime But Fasting and 2-hour Postprandial http://www.carbohydratescankill.com/2489/silent-killer-hyperglycemia-at-anytime-but-fasting-2hour-postprandial "
I am thinking if one is at all worried, it might not be a bad idea to buy a blood glucose meter and check one's blood sugar from time to time.

Frosted Pumpkin Cookies (GF)

2011-10-21T22:53:00.002-05:00

FROSTED PUMPKINCOOKIES

Spiced cookies with a sweetfrosting. They are nice on their owntoo without frosting, but I think the cookie batter tastes the best of all! My bad! These are soft cookies due to the moisture from the pumpkin and they firm up in the refrigerator - either way they are nice, but I think I like them cold more. Yummy, I had one with a cup of tea this morning. I am jumping out of my skin with excitement over this new book which is going to the printers shortly! However, it's tough to stay out of the kitchen, so I took time off one afternoon and made these for myself and hubby, a friend and for you my blog friends. Thanksgiving is coming up. I will give you some more ideas when I get some time. Tough to keep up my blog this month. I'm very busy.

2eggs

1cup butter, softened (250 mL)

Liquidsucralose to equal 1 cup (250 mL)

SPLENDA^® Granular

¹/₃cuperythritol (75 mL)

1 cup canned pumpkin(250 mL)

1 tsp vanilla extract(5 mL)

2¹/₄ cups Gluten-Free Bake Mix, (300 mL)

page___

2¹/₂ tsp baking powder (12 mL)

2 tsp cinnamon (10 mL)

¹/₂ tsp baking soda (2 mL)

¹/₄tsp salt (1 mL)

Betty CrockerFrosting, page___:

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). In foodprocessor, process eggs, butter, liquid sucralose, OR SPLENDA^® Granular, erythritol, pumpkin and vanillaextract. In large bowl, combineGluten-Free Bake Mix, page___, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to egg mixture andprocess.On ungreased cookie sheet, drop batter by big, heaping tablespoonfuls (22mL). With spoon spread into a circularshape. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Cool half an hour and then frost

Yield: 30 cookies

1 cookie

115.3calories

2.1g protein

10.5g fat

2.8g carbs

BETTYCROCKER^®-LIKE FROSTING

Very similar. The low-carb pancake syrup has thickeners in itand makes this frosting a thicker mixture. You may also use my condensed milk (either of them but add 0.5 oz melted cocoa butter) as a frosting, just reduce the liquid requirements and if your whey protein powder is on the salty-tasting side, then use unsalted butter and add a bit of salt to taste.

¹/₂cup SPLENDA^® Granular (125mL)

4 tbsp powdered erythritol(50 mL)
4 tbsp whole milk powder (50 mL)
1 tsp cornstarch (5 mL)
2 tbsp low-carb syrup (such as Estee^®

Maple Flavored Pancake Syrup)

3 tbsp butter, melted(45 mL)

In blender, combine SPLENDA^®Granular, powdered erythritol, whole milk powder and cornstarch. Add sugar freesyrup and butter; blend until well combined.The dry mixture up to cornstarch inthe listing above can be stored in the refrigerator until required (double ortriple the dry ingredients, if desired – use ³/₄cup (175mL) dry mixture per recipe). It will rival the real thing any day!

No one will everreally guess that it is not actually the real thing and that's the best part.

Yield: Double the recipe for 1¹/₂cups (375 mL) frosting to frost an entire cake.

What is in a Cookbook Cover and a BIG Thank You!

2011-10-21T06:45:00.001-05:00

"Imagine ... the house is finally quiet, and you are sitting with a nice cup of coffee (or pot of tea) in your favorite armchair, with this book. Did you notice there's a place reserved for you at the HEAD of the table? You are the 12th person present, and around the table with you are 11 others: 2 low-carb movers and shakers, 4 medical Dr's and 5 leading low-carb recipe creators, all innovators, pioneers. So reach for one of Carolyn's biscotti, or Maria's cinnamon buns, a slice of Jennifer's cheesecake, or Kent's strawberry cake, or if you have not yet had time to have breakfast (so busy taking care of others)Please take one of Lisa's tasty sandwiches ... and enjoy it with your coffee! Then open the book and "open the conversation" ... you are "Among Friends". Around you is assembled the "Dream team", and we are visiting with you right in your own home! We are there, with you, to help you finally get a handle on many of the health and diet issues that constitute a very real modern plague, one just as deadly as any historical plagues ... and sitting around you are "detectives" that know what the causes are, what needs to be done, and a gold-medal team of coaches to help you "triumph" along with them, in the daily struggle with weight and health, for you and your family.

UPDATE: As of this morning (coffee-time) the 1st Printing scheduled for November-11, is 75% pre-Sold! So if you would like a copy of this book delivered around Thanksgiving, there are still some available. We are negotiating a 2nd. Print-run for late Nov so that we will be able to deliver this book to anyone who wants it before Christmas.So it's best to order ASAP at: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

I just want say a BIG thank you to everyone who supported this team of authors (and my youngest son, the new publisher-to-be learning the ropes from my DH) in helping with recipes that are in this book, as well as those purchasing our cookbook, Low-Carbing Among Friends. You and we are all "among Friends", since we all have similar issues and challenges. None of my previous cookbooks invoked this kind of excitement in me, and that "Splendid-Low-Carbing" series has been tremendously successful too. This is just such a unique and fun way of producing a value-added cookbook. What is one author compared to 5 talented authors all in one cookbook? Not to mention the invaluable input from Jimmy Moore, Dana Carpender, Dr. Parker, Dr. Su, Dr. Briffa (UK) and the famous Swedish Dr. Eenfeldt! Plans and production are already underway on Volume-2 and 3 ... so next year we have something even more spectacular for our low-carbing friends! Stay tuned for more news on that later.

About my older cookbooks - there are 5 low-carb cookbooks. There is a button on my blog (RHS) for Amazon ordering. There are a limited number left (we will never reprint them, so I've stashed away a pristine set for myself), so if you still want to have that collection in your cookbook library, don't delay in getting your own set or to give as gifts for your friends and loved ones at Christmas. You can use my latest Splendid Gluten-Free Bake Mix in most of the recipes calling for a bake mix if you are gluten-free. The instructions on this site under that recipe, Splendid Gluten-Free Bake Mix, explain that scenario.

Our Publisher (I happen to be his Gal, so I have the "inside scoop on a lot of things planned) wrote the above blurb about the significance of the cover, and I agree the cover speaks volumes - or volume one, in this case, but 2 more hot on its heels!) (smile). Lisa Marshall's (one of the 5 cookbook authors and owner of 24/7 Low-Carb Diner) son, Pearson, who is a senior studying Graphic Design at John Brown University, kindly helped our son create a really lovely cover title - much better than the first attempt.

Announcing Our New Cookbook, Low-Carbing AMONG FRIENDS, Low-Carb and Gluten-Free!

2011-10-16T19:49:00.000-05:00

I am very excited to announce the new cookbook - a low-carb and gluten-free cookbook - a collaboration between friends. Hope you, my blog friends, enjoy looking at the website for the cookbook. Here is the website which my son, Jonathan, designed.

P.S. I have to tell you folks that it has been my distinct pleasure to edit the recipes in the cookbook again and again. Many a time I have become hungry reading the lovely recipes. This cookbook is going to be my "go-to" cookbook in the kitchen. The recipes from everyone sound so amazing and there are some that I can't wait to make and some that I have already made...unable to wait!

Haha - I just saw what my husband wrote on the promo website. He is having fun!

It's planned launch date? 11-Nov-2011 (11/11/11) a date which only happens once every 100 years. For this team of 11 talented low-carbers, all their many helpers, as well as for the whole low-carbing world ... it's their date with destiny! It's also Remembrance Day, and besides the WWI vets, we want to remember Dr. Atkins, to honor his contributions to low-carbing. Where would many of us be today without his dedication and steadfast belief in this low-carb way of living? Join us for coffee or tea, chat to us about your concerns ... you are "Among Friends!" And by the way, for those intrigued by numbers, this year we're going to experience four unusual dates. 1/1/11, 1/11/11, 11/1/11, 11/11/11 and that's not all...Take the last two digits of the year in which you were born -now add the age you will be this year, and the result will be 111 for everyone...!! This year October will have 5 Sundays, 5 Mondays and 5 Saturdays. This happens only every 823 years... We made the announcement of this book on Monday 17th October, 2011, making this a "Rare cookbook" in so many ways, but most of all, because it's 100% Low-Carb, 100% Gluten-free & Sugar-free, with all of it's recipes still being rich, tasty, filling, healthy & easy to prepare! It's #1 ... truly 1 of a kind in our Low-Carb world!

Coconut Pineapple Muffins (GF)

2011-10-14T08:11:00.001-05:00

COCONUT PINEAPPLE MUFFINS

The pineapple makes thesemuffins! If you have the carb allowance,add a little more, but dice it finely.

2¹/₄ cups Gluten-Free Bake Mix

1¹/₂ tsp baking powder (7 mL)

¹/₂ tsp baking soda (2 mL)

¹/₂tsp salt (2 mL)

2 eggs

Liquid sucralose to equal 1cup (250 mL)

SPLENDA^® Granular

¹/₄ cup granulated erythritol (60 mL)

1 tsp vanilla extract (5mL)

14 fl. oz can unsweetened coconut milk (414mL)

²/₃cupfinely desiccated, unsweetened coconut (125 mL)

²/₃cupfinely diced pineapple, (150 mL)

from canned pineapple in juice, drained

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). In largebowl, combine Gluten-Free Bake Mix, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In food processor, process eggs, liquidsucralose, OR SPLENDA^®Granular, erythritol and vanilla extract. Add half coconut milk and dry ingredients; process briefly. Add remainder of coconut milk and processuntil the batter thickens up. Stir in ¹/₂ cup (125 mL) coconut and pineapple.

Scoop batter into 12 greasedmuffin cups. Sprinkle batter withremaining coconut or keep it to sprinkle on the baked muffins. Bake 35 minutes. Cover lightly with foil during the last 10minutes.

Helpful Hints: The longerbaking time is due to the high moisture content. No other fat is required thanks to thecoconut milk.

Yield: 12 servings

1serving

215.3calories

5.5g protein

18.0g fat

6.8g carbs

Jennifer's Before and After Pics

2011-10-11T19:35:00.000-05:00

10 years ago .............................................. Now

The LHS photo was taken in 2002, at age 45. The RHS photo was taken today, 11th October, 2011 - I'll be turning 55 soon. 1,000's of recipes later, I guess I've earned the right to say: "the proof of the diet pudding is in the eating?" (as long as it's Low-Carbing, that is) By the way I've had no cosmetic procedures done either; not saying I won't ever but up until now, I have not. Eating all that fat on a low-carb diet plumps up the skin and makes one look younger.

For the curious, you can find all my "before/during/after" photos here: http://low-carb.us/BeforeAfter.shtml

I know I have not posted a new photo of myself on my blog for several years. Some of you might be wondering why. I have photos of me but usually they are with other people in the photo. I have not actually posed for any photos in a long while. Ian took so very many photos of me through the years but I sort of lost interest when the newer photos would always disappear into his computer. I preferred the days when we got photos developed the old fashioned way. :)

The first pic is a photo taken at a restaurant in Banff, Alberta just before we left Bearspaw, Calgary to go and live in Burlington, Ontario. I had just finished my 2 Splendid Desserts cookbooks - plenty of white flour in those books - all low-fat desserts according to the traditional diabetic diet. Hmm, I looked pretty chubby and also at that point I had an undiagnosed thyroid condition. I was also depressed as I was literally leaving the province and my beautiful new dream home to get away from my parents who were putting undue pressure on me and our family. I had just been disowned by my mother. :( Long story and Jonathan, our son, has written part of our story in 2 novels. Ironically, that stint in Ontario only lasted 2 years and Ian was laid off from Petro Canada. He was one of the very last people to be laid off and he was asked if he would choose that and choose a handsome severance package and he took that happily. He actually wanted to retire early and be there for the boys whom we were homeschooling.

We then moved to our beautiful, but inexpensive (in those days) custom-built Chalet Rose in the Okanagan Valley overlooking Lake Okanagan and the mountains - very pretty there but scary in the summer due to frequent forest fires in the surrounding areas. We lived through the terrible Kelowna fire when hundreds of people lost their beautiful homes. Unreal time and the sky was filled with smoke, blotting out the sun. That summer I had suitcases packed to flee at any moment. Ian bought a little trailer and filled it with stuff too. The second pic is a photo of us standing in our living room of Chalet rose with the snow on the deck outside. Our late dog, Happy, loved the snow and he would bounce/swim out there and he would jump high in the air to try and catch snowballs. How I miss him! I still wonder if it is the right thing to do to euthanize a pet that is suffering. My husband was so scarred by the whole thing and does not want to ever go through something like that again. However, Happy was suffering and the vet said he was days away from dying an awful death of suffocating. :( What does one do? What is ethical? I cannot say. I am so confused. I still cry over Happy to this day and I dread the day that our adopted doggie, Smiley, must leave us.

Where I am sitting with the boys holding up my new book (at the time), More Splendid Low-Carbing, I was actually quite ill with Hashi's and had just been diagnosed. This was just before our trip to visit Ian's parents in South Africa. I went on suppressive doses of thyroid meds for several years and then many, many years later went on doxycycline to suppress possible mycoplasma infection in the thyroid and that is what helped me reduce my meds to a titch (30 mcg natural thyroid hormone) every morning. My TSH is a 4 which says I am hopelessly hypothyroid, but whenever I add more thyroid hormone, I get hyper and horribly hot - so I go by feel and not by my TSH.

The last pic - a photo Ian took of me today, Oct. 11, 2011. Remember I just finished another (my 8th) cookbook. I want to lose 5 to 7 lbs and then I'll be satisfied; not anywhere close to the weight of my twenties but I'm not in my twenties anymore - the reality is that I'm almost 55!

Off Topic - Who Saw Avatar? Here is Pandora...

2011-10-08T20:13:00.003-05:00

Actually not really, but my new country in places reminds one of Pandora. If you've seen the movie avatar then you might think so as well. That science fiction movie by James Cameron was amazing. I saw it in 3D. I saw it 3x and I want to see it again! Apparently there will be at least 2 sequels.

Anyway this is not Pandora, although it looks like it, it's really Jen's jungle. These are pictures of the jungles surrounding me in my new life. Enjoy the photos. It's nice for me to see them here too. :) And, you remember that last little guy, don't you? Who can forget a funny little face like that? That little monkey visits me every day with his mate (for bananas). I keep bananas frozen in the freezer for times when we run out (we usually buy a crate a week for the birds and critters that come to my garden) and the monkeys will make repeat visits on the days that I have frozen bananas. They think it's really cool (haha 'scuse the pun!). I keep thinking how wonderful it would be if I could one day see some really tiny baby monkeys from this pair that visits us. That would be so cuuute!!

For the last 5 years now Ian and I have been literally living in a jungle (a rain forest) high up in the mountains, but fortunately we have access to high speed internet. Because of the huge number of trees though and the almost daily afternoon thunderstorms (morning is usually sunny and pleasant with Spring-like temps at this time of year), we experience frequent power outages (sometimes many hours) when trees fall on power lines. We do have a generator for those times. The other day it wasn't fun though. My hubby was in the city with our sons and I was in the jungle by myself without electricity and the power outage lasted 7 hours. I don't know how to start the generator myself; need to fix that. Anyway I pottered around (even set the dining room table for Christmas already!) and did everything but my computer and cookbook work and when it got too dark, I lit candles and read my book by flashlight. Then I got bored and my eyes tired and put myself to bed at 8 pm. Needless to say I could not fall asleep for at least an hour and then when I finally fell asleep, an hour later the power was back on and shortly after that Ian arrived back home.

Flexible Wraps (GF) - Recipe Finalized!!

2011-10-06T14:00:00.001-05:00

FLEXIBLEWRAPS

Such a quick and easy recipe compared toany of my other soft tortilla recipes. Thetrick is to get a sticky dough, just sticky enough that it is somewhatuncomfortable to work with. See HelpfulHints below the recipe. See simple recipe below for burrito meat.

If desired, one can make these wraps bigger - just make fewer! Roll them thin, however. :)

Thank you for your interest in my recipes. Find this gluten-free recipe in Low-Carbing Among Friends.

Helpful Hints: If you have avery powerful food processor, then you may need less water – either way beginwith the smaller amount and add water by the tablespoon (15 mL) afterthat. The extra moisture helps the wrapsto remain flexible. These wraps aresmall; so don’t roll them out too thin. Also, do not overcook them as they will becomebrittle and lose their flexibility. Ifyou want them cracker-like or like taco chips, cook until brittle andwell-browned on both sides. I find that using a small rolling pin designed for rolling crusts in a pan, gives one a lot more control to get that lovely, round shape for the tortilla. I roll the dough out and keep turning the plastic and rolling it out.

Store the wraps in asealed plastic bag, either at room temperature or in the refrigerator forlonger storage.

Yield: 7 wraps

1wrap

90.5calories

3.2g protein

6.4g fat

4.1g carbs

Want some Burrito Meat for your Soft Tortilla? This is what I do:

Begin with 1 1/2 lbs of ground beef, add semi-cooked, chopped onion, 1 tbsp chili powder, 2 tsp cumin, crushed garlic to taste, 1 tsp onion salt, OR seasoning salt. Cook until the ground beef is nicely browned, adding water when necessary to keep things moist. Towards the last five minutes add some cooked black beans, if desired. Fill your tortilla with the savory mince and grated cheese, nuke briefly and serve with sour cream. Easy!

Calling Canadians!!

2011-10-04T18:35:00.001-05:00

We've made it possible for Canadians to order all 5 low-carb cookbooks. There are a limited number of these 5-packs. Our relatives in Montana will ship the books. It's a bit more tricky as one has to pay through Paypal and through our website.

Scroll down to the Canadian Ordering Section - the cookbooks are sold in bundles of 5. If you want one of these 5 pack of cookbooks, then put the quantity as 1.

What has happened is that the Canadian Government will not let Amazon.com ship to Canada. Can you believe that? We have to register with Amazon.ca as well and the publisher does not want to do that. This pertains only to books because of a Canadian law to protect their culture.