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Sweeteners; How to Choose the Right One

Posted on June 25, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

We know sugar is BAD! The sad truth is that many “No Calorie Sweeteners” are also bad. The choices are plentiful! The health consequences of these are also plentiful!

My first choice of sweetener when we decided to go Keto was Splenda (Larger name is Sucralose.) because that was my husband’s sweetener of choice, and you could bake with it in equal amounts. Then…I heard the story about how Sucralose was invented. It was invented by a group of chemists looking for a new formula for pesticide. Yes, I said pesticide! When you eat Splenda or other versions of Sucralose you are eating the mistake of chemists looking for a new improved pesticide. When Chemist A said to Chemist B, “Have you tested it?”, Chemist B responded, “It tastes sweet!” Obviously mishearing, taste for test, Chemist A was horrified that B actually put this poison in his mouth. But, the formula for a new product began at this point. Let’s see when you put that stuff to your lips again.

There are many other choices…We are all familiar with the blue stuff, the pink stuff, and the list goes on. Then you have honey, agave, and maple syrup. Granted, these are natural sweeteners, but have an effect on blood sugar. Honey, agave and maple syrup can all have a dramatic effect on your blood sugar, and leave you craving for more. Honey? I know, but just like everything else, it has become highly processed, and basically “all the good stuff” has been removed. The only exception I would find, would be a good local source that you know has quality honey from the area in which you live. I still would not eat it, but I would use it to sweeten things such as grass-fed plain yogurt and other quality foods for my children. If you can find good LOCAL honey, it is great for allergy resistance for your children in very small amounts – I emphasize SMALL. Please use with caution because it still will spike blood sugar. If you are trying to lose weight or have insulin resistance at all (which over 70% of our adult population does) stay away and stick to the others mentioned next. To read more about the worst and best sweetener, check out this article, The 4 Best and 3 Worst Sweeteners to Have in Your Kitchen, written by Dr. Mercola.

Natural sweeteners that do not have an impact on blood sugar are Swerve, Stevia, and Chicory Root, and every once in a while, Xylitol for certain foods (be careful with Xylitol – toxic for pets). These are the ones that we choose to use. You can purchase Swerve at Whole Foods, Sprouts, or in our Amazon store, here. There are many different forms of Stevia on the market. Be careful, and READ your labels. I have found all sorts of added ingredients. This is the Chicory Root powder sold by Chocoperfection:

This is granular swerve, good used on anything that is NOT cold, such as coffee or baked goods. Choose the purple confectioners for cold items, such as puddings or custards.

We do all need to try to be as sugar free as possible for so many health reasons. The problem is, any time there is a good thing, the food industry can take it and make it BAD! Take for instance, Stevia. Stevia is a great product, used for centuries in South America. It is all natural, has a low glycemic index, and a little goes a long way. The food industry in America saw that this was an up and coming sweetener, and has come along and ruined it in many ways. For example, Pure Stevia used to be the only thing you could buy. Now you have huge food and beverage companies coming into the market, and adding other ingredients, such as sugar (yes, sugar) maltodextrin, and a variety of other ingredients we do not want inside our bodies. My point of this post is to tell you to be careful when choosing sweeteners and reading labels. We need to cut down on the “sweet” period! That is, teach our tongues not to crave the sweet. If you do need a little sweet every once in a while, choose carefully by doing your research, and reading your labels. Do not go by what you see on the front of a box! At the moment, I buy the Sweet Leaf packets:

And Stevia Drops which come in a variety of flavors and you can purchase at Whole Foods, Sprouts, or our Amazon store here:

Sometimes as a treat, I use these drops to sweeten plain unsweetened almond milk for the children. When I use the chocolate drops, it magically turns into a chocolate milkshake!

Stevia measures VERY VERY differently than any of these other sweeteners which more or less can be measured cup for cup just like sugar. This website is a great resource for conversions if you have any questions. Just click here for a conversion chart! This works for PURE Stevia only.

I ordered a “Pure Stevia” off of Amazon last week, and was livid when I received it to find that the “other ingredient” was Malodextrin which has one of the highest glycemic index values out there. It is BAD stuff! Needless to say, it is going back, and I will continue to do my research to find an actual PURE stevia with no other added ingredients. It is becoming harder and harder to do this. The one place I have been able to find actual pure, organic, non-GMO stevia for baking is Trader Joe’s. While there, pick up some coconut cream, ghee, nuts of many varieties, and some Creme Fraiche! Yum!!!

So the take away of this article is to READ, READ, READ you labels! There are new brands of Stevia, especially, coming to the market daily because it is a HOT item. To make them better, companies are making these sweeteners worse for us. Take care and sweeten carefully!

Posted in articles, Cancer, Dessert, Groceries, Health, Research, Sugar, Sugar Substitute, Uncategorized tagged with Article, Splenda, Stevia, sugar, Sugar substitute, Suggestion, Swerve

Sugar-Free, Dairy-Free, Paleo, Keto Chocolate Pudding!

Posted on June 24, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

That’s a mouthful! This may be the perfect Keto Chocolate pudding to put in your mouth though!

The kids always want some kind of treat, so I experimented with something different. I wanted to go chocolate based off of a treat the kids picked out at the grocery store on vacation a few weeks ago. I relax a little on the restrictions on vacation, and amazingly the treat they chose was not too far off. It was a store-bought Jello-brand chocolate mousse at the grocery store in Port Aransas, Texas. I expected it to be filled with artificial this and artificial that, but it actually had real cream in it! Surprising, right? It wasn’t perfect, but it did give me the idea of trying to create my own that was perfect! The only ingredient I am still waiting on is my new gelatin, but the Knox worked for today.

This is not really a mousse, but a pudding. With supervision, this is a great one to do with the kiddos this summer.

Start with your ingredients: (I also added vanilla and salt that are not pictured.)

1 can Coconut Cream (I used Trader Joe’s)

1 can Coconut Milk

You can see the difference in consistency between the two:

1/2 cup cocoa powder

3/4 cup Swerve Confectioners

3 packets of Gelatin or 3 Tbsp of this one

1/2 cup cold water

1/2 tsp Celtic salt

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

In a saucepan, combine your coconut cream, coconut milk, cocoa, Swerve, and salt.

Whisk over medium heat until warm.

In a small bowl, empty your gelatin packets and combine with your 1/2 cup of cold water. Stir until there are no clumps.

Whisk the gelatin mixture into your chocolate mixture, and stir until dissolved. Add your vanilla, and stir until well combined.

Spoon into 8 individual ramekins.

Cover each bowl with saran wrap and place in the fridge for about 2 hours to set.

We topped ours with homemade sugar-free dairy whipped cream, but if you are Paleo or dairy-free, you can whip up some coconut cream with some Swerve and vanilla and use that as well.

We all gobbled it right up. Enjoy!

Posted in Dessert, recipe, Snacks, Sugar Substitute, tips, Uncategorized tagged with chocolate, coconut cream, coconut milk, cream, dairy-free, Desset, easy, gelatin, jello, keto, kid friendly, paleo, pudding, snack, sugar-free

Refreshing Cukes!

Posted on June 23, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

Last week, a friend of mine showed up at my door with a trash bag full of homegrown cucumbers. He had grown them at his office, and thought I could use them since he knows I like to cook. I had never seen so many cucumbers, and I honestly didn’t have a clue what to do with them. My husband LOVES cucumbers, so I knew I needed to find something quickly! I couldn’t let these go to waste! The search began…

Look at these things…I had never seen anything like them before! They were the largest Japanese Cucumbers I had ever seen!

As you can see, these are huge!

I searched around through cookbooks and on the web. I didn’t find anything that shouted out at me, but I combined a few recipes, changed out the sugar, and came up with a winner! They haven’t even finished marinating, and my son said, “These are amazing…Dad is going to love them…This is my new favorite snack.”

So those of you looking for snack ideas, I have a new one!

You will need:

5-6 Cucumbers (I used 4 of these huge ones, so thinking this is the equivalent)

2 1/2 cups White Vinegar

1 Red Onion

1 Cup Xylitol or Sugar Substitute of Choice (See note at bottom)

2 tsp Celtic Salt

1 tsp Celery Seed

1 tsp Dried Dill

Directions:

In a saucepan, combine your vinegar, salt, and sweetener. Over medium heat, (it’s gonna stink), heat your vinegar until your “sugar” and salt dissolves.

Remove from heat, and add your celery seed and dill weed. Allow to cool a little and place in the refrigerator to cool completely.

While your marinade is cooling, slice your cucumbers in a mandoline. I love my De Buyer! If you don’t have a mandoline, what are you waiting for? It makes life so much easier! I bought mine at Williams Sonoma, but you can get yours here too.

I did adjust my mandoline for thicker slices. I had it set from the zucchini last week, but these needed to be a bit thicker.

Also, slice your red onion into thin rings. Place your cucumbers and red onion slices in a bowl.

Once you have everything sliced and your marinade is cold, you can pour your marinade over your cucumber and onion.

Toss everything together until lightly coated. Cover with Saran and place in your refrigerator overnight. At this point you can’t even see the liquid, but just wait!

This is what it looks like in the morning:

Everything is soaking in the juices! Yum!

Let it sit and soak up the deliciousness for 24 to 48 hours! Enjoy as a snack, a salad, or a side dish! I am thinking ahead to the July 4th holiday!!!

A note on Xylitol: You don’t see us using this one very often. The reason I did on this dish was because it was a cold marinade that also had to be heated so I thought it would work best. There are many that love Xylitol, and there is nothing wrong with it from a Keto standpoint. I have two cautions on it though:

1. It is extremely toxic for dogs! Keep it away from animals.

2. It can cause stomach discomfort in a few.

For the quantity of liquid in these in relation to the amount of cucumbers, I did not think it would have much effect since we are not consuming the liquid on it’s own.

If you try different sweeteners or have a different variation on this recipe, we would love to hear about it in the comments section!

Posted in Appetizer, Dinner, Kids, Lunch, recipe, Side Dish, Snacks, Sugar Substitute, tips, Uncategorized, Vegetable tagged with appetizer, Cucumbers, Cukes, kid friendly, kids, lunch, Marinade, Red Onion, Salad, side dish, snack, Xylitol

Need a Refreshing Keto “Adult Beverage”?

Posted on June 20, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

Get ready for this Keto friendly, sugar free, refreshing adult beverage. This is my go-to after a long summer week with the kids, work, and errands. It’s really nice at the beach too!

Before we start, let me remind you that we advise alcohol in very limited amounts. Your body will always process the alcohol before it processes your food, so be mindful.

There are options, and I can’t say that I prefer one over the other. The staple ingredients in all three are ice (preferably crushed), fresh lime juice, Stevia, and salt.

Start with your limes. You need a bunch. If you can find fresh squeezed lime juice at Central Market or a local farmers market that makes it easier, but I usually squeeze fresh at home.

Pour about a 1/4 cup of lime juice over your crushed ice in your glass, or even better, a shaker.

Now are your choices: If you want strong, go with Tequila mixed with Topo Chico.

If you prefer a milder spritzer, I really like a summer wine that is low in carbs called Vinho Verde. It is a bubbly Portuguese wine that is very inexpensive and easy to find. There are two I prefer, but these are popular in the summer so get what you can find. I like the Casal Garcia and the Santola. These are refreshing without too much alcohol, and great mixed like a margarita.

Then, add your little sweet if you like. You may not need it, but if you want it to be more like a sweet margarita, I like to add a packet of Sweet Leaf Stevia.

Mix it all together, and you have a great refreshing drink after a long week! Squeeze a little extra lime and rim your glass with salt. You have yourself a sugar free margarita.

Side note, since we have been talking about fruit: Limes contain the absolute lowest amount of fructose of any fruit. It is one of the few I eat (or drink). They still have natural sugar so use in moderation, but it should not effect your blood sugar too much, if at all.

Enjoy, and have a great weekend, all!

Posted in Appetizer, Beverage, recipe, Sugar Substitute, tips, Uncategorized tagged with alcohol, Beverage, Drink, margarita, Tequila, Weekend, Wine

A Snack to Crunch!

Posted on June 18, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

No, not that kind of crunch!

The type of crunch I am talking about is the loud tortilla chip kind of crunch! On Keto, I think it is safe to say, that one of the things we miss the most is that crunch of a chip or cracker. One of my summer-time favorites was corn chips and salsa. Needless to say, the corn is gone forever, but the salsa is here to stay. So what does one do for that crunch, scoop, or dip?

For a long time, I used a ton of celery, and still do for many things. It can scoop, it’s refreshing, full of fiber, and I can have it for all those wonderful Keto dips out there. It is not good for salsa though. Then I discovered the cheese crisps we posted a few weeks ago. Love those, especially for guacamole. The cheese is the perfect accompaniment with avocado.

But, what about the salsa? Well…zucchini was again on sale at Sprouts last week, so I bought a bunch to experiment. Over the weekend I tried three different recipes for zucchini crisps. I will share two of them with you, and you can choose which you prefer.

The first is a simple chip, and when I say simple, all you need is time and a few ingredients:

Crispy Chips

Ingredients:

2 Zucchini Squash

1/2 Cup Coconut Oil

Pink Himalayan Salt

Mandoline

Parchment Paper

Jelly Roll Pans

Directions:

Wash and dry your zucchini. When I say wash, I mean wash with soap and water!

I used a Mandoline to slice my zucchini very thin. This also makes it a fast process. You want them very thin. Mine were probably less than 1/8 inch thick.

Now, I will tell you what I did, and also how you can do it differently.

The first thing I would change is to either slice my zucchini on the diagonal or lengthwise. The reason being, they shrink tremendously when they dehydrate so if the purpose is for dipping, these left very little surface area to do such.

Line your jellyroll pan with parchment paper. I used a slip mat, and it was a huge chore to clean, so go with parchment on these. Just pretend this slip mat is parchment paper.

Pour your coconut oil into a small pyrex or similar bowl. Just something shallow will do.

Dip each “chip” into the oil and place on your parchment. They can be close together. Variation: You can lay all your zucchini out and then brush them with the oil. You just have to flip them half way through baking.

Once you have dipped or placed all your zucchini on your parchment, sprinkle a very scant amount of salt on top. This was a huge mistake of mine. I used a normal amount of salt, but they shrank so much, they were literally coated in salt. A little goes a long way on these!

Place in a 200 degree oven for 2 hours. Yes, two hours. This will dehydrate and crisp them. I flipped my cookie sheet around about half way through so they cook evenly.

This is how much they will shrink, and why I recommend slicing the opposite direction for dipping chips:

Place on a paper towel to absorb the remaining oil. Once dry, seal them in a ziplock bag or they will get soggy.

Method 2:

Cheesy Chips

These were described as tasting just like a “Cheez It”. In other words, a great snack for the kids looking for that healthy crunch without any grain!!!

These are similar to above, except for the cheese. Follow the same directions until you finish with your oil.

Ingredients:

2 Zucchini Squash

2 Cups Parmesan Cheese

1/2 Cup Coconut Oil

Mini-Cuisinart

Mandoline

Parchment Paper

Directions:

Slice your zucchini as described above using a Mandoline.

Place the Parchment paper on your jelly roll pan (make sure it has sides.)

Grind your parmesan cheese in your Mini-Prep Cuisinart (unless you have already dirtied your big one.) The parmesan adheres to the squash much easier when it is a bit finer, but still melts well, unlike the super fine ground you buy off the shelf.

Pour your finely grated cheese into a bowl.

Take your squash one by one and dip into the oil first, and then into the cheese. Place each on a lined cookie sheet.

These will not need salt because your cheese is already salty. You can add pepper if you like for taste. You can always add extra cheese to the top if you have extra left over.

Bake at 425 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. They should be a little darker than golden brown to ensure they are crisp. Serve immediately with your favorite dip or eat just as they are.

Store in a sealed container or Ziplock in the refrigerator.

Posted in Appetizer, Kids, recipe, Side Dish, Snacks, tips, Uncategorized, Vegetable tagged with appetizer, cheese, chips, Crackers, dips, kid friendly, parmesan, salsa, snack, vegetable, zucchini

A Little Summer Treat!

Posted on June 18, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

We all need a little treat every once in a while! Even on Keto, you can make treats that will actually help with weight loss and your desire to stay in Ketosis. We all usually need to up our fat intake. Some recipes are easy, and some require effort. Today’s post is super simple, and was my go-to when I first started on the Ketogenic diet and just needed that little “something”. It is loaded with saturated animal fat (this is good), smooth, creamy, and has just the right amount of sweetness to end a busy day. And…it is so filling – you just need a tad, and you won’t have the urge to eat another thing! The kids beg for it after dinner, and I usually oblige, sometimes selfishly, so I can have a bite too.

The Keto part of this is simple…Heavy Whipping Cream! I will say that this is where a KitchenAid Stand mixer comes in very handy. Check out the one I have here. It is a nice gift to yourself if you don’t already have one, and makes life faster and easier in the kitchen. I usually get my cream going while I am washing dinner dishes, and we have a fresh dessert in no time.

On a Ketogenic diet, we recommend staying away from many fruits. This is due to the natural fructose in fruit that makes a b-line for your liver. It is especially bad for Cancer patients and those with insulin resistance…Read more in this great article! However, there are some fruits that are better than others. My favorite fruits have always been berries! Thank goodness, because they also contain lower amounts of fructose which can spike your blood sugar. I know there is a lot of controversy on this subject, but I have seen it first hand with blood glucose monitoring, so I am on the no/low fruit bandwagon for myself. I do allow my children to have organic berries, and on occasion, I do too in small quantities. The trick for doing this is to make sure you eat your berries with plenty of fat to counteract the fructose in the fruit. Hence, the whipping cream.

What is better in whipped cream than berries. Yum! Now, don’t go crazy! You just need a small handful to do the job. Summer and berries have always gone hand in hand, so this is the perfect season to make yourself a Keto friendly dessert!

It is probably the easiest thing I have posted…

I used:

1 Quart of Promised Land Heavy Whipping Cream (Any will work)

1 Tbsp Pure Vanilla

1/4 – 1/2 cup Swerve Confectioners (Granular is very grainy in this one.)

Start by beating your cream until it begins to thicken. Add your Swerve, starting with 1/4 cup. Our taste has changed quite a bit, so that we do not prefer things super sweet anymore, but feel free to add more to your desired taste. Then add your vanilla. Beat until it is very thick, but careful not to beat too much or you will have butter! It is okay to stop and start (tasting as you go). This is a preference treat, so keep an eye on it, and stop beating when it’s to your liking.

Top with a small amount of berries or eat it plain. It is delicious both ways! Enjoy!

This one was for the kiddos. When I have mine, I go with blueberries, blackberries or raspberries with a ratio or 2:1, cream to berries. I skip the strawberries generally. Let the cream work to your benefit!

Posted in Cancer, Dessert, Kids, recipe, Research, Snacks, Sugar, tips, Uncategorized tagged with Berries, cancer, cream, dessert, Fructose, fruit, Insulin Resistance, Summer, treat

The Warrior Continues Her Cancer Battle!

Posted on June 16, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

What a difference a week can make!

Last Wednesday, we received a phone call at dinner telling us that we needed to get Erin and Charlie’s daughter, Elise, from the neighbor. Charlie had to call EMS because Erin had a seizure after a completely normal day at work.

Imagine, waking up to a regular schedule, getting ready for work, dropping the kids at school, working all day, returning home thinking about dinner, and boom, your world is black. This is what happened to Erin last week. A normal day, and then she awakened in the Emergency Room with no memory of how she arrived there.

As family descended, the discussion centered on a panic attack, because she had experienced a few over the past three months, or so we thought. In fact, as Erin and I worked on the conception of The Sweet Life Sugar Free the very first night, I witnessed her first “attack.” Her hands were shaking as she tried to type, and she got flustered. We took a break and discussed her day. She had experienced a hectic day at work and was not able to drink her water, take her supplements, or eat anything substantial. She drank two bottles of water and took some magnesium and potassium. She was obviously dehydrated, and possibly excited and nervous about starting our new venture. After a few minutes she felt better, and we got back to work as our girls played “Princess” in the adjacent room. Later that evening, as she was leaving the house, she came to get me because she couldn’t buckle Elise into her carseat or get her keys into the ignition of her car. She said she just “couldn’t get her hands to do what she was telling them to do”. I gave her yet more water, and she and Elise stayed for the night.

The next day, Erin was better and carried on as normal.

About a month ago, she called me from home early in the afternoon, and told me she had the same experience at work and had to leave because she couldn’t type. “My hands just aren’t working,” she said. This time she chalked it up to too much coffee and being nervous about her upcoming PET scan. Again, she slept and felt better the next day.

She was certain that both of these “panic attacks” centered around her anxiousness about her PET Scan on May 13, 2015, dehydration, lack of nutrients, and too much coffee. Makes sense, right?

I reread her post yesterday from May 15th, which discussed her clear PET scan, and how she was thanking Cancer for helping her have courage and appreciate the little things in life. She was so relieved when the scan came out clear just one short month ago. She closed her post by telling Cancer, “You are not welcome back!”

Fast forward to last Wednesday evening. I had Elise (Erin and Charlie’s daughter) and my kids at home, and my husband, Chip, returned from the hospital at 11:30 pm after sitting with Erin’s husband, and his cousin, Charlie. Erin was awake, and they were awaiting the results from the CT Scan. As soon as Chip walked into the bedroom, he received a phone call from his aunt in Denver that he needed to return to the hospital immediately…the CT results did not look good. There were two spots. I sat straight up in bed, and all I could think was, “No!” She had a panic attack, right? And, it certainly couldn’t be Cancer because she just received an “All Clear” on May 13th! That was less than one month ago! She was doing everything right! There was no way – the radiologist had to be wrong!

I got updates throughout the night without much information. As with many diseases, the waiting is horrible, terrible, endless. No one tells you anything. (Doctors, take note!) Chip returned home again about 6:30 am with no more information, other than Erin was scheduled to be transported to a different hospital. They had been waiting for hours for the transport so she could get an MRI which would show more detail in the brain. The hope was that the CT was showing something insignificant. She was to be observed by her oncologist and an awaiting Neurosurgeon. Everyone was just waiting, in holding mode, as if the clock remained still. Finally, she was transported about 8:30 am, on Thursday morning and taken to the MRI. Then, more waiting. At this point, more family members were on planes making their way to Texas.

In the meantime, Erin’s oncologist arrived and had taken a look at the CT scan. She told Erin and Charlie that it appeared the Cancer from the breast had taken root in the brain. Basically, Breast Cancer in the brain. I know what you are thinking…what about the clear PET scan? I hope you are as outraged as the rest of us were. The response was, “Insurance only covers a scan from the neck down.” I was stunned! Are you kidding me? They were told that day, for the first time by Erin’s oncologist, that 1 in 10 Breast Cancer patients with HER2 breast cancer, develop tumors in the brain! (Click here for more information on HER2.) Yet, they don’t scan for this? It is absurd! It was disturbing to all of us there that not only do they not scan the brain, but that Erin was never told to watch for symptoms or told that this was a possibility. All of these “panic attacks” she was having were small seizures caused by the tumors! Outrage, contempt, and anger seized every muscle and nerve in my body! No mention, no warning, no prevention – is that really what we call healthcare?

We also all learned that the tumors have more than likely been in her brain this whole time. Since the beginning of the story! I did not know that the particles in the chemotherapy cannot travel up the brain stem, therefore, leaving the brain as a free for all. The rest of her body is completely clean, and looks great, according to all the doctors. Seeing that the tumors in the brain are breast cancer tumors, they had to get there before she started chemotherapy almost two years ago since the rest of her body is cancer free. They were trapped in the brain without a chance of being eliminated by the chemotherapy and treatments she was receiving for the rest of her body!

Later in the day, the neurosurgeon entered the room and gave Erin the news that, yes, there were definitely two tumors in the brain, and there was an additional one near the brain stem for a total of three. She was scheduled for brain surgery the next morning at 10:30 am. Not much time to think, which was good for Erin, and probably everyone in the room for that matter! He was going to be able to remove the two higher tumors, but would have to do radiation for the third because it was too close to the brain stem. It is by the grace of God, and the advantage of a Ketogenic diet, that the tumors did not raise their evil heads until two years later, spread, or cause more havoc. Erin is still a believer! She was able to recover from her earlier surgeries before she had to do this one! This VERY big one! Whew, this was a lot to swallow! More Cancer and Brain Surgery in less than 24 hours! We all thought she was fine!

Friday roles around, and thanks to many prayers, and an excellent neurosurgeon, nurses and staff, “the surgery could not have gone more smoothly,” according to the surgeon! Praises for everyone in that operating room, all of her caregivers, and more than anything, the strength of our amazing warrior, Erin! She is amazing!

The day after surgery, she was up walking, and ready to go home. A little impatient, maybe, but strong as an ox! She was not waiting or relying on anyone! In fact, she said to me, “I just really don’t like asking others to do things for me!” Really?!?! She had just come out of brain surgery! We are all still in awe at her strength and determination. It is going to take an army to get her to sit still and recuperate. She was able to come home yesterday, and already talking about paint colors, as she stared from her chair to her fireplace. “Goodness!” was all I could say and smile.

My what a difference a week makes, and what a week it has been for my dear friend! She is not just a fighter, but a warrior. She is not just a patient, but a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend, and a mighty encourager for those suffering through cancer, those that have fought the same battle, and those that may in the future. If only the insurance companies could see through the patient to the person.

Erin stands without fear and encourages the rest of us! May this be an encouragement to everyone that the battle carries on, and Erin will fight not only for herself, but for all the others out there as well! Be strong you amazing woman! You will win this battle, if only by your own will and determination! I have no doubt, and I love you dearly! You ARE an amazing warrior!

And yes, this is Erin yesterday – after brain surgery just four day earlier! Amazing!!!

Posted in Cancer, Health, Supplements, tips, Treatment, Uncategorized tagged with Brain, Breast, cancer, Chemotherapy, Doctors, Insurance, treatment

Macadamia Nuts, Anyone?

Posted on June 16, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

So, I bought some Mahi Mahi last week Hmmmm. It was on sale, so that was great! In fact, it was a fantastic deal! The problem…I detest cooking fish! It makes the house smell, it has bones, and as much as I cook, I always manage to destroy it! My usual downfall is overcooking because I’m afraid of undercooking! I am not sure what possessed me to purchase this beautiful slab out of the ocean, but I did, so I had to come up with something before my whole house smelled like fish!

Surprisingly, this fish dish was super simple, and it turned out delicious. I did get an upturned nose when my ten year old walked in the kitchen and smelled the raw fish I was deboning. At the end of the meal, however, it was all devoured with the kids asking for more. I had to divy up the end of it so everyone could have second helpings. Best of all, the house actually smelled like roasted nuts instead of fish. Double yay!

To make thing even better, I pulled this dish together faster than I can write this post! I looked up several recipes, and most were very sweet either with added sugar or contained very high fructose fruits like mango and pineapple that do a number on my blood sugar levels. All the macadamia nut recipes were mixed with flour or breadcrumbs, so I decided to go for it, and see what I could do on my own. If it hadn’t been 6 pm and a family screaming for dinner, I may have kept scouring the internet, but I’m glad for you and me, that I was short on time because this was simple, delicious, and nutritious.

We always have Macadamia Nuts on hand in the Lutz and Stavros households. If you don’t; run out and get some (or order here). They are one of the best nuts you can have around! They are lower in carbs than most, and much higher in fat than practically all, so they are Keto perfect in my book. In fact, when we were in Hawaii, I practically lived off of these beauties and have never been in deeper Nutritional Ketosis. It was fabulous. When I returned, low and behold, I found this gorgeous purple can of natural wonder in the snack aisle at Costco. Who would have thought? Now, I did have a bit of a panic attack when I couldn’t find them for a while, but no worries, they are back! And…just in case you are wondering, these magnificent nuts contain 24 grams of healthy fat, only 4 grams of carbohydrates, and 1 gram of sugar per quarter cup.

I popped open a can and got to work. All you need for this tasty Keto fish is Mahi Mahi, Macadamia Nuts, Kerrygold, a food processor, and your grandmother’s cast iron skillet! Yes, I really do have my grandmother’s old skillet, and it is a beast of a weapon! If you don’t have your grandmother’s, you can get one here.

Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi Mahi

1 1/2 Pounds Mahi Mahi Cut into Filets

1 Cup Ground Macadamia Nuts (More if you like – You can find some here.)

1/2 Stick KerryGold Butter

Food Processor

Cast Iron Skillet

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut your Mahi Mahi into filets. I did different sizes for adults and children, and it cooked just fine.

Debone and remove the skin (I just removed the section of bones with a filet knife from the middle of the filet – the bones are very large given this is a huge fish so they are easy to see and cut out.)

Grind your Macadamia nuts finely in a Food Processor. I used my mini-Cuisinart, but the large one would have been better. Fresh Macadamia Nuts are very hard so you need a powerful unit. This is the newer version of one I have here. Don’t over process or you will get a paste.

I sifted out the fine crumbles and put the larger pieces back in with the next batch.

Start melting your butter in your skillet.

All you have to do, is press your filets of fish into the ground Macadamia Nuts on both sides. After I had both sides nicely coated, I went back and added the rest to the top of the filets. You can never have too many Macadamias!

When your butter is sizzling, add all of your filets gently. I cooked them for 4 minutes on each side, and then moved the whole skillet to a preheated 375 degree oven for 10 minutes and they were perfect! Please use your oven mitts so you keep your hands to eat!

Serve immediately. I served them with left over squash casserole and bacon brussels that brought smiles around the table!

Enjoy!

Posted in Dinner, Main Course, recipe, Uncategorized tagged with cast iron, dinner, Entree, Fish, food processor, kerrygold, Macadamia Nuts, Mahi Mahi, Main Dish

Refreshing Summer Limealicious Dessert

Posted on June 12, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

Going Keto means no sugar, but it doesn’t mean no desserts!

Every once in a while, I like to experiment with sweet recipes. Sometimes it is as easy as taking an old recipe and just replacing the sugar with Swerve or Stevia. Sometimes it takes a little more creativity, and other times, I can find new Keto recipes online and adjust to our taste.

I was a legitimate sugaraholic before I started Keto. I was one that had to have desserts after every meal. Once I started on something sweet, I had to finish it, even if I was completely full! Keto has helped with this sugar addiction tremendously. I still like sweet, but I don’t crave it like I did. We also keep sweets to a minimum so that the kids don’t expect something sweet after every meal. It is always a special treat!

When I say addiction, sugar is a real addiction! Did you know that sugar is 8 times more addictive than cocaine? In fact, sugar has almost the same molecular structure as cocaine. That is a pretty scary statistic knowing all the diseases that sugar causes and progresses. We will talk about this more, but sugar is BAD!!!!

I will no longer eat anything with sugar, but have substituted it with Swerve and Stevia. I am also going to try chicory root in the near future too! The following recipe uses Swerve. Some, like my family, love Swerve and cannot tell the difference. I have heard others say they experience an aftertaste. I do sometimes taste sweet on my tongue when I drink water after eating something that was made with this substitute. Overall, I think it is a great sweetener with no glycemic effect, no GMOs, and no digestive effects like Xylitol can have on some individuals. It is all natural made with Erythritol, and is diabetes friendly and gluten free. Another great component is that it measures just like sugar so you can use it in your old recipes when sugar is the only substitution needed. It is great for us Ketoers.

We will do a post soon on all sweeteners, but Swerve is my primary go-to. It can be purchased at Whole Foods, Sprouts, and other health food stores, or online. Even Amazon has it, and we have it in our Amazon store here. There are two different kinds. One is granular like white sugar (orange package), and the other is Confectioners Style (purple package) which is more like powdered sugar. I use Confectioners in this one.

The Granular is great for anything baked, but can get grainy when refrigerated.

That being said, any time I make something cold, I use the Confectioners Style.

Without further ado, here is a scrumptious recipe for you to try that is perfect for summer!

Key Lime Cheesecake Bars

Crust:

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/4 cup Honeyville almond flour

1/2 cup Swerve (Granular)

6 Tbsp butter, melted

Filling:

3 1/2 8 oz packages of Cream Cheese, softened

1 cup Swerve (Confectioners)

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 eggs

1/2 cup Key Lime juice (Yes, it makes a difference – this part is time consuming so take that into account)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and grease a 9×13 pyrex baking dish with butter or coconut oil. Grease well!

Combine your almond flour, 1/2 cup of Swerve granular, cinnamon and melted butter. I use my hands to really combine well because it is a thick crust-like consistency.

Press all the crust evenly into your baking dish or use a mini muffin pan with liners to make mini cheesecakes.

Bake the crust for 8 to 10 minutes.

For the filling:

In a large mixing bowl, beat your room temperature cream cheese until soft and fluffy.

Add your cup of Swerve confectioners, and vanilla. Continue to beat until well combined. Add your eggs, one at a time, beating in between each. Add your lime juice slowly, while beating constantly. It should be fairly runny and smooth.

Pour the mixture over your baked crust. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until firm. (About 15-20 minutes for mini-muffins, but check because sizes can differ.) Cool completely, and then refrigerate for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight.

Cut and enjoy. Serve with Keto whipped cream if you desire for a super rich dessert.

Note: This crust is delicious, but can be crumbly so use a very sharp knife and a spatula to remove from dish.

Posted in Dessert, Health, recipe, Sugar, tips, Uncategorized tagged with addiction, cheesecake, Desset, keto, limes, sugar, Sugar substitute, Swerve

Dinner Party Appetizer

Posted on June 11, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

This is one of Erin’s recipes that I love. She does many of her recipes by feel and look, but I did my best to measure most of these simple ingredients. I literally did these yesterday, and thought, why not make my post on this now?

We had a dinner party last night, for which I was assigned an appetizer. Sometimes, when dining with many, it is hard to please everyone with a Keto dish, which is why I usually sign up for an appetizer or a salad. You can do a lot of Keto appetizers such as guacamole, hot artichoke dip, spinach dip, stuffed mushrooms, different kinds of poppers, etc. There are many!

Yesterday ended up being busier than expected, and I had all of these ingredients on hand, so I went for the mushrooms. They are always devoured in minutes, and really only take a few minutes to make as long as you soften your cream cheese first. After you make them once, you won’t even need the recipe!

Sausage and Cheese Stuffed Mushroom Appetizer

Your portions will change based on the amount of mushrooms you want to stuff. I did one large package of mushrooms from Costco.

Ingredients:

Large package of mushrooms, washed and stems removed

2 8 oz packages of cream cheese

2 packages of ITALIAN sausage (I did one mild and one hot) removed from casings (There were 5 links per package, and I had a ton left over. I used about 2 cups of the crumbled sausage and saved the rest for breakfast in our eggs.) Use as much as you like though.

2 cups sharp cheddar cheese

Kerrygold for baking

That is it folks!

Directions:

Remove casings from your sausage and brown on medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes until crumbled.

Place cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl (hopefully in advance to soften)

Add sausage and combine with cream cheese.

Add Cheddar and mix until evenly distributed.

Take your mushrooms, from which you have removed the stem, washed and dried.

Using a teaspoon, fill the caps of the mushrooms until there is a heaping amount. Place in a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Put a few slices of Kerrygold around the perimeter of the mushrooms as well as the middle. You want it to melt for a nice non-stick surface that gives a wonderful flavor.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Plate and serve!

Make sure you serve these with a napkin. They are so delicious, you may find yourself drooling!

Posted in Appetizer, Dinner, recipe, Side Dish, Vegetable tagged with appetizer, cheese, cream cheese, dinner party, mushrooms, sausage, stuffed mushrooms

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