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Miss Cereal? Try This…

Posted on September 3, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

The school year is off to a start, and Labor Day is here, which means the official end of summer. There are both cheers and boos, pros and cons.

One of the biggest cons is that, all to familiar, morning rush once again. The days of cereal boxes and skim milk are long gone for many of us. If you have heard us speak in a group, you are familiar with our “Trifecta of Sugar” lecture.

A typical morning breakfast cereal topped with fruit has the glucose from the cereal, lactose from the milk and fructose from your fruit. Bad, bad and more bad leading to a day of cravings and carb loading, no doubt. If you start your day with carbs and sugar, you will crave more carbs and sugar as you go through your day, leading to that downward spiral as the day moves on.

What else can you have for breakfast on those busy mornings when you don’t have time to scramble, fry or poach? Try faux “cereal”! We have tried it, the kids have tried it, and it is family approved. The best part – you can make it ahead and seal it in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. It is ready to go for a breakfast in a hurry! Top with some heavy cream, and you are set for half the day if you eat it along side your bulletproof coffee to tea.

It is super simple to make, and you can really make it your own just by adding your favorite low-carb ingredients. Try a little, and let us know what you think!

Faux Cereal

Your ingredients and portions can vary. Mix it to your liking.

1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut, toasted

1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts

1/2 cup chopped pecans

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup finely chopped almonds

2 Tbsp Kerrygold

1 Tbsp Swerve

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp Celtic salt

Directions:

Toast your coconut flakes, watching carefully so not to brown to deeply.

Chop all your nuts finely and lightly toast.

Melt the Kerrygold in a cast iron skillet.

Toss your nuts in the melted butter, and sauté until fragrant. Add your toasted coconut, Swerve and seasonings. Toss all your ingredients in the butter until everything is mixed and coated.

Allow it to cool and then store in an airtight container until ready to serve.

This can be served as a dessert over whipping cream or for a breakfast cereal with cream.

Enjoy!

Posted in articles, Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert, Health, Kids, recipe, Side Dish, Snacks, tips tagged with breakfast, brunch, Cereal, coconut, dessert, Faux Cereal, nuts, snack

Back to School – Snack Time!

Posted on August 24, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

It is hard to believe that school has arrived once again!

I have one that started today and two that start in a couple of weeks. It is funny how that same old routine starts immediately. The one thing that stumps people the most in this rut of a routine is SNACK time! What do you serve for snacks when you don’t eat carbs? This one was tough at first, but it is much of the same foods that I pack in a low-carb lunchbox, so you can use this article as a means for both.

First off, toss the juice boxes – PLEASE! Those are loaded with sugar!

What about just water? If your child refuses plain water, try infusing it with fruit or cucumbers, or see if they like a sparkling water like La Croix. Mine think it is a treat! There are a ton of flavors from which to choose, so your family will never get bored.

Next, go through your pantry (or call us to do it) and toss the chips, cookies, crackers, pretzels, and goldfish – yep, I said it – even the goldfish. They are all carbs and carbs = sugar!

Your body doesn’t even know the difference between the two!

So, what do you feed the kiddos when you don’t have goldfish?

There are a ton of options, many of which we have posted before, but we will remind you!

This is the number one favorite in the Lutz household:

Veggies with Ranch Dip

Obviously, mine love the mini-peppers!

Other great dips to serve with vegetables are spinach dip, artichoke dip and pimento cheese. The later is a great lunch option as well!

Cheese crackers with salsa or guacamole is another favorite in our house.

Don’t forget about the yummy olives we posted last week too!

Sometimes if I want to dress things up a bit, I will do a nice cheese sampler tray. This is great for the little tastebuds too and fancy enough for company!

Another fun snack is the savory fat bombs. I was able to find some great snacks at Costco that were cheese and meat wrapped up together similar to a fat bomb. They are cute and would work great in a lunchbox as well.

A few other great options:

Cheese sticks or Baby Bells

Lunch meat (or the two together!) Choose your meat carefully. Stay away from the pre-sliced – get the quality meat (Such as Boar’s Head) in the deli and have it sliced thinly for wrapping. Watch for Nitrates and other additives.

Pickles

Refreshing Cukes

Celery and Queso

Whole milk yogurt (for the kids)

Jerky or beef sticks

A variety of nuts (w/out peanuts)

Stuffed mushrooms

Celery and nut butter

Deviled or Boiled Eggs

Sausage on a Stick

These are just a few of many options! Hopefully this will get you started in this back-to -school rush time! Don’t be afraid to try new things and push your kiddos to expand their palates a little. We hope everyone has a great beginning to the school year. Remember to be strong and eat right! You (and your children) need to eat healthy to be healthy! Happy Back-to-School week!

Feel free to drop us a note in the comments section if you have a question about lunch or snacks. Chances are, someone else is wondering the same thing! Also, feel free to share some of your favorites!

Posted in Appetizer, articles, Beverage, Dip, Health, Kids, Lunch, Sauces and Dressing, Snacks, tips, Vegetable tagged with Appetizers, Back to School, Carbs, Fat bombs, mushrooms, nuts, Snacks, water

An “Almond Joy” Kind of Day

Posted on May 6, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

My most requested recipe at your fingertips!

Just because you go low-carb doesn’t mean you can’t ever have sweets again! You just have to think differently!

These “Fat Bombs” are the bomb! They are so easy to make, you get your intake of healthy fats, and take care of that little need for a sweet treat every once in a while.

You can keep them in the fridge, and pop them as you need them.

Fat Bombs

4 oz 100% Cacao

8 Tbsp Grass-Fed Butter (Kerrygold)

3 TBSP Coconut Oil

1 tsp Vanilla

1/3 cup Swerve Confectioners

2 Tbsp Cream

Shredded Unsweetened Coconut

Almonds, Pistachios, Macadamia Nuts

Gather all of your ingredients along with a double boiler, a whisk, and either mini-muffin pans or candy molds.

Directions:

Melt your chocolate, butter, and coconut oil in a double boiler over simmering water, stirring often so it does not burn. (This is a double batch.)

Add the Swerve and whisk together until well combined.

After it is completely melted and smooth, remove from heat and add vanilla and cream.

Whisk until it looks like you have smooth chocolate sauce.

Set aside.

You can either use a mini-muffin pan with paper cups or a silicon candy mold. I use both. If you want a variety of candies, you can tell them apart by using different colored paper cups. For instance, my husband doesn’t like the texture of coconut in his desserts so I always do his candy without coconut in green paper cups because that is his favorite color, and he knows which ones are his. In short, you can color code your candy!

I love the smooth texture of the candy molds though, so of course, I use those for mine!

Be creative! I love mine with coconut and almonds! Can you say, “Almond Joy!?!”

The kids like theirs with either macadamia nuts and coconut or plain coconut, and my husband loves his with pistachios. Just have fun with your add-ins!

This is what it looks like when you add your fillings:

On the purple molds, I placed a dab of chocolate right in the center bottom of the circle so it would have a smooth chocolate finish when I popped them out. Then, put the coconut and almonds on top.

Next, add your chocolate by the spoonful:

After your molds are full, place them in the refrigerator to set. This does not take long. Give them about 45 minutes to an hour to set before you try to remove them.

Once they are hard to the touch, you can invert the molds to pop out your candies and remove the paper cups from your muffin pans. I throw them in a ziplock bag, and they are ready to grab when you need a bite!

Enjoy!!!

Posted in Dessert, Kids, recipe, Snacks, Uncategorized tagged with almond joy, chocolate, coconut, dessert, fat bomb, nuts, snack, sweet, treat