Easy Chocolate Coconut Bites

DIYWITHJOY

This perfect low carb snack is dairy free, keto friendly and will satisfy your cravings during the holiday season. If you’re a fan of bounty chocolate bars, you will love this. Plus this simple recipe requires no cooking or baking.

Yield: 10 Bites 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fine desiccated coconut (unsweetened)
• 1/3 cup coconut cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tsp stevia
• 75g 85% dark chocolate
• 2 tbsp coconut oil

Method:

• In a bowl, mix together desiccated coconut, coconut cream, vanilla extract and stevia with a spoon or spatula.
• Line a small tray with parchment paper. Roll coconut mixture into 10 evenly sized balls and place in the freezer for at least 1-2 hours, until the balls are frozen.

• For the chocolate coating, melt coconut oil and chocolate in the microwave at 30 second increments until melted.
• Dip coconut balls in the chocolate (ensuring each side is evenly coated) and place…

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Long Time Away !

Well it’s been a long time since I have posted here but life has thrown me many curves and new experiences that just needed to be tended too. But I am back and hopefully I can be posting on a regular basis  (at least once a week).

So I must admit that staying on my keto diet the past 7 months was seriously derailed due to my laziness and stress, and unfortunately I went back to eating dairy and grains. I still stayed with eating less and only when I was hungry.  As expected I have been feeling crappy and pain is once again a constant in my life. Well it is time to change that and get back on track.

As of yesterday I re-committed to getting back on track and get back to feeling better again. So to celebrate a new beginning,  I made a favorite meal for our family “Cabbage Lasagna”.  I know this isn’t the usual way to use cabbage but we have so much in the garden this year and  we love Lasagna so I figured why not use cabbage instead of the usual pasta. This recipe can also be made using thin slices of Butternut squash or thicker Eggplant or Zucchini slices as well.

For this recipe I used a previously home canned item.(Roasted Red Pepper Spread ). You can use store-bought if you like.  I made a large pan of Lasagna and counted it out to be 8 adult sized servings per lasagna. For the nutritional info:  Everyone’s mileage will vary, depending on the products you use the recipe will need to be calculated if you are keeping track of your macros.

Cabbage Lasagna

1. Roasted Red Pepper Spread –  One 1/2 pint or 250 ml bottle
2. Roasted Tomato Sauce – 1 quart bottle
3. Mushroom pieces – 2 small cans
4. Green Cabbage Leaves, boiled – 12 lag leaves
5. Mixture of ground beef & pork, cooked – 2 lbs total
6. Mixed Italian cheeses  – 1 lb / 16 oz.
7. Olive or coconut oil for cooking meat. – 2 tbsp.

Directions:

1. Start a large pot of water and bring to a full boil.
2. Once boiling add 12 cabbage leaves and boil until soft but still able to hold its shape.  Remove from water and drop into ice water to cool.  Drain and set aside for assembly.
3. Cook ground meats and mushrooms until nicely browned, add extra herbs if you like such as hot peppers. (I just used the spices and herbs in the pepper sauce and the tomato sauce.)
4. Grate cheeses of your choice.
5. Start assembling the lasagna. ( I use tomato sauce on the bottom , then I layers 5 cabbage leaves, added some meat and cheese and 1/2 the mushrooms. The I repeated the same for the second layer and added the rest of cheeses on top.
6. Put in oven on 300 for approx. 30-40 minutes. approx.  Check to see if it is done after 30 minutes.
7. Slice into 8 larger pieces or 10 smaller pieces.  We usually have the lasagna with a small salad of some sort, so cut smaller pieces.

Serves 8-10

Enjoy !

 

 

 

 

Whoa baby, it’s cold outside.

The best preparation for tomorrow

is doing your best today.

H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Winter, one either loves it or hates it!   I hate it most days.

Today, was a day where finding some personal inspiration was definitely a necessity.

The temperature outside dropped significantly over night and when I woke up this am it was like – 25 Celsius. I figured I had better get the car warmed up before heading out to work.  I went out to start the car, (Bad omen # 1) the car door didn’t want to open, finally got the door open, put in the key and tried the engine and nothing happened.(Bad omen # 2)   Being an optimistic person, I walked to the garage and got the charger out, attached it to the battery and plugged it in. I thought that should help soon. As I was walking around the car to go back in the house, I noticed that my back tire was flat (Bad omen #3)

That was it, my patience was gone and I decided I needed a coffee ASAP!  An hour later, coffee was done, I was dressed, lunch made and ready for work. I go out to try again and nothing the car still wouldn’t start.  I went back inside, called my boss to let her know I couldn’t get to work.  Called hubby to let him know what was going on he said he would get home as soon as possible. Started coffee #2 and grabbed the phone book and got busy calling the local garages to see about getting tire help. I learned everyone was closing at noon, and wouldn’t be back at work until Tuesday morning. Say what? Ohh crap, I forgot that Family day (holiday) was this Monday!  As luck would have it, I managed to get an appointment at 3 pm with Canadian Tire.  By 6 pm my car was still not running but the new tire was back home and on the car.

So, what did I do with my unexpected day off?  Well, I managed to clean the house, do some laundry, and prepare and freeze some meals for this coming week. I also made and taste tested 2 new recipes on the family that I came up with.  The first one “Curried Veal Pottage” we had for dinner tonight and it was a hit, so I will share that one with you all today.

This dinner was exactly what we all needed on such a frigid cold day. It is comfort food, delicious, warm and served with Asparagus & Curried Cranberry Rice.

 

Curried Veal Pottage 

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 lbs cubed or whole, Veal steak
• 3 tbsp, Olive oil ( for browning meat)
• 1 envelope, Onion Soup Mix
• 1.5 – 2 cups, Beef Bone Broth
• 1 tbsp, curry powder
• 1 tsp, Garlic, raw
• 1 tbsp, Parsley, fresh
• 1/4 tsp, Salt
• 1/4 tsp, Pepper
• 1 tsp, Organic Turmeric Root Ground

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat Oven to 325 degrees
2. On top of stove heat a  Dutch oven or oven proof skillet until hot enough to sear the meat , add 1/2 the Olive oil. When oil is hot, place 1/3 of the meat in the skillet or Dutch oven and brown on both sides (Do not cook all the way) Continue like this until all the meat is browned. Take pan off the stove.
3. Add all other ingredients and stir well until all meat is coated.
4. Cover Dutch oven or skillet and let cook for 2 hours or until the meat falls apart with a fork.
5. Remove from oven when ready and let sit 5 minutes.
6. Serve with zucchini noodles, sliced cabbage or cauliflower rice, for a keto meal.

 

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Per Serving

Calories  256,   Fat 5 g,   Total Carbs 1g,  Fiber  1g,   Protein 49g.

 

** Please note the nutritional info above is just for the goulash itself, using MFP for the nutritional info.  Please adjust the info to reflect the whole meal you have prepared.

 

 

Copyright© 2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Avocado, Roasted Garlic & Bacon Dressing

Avocado, Roasted Garlic & Bacon Dressing

This dressing can be used on salads, grilled chicken, salmon or any fish, Nachos, Veggie dip or Pasta! You’re only limited by your imagination.

Makes 20 Tablespoons or 11/4 cups

Serving size – 1 Tbsp

Ingredients:
Avocados – 2 medium,
Roasted Garlic – 3 small cloves
Dried Parsley – 11/4 Tbsp
Olive Oil – 2 Tbsp
Lime Juice – 3 Tbsp
Sea Salt – 1/2 tsp
Bacon Fat – 3 Tbsp (melted)
Avocado Oil – 1 Tbsp ( optional)
Bacon – (Oven Baked) – 1 1/2 slices, chopped (to taste)

Instructions:

– Preheat oven to 350°F.
– Cut top 1/4 inch off heads of garlic to expose cloves. Place garlic in small baking dish. Add oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Turn garlic cut side up. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake until garlic skins are golden brown and cloves are tender, about 55 minutes. Cool. Squeeze garlic cloves from skins.
– At the same time place bacon strips on a cookie sheet and cook your bacon till slightly crispy (reserve the fat from the bacon)
– Once the garlic bacon are done, put together all ingredients in a food processor or blender.
– Blend or process until creamy and smooth. It’s ok to leave some chunky bits as well.
– Refrigerate in a covered mason jar in the refrigerator. This will keep for 4-6 days.

* Notes: This can also have coconut cream added for extra creaminess. I added 2 tbsp

I have used this with Nacho chips and veggies. I also added this to my Omelet this morning, delicious!!!

** Be aware, if you add the coconut cream it will change your macros.

Nutritional information per tablespoon: Calories: 46 – Carbs 1g – Fat 4g – Protein 0g – Fiber 1 g

(via My Fitness Pal)

My journey back to health!

MY WHOLE FOOD WEIGHT LOSS JOURNEY

Some things from my past are easier to remember than others. Having issues with food began for me early around the age of 10. I remember sneaking snacks and hiding it in my room for later, when no one would see me eat it!  20 years later I was a 400 lb, diabetic with high blood pressure, had difficulty walking and getting around. I decided to have Gastric Bypass surgery. I was successful in losing 125 lbs and kept it off for 14 years. But then depression set in and a cold hard winter and I gained back too much weight.  I was really at a loss.  Then in January 2015, my friend Johanne told me she was doing a ketogenic diet and she had lost 50 lbs in 3 months.

 Light Bulb Moment!

 I went on the net in search of this style of eating. It sounded like something I could manage and still eat enough food and not starve myself.  The word diet still made me kind of uncomfortable as I knew dieting wasn’t the way to long term weight loss. I think I have over time tried every diet, unsuccessfully!   However, searching for more info I fell upon a website (The Nourished Caveman) that spoke of a Ketogenic Diet as a change of lifestyle.  Whole Foods? Low carb / high fat / med protein?  Could this be the answer that I had been praying so long for? Did I have the will power to start another diet and maintain it as a lifestyle without any one doing this with me?  Hell yeah!  Bring it on! 

Finally, this was something I believed that I could attain real health without chemical!   My family and I own an organic farm where we raise clean, delicious meats for ourselves and for other health minded people. We are very privileged to be able to offer this service to folks. So this diet definitely seemed like the right fit for me!

My 1st goal was to ultimately get off as many meds as possible by healing my body through whole foods and if possible lose enough weight to get my life back on track. I decided that I would take Vivica’s intolerance test from her website and when she contacted me we chatted for an hour or so. I really felt she understood my health situation and I began her Healing Foods Method Classes.  

My transformation with Vivica began on Feb 14th 2015 with a starting weight of 320 lbs and my clothing size was a 5 X. I was on a huge amount of insulin per day (168 units) and about 6 other meds as well.  Crazy!  Within 2 weeks, I was feeling better and had lost a good amount of water weight, my sleep was improved and I actually started using less insulin as my numbers were getting better.  Can you imagine all of this only after 2 weeks?  

After 12 weeks of classes, I was down to 266 lbs. That’s an amazing 54lb weight loss in just 3 months!  And, I was able to cut my insulin down by half! I was on my way to becoming healthy!

I won’t lie, it hasn’t been easy, there have been some ups and downs with my food choices, but it’s amazing how quickly illness symptoms creep back when you make the wrong food choices.  Christmas holidays were hard and I wasn’t able to totally abstain from all sugars and grains & dairy.   

But I am happy to report that I am back on track and looking forward to getting healthier and lighter for 2016.  In the past 11 months of my wellness journey, I have lost a whopping 100 lbs!  But you know what else is awesome?  I am chemical free!  I am no longer diabetic, my blood pressure has improved, I no longer suffer from depression amongst other ailments and I feel great!  

Imagine just by eating the right foods!  

Copyright © 2016

Keto Homesteading my way!

Welcome to our family blog,

First and foremost I am a homesteader who likes to do things my way, even if it usually means learning the hard way.  In the past year I began a ketogenic food journey to get healthy and my family amazingly is coming along for the ride.

So this blog will be about sharing what makes me feel good, laugh & what I am passionate about.  I love cooking, keto recipes, gardening, nature, farming, my family, friends, some comedy & learning.

I invite you to share my journey with me!  Hopefully we can learn something useful to our lives or just read along on our journey through all of my craziness.