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New Way of Thinking about our Food and the Way we Eat - My Story

Starting with the short version of my story, I think you will understand more where I am coming from with this program. I have been a health and fitness expert for over 20 years and I started to get involved in working out when I was 18, thanks to my husband! However, I had a challenge with food ever since I was a kid, emotional eater, sugar addict, hiding food and binging. As I got into fitness, those problems got worse, due to circumstances in life and me never learning how to heal those original issues with food. Those issues from childhood turned into an all-out binge eating disorder where I would gorge on thousands of calories at a time, usually to the point of feeling ill but I didn’t make myself purge. That issue went on for years, even as I was the #1 producing Personal Trainer out of corporate gym that had 2000 trainers, yet I was at the height of my issue with food. Even though I had those issues, between my binging, I would try to eat healthier, got rid of all of the white flour and was eating only whole wheat. I thought I was doing great and I was advising my clients to do the same. Long story short, God really convicted me about my binging and reminded me that my body is the Temple of God. He showed me how to overcome my binging through prayer, the Word of God and surrendering to Him. So I dove in, prayer hands first! That was in about 2003 that God delivered me from binging even though I still struggled with sugar; that was dealt with about 2009 because I was ready to surrender it. All this time I continued to eat whole wheat and help people lose weight doing the same thing, following the standard nutrition advice to lose weight, less calories, less fat and more whole grain products. But I soon found a pattern with this type of eating, when you eat this way you tend to be hungrier, have less energy, more cravings, are moodier and more tired. Can you lose weight this way? Yes, but it comes along with all of these other consequences like weight gain and major risk for diseases and the metabolic syndrome. It’s hard to stick to a plan when you feel this way all of the time. Plus when you eat this way, you open yourself up to lots of other health issues with elevated blood sugar levels and decreased fat consumption that is not healthy for you. The way I have learned how to eat now offers more freedom with food then I have ever known. You see, even though I was eating all whole grain products, I was hungry all of the time – a side effect of eating too many carbs. And I was having side effects like horribly low vitamin D levels, deficient B12, constipation and ADD like symptoms (all side effects of gluten and grains, I didn’t know this then). There is SO much research out there of why wheat and grains should be removed from our diets, not just people who are gluten sensitive or intolerant. I have a friend who is a Doctor that specializes in gluten issues and he told me about 3 years ago how bad it is for people and how he believes it’s the main cause of every auto-immune disease there is in this country (auto-immune disease is when your own immune system attacks healthy cells in your body, there are more than 80 types of them!). He is also the one that told me all of those above symptoms I was having were due to gluten, I didn’t believe him or more so, I just wasn’t going to do anything about it because I was NOT giving up my carbs! Check out this list of auto-immune diseases and tell me if you know anyone that has any of these: (I only left some of the common ones here) Autoimmune Hepatitis Celiac Sprue-Dermatitis Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Immune Deficiency Syndrome (CFIDS) CREST Syndrome Crohn’s Disease Dermatomyositis Fibromyalgia – Fibromyositis Grave’s Disease Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis As I listened to him, I honestly thought the information was good for “’other people” but not me. I had made the switch to whole wheat years ago and got off all the white flour. I thought I was doing good. I didn’t know I was also addicted to the grains because regardless of what I was hearing, I was not giving it up. It honestly took about two

Insulin Dependent Diabetes (Type I) Lupus Meniere’s Disease Miscarriages Multiple Sclerosis Psoriasis Reiter’s Syndrome Rheumatoid Arthritis Scleroderma Vasculitis

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years that I started to take this seriously and it was when my husband started to study it a lot. He cut out all grains and carbs and I was still not interested in this lifestyle. I waited for almost 3 months watching him eat this way before I would even entertain it. He would give me nightly talks about the nutrition information he was learning in the seminars he was studying from Doctors, Biochemists, Endocrinologists and Nutrition experts. The more evidence he piled up, the more I couldn’t deny it. With my background in health and nutrition I had to stop being in denial and start looking at the reality of this information. I remember sitting in the kitchen one day with the cupboard full of my whole wheat snacks that I had to eat every 2 to 3 hours because I was always hungry, another sign of out of balance blood sugar. I asked him what it meant to not eat carbs anymore and he started listing all of the foods that I had grown to love. I started to panic. I couldn’t do it, it was going to change my entire way of eating! I literally sat in his lap and cried. Sad, I know but the carb junkie in me was freaking out. How would I not eat my pretzels, waffles, bread, pizza, grilled cheese and pasta again?! It didn’t seem right, it didn’t seem natural. Then I kept studying myself and I understood that it only didn’t seem right because of the inaccurate information I was receiving through traditional nutrition knowledge. I started to let common sense kick in….since we have so many nutritionists now, telling us what we should eat by the FDA guidelines; this country is sicker and fatter than it’s ever been before. 1 in 3 DIE of cancer and 1 in 2 DIE of heart disease. Children are now getting heart disease! These statistics are ABSURD and we have to get our head out of the sand and figure out what is going on here. One great thing I found out is I still get to eat all of those things: pancakes, waffles, bread, pizza, grilled cheese a1nd pasta but I eat it from a different source then from grains. I was determined to find these other delicious options because I was not just going to eat fat, meat and veggies. One of my goals for you with this program is to help you expand these options for yourself as well. So fast forward to the end of 2012, this is when I started to really embrace this new way of eating and living, even for myself. I embraced it and believe it so much I completely changed my entire nutrition program at my studio and I had to throw out thousands of dollars of materials that I was teaching people the old way of eating less calories, fat and eating more carbs. That plan is a guaranteed way to not feel satisfied with your food and in this book you will understand why. So I spent hundreds of hours researching and re-writing my materials and doing seminars to educate clients. What changed so much in the last 60 years?

1) They told us to stop eating saturated fat because it causes heart disease a. This has been proven to NOT be true yet still gets peddled through our society b. Once challenge is, if you cut the fat, you increase your carbs

i. Again, making this country fatter and sicker than ever before in EPIC time c. Compared to how long people have been here, it’s as if this nation has gotten fat overnight!

2) They told us to stop eating white flour and eat wheat a. This country has had a break out of auto-immune diseases since this advice

3) They told us to stop frying food in lard, which is what they used in restaurants a. Now they make them all fry in vegetable oil!!! The absolute worst thing to fry in because it becomes

rancid when heated and causes free radicals – one of the biggest things associated to cancer 4) They told us to stop eating foods with cholesterol because that raises your cholesterol

a. Again, ridiculous, inaccurate information that was from old data that has been proven to be wrong, your body does not raise your cholesterol by eating cholesterol

b. The number 1 way to increase your triglycerides is eating too many carbs and the #1 way to increase your HDL (good cholesterol) is to eat saturated fat! These are the two top risks associated to getting heart disease: low HDL and high triglycerides – both fixable by eating less carbs and increasing your saturated fat intake – again ironic and makes you think

c. That is the exact opposite of what they told us to do, sounds like we need to start doing the opposite of what some of these experts are telling us to do – proof is in the results – if it worked, this country would be healthy – it is not. This country is so sick as a whole people group, it is scary what is going to happen over these next 30 to 50 years if something SERIOUSLY different doesn’t happen

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So my questions to you are these:

1) If I can show you a way to eat a way that you will LOVE and you will feel totally satisfied with, even though it might be a little different then you are used to, would you be willing to try it?

2) If I can show you a way to eat that you not only will lose weight but you will have sustained energy, balanced moods, reduced hot flashes, totally controlled hunger, no cravings, reduced or eliminated PMS and feel free from the “pull” that certain foods have on you, would you be willing to try it?

3) If I could show you a new way of eating that you still get to enjoy so many of the foods that you grew up to love but use different sources like instead of using grains for bread use nuts to make the flour, would you be willing to try it?

That is all I am asking for, is for you to have an open mind and read this information but also really experience it for yourself because that is when you will prove even to yourself how much this all makes sense…..so let’s get going…..

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Understanding why you want to Highly Reduce Carbohydrates with your Food Choices Insulin secretion is the #1 way to gain weight AND reducing this is the #1 way to LOSE weight. Insulin is secreted when carbohydrates are eaten. If you REALLY want to lose weight, then focus on greatly reducing carbohydrates (not vegetables but food like bread, pasta, crackers, cereal, etc. made from a grain, not from nuts). FACT: Eating too low of calories will make your body resistant to weight loss and slow down your metabolism. The only way to still eat carbs and lose weight is to go on a semi-starvation diet which causes more problems later. FACT: You will not ‘get fat’ if you eat fat. You probably need to eat more fat and, yes, saturated fat is okay (butter, cheese, etc.). You will ‘get fat’ the more carbs you eat…it’s all about insulin. It’s very important to eat fat in your diet; it helps you stay feeling fuller and more satisfied with your food. FACT: When excess insulin is present in your body, it FORCES your body to store carbs and other calories as fat AND use carbs as your main energy source, NOT fat. This is a MAJOR problem when you are trying to lose weight because it’s constantly telling your body to store fat instead of burning it off to lose weight. You want your body to burn your fat for energy, not store it because there are too many carbs in the system. FACT: A hundred years ago our culture did not eat all of these carbohydrates and many common diseases today were unheard of, like heart disease, cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer’s. The main change in eating habits that has taken place that is causing so many of today’s health problems is the overconsumption of carbohydrates and sugar. WHAT TO EAT:

1) Protein (does NOT have to be only lean meats like chicken, you can also have steak and hamburger meat) 2) Fat - can be saturated and unsaturated fat – most importantly eliminate vegetable oils – not olive oil – but

oils like Safflower oil, Canola oil, etc. – increasing your nuts, seeds, all natural peanut butter and coconut oil 3) Vegetables galore – avoid starchy ones like corn and peas 4) Fruit – very limited, no more than 1 to 2 times a day, preferably less because most fruit Americans purchase

is not near as healthy as it used to be, many times being genetically modified and made to be much sweeter = more sugar – until industrialization came along, people didn’t eat fruit every day - it was seasonal

Excess insulin and glucose is also associated to MANY diseases, particularly the 3 main killers, actually 4 now: Heart Disease, Cancer, Diabetes AND Alzheimer’s (now known as Type 3 Diabetes!) So the goal to reduce carbs is not just weight loss; its overall health and preventing these major diseases that are sweeping our nation like plagues. TIPS:

1) Traditional nutrition information, like the FDA and Food Pyramid tell us to eat 6 to 11 servings of carbs a DAY!!! But by following this advice, our country is sicker and more obese than ever before. Many cutting edge nutrition experts who are not biased by the FDA and Doctors believe it’s time to re-think nutrition and the advice we have been given.

2) The goal is to get to where you eat carbs ONLY once every 3 or 4 days and it can be whatever you want ONLY if you can get back on track that next 3 or 4 days without having carbs again. It’s not that you can’t ever eat carbs…it’s about not eating them every day and with every meal.

3) If you are addicted to carbs and grains, then you might want to just have carbs once per day and it should be in the day time. If you eat them at night, the insulin secretion will tell your body to store the calories you ate that day as fat. But you want to wean off of that addiction to carbs so you can eat healthier.

4) Once you get them out of your system, you will NOT crave them. I thought I would miss them a lot, but I don’t. It’s actually really easy now to eat this way, I love it AND I have so much more energy - no afternoon slump, NO food cravings and it actually helps you to begin dropping the excess weight!

I did a seminar about this topic and it is in your materials. It’s VERY important you watch this Seminar because it really breaks it all down. It’s the one called “Fixing Your Metabolism”. The seminars have more information than what is in this book. I am asking you to consider the information I am giving you and hear the science and the research and you decide if it makes sense based on overall health, not just weight loss. I do NOT stay away from carbs for weight loss; I do it for ultimate health, although weight loss is a side benefit.

Massive Results Plan – Follow for the First 14 Days Disclaimer: This is not a prescription or a recommendation. This is an eating plan that has worked for me and others. You are taking full

responsibility for the results of this if you try it but I am not recommending it to you. Before starting any exercise or eating plan, it is recommended

that you consult a Physician.

1) The true success in this plan is to stay very focused and NOT cheat. The goal is to give yourself that two weeks

of really experiencing what it can be like to live a balanced life with normal blood sugar and insulin levels.

2) Snack on vegetables ANY part of the day: broccoli, asparagus, pepperoncini peppers (real tasty and low in

calories, can get the ones in the jar). Veggies add bulk to your diet; make you feel like you get to eat a lot in one

sitting with fewer calories so eat a huge side of steamed broccoli, sautéed veggies or green beans with your meal.

3) You can put spices on food just don’t use a lot of salt (use Sea Salt when salt is used).

4) A total of about 70 grams of fat for the day:

a. i.e. 1 Tbls olive oil is 15 grams of fat, 1 slice of cheese has 7 grams of fat, 2 egg yolks has 10 grams of

fat, 2 Tbls of peanut butter 14 grams of fat, 2 Tbls nuts is about 15 grams of fat, Almond flour bread =

15 grams of fat = All of that equals 76 grams of fat!

5) Once a week I want you to have Almond flour pancakes with sugar free syrup for breakfast

6) Ever need a snack when you are hungry? Eat any vegetables besides peas or corn. Can also eat pepperoncini

peppers (whole bottle is only 70 calories). You can have green beans, asparagus, broccoli, squash, cauliflower,

cucumbers, etc. Vegetables are a ‘freebie’ food that can be eaten ANY time of the day.

a. Or snack on piece of cheese or sandwich meat.

7) Salad = (no tomatoes) have mixed greens, onions, banana peppers; eat lots of vegetables but no calorie-dense

vegetables like corn or peas; use dressing with olive oil base, Seeds of Change, Drew’s dressings or olive oil

a. No tomatoes – they are considered a fruit so our main goal is to control your blood sugar levels.

b. No fruit for two weeks; you can eat it after the first two weeks.

8) Lunch or dinner can also be any recipes from the protein section starting on p. 63

9) Aim for drinking 1 gallon of water daily…NO LESS than 64 oz.

10) Weigh yourself before you start the program, in the morning.

This is just an example to keep it really simple, if you want more creative ideas or delicious recipes at the end of this

book for more options. The closer you stick to this exact plan, the better results you will see.

Morning: 3 Eggs, add veggies (onions, peppers, mushrooms, etc.) – OR 2 hardboiled eggs (with 2 yolks)

OR pre-mixed protein shake by EAS – Myoplex Lite, chocolate flavor (see shopping list)

Once a week have Almond flour pancakes with sugar free syrup for breakfast (p. 63)

Lunch: 1 chicken breast, grilled or cooked in a skillet with veggies (broccoli, green beans, asparagus or others)

OR 3 oz of fish or turkey instead of chicken – add about 1 tbls. of oil or 2 tbls. of butter

OR sandwich on focaccia bread with turkey, roast beef or tuna and any veggies you can pile on

Dinner: 1 chicken breast, grilled or cooked on a skillet with veggies (broccoli, green beans, asparagus or others

– add about 1 tbls. of oil or 2 tbls. of butter) OR 3 oz of fish or turkey instead of chicken

OR 3 oz of steak or hamburger meat

Snack: No carb focaccia bread (p. 79) with either: butter, all natural peanut butter or peanut butter and jelly

OR Protein Bar (pure protein, supreme protein) OR Grilled Cheese with focaccia bread and butter

OR Chocolate peanut butter cups (p. 82) OR Peanut butter balls with nuts (p. 84a) OR Cottage cheese

OR Broccoli or cauliflower florets dipped in hummus OR Celery sticks with all natural peanut butter

STAY FOCUSED – THIS WORKS!

IT’S ONLY FOR 14 DAYS! YOU CAN DO IT!!!!

PLAN, PLAN, PLAN YOUR MEALS!

(if are hungry

between meals)

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MASSIVE RESULTS – Follow for the First 14 Days SHOPPING LIST

Since I don’t know what you already have in your home, take a look at this list and compare it to what you already have. Figure out

the amount you will need for 2 weeks of following the plan below. If you don’t like certain foods, don’t eat them but they must be

substituted with something else that is similar to it (like exchanging a protein for another protein).

Dressing: BBQ Sauce for chicken (choose one that is lower in sugar content)

Ken’s Marinade Buffalo Wing Sauce

Marinara Sauce (Rao’s Homemade Marinara Sauce

Olive oil

Seeds of Change – my favorite is the Italian Herb - can get in the health section at Publix or at health food stores

Vinegar

Seasonings:

Ground black pepper, McCormick sells it in these pre-filled grinders

Mrs. Dash seasoning, pick any you like (I like the Tomato Basil the best)

Sea salt (the one with a built in grinder like above - that way there are no anti-caking chemicals but if you can’t find this - just get sea salt)

Seasoning packets that are lower in sodium (use this on the chicken or veggies), I like “Grill Mates” garlic ones but they have lots of flavors,

it’s found in the seasoning or spice aisles - a big side of broccoli with these different seasonings can taste great! They are not the lowest in

sodium that is why you will also want to look for others.

Items for recipes, some stores have this, some don’t – you may need to get on Amazon.com:

Almond Flour (this is more expensive than the other flours and not hard to make yourself with a food processor)

Coconut Flour

Coconut Oil

Erythritol (Granulated)

Jam - Nature's Hollow Sugar Free Blueberry Jam

Maple Flavor Syrup - Joseph's Sugar Free

Golden Flaxseed Meal (Bob’s Red Mill Golden Flaxseed Meal)

Truvia

Xanthan Gum

Protein:

Bacon

Chicken

Eggs or Egg Substitute (if you can, get all natural or organic eggs; they are sold right next to the regular eggs)

Fish (the kind you like)

Sausage – all beef

Seafood: crab, scallops, shrimp, etc.

Tuna – canned in water, not oil

Turkey – GroundTurkey (Oscar Mayer has an all natural one, sliced) or you can get fresh turkey breast to have with the vegetable

Hamburger Meat

Hot dogs – all beef, preferably grass fed cows from www.purehealthymeat.com – but can get regular all beef franks too

Protein bars: pure protein or supreme protein

Protein Shake:

Pre-mixed protein shake by EAS – Myoplex Lite, chocolate flavor -Sold in the pharmacy section or where they sell protein bars or powders. You can find them at Walmart, Sam’s Club

and grocery stores (best prices are at the first two options) -Get the ‘Carb Control’

-Keep them in the fridge, then when you get up, put it in freezer for 15-20 minutes, make sure you set your timer on the stove, microwave

or your cell for if you forget to take it out you won’t be able to drink it! Or you can just pour it over ice; it’s best really cold.

Vegetables: ANY vegetables besides peas or corn. Examples: Asparagus , Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cucumbers, Green beans,

Green peppers, Onions, Pepperoncini peppers in a jar (near where they sell pickles), Squash

Morning: 3 Eggs, add veggies (onions, peppers, mushrooms, etc.) – OR 2 hardboiled eggs (with 2 yolks)

OR pre-mixed protein shake by EAS – Myoplex Lite, chocolate flavor (see shopping list)

Once a week have Almond flour pancakes with sugar free syrup for breakfast (p. 63)

Lunch: 1 chicken breast, grilled or cooked in a skillet, veggies (broccoli, green beans, asparagus or others)

OR 3 oz of fish or turkey instead of chicken – add about 1 tbls. of oil or 2 tbls. of butter OR 3 oz of steak or hamburger meat

OR sandwich on focaccia bread with turkey, roast beef or tuna and any veggies you can pile on

Dinner: 1 chicken breast, grilled or cooked on a skillet, veggies (broccoli, green beans, asparagus or others) – add about 1 tbls. of oil or

2 tbls. of butter OR 3 oz of fish or turkey instead of chicken

Snack: No carb focaccia bread (p. 79) with either: butter, all natural peanut butter or peanut butter and jelly

OR Protein Bar (pure protein, supreme protein) OR Grilled Cheese with focaccia bread and butter

OR Chocolate peanut butter cups (p. 82) OR Peanut butter balls with nuts (p. 84a) OR Cottage cheese

(if are hungry

between meals)

Fat:

Butter (not margarine), get organic if they

have it, many grocery stores do

Cheese

Cottage cheese

Nuts – pecans or walnuts

Olive Oil

Peanut Butter – Smucker’s Natural or other all

natural brands, make sure ingredients just say ‘peanuts & salt’ and

when you open it, mix the oil completely

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Almond Flour Apple Cider Vinegar Beef Tallow (Frozen – you throw it in skillet or melt it in microwave if its for a recipe) Butter (Kerrygold) Coconut Aminos Coconut Flour Coconut Milk

Ingredients

Here is a list of some of the ingredients that are used in the recipes. I find it can help to have a picture so you know what you are looking for. Many of these can be purchased in a grocery store or health food store. I buy a lot of mine online, on Amazon.com, that way I don’t have to hunt around for it in the store. You can get what is called “Amazon Prime”, pay about $79 for the year and get free 2 day shipping on almost EVERY item you order, it is definitely worth it.

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Coconut Oil Eggs (Cage Free One Dozen Grade A Large Eggs)

Erythritol (Granulated)

Golden Flaxseed Meal (Bob’s Red Mill Golden Flaxseed Meal) Kefir (Plain Kefir) Ken’s Marinade Buffalo Wing Sauce

Jelly – Sugar Free – Natures Hollow Joseph's Sugar Free Maple Flavor Syrup

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Marinara Sauce (Rao’s Homemade Marinara Sauce)

Peanut Butter (All Natural) – Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter Creamy or Chunky

Sea Salt (Morton Fine Sea Salt) Tomato Paste

Tony Chachere’s Spice N’ Herbs Seasoning (Added on the meat and veggie toppings)

Truvia Xanthan Gum Zatarain’s Big & Zesty Garlic & Herb Creole Seasoning

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Recipes: I encourage you to experiment with all kinds of different recipes for there are so many options to choose from. These are a mixture of different recipes, some lower fat, some higher fat and some of my personal favorites. I recommend that you start trying your own recipes too. Think of your favorite food and how you can make it healthier. Search words online like:

“recipe low carb pizza” “recipe low carb bread” “recipe no sugar cookies” “recipe low carb pasta” “recipe low carb spaghetti sauce”

It is also important that you do not sauté, fry or bake food in olive oil. Olive oil is a great food to eat but in high temperatures it becomes very rancid and breaks down and actually turns into free radicals (something linked to cancer, wrinkles, inflammation, accelerated aging, etc.). So it should mostly be used for dressing and adding onto veggies after you have cooked them. That is why you will see me mention coconut oil and palm kernel oil a lot instead on the recipes lists. BREAKFAST Scrambled Tofu & Spinach I did NOT think I was going to like this; it is delicious. You can use eggs instead of tofu but try the tofu first. The seasoning is what makes

this dish. Although I am not a big fan of eating tofu on a regular basis, every once in a while its fine. Makes 2 servings. You can actually just replace the Tofu as well with eggs, it’s the seasonings in this recipe that are really great!

Ingredients

Set 1

1 tbls ground cumin

1 tsp dried thyme, crushed

½ teaspoon turmeric

3 tbls water

dash freshly ground sea salt

Set 2

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbls coconut oil or palm kernel oil

12.5 oz extra-firm tofu, drained (grocery or health food store)

½ cup nutritional yeast (get this at health food store)

1 cup chopped spinach

dash freshly ground pepper

Directions 1. Mix all set 1 ingredient together in a small bowl and set aside. 2. In a large pan sauté the garlic and olive oil over medium heat. Add the tofu, breaking it into small pieces as you drop

it into the pan. Sauté for 10 minutes, stirring often. Tofu should be slightly browned. 3. Add the blend of spices, mix. Add the nutritional yeast, pepper and spinach. Cook for another 5 minutes.

Serving Size = Half the total Calories 250 Fat = 12 grams, Carbs = 18 grams, Fiber = 17 grams, Protein = 26 grams

Veggie Scramble or Omelet* Eggs have riboflavin, vitamin B12 and phosphorus, and are a very good source of protein and selenium.

Ingredients

2 eggs (the yolk is very good for you, okay to eat the yolk)

2 tbls liquid (i.e. milk, rice beverage, or water)

¼ cup veggies of your choice

1 tsp coconut oil or palm kernel oil (1 tsp. more for an omelet*)

2 tbls onion, diced (optional)

Dash of salt & pepper

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Directions

1. Break eggs into a bowl, add liquid and whisk eggs. Set aside. 2. In a small frying pan add 1 tsp. oil and when it’s at a medium heat, add the onions. 3. Sauté onions for a couple minutes, until they are translucent and soft. 4. Add other veggies and sauté for another 5 minutes or until the veggies are cooked how you like them. 5. If making a scramble, pour the egg mix into the pan with the veggies and gently stir until the eggs are done. 6. Add salt & pepper at the end. 7. If making an omelet*, transfer the veggies into a bowl 8. Add 1 tsp. oil and let heat briefly 9. Pour the eggs into the pan and swirl to the edges 10. After about a minute, when the egg is about halfway set, add the veggies on half of the egg. 11. Add salt & pepper. 12. Gently fold the egg side without veggies over onto the veggies. 13. Cook until the egg is done.

*Steps 1 – 4 are for either item, steps 7 – 13 continue the process for making an omelet.

Samantha’s Fluffy No-Carb Pancakes with Almond Meal

These low-carb pancakes taste better than the old white flour kind, and almond meal is healthier as well. Almond meal (same

as almond flour) differs a bit from one batch to the other, so you may have to adjust the amount of liquid to get the thickness

you want. It really helps to fluff up the flour with a mixer, it makes the pancakes even fluffier. Every time we make these,

they get better so play around with fluffing up the almond flour and the xanthan gum.

Ingredients (this makes about 4 pancakes, double if you are making for a family)

1 ½ cup almond meal or almond flour

2 eggs (include yolk, that is very good for you)

¼ cup water (for puffier pancakes, you can use sparkling water)

2 tbls coconut oil or palm kernel oil

¼ tsp salt

1 tbls sweetener (truvia)

2 pinches of Xanthan Gum (not mandatory but recommended to thicken it up so it’s more like regular pancakes)

Direction

1. Mix ingredients together and cook as you would other pancakes. I like to use a nonstick pan with a little oil or butter.

The only real difference is that they won't "bubble" on top the same way as regular pancakes.

2. Flip them when the underside is brown.

The DELICIOUS maple syrup with NO sugar and no artificial sweeteners… Joseph's Sugar Free Maple Flavor Syrup

You can get Xanthan gum online or at health food stores. This is used to thicken the pancakes and can be used in other things

you cook. We also use it in protein shakes to thicken them (this will probably stay in your cabinet a year or two before you

use the whole bag, if even that).

PROTEIN DISHES

Baked Barbecue Chicken, Makes 4 servings Ingredients

4 pcs skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1 Tbls coconut oil or palm kernel oil

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

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Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 °F (175 °C).

2. Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat oil in large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add

chicken and cook until browned, about 2 minutes per side.

3. Place chicken in a single layer, in ovenproof baking dish and spoon BBQ sauce (see other recipe) evenly over top.

Bake until chicken is cooked through and sauce is bubbling, about 18-20 minutes.

4. A staple for those of you that love BBQ like me. It's so good!

5. Serve with steamed or grilled veggies or a salad. Serving Size 1 Breast, Calories 237, Fat = 13 grams Carbs = 1 gram Fiber = 0 grams Protein = 38 grams Baked Flounder Ingredients

2 frozen flounder fillets

1 tbls coconut oil or palm kernel oil

sea salt

paprika

pepper

thyme

shredded Swiss Cheese

Directions 1. In a greased baking dish place the fillets. 2. Brush with the oil. 3. Sprinkle with salt, paprika, pepper, thyme, and cheese. 4. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes or until fish flakes.

Whole Recipe: 2 servings Total Calories 269 Fat = 16 grams Carbs = 2 grams Fiber = 1 grams Protein = 28 grams Source: The Low Blood Sugar Cookbook by Patricia and Edward Krimmel, © 1992 by Franklin Publishers, page 31.

Grilled Chicken & Artichoke Salad Artichokes are an antioxidant powerhouse because of their phytonutrients. They are filled with vitamin C, magnesium, potassium, fiber and much more. Ingredients

2 cups mixed greens

3 artichoke hearts, cut into quarters

2 oz chicken breast, cut into small chunks

½ cup cucumbers, sliced

¼ cup carrots, sliced

1 medium tomato, cut into small wedges

Vinaigrette dressing*

Directions 1. Toss mixed greens with tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots (and any other veggies you wish to add 2. Top with the artichokes and the chicken 3. Add vinaigrette dressing

* Vinaigrette dressing is easy to make. Mix 2 tsp vinegar (or lemon) with ½ tsp mustard, then add 1 – 2 tbls olive oil and season with salt & pepper (and any other herbs you like such as dill or basil). Or I like Seeds of Change – Italian Herb – its only 4.5 grams of fat for 2 tablespoons which will a lot less fat. You can get it at Publix or health food store.

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Chicken Chili Ingredients

2 lbs ground chicken or beef

2 sweet onions, chopped

2 bell peppers, chopped (Yellow, red, and orange make it sweeter. Green makes it bolder)

6 vine ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped

16 oz pkg dry navy beans

48 oz bottle Campbell’s tomato juice

2 tsp salt

2 tsp cumin

½ tsp paprika

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp red pepper flakes

4 garlic cloves, chopped (I use the pre-minced garlic in the jar)

Chipotle Chili Pepper spice (optional. I add this to taste)

Directions * Tip: this recipe can take time to prepare. To speed things up, I chop up the tomatoes, peppers, and onions in the food processor by pulsing them a few times.

1. Prepare the beans: Put beans in a large bowl and cover with water. Make sure the water level is 4 inches above the beans because they’ll absorb the liquid and double in size.

1. Soak in a cool place for 8-10 hours or overnight in the fridge. Drain and rinse in a colander with cool, fresh water. Put the beans in a pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. As soon as they come to a boil, they’ll start to foam. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20-30 minutes or until tender. Remove from the heat, drain, and rinse again.

2. Brown the meat and drain. 3. Place the browned meat, onions, peppers, tomatoes, and cooked beans into the crock pot and mix the best you can.

The pot will be filled to the top. 4. Pour the juice into a bowl. Stir in the salt, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, red pepper flakes, garlic, and

chipotle (if using). Pour into the crock pot. Now it is really filled! 5. Cover and cook for 8 hours on low. 6. Serve with shredded cheddar cheese and/or sour cream.

Whole Recipe: (you will get many servings out of this) Calories 2946 Fat = 72 grams Carbs = 317 grams Fiber = 126 grams Protein = 226 grams Source: Grain-Free Gourmet by Jodi Bager and Jenny Lass, © 2005 by Whitecap Books, page 118. (amounts of some ingredients have been altered)

Baked Lemon Snapper Makes 6 serving Ingredients

1 ½ lbs snapper fillets

3 tbls 3

Butter or you can use oil tbls lemon rind, finely chopped

¼ Cup lemon juice

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3 tbls parsley, chopped

1 tsp salt

1 dash pepper, to taste

Directions 1. Preheat oven to 390 °F (200 °C). 2. Mix together minced lemon rind, lemon juice, chopped parsley, salt and cayenne. 3. Rub snapper filets generously with mixture and place in baking dish. 4. Place fish in oven and bake for about 10-15 minutes. 5. Put the butter or oil on after the meal is done cooking. Its important to add fat to the meal since snapper is low fat.

Serving Size One 4 oz Fillet Calories 168 Fat = 16 grams Carbs = 2 grams Fiber = 1 gram Protein = 35 grams Dijon Broccoli Chicken Makes 4 servings Ingredients

½ cup chicken broth

1 tbls soy sauce – low sodium

4 cups flowerets broccoli

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tbls coconut or palm kernel oil

1 lb chicken breasts, cut into thin strips

6 tsps or 1 packet Dijon mustard

Directions 1. Mix chicken broth and soy sauce. Set aside. 2. Cook broccoli and garlic in hot oil over medium-high heat until crisp-tender. Remove from skillet. Cover to keep

warm. (you don’t want to use olive oil because heating olive oil breaks down the particles and it becomes unhealthy, you typically want to use olive oil on the food after you have already cooked it).

3. Add chicken to skillet. Cook and stir until cooked through. 4. Stir in broth mixture. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in mustard until well blended. Return broccoli

to skillet. 5. Cook until heated through, stirring occasionally.

Serving Size = about a fourth of the total prepared Calories 183 Fat = 7 grams Carbs = 5 grams Fiber = 4 grams Protein = 29 grams Delicious No-Carb Chicken Nuggets Ingredients 1 cup almond flour 1 cup parmesan cheese 3 halves of chicken breast 3 large eggs

Kerrygold Butter (used for coating the pan) – can use regular butter if that is what you have Beef tallow (frozen) Zatarain’s Big & Zesty Garlic & Herb Creole Seasoning All Natural Sea Salt – can use regular salt if that is all you have

Dipping Sauce Ingredients Blue Cheese (1 gram of carbs) Ken’s Marinade Buffalo Wing Sauce

Directions 1. Start with cutting off the excess fat of the chicken. Cut the chicken in whatever style you want and in similar sizes.

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2. Crack the eggs then add a little bit of salt and the Big & Zesty seasoning. Put it inside a Ziploc bag and squeeze it so you can mix up the egg yolk. Then start to put the chicken in the egg wash. Seal the bag and mix it again. (For people who are into marinating and really getting into the meat, you could do a step like this and get all this prepared hours before, but you don’t have to do this for too long.)

3. Fluff the bag around to get the egg wash all the way around in each piece so that the breading will stick to it. 4. For the dipping method, combine 1 cup of Almond Flour and 1 cup of Parmesan Cheese, add a second layering of

some salt and the Big & Zesty seasoning, and mix them up. 6. Preheat the oven to 325°F. 7. Before actually breading the chicken, go ahead and coat the bottom of the cooking pan with the butter. 8. Take the nuggets that have already been washed and coat it thoroughly; flip it around and put it on the cooking pan. 9. Bake it for 10 or 11 minutes. 10. If you’re using a thermometer for your oil, you want about 325°F or 350°F temperature. 11. Put enough beef tallow in your pan, about 1-nugget deep, depending on the size of your nuggets. 12. When frying, oven is close to medium for most people. 13. Take the nuggets out of the oven. Slice one of the nuggets open; you don’t want the whole thing looking like its raw.

(As long as you get a little pink in the middle, it will cook through during the next part. You don’t want to overcook your chicken.)

14. If the oil is warm enough, start putting in your nuggets. (Put them pretty quickly because this stuff cook pretty fast. You want to have a pretty even brown on the outside.)

14. For the dipping sauce, you can use the buffalo type thing or hot sauce. Tips

It’s best to get cage-free chicken or from Farmers’ Market. But regular eggs work too.

When it comes to chicken and making chicken nuggets, fat doesn’t turn out as well for the actual part of the meal so we cut that off, although we normally eat the fat on meat because it’s good for you.

If you make three of the half-chicken breasts, that would take care of an entire family of 4 or 5.

Any more than three chicken breasts, you probably need a second cooking pan, or maybe get a long pan.

You can order the Almond Flour at amazon.com or health food store.

For the eggs, we like to get Cage Free which is from natural grain fed and free roaming nesting hens.

For coating the pan, use the Kerrygold Naturally Softer Pure Irish Butter, which is from grass-fed cows.

For the oil, we use beef tallow. We freeze our beef tallow and bring it back out. It is a very natural cooking fat that we use to fry the nuggets. Other healthy oil to fry in is coconut oil you can get at store.

Put the egg shells in a bag before throwing it in the trash can because it stinks after a day or two.

Don’t be too concerned about going crazy low fat.

Don’t use the fat-free PAM sprays because they are not fat free; they’re not healthy; they got all those chemicals and propellants in them.

Use a taller pan when frying so that the oil will not splatter.

If you’re frying on a regular basis or every once in a while, it would be good to get the oil temperature gauged, about 350°F or 375°F which gets a nice crispness to it.

To check the oil if it’s high enough, take one nugget and toss it in the frying pan. If you get crackling sound that’s good enough, and start putting in your nuggets.

If you’re doing the reverse order, that is, browning the outside first, now is the stage where you wouldn’t make them fully brown, just lightly brown, a little less than you would like for it to be completed, and then put them on your cooking tray then in the oven. Set the oven to 275°F to 250°F

Low-Carb Pizza / Flax Meal Pizza Crust It makes a pizza that is about 12 inches in diameter, although you can spread it thinner and larger if you want. Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 30 minutes Ingredients 1 tsp of sea salt 1 tsp of oregano (McCormick Oregano Leaves)

Marinara Sauce (Rao’s Homemade Marinara Sauce) – we use this because it’s low carb (can get at Publix) 3 tbls of oil (Omega 9 Oil)

This is the healthiest oil we have found to cook with. You do have to order it online though so if you get it, get 2 or 3 bottles at a time to keep the shipping cost down compared to ordering only 1 bottle.

http://shop.enivausa.com/278620/en-us/category.aspx?id=7 or here is a short link to get to the same place: http://tinyurl.com/goodoil

I also put this on my green beans or veggies and when I RARELY have popcorn I LOVE this instead of butter.

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It’s a good oil for frying as well, stable and not unhealthy when you heat it at high temperatures. Although for frying we do use “tallow” which is from animals and that is the best oil to fry in.

The other best options for an oil to cook with is: palm kernel oil (not palm oil) and coconut oil….we use these because vegetable oils are high in Omega 6’s which you don’t want a lot of that in your food

1 ½ cup of golden flaxseed meal (Bob’s Red Mill Golden Flaxseed Meal) 2 tsp of baking powder (Clabber Girl Baking Powder) 3 eggs – we like cage free eggs (says it right on the box – the chickens are happier and healthier)

Butter (for coating of the parchment paper) – any butter can be used 1/2 cup of water 1 tbls of sweetener (Truvia)

Cheese (Sargento 6 Cheese Italian) – you can choose your favorite cheese Parmesan Cheese (Kraft Parmesan Cheese) – Optional Tony Chachere’s Spice N’ Herbs Seasoning (Added on the meat and veggie toppings)

Simple Directions Preheat oven to 425 F.

1. Put flax meal into a “magic bullet” or food processor to make the grain finer, some have even used a blender. It’s just good to get the grains a little finer for when you cook it. This tip is not on the video, this is something we just discovered the second time we made the pizza.

2. Mix dry ingredients together. 3. Add wet ingredients, and mix very well. 4. Let sit for about 5 minutes to thicken. 5. Spread on pan (I put it on a silicon mat or greased parchment paper). 6. Bake for 15-18 minutes until cooked through, then add toppings and cook until they are done.

Our More Detailed Directions

1. Pre-cook the toppings if you are going to add hamburger meat or veggies because you only put the cheese on after the crust is done cooking so it’s not enough time to really cook the veggies or meat. Set it aside and let it cool off to put on the top of the pizza.

The second time we made it, we used veggies and pepperoni and it was delicious! 2. For the wet ingredients, add a cup of water to the eggs then pour 3 tablespoons of oil, and mix it thoroughly until it’s

well mixed. (Don’t over mix the eggs to where you’re mixing it so fast that the eggs almost start to pre-cook themselves.)

3. Preheat the oven to 425°F. 4. For the dry ingredients, take 1½ cup of Golden Flaxseed Meal, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of sea salt,

1 teaspoon of oregano, and 1 tablespoon of sweetener; mix it all up. (Make sure it’s evenly distributed.) 5. Pour the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix it thoroughly. Set it aside for 5 minutes to harden. 6. Pour the mixture to the cooking pan with parchment paper. Put another parchment paper on top of it and roll it just

kind of thin using the rolling pin. (Make sure it’s even and with the same height all the way around. You don’t have to roll it, you could use a spatula.)

You might want to use a spatula instead to spread it out because the parchment paper can stick to dough. 7. Put it inside the oven for 15 to 20 minutes. (Depending on how you like it. If you like it crispier, you can cook a little

more.) 8. Put the Marinara sauce on top of the crust.

You don’t have to do this, but you can put a dash of oregano and a little bit of salt just to cover it. 9. Put the pre-cooked toppings and the cheese on top of the sauce. 10. Put it inside the oven for a couple of minutes. (You keep checking it because it’s all about the cheese melting now.

When the cheese melts to your liking, it’s done.) 11. If you want, you can add Parmesan cheese afterwards.

Tips

You can use whatever toppings you want as long as they are low-carb vegetables. If you like your vegetables a little more raw, you can put those on at the end, but since it’s not going to be in the oven very long with the cheese at the end, it’s best to go ahead and just make sure the meat is cooked well. I like my vegetables to be a little sautéed. It’s cooked but it’s not totally done because you’re going to cook a little bit in the oven.

For Red Sauce, note we said it was 3 grams of carbs per tablespoon BUT its actually only 3 grams of carbs per ½ cup

For the oil, you don’t want to use a corn oil. You definitely want to use the best oil you could find for stuff like this.

If you use a parchment paper, make sure to grease it so it won’t stick.

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If the Marinara sauce has 6 grams total in it and 3 grams of carbohydrates per serving, this pizza is only going to have about 5 grams total in the entire pizza from the Marinara sauce. WOW!

For the toppings, you can do just the cheese pizza or you could do pepperoni and do some vegetables. We had mushrooms, red pepper and hamburger meat.

For the cheese, you want to use a harder cheese. Primarily, if you’re just going to go for a couple of cheeses, so you could go with Parmesan, Asiago or Mozzarella.

One thing you can do as well, especially if you’re measuring your carbohydrates, you definitely can use a little bit of that low carb Marinara sauce to dip it in and that will be quite alright.

Keep in mind, if you’re not used to certain flavors, it might take a little bit of getting adjusted to if you’re not used to a crust like this but its so worth it. It seemed each bite we took, the better it got the more used to it we got.

You can also sprinkle the Tony Chachere’s Spice N’ Herbs Seasoning on top of the pizza.

This recipe has the amazing flavor of the toppings on top of the bread but there’s not that gummy dough taste that you get with white flour.

I bet by the second, third and fifth time that you eat this pizza, you will think, “I’m never eating regular pizza again,” because this is so healthy and it doesn’t have all the unhealthy things that regular flour does.

For toppings you can use whatever you like for toppings: just cheese, pepperoni, veggies, etc.

You can actually enjoy pizza, not feel guilty and know it’s actually good for you!

We pre-cooked some veggies and hamburger meat on the stove and then put that on top of the pizza.

Plus, I was amazed at how well this re-heats. Much better than regular pizza.

To re-heat: o Pre-heat oven to 450. o Stick a few slices in the microwave for 1 minute to heat them up. o Put slices on a pan for about 10 minutes (check them since ovens vary in heat) o Enjoy a side of the marinara sauce in a bowl to dip it and you are good to go! o Sprinkle some parmesan cheese and top if you like. o After you re-heat it, it might be best to eat with a fork, see how yours turns out and enjoy!

Here is an interesting article about how good coconut oil is for you: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mercola/coconut-oil-benefits_b_821453.html Keep in mind, because of the inaccurate information that saturated fat is “bad” for you, uniformed people that go on this inaccurate information will tell you that coconut oil and palm kernel oil are bad for you because they have saturated fat. It is now shown that saturated fat is very healthy for us so watch out what you read and who the source is. There are many places that will explain the health benefits of saturated fat so look for those. Remember: eating saturated fat does NOT raise your cholesterol, actually it does, it is the number one way to raise your good cholesterol HDL. Go figure! Some have different taste buds so if you don’t prefer this crust, look online for different recipes, there are so many options. Find one that you really like and know that you can have pizza while losing weight and being healthy! This low carb pizza recipe came from: http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/breads/r/flaxpizza.htm Waldorf Tuna Salad Serves: 2 Ingredients 2-3 scallions, dark green tops only, thinly sliced (about ¼ cup) 4 pecan halves, coarsely chopped (about 2 tablespoons) ¼ cup fresh parsley leaves, minced (about 1 tablespoon) 2 cans (5 ounce) tuna ½ tsp mustard powder (good for flavoring if you have it) 3-4 tbls Mayo (not low fat)

Salt and black pepper, to taste Lemon juice (this is not mandatory but good for flavor, just a little taste)

Directions 1. Place scallion tops, nuts, and parsley in a medium-sized bowl and mix with a fork. 2. Drain the liquid from the tuna and add the tuna to the bowl. Mash with a fork to break it up until no big chunks

remain.

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3. Add the mustard and mayo to the bowl and mix with a rubber spatula until blended. Try a bite, then add salt and pepper to adjust the seasonings. If you can stand it, let the tuna salad sit for 15 minutes so the flavors meld.

Source: Melissa Joulwan - Well Fed - 2011; page 067 Ginger-Lime Grilled Shrimp Serves 3 to 4 Ingredients

Juice of 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons) ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes 3 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon) 2 tsp freshly-grated ginger (about a 2-inch piece) ¼ tsp salt ¼ tsp ground black pepper 2 tbls fresh cilantro leaves, minced (about 1 tablespoon) 1 tbls extra-virgin olive oil 1-2 lbs large shrimp Directions

1. In a small bowl, squeeze the lime to extract the juice, then add the red pepper flakes, garlic, ginger, salt, black pepper, and cilantro. Mix well with a fork, then drizzle in the oil, stirring constantly.

2. With a small, sharp knife, pierce the shrimp at the head end and carefully cut along the back toward the tail, removing the dark vein. Rinse in running water. Pat dry, then place the shrimp in a medium bowl and mix with the marinade. Cover tightly and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

3. Preheat the gas grill on high heat with the lid closed, about 10 minutes. Thread the shrimp on skewers, leaving a little room between them so they don’t steam. Grill 2-3 minutes per side with the lid closed.

Tips

You know how you could do that? o Try it on scallops or cubes of dense white fish, chicken breast, or pork chops.

To get maximum juice from your lime, roll it a few times (with purpose!) on the countertop under your palm before cutting. This breaks up the membranes and loosens the juice inside.

Source: Melissa Joulwan - Well Fed - 2011; page 075 Machacado & Eggs with Avocado Relish Serves 2 Avocado Relish Ingredients ½ avocado, cut into ½-inch dice (about ½ cup) ¼ cup cilantro leaves, minced (about 1 tablespoon) ¼ medium red onion, minced (about 2 tablespoons) 2 tsp fresh lime juice (about ½ a lime)

Salt and black pepper, to taste Machacado and Eggs Ingredients 6 large eggs

Salt and black pepper, to taste Coconut oil, for sautéing

2 ounces carne seca (a.ka., machacado) or dried beef ¼ medium onion, diced (about ¼ cup) 1 clove garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon) ½ jalapeño, ribs and seeds removed, finely diced (about 1 tablespoon) ½ medium tomato, seeded and diced (about ½ cup) ¼ teaspoon chili powder Directions

1. Place all the ingredients for the avocado relish in a small bowl and mix gently with a fork until just combined; you want the avocado to retain its structural integrity. Set aside to allow the flavors to meld while you make the eggs.

2. Crack the eggs into a medium bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper, then lightly beat with a fork or whisk. Set aside.

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3. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon coconut oil. When the pan is hot, add the carne seca, onion, garlic, jalapeño, tomato, and chili powder. Sauté, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the onions are tender and beginning to get nice brown spots, about 7-10 minutes.

4. Push the vegetables and beef to the side of the pan and add 1 tablespoon coconut oil. Add the scrambled eggs to the pan and push the meat and veggies into the egg. Let it all rest for a bit so the egg begins to set around the other ingredients, then gently stir with a wooden spoon. Continue to gently scramble until cooked to your liking; personal preference should dictate cooking time. Taste a bite, then add salt and pepper.

Source: Melissa Joulwan - Well Fed - 2011; page 079 Scotch Eggs Serves 4 to 8 Ingredients 2 lbs ground pork 2 tsp salt 1 tsp ground black pepper ½ tsp nutmeg Pinch cinnamon Pinch cloves 1 tsp dried tarragon leaves ¼ cup fresh parsley leaves, minced (about 1 tablespoon) 1 tbls dried chives 2 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons) 8 large eggs, hard-boiled and peeled 1 bag (2 ounces) fried pork rinds (optional) 2 large eggs, raw (optional) Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. 2. Place the ground pork in a large mixing bowl. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, tarragon, parsley, chives,

and garlic. Knead with your hands until well mixed. 3. Divide the pork mixture into 8 equal servings. Roll each piece into a ball, then flatten it in your palm into a pancake

shape. Wrap the meat around a hard-boiled egg, rolling it between your palms until the egg is evenly covered. This is much easier than it sounds. If the meat sticks to your hands, moisten them with a little water. Place the meat wrapped eggs on the baking sheet.

4. If using the pork rinds, place them in the bowl of the food processor and process until they resemble bread crumbs; pour them onto a plate or in a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, beat the 2 raw eggs. Gently roll each meatball in pork rind crumbs; you want just a thin dusting. Then roll each meatball in the raw egg and roll a second time in the crushed pork rinds to evenly coat. Place on the baking sheet.

5. Bake for 25 minutes, then increase the temperature to 400 F and bake an additional 5-10 minutes, until the eggs are golden brown and crisp.

Tips

You know how you could do that? o Change the seasonings to take this very British snack around the world. o Eliminate all the seasonings in the original recipe and make these substitutions:

ASIAN! pork + 1 1/2 tablespoons Chinese five-spice powder + 2 tablespoons coconut aminos INDIAN! lamb + 1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder TEX-MEX! beef + 1 tablespoon ground cumin + 1 tablespoon chili powder

Hard-boiled Eggs 101: Put eggs in a pan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, cover, turn off heat, and let eggs sit in the hot bath for 10 minutes. Drain the hot water and cover the eggs with ice water for 5 minutes. Drain and place in the fridge, until cold.

Source: Melissa Joulwan - Well Fed - 2011; page 083

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CZECH MEATBALLS Serves 6 to 8 Ingredients 1 clove garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon) 1/2 tbls salt 1 tbls caraway seeds 1 tsp ground paprika 1 tbls ground black pepper 1 cup fresh parsley leaves, minced (about 1/4 cup) 1 tbls grainy mustard 1 large egg 2 lbs ground pork Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. 2. In a large bowl, mix the garlic, salt, caraway seeds, paprika, pepper, parsley, mustard, and egg with a fork until

combined. With your hands, crumble the pork into the bowl and knead until all of the ingredients are incorporated. 3. Moisten your hands with water and shake to remove excess. Measure a level tablespoon of pork and roll into a ball

between your palms. Line up the meatballs like little soldiers on the prepared baking sheet, about 1/2 inch apart. 4. Slide the meatballs into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through.

Tips

You know how you could do that?

Make ‘em tiny and serve on toothpicks as appetizers; reduce baking time to 10-15 minutes. Source: Melissa Joulwan - Well Fed - 2011; page 089 Shepherd’s Pie Serves 4 to 6 Ingredients 1 batch Mashed Cauliflower (p. 113) 1 ½ tablespoons coconut oil 1 medium onion, diced (about 1 cup) 2 carrots, peeled and finely diced (about 1 cup) 2 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons) 2 lbs ground lamb (can use ground beef as well)

salt and black pepper, to taste 1 tbls tomato paste 1 cup beef or chicken broth 1 tsp coconut aminos 1 tsp dried rosemary 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves 3 egg whites

paprika, for garnish Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. 2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, about 3 minutes. Add coconut oil and allow it to melt. Add the onion and

carrot, reduce heat to medium-low and cover; allow the vegetables to get soft but not brown, about 5 minutes. 3. Add the garlic to the pan and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. With your hands, crumble the ground lamb into the

pan and break up large chunks with a wooden spoon. Sauté until it’s cooked through and brown, about 5-10 minutes. Taste, then season with salt and pepper.

4. Add the tomato paste, broth, coconut aminos, rosemary, and thyme to the pan. Stir to combine, then bring to a boil and simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Set the pan aside and let it cool for 10-15 minutes. Scramble the egg whites until frothy and blend into the meat mixture.

5. To assemble the shepherd’s pie, spread the meat mixture evenly in a 12X6-inch (2.2 quart) baking dish. With a rubber scraper and a light hand, spread the mashed cauliflower on top of the meat. Gently drag the tines of a fork in

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a zigzag pattern across the surface to create a texture – the peaks and valleys turn a lovely golden brown in the oven. Sprinkle the top lightly with paprika.

6. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top begins to brown. Remove to a cooling rack for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Tips

You know how you could do that? o COTTAGE PIE! Replace the ground lamb with ground beef. o ITALIAN! Use beef instead of lamb, increase the tomato paste to 2 tablespoons, omit the coconut aminos,

and replace the thyme with 1 tablespoon Pizza Seasoning (p. 49). o CURRY! Omit rosemary and thyme; add 1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder. o MORROCAN! Omit rosemary and thyme; add 1 1/2 tablespoons Ras el Hanout (p. 47). o TEX-MEX! Omit rosemary and thyme; add 1 tablespoon each of ground cumin and chili powder. o MIDDLE EASTERN! Omit rosemary and thyme; add 1 tablespoon ground cumin.

Source: Melissa Joulwan - Well Fed - 2011; page 097 Mashed Cauliflower

Serves 2 to 4 Ingredients 1 bag (16 ounces) frozen cauliflower florets 1 garlic clove, crushed (about 1 teaspoon) 1 1/2 tbls coconut oil 1/2 cup coconut milk

salt and black pepper, to taste 1 tbls plus 2 tsp dried chopped chives Directions

1. Cook the cauliflower according to the package directions until it’s very soft, but not waterlogged. Drain the water from the cauliflower and place the florets in the food processor.

2. In a microwave-safe bowl or small saucepan, heat the garlic, coconut oil, coconut milk, salt, and pepper, about 1 minute.

3. Puree the cauliflower in the bowl of a food processor, scraping down the sides. Add the coconut milk to the processor, along with 1 tablespoon of chives. Process about 10 seconds. Taste and adjust seasonings. Sprinkle with remaining chives before serving.

Tips

This can be made with fresh cauliflower, but the lovely, creamy texture is reached so much faster and easier with frozen. The nutrition of frozen stands up to fresh, so give yourself a break and opt for the easy way.

Source: Melissa Joulwan - Well Fed - 2011; page 113

VEGETABLES Asparagus and Onion Soup Makes 4 servings Ingredients

1 medium red onion

2 tbls 2

Butter or coconut oil cups sliced mushroom (of course you can exclude mushrooms if you don’t like them)

30 oz asparagus (about two large bunches)

2 cloves garlic

30 oz low sodium chicken broth

½ cup milk

1 tbls tarragon

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp pepper

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Directions 1. In a large pan for 3-5 minutes sauté the red onions and mushrooms with the butter or cooking oil. 2. Add asparagus (used canned because it cooks faster and doesn't get stringy in the soup), chicken broth, garlic,

tarragon, salt and pepper (to taste). 3. Cook for 15 minutes and stir (a few times). 4. Blend soup in a blender. 5. Return to pot and add soy milk (or any milk you prefer but soy milk will make it creamier without adding cream). 6. Add the steamed asparagus and sautéed mushrooms and onions. 7. Cook until hot and serve.

*Note: I actually steamed some asparagus on the side and sautéed mushrooms with the onions in a skillet so I could add it in after it was blended. That way there was some more substance to it.

Serving Size = 2 cups Calories 156 Fat = 16 grams Carbs = 14 grams Fiber = 3 grams Protein = 11 grams Tomato & Cucumber Salad Makes 4 servings Ingredients

4 medium cucumber

3 medium whole tomatoes, diced

½ cup of canned garbanzo beans – low sodium

3 tbls 8

Pine nuts (this is to add fat, you can use any nut you like) tbls Seeds of Change Dressing – Italian Herb

Directions 1. Peel and slice cucumbers into small pieces. 2. Cut tomatoes into small pieces. 3. Rinse off garbanzo beans. 4. Add dressing and mix well.

Serving Size = 2 cups Calories 145 Fat = 5 grams Carbs = 20 grams Fiber = 4 grams Protein = 10 grams

Balsamic Roasted Vegetables Makes 4 servings Ingredients

2 cups sliced yellow summer squash

16 oz zucchini

1 cup chopped red bell pepper

8 oz yellow sweet peppers

1 cup chopped green bell pepper

1 cup asparagus

8 oz sweet onion

8 oz baby carrots

1 tbls coconut oil or palm kernel oil

2 tbls balsamic vinegar

1 tsp salt

2 tsps pepper

Directions 1. Pre-heat oven to 450 °F (220 °C). 2. Line a baking pan with foil. 3. Cut and slice all vegetables. 4. Season with fresh ground salt and pepper.

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5. Toss with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. 6. Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes until vegetables are desired crispness. 7. Note: vegetables should caramelize and be crispy.

Serving – A fourth of the total amount made Calories 179 Fat = 5 grams Carbs = 26 grams Fiber = 7 grams Protein = 7 grams Vegetable Medley Makes 2 servings Ingredients

1 cup pieces or slices mushrooms

1 cup sliced zucchini

1 cup sliced yellow squash

1 tbls coconut oil or palm kernel oil

½ cup water

Directions 1. Cut up vegetables in your preferred style. 2. Add water and oil to sauce pan with vegetables. 3. Let cook until soft. 4. Add any seasoning you like: spices, sea salt, pepper, etc. Mrs. Dash would be really good on these.

Serving Size = half of the total made Calories 131 Fat = 7 grams Carbs = 15 grams Fiber = 4 grams Protein = 4 grams

Eggplant Stew

Makes 3 servings

Ingredients

1 large eggplant, peeled and cubed (I didn’t peel it, some people do)

2 cups sliced mushrooms

2 14.5 oz stewed tomatoes

2 1

tbls coconut oil or palm kernel oil cup water

1 tsp ground thyme, heaping

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp ground oregano, heaping

1 tsp ground basil, heaping

Directions

1. In a large pot, add oil. Sauté garlic, eggplant and mushrooms over medium heat until tender. 2. Add stewed tomatoes, water and seasonings. Bring to boil. 3. Turn down heat and simmer uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes until desired consistency. 4. Enjoy by itself or over brown rice or cooked spaghetti squash.

Serving Size 1 cup Calories 147 Fat = 10 grams Carbs = 10 grams Fiber = 4 grams Protein = 6 grams Spicy Sautéed Broccoli Serve as a side dish with some grilled chicken. Makes 3 servings.

Ingredients

3 cups broccoli

2 tbls coconut oil or palm kernel oil

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1 tsp organic minced garlic

1 tsp organic minced ginger

1 tsp crushed red pepper

2 servings all natural sea salt

Directions

1. Add oil to a sauté pan and heat. 2. Add ginger, garlic and crushed red pepper (if using red pepper seeds, break them up by using the heal of your hand

to release the hot oils into the olive oil), and salt. 3. Sauté for only a minute or two. 4. Add broccoli and sauté until florets begin to darken or lightly brown. Serve.

Serving Size 1 Cup Calories 107 Fat = 9 grams Carbs = 4 grams Fiber = 2 grams Protein = 2 grams Grilled Stuffed Zucchini Makes 3 servings

Ingredients

4 medium zucchini

5 tsps coconut oil or palm kernel oil

2 tbls chopped red onion

¼ tsp minced garlic

½ cup dry bread crumbs (preferably find low carb)

½ cup shredded nonfat mozzarella cheese

1 tbls fresh mint, minced

½ tsp salt

3 tbls grated parmesan cheese

Directions 1. Cut zucchinis in half lengthwise; scoop out pulp, leaving a 1/4" shells. 2. Brush with 2 teaspoons oil; set aside. Chop pulp. 3. In a large skillet, sauté pulp and onion in remaining oil. 4. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add bread crumbs; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until golden brown. 5. Remove from the heat. Stir in the mozzarella cheese, mint and salt. 6. Spoon into zucchini shells. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. 7. Grill covered, over medium heat for 8-10 minutes or until zucchini is tender. 8. Note: you can also make them in the oven.

Serving Size = About 1 and half stuffed Zucchini

Calories 186 Fat = 8 grams Carbs = 18 grams Fiber = 3 grams Protein = 10 grams

Sausage-Tasting Peppers and Onions

Ingredients

1 large, sweet onion, sliced

1 bell peppers, red or yellow, seeded and sliced

1 cubanelle pepper, seeded and sliced

2 tbls garlic, minced

½ tbls fennel seeds

½ tbls crushed red pepper flakes

½ tbls chipotle pepper seasoning

2 tbls coconut oil or palm kernel oil

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Directions 1. In a large pan, heat 1 Tbsp of oil. 2. Cook onion and peppers until almost tender. 3. Add in garlic, fennel, pepper flakes, and chipotle. 4. Stir and cook unit vegetables are tender to your liking. 5. These vegetables taste great on top of burgers, grilled chicken, with cooked brown rice, and they make the best

tasting omelets (topped with a slice of Muenster cheese).

Whole Recipe: 2 servings Calories 326 Fat = 16 grams Carbs = 37 grams Fiber = 12 grams Protein = 6 grams

Source: From a client, they made it up.

Stuffed Sweet Peppers Makes 8 – 10 servings Ingredients

2 tbls coconut oil or palm kernel oil

1 Large onion, chopped

8-10 Medium bell peppers (red, yellow, and/or orange)

3 lbs ground chicken

3 plum tomatoes

3 tbls minced garlic

2 zucchini, peeled and grated

2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp black pepper

2 tsp dried oregano

½ tsp red pepper flakes

½ Cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees 2. Heat oil in a pan and brown onion. 3. Wash and dry the bell peppers and slice off the tops. Remove the seeds and white membrane. Cut an X in the

bottom of each pepper. Stand them up in a rectangular baking dish. 4. In a large bowl, combine onion, chicken, tomatoes, garlic, zucchini, salt, pepper, oregano, and red pepper flakes. 5. Stuff the peppers with the chicken mixture. 6. Bake for 55 minutes. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and return to the oven to melt the

cheese. Tips:

Adjust the spices to suit your taste. Add more red pepper flakes if you like it spicier.

After cutting off the tops of the peppers, I then slice them up, baggie them up, and freeze for future use.

We use only chunk cheese that we have to shred ourselves. Pre-shredded cheeses have anti-caking stuff/white flour added to them to keep the cheese from clumping together.

Once cooked, I usually drain out of each pepper any extra juices that didn't already drain out through the X cut on the bottom.

These peppers freeze nicely, too. Serving Size = 1 stuffed sweet pepper Calories 276 Fat = 14 grams Carbs = 13 grams Fiber = 4 grams Protein = 24 grams Zucchini Chips Ingredients

Zucchinis, sliced

Eggs, beaten

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Parmesan cheese (optionally: you can use a blend of cheese and breadcrumbs, if you don’t need this recipe to be gluten free nor low carb– this would be especially yummy with Panko)

Salt

Directions Rinse zucchini and trim the ends, slice into thin (1/4″), even slices using a knife or mandoline. Heavily salt the sliced zucchini well and allow to stand for 30 minutes. Rinse well and then pat the slices dry. (As tempting as it might be, don’t skip this step– salting the zucchini draws the moisture out of the zucchini and will make for crispy, instead of soggy, chips). Preheat oven to 400*. Beat an egg in a shallow bowl and place cheese (or cheese/breadcrumb mixture) into a separate bowl or zipper topped plastic bag. Dip each zucchini slice into beaten egg and then into the cheese (or cheese/breadcrumb mixture). Place each slice onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Place the baking sheet into the oven, after ten minutes turn the chips over and bake for an additional 10 minutes (or until the chips are golden brown). Serve and enjoy! http://www.livefabuless.com/zucchini-chips/

CARBOHYDRATES and FOODS that REPLACE REGULAR CARBOHYDRATE MEALS Bean Burgers Black beans are extremely high in cholesterol lowering fiber. They also are comparable to grapes and cranberries for their anti-oxidant properties. When eaten with whole grains, such as brown rice, they make a virtually fat-free complete protein. Ingredients 1 16 oz. can of black beans, mostly drained & mashed until smooth (other beans work, too)

1 egg beaten

½ cup bread crumbs (find low carb)

¼ cup onion, chopped

¼ cup low-fat cheese

Dash of salt ½ and 1 tsp. cumin (optional) Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together 2. Form into patties and place on a slightly greased cookie sheet (or onto a frying pan or skillet) 3. Broil (or fry) until one side is brown & slightly crisp. 4. Carefully flip and broil (or fry) the other side until also brown & slightly crisp 5. Enjoy with all the usual hamburger fixings.

Home Made Spicy Hummus Recipe Ingredients

15 1/2 oz can Garbanzo Beans

1 1

tbl coconut oil, palm kernel oil or olive oil med red bell pepper

1 small onion

1 tbls Chili Powder

1 tbls Curry Powder

3 cloves garlic

Directions

1. Drain Beans - reserve liquid 2. Put all ingredients into food processor 3. Add back as much liquid to desired consistency

I love to dip broccoli or cauliflower florets into this dip. Serving Size 41 grams, Makes 16 servings, Calories 119 Fat = 4 grams Carbs = 18 grams Fiber = 5 grams Protein = 5 grams

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Veggie Deluxe Sandwich Avocados are high in the good monounsaturated fat, which has been shown to actually help lower cholesterol levels. Ingredients

2 Large leafs of Romaine lettuce

2 tbls hummus

¼ avocado, sliced

2 oz low-fat cheese

1 large leaf of lettuce, torn into large pieces

1 small tomato, sliced

Other veggies of your choice (shredded carrots, sliced cucumbers, onion slices, etc.)

Dash of vinegar & olive oil (optional)

Directions 1. Spread the hummus on one side of each leaf of Romaine lettuce 2. Add all other ingredients in layers 3. Add the vinegar & oil over the veggies

Low-Carb Focaccia Bread Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 35 minutes Ingredients 2 cups flax seed meal 1 tbls baking powder 1 tsp salt 1-2 tbls sugar equivalent from artificial sweetener (Truvia) 5 beaten eggs 1/2 cup water 1/3 cup oil

Kerrygold Butter (Used for coating the parchment paper in the pan or you can use a tiny amount of oil, just brush it on the parchment paper)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare pan (a 10X15 pan with sides works best) with oiled parchment paper or a silicone mat. 1. Mix dry ingredients well -- a whisk works well. 2. Add wet to dry, and combine well. Make sure there aren't obvious strings of egg white hanging out in the batter. 3. Let batter set for 2 to 3 minutes to thicken up some (leave it too long and it gets past the point where it's easy to

spread.) 4. Pour batter onto pan. Because it's going to tend to mound in the middle, you'll get a more even thickness if you

spread it away from the center somewhat, in roughly a rectangle an inch or two from the sides of the pan (you can go all the way to the edge, but it will be thinner).

5. Bake for about 20 minutes, until it springs back when you touch the top and/or is visibly browning even more than dough already was.

6. Cool and cut into whatever size slices you want. You don't need a sharp knife; you can even just cut it with a spatula.

Tips

You want to use a healthy oil, not a vegetable oil.

You want to use parchment paper so that way it won’t stick to the bottom.

Truvia is erythritol and stevia. A good fact: you’ll see 3 grams of carbs in Truvia but remember, this is sugar alcohol so the carbs don’t count, so it’s really zero carbs.

Be careful, you don’t want to over salt.

For the pan, you definitely want it big, because it depends how thick you want your bread to be.

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Don’t use regular tap water; use bottled water (unless you know your tap water is good).

We eat Low carbs, for anti-aging, longevity, disease prevention, and weight loss is a bonus.

After it’s done baking, you can stick some butter on top of the bread and eat it, it is very delicious.

The texture is like bread and there’s no carbs in it!

You can use this bread for: o Sandwiches o Grilled cheese o Bread and butter o Peanut butter on toast o Garlic, cheese bread!

Just put some butter on it, then some garlic, then your favourite cheese and stick in the oven until melted.

o All the places you use bread – you can use this!

If your bread came out thick, just cut in half to make a thinner piece of bread.

It’s a nice change to add a snack like this to your meal plan.

You must refrigerate the bread after its done, don’t leave out on the counter

Grain Free Sandwich Bread Makes 1 traditional loaf Ingredients 3/4 cup coconut flour 1/4 cup finely ground golden flaxseed 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp sea salt 6 eggs, separated 4 tbsp butter, melted 1/2 cup plain kefir (whole milk is always preferred if available) 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a traditional 1 pound loaf pan. 2. In a large mixing bowl, sift together all dry ingredients, making sure all clumps are smoothed out. 3. Separate eggs, adding the yolks to the flour mixture and the whites to a medium mixing bowl. 4. Add the melted butter, kefir, and apple cider vinegar to the flour, mixing thoroughly. This will be a very dense, dry

mixture. 5. Whip egg whites with hand mixer until stiff peaks begin form. 6. Fold egg whites into batter. 7. Spoon bread batter into a greased loaf pan. Smooth out the top with a spatula so that bread will bake evenly. 8. Bake for 35-38 minutes, covering bread with foil the last 5-10 minutes of baking. 9. Allow bread to cool for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. 10. Slice and serve with butter, fruit jam, or raw honey. Store any remaining bread in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Tips

It is very important to sift the coconut flour as it is a very dense flour and any clumps will not be fun to bit into.

Whipping the egg whites allows the bread to be more fluffy and "slice-able."

This bread is not sweet. Many bread recipes have added honey or sweeteners, but I purposefully left a sweetener out because I try to eliminate as much sugar as possible.

http://colorfuleatsnutrition.com (check out this website, this recipe came from here)

HEALTHY DESSERTS – there are SO many options when you start using Erythritol and Truvia, you can find just about every

“sweet” dessert you like, made in a different healthy way. These are only a few examples. Simple Sorbets Simple Sorbets are very easy and fast to make. All you need is frozen fruit and a food processor. These taste wonderful on warm days. Be creative with different fruit combinations (i.e. strawberry banana, blueberry peach, mango raspberry, etc).

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Ingredients

4 cups fruit pieces (frozen ahead – see below)

1 – 3 tbls Erythritol

1 – 3 tbls Lemon or lime juice to taste

Fruit Freezing Directions 1. Peel and cut fruit into chunks and spread out on a cookie sheet 2. Freeze for 2 hours (or overnight) and then scrape fruit chunks into a freezer bag or airtight container for future use

Sorbet Directions

1. Put the fruit through a food processor until very finely chopped. 2. Add sugar and lemon juice, to taste depending on the sweetness levels of the fruit you are using 3. Blend until very smooth (about 5 minutes). Be sure to scrape down the sides of the food processor regularly. 4. Put into serving dishes or a covered storage container. 5. If not serving immediately, put the mixture into the freezer and 15 minutes before you serve it put it into the

refrigerator to temper it. Banana Cinnamon Shake Save this for if you are really craving sweets. It’s got about 300 calories in it so it’s a meal. You can have 300-500 calories in a meal. Makes 1 serving

Ingredients

1 med banana

1 tbs raw almond butter (or Cashew butter or all-natural peanut butter)

1 tbls raw honey (or 1 tsp of all natural syrup or 1 tbls agave nectar

1 tsp freshly ground cinnamon (or cinnamon)

1 cup ice

1/4 cup spring water

Directions 1. Throw everything into a high speed blender, blend until smooth and enjoy.

Serving Size 1 glass Calories 291 Fat = 9 grams Carbs = 45 grams Fiber = 8 grams Protein = 7 grams Chocolate Candy This chocolate pudding is rich tasting while being low-fat and relatively low in sugar. Ingredients

2 cups Coconut oil barely melted (but melted)

2/3 to 1 full cup Heavy Cream

2/3 cup coacoa powder

1/2 cup Erythritol (or other sweetener to taste)

Directions • I blend ours with a hand blender (wand). • Blend all these together - if it congeals before combining, just put it in micro and bring it up to temp till it barely melts (30 seconds to 1 minute) • Add Splenda to taste after the rest are blended...I start with the Erythritol and fine-tune with Splenda • Pour into two 6 inch Square Gladware containers about an inch deep • Cool for 30-45 minutes in fridge. • Remove and cut score lines in a grid format in the partially setup chocolate so it will more easily break into approx 1'' squares later

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Rich Chocolate Pudding This chocolate pudding is rich tasting while being low-fat and relatively low in sugar. Ingredients

2 tbls sweetener (erythritol or truvia)

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 tbls cornstarch or arrowroot

1/8 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)

2 cups liquid* (divided)

1 large egg

2 oz. bittersweet chocolate bits (about 1/3 cup)

1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

* Liquid can be almond milk or low-fat milk (non-fat milk and rice milk don’t work well) Directions

1. Whisk together sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt, and ½ cup liquid in medium saucepan 2. Pour remaining liquid into sugar mixture while whisking. 3. Bring to a simmer over medium low heat and simmer, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 2 to 3

minutes 4. Beat egg lightly in small bowl 5. Pour in 1 cup of the hot liquid mixture while whisking 6. Pour egg mixture back into pan and cook over medium low heat, stirring, 2 minutes 7. Remove pan from heat, add chocolate and whisk until mixture is smooth 8. Stir in vanilla extract 9. Pour mixture into 4 serving dishes and chill for 2 hours or overnight, covered.

Chocolate Delight and Healthy “Reese’s” Cups (these are AMAZING!) Makes approx. 36 mini cups Ingredients 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/2 cup truvia 1 cup coconut oil (can either use no flavor coconut oil or regular coconut oil) 1/4 tsp salt (not sea salt because the granules are usually too big)

All natural peanut butter if you want to make it like a Reese’s cup. If not, you pour the chocolate in the cups without the peanut butter.

Directions

1. Put the Truvia in a “magic bullet” to make it finer or a food processor, could even try a blender, not sure how it would work out.

2. Mix dry ingredients together first. 3. Add room temperature coconut oil. If you get it out of a fridge, heat for a short amount of time to get it liquid. 4. Put a tablespoon in a mini cupcake muffin tin (and use the mini cupcake tray liners). You can find these tin trays at

the dollar store or at the grocery store/wal-mart. 5. See below for the addition to make for the peanut butter cups. I usually make half without peanut butter and half

with to have two different types. Tips

KEY is to use a magic bullet or food processor to make the Truvia POWDERED. It makes it creamier. And warm the coconut oil until it's liquid so you can mix in with the dry ingredients.

Freeze until hard. Keep these treats frozen.

Amazing when you want a chocolate fix! These really are delicious and they are TOTALLY healthy for you!

Healthy “Reese’s” Cups Directions 1. After you pour the chocolate delights into the little paper cups, place about 1/2 tsp of peanut butter in the middle of

each one. Then, the chocolate hardens around the PB and it tasted like a Reese’s for REAL but even better because it’s totally healthy for you! Tip *Only fill the cups up about half way that you are adding peanut butter to.

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Nutritional information These hardly have any carbs and are very low calorie….which means they won’t spike your blood sugar at all. 1 Piece of Chocolate Delight, Calories 30 Fat = 3 grams Carbs = 1 gram Protein = 0 gram Then, add Peanut Butter at 1 tsp... Calories 62 Fat = 6 grams Carbs = 2 grams Protein = 1 gram Low-Carb Peanut Butter Cookies / Candice’s Low-Carb Almond Flour Peanut Butter Cookies Makes 3 dozen cookies – this makes a lot of cookies so you may want to cut the ingredients in half if you aren’t going to be sharing them or have a lot people in your family – also I noticed they taste the best the first few days – they are very good yet after 3 days or so, they tend to have a funny aftertaste for some people Ingredients 2 ½ cups ground almonds/almond meal/almond flour 1 cup peanut butter (Smucker’s Natural Creamy Peanut Butter) – you can use any all natural peanut butter 3/4 cup unsalted butter (room temperature or softened in microwave about 20 seconds, not liquid) 3/4 cup granulated erythritol (or sweetener of your choice) 2 large eggs (we use organic, cage free eggs – can get them at any grocery store ) 2 tsp pure vanilla extract 1/4 tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda Basic Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F 2. In small bowl combine ground almonds, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. 3. In mixing bowl add butter and peanut butter. Mix on high with paddle attachment until smooth (or use a whisk). 4. Add erythritol and mix until fluffy. 5. Add eggs one at a time with mixer running then add vanilla. 6. Last add the almond flour mixture. Mix just until combined.

You can either bake right away or store dough in the refrigerator in airtight container until a little more firm. You can also pre-scoop all the dough and refrigerate or freeze what you do not want to bake right away.

7. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper, or nonstick baking liner. 8. Scoop with a 1 Tablespoon cookie scoop, if you don’t have one, scoop 1 Tablespoon then roll in your hand to make

ball (if you are doing this way you will definitely need to let dough firm up a bit in refrigerator). Lightly press down cookie with a fork making a crisscross pattern.

9. Bake at 375°F for 10-12 minutes Nutritional information for 1 cookie Total fat = 9.4 grams Carbs = 2.5 grams Fiber, total dietary = 1 grams Net carbs = 1.4 grams Protein = 3.4 grams More detailed Directions

1. Put the almond flour in a container. (Make sure to mix it up and get those clumps out of the way.) 2. Soften the butter a little bit in the microwave, and put it in a container after. (You don’t want to melt the butter

completely. You want it to be kind of softened.) 3. Put a cup of all natural peanut butter together with the softened butter and mix it up. (Try to get a smooth, nice and

creamy finish.) Mix with a whisk if you don’t have the electronic mixer. 4. Set the oven to 375°F. 5. Pour the dry ingredient to the wet ingredients and mix it well (pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients

bowl). 6. Add in the Erythritol to the mixture. 7. Add 2 eggs and vanilla extract. 8. Roll the cookies and put them on a tray with parchment paper. Squash it down with a fork a little bit and do the

standard crisscross pattern that you see peanut butter cookies have. 9. Cook the cookies for 10 minutes in the oven or check to your liking past that, if you want them a little more done. 10. Wait for the cookies to cool a little bit before getting them off of that parchment paper or they may break apart.

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Tips

When you have all natural peanut butter, make sure to mix up the oil on the top pretty good before using it. It’s okay to refrigerate your peanut butter and this will prevent it from separating like that.

Besides microwaving the butter, you can leave it out beforehand to get it at room temperature.

You can use paddle attachment to mix the ingredients together properly or a whisk.

You can do a little 10-minute workout while making some cookies. Ha, ha, why not?! Do some calf raises while mixing, really get your shoulders involved while mixing and switch arms so both get the workout, do some squats in between steps of the recipe and even a few lunges across the kitchen!

Remember that your taste buds do change. Things that you don’t like before they will get better and better. When we first went to whole wheat from white flour, we did not like it but then began to love it. Now that we are switching to almond flour, it’s a little different at first but when you start to eat it more and more, you will like it.

Erythritol is a sugar alcohol that’s found in a lot of different fruits. As it digests in your system, it will go right through your bloodstream and into your urine. Out of the sugar alcohols, it’s one of those ones that 90% would go out so it doesn’t cause near the digestive problems that other sugar alcohols can. It’s got 75% sweetness of sugar.

The wonderful thing about this is there’s no sugar in it and there’s no carbs. The problem with eating a bunch of sugar is you get the spike in your insulin then you crash, and then you have all these crazy things going on inside your head, you feel weird, you get all discombobulated and then you crave it even more; it’s just not worth it.

You can freeze the rolled cookies if you still don’t want to bake it all right now or just refrigerate them if you want to bake some fresh ones in a few days.

You may want to check your cookies in the oven because you never know your oven cooks based on the time they tell you to cook it.

Few things I have noticed

I have made this recipe one time and the cookies taste the best the first day or few days of making them. The longer they sit, the longer they seem to have an after taste that is not there as much when you first eat them. Might be the way the erythritol reacts to sitting out. I did not try and refrigerate them though, they were sitting out.

The more of them you eat, it starts to build an after taste. The first few are very good and I just notice it more if eat more than a few. Might not be the same for you but it’s a great built in self-control aspect if they taste the best the first few.

Be cautious with your body until you learn how your body responds to sugar alcohols (this is not the same as regular alcohol, it’s just the term they use from the structure of the compounds in it)

o Some people’s bodies respond differently than others and if you have IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) its recommend you stay away from all sugar alcohols. From what I have read, most people have to reaction to it at all but they do other sugar alcohols like malitol. I think it probably affects people differently based on how their digestive system is. My whole life I have had problems going to the bathroom so I think I am a little more sensitive to stuff like this but if I am smart about how much of it I eat, I see no effect whatsoever. So actually it can be good for people like myself as long as I don’t abuse it (eat too much).

o If you eat too much at one time OR too much in a few days in a row, you might notice some discomfort, again, everyone’s body is totally different and erythritol is the one sugar alcohol that is supposed to have no effects on the stomach or digestive system however I experienced differently if I ate too much.

o This does not mean they are bad for you, it just means that about 90% of erythritol does not digest in your digestive system so the 10% that does, even too much is eaten, some have noticed it.

o What I did was cut back on the amount used and used more Stevia instead and make sure you don’t eat too much.

o For some, it can actually help “get things moving” for those that need help with that in their digestive system.

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Samantha’s First Recipe!!! Low-Carb Almond Flour Peanut Butter Balls These are DELICIOUS so enjoy them but don’t go overboard…. Makes about 20 Balls (if you have a few people in your family that will be eating them, then just double up the ingredients – see below for that list) Ingredients 1/4 cup and 2 tbls unsalted butter, room temperature (or softened in the microwave for about 10 to 15 seconds, not

melted) 1/2 cup natural peanut butter (sugar free, I use Smucker’s because you can get it at the grocery store) 1/4 cup and ½ tbls granulated erythritol – this gives that granulated sugar like texture (or sweetener of your choice) 5 pinches of stevia powder (do a few pinches, mix it well and taste to your liking of sweetness) 1 ¼ cups ground almonds/almond meal/almond flour 1/8 tsp salt (just look at the ¼ tsp and gauge half of that)

Shelled cashews (optional to roll some of the peanut butter balls in) Directions

1. In small bowl combine almond flour and salt. Set aside. 2. In mixing bowl add butter and peanut butter. Whisk until smooth. Add erythritol and mix until fluffy. 3. Then combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix well with a whisk. 4. Put mixture into fridge for about 15 to 20 minutes to let it harden so you can roll them into balls. 5. Once it’s a little harder, you can either just roll the balls and place them in a Tupperware container. 6. You can roll some of them in crushed cashews (I put cashews into a sandwich baggie and crushed them with a mallet

(a meat tenderizer) can use a hammer if you don’t have one of those. Cover the bag with a paper towel; be careful, don’t do that on a marble or granite counter top!).

The softer the dough is the more the cashews will stick to it but if it’s too soft, it won’t roll into a ball so test it after 10 to 15 minutes

7. You can also freeze what you don’t want, to eat in the next few days. Nutritional information for 1 ball Net carbs = 1.4 grams Tips

If you want a lot more, then, double the recipe. These you don’t bake because there are no eggs in it. These are a great treat to take to a party and tell people how healthy they are! Just remember since it’s all natural peanut butter it will soften if it sits out at room temperature for too long.

Ingredients for a larger amount 3/4 cup unsalted butter (room temperature or softened in microwave about 20 seconds, not liquid) 1 cup natural peanut butter (sugar free) 3/4 cup erythritol (or sweetener of your choice) 2 ½ cups ground almonds/almond meal/almond flour 1/4 teaspoon salt

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