Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts

Monday, October 25, 2021

Are you ready for a Hike?

 
I hope you're not tired of seeing the Swamp Sunflowers! 


We found some in the most unexpected place! 


Halpata Tastanaki Preserve from the hwy 200 trailhead is DRY! The trail is soft white sand in places!


But we saw more of the sunflowers there than the wetter areas at the Pruitt Trailhead.


They've put up a new sign, which looks nice and we will walk to the right of this photo along the sandy trail to begin and make a loop.

OK! Now let's switch gears! We still order our groceries online and pick them up at Walmart! Easy peasy!


And this week, our shopper gave us a bag filled with freebies. What a nice surprise! Thanks Walmart!

We usually just stick with grocery items but this week, I put a Wilton Bundt pan in the order. And for less than $9 I have a new bundt pan for my favorite cake recipe!


Thanks to my blog friends at The Low Carb Diabetic here, I have a cake that I can eat! YAY! I am allergic to sugar and usually just do without dessert but now I have this apple cake to enjoy! Here's the link to the original recipe HERE.


I cut it into serving sizes and freeze them in a ziplock bag. That way I can take out just one serving, thaw it and even put a few drops of water on top and microwave it for 15 seconds to eat it hot! 

Here's the recipe!

Apple Cake

8 servings
1 1/4 cup (140 g) blanched almond flour
1/4 cup (24 g) coconut flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
1/2 tsp. sea or kosher salt
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 apples, peeled, cored and sliced thin
1/4 cup (56g) butter or ghee, room temp.
1/2 cup xylitol or Swerve powdered
1/4 cup juice from lemon (about 1 and 1/2 lemons)
4 eggs, room temp
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch Bundt pan with oil (well)
2. In a small bowl, add almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Put aside.
3. In a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, add the room temperature butter and sweetener (xylitol or Swerve). Beat on high for 3 minutes until it is light and fluffy.
4. Turn the mixer to medium high and add 1 egg at a time, making sure it’s incorporated into the batter before adding the next. When all eggs are added, add the vanilla.
5. Add half of the lemon juice. Add the dry mixture to the bowl, mix and then add the remaining lemon juice.
6. Fold in the apples with a spatula. Batter should be light and airy. Add to the Bundt pan and spread to even out the top.
7. Bake for 35 minutes until edges are slightly brown and toothpick comes out clean.
8. Place on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, take the cake out of the pan by placing the cooling rack over the pan and flipping it over.

And take my word for it....it is AMAZING!
 
I've tried a few brands of almond flour and I've had good results with all of them. The one I used for this recipe had some coconut flour mixed in so that worked good!


Have you had a good week too?

I'm joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE . 

Also I like Thursdays HERE.   

Thursday, February 13, 2020

"Happy Valentine's Day"


Isn't it nice to have a special day to tell someone you love them? Well, I say it every day and you probably do too but I like this sweet holiday anyway!


Doesn't it bring back memories of taking little Valentines to school and sharing them with friends. We took a shoe box to bring home our Valentines. And everyone took part. I always loved the pretty card the teacher gave us. And we had a Valentine cookie and a little cup of sugary fruit juice. 



It's fun to decorate just a little....


and enjoy this month!


I hope you are having a good week. The weather here in Florida is like summertime!


Hubby even grilled bacon and we made BLTs. We also have fresh Florida strawberries in season and I've been putting slices on my oatmeal and making hubby strawberry milkshakes...with love.

Have a beautiful day!


Will you be my Valentine?



I’m joining Thankful Thursdays.



Thursday, December 19, 2019

Thankful for the little things!


I know this won't seem like much to most people but for me it's a VERY big deal!


I found something that I can eat that tastes really good! Most of you know that I can't eat sugar. I am allergic to sugar so I don't have a choice. And because I am health conscious too, I avoid artificial sweeteners. 


So when I ran across these Bake Believe chocolate morsels I did some research online before I headed over to the big 'W' store to buy a bag. Sugar free does NOT mean calorie free so I can't go crazy with this product. But it does give me a chance to eat a few chocolate chip morsels on top of a spoonful of peanut butter or with a half of a banana. I mixed a few in with some nuts to make what we always called Gorp.


And you have to remember....I have not had a chocolate chip morsel in over 20 years. So it seemed like a pretty big deal to me. And so far, so good!


The website is HERE and there are some interesting recipes I would love to try. I am remembering how good a granola bar or a cookie could taste. Maybe I'll go wild and buy some almond flour and make a small cake! Recipes HERE!


Life got a little bit sweeter around here. I wonder how many miles I'll need to hike to eat these chocolate chips right out of the bag! I may have to walk WHILE I eat! hahahaha!


Don't forget to tune into the Hallmark channel on Christmas day for a beautiful fireside view and Christmas music playing all day. 



Any special treats you are enjoying this holiday season?

                        I’m joining Thankful Thursdays . 

Thursday, October 3, 2019

Welcome Fall!


Fall is not my favorite season of the year but I love new beginnings! 


I like the feeling of a fresh new month and a new season, don't you?


It feels like there are lots of possibilities and new things to enjoy.

One of my favorite snacks after I hike is a toasted blueberry bagel. I usually eat half but I like the top and the bottom so I slice it in half and open it up before I toast it. I opened this one backwards! lol


And it made a butterfly. I didn't even notice it until I pulled it out of the toaster!

Do you look forward to the fall season? What are some of your favorite things?


(pillow cover I made)

🍎 Happy October! 🍎

I’m joining Thankful Thursdays  and

Katherine's Thursday Favorite things HERE.

 


Monday, August 19, 2019

Healthy Living Habits


I wanted to share ideas for healthy lunches and encourage everyone to make an effort to stay healthy. It takes some planning to eat right and exercise and it's a lifetime commitment. But believe me when I say...as you get older, you'll be glad you made it a priority. And you can begin at any time. I always tell people not to focus on their weight. When you eat right and exercise enough, your body will find it's perfect weight. I weigh once a year....well, I weigh more often than that but I write down my weight in my journal on the same day in August. And this year I am 2 pounds less than I was 9 years ago. I maintain my weight. I am at my ideal weight and I stay the same all the time. 


So here's some ideas for lunch. When I tell someone I usually eat a salad for lunch, they imagine a lettuce and tomato salad with dressing.  But I place a nice big bed of lettuce on a plate and then put my goodies on top of that. Really anything you can put on a sandwich can go on a salad....well except maybe peanut butter and jelly! heehee! And that's what rice cakes are for!


When we grill for our dinner meal, we grill extra meat. 

Then we take the chicken or steak and add lots of extras. For my chicken salad, I like a few grapes, broken pecans, avocado and a lemon mayo dressing. (mayo, lemon juice and Truvia)


Sometimes I add Havarti or apple chunks to the chicken.

For steak, add cheddar cheese or blue cheese, walnuts with a dressing of mayo and mustard.


A leftover grilled hamburger can be crumbled up with cheddar cheese and Salsa....oh my! 

The key is to have protein with your salad. Skip the crackers and croutons. And only use pepper on top not salt.

It's nice when we can encourage each other. When we share our struggles and our success, it helps!

Anybody else have good lunch ideas? 

I’m joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE .



Saturday, June 1, 2019

Here Comes Peter Cardinal!


Hopping down the Florida Trails! 


I actually saw a big cottontail bunny in the woods at the beginning of this hike so it was funny when this Cardinal hopped across the trail right in front of me.


I'm across!


Try to keep up!


There's another one right behind me!


Oh, you cheated and FLEW across!


 Don't try to look innocent!!! 


Well, we'll both get to the berries at the same time.


Won't we?


 I watched these two eating big juicy blackberries....right off the vine!


 But don't worry! I had a baggie with me and picked a few too!

Wild blueberries AND blackberries, right on the side of the trail.


They sure made a good treat when I got home. (I only picked a very few. I would rather leave them for the critters to eat!)

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE 
and I’d Rather B Birdin’.
 
 

Monday, February 4, 2019

'Cracker Jacks' A Healthy Snack?

Well, it can be if we make it at home, without sugar!
As all of my regular readers know (since I have probably mentioned it about a gillion times!! lol) , I can’t eat sugar. I’m allergic to sugar. I don’t look at a piece of cake or a cookie…or even a muffin and wonder if I can cheat and have just one bite. I can’t. I will have an allergic reaction. You might at well dial 911! So I’m not tempted by sugary foods.
And since I avoid artificial sweeteners, I’m always looking for healthy snacks! I DO love to snack!


Popcorn is one of my favorite snacks and when I found these Beer Nuts, I couldn’t believe how much my popcorn snack tasted like Cracker Jacks when I added just 2 Tablespoons of them to the bowl. 


This isn’t ‘diet food’. This is a healthy snack! There’s a difference!


My hubby bought these Beer Nuts for me for my birthday and I knew I would be in BIG trouble if I ate right out of the ‘barrel’ of nuts!


So I put 2 Tablespoons into individual snack bags.
That really is perfect for adding to a big bowl of popcorn.
And that’s my favorite way to eat them. 


My hubby loves to do crazy things like this. One day when I looked in the pantry, they were under lock and key 
 with a sign that said Security Cameras in Use! haha!


 Any ‘sugar free’ snacks you enjoy? I’m always on the look out for something besides cheese sticks and cottage cheese!
So where's the photo of the big bowl of popcorn with beer nuts mixed in? 

I ATE IT! hahahaha


 I’m joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE 
and Cooking and Crafting with J&J HERE.

Thursday, January 10, 2019

You can never go back!

Well, you can….you just won’t see the same thing that you saw before! lol

flowerIMG_2232

I take a lot of shortcuts and one day this week I drove on a back road and saw wild turkeys under a Live Oak Tree.

turkeyIMG_2160

I was happy to get a couple of photos (from my window) but decided to go back the very next day and try to get better pics.

turkeyIMG_2161

Well….this time there was a herd of about 20 goats under that same tree! (and no, I didn’t get a very good photo of them)

But I did drive down a side road to try and saw an alligator!

alligatorDSCN5919

Right in someone’s FRONT YARD! giggle giggle!

I’ve had such a good week! The weather is so gorgeous and I’ve been hiking every day I can find the time and energy!

mumsDSCN5913

And my Fall Mum is blooming again! We set the pot outside when it finished blooming and look at it now!

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AND…strawberries are in season here in Florida!

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I’m thankful for so many things this week!

So….I’m joining Thankful Thursdays.