I am sad that summer is over and wanted to share the popsicles that I developed the first of summer.  My family were the testers and declared them great! They are easy to make. My husband loves the strawberry creamy popsicle, it reminds him of his families creamy strawberry birthday cake. My niece Emily helped me develop the orange creamy popsicle, it is her favorite.

Strawberry Creamy Popsicles

10 ounces strawberries

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1- 16.9 fl oz bottle lemonade vitamin water zero (sweetened with erythritol and stevia)

3 TBL healthy gelatin (I use Bernard Jensen's)

1/8 tsp Bolivian stevia (this is equal to 1/4 cup of sugar sweetness)

In a glass measuring cup or bowl soften the gelatin in 1 cup of the vitamin water for 5 minutes. Microwave the gelatin for 1 minute to melt, don't get it too hot.( If you don't like to use the microwave, boil a small pot of water and place the container of softened gelatin into the boiling water to melt the gelatin.)

Place all of your ingredients into a blender or ninja and blend until smooth. You are using the entire bottle of vitamin water. Adjust the stevia to your liking. Pour the mixture into your popsicle molds. Place into freezer until frozen, about 4 hours. I used twin pop molds which required patience to remove the popsicles from. I had to let it sit out at room temperature for about 10 minutes until the popsicles would come out.  I like the inexpensive popsicle molds that I got at Ikea better, the popsicles come out easier.


This makes several batches of popsicles, store your unfrozen mix in your refrigerator. It will set up because of the gelatin in it. Gently melt it to make more popsicles. 

Orange Creamy Popsicles

2 oranges, pealed and sectioned

1 cup orange vitamin water zero (sweetened with erythritol and stevia)

3 TBL healthy gelatin (I use Bernard Jensen's)

1- 13.5 fl oz can of coconut milk

1/8 tsp Bolivian stevia

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 drops orange essential oil (I like DoTerra)

In a glass measuring cup or bowl soften the gelatin in 1 cup of the vitamin water for 5 minutes. Microwave the gelatin for 1 minute to melt, don't get it too hot.( If you don't like to use the microwave, boil a small pot of water and place the container of softened gelatin into the boiling water to melt the gelatin.)

Place all of your ingredients into a blender or ninja, blend until smooth. If you have a great blender you might not need this next step. I just have a ninja, my husband and grandson did not like the pieces of membrane in the popsicle. Now I strain it though a fine mesh strainer to create a smooth creamy. Adjust for sweetness and if it has enough orange oil. Pour into your popsicle molds.  Place into freezer until frozen, about 4 hours. I used twin pop molds which required patience to remove the popsicles from. I had to let it sit out at room temperature for about 10 minutes until the popsicles would come out. I like the inexpensive popsicle molds that I got at Ikea better, the popsicles come out easier. 

This makes several batches of popsicles, store your unfrozen mix in your refrigerator. It will set up because of the gelatin in it. Gently melt it to make more popsicles. 

This is an old favorite of my husband's family. It sounds strange to add avocado to a sweet gelatin salad, but it is really good. The avocado adds a rich creaminess to the gelatin. The original recipe used a sugary box of lime Jello. I have made this recipe much better by using a bottle of lemon flavored vitamin water zero which is sweetened with erithritol and stevia and healthy gelatin in place of the Jello. Click here to read why gelatin is so good for you. 

I decided to post the other chia-based food that we love and eat every day. This cereal was inspired by a chia cereal that I found at Costco. My Costco discontinued it so I developed a delicious replacement. I don't mix a big batch of the ingredients together because I like to keep the ingredients at the exact amounts that I like. By using only a tsp of the high-carb buckwheat groats it just adds 2 carb but a lot of nice texture. The tsp of cranberries or raisins are just adding 2 or 3 carbs but add a yummy treat to the cereal. I have a chia cereal bar on my counter, so it is very fast to add the ingredients to a bowl, stir in the milk, and let it hydrate for about 20 minutes while I make the rest of our breakfast.

Chia seed cereal

1 &1/2 TBL chia seeds

1/2 TBL hemp seeds

1 tsp raw buckwheat groats

1 tsp fruit-juice sweetened cranberries, or raisins

1 tsp chopped almonds

a pinch of Bolivian stevia

a little vanilla extract

1/4 cup milk

Add all of the ingredients to a bowl, stir every few minutes until the chia seeds hydrate (about 20 minutes). Add a little more milk if the cereal is too thick.

I am still in love with chia seeds and eat them in different forms every day. My daughter-in-law Sarah is crazy about chia seeds also; she developed a berry jam that is sweetened with stevia and thickened with chia seeds. It is very quick and easy to make.

Chia Berry Jam

10 ounces of berries (defrosted frozen or fresh)

1/8 tsp of Bolivian stevia (I add a pinch more, to taste)

1/4 cup chia seeds

Blend 10 ounces of fruit until pureed. So far I have tried raspberry and strawberry, they are both delicious. Pour the fruit into a pint-sized jar or container. Add stevia and chia seeds to the pureed fruit. Stir about every 5 minutes for a half hour until the chia seeds hydrate, thickening the jam. Store covered in the refrigerator.

This jam is made with raw uncooked fruit so I am guessing that it will spoil in a week or so. We eat it so fast that I have not had any spoiling experience. 

My new favorite thing is chia seeds. They are a perfect, little seed containing omega 3's, antioxidants, fiber, and protein. They have no carbs (the carbs are fiber). I bought a chia drink at my health food store and really liked it. It cost $3. I wanted to make my own to cut down on the price and the carbs. What I do is more of a method than a recipe.

I soak 3 TBL of chia seeds in 1 cup of water in a quart-sized mason jar. I do this at night while I am getting ready for bed for between 1/2 hour and an hour. I stir the chia seeds occasionally. The chia seeds will begin to soak in the water and gel up. I cover the jar and refrigerate it over night. I also chill a bottle of sugar-free Vitamin Water or Sobe. I get the ones sweetened with erythritol and stevia. The next day, when we are ready to drink it, I pour the cold drink into the cold hydrated chia seeds and stir. I add a pinch of stevia and 2 drops of lemon essential oil. This is optional. I just like a bit more flavor since I diluted the drink with a cup of water with chia seeds.  This makes two 2-cup servings. It is a natural energy drink; we love the interesting texture it gives. My sister Catherine loves it and has a hard time drinking her Vitamin Water any other way!

People who do not like gelatinous things, like gelatin or tapioca, may not like chia seeds. 

I get my Chia Seed at Costco. It is $14 for 2 pounds. The first time that I tried chia seeds I got them at my health food store in the bulk isle, but they were bitter. This brand is very good and not at all bitter. 

This is one of our favorite low-carb treasures. It is a delicious, thick and creamy strawberry or chocolate shake. I just developed a pumpkin pie shake which is my husband's new favorite; his favorite used to be chocolate. My favorite is the strawberry shake. A regular "frosty"  has 50 grams of carbs for a small. The chocolate version of this has less than 6 carbs.

The inspiration for this shake is the "60 second Chocolaty Frosty" from Melissa at satisfyingeats.blogspot.com. She had the brilliant idea of freezing unsweetened almond milk in ice cube trays and using the almond milk cubes as the base of the shake. I have made these shakes for many friends and family, and everyone loves them.

Strawberry Shake

4 cubes of frozen, unsweetened Almond Milk (about 4 ounces)

4 ounces of frozen strawberries

1/2 cup  unsweetened Almond Milk

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 small spoonful of stevia (to taste) (I use Bolivian)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Add all ingredients to blender or ninja. Blend until smooth.

Chocolate Shake

8 cubes of frozen, unsweetened Almond Milk (about 8 ounces)

1/2 cup  unsweetened Almond Milk

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 TBL powdered swerve (erythritol)

1 small spoonful of stevia (to taste) (I use Bolivian Stevia)

2  1/2 TBL unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Add all ingredients to blender or  ninja. Blend until smooth. 

Pumpkin Pie Shake

To make this shake, you need to have frozen cubes of pumpkin puree as well as the frozen Almond Milk cubes.

5 cubes of frozen unsweetened Almond Milk (about 5 ounces)

3 cubes of frozen pumpkin puree (about 3 ounces)

1/2 cup unsweetened Almond Milk

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1 TBL powdered Swerve

1 small spoonful plus a pinch more of Bolivian Stevia (to taste)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Add all ingredients to blender or ninja. Blend until smooth.

Before our grain- free low- carb lifestyle we would have whole grain pancakes or waffles every Saturday morning and then feel tired and sluggish when our blood sugar dropped. We now enjoy these delicious pancakes made with almond flour and now have the energy to enjoy our Saturday. 

These pancakes are delicious with a nice flavor and texture. They are great with fresh or frozen blueberries. This recipe makes a good sized batch, if you have some left keep them in the refrigerator, they reheat in the toaster very well. I like to add  the first four ingredients to quart sized Ziploc bags for convenience later. I store these in the refrigerator.

Almond Flour Pancakes

2 cups of almond flour (I use Honeyville blanched)

2 tsp baking powder (I use aluminum free)

1/2 tsp sea salt

a pinch of stevia (to your taste)

4 eggs

3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (or the kind of milk that you use)

2 TBL melted coconut oil (or light for baking olive oil)

In a medium, small bowl mix the dry ingredients together. In a medium, large bowl, I use my 8 cup measuring bowl so that I have a spout for pouring the pancakes, mix together the eggs, almond milk and the coconut oil. Add dry ingredients to the wet and mix just until incorporated.

Heat your skillet then grease it with coconut oil or butter. Pour the pancake batter onto the hot, greased skillet flipping over when golden brown.

We like these with my stevia sweetened berry jam. Click here for the recipe.

 I soak my raw nuts and seeds for at least eight hours to neutralize the phytic acid that is found in seeds, nuts and grains. Untreated phytic acid can combine with magnesium, calcium, zinc, copper and iron in the intestine, blocking the bodies absorption of these minerals. Soaking seeds and nuts also neutralizes the enzyme inhibitors, which are hard on your digestion. Soaking actually encourages the production of beneficial enzymes. Activating these enzymes also increases the amount of many vitamins.

In a big plastic or glass bowl I cover m yraw nuts or seeds with water and add 1 tsp of sea salt. I soak overnight or at least eight hours. After rinsing well, I dehydrate the nuts or seeds in my dehydrator on the nut setting which is 103 degrees for about 24 hours or until crunchy again. The soaked sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds are actually starting to sprout after soaking! Now it is not a big deal to soak and dehydrate my seeds and nuts. I soak 2 or 3 pounds at a time and store them in zip lock freezer bags in the freezer.

When I first learned about nuts containing phytic acid I thought, "oh no, one more thing that I have to do, soak my nuts." After the first time that I soaked my nuts and tried them, without dehydrating them, I did not like them! They tasted rather beanie and were soggy. I was happy when I thought to try dehydrating my soaked nuts, they taste better than the unsoaked ones, and have a great texture. I love the raw, soaked, sprouted, dehydrated sunflower seeds and keep a dish on my counter to snack on all day.

This is our favorite cereal, as it contains 2 cups of nuts you can see my motivation for the steps above so that they are beneficial nuts. It is seriously delicious and easy to make. It was inspired by the Peanut Butter Crunch Cereal at satisfyingeats.blogspot.com. Because I make this cereal often, I pre chop big batches of my nuts in my food processor or ninja and store them in my freezer.    

Peanut butter granola

2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup natural peanut butter (I like crunchy, salted)
1/8 tsp stevia, to taste (this is equal to 1/4 of a cup sugar sweetness)
2 TBL powdered erythritol (I use Swerve)

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. In a small bowl combine the peanut butter and the stevia. In a medium, large bowl mix the coconut, almonds, pecans and walnuts, stir to combine. Put half of the sweetened peanut butter on the nuts and stir, repeat with the remainder of the peanut butter. Break up the big clumps of peanut butter. Sprinkle the granola with the powdered erythritol. Stir to mix well. 

Spread the granola on a large cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, stir carefully. Bake for 10 minutes more, being careful not to burn it. The coconut should be a nice golden brown.

Cool completely and store it in the refrigerator.  

I love coconut milk and gelatin so I developed a delicious recipe that gives us the tastiness and great nutrition of both. Coconut milk contains vitamins, minerals and antioxidants which are all great. More exciting is that coconut milk is rich in a unique substance, lauric acid, which is a medium-chain fatty acid.  Lauric acid is abundant in mother’s milk; it is important for little developing brains and used to help people with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.  Lauric acid is anti-fungal, anti-viral and anti-bacterial. I use full fat coconut milk because the coconut oil of the coconut milk is where a lot of the benefit is located. I look for coconut milk that does not have preservatives, we don’t have a problem with guar gum, it is a thickening agent derived from guar beans. Native Forest organic coconut milk is canned with BPA free cans. If your coconut milk has a thick layer of hardened  coconut oil on the top just gently warm it or blend it.  

Coconut Milk Jellies recipe
  
2 Cups water

2/3 cup Bernard Jensens gelatin (If using Great Lakes gelatin reduce to ½ cup)

1 (13.66 fl oz) can of full fat coconut milk

¼ tsp stevia (this is equal to ½ cup of sugar sweetness)

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 drops of orange or lemon essential oil (optional)
 
Put the water into a microwave proof dish, I use a large glass measuring cup. Sprinkle the gelatin into the water a little bit at a time, stirring to prevent clumping.  Allow the gelatin mixture to sit for 5 minutes. Microwave the gelatin mixture for 2 minutes until hot but not boiling. If you don’t like to use the microwave, boil a pot of water that your glass dish of softened gelatin will fit into without boiling water getting into your gelatin. Carefully place your dish of softened gelatin into the boiling water, stir for a few minutes until the gelatin is melted, remove the dish from the boiling water. 

Pour the coconut milk, stevia, vanilla and essential oil, if using, into a large container with a pouring spout, I use an 8 cup measuring bowl,  add the hot gelatin to the coconut milk mixture. Stir well. Pour into 48 small silicone
molds. You need to put the molds on cookie sheets or you will have a big mess when you try to pick it up. I only did that once! You can pour the mixture into a large glass pan 9x13 or larger. I like to use the silicone molds because they only take 2 hours to set up and they are fun to eat.  

Refrigerate, after the coconut jellies are set up, pop out of the molds or cut into squares. Store your coconut milk jellies in the refrigerator. Makes 48.

I got my silicone molds at Joanne’s craft store with my 50 % off coupon, they were $6 each. I saw a cute daisy mold there.

These peanut butter bunnies are my favorite snack. I will even eat a couple of them for lunch when I am too busy to make lunch. They help me keep my blood sugar stable. 
 
I have had high blood pressure for many  years even though I was at a healthy weight, exercised and “ate well” (low fat, whole grain). Very soon after we started eating high healthy fat, moderate protein and low carbohydrate my blood pressure was finally at a normal healthy level. I wanted to answer the question why did eating low carb help to lower my high blood pressure?

The answer is that when blood sugar goes up, insulin goes up. From the book Protein Power by Michael R. Eades, M.D & Mary Dan Eades, M.D. page 329 “ The excess insulin works in several ways to cause elevation of blood pressure: it prompts the kidneys to hold on to salt and fluid; it promotes growth in the muscular layer of the artery walls, making them thicker and less pliable; it increases the levels of norepinephrine, an adrenalinelike substance that raises the heart rate and constricts the blood vessels…”

It looks like my breakfast of whole grain toast with jam or cereal with skim milk was raising my blood sugar which caused my insulin to go up leading to an elevation in my blood pressure. I now have a healthy breakfast of eggs with bacon or sausage which gives me enough fat and protein to keep me full for a long time and keeps my blood sugar
stable.

Peanut Butter Protein Bunnies or Balls

½ cup natural peanut butter, just peanuts and salt (I like crunchy)

1/3 cup vanilla whey protein (I use Jay Robb)

2 TBL powdered erythritol (I use confectioners Swerve)

1/8 tsp Bolivian stevia (this is equal to ¼ of a cup of sugar sweetness)

4 TBL heavy whipping cream

Place all of the ingredients in a medium sized pan, stir well, taste to adjust the sweetness. Over low heat, gently warm the peanut butter mixture, stirring constantly. You just want the mixture warm not hot. It should be the consistently of play dough. If the peanut oil starts to separate from the dough it got too warm, but it still tastes
good.

Press into small silicone molds or roll into balls. Refrigerate 2 hours or freeze 15 minutes. Remove from molds, place in an airtight container, refrigerate. These do not last very long in our refrigerator!