2018 Most Loved Livliga Live Vibrant Blogs

As we look forward to the New Year it is always a healthy act to look back and reflect on the happenings of the past year. As a blogger it is interesting and enlightening to review what I wrote and what resonated with people on our blog as they searched for information, resources or advice.

Here are our Top Ten Live Vibrant blogs for 2018. Enjoy and share!

1. 10 Reasons Why LivSpoons Make Your Life Easier

2. 5 Reasons Why We Overeat

3. Summertime Diabetic-Friendly Meal: Shrimp, Broccoli Slaw, and Southwestern Potatoes

4. 6 Ways Livliga Helps us eat a Balanced Diet

5. Cloud Bread—Light & Airy—Savory & Sweet

Light and Airy Cloud Bread

6. Guest Blog: Turning 50 after Gastric By-pass Surgery—Happy Healthy Birthday to Me!

7. Carrot Hummus with Turmeric—Bright and Flavorful!

Right Sizing Your Food Environment

8. 8 Great Tips for Right Sizing Your Food Environment

9. Product Review & Healthy Recipe: Cuisinart Waffle Maker

10. 2018 Healthy Lifestyle Gift Guide

It is an extraordinary journey we are all on looking for ways to embrace a healthier lifestyle in order to live life as our healthiest selves. Livliga and our Live Vibrant blog are committed to supporting you on this journey.

Here’s to a Happy and Healthy 2019! Not sure where to start?

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Low Carb, Kid-Friendly Macaroni and Cheese

Macaroni and cheese is one of those classic comfort foods. When the weather is cooler or we just need a cozy meal to feed our soul, this is a classic go-to. 

The challenge is the recipe for Mac & Cheese is traditionally loaded with carbs and calories. My quest was to figure out how to offer a lower carb and lower calorie version of this classic that could qualify as diabetes-friendly, kid-friendly and gluten free. A tall order.

To be considered diabetes-friendly I wanted to have the overall carb count 45 grams or lower. This recipe came out at 44.25 grams.

To make it creamy and thick without adding flour I used butternut squash and Greek yogurt. Below is my new version of Macaroni and Cheese that met the necessary requirements AND the thumbs up from my family.

Luscious Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients

• 3 cups cubed butternut squash
• 1 ¼ cups fat-free, low sodium chicken broth
• 1 ½ cups nonfat milk
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 tablespoons plain nonfat Greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 ¼ cup Gruyere cheese, shredded
• 1 cup pecorino Romano cheese, grated
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated, divided
• 16 ounces Banza® chickpea elbow pasta
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• Cooking spray, olive oil flavor
• 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Put water on to boil for cooking the pasta.
2. Combine squash, broth, milk and garlic in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until squash is tender when pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. Place the squash mixture in a blender. Add salt, pepper, and Greek yogurt. Remove the center cap in the blender lid to allow the steam to escape. Blend until smooth.
4. Place blended mixture in a bowl. Stir in the Gruyere, Romano and 2 tablespoons of Parmesan. Stir until combined.
5. Cook pasta according to the package directions omitting any salt or fat. Once cooked, drain well.
6. Add pasta to the squash mixture. Spread the mixture evenly into a 13 x 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle top with remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan.
7. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Next turn on the broiler for 5 minutes to brown the top a nice golden color.
8. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.

Serves: 8     Serving size: 1⅓ cups     Calories: 406

Fat .14.44g     Sodium 754mg     Carbs 44.25g     Protein 30g

Download Our Free Kids’ Activity eBook!
Sammie & Sax: Fun, Food, & Fantastic Ideas

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Livliga has been Recognized Nationally for the Caliber of Our Product

Livliga product is unique. We often point out that our products have three utility patents. What is less known are the awards and recognition we have received because of our unique, innovative, and stylish designs. We currently have three awards to share.


Gourmet Retailer Editor’s Pick—2016 Best New Product   

We were thrilled to receive the Best New Product designation for our LivSpoon®.  As they said…”We picked it because: Measuring spoons that double as attention getting serving spoons…creates a world where portion control…just got a whole lot more fun”.

Martha Stewart Made In America—2014 Finalist for Design

Livliga was recognized as a finalist in design for our American-made Aveq wine glass. To be picked as a Finalist among thousands of products submitted for consideration and then judged as part of the Martha Stewart’s American Made nationally recognized awards program, celebrating rising stars of the growing maker culture, is a dream come true.  To have this health and wellness company be recognized for its design is indeed an honor.

Moonbeam Children’s Book Award—2013 Bronze Medal Winner

It takes a team to create a nationally recognized children’s book. Sammie & Sax in the Land of Quinoa: the Search for a Balanced Meal is an original book with illustrations that helps kids learn about a balanced meal, eating healthy, and how to do it as a family. To have this first book, of a series to be written, recognized among multi-thousands of entries is truly humbling. The adventure book is given to every child that receives a set of Kidliga dishware and can also be bought separately. Now this special book has been translated into Spanish. The book is available both in hard back, in English, and electronically, in Spanish.  This is part of the Livliga dream to be available to all ages and accessible to everyone.

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Supercrunch Tofu Tacos an "everybody-friendly" healthy recipe!

I used to think it was overwhelming and nearly impossible to create a meal that was "everybody-friendly" and healthy. There are so many food preferences, food allergies, and food needs that our friends and family have that it can be pretty daunting to imagine a meal that will meet all these needs.

This summer we had friends come visit who are vegans. I needed to come up with several days of meals that would meet their food needs and also appeal to the others eating with us. Is it possible to feed vegan meals to non-vegan eaters? Can a meal be designed that adults and children all find tasty? So many questions…

After a few days of feeling intimidated I took the challenge by the “horns” and decided to have fun exploring how I could be successful in making "everybody-friendly" meals. What I found is that by focusing on fresh foods I could make meals that would appeal to everyone and make the most of the freshest ingredients available at the grocery store. As examples, one night we had veggie burgers made from scratch, then I made pasta with a fresh tomato sauce and on another night we had tacos made with tofu. Who doesn’t like burgers, pasta and tacos, right?

The proof in my success was whether everyone was willing to eat these meals. They did! Not only did they compliment the chef, they also cleared their plates! So the answer to the questions is “Yes”, it is possible to make "everybody-friendly" healthy meals with a little forethought and attention to meals that have common appeal.

The tofu tacos were probably the biggest risk I took. I used a recipe from Cooking Light Diet to make them. I thought I would share that recipe with you here.

Here is the recipe for the “everybody-friendly” entrée:

Supercrunch Tofu Tacos

From Cooking Light Diet

Ingredients

• 1 (14-ounce) package extra-firm tofu, drained
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 tablespoons unsalted cashews
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 cups (2-inch) julienne-cut carrots
• 1 1/2 cups (2-inch) julienne-cut peeled daikon radish
• 2 tablespoons canola mayonnaise
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Sriracha (hot chile sauce, such as Huy Fong)
• 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
• 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• 1/4 cup diagonally sliced green onions

Instructions

1. Cut tofu lengthwise into 2 (1-inch-thick) slices.
2. Cut each slice lengthwise into 4 (1-inch-thick) strips.
3. Place tofu on several layers of heavy-duty paper towels.
4. Cover tofu with additional paper towels; top with a cast-iron skillet or other heavy pan.
5. Let stand 15 minutes.
6. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
7. Sprinkle tofu with salt and pepper.
8. Add canola oil to pan, and swirl to coat.
9. Add tofu to pan; cook 10 minutes or until browned, turning to brown all sides.
10. Remove tofu from pan, and drain on paper towels.
11. Add cashews to pan; cook 30 seconds or until nuts are just beginning to brown.
12. Remove nuts with a slotted spoon, and coarsely chop.
13. Cut tofu strips crosswise into 1-inch cubes.
14. Combine 1/4 cup vinegar, 3 tablespoons water, and sugar in a small saucepan; bring to a boil.
15. Remove from heat; add carrots and radish.
16. Let stand 15 minutes; drain.
17. Combine mayonnaise, Sriracha, and 1 teaspoon vinegar in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.
18. Working with 1 tortilla at a time, heat tortillas over medium-high heat directly on the eye of a burner for about 15 seconds on each side or until lightly charred.
19. Arrange about 1/4 cup carrot mixture in center of each tortilla; top with 4 tofu pieces, about 1/2 teaspoon cashews, about 1 teaspoon mayonnaise mixture, and 1 1/2 teaspoons green onions.

Makes 4 servings     Serving size: 2 tacos     Calories: 397
Carbs 45.7g     Fiber 6.6g     Protein 13.0g     Sodium 516.0mg     Fat 18.6g

In order to make it a meal I added ½ cup mixed berries (raspberries, blueberries and blackberries) and served it up on Livliga! It makes an attractive plate of food and created a satisfying meal.

Enjoy! And Live Vibrant!

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Product Review for Food Savers and Summer Salad Recipe

Food Savers have really solved a problem for a reusable, cleanable food storage product

More and more I find myself searching for handy kitchen items that are cleanable and reusable. I find it hard to use Ziploc bags that just get thrown away after one use. The good news is there are more and more kitchen items for food storage that are handy, reusable and, I am happy to point out, really work!

Avocado Food Saver...Really Works!

One of the things I find hard to successfully store are avocados because they turn brown so quickly and who wants to use a whole avocado every time? Well, we are now in luck. Now there is a handy silicone food “hugger” for avocados. They even come in two sizes. They are in fact easy to use, easy to clean and really work. I am particularly grateful for this invention because my daughter loves avocado and only eats a half at a time. Problem solved with Avocado Huggers. I found them on TheGrommet.com. The company that makes them, Food Huggers, also makes other food saving covers that work well for other partially used food items like onions, zucchini, apples, lemons and tomatoes, to name a few examples. They are very handy to have around.

Perfect Bowl Hugger to keep my salads fresh

The other frustration I have is with saran wrap. It is a hassle to use and not made for reuse. So what is a person to do when you have a bowl prepared with a salad that needs to be covered? Well Food Huggers comes to the rescue again! They offer “bowl huggers” in sets of three ($20) to accommodate a variety of different sized bowls. For a well made and reusable product that is durable and earth and human friendly I think they are a good buy. I got them for gifts at Christmas time. I now use them all year round.

A favorite salad my family loves served up in their favorite Livliga Serving Bowl and kept fresh thanks to our handy bowl huggers is:

Broccoli Slaw a great summer salad!

Broccoli and Sweet Apple Slaw with Dried Tart Cherries

(recipe from Cooking Light)

 

Dressing:

• ⅓ cup brown sugar
• ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil
• ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Slaw:

• 2 ½ cups chopped Honeycrisp apples
• 1 package broccoli slaw
• 1 (3-ounce) package dried tart cherries
• 2 tablespoons unsalted sunflower seed kernels

Directions:

1. Prepare dressing by combining all 5 ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk until blended.
2. Prepare the slaw by combining the apples, broccoli slaw and dried cherries. Pour the dressing over the slaw and toss.
3. Sprinkle with sunflower seeds.
4. Serve immediately or chill until ready to serve. Best to serve within 3-4 hours.

Nutritional Information:

Serving size: 1 cup     Calories per serving: 125     Fat:4g     Protein: 2.1g     Carbs: 24.9     Fiber: 2.7g     Sodium 91mg

For more salad ideas check out these recipes on our Livliga Live Vibrant Blog.

Enjoy! And Live vibrant

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Like-Minded Businesses: Dawn Hurlebaus and Slimpressions

Dawn Hurlebaus

There are so many wonderful aspects to the journey I am on as an entrepreneur developing and building a healthy lifestyle business. The best is meeting the other entrepreneurs who are also attending health-focused conferences as they too are sharing their invention and company. As is most often the case, we all have developed our products out of a personal need and awareness of how we can help others enjoy life more and live more healthfully.

Dawn Hurlebaus is a woman I greatly admire. She purchased the company Slimpressions out of her own personal need as a WLS post-op with an understanding of how she could help others. Here is how she tells the story.

Candidly, our leap into the body shaper industry was inspired by a personal need after an embarrassing moment.  When dropping her children off at preschool, Amy Pedersen waved to a friend.  Unfortunately, when she stopped waving, her arm (sadly) did not. There was simply nothing on the market to solve this issue. Knowing Amy wasn’t the only woman with this kind of drama, a business idea was born. Women really longed was a body shaper that slimmed and sculpted jelly belly, muffin top, back fat AND arm flab. Finding a body slimmer for the midsection that actually stayed in place had been a challenge for most women.

After three years of research and development including soliciting input from women of all shapes and sizes, co-Founders Amy Pedersen and Jennifer Daniels proudly launched Slimpressions’ patented designs The Haves and The Have Nots to meet this need.

Since inception, the company has grown substantially over the years expanding the product line and shipping internationally.  Recognized by top stylists and fashion magazines like InStyle, Redbook, O – The Oprah Magazine and more, Slimpressions has become a trusted brand for women with loose skin who want to look and feel their best every day – not just on special occasions. 

Dawn is an advocate for women on their weight loss journey. She had bariatric surgery July 1, 2016 weighing 340lbs, bought Slimpressions 4 months later, and is connected on a very personal level with the weight loss community. Her mission is quite simple, to help women feel more confident. She is extremely active in the online support groups, consistently motivates and inspires others, and is often found mentoring those who need additional support. “I am walking this journey with so many people”, says Dawn. “I have a great opportunity… the ability to touch lives every day.” Dawn has a beautiful soul and spirit and lives her life personally and professionally giving back.

Because of meeting and getting to know Dawn and so many other wonderful people who are helping all of us live our lives as our healthiest selves, we at Livliga want to celebrate these like-minded businesses and share their stories with our friends and followers too. How wonderful to feature other people’s talents, passions and businesses in a way that helps us all and helps us build a world where we help each other as women helping women and all of us helping spread the word about great people and terrific products.

Want to learn more about Slimpressions? Here is a link to their website. Make sure to use this special code too when buying your new favorite product! Use promo code: Livliga for a 10% discount when shopping online at www.slimpressions.com.

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Fun Summer Mocktails—Fresh, Quenching and Healthy!

Just about everything is better in the summer. It’s all because of the fresh ingredients that are available. This includes the tasty and thirst quenching concoctions we can create. The good news is that mocktails are in. You don’t need to consume alcohol to get in the party mood, sip a sexy drink, or share a memorable experience as part of your summer fun.

Balance is the key. If you do want to add alcohol to these drinks that is easy to do. The main point is you don’t have to. Recent research conducted by Cambridge University found that the people who consume more than one drink a day face greater risks of dying from any cause than those who drink less. Very light drinking seemed to have a small protective effect against non-fatal heart attacks. But drinking above 100 grams a week also kicked off much higher risk of stroke, heart failure, fatal aortic aneurysm, and disease from high blood pressure that could cancel out the benefits from lower heart attack risks. The challenge is to find a way to choose whether we want to drink alcohol, when we want to consume it, and how much we really want to imbibe.

Using fresh herbs, juices, sparkling waters and muddling of fresh fruits are a great way to concoct you own favorite summer mocktails. The combinations are honestly limitless. And it can be a great element of a party to provide a variety of ingredients and have your guests “build their own” unique versions. Or if you want everyone to share in the memory of a special mocktail you can mix it ahead and serve it up in a punch bowl or pitcher. You decide. Remember to include the garnishes to make the special drinks gorgeous to behold.

Three Fun Hand-Crafted Mocktails for Any Occasion

Cranberry Lime Spritzer

Ingredients

• ⅛ cup 100% cranberry juice
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• ¼ teaspoon lime zest
• 3 drops Sweet Leaf—Sweet Drops
• 6 ounces sparkling water
• Garnish: slice of lime placed on the rim of the glass or on top of the drink.

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together.
2. Stir to blend.
3. Add crushed ice.
4. Pour sparkling water up to the fill line (8 ounces).
5. Add garnish.

Tips

1. Use the ⅛ cup LivSpoon for easy measuring when making this drink.
2. Want it sweeter? Substitute diet 7-Up for the sparkling water and skip the Sweet Drops.
3. Serve it up in Livliga’s Aveq beverage glass.

Serves: 1     Serving size: 8 ounces

Calories per serving: 21     Fat: .03g     Sodium: 51mg     Carbs: 5.28g     Protein: .1g

Grapefruit Mint Mixer

Ingredients

• ⅛ cup grapefruit juice juice
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• ¼ teaspoon orange zest
• 6 ounces sparkling water
• 1 teaspoon muddled mint
• Garnish: sprig of mint tucked in the side of the glass

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together.
2. Stir to blend.
3. Add crushed ice.
4. Pour sparkling water up to the fill line (8 ounces).
5. Add garnish.

Tips

1. Use the ⅛ cup LivSpoon for easy measuring when making this drink.
2. Want it sweeter? Substitute diet 7-Up for the sparkling water and skip the Sweet Drops.
3. Serve it up in Livliga’s Aveq beverage glass.

Serves: 1     Serving size: 8 ounces

Calories per serving: 19     Fat: .03g     Sodium: 50mg     Carbs: 4.77g     Protein: .26g

Muddled Strawberry Cooler

Ingredients

• ⅛ cup lemon juice
• 3 muddled strawberries
• ¼ teaspoon lemon zest
• 6 ounces sparkling water
• Garnish: whole strawberry with top placed on the rim of the glass or on top of the drink.

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together.
2. Stir to blend.
3. Add crushed ice.
4. Pour sparkling water up to the fill line (8 ounces).
5. Add garnish.

Tips

1. Use the ⅛ cup LivSpoon for easy measuring when making this drink.
2. Want it sweeter? Substitute diet 7-Up for the sparkling water and skip the Sweet Drops.
3. Serve it up in Livliga’s Aveq beverage glass.

Serves: 1     Serving size: 8 ounces

Calories per serving: 20   Fat: 0g     Sodium: 50mg      Carbs: 5.41g     Protein: .31g


For More Drink Ideas: 

Rosemary Tequila Lime Smash
Watermelon Lemonade
Cantaloupe Frappe
Cranberry Lemonade Cocktail



Healthy Lifestyle Tip: Looking for a way to serve up refreshing drinks in right-sized glasses? Check out Livliga's stylish Aveq Drinking Glasses! Portion control never looked so good…or plentiful!

#sobercurious

Jumpstart Your Livliga^® Lifestyle
with our Get Started Guide!

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Livliga Special Offerings for Amazon Prime Day through Friday July 20th!

It’s (still) Amazon Prime Day and Livliga® has 2 products that are designated as “Amazon Choice.” What does this mean for you? A great product for a great price. Now is the time to buy! Happy #PrimeDayDeals #LivligaDeals #AmazonChoice

Oh...and we are offering 20% off our most popular products! Including the LivSpoon® AND the Just Right Set® bariatric! #PrimeDay #HappyShopping 😍

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Fresh Strawberry and Banana Homemade Ice Cream With Jello

This recipe is easy to make (only 5 ingredients!), has a great fruit taste and a vibrant look to it. Perfect for a summertime refreshing snack or dessert. It is more of an ice milk or granita in texture. I added nonfat milk to enhance the protein in the recipe. If you are looking for something fun to do with kids this is it. This recipe can be used to make popsicles too. The secret is in the jello.

I am a firm believer that life should have its Guilty Pleasures. The key is to make them “healthy” and not destructive to our goals and life vision. This ice cream is just such a guilty pleasure. To make it look like plenty of ice cream and to make this special pleasure last longer and allow me to savor every bite I served it up in my Just Right Set® dishes and used my new Just Right Set® bariatric spoon. Check out the photos to see how its looks and how much pleasure I must have gotten out of my “healthy” guilty pleasure treat!

When I was working on this recipe I thought it would be fun to do a taste test with a few family and friends. The main ingredient difference for the taste test was the type of jello I used. I didn’t want to add additional sugar/substitute and I wanted to see (with a blind test, of course) which version people preferred. I tried the new “Simply Good” strawberry jello with real cane sugar, sugar-free strawberry jello and then banana creme sugar-free pudding jello. Hands down the winner was the sugar-free strawberry jello version. It had the brightest color and flavor of the three versions. The winning recipe is below.

Fresh Strawberry and Banana Homemade Ice Cream With Jello:

Ingredients

• 1 cup nonfat milk
• 1 ripe banana (can be frozen)
• 1 cup strawberries (can be frozen)
• 1 package sugar free strawberry jello (.6 ounce)
• 1 pinch of Kosher salt

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend well.
2. Pour mixture into an airtight container with a wide mouth for easy scooping later.
3. Place in the freezer for at least 4 hours.
4. Serve when ready or anytime there after for a tasty treat.

Tip

1. If the ice cream is too hard to scoop let it sit out on the counter for 15-20 minutes. In a hurry? Place the ice cream in the microwave on high for 10 seconds.
2. This recipe makes great popsicles too. Just pour in the molds and freeze.

Serves: 6   Serving size: ½ cup

Calories per serving: 52   Fat: .22g   Sodium: 121mg   Carbs: 8.42   Protein: 3.11

Looking for more healthy dessert recipes?

Download Our Free eBook:
Healthy Lifestyle & Weight Loss

 

Enjoy! And Live vibrant!

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Summertime Diabetic-Friendly Meal: Shrimp, Broccoli Slaw, and Southwestern Potatoes

This week we are thrilled and honored to have Shelby Kinnaird, the Diabetic Foodie, join us as a guest blogger. She shares with us a wonderful summertime menu. Enjoy the visual inspiration and the step-by-step she shares to make your meal making...fun, doable and very tasty! Enjoy! And Live vibrant!

What meal says “summer” to you? For me, I can’t think about summer without remembering our annual family trips to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. We always stayed at a place directly across from the fishing pier and could easily walk to the beach. My favorite meal to eat out was a shrimp basket – golden fried shrimp, creamy coleslaw, crispy French fries, and those deep-fried nuggets of cornbread heaven known as hushpuppies.

Since I have type 2 diabetes, that meal isn’t happening for me anymore. Or not very often, anyway. Instead of moping about it, let’s create a new, healthier spin. We’ll enjoy the same elements of shrimp, slaw, and potatoes without worrying about sky-high blood sugar afterwards. But how?

Instead of battering and frying the shrimp, we’ll boil it in a zesty combination of apple cider vinegar and Chesapeake-style seafood seasoning (e.g. Old Bay). Instead of using mayonnaise as the base for our coleslaw, we’ll try an Asian-inspired vinaigrette. We’ll also add broccoli slaw and red bell peppers for some variety. Instead of frying our potatoes, we’ll season them with Southwestern spices and roast them until they are crispy. (If you’d like other tips and tricks for meal planning, check out my new book The Pocket Carbohydrate Counter Guide for Diabetes.)

Here’s our revised menu, portion control provided by Livliga. Recipes for the slaw and potatoes may be found on my website, Diabetic Foodie.

• Peel & Eat Shrimp (recipe below)
• Sesame Broccoli Slaw
• Southwestern Potato Rounds
• Homemade Cocktail Sauce – Simply mix horseradish into ketchup until you get the amount of zing you like.

Making adjustments like these is one way to continue enjoying your favorite foods after a diabetes diagnosis. Maybe you can’t eat a giant all-you-can-eat platter of fried food anymore, but is that really a bad thing? Your heart doesn’t think so.

How to Get this Meal on the Table

Instead of just throwing recipes at you, I’m going to give you a “recipe for the meal,” meaning I’m going to show you how to get this entire meal on the table quickly. And who doesn’t need help with that?

The first thing you need to do is make sure you know where all of the recipes are that you’ll need. You can print them out or view them on a tablet or your phone. (I’m old school and always print them out so I can scribble notes as I cook.)

If you have a second person to help, put one person on slaw and cocktail sauce and the other on shrimp and potatoes.

Here’s the basic plan:

1. Put the water on to boil for the shrimp
2. Preheat the oven for the potatoes
3. Make the slaw
4. Cook the shrimp
5. Prep the potatoes and place in the oven
6. Remove shrimp to a bowl so it can cool a little bit before you try to peel it
7. Make cocktail sauce
8. Flip potatoes
9. Remove potatoes from oven
10. Eat!

Peel & Eat Shrimp Recipe

Ingredients

• 8 cups water
• 2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Chesapeake-style seafood seasoning (such as Old Bay)
• 1 pound shrimp, deveined but with shells still on
• Cocktail sauce

Directions

1. Place water, vinegar, and seasoning in a large stockpot. Bring to boil over high heat.
2. Add shrimp and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, just until they turn opaque and pink. Turn off heat, cover the pot, and let shrimp sit for 5 minutes.
3. Remove shrimp to bowl and cool.
4. Peel, dip in cocktail sauce, and eat!

Serves 4

Calories: 80 calories   Fat: 1g   Sat Fat: 0g   Cholesterol: 143mg   Sodium: 1601mg
Carbs: 1g   Fiber: 0g   Sugar: 0g   Protein: 15g

Note: The sodium count is a bit inflated because a lot of the seasoning stays behind in the shrimp water. However, shrimp is inherently high in sodium as are most seafood seasonings. If you’re watching your sodium intake, look for a salt-free or low-sodium seasoning and reduce your portion of shrimp.

Guest Blogger Bio

Shelby Kinnaird is the Founder and Publisher of Diabetic Foodie, a website featuring recipes and tips for people with diabetes. Her motto is “a diabetes diagnosis is not a dietary death sentence.” Shelby is also the author of The Pocket Carbohydrate Counter Guide for Diabetes: Simple Nutritional Strategies to Lower Your Blood Sugar. A passionate diabetes advocate, Shelby runs two support groups in Richmond, VA.

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Update & Check in for 2018 Healthy Lifestyle Goals

Part of making goals successful is checking in on them to see how you are doing with them. The other thing that is important to do is to adjuct goals when they aren't working. If they are goals that are important to you they should never be abandoned, they may just need to be reworked to work for you and in your current life situation. With my 6 month 2018 annual goals check in I found all these things to be true. Here is how I am doing and how I have succeeded as well as how I have had to modify my goals.

1. What goals can I embrace to better practice healthy habits?

Update: I am doing very well with this goal. I have discovered Cooking Light Diet that provides weekly menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The recipes are included and it also prepares a grocery list! I am loving it!

2. What have I learned or experienced previously that was unexpected and fun in helping me practice healthy habits? Being included in Fitbit challenges.

Update: I got off to a bang with this one. I even started a couple of weekly challenges and invited others to join! Then I found out I have a chronic problem with my knees so I have had to switch my workout routine. I am now swimming 3 times a weekly at the YMCA. I love it! And I have adjusted my daily step goals to accommodate my knees so I’ll still be able to participate in some Fitbit challenges, just not as avidly.

3. What do I want to do more of? Walk the dogs.

Update: I am not doing so well on this goal…I have found it is really hard to make the time to walk the dogs after work. It is on my calendar, I just am always busy with work or feeling too booped to fit in a walk before preparing dinner. They do get an occasional walk....just not every day. I am hoping with the longer days of summer I will find more time and ease into walking the dogs more regularly. I haven’t given up!

As for the kayaking…we were supposed to have out first adventure during Mother’s Day weekend. Unfortunately it was a cold, rainy weekend. It has been rescheduled so all three fun times are ahead on on the calendar.

4. What habit do I want as my highest priority and how can I support it? Eating just the right amount of food.

Update: Overall I am doing well with focusing on being mindful and using the tools to help me.

I am measuring out my food and when at home I am being consistent about my meal and snack times.

I could do better with my water intake. I do use my Yeti thermos consistently so I can be intentional about how much water and tea I am drinking.

My journaling is very simple. I use the 5 minute journal app. It helps me to focus on the reasons I am grateful and goals to make each day great.

Something new I have discovered to help me pace my eating and enjoy my meals more is that I am putting my fork down between bites so I can fully chew and swallow before I take another bite. I really am enjoying my meals more and find that this technique is not that hard to be consistent with. I am much more present.

5. Where does losing weight fit into my priorities? Absolutely… but not by being on a “diet.” I want to do it by eating right and living a healthy lifestyle.

Update: I am doing really well with this goal. I have lost nearly 20 pounds since the beginning of the year. It does prove that if you focus on a healthy lifestyle…consistently…and mindfully, it does pay off!

6. My accountability. Make it public. It is right here in print!

Update: Well I guess I am holding true to this commitment! I have given you my honest mid-year update. And the Barrier Busters are being posted weekly for all of us to reflect on and hopefully be motivated by.

Next...How are you doing with your healthy lifestyle goals? What do you need to tweak and/or reboot? Now is the time to do your own check in!


Enjoy! And as always, Live Vibrant!

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Cloud Bread—Light & Airy—Savory & Sweet

 

Cloud Bread Served Up on Halsa

Don’t you just love it when you find a new recipe and food that becomes a new favorite? Cloud Bread has become a favorite food in our family. We use it in a variety of ways. We have found it can take on many different flavors from savory to sweet. It can be a great alternative for sandwich bread, hamburger buns, pita bread or crackers. Amazingly it is hardy enough that it will hold up when used for sandwiches even though it is described as light and airy. It is definitely unique. And how great is it that it is gluten free, fat free and low carb, low cal, diabetes-friendly and bariatric friendly. No fake ingredients included.

We like it so much I have made both a savory and a sweet version of the recipe. They are simple to make and easy to store. These are great for lunch or healthy snack.

Savory Cloud Bread

Ingredients:

• 4 large eggs, separated
• ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
• ¼ cup low fat whipped chive cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon chives, freeze-dried or fresh
• ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon California-style granulated garlic

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300° F. 
2. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. Separate the egg whites and egg yolks. Place the whites in a stand mixer with a whip attachment. Add the cream of tartar and beat on high until the froth turns into firm meringue peaks. Move to a separate bowl.
4. Place the cream cheese in a clean bowl in the stand mixer (Kitchen aid). Beat on high to soften. Then add the egg yolks one at a time to incorporate. Scrape the bowl and beat until the mixture is completely smooth. Then beat in the dill, salt, and granulated garlic.
5. Gently fold the firm meringue into the yolk mixture. Mix in ⅓ of the meringue at a time; the last third should be barely folded in. Try to deflate the meringue as little as possible, so the mixture is still firm and foamy. Spoon ¼ cup portions of the foam onto the baking sheets and spread into even 4 inch circles, about ¾ inch high. Make sure to leave space around each circle. 
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes. The bread should be golden on the outside and firm. The center should not jiggle when shaken.
7. Cool for several minutes on the baking sheets, then move and serve!

Sweet Version:

Substitute:

• ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce--for low fat whipped chive cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice--for chives, freeze-dried or fresh
• ½ teaspoon maple syrup--for California-style granulated garlic 
• Use all other ingredients above as listed. Follow same instructions.

Note:

• Cloud Bread can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for several days. However the texture is best if eaten within 12 hours of baking.
• Cloud Bread can also be frozen and stored for several weeks. Wrap each piece individually in saran wrap before placing them in an airtight container. 
• Take them out, as you need them, about 30 minutes before use to thaw. Use as desired.

Prep Time:

10 minutes.

Cook Time:

15 minutes

Nutritional Information For Savory Version

Yield: 12 pieces
Calories per piece: 35
Total Fat: 2.1g
Saturated Fat: 0.7g
Cholesterol: 75mg
Sodium: 153mg
Carbohydrates: 0.6g
Sugar: 0.2g
Protein: 3.4g

Nutritional Information For Sweet Version

Yield: 12 pieces

Calories per piece: 32   Total Fat: 1.69g   Saturated Fat: .54g   Cholesterol: 62mg
Sodium: 69mg   Carbohydrates: 1.5g   Sugar: 1.2g   Protein: 2g


Enjoy! And Live Vibrant!


Looking for some new healthy baking recipes? Look no further!

Lunch with Cloud Bread Served Up on a Celebrate Plate!

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Carrot Hummus with Turmeric--Bright and Flavorful!

Eating healthy is a lot about the adventure of trying new combinations of foods or using a well known food in a different way. Someone gave me the idea to try out carrots as a way to make hummus. It struck me as fun and fresh as well as a great way to add in more veggies. Then I thought about the spices to use.

Turmeric is a great spice to use with carrots. It is also considered wonderful for our health. It has powerful anti-inflammatory effects and is a strong antioxidant. It is also linked to improved brain function and lowered risk of heart disease. And as if this wasn't enough, it can help with depression, arthritis, and delayed aging. What's not to like!?

This dish passes the Livliga test: healthy ingredients, visually appealing and tasty!

Carrot Hummus with Turmeric

Ingredients

• 2 cups carrots, peeled, cut into 1inch pieces

• 1 clove garlic

• 1 teaspoon turmeric (try fresh if you can find it…Whole Foods has it)
• Juice of 2 lemons
• Zest of 1 lemon (about 2 tsp)

• ¼ cup water (or enough to process the carrots smooth)

• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and Pepper

• ½  Tablespoon toasted sunflower seeds to garnish

• ½ Tablespoon mint, thinly sliced to garnish

• Paprika to garnish
 (optional)
• Lemon zest to garnish

Directions

1. Blanche/Steam carrots for 5 minutes.
2. In a food processor add carrots, garlic, and turmeric with water and lemon juice and lemon zest.     Process until smooth. Add in olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Serve in a small bowl, garnished with olive oil, mint, sunflower seeds, lemon zest and a dash of paprika.

Makes: 2 cups.
Serves: 16; serving size ⅛ cup.
Calories: 70 calories per serving.

Serve with cloud bread and/or crackers, cucumber and jicama. Great for backyard barbecues, picnics and potlucks.

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8 Great Tips for Right Sizing Your Food Environment

Our eyes make all the decisions about the food we eat. That is why our food environment has such a profound effect on us, and the decisions we make about the food we eat. Brian Wansink, Ph.D., former director of the brand and food lab at Cornell University, has shown us the power of our food environment on our decision-making through his research. From his research we see there are ways we can be mindful in how we set up our environment for long-term success. Not surprisingly, much of what is recommended makes a lot of sense--common sense. Below are 8 great tips for right sizing your food environment to help you live a healthier lifestyle and sustain it long term.

1. Choose colors in your kitchen and where you eat that are calming and non-triggering. Think about color in the kitchen and where you eat. Color influences our mood. It is important that we pay attention to the colors we use in our lives, especially around food. Think blues and greens rather than reds and oranges.

2. Trim down your dinnerware. Assess the size of your tableware. Measure your bowls and plates. Dinner plates should not be larger than 10 inches. More importantly the well of the plate should not be larger that 7 inches. All plates should have rims. Bowls should hold no more than 14 ounces. Ideally you want a bowl just large enough to accommodate 1½ cups for servings of foods like soup, pasta and certain cereals with milk. (Check out Livliga dinnerware for what right-sized looks like.)

3. Make the first thing you see in your kitchen something healthy. Studies show we tend to pick the first thing we see so strategically placing a healthy food will help us choose better. A bowl of fruit is an easy visual that is also visually appealing. This is also true in your refrigerator…put the healthy foods in the front of each shelf.

4. Drink out of glassware that makes measuring 8 ounces easy. If we drink out of a large glass we are going to drink large amounts of whatever beverage is in our glass. This might not be an issue if it is water but the problem is we use the same glass for everything we drink. Our eyes automatically adjust to whatever size we live with. If we use large glasses we will over serve ourselves every time. Right sizing our glassware allows us to right size what we consume and gives our eyes an ability to adjust to right-sized servings. (Click here to see what right-sized glassware looks like.)

5. Hide trigger foods and make them difficult to get to. We make over 200 decisions a day about the food we eat. A lot of those decisions are about what we will or won’t eat. Most of the time it is about resisting tempting foods we see. Hide them from our visual field and you don’t have to keep looping that decision making to resist eating something we really don’t want to eat. “Out of sight, out of mind” is true.

6. Serve food away from the table where you eat. It is easier and psychologically helpful to serve up in the kitchen. Foods sitting on the table while you eat are too accessible and trigger us to think we want seconds. Put as much food as possible away as you are serving up, or portion it into storage containers, so it is ready for another meal for another time and not visible from your table.

7. Set an attractive table and sit down to eat. Attractiveness has a powerful affect on our sense of satisfaction. Placemats frame your plate allowing the plate and the food on it to look attractive and appealing. Setting the table and sitting down to eat both help us be mindful that we are eating a meal. We can enjoy the moment and process of eating which contributes to our sense of feeling full and satisfied at the end of a meal.

8. Scale down your food. Bring smaller amounts into your house and repackage your food into 1, 2 or 4 servings before putting it away so it fits with how your are preparing and serving your food.

Download Our Free eBook:
The Science & Psychology Behind the Plate

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