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 😍

Barrier Buster - I Am Weak

Barrier Buster - It Feels Like Too Big a Mountain to Climb

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?

Enjoy! And Live vibrant!

Barrier Buster - When I Travel It Is Hard to Pick The Right Foods To Eat

Stars and Hearts Fruit Salad

During the summer I want a little more fun and a lot more “easy” in my meal prep. I guess the sun and outdoors is calling me or the heat zaps my energy. Regardless, I still want healthy, visually appealing food to grace my plate.

With the summer months comes all kinds of in season fruits. It makes it easy to prepare a fresh fruit salad. I thought I would come up with a version in honor of the Fourth of July with a red, white and blue theme…to make it fun.

To add extra celebration to this fruit salad I got out my cookie cutters and chose a star shape and a heart shape.

Stars and Hearts Fruit Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 cups blueberries
• 2 cups pineapple, cut into cubes
• 1 whole watermelon, cut into 1-inch slices
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar
• 2 tablespoons coconut chips
• 1 star cookie cutter
• 1 heart cookie cutter
• 1 pinch of Kosher salt

Directions:

1. Place washed blueberries and cut pineapple in a medium bowl. Toss with orange juice and agave.
2. Cut slices of fresh watermelon, about 1-inch thick, to make ready for the cookie cutters. Position the cookie cutters within the flesh of the watermelon. Press them through the watermelon to make your shapes. Use about 2 slices of watermelon for about 2 cups of shapes for your salad.
3. Carefully mix the shapes into the salad. Add the pinch of salt and the coconut to the top then lightly integrate it.

Tips:

1. If the shapes appear too thick, it is easy to cut them in half with a sharp knife without hurting the shapes.
2. If it is a super hot day or you are having a picnic out doors, freeze the fruit shapes and then mix them into the salad to add a little extra coolness. It will also keep the salad fresher longer outside. 

Servings: 

6 (1 cup servings)12 (½ cup servings)

Nutritional Information:

Calories per cup serving: 92   Fat: .98g   Carbs: 13g   Protein: .6g

Want some other delicious & healthy dessert recipes?

Barrier Buster -- I am Too Fat To Make A Change

Award Winning Children's Adventure Book now in Spanish! —¡El premiado libro de aventura para niños, ahora en español!—Only $2.99! —por solo $2.99!

Livliga is thrilled to introduce our new Spanish version of Sammie & Sax in the Land of Quinoa: The Search for a Balanced Meal. We have received so many requests to provide an edition of this special book in Spanish. Now we have!

En Livliga estamos muy emocionados de presentar nuestra nueva versión de “Sammie & Sax en el Mundo de la Quinua: La búsqueda de la comida balanceada” en español. Hemos recibido demasiadas peticiones sobre proveer una edición en español de este libro tan especial y ahora por fin lo tenemos!

This book is exclusively available as an electronic ebook. It is downloadable in .pdf format and can be easily read on an iPad, laptop, desktop, iPhone and even a Kindle.

Este libro está disponible exclusivamente como en formato electrónico (.pdf) y lo puede descargar en línea.  Lo puede leer fácilmente desde un iPad, laptop, computadora de escritorio, iPhone e incluso en una tableta “Kindle”.

More about our book: The children’s book--Sammie & Sax in the Land of Quinoa: The Search for a Balanced Meal--received the 2013 Moonbeam Children's Book Award Bronze Medal for Health Issues and is a beautifully illustrated book which tells the story of a sister and brother, Sammie & Sax, learning about what makes a balanced meal in the context of an adventure in a magical land of fun and unusual puzzle pieces. A great book for parents, grandparents, and teachers to read with children.

Acerca de  nuestro libro: El libro infantil “Sammie & Sax en el Mundo de la Quinua: La búsqueda de la comida balanceada” recibió en el 2013 la medalla de Bronce en los Premios de libros infantiles “Moonbeam”sobre el tema de problemas de salud. Este libro, que fue bellamente ilustrado, cuenta la historia de un par de hermanos que en el transcurso de su divertida aventura en una tierra mágica de alimentos, deciden aprender sobre el significado de una comida balanceada. Es un gran libro para que padres, abuelos y maestros puedan leer junto a niños e hijos.

Sammie & Sax in the Land of Quinoa: The Search for a Balanced Meal is a fun, engaging, well‑designed, health‑oriented children's adventure book that teaches kids how to eat healthier and live a healthy lifestyle. This book shares how fun it is to discover healthy foods and learn the importance of putting all the puzzle pieces together in order to plan and eat a balanced meal.

“Sammie & Sax en el Mundo de la Quinua: La búsqueda de la comida balanceada” es un libro divertido, atractivo, bien diseñado y dirigido a la salud infantil; también le enseña a los niños a comer más saludable y tener un estilo de vida saludable. Este libro comparte lo divertido que es conocer sobre alimentos saludables y aprender la importancia de unir todas las piezas del rompecabezas para planificar y comer una comida balanceada.

The book can be bought separately or as part of a Kidliga dishware set (in pink or blue) which features these characters along with specifically sized icons to represent the appropriate serving size for each food group as designated by the USDA/ChooseMyPlate.gov. Check out the dinnerware section for additional Kidliga product offerings.

El libro se puede comprar por separado o como parte de un juego de vajilla Kidliga (en rosa o azul) que incluye a estos personajes, junto con íconos de tamaño específico para representar la porción apropiada para cada grupo de alimentos designado por el USDA /ChooseMyPlate.gov. Consulte la sección de vajillas para obtener ofertas adicionales de productos Kidliga.

In addition to the dishware and the children’s book, the Livliga® website offers activities and recipes that can be downloaded to engage the whole family in learning about healthy eating in an adventurous and interactive way. Además de la vajilla y el libro para niños, la página web de Livliga® ofrece actividades y recetas que se pueden descargar para que toda la familia aprenda más sobre una alimentación saludable de una manera interactiva.

Want more fun with Sammie & Sax? You are in luck! Like all of our Kidliga products, this ebook comes with a FREE Kidliga Sammie & Sax Activity Book! Both are downloadable at checkout. ¿Quieres divertirte más con Sammie & Sax? ¡Tienes suerte! Al igual que todos nuestros productos Kidliga, este ebook incluye un libro de actividades de Kidliga Sammie & Sax ¡GRATIS! Ambos se pueden descargar al momento del pago.

Buy this new book today for only $2.99! ¡Compre este nuevo libro hoy por solo $ 2.99!

Barrier Buster -- There is Always Tomorrow

Barrier Buster - I am Basically a Passive Person

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.

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.

Barrier Buster - Being Healthy Is Too Much Work

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!

Barrier Buster - My doctor has never mentioned anything about my weight.

Perfectly Portioned Memorial Day Weekend Sale--Starts TODAY!!

With summer finally starting, you might be trying to live your healthiest life to make sure you can make the most of this beautiful outdoor season. As always, we want to help you stick with your healthy lifestyle goals! To do that we're having a SUPER SALE for Memorial Day! The sale has officially started and is going on ALL weekend! What are you waiting for?

Barrier Buster - No worries, I already know what I need to know.

Cloud Bread—Light & Airy—Savory & Sweet

Lunch with Cloud Bread served up on Celebrate dinner plate

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

Cloud Bread served up on Hälsa side plate

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!

Barrier Buster - My Metabolism Is Just Too Slow I Can Never Lose Weight, Even When I Try.

Nutrigenomics—Can what I eat really affect my genes?

There is a new trend in town—Nutrigenomics—the scientific study of the interaction of nutrition and genes, especially with regard to the prevention or treatment of disease. Nutrigenomics is a whole new burgeoning field that is studying the effects certain nutrients have on our genes that then influence how we metabolize our food, how we gain or lose weight, as well as why people can eat the same diet, like high in fat, but only some will develop high cholesterol. The assumption is that this field will help us know how to minimize and/or treat risks of triggering certain diseases we are genetically prone to get through the food we eat.

This field of study was made possible because of the completion of the Human Genome Project and began only 15 years ago. Although we all know each of us is born with a set of specific genes, what may not be as familiar is that those genes have the ability to “express” themselves in a variety of ways depending on various influencers—diet being one of the influencers.

All of us know through our own experience that certain diets don’t work for us and it is not just about personal preference. It is about how our body responds to the types of foods we eat on a certain diet. This speaks to the ongoing debate between which is the better diet, low carb or low fat. It remains a debate because of people having varying success on either of these diets, probably because of how the nutrients are interacting with their genes.

Just Right Set® plate/photo by Nikki Massie

How cool will it be to know our bodies, because of our gene make up, will respond better and remain healthier if we follow a certain diet? And when we are trying to lose weight for our health, how great will it be to be able to have a personalized nutrition plan that outlines what diet will actually work best for us? Right now diet recommendations have more to do with the preference of a particular dietitian or our own or even more so, the particular trend of the day. That explains why so many diets fail and why so many of us struggle to keep the weight off. We aren’t eating the right diet for our genes.

Dr. Ahmed El-Sohemy, one of the founders of the field of Nutrigenomics, believes that in the-not-too-distant-future we will be able to have a personalized road map that tells us what diseases we are at risk of manifesting because of our gene make up and how we can decrease the risk of triggering a disease through a personalized diet plan. How revolutionary to think we can actually know scientifically how to manage our health and lower risk of specific diseases through what we eat.

Of course managing our overall health isn’t quite as simple as knowing what the best foods are for us to eat. We are far more complex than that. There are so many more environmental factors that play into our health from where we live, to how much exercise we get, to our mental health, to our family make up and so much more. However, the closer we can get to understanding how our bodies specifically respond to each of those influences because of our own genetic make up can only help us better succeed in living life as our healthiest selves. It looks like Nutrigenomics is paving the way to helping us do just that through understanding how what we eat influences our genes.