Why Livliga Works—It's Nature-Inspired

Friday, February 28, 2020
Livliga Celebrate sidde plates in basket
Celebrate is a black and white bistro dinnerware design that has etchings of animals and plants found in nature and includes poetry to inspire a healthy lifestyle.

Nature is so healing. The more the world around us is riddled with dramatic happenings, the demands on our time and emotions are intense, and where we can often feel helpless to control events, our salvation is getting back to nature.

Up-close Vivente Dinner Plate Pattern
 Vivente, is reminiscent of grape tendrils and growing, healthy plants, in a classic dinnerware pattern.

Livliga is based off of natural elements and is focused on featuring those elements and themes to support everyone in living a healthier lifestyle. Each pattern evokes thoughts and visual expressions of what inspires us in nature. All are a collection of invigorating and restorative hues designed to infuse vitality and life.

Even current color trends are all about building a calmer, more soothing environment in our homes.  We live in such a stressful, fast-paced world that our homes have become all about a comfortable place that soothes, energizes and replenishes. The source of the inspiration is Nature. The colors are inspired by the natural elements of sky, earth, water, and plant life.

Bold Halsa Dinner Plate Design
Hälsa, which literally means “good health” in Swedish, is a bold design in various hues of blue evocative of the natural elements of the sky and the sea beautifully incorporated into a portion control dinnerware pattern that encourages you to be healthy and mindful when eating in order to support a vibrant lifestyle.

All of Livliga’s designs are nature-inspired.  Each of our designs reflects a different aspect of nature. Halsa is of the sky and sea; Vivente is of plant life and expresses the vitality of growing things; and Celebrate is of the earth, animal life, and plant life in its healthiest, most balanced form. The Aveq pattern reminds us of colorful wildflowers along a bubbling brook.

Mindfulness is a cornerstone of Livliga’s effectiveness. A growing practice of Japanese forest-bathing, or shinrin-yoku, has shown that spending time being present and mindful in nature is proven to reduce blood pressure, stress levels, and heart disease. Livliga reflects this inside your home with our designs and colors intended to create a calm, positive and supportive food environment that is enjoyable, nourishing, and satisfying.

Livliga Aveq Serving Bowl
The Aveq pattern is a contemporary design that is both whimsical and inspiring. With its flower-like design of circles and dots it uplifts the spirit and makes each meal more joyful and enjoyable. The colors used in the porcelain pieces remind us of a wildflower meadow next to a clear blue stream. Alive with color yet serene in its effect.

Many cultures have long recognized the importance of the natural world to human health. We also know the proven health benefits. Increasingly, we have witnessed the consequences of consuming foods that have been altered by harmful man-made chemicals or are highly processed and highly refined. Livliga reminds us of how we can embrace nature and live a health-filled life by eating balanced meals made of whole foods in right-sized amounts.

Interested in finding out more about how Livliga works and supports your health? Check out this article:  Why Livliga Works—Our Dinnerware is Lead-free and Uses FDA Approved Food-safe Inks



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Monday Motivational Meal

Monday, February 24, 2020
Healthy Sweet Potato Pancakes on Livliga Celebrate Dinner Plate

ChooseMyPlate.gov is a wonderful resource and offers great healthy recipes to share with family and friends. We tried out these scrumptious Sweet Potato Pancakes with Balsamic Maple Mushrooms. It tastes as good as it looks on Livliga's Celebrate plate! Enjoy!

Get Your Own Celebrate  Portion Control Dinnerware

You can try this budget-friendly breakfast recipe here!
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MyPlate Sweet Potato Pancakes with Maple Balsamic Mushrooms and a Livliga Twist

Friday, February 21, 2020
MyPlate Sweet Potato Pancakes with Maple Balsamic Mushrooms


Livliga has been honored to be a National Strategic Partner of USDA MyPlate for a number of years now.  The ChooseMyPlate.gov website is an incredibly robust resource available for free to the public. It amazes me how many people are not aware of this.  One of the areas of information is the many healthy recipes available that are also budget-friendly. Every recipe provides the nutritional information as well as the MyPlate Food Groups represented so you can ensure you prepare a healthy, balanced meal. 

We thought we would try out the Sweet Potato Pancakes with Maple Balsamic Mushrooms recipe. Not only is it a budget-friendly recipe, it is also one that is both savory and sweet and can be served either for brunch or dinner. We love upside-down dinners in our family so these pancakes fit the bill.

The pancakes are beautiful to look at and so appealing with the mushrooms layered between each pancake. In execution what I found was that three medium sweet potatoes made the pancakes more like eating smashed sweet potatoes.  I thought I could make the pancakes a little lighter and provide a specific measurement of sweet potato other than “three medium sweet potatoes” described in the current recipe. Depending on what your grocery store offers, three medium sweet potatoes can vary greatly in size. The first time I did this recipe I ended up with over 3 cups of sweet potato, which was way too much. With a little experimentation, I found 1 cup of sweet potato was the right amount to make wonderful pancakes.

Pancakes cooking on cast iron skillet


The sautéed mushrooms with maple syrup and balsamic vinegar was delicious with the sweet potato pancake. I added a pinch of Gayle’s Herb Salt to the mushroom mixture, which further enhanced the flavor.  With the syrup as the sauce for the mushrooms, there is no need for added syrup or butter that you might add with traditional pancakes.

To complete the meal I added an arugula salad with a few mixed berries and light vinaigrette. The plate was so beautiful to look at and the tastiness of the sweet potato pancakes with the arugula salad was so satisfying. We served our meal up on Livliga’s Celebrate pattern.

This meal seemed festive and special, even though it was so easy to prepare. The whole family thought it would be a great meal to offer up to friends and family for a Sunday brunch in addition to becoming an anytime family favorite.

Swet Potato Pancakes with Maple Balsamic Mushrooms on Livliga Celebrate Plate



MyPlate Sweet Potato Pancakes with Maple Balsamic Mushrooms and a Livliga Twist

Ingredients

For Sweet Potato Pancakes:
  • 1 cup sweet potato, baked and mashed (about 1 medium sweet potatoes or yams with orange flesh)
  • 1 cup non-fat milk
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 
  • 1 cup white whole wheat flour
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder 
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • Cooking spray, as needed 

For Balsamic Maple Mushrooms:
  • 1 pound cremini and/or white button mushrooms, quartered 
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 2 pinches of Gayle’s Salts (or 1 pinch of Herbes de Provence and 1 pinch Kosher salt)
  • ⅓  cup maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 

Directions 

  1. Bake or microwave sweet potato until soft; let cool. Peel and mash potato, using an electric mixer. Measure 1 cup.
  2. Add milk, egg, and vegetable oil to potato; mix. Sift together dry ingredients and add to potato mixture. Mix on low until just blended. 
  3. Heat non-stick skillet or griddle over medium heat; coat skillet with cooking spray.
  4. Use ¼  cup of batter per pancake (LivSpoons are handy for this), ladling into hot skillet. Wait until pancake bubbles and looks slightly dry on top before flipping over.
  5. While pancakes are cooking, heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in another skillet (preferably cast-iron) over medium flame.
  6. Add quartered mushrooms and toss  to coat with oil and add Gayle’s Salts . Let simmer, stirring occasionally, until juices run. 
  7. Add maple syrup and balsamic vinegar to pan and stir until mixed. Let simmer until sauce reduces and thickens.
  8. To serve, use 3 pancakes and ¼ of the mushroom mixture. Place one pancake on a plate then alternate with balsamic maple mushrooms as you stack the pancakes. Leave a few mushrooms and some of the syrup mixture to top off each stack.


Nutritional Information:
Serves: 4. Serving size: 3 pancakes with ¼ of the mushroom mixture. Calories: 342. Total Fat 8.9g; Saturated Fat 1.4g; Sodium 725mg; Total Carbohydrate 57.5g; Dietary Fiber 4.7g; Total Sugars 24.5g; Protein 11.3g.



#StartSimpleWithMyPlate #MyPlate #ChooseMyPlate #MyPlateRecipe #HealthyEating #HealthyRecipe #Vegetarian

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Monday Motivational Meal

Monday, February 17, 2020
All American Patty Melt on Halsa Portion Control Dinner Plate

Sometimes you just have to go for a classic. This All American Patty Melt has been updated to make it more health-friendly and less greasy while maximizing tastiness. Serve it up on Livliga's Halsa pattern to ensure it remains a consummate classic!

Find Your Favorite Livliga Pattern


Try this yummy recipe here!
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Monday Motivational Meal

Monday, February 10, 2020
Livliga Romantic Bistro Dinner on Celebrate Dinner Plate

Looking for a fun way to celebrate Valentine's Day? Try this special dinner you can cook up at home and share it with the one(s) you love. Serve it up on Celebrate dishes to make it a meal to remember! 💝

Get Your Own Celebrate  Portion Control Dinnerware

You can find this recipe on our blog. Try it here!
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Healthy Living Starts with Heart Healthy Self Love

Friday, February 7, 2020
Livliga's Celebrate Pattern reminds people to "Nourish Your Heart"
                                       In Livliga's Celebrate pattern we remind people to "Nourish Your Heart,"which is so important as part of Self Love

 

We focus so much on our physical selves that we often forget that the biggest challenge to weight management and living life as our healthiest selves is being in touch with our emotional well being.  Self Love is good for our hearts, both physical and emotional.

There is a new term floating around in social media called “self partnering.” Emma Watson is cited as the person who coined the phrase. If we look at the phrase as a way to describe enjoying who we are, the way we are, and being comfortable in our own skins it is easy to see why self partnering can be a good way to be.

Living life to the fullest, especially if we are living with a chronic disease, is not about a number on a scale or a size of clothing. It is about living a healthy lifestyle and enjoying the process. It is about making a plan work for you. We have to take into account our preferences and the dynamics of our lives. The biggest down fall for all of us is when we think we need to conform to certain “expectations” or  “ideals.” To succeed we need to know ourselves and choose a path and healthy lifestyle routine that is best suited to who we are and how we live. Here are some tips to help you focus on self-love with self-care in 2020.

Journaling is good for healthy self love

  1. Personalize your approach. It is clear diets don’t work. And there are so many different approaches to eating and preparing food. Pick the method that works for you both in the types of foods you prefer to eat as well as the way you consume them. If you are able to prepare your food regularly then a healthy eating style that allows you to cook healthy foods might be perfect for you. However, if you travel a lot for work, following the WW plan may make more sense since it is adaptable to eating out. Do some research and find an approach that works best for you.                                                                                                               
  2.  Pick a plan that suits you and your lifestyle. What are the foods you prefer to eat? Are you a meat eater? A Vegetarian? Do you want to focus more on a plant-based diet? Do you like the structure of a specific diet plan? It is important to focus on a plan that will work with who you are, what you prefer to eat and that is possible for you to stick to and maintain. Doing what is “hot” and the latest fad may set you up for failure. It is best to know what will work for you in the long term. Wanting some ideas about good options? Check out the 2020 US News and World Report on the Best Diets, which means they are relatively easy to follow, nutritious, safe, effective for weight loss and protective against diabetes and heart disease, to discover which might be best for your lifestyle.                                         
  3. Connect with purpose. Research has shown that if we follow a healthy lifestyle plan for a specific reason and purpose we are more likely to succeed in the long run. If we try to change up our habits or lose weight because somebody else shamed us into it we will not have the drive to accomplish it. If becoming healthier, including losing weight, is part of a bigger mission in our lives where we have a drive to make it happen then when things get tough we can break through the barriers fortified by our greater purpose. Read some of the success stories of weight loss shared in magazines and online and you will see each person who succeeded had a greater purpose than just losing weight. What is your purpose for wanting to live a healthy life? 
  4. Keep it Simple…It is way to easy to make achieving a healthy lifestyle complicated. We want to change EVERYTHING! We want to change our routine, how we eat, when we exercise, how much we sleep, what we drink, you name it, we want to change it. Sustaining all that change at once inevitably becomes too hard to do. It is better to start with one change and build on that change overtime. 
  5. Take the long view and make it about a lifestyle. We know diets don’t work. They have a beginning and an end. A lifestyle is a continuum. It is a journey and a way of being. How do you want to live your life as your healthiest self?

It is possible to both love ourselves and challenge ourselves to live life as our healthiest selves. This isn’t about being at your “perfect” size or fitting in to your “skinny” jeans. It is about feeling good, having the energy to get up in the morning to tackle your must do’s as well as your bucket list. Self Love is critical to our ability to live life as we deserve and want…as our healthiest, vibrant selves.

Livliga's Celebrate pattern reminds people to "Find Wellnes"
In Livliga's Celebrate pattern we remind people to "Find Wellness," which is so important as part of Healthy Living


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Monday Motivational Meal - Bariatric-Friendly Portabello Mushroom Crust Pizza

Monday, February 3, 2020
Guest Blog Bariatric Friendly Mushroom Pizza on Celebrate

Ever thought of making a pizza and using a portabello mushroom as the crust? Try this innovative recipe that's low-carb and tasty...perfect for those looking for bariatric-friendly meals! This delectable pizza was served up on Celebrate for ultimate satisfaction. #keto #diabetes #bariatric #recipe


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