Cranberry Orange Scones—Perfect for a Tea Party!

Delectable Homemade Cranberry Orange Scone

Watching your weight and planning out your weekly menu does not mean all the fun and spontaneity around joyous events and family traditions are eliminated. Quite the contrary! There is no reason life moments and meaningful traditions can't be part of your plan. For instance, why shouldn't everyone enjoy a deliciious tea party with home made scones! Choose a variety of your favorite teas and steep them in the teapot or French press you have tucked away. Slice some lemon to add some panache to your tea and you have stage one of your tea party set. Then there are the special cups and saucers, linens, plates and maybe even a nosegay of flowers to set by the Tea Party ensemble.

Then there is the food. Keep it simple, mindful and tasty. Offer fresh whole strawberries on their own serving plate that people can pick up by the stem with their fingers and eat. Next offer fresh hicama sticks dusted with a combination of paprika and salt (1tbs of sea salt to 1/4 tsp paprika) assembled artfully on a beautiful platter so you can pick up each stick individually. Then make fresh scones...

Sprinkle The Fresh Baked Scones with Orange Rind Mixed with Truvia

Cranberry Orange Scones

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 cup driend cranberries, low sugar
• 1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange rind, divided
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• Cooking spray, canola or vegetable
• 1/2 teaspoon Truvia baking blend

Directions

1. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and the next 5 ingredients (flour through salt) in a bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add cranberries, tossing to coat.
2. Combine buttermilk, 1 teaspoon of orange rind, and egg; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist (dough will be sticky).
3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead lightly 5 times with floured hands. Pat dough into a 7-inch circle on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Cut the dough into 10 wedges, cutting into but not completely through dough. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until golden. 
4. Combine 1/2 teaspoon of orange rind with the Truvia. Sprinkle mixture over scones; serve warm. 

Nutritional Information

Servings: 10. Serving size: 1 wedge. Calories: 164; Total Fat 3.2g, Sodium 130mg, Total Carbohydrate 30.7g, Dietary Fiber 1g, Total Sugars 10.8g, Protein 3.6g.

There is Nothing More Delectable Than a Fresh Baked Scone Served Up on Livliga!

Enjoy Your Healthy Tea Party! And always remember to Live vibrant!

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Monday Motivational Meal - Black Bean Soup with Cilantro Lime Cream

Here's an easy way to utilize your pantry ingredients by making this Black Bean Soup with Cilantro-Lime Cream recipe! We partnered with our friend @thediabeticfoodie to bring you this diabetes-friendly soup that is high in fiber, protein, and flavor. We served up this budget-friendly and deliciously healthy meal in a cheery Halsa bowl!

Download Our Free SOUPS eCookbook
and Enjoy Healthy Recipes All Year Long!

You can try this recipe here!

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Why it is Time to Become Part of the Healthy Lifestyle Revolution

Those who are challenged with living with obesity and/or managing their weight because of specific health conditions often feel like the outliers. We don’t feel like we fit in and what we have to do is different than everyone else. We have to do things out-of-the-ordinary and everyone else gets to do things the way they want instead of doing it because they have to. We have to think about what we eat and how much we eat…at every meal.

How can we ever live in a world that supports us rather than works against us? We have to become the leaders of the change. We have to champion a Healthy Lifestyle Revolution!

Here is the truth…We own our health. We are often the managers of our family’s health. We are also the decision makers for the food we eat.

Why not make our knowledge, needs, and abilities part of a Healthy Lifestyle Revolution? We are the ones in the position to make it happen.

What we can do:

• Talk about our commitment to a healthy lifestyle
• Sign up and become part of like-minded support groups
• Include people in our healthy lifestyle with our

• Meals
• Exercise
• Sharing our thoughts and knowledge on Facebook and other social media through our community and groups
• Get involved with organizations like the OAC to affect policy change to better the lives of those living with obesity
• If we have kids, get involved with the PTA and how lunches and treats are planned to be healthy

The difference we can make:

• Role modeling
• Taking action to affect policy change
• Help ourselves and others create new healthy habits that stick long term

The ultimate outcome we can demand as a community of like-minded healthy lifestyle advocates:

• A world that focuses on health instead of body image
• A world that eliminates super sized and instead offers choice within a right sized world
• A world where those living with obesity receive the care they need and no longer face barriers because of weight bias
• A world where all of us are part of the same community and no one feels marginalized or exists in the shadows because of the stigma around their weight or size 

Those of us who live with obesity and have committed to living life as our healthiest selves are already living the revolution. Now we need to share and promote a Healthy Lifestyle Revolution to make our world a healthier and better place to live for ourselves, the ones we love, and for our community.

Tip: Interested in more ways and specific tips on how to spearhead a lifestyle revolution? Check out this previous blog.

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Monday Motivational Meal

There are so many ways to enjoy marmalade! Due to marmalade's low fat content it can be enjoyed in a number of recipes from sweet to savory. Take joy in our favorite healthy recipes using marmalade and make sure to serve it up on your favorite artist designed Livliga portion control dish!

 

You can make this healthy recipe click here!

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Low Sodium No Soak Beans (Instant Pot)-Guest Blog

Beans are one of the best things you can eat when managing diabetes. Even though they contain carbs, they are also loaded with fiber. According to the Mayo Clinic, fiber slows the absorption of sugar and helps improve blood glucose levels.

Why dried beans?
Beans you cook yourself taste so much better than beans from a can. You can cook them without salt, which especially important if you’re following a low sodium diet. And they are cheaper than their canned cousins.

You can cook dried beans in a slow cooker or on top of the stove, but pressure cooking is by far my favorite way to do it. I don’t have to remember to soak the beans ahead of time and I don’t have to keep an eye on the pot. Also, pressure cooking may preserve more nutrients by reducing cook times.

Recipes for No Soak Beans
Make yourself a pot of beans on the weekend and then plan to use them during the week in dishes like:

Sweet Potato Bean Dip
Barley Salad with Black Beans, Avocado, and Corn
Black Bean Soup with Cilantro-Lime Cream
Tex-Mex Burrito Bowl with Lime Avocado Sauce
Black Bean Burger with Sriracha and Egg
White Beans with Kale
White Beans with Tomatoes
Queen Creek Pasta Fagiole
Tortellini Soup with Cannellini Beans and Spinach
Spicy Black and White Bean Brownies

You can also add cooked beans to salads and soups. If you can’t possibly eat that many beans in a week (a 1-pound bag makes 6 cups of cooked beans), freeze them in portion sizes of 1-1/2 cups. That’s roughly equivalent to a 15-ounce can of beans. Just pull out and thaw a serving whenever you have a recipe that calls for a can of beans.

Low Sodium No Soak Beans (Instant Pot)

An easy way to cook dried beans that requires no soaking or planning ahead

Ingredients 

• 1 pound dried beans (unsoaked) rinsed
• 5 cups vegetable broth, chicken stock, or water
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Combine the beans and broth in the electric pressure cooker. Drizzle the oil on top. (The oil will help control the foam produced by the cooking beans.)
2. Close and lock the lid of the pressure cooker. Set the valve to “Sealing.”
3. For black beans, cook on HIGH pressure for 25 minutes.
4. For pinto beans, navy beans, or Great Northern beans, cook on HIGH pressure for 30 minutes.
5. For cannellini beans, cook on HIGH pressure for 40 minutes.
6. When the cooking is complete, hit CANCEL and do a NATURAL release for 20 minutes. Turn the pressure valve to “Venting” to release any remaining pressure.
7. Once the pin drops, unlock and remove the lid.
8. Let the beans cool, then refrigerate or freeze until ready to use.

Recipe Notes
You can freeze cooked beans in 1-1/2 cup portions and use them whenever a recipe calls for a 15-ounce can of beans.

Nutritional Information
Serving Size: 1/2 cup. Calories: 141. Fat: 2g; Sodium 5mg; Protein 8g; Carbohydrate 24g; Fiber 6g; Sugar 1g.

Guest Blog 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.

Download Our Free SOUPS eCookbook
and Enjoy Healthy Recipes All Year Long!

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Monday Motivational Meal

Did you know that smashed potatoes are easier to prepare and can be healthier than other potato dishes? Our current favorite is Dijon Smashed Potatoes! This recipe tends to be lighter and has added flavor. This scrumptious recipe was served up on Livliga's portion control dinner plate in the Vivente pattern.

Give this recipe a try! Get it here!

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Half the Stomach, Twice the Taste: Cooking for the Bariatric Lifestyle

There are some wonderful programs for bariatric patients that now exist around the country. This was not always the case. More and more there are clinics and hospitals that are focused on the long-term success of their bariatric patients, which includes providing the information and resources necessary to succeed. Livliga is blessed to be included as a resource for many of these institutions and their patients. This is the case for a new cookbook available at the Comprehensive Weight Management Program at the University of Utah Health.

This new cookbook, Half the Stomach, Twice the Taste: Cooking for a Bariatric Lifestyle is authored by Hilary Cutler, MS, RD, CSOWM, CD and Emily Tieu, MS, RD, CSOWM, CD. It is clear that these two dedicated and talented registered dietitians are committed to supporting their patients’ success. The cookbook is evidence of this commitment. The cookbook is set up so that bariatric patients can understand how each recipe can be adapted to fit into each step of their journey depending on how many weeks out they are from their surgery. Each recipe has an accompanying photo so it is possible to visually understand the recipe as well as see how appealing it is intended to be. It is wonderful to note that the majority of the recipes were taken using Livliga’s Just Right Set® bariatric.

The authors and the University of Utah Health graciously allowed us to share the recipe and photo below from the cookbook. It is a breakfast recipe. There are also recipes for lunch, dinner, snacks and protein shakes.

Sunrise Egg Salad served up on a Just Right Set® as seen in the new bariatric cookbook

As the authors mention at the beginning, “The recipes in this book are inspired by ideas from both our patients and our own homes. All recipes in this book have been taste-tested to ensure that you find each bite flavorful and satisfying…Additionally, we aim to use easy-to-find, inexpensive ingredients for your convenience.

Interested in finding out more? This cookbook is currently available through the Comprehensive Weight Management Program at the University of Utah Health. To get your copy of Half the Stomach, Twice the Taste, visit weightmanagement.uofuhealth.org and ask to talk to a University of Utah Health expert.

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Monday Motivational Meal - Welsh Lamb and Root Soup

Looking for an easy yet wholesome homemade soup suitable for spring? Try our Welsh Lamb and Root Soup that starts with immune building bone broth! Packed with nutrient rich and healthy ingredients this recipe is good for our hearts and health! This savory soup is served up in our stylish Vivente bowl!


Try this recipe here!

Download Our Free SOUPS eCookbook
and Enjoy Healthy Recipes All Year Long!

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