Apple Peel Pancakes

 

As the seasons change it is fun to try new recipes and get re-inspired with healthy fresh ingredients. This time of year we can start looking forward to going to the pumpkin patch or apple orchard to pick our own for an adventure or go to the grocery store to fill our carts with locally grown late summer/early fall produce.

Something my family loves is slow cooker apple butter from the fresh harvest of apples I bring home. Last year when making the apple butter I had a lot of apple peels and got inspired to make use of them. In doing some research on spiralized recipes I realized I could come up with my own “Apple Peel Pancakes!”

Apple Peel Pancakes are a great way to make use of leftover peels. They are whimsical to look at, easy to make, and tasty to eat.   And, because of the peel used, they are packed full of fiber, vitamins and minerals. Here is the recipe I came up with riffing off of a recipe from Spiralize this! cookbook by Martha Rose Shulman:

Apple Peel Pancakes

• 2 cups apple peel, cut into 4 inch strips with scissors
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 cup white whole wheat flour
• ½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 ½ cups buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• Cooking Spray

Directions

1. Preheat griddle to medium high heat.
2. Heat butter in a cast iron skillet. When melted add the peels and brown sugar to the butter. Sauté for 3 minutes, just until they begin to color. Remove from heat.
3. Sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt.
4. In another bowl whisk together the eggs, then add the buttermilk, whisk together, then add the oil and vanilla, whisk together again.
5. Add the dry ingredients to wet ingredients, whisking together. Do not over mix. A few lumps are fine.
6. Spray griddle with cooking spray. Drop batter in ¼ cup LivSpoon amounts onto the griddle. Distribute a 12th of the apple peel across the top of each pancake.
7. Cook until bubbles begin to break through, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn and cook about 1 minute on the other side, or until nicely browned. Remove and place on a platter in a warm oven while the next batch of pancakes is cooked. Continue until all the batter is used.

Serve while hot. Makes 12 4-inch pancakes.

Nutritional Information

Serves 4. Serving size: 3 pancakes. Calories: 370; Fat: 17.3g; Carbohydrates: 43.3g; Dietary Fiber: 3.5g; Protein: 11.8g.

Tips

Use slow cooker apple butter as an alternative to maple syrup.
Freeze leftovers to enjoy these pancakes on another occasion for a quick fix breakfast.

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Monday Motivational Meal—Easter Basket Egg Salad

 

Wondering what to do with all those hard-boiled decorated eggs you have leftover from Easter? Wonder no more! Fix up a delish egg salad to place over greens or to make a sandwich...its easy and family-friendly! Don't forget to serve it on Livliga's healthy lifestyle dinnerware...like our hues of blue Halsa pattern! So gorgeous!

Get the recipe here.

 

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Sammie & Sax: Fun, Food, & Fantastic Ideas

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Monday Motivational Meal—Irish Oatmeal Risotto

 

In honor of St. Patrick's Day here is an innovative and healthy recipe for oatmeal risotto I originally found through the TODAY Show! We served ours up on Vivente with its lucky green in the pattern!

Get the recipe here.

  

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and Enjoy Healthy Recipes All Year Long!

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Livliga Cranberry-Banana Muffin

 A Favorite Muffin for Adults and Kids

Make sure to serve this delicious muffins up on your favorite Livliga dinner pattern!

This is a great recipe for a healthy muffins that is great for celebrations and holidays.  Use them for a celebratory brunch or to give to family and friends as a gift…or make them for yourself…just because. These Cranberry-Banana Muffins are filling and satisfying because of the whole wheat flour, fresh banana, applesauce and plain Greek yogurt used.  And by using far less sugar they do not trigger the need for more sugary sweets as so many pre-packaged treats do. These muffins are great on their own or included as part of a meal. Easy to freeze too!

Livliga Cranberry-Banana Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour, unbleached
• 1 cup white whole-wheat flour
• ½ cup Truvia Baking Sugar Blend
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 ½ cup banana, ripe and mashed (3 large)
• ⅓ cup Greek yogurt, low fat and plain
• ¼ cup applesauce, unsweetened and organic
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 lower sugar dried cranberries  (Ocean Spray Reduce Sugar Craisins or Paradise Meadow Dried Cranberries/50% less sugar)
• Cooking Spray

Directions

1. Combine flours, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Make a well in center of flour mixture.
2. In a separate bowl beat eggs with a whisk. Next add mashed banana, yogurt, applesauce and vanilla, stirring with the whisk.
3. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture, stirring until moist. Fold in the dried cranberries
4. Spoon batter into muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray. Fill two-thirds full.
5. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in the center.
6. Let muffins sit in tin for 10 minutes. Promptly remove muffins and serve. These muffins keep well for a few days in the refrigerator or weeks in the freezer.

 

Baking Tip: These muffins make great mini-muffins. To bake them set the oven temperature to 350° and reduce the time to 15 minutes. Always check to make sure they are done!

Serves: 12. Serving size: 1 regular-sized muffin. 

Nutritional Information

Calories per serving: 133; Fat 1.3g; Sodium 169mg; Carbohydrate 29.9g; Dietary Fiber 2.4g; Protein 4.3g.

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Delicious Healthy Baking Recipes

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Monday Motivational Meal—Senational Sweet Potato Casserole

 

It is wonderful when you can find recipes that are easy, tasty and memorable. These are particularly important to find when planning for holiday meals. Sweet potato casseroles are a favorite for many families. A few years ago I discovered a wonderful, simple recipe for a sweet potato casserole that has a heavenly taste and is worthy of a holiday celebration. We baked and served our casserole up in the Aveq Serving Bowl...perfect for holiday entertaining!

Try this recipe out here.

 

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Sensational Sweet Potato Casserole

 A Wonderful Recipe for a Holiday Meal

It is wonderful when you can find recipes that are easy, tasty and memorable. These are particularly important to find when planning for holiday meals. Sweet potato casseroles are a favorite for many families. There are many recipes that have been handed down over the generations. The challenge with these recipes is that many have a lot of butter, sugar, cream and salt. These ingredients pack in the calories, fat and carbs.

A few years ago I discovered a wonderful, simple recipe for a sweet potato casserole that has a heavenly taste and is worthy of a holiday celebration. It originated with Ann Louise Gittelman author of the Fat Flush Diet.  This recipe is bariatric-friendly, diabetes friendly, kid-friendly and budget-friendly. It is a wonderful addition to our holiday spread and goes so well with roasted turkey. Everyone in the family loves it. We baked and served our casserole up in the Aveq Serving Bowl...perfect for holiday entertaining!

Sensational Sweet Potato Casserole

Ingredients

• 4 small/medium sweet potatoes, baked
• ⅓ cup unsweetened pineapple juice
• 1 egg, beaten
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons toasted coconut flakes (optional)
• Cooking Spray

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Peel cooked sweet potatoes and mash them.
3. Blend in the pineapple juice. Add in the egg and spices and beat until light and foamy.
4. Pour into a casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 35 minutes
5. Once out of the oven sprinkle with toasted coconut flakes. Serve hot.

Nutritional Information

Servings: 5. Calories per serving: 119; Fat 1.6g; Sodium 71mg;  Carb 23.6g; Dietary Fiber 3.5g; Protein 3.4g.

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Vanilla Bean Shortbread—Holiday Worthy!

 

I have always loved shortbread. So much of it is the memories associated with this delectable treat. When our children were growing up a friend would make her homemade shortbread and share it with us at Christmas. We so looked forward to it each year. It was so good!

Since the children have grown up and we moved away I have been in search of a good shortbread so we could again enjoy this favorite treat. Most shortbread is packed full of butter and therefore high in saturated fat and calories. I wanted a shortbread that used half the butter and had less calories but didn't compromise on taste. I found one. The recipe replaces half the butter with canola oil which is rich in heart-healthy unsaturated fat. And to make it that much more wonderful, each serving is only 101 calories! This recipe originally came from the Cooking Light Mix & Match Low-Calorie Cookbook.

This shortbread has the same flaky texture and lightness you look for in any good shortbread. The vanilla bean flavor adds a new dimension. I have never scraped out the seeds of a vanilla bean before. This technique provides a richness to the shortbread, and an aroma that is very appealing. They have been a hit with everyone I have shared them with. A definite repeat!

Vanilla Bean Shortbread

Ingredients
2 cups unbleached flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
Cooking Spray 

 
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. Line bottom and sides of a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with foil; coat foil with cooking spray.
3. Combine flour, cornstarch, and salt in a large bowl. Stir with a whisk
4. Place butter in a medium bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add oil then   beat again at medium speed until well blended.  Gradually add sugar, beating well. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean and add seeds to butter mixture. Discard bean.
5. Add flour mixture, beating a low speed just until blended.
6. Spoon dough into prepared pan. Place plastic wrap over dough. Then press dough to an even thickness. Discard the plastic wrap.
7. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool in pan for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Cut into 32 pieces. Carefully cool squares completely on a wire rack.
 
Nutritional Information
Servings: 32. Serving Size: 1 piece. Calories per piece: 101; Fat 6.4g; Protein .9g; Carb 10.1g; Fiber .2g; Sodium 39mg.

 

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Easy Halloween Meal- Crockpot Burrito fixings Served Up on Livliga!

Halloween is a fun time to have friends and family over. And if you have an active family where kids are "trick or treating" or going to parties, you want a meal you can make ahead, is flexible so people can eat at different times and there is plenty for unexpected company. Most importantly, you want something hardy, that has protein, and will "stick to the ribs" since it is likely many will be eating too many sweets and lots of sugar!

Here is the meal I planned. It starts with a Barley, Black Bean and Corn Burritos crockpot recipe. This is actually a vegetarian meal and is something you can assemble and let slow cook early in the day. The crockpot fixings are then rolled up in a burrito and topped with salsa and 2 tablespoons of sour cream. The recipe describes placing 2 burritos on a bed of shredded lettuce to serve. If this is a much more informal meal, I suggest putting the lettuce in the burrito instead. It will make it easier to eat.

I completed the meal with strawberries. These can be cut up to be put in a bowl to eat or left whole so they can be eaten with your fingers, again depending on when and how you are serving your meal.

This is a simple yet festive meal that can be made to be very flexible and work well even if you are not having a "sit down" meal. Our family loved the burritos. The vote was to put it on the list of repeats.

Calories for 2 burritos with toppings is 402. One cup of strawberries is 52 calories for a total of 454 calories for the meal. I added a 6 ounce glass of red wine for 120 calories. Total for the evening festivities: 574 calories.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

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Monday Motivational Meal — Biscoff Cookies

There is nothing better than baking in the fall! This Biscoff cookie from our Holiday Baking ebook we did in collaboration with @ChefVanessaMusi is a delectable, healthy baked good that will make your kitchen smell like heaven and your stomach glad you took the time to bake! Make sure to enjoy on one of our acclaimed Celebrate side plates to complete your inspiration!

Enjoy this recipe and others by downloading our FREE Holiday Baking eBook below!

 

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🍀 Celebrating St. Patrick's Day with Brown Soda Bread and Irish Stew 🍀

Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day can come in many forms. There are so many different ways we can have adventures. One of my favorite methods is to discover new recipes and learn about their origins. With St. Patrick’s Day right around the corner I thought I would come up with an Irish meal to share with my family. I decided on a Brown Soda Bread and Irish Stew made with Guinness Stout.

Brown Soda Bread has an interesting history. There has actually been a debate about whether it comes from Ireland. According to Rory O’Connell, a famous Irish chef, in an interview with Epicurious, brown soda bread is indeed Irish. In fact, it dates back to the 1800s. It was common bread baked then that people could easily make without yeast and without an oven. Most people did not have ovens at that time. Instead they would make the bread with baking soda and bake it in a cast-iron skillet placed right in the coals of the fire. There are different variations of the bread depending on the season and where in Ireland it is baked. Caraway seeds and wheat germ are common ingredients. Dried fruit, like raisins is more common now but not back then. Here is a recipe I found and liked from Cooking Light that is easy to make, made from whole grains and tasty: Brown Soda Bread. Two tips from me on altering the recipe: remember, you can use white whole-wheat flour; it will make the bread a little less heavy and lighter in color. Also, you can always use substitute egg to lower the cholesterol and calories in a recipe. It will not change the consistency or flavor.

There are so many different versions of Irish stew. It all comes down to what you have available. Irish stew is an economical dish that historically varies with the seasons and what you can afford to put in the stew. It is traditionally slow cooked so even the toughest meats become tender. The most common vegetables are potato, carrot and parsnip. Originally the meat was probably goat but then was replaced by lamb. In the USA we tend to use beef. There is no wrong ingredient. The main thing is to let the stew simmer for a while. I also think adding a little stout can’t hurt and sure does help the flavor and sense of celebration on St. Patrick’s Day. A tasty recipe I found on myrecipe.com for an Irish stew using Guinness Stout is: Beef and Guinness Stew. Three tips from me on changing up the recipe to make it lighter are: change out the stout for Becks Light, it will lower the calories (by more than 100) and still provide the beer flavor without the bite. Instead of using tablespoons of oil, only use teaspoons and cooking spray; you only need 2 teaspoons for browning and flavoring. This will save you hundreds of calories. I tend to use olive oil, rather than canola because I find it has more flavor for the same calories. Finally, if you are not a turnip fan, you can replace them with potatoes.

As the Famous Irish Toast goes:

May your thoughts be as glad as the shamrocks,
May your heart be as light as a song,
And each day bring you bright happy hours,
That stay with you all year long.

Enjoy! And Live Vibrant!

 

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

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.

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.

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

Ready for a simple light meal between the big holidays? Try this Salmon Caesar Salad! It looks smashing served up on Vivente!

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Monday Motivational Meal

Do the smells of baking and aromatic spices make it feel like the holidays for you too? For us, it just doesn't seem festive without them. Looking to add a new bread to your repertoire? Here is one of our healthy favorites--Pear Poppy Seed! Make sure to take a moment for you and enjoy a slice on your favorite Livliga dishware while sipping a cup of tea from your favorite healthy lifestyle mug! Happy Holidays!

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Monday Motivational Meal

Meatless Monday: Savory Bread Pudding with Butternut Squash is a wonderful vegetarian meal that fits our holiday mood and also our need for comfort food during the cold of winter. It looks stellar served up on Halsa dinnerware!

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Slow Cooker Brisket with Onions—Simple and Scrumptious

 A slow cooker turns a tough, less-expensive cut of beef into a flavorful, hearty meal that's ideal for Hanukkah and for all-types of entertaining. Because of its simplicity and scrumptious flavor, it is sure to become a family favorite. We served ours up on our festive Livliga pattern Celebrate!

I was fortunate to grow up with friends and family who are Jewish. Being included in Hanukkah celebrations was fun and the foods served were delicious. This past year my husband and I got hooked on the Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. At the beginning of the series, in just about every episode, Mrs. Maisel brings a prepared brisket to an audition or to the talent manager at a local comedy club. It brought back memories of those wonderful Hanukkah celebrations and the oh-so-delicious brisket I ate. It made me want to recreate the dish.

To complete the memory I also wanted to serve up latkes with the slow cooked brisket. I searched around, tweaked some recipes and the ultimate results for brisket and latkes is below. I did produce a healthier version of the original recipes but without giving up any of the deliciousness. The tastes lived up to the fond memory and all those gathered around the table enjoyed the dishes.

Slow Cooker Brisket with Onions

Ingredients 

• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced 
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled 
• 1 first cut of beef brisket (4 pounds), trimmed of excess fat 
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt 
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper 
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth 
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves, for serving 

Directions 

1. In a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine onion and garlic. Season brisket with salt and pepper and place, fat side up, in slow cooker. Add broth. Cover and cook on high until brisket is fork-tender, about 6 hours. Remove brisket and thinly slice against the grain. Serve with onion and some cooking liquid; sprinkle with parsley.
2. If you make this ahead of time, cover and refrigerate brisket in cooking liquid, up to 1 week. Reheat in a 300-degree oven.

Nutritional Information

Serves: 12. Calories: Calories: 289; Total Fat 9.4g; Saturated Fat 3.6g; Cholesterol 135mg; Sodium 124mg; Total Carbohydrate 1.6g; Dietary Fiber 0.3g; Total Sugars 0.6g; Protein 46.4g.

Seasonal Roasted Root Vegetable Latkes 

(Originally from Cooking Light)

Ingredients

• 3 cups roasted root vegetables (potato, parsnip, carrot, turnip, sweet potato), finely chopped (about 14 oz.)
• 1/4 cup finely grated onion
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons instant potato flakes
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil, divided
• 1/2 cup light sour cream
• 2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
• 1 teaspoon small fresh dill sprigs

Directions 

1. Place first 11 ingredients in a bowl, stirring to combine. 
2. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Add 1/4 cup vegetable mixture to pan; flatten slightly. Repeat procedure 5 times to form 6 latkes; 
3. Cook 2 minutes on each side or until golden. Place latkes on a plate; keep warm. 
4. Repeat procedure with remaining 2 tablespoons oil and remaining vegetable mixture. 
5. Combine sour cream and horseradish in a bowl. Top each latke with about 2 teaspoons sour cream mixture. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon dill sprigs.

Nutritional Information

Serves: 6. Serving Size: 2 latkes. Calories: 196; Fat 14g; Satfat 2g; Unsatfat 11; Protein 4g; Carbohydrates 15g; Fiber 2g; Sugars 4g; Sodium 247mg.

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Bariatric Meal Plan: Holiday Edition with Chef Rose Archer

I adore the holidays. I love the lights, the time off work to spend with family and friends, cutting down our own Christmas tree and, of course, I love all the foods that we often don't eat any other time of the year.

What I don't love is how I often feel afterward. Both right after the meal and in January! 😒

People like to blame the amino acid, tryptophan, in turkey as the thing that makes them sleepy. But it's not. It's the volume of food and the high amount of fat and sugar in everything. (Curious to know more? Check out this article here)

So what would it feel like to know you get to decide how you felt after your festive holiday meal? I think pretty well!

And that starts with what you put on your Livliga plate.

Side Story 😜: When I was married in my 20's, I was at my first Thanksgiving with my in-laws. I adored them, and when one of them said we would be having "green salad" at our big dinner, I was surprised and excited. So when we sat down at the table and they passed me the "green salad" I was in for a bigger surprise. Green Salad in Texas meant green jello with fruit cocktail stirred in. Maybe even cool whip! 😂 I think they still tell that story of the health nut from Maui that used to be married to their son!

So back to our conversation! One of the recipes I could never embrace (besides "green salad”) was the sickly sweet canned yams with brown sugar and marshmallows. 🤢😆 So this recipe started with wanting to find something that would fill that spot.

Sweet and Spicy Butternut Squash--a great holiday edition

Deciding to add spiciness was intentional. Something our palates like is variety and something that is often lacking on holiday menus. Everything is either salty and rich or sweet and rich, which I know.....is delicious!

But because there is no variety, it's easy to overeat as our palates are wanting to feel satisfied. By adding different flavors, spices, and complexity, it makes us satisfied sooner, and we eat less food. You can vary the spice level in this recipe to your liking. You can use half a jalapeno or none at all. The Fresno chilis are very mild, so I would keep them in.

The sweetness is a little bit of a trick. There is no sweetener of any kind in the recipe. But by adding pumpkin pie spice, we trick our brains into tasting sweetness because it associates that flavor with sweet pie.

If this recipe doesn't make it onto your holiday menu, I hope you will try it sometime this winter while the squash is at its peak flavor and lowest cost.

You can find the full recipe here: https://trueyoufood.com/sweet-spicy-butternut-squash/

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Monday Motivational Meal

Is cranberry sauce one of those seasonal foods you just have to have? Try this easy and healthier homemade version that can be enjoyed with so many meals! Delicious and healthy holiday meals are a must have...especially on Vivente dinnerware!

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Thanksgiving Turkey Re-Imagined...Turkey Tenderloin with Herb Broth

This is a Guest Blog that our friend and affiliate, Liz Bull, has shared with us...just in time for Thanksgiving!

Maybe this is the year that you are having a QUIET Thanksgiving…think candlelight dinner for two, maybe four…without all of the hoo-ha and the stress…catching your breath and being thankful. Maybe the mere thought of cooking a big turkey puts you over the top…OK, maybe it’s the thought of the leftovers….just sayin’.  Turkey tenderloins have been my go-to for several years. The best thing is, you don’t have to wait for Thanksgiving to enjoy them!  I serve them with greens or asparagus. As for the cranberry sauce, well… store bought chutney will do just fine. Serving on Livliga china dinnerware guarantees that you’ll be satisfied, not stuffed! Now THAT’S something to be thankful for.

Turkey Tenderloin with Herb Broth

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 24 oz turkey tenderloins ( there are two in the package)
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 1 pound potatoes, quartered (if bigger, cut into 2-inch pieces) 
• 2 shallots, chopped- or Onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves…or dried herb like Thyme
• Chutney

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Place oil in a large baking dish. 
3. Season turkey tenderloins all over with salt and black pepper and place in baking dish. 
4. Arrange potatoes all around turkey and turn to coat with oil.
5. Season potatoes with salt and black pepper. Arrange shallots/onion over potatoes in pan.
6. In a small bowl, combine wine, broth, vinegar, and herbs. 
7. Pour mixture over turkey.
8. Roast turkey and potatoes for 50-60 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer registers at least 160 degrees F.
9. Let turkey rest 10 minutes before slicing crosswise into 1/2-inch thick slices. 
10. Serve with broth over top. 
11. Serve spinach, greens or asparagus on the side. 

Our Guest Blogger this month is Liz Bull. She is an avid Livliga Affiliate. Here is information about her background and professional credentials as well as information about how to connect with her.

Liz Bull helps women (and brave men!) who are fed up with weight loss programs that don’t work to finally get a body and a life they love. A Medical Intuitive, Master Theta Healer, and Certified Virtual Gastric Band Practitioner, Liz  has long been fascinated by the important role mind, body, and beliefs play in our lives. Her other studies and certifications include EFT, Psych-K, Matrix Energetics, Access Consciousness, QiGong, NLP and Transcendental Meditation. www.lizbull.com

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Healthy Grilling that is Father’s Day Friendly and Diabetes Friendly

Let's celebrate our Fathers.  For many of us Father’s Day is synonymous with outdoor grilling and the smell of barbecue.  It makes us think about all we love about summer.

When June comes around we all look forward to spending more time outside, enjoying time with family around a picnic table and hanging out with friends by the grill.  The challenge is to stay mindful of what we are grilling and serving as we look for simpler ways to provide meals in the summertime. Eating healthy does not have to be time consuming or complicated.

Preparing your meats for grilling. There are simple ways for us to add flavor to our proteins without adding unnecessary calories. For instance, Walt and I have come up with savory rubs that are made up of pure spices and herbs with virtually no calories, absolutely no fillers, no sugars, and that are heart-healthy, bariatric-friendly, diabetes-friendly, gluten-free, and sugar-free. We also offer tenderizing marinades that make for juicy, melt in your mouth, family-friendly options. These are all offered on our blog, always for free. Check out some of the choices below:

Meat and Fish Rubs

Super Easy Chicken Marinade

Super Easy Chicken Marinade

Recipes for Easy Sides. To make it a meal, provide a few different salads that can make serving up healthy meals outdoors healthy and tasty. The great thing about summer salads is that they can be made ahead of time, at your convenience, and then served up later when it is mealtime.  Here are a few of our favorites from our blog:

Broccoli and Sweet Apple Slaw with Dried Tart Cherries

Classic Potato Salad

5 Fruit Salad

5 Fruit Salad

A simple meal hack.  Buy store-bought salads from pasta salad, carrot salad, or a green salad with various lettuces and then put them in your own bowls for serving. Help everyone measure out right-sized portions by hooking the recommended LivSpoon® (a stylish serving spoon with measurement) on the side of the bowl of the salads you are offering so people can naturally serve themselves appropriate servings. 

For dessert. To make it super easy, offer fruit popsicles or get pre-made cookies out of the freezer like our original Rosemary Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies.  

Summertime meals can be easy, tasty, and healthy! 

Healthy Eating Tip: Introducing our new LivSpoons in the much-desired sizes of ⅓ cup and ¼ cup! Now Livliga is offering the completed suite of LivSpoons to make it convenient, comfortable, and a cinch to prepare and serve up healthy and right-sized meals anytime and for any season! Mindful eating just got a little more effortless!

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Celebrate Valentine's Day with a Romantic Bistro-style Dinner

Celebrate Valentine's Day and Nourish Your Heart! 
(photo by LivligaHome)

Valentine's day dinner can provide a great stage for a romantic evening. With a little thought and planning it can provide the perfect environment for all the elements necessary for romance and a memorable evening. You can even be mindful of the food you prepare, how you prepare it and that it is healthy and within a certain calorie range. By planning ahead you can put the perfect evening in place. And once you have planned it, who says you can't repeat it? Romantic dinners can occur all year long!

Splurge on Flowers by Buying a Bunch at the Grocery Store (photo by LivligaHome)

Set the stage- create a cozy, intimate environment. Set a table with the colors of romance- pink, red or lavender. Make sure to have candles. The more the better. And turn the over head lights down low. Splurge on a bouquet of flowers. Roses are the ultimate symbol of romance and Valentine's Day. Buy a bunch when you are at the grocery store. Then there is the music. Pick you favorite sexy music or get help from Spotify, Pandora or iTunes; they will all provide playlists suited to the mood you want for your special dinner.

Cocktails or Wine? Here is where we all get challenged when planning for a special evening. Often we tend to over indulge on the alcohol. This is where pre-planning is key. Over indulging is hard on our bodies from our mind to our liver. It also contributes an overload of calories. How to celebrate the evening, enjoy imbibing without becoming inebriated? We pick and choose. One choice- have a fun cocktail for starters and then choose a low calorie romantic drink for dinner like Perrier with a splash of Torani Sugar Free Raspberry Syrup served in champagne glasses with a raspberry at the bottom of the glass. This is a drink that can afford a refill...or two! Or you could choose- to do the reverse and have the Valentine Perrier drinks for starters and serve a half bottle of champagne or wine for dinner (buying a half bottle keeps you from overindulging).

The Menu- a great way to make it special is to pick a theme. This year I picked "French Bistro". French food goes hand-in-hand with romance. There are also certain foods that are considered an aphrodisiac like mussels and chocolate  which are an added bonus in planning a meal.

Bistro-style Dinner

Pre-dinner Cocktail-- Fizzy Plum Bellini
 
Appetizer-- Steamed Mussels in Garlic and  Shallots

Dinner-- Bistro Roasted Chicken, Pomme Frite with Chives, and Baby Greens with Balsamic Vinaigrette 

Dessert--Fudgy Espresso Souffle with Raspberry Sauce and French Press Coffee


Creating a romantic dinner is about engaging all our senses from what we see and hear to what we smell and taste. It is all about the cues we send to our brain and the parts of the brain we stimulate. If we spend a little time planning and prepping we end up with an evening to remember. And as we know, romance is unbeatable for boosting our health.

Need Another Idea?: Reinforce the words of love, romance and inspiration by collecting Livliga's new dinnerware line--Celebrate: The Poetry of Life. Its stunning black and white design, reminicent of a French bistro, features etched drawings and poetry, fostering the sense of feeling good and imagining what is possible. Its time to Celebrate!

Enjoy! And Live Vibrant!

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