I have had the most amazing week with a visit from my daughter, Amber and granddaughters, Scarlett (15) and Sophie (12)! It’s been a while since I’ve seen them, but a long time since they’ve been home. We made a long list of things we wanted to do and I have to say happily that we pretty much accomplished everything without the pressure of hurrying. We just enjoyed each other and all our times together. Their overall favorite part of the trip was a visit to the Flying Ace Farm owned by my friends Nancy and Doug Pruitt. Nancy is a wonderful photographer (and MY cookbook photographer) and an author of two children’s books all about the animals on their farm. The girls got to visit the famous characters of Here Comes Winston – Winston the Rescue Pony, Ace, Penny, and Lincoln. They loved feeding all of them and watching Ellie the dog pester the chickens and ducks and getting to hold the soft bunny.
The girls had grown so tall and now, their mom looks like she’s shrinking. But I have to say Amber looks amazing! She looked tiny and very healthy! I know I am biased but this is the three-time cancer survivor, and I’m so proud of how she is very focused on staying healthy! It shows!
As you know, I’m addicted to searching and researching healthy foods, trends and nutrition. I sent her two of the books I had been reading about Intermittent Fasting which she read out loud in the car on vacation. The plan just stuck and she and Shane are committed to its health benefits. Those two books are: Cruise Control by Jorge Cruise and Waist Away by Chantel Ray.
I have way too many books to list but I will just tell you my latest books/podcasts in case you are looking for some healthy reads or podcasts:
- The Daniel Plan, Dr. Rick Warren
- The Science of Skinny, Dee McCaffrey
- Made to Crave, Lysa TerKeurst
- Waist Away, Chantel Ray
- The Obesity Code, Dr. Jason Fung
- Complete Keto, Drew Manning
- The Setpoint Diet, Jonathan Bailor
- Game Changer, Dave Asprey
- Unbelievable Freedom, Ryan and Kim Smith
- 131 Method, Chalene Johnson
- Eat Stop Eat, Brad Pilon
- Graceology with Gwen Smith
- Eat Live Thrive, Danna Demetre (just ordered!)
I have hundreds of cookbooks, my faves right now: Simply Keto, Southern Keto, Heal Yourself, and of course, my cookbook – Leave it to Liz!! I’m sure you would assume we do the Keto diet, but I have to say we really don’t. I just love that Keto and Paleo do not eat processed foods, so we eat as clean as possible – meats, veggies, fruits, good fats. I really watch the dairy I eat because too much doesn’t digest well for me. And I love Intermittent Fasting and all the health benefits associated with it! And since I eat fewer meals I want the BEST food I can get! I really hate the feeling you get when you had a meal that was less than fabulous and not at all satisfying! That’s why I love to take a not-so-healthy recipe and convert it to a healthy one without stripping away flavor. When you do this, you never have to feel deprived or like you are on a diet!
Can’t wait to share my Snickerdoodle Cookies that are dairy-free, sugar-free, gluten-free….WHAT???? Yes, and they are really good!! My friend Doug would call these Fake cookies but I promise everything in them are REAL!!
CREAMY ARTICHOKE CHICKEN
I got this from the Heal Yourself Cookbook and made several changes to fit my life. Who doesn’t like Spinach Artichoke Dip? This is so delicious and easy!
Ingredients:
Serves: 4
4 chicken breasts
2 cans Rotel tomatoes and green chilies
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and drained
2 teaspoons arrowroot powder
1 cup Grapeseed Vegenaise
½ cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
½ cup Parmesan, shredded
1 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
Directions: Using your pressure cooker, turn on brown and coat the bottom with about a tablespoon olive oil. Salt and Pepper chicken breasts and brown on each side. While that’s browning, mix the remaining ingredients together. Turn off pressure cooker and pour the mixture over the chicken. Turn on slow cook high for 3 hours, and it may be ready in 2 hours. The chicken will be so tender it falls apart.
No pressure cooker? Really? Ok, you can preheat your oven to 350 and place the chicken in a 9 x 13 dish. Spread the tomato/spinach mixture over the chicken and bake for 40 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Enjoy!!
PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
This recipe is also from my Heal Yourself cookbook, but instead of making it into cookies, I made one large cookie because (1) I was in a hurry and was being lazy and (2) I had an idea to make it even better!
Ingredients:
2 cups almond flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup Lily’s Dark Chocolate Chips
1/4 cup sweetener of choice (I used Swerve brown)
1/3 cup coconut oil, slightly melted
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
Directions: Preheat oven to 350. In a mixer, combine all ingredients except the chocolate chips. Mix on low speed until well combined. Stir in the chocolate chips with a spatula.
Spoon onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Drop them in about 1 tablespoon measures about 2 inches apart (mini ice cream scoop). Slightly flatten cookies with the back of a spoon.
Bake 8 – 9 minutes. After removing them from the oven, gently transfer the cookies to a cooling rack by sliding the parchment paper right off the cookie sheet onto the cooling rack.
I covered a 12-inch pizza pan with foil, sprayed it and baked it for 15 minutes or until turning brown.
After it cooled, I mixed 4 ounces softened cream cheese with ½ cup Swerve confectioners sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla and ½ cup cream till thick and creamy. Spread over cooled cookie. Can garnish with toasted pecans, almonds, or walnuts and drizzle with sugar-free caramel topping. Enjoy!!
Looks delicious! Glad you had a wonderful visit with your daughter and grands!!!