Caprese Stuffed Avocado

 Where are the avocado lovers at? 

I personally have a love hate relationship with them myself - when trying fresh ones they are either rock hard not ripe or rotten brown inside and that sweet soft pale green spot in between always eludes me 🤣 seriously …

However these Caprese Stuffed Avocados look so tasty presentation wise but I would likely use the frozen avocado chunks thawed and tossed right with the other ingredients cause it’s just easier than trying to time that sweet elusive ripe but no rotten state!

CAPRESE STUFFED AVOCADO ~ Sweet and juicy grape/cherry tomatoes with fresh mozzarella balls are tossed in basil pesto with a touch of garlic, then stuffed into avocado halves! Drizzle with a balsamic glaze.

RECIPE here

Bon Appetite 

Margaret

Live, Laugh, Love 

Be Totallyawake4-life 

 

Keto Fudgecicle

I am so excited to get my Pampered Chef Quickcicle maker I just ordered so I can try this recipe from the amazing All Day I Dream About Food blog 

Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup almond or cashew milkunsweetened
• ⅓ cup Swerve Sweetener 
• ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or peppermint extract
• ¼ teaspoon xanthum gum

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk together milk, cream, Swerve, and cocoa powder. Bring to a boil and cook one minute, stirring continuously.
2. Remove from heat and stir in peppermint extract. Sprinkle with xanthan gum and whisk briskly to combine. Let mixture cool at least 10 minutes and then pour into popsicle molds.
3. Freeze 1 hour, then push wooden sticks partway into popsicles and return to the freezer (wooden sticks are best for staying in the pops when you take them out of the molds). Freeze until solid, about 5 more hours.
4. To remove from molds, run under hot running water for 30 seconds or so.

Bon Appetite

Margaret

Live, Laugh, Love

Be Totallyawake4-life

Dutch Keto Chocolate Cupcakes!

 Is chocolate part of your self care routine?? 

I love these Keto chocolate cupcakes - they are perfect on their own or you. An dress them up with some Chocolate Buttercream icing for a more dessert feel. 

Grain free & Sugar free so all the mouth orgasm pleasure of chocolate flavour and none of the insulin spike! 

Ingredients 

• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 3 tablespoons golden flaxseed meal finely ground
• 1 tablespoon coconut flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum or 2 tsp more golden flaxseed meal
• 1/4 cup unsalted grass-fed butter or 4 TBS coconut oil + 1 TBS coconut cream
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream or coconut cream
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder or instant coffee (optional)
• 1/3-1/2 cup xylitol or coconut sugar if paleo
• 2 eggs eggs at room temperature

I personally add peppermint extract or hazelnut extract instead of the expresso suggestion cause I am not a big coffee flavour fan. I also used dark dutch style cocoa for that deep rich chocolate colour.

If you can get your hands on sugar free chocolate chips - we love the Lily’s white chocolate or dark chocolate or the salted caramel chocolate chips -  they are a nice addition to this recipe too! 

Instructions 

• Each batch of cake is good for one 8-inch layer of cake (or 6 cupcakes). 
• Position a rack in the lower third of your oven and preheat to 350°F/180°C. Grease, dust with cocoa powder, and line an 8-inch cake pan, set aside. Or use 6 silicone cupcake liners.
• Add almond flour, flaxseed meal, coconut flour, baking powder and xanthan gum to a medium bowl. Whisk until thoroughly combined, set aside. 
• Add butter, heavy cream (or coconut oil and cream), cocoa powder, salt and espresso powder (optional) to a large heatproof bowl. Melt over a water bath whisking constantly (or use the microwave in small bursts). Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool slightly. 
• Add in the sweetener and one egg at a time, whisking well after each one until completely incorporated. The texture should appear smooth and thick, with all the sweetener dissolving into the mixture (if using erythritol, some granules may remain). Add the flour mixture, whisking vigorously until fully blended (about a minute). Pour batter into prepared pan or cupcake liners.
• Bake for 15-19 minutes, or until set and a toothpick inserted comes out just clean. Check often after minute 15 to ensure your cake doesn't dry out, and always keep in mind, however, that your cake will continue to cook while cooling! 
• Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes in the cake pan, before transferring to a rack. It'll be particularly fragile right out of the oven if you made it with xylitol or allulose, so you need to let it set. 

Bon Appetite!

Margaret 

Live, Laugh, Love

Be Totallyawake4-life

Breakfast Pizza

 Happy FriYAY! 

Looking for a fun brunch item for the weekend? This breakfast/dessert pizza doesn’t disappoint! 

KETO FRUIT PIZZA 

CRUST::
•1 1/2 c Almond Flour
•2 TBS Sweetener
•1 stick Melted Butter
• Dash of Vanilla Extract

FROSTING::
•Full block of softened Cream Cheese
•2 TBS Heavy Whipping Cream
•2 TBS Almond Milk
•1/4 c Sweetener of choice
• 1 TSP Vanilla Extract

• Epicure Summer Berry seasoning (optional)

TOPPINGS: 
•Blueberries
•Strawberries (quartered)
•Raspberries 
•Blackberries
DIRECTIONS:
• Preheat Oven to 350F
• Combine all CRUST ingredients well
• Bake for 6-7 minutes
• Let cool, begin mixing all FROSTING ingredients
• Spread frosting on top of cooked crust
• Top with berries of your choice
ENJOY!!!

Bon Appetite  

Margaret
Live, Laugh, Love 
Be Totallyawake4-life 

Do you have a Saturday ritual??

Sharing is caring - drop us your must haves to help you recharge in the comments.

 

 

 

We spent some time out in the backyard cleaning up the deck to enjoy sitting out by the fire and discussing plans to have an overgrown pine tree removed, got creative digitally making fun content, Love my Aloette Muddy Up detoxification mask, added some DoTERRA lavender to my Epsom salts to help with the relaxing, currently working my way the through an Audible book Cognitive Behaviour therapy in 7 weeks by Seth Gillian PhD., Aloette has an amazing Hand polish and cream that helps turn back time on the hands & GelMoment cuticle oils are a must for healthy nails, we are currently working our way through the Mandilorian for Saturday night family movie night, I love using wool dryer balls with a couple drops of doTERRA Serenity make for amazing fresh linens and Sundays are the perfect day to plan for a sleep in - hopefully my brain cooperates!

 

Be well and if you are looking for more clean living, eating and self care tips and tricks come join our Totallyawake4-life & Nailin' It Together community!

 

Margaret

Live. Laugh, Love

Be Totallyawake4-life

 

*post contains affiliate links

Living with Chronic Illness

This is so very very true and sometimes we can pay dearly for that one day of “enduring for sake and benefit of some socialization” with days afterward of increased pain and decreased coping cause we used up all the resilience and energy we had in one go!

Sometimes I think of chronic illness as waking up with, let’s say 5, energy chips and I have to be reflective of which activities I will do to make it through the day without running out of chips  - and if something I am being asked to do is going to take 20 energy chips that means I am going to have to accept that for the next 3 days after I am likely gonna be useless for doing anything. And sometimes that’s ok one is willing to go into debt so to speak cause I really want to participate and other times something is offered to me that I really WANT to do but I have to decline because I already used up all my energy chips on something else and I am now in debt and I KNOW from past experience if I say yes and borrow any more energy chips from my tomorrows that my autoimmune system will start demanding significant interest on said debt in way of new symptoms to knock me back a peg! 

It is a delicate balance and sometimes someone with chronic illnesses can get into that spiral of borrowing more and more chips from tomorrow because they hate having to miss out on things and hate that their disease controls so much of their life that they end up hitting rock bottom again with a nasty flare that sets them back that peg or two  before remembering that unlike others they cannot gamble with their chips and hope that they will somehow win more of them and it will balance out in the end.

Just a little PSA that when someone says yes to one persons invite and the next day says no to another persons invite it’s often nothing to do with the INVITE and often much more to do with the timing and the same invitee just being out of energy chips to be able to say yes. Please don’t take it personally and KEEP inviting them out for the next times so that they can trust that it’s ok to say no to “this time” and do get into the spiral of borrowing energy chips from tomorrow out of FOMO in future.

We never know what someone else is going through which is why it’s important to act with empathy and kindness to all! 

Margaret 

Live, Laugh, Love 

Be Totallyawake4-life 

Friday night snacks

Looking for a fun Friday night treat? 

Low Carb Mozzarella Sticks - Yes please! 

Ingredients

• 6 Mozzarella Sticks
• 1/2 cup grated dry Parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 cups pork rinds
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning blend - want to spice it up add a little Cheyenne pepper 
• 1 egg
• 2 tsps water

Directions:

• Cut Mozzarella sticks in half cross-wise and set aside
• Place egg and water in a small shallow dish or pan. Whisk to mix.
• Crush pork rinds with rolling pin or crush in blender. Should make about 1/2 cup pork rind crumbs.
• Place Parmesan, crushed pork rinds and Italian seasoning in a shallow baking pan
• Dip Mozzarella sticks, one at a time, first in egg wash, then crumbs, then repeat both egg wash and crumbs for second coating.
• Set mozzarella on dish or pan that will fit in the freezer.
• Freeze for two hours
• After two hours: heat oven or air fryer to 500 degrees.
• Working quickly cover a baking pan in parchment or grease it.
• Place frozen mozzarella sticks directly from freezer onto pan.
• Spray with a light coating of olive oil. (optional)
• Bake for 6-8 minutes, just till coating is brown and cheese is warm and soft.

Serve immediately with warm marinara sauce, if desired.

Fun low carb snack for all ages! 

Bon Appetite

Margaret

Live, laugh, love

Be Totallyawake4-life 

Low Carb Raspberry Coconut bars

 

Recipe adapted from here: 

Ingredients

Crust

• 1/2 cup butter
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 1 3/4 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup coconut four 
• 1/3 cup sugar substitute
• 1 egg

Filling

• 1/2 cup sugar-free raspberry preserves (for test purposes I used Smucker's Sugar-Free Red Raspberry Preserves)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar substitute 
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes

Instructions 

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line an 8c8 square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an inch or more to hang over the edge for handles.
• Mix flour, butter, cream cheese, and sugar in a bowl until mixture is crumbly. Alternatively, you can use a food processor and pulse ingredients until crumbly. Add egg and process a few times until egg is incorporated. 
• Press crust mixture into the bottom of the pan. Bake 375 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. 
• Meanwhile, add eggs to a medium-sized mixing bowl and beat with a whisk. Add sugar, almond extract, and coconut flakes to the bowl. Stir until incorporated.
• Remove crust from oven and spread raspberry filling evenly over crust. Top with the egg and coconut filling, spreading evenly over the raspberry layer. 
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Allow bars to cool completely then remove from pan and cut into 20 squares.

These freeze well - place parchment or wax  paper between layers in freezer safe container and remove desired serving and let defrost before serving. 

Bon Appetite 

Margaret

Live, Laugh, Love 

Be Totallyawake4-life 

Pancake Tuesday

 I’ll take any excuse for pancakes over here! 

My favourite recipe is from All Day I Dream about Food 

Ingredients
4 large eggs
¾ cup almond milk
¼ cup avocado oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ½ cups blanched almond flour (about 250g)
¼ cup Swerve Sweetener
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
Additional oil for the pan

Instructions
In a large blender, combine the eggs, almond milk, oil, and vanilla. Blend 30 seconds to combine. Add the almond flour, sweetener, baking powder, and salt and blend again until smooth. Let the batter rest 5 minutes.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat and add lightly grease with a little oil. Use about 3 tablespoons of batter for each pancake and spread into a 3 or 4 inch circle. Cook the pancakes until bubbles begin to appear on the tops and the edges are set and dry, 2 to 4 minutes.

Carefully flip the pancakes and continue to cook until golden brown on the second side, another 2 to 4 minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more butter or oil to the pan as needed.

Bon Appetite 

Margaret 

Live, Laugh, Love

Be Totallyawake4-life 

#pancaketuesday #grainfreeliving 

Do you need a Dessert for One?

Keto Strawberry shortcake for one? Yes please! 

In a mug:

2 tbsp butter

1/2 cup almond flour

2 tbsp sweetener of choice 

1/2 tsp vanilla 

1/2 tsp baking powder 

1 large egg

1/4 tsp Cake Batter extract 

2 tbsp heavy cream 

Mix all ingredients together well 

Microwave 90 seconds - poke with fork to ensure cooked in middle add 10 second intervals if fork doesn’t come out clean.

Either turn upside down onto a plate or if you hate extra dishes like I do just prep the rest right in your mug! 

Add 4 fresh cut strawberries - sliced

Top with 1/4 cup Sugar free whipped cream! 

Nutritional info

470 Calories 

 42 G Fat

 16 G Protein 

   8 G Fibre 

   7 Net Carbs 

Depending on your total carb goals this is definitely an occasional treat recipe coming in at 7 net carbs however it’s a contender for our Valentine’s Day dessert! 

Bon Appetite 

Margaret 

Live, Laugh, Love

Be Totallyawake4-life 

Tasty Thursday Recipe Review - Baked Boursin Chicken

Nom nom - saw this recipe on a Tik Tok so had to give it a try! I wish I had jotted down the creator so I could give a shout out but it was a 2am insomnia find and in my effort to read the ingredients on my phone clearly I zoomed in and accidentally cropped off the handle when I took the screenshot! So whoever you are - thank you kindly for this one it was a huge hit!

 

 This one got 6 thumbs around the table here and at least one this is a worthy mouth orgasm  - even the still developing his clean eating palette cleaned his plate! 

We had this with a spinach salad because we try to eat grain free - however if you can have grains it would be lovely over pasta. Next time I think I will try it over some sauteed Zucchini noodles to help with the delicious sauce having something to stick to - although its all good I got it up with a spoon this time so it did not go to waste!

 

Bon Appetite 

Margaret

Live, Laugh, Love

Be Totallyawake4/life 

French Onion Meatloaf

Well my big sister shared a new recipe and so of course I had to have it too cause you know little sis needs to have everyone big sis has 🤣 

Recipe adapted from the lovely Carolyn over at All Day I Dream About Food

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoon butter
• 1 large sweet onion cut in half lengthwise and diced
• 3/4 teaspoon Freshly ground pepper 
• 2 lb ground beef
• 1 cup ground pork rinds
• 2 teaspoon Epicure French Onion seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon Ghost Pepper spice
• 1 large egg
• 4 ounces Gruyere cheese grated

Instructions

• In a large skillet over low heat, melt the butter. Once melted, add the diced onions and toss to coat. Sprinkle with pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are soft and golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. 
• Remove from heat and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350F. 
• In a large bowl, combine the ground meat, pork rinds (the Pampered Chef Chopper is amazing to create quick pork rind crumbs, Epicure French onion seasoning, pepper. Stir in the egg and half of the caramelized onions, then use your hands to thoroughly combine. 
• Transfer into a silicone baking or a loaf pan. Bake 40 to 50 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 160F. 
• Top with the shredded cheese and the remaining onions and place back in the warm oven to melt the cheese, about 5 minutes.
  The recipe turned out amazing! 
  
  Bon Appetite 
  Margaret Live, Laugh, LoveBe Totallyawake4-life 
  

Squeal - got the new catty giddiness

Ok folks who is old enough to remember the Sears Holiday Toy catalog getting delivered??

Well I am no longer a wee I  am still a child at heart so that’s how I feel when my favorite clean eating foodie  company drops their new catalog - it’s like CHRISTMAS all over again seeing what’s NEW to try out ..... only now I can screen shot my wishlist vs having to circle them with a big red marker ⭕️ !!  🤣

Feel free to have a look at their fabulous new products. I am exited about the new salad meal kits and for my Vegan family/friends - DIY MAYO no eggs needed!  And for my new fridge just I might have to check out the new space saver storage containers 😍 

Seriously take a peek and if you want to order and don’t yet have your own “spicy crack dealer” aka Epicure consultant please consider supporting  my lovely friend Lisa! 

You can order direct from the link here and have it shipped right to  your front door. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!!

Also here is the link to the full digital catalogue for your viewing pleasure.  

Bon Appetite

Margaret 

Live, Laugh, Love

Be Totallyawake4-life 

Tasty Tuesday

So what did you serve up for dinner? 

I admit I am proud of myself - I had a shitastic day yesterday with the house falling apart around us right before Christmas followed by another less than steller day at the Dr with the test results from the last round of tests trying to figure out what’s going in with my body raising more concerns than answers and with my trauma response to stress I REALLY wanted to eat a shit load of crappy comfort food to drown my sorrows and get those serotonins flowing for that temporary relief  … but I opted for some extra fresh Parmesan on my salad and I am gonna have a Keto Hot Chocolate with a shot of Forty Creek in it bit later and decompress with some PVR CSI catch up! Than tomorrow I am gonna get myself some healthy and longer lasting serotonin working out the stress in the POOL!

Bon Appetite 

Margaret 

Live, Laigh, Love

Be Totallyawake4-life 

Fathead Dough Pizza

 Nom nom - tonight we are having a fan favourite grain free / keto pizza crust recipe!

What you need:

12 oz shredded mozzarella cheese - melted until gooey quickly mix in following:

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp xanthum gum

2/3 cup coconut flour

2 eggs 

Mix together and roll out evenly onto non stick silicone baking tray - I used some parchment paper over top to prevent my rolling pin from sticking to the crust.

I also added some Epicure Pizza seasoning sprinkled on top! Than bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes!

Then take out and add sauce and toppings and bake again for another 10-15 minutes or so to heat those up! 

Take out of oven when cheese is bubbly and cut into desired slice sizes!

The crust was AWESOME and loved being able to pick it up eat like a normal pizza without it being a floppy disc where the toppings all slide off! Definitely my new favourite! 

Bon Appetite

Margaret

Live, Laugh, Love

Be Totallyawake4-life

Ooey Gooey Queso cauliflower with Lime Guacamole Pork Chop!

If you’ve been following me you know I just LOVE Epicure meal solutions and seasonings! 

They make clean eating a snap! 

Plus you can think outside the box so to speak and use items anyway you want to explore! 

Tonight I used the Ooey Gooey Queso dip to make a sauce for our roasted cauliflower side! I used half the suggested amount of milk and stirred it up and poured over chopped cauliflower florets in the large steamer. Added handful of bacon bits and chives and tossed to cover the cauliflower evenly. Sprinkled 1/2 cup shredded cheese over the top and baked in oven on 400F for 45 minutes until the cauliflower was tender and the cheese browned up on the edges.

I created a marinade for our pork chops using the Guacamole seasoning, lime juice and a wee bit avocado oil. 

Popped it all in a ziplock baggie and let the pork chops sit in fridge for a couple hours before grilling them on BBQ! 

So delicious! 

What’s your favourite Epicure meal solution? 

Bon Appetite 

Margaret 

Like, Laugh, Love

Be Totallyawake4-life  

Meal time Favorites!

 Table time Thursday - what’s on your plate tonight?

I made Parmesan crusted chicken and roasted veggies for the fam jam tonight! 

I love it cause it’s so easy - just mix Parmesan cheese with homemade or store bought mayo and a bit of Epicure Herbs and Spices. Make a paste with it and spread over the meat. Bake 400F for 30 minutes along with your roasted side veggies choice! We had diced tri colour sweet peppers, sliced radishes and wee bit onion. 

Bon Appetite

Margaret 

Live, Laugh, Love

Be Totallyawake4/life

#foodporn #whatsfordinner #lowcarb #grainfree #glutenfree #keto #paleo #mealideas #recipes #autoimmunedisease #cleaneating