{THM Style Strawberry Shortcake}

 In trying to be very good and not eat the last bit of my daughter's birthday cake.... I experimented today with Gwen's (Gwen's-nest.com) THM Lemon Muffin in a Mug recipe :) 

I made the Lemon muffin in a mug omitting only the lemon essential oil/lemon extract. Then I took one ounce or less of cream cheese and mixed it thoroughly with a giant spoonful of 0% Greek Yogurt, splash of vanilla, tiniest dash of salt, and about 6drops of (Nunaturals) stevia extract liquid. Sliced up some fresh strawberries, And then garnished the lemon MIM with the cream cheese and yogurt "frosting" and the strawberries! It was so tasty and the perfect snack/detergent from eating that last bit of Costco's cake (I just LOVE the custard pudding in the middle, lol.) 

Next time, and especially if ending up sharing with little kiddos, I probably would do a giant spoonful and half at least of the yogurt, thst way there is plenty of the frosting topping. :) I think one could easily do whipped cream instead of the cream cheese topping also, which would resemble a strawberry short cake even more. Yum yum! ;)

P.S. So sorry for the lousy and unprofessional picture, but at least you can sort of see what it looks like. ;)

Lemon MIM

• 1 egg
• 2 T. Golden flax seed meal
• 1 T. coconut flour (or sub 2 more T of golden flax, or 2 T of almond flour)
• ½ lemon, juiced (or 2 T lemon juice)
• 1 T. butter
• pinch of salt
• 3 dashes NuNaturals Stevia Extract, or your sweetener to taste (1 packet/tsp Truvia etc)
• ½ t. baking powder
• 2-3 drops lemon essential oil (I love NOW brand)
• 
  

Instructions

1. Blend all ingredients in a mug or a small bowl (if you plan on baking in the oven).
2. Mix really well to make sure that your butter and egg are evenly incorporated.
3. Bake in the microwave for 50 seconds or so, or in the oven at *350 in 3 regular sized muffin cups.
4. If baking in muffin cups, greasing the lining paper is a good idea, or use silicone liners for easier clean up.

Notes

Underdone is way tastier than overdone. Feel free to quadruple the recipe amounts to make one dozen breakfast muffins.

- See more at: http://www.gwens-nest.com/family-favorite-recipes/low-carb-lemon-poppyseed-muffin/#sthash.gPyH4qeG.dpuf

{Chai, French Vanilla}

I told you all in this tea happy post how I got three sample of Twinings Tea to try back in late October and shared how I just adored the Honeybush, Mandarin & Orange tea!

My second cup was the Chai, French Vanilla.

It was chai flavored.  It was vanilla flavored.  It was also overwhelmingly sweet and as if someone had dumped waaaay too much real vanilla into the batch.  Honestly, I thought I'd love it and here I hated it.  And it makes me soooo sad to admit that. =(
The description says it is a "fine black tea perfectly balanced with the flavours of vanilla and savoury spices of cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and ginger".  It did taste like "chai" however I'm afraid that it just did not stand up to Stash's Chai Spice tea (which is the only hot chai {tea} I've liked).  The chai flavors seemed more bitter and not the powerful blast of perfectly balanced flavors of Chai Spice or even Oregon Chai Tea Latte concentrate (my very favorite!).  I was sadly disappointed about that.
Even more so though, I was heartbroken over this vanilla catastrophe.  I love vanilla.  I put it in every baked treat and breakfast waffle, pancake, and every muffin.  I even add extra!  But this tea soooo vanilla-ey, sweet and bitter at the same time, I couldn't even drink the whole cup.  I didn't like it plain, nor with cream/milk.  It was really just plain awful. =(

So.  Now that I've said horrid things about it and you'll now never try it or Twinings Tea....  Can I just stand by my first Twinings tea, the Honeybush Citrus one and say that they've at least made ONE tea that I love!  And for that, I'm not giving up on Twinings yet! =)

{Low Carb Personal Pizzas}

Hello!  I'm back!  At least for a little while =)  My laptop has been a ghost since October and even now is trying to lose another "life".... but we'll see, maybe this o'le broken thing has nine lives and I'll be able to start blogging again! =)  Of course... perhaps the out-of-commission laptop was just a good excuse to not admit that having three little kids is just about as much as I can handle these days! =P  I have no idea how mothers with little kids do a career job, blogging, home business, being a wife, etc. etc. and seem to rock at it!  I know now, I could not.  So kudos to you who can! =)

Now, on to these scrumptious albeit different low carb pizzas I've been making! =)
They are THM {Trim Healthy Mama} although really honestly, I haven't been able to figure out exactly which category they are in.  I believe they are in the "S" family, but may be be at least an "S" helper.  So for you readers who are doing strict THM, please don't take my word for it, research it out yourself; I may be wrong about the category.  And I'm sorry that I don't really know.... It's a long, THM journey for me, so far, and I just don't understand or remember every thing, yet!

But for those of you just trying to eat better, healthier, and more low-carb, here is a great little lunch! ;)  And, may I just add, it is especially a great lunch (THM) for those who can't use their oven to bake pizzas, or just bake anything at all!  Can't wait 'til we have a working oven again! =)  Of course... I might not remember any oven recipes by then, lol! 

So sorry the picture quality is bad... my phone camera is not the greatest!

Take a low-carb tortilla, spread a bit of cream cheese on top, then place in a warm skillet.  Drizzle on some tomato sauce/ crushed tomatoes/ fresh tomatoes (pretty much whatever you have in your pantry! ;).  Put on meat and veggies.  Sprinkle on some cheese of your choice.  Cover the skillet with a lid and let it "cook" for several minutes until the cheese is melted.  Don't forget to watch how crispy the bottom is getting, and adjust your burner temp accordingly!  Slide on to a plate and eat whole, or 'slice', share with your hungry son or eat all by yourself! =)  Most of all... enjoy! 

Here are the ingredients I used:

low carb tortilla (Costco is selling a whole wheat option with 6 net carbs, which are pretty good!)

cream cheese

diced tomatoes with juice

pepperoni

diced peppers

olives

mushrooms

mozzarella cheese

{Honeybush, Mandarin, & Orange}

A month or two before Alex arrived I saw an offer online for three free samples of Twinings Tea, and I ordered them! They arrived the week he was born, so it took me awhile before I remembered to try them... er um, one! =)
Here's my review of {African Honeybush, Mandarin, and Orange herbal tea}!
First, I wanted to try at least one of their herbal teas even though I'm not a big herbal fan.  And this one sounded interesting. =)
It did not disappoint me and axtually proved it self in deliciousness! It has a strong citrus flavor (mandarin and orange give that slightly away right?!) but it is a spicy, exoctic citrus!  Warm and refreshing. It's a happy kind of tea, and I'm hoping I can order a whole box soon! ;)

Now... to try the other two: Chai French Vanilla, and Lady Grey Tea! Can't wait!!!

You can check it out here if you want to try some yourself =) Yum!

{Chicken Ginger Curry}

CHICKEN GINGER CURRY

* 4 chicken half breasts

* 1 can (Thai Kitchen) coconut milk

* 2-3 tsp. curry paste, red

* thinly sliced, rough chopped 1 whole Onion (I prefer using white)

* 1 whole red Bell pepper, chopped

* scrape ginger root with butter knife into smaller "flakes", to taste (only a little if you don't care for ginger much, lots more if you like ginger/Asian flavor, lol)

* salt and pepper to taste (I used a mix of celtic sea salt and Johnnys seasoning salt)

Throw it all into a crock pot, mix, and let it cook for approximately 3-4 hours on high, or near to 6 hours on low.  

Shred or cut the chicken, and then...

Serve with rice, of your choice, and a side of vegetables.

Enjoy! 

~Recipe is mine, From the Kitchen of an Apron Lovin' Mommy~

Autumn's {Hearty Beef n Quinoa Soup}

Alrighty so I don't have any pictures for this recipe.  Again.  =(  But, if I ever get batteries for the one camera, and find the very evasive cord to charge the other..... 

My oven's thermometer is messed up, or something is wrong with the oven, as it turns off and starts beeping all these errors codes whenever I use it, or errr um... try to use it! =)  Sad sigh... we've contacted the landlord but he hasn't gotten back to us about it, and it's been weeks!  I've mostly been without it this whole summer which was okay since it was so hot.  Who wants to use the oven when your house is already 80-plus degrees???  However, I've been running out of quick ideas for dinner, and yesterday morning as I was cleaning and getting ready for the day I kept racking my brain as to what I could do for a quick, not-much-prep dinner (Monday nights Seth gets home shortly before dinner time and I usually have Bible Study at 7, so I want it easy and ready exactly "on time") There was no thawed out meat from the freezer so I couldn't throw something together in the crock pot in the morning and by the time it was thawed out and I had a few minutes it was afternoon.... little late to start the crockpot now! ={

So 5:30pm came and I....
I  just threw a soup-of-sorts together!  I had no idea what I was "doing", or if it would turn out.  I just literally threw stuff together: chopped, sauteed, cooked, and tasted and then served to Seth and the kids. =)

Guess what?!  Everyone really liked it! =)  And that's why I'm sharing it with you!  

Hearty Beef n Quinoa Soup
1 lb ground beef, crumbled, salted, and cooked
1 cup quinoa
8+ cups water (or broth, if you don't have the next ingredient)
1-2 heaping T. beef "Better Than Bullion" base
2-4 large fresh tomatoes, rough chopped
1-2 mild jalapenos, finely diced
garlic cloves, finely diced
1/2-1 whole onion, chopped
lots of salt and pepper, to taste
Opt. chili powder and/or cayenne powder

1.Rinse the quinoa, add to a pot with at least 8 cups of water (this is what I did, but next time I would add 2 more cups of water, will explain why leaving this up to you at the end!)
2.  Add the beef bullion/base. Bring the quinoa to a boil, turn to a medium heat, and allow to cook at a rolling simmer for about 15 minutes, or essentially while making and adding the rest! =)
3. Thoroughly cook ground beef, set aside.
4. In the same skillet, saute the chopped and diced garlic cloves, jalapenos, and onion.  Throw into the simmering pot of quinoa, along with the roughly chopped tomatoes.
5. Add salt, pepper, and any other seasonings you desire (example: I used a combination of regular salt and Johnny's Seasoning Salt; and since I was feeding the kids out of the same pot as us this time, I didn't use chili powder or cayenne, but I definitely would if I was serving to spicy-loving people! =)
6.  Add the cooked hamburger towards the end, when the quinoa is mostly cooked and "fluffy", and let it all simmer on very low so the flavors blend and while you set the table and call the family "to dinner"! =)
7. Serve with love and a smile!

Now for the "note":  I like my soup with a bit more broth than this turned out having.  The quinoa continues to soak up the  broth as it simmers and as it sits while setting the table and eating dinner.  So, if you're like me and want an actual soup definitely add those extra cups of water/broth!!!  However, if you're like my husband who likes a thick, almost stew-like "soup" then leave the water amount at about 8 cups! =)
(By the way, my package of quinoa (bought from Costco) says to cook 1 cup in 2 cups of water, so I did that plus added 5-6 cups more of water, if you're curious how I came up with the numbers. lol)

Hope you enjoy!  And if it's still too warm where you live right now and soup just doesn't sound appetizing then save this one for a cold wintery evening!  And since you probably won't have fresh tomatoes at that time of year... just substitute for some canned diced tomatoes! =)

{Bakto: Part 1}

I am over the moon excited about trying these "sweet brown" flavorings!  I first read about them I think over at Gwen's Nest (gwens-nest.com) but honestly I don't remember exactly where! =}  I do know that wherever I got the tip it was from a Trim Healthy Mama and she said that Pearl approved of them, so that's pretty cool too! =)

So.  Bakto Flavorings.  =)  The sweet brown package came with 6 flavors, 1 oz. each of vanilla, hazelnut, caramel, coffee, chocolate, and ginger.  The one I am most excited to try, tomorrow in the FSF (aka "Fat Stripping Frappa" from Trim Healthy Mama or aka as the f-drink from my husband =) ..... is .... the caramel!  Seth loves caramel Big Train coffees (and a local coffee shop, Hotshots, makes the best I've ever had!) and the first few times I made this frappa for him he'd ask me for "that coffee drink" or "that milkshake drink".  I finally laughed and said, "Baby, it does NOT have coffee in it, nor is it a milkshake!  Does it remind you of Hotshots big trains?"  Well, yes, apparently it does (and it truly is similar some days; still perfecting how to make it "perfect". Tight-lipped-lol)!  And now tomorrow when he asks for it I'll be able to surprise him with a caramel one!  Or, at least, that's my hope! =)
{sweet brown}
Okay, now for confession time.  I did already try two flavorings out tonight!  But, they were sort of trials ;) Hehe!
I made the THM "choco pudding" (book pg. 366), except for half batch I only put in vanilla and caramel flavorings (it was pretty good; altho' needed more caramel) and the other half-batch I used Hershey's dark chocolate cocoa powder with the coffee flavor.  Alas, it was good but also quite bitter!  So definitely not enough stevia/sweetener in that one! =)  Seth liked it though.  Lol, but my guy doesn't mind a bit of bitter/dark chocolate! ;)

Now.... if you like to bake.  If you like flavors.  If you are interested in Trim Healthy Mama.  If you like something other than ....chocolate (which is me!*).  If you like trying out new things.  Then, you certainly need to check out the list of options over on Amazon or Bakto Flavors!  Not only do they sell them in sets of 6, one ounce each, but also in bottles of 4 oz.  There are gift set options and specialty vanillas and herbs and spices and vinegars and yes... over 40 flavors to choose from!  Pretty cool stuff =)

So the question tonight is: given the chance, which flavors would you like trying?!??! =)
{citrus}{floral}
{and many more!}

*Note:  Not sure if that little wayside comment of mine made sense, so here's the explanation.  I do like chocolate, very much, but usually mixed with other things.  For example, my favorite kind of ice cream (Blue Bunny's Bunny Tracks) has chocolate, but it is actually a vanilla ice cream filled  with chocolate and peanut butter pieces!  YUM!   Given the option I would always choose chocolate chip cookies instead of double chocolate (choc) chip cookies (unless of course the double chocolate ones looked better!!! =)  Also, I was reading on the facebook Trim Healthy Mama forum of all these women ranting and raving over all the delicious chocolate desserts and chocolate drinks/frappas/etc.  And finally I told Seth, 'I'm so tired of hearing about chocolate!  If that's the only option (or berry) THM offers for healthy desserts I am NOT giving up my favorite sweets!"  Lol.  Well, lo and behold, there are other options according to the THM-ers....  flavorings, like Bakto's! =)  Whew.  I was really starting to get worried.  (wink, lol=)
By the way, once I've tested all mine out I'll hopefully be able to give even a better review! After this introduction they better not fail! =)
Oh. And "P.S.".... I have not said anything about giving up my favorite sweets entirely!  Just want ya'll to know, especially with October and Christmas/New Years' coming up!!!  ;)