Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Keto Onion Rings----very tasty

My son found a new way to make onion rings Keto-style. They were yummy.

Use any kind of onion you like (we prefer purple ones). Cut into slices and make into rings.

Use pork rinds that have been ground up in food processor until a fine "flour-like" consistency.

Sprinkle Parmesan cheese in with pork rinds.

Beat one egg and add about l/2 cup mayonnaise to make a dipping mixture.

Dip onions in mixture, place on wax paper and bake from 20 to 30 minutes at 350.

photo from www.ibreatheimhungry.com

We do not have a photo of the ones he made; ate 'um.


papier mache watermelon bowl

I've been working with papier mache this week. Made a bowl to look
like a watermelon. Fun. 

Thursday, February 23, 2017

I'll be making a crocheted skirt this week from a recycled granny square afghan

 Planning to sew skirt and shorts from recycled granny squares. Coming soon.


Monday, February 20, 2017

Weight loss maintained 6 months


They say that maintaining weight loss is harder than losing. I am celebrating 6 months of success this week. I've kept over 70 pounds off for 6 months. The dress and jacket are size 8. I found the boots in a garbage can in the neighborhood (was not looking, just saw them and hauled home). All the boots needed was soap and water and some scrubbing. They are a size too large, but I like it that I can wear socks inside. These boots are real Australian sheep skin and wool. YAYAY  Dress and jacket were also free. Jacket came from Talbot's; cost over $60 new. Life is a bowl of cherries and I am having a blast.

Crocheted and hand quilted items to donate to needy babies this season.




Each year I make or buy between 10 to 12 baby quilts or crocheted baby blankets to donate to a local Catholic Church for their Layette Program. When needy people come to the food bank, if they have a new baby, the church provides clothes, diapers, etc. and they enjoy also giving a quilt or blanket. This year I was able to make/purchase 11 items plus a bag of gently used clothing that should work for anyone. I'll be delivering my donations this week.

Friday, February 17, 2017

Baby quilt made from donated fabric Will donate quilt to Ladies of Charity Layette Program.

The pattern for this quilt is Round the World. The square begins in the middle and each square is added to make the pattern going round and round the middle square.

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Warm Chocolate Keto Pudding

I created a new recipe this week. This is a Keto-friendly way to enjoy a dessert. I ONLY make one serving at a time because I do not want to be tempted.
Ingredients and directions: Heat a pan to medium heat, place TWO tablespoons of coconut oil in the pan and let it melt, next add ONE tablespoon each: peanut butter and  chocolate cocoa powder, stir,  turn heat off and remove pan from heat. Add 2 tablespoons of real whipping cream liquid, 1 tablespoon UNSWEETENED coconut, and you can use l/2 teaspoon pecans or English walnuts if wanted, sweeten to taste. Stir and whip it until it begins to get firm. You can eat it warm or let it stand until it gets cooled off. I do not put in frig. IF you let it cool, it gets the consistency of fudge.
.

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Keto Menus Used By Martha Rose Woodward


Per Requests: What I Eat on the Ketogenic Food Plan

In a nutshell, the Ketogenic Food Plan or Low Carb and High Fat plan gets you off of refined sugar and all other kinds of sugar. Once you truly get off sugar, you will lose the cravings you have had all your life. 

It may take you a few days or a few weeks, but it will be worth it. You will gain control of your eating behavior. 
Think of is this way: MOSTLY NO WHITE FOODS: Eat no sugar, potatoes, rice, milk, bread or flour in any form (such as pies,cakes, donuts, or puddings based in flour).I chose not to eat fruit, but many people on the plan eat berries and other fruits in moderation. I chose to eat a few strawberries (as in one a day a few days) and ate two blackberries we raised in our yard, but I did not make fruit a regular part of my day. I also did not eat sugar free Jello until a week ago because I wanted to break myself from wanting a sweet food. IF I eat it now it will be a l/2 serving once every 3 days or not. 

WHITE FOODS YOU MAY EAT IN MODERATION:
sour cream, real whipped cream, mayonnaise, cream cheese, blue cheese dressing and Ranch Dressing
(up to 2 tablespoons per day of each)
Be careful. I NEVER eat all of these in one day. IF I eat cream cheese, I do not eat sour cream that day. Etc. I do eat mayonnaise and dressings on same days as the other 3. 

You may eat pork rinds as a crunchy treat; up to a cup or two a day. These can also be used in many recipes to add as a "breading." Be sure to search for Ketogenic Recipes using pork rinds and you will find zillions. You can also have cocoa and make a treat called "fat bombs" made with peanut butter, cocoa, non-sweetened coconut, and coconut oil that look and taste like Almond Joy candy bars. Again, check Youtube for recipes. 


What I Eat:
Breakfast is a choice of these options:
Enjoy hot beverage such as coffee or tea and drink one cup (ALSO, add 8 ounces of water with every meal). In the coffee you can have 1 serving coffee creamer (equals 1 carb so go easy), 1 tablespoon coconut oil*, sweetner and 1 teaspoon Kerrygold or any REAL butter. 


l egg (fried, poached, scrambled or boiled)**
l piece bacon
or
2 eggs made into an omelet cooked in Kerrygold butter (or any REAL butter you have) and adding l tablespoon of any cheese, mushrooms, red bell pepper, onion, jalepino or other vegetable of your choice. Be sure to keep the vegetables to l tablespoon in these omelets as there are carbs in veges.
or 
2 slices cooked bacon
or 
l egg (cooked any way) and l sausage patty or link
or 
2 sausage patties
or 
l bacon and 1 sausage add one egg, too, if wanted.

*coconut oil is high in natural fat and helps your body to burn stored fat. Use it in hot beverages and spread on salads for extra fats. The entire idea is to EAT MORE FATS.
**This is what I eat now that I have lost 73 pounds, when I first started the plan I doubled this breakfast menu. So, if you have more than 50 pounds to lose, eat 2 eggs and 2 pieces of bacon at the same meal. IF you begin to hit a weight loss stall, cut back on one of them. 
A weight loss stall happens to most everyone who goes on this plan. It means that you are sticking to the plan as perfectly as possible and you see no weight loss for 5 days or longer. Do not panic, stay on the plan. Do not starve yourself. COUNT daily CARBS carefully. You may be having more than you think. 
Keep carbs to no more than 20  grams a day, protein to no more than 20 grams a day and fats at 60 grams or more a day. Once you have lost 50 or more, cut  carbs to no more than 15 grams a day and keep cutting to as low as 10 or less. 


Lunch and Dinner can be the same; just spread them out with 4 to 5 hours in between. Remember, every time you eat you spike the insulin in your blood, so eat only 3 times a day. Drink water or fix the coffee as shown above as a pick-me-up. You can have up to 2 diet sodas a day at 12 oz. each for a total of 24 oz. NO DIET MOUNTAIN DEW OR MELLO JELLO THE ACID INTAKE WILL KEEP YOU FROM LOSING AND ROT YOUR TEETH>
You need to drink 3 to 6 cups of water a day, but be careful, you can drink too much water and inhibit the fat loss.

For your lunch or dinner meal, you need to eat at least 1/2 to 1 cup of FRESH lettuce. Choose Romaine, iceberg, or any kind of lettuce. Use other leafy greens such as spinach. You may not have all vegetables as many have tons of carbs so stick with dark green ones such as zucchini, cabbage, cauliflower, okra, kraut, red bell pepper, green bell pepper and most pickled peppers are okay, but all in moderation. Keep servings of veges at l/2 cup and no more than 3 at one meal. You may FRY IN LARD, but no breading. IF you get the lard really hot, you won't miss the breading. You may have tomatoes in moderation, but some people (like me) are HIGHLY sensitive to the sugar content, so it might inhibit weight loss. No more than 4 cherry tomatoes in one day or l/2 tennis ball size tomato per day.

You may eat 3 to 5 ounces of any meat in the world. That includes steak, hamburger, chicken, all fish and all pork. Fry, bake with skin on and be sure to leave the fat on. Eating the fat it is the best thing for you. 
I usually have a tuna salad with 1 boiled egg some veges and a tablespoon of Ranch Dressing or Blue Cheese Dressing for lunch. Many times I fry zucchini like hash browns, mixed with an egg and eat with two tablespoons of sour cream. I often eat  baked chicken or pork for dinner. I find that I do not lose so well on beef products, but that is just me, you might do fine with beef. You have to  learn what your body will use and what it won't. I lose really well on fried chicken wings, so I eat them at least once a week. A serving size for me is 5, but you may do well with a few more. I cover with hot sauce.
THERE IS NO "ONE SIZE FITS ALL" in dieting. Each body is different and yours will show you what you lose good on and what puts you in a stall. 

You may have up to 1 cup of sugar free Jello for dessert at lunch or dinner or l/2 cup at each. You can spread canned REAL whipped cream on top so long as you don't over do it. 

To recap lunch and dinner:
meat of your choice, limited vegetables, lettuce with each meal due to needed ruffage, but you can have turnip, mustard or spinach greens cooked in bacon grease if you don't like salads. 

I also make and eat 2 fat bombs per day and drink a cup of decaf coffee. See Youtube for recipes. These are like eating a candy bar. Add a pork rind to the mixture before it hardens and you have a Butterfinger.

Youtube is your friend as far as recipes. You will soon find that you can make all of your lifelong favorites such as pizza and cheese cake if you follow the Keto guidelines. People around the world are highly creative and have put together amazing recipes that will fool your eyes. The Keto pizza crust made from grated cauliflower and an egg is so delicious you will not believe it. You can have cheeses, pepperoni and the veges and will swear you are having a regular pizza. All the while you will see your body MELT as the fat leaves you forever.

Be sure and watch any video from Dr. Eric Berg, Dr. Eric Westman and Dr. Robert Lustig. They will teach you what to eat and explain why low carb and high fats works. Dr. Lustig will show you that sugar is the devil and you MUST get off of it. Watch Fat Chance and The Bitter Truth About Sugar by Dr. Lustig. Dr. Berg has over 4,000 videos posted and over 1 BILLION views. He will teach you everything you need to know about how your body works. Dr. Westman had himself filmed teaching the Ketogenic Diet or, as he calls it, The New Atkins. He works at Duke U.
Help is out there for you.
You do not have to be fat. 
It is not your fault.
You are not eating too much or exercising too little, your body is allergic to carbohydrates and when you limit them the fat will melt. 35 % of Americans have this allergy and that is why many are overweight.
I eat far more now that before I went on this program. I was eating too much sugar in the form  of apples, oranges, grapefruit and other foods thinking I was dieting. These foods made me gain weight.
Nothing will motivate you more than success.
Here is how the weight came off of me:

AFTER 5 weeks....-24 pounds.
After 10 weeks........-30 pounds   
After 15 weeks..........-38 pounds
After 20 weeks...........-43.50 pounds
After 25 weeks.............-49.50 pounds
After 30 weeks............53 pounds
After 35 weeks........57 pounds
After 40 weeks......65 pounds
and today is week #47 and I have lost total 68.50
 week 52...a total of 74 pounds

I went from wearing sizes 16-18 to today I am wearing size 8 and some size 6. Yes, my loss slowed down at one point. Yes, I got discouraged, but I did not go off the plan and I did not starve myself. I held firm and stayed with it, and soon, the pounds began to melt away.

IMPORTANT:
YOU ARE EITHER ON THE PLAN OR OFF. YOU CANNOT GO OFF FOR THE WEEKENDS AND BACK ON FOR THE WEEK DAYS. KETO WILL NOT WORK THAT WAY. YOU ARE EITHER ON OR OFF. THINK OF IT THIS WAY--YOU ARE EITHER DRY OR WET, YOU CANNOT BE BOTH AT SAME TIME. A WOMAN IS EITHER PREGNANT OR NOT. SHE CANNOT BE BOTH AT SAME TIME. YOU ARE INSIDE OR OUT; EMPLOYED OR WITHOUT A JOB, SITTING OR STANDING...GET IT? THINK OF YOUR OWN COMPARISONS.  THE KETOGENIC DIET WILL WORK WHEN YOUR BODY CHANGES INTO THE STATE OF BURNING STORED FAT. IF YOU EAT TOO MANY CARBS BY GOING OFF THE PLAN, EVEN ONE DA, OR MAYBE ONE MEAL, YOU WILL GAIN WEIGHT.
I KNOW OF A GUY WHO ATE ONE TACO AND GAINED 3 POUNDS. A WOMEN DRANK ONE BEER AND GAINED 2 POUNDS. EATING SUGAR WILL KICK YOUR BODY INTO A STATE OF SUGAR BURNING AND WEIGHT WILL PILE ON LIKE MAD.
BE SURE YOU TRULY DO WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT BEFORE YOU BEGIN. YOU CANNOT PLAY AROUND WITH THIS PLAN. YOUR BODY HAS TO BURN KETONES, OR BE IN KETOSIS, FOR THIS TO WORK.
GOOD NEWS: YOU WILL DROP WEIGHT THE FASTEST OF ANY DIET YOU HAVE EVER BEEN ON, IF YOU FOLLOW IT CLOSELY. MOST PEOPLE LOSE 20 POUNDS THE FIRST MONTH. IF YOU ARE NOT LOSING, YOU ARE NOT USING THE PLAN CORRECTLY. IT DOES TAKE SOME PEOPLE A FEW DAYS TO SHOW LOSSES, BUT I BEGAN LOSING THE FIRST DAY AS DID EVERYONE I KNOW WHO HAS GONE ON IT.
ONE PERSON WHO DID NOT LOSE REFUSED TO GIVE UP MILK. DON'T BE STUBBORN. MILK IS HIGH IN SUGAR AND WAS MADE FOR BABY COWS NOT PEOPLE.
GOOD LUCK AND BE SURE TO E MAIL ME WITH YOUR RESULTS. Sunspherebook  @ aol. com

Sunday, February 5, 2017

Great day sewing for Quilts of Valor

I attended the National Sew-In Day yesterday for Quilts of Valor, a program that makes and donates quilts to veterans. Over 60 folks showed up. Dennis and Doyleen Taylor are the area directors. They did an awesome job of having everything organized and ready down to the last stitch. I was amazed and shocked at how many prizes I won for earning tickets for the tasks I completed. I went to give and came home with a table full of blessings. 
Although this is not the exact quilt we made, I did sew the partial block from the 3rd block on the top row, the pinwheel inside the larger block. It was intense sewing and I was able to complete 16 pieces. Others did the rest and the entire tops began to appear. I brought home a bag of other pieces to sew together for another quilt. Most all quilts are red, white and blue since that is what the veterans want. We were also treated to a ceremony in which 2 veterans were awarded their quilts along with a certificate of appreciation. The Taylors read the certificate to each veteran and then wrapped them in the quilt with a big hug and said we appreciate your service--tear jerker.



Friday, February 3, 2017

Quilt top I pieced this week for Quilts of Valor; pattern is Sailboat.

  Made this quilt top to donate to the Quilts of Valor Program, an agency that makes and donates quilts to veterans. The quilts can be any color or pattern, but veterans prefer red, white, and blue.

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Judged Writing Contest at Tate's School

   Always a pleasure to read and judge the books written by talented students at Tate's School.

2nd Quilt Top I've Pieced This Week for QOV

QOV need to be red, white, and blue or patriotic. I made this pattern by enlarging a small block. The white looks yellow in this photo, but it is more white than not. February 4 is National Sew In day for QOV. See more about this on this blog.