FRAGRANCES

My daughter is starting her own little online shop selling her art work. She would like to be a fashion illustrator one day, and is studying fashion at university.

PINA COLADA ICE CREAM

CYCLONE MAYA

Whaaaat?  It wasn't me!

LITTLE BLACKBERRY SPONGE CAKES

I found a great way to make jam without any sugar or pectin. You simply add a tablespoon of chia seeds to stewed fruit. The chia seeds form a gel and thicken the jam whilst cooking the fruit, without adding any carbs or flavor. 1 tablespoon of chia seeds will thicken about 300grams of fruit. I used this method to make blackberry jam. You can add some water if it thickens too much.

 

SPONGE CAKE

2 Cups almond meal

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons xylitol

3 tablespoons  butter at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 eggs

whole fat milk as required

 

Cream together the butter and xylitol until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, vanilla and lemon juice. Mix in the almond meal and baking powder. Add milk as required until you have a medium thick batter.

Fill half mini cake tins or muffin tins with the batter, then a layer of blackberry jam, followed with a layer of batter.

Bake in a moderate oven for about 30 minutes until golden.

Left over jam is good on low carb wheat free pikelets.

MT TAPE RABBIT

Since losing weight on the low carb diet, many of my clothes are too big now. I had several t-shirts from Uniqlo from the MT Tape range. I decided to make a patchwork rabbit with them.

 

 

 

Maya had to be in on the photo shoot.

She LOVES soft plush toys and just assumed this one was for her.

PASTA WITHOUT THE BLOATING

When I used to eat pasta, I always felt bloated and queasy afterwards, which makes me wonder why I even ate it. Pasta itself is pretty bland, so it is the sauce which holds all the flavor. Don't you think all those frozen low fat pasta meals look so unappetizing?

To make almost zero carb healthy pasta, simply substitute zucchini. You can use a vegetable spiraler to create spaghetti threads, or a vegetable shredder device (it looks like a potato peeler with lots of serrations on the blade - got one from Daiso)  Then just blanche the shreds in boiling salted water, just for about 1 minute or else it will become soggy.  Top with your favourite pasta sauce and cheese. It's a fresh and flavoursome way to make pasta without shooting up your blood glucose levels. Remember that real pasta is just glucose molecules linked together - not good for you at all.