Paper Peonies

Last night, I hosted a low carb dinner party. I made some paper peonies for the table center piece.

Some of the desserts I cooked. Raspberry cheesecake and chocolate mousse.

 

The Hawks won again on Friday night. No wonder they look so happy.

 

 

 

GIFTS FROM JAPAN

 My friend bought me some wonderful gifts on her recent trip home to Japan. Some yummy edible gifts.

 I adore Japanese cosmetics.

 

 

Laduree T-shirts from Uniqlo.

 

 Cotton Friend and Glow magazine, which comes with a Dean and Deluca chiller bag.

It's just like Christmas!

The Hawks won again today. What a team!



multitasking

 On the weekend, we travelled to the Sunshine Coast for another rowing regatta. If you ever visit Australia, you must stay on the Sunshine Coast. It's a little piece of heaven. We rented an apartment, and this was the view from our balcony.

The event ran for two days, starting at the crack of dawn. Since there is a lot of sitting around waiting for your race, I like to do a few things so I don't waste time. Of course, I bring along my beads. I also listened to the football match broadcast on my phone via the internet at the same time.

The rowing team went to dinner at the surf club. I had salmon and prawns. Another tip if you happen to visit Queensland; surf clubs serve good value meals overlooking our beautiful surf beaches.

My son's quad team won gold again. Very thrilling for rowers and their parents alike.

My football team won again. Sitting comfortably on top of the AFL ladder.

And here's my beading project, finished by the lake.

 

PARIS TOTE BAG

My latest bag creation. The fabric is from Marunan in Shibuya.

I finished it off with a covered button.

It's a birthday gift for someone who loves France.

MARIE - ARISTOCATS IN BEADS

 

This is Marie created from beads, made in my car at rowing training.

LOW CARB PIZZA

I think I have perfected a wheat free dough recipe, which can be used in a variety of recipes, such as: pizza, pies, tarts and slices.

BASIC DOUGH RECIPE

140g almond meal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 egg

Mix all ingredients together. It can be difficult to roll with a rolling pin. I prefer to press the dough into the tin and flatten with a spatula. I always use silicon baking paper underneath.

If you need a sweet dough, just add 1 tablespoon of xylitol or stevia..

You could also add a little grated cheese to the savoury dough

The total carb amount for the dough is 34g.

To make a pizza, flatten the dough onto a baking tray, and bake until golden. My oven has two elements, so both sides brown at once, but you may need to flip to cook the other side. Then I add the topping: tomato sauce, cheese, capsicum, mushrooms, olives and bacon. return to the oven, but use the grill element to cook the topping. The topping is low carb, but there is a small amount in the tomato sauce.

THE PROOF IS IN THE (LOW CARB) PUDDING and Chocolate Coconut Brownies

It has now been 6 months since my son was diagnosed with insulin dependant diabetes. As I refused to sit back and allow this disease to destroy his life, I launched into hours and hours of research about the best way to manage it. I chose to change our whole family's lifestyle by following the paleo/low carb plan for eating and exercising. The results have been significant for all of us, but especially for our son. I have met a lot of opposition to the low carb lifestyle, but as I have a health science background, the physiological explanation for it makes total sense to me.

He had his first HbA1c blood test a few days ago.  The HbA1c blood test indicates the amount of blood cells which have been glycated (glucose sticking to blood cells) over the past 3 months.The normal reading for the HbA1c blood test is between 4 and 6. My son's reading was 5.5!!! Completely normal.

If you would like to know more about the paleo/ low carb lifestyle, have a look at these websites, which are the main ones I follow. I am not exaggerating when I say they has saved my son's life.

www.marksdailyapple.com

www.wheatbellyblog.com

www.mariahealthy.blogspot.com

www.drbriffa.com


So, what is my little secret to maintaining normal blood glucose readings? It's no secret; don't eat lots of glucose! Such a simple concept. What makes your blood glucose levels go high? Glucose. What causes high HbA1c readings? Glucose. Where is glucose found? In most of the foods of the modern unhealthy diet. A few examples are: wheat, rice, oats, rye, barley, tapioca, legumes, fruit, corn, potatoes, pumpkin, beans and peas. Almost all processed food contains wheat, high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Some food promoted as healthy are full of carbohydrate and grains, such as breakfast cereal and bread. My son does not eat it. All of these foods have been eliminated from our diet, with the exception of small amounts of fruit for the antioxidant value.

I think it is a massive tragedy that diabetics are told by "experts" that they should base their diet on carbohydrates. So many diabetics suffer from awful complications, which are mostly preventable using diet and exercise.

Without elaborating, the above websites will clearly explain why foods full of glucose are not necessary, and which foods provide optimal nutrition.


To celebrate, here is my recipe for low carb chocolate coconut brownies with chocolate glaze..... (I can prove to you that low carb cooking and eating is NOT restrictive, or bland, or boring.)


INGREDIENTS

100g sugar free dark chocolate
 50g sachet of coconut milk powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon of dutch cocoa powder
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
2 tablespoons coconut oil
3 tablespoon xylitol or stevia
1 1/2 cups almond meal

Melt together the chocolate and coconut oil in the microwave. I do it in 30 second bursts, and stir between each one (chocolate can burn easily in the microwave)
Beat in the eggs, coconut powder, xylitol, cocoa and baking powder. Lastly, mix in the almond meal. If it's a little thick, add a tablespoon of milk or cream.

Bake in a square baking tin for about 20 minutes in a medium heat oven.

 

When brownies have cooled, add the glaze. My son actually made this glaze by himself (don't know how he knew how to make it!) Melt in the microwave 50 gm of sugar free chocolate. Then mix in 1 tablespoon of full fat cream. Spread over the brownies.

Total mixture including the glaze is 54.7 gm carbs. If you cut into 16 pieces, then it is 3.42gm carbs per serve.

 

Serve with a dollup of whipped cream. Simple, decadent and something my son can eat it whilst still resulting in normal HbA1c readings.