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Why I Don’t Bake Much, Yet Still Have Yummy Desserts

Living the Paleo/Keto lifestyle doesn’t mean one has to go without dessert!

I don’t bake much anymore, and here is the reason why. Almond flour is expensive-even if you make your own because, well, almonds are expensive.  Most baked goods on a Paleo/Keto diet call for almond and/or coconut flour to keep you eating the low carb life.

Here’s the brand I use

This bag is 11oz. and the price most everywhere is $8.99.

There are exceptions, of course, like the other night when I just had to have this Vanilla Keto Mug Cake. It would have been so worth it too, if I hadn’t used the spoiled coconut oil I had put back for body use only. Talk about sick 🙁

Mug cakes don’t take much flour, and you can’t really call that “baking” either since it’s whipped up in the microwave in about a minute. But it is satisfying, quick, and delicious!

Ugly but delicious!

There have been times though, when I’ve been craving something baked, looked up the recipe and it calls for 2 1/2 cups of almond flour!! There is 8oz in a cup, so y’all do the math. Maybe I would make something for a special occasion, but I can’t afford to bake much.

What I Do Instead

I love fat bombs, cookies, and mug cakes so I never really have to go with a little something sweet. “A small bite is better than none at all”  is pretty much my philosophy.

Over the weekend I made these oh so delicious Keto Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bites-but I have to say, bites is a bit of an overstatement, I literally have to cut them in half, they are so rich and satisfying! Even if I didn’t, however, they would still be a low carb, low sugar, high fat snack/dessert.

I substituted almond and sunflower butter mixed together for the peanut butter, and my chocolate wasn’t Lily’s (this time) but it was 85% cacao, which is perfect for those on Keto diets. The nutrition info for the original recipe is 22g of fat per cup, 4 net carbs, 3g sugar, 4g protein.

My pictures aren’t as pretty as Hey Keto Mama’s (especially after cutting them in half) but that did not ruin the taste, let me tell you!

Keto Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bites

If you would like to try this recipe, here is the link. Trust me, you won’t regret it! Click here: Hey Keto Mama  and if you try them let me know! My brother and my dad tried them after family dinner yesterday and they said they were surprisingly good.

Bottom line is, you don’t have to bake an entire cake to satisfy your sweet tooth. Having a cookie or a fat bomb will not only do that, it will keep you on track of your goal to stay in ketosis.

Check out my saves on Pinterest and give some fat bombs or Keto mug cakes a try!

 

 

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Why Be Organized?

Morning everyone and how are you on this chilly Monday morning? Oh my goodness, I just realized I have not blogged since last Tuesday (on this one anyway) and that is one reason I should be more organized!! If I was sticking to an editorial calendar, these things would not happen.

Last week was super busy with my writing though. I entered several pieces in various places, hoping to earn/win some money…wish me luck! I took a test for Compose.ly to try to find more paid work, I submitted a poem to Winning Writers for their Wergle Flomp Contest (I wrote about entering contests over on my website), and I entered the Barefoot Writer’s Essay Contest who’s theme this month spoke to what we are grateful for.

My new red hat before adornment

It wasn’t all work though, I also went to to the movies with my new lady’s group and saw Murder on the Orient Express. This time we went as the over 40/50 group, but next time we get together it will be as ladies of The Red Hat Society! Yes! I became its newest member last week! Dave and I went shopping for me a new red hat and I’m happy to say we found one! It was at a new store in the mall called Dana, it is a nice felt hat like one we found at a different store which cost $50, mine was under $20! Now all that’s left to do is decorate it up, add some purple flair and I’ll be good to go! I spent some time creating a board on Pinterest called “Red hat ideas” if anyone wants to see it. (visit my other boards while you’re there 🙂 )

I went and had my lab work for tomorrow’s appt. with my kidney dr.

Today I’m supposed to go have my pre-op for my surgery, but I’m going to call and make sure it’s not too early. My surgery is on the 30th and in the old days, one of the tests they’ll be running, a PT/PTT was only good for three days. In addition, I want to make sure they can’t go ahead and use the results from some of the lab work I already took. Why pay twice? (I probably won’t get away with that)

I also did a job for Crowd Content Saturday morning because I tried to do it Friday night, had computer issues and lost the whole thing! Now, I may be making small change, but I had already done a ton of research, so when it was still available Saturday morning, I jumped on it! I spent way too long on it, but it’s done yea!

Well, I’m off to see what else I can get done, it will be another busy week since we are hosting Thanksgiving. Writing, reading, crocheting (I started a new scarf), cleaning and cooking…just like everyone else I’m sure! Y’all have a wonderful day and I hope to see you later on the patio! 🙂

 

 

 

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Counted Blessings and New Beginnings

Friday night as the hurricane approached

Several people are considering themselves lucky this morning that Hurricane Harvey packed a smaller punch than predicted, still, it is far from over and residents all along the coast are bracing for days of constant, heavy rainfall and forecasters are predicting several feet of rain to fall in the next 48-72 ours.

After dodging the storm myself by not going to Galveston for my planned girl trip, many decided to ride it out. Some further south were issued a warning by Charles Wagner the Brazoria County sheriff who stated “You’re on your own until after the storm is over with, I’m not going to risk the lives of my people to go in there for somebody that voluntarily stayed and then all of a sudden wants to come out.” According to the Wall Street Journal the mayor of Rockport was frustrated that some people would not evacuate and told a local television station Friday that they should write their social security numbers and their names on their arms. This is so when the bodies are found they can be identified.

Although I’m sad I missed my trip, I am glad that everyone seems to be ok, although I have not heard the latest this morning from the other girls at the condo. With rainfall coming in what the weathermen are calling BIBLICAL proportions, they will be lucky to get home any time soon. I just hope they are safe and sound and at least have power and water, more than many people woke up to this morning along the coast.

Meanwhile, here at home I’ve been working hard on my Crowd Content jobs and earned myself a white bunny which means I am now earning bonuses because of my quick TAT, or turn around times. The client is happy with my work and if I continue to please him, I will also move up a level and earn even more per word. I also have been trying an experiment in growing my own lettuce in water, a trick I saw on Pinterest I think.

  My starter from the base of a head of romaine

I may never run out of lettuce again, lol! I believe there are many vegetables you can regrow this way including celery and other types of lettuce.

Well, I was going to go out and get some weeding done while the ground is soft and damp, but it just keeps raining!!! We were not supposed to be affected by the hurricane, but I’m thinking they forecasters missed the mark on this one. Just don’t think they were wrong concerning Harvey, there is much yet to “weather” I’m afraid.

From the weather channel earlier today

Please be careful and stay safe my friends of the gulf coast, and here’s hoping Galveston does not wake up a bad situation tomorrow morning. That’s what I’ll be praying for.

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Sunday Happenings on a Monday Morning

Morning everyone and how are you on this stormy Monday morning? At least it was storming when I woke up, but it has since moved on east of our area. Right now it’s a pleasant 73 degrees yet soon it will be a sweltering 97 with a heat index of 105! Thank you humidity! ;(  I wouldn’t mind so much if it was accompanied by a lovely ocean breeze!

Yesterday we attended church and then ran our errands to get our food for the week. After cleaning out the fridge of older food, we cooked dinner and prepped our food for the week. I made my oatmeal “muffin” size servings by cooking a batch of steel-cut oats, then spooning it in lightly greased muffin tins. I had so much left over I put that in a container in the fridge. When my servings were frozen, I just popped em out and put them in a gallon freezer bag to be used for this week’s breakfast. When I’m ready, I’ll just pop a couple into a microwave safe bowl and add my toppings, like nuts and butter (the oatmeal has cinnamon and maple syrup added during the cooking process) and I have a quick breakfast! Of course, I use Bob’s Red Mill Steel-Cut Oats because they just taste the best!

Individual portions for quick breakfasts

After that, I made David’s portable breakfast-Egg Cups! Kind of made in the same method, I just scramble up some eggs, broccoli, bacon, orange bell pepper, shredded cheese and sliced up cherry tomatoes. I then ladle that mixture into muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees. We let them cool on the stove before bagging them and he takes one or two along with his fruit and yogurt for a quick and healthy breakfast. Hey, during the week we try really hard to eat well, it’s the weekends that we fall off the wagon so to say. 🙂

Easy to make and portable too!

Once all that was done and supper was prepared, we invited Dad over and together we enjoyed fresh green beans, grilled pork chops and baked potatoes (Dad and I ate sweet potatoes). It was delicious and then Dad and I played several games of pool. When I had been beaten enough (the old man has still got it!), I asked him if he would like to try my take on Almond Joy Paleo ice cream. He agreed and it was pretty good, even though it had not frozen solid enough yet. I got it off of Pinterest (of course) and it was easy peasy using only 7 ingredients! Bananas, coconut milk, almonds, vanilla, maple syrup, toasted coconut flakes, and dark chocolate chips. I didn’t even need an ice cream maker!

All of the stuff I talked about here can be found on my Everything Paleo board on my Pinterest page. Let me know if you have questions or try anything, I’d love to hear about it!

 

 

 

 

 

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Day 259-Motivational Monday-How to Be Grateful

Good morning everyone, how is everyone this beautiful Monday morning?

As the news continues to scare us with the prospect of war and more bleak possibilities going forward,I was struck by this motivational quote I found on Pinterest this morning.

What if indeed?!! This is why we need to pray every day, because what if we forgot someone or something in our daily prayer? I want to wake up to all my friends and family-don’t you?

If this doesn’t give you the motivation to be grateful for everything you have in your life, I don’t know what will!

Now I have to share a funny story with you because, well…I’m honest to a fault sometimes (which gets me laughed at a lot!)

Ever have one of those aha moments and then felt like a complete idiot when you realized how easy something was? That was me last night after discovering how to get my posts onto Pinterest was as easy as pinning it directly from the post itself!! What a revelation and a V8 moment that made me want to slap my own forehead! Doh! I could have been doing this all along, now here I am 259 days into my year long blogging project with just a few pins to show for it. Why is that important you might ask? Well, I could have been getting my blog out to more people for one thing, thereby increasing my exposure, and traffic.

See, I have a board for the blog on Pinterest, along with many other boards, and pinning for the others is easy. Yet every time I tried to figure out how to get my “important” posts onto my board, I would give up in frustration. Then last night, I came across a pin from Think Creative Collective about how to use Tailwind to schedule blog posts on Pinterest. I never got that far because I saw the one thing that made me go aha! I then quickly went straight to my blog and pinned the entire series I wrote,  Angels of Arvada, so they would all be in one, easy to find area. Now I know what I need to do, and it is so easy, it won’t take me long-so if you see my board on Pinterest suddenly getting full, you’ll know why!

The next thing I need to do is go read the rest of the post and see how to use Tailwind to schedule my pins so this doesn’t happen again. Then I’ll be able to answer your questions if you have any, I don’t know how many of you use Pinterest, but it’s a great marketing tool. It is also a great place to make a to-do list! I find all kinds of great ideas on Pinterest.

I hope I have sparked your imagination and given you some motivation to change something in your business, some inspiration to be grateful for the things we have and a reason to pray every day for those we love and hold dear and want to see tomorrow! Speaking of tomorrow, join me then for MET (My Essay Tuesday) and I’ll see you later from a very busy patio!

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Day 219-Wednesday's Medical Minute-What Causes Gas?

There are those who would say farts are funny. I would have to agree, depending on the circumstances. There are times though, when flatulence is a real problem, it may cause pain similar to a heart attack and it might be helpful to some of you to get to the root of your gas problems. Maybe you don’t realize that gas is a symptom sometimes of something more serious than eating Grandma’s cabbage, and there are ways to lessen your discomfort, if you just knew what to avoid.

Gas is caused by many factors including:

  1. Lactose Intolerance-The inability to fully digest sugar (lactose) in dairy products
  2. Food Intolerance- Digestive problems that occur after a certain food is eaten
  3. Irritable Bowel Syndrome- An intestinal disorder causing pain in the belly, gas, diarrhea, and constipation
  4. Celiac Disease- An immune reaction to eating gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye
  5. Gluten Sensitivity- Sensitivity to gluten

The symptoms of each factor are similar and can include; passing excessive amounts of gas, bloating, cramps, belching, discomfort, flatulence, fat in stool and urgent need to defecate.

Well some things just can’t be helped, like after eating some high fiber foods like fruits and veggies, or you may burp after accidentally swallowing gas while eating. But what if your symptoms are telling you there are more serious problems going on? Would you want to get to the bottom of it, maybe change your diet or check with a doctor?

If you experience excessive gas, it may also be a symptom of another health condition such as diverticulitis, IBS, Crohn’s disease, or a bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine from conditions such as diabetes. If you use artificial sweeteners, they may also be the culprit, many folks just can’t tolerate things like mannitol, and xylitol which are found in some sugar-free foods, gums and candies. I learned this the hard way, not knowing how mannitol affects you, I ate three pieces of a particular brand of sugar-free chocolate candy one time. Not pretty!

Ok, there are obvious ways to reduce the amount of gas your body produces, like stop eating the offending food, or drinking soda which has bubbles, but what if you aren’t sure the cause? If you experience persistent pain, you need to check with your doctor. He will schedule tests after an exam, like a blood or breath test and possibly specialized x-rays to determine the cause(s) of your excessive gas.

We all have and pass gas, and sometimes, it’s just funny. But when you can’t stop, or find yourself hurting no matter what you eat, or what otc medicine you try, please go get checked out and make sure something more serious isn’t going on.

Luckily, I have never been much of a milk drinker, when I started eating a more Paleo diet, I switched to almond and/or coconut milk. I notice if I slip or cheat, I get excessive gas. No ice cream for me I’m afraid, unless I make my own from coconut milk, bananas or cashews. If you check out my Pinterest board on Everything Paleo, you will find a delicious recipe for Coffee Cashew Ice Cream which I pinned from Do You Even Paleo. You might even find something else you like while you’re there, go check it out!

Plus, there are ways to minimize the gas your body creates on a normal basis;

  1. If you drink about 30 minutes before your meal, instead of with it, your body will digest the food better.
  2. If you ate and drank slowly, you would swallow less air, which means less gas.
  3. You could try taking a digestive enzyme like Beano to break down the sugar from beans and other vegetables.
  4. You could try activated charcoal, found in pill or liquid form, which helps reduce gas and creates firmer stools.
  5. You could try not drinking through a straw, and chewing gum (guilty on both counts) which may cause your stomach to fill with air. So does smoking. (not guilty, I vape)
  6. Avoid certain artificial sweeteners like sorbitol, and mannitol. Read the labels if you aren’t sure. I use Stevia which is natural.

I hope this has helped you identify some of the reasons you may have gas, simple or excessive, and that you go get yourself checked out if you are experiencing more serious symptoms like prolonged pain, bloating or frequent belching. Ask me any question on the subject and I’ll try to find you the answer. For me, eating natural healthy foods is going to produce it’s share but by not eating gluten-which I make it a point not to, I reduce my occurrence of stomach discomfort, diarrhea and constipation. If you want to know more about the Paleo lifestyle, check out Mark’s Daily Apple and  Dr Axe websites that explain the best ways to heal leaky gut and eat for optimal health. Enjoy your day and see ya tomorrow, on the patio!

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Welcome To My New Test Site

I want to welcome all my visitors/followers/readers and prospective clients to my newly renamed website where I’m attempting a collaboration between my blog Kimmy’s Patio and my old writer’s website.

Here I plan to showcase stories, essays and articles that I’ve written around the web and mix it up with product reviews, promote my favorite books and bloggers and help you find what you’re looking for, whether it be the best course for freelancing,to the products that help you live the healthiest life-I want you to find it here.

I need your honest feedback to make this work, so if you see something that needs improvement, or have a question about something, please let me know in the comments. This is a work in progress, so be kind and let’s see if we can help each other succeed. Once I finish my course Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing, expect to see more posts on relevant products and courses that pertain to writing, in addition to posts and my favorite Paleo products like I talk about on the patio. I don’t see why combining these two worlds can’t work out, but if you see a problem with it, please don’t hesitate to point it out.

I’ll also be pointing to images on Pinterest and Instagram to increase my reach and showcase more of my favorite posts and products, as well as tools and tricks of the trades.

Thanks for being here to check me out, wish me luck and help me, help you!