Morning Coffee And Goodies

Guess What? I Am Very Excited About Keto

Don’t care about Keto or what I discovered, then skip down to the yummy recipe and recommendations I have for you.

Recently, I began utilizing a lazy Keto program to improve my health. I have lost 13 lbs. in the last couple of months eating 15 percent carbs, 20 percent protein, and 65 percent fat. Not as strict as it can be, but it works for me.

Initially, it was tough duty to figure it out and not feel like I was starving to death. Giving up bread… egad… thought I was going to die. Sugar… omg… another craving that was literally killing me. 

Elevated insulin in my body was not helping with taking off my weight and I felt like garbage. The body aches, headaches, exhaustion and incredible cravings were becoming a weight around my neck, literally. 

Getting Over The Hump

Once I got through the first 2 weeks, it became much easier. Another program I incorporated was intermittent fasting, where I don’t eat for 16 hours and only eat within an 8-hour window. Relearning how to eat correctly was initially challenging, but I don’t experience hunger anymore. My body craves this new lifestyle now.

My doctor also has me on 1200 calories per day and I don’t even feel deprived. Who would have thought that cutting out carbs would not create unstoppable cravings? But flours like almond and coconut are fantastic and nourishing replacements. The higher fat also is so decadent, I miss nothing in my diet.

Menopause betrayed my body and it only adds to the struggle, so I knew that had to change. No more procrastination…  just did it! My health improved and I feel so much better overall with minimal exercise… not a fan these days but do it to keep from feeling old. What is it they say?… “a body in motion, stays in motion.”

I highly recommend Dr. Fung’s book, “The Obesity Code”. He shows the science of what has been a way of eating for decades. This is not new science, but old science getting renewed under growing research of insulin resistance including dealing with type 2 diabetes. Any thought of this just being another fad diet was quickly dismissed once I read his book.

What Has This To Do With Beauty News?

Well it doesn’t directly, but when something excites me no matter what it is, I can’t wait to share it with you. Eating well helps keep you feeling and looking beautiful when you feed your body the right way.

I am someone who has struggled with weight loss the past 10 years and this was a miracle for me to finally budge the scale. Working out along with all kinds of confusing ways to eat on the internet, may have kept me sustained, but not a single pound dropped. It is a sure bet you may have a friend or family member, or maybe you too are having similar struggles, so here I am chatting you up about my success on this program.

Okay Enough Already, Let’s Get To The Delicious Recipe

Whether you do Keto or not, this is a recipe anyone can LOVE!  Makes me look forward to Saturday mornings to go with my cup of Joe. 

Oh… by the way, this is a coffee brand that is oh so delicious.  Got it at my local Costco, but now I buy it directly from the company because as usual, Costco stopped carrying it. The brand is Mt. Comfort Coffee, and I love the Peru blend.  It is a medium roast and has nutty, citrus, chocolate notes… yum.

If you purchase it from their website it is the same price as Costco and you receive free shipping over $20.00. What a deal! Next time I order I am going to try their Costa Rica Blend. Their 2.5 lb bag is the most economical, but trust me, it doesn’t last long if you are a coffee lover like I am.

This recipe is super easy to prepare! If you love sweet lemon and a light and fluffy German style pancake with blueberries and heavy cream, this will surely put a smile on your face when eating this wonderful comfort food. Let’s get started!

Faux German Style Lemon Pancake Recipe (serves 4)

What You’ll Need!
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
10-inch Skillet
Ingredients
Pancake Topping Recipe

Approximately 175 Calories per serving

Let’s Get To Mixing

You’ll need a hand mixer, or a Kitchen-Aid stand mixer to get a smooth mix with no lumps.  Place the butter in your skillet and set aside while your oven preheats.

Mix together the eggs, ricotta cheese, water, cream, coconut flour, sweetener, salt, vanilla and lemon extract. Continue to beat until smooth texture is accomplished.  The batter will be thin and runny, not like a typical batter.  Don’t try to thicken it up or the pancake will not do its German style thing.

Once your oven reaches temperature put the skillet with the butter into the oven to preheat the skillet and melt the butter.  Usually takes about 5 minutes.

Remove the skillet once butter is melted and swirl the melted butter to cover the entire pan area.  Set it down on your stove top, then slowly pour the batter in the center of the pan to push the butter to the outer edge of the batter.  Don’t worry if some of the butter overlaps the batter, but you want to try to keep it away from the center of the batter for best finish.  This happens if you pour too fast.  I know, I have done it and you won’t get the German style pancake.

Carefully lift the skillet and place on the center rack of the oven and set timer for 15 minutes. 

Let’s Make Our Yummy Cream Sauce

While the pancake is baking, let’s make the topping. Hand mix with a whisk in small bowl the heavy cream, lemon juice and sweetener until nice and smooth and sweeten with the guidelines above or to your liking.  Set aside until Pancake is done baking.

After your timer dings, judge the look of the pancake.  It will be blowing up like a balloon and you want the outer edges to be looking golden brown.  If they aren’t then let it stay in another minute or two while keeping an eye on it because it will golden up very quickly at this point.

Remove from oven and it will settle down as it begins cool and resembles the German pancake we love. This is what it should look like out of the oven.

Once it has deflated, cut into fourths and serve with the blueberries and cream mixture over the top.  Serve with sausage or any other side dish you prefer.  Super Keto friendly and did I say it is the bomb? But and big but it is, if it is just you and hubby, treat yourself with extra. My hubby and I split it into thirds. I get a one third and he takes the rest. This is our weekend favorite.

Where To Find Some Of This Stuff And Best Tips

First let me state there is no affiliation with any of the items I recommend.  This is my actual experience and my personal purchases I have made. 

I found Swerve at Walmart, but I found the taste a bit odd.  It was good but I found I liked SoNourished Powdered sweetener best.  The powdered version can be used universally, I discovered.  When purchasing, you won’t need different versions, such as granular or brown sugar.  That is a big money saver since these natural sweeteners are pretty spendy, but oh so worth it. Not only does this type of sweetener not spike your insulin but it also doesn’t leave that weird aftertaste in your mouth like Stevia.

The only place to find it is on Amazon or directly on their website.  It has the same sugar swap teaspoon to teaspoon, and it is not sickly sweet.  This version of SoNourished is also Erythritol and Monk fruit blend and it is just right! Erythritol on its own is not sweet enough in a like for like sugar exchange.

I found my 10-inch skillet at Walmart and they had the best price and selection.

Dr. Fung’s book I also purchased on Amazon and does an excellent job of explaining how your body functions and responds to food and sugar. Very interesting read! Not boring yet is super at laying out all the facts and research and is not just another diet book or opinion. 

Until next week and I hope you enjoy your coffee and goodies.

Rising From The Dustbin

After what seems like an eternity, I have found the fortitude to pursue a passion that was placed on a shelf during life’s crises. The past several years were difficult. However, writing to you and keeping you in the loop of the beauty and cosmetic industry was a very enjoyable past time.

Have I missed it? Most definitely! But as the cliche goes “life happens while making plans.”

What Has Changed?

I discontinued the “Skin Care Guide” back in 2015 and tried to focus on this blog. Doing both became impossible. As life dealt it’s blows, finding time even for this one was not feasible. YouTube lost it’s sparkle as well.

I’ve been asked if or when these platforms would resume, and I could not say. Keeping my business running became more than a simple effort during the health scares my husband and I had. My primary focus was to make sure you received the best in customer service. Getting your mineral makeup and skincare products to you was top of the list no matter what.

Dealing With Life As It Were

Both of us were diagnosed with different types of cancer. My husband suffered from prostate cancer requiring surgery, and I had two bouts of Melanoma, leaving me with 3-4 inch scars. We love our scars because as of several years later we are both cancer free.

Do we still have concerns of a recurrence? Yep, pretty much. In fact, we are dealing with another mystery of something going on with my hubby’s health, but won’t go into that now. Me, I am basically a walking melanoma. I suffer from a disorder where my body produces moles everywhere and they must be monitored constantly.

Plans For The Future

I am hoping to also return to YouTube at some point. It is important for me to keep in touch with all of you beyond just being my customer.

Research and Development is front and center for replacing my lip color line. My plan is to provide the power of a lipstick combined with lip gloss within a single tube. Great staying power with a hint of shine. Plus researching manufacturing of a lippie in the form of a moisturizing lip balm with very sheer tinting.

I have listened to you about different things you loved about our old lip colors, to what you didn’t like. My plan is to make sure we offer shades, that though they may shine a bit, will be considered a matte shade without the shimmer of mica. So essentially no sparkle at all.

Reaching out to you today to share my story of why things changed from where we were to where we are today, and going forward was vital for me. I hope to be more available in providing you news, interests and fun things we’ll venture into. Engaging you ladies through this blog will hopefully create an avenue for continued feedback, and ideas you may have that many can benefit from.

Have a great week and I’ll be in touch!

Mineral Makeup Sample Size Information

To My Dear Customers,

Today, it was brought to my attention that some customers maybe confused in regard to our mineral makeup samples based on the differences in the amount of mineral powders they receive in the jar.  So I decided to write a brief overview of the differences depending on the category of each mineral makeup sample chosen.

In each category except eye shadows (full size only), there is a description of the color with photos that are representative of a full size product, and not an indication of the amount a customer will receive in their sample.  Also, the estimated amount given is with a decimal point of the fractionated number.  Basically this is equivalent to 1/10th of the value weight to slightly more actually, a customer would receive in a full size product.  All samples come in a 5 gram sifter jar.

This is why portion size in the sample category will vary according to the parts of the face where applied, with the overall face being the largest area to cheeks being smaller, reflects why foundations and mineral veils almost fill the jar to capacity.  Yet if using the moist method for face, the color application and coverage will be more intense, whereby needing less product.

Samples will only last according to usage, dependent on how heavy or light an application technique is used.

It is my sincerest hope this has explained in detail why our generous sample sizes are prepared the way they are for the convenience of the customer.  I am confident that a sample size of any mineral makeup category purchased will be sufficient to experience and gain the best results to make an informed decision on whether or not an individual color or product will work for you.  In the a case of sensitive skin issues or wish to try different foundation formulas, purchasing two in your best shade is recommended to make sure all goes well before committing to full size.

Thank you to all of my loyal customers and to those joining us in the future.

The FDA And FTC Compliance

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to briefly cover some things about why there have been some significant changes to my website, and why they have been occurring since the first part of 2010.

This is getting done as my web team has time and I have the time to get them the latest information.  It is a constant state of a “work in progress”.  Plus as we progress forward, much of the information becomes antiquated as the industry thrives and changes.

In dealing with the FDA, I have found it to be a quagmire of varying interpretations of the regulations.  I have spent countless hours in phone conversations with the FDA: Cosmetics and Color division, only to have further confusion instilled when asking for clarification.  In most cases you can get a completely different answer on a different day than the last.

It is clear that cosmetics cannot cross the line of OTC (over the counter) drugs, such as making claims that using a certain skincare or makeup product will heal or cure something without the proper clinical trials.  But as to how far a company can go in conveying an intended purpose is the fine line that many cross, perhaps unintentionally.

FULL ARTICLE: The FDA And FTC Compliance

My Time To Decompress!

Why I Love My Backyard!

After a long and busy week, stresses can take their toll on my psyche and physical being.

Build up of stress and being so busy at times makes me forget to take time out for me…..sometimes waiting until the weekend instead of tiny breaks throughout a day.  But when I do forget about the little things that matter such as some R&R, I make up for it on weekends completely turning vegetable.

Not having a vacation for several years now due to growth of our businesses, my hubby and I decided to create our own oasis within our home.  So now when we both are feeling taxed and just want to take some time to refocus and visit, we retreat to our backyard.

The sight and sound of water moving and spilling into a small pool while enjoying the singing finches, and watching the plants sway in the breeze with their expressive blooms exploding in the warm air, is enough to make the mind empty and the body appreciate the lazy sprawl on a recliner for a long afternoon snooze.

This is how I decompress these days and why I have been waiting for summer to arrive all these months.  Early morning coffee with hubby, with breakfast on the patio.  A great way to spend the weekend!

What do you do to decompress or take a break from the hectic schedule you may keep?