Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls

Found this recipe today at http://bunnyswarmoven.net/ and think it would be perfect for Thanksgiving!   I never bake anything with yeast but I may just try making these.

Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls

Ingredients: One .25 oz pkg active dry yeast 3 Tablespoons brown sugar 1 Tablespoon white sugar 1/2 cup mashed sweet potatoes, can used canned sweet potatoes as well 1/2 cup warm water ( 110 degrees) 3 Tablespoons butter, softened 1 Teaspoon salt 2 eggs, slightly beaten 3 1/2 cups bread flour or all purpose flour   Directions: Dissolve yeast, warm water and 1 Tablespoon white sugar in a large bowl. Let stand 5 minutes or until yeast is bubbly and has risen up. Add the brown sugar,sweet potato, butter, salt and eggs to the bowl.  Beat with electric mixer on low till ingredients are well mixed.   With the mixer still on low speed, add 3 cups of flour to the bowl, mix until flour is just incorporated .  Turn the dough out onto a clean lightly floured surface.  Knead the dough and add enough flour ( you have a 1/2 cup remaining flour) to make a soft tacky dough. If you need more flour to achieve a soft , elastic tacky dough use slightly more. Do not over knead the dough.    Place your soft, elastic slightly tacky dough in a large bowl coated with oil, turn the dough in the bowl so all sides are coated with oil.  Place in a warm, draft free place to rise, cover the top of the bowl with a clean kitchen towel. Let rise till double in size, about an hour. Punch the dough dough, let it rest for 2 minutes.  Divide the dough into 16 pieces rolled into balls.  Place in a greased 13x9 inch baking pan.  Place in a warm draft free place to rise covered with a clean kitchen towel.  The dough will double in size and come up to the top of the pan but not over the pan.     Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes or until roll tops are golden brown.  Remove from the oven, let cool.    Yum!

Warm hugs,

What Are Negative Calorie Foods?

Are you looking for a list of negative calorie foods?  These are the foods that actually take more energy to consume than the calories they contain, so it's easy to understand why anyone who wants to lose weight would be going for these types of foods.

Here is a short  list of negative calorie foods--some of them may surprise you:

Celery, Grapefruit, Watermelon, Lettuce, Cauliflower, Oranges, Apples, Strawberries, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Apricots, Zucchini, Tangerines, Carrots, Hot Chili Peppers

The other great thing about negative calorie foods such as those in the list above is that they actually use calories from other sources in your body in order to be digested. So, eating these calorie burners should definitely be included in any weight loss plan.

Keep in mind that when your body runs out of energy from carbohydrate sources, the next place it looks for energy is in your fat. This is one way to get rid of excess fat in your body and this is how negative calorie types of food help you lose weight and maintain the weight that you eventually achieve.

In general, negative calorie foods come from fruits and vegetables as listed above. Other examples include pineapple, papaya, peach, honeydew and cantaloupe. These are beneficial because of their negative calorie properties and because they hold strong detox properties. Other vegetables include broccoli, green beans, asparagus and carrots. Celery is especially worthy because t only holds 10% of the amount of calories required to digest this vegetable, so the remaining 90% has to come from somewhere else, like your fat stores.

To get the best results from these types of foods, remember to alternate eating them with other healthy proteins, carbohydrates, whole wheat products and those which contain a lot of fiber. While you may enjoy eating these foods for a while, you can easily tire of them so don't go overboard. Choose one or two a day to substitute into a meal or snack. A diet limited to only these foods could lead to malnutrition. However, when it comes to snack times, these choices are real winners.

 

 

Also remember that losing weight isn't just about what you eat or don't eat. Another important key to dropping pounds is regular activity. This part scares many people because they envision themselves having to enroll in a gym or to go running for an hour every day.

Regular activity should be something that you can maintain throughout your life so it should be something that you look forward to doing (or, at the very least, that you don't dread doing). Also, regular doesn't mean "every day". It means "consistent". One easy type of regular exercise is walking. Taking a 20 to 30 minute walk three to four times every week would be considered regular activity.

Combining the list of negative calorie foods with a healthy, well-balanced diet and consistent activity will get you where you want to be with your weight!


Warm hugs,

N is for Nose

Your nose is in the middle of your face. It sticks out. You use your nose to smell things with. Your nose has no bones in it except at the very top, nearest your eye.  

Dogs have wet noses,

 

  

and elephants have very very long noses called trunks.

 

 

What kind of nose do you have?

 

Sharing at:  Alphabe-Thursday

 

Warm hugs,

Time To Take Control Over Those Food Cravings

One of my greatest problems with the control of my weight is the fact that so much self discipline is needed to achieve any tangible results. Ah, but I hear you saying, "What's new about that" We all have that problem! Tell us something new!

Well yes we do all know that that is the biggest problem is it not. Lets face it, eating is one of life's greatest pleasures, and we would be pretty abnormal if this was otherwise.

After all, most of us are "regular" people. How many of us stick to the perfect diet all the time, we all have our struggles with food to a greater or lesser extent. If we can recognize an awareness of this problem, and also make a point of knowing a little bit about our health, and also proper food nutrition, we are then much more likely to make wiser decisions about our choices of food.

Many people struggle with food "cravings," and research tells us that it is fairly common for food "cravings" to occur at certain times, quite often around bedtime. Your guard may be down, or you may have had an unusually hard day, and off you go on your not-so-merry way, intent on finding that tasty treat. Fatigue and stress often combine to take their toll on the best of intentions, so please don't worry about it, rest assured you are not alone.

When food "cravings" are out of control, what started out as a bedtime snack, quickly turns into a full blown feeding frenzy...not something most of us fully understand or appreciate. We head to the kitchen and every other possible place where food can hide, quickly clearing a path as we go.

Most food cravings are not about satisfying a nutritional need or imbalance. They seem to be more emotionally related, or God forbid, are caused by plain old gluttony. Exactly why we over-indulge is not completely understood, however our knowledge about this subject continues to grow.

These Are Some Of My Thoughts On How To Control Food Cravings.

If the food isn't available, you can't eat it. Empty the cookie jar and keep it that way! Keep healthy food choices on-hand.

It is important to recognize the feelings and emotions that will lead to a food craving. Do you have food cravings when you’re bored, or maybe you are feeling lonely, or is it stress that is the trigger. If you can identify the trigger which leads to that craving, then you are half way to winning the battle, because you will be able to deal with the emotion that is making you desire a certain food.

Sometimes, even recognizing that a craving is about to happen doesn't seem to help, but please do not give yourself a hard time about it, what is done is done, do not feel guilty because after all there is always tomorrow. Why not call one of your friends and share how you were feeling at that time, because it is a very good idea to make good use of your support network. Join my free weight loss group:  http://goo.gl/o9o4Xy

Self-control and discipline by themselves will not cut it! If you depend totally on yourself for control, you will fail. Forming caring and supportive relationships is really essential, so if you do not currently have a support network, start building one TODAY.

Get enough sleep. When you are feeling really tired, you are more likely to crave things, and with me personally, it is usually chocolate, possibly you are the same.

Never give up. When you go off the rails, do not despair, get a grip, do whatever is necessary to re-gain control, because you really must get that control back. Try to practice restraint most of the time, but do not get obsessed and un-balanced in your weight loss approach. Think moderation and not total abstinence at all times!

Exercise. This will increase the feel good endorphins that will help cut down on your cravings. Try to get at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day. I hear so many people say that they just cannot fit in any exercise, believe me you can, we are talking about 30 minutes here, at the worst, it will mean you will have to get out of bed that bit earlier.

An early morning brisk walk will do wonders for the spirit and the soul, and will help set you up for the rest of the day!

Use moderation. Instead of stuffing yourself with every kind of food hoping that your cravings will disappear, eat 100 to 200 calories of whatever it is that you happen to be craving for at that particular moment in time, but you must stop it at that!

Substitute with low-fat foods and complex carbs. If you’re hungry for chocolate, eat non-fat chocolate yogurt or mousse, or try fig bars or raisins for a sweet craving instead. You will be amazed at how this will help.

You must try and never skip a meal. It is much wiser to eat something if even only an apple, every three to five hours. Try six smaller meals, or regular meals with nutritious snacks in between. Try and remember that hunger cravings are very frequently stress related. Practice other ways to cope with stress, a walk in the park for example, spiritual connections, a cozy fireplace, or even take a bath. You see, all of these stimulate neurochemicals that activate regions of the brain which increases a feeling of well being. Relaxation techniques really can be beneficial in reducing the levels of stress which you may be experiencing.

So the bottom line is to try and substitute pleasurable experiences for comfort foods.

Beware of certain medications which can stimulate your appetite. Certain drugs which are used for the treatment of depression and bipolar disorder can be appetite stimulants. Other drugs, both prescription and over the counter, may influence appetite as well. If you are on a medication and troubled by food cravings, discuss this with your doctor or pharmacist. You may well be able to find an alternative that doesn't send your food cravings out of control.

Distract yourself. What's that old expression...idle hands are the devils workshop, so get busy! Do anything other than give in to your desire for food, and keep doing it until the cravings subside.

One final thought for you. Take a look inside your refrigerator and kitchen cabinets and do some general "house cleaning." Throw-out all that unhealthy stuff that is waiting to sabotage your diet, and start shopping more wisely. A little forethought and careful planning will go a long way for improving your chances of success.

One of my golden rules is that I NEVER go shopping when I am hungry! Absolutely fatal!

So to conclude, remember that control is the key, eat healthily and in moderation at all times, but do not forget that at the end of the day you are only human. If you do give in to temptation, don't beat yourself up about it, tomorrow is another day, live long, enjoy your life, and most of all be happy!



Warm hugs,

Low Carb Coconut Pie

I make this recipe "Low Carb Coconut Pie" every few weeks. My husband and I really like it! Since trying to eat healthy I've been finding recipes on the internet and making them... this sure does make my husband happy... he keep saying he's never eaten so well!

This recipe is very easy to make and keeps well in refrigerator. 

Easy Coconut Pie

Grease 9 inch pie pan

4 large eggs

1 can coconut milk (not light) Trader Joe's extra thick

1 tablespoon vanilla

4 tablespoon butter (melted)

1/4 cup coconut flour

1/4 teaspoon stevia

1 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened)

 

Beat eggs with whisk, add coconut milk, vanilla, melted butter, coconut flour, stevia, mix well, then stir in shredded coconut.  Pour into pie pan.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour.  Cool before serving.

 

Coconut Milk Whipped Topping

Step 1: Take a “full fat” can of Organic Coconut Milk and place it in the fridge for some time or best over night

Step 2: Make sure that you scoop out all the thickened coconut cream, and that the water is left over. Don’t discard the water, use it to drink or in a shake.

Step 3: After scooping it out, add a little cinnamon and vanilla, and whip it in a mixing bowl until it begins to thicken.

Step 4: Enjoy every bite, anyway you like!

 
Sharing at:  Weekend Blog Hop
                    Make My Saturday Sweet

Warm hugs,