Asparagus Soup for One

2 teaspoons butter
1/4 cup diced onion (can use green onions)
1/4 tsp shredded fresh ginger
1/2 tsp chopped garlic
1 1/4 cup chopped asparagus (abt 6 oz)
1 cup home-made chicken stock
pinch dried rosemary
1 tablespoon fresh, chopped parsley
1/2 cup Coconut Milk (or other milk product)
1/4 tsp salt
pepper to taste

Saute onion in butter over med-low heat for 4 min, add ginger and garlic, saute 2 more minutes. Add asparagus, stock, rosemary, and parsley. Cover and simmer 20 minutes. Blend carefully in blender until smooth. Add back to pan with milk, salt and pepper. Stir to incorporate. Enjoy!

Salmon Kabayaki - Low Carb Meal of the Week - Gluten Free

Salmon Kabayaki
serves 4



1 pound salmon, cut into 4 fillets (patted very dry to avoid oil splattering)
1 cup Plum Sweet & Sour Sauce
1 tablespoon extra Virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the sauce
2. Place oils in a large frying pan over high heat
3. Place salmon in frying pan, do not allow fillets to touch each other
4. Fry for 2 minutes until the bottoms are browned
5. Brush sauce on the fillets
6. Flip salmon over and brush top of the other side, then fry for another minute or 2 until fish flake
    
7. Nutritional Info
   • Servings Per Recipe: 4
   • Amount Per Serving
   • Calories: 302.2
• Total Fat: 16.0 g
• Cholesterol: 80.5 mg
• Sodium: 3,213.5 mg
• Total Carbs: 7.5 g
• Dietary Fiber: 0.0 g
• Protein: 28.8 gs easily and is cooked through

Orange Broccoli

• 2 pounds fresh broccoli florets

• 5 tablespoons butter, cubed
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 teaspoon grated orange peel
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup slivered almonds

1. Place 1 inch of water in a saucepan; add broccoli.  Bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5-8 minutes or until crisp-tender.
3. Drain and keep warm.
4. In the same pan, combine the butter, orange juice, orange peel and
5. salt; heat until butter is melted. Return the broccoli to the
6. saucepan; toss to coat. Transfer to a serving bowl; sprinkle with
7. almonds. Yield: 6 servings.  

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1/2 cup) equals 166 calories, 13 g fat (6 g saturated fat), 26 mg cholesterol, 334 mg sodium, 10 g carbohydrate, 5 g fiber, 6 g protein.

Consider a Quarterly, Three Week, Low-Carb Fast

**NOTE**  A weeks worth of menus with recipes are found below!

What's all this about a low carb fast. Typically a 'fast' is a way to cleanse, rest, heal your body and a low carb fast is no different. What we are trying to accomplish is to remove sugar and high glycemic carbs from your diet to give your body a rest from the on slot of all that insulin rushing through your body which makes your body turn insulin resistant just to survive.



When a fellow blogger suggested this proposition I was very curious. As a Type 2 diabetic I do not like taking pills and getting the side effects from them. I wondered..........was it possible to reduce the carbs enough to stabilize my blood sugars? What I found out was amazing.

First I want to say that I am not a Physician and what I have to say in this article should not be construed as me taking the place of your Physician. Please see your Dr before making any dietary changes.

I discovered several things about this type of fast. First of all, after several days on the diet I did see a huge change for the better in my blood sugar control. It was amazing. I haven't made it through a complete 21 day fast but I'm going to do some additional research and go for it.

It is important to remember that while weight loss might be a great side effect of this fast, it is not the goal. The goal of this fast is to cleanse, heal and rest your body systems. Great care should be used when beginning this fast, during the fast and in ending the fast. If you are diabetic remember to watch your blood sugars carefully.

Some Things I've Learned

Budget Saving Menus

Saving money in your budget doesn't only mean cutting back but it mostly means being good stewards of the resources that God has provided.  That's why when I begin to plan the next week or two of meals I take a look first at what I have on hand.

Sometimes planned meals just don't work out and I have to do a quick substitution so I often have a few things purchased that I didn't use.  Menu plan below.

As I go through this post please remember that we grow all our own grass-fed, free-range meats and our freezers are generally full of anything we might need.

This week I have some things in the frig (or will have after Christmas Day) that need to be used up:

Wine-Braised Short Ribs with Vegetables

3 medium carrots peeled
2 medium parsnips peeled
2 stalks celery
2 pounds beef short ribs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon oilive oil
1 large onion chopped
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 cup red wine
1 cup diced tomato
4 cloves garlic
9 inches fresh rosemary sprig
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 pound Broccoli florets

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Julianne carrots, parsnips and celery in 3 inch lengths.
3. Sprinkle short ribs all over with salt and pepper.  Heat olive oiil in 6-8 quart pot over med-high heat.  Brown ribs in oil in skillet on both sides, 5 minutes per side.  Transfer to roating pan.  Pour fat from pot and reserve.
4. Add 1 tablespoon fat or olive oil to skillet.  Add onions, stirring often, until lightly browned (8-10 min).  Spoon over ribs.  Add additional tablespoon fat or olive oil to pot with vegetables.  Cook, stirring often until golden (5-6 min).  Spoon into seperate bowl with uncooked broccoli, sprinkle with chopped parsley, salt and pepper.
5. Pour wine, tomatoes and remaining parsley into skillet.  Be sure to scrap the bottom.  Bring to boil over high heat. Pour over ribs, Scatter garlic cloves and rosemary on tip.  Cover tightly.  Braise in oven for 2 1/2 hours, turning meat every hour.
6. Add vegetable mixture to rib mixture in pan.  Cover and bake 25-30 minutes.

This is great served with mashed potatoes and Horseradish Beet Sauce.