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MUFFINS! (just a minute!) The theme for today is MUFFINS! Actually, that's not entirely true. It's actually more devoted to 60 second shortbreads and cakes. These are little bready-like creations using baking powder as the leavening agent (the stuff that gives these their poof, puff or "lift"), and nuked in the microwave. These aren't just limited to the concept of a "muffin", eve
Happy Mother's Day! Today is Mother's Day in the United States, Canada and Australia; countries where most of my readers live. It was 2 months ago in the UK and 3 days ago in Mexico, but most countries that celebrate mothers, celebrate it on the second Sunday of May -- AKA: Today. Mother's Day is a day dedicated to mothers, motherhood, family bonds and the contributions Moms make
Hello Fellow Foodies! This is just going to be a short one. My previous post on gluten was pretty long-winded. Whew! First of all, I'm about to transition into a new style of photography. There's more "stuff" and distractions in the pictures. I personally like them more than I thought I would, but I've received comments and emails suggesting that some think it's a step in the right direction a
Hi There! I cook for 4 back-to-back days, about once a month. My goal is to cook 14 recipes a day, for each of the 4 days. This approach helps me get ahead. When the time comes, I'll be able to focus on cookbook writing, while sitting on a pile of beautiful food photography! This round has some really great ones, including a bit of a surprise ... a total pushing of the envelope! You'll see! Ot
Dr. Foodie Recommends! (not a real doctor) Normally during the course of the week, I have time blocked out for blog writing. However, some of the time, other projects crop up and take over. This week, I've had two big projects. One was writing a mammoth guest post (about a borderline "magical" pie) for Karen at LowCarbOneDay.com (which you should all read in a week or two), but here's a sneak
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BAD NEWS! I started changing my ways of eating a little over 3 years ago, while living in Mexico. I did a lot of research on how to reduce carbohydrates from my diet, while still eating an interesting and healthy mix of foods. One item I read about, but could not find in Mexico, ironically, was "Mexican Style" Hominy, which was purported to have only 4 net carbs per half cup servi
BIG NEWS!!! I have been invited to write for the best selling "Low Carbing Among Friends" cookbook series! This is HUGE news for this little blogger! I had already been planning to submit 2 recipes to the upcoming fourth version, but a few nights ago, I received an email from leading author Jennifer Eloff. She asked me if I'd like to join the team as a full AUTHOR for the series! This is like a
Whoops! It should be pretty obvious what's happened in the photos below. I was just as upset that I'd dropped it because of the mess and the loss of my new pie pan, as I was that I wasn't going to get to eat this luxurious dessert! I was NOT happy with this little kitchen mishap. The good news is, I was still able to get a picture! Chocolate Pudding Pie with Hazelnut Crust Memories (Part III)
Heavy, Man. Text Heavy. Today's blog is text heavy. So, I'm not going to do any "extra" typing, but do want to point out a FANTASTIC interview with an inspiring woman who is well on her way, after dropping well over 100 lbs. already! I've also got part 2 of my little story of growing up in kitchens and, as always, more recipes! I hope you enjoy it all! In other news ... HI, GRANDMA! ~ DJ
Heavy, Man. Text Heavy. Today's blog is text heavy. So, I'm not going to do any "extra" typing, but do want to point out a FANTASTIC interview with an inspiring woman who is well on her way, after dropping well over 100 lbs. already! I've also got part 2 of my little story of growing up in kitchens and, as always, more recipes! I hope you enjoy it all! ~ DJ Syvella! DJ: First
Today's Recipes Today's post contains 3 recipes at the bottom of this email. They are focused on foods I think kids might eat! I could be wrong, but ... if I were a kid, I'd eat these and ask for more! We have fun little Pizza Pucks, Burger Balls and finally a Veggie Soup where the veggies have all been cut into fun kid-friendly shapes. Gwyneth would be so proud! Low-Carbing with a Caveman T
Coming Attractions! For some reason I got it into my mind that "cake" was a good idea. Not CAKE cake, mind you, but little dollops of fried circular yumminess. These will come in the form of things like curried cauliflower cakes, polenta cakes, Thai fish cakes and salmon patties. Each and every one essentially some form of tasty pancake. Here are just a few which will be coming
Today's Recipes I've received several requests for more kid and "family" friendly recipes. I've travelled back in time to think about the kinds of things my OWN mother made for me, growing up. Today kicks off about a week of family friendly meals, with the help of my own mother, my memory and the big kid inside! These are the sorts of meals I ate growing up and still make! All updated for a low
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS! As most of you know, my story ran in the Huffington Post, about a week ago. This has made for an incredibly exciting week, as my website was flooded with new visitors. I've received countless emails compliments and encouragements from all over the planet. THANK YOU, EVERYONE! It has just been tremendous! I can't express enough appreciation for all of your kind words. In
Foodie Fame! A good friend is a big fan of the Huffington Post. He occasionally sends me stories that are worth reading. About 3 or 4 months ago, one of them was of a success story of massive weight loss and inspiration. My buddy suggested I send in MY story. Thinking it could be kind of fun, I sat and typed a lot of words into my email program, attached a few images and sent it o
MIA Some of you may or may not have noticed a minor dip in production this past week. Rather than blog cooking once a week, I'm cooking once a month. From Sunday through Tuesday, I cooked 42 dishes. No easy task! Not only is it time consuming to plan for, shop for, prepare, cook, plate, shoot and clean up after such an ongoing fiasco, but there are also issues like kitchen space,
Whoops! Earlier in the week, I focused most of my efforts on a fantastic resource for the diabetic community. I repeated the website throughout my text, and in each and every instance, the link I provided had a typo. How embarrassing! To check out "Eat To Your Meter", click this link: EatToYourMeter.org Share the LCve! I want to try a bit of an experiment. Actually, just about everything
Eat To Your Meter As many of you may know, my own personal story started at about 352 lbs. with a dead certainty that I was diabetic and needed to change my way of life, in order to survive. I began reading everything I could about managing blood sugars and "curing" my diabetes. This pursuit led me down a quite low-carb path, eventually losing near 150 lbs within about a year. I
Valentine's Day Even though many people believe that Valentine's Day was invented by Hallmark to sell more cards, it was actually invented by some poet-philosopher dude named Jeff (Geoffrey Chaucer) about 625 to 630 years ago, in a poem about love birds. There is certainly history prior to the Middle Ages, where Chaucer associated the day with romantic love. There was at least
Homework! As some of you may know, I'm taking a food writing course, at a local university. This here blog is important to me. I'm working hard to make it a good one! As I promised, here's some homework! YAY! HOMEWORK!!! (It feels pretty weird to be deep into my 30's and have homework.) The assignment was: write 5 sentences, beginning with the words, "As I pushed my grocery c
January 1st, 2013 ... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! Did you make any New Year's Resolutions? I'm not someone that usually makes New Year's Resolutions. I'm not sure why. Perhaps it's the probability that I'll just let myself down. Not setting myself up for failure seems like ... pure win, right? Maybe, but ... probably not. Apparently almost half of all Americans make New Year's Resolutions. I think I'
Super Bowl Recipes! First, let me say that I'm not a soccer fan. I never have been. I grew up in a computer geek household, where sporting events never even entered the equation. I only know the Super Bowl is this weekend, because ... so many have asked me what they should prepare! Unfortunately, due to my detachment from the All American Past Time, I was unprepared to offer anyt
Hello Foodies! Today we are kicking off dessert week! This week, I present 7 dessert recipes. I've also got a "coming attractions" for next week, focusing on Valentines menus, dishes and ingredients. That fiery flaming plate with Lamb Loin and a Mushroom Risotto was not only outstanding, but the tug on your heart strings will be worth the wait! This Week's Recipes Today, I'v
Recipe Nutrition: Behind the Scenes!! I had a reader recently email me about a nutrition website that I should look into. He helps run a printing company. He said, "Here is a site that I use to create nutritional panels for customers printing. So far I have found it to be accurate. Try it out and see if you like it. Pass it on to the rest of us foodies if it meets with your approv
No more daily emails! Hello out there! Did you miss me? I wanted to take a break from the daily emails. I did not like them. The daily email experiment was odd. I've grown to well over a thousand readers, with virtually zero cancellations within the past 4 months. This past week, I've had cancellations, each like a dagger to my heart. Coinciding these cancellations were emails and comments fr
Orange "Supremes" Here's another cooking tip. Part of me feels like no one will ever really do this in their home, but another part of me feels it's worth knowing, simply due to the millions of citrus fruits (citri?) that I've sectioned in my life. Someone, somewhere, LOVES to have their grapefruit and oranges sectioned, to get rid of that awful pith! I also do this in my own home, quite often!
Be Warned! Running some experiments ... The short version: I'm going to email a recipe a day, rather than a weekly "summary". Expect 7 shorter emails per week, rather than 1 long one, starting next Tuesday. This is an experiment. I may stop it after a week or two, or it may become my new way, for a while. Fair warning! The long version: I'm always trying to figure out the best way to do this
Standing Firm in the New Year? How's everyone New Year's Resolutions going? Sticking to the master plan? So far, about 8 days in ... I have consumed a gallon of water a day. I fill a jug with water at the end of the night, then drink it all day, the following day. Wash ... rinse ... repeat! I've lost at least a pound already! I joined a gym and have gone daily, since I've joined. I haven'
ZC Madness For those of you that are new … Welcome to my blog! Thanks for signing up! My weekly blogs consist of me rambling about something, followed by 7 new recipes at the bottom! If you want to skip over my drivel, simply scroll down and enjoy the food! For those that want a peek into my madness … I’m firmly dedicated to losing another 30 lbs. At the moment, I weigh 215 lbs. This is
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! I wish you all the very best Holiday Season. Santa Foodie is hard at work, working on delivering newer and bigger and better recipes for all the good boys and girls! Because I know you want to be with your loved ones ... Quickly, here are some coming attractions for 2013! Coming Attractions Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms Shrimp Cocktail Vietnamese Hot Wings with Dip
