Low Carb Pumpkin PieTartlettes and the Art of baking

Pumpkin Tartlette
Hand sculpted like a piece of art!

HI Your Fit Day Friends!

I Love Art! It’s no wonder since I grew up with an abundance of art and music in my home; from an opera singer mom to an impressionist painting dad, as well as my brothers, sister and myself playing our various instruments and doing our own crafty things. And during those years I  was drawn to jewelry making, knitting, claymation, ceramics, cooking, tile making,photography, painting t-shirts, terrarium building and landscape gardening, to name just a few!
So of course I would classify myself as the creative type, possibly a diva!

But like most of us life got in the way, and it was hard to keep up with my crafting. And as I got older I found myself not doing much more than making Holiday cards and cookies! Then about 14 years ago, after a tragic event in our family, once again I had this sudden urgent creative itch, which ran deep.

At  first this resulted in the medium of painting;. However, it didn’t take me long to realize I would never be Renoir or Van Gough. I can barley draw a line, let alone a circle. No, I was painting pots. You know, the red clay ones you buy at the garden store.  I bought a few, went to the art store, stocked up on color and started painting away; which only resulted in a bunch of pots in my house that reminded me of my 5th grade art class.  The passion was there but I needed more authenticity in its expression.

It didn’t take me long to realize that I should be building the pots I was going to paint, not buying them. I needed to get down and dirty in some clay; really make something… or attempt to anyway. So I found a ceramics studio in Oakland-near my apartment and conveniently right next door to my pool-signed up for a class, and fell in love with the art of building and molding things out of clay.

After a couple years of this, and a house full of eclectic pieces, I considered myself an artist and was energized by the thought of just going to class. I dreamed about pottery as much as I did about lifting weights!

But then, tragically, the studio closed down for renovation. Unfortunately I couldn’t find another suitable place to do my craft, since they were too expensive or too far a drive. And when the City of Oakland’s Studio One finally did open it’s doors again, in it’s swanky new building, the price for a session had nearly tripled. While my tax dollars had supported the building of a new art studio my budget was unable to support taking a class. So my art fell to the wayside.

Well, kind of. Fitness has allowed me to sculpt not only my own body but those of 100’s of others’. But with my recent two surgeries, one on my hip in October of 2011, and another on my shoulder in May 2012, it’s been hard training clients, do art, or even garden (and won’t be able to garden for several months). But that craving to create has never ceased. And it’s getting stronger.

Fast forward 12 years later

My passion for creativity has surfaced again and it’s like a tsunami! But now I have found a new art medium:  the art of baking. And so here we are, at my fitness blog, drooling over pumpkins, pies and nutty crusts, and who knows what else that lies ahead!

What I really love about baking is that, just like working with clay, I can dream up anything; and using all my senses I can bring it to life. My hands now work again as they did with clay: I mold and shape the dough,  I mix the ingredients into batter, and  I fire, or now bake, what was once raw. And just as I did with my clay pieces, I hope my baked ‘piece’ turns out as intended. Sometimes it doesn’t because ovens, as with kilns, can be testy and temperamental,  having their own intentions. And sometimes I end up with a flop! But who cares. I love the whimsy of both: art and baking.

So making my pumpkin pie tartlettes brought me back in time… to the old Studio One ceramics class.  There you would find me one with the clay, transformed with intent, immersed in another world, throwing, plying and molding the mound with my hands; and bringing to life the various shapes and beings that I had no idea could come forth from the tips of my fingers. Just as it was with clay I now find myself in my closet kitchen-my culinary studio-hovered over my counter top doing the same.

Today I’m working with ground nuts, like I did with clay, and molding the delicate meal into a vessel that holds my leftover pumpkin pie batter, which is then baked into the mini, sweet, aromatic pumpkin pies. And let’s be honest, it’s a lot easier to lick your hands when they’re filled with ground nuts than it is if they’re yucked up with mud.

These spicy tartletes are 1/5th of the leftovers from my Perfect Paleo Pumpkin Pie. But you can make and use the entire batter which will yield about 26 mini pies.

I also did a new take on my Nutty Crust and Pumpkin Pie Batter, using more spices. Hope you like it. Let me know in the comments!

Low Carb Pumpkin Pie Tartlettes
 
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A creamy rich mini pumpkin pie, with a spiced, slightly salty crust, that I make from the leftovers of my Perfect Paleo Pumpkin Pie.
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 1 Cup Leftover pumpkin pie batter from Perfect Paleo Pumpkin Pie or 1 cup or your own leftover pumpkin pie batter.. Or the entire batter if you want to make 26 tartlettes.
Pumpkin Pie Batter
  • 2 cups pumpkin, mashed ( I use real sugar pumpkins, not canned. If you use canned pumpkin use 1 15oz can but results will vary)
  • 3 large eggs
  • ¼ cups Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
  • 1 can (15 oz) coconut milk, canned, full fat
  • 1 teaspoon liquid stevia - vanilla cream flavored
  • 1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract (Use 1 more tbsp if no Vanilla cream stevia)
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon, ground
  • ½ teaspoons nutmeg (adjust to taste)
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger (adjust to taste)
Nut Crust
  • ½ cup, whole almonds, raw
  • ⅔ cup, ground hazelnuts, ground
  • ⅓ cup Finely ground, blanched almonds
  • 1 tablespoon walnut halves, roughly chopped (OPTIONAL, as these were all I had left so I used them!)
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil metled
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon, ground
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoons fresh ground sea salt
Instructions
Crust
  1. Pre heat oven to 350 degrees F
  2. Line 6 muffin tins with liners (you will have approx. 6 tbsp of crust batter left over, which you can make into shells for something else!)
  3. Combine all ingredients into food processor or blender. Pulse or grind til combined and meal sticks together in small beads. Make sure to stop before nuts have become butter.
  4. Using 3 Tbsp of nut batter per muffin liner gently mold into liner making sure entire cup is covered in nut batter. Make sides are thicker than bottom and batter goes to top rim of liner.
  5. Bake at 350 for approx 10 minutes
  6. Let cool 10 minutes before filling
  7. Make pie batter while waiting for crusts to bake (If not using leftovers, of course)
  8. Be careful not to eat the pie batter while waiting, it tastes that yummy!
Batter
  1. If using frozen leftover batter bring to room temperature and set aside and proceed to CRUST direction.
  2. If using your own batter results may vary as well as nutritional information. I highly suggest making my lovely Pie batter.
  3. In a blender or food processor add pumpkin, eggs, spices. Blend until combined. Slowly add coconut milk and continue blending until combined. Recipe makes 5 cups of batter. Approximately 1 cup of batter makes 6 tartlettes.
  4. Gently add Approx 3 Tbsp of pumpkin batter into each of the nut crust lined muffin tins.
  5. Bake for 18-25 minutes or until center of tartlettes are firm.
  6. Check at 20 minutes and pull out of oven before tops of tartlettes turn brown
  7. It's smelling really good right now!
  8. Let cool 5 minutes
  9. Keeping the tartlettes in the liners, remove from tins and place in open Tupperware container.
  10. Place in refrigerator to set for an hour, and keep your hands off!
  11. Store loosely covered in fridge. Will keep for about a week, if they last that long uneaten!
Notes
The entire batter will make approximately 26 tartlettes. You will need to triple the Nut Crust recipe.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 6 Calories: 201 Fat: 20 Carbohydrates: 7 Sodium: 133 Fiber: 2.8 Protein: 6.65

Pumpkin Tartlettes

Gluten Free Pumpkin Tartlette

Perfect Paleo Pumpkin Custard Nutritional Information And Fat Loss Tip

HI Your Fit Day Friends!

It tastes as good as it glows!

It’s that time of year again : pumpkins and parties! And that means we’re worried about our waistlines. So it’s no wonder I’ve been getting a bunch of requests for the nutritional information for the custard portion of my Perfect Paleo Pumpkin Pie.

This custard is so yummy you don’t even need the crust. It would be great just served warm in ramekins, straight from the oven, drizzled with some coconut butter, heavy whipped cream or maybe even some whipped coconut milk. So here’s the nutritional breakdown so you can go to town and be creative with my custard.

According to the line on my blender the recipe yielded roughly 5 cups of custard. Since I was only able to fit 4 cups of custard into my pie crust my recipe reflects only 4/5ths of the batter. So make sure you take that into account when you make your pie.

And remember this is great for an Ulta Low Carb (ULC) program like Carbnite Solution as well as the ULC portions of the day during Carb Backloading. It’s healthy for diabetics, and for those who are watching their sugar intake. Well, shouldn’t everyone? At least during the day.

Fat Loss Tip

In fact if I can give ONE piece of advice right now for losing body fat it’s this (and don’t worry, there are more to come!):

Don’t eat carbohydrates (sugars) in the A. M. That includes any form of carbohydrates, including milk, oatmeal, cereal, as well as fructose (this list is not all inclusive). Yup, that means fruit and juice. When you eat carbs in the morning, as well as throughout the day, your body shuts down fat burning and instead, and I’m not going to get scientific here, (I’ll let Kiefer do that) starts pushing those carbs into fat cells. UGH!

You see our bodies are insulin sensitive in the morning. And contrary to what most of us have been taught, after a night of fasting the body is in the fat burning mode in the A.M.. But cortisol levels are still high. And high cortisol levels plus food, especially carbohydrates, equals less fat burning and more fat storage. So why mess up what nature intended! In fact you should wait at least 2 hours upon waking to eat anything, so that your body can keep it’s fat burning furnace stoked. If you have to eat anything stick to fat, like a tablespoon of coconut butter  or even grass fed heavy whipping cream in your tea or coffee.

Kiefer, from www.dangerouslyhardcore.com explains the science behind all of this in his very educational and easy to understand interview on Robb Wolf’s podcast. I highly recommend tuning in while your scarfing down my low carb pumpkin pie, of course!

So make sure that when you’re eating your carbs you take them in the late afternoon or evening, or even before bedtime. Who would of thunk! If you make this one change in your diet you’ll most likely lose body fat and see a difference within a month. Give it a try and stop back and tell me if your pants are falling off!

That’s why my Perfect Paleo Pumpkin Pie, even including the nut crust, is great during the day. It has minimal carbs and won’t promote an insulin surge, causing those nutrients to get stored as fat. So you can have your cake pie and eat it too!

P.S. I didn’t put the above links on the post for the lovely colors. Please click on them to learn some great stuff about how your body either burns fat or stores it, plus more…!

So indulge, please!

Perfect Paleo Pumpkin Pie Nutrition using only 4/5ths of the batter below (without the crust)

Perfect Paleo Pumpkin Pie Nutritional Information
 
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Nutritional information for the pumpkin pie custard using only ⅘ths of the recipe
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Serves: 16
Ingredients
  • 2 cups pumpkin, mashed
  • 3 large eggs
  • ¼ cups Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
  • 1 can (15 oz) coconut milk, canned, full fat
  • 1 teaspoon liquid stevia - flavored
  • 1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon, ground
  • ½ teaspoons nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
Instructions
  1. Make the filling as per instructions here: http://www.yourfitday.com/374/perfect-paleo-pumpkin-pie/
  2. READ THIS CAREFULLY! Fill your pie crust or ramekins with ONLY ⅘ths of the pie filling if you want your pie to reflect the macro-nutrient information for the Perfect Paleo Pumpkin Pie.
Notes
My Perfect Paleo Pumpkin Pie uses only ⅘ths of this batter. Each Serving of pie =3.75 TBSP of the ⅘ths batter used. You will have about 1 cup left over of batter. I did not account for that cup in the nutritional information above.   Nutrition For Total Batter(if you are using all of it!): Calories: 1388 Fat: 113g Carbs: 58g Fiber: 16g Protein: 53g Below is the nutritional information for just the ⅘th of batter I used in my recipe. Enjoy!!
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 16 Calories: 56.9 Fat: 5.65 Carbohydrates: 2.9 Fiber: .8 Protein: 2.65

 

Low Carb Nutty Pie Crust

HI Your Fit Day Friends!

Paleo Pie Crust
This is basically a big nut cookie!

I’d been pondering a while on what would be the best low carb pie crust for my first pumpkin pie – while also being suitable for Ultra Low Carb meals, including the Carbnite Solution Diet Plan and Carb Backloading program.

Since giving up grains about 15 years ago, my Mom’s sweet, light and flaky, cinnamon-y pastry flour pie crust was no longer an option. I remember helping her in the kitchen, learning how to roll out the dough and laying the dough dipped pin over the pie plate. But the best part of pie making for me was collecting the falling waves of cut and crimped dough into my powdery hands, dousing them with cinnamon and sugar, and baking them until tender and flaky into my ‘pie crisp cookies’. They were little drops of buttery flakes that melted on my tongue like snowflakes. But my tummy, digestion and skin are so much better for giving up gluten and grains ( I do eat rice on my Carbnite!).

So my quest was to make a crust that was as alluring as a traditional one, which would also pleasing to the Paleo pallete!

To stay gluten free and low carb, coconut flour was certainly option.  But I decided I wanted to make this crust with nuts only. To bind it together I would need a fat. Yum yum, fat!

My options were butter, lard, coconut oil…and maybe some of DebbyK’s coconut butter. Well, since I don’t eat dairy butter was not really an option for this crust (but don’t let me stop your grass fed butter dipping addictions!).

And straight lard in a nut crust just didn’t seem appealing to me with pumpkin pie.

I thought coconut butter, since it’s so thick, might seize up and make the nuts harder to spread, which would result in using a lot more coconut butter – quite possibly my entire jar. And truth be told I’d rather eat DebbyK’s Coconut Butter straight out of the jar than dump most of the jar into my pie crust. I confess, I’m an addict.  Although, I do intend to try using the coconut butter in my next pie crust, so stay tuned!

Since this was my first pie crust I hopped to the web to get some inspirations and see what others, who are gluten free and primarily primal, had cooked up. Although the tart crust from Elenas Pantry was inspiring and looked tasty, I decided to exclude the egg, make it a nut medley, and throw in all the nuts I had in my fridge instead of using only almond flour.

The first crust I ended up with (without cinnamon because I forgot to add it in-oops!) sent wafts of sweet nuttiness through my small apartment. It was so hard not to eat it up right then. But I was thinking of you, so I didn’t. Which was the right thing to do, because if I had eaten that crust/cookie I’d be stuck without a crust for my Perfect Paleo Pumpkin Pie, which I hope you are making right now for Thanksgiving. And when I added the cinnamon in a second testing the crust came out even better: sweet nuttiness! That’s the one you’ll find below.

Really I could eat this pie crust alone as a giant cookie it, tastes that yummy!

As a side: I got even more creative with another crust for my tartlettes which I made from the leftover pie batter, and I added in 1/2 tsp ginger as well. Feel free to add a 1/4 tsp to the recipe below if you wish, and maybe even 1/4  tsp of nutmeg to marry the crust and pie together even more. If you do, let me know how it comes out.

Anyway, you’ll get to taste the tartlettes soon enough!

Here is my Low Carb Nutty Crust:

Nutty Pie Crust
 
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A sweet nutty crust that tastes just as good as a giant cookie!!
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: American/Paleo
Serves: 16
Ingredients
  • 1 Cup walnuts
  • ½ Cup almonds
  • ½ Cup almond flour (blanched)
  • ½ Cup hazelnut flour
  • 2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 2 Tsp cinnamon
  • Optional:
  • ½ tsp ginger
  • ¼ tsp nutmeg
Instructions
  1. In a blender or food processor ( I only have a blender) add all pie crust ingredients.
  2. Pulse until nuts start to get crumbly. Be careful as to not allow nuts to start forming a butter.
  3. Continue to pulse until mixture forms a crumbly meal and comes together when pinched. Make sure you don't grind too much, you don't want nut nut butter! Stop to scrape down sides as needed.
  4. Scrape out into mound in center of pie pan or dish
  5. Starting from middle work the pie crust out and up sides of pie tin. This part of pie making reminds me of hand building a bowl or plate out of clay! Allow for thicker crust up the sides. Bottom can be thinner.
  6. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until it just starts to brown. Do not over bake!
  7. Remove and let completely cool before filling
  8. Pie crust can be made day ahead and stored in refrigerator
  9. To keep carb count low I slice my pies into 16ths.
  10. Feel free to make this 8 servings but account for your daily net carbs.
  11. Remember: If this crust is for a pie stay focused, think PIE, and Do Not eat this as a cookie!
Notes
This crust has been known to disguise itself as a cookie, so beware! It's highly addicting. It can also be used as a crumble for muffin and cake toppings. Be creative!!
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1/16 Calories: 125 Fat: 12 Saturated fat: 2 Carbohydrates: 3 Sodium: 38 Fiber: 1.63 Protein: 3

Paleo Pie Crust
This is basically a big nut cookie!

 

 

 

Perfect Paleo Pumpkin Pie

The Great Pumpkin
Pumpkin on Steroids

Hi, Your Fit Day Friends!

How was your Halloween? Well, mine was great, and it really got me into the pumpkin spirit. Everywhere I go there’s a pumpkin staring me in the eyes. And now at my local food market, The Berkeley Bowl, there are a gazillion bins of pumpkins and gourds, all different sizes and shapes. My favorite is still the Japanese pumpkin, which is also called Kabocha squash. It’s my favorite because if you pick them just right the flesh is usually very creamy and dense when baked, almost like the flesh of a sweet potato. Now’s actually the best time of year to eat them; and up until about March, from my over 20 year experience of noshing.

And the bonus is that pumpkins, along with all the Vitamin A and fiber, have less starch than other winter squashes and sweet potatoes which makes them great for baking into treats, adding a nice texture without all the extra carbs.  And it’s all about eating less carbs, right?  So no wonder I love it. But a starch is still a starch so I watch how much I’m eating. In fact if I eat too much Kabocha I practically light up at night, my skin becomes such a glow from all the vitamin A!

And what about all those cute little pumpkins. The baby pumpkins.

Pumpkin minis
Baby Pumpkins are too cute to eat!

What do you do with them? I’m assuming they’re for decoration. I’ve never bought one because I tend not to buy food as decoration. I don’t see the point. OK! call me frugal, but I’d rather eat my food, not stare at it! Wouldn’t you?  Bottom line…more money for more food. That’s more recipes for you!

So, back to Halloween… I decided to buy a pumpkin, even though I live in an apartment, on the second floor, with no balcony or stoop to put it on.  It’s just a small 1920’s style house with five small units that, wow, come to think about it, looks like a gingerbread house! The guy living downstairs is lucky; he has a front porch and nice bay windows that would look swell with a scary glowing pumpkin in the window. But a pumpkin on the porch in this city neighborhood wouldn’t last long anyway.

So, instead of buying and carving up Jack-O, I decided to get creative in the kitchen and roast his cousin, Sugar, and make some Paleo pumpkin pie for my friends. However, since I’m on the Carbnite Solution plan I needed my pie to be low carb, as well as sugar free, grain free, dairy free and gluten free for my Ultra Low Carb days (more about that later). OMG! You’re probably saying aloud ,’will this taste much better than cardboard?’ You betcha. Because I made it with the wholesome goodness of coconut milk, fresh pumpkin, eggs, some stevia and spices, and a lot of love! And the crust was a savory mix of nuts, nut flours, and virgin coconut oil. No kidding, that’s it. A low carb pumpkin pie. Ahhh! And wait til  you taste it.

Since this was my first pumpkin pie you’d think that I’d be a bit weary of giving most of it away to my friends as taste testers. But I did. And despite having no sugar or dairy in it they all thought it was yummy. And that’s a good thing. Because nobody wants to be ‘defriended’!  One friend even said it reminded her of cheesecake…it was that creamy.

And guess what? I’ve been inspired to start a separate recipe blog. I can’t reveal the details just yet. It’s super secret! But in a couple weeks I’ll have a new website up devoted to gluten free Paleo, low carb, sugar free, grain free and mostly dairy free treats. But since Wo-man can’t live on treats alone (I know, that sucks!) I do plan having other edibles that will be pleasing to your palette while nurturing your soul with good nutrition.

And if you’re in the Oakland, CA area and want to try some of my treats drop me an email at debkaplan@sbcglobal.net, Facebook me, or Tweet me. The plan is to make some goodies each week, and I’m looking for taste testers…

Sorry about the weird box below. I’m using a new format and it’s it’s not formatting correctly. I didn’t know how to fix it without losing my recipe.

Perfect Paleo Pumpkin Pie

Paleo Pumpkin Pie
Perfect Paleo Pumpkin Pie

 

Perfect Paleo Pumpkin Pie
 
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Nutrition Information
Serving size: 16 Calories: 194 Fat: 18 Carbohydrates: 6 Sodium: 59 Fiber: 2.4 Protein: 6

Recipe Type: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Author: Debby Kaplan
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 16
This is a rich and creamy dairy, gluten, sugar and grain free pumpkin pie that is perfect for an Ultra Low Carb meal plan. It is also Carb Backloadingâ„¢ and CarbNite Solutionâ„¢ friendly. I don’t like the taste of canned pumpkin so I try to use fresh pumpkin for most of my recipes. NOTE: Recipe makes approx. 5 cups of batter. I used 4 cups and the nutritional information is based on 4 cups, not 5.

Ingredients
  • Pie Batter
  • 2 cups roasted sugar pumpkin. One small sugar pumpkin will usually yield 2 cups roasted pumpkin (1 15oz canned pumpkin if you really have to!)
  • 3 organic eggs
  • 1 can full fat organic coconut milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp vanilla cream stevia
  • 1/4 cup whey protein powder
  • 3 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ginger
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg

 

  • Pie Crust
  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 1/2 cup almonds
  • 1/2 cup blanched almond flour finely ground
  • 1/2 cup hazelnut flour
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 – 1/2 tsp sea salt (to taste)
  • 2 Tbsp virgin coconut oil melted
  • Lots of Love!
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F
  2. Roast Pumpkin
For ‘How To Bake Pumpkin’ go to http://www.elanaspantry.com/how-to-roast-a-pumpkin-in-10-steps/
Pie Crust
  1. In a blender add all pie crust ingredients.
  2. Grind until nuts are fine meal. Be careful as to not allow nuts to start forming butter.
  3. Continue to pulse until mixture forms a crumbly meal and comes together when pinched. Make sure you don’t grind too much so it turns into nut butter! Stop to scrape down sides as needed.
  4. Scrape out into mound in center of pie pan or dish
  5. Starting from middle work the pie crust out and up sides of pie tin. This part of pie making reminds me of hand building a bowl or plate out of clay. Allow for thicker crust up the sides. Bottom can be thinner.
  6. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until it just starts to brown. Do not over bake!
  7. Remove and let completely cool before filling
  8. Pie crust can be made day ahead and stored in refrigerator
  9. While crust is baking make the pie filling
  10. Remember to turn up oven to 400 after pie crust is removed from oven
Pie Filling
  1. In a blender or food processor add pumpkin, eggs, spices. Blend until combined. Slowly add coconut milk and continue blending until combined. Recipe makes 5 cups of batter. My pie crust held about 4 cups. I used the rest of the batter in my Pumpkin Pie Tartlets (Will be posted shortly)
  2. Pour into (cooled) pie crust.
  3. Do not over fill
  4. Cover crust with foil or pie crust cover
  5. You may have extra batter, which you can use to make my Mini Pumpkin Pie Tarts, which will be in my next post. I know, I’m such a tease.
  6. Place pan on lower third of oven
  7. Bake for 10 minutes at 400
  8. Lower temperature to 350
  9. Bake for additional 40-50 minutes or until center is firm and doesn’t jiggle when you shake the rack it’s sitting on. The edges may be brown. Since it’s a custard you don’t want to over bake it, and the knife in the center trick doesn’t apply here. Go by touch!
  10. It’s smelling really good right now!
 
Notes

This is my first time using this recipe plugin. I really wanted the picture of my pumpkin pie in the box above but it won’t let me change it. So you’re stuck with the big fat pumpkin on steriods. Looks like I’ll be upgrading my plugin version!

Paleo Pie Crust
This is basically a big nut cookie!

 

It tastes as good as it glows!

 

Low Carb Paleo Pumpkin Pie

 

Paleo Pumpkin Pie
Perfect Paleo Pumpkin Pie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DebbyK’s Creamy Coconut Butter

Hey Your Fit Day Friends!

Do you cling to smells from childhood that make you feel good? I do. I’ve always loved the smells of vanilla, mint, and cocoa. So much so that as I got older they just became my go-t0 scents. For instance, as a child my favorite ice cream was mint chocolate chip. And then when I got older and ditched the ice cream I started chewing Extra™  Peppermint gum.  It was the only gum I would chew, and I’m still chewing. I’m addicted. It’s that sweet mint-vanilla-y flavor that I can’t live without.

And around the same time, I started wearing Palmersâ„¢ cocoa butter, as well as vanilla scented oils.

Put the three together and I was a like a walking piece of Good and Plentyâ„¢ candy wrapped up in a cinnamon bun! Mmmm!

Good and Plenty Candy
Five Cents was all it cost for an aphrodisiac!

Then I started noticing how I was attracting people like flies on a strips because of how I smelled. Random guys in the gym would say I smelled sweet, like a mint chip cookie, cinnamon muffins, or peppermint candies.

And one time I was in the huge shoe department at Macy’s, in San Francisco, where the same sort of thing happened. Two women strolled by me and stopped at the same display I was perusing. And as soon as they were right next to me one of them said to her friend “hey, I smell chocolate chip cookies baking, let’s go to where they are and get us some”. Hmmm, I couldn’t smell any chocolate chip cookies baking, and neither could my girlfriend. So I looked over at them and said “I’m sorry, but I think your chocolate chip cookie is me!”. Well, apparently I wasn’t quite the chip they were looking for and off they left, in a huff, determined to find their cookie.

Here’s what I’m talking about

What’s your reaction when you open up a jar of vanilla beans and taken a whiff? Or how about when you walk into a home and smell a cake baking, or even better, when you open up the door and take a whiff straight from the oven.   Drives you crazy, right? Well, it makes me feel like I just want to bake a batch of mom’s chocolate chip cookies, brownies or some pumpkin pie right this minute.  Wanna know why? Well, smells bring back memories. It’s true. And it gets better. It turns out certain smells stimulate sexual arousal in us.  I mean, the title of this book says it all…  Scentsational Sex: The Secret to Using Aroma for Arousal . I haven’t read it yet, but I just ordered it from Amazon. And I’ll be sure to have a cup of vanilla tea in hand when I read it. And I’m hoping that I can get back to you with rave reviews too, if you get what I mean! (Please note that I make a small commission on the sale of this book).

According to Dr. Alan Hirsch, the neurological director of the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, men are attracted to olfactory memories and of smells like licorice and doughnuts, pumpkin pie with doughnuts, cinnamon buns, buttered popcorn, and the list of sweetness goes on.

Cinnabon
I bet this Cinnabonâ„¢makes you feel sexy!

So mom was right: the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, one Cinnabonâ„¢at a time!

Women aren’t too different:

  • Good & Plenty candy combined with cucumber (Loved them both as kid, ate them separately, but if it helps I will consider eating cucumber as I chew my peppermint gum)
  • Good & Plenty candy with banana bread (OMG! who doesn’t love the smell of banana bread) Are you feeling it yet?

 

  • Pumpkin pie, coffee, vanilla, and grilled meats also kindle the fire, so to speak. Well that makes perfect sense to me! ( I get ravenously primal when I smell grilled meat; and feel all nostalgic and cuddly around the smells of baking cookies, cakes, coffee and vanilla) Taking notes?

Well, I guarantee that a fresh, warm, buttery batch of DebbyK’s coconut butter will have the same effect.

So, blend up this buttery brew, take a whiff and let it be your viagra. You may just find yourself carrying around a jar in your pocket!

As promised here is my recipe for how to make coconut butter.

Coconut Butter
Coconut Butter is my Drug!

DebbyK’s Creamy Coconut Butter

Prep time: 5 min

Cooking Time: 15 min

Servings: 32

Serving size: 1 Tablespoon

Gather:  6-8 cups Dried shredded coconut

Vanilla (optional,  but suggested if you want to attract a mate)

What you need: Measuring cup, high speed blender, spatula

Steps:

  1. Gather your shredded coconut and a measuring cup

    Organic Coconut
    Shredded Coconut on my homemade sushi platter
  2. Put 3 cups of coconut into a high speed blender. I use an old Osterizer.
  3. Start blending on a low speed, and using a knife keep pushing the coconut down into the middle. Within a few seconds the coconut will start to fly around.
  4. Immediately add another cup while continuing to scrap down the sides into the middle and increase the speed to HIGH or if you have many setting, 1 or 2 below the highest. It should combine rather quickly. If not be patient. All dried coconut has different moisture content, and is aged differently, and some combine faster than others.
  5. Organic Coconut ButterWhen the coconut starts getting creamy add another cup, 1/2 cup at a time while continuing to scrape sides down with the knife, and pushing it towards the middle.
  6. As you continue to add the coconut the butter will become thick and you will think that it will never get smooth and creamy. But be patient. (See picture, Step 6, left)
  7. Coconut Butter
    This is the point where it starts to get more creamy. This is good enough to eat NOW!

    At this point I like to wait til the butter gets very creamy until adding additional coconut. Then continue to add 1 cup at a time, adding slowly so the coconut is incorporated. It should look like this (See picture Step 7, left)

  8. I use 6-8 cups of shredded coconut to make 16-20oz’s of butter.
  9. Once you have 2 to 2 1/2 cup of butter in your blender you can add vanilla to taste if you want, do a quick blend, and you’re ready to jar it up.

    Coconut Butter
    Creamy goodness!
  10. Well, that’s it! Now you are ready to eat your coconut butter!  But if you’re like me it’s already half gone…Enjoy!
  11. And if you’re just too darn lazy tired to do it yourself then I’d be happy to make you a couple jars. Just email me at debkaplan@sbcglobal.net

 

 

Here’s a short video of Step 3

Notes:

  • The blender may get hot. I wouldn’t worry too much about it. You can turn off the blender and rest it for a few minutes if you want.
  • If the blender gets too hot it can burn the coconut butter. You’ll know this if it starts to turn brown.
  • After pouring all the goodness into your jars you’ll be left with residual on the sides and bottom. Don’t let that go to waste. Scrape all of it down to the bottom and then take 1/3 cup of HOT water and pour it in. Put the blender back on the base and blend high speed til frothy. Pour  ‘milk’ into a mug and heat it up with a sprinkle of cinnamon drop of liquid stevia or splenda if you use it.
  • And there you have it…more liquid goodness to start or end your day…!
  • OH! Forgot…You don’t have to refrigerate the coconut butter. It has anti fungal properties and will keep for quite some time on the shelf, if it even lasts that long, which I bet it won’t. If you want to feel safe then you can also freeze it too. It hardens at below 70 degrees F.
  • To get your butter silky and smooth again, just put the jar in a pan of water, best in a double boiler, on low heat and it will melt. Stir occasionally.  Watch it so it doesn’t burn. If you forget about it and it turns a golden brown don’t worry, it’s still yummy!

    Coconut Butter
    Don’t forget that gooey goodness at the bottom of the blender

Nutritional Facts:

Serving Size (15 g or 1 Tablespoon)

Servings Per Recipe 32

Calories 120

Calories from Fat 90 (75%)

Total Fat 10 g

Saturated Fat 9.5 g

Monounsaturated Fat 0 g

Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g

Trans Fat 0 g

Cholesterol 0 g

Sodium 4 mg

Potassium 0 mg

Total Carbohydrate 4 g

Dietary Fiber 0 g

Sugars g

Protein 1 g

So, there you have it. My liquid gold which I refer to as Coconut Crack!

Enjoy, and and make it Your Fit Day with DebbyK!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Healing Benefits of Coconut Butter

Coconut Butter
“Oil that is, coconut oi, liquid gold”

Hey Your Fit Day Friends!

You’re probably asking ”Hey, hey, where’s  DebbyK ?” Well, if you’re  getting my newsletters then your in the know.

What? Not subscribed? What the…? Get your crazy self over to my sidebar and click on that link so I can bug you with my my fitness and fat loss tips, and coming to you soon, my yummy recipes.

Kay now!… that’s settled…and thanks for subscribing.

So, here’s the four one one on why I’ve been out of touch with my fitness blogging and updates: For those of you who just recently subscribed I’ve had 2 major surgeries in the past year. For the first one I traveled far far away to the beautiful land of India for my hip resurfacing surgery, where they put a shiny new cobalt ball in my hip. That was last October.  The 4th to be exact. It’s been a year already, OMG!

Well, thank god I’m not in pain anymore. But I’ll tell you it’s been a big freakin deal trying to get my body feeling normal again. And after a year I”m not nearly as in shape as I was. But that’s because when I got back I had to have another freakin surgery.  It’s like I’m under construction from the bottom up. Now I know how Michelangelo felt painting the Sistine Chapel.  It’s that painstakingly slow to rehab. So don’t sweat it if you have a bad day with your program. It’s all cumulative. Just keep pluggin’ away. K?

So, first surgery’s down, and then seven months later I had to go under the knife again for shoulder surgery. That’s only five months ago. Have you had shoulder surgery? Well, don’t. It was a BIGGER pain in the A#$ than the first one!  Don’t ever get it. Because it feels like somebody’s pounding and drilling into your shoulder with a hammer, incessantly, minute after minute for at least six weeks. Not that I’ve ever had that happen to me, but if I did…hmmm…actually, come to think of it…well, you get the point.  OK! I know…not much of an excuse for not blogging.

But don’t worry, while I was gone I was thinking all about you and what would make you feel warm and fuzzy. And considering my condition ( since it’s really hard for me to do fitness videos for you like I promised-and I’m really sorry for not having kept my word- even if I were to make workout videos, seriously, if you did some of the exercises like how I’m doing them now you’d be exercising like a one winged flamingo) I thought it would be in your best interest to wait a bit longer for the kick butt workout videos. So instead, I’m going to make you some yummy stuff to eat.

Well, not actually make you dinner and desert, as in you coming over to my place and having tea and all…

Rather,  put many of my yummy healing treats and foods that have helped me keep this body happy, healthy, fit (considering) and lean for the past 30 years – not to mention during my surgeries – here on my blog. No Reservations Required!

Yummy stuff… like savory meals, and gluten free sweets, muffins, pies, cakes and butters.

Yup, you read that right….

And because I’ve been getting so many requests for DebbyK’s Coconut Butter recipes (I have many yummy flavors)  I’ve decided to share one of my addictions basic recipes with you.  My liquid gold.

Why Butter? Why Not Butter! Yum…

So while I was recovering after my shoulder surgery I began to research more about healing through nature and how our hormones play a big role in regulating our recovery. I knew that good fats, such as Omega 3’s, are vital in our body’s defense against aging and inflammation.  But just as important as Omega 3’s are saturated fats. If I wanted to give my body the best chance at a strong recovery I would need more FAT.

… Actually, more saturated fats.

Wait, I know what you’re thinking, that fat’s not good for you, and it will make you..well… fat. Or drop dead. Or both. Especially saturated fat. I’ll die of a heart attack THIS SECOND, right?!

Now that’s ridiculous. I mean our paleolithic friends ate tons of fat… in meat, nuts and seeds. And they weren’t fat.  But of course they weren’t sitting at their computers all day checking Facebook, reading blogs and munching on chips (Put those down and keep reading).

Well, that’s another blog altogether. In the meantime a good place to learn about fats, healing, and optimal health through diet is over at  Robb Wolf’s website where you can also read up on why we need more of these good fats in our diets. And while you’re there make sure to read up on the the ‘Paleo Lifestyle’.

OkeeDoKee! Back to the fats. Fats such as coconut oil, red palm oil, grass fed butter and ghee, and coconut butter-a saturated fat- are all really good for you and should be the bulk of the fats and oils you use when cooking.

So you’re probably wondering what this here coconut butter has to do with my yummy healthy recipes that I’m putting together for you. Well for one, it’s become my go-to staple fat for much of my baking. And snacking…I don’t lie.

But coconut butter is so delicious that I don’t only use it for most of my general cooking like I’d use butter, plain virgin coconut oil and red palm oil for stuff like stir fry, soups, etc. That would be like melting gold to make one nail and then  pounding it somewhere into the frame of your house.  You don’t get the real beauty of it. A waste. No Can Do.

Nope.. I eat it by the spoonful…straight from the jar. I want the full sensation of this liquid gold.

Coconut butter
This doesn’t last long in my house!

But the best is when I warm it up in a double boiler before I dip my spoon into the jar, and wait til it becomes really smooth and silky. And then, as my lips wrap around the spoon and the fat molecules explode in a crescendo of gooey goodness on my tongue, it warms my senses and brings back memories of sticking my fingers into Mom’s gigantic blue-ringed ceramic mixing bowl filled with cake batter…which makes me dip my spoon in for more.

Come to think of it maybe I am an addict.

Oh, I digress…when you make my recipe, coming up in my next blog post, you’ll know what I’m talking about. It really is like eating cake batter or vanilla frosting or even cookie dough. And there are endless other ways to melt into a blissful state while eating this treat: like putting a dollop in tea or coffee; dipping with fruit; or icing cookies, cakes and pies. OH MY!

And not only does it taste good it has many healthy and healing qualities.

Ninja of Oils

Coconut oil is the ninja of oils. Aside from tasting like heaven,  check out this laundry list of it’s super duper qualities:

Weight Loss:

Coconut oil is an MCT (medium chain triglyceride). Instead of storing it as fat you burn it as energy. It’s like eating a piece of candy that won’t stick to your thighs. How’s that for liquid gold?  It’s a super-food which will make you feel energized after eating it. So don’t be surprised if you start running sprints up and down your office hallways.

Coconut oil stimulates your metabolism, so it helps with energy levels and may help you to burn more calories each day.

Coconut oil, and it side kick the creamy butter, is a key nutrient that has helped many of my clients, including myself, to lose body fat while using the Carb Backloading  and/or The Carb Nite Solution: The Physicist’s Guide to Power Dieting (Please not that I will receive a small commission from the sales of these books).

Boost Your Immunity:

Coconut oil has been shown to boost your immunity as well as kill harmful bacteria and viruses. Flu seasons coming, so stock up!

Coconut oil has been shown to kill the Candida Albicans yeast with it’s anti fungal properties.

Healthy Skin:

Coconut oil boosts moisture and elasticity in your skin. I would even consider that an anti aging remedy. Now I’m definitely down for stocking up!

Heart Health:

Coconut oil has been shown to reduce cholesterol and heart disease.

So, Eat Up America! This is one saturated fat you don’t want to miss out on.

Click HERE to get the recipe to my Liquid Gold Creamy Coconut Butter

Enjoy, and and make it Your Fit Day with DebbyK!

 

DebbyK’s Hip Surgery _Day 8

HI Your Fit Day Friends

Wow! What a difference a day makes. !!

This last night I could actually sleep on my side. And why is this so great?  Because I’m a side sleeper and this side sleeper loves to curl up, and you can’t rightly do that lying on your back or stomach. Well, really, I can’t do that now either.  But hey, even though I still couldn’t get through the night without waking up, at least I’m moving in the right direction; and mentally I know it won’t be too far off when I’ll be all curled up and cozy snuggling with that pillow!

And…NO rubber mattresses…. and NO coffin-like small beds here at the Fisherman’s cove!!

I would have loved to have slept in late surrounded by all this comfortableness but as it was I woke late. So as fast as I could-which obviously was not very-I made it down to the Buffet to have my protein/Green Vibrance/coconut water super shake, delight in some Swiss decaf, as well as order my buffet breakfast…which I would enjoy later…after my exercises and a walk.(Exercises are below)

As I enjoyed a my shake, my imported instant decaf, and a glass of fresh pressed coconut water, I talked with  Dale the Dining Manager.

DebbyK and Dale Hart, Dining Manager at Fishermans Cove

Dale has a very interesting family history, and as I journeyed back in time with him he entertained me with stories of British rule and the East India Trading Company.  Dale was like the human cliff notes on these subjects, just two of the many that we touched on while I stayed here at FC.

I would have loved to lounge and listen but I wanted to get my upper body workout in and do my hip exercises, and my butt and leg was killing me from sitting so long, so off I went.

Back up in my room I did this routine, which is keeping me strong:

Quicky Workout: Using Bands and body: TIME: 32 minutes

Equipment: Tubing with handles(Green is usually medium strength); Tubing circle band with handles (or tie Thera Bands together); and YOU!

Click on links below to watch Video Explanations

Do this for 4 rounds

Pushups on floor( I did modified pushups)X30 reps

Triceps Dips on bench X 30 reps

Robin Hood Band Pulls for rear of shoulder and arms (Using Circle tubing, just pretend like you’re going to shoot with a bow and arrow, keep your front arm up in air in one position, and the pulling back part of the band is the exercise, using a band or tubing)  X 20 reps, alternating arms

Do these exercises for 4 rounds:

Alternating Arms using tubing with handles

Band Shoulder Press X 20 (Using Tubing with handles)

Band Chest Fly X 15

Do these exercises for 3 rounds:

Alternating Arms

Band Rear Delt pulls: (Holding band, bend over with slight bend in knees, pull band out to side, keeping arm straight. Raise arm up and slightly back, and then down while keeping the tension on the band. You should be feeling the muscles in back of shoulder working)X 15 reps. Use tubing with handles

OR: Band Side Lat Raises

Band Back pulls (Quick explanation: Band is attached to doorknob, and standing straight with arm bent and to your side, pull back like you’re going to open a door)

Do these exercises 3 rounds:

Band Bicep curls X 20 reps ( I looped my band around a door handle)

Band Triceps Overhead Extension X 20 reps(Check out link for explanation)

Do this exercise 3 rounds

Side bends X 20 each side

Ahhh! That felt good.

After my workout, which took about 32 minutes, I showered, took some pictures of how my body looks after 8 days, and then put on a dress that would be nice and cool, that I had ordered  from Thailand on ebay.  YUP! I bought a dress from around the world, just to re pack it to take it back around the world again! And it was one of the best purchases I have ever made. Here’s a picture of the dress:

DebbyK…Happy to be walking…

 

 

My Rx of the day was to walk before my lunch, rest while eating, and then walk again after resting. So my friendly FC staff came to help me carry my lunch down to the pool area. I’m getting so spoiled here. But trust me, it helps you heal knowing that there is so much love around you while so far from home.

My good friend Prabhu, from Day 7 (Check it out if you haven’t met him already), set out with me and videotaped and shot all these wonderful pictures.

First we took a little stroll along the cobblestone walkways.

Walking along the cobblestones

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I stopped to look at the butterfly garden, where I couldn’t find any butterflies… but I did find some ducks…

Looking for Butterfly’s
I get excited when I see duck!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below is a picture of the lovely cottages. When I come back next year I would love to stay in one of these so I can listen to the waves crashing on the shore. I’m such a water baby, and anything and everything about the ocean resonates deep within me. No wonder, I’m a Cancer!

Next time I’m staying in a seaside cottage!
Lovely Cottage

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And everyone who works here is always smiling and happy. And their smiles make you happy. It’s like happy healing heaven here!

It’s hard not to smile here!

 

Posing without my crutches!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m just SOooooo happy that I can walk…

Enjoying walking!…

Prabhu was kind to carry my iphone and Flip video. Actually he had a system down pat; just like a double fisted gun-slinging cowboy, quick for the draw.  He just kept snapping away…

Posing without my crutches on a walk through Fisherman’s Cove

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then it was on to visit the spa.

The Spa Jiva at Taj Fisherman’s Cove

I thought maybe I could get a unique Indian facial or buy some nice Indian products that you can’t get in the U.S..

Asking about facials

But as it turns out they used Japanese products, and I was on a budget anyway, so I just hung out there for a few moments and enjoyed the AC before moving on…!.

 

Beautiful Welcome Flowers at the Spa

I had to snap this picture of the petals. It was pure art to me. I’m wondering how many times a day they tend to this masterpiece to keep it fresh.

 

 

 

 

 

 

By this time my hip was telling me it was time to rest and my stomach was screaming for food so it was back to the lovely pool area for me…where I could be worshiped like a Goddess… on the Taj!!

Pool view from my lounge chair
I’d rather be eating the food than lifting this plate!

And then I sat back and relaxed and enjoyed my afternoon yummy snack food…

Offering to the Gods! They didn’t take any, so I ate it all…!

 

 

…stir fry veggies and an omelet… and of course the yummy fresh coconut water and meat right from the coconut!!

Yum Yum!
Stir Fry veggies and omelet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After some more relaxing it was time to exercise my hip again so Prabhu and I headed towards the beach. I was itching to stick my feet in that Indian Ocean. So off we went.

 

Ahhhhh!

When I came back from the beach my feet were like elephants so Prabhu made sure I was comfortable and brought me a bucket of ice to soak my feet in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shells Praghu picked up on the beach for me. Thank You!

And  then I laid out and ogled the shells that Prabhu scooped up at the beach for me. These were worth way more than the fifty bucks than those polished shells the conch man wanted to sell me. My shells were priceless!

 

 

I was pretty wiped out so I did ordered room service and blogged. Here’s what I had for dinner. I just can’t seem to get enough of that soup that I had on my first night here. BTW: I’m still trying to get the recipe.

My yummy meal of grilled fish, steamed and stir fry veggies and Masala Fish Soup

 

 

 

And here’s a final video where I’m showing off some of my ‘hippy’ moves in bed! ; and my thoughts to you on why I came practically around the world to get my hip done. Watch the video…

 

With that said I hope you continue following my journey…

….and do my workout of the day, above. They really work.

I’ll try to post a workout with each blog, as well as pictures and videos.

Would you like that? Let me know in the comment box below…

 

Your Friend and Trainer,

DebbyK!

Make It Your Fit Day

 

 

 

 

DebbyK’s Hip Surgery_My Healing Potion!

HI Your Fit Day Friends!

Well Day 7 got off to a good start. Especially after my tour of the resort and walk on the beach with the conch man.

And like I said in my last post, I was dying to put my butt in those lounge chairs by the pool and relax. I mean, shorten the word RelaX and what do you have?  Rx: A prescription for healing…So that is exactly what I intended to do.

And that’s not hard to do when your greeted by my friend Prahbu, the pool attendant-or should I say ‘pool boy’, which is how he referred to himself.

Then as I was laying back and taking this all in I noticed all the coconuts above me. Wow! Look! Complementary coconut water!! I was kind a hoping that one would just fall into my lap, without, of course, knocking my head off.  And I must have been thinking aloud because Prabhu immediately took notice and offered to fix me a treat.

I mean a real Paleo treat. Something that was so yummy and refreshing that I ended up having another…..and another….and….well, watch the video:

Paleo Treat: Fresh coconut cut up after I drank the fresh juice out of the shell!

I am so grateful for everything Prabhu has done for me today. He even went the extra mile and brought surprised me with this fresh treat from the coconut he felled for me.

Hey! It doesn’t get better than this!

He, works really really hard. Not just here at the pool where he provides ten star service to all the guests who park it by the pool; but everyday, from early in the morning into the wee hours of the following day.

You see, Prabhu, like most of the  men who live near the resort, has been a fisherman since he was a little boy. He grew up in the village at the far end of the beach. Remember? In the video ?

He told me that his father died when he was five, leaving his mother to raise he and his younger brother.  Since he was the older brother he became a fisherman to help support his family, and he never got to finish high school or enroll in college, like his younger brother has done. But that’s OK with Prahbhu.

So now, every night after his 1-8pm shift at the pool, he heads three miles out to sea in a small boat, with his friends as hired fishermen, to set lines, wait, and haul in the catch; which is then split among the group. Sometimes he doesn’t get back until 3am.

And if the catch is successful and he has fish to bring home, his mother cleans it and then walks the five to six kilometers to market, to sell it. Of course in the monsoon season they don’t go out to sea.

Hard working hands…Prebhu is also a fisherman at night.

And check these out (left)… the hands of a real working man.

And on most days, after getting in so late, Prabhu tells me he is up early with his friends, playing beach volleyball, soccer or cricket and being super active.

On the day I met Prabhu it was after one of those long nights, and early athletic mornings, and he was happy and full of energy, despite a ‘no catch’ night.

Prabhu may work long hard hours but he loves his life. He is engaged to be married in February, is genuinely happy, and living the life he wants. Prabhu says he wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m glad for that, since his commitment, caring, and genuine love for people, topped with his energy, transcend his work, all which make a great recipe for healing…my healing potion!

When I think about it I can’t imagine having been sent home on Day 3 day post op for recovery, like they do here in the U.S.  So, coconuts aside, I’m sure I wouldn’t have had this experience in the U.S.; especially when I’d be recovering in my apartment, by myself, for the most part.

What’s so special about recovering here in India, and what I’ve found that I’ve needed, is the constant ‘companion’ who’s always at your service…all day, all night..any hour. (Achem! for those of you who are letting your minds wander, please, this is a PG rated blog….!)

Potions For Healing

India is truly full of love, peacefulness and positive energy; and it shines through in all the people who I’ve met and befriended.

And this has become my elixir for healing. OK… Of course, not to mention I’m eating Paleo-healthy tasty Indian food, drinking lots of coconut water, and doing my daily exercise routines that I’ve been posting in some of my blogs. Mix all of this together and you’ve got yourself the best recipe for healing, as well as a happy and healthy life.

Hey! Are you doing the same, and following my fitness routines that I’m posting in my blog?!! Because I guarantee that if you do you will be strong and fit and lean and you’ll be ready to take on any challenge that comes your way…Like I have.

So stay tuned for my next post where I personally give you a walking tour of the Fisherman’s Cover resort AND the beach. You won’t want to miss it.

My Question Is This…

Have any of you had this kind of experience in India or another foreign country? I’d love to hear from you.

Leave your comment below.

Your Friend and Trainer

DebbyK!

Make It Your Fit Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 7 Post Op Hip_Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore!

Hi Your Fit Day Friends!

So by now you’ve had a tour of my room here at Fisherman’s Cove. After my yummy meal I settled in and tried to get a much needed nights sleep. I woke up at about 5:30 wanting to toss and turn, but couldn’t roll over, so instead I decided to move myself smack to the middle of the bed so I could have more support around me and hug my buffet of feathered body pillows.

But….then I had to go to the bathroom. Now this can be traumatic and send anyone who’s  just had major surgery-and has spent most of the night trying to get as snuggled as one can after surgery-into a  panic! I mean, there’s a lot of energy and gymnastics involved to get from your bed to the bathroom; especially when you’re bunked down in the middle of a king size bed in a cave of pillows supporting your every limb. So I had to think hard if I really needed to go. Yup! I did.

Well, at least I’m getting better at it and it’s less painful than two days ago. But moving this limb still feels like a ton of bricks. So I didn’t get much of a restful night… but I’m excited to show you around this healing haven.

OK! Last night when I arrived at Fisherman’s Cove it was dark so I had no idea of just how paradisaical this place is. But when I woke up and opened my window here’s what I saw:

Room 217 Fisherman's Cove Taj Vivanta

I just stood there-like a stork on one leg- and took it all in. I mean, when I looked out the window form the Apollo I saw guys hanging from the side of the building cleaning the windows of the Rain Tree hotel, a parking lot, a two lane road packed with honking vehicles, and a post apocalyptic glow from all the smog.

From the moment I arrived my senses were tantalized with the cachophony of birds, the thick humid air,  rustle of palms in the occasional breeze, and the crashing of waves along the beach, in the distance.

I couldn’t wait to get downstairs and check it all out… starting with the breakfast buffet that comes with the room! It’s an ‘all you can eat’ buffet, and they will cook anything to your specifications. So I ordered enough to carry me through my late breakfast/brunch, with enough for an afternoon meal too!

The Fisherman’s Cove is used to having us Hippies and it’s their unofficial custom to provide excellent follow up care for those of us who stay here after the Apollo Hospital.

And boy did I really got the royal princess treatment from the moment I checked in.  Which suits me fine. In fact I think ‘royal princess’ is in my blood. I mean, according to my mother, I’m  a descendant of Count Dracula-which could explain my nocturnal  habits-so I believe that would qualify me as having Romanian princess blood running through my veins!

Anyway, while sitting at my table I got personal visits from many department heads of staff  who came over to introduce themselves, and to make sure my first night was grand. It was just like holding court! One right after the other they came, to make sure that all my accommodations were met.

Really, I felt honored.

First the IT manager came over and said that he was ‘at my service’.

Then the hotel manager came over to greet me.

Then the head of housekeeping came to let me know that he would be bringing more pillows. He also suggested more towels, more water, a raised toilet seat

My Personal Privy

and a bath mat so I wouldn’t slip on the lovely marble. Who’s to complain. And when I got back to my room that late afternoon this is what I saw! (left)

And this:

No Slip Bath Mat at Fisherman's Cove

 

At the breakfast Buffet Chef Manas made me my omelet, a farmers market bounty of grilled veggies, and whipped me up my protein shake made with coconut water and my Green Vibrance mixed in (great for healing); plus he sent me up to my room with two extra

Green Vibrance protein shake made with coconut water; Glass of coconut water

large glasses of fresh pressed coconut water. I downed the protein shake and a glass coconut water, had some decaf coffee and then headed back to my room to do my exercises and eat my yummy meal and drink more coconut water that chef Manas had sent along with the meal. I was O.D’.ing on coconut water! Not a bad thing under the circumstances!….

DebbyK’s Workout in a box!

Here’s what my workout looked like. I did it in a really small space up in my room, like a 5ft x 6ft space…in about 45 minutes. And that was with hobbling. So you can do this, and probably much quicker, too!

Do Max reps til failure

Set One: Do one right after the other

Bench Push Ups

Bench dips

Robin Hood Pulls( Video coming)

X 3 Rounds

Set Two:

Band Shoulder Press Alternating Arms X 4 sets

Band Chest Fly alternating sides X 4 sets

Band Rear Delt Pulls alternating sides X 3 sets

Band Close Back pulls Alternating sides X 3

Band Biceps alternating arms X 3

Band Tricep overhead extensions alternating sides x 3

Side bends 20 per side

Made to order omelet and veggies from Breakfast Buffet_Fisherman's Cove Resort

After getting my body moving I showered and ate my yummy omelet, inhaled some more fresh coconut water, and headed back down to show you the lobby, and then I decided to take a buggy ride and check out what will be my paradise for the next five days.

But first, here’s the video I took this morning of the beautiful lobby and what I saw last night when I arrived:

Magical Mystery Tour

Then I went exploring in the buggy and took a short walk on the beach with the Conch Man, who offered to walk with me, and who is one of many that come daily to sell their shells to tourists. Well, looking around there was only me, and one other lone guy reading his book on lounge chair, so I really I think he just wanted me to buy his conch shells. But I really wasn’t in the market for shells.

After I got back exploring from the buggy ride my legs and feet were pretty swollen and I was getting pooped. Yup! Me, worn out, done in, after twenty minutes! But those chez lounge chairs by the pool were looking really comfy and inviting. And seeing that it was my job post surgery to relax and repair, I decided to take advantage of the complementary services and headed on over to sit on one by a tree, and take in my first day here instead of heading up to my room. What an amazing place this is.

As Indian custom would have it I was greeted by the pool boy who showered me with care and made a special Indian treat.

You definitely won’t want to miss the next blog post and video!

So stay tuned…

And while you’re waiting…

…why not do the ‘DebbyK! Workout In A Box’, above.  It’s just one of the many I have designed for those who are limited in space and time challenged. And they’re really keeping me in shape while I’m recovering.

If you have any questions on how to do the exercises then leave a comment below. I will be posting a video of these exercises soon, so keep checking back.

Your Trainer and Friend,

DebbyK!

Make It Your Fit Day

 

 

 

DebbyK’s Hip Surgery_ Eve of Day 6 Post Op_My Emerald City of Healing

HI Your Fit Day Friends!

OK, so driving to the Fisherman’s Cove Resort was pretty straight forward. Or so I thought. I mean, I asked the driver, the same one who picked me up from the Airport-who was digging my Extra brand peppermint gum-if he knew where we were going. Yes Mam, he said.  So, great, I assumed that meant, yes, Mam, he did.

So off we went.  As you saw in my last blog there was tons of traffic getting out of the city. Click here  to see me all dressed up on my last day at the Apollo, or if you just need a recap. And to check out how crazy it is driving in India, watch this video  of traffic coming head on into us as we are leaving Chennai !

Anyway, after driving for about 20 minutes as we made our way out of the city, we headed towards the beach resort areas. Along this stretch is where the film stars, foreigners, IT execs and the wealthy own homes.

There’s not much traffic, considering the one lane road, but even so the roadside is still lined with vendors, restaurants, and emporiums and lots of neon; as well as stray cows, cats and dogs. Really, we were dodging cattle who were just meandering down the road, just following the crowd. Occasionally they would break into a trot and head into the road. We actually had to dodge them.

I wondered how did they know where they were going. They just seemed to be following the crowd. Nobody tapping their butts or taking an interest in them. And when I looked back everybody was passing them. They were just following the crowd! Well, apparently they had better GPS than my driver…

As I shifted focus back onto the road I noticed that even along this stretch, away from Chennai, the buses were packed with commuters coming from the city. I mean, packed is an understatement.  Absolutely NO room. And everyone was just frozen into position once on the bus. But no matter. I don’t know how they did it but they would just make room at every stop for more  people.

And it seemed like nobody ever got off the bus…only on. So whoever is standing at the door just pulls the person in.  I mean the doors are closing and folks are just yanking bodies in, arms still hanging out the door. Packed… in 100 degree weather. Having good breath control would definitely be an asset here.

I bet we’d seldom see that in the U.S.. We’d  just wait for the next train or bus; or we’d be driving by ourselves in our minivan!

Follow The Yellow Brick Road

So, we’re driving along for about 35 minutes and it’s dark by this time and I’m looking at all the signs along the road. They were all really interesting to me.  And it’s also dark by this time. There’s also tons of visual stimulation and you either have to know where you’re going or be looking in 3 places at once, while driving. Well, I’m glad my driver was keeping his eyes on the road.

Anyway, right then is when I notice an overhang sign that says ‘Taj Vivanta’. It was obscure because every few feet there’s an overhang sign advertising resorts and restaurants, or whatever; and likewise, the roadside realty is littered with signs on the left hand side too. (Remember, it’s opposite over here in India). So you can pass your destination turn if you’re not sure of where exactly it is your going.

Hmmm! I thought, maybe we’re here. So I ask my driver how long it will take to get there,  and he says about an hour. Ok!… Maybe not.

Anyway, back to that sign I saw. There were some smaller words underneath that I could barely make out, but what I thought to be “Fisherman’s Cove”, the name of the resort. But I could have just imagined that, wanting it to say Fisherman’s cove. But my gut feeling was like, it was Fisherman’s Cove, and I thought… we missed the turn!

Not wanting to think my driver doesn’t know where he’s going, or give the impression that a hippy chick, who’s never been to India-but has great intuition-does, I cheerfully say, after seeing the sign, ‘So, have you been here before?’.

He says: NO!

Okee-Dokee! Thinking that there may be some other sign that is will jump out and say ‘Turn here for first timers’, I perk up a bit and have this inkling to pipe up and say, ‘Turn…back there’!. But I don’t, wanting to believe I can just relax; that he knows where he’s going. I mean he’s the driver after all, and this Apollo-to-Fisherman’s Cove transfer has been set up by the international coordinators at World Med Assist. So the driver must know where he’s going, right?

Well, after another 10 minutes he stops on the side of the road and leaves me in the car. ‘Right back’ he says. He dodges traffic, chats it up for a few moments with some men, dodges more cars coming back, and hops back in.

Meanwhile, even though I’m wearing those fashionable TED stockings for circulation and to prevent an embolism from sitting too long, my legs, feet and butt are starting to swell.

So, we make a U-turn India style, right into head on traffic, and head back. He says it’s back in the other direction about 5K and apologizes for wasting my time. Well, yes, I would have liked to have been at the Resort where my leg could be up and I was filling my hungry belly with some fresh seasonal fish;especially when check in was at 2pm and it was now pushing 7pm. But oh well. He got me here safely. And here in India I was learning to just ‘go with the flow‘. Nothing we can do to change anything now.

However, piping up was prudent at this point and so I put in my .02$ and said that I had seen a sign that said ‘Taj Vivanta’; and Fisherman’s Cove was a Taj Resort… so I would be sure to point it out to him.

Well, he was pretty surprised that I even saw the sign. But hey, I’m on an adventure and I’m looking at, and for, everything I can. And I just had this gut feeling from the beginning that I should be on the lookout.

So keeping my eyes out I piped up again when we approached it, and we made the turn…into a long stretch of darkness; what would be my paradise for the next five days. What I was expecting was a nicely paved road with well lit signs guiding us into my Shangri La.

Um, well…thank goodness for the late model Toyata minivan I was in and it’s superior shock absorbing suspension. Because with all the lumps and bumps in the road it literally saved my a#@!

But within moments we pulled into the land of OZ.

Here’s a video of my room, and a glimpse of what lies behind the curtain!

Oh!…and the beautiful gift I got from the Taj.

Oh! And  a picture of my friend Chef Manas Mallock,

My good friend Chef Manas Mallick at Bayview resteraunt, Fisherman's Cove, Taj Vivanta

the Bay View restaurant,

Bayview Resterraunt at Taj Vivanta, Fisherman's Cove. First night, first meal
Boulibaise at BayView Resteraunt at Fisherman's Cove, The Taj

and my first meal, that was so yummy and to die for; and for which I’m desperately trying to score the recipe.

Yummy veggies to order in olive oil, from Chef Manas Mallick, Fisherman's Cove Resort

 

 

 

 

 

So stay tuned for Day 7, where my Emerald City of Healling awaits…

Thank you everyone for your support and kind loving words. You are my motivation. You are all helping me heal.

Your Trainer, Friend, and sometimes personal shopper,

DebbyK!

Make It Your Fit Dayâ„¢