Fresh Blueberry Mini-Pies (FP)

This is an historic recipe... one of the first THM recipes I created; I just tracked it down for a gal on Facebook. As you know I don't use Truvia anymore, but blueberries and hibiscus tea are both naturally sweet so it I made it again, I'd simply leave it out and perhaps reduce the amount of lemon juice. I labelled it "E" last year but it is "FP" in moderation. Enjoy!

What to do with fresh blueberries (E)! Yum yum yum! This totally takes me back to my mom's pie but has under 10 carbs as far as I can tell, and is in cute little individual servings. Boil 2 T dried hibiscus flowers (I got mine at our neighborhood Mexican market for $8 a pound) in 1 quart of water, then let sit with the lid on so it gets nice and strong. Meanwhile, wash and sort 1 1/2 to 2 c fresh blueberries, and divide among 12 cups of a muffin tin. Strain off the flowers from the still-hot tea, and add 2 T each of gelatin, lemon juice and truvia (I used homemade recipe from healthyindulgences.net), plus 1 t of salt. Pour over berries to fill each cup. Put leftover jello mixture in a loaf pan-- this can be a FP treat! Let it all firm up overnight in the fridge (sorry, a couple of hours doesn't cut it). To remove from muffin tin, invert tin over a cutting board and run warm water over it. Bon appetit!!

Healing Kitty

The last two weeks our cat has been healing from a serious illness. She had lost interest in food and spent 4 days hiding under the sofa. It's been a week since she first ventured out, and every day she spends less time hiding and more time being her happy, social self.

As soon as we realized Ruthie was sick, we went into Food Is Medicine mode with her. Since she had been turning up her nose at her wet food, we bought fresh organic chicken liver, which we chopped fine and served in water to prevent dehydration. We sprinkled in a little bit of vitamin C, D and enzymedica probiotic. We tried adding homemade chicken broth instead of water, but she didn't go for that so much.

After a day of hand feeding (we were relieved she was at least eating!), we assessed that we needed more help; Ruthie still was not coming out from under the couch. Thankfully, our DVM does house calls and relies primarily on homeopathy (which our cat responds well to) and herbal medicine when needed. She visited a couple days into Ruthie's illness and determined that she had no blockages, she was not dehydrated and her health was generally good. She diagnosed some mouth sores and prescribed a one-time homeopathic remedy, as well as Diglyccerized Licorice, Slippery Elm and Aloe juice for her mouth. We've been mixing these in with Ruthie's food. 

A day after the vet came, I also got the feeling we should give Ruthie some Cod Liver Oil on a daily basis. I went to our coop and looked for CLO that did not contain any added essential oils or flavorings (cats cannot handle essential oils). I looked and looked and eventually found two types (same brand, Nordic Naturals) in the pet section. The one that I bought says "For Medium to Large Dogs" on it, but it was a better value and product than the one marketed for cats. We give her 1/4 teaspoon by dropper each night before feeding her. She seems a bit less offended each time. And she is doing great!

To maintain her wellness, we are feeding her "liver soup" (described in second paragraph) every other meal, and CLO every day. I have premade and frozen single servings of "liver soup" in ice cubes. Hope this helps you find wellness for your kitties!