| A few weeks ago I was in the midst of misery, wallowing in self pity. I’d been in this down-and-out mode for longer than I would have liked and was having the hardest time getting out of it even though I was earnestly trying. I was letting one thing rob me of the joy in other aspects of my life. I was emotionally hurting so badly that I was having a hard time enjoying much of anything.
Our dog, Xenia, needed exercise, but at that moment, I honestly didn’t want to play with her although I knew it was the right thing to do. So, I bent over to pick up a ball to play fetch with her and saw a 4-leaf clover. "Oh this is nice; God is blessing me for doing something good that I don’t feel like doing," I thought as I plucked the 4-leaf clover from the grass. I threw the ball to Xenia. As she retrieved the ball and brought it back to me, I bent over to get it. Once again, I saw another 4-leaf clover. "Wow! Two 4- leaf clovers in one day! Thanks, God!" Again I threw the ball, but this time I walked away from where I had been standing. As Xenia brought the ball to me in my new location, I bent over to get the ball for the third time and I couldn’t believe my eyes––a 5-leaf clover!
At this point, I had not been looking for 4- leaf clovers. Seeing a 4 or 5-leaf clover each time I bent down was highly unusual. I decided, even though I was in a sad mood and didn’t feel like looking, I would casually look for 4-leaf clovers while I played fetch with the dog, but I was not going to hunt for them. So I looked nonchalantly and began seeing them in the yard wherever I was standing quicker than I could pull them. Within 10 to 15 minutes I picked twenty-one 4-leaf clovers, five 5-leaf clovers and one 6-leaf clover––that’s twenty-seven 4-or-more leaf clovers!
After I looked for about a minute without seeing any more, I decided to stop. Instantly I clearly heard thoughts spoken to me. I knew they were not my words even though it was my voice I heard; I believe the thoughts were from God, "Dawn, you have so many blessings in your life but you don’t see them because all you can see is the hurt and pain. I, your God, have so many blessings for you, many of which you are in the midst right now that you do not see. Stop wallowing in self-pity! Look for My blessings and you will see. You have so much to be thankful for. Yes, even in the midst of your pain."
Whoa! What a wake-up call for me! God couldn’t have spoken more clearly or directly. He opened my eyes. I needed a major attitude of gratitude adjustment––plain and simple. Since then my circumstances still have not improved, but now I am able to enjoy the positive aspects of my life.
If everything else for dinner was fantastic-tasting but the biscuits were burned, would I complain that my entire dinner was horrible? Absolutely not! Then why do we let one bad situation in our lives rob us of our joy? We shouldn’t.
I’ve kept those twenty-seven (4 or more leaf clovers) on a large piece of tape above my office desk as a reminder of God’s blessings even in the midst of hardships. Today I am choosing to have a berry good day!
With fresh strawberries in season having a berry good day will be that much easier with these delicious strawberry recipes from my new Busy People’s Low-Carb Cookbook just released. All of the low-carb recipes in that book are still low fat and low calorie too.
Strawberry Pie Tarts (Mini)
These are ideal for high tea. They are like mini strawberry glazed pies––so cute and so tasty, too.
Ingredients:
2 cups plus 1 cup fresh strawberries, cleaned (about 1 pound)
1/2 cup Splenda granular
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 (2.1 ounce) box pre-baked Phillo Shells (in frozen dessert section of store)
2/3 cup fat-free dessert whipped topping
Preparation:
• Puree in a blender on highest speed 2 cups strawberries for about 30 seconds.
• Put pureed strawberries in a non-stick saucepan with Splenda and cornstarch.
• Cook over medium heat stirring frequently until thick. Turn off heat.
• In the meantime, while sauce thickens, cut remaining 1 cup of strawberries into quarters vertically.
• Gently stir in 1-cup strawberries to strawberry mixture covering all berries.
• Put 1 heaping teaspoon prepared berries into each phillo shell.
• Top each mini pie with 1 teaspoon dessert topping.
• Cover. Keep chilled until ready to eat.
Yield: 15 (2 tarts per serving) servings
Calories: 61
Total Fat: 2 grams
Percent Fat Calories: 36 percent
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Carbohydrate: 9 grams
Dietary Fiber: 1 gram
Protein: 1 gram
Sodium: 25 mg
Diabetic Exchanges: half of a starch, half of a fat
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Strawberry Cream Tarts-mini size (No-Bake)
You’ll think you are cheating and eating lots of carbohydrates in this delightful dessert, but don’t worry. You are not. They are also fancy and impressive, making them a good choice to serve at the end of a special meal.
Ingredients:
8 ounces fat free cream cheese––softened
8 individual serving-size packets Splenda
1 teaspoon almond extract
15 medium–large fresh strawberries cleaned, stems removed (do not cut)
2 tablespoons Splenda granular
1/2 cup sugar-free strawberry glaze
1 (2.1 ounce) box baked fillo dough shells- in freezer section
Preparation:
• In a small bowl, mix together cream cheese, Splenda, and almond extract until well blended. Set aside until ready to use.
• Gently toss strawberries in Splenda granular and strawberry glaze until well covered.
• Put 3/4 tablespoon of cream mixture in to each fillo dough shell.
• Top with 1 medium-large sized glazed covered strawberry.
• Cover. Keep refrigerated until ready to eat.
Yield: 15 (2 tarts pre serving) servings
Calories: 46
Total Fat: 1 gram
Percent Fat Calories: 26 percent
Cholesterol: 3 mg
Carbohydrate: 5 grams
Dietary Fiber: 0 grams
Protein: 2 grams
Sodium: 86 mg
Diabetic Exchanges: half of a starch
Total Preparation Time: 15 minutes or less
Citrus Glazed Berry Salad
This sweet, yet slightly tart, berry salad with its unique citrus glaze is delightfully pretty and equally as refreshing to eat.
Ingredients:
1 cup plus 5 cups (about 2 pounds or 1 quart total) fresh strawberries, cleaned and quartered
3/4 cup Splenda granular
1 1/2 cups sugar-free orange drink
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup fresh blueberries (about half of a pint)
Preparation:
• In a Blender puree 1-cup strawberries, 3/4 cup Splenda, 1 1/2 cups orange drink and cornstarch.
• Pour in to non-stick saucepan. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until thick.
• In meantime, in a large bowl, gently toss remaining 5 cups strawberries with blueberries and 1-cup Splenda. Set aside.
• Pour prepared cooked strawberry sauce into large bowl to cool for about 5 minutes. Then pour over sweetened berries. Gently stir making sure all berries are thoroughly covered in sauce. Set aside.
• Cover and chill or serve immediately.
Yield: 14 (half cup) servings
Calories: 41
Total Fat: 0 grams
Percent Fat Calories: 0
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Carbohydrate: 10 grams
Dietary Fiber: 2 grams
Protein: 1 gram
Sodium: 1 mg
Diabetic Exchanges: 1/2 fruit
Preparation Time: 20 minutes or less
Cooking time: 5 minutes or less
Total time: 25 minutes or less
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