Recipe and a Read: Zero Carb Chicken Nuggets and a Family Saga Served Up by Author Stella May...

Get ahead of the curve and start your New Year's Resolutions early with Stella May's delicious chicken nuggets. It's Keto, so zero carbs, very tasty and healthy and easy to make!

Six months ago, I embarked on my new dietary adventure— Keto diet—I am in constant search of new recipes with low to zero carbs. This one is by far one of my most favorites. I hope you like it too.

Zero Carbs Chicken Nuggets

1 cup grilled chicken, shredded fine

⅓ cup cheddar cheese, shredded

⅓ cup mozzarella, shredded

¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated 

1 large egg

1 ripe avocado, optional

1½ tsp. garlic powder

1 tbsp. dried chives 

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350° F.

Place all the ingredients in a food processor. Blend until you have the consistency of chunky paste.

Either use and ice cream scoop or your damp bare hands to form the mixture into medium sized balls. Set them on a parchment covered baking sheet.

Bake for 20-25 min until light brown.

Another way to bake the nuggets is to scoop them into the muffin pan. Either way is good, it depends on what works best for you.

Enjoy eating with marinara sauce, or Greek yogurt.

Happy New Year and Bon appetite!

Here is a little from my latest release for your reading pleasure.

In a kingdom held together by secrets and lies, the truth could heal—or destroy.

The queen is dead. But the damage Elizabeth Rostoff leaves behind to lives, hopes, and relationships lives on.

Seven years ago, Peter Rostoff severed all ties with his family—including his sister, Kat.

But at his father’s insistence, he reluctantly returns for the funeral worn thin by his FBI position and burdened by a secret shame. But mostly by one haunting mystery—why the woman he loved like a mother disappeared…

All those years ago, Natasha Sokolova thought abandoning Dmitry Rostoff and the children she’d come to love as her own was the right thing, the only thing, to do. Resurfacing after Elizabeth’s death isn’t the healing experience she’d prayed for, but a gut-wrenching discovery of yet more secrets, and news that could destroy her for good. 

Kat Rostoff lives in a bubble filled with her doting father and a mentor that helped mold her into a world-renowned artist. Yet nothing can fill the empty space, and a vague sense of guilt, left behind by the mother figure she barely remembers, and the brother who fled Paris seven years ago without looking back.

Four lives, set on diverging paths with only a glimmer of hope for reconciliation. But will the queen’s evil reach out from beyond the grave to destroy it for good?

Amazon Buy Link

Stella May is the penname for Marina Sardarova who has a fascinating history you should read on her website.

Stella writes women's fiction, fantasy romance, as well as time travel romance. She is the author of 2 bestselling series, Rostoff Family Saga, Upon a Time series, and the stand-alone book Rhapsody in Dreams. Love and family are two cornerstones of her stories and life. Stella’s books are available in e-book and paperback through all major vendors.

When not writing, Stella enjoys classical music, reading, and long walks along the ocean with her husband. She lives in Jacksonville, Florida with her husband Leo of 30 years and their son George. They are her two best friends and are all partners in their family business. 

Follow Stella on her website and blog. Stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Recharged and Ready for 2014…

Now that the holidays are behind us and a brand new shiny year looms in front of us, I’ve had some time to reflect on my past, present, and future. Inside I feel that it’s time for a change, to move upward and onward, and leave the past behind. There are so many things I want to accomplish in my personal, business, and spiritual life, but need to create the time to make it ALL happen. Since there’s no magic bullet to success and fulfillment, there are some things that you can do each and every day that will start to clear the path to your wildest dreams.

Below is a list that, if followed, I believe will result in the actualization of my goals and dreams:

·         Always seek happiness (a.k.a. follow your bliss)

·         Don’t follow others

·         Find out who you really are and what you’re passionate about

·         Never work another day in your life (love that concept!)

This list may come off as sounding a tad selfish, or even unrealistic. But trust me. If you think about how short life really is, then practicing these sage tips will open up so many doors for you in the future. If you want to have a position of advantage in whatever you put your heart, mind and soul to, then you must keep your head above the rest, and think differently. Remember, you have the advantage even if you don’t realize it.

So what are you waiting for? Are you with me? Are you ready to grow into a new phase of life? Wishing all my readers and followers a very happy and prosperous 2014! Salute!

My New Year’s Resolution: Learning the Art of R&R

I have to be honest. I had a hard time relaxing over the holidays this year. My body may have been physically visiting with my family, but my mind certainly wasn’t there! And believe me I tried! I’m finding that there’s no on and off switch for an author. Our office, our playground is in our heads 24/7. And I know I’m not alone. Did you know that regular relaxation is essential for a long life and personal effectiveness? Well, duh, that makes sense! So here are some techniques for relaxing physically that I scored from time management guru Brian Tracy:

Take time off every week: First of all, work only five or six days per week, and rest completely on the seventh day. Every single study in this area shows that you will be far more productive in the five or six days that you work if you take one or two days off completely than you ever would be if you worked straight through for seven days.

Get your mind busy elsewhere: During this time off, do not catch up on reports, organize your desk, or do anything else that requires mental effort. Simply let your mind relax completely, and get busy doing things with your family and friends. Maybe work around the house, go for a walk, engage in physical exercise, watch television, go to a movie, or play with your children. Whatever you do, discipline yourself to shut your mental gears off completely for at least one 24-hour period every seven days.

Get away on mini-vacations: Second, take one three-day vacation every three months, and during that time, refrain from doing any work. Do not attempt to catch up on even a few small things. If you do, you keep your mental gears in motion, and you end up neither resting nor properly doing work of any quality.

Take big chunks of down time: Third, take at least two full weeks off each year during which you do nothing that is work-related. You can either work or relax; you cannot do both. If you attempt to do a little work while you are on vacation, you never give your mental and emotional batteries a chance to recharge. You'll come back from your vacation just as tired as you were when you left.

Give yourself a break today: If you are involved in a difficult relationship, or situation at work that is emotionally draining, discipline yourself to take a complete break from it at least one day per week. Put the concern out of your mind. Refuse to think about it. Don't continually discuss it, make telephone calls about it or mull it over in your mind. You cannot perform at your best mentally if you are emotionally preoccupied with a person or situation. You have to give yourself a break.

Go for a walk in nature: Since a change is as good as a rest, going for a nice long walk is a wonderful way to relax emotionally and mentally. As you put your physical body into motion, your thoughts and feelings seem to relax all by themselves.

Eat lighter foods: Also, remember that the process of digestion consumes an enormous amount of physical energy. Therefore, if you eat lighter foods, you will feel better and more refreshed afterward. If you eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain products, your digestive system will require far less energy to process them.

Be good to yourself: Since your diet has such an impact on your level of physical energy, and through it your levels of mental and emotional energy, the more fastidious you are about what you put into your mouth, the better you will feel and the more productive you will be. We know now that foods high in fat, sugar, or salt are not good for your body. The lighter the foods you eat, the more energy you have.

Wishing all my readers a safe, prosperous, blessed, and Happy New Year this 2013! Cheers, all!