Liv Life: Liv's Best Picks

My life loving daughter, Liv, a girl who truly know the meaning of "to Liv Life to its fullest each and every day", brings smiles and a sense of happiness to nearly everyone around her. Born just plain happy, she continues to be a bright light in my life, the light that keeps a smile on my face and lets me know he meaning of unconditional love.

Writing Liv Life has become a treasure that has had us baking in the kitchen, working on posts and laughing often together. Her biggest Liv Life triumph to date and the one she is most proud of is her Guest Post on Chef Dennis' Blog where she featured an original myth (did you ever wonder why ants are so small? Check out Dennis' blog to find out!) and planned our Blueberry Lemon Pound Cake feature.

Years ago as I put together a "get to know each other" exercise in our Girl Scout Troop where I had the girls go around the circle and state their favorite foods. We had numerous votes for pizza, chocolate and spaghetti, one for asparagus and then we got to Liv. She smiled, threw open her arms as she tossed her head back and shouted "Sugar!!" Yep... not sugary treats, but plain, ole, white granulated sugar. Somewhere around the age of 4, I first found her in the pantry spooning out tastes of the sweet goodness directly from the bin and she has been know to swipe a packet or two of the C&H Sugar in the Raw from tables at restaurants.

Vegas '11, National 1st place overall, solo

As a competitive dancer with intense rehearsals and days lasting well past bed time, she is learning to squelch those sugary cravings replacing them with the benefits of healthy choices and the proper fueling of her body. Protein sources, fruits and whole grains are vital to her stamina and she is doing her best to make those proper choices while continuing to learn about the culinary delights of life.

As we continue our quest for healthy, good for you meals that will support and fuel her athletic dancer's body, she still possesses that sweet tooth and as such, many of her "Best Picks" here will definitely lead you down a sweet path.

Here we present our kid tested, sugar approved and sometimes healthy balanced meals that Liv has deemed her favorites.

Liv Life and Enjoy!

Lemon Cornmeal Olive Oil Cake