"If you are going to write, write from the heart." MwsR
"Life has not been the easiest, but it could have been worse!" MwsR
Life is about doing all you can to help others.
Don't go chasing rainbows, make your own pot of gold.
Love, Hope, Faith, the greatest of these is Love!
In one of the oldest heart-wrenching classics in the “lost love can turn a good man evil” scenario, Emily Brontë’s novel takes us back to 1802 at the Wuthering Heights estate. In this timeless love story, our leading man Heathcliff grows to become best friends with his adopted sister, Catherine, his life-long crush. But an offhand comment, overheard at the Heights, changes the course of both of their lives.
Romantic quote:“My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods: time will change it, I’m well aware, as winter changes the trees. My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary. Nelly, I am Healthcliff! He’s always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being.”
Fun fact: The 1983 Bonnie Tyler power ballad “Total Eclipse of the Heart” was inspired by Wuthering Heights.
Frequently a top author’s choice, this Leo Tolstoy novel is a literary soap opera. Set in the highest circles of Russian society, Anna Karenina visits her brother Stiva in Moscow to help him save his marriage. While there, she falls in love with Count Vronsky.
A married woman, Karenina fights off her desires until they overwhelm her and she leaves her husband, Alexei. Denied a divorce, Anna spends her life looking for acceptance in her relationship. When the strain of their love life becomes too much, Anna leaves Vronsky in a rage and, well… if you haven’t read it, do! We won’t give away a heart-wrenching ending.
Romantic quote:“I’ve always loved you, and when you love someone, you love the whole person, just as he or she is, and not as you would like them to be.”
Fun fact:Anna Karenina became a best-seller all over again in 2004 after Oprah put it on her list.
In one of William Shakespeare’s most celebrated works, this tale of “star-crossed lovers” has been told and interpreted time and time again (from film classic West Side Story to teen flick Romeo + Juliet). A story all lovers can relate to, Romeo and Juliet focuses on the tragedies that accompany the loss of true love.
Lovers Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, two of the most famed clans in literature, come from opposite sides of the Verona tracks and their family’s disapproval of their love eventually leads to their demise.
Romantic quote:“Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.”
Fun fact: In the popular computer game The Sims 2, there is a neighborhood called Veronaville in which two characters named Romeo Monty and Juliette Capp fall in love.
Made famous by Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, this love story was originally a play by Murray Burnett. The play was turned into a script by writers (and brothers) Julius and Philip Epstein and their friend Howard Koch.
In the story, American Rick Blaine is the owner of a gambling club “Rick’s Cafe Americain” in the Moroccan city of Casablanca. Set during World War II, Rick is a bitter man having been scorned by ex-lover Ilsa Lund. When she walks back into his life suddenly, now married, with her husband in tow, Rick is forced to come face-to-face with well-aged heartache.
Romantic quote: “Kiss me. Kiss me as if it were the last time.”
Fun fact: In a 2005 poll by the American Film Institute, the Casablanca line “Here’s looking at you, kid” was ranked the fifth most memorable line in cinema history. (Six other lines from the film are also in the top 100.)
A romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, this play takes place in Athens as Duke Theseus plans a large festival around his marriage. During this time, Theseus’ daughter, Hermia, is refusing to marry her fiancé. Due to a true-love-in-the-wings named Lysander.
Against her father’s wishes, she flees the nuptials for the woods. And guess what? While there, they befriend fairies who cause a bit of mischief. Cue a new love triangle and surprise ending!
Romantic quote: “I’ll follow thee and make a heaven of hell, To die upon the hand I love so well.”
Fun fact: In the 1989 blockbuster film Dead Poets’ Society, the character Neil Perry (played by Robert Sean Leonard), was cast as Puck in the a local production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
This Noble Prize-winning Russian novel by Boris Pasternak is the ageless classic of one man torn between two women. Yuri Zhivago is a medical doctor and poet during the 1917 Russian Revolution. While married to aristocratic Tonya, he falls in love with nurse Lara. Set during a war time, Zhivago’s love triangle falls prey to a twist of fate, and becomes a tale of protagonist versus an achy, breaking heart.
Romantic quote:“You and I, it’s as though we have been taught to kiss in heaven and sent down to earth together, to see if we know what we were taught.”
Fun fact:Doctor Zhivago‘s first film version was a made-for-TV version produced in Brazil in 1959.
A Jane Austen classic from 1811, this love story focuses around the Dashwood sisters — Elinor and Marianne. When their father dies, they lose their family estate and are reduced to a life of poverty. The story follows the sisters as they move in with a distant relative, leading them to equal parts heartache and romance.
Romantic quote: “’I cannot, I cannot,’ cried Marianne; ‘leave me, leave me, if I distress you; leave me, hate me, forget me! But do not torture me so. Oh! how easy for those who have no sorrow of their own to talk of exertion!”
Fun fact: In Ang Lee’s 1995 remake of Sense and Sensibility, there are six actors who went on to play parts in the Harry Potter films: Emma Thompson (Sybil Trelawney), Alan Rickman (Severus Snape), Gemma Jones (Madam Pomfrey), Robert Hardy (Cornelius Fudge), Elizabeth Spriggs (The Fat Lady) and Imelda Staunton (Dolores Umbridge).
The classic eighteenth-century novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos is the ultimate dark tale of lust, greed, deception and romance, featuring the Marquise de Merteuil, who requests that her partner, the Vicomte de Valmont, seduce the young daughter of her cousin. Meanwhile, young Cecile has the hots for her teacher, Chevalier Danceny. Love affairs, deception and lies aplenty unfold.
Romantic quote:“Now, I’m not going to deny that I was aware of your beauty. But the point is, this has nothing to do with your beauty. As I got to know you, I began to realise that beauty was the least of your qualities. I became fascinated by your goodness. I was drawn in by it.”
Fun fact: The 1999 cult movie hit Cruel Intentions was a modern adaptation of the novel.
Charles Bingley is new to town and has leased an estate with his sisters and close friend Fitzwilliam Darcy. Named a “catch” by all the single ladies in town (due to his looks and money), Darcy is also known as snob. Neighbor Elizabeth Bennet finds herself repulsed by Darcy’s ego. The resulting pas de deux between the feisty twosome makes for a quite a page-turner.
Romantic quote: “They walked on, without knowing in what direction. There was too much to be thought, and felt, and said, for attention to any other objects.”
Fun fact: Helen Fielding’s book Bridget Jones’s Diary was inspired by Pride and Prejudice.
Victor Hugo’s story, set in Paris in 1482, centers around Norte Dame cathedral. In this “true love comes from within” story, Gypsy dancer Esmeralda is longed for by Quasimodo, Notre Dame’s kind-hearted but deformed bellringer. Upon order of Archdeacon Frollo, Quasimodo attempts to kidnap Esmeralda, but is caught.
Standing trial, Quasimodo is humiliated by the public and his victim Esmeralda has pity on him. Soon after, Esmeralda is blackmailed and sentenced to death for the murder of her crush Phoebus. On her sentencing day, Esmeralda is saved from death by her dear Quasimodo. But can true love overcome her distaste for his looks?
Romantic quote: “Love is like a tree: it grows by itself, roots itself deeply in our being and continues to flourish over a heart in ruin. The inexplicable fact is that the blinder it is, the more tenacious it is. It is never stronger than when it is completely unreasonable.”
Fun fact:Hunchback of Notre Dame has been adapted to the screen numerous times and cast two famous Anthonys in the leading Quasimodo role: Anthony Quinn in 1956 and Anthony Hopkins in 1982.
2/3cupgranulated Swervecan reduce to make the bread less sweet if desired
1½tspvanilla
2tablespoonsheavy whipping cream
10tablespoonscoconut flour
½tspsalt
1½tspbaking powder
For the Icing:
2tablespoonspowdered Swerve
1teaspoonbuttermelted
1tbspheavy whipping cream
dash of vanilla
1/4tsplemon zest
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a regular loaf pan with parchment paper.
Melt butter.
Beat eggs, swerve, sour cream, heavy whipping cream, vanilla, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon until combined.
Add the melted butter to the mixture and beat again until combined.
Stir in the coconut flour until thoroughly combined.
This part of the instructions has been updated. To keep the blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the pan, spoon a small amount of batter in the loaf pan, then sprinkle a couple of blueberries on top. Continue layering batter then blueberries a couple of times ending with batter on top. This will keep the blueberries spread out and they will not sink to the bottom of the pan.
Bake for 65-75 minutes or until knife inserted in center of bread comes out clean.
Allow bread to cool for 5 minutes.
For the Icing:
Combine all ingredients and whisk until smooth. Can add more heavy whipping cream if needed.
Drizzle over warm bread.
Notes
The sugar alcohols from Swerve are not included in the nutritional information. Information is provided as a courtesy based on the exact ingredients that I used. It is always best to calculate your own macros.
Here are a few facts about ketogenic fat bombs to help you understand them better:
1. Keto fat bombs are often small
It’s tough to eat too much of these as they are so high in fat, so they take the shape of small balls or mini muffins. Our favorite way of making them is in muffin pan with liner. That way you don’t get your hands dirty when you make the mixture and they’re super easy (and not messy) to take with you to eat on your way to work or to the gym.
2. Fat bombs can be savory or sweet
The majority of the fat bomb recipes tend to be sweet-ish (sweetened with sweeteners like stevia). This is because stevia is a low calorie (and zero-carb) sweetener that also doesn’t cause stomach problems for people unlike many sugar alcohols that are used in low-carb treats. If, however, you dislike using stevia (we know many people dislike the taste of stevia), then feel free to use your own low-carb sweetener of choice when making sweet ketogenic fat bombs. There are also some savory fat bombs (e.g., made with bacon or avocado). Read why Swerve may be a good option.
3. Fat bombs contain lots of healthy fats
As I mentioned earlier, fat bombs contain lots of fat, but on a ketogenic diet (just like on a Paleo diet), eating healthy fats is highly important to lower inflammation in your body. So, most keto fat bombs contain coconut oil or coconut butter as an ingredient. This is also useful from a recipe perspective as coconut oil solidifies when refrigerated thereby making these fat bombs a lot less messy to eat.
4. Fat bombs should be stored in the refrigerator
As I mentioned above, fat bombs contain lots of fat, which is often liquid at room temperature, so make sure to store these delicious treats in the fridge when you’re not eating them. They’ll often last 1-2 weeks in the fridge in an airtight container. You can also freeze them, although it’s best to thaw them a bit before serving as they can get pretty solid.
5. Fat bombs often also contain nuts and seeds
We suggest you try not to consume too much nuts and seeds on a ketogenic diet since the fats in nuts and seeds can become easily oxidized if the recipe requires them to be heated (more about that here) and some nuts and seeds are actually quite high in carbs (check out our table of carb content for nuts and seeds here). Just a quick note about peanuts while we’re on the subject of nuts – peanuts are not nuts so almond butter is used instead of peanut butter in ketogenic recipes (find out more about why peanut butter isn’t ketogenic here).
There are 3 basic ingredients to every fat bomb recipe:
1. Healthy Fats
For Example: cacao butter, coconut butter, almond butter, coconut oil, coconut milk, coconut cream (solid part of a refrigerated can of coconut milk), ghee (mostly lactose and casein free, especially if you get cultured ghee, so it doesn’t present the same problems as other dairy products), butter (ok if you’re not sensitive to dairy), bacon fat, avocado oil
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