Wonders in the sea...Video....Delicious low carb fudge recipe after several requests...

Here's our video of sea turtles swimming near the shore outside our condo in

Maalaea Beach, Maui.

On Tuesday, we spotted a number of people standing on the shore with cameras and cell phones in hand taking photos. Curious, of course, and hoping they'd seen whales soon to arrive in the Hawaiian Islands, we dashed out the door with camera in hand.

Hard to see, we were still excited.

Slightly disappointed there were no whales, our enthusiasm was revived when we saw sea turtles, many sea turtles, swimming near the shore. What a sight to behold.

Looking carefully, one can see the outline of a sea turtle. They are huge, much larger than we'd expected.

Wildlife fanatics that we are, I couldn't wait to get a few decent shots. However, they move so quickly it wasn't as simple as clicking away for a couple of good shots. Tom spotted for me while I fervently attempted to get at least one decent video and a few good photos.

We could only see their shells or an occasional flapper popping above the water.

We wish our photos could have been more clear. One would have to have been on a boat or in the water to get good shots. Please bear with us for our well intentioned but somewhat feeble attempts.

The water was shallow here when the turtles came close to the shore. It was high tide.

We'll hope you'll stop by for more tomorrow. Have a wonderful day!

Lava rock from lava flowing to the sea. How familiar.

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Yesterday, after mentioning our low carb fudge recipe, we've had several email requests for the recipe, including one request by a comment. As a result, I've put together the recipe and have posted it at the bottom of today's post. Feel free to copy and paste it to any format you prefer.

I realize many people are adamantly opposed to the use of Splenda (sucralose) or any other artificial sweeteners. I understand your concern. But, some people cannot have real sugar and don't care for the taste of Stevia and other sweeteners, myself included.

Some have serious health concerns grossly effected by consuming real sugar, again myself included. There are no valid studies confirming that sucralose is dangerous, including reports from the Mayo Clinic. Although, there are 1000's of internet pages devoted to the dangers of sucralose.

There is a small faction of the population that is sensitive to artificial sweeteners in any form. Obviously, I don't suggest they try this recipe or any other recipes that anyone may post using artificial sweeteners.

However, there is a faction of us, that sacrifice many enjoyable foods and snacks for health reasons and an occasional treat such as this is definitely uplifting and pleasurable, especially when they suffer no ill effects from doing so.

Most of us enjoy the taste of sweetness, one of the many causes of rampant obesity and diabetes worldwide. Please see your physician with questions as the appropriateness of artificial sweeteners in your diet. If you have an aversion to sugar substitutes, please don't try this recipe. Thank you kindly for your understanding.

Jess’s Low Carb Fudge Recipe
(to be enjoyed in moderation - no more than four pieces per day)

(Using parchment paper is a must).
1 cup butter
8 oz. unsweetened chocolate (Bakers is fine), broken into 1” cubes
3 cups powdered Splenda for baking (or 80 drops of liquid sucralose which I use) or equivalent of other sugar substitutes
4 tsp. real vanilla extract
4 - 8 oz. packages full fat cream cheese (not light or low fat), cut into chunks, softened for one hour on counter
1 cup chopped nuts (may be omitted if desired)

Butter cake pan (9x13) then place a piece of buttered parchment paper on top of the buttered pan for parchment paper to stick to the bottom of the pan.
Melt butter on low heat in large saucepan. (Don’t brown butter). When completely melted, add chunks of cream cheese, stirring constantly until all are melted. Don’t turn up heat, just keep stirring. They will melt in about 10 minutes.

Once the chocolate is melted remove pan from burner and add Splenda and vanilla, continuing to stir until smooth. Add nuts after smooth, if desired.
Pour mixture into the buttered, parchment lined pan. Smooth with spatula for an even layer. Place pan in freezer for three hours.

Remove from freezer and cut into 1” cubes. This batch makes 80 cubes. Place in plastic containers with lids, separating layers with parchment paper. Keep frozen, taking out desired amount as needed. Serve immediately.

Each piece has 80 calories and 1.4 carbs.

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Photo from one year ago today, November 6, 2013:

The post a year ago was regarding health concerns for travelers of any age that we gleaned for considerable research and a modicum of experience. For details on that post, please click here.