Meal Ideas

Sent to me by my friend, Carol.

Actually, this is looking better to me today, with our endless ‘heat advisories.’

I’m trying a new recipe for tonight. It’s a crock pot chicken recipe. I started it when we got home from Lunch Bunch and errands. It’s easy, and I’m hoping it tastes as good as it sounds. I’ll give you a review tomorrow.

BoredPanda.com

This is the way I feel after doing errands, then helping my husband carry filled gas cans from the bed of the truck out to the shop for the mower. I have no idea what the heat index is, but it certainly saps my strength. I’ll rest a bit and see if my motivation to accomplish something today kicks in.

I hope you’re staying cool and hydrated.

Chicken Recipe is “YUMMY!”

I really like Karly, of ThatLowCarbLife.com.  I’m finding more and more recipes my husband pronounces, “YUMMY!” from her website.

In a post here recently, I told you about her “Easy Baked Chicken Parmesan.” 

This time I tried her “Creamy Lemon Chicken with Garlic.”

 

Karly Campbell – ThatLowCarbLife.com

This is a different flavor than we usually eat, but my husband kept remarking about it as he took bite after bite. :0)

We buy a big tray of huge chicken breasts by Tyson. The first thing I do when I bring it home is cut each breast lengthwise because a whole one is too much for either of us to eat at a meal. I then put 4 halves into a freezer bag, label it, and put it in the freezer. One tray gives us a freezer full of chicken for lots of meals. Then it’s easy to thaw what we need for a recipe, actually making enough for two meals for us. :0)

I go to Karly’s website regularly now, having bookmarked it on my computer.  I like the fact that she uses easy-to-find ingredients. Her directions are clear, and her recipes don’t take a lot of time, and yet you end up with a meal that brings compliments!  Check out ThatLowCarbLife.com if you want to try some YUMMY food!

Low Carb Breakfast Casserole

Karly, of BunsInMyOven.com has provided us with a really goood breakfast casserole. Since I’m too sleepy and cranky to do much cooking in the morning and love breakfast for dinner, anyway, I made it for us a couple of nights ago. It’s delicious, got a thumb’s up from my husband, and will be put in our ‘over-and-over-again’ rotation. If you were having guests for breakfast, you could also make it ahead and take it from refrigerator to oven.  My own personal note would be that it would be really good with spinach added or cut up broccoli.

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“Make Ahead Breakfast Casserole – Karly – BunsInMyOven.com

Low Carb Breakfast Casserole

Prep Time 20 minutes Cook Time 35 minutes Total Time 55 mins
Serves 12 adjust servings

This low carb breakfast casserole is hearty and filling, because it’s packed full of protein from the sausage, bacon, and eggs. Add in any vegetables or meat you like!

Ingredients

1 pound sausage
1 pound bacon
1 dozen eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 cups grated cheddar
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 tablespoon Frank’s red hot
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

Brown the sausage in a large skillet, crumbling as it cooks. Drain grease and set aside.
Dice the bacon into bite-sized chunks and cook in a large skillet, stirring often, until crisp. Drain the grease and set aside.
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick spray.
Crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl and add the milk. Whisk together until well combined.
Stir in the sausage, bacon, cheddar, onion, pepper, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Stir until well combined.
Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake for 35-40 minutes or until eggs are set and edges are golden brown.
Let cool 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Recipe Notes

To keep this a bit lower in carbs, swap in 1/4 cup of heavy cream + 1/4 cup of water for the milk. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and sprinkle with chives, as desired.

Disclaimer: The nutrition information presented below is not guaranteed to be accurate.

Serving Size 1 square
Amount Per Serving As Served
Calories 418 cal Calories from fat 317

% Daily Value
Total Fat 35g
Saturated Fat 13g
Cholesterol 232mg
Sodium 718mg
Carbohydrate 4g
Dietary Fiber 0g
Sugars 3g
Protein 21g

Low Carb “Baked Bacon Wrapped Chicken Tenders” Recipe

Maya of WholesumYum.com really knows her stuff. She prides herself on coming up with low carb recipes to die for that don’t have a lot of ingredients, and the ingredients she uses are readily available. Good food, low carb, delicious.

Yesterday I tried her “Baked Bacon Wrapped Chicken Tenders Recipe – 3 Ingredients”

 

I used chicken breasts, cutting them lengthwise. I have to admit, I forgot to turn on the vent/blower over our stove and the temperature on this is very hot, so two of them went off toward the end of the cooking time, but we removed them and put them outside for the couple of minutes or so left and then during the couple of minutes of broiling.

My husband ate his dinner in front of his computer in the office, waiting for tech support to call. He came out soon after I took his plate into the office, saying, “This is the best chicken of this type I’ve EVER eaten. Juicy and delicious. Please put this recipe in our do-over-and-over group.” To say this happens rarely is an understatement, so I felt good the rest of the evening, basking in the glow of having served such a delicious dish.

THANK YOU, MAYA!

Getting the Lard Off – Progress Report – Jan 2018

Earth Porn

We’ve been down, up again, and all over the place for the past several months in our efforts to get the lard off and move more. We went to our primary doctor yesterday for our quarterly checkup. I can say for sure that two things have remained steady: we’re still alive and we’re still old. This is a new primary doctor for us, as the one we loved moved to Russellville. We lucked out, though, getting a really smart female doctor who listens to us, and works with us. It seems we won the lottery twice on doctors. She approves of our efforts to eat low carb. We’ll see her again the 2nd of May, so we have three months to see some good changes.

I promised to report to you on a regular basis. I find this is much easier when I have good news to report. Not so much when we’ve strayed off the path. We’ve been being good again for approximately two weeks. To date – I’ve lost a little over 18 lbs and 15 inches. We’re redoubling our efforts to NOT use National Pickle Week as an excuse to eat a no-no.

Honestly, if we keep our heads on straight, eating low carb isn’t that tough. The main things I miss are starches, like white rice, white potatoes, pastas, and the salty food group – chips. People tell me a simple thing, like, “Don’t keep that stuff in the house.” The problem is that they are not married to my husband, who says life isn’t worth living without chips. They CALL to us from the pantry! So far, I’m being good.

I’ve been working hard at cleaning things out around the house, so I’ve been moving a lot, even though it’s not with official exercises.

I’m hoping that over the next three months we’ll be firmly back in the saddle of our low carb lifestyle, losing weight and inches. Getting older makes it harder, but we can do it.

Low Carb Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole Recipe

I have won the lottery on a low carb casserole recipe. It’s called, “Low Carb Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole” and it is from Karly Campbell,  who has a website called Buns in My Oven.

Since I’m always busy and then poop out, energy-wise in the afternoon, not wanting to cook, I did this recipe in stages. In the morning I got the casserole ready to put in the oven, then covered it and put it in the fridge. Then I decided to go ahead and cook it mid afternoon, while I was resting. Then I let it cool a bit and covered it and put it back in the oven. When we were ready to eat several hours later, I put it in the microwave and heated it up to temperature. All of this is hard on a recipe, but this was handled it in style.

My husband’s reactions during and after eating it were –

• an enthusiastic two thumbs up – saying, ‘Wow. This is great. Are you SURE this is low carb?”
• “Did I tell you this is really good?”
• He went back into the kitchen and got himself a second serving
• Then he said, “This is too good to be low carb. Can we have this every night?”
• Again – “Did I tell you this was really delicious?”
• “Can we split the leftover piece for lunch tomorrow and have a salad with it?”
• “Will you make this again soon? I’ll help.”

My husband is usually encouraging when I cook something he likes, but this was over the top. To say it will become a regular at our house is an understatement. I have now bookmarked marked Buns in My Oven  and signed up for her newsletter. I also bookmarked a page on low carb casseroles and am planning to make her “Oven Spaghetti” soon.

http://www.bunsinmyoven.com

Low Carb Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole Recipe

Source: Karly, Buns in My Oven http://www.bunsinmyoven.com

Prep Time 30 minutes Cook Time 30 minutes Total Time 1 hr
Serves serves 6 adjust servings

Ingredients

1/2 pound bacon
1 pound ground beef
1/2 sweet onion
1 clove garlic
4 tablespoons cream cheese
2 tablespoons reduced sugar ketchup
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
4 large eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon hot sauce
8 ounces grated cheddar
1 teaspoon fresh dill

Instructions

Dice the bacon into small pieces and place in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until crisp. Remove bacon from pan and set aside. Drain grease from pan.
Add the ground beef to the skillet and cook until browned, crumbling as it cooks. Drain fat.
Add the onion and garlic to the skillet with the beef and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add the cream cheese, ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and seasoned salt to the skillet and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until combined.
Spread the beef mixture into a greased 8×8 baking dish. Top with the cooked bacon.
Crack the eggs into a medium bowl and whisk together with the heavy cream until combined. Stir in the pepper and hot sauce.
Pour the egg mixture over the beef and bacon.
Top with the cheddar cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until set and golden on top. Sprinkle with dill before serving.
Disclaimer: The nutrition information presented below is not guaranteed to be accurate.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 638,
Total Fat 53g
Saturated Fat 23g
Cholesterol 265mg
Sodium 760mg
Carbohydrate 7g
Dietary Fiber 1g
Sugars 4g
Protein 32g
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs

Freedom!

community.brownpapertickets.com

I just finished getting a loaf of low carb bread started in the bread machine.

I feel a new sense of FREEDOM because I don’t have to worry about Amber –

our sweet, sneaky-Pete 70 lb lab ‘puppy,’ from sneaking into the kitchen, grabbing the whole loaf that is cooling up high somewhere,  and happily taking it to her bed in the living room to devour. (She has done this twice now, of the 3 loaves I’ve baked).  I received an email from Bob’s Red Mill, the company from whom I buy low carb bread mix and low carb baking mix, asking me what I thought of the products.

I ignored the survey, but answered, telling him that I love the chewiness of the bread, and loved the fact that it satisfied my craving for bread, I loved being able to eat it without guilt, and that it was good for sandwiches, wrapping around a hot dog, cutting it into shape to serve as a hamburger bun, toast, garlic toast, etc.  I also had to tell him that it received Amber’s highest “Thumbs Up” award, as she had stolen the first two loaves I baked off the counter in the kitchen! I would imagine that he doesn’t get feedback like this every day…

My FREEDOM comes from the fact that we installed another walk-through gate in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen/pantry/dining area.

I was a bit careless about leaving things on the counters in the kitchen, but even with being newly careful about putting every bit of food away and keeping counters scrupulously clean, there are times when foods have to cool before they can be further handled. I now have the freedom to do what I need to do in the kitchen without having to worry about Sneaky-Pete-Amber.

 

A Rare Treat

http://www.businessinsider.com

Can you hear me smacking my lips from where you are?

My husband and I love waffles and/or pancakes. Since we went low carb several years ago, we haven’t even entertained the notion of actually ever eating one again.

Bob’s Red Mill makes low carb bread mix that I’m loving and also makes a low carb baking mix.  I just got some of the baking mix. We looked really hard and finally found a sugar free maple syrup. My husband tried a bit of it – because there wasn’t any point to making waffles or pancakes if the syrup wasn’t good. He pronounced it good!

Tonight, if I haven’t killed myself digging out the iris, I’m going to fix us a batch of waffles. I had to look in the pantry for half an hour to find the waffle iron. :0)

We are really looking forward to biting these.

New Recipes

I have found that trying to combine eating low-carb and feeding my diabetic husband to be a bit of a challenge. I fell into a trap of my own making several months ago, opting to eat what HE ate. NOT GOOD! Mostly now, I can fix low carb meals and then add extra things he can also eat into the mix.

http://www.raisemag.com

I have found that getting a husband to try new foods, substitutions, and new recipes is a character-building exercise. For example, the substitutions of spaghetti squash for pasta and riced cauliflower for rice just won’t work for him. He’s like a little kid, making faces and being quite dramatic.  Happily, though, he is very supportive of my trying new recipes.

I tried one for chicken thighs in the crock pot last night. You’re supposed to thicken the juices with xanthan for use as a gravy. I made rice for him and I ate spaghetti squash. I like anything with a gravy-like sauce, so I thought it was pretty good. He praised the tenderness of the chicken, and he liked the rice, but the sauce, not so much.

I’ll cut up the leftover chicken tonight, combining it with cream of chicken/mushroom soup that he particularly likes, and serve it over rice for him and cauli-rice for me. It’s not quite as low-carb with the soup, but I can work around it to make my day come out under my limits.

Meanwhile, I’m glad we’ve found some substitutes for things he loves so he doesn’t feel deprived and walk around looking hangdog:

• Arizona Zero Peach Tea
• Alpine Sugar-Free Apple Cider Mix
• A&W Sugar-Free Soda
• Sweet Freedom Blue Bunny Ice Cream Sandwiches
• Sweet Freedom Blue Bunny Ice Cream Cones
• Jello Sugar-Free Cups

Now I just have to practice NOT feeling deprived MYSELF when he eats without having to worry about carbs…. (I’ll try to make a list of good things I have found that make eating low-carb much easier and post them for those who might be interested.)

“Want To” vs “Doing”

http://www.youtube.com

Translating intention to action to results is difficult. If I could bottle it, I would be a gazillionaire and could stop entering PCH and MegaMillions.

Trying to get myself to actually DO the things day after day that will get the results I want seems like a pipe dream at times. When I’m eating right, doing yoga and my elliptical trainer, and concentrating on moving more, I feel better – physically, mentally, and emotionally. So why am I still having to MAKE myself do these things, lapsing for a day or two, losing my motivation, failing to take each day at a time?

I am again talking to myself – pretty harshly – since I think I may be like our lab puppy, Amber, and need a shock collar to take things seriously, rather than blowing things off.

THIS TIME – I have my ducks more in a row (if you’ll pardon the pun on the pic above.)

• I’ve been missing bread a LOT. I’ve now found Bob’s Red Mill Low Carb Bread Mix that is a net 5 carbs per slice. I wrapped it around a hot dog yesterday and bit in with gusto. (I’m still going to try my new weird screaming green silicone bread maker thingie, but I’m finding other priorities at the moment.)
• Thanks to my son, I found a new nutrition counter and log called “Cronometer” to replace MyFitnessPal, which is good, but the people don’t maintain the website well. The front page hasn’t come up for months. I haven’t tried to add a recipe new to the website yet, but, so far, entering what I eat and logging in my exercise daily is quick and easy.
• Since my back finally quit hurting (still no clue what I did to cause the situation) – I am able to do careful stretching in prep for getting back to my “Gentle Yoga” DVDs with Cat Kabira.
• Also, since my back quit hurting, I am able to start catching up with all the house cleaning that was ignored while I vegged out in my recliner on my heat pad on muscle relaxers, ointments, pain patches, etc. Feeling that I’m doing something significant each day to purge/clean/reorganize is making me feel more together and in control of things. (Today’s project is finishing up scrubbing the master bathroom)
• We’re supposed to get rain today/tonight and a very welcome cool front, lowering the temperatures and humidity that have it feeling like over 100 degrees F. for the past month. We are more than ready, and I’m itching to get back out to my square foot garden and see what’s what. :0)

Tonight we’re having spaghetti and salad, with a bit of bread. (Newman’s Own Marina sauce is low-carb. My husband prefers small elbow macaroni to spaghetti, so I’ll fix that for him. I’ll have spaghetti squash as an alternative to spaghetti, and a piece of my low-carb bread I made.)

SO – desire to be healthier, get the lard off, increase my flexibility and overall health merge with good intention, motivation, means, and attitude to give me a good start. One day at a time.

 

TaoLife.com

New Counter

My son told me about Cronometer.com  this morning. I checked it out, signed up for a free membership, entered my information and will see how it goes.

Cronometer.com

I was able to set up a profile, add my goals, list the food I’ll eat today – plus the exercise I’ll be doing – all within about 10 minutes. No muss, no fuss. It told me how much more I needed to burn than I ate in order to reach my desired lard loss each week, and it was easy to see how many calories I was eating, how many carbs, etc. They actually gave me more information on nutrients than I need to know (I think), but it wasn’t distracting or annoying.

If you’re looking for a good way to monitor your progress, check this out.  (I just checked MyFitnessPal.com again after several days. They’re free, but they still haven’t fixed the main page, so I’m looking around. I’m hopeful that Cronometer.com will be my new home.)

Low-Carb Bread Trials – Take 2

“Take 1” –

This is the bit that Amber left on the counter.  When it had cooled, it sliced well.

 

The main part of the loaf went with her to her bed in the living room. She said it was delicious – quite unhappy when I took it from her, saying, “Bad Dog!”

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It was a gluten-free, low-carb recipe that only had 4 ingredients: eggs, whey protein, baking powder, and almond butter.  I feel kind of like the kid who said, “The dog ate my homework,” but that’s what happened. Amber showed us that she can now reach anything left on a counter in the kitchen, teaching us yet another lesson. We did get to taste a BIT of the bread, though. My husband said it tasted to him like rye bread. It tasted nutty to me (imagine that with the almond butter :0) ) and it was pretty nice, but it wasn’t what I was looking for in terms of taste as bread for a sandwich, hamburger bun, hot dog bun, or roll. I’ll probably make it again, but I’ll put it in a different category in my mind.

 

“Take 2” – I had a package of Bob’s Red Mill Low Carb Bread Mix in the pantry, so after going to the store for some whipping cream, I tried it. This is low-carb, but not gluten-free. I wasn’t sure it was going to work, even though it did say you could put the mix in a bread machine.  I was careful to use the general guidelines of my bread machine, putting dry ingredients in first, then wet, and finally, the yeast.

Before I could even get a picture, my husband grabbed a knife and cut off the whole top of it, then cut it into two pieces, slapped some butter on them, and we tried it. He pronounced it ‘good,’ particularly for toast.

This is the bottom of the loaf, where the stirrer of the breadmaker works.  (I have to tell you my husband is a Wonder Bread kid in his childhood and still prefers bread with no texture, no ‘bite,’ soft, etc.  I agree that this would be good for toast, but I also think this would be good for a sandwich, or any other time one would enjoy a piece of bread. The fact that it’s only 5 carbs per slice is great, too.

 

The loaf after my husband whacked the top off.

 

It’s a nice sized loaf. I wrapped it up and put it in the fridge, but I think I’ll go ahead and slice about half of it, and put the rest in the freezer.

“Take 3” – will be a low carb recipe done in the weird new silicone breadmaker thinger I got online.

 

I got a neat bread recipe book to go with it, so I’ll see what I can find and get back to you.

Amber Votes, “YES!”

I received the ingredients I needed to try the new gluten-free, low-carb bread today, so a couple of hours ago, I tried the recipe.

I found it a bit vague (for someone of my in-expertise on bread making) because many of the directions were “mix it until it’s creamy.” Well, I ask, “Is this creamy enough?”

Anyway, I got it into the oven, baked it for an hour, then took it out to cool. I made lunch for my husband and me, then took the loaf out of the pan and was pleased that it had risen, though not as much as other breads I’ve made. I sliced into it, cut that piece into four bites. I gave one to Amber, then one to Molly, I ate one and took the last in to my husband in the office.

I grabbed my camera on my way back to the kitchen so I could take pics for the blog. When I went into the kitchen, I found only the small piece of bread on the counter.

 

I went into the living room to find Amber with the rest of the loaf on her bed, happily eating it. I yelled, ran and grabbed it from her, yelling, ‘bad dog!’ while she looked at me with her innocent face, totally clueless. Apparently she just waited until I left the kitchen to stand up, grab the bread from the counter and take it into the living room.  Since it’s gluten-free, I guess I’ll break it up and let the doggies eat the rest of the huge hunk Amber stole.

This is the big hunk Amber stole.

I have a very small bit left. Not even enough for a sandwich. I’m not even sure if I like it or not at this point, and it’s not fair to the creator of the recipe to remark on it.

I’ve  just learned another lesson from Amber – she’s now big enough to reach anything on the counters in the kitchen. We’ll have to change our habits in there, too, and learn to watch her like a hawk.

So – the jury is still out on the gluten-free, low-carb bread, except for a really enthusiastic “YES!” from Amber….

 

Experimentation

 

I’ve been missing bread the most with my low carb lifestyle. I’ve found I can order sandwich bread and rolls, but the company I found is in California, and it takes a couple of weeks to get my order. Plus it’s pricey.

I’ve tried several low carb bread recipes and have been disappointed.

I found a new recipe recently for “Simple and Fluffy Gluten-Free Low-Carb Bread” from Elviira that I’m going to try.  I couldn’t find the ingredients locally, but I found them on the net and ordered them today.  Only 4 ingredients:

• unflavored whey protein powder
• aluminum-free baking powder
• almond butter
• extra large organic eggs

I’ll let you know, providing the full recipe, if I like the results, but I’m excited about trying it. My husband keeps wanting hot dogs, sandwiches, toast, etc. I can make them for him, making something else for me, but I would love it if I could simply substitute my low carb bread on my plate. I’ll even serve some to him and see what he says!

Hopefully, I’ll get back to you sometime next week on this.

 

Pineapple Glazed Pork Loin Recipe

I really can’t say enough about Dana Carpender. Between her 300 15-Minute Low-Carb Recipes and her Slow-Cooker recipes, I have really all I need for our efforts to eat low carb. She uses down-to-earth, rather than super-fancy, hard-to-find ingredients. I really like that.

I can either start something in the crock pot early or I can opt for a dinner than takes about 15 minutes to put together. I really like that, too.

A couple of nights ago I tried a recipe from the 15-Minute book called, “Pineapple Glazed Pork Loin.” My husband immediately declared it a winner and asked if we could have the leftovers the next night. :0)

“Pineapple Glazed Pork Loin.”

Ingredients:

• 3/4 pound boneless pork loin, cut about 1/2″ thick*
• 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons canned, crushed pineapple in juice
• 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Splenda
• 1 teaspoon spicy brown or Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic or 2 cloves garlic, crushed

*Feel free to use thinnish pork chops, instead.

Directions:

• First, pound the pork until it’s about 1/4 inch thick. Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat and saute’ the pork, covering it with a tilted lid. Give it 4 to 5 minutes per side.
• While the pork’s browning, combine the pineapple, vinegar, Splenda, mustard, soy sauce and garlic. When the pork is browned on both sides, add this mixture to the skillet. Turn the pork over once or twice to coat. Put the tilted lid back on the pan, cook for 1 to 2 minutes, turn, re-cover, and give it another 1 to 2 minutes. Remove to serving plates and scrape any remaining liquid from the pan over the pork before serving.

Yield:

2 servings, each with 4 grams of carbohydrates, a trace of fiber, and 22 grams of protein.

MY NOTE: Since I served a veggie and a salad, we were happy to eat half the pork loin for one meal and then the rest as leftovers the 2nd night. My husband has already asked if I have another pork loin on the grocery list. :0)

His grade – “YUMMY!”

Low-Carb Blueberry Muffins?

Laura in the Kitchen Wild – Wikia

I’m trying a new recipe this afternoon for Low Carb Blueberry Muffins. They are in the oven now. I’ll give you a report if they’re good.

My husband went to get the mail, coming back with, “It’s yucky out there!” The rain is wonderful, we agree, but the cool temperatures and wind make it seem pretty raw. We’re thankful for a warm, dry house today.

UPDATE:

The muffins weren’t great, but they were better than NO blueberry muffins. Since we haven’t eaten any in more than a year, they tasted pretty good. Will keep looking for another low carb recipe, though. That said, my husband just asked for a second helping…

“Seriously Simple Chicken Chili” Recipe

To Simply Inspire

I didn’t have a photo to go with Dana Carpender’s “Seriously Simply Chicken Chili” recipe, but the one above is representative.

If you’re trying to eat low-carb, I highly recommend at LEAST two recipe books by Dana Carpender :  200 Low-Carb Slow Cooker Recipes and 300 15-Minute Low-Carb Recipes. You can find other nice ones, but between these two books, you have a wealth of healthy meals, either from the slow cooker or quick meals. She uses basic ingredients and simple techniques that have my husband wanting more – a rare thing with healthy eating!

We’ve eaten her “Seriously Simple Chicken Chili’ from the Slow Cooker book several times before, but I failed to pass this recipe on to you.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 16 oz jar prepared salsa
• 1 tablespoon Chili Powder*
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon concentrate*
• 3 oz shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 6 tablespoons light sour cream

 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Put chicken in your slow cooker
2. In a bowl, stir together the salsa, chili powder and bouillon, making sure the bouillon’s dissolved. Pour the mixture over the chicken. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 7 to 8 hours.
3. When the time’s up, shred the chicken with a fork. Serve topped with the cheese and sour cream.

 

YIELD:

6 servings, each with: 263 calories, 9 grams fats, 39 grams protein, 6 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams dietary fiber, 4 grams usable carbs.

 

MY NOTES:

• I cut up the chicken before I put it in the crock pot. THEN, I use two forks to shred the chicken a bit before serving.
• I use 1 TEASPOON chili powder because my husband and I don’t like spicy or hot.
• I use 1 TABLESPOON chicken bouillon concentrate because we love it.
• I haven’t done it, but it seems like this would freeze well. One of these times, I’ll double the recipe and freeze half for another time.

ENJOY!  Thank you, Dana Carpender!

The Egg

Ron Leishman – http://www.clipart.com via Mothering Multiples

Every morning I have a hard-boiled egg, meat, cheese and butter – microwaved –  for breakfast. Lately, my husband has decided that HE should peel the egg for me.

We’ve had trouble peeling eggs. I found a suggestion that if you put a teaspoon of baking soda into the water in which you boil the eggs, the shells will come off more easily.  We now do that and it HAS helped, but not always. We also put the eggs into ice-cold water directly after boiling them. That helps, as well – but not always.

My husband watched a few YouTube videos on the subject a couple of days ago.

He came into the office with a hard-boiled egg. He got my attention, then peeled off a bit of each end of the egg-shell. He BLEW into each end and then looked at me like, “VOILA!” He proceeded to try to take the eggshell off, and had as much trouble as we sometimes do. I told him that even if it worked, I didn’t want him doing that to MY egg. If he wanted to blow into HIS egg, that was fine, but NOT MINE!  I then pointed to the desk top and the floor. Both were littered with tiny bits of egg-shell. He called the dogs over, but they weren’t interested. He finally got a dust pan and cleaned things up.

I had just gotten my concentration back at the computer when he came in again. This time, he wanted me to go to the kitchen with him. He put a second hard-boiled egg into a glass, filling the glass about half full of water. He then started shaking the glass violently. The result was water all over the cabinets, counter tops, and floor.  I just looked at him. He looked like a little kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He tried removing the egg-shell. It worked, but I was still looking at the mess all over my kitchen. He then took a towel and wiped up most of the mess.

Today, when I was fixing my breakfast, he was already working on my egg. He came over in just a second with the egg nicely shelled and ready for our egg slicer. I said, “That was fast.” He smiled, saying he’s perfected the egg in the water-glass technique.

THIS time it worked, my kitchen wasn’t awash in water, and my egg was shelled in a sanitary fashion – quickly and easily!

AND, my husband is still alive to tell the tale…

Concentrating on Shutting My Mouth…

Huffington Post

There are lots of good reasons for trying to keep my mouth shut.

Most of the time it’s a good idea to keep me out of trouble for saying the wrong thing in the wrong company. This time – keeping the other in mind – my efforts are focused on not eating after dinner time. I made it last night for the first time in a LONG time.

I followed that with an hour long session of yoga this afternoon emphasizing “Joint Mobility” and “Overall Flow.”  I had a talk with my husband about helping me carve out an hour either in the morning or in the afternoon for my yoga practice. He is seeing how much better it makes me feel, and was encouraging about my efforts today.

 

Michelle Cazares

 

I’m re-reading The Shift by Tory Johnson

the book that initially got me excited about trying to get the lard off and get in better shape. I’m happy to say that it’s beginning to do its magic on me again, motivating me to stick to my guns and start impressing the scales and my tape measure again. I’m about half way to where I think I would like to be weight-wise. If I’m successful enough to get there, I’ll decide if more is needed or if that’s enough. (I’m trying for the middle of a healthy BMI weight range for my height.)

Our low carb lifestyle and our new low or no sugar emphasis should help both my husband and me feel better.

*2 new finds! –

• Swiss Miss Sensible Sweets Light Hot Cocoa Mix. (It’s 25 calories, 4 grams carbs and 2 grams of sugar per serving.)  My husband really loves hot chocolate and he says he cannot tell the difference between the awful mixes he WAS using and this. Hooray!”
• Arizona Zero Peach Tea – My husband used to drink already sweetened iced tea mix, drinking several LARGE glasses per day. This is 0 calories, < 1 gram sugar, <  1 gram carbs. It’s delicious and we both drink it.

In a little over a year I have lost 40 lbs. and 23+ inches. Albeit slowly, I AM making progress on being as healthy as I can be. I look forward to seeing what 2017 brings!

Superfoods Chili Recipe

HungerActions.wordpress.com

Recently I told you about a new recipe book I’m really enjoying: Low Carb Recipes for Diabetics by Don Orwell. He concentrates on Super Foods that boost immunity, promote weight loss and slow aging.

I gave you the recipe for his Minestrone. Today I’m sharing his recipe for Superfoods Chili.

My husband’s first reaction was, “This isn’t chili. It’s a stew.” But then he started eating. Then got a second bowl. Wanted it for dinner the next night – and we finished it for lunch yesterday. And he’s requested more…

This recipe is Sugar Free, Gluten Free, Dairy Free,* Egg Free, and Nut Free

SuperFoods Chili

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. coconut oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound ground beef
• 3/4 pound beef sirloin, cubed
• 1 cup diced tomatoes
• 1 cup strong brewed coffee
• 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp ground cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 cups cooked kidney beans
• 4 fresh hot chili peppers, chopped

Instructions:

Put all ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on low for 4 hours.

MY NOTES:

I hate using half a cap of something, only to have to throw away the remainder several days later, so I used

• one can of diced tomatoes
• one can of tomato paste

We don’t like ‘hot’, so I eliminated the cayenne pepper,  and hot chili peppers, substituting some regular ground peppercorns and some chili powder.

I used 2 cans of kidney beans, draining and rinsing them in a strainer before adding to the slow cooker.

*We sprinkled on some shredded cheese, so our version was not dairy free.

Low Carb Minestrone Soup Is a Winner!

Wikipedia

My husband’s firm opinion is that Campbell’s Soup is the best and that no one should even try to compete. He ate his words – as well as the soup – last night! :0)

The recipe is for “Minestrone” and the source is Low Carb Recipes for Diabetics by Don Orwell.

He looks as food as medicine. He promotes what he calls Super Foods that boost immunity, promote weight loss, and slow aging. This is the first of his recipes we’ve tried, and we’re really impressed.

The Minestrone Recipe serves 8 to 10. It’s sugar fee, gluten free, dairy free, egg free, and nut free. So what’s left? Really good soup!

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp. coconut oil
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 cups chopped celery
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup tomato sauce*
• 1/2 oz red wine (optional)
• 1 cup raw cannellini beans*
• 2 cups green beans*
• 2 cups baby spinach, rinsed
• 3 zucchinis, quartered and sliced*
• 1 tbsp. chopped oregano
• 2 tbsp. chopped basil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp. olive oil or cumin oil

Instructions:

Put all ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours

NOTES: (MINE)

• I used a whole can of tomato sauce
• I used a CAN of cannellini beans
• I used a CAN of green beans
• I used ONE zucchini
• I went lighter on the herbs and spices
• At my husband’s request, I added some cut up roast beef (about one cup, diced)
• I added some xanthan gum thickener about half an hour before serving

I really liked this soup, but I’m much easier to please than my husband. HE liked it, too. He requested we eat some of the leftovers tonight, along with garlic bread made with our new low carb bread.  He sounded surprised when he told me it was “good – really good,” and then mentioned it again when we were cleaning up. I have two large glass bowls of soup left. I’m thinking that I’ll serve one of them for us tonight and freeze the other to enjoy later.

Bullets, Spaghetti Squash and Cauli-Rice

It’s important to my husband that I am able to defend myself if the need arises. To this end, he built this set of metal ‘falling plate’ targets. We shoot at the plates, knowing that if we miss the bullets go into the high hill of slag behind the targets.  (This pic was taken about a week ago, when I hadn’t taken the fabric shade off the garden behind the slag pile.)  When you hit a plate, it falls back and down. When all the plates are down, you stop shooting, set the plates up again, then go back to kill them again. :0)

 

Here’s another view of the targets. Today he added half a brick to each of the plate rods, making a nice counter-weight. I hit more than I missed, but need practice again soon. He wants to work on the targets more, since the small one on the end fell down if you hit any of the other three plates.

 

Beyond Zucchini

I’ve gotten lax about eating, my excuse being I’m trying new things to satisfy my husband’s sweet tooth now that he has to avoid anything with sugar. I’m trying to get back on track, so I bought a spaghetti squash and a head of cauliflower at the grocery today.

I split the spaghetti squash in half long-wise, then put the halves face down on a tray lined with aluminum foil. I baked it for 45 minutes at 350 degrees, then pulled it out and let it cool. When it was easy to pick up without burning myself, I took a fork and scraped out all the squash inside. The one spaghetti squash yielded 4 cups of nice spaghetti-looking squash. I put a cup into each of four sandwich bags and then put the bags inside one gallon freezer bag, labeled it and put it in the freezer. That will be good for four dinners for me, while I make some actual spaghetti or elbow macaroni for my husband, topped with spaghetti sauce, Alfredo sauce, or other goody.

 

Yup! It’s Vegan

I cut up the cauliflower into chunks. I put the chunks through the food processor, pulsing. I measured out the cauliflower into one cup increments, putting them into sandwich bags, then into a gallon freezer bag. I got 5 cups of cauliflower, meaning 5 meals for me, when I make rice for my husband.

My husband is really turned off by eating spaghetti squash or cauliflower, but that’s okay. He’s trying to avoid sugar and I’m trying to limit my carbs. This works well because I can make the starchy stuff for him, heat up the squash or ‘rice’ for me in the microwave, and make one sauce to go over both.

 

Sugar-Free, Low Carb Blueberry Muffins

I’m not sure there IS such a thing as sugar-free, low carb blueberry muffins, but the mix is in the oven as I type. I’m making them for my husband, primarily, since his sweet tooth is very appreciative. I’ve been scouring the net and our stores for things he’ll consider a treat even though he’s having to really watch his sugar these days. If these pass muster, I’ll write more about them tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

*P.S. Judgment – Pass

They smelled wonderful, both while I mixing it up and later, when I took them out of the oven. I was hopeful. I served us each one hot, with a small pat of butter.

My husband ate one half of the muffin. He thanked me for trying, but gave the other half to our pit bull, who thought it was wonderful. I wasn’t enthusiastic, either. It wasn’t worth the 8 carbs. Sigh.

At least the doggies can have a healthy treat mixed in with their dog food for several days. And the search goes on…

Impatience

Laila Ali via Akiva Huber

 

I’m going to print this one and hang it up so I see it over and over.  I’m impatient by nature and have to really talk to myself (I know – I’m nuts) to keep going, whether I’m trying to lose weight and build strength and flexibility, undo several years worth of ‘stuffing’ things into drawers or onto shelves in our master bath, or get our garden and yard under control.

I’m looking at this as a character-building exercise, something that will make me a better person in the long run. I AM making progress on learning my own limitations as I age and modifying my expectations of what I can now do in a day. I still tend to overdo, spending the next day trying to recover. I’m learning to do projects in ‘sessions,’ stopping when I’m feeling overwhelmed, then doing another session until the job is done.

With my weight and strength, there is no time limit. This isn’t a ‘diet.’ It’s a lifestyle change. Now things are complicated because we need to do low or no sugar for my husband. It’s a worthy goal to achieve because it’ll do both of us good. I want my husband to live as long as he is able, feeling as good as possible. Scrambling to learn what I can do to help is something I really want to do. An example, I’ve discovered that avoiding gluten for him is counter-productive, since the gluten is offset by alcohol sugars and other additives. We MUST do a good job of reading labels!

On the master bathroom going through/throwing out/reorganizing/cleaning project – right now it looks as if a bomb exploded in there again, since I’ve emptied out my three large drawers and put things on the step that goes around or bathtub. I’ve already thrown a bunch away and plan to do more of that before deciding what do to with what’s left. Assuming I can finish that today, I’ll plan on the last session tomorrow – pulling out the rugs and doing a deep cleaning of the whole area, including the tub, shower, vanities, floor, and rugs. If I falter, I’ll reread the reminder above…

 

 

Sugar Free BBQ Sauce – Take 2

G Hughes Smokehouse Sugar Free BBQ Sauce Gluten Free Hickory Flavored

I wrote recently that, after looking all over Greenwood and Fort Smith AR for a sugar-free BBQ sauce, I found a recipe and made it. My husband was very grateful, since he loves BBQ sauce. He said it wasn’t the best he had ever eaten, but that it tasted ‘fine’ and that he was SO glad he could use it.

I later got on the net and found some I thought we should try. The name of it is G Hughes Smokehouse Sugar Free BBQ Sauce. It’s gluten free and hickory flavored.

We received it recently. I had made a crock pot chicken that was good – but that my husband thought needed something more. I brought out this sauce and we both tried it.

WE LOVED IT. I can’t say enough about the flavor.

I can’t believe the nutrition label:

• Total fat 0 grams
• Saturated fat 0 grams
• Trans fat 0 grams
• Cholesterol 0 grams
• Sodium 190 mg
• Total Carbs 2 grams
• Dietary Fiber 0 grams
• Sugars 0 grams
• Protein 0 grams
• Vitamin C 2%
• 0% Vitamins A, Iron, and Calcium

Ingredients: Crushed tomatoes, water, apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, modified cornstarch, salt, Black pepper, ground cinnamon, natural hickory smoke, spices, natural hickory smoke flavor, natural caramel, color, xanthan gum, sucralose. No allergens.

We feel that we have won the lottery on BBQ sauce. My husband asked if we had more of the ‘good chicken’ so that we could have it with the BBQ sauce tonight…

 

Getting the Lard Off – Progress Report 9/15/2016

http://www.jokeitup.com

Today I’m feeling more upbeat about my progress. My weight loss is still at 46 lbs, but the exercising I’ve been doing is finally paying off again with a loss now of 25-1/2 inches!

I’ve been either walking with annoying Leslie (DVD) for two miles OR doing half an hour on the elliptical trainer, and then either upper or lower body exercises with weights. Besides the progress in inches, I’m FEELING a difference.

I’ve had to miss a few days lately due to overdoing on working in my garden and having to baby my poor fat body when I strained muscles around my hip on the left side. I have no clue why only my left side was strained, but thanks to a combination of heat pad, Ibuprofen, and massages by my husband, I’m now fully recovered and dangerous again. :0)

____________________

*My garden, by the way, is under good control now. The fall garden is now planted in the new raised planters. The old stuff is out of the three square foot planters that remain on the ground on the north side of the garden. The fence I was using for climbing plants has been removed. I have dug the Mel’s Mix out of one of the ground planters and it’s waiting in trash cans until we get the first raised bed planter installed on that side of the garden. We need to remove some big metal pipes we used to hold up the fence before we can go any farther.

____________________

My husband is newly motivated to eat low carb with me. He’s trying to watch his sugar – a thing our low carb diet does well. I’m studying the extra stuff he’s been eating, reading labels and doing lots of research on the net to find out what things are good now and what he should avoid, what his sugar limit should be each day, etc.  We can be cheerleaders for each other – encouraging the other to ‘be good,’ ‘be strong,’ and take each meal at a time.

Hopefully, by next week I’ll be able to report a larger weight loss, but at least I’m seeing some actual measurable progress to spur me on.