Maggie and Wilson

Happy New Year!

After 4 months of getting some family stuff taken care of -  I'm back!  The fall semester turned out to be a very hectic one but I am organized and ready to go again!  Low carb meals were hit or miss during those 4 months.  I told my husband that I WAS on a low carb diet, mostly in between meals. 

Low carb sounds good until it's time to make dinner and suddenly spaghetti seems like a pretty darn good choice.  Lack of planning, organization and exhaustion were huge stumbling blocks for me as I'm sure they are for many people.  January 1st (ok, ok... Jan 2nd) seems to be a good time to reboot your life and your habits.  I've missed posting and I've missed interacting with people here on the blog and on the facebook page. I look forward to getting this up and running again!

Raspberry-Grape Punch

It's official.  I am sick of plain water! Decided to experiment a little.

Start With

• 1 Pkg Unsweetened Grape KoolAid
• 3/4 C Stevia (not the packets - the stuff that measures like sugar)
• 2 Qts. of Cold Water/Ice

Mix koolaid as you normally would.  I am a huge fan of Pampered Chef's Quick-Stir pitchers with the built in mixer things.

Add 1-2tsp. of DaVinci or Torani Sugar Free Raspberry Flavored Syrup to your glass of KoolAid with plenty of ice. (If your kids like it or if there are no rug rats to please you could add about 1/4 c. right into the pitcher.) 

I think it would also taste great in:

• Sugar Free KoolAid/Lemonade
• Homemade Lemonade with Fresh Lemons and Stevia
• Club Soda
• Plain Water

 

The Torani Syrup I used has 1g carb/oz (about 6 teaspoons)

Wow, I Don't Learn Very Quickly!

If a dog does something stupid, lets say chase a lizard into a rose bush, will it do it a second time?   Maybe. 
A third time?  Highly unlikely. 
Why?  Juicy lizards are evidently very tasty, getting stabbed with thorns - not so much!*
I wish I could say I was as smart as a dog.  Time after time when I am tired, lazy or stressed out I tend to reward myself with a treat.  One treat every two or three weeks is not the end of the world.  When I have two weeks of treats because of stress and pain from medical procedures I feel like crap.  I'm moody, no energy, always hungry and just plain don't feel well (on TOP of the discomfort from the procedure).  I'm running my diet right into the rose bush and getting stabbed, and then doing it again the next day.  I think my husband's favorite quote, "You big knucklehead!" is appropriate in this situation.  He doesn't say that to me, but maybe he should! I need to learn that my treat is NOT to eat that sugar, and my reward is feeling good. Weight loss is an added bonus.  (Remind me of this when my biopsy results come back!  Good or bad, my first instinct will be to go eat something special!)

</End Pity Party>

Tomorrow is a new day.  Thank goodness there is nothing that says you can't hit the "diet reboot" button one more time. I have heard from several of you that you have been in the same position many times. 

Don't give up!

My menu is made for the week, groceries bought and my resolve refreshed. How can I not be excited to have these yummy things to look forward to?!

• Pepper Crusted Burger with Smoked Gouda, Baby Spinach and Sauteed Onions
• Cauliflower Casserole with a Chopped Broccoli and Cheese Topping
• Chicken, Raspberry & Pecan Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette
• Shredded Zucchini with Green Onions & Scrambled Eggs (Like hashbrowns, but with Zucchini instead of potatoes)
• Chicken Chimichangas & Guacamole; Sliced jicama with lime and chile powder
• Green Beans Sauteed with Sesame Oil, Garlic & Sesame Seeds 
• Chipotle Marinated Pork Tenderloin with Homemade Salsa
• Ice Cold San Pellegrino with sliced lime and strawberry (in a fancy glass, of course!)
• Jasmine Green iced tea
• Vanilla Coffee with cream and cinnamon

I hope to have my Easter menu planned by Thursday.  I will share what I plan to make and then next week I will have recipes that will focus on using up those hard boiled eggs and ham or turkey.

* This story is based on actual events.  No lizards (that I know of) were actually hurt, and the dog has learned her lesson.

Easter Baskets

I started doing a little research on ideas of what I could put in my kids Easter baskets other than just candy and a few syringes full of insulin.   They will get a chocolate Easter Bunny and few other small candies, but I plan to opt for quality over quantity.  If there is less chocolate in the house there is also a better chance that Maggie will have a chocolate-free Easter too.  Dog + Chocolate Bunny = $350 vet bill
There are some good ideas out there: bubbles, sidewalk chalk, coins
There are some stupid ideas out there: Disney website recommends some mini-rolls of Scotch Tape.   If I put that in my kids basket, they would use it to tape me to the chair until I promised to never do that again.

I plan to use a theme for their baskets this year. Something along the lines of:

• Spring/summer fun: suntan lotion, sunglasses, flip flops, insulated water bottle
• Artist: Drawing paper, drawing pencils and erasers, colored pencils
• Book Worm: Gift card book store, bookmarks, reading light
• Technology Geek: Mouse pad, mouse, head phones, phone cover, wipes for cleaning electronics
• College Student: Starbucks Card, gas card, gum, earrings, flip flops, iTunes card, head phones, granola bars

Places to look for little things to go in a basket:

• Oriental Trading Company
• Cracker Barrel Gift Shop
• Dollar Tree
• Target Dollar Section
• Michael's/Hobby Lobby (watch Sunday paper for coupons)
• World Market - they have a great selection of holiday trinkets, inexpensive jewelry, soaps, etc.

 
Compromise and give treats, that aren't pure sugar. Use a clear quart size plastic bag, tied with a green ribbon to make a "carrot" filled with:

• Cheetos 
• Goldfish Crackers
• Cheez-its
• Baby Carrots (if your kids are into things like that) 
• Cheese Curds (yes, I'm from WI)
• Peanuts

 

 Carrot idea and picture from http://www.skiptomylou.org

Eating Away from Home

Today was a busy day.  I was away from home at lunch time and was feeling kind of lazy when it came time to think about dinner. 

For lunch I packed a meat/cheese roll:

• 1/2 Light Flatout
• Cream Cheese
• Mustard
• Salami
• Lettuce
• Spinach

Spread cream cheese on one side of Flatout, then dab a little mustard over than, then meat and lettuce.  Roll from one side to form a fairly tightly rolled "log".  With a sharp knife cut into slices (they will look like pinwheels when you cut them). 

Didn't think I would be too excited about it when lunch time came around, but they actually were really good and I wish I made more!

For dinner I ended up stopping at Chick Fil A and ordered a Spicy Chicken Sandwich with extra lettuce to bring home.  Hubby ate his as-is, but I took mine off the bun and sliced the chicken and tomato and ate it with the lettuce.  It has a little breading - not induction friendly - but it also has a lot of flavor.  It certainly is light years ahead of our old standby lazy meal: Lucky Charms.  Seeing that I only had 7 carbs the whole rest of the day my totals are still pretty reasonable. 

Getting Orgazined

As an Army wife, I've moved more times than I care to remember.  Almost every time we moved we ended up living in an empty house with just a few basic things while we waited for our household goods to be delivered.  Sometimes we waited more than 3 weeks! (And then there is the time they accidently sent our stuff and our car to Korea instead of North Carolina, but that's a different story.....) It seems like it would be hard to live like that.  It is nice to have a couch to sit on and a real bed to sleep in, but not having to clean or put away all that STUFF is actually really nice.  When we did get our shipment we were frequently overwhelmed with how many things we have that just get in the way.  How many knives does a person need? Plastic containers? Wine glasses? Dog leashes?  

By now you are probably wondering what any of this has to do with a low carb diet.  I've known for a long time that one of my biggest obstacles to sticking to a low carb diet is planning meals ahead of time and the extra cooking that goes along with it.  I also know that if my kitchen is clean, I'm much more willing to get in there and do something and makes that "cooking" obstacle just a little smaller.

I spent a couple of hours this morning planning my menus for the week and making a long shopping list.  Then I realized that I more than likely had many of the things on that list already and really no place to put the new things I was going to buy.  Instead of going shopping I stayed home and cleaned out the fridge and the pantry.  It was a cleansing experience in more than one way. 

 When I was done it all looked so good that I actually was happy to be in there and cheerfully went about getting dinner started. (Made chicken soup with all the odds and ends of veggies from the fridge.) If I could only find a house elf somewhere to keep the kitchen clean I'd be all set! 

Yeah Toast !

Using a small plate fools the eye and can make it seem
like you are eating more than you really are.

     Old habits die hard.  Sometimes not at all!  For the great majority of my life I have been a toast-for-breakfast kind of gal.  Eggs?  Meh...   This morning as I stood there having a staring contest with the carton of eggs, trying to convince myself it was a good choice, it dawned on me that eggs would taste SO much better with toast.  The loaf sitting on the counter says each slice has half of my daily allowance of carbs.  (I'm doing one more week at 25g/day.)  The good news is that when I lifed up the loaf of bread to read the nutrition info I saw the bag of Flatouts that had been hiding under there.  Hmmmm.... I wonder...?  I took a half of the flatbread and threw it in the toaster.   It worked perfectly!    Today I stuck to adding just a little butter, but in the future I can see adding a little peanut butter or LC jelly or even cream cheese.   If Flatout offers stock to the public I am going to go buy some! 

Did you know that toast even has its own theme song?  For those who have a slightly warped sense of humor, I invite you to listen to it.  (it's not off-color, just silly).

 

Have Snacks, Will Travel

  

I've collected a good variety of low carb recipes that don't taste like packing peanuts that I can use when I am home.  What do you do when you have to actually leave the house?  I'm not 100% sure of what the correct answer to that is, but I can tell you it does involve planning.  No planning =  * Epic Fail *

Here are a few ideas of what you can take with you:

 

 

• String Cheese: Watch for sales at your grocery store - Target seems to be really pricey for this item!  Walgreen's and most gas stations sell individual ones if you find yourself looking for something when everyone else is grabbing Fritos and Snickers.


• Almonds: Walgreen's frequently has Buy One-Get One sales, and if you have a coupon they will let you use that too!  I keep a can in my car to avert french fry stops.  At home I put individual serving sizes (28 nuts) in a little baggie and keep those in a cookie jar with my Atkins bars.  They are easy to grab in a hurry.  Costco sells individual size packets, but they are much more expensive.


• Atkins Bar:  My favorites are Coconut, Almond Coconut (These two are great candy bar substitutions and usually what I take to the movies)  Cranberry Almond,  Fruit Crumble(a lot like a NutriGrain Bar and goes great with coffee for breakfast when you can't choke down another egg)  Amazon may not have the best price, but it was an easy place to link to and read reviews. If you want to keep a bar in your purse, ladies, keep it in an eyeglass case to keep it from being mushed up.
   
  
• Beek Jerky
   
  
• Salami Rolls: small piece of cheese with a dab of mustard rolled in a piece of Salami or other lunch meat

Strange, but True:  Yesterday I knew I was hungry and in a hurry.  I grabbed half of a Flatout Bread and a few pieces of lettuce and then headed to McD's drive through.  I ordered a Big Mac with no lettuce (mostly because theirs is white and bitter, I prefer my lettuce to be a shade of green) and no onions.  I ditched the buns and wrapped the meat/sauce in the Flatout Bread (3g Net Carb for the half).  Very pleasant and a lot easier to eat than with a knife and fork. I may have to keep a pack of Flatout Bread in my car too, lol.

Back to Business

This morning's breakfast: 1 whole egg, 1/4c. egg whites, prosciutto, mushrooms, cheese.  Cal: 370, Net carbs 2g.  For those watching calories or fat you could trim 100 cal off using spray oil instead of butter. I might do that myself next time too.(Breve Latte not included in those counts)

After reading post after post on other blogs of people losing a lot of weight during their 2 weeks of induction I decided to reread the chapter in the Atkins book and try again.  The only real difference was that I stayed away from milk and cashews/peanuts.  After one week my weight loss: 6 lbs. It's amazing what happens when you follow instructions! 

I told myself all week that if I stuck to the plan, on Monday I would go out to eat and enjoy some fajitas and a Margarita.  The fajitas were good, but the sugar in the frozen Margarita was a shock to the system. Blech!  I need to find a new drink! 

I had promised my husband last week that I would make cookies for him to take to work, but it would have to wait until my "cheat day". I may eventually be able to bake a huge batch of cookies and not eat any of the dough or cookies, but I ain't there yet!   I enjoyed that cookie knowing that it was part of my plan and didn't have the usual guilt of "I shouldn't be eating this."    :)  After seeing the fat/calorie/carb count for my Breve Latte at Starbucks I'm going to have to stick to plain ole' coffee there.  In about a week it will be so hot and steamy here a hot drink won't sound good anyway.  I guess it's time to switch to iced tea!

 

Not low carb, but SO yummy!

Hubby wanted something he could take to work to share with the rest of the staff at the clinic.  These Mrs. Field's knock offs are always a hit.  Loaded with chocolate chips, oatmeal, pecans and a grated Hershey's bar.  (And YES, I had one.  Duh!) :P

Mrs. Field's Cookie Recipe

(I only make half a batch because it's way too much to fit in one bowl and my beaters can't handle it either.)