We’re two weeks into the 2018 90-Day Low Carb Challenge already and it’s time to weigh-in!
It’s never too late to join us by the way, so feel free to jump in now if you haven’t already. 😉
You’ll find the Week Two Weigh In at that link in the Facebook Challenge Group, or you can comment here on this post if you’re not participating in our Facebook group.
As usual I’ll share what I’ve been eating lately, so you can see my low carb meals and MyFitnessPal logs for ideas & examples.
In my last food diary I shared what I was eating last week, including easy recipes & meals I cooked plus great low carb take-out ideas and delicious desserts!
Here’s what I ate over the weekend, which included two fabulous (but super easy!) home cooked dinners with plenty of veggies…
My Low Carb Meals on Saturday
I had my favorite healthy low carb breakfast “cereal” with 1/2 cup of pecan pieces, 1/4 cup of 4% Daisy brand cottage cheese and 4 small diced strawberries.
It comes to 5 net carbs and 85% healthy fat.
For lunch I had coffee & cookies. 🙂
I actually had a “hot coffee shake” using the Ketologie Chocolate Keto Shake Mix mixed with hot coffee, which is absolutely delicious.
Way better and much easier than traditional BPC!
The chocolate mix is sold out right now, but the vanilla keto shake is great too.
I also had 2 Peanut Butter Keto Kookies with cream cheese.
That’s such a great combination because they’re soft, buttery, crumbly cookies – the closest thing to traditional peanut butter cookies I’ve ever found. 😉
This is the brand new Peanut Butter flavor that just came out this month, and the Peanut Butter is definitely my favorite of ALL the Keto Kookie flavors!
I threw together a quick & easy low carb dinner…
When I say I “threw it together” it was literally a simple freezer-to-table meal. 🙂
I started with frozen vegetables: a bag of frozen broccoli florets and a bag of frozen cauliflower.
I dumped both bags on a foil lined baking sheet drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled them liberally with salt and garlic powder, then drizzled more olive oil on top:
You can thaw your frozen veggies in the microwave first to roast them quicker, or just toss them in frozen. I bake them at 400 degrees, with a little “toss & stir” here and there, until they look the way I want them.
Also from the freezer, I grabbed what was left of the Tyson Grilled & Ready Fajita Chicken Strips. I melted a TBSP of butter in a non-stick skillet, threw the frozen chicken strips in and seasoned them with Oh My Spice Sweet & Savory:
That is my FAVORITE seasoning for chicken or seafood. 😉
I browned up the seasoned chicken strips in the melted butter, then at the end I added Sprouted Pili Nuts for a nice buttery crunch.
I just tossed it all together in the pan to mix the flavors and get the Pili Nuts nice and warm.
It made for a delicious low carb dinner, and super easy!
The frozen vegetables roasted up nicely in the oven and I made the frozen chicken in the skillet in a matter of minutes on the stove top.
The combination of sweet & savory spice, garlic roasted veggies and the crunch of buttery soft Pili Nuts made for a VERY enjoyable meal. 🙂
Aaron came over for dinner, so that made enough for two full plates – and enough leftover for me to have for lunch today too. So easy!
Aaron REALLY enjoyed this meal, but he loved the dinner I cooked last night even more. 😉 I’ll show you that one next…
My MyFitnessPal Diary for Saturday
How I Have MyFitnessPal Set Up with Net Carbs
My Low Carb Meals on Sunday
Sunday morning was an easy coffee & eggs with the latest Shape Magazine…
I had 3 eggs scrambled in real butter with colby jack cheese.
For lunch I had a delicious Low Carb dessert. 🙂
Confession: I test most of the products I review for you… on Aaron first. Why? Because he’s a label-reading, gluten free, ketogenic low carb, preferably organic, mostly pescatarian kind of eater that is very picky about what he eats.
He’s a handsome health nut. 🙂
Plus my own tastes and preferences are sometimes different than his, so I like to get a second point of view when trying new things.
He was here yesterday, and I knew he loved the Peanut Butter Keto Kookies because I made this dessert plate for him before using a ChocZero dark chocolate dipping cup to drizzle chocolate over the top.
This time I decided to use the ChocZero Chocolate Syrup instead, to test it out and compare the two – and of course get Aaron’s feedback.;)
It was a lot thicker than I expected it to be. More like a thick chocolate fudge sauce actually. It’s a squeezable bottle though, with a small hole in the lid – or you can remove the lid to measure out more in a recipe or something.
Unlike their dipping cups, the ChocZero syrup didn’t harden up like Magic Shell but rather stayed thick and fudgy. I drizzled it over Peanut Butter Keto Kookies topped with cream cheese & peanut butter:
This calls for an explanation, because I’ve been asked this before…
I’m not much of a snacker, or someone who just “eats cookies” or whatever. So if I’m going to eat a cookie, I usually make a “meal” out of it. 🙂
You can see the consistency of the ChocZero Syrup better here:
I made another VERY easy low carb meal for dinner last night…
This one would be considered a Pescatarian Low Carb Meal, or easily Low Carb Vegetarian without the shrimp. But of course delicious for anyone!
I made the roasted broccoli & cauliflower again. It’s quick, easy and always a great low carb side to any dish.
I sauteed Broccoli Slaw in real butter, leaving it just a bit firm & crisp. You can find it already made in the produce section of Wal-Mart or Kroger. It’s 2 net carbs per serving, even with the carrots in it.
The frozen shrimp was thawed first then seared quickly in real butter with the Sweet & Savory Seasoning, and served over the broccoli slaw.
And just to round off the meal with a little “filler” and more fat & protein, I made up a few Low Carb Cheddar Biscuits which were sort of like a cheesy cornbread cake.
They didn’t come out as fluffy as my biscuits normally do for some reason. Here’s the Low Carb Biscuit Recipe. As you’ll see there, you can get creative and add anything to them you please. 🙂
Here’s the roasted veggie side again, which went in frozen and came out perfect – just like usual. This low carb side is hard to screw up.;)
My MyFitnessPal Diary for Sunday
The ChocZero Chocolate Syrup we tried came in the January Keto Krate box this month, along with 7 other low carb foods to try (8 products total):
Below is another image to show you more of what’s in this month’s box.
They are shipping this same box next business day right now, so you can still get it if you sign up before they run out.;)
I hope this gives you some ideas & inspiration for new low carb foods or meal combinations to try. I mentioned last weekend I was “food bored” so I mixed it up a little this weekend.
I’m trying to decide how I want to use the ChocZero Syrup. I have two flavors of it now (the other is Maple Pecan, and Aaron suggested we try to make a low carb pecan pie with that) – and a few more I’ll be reviewing soon.
I’m most excited about their Peppermint Syrup! Anyway, first I have to figure out some recipes or ideas now that I know they’re thick and fudgelike.:) Thoughts & suggestions??
Our Discount Codes
I have coupon codes for ChocZero, Keto Kookie and Pili Nuts. I try to score those for you every chance I get! If I don’t have a coupon code, you can sign up by email at any site I link to to get any current discounts or specials they’re offering…
Keto Kookie – code: LOWCARBTRAVELER
ChocZero – code: TravelingLowCarb
Pili Nuts – code: LOWCARBTRAVELER
How are things going with you?
Don’t forget to weigh-in here, or in your comment below…
Leave a comment and let’s chat!:)
Best,
Lynn Terry,
aka @LowCarbTraveler
Discount Code: LOWCARBTRAVELER
Caryn says
What’s the net carb count per large egg?
Lynn Terry says
Hi Caryn π
Eggs are .4 carbs each – almost half a carb each – so you count two eggs as 1 carb, or three eggs is 1.2 carbs, 4 eggs is 1.6 carbs, etc.
Chung says
I gained .5 for the second week. Still eating correctly, don’t know what happened.
Lynn Terry says
Hi Chung π
That can be normal actually. How much did you lose in the first week?
And you only weigh yourself first thing in the morning right after you pee, correct? Any other time of day will give you an inaccurate weight, as your body weight fluctuates naturally throughout the day, even an hour after being up & around.
Also, how are you tracking? Happy to help!
Chung says
Hey Lynn,
I lost 7.? lbs the first week. I only weigh in the morning after I pee. I’m tracking everything in mfp. This week, so far, I’ve lost less than a lb. I’m not upset about it. I’ve hit plateaus before that were miserable! This was just a bump in the road. I’m ketoing on!
Lynn Terry says
Ah, yes – that’s totally normal actually. Seven pounds in one week is a lot of weight to lose, and so in week 2 and/or week 3 your body “holds” while it adjusts to such a fast loss.
That happens to all of us. π Just keep doing what was obviously working the first week – and power through it. Your body will adjust accordingly as part of the normal weight loss trend! *cheers*
Leslie says
Hi Lynn, I have been following your blog religiously since I found it a couple months ago. Every food you have suggested has been aaah-mazing! And it has made my keto life so much easier and tastier! My blood sugar never corrected after having gestational diabetes with my fourth child and so I was kind of forced into this lifestyle and I have had some struggles, but your food reviews have been so helpful! Because you are so honest and help me not to waste money by buying crap just because someone got paid to say it is good! Anyways, I just wanted to thank you! And to ask you if you have any tips on how to eat keto/low-carb without breaking the bank? And also what would be your FAVORITE easy cookbook? If you have one π . Thanks again for your blog! Love it!
Lynn Terry says
I’m so glad to hear that, Leslie! Finding GOOD low carb products, and replacements for foods I used to go off plan for (which totally threw me off track and back to binge eating π ack!) has been my SAVE on this journey. π
For the most part I keep my meals very simple. I also make sure to eat “keto” (20 net carbs max, 70% fat minimum) to stay in ketosis – both for weight loss, but also to stay out of chronic pain and increase energy too. Anyway, that’s a natural appetite suppressant, being in ketosis – so you naturally eat less food.
I eat A LOT less than I used to, so what used to be one meal makes two or three meals for me now – which helps with the food budget & grocery bill. π
I eat simple meals/foods most of the time – eggs, pecans, chicken thighs are better and cheaper than breasts (breasts are zero fat & all protein), etc. That plus eating less, and not binge eating gives me a little room to indulge in nice treats sometimes.
You want to keep the treats as … treats, and not part of your daily lifestyle too.
Oh – and I buy frozen berries and frozen vegetables. That way I can use what I want (only) and they don’t go bad on me if I can’t eat them all fast enough. I catch frozen vegetables on sale and stock up – but they’re inexpensive already, and have the same nutrients as fresh produce.
Leslie says
Thank you for the tips π
Especially on the frozen fruits and veggies – that is a good idea! Hate when stuff goes bad or I feel like I have to eat a bunch of something so it doesn’t!
Lynn Terry says
Me too – and you’re most welcome! π *cheers*
Leslie says
I know this post is from a few days ago, but I made the shrimp and broccoli slaw dinner the other night and it was delicious! And everyone loved it and ate it! (I have four kids and a picky husband so it’s about close to a miracle). And wow broccoli slaw is so much easier (and better in my opinion) as a noodle alternative than trying to make zucchini noodles! I’m using it for everything! Thanks so much for posting!
Lynn Terry says
Hi Leslie π
I’m so glad you enjoyed the broccoli slaw! It’s one of my favorites. π It makes great cold salads, great stir fry dishes, and a great base for just about anything you might want to top it with. π Enjoy!!