In my post on Low Carb Cooking For One yesterday, I mentioned that it’s been a boring food week. It’s definitely time for a trip to the grocery store to stock up on some more good low carb foods & snacks!
I’m craving a little variety. 😛
I’m struggling with the exercise, by the way. It’s been a big challenge to get into a routine, but I’m still pushing myself on it. More on that in another post…
Not having a good variety of low carb foods in the house, I got take-out a little more than usual this week. And otherwise just ate what I had on hand, which wasn’t much -lol. I think twice this week I had Classic Bone-in Mild Wings from Applebees, with Bleu Cheese Dressing.
Not so bad at only 6 net carbs, and definitely better than the Boneless Wings which are 58 net carbs.
Wings are definitely one of my “comfort foods” and I haven’t been at all unhappy with the switch from boneless. A little more messy, but that just means a little more fun in my book. 😀
On Monday I ordered myself a half dozen giant sugar-free chocolate covered strawberries from Shari’s Berries. Those arrived on Tuesday, and I’ve eaten four of them this week.
What a treat! It’s not something I would normally buy except as a gift, because they’re pricey. But I’ve been a customer for years, and just wanted to try their Sugar Free products to check them out for myself -to see if they’re as gift-worthy as their “with sugar” version. 😉
They were great, by the way! I had one with my breakfast of 2 Scrambled Eggs w/Cheese.
I had eggs for breakfast a couple times this week. Boring, plain scrambled eggs with cheese. It’s a quick easy meal, with easy clean-up, and I just didn’t have the time or interest this past week to get all jazzy in the kitchen.
This morning I’m snacking on Deluxe Mixed Nuts (2 net carbs per serving) and string cheese. Even easier, and NO mess in the kitchen. LOL.
Speaking of string cheese and bleu cheese, one of my easy low carb lunches was smoked sausage fried up in the skillet – dipped in my leftover dressing (from the wings) with a string cheese on the side.
I also made up a batch of my low carb cookie recipe and a batch of of the base for my low carb bread recipes. The dough keeps well in the refrigerator, so that made it easy to cook up just enough for myself anytime I wanted them.
If I make the base recipe for the cookies I can eat them plain, add sugar free preserves (I call them PB&J cookies), or even add chocolate chips if I have a sweet craving. Sometimes I make the low carb bread plain and add sandwich/pizza toppings, or stir in chopped ham & cheese (or spinach, etc) before I bake them.
On Monday night I had a big take-out salad topped with boiled eggs, grilled chicken, cucumbers & tomatoes, cheese etc. It’s a huge meal and one of my favorite take-out orders. 🙂
Another treat I enjoyed this week was a small chili from Wendy’s (15 net carbs). Topped with shredded cheese and “a dollup of Daisy” of course!
I’m on the hunt for a good (easy) low carb chili recipe, by the way. Now that the weather is cooling off, that’s sounding really good!
If you know of a great recipe (an easy one, remember! lol), be sure to share it in the comment section below. Thanks!
Yesterday I had 2 scrambled eggs for breakfast (again…) but then I had a fabulous lunch. We met some friends at O’Charley’s and I had my favorite from their menu – Cedar Plank Salmon with “loaded broccoli”:
Delicious!! 😀
All in all, I ate pretty good this week. Carb-wise I mean. Even if it was just take-out or whipping up easy stuff. But I did mention “cheats”, didn’t I? 🙂 Which brings us to dinner last night…
Dwaine and I went to a wedding late yesterday afternoon. It was a bit chilly for an outdoor wedding (we’ve had a cold front move through middle TN), but an absolutely *beautiful* event. And dinner was no exception.
They served Roasted Guinea stuffed with artichoke over mashed potatoes, with green beans and roasted tomatoes on the side – and a roll.
(I’d never had Guinea before, but it looked and tasted like chicken – with a lot less bones).
I took a few bites of the roll, and I even ate a few bites of the mashed potatoes. Neither really appealed to me, so I didn’t finish them – but for some reason I was tempted to at least try them.
I doubt those few bites blew my carb count for the day *that* bad… but the real cheat came after dinner -lol. Yes, I had a slice of the wedding cake! Not a traditional dry white cake, but a moist beautiful yellow cake with chocolate frosting. 😀 YUM.
The good news is, I REALLY enjoyed it – which is a rule for any indulgence in my book. 😉
I’m off to the grocery store to stock up on some better low carb options for the week ahead, and yes – I’m getting my walk in today! What about you, what did you munch on this week and how are you doing with your exercise goals??
Here’s the recipe I use, from 500 Low-Carb Recipes by Dana Carpender
All-Meat Chili
2 lbs ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, crushed
14.5 oz can tomatoes with green chilies
4 oz can plain tomato sauce
4 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon paprika
Brown and crumble the beef in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Pour off the grease, and add the onion, garlic, tomatoes, tomato sauce, cumin, oregano, cocoa, and paprika. Stir to combine.
Turn the burner to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Uncover and simmer for another 15-20 minutes, or until the chili thickens a bit. Serve with grated cheese, sour cream, and chopped raw onion, etc.
Yield: 6 servings, each with 7 grams carbs and 2 grams fiber, for 5 net carbs, and 27 grams protein.
Sounds easy and great! Thank you Ashley π
I made up my second package of the LC Pan Bread Mix. I really like this product. I make a big free form loaf by just piling the dough on a cookie sheet. The last time I made it, I swirled in lots of melted butter, garlic and sea salt because I was hungry for focaccia. This mix doesn’t need any extra fat, but I liked the garlic and salt. A loaf lasts me for a few days. Its really filling. I think I eat less when I have this on hand. I also made cookies from your recipe. They were very good. I like variety. These are great additions to my low carb menu.
I ate frozen vegetables this week, a rotisserie chicken from the grocery, cheese, and liverwurst.
I need to order some more of the low carb bread mix – really enjoyed it! I should try your style of cooking it too because that sounds really good. I’m thinking… add pizza toppings. π
Here is a low carb chili recipe from Peggy at Buttoni’s Low Carb Recipes. It looks GREAT but I have not tried it. Not cold enough outside yet.
http://buttoni.wordpress.com/2011/03/23/peggys-texas-chili/
Thank you Cathy! This week is National Chili Week π
Wow Lynn,
You seem to be on a roller coaster with this Low Carb Diet, well a bit of discipline is needed here both with keeping cuboard stocked plus exercise, I have a very easy one of those and I do 25 reps morning lunch, time tea time, and when undressing before bed, and it really works and that is
left knee to right elbow, and right knee to left elbow, be encouraged Lynn, you can beat the Procrastination bump. I did and have now lost, 38 lbs and 3 inches from my Gut.
Loving Life now off most of my Medication, only one tablet to go, and it will i’m determined to be completly free. you be Blessed Garry.
I don’t consider myself on a roller coaster at all. I ate good this week carb-wise, save the dinner/dessert on Saturday night. Nobody’s perfect π I’m certainly not beating myself up over it. I enjoyed it, then moved on and got back on track.
Congrats on your weight loss, Garry – and on the improvements to your health! Nice work!
I just subscribed to your site. It’s great! You are absolutely on the right track. I am back on the low carb bandwagon after falling off for a while. The last time I stayed on for 5 years. I got really thin then. I will be watching all your helpful hints! Here’s one that I just tried and liked: Lasagna made with eggplant instead of lasagna noodles. The trick is you have to dry the slices out in the oven or on the grill before layering as normal.
Hi Chris! π
So how long were you “off the wagon”?? I’ve had a few binges here and there recently, which weren’t nearly as enjoyable as I’d hoped they would be (lol), and got myself right back on track. It really made me realize how much I enjoy eating Low Carb, and even more – how much I enjoy losing weight instead of gaining or just standing still. So for that, it was a good thing.
Anyway, glad you joined us here! I look forward to hearing more from you. And thanks for the eggplant tip – I gotta try that one!