It’s hard to believe it’s been almost two weeks since my last update here! I was traveling last week, and then resting and catching up on work this week.
I shared my low carb meals on Facebook and Instagram throughout my trip and since I’ve been home, so hopefully you’ve been catching them there.
I had a fabulous time in Orlando! It was a work conference, but I got to catch up with friends and peers, and I also go to wear a few of my new dresses. 🙂 Including this fun green dress on St Patrick’s Day:
I ordered that dress on Amazon here. It’s very inexpensive, comes in navy & red too, and it is amazingly comfortable! The stripes are done in a way that creates an optical illusion – making you appear thinner and curvier in all the right ways. 🙂
Confession: I only pulled that dress off because I was wearing this Spanx undergarment, lol. It was worth every penny! I’ve tried a couple of cheaper knock-off brands that did NOT work, so I wore the Spanx 3 days in a row. Stay tuned – I’ll share my fun spanx experience with you in one of my next posts!
Sadly my scales did NOT move again before I left for my trip. When we left off, I was 153.2 pounds. Today I am up a bit at 154.8 pounds… but working hard to get back below 150 before my next trip – which is in less than a week!
I came home to empty cupboards, so I grazed & ate out for a few days, and finally went shopping yesterday to stock up on enough low carb groceries to last me until I leave again on Thursday.
Keep in mind I’m a single woman eating alone, and I tend to keep it simple. 😉
I got: chicken thighs, ground chuck, sausage & eggs, smoked sausages, mushrooms, cucumber, crumbled feta, pickles, turkey and cheese, bottled water, pecans, asparagus, cottage cheese, butter, etc – and I already had a variety of frozen veggies & berries at home.
I decided to cook a big meal last night, so I would have leftovers to last several meals. I like easy. 🙂 Here’s what I made out of the groceries I bought above…
It’s smoked sausages & sauerkraut, asparagus, roasted brussel sprouts & cucumber salad. I’ll share the details with you in a quick photo tour below.
Here’s how I entered that meal into MyFitnessPal:
I put the brussel sprouts in first, because they take the longest. I usually make them in an iron skillet but this baking sheet worked just as well. I just use olive oil, garlic salt & salt. Here’s the Easy Oven-Roasted Brussel Sprouts Recipe.
Next I made a simple cucumber salad. I make it up before I cook because it’s best served after “chilling in the fridge” a bit. That makes it sound sooo cool. 🙂 haha. Anyway, I just peel & dice one large cucumber:
After you peel & cube it you just add salt, mayo & crumbled feta cheese. It makes an easy low carb side to any meal! You can also add diced tomatoes – that makes it prettier if you’re planning to take it to a potluck or cookout. 🙂
I use a tablespoon or two of Duke’s mayo, depending on the size of the cucumber, and a couple tablespoons of crumbled feta cheese. When you salt the cucumber it “sweats”, so letting it sit in the refrigerator while you finish your meal will “thin it out” some.
Next I put the whole package of Oscar Mayer Smokies in a non-stick skillet and browned them up a bit – then added a can of sauerkraut and let it simmer together while the brussel sprouts crisped up in the oven.
These smokies are zero carb. They qualify as “low carb junk food” in my book, but sausages & kraut is a rare treat I enjoy!!
And finally, I put the Pictsweet frozen / steamables Asparagus in the microwave. They only take 4 minutes.
They come out kinda soft for my taste – I prefer my asparagus spears “crisp” so I didn’t end up eating them (I had too much on my plate already, lol). I saved them, and plan to roast them for my next meal – to crisp them up a bit. 🙂
Here’s how my plate came out:
I had the leftovers for lunch today. I just put the brussel sprouts under the broiler to crisp them back up again – and it was just as good as yesterday! 🙂 This was a super easy meal to make, and I love that it’ll stretch over a few meals for me. I’m all about simple!!
I would love to hear what’s in your grocery cart this week, and what kind of fun low carb meals you’re making. Leave a comment & let’s discuss. 🙂
Stay tuned too, I’ll share my beautiful meals from Orlando and more about my trip – and “my underwear” (spanx!), lol. I am SO addicted to my Spanx, but I learned a few things about them that I want to share with you before you decide on which model or brand to get for yourself. 😉 *cheers*
Best,
Lynn Terry,
aka @LowCarbTraveler
I am a new follower and absolutely love all your posts!!! Can’t wait to hear about the spanx. Been wanting to try them.
Thank you, Becky! π I am so in love with the Spanx brand, and the specific model I bought. I got it on Amazon here: http://amzn.to/1PjpA99 The sizing chart and reviews there were exceptionally helpful, because mine is perfect!!
I also bought two cheaper knock-offs, just to see if they would be just as good. I was shocked at the comparison. I’ll share my FAIL (lol) with those in one of my next posts. The pictures are scary (haha)… Spanx is worth every penny!
I LOVE Spanx!!! Sara Blakely definitely knew what she was doing when she designed them! I love your low carb menus and recipes, they makes going low carb so much easier (you do all the thinking and hard work) π
Thank you, Judy! π I’m so glad you find them helpful!!
That spanx post (and awful pictures, lol) is now online at: http://www.travelinglowcarb.com/10043/best-spanx-shapewear/ And yes – she is BRILLIANT! π
Thank you for your ides,someone told me I could cook cauliflower in some way and make it work like mash-potatoes,can you help me ,,
Hi Jenny,
You boil cauliflower until it’s cooked soft, then mash or blend it until smooth – adding butter and salt, and whatever else you like in your mashed potatoes (I like sour cream & cheese).
Keep in mind that it takes A LOT of cauliflower as it cooks down and then blending/mashing it makes it seem like “a little” – so make sure you track the actual amount of cauliflower you cook, plus anything you add to it. π
Thank you for your help,my Daughter IS D.S and she also has M.S so we are doing this together,I want to make things taste good for her.
I bought 2 spanks tanks at lane bryant several years back (they dont even carry the same ones anymore). I absolutely love them, very pricey but so worth it…lol…you are very right on with this one lynn…you get what you pay for when it comes to spanks !
Cant wait to hear your story !!
I’m so in love, and so hooked, I don’t even enjoy going without my Spanx now! π haha. It’s truly MAGIC!!
I wonder if you can find those discontinued tanks at Amazon or eBay? It’s worth a look!
Thanks so much for posting all your KISS meals me and my husband are about to begin this WOE and we really need things that are quick and easy to prepare.
Thank you Teresa π I’m all about EASY!!
If you need more ideas, you can browse over my photos on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lowcarbtraveler They are public, so you can browse through them even if you don’t have Instagram.
Love your shopping trip. There is not a thing in your cart that I don’t like! Thanks for showing us how easy this can be and that it’s okay to buy a few processed items for convenience sake!
I do love smoked sausage & kraut. π It’s “junk food” (the processed meat) in my book, but it’s an old comfort food I just crave sometimes. And of course it’s still low carb. π
I love following your ideas and meals..I try to stay around 10/70/20 macros, which seem pretty comparable to you; however, you don’t seem to have any issues when your fats and protein are higher than your goal macros. My scale simply does not move as much as yours does. I’m wondering if I should be less concerned about going over my fats and proteins. My calories usually range from 1400-1800 given the day. I’m 5’4 and 188 and desperately trying to lose another 20 pounds. I love this diet; however, it seems to consume me and whether or not I’m doing it right. I know that I MUST start throwing in some exercise so that will help I’m sure. Again, thanks for all your information! π
Hi Kathy,
I don’t exercise much – or haven’t – I’ve lost all my weight just eating low carb. π I’m trying to exercise more now specifically for toning though.
I keep it really simple: 20 net carbs max, 70% fat minimum. I don’t stress over the numbers, and don’t count calories. This makes it super easy: http://www.travelinglowcarb.com/7006/macronutrients/ A great read. π I often shoot for closer to 80% fat if I can, because I lose faster that way since my hysterectomy.
Thank you so much…I think I just need to keep overanalyzing everything. π