Looking for a yummy, low carb, option for the grill this summer? Throw these bad boys on! Cut a slit in the jalapenos, clean out the seeds (or not), fill with cream cheese, wrap in bacon, and stick with a toothpick. I wear rubber gloves when cleaning out the seeds. Grill until bacon is done. I can never make enough of these. Enjoy, and hand it down!
Week Two Update
Week two went very much like week one, but I didn’t take a Freebee Friday. Carbs average was 75 g for the week and calories average was 1458. Remember, I am not counting calories, but feel they are staying pretty low because I’m not “dieting” and I don’t feel hungry.
What I did right:
What I learned:
Confessions:
Adjustments:
Yeah, I know. You cut out all the white carbs and are starving! What do I eat now? If you love snacking or are not sure what to serve at a party that you can eat, here is my go to appetizer. The deli meats are uncured. There is a variety of peppers, pickles, sharp cheddar, and some olives are hiding there too. Practically zero carbs and oh so yummy.
Mexican Beef in the Crock Pot
I have had this recipe for years and don’t recall who gave it to me. I am entering it into a cooking magazine contest that requires “spring crock pot recipes.” What is more springy than Cinco De Mayo?? Let me know what you think of it. Enjoy, and hand it down!
Put the garlic, pepper, salt, chili powder, and mustard in a bowl and mix together. This will make a paste. Spread both sides of the meat with the paste. Place in crock pot and cover with onion, tomato, and beans. Low for 6 to 8 hours or until tender.
Serve alone or with sour cream, avocado, jalapenos, cheese….whatever you like. If eating grains, you can serve it on a bed of spanish rice.
I have taken all the info I have read on low carb, real food, and being healthy and condensed it all down to these top 8 tips that are, what I hope to be, the key to weight loss and a healthy body and spirit. These are my 8 life changers. My plan is to put these 8 changes into action for 14 days. I have been playing with a lot of these ideas for a few months, but had yet to build a plan and experiment with all I had learned. I have especially changing the way I cook- little by little- so I had some recipes ready to go to start the experiment. You can find them under the low carb categories on the right side bar.
8 Greats For Less Weight (and a healthier me)
1. Begin each day by thanking God for your body and life.
2. EAT REAL FOOD that is yummy and satisfying; organic when possible. Drink lots of good water. Lean meats and lots of vegetables are key. Fruits, eggs, cheese, greek yogurt, nuts, beans, and good fats (butter, ghee, avocados, olive oil coconut oil, yum!) are in.”White foods” like potatoes, flour, pasta, rice and other grains, as well as cereals and other processed foods- all out! If it comes out of a container, all the ingredients should be recognized as a food, not a chemical.
3. Work out 30 minutes 4 times a week incorporating cardio, yoga and weights.
4. Take super enzymes, probiotics, one baby aspirin, milk thistle with 420g of silymarin, one shot of organic apple cider vinegar (with the mother), and vitamin C each day. Super enzymes and probiotics two or three times a day with meals.
5. Take some time to relax each day and shoot for 8 hours of sleep each night.
6. Keep carbs between 50-100 g a day for optimum weight loss. Mark’s Daily Apple for more on this. Watch the fruit. The carbs can add up. Berries are low in carbs. Eat plenty of protein and fats when cutting out carbs. You will not be hungry if you do this. Eggs, cottage cheese, and greek yogurt are a great way to get some quick protein.
7. Cut out nitrates (Found in cured bacon and lunch meats. There are great uncured alternatives out there.), BPA (found in cans and some plastics), and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and use natural products on the body that are free of parabens, sulfites, and chemicals in general as much as possible. I use coconut oil as a moisturizer and Neutrogena has some products you can find at the grocery store.
8. Use the “Lose It!” app to track calories, protein, fat, and carbs consumed.
Try it for 14 days and post your comments and progress. I will post some great recipes using The Low Carb Pantry items. Almond flour is my new best friend, cause sometimes I just want to eat something “muffin-y.” Check back in a week for my first update.
The Glycemic Load Diet by Dr. Robert Thompson is a great resource to get started and gain an understanding of carbs and what they do to the body. It was the first book I read on this topic, and then I couldn’t quit looking for stuff to read. At the bottom of the blog you can find the book in the GoodReads section along with other great resources. Wheat Belly is a great book too!
This smoothie is a great way to start your day. It is packed with nutrition and will keep you going all morning. You can get all the metabolism boosting, belly fat busting, rehydrating good stuff, in one yummy drink.
Ingredients
Put all the ingredients in a blender. I just eyeball the ingredients, dump and go. I use a very small blender, like a Bullet, instead of getting out the great big one. It is easy to use and clean quickly.
Why this is so great:
You can print the recipe here.
I once read an article about what we do to children when they come to school by destroying their self-esteem. The article pointed out an example of a child who loved to paint and his mother would tell him how beautiful his art work was and hang it around the house. When he got to school his art teacher never complimented him and often pointed out what was “wrong” with his paintings. Thus…he learned he couldn’t paint in art class.
I was reminded of this story when I attended my first Zumba dance class. Coming from a dancing (ish), cheerleading (ish), background. I felt like I could probably hold my own in an exercise dance class. Ha! Picture in your mind the scene from Seinfeld when Elaine dances at that party. That was me in class. The more I concentrated and tried to look cool doing the moves, the more ridiculous I appeared. Eventually I slid over to the side where I could no longer see myself in the gigantic mirror at the front of the room. My fantasies about being a good dancer and being able to keep a beat were shattered in the midst of “boom, boom” moves and jumping up and down while kicking out my feet. I am unaware of the name of that move, but picture the scarecrow in the wizard of Oz. This is how flexible you must be to do it. I left feeling defeated and soon realized I learned I can’t dance in Zumba class.
I did have a small burst of self-esteem when I saw that the teenager in the front row was also struggling with some of those cool moves. BUT just then I happened to dance/stumble my way back in front of the mirror and my thoughts returned to, “How in the hell did you get so fat? Is that really you?”
I hobbled home, got in the shower and stumbled to my bed where I spent the rest of the night staring at the TV. I was exceptional at that!
I shall stick to my 30 minute routine, treadmill, weights, yoga……in the privacy of my own home. Thank you!
Not Me!
See the woman in the back in red pants? I get her! In fact I think I identify a little with several of these women.
Our groceries is the best free app to share grocery lists with others. I have 5 lists that I share with my husband on our smart phones:
I hope to add Sprouts Farmer’s Market soon as a couple are being built in my area. Psyched!! We both add to the lists as we run out of items and when we go by that particular store the list is already made and available to whoever is there. Also cool: as one of us checks of items they are checked off the other person’s list immediately. So when we shop together we know exactly when one of us has snagged an item. We can get through a super big grocery store in 15 minutes when shopping together. Once I stopped at the store, pulled out the list to look and all the items disappeared from my list. Right in front of my eyes. Hubby had already been there. Sweet!
