Low Carb Pantry

The pantry that I used to cook from has gone through some adjustments in the last few months. The following shows how I started with my standard pantry set up, took out the high carb food, and added some nutritional foods.  Also no high fructose corn syrup or nitrates allowed.  Items taken from the pantry are crossed off and the new items are in bold. As you can see the changes are small, but, believe me,  have made a significant difference. I admit I am still learning.

Basics of the Low Carb/Fresh Hand Me Down Pantry

Tomatoes

• Whole
• Crushed
• Diced
• Rotel (diced tomatoes with green chilies)
• Paste
• Sauce

Beans

• Black
  
•  Great Northern (white)
• Chick Peas (bean or pea, what will it be?)
• Kidney
• Red
• Rice
• Brown
• Parboiled (Uncle Ben’s)
• Brown Instant
• Potatoes-Whatever you like
• Pasta- Whole Wheat or one with extra fiber and protein
• Penne
• Spaghetti
• Lasagna noodles
• Egg noodles

Soups/Broths

• Chicken/Beef broth
  
• Cream of mushroom
• Cream of chicken

Fresh Herbs (These grow in my yard and in pots on my patio . I just snip and go.)

• Cilantro
• Parsley
• Basil (plant a few so we can make pesto in the summer)
• Oregano
• Sage
• Chives
• Thyme
• Mint
•  Rosemary
•  Dill

Dried Seasoning and such- I prefer fresh but that isn’t always possible.

• Oregano
  
• Cumin
• Garlic Salt
• Black pepper
• Salt-Kosher and Sea
• Paprika
• Tarragon
• Chilli powder
• Onion Powder
• Garlic Powder
• Crushed red pepper

Oils/Vinegars

• Olive
  
• Butter
• Ghee
• Coconut oil
•  Canola
• Sesame oil
• Rice vinegar
• Balsamic vinegar
• Apple Cider Vinegar (with the mother)

Nuts/Seeds- Raw and unsalted

• Walnuts
  
• Pecans
• Pine
•  Almonds
• Sesame seeds
• Pumpkin seeds

Veggies/Fruits (Many other fresh fruits and veggies are brought home in season. These are always in the house as a basic pantry set up. Organic when possible.)

•  Mushrooms
  
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Zucchini
• Kale
• Carrots
• Romaine
• Green beans
• Artichoke hearts
• Jalapenos (fresh and in jar)
• Celery
•  Bell peppers (all colors)
• White/red/green/yellow onions
• Corn (fresh and frozen)
• Peas (fresh and frozen)
•  Lemons/limes
• Berries (fresh and frozen)
• Apples
• Bananas
• Avocados

Dairy

• Shredded Block cheeses; cheddar, parmesan, jack, swiss…..(shred it your self and stop eating caking agent)
  
• Feta
• Parmesan
• Blue cheese
• Mozzarella
• Cream Cheese
• Sour Cream
• Milk/Cream
• Greek yogurt
• Cottage cheese
• Almond Milk

Protein

• Ground meats (beef, turkey etc.)
  
• Sirloin
• Flank Steak
• Pork Chops
• Chicken Breasts- whole and skinless/boneless
• Fish (whatever looks good and is on sale; tilapia, salmon, shrimp are always in my freezer)
• Cold cuts/Bacon-Nitrate free
• Nut butter

Other essentials

• Spaghetti Sauce (no high fructose corn syrup and only if you know what all the ingredients are)
  
• Salsa
• Sriracha
• Olives
• Honey
• Horseradish
• Sun dried tomatoes
• Ketchup (no high fructose corn syrup)
• Mustard (So many choices. I keep Dijon, yellow, stone ground)
• Blue Corn chips (because you can’t make crunchy avocado salad without them)
•  Worcestershire sauce
• Coconut Water and Milk
• Whole Leaf Aloe Vera Juice
• Chia Seeds
• Mayo (no high fructose corn syrup)

Baking

• Flour
  
• Sugar
• Oatmeal
• Almond Meal
• Coconut Flour
•  Flax Meal
• Garbanzo Bean Flour
• Turbinado sugar
• Apple Butter

That’s it! Now let’s get cooking. I will add recipes to the homepage and on the Low Carb Pantry page.  There are many, many recipes that can be made from these ingredients.

 

Skid Marks Across My Blog

Blogger Slacker

The second I realized what blogging was, I wanted to do it.  That is because I always wanted to write, but all my early attempts started with great passion and soon fizzled out as I got lost in the details of describing scenes, facial expressions, etc. Oh the details.

He looked at her longingly while the steam from his nostrils rose up into the cold night sky.

UGGGG painful.

Blogging was brief, to the point, and topic specific. It was made for me. Short bursts of energy expended on a passionate topic. I found my thing for sure. I blogged religiously for 4 months and picked up a small, slightly disturbed following (Just kidding you guys!). I took pictures. I tested recipes. I gave advice. I responded to all comments. I stayed true to my mission (beach houses and comfort food) and my audience. Then one day last May I just forgot what I was talking about. I soon developed a very serious case of blogger block. I tried to break it by just putting up a post. Desperation set in when I decided a picture with a caption would be good enough. Anything to just POST SOMETHING!

I thought, “Come on! A cat, a dog, a kid, everyone likes pictures of those. Take a picture of you cat and put it on your damn site!”

 It was exhausting just trying to choose the right photo. What was my purpose? Where had it gone? I wallowed around trying to recommit by reading past posts.  I scoured other more successful blogs to see why everyone liked them so much and to get inspired. But inside I kept trying to remember why I started the blog in the first place. Nothing worked. So I became a blogger dead beat.  It’s a very common tale. You would know this if you ever tried to start a blog by searching for an available name on a blogging site. All the good ones are taken. I had excellent ideas for my blog, and discovered that they were all taken, as was every variation and random spelling.  I went to those sites that had taken my idea to see what they were up to with my title, only to find that each person hadn’t blogged for 8 or more years and only had one post! The true blogger deadbeat, take a great name and then leave it lingering on the web for all to see how apathetic, and afraid of commitment you really are!

Coincidently I turned 48 at about the time that I developed “blogger block” along with a new crop of grey hair, a belly that was bigger than Dr. Oz said it should be, and a textbook case of acid reflux.  The pounds began to creep on as I told myself that I would take them off in the summer when I was less stressed. Well, each year I found myself looking at a backside that I didn’t recognize and a belly that I have now begun to disguise with flowing sweaters that hang down and cover everything. You know the ones. You put on an outfit and then cover it with a long flowing sweater thing. So abandoning my blog gave me time to read and research. Great! I had a new passion. I read everything on eating, wellness, spirituality, healing, parabens, and carbs. On New Year’s Eve, I declared that 2013 would be the year of “cleaning up.” Clean my diet, my closets, and get back to simplicity. I dug into more books, watched every show on weight, age, and exercise, spent hours on the internet, developed an obsession for the show “The Biggest Loser,”  Trader Joe’s, and discovered Pema Chodron in the stacks of my local library. (She wasn’t actually in the stacks, but her books were there.) She introduced me to meditation and dealing with my shenpa.

I would really like to live another 50 years or so. I now have decided to take everything I have learned about carbs, insulin, fat, coconut oil, almond flour, yoga, and shenpa and put it into action. Have I tripped onto the key to life by kicking carbs and artificial ingredients? Will this blog survive with a change in focus to low carb eating habits and away from some of the pantry recipes?? My pantry doesn’t look like it used to, but my flip-flops are still longing for the beach and I have many new recipes and ideas to hand down. Life is an evolution. So healthy, low carb comfort cooking on island time????? We will see.

Sunset On The Gulf

Photo by Zach W.

Beach Christmas

Here are the photos of our beach theme Christmas tree. I also found these great lanterns that add a beach touch to the mantel.

Lanterns add a nice touch! Nautical and “Christmasy” at the same time.

I LOVE QUINOA

So some of you know that I have been into Weight Watcher’s Simply Filling plan lately. I have a blog on Weight Watchers called “Living Simply,” if you are a member. This is another great recipe that is simply filling friendly.

These little muffins are a great grab and go for breakfast. The original recipe came from Iowa Girl Eats.com. This version cuts out the cheese and are simply filling friendly. If you are working from the pantry set up, you should have quinoa and eggs. Everything else is up to you! Add 1 cup of any veggies and lean meat like canadian bacon. There you go!

Mini Quinoa “muffins”
2 cups cooked quinoa
2 eggs
2 egg whites
1 cup veggies (like shredded zucchini, mushrooms, carrots)
1/2 cup lean meat (or add another veggie like broccoli, or celery)
1 cup cheddar cheese (I omit this but may want to add for guests, or count the points for Weight Watchers)
1/4 cup parsley, cilantro, or chives
1/2 cup onion

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray mini muffin tins with non stick spray.  Mix all the ingredients together. Fill each cup and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

Meal Idea

1 cup of oatmeal with berries on top and 2 mini muffins. You will feel great all morning.

In case you were wondering:
I tried to make some in a regular sized muffin tin. They didn’t set up as well, and not as cute!

Grilled Chicken and Veggies

This is a great “I LOVE warm weather” dish. It smells so good when grilling and is easy after a day of hanging out at the beach.  If you don’t want to grill, you could do it in the broiler.

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts

2 bell peppers cut in chunks

1 red onion cut in thick slices

4 servings of brown rice

Chicken Marinade Ingredients:

1/3 C Balsamic vinegar

2 T oregano

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

2 T olive oil

1/2 cup water

Marinade for 1 hour or up to 24 hours

Brush veggies with 1 T of olive oil mixed with garlic or other favorite seasoning and throw it all on the grill. I put my veggies in one of those wire grill baskets to make turning easy. You could add mushrooms as well.  Serve with rice seasoned with whatever herbs you like. All of these ingredients are in the pantry set up!!! Enjoy and hand it down!!

Best Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce

I love comfort food!

This is the best sauce. I brown the lean ground beef the night before and pour all the other ingredients together in a container. Then in the morning, it is just a dump into the crock pot and go. Same drill as the Mexican Chicken Chili. Enjoy!!!
1 lb lean ground beef or turkey
28 ounces can of crushed tomatoes
8 ounces tomato sauce
6 ounces tomato paste

8 ounces fresh sliced mushrooms
1 onion chopped
4 cloves garlic pressed
1 T oregano
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper

Put it in the crock pot and cook all day. Spoon over hot pasta!! YUM!!

Simply Filling Shrimp Boil

Peel and eat shrimp is one of my favorite things.  Add some red potatoes and corn on the cob and you have a perfect coastal dish right in your kitchen, no matter where you live. Just roll up your sleeves and start peeling!

Shrimp Boil

2 lb shrimp

1/4 cup of  the granular Crawfish/Crab/Shrimp Boil ( you don’t have to use this)

1 onion quartered

3 ribs celery (dig into the middle of the celery and cut out the leafy stalks that you don’t use for anything else)

1 carrot cut in half (no need to peel)

1 T pepper corns

5 Garlic cloves cut in half

Salt

Bring all this to a boil and throw in the shrimp. Cook just until they are pink.

If you want to make a meal of it, add red potatoes first and cook until done. Remove then add the shrimp. You can break corn on the cob in half and throw in as well. I like to do my corn in plain salted water.

Throw all of this on a platter together and dig in. I made this last night, added some ribs and chicken wings for others.

For those of you cooking from the pantry set up; you don’t have to use the granular shrimp boil or the corn on the cob. Everything else is at your fingertips.

Keep Berries Fresh Longer

Hi Everyone!

So I keep berries as part of my pantry list. I put them in salads, oatmeal, and fat free greek yogurt. I picked up this great tip on Pinterest, tried it, and it really works.

Soak your berries in a vinegar/water solution. 1 part vinegar to 10 parts water.
Slosh them around and let them set for around 15 minutes then drain water, pat dry and put in a container in the frig. The berries will keep longer and won’t develop mold so quickly. The vinegar kills the mold spores.
I had some strawberries last 2 weeks as well as some blackberries. I hate it when I spend the money to bring home berries and in 3 days they have mold on them!

Sweet!!!!

So much for the bread basket

I think my cat was trying to tell me something…..”Hey, lay off the bread!”