What i 8 Friday (4/30) #lowcarb

Some fish with mayo, and splurged on about a dozen waffle fries but took my carb blocker first, FWIW...later had some cole slaw for a snack.

Yeah, that's all I ate all day...

Tomorrow - well, I guess it's after midnight so it's today now - is my mom's birthday. We're going to take her to lunch at Coyle's, a local landmark. I have a hard time resisting the homemade cinnamon raisin bread on the bar there, and usually don't even bother trying. I only go to Coyle's once every few months. We'll see how I do with it tomorrow :). The one thing about Coyle's is that, even back when I had more of an appetite, I only ate one meal when I ate there. Now that I don't have much of an appetite it will still be one meal but a smaller one I'm sure!

What I 8 Today + #lowcarb Coneysagna & Motzels Recipes

I had some string cheese that wasn't stringy and I didn't care for too much, so today I cut several of them in half (across) and then into 6 "matchsticks" per half - for a total of 12 "matchsticks" per 1 ounce string cheese piece. I laid them out on parchment paper, sprinkled with a little garlic powder, and put them into the oven at 325 until they got quite brown but definitely not burnt - I had to watch carefully after a certain point. When they came out they were delightful little crispy sticks, kind of like skinny pretzels, perfect for dipping or eating plain. GREAT, cheap'n'easy too!

The for supper I had some leftover grilled brats, and also an eggplant that was starting to look a little pathetic. I thought of making lasagna with eggplant noodles but decided to shake it up. I used the thinly slice eggplant like noodles, the chopped up brats for the meat, chopped onions, and SF canned chili sauce (9gN for the whole can!) with a generous amount of plain yellow mustard mixed in for the, well, for the sauce.

I made it like lasagna in my 9x12 anchor baking dish, and put it in the oven at 350 covered with foil for about 40 minutes, then covered it with shredded sharp cheddar and uncovered for the last 15 minutes or so - until the cheese got all melty and started to brown.

I served it with cole slaw I made earlier in the day with shredded cabbage, mayo, heavy cream, sea salt, celery seed, paprika (yes, my cole slaw is always pink - but I really love a lot of paprika in it!), and my sweetener blend...

I don't think I've mentioned my sweetener blend yet...it's just a half-and-half blend of granulated Splenda, and Ideal.

So it was a great supper, and great Motzel snacks earlier in the day, all cheap, all easy!

Pot Roast and Leftovers #lowcarb

Haven't had much to post, really. My appetite has been a little better but I'm still not eating as much as usual, so I haven't had much to write about.

Tonight I had a leftover piece of pot roast that I had done in the crockpot yesterday. It was delicious. I'd cut it into 4 oz chunks and cooked it 4 hours on high with heavily seasoned water: sea salt, onion and garlic granules, chili powder, and worchestershire sauce. It was tender and delicious! I served it with yellow squash medallions (frozen slices, tossed with olive oil and sea salt, sprinkled with parmesan, and baked at 375 for about 30 minutes - but I like fresh better than frozen!), and baked potatoes. For me, I just had the scooped out skins with butter; my 1YO grandson was more than happy to eat the middle! It was a one-meal day, as most days are lately, although I did have a small dish of SF ice cream as a snack as well.

Today I chopped a small onion and cooked it in bacon in my dutch oven until just translucent, then added 2 bags of rinsed/drained shirataki noodles; stirred until heated through, then added the leftover roast, cut into bite-sized chunks, stirred until heated through; added 3 cups reserved liquid from the crockpot and 1/2 tsp xanthan gum and heated to a boil, stirring constantly, until thickened. Added thyme, marjoram, parsley, and sea salt, then lowered heat to let it simmer for a while and the flavors meld.

Meanwhile in another saucepan I cooked up frozen brussels sprouts in bacon fat/butter, seasoned with onion and garlic granules and sea salt; once they were starting to brown a little bit I added just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan to about 1/4", covered, and lowered the heat to let them finish cooking until tender.

Right before I served supper I stirred about a half-cup of full-fat sour cream into the meat/noodles/gravy...and dang it wouldn't you know I forgot to add mushrooms! I really wanted some too. Anyway, it was a very good meal, with the brussels sprouts on the side, nicely coated with the garlic & onion almost like breading.

This made over half the dutch oven and there is plenty left for tomorrow's lunch!

The pot roast was 3.88# and cost right around $10. The noodles were $1.98/bag. Those are the only prices I can remember, although I could go back to my shopping post and look up the other things...but it's late, I'm tired, and I don't think it's that big a deal. I'm sure that both dinners and tomorrow's lunch together were <$20, EASILY. Definitely cheap'n'easy - and delicious!

What I 8 Fri/Sat #lowcarb

Friday was some leftover grilled pork steak and some cocktail-sized pumpnickel slices with SF jam at lunchtime.

Saturday (today) was a chicken leg and some spinach with italian blend shredded cheese and butter on it aerlier in the afternoon, and some dreamfields with butter and italian blend shredded cheese for supper. I'll probably have a little SF ice cream tonight, I'm hungrier for some reason dangit! :) But I know better than to ignore the signal...I'll eat everything in sight if I do!

Not Much Appetite & Eating Less - YAY! #lowcarb

I've been snacking more than eating meals lately, as I don't really want much food. Examples of "meals" might be a few slices of pumpnickel cockatail bread (bought several months ago, in case you're keeping track) with some full-fat cream cheese, or half of a grilled pork steak, or a few slices of cheese. We have some delicious SF ice cream in the fridge but it hasn't appealed to me.

I guess that's a good thing! When I don't feel like eating I don't eat; when I do, it doesn't take much to stop the hunger. I wish my body had acted this way years ago - lol!

Hangin' In! & Shopping Receipts

I don't have a huge appetite these days, so haven't been eating as much. More like a few snacks each day. As an example, yesterday I had some baked fish for breakfast, snacked on some veggie straws in the afternoon, and ate half of a grilled steak for supper.

Sometimes I have some Dreamfield's pasta with melted italian blend cheese and olive oil, and then a hamburger patty later.

And I have some receipts from this month. Here it is the 20th and I haven't entered any receipts yet! Here's what I bought so far, so you can keep up with the "cheap" part of "cheap'n'easy" low carb eating :).

1# Bob's Red Mill Low Carb Baking Mix @ $6.49
(this will probably last a year, I only use a spoonful at a time!)
3 boxes Angus Steakburgers (15 per box) @ $15.99 each
($1.06 per burger)
5# shredded cabbage @ $3.99
120 slices American cheese @ $9.99
(8c per slice)
4# brats @ $11.49
2.5# frozen whole green beans @ $2.99
(2) SF Chocolate Syrup @ $1.19 ea
(This stuff is gross, I don't know how I'll use it up!)
1/2 gal SF vanilla ice cream @ $2.29
(A different brand than usual, also gross, we threw it away!)
(1) eggplant @ $1.95
(2) quarts half'n'half @ $1.99 each
(6) Dreamfield's spaghetti @ 2.29 each
(2) daikons @ $7.95 total
(4) quarts SF Edy's SF ice cream, on sale for 4/$10.00
2# frozen shrimp @ $7.99 ea.
5# Koegel franks @ $11.49

And then I got a bunch of chuck roasts (which we slice into "steaks" and grill as such) and chicken leg quarters. The leg quarters were on sale for 79c/lb and the chuck roasts were $2.29/lb. The total for all of these was $46.38.

TOTAL - $179.39

We've done a couple of quick trips since; when I locate those receipts I'll add them. But this is the lion's share of this month's shopping. We still have a bunch of frozen veggies in our chest freezer in the garage, so we're not buying a whole bunch of those, and still have eggs and butter and olive oil.

That's it for today! :)

I'm Not Ignoring You, Really! But... #lowcarb

I've been sick. As in, quality-of-life destroying sick. I've mentioned that I have some physical issues before, and I'm not sure if what's been going on now is a new issue caused by the same conditions, or if something new is going on. Many days I am unable to do anything but just get through the day the best I can, and nights are...well, I haven't been getting much sleep either...frankly, things have been pretty bad between the pain and the other symptoms. Any one thing at a time would be more than enough to handle, but several at once...

But, lest I sound gloomy and doomy, God is on His throne, there is help in sight (at least some insurance starting next month so I can get help, provided by a Christian couple who felt led to help me, praise God for them!), my spirit is alive and well, and most days my sense of humor is intact :). What this means for low carb eating and shopping is just that I'm not 100% on my game. I haven't been able to do a whole lot of shopping or cooking for myself, and while 90% of what I eat is definitely low carb, 10% or so is not - it may be a good thing that I'm not able to eat like I'm used to in this case! But frankly I am so thankful for a husband who takes such wonderful care of his wife and my pets and our home when I'm unable, that I'd rather gain back a few pounds than criticize his wonderful attention and loving care. In times like these we do the best we can, and praise God for the many blessings!

I do have several receipts from a couple of short shopping trips either my husband or I have made so far this month, that I will get posted yet. Meanwhile, I ask my brothers and sisters in Christ to please storm the throne of grace on my behalf, and I will continue to update as I can :).

Resurrection Day Weekend - What I 8 #lowcarb

Saturday I didn't eat much. We grilled some steaks, I 8 half of one, and then some yogurt for a snack later.

Resurrection Day I made a lovely pork roast in the crockpot with SF apple drink mix (like Crystal Light but a store brand), Liquid Smoke, sea salt, and water. With it I served a loaf of sourdough bread (I split a slice with my mom), roasted cauliflower and broccoli, and whipped spiced sweet potatoes.

My original plan was to make my own low carb rolls. But (a) I've been in so much pain that I minimize my time on my feet, and (b) there was a lovely loaf of sourdough for $1.50 on the day-old rack at the store. So I opted for that. After wrapping it in foil and warming it in the oven, it was as good as fresh!

For the sweet potatoes, I boiled 5 medium ones, then whipped them with cream, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, a Tbsp of molasses (16g carbs), and a 2T of Ideal - my favorite granulated sweetener these days. They were superb!

I was going to make a SF gelatin-based dessert as well, but we all decided it wouldn't be necessary; we weren't big dessert eaters when I was growing up, and I never got into the habit of making desserts. They're just for special occasions...but after the sweet potatoes nobody really would have wanted another sweet food anyway.

Today will be leftovers - an easy day :).

For the "cheap" - roast was 3.37# for $2.34 ($1.29/lb, marked down $2); bread was $1.50. Sweet potatoes were 59¢/lb, I made just shy of 3#. Vegetables (1/2 bag each from big GFS bags) were about $2.50. Small amounts of seasonings, butter, olive oil and whatever I'll count as a dollar, since I did use the butter (1/2 stick for 25¢) and cream (1/2c for 40¢) in addition to some olive oil (2T for 12¢), molasses (1T for ? - I've had it in the fridge forever and have no idea what I paid for it)...well, we'll just add a buck for all of that.

So. Resurrection Day dinner for 4 adults and a toddler for under $10.

Definitely qualifies for not only Cheap'n'Easy, but also lovely, imperssive, and delicious!

Here's a photo of the dinner. That roast looks kinda puny and lonesome in the dish, but it looked much better once I sliced it...probably should have waited to take the picture, huh? Probably should have moved my flavored water bottle out of the picture too...oh well, I never claimed to be a great photographer :).

Low Carb Ain't Always Low Carb #lowcarb

When I was first learning about low carb eating, before I even started (I researched for 2 years before taking the plunge) I remember getting cook books from the library to see what I would be eating, were I to actually try that WOE, and I remember thinking, "This might not be so bad. I can still have sugar and flour..." Say WHAT???

Yeah. There are a lot of recipes out there that label themselves low carb, and in the broadest sense of the word I suppose they could be considered thus. After all, 8g/serving isn't much, right? And in my naivete I believed that all there was to low carb eating is counting carbs. Of course, as most of us do, I later learned that, just as all calories aren't created equal, neither are carbs.

So to this day, I really resent when a low carb claim is made for foods that are misleading to those who know that the whole point is insulin response, and it doesn't take many grams of some types of carbs to have an impact.

So even after 6 years following low carb eating, it's a sore point with me when I pick up a low carb cookbook at a thrift store for 59¢ because it seems to have some rather interesting recipes in it, and read, "1/2c all-purpose flour...3/4c sugar..." or tune into a YouTube "low carb" recipe video and see a woman and her little girl dumping sugar into a bowl.

In its purest sense, eating low carb is about good health. It isn't about seeing how many insulin-spiking foods you can get away with in a recipe, if you just make the serving size small enough. And we know that sugars and starches are unhealthy. So why...???

So the little cookbook is in the trash, and certain YouTube producers are on my mental "ignore that one!" list. And life goes on...with one more rant out of the way :).

What I 8 Friday (4/2/10) #lowcarb

I munched on some bacon in the morning, and had a grilled burger and a grilled hot dog in the afternoon. For an evening snack I had a couple more grilled hot dogs, with just a little SF ketchup.

I'm not a fan of hot dogs, usually. But put them on the grill and let 'em go until they are crispy and starting to get black and I'm a sucker for 'em. Grilling season in our house means the Koegel franks in the skins - oh yeah, baby! (Yes, there is a gram of sugar in each one, and I'm not thrilled about the sodium nitrate either...it's a choice we each make for ourselves.)

Today will be steaks on the grill early in the day, and something light later. I'm about to go have some of the heavy-cream-yogurt I made a few days ago. Very thick, thicker than pudding, and oh-so-decadent tasting!

Eating mostly fats and proteins I don't get hungry very often, and definitely don't get that gnawing "gotta eat NOW!" feeling.

What I 8 Today (4/1/10) #lowcarb

coffee with heavy cream, bacon in the morning

grilled chicken and a couple bites of buttered corn in the afternoon

fried hamburger with mayo in the evening

Easily less than $5 for the day but it's late and I don't feel like doing the math :).

What I've Been Eating...not much! #lowcarb

First, I've been sick. I went one day eating nothing at all (couldn't drink much either), and another day I didn't eat much. Then yesterday I ate some leftover steak and some leftover pork tenderloin. And some popcorn, heavily buttered as always, for an evening snack.

Today I had eggs fried in butter for breakfast, and ate an early supper at Taco Bell...love their chalupas, even though I don't know how many carbs are in them. Had one of those and a double decker taco. They were worth it - the last time I had them were probably about 6 months ago - hardly a habit, and good.

For tomorrow I have chicken thawing.

We're also cutting back on vegetables and concentrate more on fats (mostly) and protein. The reason for this is that my gut issues seem to be more hair-trigger, and I'm having a hard time controlling the bloat; we're not talking about just little bloat, but can't-wear-any-of-my-clothes-because-my-belly-is-so-massive, terribly painful bloat. (Yeah, I know, Taco Bell isn't the greatest for that problem; I'm paying the price tonight!) So we're cutting back to basics, for a few days, in addition to my enzymes, to get this under control again, then I will start adding foods back in. But cabbage won't be on the list for a while yet :).