This is one that I could easily go hog-wild on if I didn't have a lot of self-control. Thankfully though, yesterday was my cheat meal (love the Friday fish dinners at the local eateries, although I got frog legs yesterday) and I'm always craving the low carb foods - meats and vegetables mostly - after a planned cheat meal. So today I ate a heap of pan-fried green beans (the skinny whole ones from GFS, fried quickly over high heat in butter and EVOO, seasoned with sea salt and onion and garlic powders), a couple of grilled Kogel natural casing hot dogs - nice and dark and almost crispy like I like them...and only a small serving of the mac'n'cheese.
Let me say from a "cheap" perspective, this wasn't as inexpensive as my meals usually are. That's because we really splurged on the Kogel's. No other hot dog is the same, so when we have some extra $ left in our food budget we buy a package of 24 for $9.99. At 40c/dog it's pricey...but we think it's worth it!
Back to the mac'n'cheese: I boiled a whole box of Dreamfield's elbows in salted water to which I'd also added EVOO (keeps the pasta from sticking), just until al dente as instructed, then drained it and returned it to the pan. I stirred in 1/4c butter, 1/4c heavy cream, 1/2c shredded colby-jack, 1/2c shredded italian blend, 1/4c parm from the green can, and a half-tsp of nice strong paprika which spiced it up a bit and also gave it a great color.
Obviously we have a lot left, and I will use it tomorrow mixed with ham and asparagus chunks in a casserole, topped with a little more cheese and baked. With a salad on the side it will make an amazing Sunday dinner too!
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Lovely Luscious Cinnamon Nutcakes #lowcarb #recipe
3 large eggs
1/4c heavy cream
1/4c almond flour
1/4c coconut flour
1/2t vanilla
dash salt
1/2t baking powder
1t cinnamon
1T brown sugar sub
Whisk first 2 ingredients together until they start to lighten up; add remaining ingredients and blend thoroughly. Scoop onto hot coconut oil-coated griddle; when they come easily away from the surface, flip to cook other side.
I put butter between them as I put them on the plate, and then SF syrup over the top. Very very rich that way and I don't eat a whole lot :).
1/4c heavy cream
1/4c almond flour
1/4c coconut flour
1/2t vanilla
dash salt
1/2t baking powder
1t cinnamon
1T brown sugar sub
Whisk first 2 ingredients together until they start to lighten up; add remaining ingredients and blend thoroughly. Scoop onto hot coconut oil-coated griddle; when they come easily away from the surface, flip to cook other side.
I put butter between them as I put them on the plate, and then SF syrup over the top. Very very rich that way and I don't eat a whole lot :).
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Brussels Sprouts COULD Become my Favorite Vegetable! (recipe)
Tonight's supper was excellent! I have a freezerful of pork tenderloin that we had sliced into 3/4" slices by the butcher. I fried a few slices on our griddle, greased with bacon fat, and seasoned them with just some onion/garlic/chili powders and sea salt.
I did a "seat of the pants" brussels sprout dish to go with them. Here is what I did.
2T bacon fat
1/2 red onion, sliced into "slivers"
about 30 thawed, previously frozen brussels sprouts, halved
1/4 tsp. nutmet
1/4 tsp. sea salt
2T balsamic vinegar
First I cooked the onion in the bacon fat until the edges started to brown, then I stirred in the brussels sprouts. When they were tender (and the onions were quite brown, like I like them!) I stirred in the remaining ingredients, stirring in the fat over high heat until most of the liquid had evaporated and there was just a couple of spoonsful of "sauce" left in the bottom.
These were AMAZING! And so simple, and so cheap!
Let me just say here that I have never been a fan of brussels sprouts. I would eat 3 or 4 with a meal but that was my limit. Tonight, I even had SECONDS! Really really excellent! :)
At 1.5gN each, that's a little carby. Add in the 4 gm carbs from the balsamic vinegar and the 5gN from the onion and we're talking about 55gN here. I ate about 1/3 of the whole amount, for maybe 20gN. The meat had a low amount of carbs from the seasonings also - but just over maybe 20gN for a meal - yeah, that's fine with me...especially for a meal that was SO GREAT!
I did a "seat of the pants" brussels sprout dish to go with them. Here is what I did.
2T bacon fat
1/2 red onion, sliced into "slivers"
about 30 thawed, previously frozen brussels sprouts, halved
1/4 tsp. nutmet
1/4 tsp. sea salt
2T balsamic vinegar
First I cooked the onion in the bacon fat until the edges started to brown, then I stirred in the brussels sprouts. When they were tender (and the onions were quite brown, like I like them!) I stirred in the remaining ingredients, stirring in the fat over high heat until most of the liquid had evaporated and there was just a couple of spoonsful of "sauce" left in the bottom.
These were AMAZING! And so simple, and so cheap!
Let me just say here that I have never been a fan of brussels sprouts. I would eat 3 or 4 with a meal but that was my limit. Tonight, I even had SECONDS! Really really excellent! :)
At 1.5gN each, that's a little carby. Add in the 4 gm carbs from the balsamic vinegar and the 5gN from the onion and we're talking about 55gN here. I ate about 1/3 of the whole amount, for maybe 20gN. The meat had a low amount of carbs from the seasonings also - but just over maybe 20gN for a meal - yeah, that's fine with me...especially for a meal that was SO GREAT!
Going to Church - OOPS! Posted to wrong blog...
I posted this to the wrong blog, it should have been in ChiaChatter...my apologies!
Monday, July 26, 2010
Still Plugging Along...
My eating habits are still not as usual, and probably won't be until my gut issues are resolved. When I'm hungry I eat, when I'm not I don't, and I am allowing myself more leeway as far as carbs: most days are less than 50gN/day - often way less. But some days may go as high as 100. As long as I don't gain weight I don't really care at this point. I just eat what I can, when I can.
It's strange how priorities change. In 2004 losing weight was my top priority, and my daily plans all revolved around that, and to accommodate meeting that goal. By the time I decided to stop losing weight, shopping, cooking and eating low carb was 2nd nature, and I didn't really have to think about it much...and that's how it's been for the last 6 years. I guess maybe that's why my way of eating has dropped lower on my priority ladder: it's become a no-brainer. Nothing special about it anymore, just our way of life.
Given this, however, with all of my gut issues has come some interesting changes. I am wanting - and eating - foods that haven't been part of my life for years. Such as grilled cheese sandwiches...sure they are great with Oopsie rolls as the bread, but with the amount of pain and fatique (pain in itself is very wearing, as so many can unfortunately attest!) Just as an example, I find it easier just to buy a loaf of low carb, or even moderate carb (pumpernickel) bread and use that. Sure, Oopsies are easy as heck to make, but minimizing pain by minimizing my activity and time on my feet has taken over as a priority now.
Cheap and easy is my focus, as it always will be. But "easy" is relative, and "easy" on my body vs. "easy" in the kitchen these days. Hence the priority shift.
Things in my kitchen will go back to normal when *I* am back to normal. Meanwhile, I continue to recycle the same meals and recipes that have served me so well and that I've already written about here, even though my definition of "easy" has changed (to what previously I would have considered "lazy" - lol), it's still all about cheap and easy low carb shopping, cooking, and eating :).
It's strange how priorities change. In 2004 losing weight was my top priority, and my daily plans all revolved around that, and to accommodate meeting that goal. By the time I decided to stop losing weight, shopping, cooking and eating low carb was 2nd nature, and I didn't really have to think about it much...and that's how it's been for the last 6 years. I guess maybe that's why my way of eating has dropped lower on my priority ladder: it's become a no-brainer. Nothing special about it anymore, just our way of life.
Given this, however, with all of my gut issues has come some interesting changes. I am wanting - and eating - foods that haven't been part of my life for years. Such as grilled cheese sandwiches...sure they are great with Oopsie rolls as the bread, but with the amount of pain and fatique (pain in itself is very wearing, as so many can unfortunately attest!) Just as an example, I find it easier just to buy a loaf of low carb, or even moderate carb (pumpernickel) bread and use that. Sure, Oopsies are easy as heck to make, but minimizing pain by minimizing my activity and time on my feet has taken over as a priority now.
Cheap and easy is my focus, as it always will be. But "easy" is relative, and "easy" on my body vs. "easy" in the kitchen these days. Hence the priority shift.
Things in my kitchen will go back to normal when *I* am back to normal. Meanwhile, I continue to recycle the same meals and recipes that have served me so well and that I've already written about here, even though my definition of "easy" has changed (to what previously I would have considered "lazy" - lol), it's still all about cheap and easy low carb shopping, cooking, and eating :).
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Stretching a Meal - Easy AND CHEAP! #lowcarb
One day last week I had planned steak with roasted vegetables for supper. Then my daughter asked if her friend could eat with us, and of course I said he could...though I'd gotten 3 steaks out of the freezer, cutting each into 4 chunks makes it easy to feed 4 people with 3 steaks. Then she asked if one of her girlfriends, who also has a toddler, could also come. So we were up to 5 adults and 2 toddlers for supper.
The roasted vegetables were no problem: I just added more to the baking sheet. I used cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, red & green bell peppers, and whole green beans - all simply tossed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and sea salt, and roasted at 425 until they just started to brown.
For the meat, I cut it into bite-sized chunks and seared it in just a little olive oil, then added a couple of cans of shitaki mushrooms and a couple of onions, cut into big chunks. Once those had cooked, I stirred in some garlic and chili powders, and some worchestershire sauce, and it was ready to serve with a big pile of vegetables, and some fresh tomato wedges.
We ate like royalty, on nearly double the amount of food I'd originally planned. The plates were beautiful and colorful, that last-minute addition of the fresh tomatoes added a perfect contrast to the hot dishes, and everyone had their fill, with enough left over for my husband to have an evening snack!
Best of all, the cost: I fed everyone for under $10! 2# of steak at $2.99/lb, a half-bag (2.5#) of frozen mixed vegetables at $1.50, 2 tomatoes were about 40c each, plus oil and seasonings. AMAZING!
The roasted vegetables were no problem: I just added more to the baking sheet. I used cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, red & green bell peppers, and whole green beans - all simply tossed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and sea salt, and roasted at 425 until they just started to brown.
For the meat, I cut it into bite-sized chunks and seared it in just a little olive oil, then added a couple of cans of shitaki mushrooms and a couple of onions, cut into big chunks. Once those had cooked, I stirred in some garlic and chili powders, and some worchestershire sauce, and it was ready to serve with a big pile of vegetables, and some fresh tomato wedges.
We ate like royalty, on nearly double the amount of food I'd originally planned. The plates were beautiful and colorful, that last-minute addition of the fresh tomatoes added a perfect contrast to the hot dishes, and everyone had their fill, with enough left over for my husband to have an evening snack!
Best of all, the cost: I fed everyone for under $10! 2# of steak at $2.99/lb, a half-bag (2.5#) of frozen mixed vegetables at $1.50, 2 tomatoes were about 40c each, plus oil and seasonings. AMAZING!
Friday, July 2, 2010
Lately, It's Been All About Comfort #lowcarb
Between my pain and digestive issues, and things that have been going on in my life, my diet has been all about comfort. Not weight loss, not macronutrient ratios, not even about balance. Just about comfort. There have been days on end when all I ate was pasta - Dreamfield's of course - with olive oil, butter, and the mixed Italian blend shredded cheese from Walmart. Other days, it was buttered toast, just store-bought lowcarb bread, which I wouldn't usually eat, but it's been about getting through each day, so many days lately, and just being able to eat has been a blessing.
One of the great things about the way I eat is that thick'n'creamy - REAL creamy, with real high-fat cream - is comforting and lowcorb both! And while many days I didn't want creamy, many days I did. And I could. Creamy-cheesy comfort...
Some days, though, I have prepared actual meals, as I always have, but nothing very inspired. We're still eating through the surplus of meat, seafood, and veggies in our big freezer, and have just had to fill in the gaps with dairy and fresh produce - nothing worth reporting. But overall, June was a month of very few, very small grocery bills, and not a single "big" shopping. That really lowers our net average for groceries.
So while I don't have a whole lot to report, I do want to tell you about yesterday's fantastic 15-minute supper. So good, it deserves its own post :).
One of the great things about the way I eat is that thick'n'creamy - REAL creamy, with real high-fat cream - is comforting and lowcorb both! And while many days I didn't want creamy, many days I did. And I could. Creamy-cheesy comfort...
Some days, though, I have prepared actual meals, as I always have, but nothing very inspired. We're still eating through the surplus of meat, seafood, and veggies in our big freezer, and have just had to fill in the gaps with dairy and fresh produce - nothing worth reporting. But overall, June was a month of very few, very small grocery bills, and not a single "big" shopping. That really lowers our net average for groceries.
So while I don't have a whole lot to report, I do want to tell you about yesterday's fantastic 15-minute supper. So good, it deserves its own post :).
Friday, June 25, 2010
Great Article - Save $$ on Meat! #lowcarb
I have been getting Mary Hunt's newsletter, Debt-Proof Living, for years, and have an enormous amount of respect for her, what she's accomplished, and how she is helping others to get out of debt quickly, and fairly. She has some great money-saving ideas in her daily newsletter, and if you click on the title above it should take you to her article on saving money on meats. It makes such perfect sense! This is how I shop (am I paying for bone? added water weight? fat?), doing the math as to whether the edible portions of a $1.29/lb roast make it a real bargain over the $3.59 leaner boneless cut...but having the chart that she links to will really be a great help and probably more accurate. I hope you benefit as much from this article as I plan to do!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
A New #LowCarb Player on the #YouTube Field
I think I've watched every low carb recipe video on YouTube so many times that I'd given up hope of ever seeing anything new. Not that I don't appreciate them all, of course! And I have so many favorites that I will never grow tired of watching! Somehow seeing other people make low carb foods is just really enjoyable to me even after 3-4 viewings...just the same though, the 'Tube was due for some new blood.
And last night I discovered FidgetForFitness. With all the zeal and enthusiasm of a new low carber she has been creating easy dishes and sharing them with us - nearly 100 videos (not all recipes, but still...) in just a couple of months! - and they look pretty darned good! I remember those days 6 years ago when I filled my kitchen with lowcarb ingredients and went to work creating, and it was so much fun! Well that seems to be where Fidge (an affectionate nickname, as I feel I know her after watching so many videos!) is right now, and it's almost as fun reliving it with her now!
I've already amassed my list of "gotta try" dishes, as well as a couple of questions that I will put forth to her eventually, but I'm so happy to have found new low carb blood on the 'Tube, and dishes that look easy and good, that I wanted to share :).
And last night I discovered FidgetForFitness. With all the zeal and enthusiasm of a new low carber she has been creating easy dishes and sharing them with us - nearly 100 videos (not all recipes, but still...) in just a couple of months! - and they look pretty darned good! I remember those days 6 years ago when I filled my kitchen with lowcarb ingredients and went to work creating, and it was so much fun! Well that seems to be where Fidge (an affectionate nickname, as I feel I know her after watching so many videos!) is right now, and it's almost as fun reliving it with her now!
I've already amassed my list of "gotta try" dishes, as well as a couple of questions that I will put forth to her eventually, but I'm so happy to have found new low carb blood on the 'Tube, and dishes that look easy and good, that I wanted to share :).
Friday, June 11, 2010
Stockpiling Meat #lowcarb (Comment on Another Blog)
If you click on the title of this post it should take you to Grace2882's blog, which I love! Today I read her post about stockpiling meat. I LOVE that idea! I guess I stockpile, since I load up on meat when it's on sale...at any given time I have at least a month's worth of meats in the chest freezer in the garage, usually more. But I don't to things as she does, with lists, plans, and menus, as I've written before. Rather, I tend to keep my own mini-low-carb-stock, as if I were stocking a personal-sized grocery, and choose my daily meals from that. I'm just not an ahead-planner.
Anyway, the reason I'm writing is because I was intrigued by Grace2882's numbers. If I'm reading it correctly, she spent about $70/wk for meats alone. She is happy with that, and that's great :). My budget, however, wouldn't allow $10/day for just meat - or even $10/day for everything. Granted, I do have the occasional day that is $10 or even more, but I can't do that on a regular basis for my husband and I (and he eats huge portions; what the 2 of us eat for supper would easily feed 3) and sometimes my daughter and her toddler son, plus my mom at least one day/week.
I think next month I will keep track of how much I spend just on meats. This month I won't be buying much (unless I see a big sale) because I have so much on hand at the moment. But because the focus of this blog is living lowcarb inexpensively, as well as easily, I thought I'd comment. I don't really know what others consider inexpensive when it comes to eating lowcarb, and it is interesting to find out and compare.
Thanks Grace2882, I love all of your menus, ideas, and information!
Anyway, the reason I'm writing is because I was intrigued by Grace2882's numbers. If I'm reading it correctly, she spent about $70/wk for meats alone. She is happy with that, and that's great :). My budget, however, wouldn't allow $10/day for just meat - or even $10/day for everything. Granted, I do have the occasional day that is $10 or even more, but I can't do that on a regular basis for my husband and I (and he eats huge portions; what the 2 of us eat for supper would easily feed 3) and sometimes my daughter and her toddler son, plus my mom at least one day/week.
I think next month I will keep track of how much I spend just on meats. This month I won't be buying much (unless I see a big sale) because I have so much on hand at the moment. But because the focus of this blog is living lowcarb inexpensively, as well as easily, I thought I'd comment. I don't really know what others consider inexpensive when it comes to eating lowcarb, and it is interesting to find out and compare.
Thanks Grace2882, I love all of your menus, ideas, and information!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Strange Food Day #lowcarb
I didn't want much lunch so I took a handful of frozen cauliflower florets and partially thawed them, just so I could chop them with my chopping blade. Then I chopped some leftover ham and sprinkled cheese on top, then heated it up right in the bowl. It was maybe a cupful if that...and very very good.
For supper I'd gotten out a couple of NY strips for grilling for Pete and I, and planned to maybe heat up some green beans in olive oil...but suddenly got a taste for some great Koegel franks in the casings. So we went to the local market and picked a few out of the meat case, and grilled them with our steaks. And had a salad on the side, with my own salad dressing (about 1/3c mayo, 1/4c SF ketchup, 2T Ideal sweetener, and 1Tbsp vinegar). What a delicious supper! A little unconventional maybe, but totally delicious!
For supper I'd gotten out a couple of NY strips for grilling for Pete and I, and planned to maybe heat up some green beans in olive oil...but suddenly got a taste for some great Koegel franks in the casings. So we went to the local market and picked a few out of the meat case, and grilled them with our steaks. And had a salad on the side, with my own salad dressing (about 1/3c mayo, 1/4c SF ketchup, 2T Ideal sweetener, and 1Tbsp vinegar). What a delicious supper! A little unconventional maybe, but totally delicious!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
What I 8 Today (6/9/10) #lowcarb
No appetite today so I didn't eat until suppertime. But dinner was pork rubbed with brown sugar sub, garlic, onion, and chili powder, and sea salt, then roasted. I also peeled a rutabaga and cut it into 1/4" strips, tossed with olive oil and sea salt, sprinkled with a little balsamic vinegar, and roasted, plus I fried up some brussels sprouts in bacon fat.
My stomach handled everything ok, even though I ate a full meal. As I wrote in my ChiaChatter blog, I am not fully convinced that my illness and pain is even in my digestive tract.
Haven't done any shopping in weeks, except for some half'n'half and a couple of other misc. things. Nothing major. We still have so much food in the house and in the freezer that I may not have to do a big shopping at all this month. It pays to stock up on food when it's on sale!
My stomach handled everything ok, even though I ate a full meal. As I wrote in my ChiaChatter blog, I am not fully convinced that my illness and pain is even in my digestive tract.
Haven't done any shopping in weeks, except for some half'n'half and a couple of other misc. things. Nothing major. We still have so much food in the house and in the freezer that I may not have to do a big shopping at all this month. It pays to stock up on food when it's on sale!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
