Counting down the final week of living on whatever is left from previous grocery shopping trips, 5 days to go until pay day, and groceries! (As I posted here, we chose to live this month without doing a typical shopping trip so that we could make a large purchase. The first few weeks weren't too bad as I do tend to stock up on things that are on sale; this final week is getting tougher, and this is day 2 of that final week, and how we are managing.)
Late morning Pete found a package of hot dogs and cooked them on the grill. I had some leftover sweet potatoes from Thanksgiving which I peeled and warmed up in some butter, tossed with cinnamon and SF brown sugar sub. Leelan and Pete ate their hot dogs on their plates, dipped in lowcarb ketchup; I ate mine on the last couple of wraps that I made a few nights ago. The guys also ate most of the sweet potatoes, I had 5 bites because of the carbs. But it was all enough :).
For supper we had an english cut pot roast and, as we frequently do, Pete sliced it across into 2 thin "steaks" which he then grilled. I prepared creamed spinach to go with it (frozen spinach, butter, full-fat cream cheese), and some CarbQuik biscuits to which I added a generous spoonful of french onion dip into the batter...and how delicious was that! (I only ate half of one but it was REALLY good!) It was definitely an adequate dinner, and didn't feel challenging in the least!
As the guys slept this evening, I watched episode 2 of The Buccaneers on Amazon Prime (on the new SmartTV that we bought this month), and made myself some popcorn - heavily buttered of course.
I'm out of half'n'half, and nearly out of decaf coffee - and I don't drink coffee without lots of cream. (I can't take caffeine since I got my wrap nearly a year ago.) So I've been drinking decaf tea mixed with some herbal and flavored blends. I boil water in my 4c Pyrex measuring cup, then steep 4 bags of tea in it. And I mix'n'match the bags that I use. This 4c of tea gives me 3 mugs of tea to drink, and when I'm not drinking coffee I can drink 6 mugs - or 8 actual cups - a day. I will need to buy another box of decaf tea bags I think but they're just 99c at Sav-a-Lot for 24 - MUCH cheaper than another can of decaf coffee so it won't cut too deeply in the $15 I have remaining until Friday. I already have plenty of herbal and flavored teas here to mix with it.
For tomorrow I got out a package of 4 chicken leg quarters. My mother will be visiting, plus with Pete and I and grandson Leelan we will consume 3 of those, with the last one being saved for one of Pete's lunches for work...I will report back tomorrow evening on how the day goes tomorrow :).
So far, so good, I think we're doing great in spite of empty-looking cupboards and freezer!
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Friday, November 25, 2011
When The Cupboard is Bare: #Lowcarb Challenge Day #1
So I had some ground sausage - mild - that I fried up and crumbled. It was a 12 oz roll - same price as 16 oz. but they take away 25% and think we won't notice. It cost me a buck during 10/$10 at Sav-a-Lot. Anyway.
Made up a batter with some CarbQuik, some carbalose flour (so it wouldn't be biscuits), milk (yes, I did say I had no milk - but I had water and some dry milk, of which I used about 2-3 Tbsp so we'll call it milk), and an egg. Mixed it well to a thick batter consistency - thin enough to spread, but just barely.
Put the crumbled sausage in the bottom of a 9x9 baking dish, and spread the batter over it. Baked in 350 until the top started to turn golden, I don't recall how long that took. Then I spread part of my last jar of tomato sauce over the top, and sprinkled the last of my shredded mozzarella on it. Back in the oven until the cheese melted and started to color.
It was really delish. Next time I will put more sauce on it. It wasn't dry, in fact it was quite moist, but I just wanted more tomato flavor. There was plenty of flavor from the sausage though, and the batter became fluffy and moist with crispy bits where the sausage fat mixed with batter on the bottom and edges. Quite filling as well which, when we're talking about an empty cupboard challenge, is a good thing! And my husband loved it :).
And so we made it through the day. That was our only real meal. Earlier I had had a piece of balogna between 2 of my flatbreads, with mayo, while Pete was sleeping. But now just 6 more days until payday, and groceries! :)
Made up a batter with some CarbQuik, some carbalose flour (so it wouldn't be biscuits), milk (yes, I did say I had no milk - but I had water and some dry milk, of which I used about 2-3 Tbsp so we'll call it milk), and an egg. Mixed it well to a thick batter consistency - thin enough to spread, but just barely.
Put the crumbled sausage in the bottom of a 9x9 baking dish, and spread the batter over it. Baked in 350 until the top started to turn golden, I don't recall how long that took. Then I spread part of my last jar of tomato sauce over the top, and sprinkled the last of my shredded mozzarella on it. Back in the oven until the cheese melted and started to color.
It was really delish. Next time I will put more sauce on it. It wasn't dry, in fact it was quite moist, but I just wanted more tomato flavor. There was plenty of flavor from the sausage though, and the batter became fluffy and moist with crispy bits where the sausage fat mixed with batter on the bottom and edges. Quite filling as well which, when we're talking about an empty cupboard challenge, is a good thing! And my husband loved it :).
And so we made it through the day. That was our only real meal. Earlier I had had a piece of balogna between 2 of my flatbreads, with mayo, while Pete was sleeping. But now just 6 more days until payday, and groceries! :)
Our #Lowcarb #Thanksgiving - The Day After
So all my plans for what to prepare went out the window. Except for the duck! I had $20 to spend and most of it went for the bird. Another 99c for a carby can of cranberry sauce (even better with duck than with turkey, IMHO!). Daughter brought sweet potatoes. There were 4 of us: Pete and I, daughter Casey, and her 2½ son Leelan. We'd planned to have my mom also but she didn't want to come at the last minute. (She has Lewy Body Disease and lives at a nearby nursing home.)
After buying the duck and the cranberry sauce I planned to fill in the rest of the meal with whatever we had on hand, which I'd had all figured out for several days. But then Thanksgiving morning, everything changed.
I had looked up instructions on how long to roast a 5½# duck, and learned it would be 4 hours. We'd planned a 12:30 mealtime (so that Casey and Leelan could also go eat with her dad later in the day, otherwise we'd have eaten later). So I got up early and prepared the duck and put it in the oven, setting the wrapper aside in my garbage bowl. I read it a little later, and it said 2½ hours - DARN! Then Leelan got up and started vomiting. Thankfully Pete got home from work, and dealt with all that, but the poor kid was sick over and over and over again...even with Pete taking care of Leelan, that added to the morning chaos. I still had to mop the kitchen and bathroom floors, so I got busy with that. Pete helped with moving things and sweeping since my back was already in bad shape. (Without pain drugs I couldn't have done anything at all yesterday!)
The floors got done, the duck got done WAY early, Casey got here with the sweet potatoes which needed to be baked (I would have had them in the oven with the duck, had my original plan worked out!). The duck sat in its roaster on the stovetop for an hour while I made the dessert and while the sweet potatoes baked. I forgot all about the rolls I'd planned to make, forgot all about the roasted cauliflower, and Casey forgot all about bringing a green vegetable. So I had a half-bag of frozen corn (which I keep for Leelan) that I heated up with butter. And I tossed some frozen green beans into a pan with duck fat and lots of onion powder, some garlic powder, and sea salt. The dessert turned into something much simpler than originally intended: I put a small can of pumpkin, a brick of cream cheese, a package each of SF cheesecake and vanilla pudding, a scoop of vanilla protein powder, a couple cups of cream, some brown sugar sub, and cinnamon/nutmeg/cloves into the mixing bowl of my kitchen aid and hit the switch. 5 minutes later I stuck it in the fridge, and voila! Pumpkin cheesecake pudding!
There were more carbs on the table than I'd planned too. I ate duck, green beans, cranberry sauce (my only carby food for the day, so sue me!), and dessert, and ate pretty much as I always do. It was wonderful to know that I wouldn't wake up the next day fearing the needle on the scale, and that I didn't exchange my thankfulness with gluttony. That felt seriously much better than had I made myself stuffed with gravy and potatoes and dressing and pie!
So did the dinner turn out differently than I expected? Definitely! Was it delicious and even amazing? Absolutely! Was the real meaning of the day - gratitude to God for His many blessings and care for us throughout the year - any less meaningful or evident because of the menu changes? TOTALLY NOT!
It was a good Thanksgiving :).
After buying the duck and the cranberry sauce I planned to fill in the rest of the meal with whatever we had on hand, which I'd had all figured out for several days. But then Thanksgiving morning, everything changed.
I had looked up instructions on how long to roast a 5½# duck, and learned it would be 4 hours. We'd planned a 12:30 mealtime (so that Casey and Leelan could also go eat with her dad later in the day, otherwise we'd have eaten later). So I got up early and prepared the duck and put it in the oven, setting the wrapper aside in my garbage bowl. I read it a little later, and it said 2½ hours - DARN! Then Leelan got up and started vomiting. Thankfully Pete got home from work, and dealt with all that, but the poor kid was sick over and over and over again...even with Pete taking care of Leelan, that added to the morning chaos. I still had to mop the kitchen and bathroom floors, so I got busy with that. Pete helped with moving things and sweeping since my back was already in bad shape. (Without pain drugs I couldn't have done anything at all yesterday!)
The floors got done, the duck got done WAY early, Casey got here with the sweet potatoes which needed to be baked (I would have had them in the oven with the duck, had my original plan worked out!). The duck sat in its roaster on the stovetop for an hour while I made the dessert and while the sweet potatoes baked. I forgot all about the rolls I'd planned to make, forgot all about the roasted cauliflower, and Casey forgot all about bringing a green vegetable. So I had a half-bag of frozen corn (which I keep for Leelan) that I heated up with butter. And I tossed some frozen green beans into a pan with duck fat and lots of onion powder, some garlic powder, and sea salt. The dessert turned into something much simpler than originally intended: I put a small can of pumpkin, a brick of cream cheese, a package each of SF cheesecake and vanilla pudding, a scoop of vanilla protein powder, a couple cups of cream, some brown sugar sub, and cinnamon/nutmeg/cloves into the mixing bowl of my kitchen aid and hit the switch. 5 minutes later I stuck it in the fridge, and voila! Pumpkin cheesecake pudding!
There were more carbs on the table than I'd planned too. I ate duck, green beans, cranberry sauce (my only carby food for the day, so sue me!), and dessert, and ate pretty much as I always do. It was wonderful to know that I wouldn't wake up the next day fearing the needle on the scale, and that I didn't exchange my thankfulness with gluttony. That felt seriously much better than had I made myself stuffed with gravy and potatoes and dressing and pie!
So did the dinner turn out differently than I expected? Definitely! Was it delicious and even amazing? Absolutely! Was the real meaning of the day - gratitude to God for His many blessings and care for us throughout the year - any less meaningful or evident because of the menu changes? TOTALLY NOT!
It was a good Thanksgiving :).
When The Cupboard is Bare: A #Lowcarb Challenge
Between November and March, we live on a single income. And we do just fine :). This year will be no different, when I look back on it in the spring, despite the present challenge...
When we went over budget to buy our new TV this month, I knew that the grocery stock would suffer, since we can't make cuts from our budget anywhere else. And as I've written in the past, I don't make menus and purchase according to meal plans when I shop; I keep my own stock of food on hand, and depending on what we're in the mood for on any given day, we "go shopping" in our own freezer and cupboards. I'm not talking about stockpiles as seen on Extreme Couponing, but we typically have enough food for at least a month's worth of meals, since I do buy a bunch of meat, frozen vegetables, dairy (cheese or butter, or anything that freezes well) canned goods, etc. when it's on sale. Whatever is on sale when I'm shopping - usually soon after payday - is what we eat the most of that month. (I don't plan my shopping around sales either, I go when we have the money. Although if the funds are available when there's a good sale on something I would use at other times, I will buy as much of it as I can.)
So this month I didn't do my usual big shopping to restock, and I didn't place my usual netrition order for baking supplies either. We put the $ toward our new TV instead, just picking up a little of this and a little of that as needed - a half-gallon of half and half or a pound of butter or whatever. And I spent $19 for Thanksgiving. I figured we'd simply clean up what's left from previous months' shopping this month. I have about $15 left for food between now and next Friday, payday. I don't see this as a hardship though, I see it as a challenge and an opportunity for creativity!
We eat a lot of meals. I typically prepare at least 2 full meals during the day for Pete and I - and grandson Leelan is here at least half the time also to eat with us - plus I make a lunch for Pete to take to work to eat during the night. Depending on when he's awake, he (and Leelan) will usually eat something in the morning after work, and sometimes I join them. Late afternoon is another meal for Leelan and I, and Pete if he's awake - that is our main meal. Leelan, when he's here 4 days a week (or more), requires a snack in between as well, since he's just 2½. (I also buy milk and juice for him but no juice this week.) Then Pete and I have our supper late in the evening, before Pete goes to work...or, if he was awake for the earlier meal, a lunch-sized snack. I can't plan because I never know when Pete will be awake on any given day, but I know I have to have something ready to make (thawed or whatever) to accommodate him. And Leelan, whose schedule isn't the same. And I just eat whenever, with whomever, since my schedule is the most flexible. Most days I don't plan anything for myself, but just wait until the next mealtime comes along, whenever that happens to be.
So far it's been going fine, and now we're coming down to the wire! Now is the time I need to get creative. We have a few 2-2½ bags of frozen vegetables, a couple of pounds of ground sausage, one pot roast, one steak, about 4-5 chicken leg quarters, and a few canned vegetables left. Pretty much out of decaf coffee (what I drink - hubby has enough regular for himself, I'll be drinking tea instead this week), half'n'half/cream/milk, most cheeses, bread-making supplies (I may be able eke out one more loaf this week for Pete's lunches). Down to our last dozen eggs, too. But this is the kind of thing I love, this type of challenge! I think I'll be able to feed us for another week, we may have some strange meals but we'll get through :). And I'll let you know how we do at the end. My $15 will probably buy us more eggs, some more tea (only 99c for that), and some whole milk - cheaper than cream or half'n'half plus Leelan can drink it - for using in other dishes as I figure them out.
WOOHOO, off to the races! :)
When we went over budget to buy our new TV this month, I knew that the grocery stock would suffer, since we can't make cuts from our budget anywhere else. And as I've written in the past, I don't make menus and purchase according to meal plans when I shop; I keep my own stock of food on hand, and depending on what we're in the mood for on any given day, we "go shopping" in our own freezer and cupboards. I'm not talking about stockpiles as seen on Extreme Couponing, but we typically have enough food for at least a month's worth of meals, since I do buy a bunch of meat, frozen vegetables, dairy (cheese or butter, or anything that freezes well) canned goods, etc. when it's on sale. Whatever is on sale when I'm shopping - usually soon after payday - is what we eat the most of that month. (I don't plan my shopping around sales either, I go when we have the money. Although if the funds are available when there's a good sale on something I would use at other times, I will buy as much of it as I can.)
So this month I didn't do my usual big shopping to restock, and I didn't place my usual netrition order for baking supplies either. We put the $ toward our new TV instead, just picking up a little of this and a little of that as needed - a half-gallon of half and half or a pound of butter or whatever. And I spent $19 for Thanksgiving. I figured we'd simply clean up what's left from previous months' shopping this month. I have about $15 left for food between now and next Friday, payday. I don't see this as a hardship though, I see it as a challenge and an opportunity for creativity!
We eat a lot of meals. I typically prepare at least 2 full meals during the day for Pete and I - and grandson Leelan is here at least half the time also to eat with us - plus I make a lunch for Pete to take to work to eat during the night. Depending on when he's awake, he (and Leelan) will usually eat something in the morning after work, and sometimes I join them. Late afternoon is another meal for Leelan and I, and Pete if he's awake - that is our main meal. Leelan, when he's here 4 days a week (or more), requires a snack in between as well, since he's just 2½. (I also buy milk and juice for him but no juice this week.) Then Pete and I have our supper late in the evening, before Pete goes to work...or, if he was awake for the earlier meal, a lunch-sized snack. I can't plan because I never know when Pete will be awake on any given day, but I know I have to have something ready to make (thawed or whatever) to accommodate him. And Leelan, whose schedule isn't the same. And I just eat whenever, with whomever, since my schedule is the most flexible. Most days I don't plan anything for myself, but just wait until the next mealtime comes along, whenever that happens to be.
So far it's been going fine, and now we're coming down to the wire! Now is the time I need to get creative. We have a few 2-2½ bags of frozen vegetables, a couple of pounds of ground sausage, one pot roast, one steak, about 4-5 chicken leg quarters, and a few canned vegetables left. Pretty much out of decaf coffee (what I drink - hubby has enough regular for himself, I'll be drinking tea instead this week), half'n'half/cream/milk, most cheeses, bread-making supplies (I may be able eke out one more loaf this week for Pete's lunches). Down to our last dozen eggs, too. But this is the kind of thing I love, this type of challenge! I think I'll be able to feed us for another week, we may have some strange meals but we'll get through :). And I'll let you know how we do at the end. My $15 will probably buy us more eggs, some more tea (only 99c for that), and some whole milk - cheaper than cream or half'n'half plus Leelan can drink it - for using in other dishes as I figure them out.
WOOHOO, off to the races! :)
Monday, October 31, 2011
Messin' With My TooGood #Lowcarb Wraps Recipe
I knew I couldn't improve on those wraps I made for camping a few weeks ago (if you click on the title of this entry it will take you to that recipe) but I was wrong. I am out of oat flour but had some rye flour which is only slightly more carbohydrate, but not enough per flatbread for me to worry about. Because I didn't want a really heavy rye flavor I also added an extra drop of sweetener.
OH YEAH, BABY!! Just sayin'....HAPPY MOUTH!!
(The oat flour I had contained 54gN/cup - the rye flour contains 68gN/cup...I used 1/2c, some in the recipe and some for dusting/kneading/rolling, and divided by 16 - 1.7gN vs. 2.1gN - the difference is negligible per flatbread.)
Everything else is the same. I'm thinking I need to buy a tortilla press though - or ask for one for Christmas. The standing and rolling out of them all is hard on my back...but WORTH IT! :)
Tonight we had hot dogs in my wraps (I had 2) plus I made rutabaga fries, tossed with olive oil and seasoned with onion and chili powders. Great supper!
OH YEAH, BABY!! Just sayin'....HAPPY MOUTH!!
(The oat flour I had contained 54gN/cup - the rye flour contains 68gN/cup...I used 1/2c, some in the recipe and some for dusting/kneading/rolling, and divided by 16 - 1.7gN vs. 2.1gN - the difference is negligible per flatbread.)
Everything else is the same. I'm thinking I need to buy a tortilla press though - or ask for one for Christmas. The standing and rolling out of them all is hard on my back...but WORTH IT! :)
Tonight we had hot dogs in my wraps (I had 2) plus I made rutabaga fries, tossed with olive oil and seasoned with onion and chili powders. Great supper!
#Lowcarb #Recipe: Creamy Savory Cabbage with Ham
I needed to make a dish to pass for a lunch at church earlier today, using what I had in the house. This is the result. Note that my husband and I were the only low-carbers there, and I got questions from people like, "What about the noodles, they're not low carb are they?" and "But there are potatoes in here!" Pretty deliciously wonderful dish! I also made a couple dozen little biscuits - started with carbquick, added melted butter, cream, an egg, and a bunch of shredded cheese, then dropped them by the rounded teaspoonful. One biscuit, one bite. These together would make a complete meal for us...anyway - on to the recipe :).
2Tbsp olive oil
1/2 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 daikon, about 10" long, chopped
1 small head of cabbage, thinly sliced
1# ham (check for sugar!), chopped
black pepper
seasoning salt
2/3c full-fat mayo
3/4c full-fat sour cream
2Tbsp yellow mustared
Heat the olive oil in a large electric chicken fryer (that's what I used, anyway); over medium high heat drop the onion in and stir; once onion is translucent, add daikon and stir, then add cabbage. Season, stir, reduce heat to medium low, cover.
When cabbage is soft but still a bit firm, stir in ham; return cover and continue cooking about 5 minutes until ham is heated through.
Meanwhile, whisk mayo, sour cream, and mustard together until creamy. After ham is heated, add sauce and blend well until sauce is heated through. (When it started steaming, I knew it was ready.)
This recipe was loved by all who tried it, I think it was one of the best things I've ever thrown together, and I can't WAIT to make it again! Plus it was, of course, cheap: $1.69 for the ham, 45c for the cabbage, about a buck for the daikon and half that for the onion. The entire sauce was about a dollar...and I'll add a quarter for the olive oil and seasonings....WELL under $5 for 4 very generous or 6 average-sized servings!
2Tbsp olive oil
1/2 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 daikon, about 10" long, chopped
1 small head of cabbage, thinly sliced
1# ham (check for sugar!), chopped
black pepper
seasoning salt
2/3c full-fat mayo
3/4c full-fat sour cream
2Tbsp yellow mustared
Heat the olive oil in a large electric chicken fryer (that's what I used, anyway); over medium high heat drop the onion in and stir; once onion is translucent, add daikon and stir, then add cabbage. Season, stir, reduce heat to medium low, cover.
When cabbage is soft but still a bit firm, stir in ham; return cover and continue cooking about 5 minutes until ham is heated through.
Meanwhile, whisk mayo, sour cream, and mustard together until creamy. After ham is heated, add sauce and blend well until sauce is heated through. (When it started steaming, I knew it was ready.)
This recipe was loved by all who tried it, I think it was one of the best things I've ever thrown together, and I can't WAIT to make it again! Plus it was, of course, cheap: $1.69 for the ham, 45c for the cabbage, about a buck for the daikon and half that for the onion. The entire sauce was about a dollar...and I'll add a quarter for the olive oil and seasonings....WELL under $5 for 4 very generous or 6 average-sized servings!
Friday, October 28, 2011
First Week Back on High Fat #lowcarb
So I'm down 8# - yeah, it's all, or mostly, water weight...but that's good, it's the first step.
This week I've eaten a couple of delicata squashes LOADED with butter (1/2 squash per meal) which isn't considered a low carb food, but obviously it's not hurting me too badly. I've also eaten fatty pork chops, eggs fried in butter, lots of mayo on anything I could think of, I cooked up a good fatty hunk of beef brisket that I've been eating - I make enough for leftovers, then have a little when I get hungry, so haven't been really eating full meals; had a couple big bowls of popcorn also, 1/2 stick of butter on each bowl (we're talking BIG bowls), which obviously also didn't hurt me any (it's never been problematic for me when I've been losing weight in the past)...and I made a chocolate cake :).
My grandson wanted to make cookies yesterday but my back still isn't up for standing at the counter spooning out dough. So we made a chocolate cake. As usual I didn't keep track of the ingredients, but I know I used 4 eggs and about 1/2c of coconut oil...some salt, vanilla, baking soda, baking powder, granulated splenda (about 3/4c) because I'm out of erithrytol and xylitol, a lot of cocoa powder (1/4c maybe?), a couple of scoops of chocolate whey protein powder, and for my "flours" I used mostly coconut and almond flours (maybe a cup each?), plus a little oat fiber (not bran), polydextrose, and peanut flour (maybe 1/4c each?). Then as it was all mixing together I drizzled in strong decaf coffee until it was thinned out to cake batter consistency.
The batter was enough for an 8x8 baking dish which went in the oven @ 325 for about 35 minutes. Next time I will add butter also, because I miss that hint of a buttery taste in the cake - but other than that is is excellent :).
While the cake was baking (pan "floured" with coconut oil and protein powder) I made up the frosting: a couple of scoops of the chocolate protein powder, a little splash of vanilla, a couple Tbsp. of soft butter, a tiny dash of salt, a couple drops of liquid sucralose, and then I drizzled in cream as I whipped it until it was the consistency I was looking for. It made an AWESOME frosting!
This cake is very very filling, and a 2x2x2" square is more than enough for a serving. Since I didn't keep track of ingredients/amounts, I can't look up the carb counts...but since I didn't put anything carby in it, and since the servings are so small, I'm not worrying about it. If you read my blog you already know I don't count my carbs - I just don't eat carby foods, and do eat lots of fat.
Not sure what I'll be eating over the weekend, but I do know it will be low in carbs and high in fat! I'll keep you posted...meanwhile, I hope I'm about done losing all the water, it would be nice to sleep through an entire night, or get through an entire hour without a potty break - lol!
This week I've eaten a couple of delicata squashes LOADED with butter (1/2 squash per meal) which isn't considered a low carb food, but obviously it's not hurting me too badly. I've also eaten fatty pork chops, eggs fried in butter, lots of mayo on anything I could think of, I cooked up a good fatty hunk of beef brisket that I've been eating - I make enough for leftovers, then have a little when I get hungry, so haven't been really eating full meals; had a couple big bowls of popcorn also, 1/2 stick of butter on each bowl (we're talking BIG bowls), which obviously also didn't hurt me any (it's never been problematic for me when I've been losing weight in the past)...and I made a chocolate cake :).
My grandson wanted to make cookies yesterday but my back still isn't up for standing at the counter spooning out dough. So we made a chocolate cake. As usual I didn't keep track of the ingredients, but I know I used 4 eggs and about 1/2c of coconut oil...some salt, vanilla, baking soda, baking powder, granulated splenda (about 3/4c) because I'm out of erithrytol and xylitol, a lot of cocoa powder (1/4c maybe?), a couple of scoops of chocolate whey protein powder, and for my "flours" I used mostly coconut and almond flours (maybe a cup each?), plus a little oat fiber (not bran), polydextrose, and peanut flour (maybe 1/4c each?). Then as it was all mixing together I drizzled in strong decaf coffee until it was thinned out to cake batter consistency.
The batter was enough for an 8x8 baking dish which went in the oven @ 325 for about 35 minutes. Next time I will add butter also, because I miss that hint of a buttery taste in the cake - but other than that is is excellent :).
While the cake was baking (pan "floured" with coconut oil and protein powder) I made up the frosting: a couple of scoops of the chocolate protein powder, a little splash of vanilla, a couple Tbsp. of soft butter, a tiny dash of salt, a couple drops of liquid sucralose, and then I drizzled in cream as I whipped it until it was the consistency I was looking for. It made an AWESOME frosting!
This cake is very very filling, and a 2x2x2" square is more than enough for a serving. Since I didn't keep track of ingredients/amounts, I can't look up the carb counts...but since I didn't put anything carby in it, and since the servings are so small, I'm not worrying about it. If you read my blog you already know I don't count my carbs - I just don't eat carby foods, and do eat lots of fat.
Not sure what I'll be eating over the weekend, but I do know it will be low in carbs and high in fat! I'll keep you posted...meanwhile, I hope I'm about done losing all the water, it would be nice to sleep through an entire night, or get through an entire hour without a potty break - lol!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
1st 2 Days Back on High-Fat, & Eggplant #Recipe #lowcarb
Yesterday I had an egg fried in bacon fat with chopped ham and some cheddar cheese for my first meal, and a pork chop - the fattiest one I had - with half of a delicata squash, which I mixed with 2Tbsp. melted butter. Not enough fat for the day.
Today I had chopped turkey with a lot of mayo for my first meal, my own sort-of eggplant parmesan for my 2nd, and a leftover porkchop, reheated with butter, for a snack.
Here's how I made my eggplant dish:
peeled and sliced an eggplant, laid out the slices on a couple sheets of paper towels, and salted both sides of each slice; set aside.
Mix together in a dish finely-ground - like powder - pork rinds with parmesan cheese in the can, about 50-50.
chopped 1/2 onion and sauteed in olive oil over medium heat until translucent; added hamburger (high fat) and browned; stirred in SF pizza sauce (without draining fat); let simmer, covered, over low heat.
Coated a baking sheet generously with olive oil; topped the eggplant slices with more paper towel and pressed out the water; mixed up 2 eggs in a shallow dish, dipped each slice of eggplant into the egg, then the porky/parm mixture, laid them out on the baking sheet, and lightly sprinkled a little more parmesan on them. Put them in the oven at 425 for about 12 minutes until bottoms were browned and crispy, flipped each slice, sprinkled more parm lightly, and returned to the oven for another 7 minutes. Cooked until eggplant was soft but not mushy and coating was very very crisp.
To serve I put several slices on a plate, spooned some sauce (after mixing the beef fat back into it) over the slices, and topped with some finely shredded "italian blend" cheese.
Not fatty enough for weight loss...but definitely low carb, cheap, easy, and DELICIOUS!
Today I had chopped turkey with a lot of mayo for my first meal, my own sort-of eggplant parmesan for my 2nd, and a leftover porkchop, reheated with butter, for a snack.
Here's how I made my eggplant dish:
peeled and sliced an eggplant, laid out the slices on a couple sheets of paper towels, and salted both sides of each slice; set aside.
Mix together in a dish finely-ground - like powder - pork rinds with parmesan cheese in the can, about 50-50.
chopped 1/2 onion and sauteed in olive oil over medium heat until translucent; added hamburger (high fat) and browned; stirred in SF pizza sauce (without draining fat); let simmer, covered, over low heat.
Coated a baking sheet generously with olive oil; topped the eggplant slices with more paper towel and pressed out the water; mixed up 2 eggs in a shallow dish, dipped each slice of eggplant into the egg, then the porky/parm mixture, laid them out on the baking sheet, and lightly sprinkled a little more parmesan on them. Put them in the oven at 425 for about 12 minutes until bottoms were browned and crispy, flipped each slice, sprinkled more parm lightly, and returned to the oven for another 7 minutes. Cooked until eggplant was soft but not mushy and coating was very very crisp.
To serve I put several slices on a plate, spooned some sauce (after mixing the beef fat back into it) over the slices, and topped with some finely shredded "italian blend" cheese.
Not fatty enough for weight loss...but definitely low carb, cheap, easy, and DELICIOUS!
Once again...
...physical issues (arthritis in my spine, lumbar problems) prevented me from doing things the last week or so, and my dear wonderful husband did the shopping and cooking last week, in between working his full-time+ midnight job, taking care of me, and everything else that needed to be done around the house and for our 11 pets...so convenience food was what he was fixing. Time was more important that quality, and as I was helpless, I had no right - or desire, my love was running himself ragged because of me - to complain. 10# gained in a week or so was the result. Yes, mostly water weight I'm sure, but hate seeing that on the scale!
So now I'm on steroids and strong drugs (percocet for pain, valium for spasms), and determined never to go through that again! Such pain was hell...but the helplessness was almost worse. And I've been-there-done-that way too much in recent years. So, as much as I've said I don't want to, I'm going to lose more weight. I hate the thought of all the ugly hanging skin on my body, I absolutely detest it to the point that I'd already determined to remain 100# overweight than have any more than I already do. But the hell I went through last week I hated more.
Losing weight hasn't been difficult for me in the past, although I haven't really tried in a few years. The last I tried, though, simply increasing my fat intake to 75-80% of my caloric intake (NOT EASY!) and eliminating all grain-based foods was enough to guarantee 2-3#/week gone, even though I was eating 3000 calories/day and sometimes more.
So I'll go back to that again I guess. It's actually easy and painless...the thing that will be tougher now is avoiding my Lovely Loaf. I've grown accustomed to a sandwich now and again...but I will experiment with other options that are out there if I feel the need. Meanwhile, lots of butter, coconut oil, mayo, and olive oil on or in just about everything I eat. And we'll see if my body still responds the same way it did the last time I did it. If not, well, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it :).
So now I'm on steroids and strong drugs (percocet for pain, valium for spasms), and determined never to go through that again! Such pain was hell...but the helplessness was almost worse. And I've been-there-done-that way too much in recent years. So, as much as I've said I don't want to, I'm going to lose more weight. I hate the thought of all the ugly hanging skin on my body, I absolutely detest it to the point that I'd already determined to remain 100# overweight than have any more than I already do. But the hell I went through last week I hated more.
Losing weight hasn't been difficult for me in the past, although I haven't really tried in a few years. The last I tried, though, simply increasing my fat intake to 75-80% of my caloric intake (NOT EASY!) and eliminating all grain-based foods was enough to guarantee 2-3#/week gone, even though I was eating 3000 calories/day and sometimes more.
So I'll go back to that again I guess. It's actually easy and painless...the thing that will be tougher now is avoiding my Lovely Loaf. I've grown accustomed to a sandwich now and again...but I will experiment with other options that are out there if I feel the need. Meanwhile, lots of butter, coconut oil, mayo, and olive oil on or in just about everything I eat. And we'll see if my body still responds the same way it did the last time I did it. If not, well, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it :).
Monday, October 10, 2011
Can't Resist a Sale #lowcarb
I mentioned last week that Sav-a-Lot was having a 10/$10 sale, and also that I got a lot of meat very inexpensively there. Well, today was the last day of the sale, and I got to thinking about it, and since I hadn't seen beef roasts for $2.79 in MONTHS, I figured I might not again. Plus some of the 10/$10 lowcarb things I might get more of, and stock up on. So hubby and I went back, and here's what we got:
10/$10 (or $1 each):
(5) dozen more eggs
(5) Eckrich balogna (hubby's pick), 1# each
(5) Eckrich franks (hubby's pick)
(5) pkgs pepperoni for chips
(10) 10 oz roasted peanuts (hubby's pick)
Other special prices
(3) 20 oz. turkey ends & pieces @ 1.67 ea
(3) 20 oz. ham ends & pieces @ 1.67 ea
7.5 lb. beef chuck roast @ $2.69/lb
10 lb. pork sirloin chops @ $1.69/lb
And then I picked up a pound of butter (most of last week's pound was used up by campers last weekend - plus I buy a pound every time I go to Sav-a-Lot, so I never run out!) for $2.99, a quart of half'n'half for $2.99 (which is more expensive than Walmart's, but a half-gallon of gas round trip to Walmart would add $1.60), 12 oz. of finely shredded Italian blend cheese for $3.19, a jar of horseradish for $1.99, and 24 oz. of cottage cheese for $2.49.
Another $90 or so. But our freezer is now half full, we have enough meat and eggs to see us through November, and frozen vegetables as well. We'll need more dairy in a few days (esp. half'n'half and cream), and fresh produce later in the month. But we're in great shape for several weeks, at the least! And that's such a good feeling :).
On another note, I don't plan on cooking for a few days. From the camping trip we brought home half of a big pot of chicken vegetable soup (I added some fresh spinach that needed to be used up), lots of hot dogs and grilled chicken, HB eggs, and about half of the wraps I made. Plus we had some hamburgs that Pete grilled up today. So we'll be eating that bounty for a few days yet :).
10/$10 (or $1 each):
(5) dozen more eggs
(5) Eckrich balogna (hubby's pick), 1# each
(5) Eckrich franks (hubby's pick)
(5) pkgs pepperoni for chips
(10) 10 oz roasted peanuts (hubby's pick)
Other special prices
(3) 20 oz. turkey ends & pieces @ 1.67 ea
(3) 20 oz. ham ends & pieces @ 1.67 ea
7.5 lb. beef chuck roast @ $2.69/lb
10 lb. pork sirloin chops @ $1.69/lb
And then I picked up a pound of butter (most of last week's pound was used up by campers last weekend - plus I buy a pound every time I go to Sav-a-Lot, so I never run out!) for $2.99, a quart of half'n'half for $2.99 (which is more expensive than Walmart's, but a half-gallon of gas round trip to Walmart would add $1.60), 12 oz. of finely shredded Italian blend cheese for $3.19, a jar of horseradish for $1.99, and 24 oz. of cottage cheese for $2.49.
Another $90 or so. But our freezer is now half full, we have enough meat and eggs to see us through November, and frozen vegetables as well. We'll need more dairy in a few days (esp. half'n'half and cream), and fresh produce later in the month. But we're in great shape for several weeks, at the least! And that's such a good feeling :).
On another note, I don't plan on cooking for a few days. From the camping trip we brought home half of a big pot of chicken vegetable soup (I added some fresh spinach that needed to be used up), lots of hot dogs and grilled chicken, HB eggs, and about half of the wraps I made. Plus we had some hamburgs that Pete grilled up today. So we'll be eating that bounty for a few days yet :).
#Camping #Lowcarb
This weekend we went camping with a group of people from our church. We all ate together, everyone bringing something to the table to share, kinda like stone soup :). I knew that there would be carby foods galore, and not much I could eat, so I spent the 2 days prior preparing a bunch of low carb foods. And guess what? I walked right past the donuts at breakfast, the pancakes and syrup, and the candy, marshmallows, and potato chips that were sitting out all evening!
I know I mentioned previously what I would take, and I pretty much stuck to that plan. I didn't take the tuna salad and lettuce leaves for wraps that I intended, nor the cookies...but I started to make the cookies, then just plain ran out of steam, tossed the batter onto the pan before it was a dough, and cut the resulting cake into pieces. It wasn't as low carb as I usually make because there is one gluten-free eater than came, and another can't have nuts of any kind, including coconut. That didn't leave me a whole lot of flour choices, so I ended up with sort of an oatmeal-tasting (oat fiber, poly-D, ground oatmeal for my flour) cake with lots of cinnamon, brown Sugar Twin, and butter in it. Delicious actually, and saved me from the donuts each morning! I just had a butter sandwich with 2 of them - heavy on the butter. (Hubby told me they were great with syrup on them too.)
I took HB eggs for breakfast with the cakey-cookie-things above, plus sausages for everyone. That covered the 2 breakfasts. Friday night the pastor's wife made a delicious chicken vegetable soup. Our main meal on Saturday was chicken - lots and lots of chicken! - that hubby grilled. The song leader brought her amazing potato salad (I never say no to Mary's potato salad - 1/2c on Saturday and another 1/2c on Sunday), and I had tomato slices also, from one woman's garden. As everyone munched Saturday evening I had my cheese crackers and pepperoni crackers (which were both a BIG hit, BTW!) to fall back on, and didn't miss the potato chips at all! Sunday afternoon we all had hot dogs and more chicken; I ate my 2 hot dogs on my 1.5gN wraps with salsa.
All told, it was a great success and I even lost 2# over the weekend - probably from the extra walking and other activity. What a great time, and I feel really good about being prepared, and being able to resist the carby stuff that was there in abundance!
I know I mentioned previously what I would take, and I pretty much stuck to that plan. I didn't take the tuna salad and lettuce leaves for wraps that I intended, nor the cookies...but I started to make the cookies, then just plain ran out of steam, tossed the batter onto the pan before it was a dough, and cut the resulting cake into pieces. It wasn't as low carb as I usually make because there is one gluten-free eater than came, and another can't have nuts of any kind, including coconut. That didn't leave me a whole lot of flour choices, so I ended up with sort of an oatmeal-tasting (oat fiber, poly-D, ground oatmeal for my flour) cake with lots of cinnamon, brown Sugar Twin, and butter in it. Delicious actually, and saved me from the donuts each morning! I just had a butter sandwich with 2 of them - heavy on the butter. (Hubby told me they were great with syrup on them too.)
I took HB eggs for breakfast with the cakey-cookie-things above, plus sausages for everyone. That covered the 2 breakfasts. Friday night the pastor's wife made a delicious chicken vegetable soup. Our main meal on Saturday was chicken - lots and lots of chicken! - that hubby grilled. The song leader brought her amazing potato salad (I never say no to Mary's potato salad - 1/2c on Saturday and another 1/2c on Sunday), and I had tomato slices also, from one woman's garden. As everyone munched Saturday evening I had my cheese crackers and pepperoni crackers (which were both a BIG hit, BTW!) to fall back on, and didn't miss the potato chips at all! Sunday afternoon we all had hot dogs and more chicken; I ate my 2 hot dogs on my 1.5gN wraps with salsa.
All told, it was a great success and I even lost 2# over the weekend - probably from the extra walking and other activity. What a great time, and I feel really good about being prepared, and being able to resist the carby stuff that was there in abundance!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
TooGood #Lowcarb Flatbread #Recipe
I've been messing around with recipes for wraps, mainly to wrap around hot dogs that were cooked on a campfire, but for other things as well.
Tonight I reached as close to perfection as I'll ever get I think, these wraps are better than any I've ever had, low carb or not! Totally delicious, and just right for hot dogs! (I will make them bigger when I want to use them for sandwiches or something...although a couple of these would make a superb grilled cheese too, no doubt!)
I don't usually measure but I have been so I could duplicate this when I finally got what I wanted. Here is the recipe, before I forget it:
1.5c Wheat Protein Isolate 5000
1/4c fine almond flour
1/4c oat fiber (NOT bran)
1/2Tbsp baking powder
1/2Tbsp baking soda
1/4tsp salt
3 drops sweetzfree (equal to 3tsp sugar)
3/4c hot water
2Tbsp full-fat sour cream (plain yogurt would probably work too)
oat flour for dusting (I used 1/4c total)
Whisk together the first 6 ingredients until very well blended and "fluffy" looking.
Mix sweetzfree, and sour cream into hot water well with whisk until sour cream is fully melted in.
Using a wooden spoon (so it doesn't stick so much) stir while pouring water mixture into flour mixture. The dough will puff up, develop holes, and get fluffy. Only add enough water to make a sticky, loose dough; it will be wet and sticky. Mix until blended but no longer. Set aside for about 10-15 minutes to allow reaction (between lactic acid and baking powder) completes.
With wet hands (to prevent sticking) remove dough from bowl and knead on a floured (oat flour) surface until it is smooth but not tight. Form a loose ball, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside for 30 minutes, during which time it will rise by about 50%.
Cut into 16 equal pieces with pastry cutter (or knife dipped in water); roll each into a walnut-sized ball, pat to flatten, then roll to about 6" (that's the size I made to use with hot dogs) on lightly floured surface; re-dust surface as needed between dough balls.
I used a cast aluminum griddle that is well seasoned from over 30 years of use because I have parrots, so don't use non-stick. Turned it on high, and when a drop of water bounced across the surface I put the wraps onto the griddle, which holds 6 wraps, one at a time. By the time I put the 6th one on, the first one had puffed up and the bottom was golden; I flipped them in order, left the 2nd side to cook until golden (a minute or less), then removed them to a cooling rack. All 16 of them took less than 10 minutes to cook.
After cooling the wraps were pliable, soft, very very tasty, not dry at all...just amazing! I don't know for sure how I will store them yet, probably in a bread wrapper, but I'm just so excited about these - totally excellent!
The whole recipe contains 23gN carbs, so it's about 1.5gN per wrap.
Tonight I reached as close to perfection as I'll ever get I think, these wraps are better than any I've ever had, low carb or not! Totally delicious, and just right for hot dogs! (I will make them bigger when I want to use them for sandwiches or something...although a couple of these would make a superb grilled cheese too, no doubt!)
I don't usually measure but I have been so I could duplicate this when I finally got what I wanted. Here is the recipe, before I forget it:
1.5c Wheat Protein Isolate 5000
1/4c fine almond flour
1/4c oat fiber (NOT bran)
1/2Tbsp baking powder
1/2Tbsp baking soda
1/4tsp salt
3 drops sweetzfree (equal to 3tsp sugar)
3/4c hot water
2Tbsp full-fat sour cream (plain yogurt would probably work too)
oat flour for dusting (I used 1/4c total)
Whisk together the first 6 ingredients until very well blended and "fluffy" looking.
Mix sweetzfree, and sour cream into hot water well with whisk until sour cream is fully melted in.
Using a wooden spoon (so it doesn't stick so much) stir while pouring water mixture into flour mixture. The dough will puff up, develop holes, and get fluffy. Only add enough water to make a sticky, loose dough; it will be wet and sticky. Mix until blended but no longer. Set aside for about 10-15 minutes to allow reaction (between lactic acid and baking powder) completes.
With wet hands (to prevent sticking) remove dough from bowl and knead on a floured (oat flour) surface until it is smooth but not tight. Form a loose ball, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside for 30 minutes, during which time it will rise by about 50%.
Cut into 16 equal pieces with pastry cutter (or knife dipped in water); roll each into a walnut-sized ball, pat to flatten, then roll to about 6" (that's the size I made to use with hot dogs) on lightly floured surface; re-dust surface as needed between dough balls.
I used a cast aluminum griddle that is well seasoned from over 30 years of use because I have parrots, so don't use non-stick. Turned it on high, and when a drop of water bounced across the surface I put the wraps onto the griddle, which holds 6 wraps, one at a time. By the time I put the 6th one on, the first one had puffed up and the bottom was golden; I flipped them in order, left the 2nd side to cook until golden (a minute or less), then removed them to a cooling rack. All 16 of them took less than 10 minutes to cook.
After cooling the wraps were pliable, soft, very very tasty, not dry at all...just amazing! I don't know for sure how I will store them yet, probably in a bread wrapper, but I'm just so excited about these - totally excellent!
The whole recipe contains 23gN carbs, so it's about 1.5gN per wrap.
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