green bean casserole - 6.7g

My husband loves green bean casserole. I don't think I had even tried it until he recommended it for our first Thanksgiving together. I got the recipe off of the French's Fried Onion container, whipped it up and enjoyed it and thus began our GBC tradition.

So when this holiday season rolled around, I checked the carb content of that same recipe: 14g net per serving. Ouch. You already know TDay is going to be carby with its potatoes, rolls, stuffing and pumpkin pie so adding even more carbs to the meal just didn't appeal to me. Oddly enough I didn't even make Thanksgiving dinner this year - we went to my grandma's house instead.

Christmas follows quickly though so I started doing some research on how to make GBC lower carb and of course, I found an Alton Brown recipe. Once again, I love AB and everything of his that I have made has been phenomenol. He has his own GBC that you make from scratch so I tweaked it a bit and oh my... heaven. I doubled the batch for our dinner because we had people over but not everyone tried it (their loss!) so we luckily have leftovers. It will be finished off today because it is devine and I can't stay out of it!

Image via here

 

Low Carb Green Bean Casserole
tweaked from Alton Brown's version

For the topping, I cheated and still used the French's Fried Onions. They're good and low carb and easy. :)

For the beans and sauce:
2 Tbs plus 1 tsp salt, divided
1 lb fresh green beans, rinsed, trimmed and halved
2 Tbs unsalted butters
12 oz mushrooms, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 cloves minced garlic
2 Tbs almond flour
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Bring a gallon of water and 2 Tbs salt to boil in an 8-quart sauce pan. Add the beans and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and immediately plunge beans into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.

Melt the butter in a 12-inch cast iron skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to give up some of their liquid, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and nutmeg and continue to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Add the almond flour and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute. Add the broth and simmer for 1 minute. Decrease the heat to medium-low and add the half-and-half. Cook until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, approximately 6 to 8 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in 1/4 of the onions and all of the green beans. Top with the remaining onions. Place into the oven and bake until bubbly, approximately 15 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.

Serves 4-6 people.

The counts

Net Carb: 6.7g

Protein: 4.1g

Fiber: 3.7g

*All counts listed are based on my best guesstimation and not necessarily correct. Remember to check the specific nutritional content of the brands you are using as each one is different.

egg nog - 4g

Egg nog was always one of those things that scared me. Drinking raw eggs? Ew! I'd tried some store bought stuff once and just wasn't impressed and didn't understand what the big deal was.

Then I saw an episode of "Good Eats" where Alton Brown takes you through the entire process and by the end of the episode I wanted to make some egg nog so friggin' bad! I adore AB so I knew there was a high chance that it would be yummy.

And it was. So, so yummy! It's one of my favorite holiday treats now!

Yesterday, we went and cut down our Christmas tree and were supposed to decorate it this morning. My husband comes home with store-bought egg nog and a new bottle of rum for the occassion and though very sweet, the egg nog is carby. (12g for 8 oz. That's 1/4 of my daily intake!) He had some things to do before we started so I decided to see if I could make a low carb version!

I wasn't too impressed at first. I used all heavy cream and that's practically all you could taste. I decided to make another half batch using some almond milk to cut down the cream taste but then it tasted too much like almond milk. Still not impressed and now I had a huge batch of egg nog.

I figured I'd try again tomorrow after a trip to the store for supplies but then this evening, I decided to have a cup (can't let it go to waste!) and the tastes have now all blended together and are really good!

AB does suggest you use bourbon, but my favorite alcohol is spiced rum so that's what I always use in it.

I was too busy enjoying the heck out of mine to take a picture. :)

Image via Alton Brown on the Hisotry of Eggnog

Low Carb Egg Nog
altered from Alton Brown's recipe

6 large eggs, separated
3 cups heavy cream
2 cups almond milk
1 Tbs nutmeg
2/3 cup Swerve + 1 Tbs Swerve
6 oz spiced rum


In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the 1/3 cup Swerve and continue to beat until it is completely dissolved. Add the almond milk, cream, rum and nutmeg and stir to combine.

Clean and dry your mixer bowl and whisk before working with the egg whites. Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat to soft peaks. With the mixer still running gradually add the 1 tablespoon of Swerve and beat until stiff peaks form.

Whisk the egg whites into the mixture. Chill and serve.

*Beating the egg whites into soft peaks does make it a very frothy and thick drink. If you want your egg nog more liquidy, don't separate the eggs at the beginning.

Serves 10-12

The counts

Net Carb: 4g 

Protein: 5g

Fiber: 0.8g

*All counts listed are based on my best guesstimation and not necessarily correct. Remember to check the specific nutritional content of the brands you are using as each one is different.

Pumpkin Cake Roll - 6.5g

I love pumpkin cake rolls and assumed they had to be off my radar eating low carb. Then I realized that a pumpkin pie isn't too carby if you don't eat the crust and substitute a zero carb sweetener for the sugar. THEN I realized I could buy almond flour and make a pumpkin cake roll!

Then I was in heaven because it turned out perfect.

Pumpkin Cake Roll
3 eggs
3/4 cup Swerve (or other sweetener)
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cups almond flour
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp. cinnamon

Beat the eggs and Swerve together for 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining ingredients then pour into a greased jelly roll pan (they measure 15x10x1) lined with wax paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Loosen all four corners with knife and turn onto towels with Swerve sprinkled on towel to help keep the cake from sticking. Roll up into towel and let cool. (I put mine in the fridge to speed up the process.)

For the filling:
1/2 cup Swerve
8 oz softened cream cheese
4 Tbs. softened butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat all together well. Even though the original recipe called for 1 cup of sugar, using 1/2 cup was still very sweet. It mellowed out by the next day though.

Unroll cooled cake ands pread with filling. Reroll and slice into 1/2 inch pieces.

Keep refrigerated. Freezes well. Serves 15!

The counts
Net Carb: 6.5g

Protein: 5.2g

Fiber: 1.4g

*All counts listed are based on my best guesstimation and not necessarily correct. Remember to check the specific nutritional content of the brands you are using as each one is different.

Crock Pot Roast -9g

This is so fast and easy and delicious.

Obviously there are potatoes in this, but I'm feeding my entire family so they eat the majority of those and I stick with the roast and carrots. (With maybe a few potaotes in there...) I love adding mushrooms, too, but I didn't have any this time.

Camera was unfixable... new one ordered yesterday. :)

Crock Pot Roast
3 lb roast
3 lbs potatoes (I prefer red potatoes, but russett are fine, too)
1+ lb carrots
2 tsp minced garlic
1 can beef broth
salt and pepper

In a large crocpot, put some chopped potatoes and carrots in the bottom. Rub garlic on the front and back of the roast and salt and pepper both sides. Set the roast on top of the vegetables, then add the remaining veggies to the top. Pour the beef broth over the top then salt and pepper the veggies.

Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-8 hours!

Not sure how many servings this makes. Maybe 10?

The counts

Net Carb: 9g, if you only eat a little bit of the potatoes

Protein: 40g

Fiber: 1g

*All counts listed are based on my best guesstimation and not necessarily correct. Remember to check the specific nutritional content of the brands you are using as each one is different.

The Cheesecake Factory

A group of girlfriends and I had a Girls' Nite Out to see one of the first showings of Twilght: Breaking Dawn here in town. We went to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner so before I left the house that night, I went online to see what they had that was low carb.

Turns out, they are kind of sketchy about releasing their nutritional information so it was more difficult than usual and I couldn't figure out what the net grams were, but I did discover three things:

1. The Ahi Carpaccio, an appetizer for two of raw ahi tuna with special sauces, is amazing and makes a great entree for one. (6 grams carbs.)

2. Their side salad is huge for a side salad and their balsalmic vinegrette is delicious. (I don't usually like balsalmic dressings.)

3. They have a low carb cheesecake made with a graham cracker/walnut crust. (websites claim 11g net carbs.)

That was the best meal I have had in ages and I'm tempted to drag my family there soon for a repeat.

The movie was good, too. Here was my spoiler-free status update on Facebook that night:

"Home from Breaking Dawn. I was all :::yawn::: I'm tired. This is kind of boring. Rob and Kristen still aren't great actors. Reneesme's cute. Jacob's hot. :::yawn::: OMG WHAT JUST HAPPENED!? WAIT! WHAT?! WAIT!! AAHHHHH! :::breaks out in a sweat then dies:::"

True story.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas - 8g

When my husband and I got married, his mom gave me a cookbook filled with recipes that she had gathered from their family. It's pretty awesome - all the foods he grew up on, his favorite desserts, his Grandma's recipes, etc. One of them was for Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas from his cousin and after I made it the first time, it became a regular go-to meal. I love it because it's really easy and freezes great! I usually double the recipe and split it into two pans, freezing one for later!

By using my Ole Extreme High Fiber tortillas, this is actually pretty low carb. Add some guacamole on the side (for me) and Spanish-style rice on the side (for the rest of my family) and it's a great meal! I also like to top it with salsa!

I may have dropped and broken my camera... so no picture.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas
1 lb chicken breasts, cooked and diced or shredded
1 small can diced green chilis
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
8 oz shredded monterey jack cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 pint sour cream
1 medium onion, chopped
1 package low carb tortillas

Mix the cooked chicken with the soup, sour cream and onions. Spread a thin layer of the mixture on the bottom of a 9x13 dish. (I line the bottom with foil for easy clean up.) Add cheese to the remaining mixture, saving some to sprinkle on top. Fill the tortillas, roll them and place them in the dish with seams down. Top with any remaining mixture and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

The counts

Net Carb: 8g

Protein: 39g

Fiber: 10g

*All counts listed are based on my best guesstimation and not necessarily correct. Remember to check the specific nutritional content of the brands you are using as each one is different.

hot chocolate - 3-5g

Oh, chocolate. I love chocolate and am so glad that companies like Russell Stovers exists because I can still get a low carb chocolate fix with their sugar-free candies.

Recently though, while browsing the internet for a low carb milk shake recipe, I came across this blog and her Sugar Free Hot Chocolate Recipe.

My immediate thought: "Well. Gotta try that!"

Try it I did and it's fabulous. Definitely not your crazy sweet vending machine/restaurant/powdered mix hot chocolate but at 5g net carbs, it will give you what you're craving!

I can't believe I hadn't thought of using unsweetened cocoa powder for things before. I mean, duh. I do think next time I make it, I'll try a little less cocoa powder and a little more sweetener. I also definitely liked adding some whipped cream on top.

I was so excited to try this that I forgot to take a picture before I started drinking it, so this picture of a half empty, totally awesome X-Files mug will have to serve as a placeholder until I make it again. :)

Sugar Free Hot Chocolate
From On Life, Love and Low Carb Living

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

2 Tbs heavy cream

2 Tbs Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder (I only use 1 Tbs)

2 packets Splenda (I use 3 tsp Swerve)

ground cinnamon (3 shakes)
Redi-Whip for topping

Add almond milk, cream, cocoa powder, sweetener, and cinnamon to a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir ingredients with a whisk until all ingredients are incorporated evenly and you have achieved a smooth consistency. Continue to heat until small bubbles form on the surface and steam begins to rise. Transfer entire contents of saucepan to a mug and serve immediately. Enjoy!

The counts

Net Carb: 3-6g

Protein: 3g

Fiber: 3g

*All counts listed are based on my best guesstimation and not necessarily correct. Remember to check the specific nutritional content of the brands you are using as each one is different.

hungover

Every once in awhile, I temporarily become an idiot and overindulge on carbs.

This past Friday, my niece was over doing last minute preparations for her 14th birthday party we were having at our house the following day. Said preparations included stuffing a pinata full of candy and baking 24 cupcakes and two 2-layer cakes.

Basically, our dinner that night became tootsie rolls, cake batter and icing.

It was delicious.

That night, my stomach was killing me. I couldn't even lay on it because that would cause stabbing pains to shoot through my abdomen. I took medicine and tossed and turned all night. The next morning, my stomach was better but I felt completely hungover. Headache, nauseated, sooooo tired, dehydrated. It seriously felt as if I'd been out drinking the night before.

And that's the price I paid for the delicious, sugary carbs. Even if it hadn't been a meal of basically pure sugar, like if it had been too much pizza or bread, I need to remember that my body just can't handle it. None of our bodies are not meant to eat that type of food.

Now to keep reminding myself that very thing so I stay away from my kids' Halloween candy.

Cheesy Ham & Brocolli Soup - 10g

My friend made this for a playdate one time and I asked for the recipe between bites while my son and I devoured it. It's so yummy, very quick to throw together and perfect for a fall day!

It does have potatoes, but I just pick out the chunks and leave them for my husband and kids so I'm only eating a little bit of what's been pureed into the soup.

I do not peel the potatoes because there are lots of nutrients in them, I don't want my kids to be picky about not eating the peels and peeling takes a lot of time - which I do not have! I buy the pre-cubed 16 oz package of ham so I get more protein in the soup and don't have to cut the ham up. I also use dried, minced onions and jarred minced garlic so I'm not having to chop those things either. I'm all about time-saving short cuts! Because of that, it literally takes me 15 minutes or less to throw this together in the crockpot.

I do think that the next time I make it, I'll add more broccoli and ham to it so I don't leave my family with basically just potatoes. I should add that I have an 8.5 quart crockpot so I have plenty of room to bulk up my recipes.

 

I just realized what this reminds me of: Olive Garden's Zuppa Tuscana. It's a less spicy, more garlicy, broccoli-instead-of-kale, ham instead of sausage potato soup... which is basically like a completely different soup, but it has that same feel/similar taste to it. :)

Cheese Ham & Brocolli Soup
I believe it's from Southern Living Busy Mom's Cookbook but I've tweaked this recipe to my own liking.

5 large potatoes, cubed
16 oz ham, cubed
1 medium onion (I use 1/4 cup dried, minced onions)
3 14 oz cans of chicken broth
3 cups brocolli florets
1/2 tsp + salt
3 tsp + minced garlic
3/4 tsp + pepper
2 cups whipping cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Cook all ingredients except cheese and cream in crockpot on high for 1 hour. Reduce to low for 6 hours, or until the potatoes are tender.* Food process half the mixture then return to pot and stir in cream and cheese. Cook on low for 30 minutes or until warmed through.

Makes 14 1-cup servings

*I switch this up depending on what my day looks like. You could technically cook it on high the entire time and it'll be done in 3-4 hours or you could cook it all day on low and it'll be done in 6-8 hours.

The counts

These are based on how I make it, and I only put "2 potatoes" into the recipe calculator since I don't eat the chunks in the soup.

Net Carb: 10g

Protein: 13.7g
Fiber: 1.5g
*All counts listed are based on my best guesstimation and not necessarily correct. Remember to check the specific nutritional content of the brands you are using as each one is different.

alfredo sauce - 3.5g

It's been drilled into our heads that alfredo sauce is bad because of the fat content, but as a low carb dieter who loves meat and cheese, I already know that my fat intake is higher than your average eat-low-fat-or-your-heart-will-explode-American.

(For the record, I recently had bloodwork done to see how my thyroid was doing and it came back fabulous. Cholesterol, triglicerydes, everything was perfect.)

When I came across this alfredo recipe stuffed in my cookbook, I started to flip right past it. I'd tried it before and it just never turned out that great. I looked at the ingredients though and realized if I substituted the milk for heavy cream, it would make it lower carb and thicker. I searched the store for the right cheese and ended up getting Kraft's Italian Five cheese, which is a blend of provolone, romano, asiago and parmesan. Yum. I increased the garlic, added more cream than the recipe called for and this time, the sauce came out perfect. It is so good!

I combined it with some Dreamfield's low carb linguine, 1 cup of broccoli, 1/4 cup of tomatoes and some Purdue chicken nuggets. While my toddler inhaled it, we had the following conversation:

Me: What do you think of the alfredo sauce?
Son: Nope. I'm not afraid of the sauce.
Me: lol! No, the sauce. It's called "alfredo." Do you like it!
Son: Ooooh. Yes!

He cracks me up.

The total meal was 19g, which is higher than my goal of 15g per meal, but I didn't have any non-breaded chicken on hand. Three of the nuggets alone were 7.8g. In the future, I'll be sure to have some grilled chicken ready to go for this so my meal is only 11.2g!

Carrie's Alfredo Sauce
8 oz Kraft Italian Five Cheese (blend of provolone, romano, asiago and parmesan)
8 Tbs butter
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp pepper

Over medium heat, melt the butter, then stir in the cream until mixed. Add the salt, pepper and garlic then add a little bit of cheese at a time, stirring with a whisk until it's melted before adding more.

Makes about five 1/2 cup servings.

The counts

Net Carb: 3.5g

Protein: 7g

Fiber: 0.1g

*All counts listed are based on my best guesstimation and not necessarily correct. Remember to check the specific nutritional content of the brands you are using as each one is different.

sticking to it!

Things are going well in my low carb world.

I've gotten into a great groove with eating low carb and not really having to think about it. I don't keep track every day but I know I'm keeping it below 60g.

Let's see... for example, today I had:

Tea with sugar                               8g (I generally use Swerve so this is usually 0g)
My Wrap                                        8g
water

Handful of almonds                       2g

double 1/4 pounder w/cheese       10g
(no bun) 
diet coke                                         0g

Our Salad - doubled                     12g
water

Cheesy Ham & Brocolli Soup   10g
(The recipe is coming up next week!)
water

Total today: 50g!

My weight has plateaued with 5-10 more pounds to lose. I know that if I could get some exercise in, it would melt right off but I just can't seem to find the time with a 3-year-old and 1-year-old keeping me busy. Any free time I've had has been preoccupied by setting up the most awesome haunted Halloween birthday party for my niece. It's this weekend, so hopefully after that's all done, I'll be able to work exercise back into my routine somewhere!

Chicken Pot Pie - 22g

I don't remember where I got this recipe, but as soon as I made it, I knew it would become aregular. Both my kids will eat it, it's pretty simple to throw together, makes enough to have leftovers the next day.

I don't make this as often as I used to because technically it's really not low carb. When I first started making it, I wasn't following my low carb diet at all because I was pregnant with constant nausea and a meat'egg/cheese aversion. When I did start watching carbs again, I was allowing myself 25g per meal, which may be crazy high to some doing low carb, but this totally worked.

I also used to add a potato and a bottom crust to it, which would put it at more like 35g+ so those are out fo sho.

Chicken Pot Pie
1 Pillsbury pie crust
1/3 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup butter
1/2 tsp pepper
1 3/4 cups chicken broth (1 14 oz can)
1/2 cup milk
2 1/2 cups shredded chicken or turkey
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables

Pre-heat oven to 425. Line casserole dish with foil. (I like an easy clean up!)

In a pan, cook the chicken. I generally add some salt and pepper to the meat while cooking.

In a large, deep saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. With a whisk, stir in flour, salt and pepper until well-blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk, stirring and cooking until bubbly and thickened.

Pour cooked chicken and vegetables into the pan and mix it all together. Spoon the mixture into the casserole dish and top with a pie crust. Because the crust is round, you will have to gently stretch it and cut off one of the sides to make it cover the entire pie.

Bake 30 minutes or until crust is golden.

Makes 8 servings

The counts

Net Carb: 22g

Protein: 19g

Fiber: 2g

*All counts listed are based on my best guesstimation and not necessarily correct. Remember to check the specific nutritional content of the brands you are using as each one is different.

Gruyere and Bacon Spread - 9g

I love Pinterest.

There. I said it.

I'm generally quite resistant to new fads. I'll hear about them, roll my eyes and move on. I don't jump on bandwagons immediately.

This was how I was with Pinterest. And then it seems everyone I know had joined and every day there were multiple Facebook posts and I kept seeing these brilliant ideas, so I finally gave in and clicked over, which was death to my No Way Am I Joining stance.

(I should note that Facebook was one fad that I did jump on. I think I was the first of my friends to get on there. It was lonely for a long time.)

Anyway.

Pinterest. I joined but I am happy to say that I'm not just a pinner. I've already lost count of all of the things I've tried. Crafts, household tips, Halloween ideas for my niece's Haunted House Birthday Bash we're doing this year in our basement, and, of course, food.

When I saw this pin, I knew I would be trying it as soon as I could get to the store. I didn't care if it was low carb or not. It was going to be eaten by me.

I did change a couple of things. The recipe calls for 3 1/2 CUPS of onions. Holy onions, Batman! That's overkill, right? Especially since I don't love onions. And our garden onions are insanely strong. I cut it down to 1 cup and it was still quite oniony. I also used full fat sour cream because I'm a daredevil like that and I just had regular mayo. I have no idea what "canola mayo" is and saw nothing at the store that mentioned canola oil in it. :::shrugs:::

Carmelized Onion, Gruyere and Bacon Spread
Adapted from Cooking Light November 2011
cooking spray
1 Tbs butter
1 cup chopped onion
4 ounces Gruyere cheese, shredded and divided
2 Tbs chopped fresh chives, divided
1/3 cup mayonaisse
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

Preheat oven to 425. Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Coat the pan lightly with the cooking spray. Melt the butter. Add onion and saute for five minutes, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to low. Cook 20 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occassionally.

Reserve 2 Tbs of cheese. Combine remaining cheese, onion, 1 Tbs chives and remaining ingredients in a bowl.

Transfer the mixture to a 1-quart dish coated lightly with cooking spray. Sprinkle with reserved cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Sprinkle with remaining chives and serve on baguette slices.

~~~~

I used a wheat baguette in the bakery department of my Kroger. The bag says a serving is 6 pieces and 24g, which is way more than I could eat, so I kind of made up my own serving size for this to make it more low-carb and appetizer appropriate. I think the dip made about 20+ spoonfuls. It's hard to tell because I lost count because we ate it so fast. ;) Delish!!

The counts

Dip

Serving size: 2 Tbs.

Net Carb: 1g

Protein: 2g

Fiber: >1g

 

Bread

Serving size: 2 slices

Net Carb: 8g

Protein: 2g

Fiber: .5g

*All counts listed are based on my best guesstimation and not necessarily correct. Remember to check the specific nutritional content of the brands you are using as each one is different.

tuna casserole - 19g

When a friend offered to set up a meal calendar when my daughter was born, I jumped at the idea. I mean, free, healthy, ready-to-eat meals when you have a newborn are like gold and I knew I'd be starving from nursing and exhausted from not getting any sleep so there was no way I was turning that offer down.

My neighbor signed up to bring us tuna casserole and I admit that I wasn't sure I'd like it. I'd never actually had tuna casserole. I liked tuna salad sandwiches okay. I love sushi with tuna rolls and white tuna being my favorite, but sushi grade raw tuna is way different from canned. When she told me what was all in the casserole, I probably made a face:

Canned tuna. eh.
Peas. yuck.
Mayo. blah.
Pasta. Carb heaven.
Cheese. Yum.

I'm glad I'm willing to try new things because I think I ate the entire casserole single-handedly in a day. I added mushrooms to bulk it up some and because I like mushrooms. :) My neighbor's recipe uses egg noodles, but thanks to Dreamfields Pasta I was able to make it lower carb!

Tuna Casserole
2-3 cans tuna, drained
1 can peas, drained
1 can mushrooms, drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
6 Tbs mayonaisse
2-3 cups mozzarella cheese
1 box Dreamfields Low Carb Penne Pasta

Boil pasta, drain and set aside.

While pasta is cooking, mix the rest of the ingredients, saving some cheese to sprinkle on top.

Combine everything into a casserole dish, sprinkle cheese on top and bake at 325 for 30 minutes or until cheese is brown.

(Or, if you're lazy like me, just combine everything in a tupperware dish and skip the baking part because you're too hungry to wait 30 minutes and the hot pasta warms up the rest of the food so it can be eaten immediately. :)

Makes about 6 servings.

The counts

Serving size: 1 cup (Technically, a serving of the pasta is 1/2 cup.)

Net Carb: 19g

Protein: 47g! Wow. Tuna has a lot of protein in it.

Fiber: 12g

*All counts listed are based on my best guesstimation and not necessarily correct. Remember to check the specific nutritional content of the brands you are using as each one is different.

Dot's Chocolate Cake - 41g. :/ Oh my.

I saw this contest for someone looking for the best chocolate cake for her husband and knew this recipe had to be entered.

It's from my husband's side of the family and as soon as I tasted it, all other chocolate cake recipes I had were thrown in the trash. We make it for every birthday now. And, coming from someone who has a sweet tooth and likes icing... this doesn't need it. It's that good.

Edit: I won third place in the contest! Now I need to make the two that beat me because they must be delicious!


Dot's Chocolate Cake
2/3 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 tsp baking soda
2 cups flour
pinch of salt
2/3 cup cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 325. Cream butter and sugar together. Mix milk and soda together then add all ingredients except vanilla and water. Mix until blended. Add vanilla and hot water - stir until mixed. It will be very thin. Pour in greased and floured 9x13 glass dish. Bake 20-30 minutes

I cut it into 15 pieces.

The counts

Serving size: 1 piece

Net Carb: 42g. Oh my. :/

Protein: 3g

Fiber: 1g

*All counts listed are based on my best guesstimation and not necessarily correct. Remember to check the specific nutritional content of the brands you are using as each one is different.

watermelon - 2.6g

I was looking around on Pinterest (big surprise there...) searching for tips on watermelon picking.

Our garden was all weird this year and everything basically stopped growing for like a month even though we watered religiously and did everything else we could think of to have a great harvest. Randomly, everything picked up where it left off and started growing, but all of our crops ended up small, non-existant or late.

:(

We've had a few picked-to-early watermelons and a few whose flavor was meh, but today I (finally) got a really good one.


It's a doozy at almost 30 pounds!

Anyway, while I was browsing Pinterest, I noticed that no one had pinned about the least messy way I have found to cut a watermelon:

It's perfect. The juice, seeds and small chunks run down the holes and are caught in the pan instead of getting all over your counter and floor! I came up with this solution all by myself so I'm going to go ahead pat myself on the back for it. Good job, self. :)

When I worked for a catering company, I learned the the quickest way to cut a watermelon. Grab a trash can so you can throw the rind straight in and a good knife. I use a bread knife because it has nice, long serrated blade and the tips are great for picking out the seeds.

Slice it in half then lay one half on the flat side. Slice the rind off each side, then chop the top off so you basically have a watermelon cube.

 

Next, cut it like a loaf of bread. I do about 1" slices.

 

 

Cut each slice into strips. At the catering company, we'd then cut these again to make cubes, but having a toddler and a pre-schooler at home, I just leave them like that so they can pick them up and eat them as is.

 

 

I used to spend way too much time picking out the seeds for the little ones, but now I just separate the parts without seeds into a different container. Non-seeded are for the kids, seeded are for the hubby.

 

 

The (contained) mess! Rinse it in the sink and you're done!

 

As far as carbohydrates go, it's not too bad of a snack, if you can stop eating it. A serving size is only 1/4 cup, but I tend to eat a cup at a time...

 

The counts

Serving size: 1/4 cup

Net Carb: 2.6g

Protein: <1g

Fiber: <1g

*All counts listed are based on my best guesstimation and not necessarily correct. Remember to check the specific nutritional content of the brands you are using as each one is different.

fruit n' jell-o - 5-10g

My niece kept raving about this dessert her grandma makes called Fluff. It takes a pack of jell-o (not made, just the powder for flavor), canned fruit cocktail and cool whip... all high sugar and definite no-nos for low carb.

After she told me the ingredients, I wanted to create a low carb version and while this ended up being really nothing like Fluff, I love it! You can use any flavor of jell-o and any low carb fruits you'd like to change it up.

My favorite version:
2 packs sugar-free orange jell-o
1 fresh peach, cut into pieces
1/2 pound fresh strawberries, cut into pieces
1/2 pint fresh blueberries (unless they are sour...)
Redi-Whip

Mix fruit and jell-o together after the jello-has set and top with whipped cream.

The counts

These vary depending on what types of fruit you use. As far as I can figure, a one-cup serving is probably only around 5g of carbs. Definitely less than 10g.

Net Carb: 5g

Protein: depends

Fiber: depends

*Remember to check the specific nutritional content of the brands you are using as each one is different.

Can you think of a better and more creative name to call it?

doing great!

I've been doing well sticking to my diet these past couple of weeks.

I haven't gotten much exercise unfortunately, but I have lost 2 pounds from just watching what I'm eating and I am feeling fabulous! My sugar cravings have gone way down and when I have had something sweet, it doesn't taste the same. I actually had one of my son's gummy fruit candies and it was so gross that I had to spit it out.

My daily carb intake has been around 40-50 most days which is below my goal of 60g. I haven't been starving in the mornings like I used to be, so I think my body is adjusting to having a more constant blood sugar level. Sometimes I just have a cup of tea until our 10 a.m. snacktime when I'll have a hardboiled egg or piece of toast or fruit or something to get me to lunchtime, so that's helping keep my carbs down, too.

Speaking of tea, I've weaned myself off of needing an ungodly amount of sugar in order to drink it. I couldn't switch straight to Swerve only, so I started doing half sugar/half Swerve or half Swerve/half vanilla creamer but today I had only Swerve and it didn't bother me at all. This is huge because I have always used way too much sugar in my tea... like 1-2 Tablespoons. That's ridiculous.

I'm hoping that this coming week I can fit some exercise in. I think I may have broken my toe so running on the treadmill isn't exactly easy to do right now, but I can walk okay if I wear tennis shoes. With the cooler weather and since my daughter loves having my son drive her around in his Little Tykes Hummer, there's no reason we can't go for a walk every evening on our 6 acres.

New finds:
McDonald's vanilla kiddie cones only have 7g net carbs!
I am absolutely fine with a Quarter Pounder with Cheese without the bun. 9g!
I went for years hating bacon and now I love it again. So very much.

"Hershey's" chocolate syrup - 2.5g

I love Pinterest.

(FYI: There may be quite a few posts on this blog that start off like that.)

So I'm sitting outside while the kids are playing in the sandbox, browsing around Pinterest on my laptop. I come across this pin for a homemade Hershey's chocolate syrup recipe. I look at the ingredients and know I can copy it with my Swerve sweetener, making it low carb.

But how will it taste...?

I decided to give it a shot after the kids went to bed and sure enough it tastes great! This is so exciting to me for multiple reasons. Now I can add some to my almond milk and have a chocolate milk fix - or even splurge and drink some real chocolate milk and not go into a sugar coma! Also, my kids love chocolate milk but with 20g of sugar in Hershey's and 14g in Quik, I don't love giving it to them. Not to mention that I always cringe when we run out because the price just keeps going up!

I even had a Hershey's Lite (ick!) bottle that was almost empty that I could clean out and relabel for my own low carb syrup!!

Low Carb "Hershey's" Chocolate Syrup
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups water
1 1/2 cups Swerve sweetener
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
dash of salt

In a large saucepan to prevent boiling over, combine the cocoa, water, sweetener and salt over medium heat. Mix with whisk until smooth. Stir constantly until it boils, allowing it to boil for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla.

It will be very watery but after it cools it will thicken. Keeps for several weeks in the fridge.

Makes almost 2 cups. A serving size according to Hershey is 2 Tbs.

Edit: This does crystalize in the fridge, but I just pop it in the microwave for 20-30 seconds then shake it up and it's back to being all liquidy goodness.

The counts

Net Carb: 2.5g

Protein: 2g

Fiber: 3.6g

*Remember to check the specific nutritional content of the brands you are using as each one is different.

caprese salad - 4g net carbs

I love me a caprese salad.

I first had one at Joe & Mimma's Italian Pizza restaurant in Newport News, Va. I had never had one and was iffy about it when my co-worker ordered it. One bite and I was hooked.

Then, I discovered Campari tomatoes. They are a bit expensive at the store, but they are so delicious that I buy them anyway. Then we discovered that we could dry out the seeds and plant them in our garden so now every summer we are overloaded with the best tomatoes ever.

What to do with them? This little appetizer, of course!

Caprese Salad
1/2 cup of sliced tomatoes
1.5 ounces of sliced mozzarella cheese
olive oil to drizzle over
salt, pepper and basil to sprinkle

That's it. To make a big batch for a cookout, I've actually cut things up into bite sized pieces and just mixed it all together, but I like it this way best.

The counts

Net Carb: 4g

Protein: 1.5g

Fiber: 9g

*Remember to check the specific nutritional content of the brands you are using as each one is different.

starting again

I am on and off the low carb bandwagon way too often. I do well for a week or two and then start relaxing a little bit and next thing I know I'll realize that I've been eating badly for a week straight.

It starts out innocently enough. I had dropped my carb limit from 100g to 80g a day but never really stuck to it. Then I'd be all, "Oh, I've only had 70g today, it won't hurt me to eat this donut - that'll just put me over 80g!" Which is true, but not helpful at the whole breaking the sugar addiction thing.

The good news is that I haven't been gaining wait... I've just completely stalled out.

So today I decided to start again and I'm dropping my limit down to 60g OR LESS. None of this "I've got this many left to work with so I can splurge!" stuff. That'll give me 15g per meal and 15g for snacks throughout the day. I've done great so far. It's almost 3 p.m. and I'm only at 25g. I'm nervous about dinner though because I have no idea what we're having yet and know I need to get to the store so my low carb options are kind of scarce.

I'm also working on drinking more water back. My plan is to drink 12 oz first thing in the morning and then 12 oz with each meal. That will at least put me at 48 oz a day. I need to add vitamins back, too. They'd been making me nauseous - even with food - so I started dreading taking them which led to be stopping them altogether.

Edited: At bedtime, I was at 51g net carbs for the day. Score. :)

Mom's Spaghetti Sauce - 7g

My mom makes the best spaghetti sauce ever. She tweaked this recipe from one she saw in a magazine until she got it just right. It is incredibly easy to make and freezes great, so I tend to triple the batch in order to have tons leftover and spaghetti can be a quick go-to meal that I know everyone will eat.

I did do my own tweaking earlier this year: I added pureed canned carrots and green beans to hide in the batch. The first time, I put too much green beans in and you could definitely taste them. I've got it down now though, and even my picky niece forgets they are in there and devours it.

Mom's Spaghetti Sauce

1 lb ground chuck (or ground turkey)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 29 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 12 oz can tomato paste
1 Tbs parsley flakes
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp pepper
1 bay leaf
2 cups water

Brown meat with onions until no longer pink. Drain. Add remaining ingredients. Heat over medium heat until sauce starts to bubble. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove bay leaf.

As I said, I triple this recipe and to that I add 2 cans of green beans and 1 can of carrots that I have pureed.

Mom's recipe makes 3 quarts... adding the veggies probably makes about another quart. Triple the entire thing, and I end up making 12 quarts at a time. I freeze them in tupperware containers that hold 3-4 cups each so all I have to do is pop 1-2 of them in the microwave to thaw out whenever I need them!

Combine them with Dreamfields Low Carb Pasta (5g net carbs per serving) and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and you've got a complete, healthy meal! Sometimes, I also sautee some zuchinni and mushrooms in a little bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder to add to it. So yummy!

The counts (for the sauce only without pureed veggies)

Serving size: 1/2 cup

Net Carb: 7g

Protein: 7g

Fiber: 2g

*All counts listed are based on my best guesstimation and not necessarily correct. Remember to check the specific nutritional content of the brands you are using as each one is different.

Peeta's Sugar Cookies - 24g

This definitely falls under the "other yummy goodness" section of this blog. If you are strict about your low carb diet, just skip this post.

These are hands down the best sugar cookies I have ever had... and that says a lot coming from a girl with a sweet tooth whose favorite cookie is a sugar cookie.

When my dear friend, Lauren at What's In Lauren's Tummy? posted this recipe, I was intrigued but hesitant because it comes from an unofficial cookbook based on the movie, The Hunger Games. Then I remembered that two other go-to recipes I make came from the Friends TV show cookbook and they're fabulous. After Lauren said they were the best ever, I knew I had to make them.

And she was not wrong.

There's no way to describe how good they are. I don't know if it's the sea salt or the turbinado sugar or what, but they are the bomb. They're soft and chewy, yet oh-so-slightly crunchy on the outside and sweet, but not sickeningly so.

They're just... amazing.

Make them and plan on eating an entire dozen yourself because you won't be able to stop.

Photo credited to Lauren!

 

Sweet Sugar Cookies from a Sweetie
The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
3 tablespoons white sugar
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt. In a small bowl, beat together the egg and vanilla.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, 1 cup white sugar, and the turbinado sugar. Cream until light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes. Add egg and vanilla mixture, mixing completely. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients.

Pour 3 tablespoons of white sugar into a small bowl. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into small balls. Roll balls in sugar, then place onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until just barely golden brown at the edges. If the cookies don't look completely done, that's okay. let cookies stand on sheet for 5 minutes before removing to cool on wire rack.

The book claims this makes 1 dozen, but I can easily get 2 dozen out of this recipe.

The counts

Serving size: 1 cookie

Net Carb: 24g! OUCH!

Protein: 1.8g

Fiber: .4g

*All counts listed are based on my best guesstimation and not necessarily correct. Remember to check the specific nutritional content of the brands you are using as each one is different.

My breakfast wrap - 8g

This isn't really a recipe and I'm positive others have come up with this before, but this is one of my favorite low carb meals (8 net grams), especially for breakfast because it is so quick and easy. I like starting my day off with a very low carb, high fiber, high protein meal just to get the day off right. Usually I'll have some sort of fruit or a low carb yogurt on the side, too.

What you'll need: low carb tortillas, cheese - I like colby jack - hard-boiled eggs and ham.

On a microwavable plate, layer the ingredients. Microwave for 30 seconds and fold!

 

Hide from your children while you eat so they don't devour the entire thing.



The counts

Net Carb: 8g

Protein: 26g

Fiber: 12g

*Remember to check the specific nutritional content of the brand you are using as each one is different.

One day, I used some leftover ground turkey that had been made with a little taco seasoning and it was delicious! I haven't done much else, but the possibilities are endless!

-different cheeses

-turkey

-salsa or hot sauce

-onions

-mushrooms

-shredded zucchini

-chopped up greens, like spinach or kale

What low carb ingredient would you add?

1905 Salad, aka "Our Salad"- 6g net carbs

Once upon a time, shortly after my future husband and I started dating, he had to go to King's Bay, Georgia from some military training for a month. He had weekends off while he was there, so he flew me down to visit him... three times. :)

On our first trip, we drove to St. Augustine, Florida for some sightseeing and ate at Columbia Restaurant.

I don't remember what I ordered that night to eat because he ordered their 1905 Salad and kindly let me have a bite... which turned into half his salad. We asked the waiter about it and he said the recipe was available on their website. Since then we have made it hundreds of times... it's sooo good. And thankfully, low carb at 6g net!

(As a side note, their Sangria de Cava recipe is on there, too. We also got that and make that regularly as well! Instead of your normal red wine-based sangria, it's sweet and fruity!)

This salad is amazing. And I don't usually like vinegar-based dressings. Or swiss cheese. Or olives. According to their website, it was chosen by USA Today as one of America's Top 10 Best Salads.

My actual lunch today.
I highly suggest you double this recipe, because you will likely eat it all immediately.

The link to the recipe online is different from the one I wrote down, so I don't know if they changed it or what, but here's mine:

Salad
1/2 head lettuce
2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup ham, jullienne style
1/2 cup swiss cheese, julienne style
1/4 cup black olives
2 tsp grated Romano cheese

Dressing
1/8 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced (we like garlic, so we tend to do 5)
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

The counts

Net Carb: 6g

Protein: 16g

Fiber: 2g

*Remember to check the specific nutritional content of the brands you are using as each one is different.

The Incredible Edible (Boiled) Egg

Eggs are definitely a staple of a low carb diet. Low calorie, 6g of protein and 0g of carbs. Versatile little things, too, so I'm sure I'll have lots of egg recipes that will get posted at some point.

Once a week, I boil a dozen eggs and eat them with my morning breakfast wrap. (Ole XTreme High Fiber tortilla wrap, a slice of ham, boiled egg and cheese, microwaved for 30 seconds. 5 grams!) However, I suck at boiling eggs. It takes forever, They never come out the same and half of the white ends up in the trash when I peel it. I've tried all the tricks I could find - using older eggs, using fresh eggs, starting the water cold, adding things to the water, cooking for different times, different types of eggs, etc. None of it worked for me so I resigned myself to using my As Seen On TV Eggies, even though they were kind of a pain in their own way, too.

Then a friend posted a link to a Pinterest page about baking your "hard-boiled" eggs.

I decided I'd give it a try and couldn't believe that IT ACTUALLY WORKS!

Lauren at The Burlap Bag suggests 325-350 degrees for 30 minutes but my friend said hers worked at 320 and since my oven seems to burn things easily, I went with 320.

Lauren also came up with the idea to use a mini muffin tin, which is brilliant!

I could do two dozen at a time... which may be necessary soon since my

two little ones seem to love eggs as much as I do and like to have them for snacks.

After baking, some of them might have brown spots on them.

This usually goes away after the next step, though sometimes you'll have

little brown spots on the egg white where it was resting in the tin. Doesn't bother me though.

Next up: Ice bath for 10 minutes or so.

This cools them down and stops the cooking process so the yolks don't turn green.

And peel! So easy, my 3-year-old can do it.

 (Like my fingernail? My niece taught me how to do that! She probably found it on Pinterest, too.)

Perfectly done!

This is absolutely how I will always "boil" my eggs from here on out! And now I can finally try to make deviled eggs! Just need a good recipe...

peach cobbler - 7g

Every August, a little bit of heaven comes to my life as my neighbors row of peach trees are covered in fruit and they graciously let us have as many as we want.

One of my favorite things to do is make peach cobbler, but between the sugar and the bisquik, the carbs are outrageous so if I do splurge and make it, I have to be sure that there are lots of people around so it all gets eaten immediately and I don't eat the whole thing by myself.

Because I will.

So, imagine my thrill when I found out about Carbquik! A low carb Bisquik knock off!







(Image from netrition.com)



I ordered some and just got it in the mail the day before when my husband came home with a bag of peaches saying, "We need to get over there. The peaches are so ready that when you pick one, two others fall off the branch." They are delicious! (Store-bought fruit and veggies do NOT compare to fresh picked.)

I was expecting a bag of Swerve sweetener (0 carbs!) in the mail any day so I trotted out to the mailbox and there it was!











(Image from swervesweetener.com)



I immediately went inside and set out to try my hand at a low carb peach cobbler.
Also, we made some peaches and cream with the Swerve and it was fabulous! Tasted exactly as if I'd used real sugar!

Yes, I had two desserts last night. It was fabulous and I was still way under my carbs for the day. :)

2 cups Carbquik
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 Tbs water
3 Tbs Swerve for the biscuit
5 cups washed and sliced peaches (I like a lot :)
2 Tbs Swerve for the peaches
1 tsp Swerve to sprinkle on top

Preheat oven to 375. Line a glass casserole dish with tin foil (I'm all about easy clean up.)

Mix the peaches in a bowl with the 2 Tbs Swerve. Spread these out in the pan.

Mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl. The result is kind of dry and flaky, but when you smoosh it, it holds together nicely. Add 3 Tbs Swerve. I made little hamburger-sized patties, squashed down to about 1/4 inch and laid them on top of the peaches until the pan was mostly covered. Sprinkle about 2 tsp Swerve all over the top.

Bake for 15 minutes or until biscuits start browning.

The result wasn't too shabby. The Carbquik has a kind of funny smell/flavor, but once I added the Swerve, it tasted pretty good. I topped mine with some Redi Whip and it improved the flavor a lot.

The counts

Serving size: 1 cup (about 3/4 cup peaches, 1/4 cup biscuit) plus 2 Tbs. Redi Whip

Net Carb: 7g

Protein: 7g

Fiber: 15g!

*All counts listed are based on my best guesstimation and not necessarily correct. Remember to check the specific nutritional content of the brands you are using as each one is different.

 

What's your favorite dish that uses fresh peaches?

What Can I Eat???

Even though a lot of people think "all meat diet" when they hear low carb, that's not what it is at all. It's more of a no-bread/pasta/rice/processed food-diet.

Thanks to the Atkins diet craze, low carb items abound - including some breads, pastas and other snacks. These are some of my favorites that you will always find at my house:

- Hershey's kisses with almonds. 20g (net) in 9 pieces. That's only about 2g per piece, so 2-3 pieces will only set you back 4-6g, yet still give you a chocolate fix. (Plus the almonds have protein to help fill you up!)

-Russell Stover's makes sugar-free candies that are yum! They are made with sugar alcohol which doesn't have an effect on your insulin like regular sugar does. My favorite is the mint patties - very similar to Peppermint Patties - 1g (net) per piece. (I buy mine at dollar stores generally for $1. Kroger and Meijer sell them for $1.99 and will sometimes have them on sale for less. If you find them for $1 though, stock up!)


-pork rinds. I grew up eating them so I was thrilled when I looked at the carb content and saw 0g!


-popcorn! A serving is 4 cups popped with only 12g per serving. Eat only 2 cups and you're only getting 6g!

- almonds. 2.5g per 1/4 cup. Almonds rock.

-Weight Watchers makes an ice cream bar that's really yummy and only like 12g of carbs. (It's vanilla ice cream with nuts and caramel and covered in chocolate. yum!)

- Atkin's bars and shakes (or an off brand equivalent). My faves are the strawberry shakes (1g I think) and the Caramel Nut Chew Bars (2g). Those bars taste somewhat like milky way candy bars. I also like the coconut chocolate ones.

-All-Bran Multi-Grain crackers. They come in a brown box and I get them at Kroger. There are 14g in 18 crackers - that's only like 1g per cracker and is the lowest net carb count I've found so far. Grab 5 crackers or so, add some cheese on top and you’ve got a good little snack.

-sugar-free jell-o with full fat whip cream sprayed on top. No need to say more. I think it's got like 2-3g in it.

-Healthy Life Low Carb bread. I also get this at Kroger (can you tell I shop there a lot?) and it's in a white package. They have a couple of different versions: The one with the brown stripe has 5g per slice but it does tend to be a little dry. The one with the purple stripe has flaxseed in it and 6g per slice.

-Peanut butter! While it does have some natural sugars in it, check the labels because a lot of the popular brand names have added sugar in them so they will have more carbs. I get Smucker's all natural peanut butter. (4g) Again, a little more expensive but if you look at the ingredients it only says "peanuts." Also, there are tons of sugar-free jellies out there and they are good and will settle your PB&J craving if you're a PB&J person - I am! However, if you've been careful with other parts of your diet that day, eating regular jelly on them is fine. (Especially if you are already using a low-carb bread.)

-Kroger makes a really good yogurt called CARBmaster. It comes in like, I don't know, 15 different flavors and is yummy.


-Ole brand Extreme Wellness High Fiber wraps - I get them at Kroger in the ethnic food aisle. Every morning I have one of those, with a thick slice of ham, a sliced up boiled egg, sprinkled with cheddar cheese and microwave for 30-40 seconds. Takes less than 5 minutes to make, is all protein, lots of fiber and has a 5g carb count. They are really good - I've been eating one for breakfast for like the past 3 months and I'm still not sick of them. (You can even add other things to them if you like - hot sauce, other cheeses, onions, etc.) I can generally make it past lunchtime before I'm hungry again. I also snack on just the tortilla wrap randomly when I want the feel of something carby or am in a hurry and want a quick snack.
-dairy. For some reason, milk and yogurt have a lot of carbs (due to the lactose), but other dairy products, like heavy cream, cheese, sour cream, etc., don't. Must have something to do with the separation process. Anyway, I love me some dairy and while I miss having huge glasses of milk every day, being able to replace it with the CARBmaster yogurt and cheese is working okay. I do allow myself small glasses of milk (I think an 8 oz glass has like 12 grams in it) every once in awhile.

-Unsweetened Almond Milk. Great to use on cereal and not bad for a drink! 1g net carbs.

- Speaking of cereal. Fiber One cereal is the lowest I've found so far with 11g per 1/2 cup. Multi-Gran Cheerios are fabulous and really not too high carb for a cereal. (About 20g in 1 cup.) Kashi makes some low-ish carb ones, too, but I haven't found any flavors that I really like that make it worth me spending the extra money on them. Craving your favorite high carb cereal or oatmeal? Cut the serving in half and have at it! Maybe even try putting a little less milk than you normally would on it or don't drink the milk that's left over in your bowl. Little things add up! Or use almond milk instead!

-eggs. Tons of protein, 0 carbs. I boil a dozen each week to have ready to go for my breakfast wraps or a quick snack. In addition, we have fried eggs for breakfast a lot – quick to make!

-drinks. Water is obviously the most important because it keeps you hydrated and has 0 carbs. But if you must have something besides water, Gatorade makes 0 carb and a 5g carb drinks. Crystal Lite has powder you can add to water that's sugar-free. Diet 7-Up has 0 carbs and is good if you are craving a pop.

-If you have insulin problems, not all fruit is good for you. Bananas (21g), apples (17g), pears (21g), raisins (31g) and oranges (12g) are basically off my radar now. (That's per 1/4 cup.) Berries are great (blueberries are highest at 4.1g per 1/4 cup).

-Low carb smoothie! Put frozen mixed berries, low carb yogurt (I use strawberry banana), a little heavy cream and ice in the blender. Sometimes I add a little protein powder, too.

-My mom found a low carb pasta!!! This was the one thing I *really* missed but couldn’t justify splurging on very often – especially only being able to get 100g of carbs a day. Dreamfields makes a bunch of different low carb pastas now! Spaghetti, lasagna and mac and cheese are back on my radar occassionally!


I'll add more to the tab at the top of the page as I come across them!