Weekly Low Carb Wrap Up - Week Five

     This has been a tough week for me! But even with all that has happened this week which I'll detail more about in another post to follow later this week, I managed to lose one pound! Yay!!! 

     I know, it's not a lot, but imagine if you were to lose one pound per week? How many pounds would you lose in one year??? I can see you all doing the math. Let me make it easy for you...it would be 52 pounds!!! Amazing when you realize slow and steady wins the race!

     The bad thing about deciding to lose weight and eat better is that as human beings, we are a very impatient bunch! We are used to getting everything now! We don't stop to think that we didn't put on 30 extra pounds in a week, it took us a good 6 months to a year or more, so what makes us think we can lose it in a week?

     That is my mantra...slow and steady wins the race. I'm not just learning how to lose weight, I'm also learning how to cook and eat delicious food that can be eaten by me and my whole family alike. As I get older and realize that I want to avoid diabetes, which runs in most families, I know the only way to do it is to eat better and exercise.

     With that being said, let me tell you that while I stuck to my eating plan this past week, I really didn't have much time to try new things. But thank goodness for my co-worker, who decided to try to make a cookie using almond flour and coconut. I believe she found the recipe on the blog, I Breathe...I'm Hungry. These cookies are called Almond Joy Cookies and they are low carb and gluten free. 

Almond Joy Cookies

     We both discussed the fact that they were good, but could have used a little more Splenda to make them sweeter. We realize that would have upped the carb count, but as long as we are only going to eat one every once in a while it really wouldn't kill us. She too felt that maybe it would have helped to add some cinnamon for flavoring, but all in all, they were pretty good and went well with our morning coffee. She also made some cheesecake which I forgot to photograph.

     I usually like to try to make a nice meal on Sundays. It's a throwback to my mom and dad who always used to BBQ on Sunday. They would make enough food to feed an army! Last Sunday I made another Pork Tenderloin, but this time I made it the way my sister does, kind of like a pot roast. I loaded it with veggies. It look beautiful and tasted pretty good, but my familia is not big on the baked veggies and I myself like them only slightly steamed and still crunchy. But it's a pretty dish, don't you think?

     For this pork tenderloin I used a very simple dry rub, just salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder, then I braised it in a cast iron skillet, added the raw veggies and into the oven it went.

     This Sunday was Easter Sunday. I was going to BBQ but it was windy in our neck of the woods and a bit chilly, so I decided to just make my famous (well famous to my family) Taco Bell Teriyaki Hamburgers with Guacamole for my son and daughter, and then for myself I decided to try a couple of new recipes that I've pinned on Pinterest. 

     The first was an Easy Cajun Chicken from...you guessed it, I Breathe...I'm Hungry! I just love her blog, so many wonderful recipes that are super easy to make. So easy that even I can do it!

     I did it exactly like her recipe except that I did not have any dried thyme so I just didn't use it. I had bought a huge pack of chicken drumsticks at the store the day before and I washed them, dried them, rubbed them with olive oil and then made the dry rub of salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder, cayenne pepper and dried oregano and tossed them in that, placed them on a foil lined cookie sheet and baked them at 400 degree oven for about an hour. 

     They were soooooooooooo good! The skin was crispy and spicy as heck! And the meaty part of the drumstick was juicy and delicious. I made the whole pack which was about 5 pounds so I will have plenty of leftovers to carry me through the week.
     

     To go along with it, I tried another Pinterest recipe which I found at Linda's Low Carb Menus and Recipes called Broccoli Slaw. This was very similar to my Broccoli Salad  except it didn't call for bacon and onions, so I improvised a bit and added onion salt and when I served the slaw on my plate I added bacon bits. 

     I also added some guacamole that I made for the burgers. I froze some of the guacamole as a test as I have been seeing on Pinterest that you can freeze avocado and they are really inexpensive right now. I bought these for 50 cents each! So here was my Easter Sunday Dinner...yummy no?

     So that's it for this week's wrap up. I didn't get a chance to exercise as I had hoped, but I did stay busy doing other things, which again I will post more about later this week. I'll try to exercise this week, but again...not sure it's going to be possible since I'm a pretty busy gal lately. Have a great week!

 

Meatball Sunday!

I finally broke my crock pot out of the box it came in when I bought it over three months ago and made those meatballs I told you about earlier this week. You remember, the meatballs I bought and then had to wait in traffic for hours before I could get them home to the freezer?

Well they made it home still frozen and today I tossed them into the crock pot along with a whole bottle of BBQ sauce and a jar of grape jelly (grape jelly is the secret ingredient that I didn't tell anyone about because I didn't think they would try them if they new grape jelly was in there).

I found the recipe at The County Cook and I followed it to the letter but they didn't look as pretty as hers, mine were a little bit darker. Maybe the BBQ sauce I used? Not sure.

I didn't take a photo of the ones I made and the results were mixed. Mom said they were ok, but she's not a big fan of ground beef. The son loved them! The daughter said she liked the flavor but not the texture of the meatballs. I'm kinda with the daughter, I liked the flavor but not the texture. Maybe next time I'll make my own meatballs.

I'm trying to make something new each Sunday. My kids keep asking for the same old tried and true recipes but I'm determined to benefit from the many hours each I day I spend pinning recipes from Pinterest!

Anyway, Friday was my company's holiday luncheon in Fresno which is about 2 hours north of Bakersfield. It was fun and I always love seeing my co-workers from our Fresno and San Jose offices, since we only see each other once a year but talk to each other almost every day. It was tough trying to gather everyone together for a photo. As you can see, I was camera ready but everyone else was too busy socializing!

And then when they are all ready, I decide to move my head so I'm a little out of focus...or maybe it was the wine?

 

But finally we get all the socialites and rabble-rousers out of the picture and get everyone to focus and pay attention and I think we came out great!

 

 

 

Each year they set up a luncheon for us at  Roger Rocka's Dinner Theater in Fresno. The cast there puts on an abbreviated portion of the show currently playing which this year was Beehive. It was so funny and they are such great singers. They also host a raffle where you can win prizes such as Kindles and Ipods and Ipads and bottles of wine and baskets of chocolate and stuffed animals and gift certificates. All the money goes to charity and sadly no one at my table won! But we still had a wonderful time!

 



 

 

Saturday my sister and I took my dad to breakfast. He had a good time and bought himself a little 1955 Chevy model car that they had for sale, so he was a happy camper to have had breakfast with his girls and a toy to play with later!

 

 

 

Then my sister and I took off for Valencia to do some Christmas shopping and share in a little sister-time. Sadly, I didn't get any pictures except the one of the Guacamole and Sparkling Pomegranate Margaritas we shared, but if I had gotten a picture, we would have been smiling because we had a great day.

 

 

 

So that was my weekend and tomorrow it's back to the salt mines. Have a good week everyone!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Well I gotta say, all in all, barring getting 1 year older it was a great day! Although I did go to work the girls at work had a cake for me and a box of chocolates. Actually two cakes, one chocolate and one funfetti white cake!

Another friend gave me a canopy for my bed. I'm still debating if my room is big enough for a canopy or whether I'll feel claustrophobic. I'll post pictures if I put it up.

And my mom really surprised me with an addition to my grape/wine themed kitchen. She purchased the two grape trivets shows in the pictures below and then set up a little display along with the plates my daughter gave me. Now I've done a few tablescapes but it never dawned on me to display a tablescape under the glass top so I can actually use the table. The glass is on top and you are looking through it to see the display. Isn't my mom brilliant and doesn't she have excellent taste in gifts?

I also received a beautiful green suede jacket from my sister which I'll take a picture of once it's actually cool enough to wear a jacket since it's 108 degrees today!

My daughter took me out to a super dinner last night at Mimi's. I had my favorite Asian Chicken Salad, she had Scallops with Asparagus Ravioli - Yummo! And my mom who also joined us had Maple Glazed pork chops that were to die for! Mimi's staff was gracious enough to provide us with a dessert ensemble consisting of a brownie hot fudge sundae with vanilla ice cream, chocolate mousse with fresh strawberries and an apple crisp with vanilla ice cream. Thanks Mimi's. They also gave me a gift card with a free appetizer for next time I visit.

Happy Birthday to Me!

It was a great weekend!

I've really been having a lot of fun the last two weekends thrift shopping with my mom on Sundays. Eddie Ross and Rhoda at Southern Hospitality have really gotten me in the mood. And even more so since Eddie is coming to California for a shopping excursion at the Rose Bowl Flea Market. I'm trying to get a little group together of me, my daughter April, my sister Lisa and my co-worker Angelica, so we can all go and meet him and shop with him. It should be so much fun I'm really hoping we can all pull it together and go!

But til then, let me show you some treasures I found the last few weeks. This isn't everything, but it's just some of my favs and the ones I can show you since I don't plan to give them as gifts. These are MINE Baby!

First off is the lovely watercolor picture by the artist Laurie Korsgaden. This photo doesn't do it justice, the colors are so vibrant and yet soft. I love it! I hung it in my bedroom to make me happy first thing when I wake up!

I also found this beautiful Candle holder, another item with beautiful, rich, vibrant colors. I love it! Even without a candle it looks to me like a work of art!

See the beautiful detailing on the bottom... and oh yes, I did crochet the doily/thingy it's sitting on. See...I am a Jack of All Trades. Thanks to my wonderful mother who taught me so well and patiently how to crochet.

and here's a close up view of the top.

Well, these are all the ones I can show you that I took pictures of. But I also bought two books that I love. One is "Napkin Folds ~ Beautifully Styled Napkins for Even Occasion" by Bridget Jones and Madeleine Brehaut and the other is "Decorative Murals" with Donna Dewberry. I just love the whole napkin folding thing even though I have never used cloth napkins. They just display so great when doing a tablescape. Speaking of tablescapes, remember my first post about them?

Well I wasn't really thrilled with the way my first one came out but today my daughter came over and saw it. She thought it looked a little bare and she was on her way to Kmart and told me she would see if she could find somethings to jazz it up a bit. Well she did, bless her lil ol heart! See...

Thank you April, just what I needed, a little pop of color. Now I love it! And, Welcome Home!

Deflowered by PF Chang's!

Oh MY! Tonight I went to a dinner meeting at PF Chang's China Bistro and it was sooooooooo yummy! This was my first time, yes...I was a PF Chang's virgin. And I'm so glad I've been deflowered!

There were eight of us there and we ate family style. I ordered Dali Chicken which is
"A rustic combination of stir-fried chicken and rich Yukon Gold potatoes in a spicy chili sauce"

We also had:
ORANGE PEEL CHICKEN - Tossed with fresh orange peel and a mild chili sauce,
WILD ALASKAN SALMON - Straight from the cold waters of our 49th state,
CRISPY HONEY SHRIMP - Lightly battered and quick-fried in a flavorful sauce,
SALT AND PEPPER PRAWNS - Wild Jumbo Mexican Prawns stir-fried in a salt and pepper mix,
ORANGE PEEL CHICKEN - Tossed with fresh orange peel and a mild chili sauce, and two in our party order Broccoli Beef.

When the various plates full of food arrived we each took a plate, spooned some onto a clean plate in front of us then passed the plate to the right and spooned some more onto the the plate in front of us. So before you know it, the plates came full circle and you had a little bit of everything. The only bad thing is if you really liked something, you didn't know what it was, but that was a good topic for conversation.

It was a great meal and I would gladly go back again!

Office Halloween Party

The Office...Halloween

Well, I have quite a few pictures to share about yesterday's Halloween fun, but first let me start with our office Halloween Party. This is only the 2nd potluck they have had since I've been there and we really enjoy them, not sure why we don't have more.

Here's some pictures of the food. I took my broccoli salad, and I'm going to post pictures and the recipe in the next post. Angelica took an Ambrosia Salad, Michele made Monster Stuffed Bell Peppers that were really cute, Mary brought a Green Salad with a ranch-salsa style dressing and Anna brought her yummy Chicken Enchiladas with her Avocado Salad.

First, Angelica's Ambrosia Salad. It had miniature marshmallows, slivered almonds, shredded coconuts, whipped cream and Jello pistachio pudding. It's such a beautiful color, I love this picture!

Michele really went all out. She made some Monster Stuffed Bell Peppers, which were bell peppers that were dressed up with tongues and eyes and horns. Here's some before and after pictures. She was worried that after they were baked they would be ugly, and they were, but that made them look even better cause then they really did look like Monsters!

And here's a whole little family of them. Michele even grew these peppers, they're from her own garden! Michele says she simply made the stuffing using ground beef and a little bag of meatloaf seasoning, simple and soooo eye appealing!

Anna made some yummy Chili Verde Shredded Chicken Enchiladas. She used canned Chili Verde and boiled her chicken. She seasons the chicken after she shreds it. She serves them with her avocado salad made with chunks of avocado, tomato and red onion.

I wish I had taken better pictures of Anna's food, but she got there last minute and everyone was hungry and so was I!

And now pictures of some co-workers and me.

Angelica and I sharing a moment after stuffing ourselves. I think that's why we're both smiling!
And here's Mary, waiting patiently for 5pm and time to go home. She looks fed and happy too!

Anna brought her father in law to share the meal with us. He was such a nice man and he really loved the food, he had compliments for everyone!They're sitting at my workstation and I have some more pictures to post of that later. We had a great time and sent pictures to our corporate office. The President of our company sent us an Atta-Boy and said it was nice to see us getting involved.