Weekly Low Carb Wrap Up - Week Twelve

This was a great week! I finally got beyond the dreaded "weight loss plateau"! I reached the first goal I have set for myself! It honestly takes a while to learn your body and what you need to give it, to not only lose weight, but do so in a safe and healthy manner. I feel great at this point and can't weight to reach my next goal!

My weight loss group has been very helpful, not only in the tips and recipes that they provide, but also in the encouragement I've received from them. Having my friend and co-worker, Angelica of Angie's Life Changes on this journey with me means I have a daily partner around to kick my butt and keep me on track and I do the same for her. The only thing she hasn't gotten me to do yet is exercise more, but I'm trying! Ok...I'm not trying, but I will this next week, I promise!

So anyway...who would have thought that eating more fat would help me to lose weight? But it has and this past week I lost 3 pounds! Yay!!!

Great thing is that not once have I felt hungry or deprived. Would you feel deprived eating these?

These are Jalapeno Popper Meatballs! Meatballs stuffed with cream cheese, cheddar cheese and roasted jalapeno's then wrapped in bacon! Yum! 

The recipe is courtesy the a low-carb, gluten-free genius, Mellissa Sevigny, creator of the blog "I Breathe...I'm Hungry". I've mentioned her blog many times and have made quite a few of her recipes...remember Buffalo Balls which I made in Week Eight? Mellissa does a Meatball Monday and always has a new one you can try out. Not only are her recipes awesome and easy, her photographs will make you want to lick your monitor and drool on your keyboard!

I only made four wrapped in bacon because on her blog Mellissa explains that you have to broil the bacon wrapped ones but to be very careful as the bacon grease will make them pop and since they are right under direct fire it could cause a fire in your oven and I'm a big old chicken and figured I could careful monitor four of them as opposed to watching out for twenty of them a'popping and a'sizzling! So in the photo above you can see how the ones not wrapped in bacon looked. I ate them with a few slices of avocado for healthy fat. Here's how they looked inside.

Look at all that gorgeousness! Melted cream cheese mixed with cheddar cheese and roasted jalapenos!                    
Be sure to visit I Breathe...I'm Hungry to get the recipe!

Here's a few more pictures only because I'm pretty darn proud of how great they look!

Unwrapped and ready to be baked!

I love this closeup!
See the roasted jalapeno that was mixed in the meat?

Here's the four I made with bacon waiting to be baked!

DUTA from the blog Places with Character mentioned last week in a comment on Week Eleven that my photos are of cook book quality. Thank you DUTA...I'm humbled and grateful you enjoy them. If you would like to read a great blog that is educational and informative and shows you some beautiful pictures, then be sure to visit her blog. 

So I've mentioned my co-worker Angie that is eating low-carb alongside me. She is a great inspiration too. She also has a very demanding sweet tooth! I'm not real big on sweets, but every now and then I crave something. She does not disappoint. While I was making Jalapeno Popper Meatballs, she was making this...

That's a CHOCOLATE MINT FUDGE POP!!!! I know...I'm yelling, but that is how excited I was when she walked into the office one morning and told me she had brought me one! Of course I had to eat it right then and there for breakfast! Oh my gosh...was it delicious. She used the recipe from the blog All Day Long I Dream About Food. 

And she wasn't done with her sweet tooth yet, she also made these amazing Chocolate Flaxseed Muffins! They were so delicious and she brought me two! I had one with my coffee that morning and I ate the second one with my coffee this morning and I slathered it with melted butter (another healthy fat). 

She found this recipe at Maria's Nutritious and Delicious Journal. this blog is full of so much health and diet and lifestyle info! I love it!

Photo Credit - Eat Yourself Skinny

That is it for this week's wrap up. Remember to drink lots of water to keep your body hydrated and prevent nasty water retention. I'm trying to get into the habit of drinking detox water during the weekend to keep myself hydrated. Just slice up half a cucumber, 1 lemon, 1 lime and about 12 small mint leaves and put in a pitcher with water in your fridge on Friday night and drink it during the weekend instead of soda. Healthy, yummy and refreshing!


 

Weekly Low Carb Wrap Up - Week Eight?

Notice my little question mark after the title? The last wrap up I did was April 15th and that was week seven. I went a bit AWOL after that last one. BUT...I have kept my low carb lifestyle going. It's not a diet, it's a way of life so there's no turning back now! So that's about three weeks of low carb goodies I have to show you. 

To be honest, I have not had a lot of time to try new recipes. I have pinned several in Pinterest that I will be trying out in the future, but for right now my priority is being with my dad. I mentioned a few posts ago that he had taken a fall and broken his pelvis. He's in an assisted living facility and I try to visit him at least once a day, sometimes twice. On the bright side he is getting better and his break has healed enough that this next week he will be beginning physical therapy! 

Dad and I. Celebrating his 82nd Birthday!

Just yesterday we celebrated his 82nd birthday and he was in a wonderful mood. Happy and talkative, enjoying his family and eating Nopales (cactus) which is his favorite dish. My sister made them for him and now that I think about it, Nopales are low carb, I sure wish I liked them but unfortunately I don't like them or mushrooms either.

My dad holding his containers of Nopales (Cactus) cooked with scrambled egg and onion.

One new thing that I have found and tried and really like are Persian Cucumbers! I love any kind of cucumber but especially these as I am not really fond of all the seeds in the middle and hate scooping them out before I slice them. With the Persian Cucumbers I found I didn't have to. They are super crunchy and I like to dust them with Pico De Gallo powder, which is very spicy and then drizzle them with a bit of lemon. So delicious and low carb. Really satisfies that craving for chips and salsa!

Another new item I tried was courtesy of my co-worker and co-partner in this low carb lifestyle, Angelica. She made the most delicious low carb lasagna! Yes, you heard right, low carb lasagna! But Alicia, you say...pasta is very high in carbs! I know, I know! But not when your pasta is made from Zucchini! This photo doesn't do this dish justice, but trust me it was fabulous!

Low Carb Zucchini Lasagna!

In previous low carb wrap ups I've done I've mentioned the Easy Cajun Drumsticks that I've made and I love them, but I decided to try to make them with boneless chicken breast. My son loved them and I thought they were delicious, but I really love them as drumsticks much better. They are just more flavorful and not as dry. Served them with a drizzle of lemon to cut the spiciness a bit and steamed some broccoli. I love eating low carb!

Easy Cajun Skinless Chicken Strips

One of the things I do miss eating on a low carb lifestyle is burritos and tacos. But I found a great new way to kinda/sorta eat a burrito and/or taco. Use a leaf of lettuce! In the photos below I show you several different fillings that I've tried and they were all 100% delicious!

Shredded Beef Romaine Lettuce Taco with Green Beans and Roma Tomatoes

Beef Carnitas Romaine Lettuce Tacos

Chicken Salad Romaine Lettuce Tacos with Slices of Cucumber

Didn't those all look delicious? And so easy. Almost anything you can wrap in a tortilla you can wrap in a lettuce leaf. 

This next dish tastes much, much better than this photograph would lead you to believe. The original recipe calls them Buffalo Balls. They are from an awesome low carb website, I Breathe...I'm Hungry!

I followed her recipe almost to the letter, the only thing I changed is that I added Parmesan Cheese as I didn't have and don't particularly like Blue Cheese. They were really delicious and my co-worker/friend/co-low carber Angelica really loved them as well. You use Frank's Red Hot Sauce...this stuff is fabulous! Meatballs are a really easy way to eat low carb.

And last but not least...a low carb tip for you. A quick and easy Breakfast or mid morning or mid afternoon snack are hard-boiled eggs. I usually just peel two in the morning, cut them up and put them in a plastic container, add a dollop of mayo and some salt and pepper and head out the door. At snack time I just open up the container, mix everything up and eat. Easy, tasty, flavorful!

So there you go. Hopefully I redeemed myself from missing previous low carb wrap ups and we will see what this next week hold for me. Have a good one!