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!

     It's that time again! Time to prove to myself that I did well sticking to a low carb lifestyle and that I'm not eating the same old thing day after day. 

      Last Sunday, after I posted my first Weekly Low Carb Wrap Up, I was feeling motivated and decided to make a little treat for myself and my co-worker for the next day. I've made this dessert before and I had pinned the recipe from sheknows.com. 

     Recipe

* 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
* 4 teaspoons Splenda
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder
* Sugar-free Cool Whip (optional)
     
     Directions
1. Place whipping cream, Splenda, vanilla and cocoa powder in a blender or a bowl if you want to use a mixer as I did.
2. Blend or whip until creamy and smooth.
3. Spoon mixture into serving dish, or plastic container for travel to the office as I did.
4. If you want, top with Cool whip and sprinkle with cocoa powder.
5. Enjoy...delicious!

     Monday evening when I got home I had expected to marinate some chicken for about a half hour but my mom had made Pork Carnitas. I love Pork Carnitas. Usually when she makes them we have them in tacos. 

     She fries corn tortillas in oil until crispy but not crunchy, then we add the carnitas, lettuce, cheese, salsa and cotija cheese. But since I can't have the corn tortillas I made myself a Pork Carnita Salad. 

     See...almost the same thing as the tacos, just no fried corn tortillas. Did I miss the fried tortilla shells? Yes, I have to be honest, I did. But was I satisfied with this salad? Yes...and low carb. Lots of crunch even without the taco shells since I added yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced radishes, finely chopped celery and topped it all with some sour cream and about a tablespoon of my mom's salsa. I didn't even use any kind of dressing.

     I went ahead and marinated my chicken in this great product I was introduced to by my co-worker. McCormick's Grill Mates. 

     You just mix with some oil and water and then place your chicken in there and leave it for 30 minutes or more, I left it overnight and then in the morning before I left for work I wrapped it well in foil on a cookie sheet and when I got home I just popped it into the oven! 

     I almost had a catastrophe! See...it popped up too much. I've never had this happen, wondering if maybe it was the marinade that made this happen. Found out from my co-worker the next day that it's best to not cover it before putting it in the oven, so can't wait to try it again. 

     Here's the end result, it was so good! Moist and tender and very flavorful. Served it with some steamed broccoli and then I made a salad of bell peppers and Roma tomatoes marinated with a little Italian dressing and some dehydrated onion as I didn't have fresh. It was such a great meal!

     I had the left over chicken and broccoli for lunch the next day and it was even better!

     Also this week I had a great steak my mom made along with some zucchini squash she steamed and some green beans with tomato. I had some of the bell pepper and Roma tomato salad left so I threw it on top of my steak like a relish. Another great meal! I can't believe how easy and delicious it is to eat low carb!

     Friday I had not planned for as my sister and I usually go out to dinner on Friday nights and get caught up with our week. But this week she was suffering from allergies, plus she had a birthday party to attend. So I stopped at Von's Grocery Store for their 5 for $5 fish meal. I added the left over zucchini ..I love left overs. My mom and daughter don't eat left overs but I think food gets better the next day. I also purchased a great e-book and made my own home-made low carb Tartar Sauce. 

     I couldn't believe that homemade tartar sauce would be so good but it was much better than store bought. The e-book I bought was from Mellissa Sevigny from ibreatheimhungry.com. 

     So simple to make too!

* 1/4 cup mayonnaise
* 1 tablespoon dill relish
* 1 teaspon prepared mustard
* 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Combine in a small bowl and serve alongside your fish..mmmmm! I highly recommend buying the book! It's called The Gluten Free Low Carber and you can buy it HERE. 

     Last week I also mentioned I was going to try to make the low carb crackers with Pepper Jack Cheese and I'm so glad I did, they are delicious !! Really satisfy that craving for chips and/or crackers! And you have those tiny little bits of jalapeno in there. These took a little bit longer to cook in the microwave  American cheese took 60 seconds but I had to cook these an additional 60 seconds. 

     So lets see what new things I can try this coming week or what old things I can reinvent low carb. Have a good week everyone!