Community Course and Getting Back to Salads

Today I was super excited to see my Low Carb Coaching and Weight Loss Course added to the local community center guide of classes.   I'll start offering my classes in January!  I'm doing a bit more foot work to hang posters and promote the course but I certainly hope this is the start of something great!

Now that I'm maintaining my weight, I am having a little fruit and it's a great add to salads.
I created a Pear, Pecan, Chicken and Feta Spinach Salad with a red wine vinegar and olive oil dressing.  Total Carb Breakdown:

Pear, Pecan, Chicken and Feta Salad

1/4 cup diced fresh pear - 6.38 carbs / 1.3 fiber
1/8 cup pecans -whole - 2 carbs / 1 fiber
1/4 cup chicken - 0 carbs / 0 fiber
1/8 cup Feta - .77 carbs / 0 fiber
1/4 cup sliced black olives - 2 carbs / 1 fiber
2 cups Spinach  - 2.2 carbs / 1.4 fiber
Oil and Vinegar dressing - 0 carbs / 0 fiber

Total carb count: 12.2 carbs / 4.7 fiber

Looks great and tastes great too!

Here's a few things I am looking forward to trying in the coming months:
Cauliflower Tortillas and pizza crust!
Cauliflower and Egg scramble
Making my own salad dressings!
Enjoying some fruit, like apples and pears in salads
Marinating my own vegetables!
Making Coleslaw!
Making raspberry jam!
Building a garden and looking at getting chickens.

My pantry is almost completely empty of boxes!  I can't believe it.  I'm getting down to the true cost of making things without processed foods.  I'll start to develop a list of staples to have on hand that will allow someone to have a low carb diet and make a plethora of dishes throughout the month.

Happy Carb Counting these last few days of the year!  Enjoy your time with family and friends.

A Birthday Sleepover - A.K.A - A Carb Filled Weekend

Home Made Birthday Cake - No Box Cake Here!

My daughter turned 10 this week.  Crazy how time flies by.  We are still in the moment of wanting a birthday party and I'm at the moment in my life where I really don't want to plan one and I certainly don't want to pay for one.  I talk her into a sleep over at home for a few friends.  We custom make her invites, I decide to use only what's on hand for the celebration and outside of buying the birthday gift, we'll have down home home made birthday party.

Before I know it, I'm planning an overnight for 13 girls.  I tell myself, I'm okay with this.  We'll get through this and it won't be so bad.  Meanwhile, my husband makes arrangements to spend most of the evening in our room watching TV and my son, luckily scores a friends birthday invite party for the same night.

It's an early out day at school and it's raining, so even though we are only 4 houses away from school, we have to pick the girls up with the suburban. We have an early snack/dinner - Pizza!  I made the dough in my bread maker.  While the two large cheese pizzas are in the oven we start on the cake.  This is touted as one of the highlights of the party...making the cake, so sporadically in between hiding and seeking, the girls help me make the cake.  A chocolate fudge cake.  After the pizza and loads of dress up, two girls decide it's enough and they are done with the party and they want to go home.  This is before three other girls are yet to arrive and before the cake.   I don't know if these girls are going to miss something or are wise beyond their years.

We are missing just one party girl when it becomes obvious to most of the girls that the cake is almost done and they come into the kitchen to the smell of something chocolatey which of course must be good. The pressure is on for that cake.  I keep asking them to wait but it becomes apparent that will not be possible so we forge ahead with the cake and agree no present opening till our last guest arrives.

I cut the cake into two equal sections and decorate it quickly with whipped cream - 1 carb per tablespoon!  Quickly we put on recycled birthday candles, you know the ones you can't quite throw away from all the years past.  I put them on, we magically have 10.  We sing happy birthday and they literally dig into that cake.  It's gone...within minutes with a little brownie bite size left for our last guest.  Okay....that was good.    Our last guest arrives, has the rest of the cake and we are on with the rest of the party.

We play a little Pictionary, a little more dress up and make up and then we convince them we can watch a movie and I'll rent one from On Demand.   We chose "Blended" with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore.  The kids loved it and watched it, the whole time.  Meanwhile we go through 10 bags of microwave popcorn.   As the movie comes to an end, I'm asked for vegetables, carrots or celery sticks with peanut butter.  We are out of the celery but have tons of carrots.  I do several and slice them up in thick julienne style pieces.  I'm proud of them for wanting something other than pizza!

They play some more, it's getting late.  I hear from some of the girls that a few have fallen asleep.   Others are making a video together, having a blast.   It's now almost 11 PM.  They are hungry again.  I have a few more pizza dough rounds left.  I offer pizza.  Pepperoni and Cheese this time.   It's ready by 11:30 and they settle into watching a free movie - The Tooth Fairy and have moved all the sleepover things into the living room and it's apparent to me this is where the sleep will occur.

I make it to the end of the movie and the teeth brushing for most...and back to the floor in the living room with the lights out and TV off and I fall asleep to the chatter of 1/2 the girls as the other 1/2 have managed to sleep.

In the morning, I wake up on my own.  It's 7 am.  My daughter wanted me to make beignets which I had just learned how to make last week, followed up by homemade doughnuts, which I've NEVER made, but the bread machine has a recipe for the dough so I'll try.

I decide to do the doughnut dough first and that was a good call because it will be an hour and half before it's done in the machine and then would need to rise for 40 minutes, be shaped and rise for another 40 before I can even fry them.  Most of the girls will likely be gone before I even start doing the doughnuts.  I make the beignets.  

They are so much quicker and relatively LOW CARB!  To me anything that is under 25 carbs for a meal is low carb on my maintenance plan.  When I'm trying to lose weight it's 12 carbs a meal or less staying under 50 carbs a day.  Most people eat 370 carbs a day so any reduction will help someone eat considerably less.  I've been doing a low carb lifestyle since Sept of 2013 and I've lost a total of 50 lbs.   There is only 1/2 cup of flour in the recipe.  The recipe makes 24 beignets.   Here is the carb break down:

1/2 cup flour - 46 carbs
2 tsp sugar - 8 carbs

2 eggs - 2 carbs
1 tsp vanilla extract - .5 carbs
1 tsp of powdered sugar - 2.5 (per three beignets)
Total Carbs - 59 / 3 per beignets - a serving of 3 beignets - 7.3 carbs!

I was greeted with various looks of "What is that!?" when I served them for breakfast.  I don't believe any of the girls had tried beignets.  But after the first first round they wanted more.  I made 3 batches of beignets in the time it took the doughnut dough to finish in the bread machine.

We did eventually do the doughnuts, with just 4 girls left, and they disappeared before I could take a picture.  I have a feeling I'll be making those more often, and maybe I'll make those into gifts - they looked pretty awesome.  I have to admit the experience of making the doughnuts and all the GREASE that they need to fry, I don't know if I'll ever have one again.  Well, maybe just one.  Carbs in one glazed doughnut is 22.  I'm actually able to have one.

All in all, it was a pretty awesome birthday party...something we likely should have been doing for birthdays all along.

In the new year, I'm going to start experimenting with low carb bread and dessert recipes as well as lots of one pot meals as I try to get my kids used to stews - with all the fresh, homemade bread I'll be making!

Have Tupperware...Will Travel

My favorite tupperware: bento box

I just came back from a vacation with my family over the Thanksgiving break.  One could say this was a strategically planned vacation to keep me from having to cook on Thanksgiving or that I wanted to take advantage of super low airfares for traveling on a major holiday.  It was a little of both.

I have to tell you...it was absolutely dreamy traveling on Thanksgiving!  The airports were empty and the flight crews were happy and celebratory.  The stress was off because I suspect everyone had already gotten to where they were going.  We usually have Thanksgiving on the beach near our home.  It's a magical event because like the airports...the beach is empty and for almost the entire afternoon - ours.   I look forward to doing our next Thanksgiving dinner back at our beach.

The super salad tupperware with built in silverware

I haven't traveled for awhile and I certainly haven't done any air travel with my two kids and husband for over a year.  With all the changes happening with bags and snacks and food charges, I put a lot of planning into our trip.  I was going to have to pack some low carb snacks for myself, so why not pack some for all of us.  We would be traveling for almost 17 hours (cheap airfare - usually means at least 1 stop) plus we decided to drive to a major airport, which for us is four hours a way - this time San Francisco.

The packing snacks got out of hand and I ended up packing breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. I planned every travel day meal except for Thanksgiving which I'd let my kids eat out in the lovely New York, JFK airport.   How the heck did I get all that food through security? Especially sauces, butters, anything liquid based.   I did pack mayo, mustard, salad dressing, peanut butter, salsa, sour cream, and jelly.  The security screening is okay so long as the items are under the 3 oz limit on each container and they are in a quart size bag and each passenger.  So we had 4 - quart bags, each packed with food stuff along with toothpaste and shampoo. 

The 2 oz. containers in a quart bag

In the end, I saved an incredible amount of money on food.  Our total expenses on the way was $3.00 which was my break down to buy headset on the flight - long flight, forgot my book :-(.  On the way back we spent $100 on a nice meal where everyone got to choose their own appetizer, entree and special drink!  I was surprised how inexpensive that dinner was.  What did I choose?  I had a BACON CHEESEBURGER on a half bun with a glass of wine!  30 carbs!  WooHoo!

Here's a look at my special tupperware which made it easy for me to serve meals on planes and in airports.

I've started a Pinterest posting board for The Carbometer.  Follow there athttp://www.pinterest.com/thecarbometer/

An Experiment or For Real - Lifestyle Changes are For REAL

Arrival of eggs - 24 hours in transit

Almost a year and a half ago, I set out to lose a little weight - for real.  I was beyond what type of diet would work best to drop a few pounds quickly and I really needed to drop a few pounds forever.   I chose the low carb way because it was recommended by my doctor and after a few weeks of doing it, it was EASY.

A lot of things in life we do because they are easy and quick.   A lot of times, when we set out to do things in that manner, we do them unprepared.  That unpreparedness leads us to sporadic and likely not lasting results.  My 20 lb weight loss goal moved to be a 47 lb goal after I had managed to make the diet a lifestyle change.  Now at a 50 lb weight loss, I do have the feeling that I can achieve anything.

Unpacking - Did they make it!?

I can change my life in some pretty drastic and unimaginable ways and be successful and HAPPY.   It all depends upon how I set out to define both the successful and the happy.  Weight loss is great. Not having a job is not so great and now, I'm redefining myself in a way I did not think would be possible or in a way in which I could possibly be happy.

One of the goals I have is that I am only going to do things I truly enjoy for the next 15 years.   That's quite the statement when I have two kids who are in Jr. High and Elementary school.   I realized the only way I was going to be happy in my career would be to surround myself with those efforts.  I was never ever going to be able to replace my past position which was incredible in allowing me to do all relatively good things with an extremely exceptional and wonderful community of like minded folks.

What this means for me is an extreme hit to the bottom line.  After an analysis of my personal costs and what I had access to, I realized I wasn't so bad off and if I did a few key things in the right way....I'd be fine, maybe even happy.  I just didn't know if those that have no option but to follow me would think so.  I'm going to share just one of the major efforts I've undertaken to change my overall lifestyle.  The food budget.

Why the heck is there a picture of bubble wrapped eggs on this particular blog?  It's because I brought them with me on my vacation.  A vacation planned YEARS before I ever set out to lose a few pounds.  A vacation that was essentially paid for and perhaps today, doesn't fit my new lifestyle but one I am determined to make not only a great vacation - but one which will lead the way for how I live my life going forward - No matter how poor or wealthy I may find myself.

Looking good....

Since we had 1 free bag check per flyer...I thought what the heck...I 'll packed the eggs in my checked luggage.   Yep, 18 eggs.  Along with almost everything else in my fridge and freezer at the time.  Where we are staying - we have a full kitchen and inside laundry.  I figured if they didn't make it...I'd be doing a lot of laundry.  I had looked into buying groceries at our destination and it would be pretty expensive and more importantly would take away time from our experience.  I planned we would bring enough for breakfasts, most dinners and the occasional lunch. By the time I was finished, I had two luggage bags full of 80 lbs of food.

Thus...the eggs in my luggage.

 With my new low carb lifestyle and my process of reinventing myself and only doing good things, I find myself with a limited and one could say, stretched budget.   My grocery budget is $500 a month.  It sounded do-able.  I looked back at what I had been spending on groceries before my reinventing ...and that was about it.  What I didn't look at was how often we ate out.

They look amazing!  

Oh...I failed at first.  And now I'm starting to gain ground.  The first month - I missed the grocery budget by almost $500.  I was still buying boxes, I was still even though we weren't eating out, we were eating fast-food at home.  I realized that really is what processed boxes are - a relatively fast-food and very expensive.  I also started using our freezer for something more than decorative ice cubes and ice cream.  I freeze lots of things and I buy in bulk now.  I rarely go to supermarket, I find myself pulling out the recipe box and lining up recipes I have items on hand for.

I recently dreamed about my grandmother.  She passed away in 1999 at 98 years old.  She experienced years of drastic economic crisis living through both World War I and World War II and the depression.  She had a big purse.  Inside that purse she carried a small picnic, an arsenal of bathroom tools; clippers, tweezers, kleenex, bandaids, chap stick and toothpicks at all times.  I remember being on a trip with her and complaining because I was hungry and we were nowhere near or stop for lunch.  She pulled out of her purse a baggie with a pickle and butter sandwich in it.  That was the best sandwich I have ever had to this day.  She was so happy to share it with me. I'm trying to be more like her.

This little exercise of bringing my groceries on vacation, which involved 24 hours in transit which included at least five hours of driving, two domestic flights and not including the at least hour it took me to carefully wrap the eggs box covered with bubble wrap and shipping tape inside box covered with bubble wrap and shipping tape....was one step in that direction of being more like my grandmother.

One small crack but still usable!

I always wondered why she had pickle and butter sandwiches?  I know now, it's because both items won't spoil, regardless of temperature in a purse for at least 24 hours and they were relatively cheap items at those times and pickles were usually made at home - in fact all the items could be made at home.  I may even try to make my own pickles.  That will be right after I build the chicken coop and the greenhouse....

Happy Carb Counting and Budget Pinching!

Hearth and Home and a 50 lb weight loss.

Beautiful jacket made by Leona!!

I've hit an incredible milestone.  One, I actually never set out to accomplish.  I've slid to 122 pounds, a 50 lb weight loss.  I don't know how long I'll stay here.  I had no expectation of getting here, but here I am.

I ate an ice cream cone...gave me a stomach ache and tonight I had a slice of homemade pizza...a real slice, not just eating off the toppings.  It was an incredibly thin crust so I suspect it was around 23 carbs.  I also had a meatball sandwich for lunch.  I have, in fact consumed 75 carbs today.  I'm actually still in a low carb range.   Just a reminder, low carb is a diet of 130 carbs or less a day.   I normally am at 30 to 50 carbs a day.

It's getting colder.  I wore my favorite jacket today.  My incredible friend made it.  Thank you Leona. I received 12 compliments on it today!  It's true, I counted.  I had thought I had lost it.  I have been mourning it's loss for at least 3 years.  I had to move to find it.   There are a few things in this world which bring you home.  With the smell of fires lingering in the air, I feel I'm home, with my amazing wool masterpiece of a jacket, I feel I'm home. With my homemade cheese and pepperoni pizza, my kids feel like they are home.  Tonight..for the first time, they both told me, it was the best pizza they had ever had.

Harvest of Memories cover photo

I've made some serious life changes in the last few months.  I've had to make a lot of changes, I've had to come to accept a few things I don't think I would have ever accepted.  I'm growing up at 44 and I have yet to really figure out where I'm going to go, beyond the point of knowing I very soon need to start sharing with you my story.  How I got to here, from there.  Why I left the best place on earth to pursue magical dreams only to seek out the comforts of home.  On Dec. 13, I'll launch a new blog called Falling Out of Oz.   I hope you'll join me there.   Until then...enjoy the smell of the hearths in your neighborhoods, hold your loved ones close, have a lovely Thanksgiving.

This holiday try the pumpkin cheesecake and the spaghetti squash muffin recipes.   But more than
anything...believe in yourself at this time of reflection and thanks.   I've been working on editing a book of poems I wrote a LONG time ago, highlighting it with pictures of my kids at the same time of when I experienced the poems, it's been a lingering project.  The book of poems is called "Harvest of Memories" and it will be the 2nd edition and available online through Amazon..hopefully by the new year.

For those who know me..I miss you!! Happy Thanksgiving!  Happy Carb Counting!

Experimenting with Spaghetti Squash and -2 and Counting

Spaghetti Squash Muffin with Sour Cream and Salsa

I have just discovered a very yummy way to have something bread like without the flour!  I'm head over heels in love with how incredibly easy it was and the different things I could do with this new information astound me.   I have been trying to figure out how to use spaghetti squash as a base for things like eggs Benedict, a tortilla like wrap...I just see that there are a lot of possibilities with the squash that I just LOVE to eat.

Today, I was messing around and decided that I'd see if anyone had made spaghetti squash muffins.  I found a few recipes, but I didn't have all the ingredients.  One was too simple, I almost didn't take it seriously.  I was desperate so I thought, okay I'll try this one.

Super simple:

Take your spaghetti squash that has already been cooked and prepared.  If you don't know how to do this, please look it up, there are several ways but I prefer the oven method.

1 lb of spaghetti squash - prepared - 31 carbs / 8.8 fiber
4 eggs - 4 carbs

Whisk the eggs, pour over spaghetti squash and mix together.

Spray muffin pan, spoon in mixture into muffin pan.  Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.   AMAZING!

This made 12 muffins so 3 carbs each!!  Eat up! Tsp of Sour Cream and Salsa add a 1.5 carbs.

I had one with butter...and then I had one with sour cream and salsa and then my mind went nuts with all the ways I could serve this.  As a side with grilled chicken or steak.  As a base for my eggs Benedict, add other stuff to the mixture for a breakfast muffin or a lunch muffin with cold cuts and cheese....So pleased with myself.  You must try.

-2 and counting.  I am now 2 lbs below my target weight.  I'll be changing up my workout at the beginning of December to tone.  I want to try to make sure I don't gain weight in the process of toning so I'm actually a little excited to be starting that process with 2 lbs to spare. 

I'm also celebrating a new low carb coaching participant this week!  Yeah!  I hope to be able to help as many people as possible achieve their weight loss goals and change their lifestyle so they never have to feel like they will gain the weight again.  If you are interested in having a low carb coach, just let me know, I work virtually and in person so please don't let distance keep us apart.

Happy Carb Counting!  Gobble up some spaghetti squash as part of your Thanksgiving dinner!

Hop Scotch with the Bathroom Scale

How important is to weigh everyday?

There have been many times when I thought my scale was broken.  Usually the thought crossed my mind when I was on a really long weight plateau or when the scale was going up instead of down, I would shake the scale a little and be like..."come on...give me a good number!"

Yesterday, my son told me after his escapade in the bathroom where he supposedly washed his hair that the scale seemed broken.  I asked him what could possibly have broken the scale?  Did he drop something on it?  No.....unless his jumping up and down on it had something to do with it stuck on 255 lbs  Hmm.  I guess I'm really lucky it made it this long without breaking sooner as I'm sure, whatever version of hop scotch he was playing with the scale, was likely happening every time he took a shower.

Now what!?  I'm not really in the mood to go find another scale, but I suppose I'll have to.  I'll mess with it, see if I have any mechanical magic in my hands to make it come back, but being that I burned out the motor in the coffee grinder this morning doesn't give me much hope.   How helpful is the scale anyway?  Since I've already made my goal weight, I could just go to the gym in the morning and weigh there...right?

We'll see...I'm going there today.  What I dislike about using multiple scales is that they are all different.  The weight I get at the doctor's office is always different than what I had on my scale.  It causes a sense of anxiety when I use another scale. Will it say I weigh more? Will I not have made my goal weight on this particular scale?  Great...now I'm dreading the gym.

I read an article about how weighing everyday isn't healthy.  They suggest weighing twice a week or even once a week.  Weighing everyday for me was a good reminder that I was watching my weight.   So I disagree, yes some days I did weigh more than the day before and that made me correct.  I don't know what I would do if I would have gone a whole week without weighing and find out that I actually went up a lb instead of down a lb.  For someone who lost on average less than a 1 lb a week that's a full week set back.

Anyway, I guess I'll be scale shopping....anyone have any recommendations?

For those following my pumpkin experiment on how long a pumpkin can feed a family. I still have pumpkin bisque left that I'm eating...I can't believe that 1 pumpkin provided me with so many meals. I'm experimenting with banana squash.  I'm going to make lasagna next with the banana squash replacing the lasagna noodles.

Happy Carb Counting!

PS...Just continued messing with the scale and I fixed it!!

The Great Pumpkin Week! More Meals with Pumpkin

The pumpkin that made many meals!

Almost a week ago, I stocked up on some squash and two baking pumpkins.  On that Thursday night before Halloween as my daughter carved up her pumpkin, I boiled mine and started to make pumpkin puree. Since then, I've made a Pumpkin Cheesecake, Pumpkin Bisque, Roasted Pumpkin Seeds, Chicken and Pumpkin Chili, Pumpkin Pancakes and Pumpkin Cupcakes!

 I still have plenty of pumpkin puree left, needless to say another baking pumpkin just waiting to be carved and turned into puree.  Good thing it will store for several months because I'm pretty sure I won't be able to eat much more pumpkin!  My kids have already caught me trying to put pumpkin in everything and they are starting to revolt!  Enough with the pumpkin!

What else am I going to make....I am going to try pumpkin bread and whipped pumpkin (like mashed potatoes) and I will make another pumpkin bisque, that was just too good to not make again!

This post is focusing on the Chicken and Pumpkin Chili - which was EXCELLENT!  I loved it and the kids didn't even notice the pumpkin!

I followed a basic chili recipe and used boiled, then baked and shredded chicken.

Here is the carb count by ingredient:

1 tablespoons oil - 0 carbs

Chicken and Pumpkin Chili

1 lb. chicken breast - 0 carbs
1/4 cup chopped red onion - 4 carbs / .6 fiber
1 tsp garlic powder - 2.2 carbs / .3 fiber
1 1/2 tbsp chili powder - 6 carbs / 3.8 fiber *
1/2 tbsp paprika - 1.85 carbs /1.2 fiber
1 tsp ground cumin - .93 carbs /.2 fiber
1/2 tsp salt - 0 carbs
1/4 tsp ground pepper - .25 carbs / .1 fiber
1 cup chopped yellow pepper  - 6.9 carbs / 2. 5 fiber
14 1/2 ounces of diced tomatoes with basil and garlic - 24.5 carbs / 7 fiber
15 ounce can of kidney beans - 66.3 carbs / 27.2 fiber
1/2 cup pumpkin bisque - 2 carbs / .133 fiber
Shredded Cheese

8 servings
Carbs per serving 14.25 fiber- (lower carb version would be to skip the beans and it's only 6 carbs a serving!)  with 5.41grams of fiber.

Super good and seems to taste better second time around!

Next up...Pumpkin Pancakes!

Happy Carb Counting!

Pumpkin Out!! Low Carb Pumpkin Cheesecake and Pumpkin Bisque

Pumpkins!  Pumpkin Cheesecake, Pumpkin carvings and Roasted Seeds

I have spent this Halloween, All Saints and All Souls Days preparations thinking about all the different ways I could use pumpkin.  In the past, the closest I would get to a pumpkin would be with a carving knife the night before Halloween.  This year, we carved, but we are also roasting the seeds which include he time consuming husking of the seed and actually making something with pumpkin.

Long Island Cheese Pumpkin - good for pies!

I really never knew that there was a difference in the type of pumpkins one could use for baking.  On
the visit to a local farm to pick our pumpkins, I received an education in all things pumpkin and picked up a book on how to prepare pumpkins for not only dessert but also for main meals.   The other incredibly interesting tip I learned is that Squash, Pumpkins and Gourds will store for up to 6 months!  That a particular squash can be used as a substitute for lasagna noodles (I'm going to try that!)  I have had to modify a lot of the recipes  because they aren't low carb but I've had some success.


Here is the Pumpkin Cheesecake ingredients and counts in the entire cheesecake:

Steaming Pumpkin

Pumpkin - 1 1/2 cups - 12 grams carbs /1.5 grams fiber
Ground Almonds - 1 cup - 20 grams carbs / 11 grams fiber
Eggs - 4 - 4 grams carbs
Cream Cheese - 16 ounces - 16 grams carbs
Cinnamon - 1 tsp - 2 grams carbs
Honey - 2 tsp - 10 grams carbs

Total Carbs - 65 grams
Total Fiber - 12.5 grams

8 servings - 8.125 carbs per serving with 1.125 fiber grabs.  Add whipped cream add another 1 gram carb.

A wonderful dessert (also good for breakfast)!

The pumpkin I carved and boiled for cooking provided me with about 10 cups of pumpkin!  I made a wonderful Pumpkin Bisque with I love more than the cheesecake and would be something I would expect to have in a 5 star restaurant.   AWESOME.  I used a tip from the pumpkin cookbook to save the water from boiling the pumpkin to use in the soup.  I do believe that helped with the flavor.

Here is the ingredient carb count down for the bisque:

Pumpkin - 1 cup - 8 grams carbs / 1 gram fiber

Fabulous Pumpkin Bisque!

Chicken Broth - 1 1/4 cup  - 1.25 carbs
Heavy Whipping Cream - 1 cup - 7 grams carbs
Small Onion  - 7 grams carbs / 1.2 grams fiber
Two cups Water - 0 carbs
Butter - 1 tbsp - 0 carbs

Total Carbs - 23 grams
Total Fiber - 2.2 grams

6 servings  - 4 carbs !!! a serving with .366 fiber.  EAT UP!

Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy your pumpkin!

Happy Carb Counting!

YumMazing!! Spaghetti Squash with Meatballs and Marinara

I have a wonderful dish to share with you today which I just can't wait to make myself!  It looks absolutely DeLish!  This amazing dish was inspired and created by my very first low coach coaching participant and I am so thrilled.  I truly enjoy seeing how people are inspired to eat such healthy and fulfilling meals and are enjoying learning more about what they eat!

Take a look at this beautiful plate!

YumMazing Spaghetti Squash with Meatballs and Marinara

Spaghetti Squash is in the market and in the farmers markets so don't miss out on this wonderful, naturally sweet squash.  VERY easy to work with the squash once you halve it and take out the seeds.  You bake it at 350 for about 30 - 40 minutes under the inside is softer and you then pull the squash out with a fork, you'll see it comes off looking like spaghetti strands.

If I were going to recreate this myself for 1 serving:

3/4 cup spaghetti squash - 5 carbs
Marinara from a bottle 3 Tblsp - 4 carbs
Turkey meatball from Trader Joes or Foster Farms package  - 1 carb
Top with Parmesan and basil - Viola!

Total Carbs: 10 grams / Fiber 2 grams

I would pair with a simple 1 cup spinach salad with oil and vinegar dressing to add 1 more carb and .7 more gram of fiber.

Thanks so much to my low carb coaching participants!  This has been so much fun working with you. As low carb coaching participants, I share even more of my experience on a more personal basis through 1 on 1 communications, special go to guides for carb and fiber counts related to what's in the supermarket and farmers market seasonally and most importantly a sounding board and motivational support.  I would love to be your low carb coach!  If you are interested, send me an email at thecarbometer@gmail.com and I'll tell you all about the program.

Happy Carb Counting!

No More Processed Food or Good Bye Boxes

25 carbs per serving - not too bad, but no longer in my house!

The journey to a low carb lifestyle is getting deeper in the Erwin household.  I'm going away from boxes.  It's rare that I eat anything out of a box these days, but I have to admit, I still buy them for my kids so that my husband has something quick to fix when I'm gone.   I am starting to believe that we all need to be in more control of our food.   So.... no more boxes.

I'm also certain that I will save money at the grocery store.  I'm not 100% sure because I've been told that heavy carb food costs less than fresh vegetables and protein.  Thus America's issue with obesity!

I'm going to try.  So in the coming weeks, get ready to get a run down of the costs of fresh vegetables, more bulk related staples and I may even try my hand at making my own bread and experimenting with vegetables to see what we get....anyone ever make pumpkin bread?

I'm also going to be making pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin bisque and pumpkin tarts!

Maybe even a video.....in case you missed the first one I ever made on taste testing natural sweetners...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Hx4UGZ_bOg - Epic Fail

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FPABOPR1Yo - Bored Camera Man

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdhELAk-ICY - Successful!

By the way....I have lost 23 more lbs. since this video.  Looks so odd to see myself.

Happy Halloween!!

Or as my kids say...Trick or Trick!!  No Fair!!

Happy Carb Counting!

Rockin' Taco Tuesday - Low Carb

Taco Tuesday Salad!

I have to admit that when you can find a way to have one of your favorite meals, it's pretty sweet.   I used to love tacos.  When I was pregnant, it was my go to food.  I would eat every kind of taco imaginable.  Fish, beef, chicken, in a tortilla shell, as a roll or in the shell.  I loved taco salads that came in the huge taco shell.  The  huge taco shell salad days are over for me as are the soup in a sourdough bowl...lol.  However, I have found it's still super easy to enjoy the taco sans the shell.

A regular meal that is easy to make for the whole family to enjoy is tacos.  The taco shell has relatively low carbs.  The Ortega shells I recently purchased have only 16 carbs a shell.   That is doable for anyone on a low carb diet.  You could even base your main meal of the day around doing tacos.  I do believe you get more mileage out of using the shell as decorative and having a land blasting wonderfully fulfilling taco salad.  Here's what's in my taco salad:

2 cups spinach - 2.2 carbs
1/4 cup heirloom tomatoes - mini - 1.5 carbs
1/8 cup red onion - 2.2 carbs
1/4 sour cream - 2.4 carbs
1/4 cup salsa (not fruit based) - 4 carbs
1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese - .4 carbs
1 diced peppercini - 1 carb
1 cup ground beef taco meat  - 5 carbs (the spices in used in taco seasoning are surprisingly high in carbs)
1/2 taco shell broken up - 8 carbs
1/2 cup avocado cubes - 6 carbs

Carbometer:  32.7 carbs.   If you are on a 30 - 50 a day carb diet, I would remove the avocado or the taco shell or even both for a modified carbometer of: 18.7 carbs.


Bring back Taco Tuesday!

Happy Carb Counting!

Ding Dong the Witch is Dead and What's Next After the Goal is Done

I grew up in Kansas so there is a lot of connection to the famed movie "The Wizard of Oz" in my life. Since moving to California in the late 80's, I've been followed with the connection to the movie and the characters.  No, my middle name isn't Dorothy and no, I didn't name my dog, cats or tortoise after Toto.   But, I do reference the Wicked Witch in a lot of things in my life where her demise is my triumph.

Today, I weighed my goal.  125 lbs.   Hurray!!! Ding Dong the Witch is Dead!  The Witch of my battle with my weight, a battle which likely started for me in high school and followed me for decades more.  If it were my daughters' decision we'd all be going out for milkshakes or eating a tub of ice cream, but that will only resurrect the Wicked Witch. 

My cousin and I have traded this mantra of overcoming the Wicked Witch in all kinds of scenarios so it only feels right to use it now.  I have overcome my weight issues and am now, solidly in the frame of reference of healthy by the charts of medicine, a healthy weight.   Yet, I know it does not end here, there are no bowls of ice cream or even confetti, though confetti would be okay....there is just a lifetime to come, hopefully one in which I live longer and am there for my children and their children.

I came close but didn't ever cross the threshold of obese, but I was too close for comfort and my body as well as my mind reeled from that experience.  I have been blessed by location of where I live to be as active as possible and surrounded by other very active people...all those happy munchkins. 

The blog will go on, I believe it enters it's most important role.  Maintaining the low-carb lifestyle.  I will still wear my pedometer and I will still hike my prized Pine Mountain and I challenge everyone who has taken the time to follow this to do the same.  To keep it up, to overcome their Wicked Witch or whatever is keeping them from putting their best health foot forward. 

Happy Carb Counting and whatever you do....don't follow the yellow brick road of bad eating habits and don't listen to the wizard....there are no quick fixes or magic bullets that will melt the pounds away.  Only you can do that by believing in yourself. 

The Lady on the Box and Going the Full Measure

The Lady on My Treasure Box

Have you ever had a treasure box?  One that you put only your most treasured items in.  Something that you may have hid under your bed or left on your dresser so you could see it often.  I had and I still have such a box.  My grandmother gave her to me as a consolidation instead of this seashell jewelry case I was really keen on.  I'm so glad she did.

There was a lady on this box.  She was from another time and appeared to be pretty tranquil, I like to think of her as french and from Provence!  I used to hold the box and wonder what it would be like to be her.   I identified with her in some ways, she had brown hair, so did I.  She seemed to be shaped like me or how I would have liked to have been shaped.  I thought of her as beautiful.

Inside of her I kept some very, very special things.  My dad's military tags, he had been in the Korean War.  I never met him, he passed away before I was born and the tags and some pictures are how I remember him.  A comb, I used to always wear combs in my hair, my Jr. Miss medallion, I was the underdog so there is some sweetness still to that achievement.  A picture of my grand prize sewing outfit for 4-H.  A pin from my achievement in the Hugh O'Brien Youth organization. Jewelry and gifts from my parents, grandparents and my pen pals.

I kept the box, she still has these things inside.  I found her recently in my room at my parents farm when I was packing up my stuff to move it permanently to California.  My parents were moving to town and so at the very young age of 42 I had to go clean out my room.   I can only say, I spent a good hour with her in my lap, going through everything inside of her sections.  I still wondered what it would be like to be her.   To be her with only the things which represented the best of me inside of her.

My Best Treasures

I've been thinking of her again, as I started to think how I would craft this next blog about measuring
food and why that's so important.   About being aware of only putting the best inside of you.   If you really want to be something better, if you really want to achieve something great, you have to do your best and be accountable to yourself.

As for my low carb lifestyle, I'm the treasure box.   I have to only put the best inside of me!  I have to eat right and exercise right and be the best I can be.  I know we all can do that.   If you don't already have measuring cups...go out and treat yourself to some.   Start to measure your food, start to count those carbs and those steps.

Measure your food and measure yourself!  Trainers will do this, they will take measurements to see where you are losing or gaining muscle.  I did that at the beginning and I just remeasured this week.  Shockingly in total I've lost 19 inches.  7 off my chest, 6 off my waist and 6 off my hips.   I hope this inspired you.  I hope you are able to look inside, to see that you owe it to yourself to treat your body well.

Happy Carb Counting!

Most Frequently Asked....When or How Do I Cheat?

Visitor at Pine Mountain Tree

I have been on a quest to become a low carb coach.  I've been talking up a storm to almost anyone who will listen to me.  I have had some great conversations, heard other people's successes and trials and I realize and understand that low carb may not be right for everyone, especially for those with certain health issues. However, what has come up the most is the desire or the need for people to have an outlet to cheat.

I must admit, I've had this desire before but I didn't allow myself to cheat until I met my first goal.  It was not the experience I wanted to have and I believe if people truly try the low carb lifestyle and get over the hump of having a lot of excess sugar and carbs in their system, they won't need to cheat with food. 

In the past,  I decided to reward myself with FOOD.   To reward myself with the highest carb containing item I used to LOVE to eat.  A biscuit.  I had made my weight goal.  Right..why not?   You can read about that experience in my blog on March 7 titled: Taste Bud Sensations.  Long story short, once I had gotten the carbs and sugar lowered in my system, the food I used to love ...didn't taste so good anymore.   The only way to keep that from happening and keep you from being successful at your lifestyle change is to keep from cheating with food during the first months of trying to make this lifestyle change.

What about birthdays, or special occasions?  In the beginning, I didn't do it.  I didn't cheat.  Later, I'd have a little.  A spoonful.  Like the Mary Poppins song; "A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down."  Believe me, if you are successful in making the change...that spoonful will taste like medicine and you won't want anymore.   However, the toughest part is to get to that point.

The other fuzzy area of cheating that is brought up is on exercise.  I realize many don't have the time but I do believe it's because they have not embraced the opportunity to TAKE the time.  Moving to a low carb lifestyle or any lifestyle change for that matter means CHANGE.  I was thinking about my journey recently and I realized that I need to share with people how I came to my formula that works for me.  That is key, every one's formula will be different.

When I was told by my doctor to start watching my carbs, I found most websites like this one at Mayo Clinic http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/weight-loss/in-depth/low-carb-diet/art-20045831, state a low carb diet is one in which a person limits their carb intake to under 130 carbs a day.  Most people take in usually 300-370 carbs a day.  So by limiting to 130 you are cutting not only 1/3 carbs but also likely your calories.

I started at 100 carbs a day paired with 10,000 steps of exercise.  I did not lose any weight that week.  I did not gain either.   I went down to 75 carbs with 10,000 steps a day of exercise the next week.  I lost .5 lbs.  I wasn't happy with that, I could have continued at that, but I decided to go to 50 carbs.  I am now at the most extreme level of low-carb diet.  I lost 1 lb. that week and I've pretty much kept to this diet for the next 52 weeks.  I experienced plateaus and had periods of lower than ideal exercise which kept my weight steady for several weeks from December to March.  I am literally down to my last pound.   I am determined to get there this week!  I'm increasing my exercise to 12,000 steps and keeping my carbs at 50 or below each day this week to make it happen.

I wouldn't be able to write this blog for you if I built in a day of cheating.  My cheating on exercise only kept me from gaining weight.  My exercise is light...but it's long.   It's this way for my personal reasons.  I have a heart murmur so I can't actually be overly energetic.  I need to be consistent and not overdo things.  This kinda sucks because I can't go to an incredible spin class and sweat 3 lbs off in a 45 minute setting.  So I walk.  I hike.  I wear a pedometer and I like to go on a hike near my house.  It takes me 91 minutes to do this hike right.   Some days I have to break the hike up into 2 sections because of schedule.  I rarely have the opportunity to do this hike if school is not in session or if it's the weekend because 90 minutes away from my kids is too much time.  Technically, that's when I cheat.  I cheat on exercise.

Steps up to Pine Mountain

I believe most people only walk about 2500 steps a day.  Even those who exercise for  20 - 30 minutes.  I know that because it takes me 35 minutes to climb my mountain and the steps in that are only 3878.  Here is my pedometer reading at the top of Pine Mountain.

Here it is at the bottom of the mountain before I start Blue Oak Trail: I'm 58 minutes in and I'm only at: 5876.  I'm home now and I'm at 9587 steps, I've walked 4 miles.  The rest of the day, doing everyday things, I should get to 11000 or if I'm lucky 12000 steps.  That is why I recommend people who truly want to lose weight should exercise for at least 1 hour to 1 hour and a half and that's almost equivalent to 10000 steps, which is where we all should be and whatever else you do over that is extra.

So...my advice to those who want to cheat with food on the low carb diet...go ahead.  For every 10 extra carbs you take in, just know how many extra steps you'll have to take to get them off.   If it were me..and my formula that works for me.  Another 10 carbs would mean 2000 more steps.  If I want to eat 100 carbs, I need to take 20,000 steps.  It will be important to find your personal formula.

If we cheat, we can't say something didn't work...because we cheated.  So don't cheat, find your formula, make your adjustments.  If you know you are going to walk more..eat more.  If you know you won't be able to exercise more than 2500 steps a day...you may need to really watch your food intake.  I don't know how else to make this point clearer other than that.   Let's hope you have fabulous metabolism and you lose weight by eating 130 carbs and taking 2500 steps a day.  If you are successful at losing a .5 to 1 lb a week doing that...I'll send you a gold star.


Happy Carb Counting!

Circles of Influence - Making the Grade

The tree at the top of Pine Mountain, my favorite hike!

As a parent I am continually reminded that everything I do is witnessed and participated in by my children, even if it doesn't touch them directly.   It doesn't matter if it's a positive or a negative activity, it is all absorbed by the little sponges (your kids) in your life.   When I embarked on the low carb changes, my children of course were part of this.  I tried not to keep them from enjoying everyday food but I certainly cut back on the number of times we visited the pizza parlor or the fast food restaurant.

I knew they were being influenced by my diet and I started knowing some really nice things.  They eat a lot more vegetables than they used to.  They will literally push me out of the way to get to cucumber slices and ask for lettuce on their sandwiches and eat spinach salad.  More often than not when I ask them what they would like to eat for dinner, my son will say, "What you're having."

Our dinners have evolved from die hard spaghetti, pizza, subway sandwiches, rice bowls to steak or chicken, even fish, a spinach salad and a vegetable.  A small loaf of bread usually for my kids to split which recently I've noticed we usually have some left over.  The sweets are still a problem, but I don't buy them often and I try to make things that are low in carb and I never over bake anymore.  I used to love to make holiday cookies, I'd have parties to do so and tubs and tubs of cookies were the result.  There was usually a cake, or brownies or something soft and chewy and sweet to eat with ice cream.

That came to a screeching halt on Sept. 9, 2013 when I had to face the fact that I had to change my diet or I would be facing some serious health problems like high blood pressure, diabetes and who knows what else as I had added 10 lbs per year to my frame for several years in a row.  I went on a low carb diet and restricted myself to less than 50 carbs a day.  I figure my family is likely still getting 150 - 200 carbs a day. We had cake for birthdays, we shared dessert at special dinners out, occasionally we'd have oreos in the house or I'd make 12 cookies.   We tried to stay as active as possible.  By Thanksgiving, I had reached my first weight goal.  I had lost 27 lbs.

I celebrated by making muffins for the kids which disappeared instantly.  My parents were visiting and they both have adult on set diabetes so we didn't continue to have a lot of sweets around.   I actually, by preference, continued on the diet, but increased my carbs to about 100 a day.  I kept the weight off and at one point in the spring I thought...what weight am I really supposed to be and looked at a chart and saw that 125 was the median for healthy weight for my frame.  I was still on the cusp of overweight at 145 but yet acceptable healthy weight so I thought...why not?  What does 125 look like anyway?

So, that's me...all about me.

In my home this is what is happening......

My son's grades are improving in school.  Yippee!! He is getting homework done without a lot of prodding.  The teachers are calling to let us know he got an A on his test.  THEY ARE CALLING!  Wow, I think, all our hard work with helping him is paying off.  This is fantastic, way to go sweetheart.   We end the year on a high with a C average.  Some parents may think that's not so great...but the story is not over yet... read on.

My son has a cognitive processing learning disability and ADHD.  We work VERY diligently to get the results.   My husband and I have been strong advocates for my son, getting private tutors, helping him as much as we can and trying to instill independence.  We even moved to a new, more accessible community to get out of the city so that we could have more control.   I'm sure all these things helped with what I am going to share with you next.

School is going to start, we haven't had our son on his medication for focusing and ADHD all summer.  We go to the doctor for a check up.  Just on observing him, the doctor asks my son if he thinks it's still necessary to take the medication.  My son doesn't think so....I on the other hand, want the grades to prove it.   We get our prescription.

School starts, it's going to be challenging, I'm waiting for homework.  I'm waiting.  "Where is it?" I'd ask.  "I did it at school." he'd say.  "I'd like to check it."  I'd say.  "I already turned it in." he'd say.   I'd go sit on my hands and wonder what I should do next..."Let's read your book!"  I'd say.  We would do that, read through some assignments, go over a novel he was reading for class.  But more and more, he's just doing it.  He's growing up.  Yeah!

This week we had our progress report on the education plan the school has for him.  "We can remove this goal." the specialist told us...WHAT! - "Did you say, we are removing a goal?  Why?"  "Because he made it."   My son has been on an education plan since 2nd grade.  He is now in 7th.  He has never made one of the goals on the plan.  He has had sporadic success but never made a goal.  We removed 3 out of 6 goals that day.  There is still work to be done but his grades across the board are good, in ALL subjects.  ALL.

You better believe we praised him.  I wish I could do more for him.  I bought him a new pair of sweatpants.  I made him his favorite sandwich (2 times).  We let him stay up and play video games.  I would buy him a car if he was older if I could afford it ...that's how PROUD I am of him.  We just may try life at school without the medication.  All our hard work paid off.

Then I read this article yesterday:
https://www.yahoo.com/health/how-to-ward-off-grain-brain-98825902702.html

To summarize, a New York Times best selling author and neurologist states in his book "Grain Brain" that a low carb diet helps the cognitive and memory functions of the brain and aids in lowering ADHD.   My son has basically been on a low carb diet of his own for 13 months.  He didn't lose weight - he gained, he grew taller than me, his hands are larger than mine and his feet are huge!  But he didn't eat as much processed food as he has before and he had more well rounded meals with a lot more protein than before. 

We weren't part of a trial, so I'll never know if the diet had something to do with it. But I do know, I'm not going to chance it.  We are staying low carb, all of us.  ALL.

Please share this story with anyone you may know who may be in a similar situation.  Parents with children who are struggling in school with learning disabilities are motivated to do whatever they can to help their children.  I am willing to do whatever I can to help them.

Happy Carb Counting....from all of us.

Low Carb Camper Success and Chicken Sausage and Asparagus Wraps

Beach Picnic with leftover Chicken Salad and Cheese 

I just waved off my first low carb camper.  She was pretty happy leaving and is actually planning to come back on Monday!  After just four days of low carb camp she lost 2 lbs and is getting creative about making her own low carb meals.

We had a great few days, enjoying some wonderful meals and two memorable excursions.  It was great to have her visit and helped me focus on how to structure the camps for a great experience for the camper. On the third day she made our main meal which was a picnic that we enjoyed at Hearst Castle.  It was incredibly low carb:

Trader Joe's Chicken Sausage with shredded cheese - 1 carb
four asparagus tips wrapped in sliced ham - 5 carbs
small spinach salad with ranch dressing - 4 carbs

Total carbs:  10

Low Carb Camper Creation: Chicken Sausage and Asparagus Wraps

We spent some time walking and hiking.  I shared my favorite hiking trail, visited Montana De Oro's tide pools, toured Hearst Castle and saw the Elephant Seals.

She also visited Trader Joe's to purchase items that are lower carb and familiarize herself with what is available.  I recommend doing this at your local grocery store.  I recommend that everyone should know what they are eating.  For the counting of carbs in vegetables, I would recommend a smart phone app.  I use Carb Counter but even it doesn't have all the vegetables so I actually have the best luck just typing in a browser:  How many carbs in....xx

Elephant Seals at Piedras Blancas

I loved this: 0 to 60 in 15 minutes: weight loss has a similar feeling.

In closing, the low carb camp worked....I'm going to keep doing them so please, if you have a week of vacation or even two and you want to try the low carb lifestyle....come stay with me and I'll help you get going.  I'm also offering to do low carb coaching and I'll be available on as frequent a schedule as the carb counter needs, checking in with email, Skype and providing tips and guides that are more in depth and instructive as to how I have managed to lose 44 lbs in 13 months.   Let me know if you are interested in either the low carb camps or the coaching by emailing me for more details to thecarbometer@gmail.com.

I believe the low carb camps help those who desire weight loss to focus more on the process of counting carbs and creating their meals with low carb ingredients, taking you out of your home environment where it may be too easy to cheat.  Having a bit of accountability and support present to keep the motivation going and focusing on simpler things in life...the view, the hike, the conversation of a friend, a picnic on the beach ect. To come to accept that it's a lifestyle change, it's not a diet and that to get the results you want, will take time.

Happy Carb Counting!
Enjoy Your Journey!

Inaugural Low Carb Camper! - And Awesome Chicken Avocado Salad

Beautiful Heirloom Tomatoes for our salad

I am hosting my very first low carb camper.  Susanna joined me on Monday and we started off with an overview of the low carb lifestyle basics and it was refreshing for me to know that the information I was sharing was new and interesting.  It's so easy to settle into our patterns for eating, and it's with discipline that we have to overcome them to change to healthier eating patterns.

  After an overview, I asked her about the goals she wanted to achieve with a low-carb focus and then shared how I felt she could achieve it and how long it could possibly take.  There has to be some expectation setting and several pounds do not disappear overnight.  The now 44 lbs I have lost took over a year.   That's less than a pound a week.

This is a lifestyle, it's not a diet.  There are no cheat days, sure there are special occasions and that's up to the person.  I would use moderation then, especially if you want to lose weight.

Our low carb lunch was fun to make and beautiful.  Susanna had brought several avocados and we made a special Chicken Avocado salad.   Here's the breakdown for 1 serving:

1/2 cup cooked chicken, cut in cubes - I used leftover chicken breast from an earlier dinner - 0 carbs

Lovely and delicious Chicken Avocado Salad

1 heirloom tomatoes - beautiful small ones - 3 carbs
1/8 cup chopped nuts - we used hazelnuts - 3 carbs
3 tbsp mayonnaise - 0 carbs
1 tbsp dijon mustard - 0 carbs
1 small avocado half - 7 carbs
1/8 cup of shredded cheese - 1 carb (had cheddar in it, slight carbs)

Paired with a Spinach salad with sliced red onions and balsamic vinaigrette - 2 carbs

Total Carbs: 16 carbs

It looks awesome and it was fabulous.  I had mine cold.  Susanna melted her cheese over the chicken and then placed it in the avocado.

It was fantastic and special treat to make this.

Happy Carb Counting - we're off to Morro Bay and Montana De Oro today to visit the tide
pools.

Why Do Low Carb Diets Work?

Mini Pepper and Spinach Open-Faced Omelette   

I recently watched a video on low carb diet research and the uncovering of how the diet actually work.  This wasn't my first foray into a low carb diet, but it is my first acknowledgement that it's a lifestyle choice and needs to be in order to maintain one's weight.  

In my singlehood, I had a roommate who did the Atkins Diet and lost an astounding 60 lbs.  He inspired me to try the diet as well.  I did lose weight, I remember around 20 lbs. but I never did hit the weight I currently am at.  After that point, I slowly crept up over time, got married had children and until the recent past I was relatively good at keeping the weight in check until I hit 40 and then it was as if no matter what I did, I gained weight.

Many people ask me if I'm on the Atkins diet, I'm not.  I count my carbs only.  I try to stay between 30 and 50 carbs a day when I'm actively trying to lose weight and allow myself between 50 and 75 when I want to maintain my weight, paired with exercise on a regular basis.   The Atkins diet has you do a lot of different tests, mainly on trying to find ketosis which was thought to be a way of getting rid of excess calories more easily.

Just this last week, one of my very good friends forwarded to me a link to a video about how low carb diets work and it's GREAT!  I recommend it if you want to know why the low carb diet works.  It's from a credible source and contains some historical information on Dr. Atkins and why he looked into doing the diet himself and why he started advocating it.  Dr. Atkins wasn't a diet doctor, he was a cardiologist. 

View from Pine Mountain - my daily hike

The video shares a lot of studies and other health information if you are concerned with other issues you may have before you embark on a low carb diet.    So if you are curious...watch this!
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=epxp_Viq484

I loved watching this, because it validated my thought about counting carbs instead of calories. 

Exciting news!  I will have my first Low Carb Camper coming on Monday to Friday this week, staying at our Airbnb and enjoying low carb meals that we'll make together and go on excursions in my wonderful community and surrounding area.  More pictures to come!
If you want to come and Low Carb Camp with me...send me an email and I'll tell you how it works! - thecarbometer@gmail.com.


Check out the Mini Pepper and Spinach Open-Faced Omelette featured above  from my March 19th blog here


Happy Carb Counting!

Great Eats with Cauliflower

Oh! Cauliflower

I have re-discovered cauliflower through the low carb diet.  Many of the recipe substitutions for rice or pasta mention using vegetables like spinach, broccoli and cauliflower.  I really never was too keen on cauliflower so I tended to use a lot of broccoli and spinach.  One Saturday, while at the farmers market, I saw a purple cauliflower.  I was curious, I asked the farmer if it tasted different than white cauliflower, she said she thought it did and preferred it to the white.   So I bought one.  She told me to broil it, not steam it and put lemon pepper and olive oil on it.  I've done this with asparagus and it's my preferred way of eating asparagus so I decided that would be what I would do.

DELICIOUS!  The purple did taste better than the white, I had to do a taste test and I broiled both.  Purple cauliflower seems a bit rare here, but I started to use white more often because it wasn't as bland tasting as I had remembered.  Since I'm focusing a bit on soups to make, I found a nice recipe for a cauliflower soup.  Here are the ingredients and carb counts.

Cauliflower Soup

olive oil  - 0 carbs
1/4 cup chopped onion - 4 carbs
1 small carrot, grated - 6 carbs
1/2 cup chopped celery - 1.5 carbs
1/2 head of cauliflower - 15.2 carbs
4 cups chicken broth (I use bouillon cubes - less carbs than broth in a can) - 4 carbs
1/4 tsp pepper - 0 carbs
1/2 tsp tarragon - 0 carbs
1 small bay leaf - 0 carbs
5 tbsp butter - 0 carbs
3 tbsp cornstarch (recipe called for flour but cornstarch has fewer carbs) - 21 carbs
1 cup milk (I should have used Almond Milk, but I was out...) - 13 carbs
3/4 cup half and half (I know...sinful but few carbs and makes the soup delicious!!!) - 24 carbs

The soup serves 4 - 88.7 carbs for the batch - 22.17 carbs a serving.

If I were to substitute Almond milk for the milk and cut down on the cornstarch by 1 Tbsp.  I could trim more carbs without really effecting the taste.  You could also use a bit less half and half, maybe 1/2 cup instead and use a bit more almond milk.   That substituting would save 32 carbs....bringing it to 56 carbs for the batch and 14 carbs per serving. 

 I like to try to stay under 50 carbs a day so my version with 88.7 carbs is a bit high and could account for almost half my carbs for the day.   However, as I get closer to my goal weight - now only 1 lb away, I am closer to maintaining and I'm not too worried if I go over 50 a few days a week.  It's important to exercise and I credit exercise more than I credit the diet with helping me lose the last 10 lbs towards my goal weight.

The soup was delicious.  My kids were not too keen on trying it so it was lunch for 3 days for me.  I will make another batch next week and do the substitutions I mentioned and get back to you with a taste test.

Have a great rest of your week and happy carb counting!