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.