'Tis the Season to be Jolly

Merry Christmas from the Carbometer!

Here's a quick update from the urban farm.  We are still carb counting here and hope you are too.  Thanksgiving and the holiday season of December for many of us, is one big carb avoidance. One of my friends joked that Thanksgiving is really Carbsgiving.

I'm still working on my new normal since being rear ended in March.  I have some limitations which effect my daily living, most disappointing is the loss of fine motor skills for my right hand which means from now on my posts will be dictated and then cut and paste into the post.  I must say thank goodness for modern technology, but I feel like I'm always having a conversation with myself!

I'm also A LOT slower than I used to be.  I am trying to keep up the steps as much as I can. I still promote 10,000 steps a day or as much as I can get in.  I average 7200.

Slowly but surely we're getting our Christmas decorations out and up.  Over a span of a few days I hope to have everything done. Thanks to the great inspiration that Facebook brings my Christmas treats for close friends and family include pumpkin spice pecans and a little something I came up with myself which is a quick start chili spice packet.

 I plan my days around putting a few of these together and making a trip to the post office get all of them out before Dec. 20th!  I have to keep my family from eating all the pecans before I can get them packed up!

 So for those of you who want to watch your carbs over the holidays here is a quick guide of things that you can do: 

Focus on the sides:

Broccoli

Cauliflower 

Brussel Sprouts

Green Beans

Candy Cane Beets (I have some of these growing in the garden!)

Skip out on:

Dinner Rolls

Stuffing

Sweet Potatoes

Mashed Potatoes

Go small on dessert:

Flans, custards or a few small cookies, skip the pies and cakes or make them minis - put more into the experience and less into the eating.

From our house to yours have a very happy holiday season.

Merry Christmas!

What's Up at the Urban Farm and The Carbometer Fake Eggs Benedict

The Carbometer Hens

Hello World!  I know it's been some time since I posted, it's a day by day thing here at The Carbometer as I continue to recover from a rear-ended accident that happened March.  It's a one step forward, two steps back kind of thing.

I have some really exciting news.  I now have fresh vegetables arriving in The Carbometer garden.  As many of you my know, California is in a scorching drought and there are water rations everywhere.  Our part at The Carbometer was to ditch the lawn and put in a garden area, with raised beds.  We have done half of the garden, building as we have resources to do since we are doing it all ourselves.  So we have 4 beds of 3' x 6'.

 In these beds we have romaine, basil, asparagus, cucumber, Capri, beefsteak and cherry tomatoes, red onions, strawberries, baby bell and regular bell peppers, also growing on the property are chardonnay grapes (that we eat as table grapes), cherry trees and a little Fuji apple tree.  The garden has not met my expectations.  The sun exposure was too much and stunted the growth so we have to use a lot of shade cover, during most of the day, this has slowed down veggie production but at least we know now.  So far, romaine only fit for our dry land tortoise - who loves it, basil for salads and pizza, a few tomatoes, some cherry and lots of pear tomatoes, three peppers, 1 strawberry (I kid you not)!  1 cherry!  The apples are just coming in and I think we'll get at least 10.  We've had what grapes we could salvage from the deer, maybe 6 bunches.  I think we have until about November for the current plants but I will start planting some winter vegetables next.

Coconut

This spring we invested in 4 baby chicks, who are now some pretty big hens but aren't laying eggs yet and soon to come in a few weeks, two goats.  A white Pygmy we have named Coconut and a Nigerian billy whose name moves back and forth from Captain America to Prancer on a daily basis.The idea is to have baby goats and to milk Coconut and participate in a local 4-H program on dairy goats.

So with the recent spoils, I made what is close to being an all from The Carbometer garden breakfast that I call The Carbometer Fake Eggs Benedict.

The Carbometer Fake Eggs Benedict

Here's the fiber and carb count:
2 poached eggs - 2 carbs - no fiber
1/8 cup long sliced green pepper - 1 carb - .5 fiber
1/8 cup sliced Capri tomatoes - 2 carbs - .5 fiber
1 slice of buttermilk toast - 19 carbs - 2 fiber

Total carb: 24 carbs and 4 fiber.  To lower the carbs consider increasing the green peppers or using a bed of spinach which will give you more fiber too!  Now that I'm maintaining my weight I have started to introduce some grains back into my diet, but only about 3 times a week and mainly equivalent to 1 slice.  On days that I do not have grain, I substitute with a fruit, like a half of an apple.

Hope you enjoy the pictures and Happy Carb Counting.

For the LOVE of Beets!

Just roasted Red and Golden Beets

I'm starting a bit of a farmstead here at The Carbometer. We have recently added two raised garden beds and another two this weekend.  In the garage, are four baby chicks so there will be fresh eggs.

Now there is rumbling about the benefits of a few miniature goats to help control all the lovely grasses and weeds that seem to thrive on the property.  I don't know about the goats, but I was advised to get milk producing goats and make goat cheese, which I love, and goat ice cream, which I've been told is divine.

One of the vegetables I would like to grow in the garden would be beets.  I've never raised beets in a garden before, I've only had them out of a can and one time, a friend made a salad for me from beets out of her garden that she roasted.

 This week at the farmers market, one of my favorite stands just happened to have beets.  I asked them how they would roast the beets.  So here's how I did it.

Clean the beets and wash them thoroughly.

Roll in olive oil

Wrap in aluminum foil

Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 50 minutes.

Take out and let cool, remove one layer of skin from the beets and slice and serve or chill for use later.

They are wonderful!

Carbs in beets....13 carbs per cup.

Happy Carb Counting!

Salmon and Asparagus Bisque in Baked Cauliflower Cups

I have been recuperating from a car accident which happened in March and it's been challenging for me to do too many things during the day which involve my back/right hand/ right arm...thus sitting too long, typing, cooking ect. Thankfully I have been able to walk. So, as I slowly get back to normal with physical therapy which should start soon, after some neurology tests, I'll hopefully be back to my 2-3 a week posts in the future, which is my goal.  So until then, enjoy this little piece I've been working on this week...

So...after a long delay, a short update and a little low carb lunch from whatever I happened to have in the fridge today.

The Carbometer garden is sprouting, we have two more garden beds ready to be put in which will be strawberries and something else, yet to be decided. I've decided to put in an asparagus hill on a slightly sloping side of my property instead of into a garden bed. So, up by the lilacs, in a few years, I'll also be able to harvest asparagus.


Here's a little picture montage of the garden progress.

Radishes

Cucumbers

I made a Salmon and Asparagus Bisque which I poured into baked cauliflower cups to serve. This recipe serves 8 - 10 people.

1 lb asparagus cleaned, wooded sections removed and cut into bite size pieces - blanch - 12 carbs

.5 lb salmon - steamed in one cup lemon juice - 20 carbs - steam alone, flake, set aside

4 Tbsp butter - 0 carbs

1/8 cup cornstarch- 14 carbs

Salmon and Asparagus Bisque in a Baked Cauliflower Cup

1/4 tsp garlic powder- 1 carb

2 cups sour cream - 14 carbs

3 cups - evaporated milk - 72 carbs
(you could do more sour cream to lower the carbs, but I'm not)

1/2 cup tomato puree - 9 carbs

2 Tbsp white wine (I used chardonnay) - 1 carb

3 cups cauliflower -  steamed and mashed cauliflower - 15 carbs

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese - 0 carbs

Total carbs - 15.8 - 19.75 carbs

The picture doesn't do it justice, it takes wonderful and would be a great starter to a fancy meal or lunch with green salad. Very rich and tasty!

You could sprinkle with fresh dill or do as I did and place two fresh asparagus spears across the top.

How to bisque:

Melt butter in saucepan till melted, add in cornstarch and wisk, adding garlic powder, wisk till smooth, add in sour cream and evaporated milk, lower temp so that it is bubbling but not boiling, stir constantly for five minutes till smooth, lower temp again, add blanched asparagus, flaked steamed salmon, tomato puree and the wine, stir well and then simmer for 15 minutes.

How to make cauliflower cups:

Mix mashed cauliflower with the shredded mozzarella - fill a 12 cup cupcake pan. Use cupcake liners if you  want the cups to be pretty, I didn't, I had to dig the cups out a little when they were done, but they were still good! Bake in the over at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Presentation:

Place cauliflower cup on plate, using a soup spoon, fill to overflowing and place on desired garnish. Serve immediately.

Happy Carb Counting!

Renewal in a New Garden

I have great hopes of starting a garden this year.  My husband and I are reconstructing our front lawn, which was a victim of the eternal drought that California has been in, will now be our garden. We are starting off with 2, 6' x 3' raised beds and eventually hope to get to 8 or 9 in the space.

I was never a good gardener, I have tried to start but I became distracted by my kids, my job and the fact that you have to establish a routine for water, thinning, harvesting, mulching ect.  It's a lot of work and I've decided that in order for it to be successful, I'll have to plan it like a job.  I'll be scheduling seeding and transplanting, times to fertilize, or not, nitrate, mulch, thin out, cover and FINALLY harvest!

I was disappointed when I looked at the Better Homes and Gardens gardening site and their application found hardly any vegetables would grow in my zip code, but when I visited the Farmers Almanac, I was pleasantly surprised by how many actually do.  I'll even put in a few bushes for berries and maybe some barrel planted fruit trees that we could shelter in our garage in the winter.

Rough plans

If you are one to look at plans, here are the rough plans:

I'm pretty sure 9 raised beds of 6' x 3' will be a lot to take care of.   In the center we would like to have some type of seating area with an arbor or open gazebo area, we just need to not be casting shadows on things that will need sun.

Wondering what we'll plant?  For starters, we'll do strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, mini bell peppers and radishes.

Happy Carb Counting!

First raised beds

2015 Dietary Guidelines - Yeah for Eggs!! Limits on Sugar

One of my favorite egg dishes

In case you haven't gotten your daily dose of news, the U.S. has posted the 2015 Dietary Guidelines and they contain some surprises and for some of us...some validation we've been waiting on for some time.  Turns out...eggs are okay and haven't been proven to increase blood cholesterol.  There are no limits on how many eggs you can eat a day.  I think, I'll make deviled eggs this weekend..

What was really quite refreshing for me and an obvious peeve for the soda industry is that there are now limits on sugar intake!  I am actually astonished to know that there haven't been guidelines on sugar intake before.

Here's a little snapshot directly from the guidelines for you to see what that means:

"Because added sugars and solid fats are not nutrient dense and solid fats contribute to saturated fat intake, the USDA Food Patterns recommend that intake be limited. The guidance on the approximate amounts of solid fats and added sugars that can be part of a healthful diet is as follows: children ages 2 to 8 years: 120 calories/day; children 9 to 13 years: 120 to 250 calories/day; girls ages 14 to 18 years: 120 to 250 calories/day; boys ages 14 to 18: 160 to 330 calories/day; adult women: 120 to 250 calories/day; and adult men: 160 to 330 calories/day. Intake limits varies by age and sex and are based on residual calories after all food group intakes are met. The intake limits include solid fats and added sugars from all sources in the diet: from sugar in sugar-sweetened beverages, including coffee and tea, and breakfast cereals, to solid fats in burgers, sandwiches, and pizza, to the combination of solid fats and added sugars in snacks and desserts such as cookies, cakes, ice cream, and donuts."  - find this information here:  http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015-scientific-report/06-chapter-1/d1-3.asp

What does 120 calories of solid fats and added sugars look like:

My homemade beignets... I stop at 3 of these

A medium sized donut with chocolate glaze is 193 calories, 6 grams saturated fat and 11 grams of sugar. - The 11 grams sugar approximately 3 teaspoons - 48 calories + 6 grams of saturated fat at 9 calories a gram - 54 calories: - 102 calories right there - this would be advising an eight year old to stop after 1.

There are some very popular items out there which people may even frequent daily.  For all our Starbucks lovers out there who may love that blueberry yogurt muffin with honey!  It sounds awesome!  30 grams of sugar and 4 grams of saturated fat. -120 calories from the sugar and 36 from the fat - total: 156 calories. - You better have your coffee black with that one...

These exercises remind me why I count carbs and not calories and why, I'm not going to count my sugar.  Because at 50 gross carbs a day (I do not subtract the fiber) - if 100% of my carbs came from sugar that would be 200 calories.  Most of my carbs come from vegetables so I know I'm in the clear here.

Hope I didn't spoil your breakfast!

Happy Carb Counting

Why We Get Fat And What To Do About It - Book Review

As many of my readers know, I came about the low carb lifestyle through my doctor.  I had gained too much over too short a period of time for her comfort that she suggested it.  Over a 14 month period, I lost 50 lbs.  I had needed to lose 22 lbs., but the lifestyle was so easy, I just continued and achieved a healthy, normal weight for my frame.

For many years, my days and my goals were mainly mandated by someone else's schedule.  It's called working, or for many people, overworking.  During the last several months, I've been enjoying my schedule since I stepped back from the corporate life.  I have after 18 years, two kids, too many mortgage refinances to count, finally have the chance to actually read something not related to a corporations goals, but related to mine.

One of my low carb coaching participants who has a great thirst for knowledge on all things low carb shared a great book with me written by Gary Taubes, called Why We Get Fat And What To Do About It.  Gary writes about the science of diet, shares the history of how we have gotten to our recommended food pyramid and why it's difficult for the medical community to whole heartily recommend the low carb lifestyle when they certainly should be.

If you are a history buff, you will enjoy the background he provides on the very first low carb diets. The shorthand version is that the low carb lifestyle is not a fad, it's been around for a very long time. Bursting the myths of not eating fat and calories in: calories out balance will make you thinner is something that should be taught in elementary school.  Anyone who believes in these two core areas of thinking, should read the book.

What is evidently stressed is that SUGAR is bad and starch should be avoided.  He has direct ties back to the core epidemics plaguing world health today - obesity and diabetes.   Hmmm, the two things I was on the brink of being before I started my low carb lifestyle change.  

The author shares results of testings conducted by universities, namely Stanford and Duke.   Stanford who compared the low carb diet to several low calorie and vegetarian diets and found that low carb had the best results and the most sustained results.  Duke came to such a resoundingly successful findings on the benefit of low carb that they have their own list of foods and guidelines for getting started on a no sugar, no starch diet.

My key benefit was reaffirmation that I am indeed, heading in the right direction.

Happy Carb Counting!

Waste Not....and Frozen Lemonade Yogurt Pops

Frozen Lemonade Yogurt Pops

I am on a bend to not waste anything.  I am ultra conserving.  It drives my kids wacky that I'm doing this, but I'm trying to teach them that we can get ahead in many ways in life if we just pay attention to all the details.

One of the biggest areas I needed to pay attention to was just how much food I bought and how much I threw away. When I was able to finally focus on what I was buying and preparing, I uncovered a pretty huge savings.  My first month of this experiment was this last fall.  I set out to not spend more than $500 on groceries that month.  I did my best effort to clip coupons and try to buy sale items. At the end of the month I had spent $900.


I tightened in again.  $500 for the next month.  I refused to buy boxes, I write The Carbometer, I shouldn't be cooking with the help of a box anyway!  This new rule would help get all those refined sugars and grains out of our diet.  Result that month $650.  I'm not one to give up too easily.  I set out again.  No grocery stores the next month.  Result that month $420.   For January, I've brought the grocery total to $360 and I believe I can get it to $250 for February.

No boxes, no grocery stores - except for 1/2 priced meat specials, lots of meal planning all help make the goal.  Now I make one trip to Costco a month and pick up milk at a big box grocery outlet during the month if I can't get back to Costco and I pick up my fresh spinach from the farmers market.

The problem with shopping bulk is that you sometimes have things which are leftover and you don't know what to do with them.  This month is was plain yogurt.  I had used about a serving of the tub and it was going to expire the next day.  I would literally need to make a lot of something.   I searched the internet and found yogurt pops.  Though it's not hot yet, I thought, nice treat for the kids, but do I have enough of the stuff to make them.  I certainly didn't want to throw in a lot of honey or sugar to make the pops taste good.  It's one thing to save something, but another if it would still go to waste if no one would eat it.

There on the counter was my last container of Country Time Lemonade....I wonder what those pops would taste like with that.  I made a small sample of a cup of yogurt with a tablespoon of Country Time Lemonade.  I had both kids taste it and my husband.  My son and my husband both wanted a bowl of it right away...2 cups down.  My daughter said she'd eat it as a frozen pop.  With the remainder I made 8 frozen pops and 6 two-ounce cups.

Yogurt officially saved!  Will I buy more Country Time Lemonade?  I have to think about that...  technically it's not a box.

Yogurt pops:

7 servings of plain yogurt - 133 carbs
8 tablespoons of Country Time Lemonade mix - 128 carbs
Total carbs: 261 carbs

Mix well and place in pop containers and freeze - This made 8 - 3 oz pops and 7 - 2 oz pops
Approx.  13.7 carbs for 2 oz pops and 20.6 carbs for 3 oz pops.

Happy Carb Counting!

Gratitudes of My Low Carb Lifestyle

Aug 2014 - 45 lb loss

Feb 2013 before low carb

GRATITUDES

I have been reading a lot of gratitudes lately of my friends.  I've been asked to participate in gratitude chain letter like activities.  I never was one for chain letters, so it's always hard for me to get to started.   Gratitudes though are a reminder to us all to be grateful and humble for whatever aspect of our life has turned out better than it likely could have. 

I have had the great fortune of finding a way to control my weight in the last year and half.   In a country where most people are actually overweight and obese.  Of those over age 20; 69% of the population according to the Center for Disease Control fall in the overweight and obese category.

I'd like to personally congratulate the 31% who aren't, including myself for making it, because I am sure at one point or another, many were on the other side of this equation.  Guess what, I'm not good at math so I'll stop there with the data.   Short story...a lot of people should be trying to do whatever they can to not be overweight and obese.  I know there are many reasons, medically and emotionally for weight gain and loss.  I know there are many different ways to take it off and keep it off.   This is just my personal success and I'm trying to help all those out there who haven't yet decided which route they want to go to see my example through this blog.

So, my gratitudes of a low carb lifestyle are:

1. I'm grateful, I made changes to my lifestyle and didn't go on a diet.

2. I love being in control of what I eat, when I eat and how I eat.

3. I'm very happy that my ankles no longer swell at night!

4. It's amazing to me that I have broken my sweet tooth.  I can't even walk into a traditional grocery store without being overwhelmed by the smell of processed sugars, needless to say walking by a candy store prompts immediate nausea. - Quadruple Gratitude!

5. I am extremely happy that I didn't invest a lot in diet trends and pre-packaged foods, or supplements though I did try one and it failed miserably...oh marketing.

6. I'm proud of myself for not doing anything extreme.  I never fasted, or only drank things or just did a soup.  I did it with real food, over real time and I kept to realistic exercise which for me is hiking (very grateful for Pine Mountain)

, walking, the occasional aqua - aerobics class.  I am a believer of +10,000 steps a day.

7. I'm doubly grateful to see and know I can keep up this lifestyle and enjoy food, enjoy making food for others and sharing and helping others who want to make a lifestyle change too.

8. I am grateful for the looks on my friends and families faces when they see me after a long time.  For the comments of my children, that they too are still in wonder at how and where did my shape go?

9. I'm still excited by the day the doctor updated my health file from overweight to normal.  I still remember the nurses question:  "Is this right, was this the right weight?"  "Were you trying to lose weight?"  YES!  "Well, Congratulations, it doesn't happen very often."

10. I'm grateful for YOU, that you read this.  That maybe it will help you or help you, help others.

Happy Carb Counting!

Cold Water, Hot Water, Lemon Water or Drinking Enough Water in Winter

Having some hot tea on a cold day!

It's cold outside and the last thing I want to do on some of these cold mornings is hike.  Quite frankly, the last thing I want to do is....anything.  Sometimes when it's super cold, all I want to do is sleep.  My nickname from my cousin is ClaireBear.  It actually has a lot of different reasons why she gave me that nickname, but it does play true in winter, I certainly want to act like one and sleep winter away.

Another thing that I do in winter is drink WAY too much coffee.  Between my husband and I, we drink at least 10 cups a day.   I'm sure I'm good for 5 of those if not more.  Too much of anything is not good.  I have no reason to drink so much coffee.  Other than to get myself to WAKE UP!

Good thing I have kids who have to go to school and low carb clients who expect me to be at the hiking trail and who expect me to get this blog out!!!

So today I've set my sights on water and trying to get that water up like it is in summer.  In summer, I drink a ton of water.  I'm constantly refilling my bottle.   Now, I notice I fill my bottle maybe once a day, not 4 times.  When I needed to lose those few pounds I'd gained over the holidays, it was slow going.   I still haven't lost all of them and though I'm at my goal weight, I wouldn't mind being back down to my lowest low.  So here are some of the times I'll try to get in that precious liquid;

1.  I've read that the asian cultures do a hot water cleanse in the morning and the evening.  The first thing they drink in the morning is hot water and the last thing they drink is hot water.    (2 cups)

2.  I have at least two cups of coffee by 9:30 a.m. before my hiking - (2 cups)

3.  Stop to drink 2 times on the hike (I haven't emptied my bottle yet in these cold months... (1 cup)

4. I noticed I haven't drank with lunch for awhile.  I'm now making lemon water or if I don't have lemons, weak lemonade out of Country Time Lemonade, I halve the suggested serving size and then double the water for an 8 carb drink and I drink it warm...(2 cups)

5. When I have to drive my daughter to dance I take my own water bottle and walk around town while she's in class. (1 cup)

6. Dinner, again, I'm not drinking....so I am now doing speciality tea, either peppermint or acai berry.  I try to have at least 2 cups.  (2 cups)

So that brings me to 11 cups.

I have just looked up how much water one should drink to help promote weight loss a day, paired with a healthy diet and exercise, of course.....13 cups.   Check it out yourself, they have some good tips at SFGate.

So, I'm still short...I have to add in 2 cups in there somewhere.   I guess it's going to have to be in the afternoon because I DO NOT like to get up in the middle of the night...remember, I'm part bear.

Happy Carb Counting!

Diets and New Year's Resolutions

The Magic Kingdom

Welcome to 2015!  What diet are you going to start?  How much did you gain over the holidays?  More than you wanted or desired?

I was on a trip of a lifetime for myself and my family.  A special trip I had planned for three years.  We went on the Disney holiday cruise to the Caribbean followed by 10 days in Disney World.   All in all, we were gone for 18 days.   18 days of eating out, being catered to on the ship and having all kinds of sweet things available almost 24/7.

I also had a theme for our trip while we were in Disney World.  I focused on visiting all the highly recommended themed dining experiences.   Guess what the highlight of our experience is, what we talk about the most....the ship and the food.   Very little about the rides or the shows.  We loved Epcot!  My son wants to eat in every single restaurant in every country.    We'll need to go back for an entire month in order to do that.

Awesome cod on lettuces with peppers and shrimp

 What I was most impressed with was that Disney does a great job of lower carb and calorie offering options.  There was a healthier option at the sit down dinners on the cruise, they labeled gluten free and no sugar added items.  I pretty much ate whatever I wanted, enjoying their specialty bread, one slice only, not several.  I ate dessert every night and enjoyed my wine, port and champagne, I even had two beers.  Every once in awhile I had an ice cream cone.  I didn't count one single carb.

I was full beyond comfort on several occasions.  There wasn't a scale for me to check on everyday so by the time we got off the cruise, I was hyper sensitive to make sure I walked a lot and I brought my steps up to at least 12 or 13K steps a day, one day I made it to 22K.

We arrived home and I weighed in yesterday.  I was up only 1.5 pounds.  Well within my acceptable weight range. When I think back on what I did well it was the walking and choosing the no sugar added desserts. I kept with lower carb sides, salads, mixed vegetables.  Steering clear of pasta, potatoes and rice and any type of starchy carb for breakfast.  No Mickey Mouse waffle for me.

Favorite breakfast - lox on cucumber!

I actually think, I could have lost weight on the trip if I actually had to.  If I had skipped the desserts and held off a bit on the port, beer and champagne.  When in Disney World, I exercised the split plate at many restaurants and took my tupperware everywhere.  We loved our trip and we loved our food.

I know that one of the main new year's resolutions for many of us is to start a diet.  I was pleasantly surprised to see on US News & World Report cited the two diets I recommend in the top 3.  Mayo Clinic Diet and the TLC diet.  TLC just beating out Mayo Clinic.   TLC doesn't talk about carbs as much as the Mayo Clinic does but if you check their suggested meal plans their carb counts are in the 50s.   TLC is a great way to look at low carb if you have any heart and cholesterol issues and a wonderful maintenance plan.   Mayo Clinic diet is a good choice if adult on set of diabetes is an issue. Here are some quick links to both:

TLC

Mayo Clinic

One of the characteristics both of these diets mention is that they are ways of life...that to ultimately achieve your goals long term and get out of the danger of health issues, one must make a lifestyle change.   May your New Year's resolution be a lifestyle change and not just to go on a diet.

Happy New Year and Happy Carb Counting!