Sunday, March 31, 2013

Weekly Low Carb Wrap Up - Week Five

     This has been a tough week for me! But even with all that has happened this week which I'll detail more about in another post to follow later this week, I managed to lose one pound! Yay!!! 

     I know, it's not a lot, but imagine if you were to lose one pound per week? How many pounds would you lose in one year??? I can see you all doing the math. Let me make it easy for you...it would be 52 pounds!!! Amazing when you realize slow and steady wins the race!

     The bad thing about deciding to lose weight and eat better is that as human beings, we are a very impatient bunch! We are used to getting everything now! We don't stop to think that we didn't put on 30 extra pounds in a week, it took us a good 6 months to a year or more, so what makes us think we can lose it in a week?

     That is my mantra...slow and steady wins the race. I'm not just learning how to lose weight, I'm also learning how to cook and eat delicious food that can be eaten by me and my whole family alike. As I get older and realize that I want to avoid diabetes, which runs in most families, I know the only way to do it is to eat better and exercise.

     With that being said, let me tell you that while I stuck to my eating plan this past week, I really didn't have much time to try new things. But thank goodness for my co-worker, who decided to try to make a cookie using almond flour and coconut. I believe she found the recipe on the blog, I Breathe...I'm Hungry. These cookies are called Almond Joy Cookies and they are low carb and gluten free. 

Almond Joy Cookies
     We both discussed the fact that they were good, but could have used a little more Splenda to make them sweeter. We realize that would have upped the carb count, but as long as we are only going to eat one every once in a while it really wouldn't kill us. She too felt that maybe it would have helped to add some cinnamon for flavoring, but all in all, they were pretty good and went well with our morning coffee. She also made some cheesecake which I forgot to photograph.

     I usually like to try to make a nice meal on Sundays. It's a throwback to my mom and dad who always used to BBQ on Sunday. They would make enough food to feed an army! Last Sunday I made another Pork Tenderloin, but this time I made it the way my sister does, kind of like a pot roast. I loaded it with veggies. It look beautiful and tasted pretty good, but my familia is not big on the baked veggies and I myself like them only slightly steamed and still crunchy. But it's a pretty dish, don't you think?


     For this pork tenderloin I used a very simple dry rub, just salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder, then I braised it in a cast iron skillet, added the raw veggies and into the oven it went.

     This Sunday was Easter Sunday. I was going to BBQ but it was windy in our neck of the woods and a bit chilly, so I decided to just make my famous (well famous to my family) Taco Bell Teriyaki Hamburgers with Guacamole for my son and daughter, and then for myself I decided to try a couple of new recipes that I've pinned on Pinterest. 

     The first was an Easy Cajun Chicken from...you guessed it, I Breathe...I'm Hungry! I just love her blog, so many wonderful recipes that are super easy to make. So easy that even I can do it!

     I did it exactly like her recipe except that I did not have any dried thyme so I just didn't use it. I had bought a huge pack of chicken drumsticks at the store the day before and I washed them, dried them, rubbed them with olive oil and then made the dry rub of salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder, cayenne pepper and dried oregano and tossed them in that, placed them on a foil lined cookie sheet and baked them at 400 degree oven for about an hour. 

     They were soooooooooooo good! The skin was crispy and spicy as heck! And the meaty part of the drumstick was juicy and delicious. I made the whole pack which was about 5 pounds so I will have plenty of leftovers to carry me through the week.
     



     To go along with it, I tried another Pinterest recipe which I found at Linda's Low Carb Menus and Recipes called Broccoli Slaw. This was very similar to my Broccoli Salad  except it didn't call for bacon and onions, so I improvised a bit and added onion salt and when I served the slaw on my plate I added bacon bits. 


     I also added some guacamole that I made for the burgers. I froze some of the guacamole as a test as I have been seeing on Pinterest that you can freeze avocado and they are really inexpensive right now. I bought these for 50 cents each! So here was my Easter Sunday Dinner...yummy no?

     So that's it for this week's wrap up. I didn't get a chance to exercise as I had hoped, but I did stay busy doing other things, which again I will post more about later this week. I'll try to exercise this week, but again...not sure it's going to be possible since I'm a pretty busy gal lately. Have a great week!

 

9 comments:

  1. Your Easter dinner looks scrumptious!

    After a long weekend of eating and not much exercise, I'm ready to get back on track.

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    1. It was really good Paula! And the best thing is that after I ate it and added another drumstick I didn't feel fat and bloated and disgusted with myself for eating the wrong stuff. I felt light and energetic, yet totally satisfied and not hungry!

      Have a great week and stay on track!

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  2. That looks good! Could you send me your guacamole recipe? I bought four avocados last week, and aside from slicing them into a salad I haven't a clue. I think we'd love to try homemade guacamole!

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    1. Oh Lordy! I'm always going on about how I have to have a recipe to make certain things but guacamole is one of those things I just toss together. I usually am making it for my son and daughter, so I just uses the avocados, put about two in a bowl, sprinkle in some garlic powder and onion powder, salt & pepper to taste & mash them up. The kids love to top their burgers with it and wouldn't eat their burgers any other way!

      When I make it for me though, I do all of the above, but I also dice up a Roma Tomato, add a dollop of sour cream, dice up some jalapeno (after removing the seeds and membrane) and add some diced up cilantro!!! Yum! For snacks at work I bring 1/2 an avocado, dice it up with a little italian dressing over it and it's so delicious and filling and I swear it gives me more energy!

      Let me know if you try making the avocado, next time I make it I will measure :)

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  3. The tenderloin with the veggies looks scrumptious. I love stir fried veggies, lightly done. The broccoli slaw looks good too. Keep up the great work. Slow and steady.

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    1. Hey dude! Yeah, the tenderloin does look good, but the veggies were way too over done for me, I like them the way you said, lightly done and still crunchy and fresh tasting.

      I see you recently did a new post, just haven't had a chance to head over and read it. Tonight I just might make it home in time to read a few blogs before my beloved American Idol, so I will read yours first!

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  4. You are doing so well! I had to go back and look at your past post for the recipe and I know I'm going to make those - they'd be so good to pop into my lunch for work every day. Do you make your own spice, or do you buy it ready-made?

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    1. I forgot to put a link to the recipe, but glad you found it. I make my own cajun spice, it's in the recipe at I Breathe...I'm Hungry, http://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/2013/03/easy-cajun-chicken-low-carb-gluten-free.html

      But here are the ingredients:
      2 tsp kosher salt
      1 Tbl garlic powder
      1 tsp black pepper
      1 1/2 tsp onion powder
      1 tsp cayenne pepper
      1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
      1 tsp dried thyme

      I've never used the thyme because I don't have it, but I should buy it and see what a difference it makes. But even without it they are delicious!!!

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  5. Yum, I like your broccoli slaw. I'm stealing the recipe and thanks for the idea to make this for a party. You have a lot of great recipes and you are full of great ideas.

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Please leave a comment.I would love to know your thoughts!