Iwanna Wednesday

Bet you thought I would never do an Iwanna Wednesday post ever again right? I have to admit I kind of got away from wanting everything in the world. The last one I did was November of 2012, seriously...I checked! It was an Iwanna post about wanting Pilgrims for Thanksgiving. I still don't have any!

A little background on what Iwanna Wednesday is in case you forgot. Ok...so I want everything I see. I mean it! I can walk into a drugstore and see something and say, "I want one of those." I can walk into a hardware store and say, "I want one of those." I can even drive by someone's house and say, "I want some decorative rocks like those!" My mom and sister finally started teasing me and saying, "Oh yeah Iwanna...you want everything!" That is how Iwanna Wednesday was born...a day when I can Iwanna anything my little heart desires. 

Well today I was running around on the net and saw something Iwanna...this!

Photo Credit - Stupid Dope

So do you know what this is? Care to take a guess? Have no clue? Well if you guessed bathtub...you are correct. This is a bathtub! Seriously! See...

Photo Credit - Stupid Dope

I love it and would love to have something like this someday! I think I would be a little scared that the thing would stay on the wall filled with water and me!! But just love it, love the clean lines and the way it sits off the floor, no plumbing. This is how you drain it...cool right?

Photo Credit - Stupid Dope

Well that's it for this Wednesday, here's wishing all your Iwanna Wishes come true!




 

Weekly Low Carb Wrap Up - Week Twelve

This was a great week! I finally got beyond the dreaded "weight loss plateau"! I reached the first goal I have set for myself! It honestly takes a while to learn your body and what you need to give it, to not only lose weight, but do so in a safe and healthy manner. I feel great at this point and can't weight to reach my next goal!

My weight loss group has been very helpful, not only in the tips and recipes that they provide, but also in the encouragement I've received from them. Having my friend and co-worker, Angelica of Angie's Life Changes on this journey with me means I have a daily partner around to kick my butt and keep me on track and I do the same for her. The only thing she hasn't gotten me to do yet is exercise more, but I'm trying! Ok...I'm not trying, but I will this next week, I promise!

So anyway...who would have thought that eating more fat would help me to lose weight? But it has and this past week I lost 3 pounds! Yay!!!

Great thing is that not once have I felt hungry or deprived. Would you feel deprived eating these?

These are Jalapeno Popper Meatballs! Meatballs stuffed with cream cheese, cheddar cheese and roasted jalapeno's then wrapped in bacon! Yum! 

The recipe is courtesy the a low-carb, gluten-free genius, Mellissa Sevigny, creator of the blog "I Breathe...I'm Hungry". I've mentioned her blog many times and have made quite a few of her recipes...remember Buffalo Balls which I made in Week Eight? Mellissa does a Meatball Monday and always has a new one you can try out. Not only are her recipes awesome and easy, her photographs will make you want to lick your monitor and drool on your keyboard!

I only made four wrapped in bacon because on her blog Mellissa explains that you have to broil the bacon wrapped ones but to be very careful as the bacon grease will make them pop and since they are right under direct fire it could cause a fire in your oven and I'm a big old chicken and figured I could careful monitor four of them as opposed to watching out for twenty of them a'popping and a'sizzling! So in the photo above you can see how the ones not wrapped in bacon looked. I ate them with a few slices of avocado for healthy fat. Here's how they looked inside.

Look at all that gorgeousness! Melted cream cheese mixed with cheddar cheese and roasted jalapenos!                    
Be sure to visit I Breathe...I'm Hungry to get the recipe!

Here's a few more pictures only because I'm pretty darn proud of how great they look!

Unwrapped and ready to be baked!

I love this closeup!
See the roasted jalapeno that was mixed in the meat?

Here's the four I made with bacon waiting to be baked!

DUTA from the blog Places with Character mentioned last week in a comment on Week Eleven that my photos are of cook book quality. Thank you DUTA...I'm humbled and grateful you enjoy them. If you would like to read a great blog that is educational and informative and shows you some beautiful pictures, then be sure to visit her blog. 

So I've mentioned my co-worker Angie that is eating low-carb alongside me. She is a great inspiration too. She also has a very demanding sweet tooth! I'm not real big on sweets, but every now and then I crave something. She does not disappoint. While I was making Jalapeno Popper Meatballs, she was making this...

That's a CHOCOLATE MINT FUDGE POP!!!! I know...I'm yelling, but that is how excited I was when she walked into the office one morning and told me she had brought me one! Of course I had to eat it right then and there for breakfast! Oh my gosh...was it delicious. She used the recipe from the blog All Day Long I Dream About Food. 

And she wasn't done with her sweet tooth yet, she also made these amazing Chocolate Flaxseed Muffins! They were so delicious and she brought me two! I had one with my coffee that morning and I ate the second one with my coffee this morning and I slathered it with melted butter (another healthy fat). 

She found this recipe at Maria's Nutritious and Delicious Journal. this blog is full of so much health and diet and lifestyle info! I love it!

Photo Credit - Eat Yourself Skinny

That is it for this week's wrap up. Remember to drink lots of water to keep your body hydrated and prevent nasty water retention. I'm trying to get into the habit of drinking detox water during the weekend to keep myself hydrated. Just slice up half a cucumber, 1 lemon, 1 lime and about 12 small mint leaves and put in a pitcher with water in your fridge on Friday night and drink it during the weekend instead of soda. Healthy, yummy and refreshing!


 

Weekend Low Carb Wrap Up - Week Eleven

Welcome to week eleven! It's been a good week! I've only lost one pound but I had been stuck on the same weight for the past two months, so any loss is a win in my book! Been doing excellent in staying on track and watching carbs. 

I recently joined a group of people that are trying to lose weight. Some are doing Atkins Low Carb - High Fat, some are on Weight Watchers, some on Skinny Fiber, some counting calories, but the point of the group is the support that we are all receiving from each other. The tips and ideas are great too. 

I mentioned how I was stalled and not losing any weight and what I was eating and how frustrated I was and several told me that I was not eating enough fats. I explained that I really don't like fats, yuk! I like lean meats and always remove the fat on my chicken but told them I was willing to try eating more fat. I never thought I would purposely eat more fat, but I did and I did lose 1 pound. I will continue throughout this next week and see what happens. 

My co-worker Angie was nice enough to make a recipe we've been seeing all over the web called "Fat Bombs", see the picture below. These yummies consist of coconut oil, almond butter, liquid Stevia, cocoa powder and melted butter. She found them on the website My Low Carb Road to Better Health - High Fat, Moderate Protein, Low Carb. 

Let's see, what else did I eat throughout the week? One thing was a tried and true friend...my Cajun Chicken Drumsticks and Broccoli Slaw. I love these and could eat them morning, noon and night! And now I am even eating the skin so it's a good thing that the rub I use on it gives it such great flavor!

Oh...one of the members in the group asked all of us how we "Latinize" our low carb foods. Well my mom cooks for me pretty often and all she needs to do is add jalapeno and tomato and it's Mexican food for me!

Here she takes steak and cuts it into bite size pieces instead of strips and makes her version of steak fajitas. She also makes this wonderful dish that she has made ever since I was a little girl. She takes Anaheim Chile Peppers and roasts them over an open flame, peels the skin off and then stuffs them with Monterey Cheese and microwaves them for a bit to melt the cheese. Kind of a Chile Rellano without the breaded outside. I love them! All I add is a salad. 

Earlier today my sister accompanied me to do my weekly grocery shopping. We were on our way to eat at Applebees and we saw that right across the street there was a Farmers Market going on so we went over to check it out. And it was a good thing we did because we found these yummy baked veggies! 

They had all kinds. In the picture below are Beet Chips and Carrot Chips with Garlic. They had samples and it's a good thing they did or we never would have tried them!

I also bought a bag of Okra Chips, which I didn't take a picture of because earlier today I went to go visit my dad for Father's Day and I took them to him and he was in Okra Heaven! He loved them and in a couple of days I will take him the beet ones and then later the carrot ones. I'm sure he will love these as well. They are baked by a company called The Kloster Company, but I could not find a website for them.

We bought some other goodies at the Farmers Market. One of the items was a Raspberry Pomegranate Vinaigrette so tonight for dinner I made myself a refreshing summer salad of Romaine Lettuce, Avocado, Cucumber, Strawberries and Red Onion and topped it all with the Vinaigrette and some cracked black pepper. It was one of the most delicious salads I've ever had!

And lest you think that I didn't have any fats today, this is what I had for lunch at Applebees!

I asked our server to bring me some butter and he was kind enough to bring me about 1/4 cup of melted butter which I drizzled all over the veggies and on the steak. I ate every bit except for the carrots!

As I said...it's been a great week and I feel fabulous and I know I look much better and my clothes are feeling looser. It is only one pound I've lost on the scale, but it's not just about the scale. It's about feeling better and feeling better about myself!

Photo Courtesy of Trains Fitness

 

Chaos Cook or OCD Cook? Which are you?

I've never been much of a cook. When my kids were little, I would make simple things, grilled cheese sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes. Then came the glory years when all I would do was call my son on the way home and tell him, "I'm at Wendys, Panda, McDonalds, Jakes Tex Mex, Burger King, etc., what do you want for dinner?" Ahhh...those were the days, no cooking, no shopping, no dishes to be done after dinner!

But recently, I've decided to eat healthier, which means that you have to shop and cook and of course you have to clean up afterwards. I was reading a blog the other day about how people are using their laptops in the kitchen rather than cookbooks. One person mentioned that it's not a good idea for her to use a laptop judging from the state of her cook books and how she is one of those cooks that drags out every pot and pan and has them all piled up alongside cookie sheets and cutting boards. With all that going on her laptop would definitely not survive for long.

When I cook I always need a recipe, so when I find a recipe I like I email it to myself at work and on my personal email, I pin it on pinterest, I share it on facebook and I print it out! Most of the time what I printed out ends up in a pile of mail and bills to be paid so I have to resort to using my laptop. Luckily I am a very neat and organized cook, almost too neat and organized (not so neat and organized with mail and bills).

So I have started using my laptop in the kitchen quite a bit, but I'm always worried that I'm going to get something on it and ruin it or make the keys all sticky! They need to invent something to hold your laptop while you cook. Here's a picture of my kitchen and I think maybe I need to invent something to hold my laptop on the ledge of the window over the sink. Something that would hold it in place and not let it fall into the sink and keep it above the counter so I couldn't get it all sticky and messy.

But back to my cooking technique...I am a very OCD cook. I clean as I go. I have to use all the proper cooking tools. If a recipe calls for 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, I use my measuring spoons, no guessing or a dash of this and a palmful of that for me! My mom on the other hand salts her food by just using the box of Morton Salt! (Don't tell her I told you that though, just between you and me!)

So I use tons of dishes and bowls and cutting boards and pots and pans too, but I wash everything as I go and put it away, which means it takes me hours to make a simple dish, but I just can't bring myself to leave the counters and sink a mess to be cleaned up afterward. I'm an OCD cook. So if I ever invite you to dinner and you tell me, "Cool, you cook and I'll clean up" you are getting a deal because other than the plates and utensils and glasses we use to eat, everything will already be washed up before we sit down at the table!

So are you a Chaos Cook or an OCD Cook like me? 

     

Weekly Low Carb Wrap Up - Week Ten

This should actually be week thirteen but I've been bad and not done a weekly wrap up for four weeks now! But I'm going to get better because as you can see from my previous post I'm killing my Sugar Crush addiction and focusing more on blogging and napping! My two favorite things!

But...just because I have not been posting a weekly wrap up does not mean I've gone off the low-carb wagon! Oh no...I've been doing good, well maybe not good but I've been trying.

I've always been a believer in only weighing in once a week on Friday mornings. For the past couple of months every single Friday I have weighed exactly the same! I was getting so frustrated because no matter what I did I wasn't losing weight!!!

So two weeks ago I decided I was going to weigh myself every day to see if I could detect a pattern...see how scientific I am? What I found out is that I was defeating myself. On Friday's I would weigh myself and then that evening I would go out an eat just a few chips with salsa (ok, maybe a whole bowl).  Then on Saturday I would go out shopping with my mom and I might eat a few more chips and salsa, maybe a frozen strawberry margarita, then Sunday I usually make a nice meal for my mom and my kids and I might have just a smidgen of mashed potatoes or some Doritos casserole.

I found that all those little cheats made me add 3 to 4 pounds by Tuesday and then even though I was good and ate low carb the whole week all I was really doing was losing the weight I gained over the weekend and therefore by Friday when I weighed in I was still at the same weight! Silly me! Defeating my own self! Grrrr!

So this weekend I have stayed true to my low carb plan and have not partaken of any carbs! At least not more than the 20 to 25 allotted during the induction phase of Atkins. This weekend we have had a heatwave, so yesterday morning, before it got too hot I made some tuna salad, some chicken salad, some guacamole and some turkey, cream cheese and pickle roll-ups  Plus I made some detox water. 

Turkey, Cream Cheese and Dill Pickle Rollups, Guacamole and red pepper strips for dipping! Recipe for the roll ups can be found at http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2011/02/easy-recipe-for-ham-and-dill-pickle.html

My son found this wonderful video for me, three ways to cook eggs in the microwave, here's a picture of the ones I made and the video is posted below.

Scrambled Egg in a Cup in the Microwave

I also mentioned that I made Lemon Detox Water yesterday and I've been faithfully drinking it today. It's so simple to make, just slice lemons into a pitcher and fill with water then let sit in the fridge overnight. I also added a lime and I wanted to add cucumbers and fresh mint, but I didn't have any. I found information on detox water at fitsugar, but I've seen it all over pinterest too! 

Again this morning before it got too warm I made a turkey roast tenderloin and a pork roast tenderloin. I buy the Jennie-O Turkey Roast Tenderloin, the Savory Roast flavor is below, they have several different flavors, the one I made today was Island Marinade and it had a sweetness to it that was excellent!

I cook it exactly as I do the roast tenderloin, you can go HERE to see how I do it. 

I hope that my detox water and careful planning of food and snacks for this weekend helps me to finally start showing some results! 

If you have any good low carb meals you make feel free to share them with me. I'm always looking for new things to cook. Have a great week everyone!

      

The Candy is Crushing my Will to Blog!!

There is a new addiction out there in the world. One more dangerous and deadly than crack cocaine. 

One that steals your will to be creative, that ruins your friendships, that keeps you from blogging! Well maybe it just keeps me from blogging, but anyway, what is it you ask? 

 It's a wolf in sheep's clothing and it's called, CANDY CRUSH!!!

Wikipedia says of this wolf "Candy Crush Saga is a video game for smartphones and Facebook that was released on November 14, 2012.[1] It was developed by King. As of March 2013, "Candy Crush Saga" surpassed FarmVille 2 as the most popular game on Facebook, with 45.6 million average monthly users.[2][3] It is a variation on their browser game Candy Crush.

It looks innocent enough...sweet little candies, who doesn't like candy? The object of the game is to line up three little candies and that makes them disappear and you score points. Each level gets gradually more difficult and combinations of candy appear. Striped candies and candy bombs...oh my! Before you know it you would sell your soul just to move on to the next level.

For the past few weeks I have been mesmerized and addicted! I even got my co-worker hooked so I didn't have to be ashamed to be playing the game alone during breaks and lunch hours.

Hello, my name is Alicia and I am a Candy Crush Addict.

As of today I am going to break the bonds of addiction by following the 12 Steps to Breaking the Candy Crush Addiction.

1. Admit that I am powerless over these sweet little candies and that my life has become just one big Candy Bomb waiting to explode!

2. Decide that I will not click on the Candy Crush app button to the left of my Facebook wall.

3. Admit that I will not download this application to my smart phone as I know I cannot control it on my PC.

4. Make a decision to turn my life back to blogging, to help take my mind off of those sweet little candies and those happy little crackly noises the game makes.

5. Realize and admit that "one more level" will never be enough and I will never find satisfaction and true happiness at the click of a mouse on a bright little candy.

6. I will admit to myself, to my blogging community, to my facebook friends and family and to my partners in crime, my fellow candy crushers that I need their support on a daily basis to rid myself of this addiction.

7. I will attempt to drag my friend Angelica back from the precipice of the danger I placed her in when I first sent her an invitation to play this harmless little game.

8. I will make the decision to not be an enabler and I will not send lives and extra moves to fellow Candy Crush addicts.

9. I will continue to remove myself from the Candy Crush addiction by blogging more and visiting my blogging buddies more and finding new interests that don't involve candy or Candy Crush.

10. When I feel the irresistable urge to play Candy Crush, when my fingers are itching and I know that I cannot fight the monkey on my back alone, I will turn off my computer and find other interests in the real world and not the world of CandyLand.

11. I resolve to spread this message of hope against this devastating addiction to other's that might need my help and to be there to slap their silly little hands and knock those mices, meeses, mouses? out of their hands!

12. And finally, I make the decision today to stay away from Candy Crush...just as soon as I pass level 49...or at least until I pass level 50 because that would make it an even number and half of a hundred and I can stop at that point, I know I can. I will have the willpower because I will follow the above 11 steps...after just "one more level" though...ok?

The Ugliness of Reality TV - From Left to Write

Have you ever watched the Jerry Springer Show? If you are a fan, you may want to quit reading now, fair warning!

For those that have never watched the show let me wrap it up by saying it’s a show promoting all the ugliness that is America on reality TV shows.

Jerry and his staff have a knack for finding those people that would sell their momma’s souls for their 15 minutes of fame and a little bit of cash!

The majority of their episodes deal with “Are you my daddy” and “Who is my daddy” and couples that have affairs with other people. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen anything else on Jerry's show.

I tried to find a video I could post for anyone that hasn't seen the show but after watching a few of them it just got so depressing. Human beings at their worse! The shows that deal with paternity are so sad and pathetic and I feel so sorry for the children involved…but the ones dealing with infidelity are the ones that anger me the most! It just seems to me that on the show and in real life, that whenever one spouse cheats on the other spouse, the spouses always forgive each other but are angry at the person that the spouse had the affair with.

I think I've posted before how crazy I think that is. To my way of thinking, if you are married to someone, they promised to love you and be true to you and they broke that promise to you. The other person that they had the affair with, be it a man or woman, that other person never made a promise to either spouse....so why would you want to beat them up, like they do on the Jerry Springer Show and yet they choose to forgive the cheating spouse?

This just does not make sense to me! I don't want to spoil the book that I read this month for my book club, From Left to Write, so I won't say anymore, but the book inspired me to write this post.

This post was inspired by the novel Those We Love Most by Lee Woodruff. Every family has its secrets and deceptions, but they come to surface when a tragic accident changes the family dynamic forever.. Join From Left to Write on June 6 as we discuss Those We Love Most. You can also enter to win a live video chat with Lee Woodruff! As a member, I received a copy of the book for review purposes.