The Battle is with my Head and not my Stomach!

I'm just finishing up week 3 of the LCHF WOE (low carb, high fat, way of eating) and I feel terrific. My knees don't hurt as much, I can get up out of my chair without making those noises that my dad used to make and I have tons of energy and I'm in a better mood! Hard to believe that simply changing my diet can help that much...well that and exercising regularly. The two go hand in hand!

I was commenting on a post on Facebook to a question posed by Lynn of Low Carb Traveler (an excellent low carb blogger) in which she asks, "How often do you eat off plan? Meaning: NOT low carb? And do you do it intentionally, or is it usually just a "slip up"? 

My answer was, "I think for me it's hard when I go off the program, even just once. But a couple of weeks ago I had planned to go on a road trip with friends as a celebration for my birthday, so I did allow myself that day to have two margaritas and chips and salsa at dinner at a Mexican restaurant, but that was it and it was a calculated "cheat". I am resolved to making this a way of life and not straying from the plan. It's not always easy but I feel so much better. I may not always be satisfied with what I eat, but I'm never hungry. It's more a battle with my mind than with my stomach."

Here we are having a bracing Margarita to give us courage to get on the Glass Bottom boat, this was strictly for medicinal purposes! From L to R - Lupe, Lisa and me.

That comment made me stop and think. It's not that I eat because I'm hungry, I eat because I have cravings for certain foods and those foods aren't low-carb.

Jalapeno Infused Cucumber Margaritas, Chips and Salsa after the boat trip! 

Ok, see that picture right up there? See that basket of tortilla chips? That...that right there is my downfall, my kryptonite! I adore tortilla chips with salsa and there is no low carb alternative. You can find great recipes for low carb pancakes, brownies, fudge, cookies, cakes, cheesecake, almost anything imaginable that would satisfy a sweet tooth, but my problem is I have a Salty Tooth!

There is nothing as satisfying to me as chips and salsa. Well maybe Cheetos, but that's an addiction!

So even though I am never hungry with this WOE I am never completely satisfied! There is always something missing. I imagine it's like an alcoholic or a drug addict, you can go on with life but something is always missing and as soon as you have that first taste of it all reasoning goes out the window!

Last night Lisa came over and she made guacamole, which is only good with tortilla chips. I peeled and sliced a cucumber and ate my guacamole with slices of cucumber. Very filling, but not as satisfying as the chips. That is just something that I will have to get used to and maybe, in time, I will lose the craving...but I don't think so. I just can't let my stomach and cravings win over the knowledge in my head that I am doing the right thing for me by eating LCHF!


 

Trying to find the Jalapeno Margarita of My Dreams!

Several years ago in a restaurant in Old Town San Diego, I had a Jalapeno Margarita and fell in love!

In love with the sweet spiciness of the drink and the way it felt so sweet on the tongue while it was in your mouth but after you swallowed left the signature tingling of a fresh jalapeno. I loved the color of it and the way they rimmed the glass with lime then a jalapeno then salt so your lips were burning the whole time you drank it. Yum!!!

I know that seems crazy, but trust me, it's delicious!

So I decided today to try to make a margarita that I found on a website called Hispanic Kitchen. I love this website! They have the most delicious recipes and they are tried and true. If you are looking for a great place to find recipes for fabulous Hispanic foods then head over there and check out their website. Or if you are on Facebook you can find them there under Hispanic Kitchen.

So anyway, I've been wanting to try their "Some Like It Hot Cocktail".  Here's a photo of the drink from their website.

Photo Credit - Hispanic Kitchen 

Doesn't that look refreshing? The recipe cause me a little concern though, here is the recipe from their website:

The Jalapeno-Infused Agave Nectar threw me for a loop! Where does one find that? Luckily, I have the world at my finger tips and I googled and found that you create that by buying agave nectar, sort of a honey made from the agave plant and then infusing it with jalapenos.

So I diced up three jalapenos and steeped them in 10 ounces of simmering water...see! I used the whole jalapeno, membrane and seeds since that is where all the heat is and I wanted that heat!!! Oh...and a tip here, if you decide to make this, turn the vent on over your stove because as these are simmering they release something that makes you cough like crazy!

I found a bottle of Agave Nectar Friday night when my sister and I went out for Sister Night. Quick wrap up of that was we went to Denny's for their Nachos. If you have not had Denny's Nachos I suggest you go right away because they are delicious! Who would have thunk it right?

Here's the bottle I used, it was an amber agave. I was worried that wouldn't give the drink the right color, but you'll see...it worked just fine. This smells like molasses but tastes like honey, very weird, but I liked it!

So I pour the jalapeno water into the Agave Nectar in a plastic container and it was still a very dark brown color but just beautiful. So that my friends is how you infuse Jalapeno into Agave Nectar! Who knew! I dipped my finger into this...it's hot! And not just temperature hot...it's spicy hot!!!

Several months ago I had a friend that gave me two bottles of Tequila, so I made the first drinks using the Tres Generaciones tequila. Tres Generaciones means Three Generations and it's a very good tequila. Here's a picture of the first one I tried.

With the first drink I muddled the raspberries alone, then added the other ingredients to them in the shaker with some ice. It was very good but I felt it could have used a little more sweetness.

So with the 2nd drink, I used two more raspberries and I put them in the shaker with all the other ingredients except the ice and then muddled the tequila, raspberries, lime and jalapeno-infused agave nectar all together, then added ice and shook. I also rimmed the glass with a bit of lime, a bit of jalapeno and a bit of salt...made all the difference in the world, it was delicious!

I also used the other tequila which I definitely liked better, someday I shall have to take a shot of each and see which is better alone. This one is Xicote Tequila, I couldn't find a website for them.

Earlier in the day I placed some chicken breasts atop some chopped onion and red and green bell peppers and added some fajita seasoning and that should be ready any minute. I've had that delicious smell filling my house all afternoon and now I'm mellow and ready for some chicken fajitas and maybe a beer to go with them and then to relax the rest of the evening to prepare for this next week and then a 3-day weekend next week!!! Life is good! How was your Sunday?

   

National Tequila Day has come and gone...but the memories linger!! Sister Night Margaritas!

Bet you didn't know that last week on Thursday it was National Tequila Day? Well it was. Did it pass you by?

Luckily, thanks to all those sweet people on Facebook, I was reminded all day long! I never realized so many of my friends love Tequila the same way I do! Maybe that's why they're my friends? So I immediately got my sister Lisa on that Tequila bandwagon and we planned to get together after work to celebrate.

A little history on me and my sister Lisa. When her son Sean was in high school, he played football. So every Friday found us two sisters sitting in the bleachers either sweating up a storm or wrapped in blankets freezing to death watch Sean play football! Through thick and thin, we were there.

After football season ended during Sean's Senior year we felt a little displaced and out of touch with each other. So we said "Why does this have to end?"  Thus was born the tradition of "Sister Night". A night during the week when we get together to just catch up on our lives, to joke, to cry, to share memories, but mainly a night devoted to "sister love"!

Sean has now graduated college, he's completed the police academy, he's a dad...and my sister and I continue to get together one night a week for Sister Night!

Well National Tequila Day fell on our sister night, so we hit one of our favorite watering holes for Happy Hour! And, we got Happy! With these little beauties! On the left, a Watermelon Margarita for my sister Lisa and on the right, a Raspberry Margarita for me! Don't you love the colors? Tell me your mouth is not watering right now!

Since it was a special holiday, we threw caution to the wind and decided to order some of their delicious appetizers. An order of Chicken Taquitos with Guacamole and Sour Cream, and an order of their Chorizo-Bean Dip with Flour Chips. Plus Chips and Salsa? We were in Tequila Heaven!

Our poor little waitress kept coming by wanting to know how the Chorizo-Bean Dip was since she had recommended it and we had to keep sending her away as we were busy taking Selfies!

Love the way we match our drinks, like we dressed for the occasion! We did eventually put down our phones to dig in to our appetizers and they were delicious! The Margaritas were super yummy and our little waitress tried to talk us into having another, but with age comes wisdom and we know when we've had enough.

Another Successful Sister Night for the history books!

Road Trip! - Morro Bay Avocado and Margarita Festival

In my world there are two things that go hand in hand, just like bread and butter, burgers and fries, fish and chips...I'm talking about avocados and margaritas! Nothing I love better than a delicious Margarita with some avocado turned into yummy guacamole. That's why when my sisters' friend Lupe suggested we take a road trip to the Morro Bay Avocado and Margarita Festival I was all like, "Yep...count me in!"

So yesterday we made the little trip from Wasco, which is where Lupe lives, to Morro Bay. I say little trip, but it's actually a little bit over two hours away. But when you are in good company a long car trip is just the ticket to get caught up on girl talk and snacking!

And that's what we did. We stopped and bought Cheetos, Beef Jerky, M&M's, Fritos and Diet Pepsi's and we laughed and talked and shared memories and gossip until we got to Paso Robles. Even though this was not our destination we stopped at a TJ Maxx to shop a little. Shoes were purchased and the bathroom was used and off we were again to do one of my favorite things and one of Lupe's favorite things...shop the local Goodwill! Yay! I finally found another bird of a feather!

See, my sister is not a big lover of Goodwill or any thrift store for that matter, in fact she is not a big lover of shopping of any kind at all, although she does indulge me quite often. But Lupe loves to shop the Goodwill's and she knew exactly where we could find one in Paso Robles. Yay! Treasure Hunt!

It was not my day to find a lot of treasures, but I did find this cute little lady. I know she's kind of odd looking, but I just love the little spider and her cute purple hat with the little pink flower and her little curly hair and her precious smile with that very bright red lipstick! For a mere $1.00 she was mine! Can't wait to display her at Halloween!

Lupe found some treasures as well, but the one that found the most was my sister Lisa. Funny how she dislikes shopping at Goodwill yet she always spends much more money than I do!

From there we headed to San Luis Obispo, which was about a 35 minute drive through some beautiful scenery. Once there Lupe took us to another Goodwill where I found a black sweater that I love and Lisa again stocked up! 

After this one Lisa drew the line and said NO MORE! I AM HUNGRY! So we decided to head on over to the Avocado and Margarita Festival in Morro Bay which was about 25 minutes away. We made a quick stop at a campsite along the way as Lisa and Lupe are both infatuated with camping!

Once we got to Morro Bay we realized that this was a huge event and thought we would never find parking! But we did, a few blocks away and it was such a beautiful day we didn't even mind the walk and we stopped to take pictures along the way.

My sister and her dear friend Lupe. No...that is not our Rubicon,
but I thought they looked great standing next to it!

Another great picture of Lisa and Lupe with Morro Rock in the background. More information on "the Rock" coming later! Aren't they pretty? Love these girls!

Hey! What about me? I want a picture with my sister!

And one of just me! Love the background!

Then it was time to continue our walk to the festival itself. A salesclerk in one of the little shops we stopped at along the way told us that Morro Bay has a population of about 10,000 people and that the Chamber of Commerce was expecting about 12,000 people for this event! 

For the price of a whole $2.00 each we gained entrance and it was packed! Barely room to turn around in. Everyone was walking around with paper plates filled with chips and avocado...not guacamole because the star of this show was the avocado so it was virgin avocado, no salt or onion or jalapenos, just the pure taste of creamy, buttery avocado mixed with the crispy texture of a salty tortilla chip! Yum! 

Sad to say I didn't get a picture of the avocado and tortilla chips because we were starving and devoured them. But here's a picture of another delicacy we tried a little later on. Bacon wrapped hot-dogs!

These were so good. We only bought one and had them cut it into thirds, but we piled sliced avocado and onions on it! 

And after all the saltiness of the chips and the bacon wrapped hot-dogs we were a tad parched. We soon found refreshment!

I think they call these Corona Beer-ita's!
The cup was filled with Lime Margarita on the Rocks and then using a special lid on the cup a small Coronita Beer is turned upside down, mixing the margarita and beer. Then you sip with the straw and it's delicious! They also made a strawberry version, but we stuck to the original. ***My sister called me after reading this and said they are called "Corona-ritas"***

We wandered around the various arts and craft vendors, we people-watched, we chatted with strangers, we listened to music, we ate kettle korn and bought big containers of fresh fruit salad and just generally had the best time ever!

Because it was standing room only, we finally got tired of all the standing and walking and decided if we stayed any longer we would only end up eating more, so we left and walked down the embarcadero wandering in and out of shops.

We saw some seals and watched them for a while. People were barking at them and little kids were getting such a kick out of seeing their daddies barking like dogs! It was hilarious!

Then we did another couple of things that are a MUST DO when you visit Morro Bay. One is eat fish and chips and the other is visit THE ROCK!

My photo of the Rock!

Official photo of THE ROCK

A few details on THE ROCK

Sunset at the Rock!

At the entrance to the rock is this power plant which plays a large role in Morro Bay,
and in providing electricity to the Central Coast and the Central Valley of California (primarily Fresno and Bakersfield). Due to its tall smokestacks,
it is known locally as "Three fingers".

After having seen and done almost everything there was to see and do in Morro Bay we three ladies headed over to Cayucos to watch the sunset.

Lisa got poetic on us and remarked that we will each see many more sunsets, but at this moment, at this time, on this date, the three of us shared a sunset and a day that we will never forget and that will be one of a kind. Love you my sister and love you too Lupe! Hope we do this again real soon!

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Tired, sun-burned and happy, we three ladies made the long drive home glad to have been able to make wonderful memories and already making plans for our next "road trip!"