Atkins 40, this sounds pretty good...

I’ve been a low carber for a few years now.  I’ve floated in and out of it this past year, but find that when I live in the moment, eat pasta, pizza, sugar, of course it’s wonderful, but then I have to take Nexium because I get heartburn at night, I feel sluggish, I gain weight, my face gets totally blown up, so then I revert to low carb again.  Do I lose weight on low carb, not really.  I lose maybe ten pounds and then I stall out, it’s age, metabolism, inactivity, it all works against me, but the payoff is I feel better when I eat this way.

And then last year Atkins rolled out their 40 carb program, I haven’t tried it, I’ve always stayed between 20-25 carbs, but this looks very doable, so maybe I’ll see how my body responds.  It makes more sense, more vegetables, a bit more fruit, all things good.

This morning I was reading in People Magazine about how that self absorbed Kim Kardashian has lost 60 lbs. eating Atkin’s 40, and while I can’t handle the woman, I did think her food journal was interesting, I’ll link to it, some of you might enjoy the menus.

A little food for thought about a new approach to Atkins, not as restrictive, it might appeal to you...

Here’s the link to her menu’s, lots of other 40 carbs menus online as well, just Google it...

Bon Appetit!  ~ Jan

Jan's Soul Satisfying Comfort Food

Drats, I should have taken a picture of my dinner, but I was so busy scarfing it down that I didn’t think about it until my plate was clean.  You all know how I go to the extremes with the things I do, but the more I get into low carb cooking, the more enthusiastic I get.  And now that hubby is doing it alongside me, it gives me additional motives to try different things to keep him satisfied.  And the results are paying off, he’s down 27 pounds, I’m down 20, it’s working, not fast, well for me anyway, but slowly and steadily.  And we’re not alone, my friend Nisha and her husband, Charlie are eating low carb, too.  Charlie has lost 30 lbs., Nisha 17 and they haven’t  been low carbing as long as we have. 

Coconut Oil is one of those things that the low carb community just raves about.  Over and over I hear about the heart health benefits, there are so many recipes using coconut oil and I absolutely detest it,  I can’t stand all of my food tasting like coconut, so it has been sitting in my pantry, I’ve been using it on my skin and that’s about all because every recipe I tried with it, I ended up throwing out.  Well last week I was in the local Vitamin Shoppe and there was a 30 something woman checking out, and she had the loveliest blonde hair, shiny, shiny soft and she was buying a jar of, you guessed it, coconut oil!

I commented on how I can’t stand the taste of it and she told me that she was buying the virgin coconut oil, the same nasty oil that I had in my pantry that I paid $17 for at Whole Foods, and she said she used it to condition her hair.  She puts it on dry hair, oils it down, leaves it for awhile and then shampoos it out.  Then she proceeded to tell me that I need to be buying refined coconut oil, that it has no taste.  The clerk brought me a jar, it was cheap, $7, I brought it home and oh my, it’s a life changing experience.

First I tried frying eggs in it, and they were silky smooth and delicious.  The other night I breaded chicken tenders with almond flour, and fried them in the coconut oil, it was amazing.  So tonight, badly in need of comfort food, I had cubed steaks in the fridge, I put about a half a cup of almond meal in a bag, along with a liberal amount of salt and pepper, wet my cubed steak so the almond flour would adhere, shook it in the bag while getting my skillet hot with the coconut oil, added the beef, along with thinly sliced onions and cooked it until one side was brown, turned it, covered it and cooked it totally about 15 minutes.  Meanwhile I nuked a bag of frozen cauliflower, drained it, then put it in my  trusty food processor with 2-3 tablespoons of butter, some shredded cheese, salt, pepper and a splash of half and half.  Processed it to make faux mashed potatoes, but this is what took the meal over the top.  Gravy, wonderful, rich, sinful gravy.  

I took out the meat, and here’s the unusual part, guar gum, you buy it in the grocery store or the health food store, and it thickens food.  But you can’t just dump it in, and it doesn’t take much, you just take a bit of olive oil and a teaspoon of guar gum and blend it together, then I added half and half to the pan drippings, not a lot just about half a cup or so, blended in the guar gum and it made decadent, mouth watering gravy.  I put it over the faux potatoes and it was absolutely sublime.  Really good, hubby loved it.  And yes, we had this cranberry relish, the recipe for it is posted on Jan CAN Cook Lowcarb.

See what I mean, I just get all caught up with the things I do and have to tell you all about it.  But this is soul satisfying southern, homey, cold weather, stick to your ribs food.  And you can eat!  No more going hungry, no endless days of chicken and fish, it’s real food!  It’s a beautiful thing, low carb cooking, just had to share this...

You can find the recipe for the cranberry relish, which, is an adaption of a recipe my friend V gave me, here.   So good!

Livin' Low Carb, it's a lifestyle not a diet. well today, anyway ;)

I've lived the low carb lifestyle since May of this year, May 23rd, 9:30 am to be exact, only veering away  for a few meals, mostly pizza. and never eating sugar.  And how's it working out for me? Oh, I did gangbusters at first, dropped eighteen pounds, then stalled, and have gained and lost the same pound since the beginning of September.

I keep telling myself that it's a lifestyle, but we all know I've lost and gained back a badzillion pounds over the years and have little hope for anything long term.  But that's not the point of this post to talk about my success or lack there of with what I put in my mouth, I merely wanted to share this picture, because it's just hilarious, and some recipes because they're really good.

You seriously don't eat many veggies on 30 carbs a day, and even less fruit, but ya know, it's not all that bad.  I'm sitting here sipping a cup of that wonderful Trader Joe's Ruby Red Chai tea, liberally laced with cream. It's a perfect treat on a cool fall day.

And dinner tonight?  Sausage pumpkin soup, such a good recipe,  (I'm trying it tonight with Italian sausage) you really don't taste pumpkin at all, it just thickens it and gives it depth and richness.  Also Cheddar Bay Biscuits (leaving out the Old Bay Seasoning, I'm not a fan), they're almost a dead ringer when they're warm for Red Lobster's Biscuits, except made with almond flour.

And dessert?  Warm, Brownie in a mug with a scoop of Breyers Carb Smart Ice Cream.  It's pretty awesome, too.

I know, I know, you're saying to yourself, "no wonder she hasn't lost weight."  But this shouldn't affect any weight loss, it's the way you eat on low carb, it's normal to stall for a month or two, and at least I'm not gaining.

So, do you want a look at the recipes?  Just click on the following pictures.  I've made all of these, they're  "tried 'n true."  It's what I do, I cook, every.single.day and I'm always trying something different.   If anybody is interested in low carb links and more recipes, just email me.

Soup Tweaks:  Simmer the soup uncovered so that it reduces and thickens.  Warm the cream in the microwave for 1 minute before you add it to the soup.  Cream curdles easily if you pour cold cream into hot soup, heating it prevents that.  I don't add the half cup of water at the end with the cream, I just stir in the half cup of cream and simmer it for a minute until it all blends.  If you add water, then you have to reduce it again.  Too much trouble.  I also added diced red pepper to this.  I prefer the Italian sausage to regular sausage, it gives it a really good flavor.

 

 

Chia Seeds, are they a good thing?

 

There's a lot of buzz going around about the health benefits of Chia Seeds.  Yes, the same seeds that you use for Chia Pets.  They're low in calories, full of antioxidants and vitamins.  They give you energy, are filling, yada yada yada.

Here's part of what Eating With Purpose has to say about them. 

So what makes chia seeds a true superfood that you just can’t live without? For starters, lets take a look at these impressive stats. Chia seeds contain:

• 8 times more omega 3’s than salmon
• 30% more antioxidants than blueberries
• 25% more fiber than flax seeds
• 3 times more iron than spinach
• 15 times more magnesium than broccoli
• 6 times more calcium than milk
• 2 times more potassium than a banana

Read more: http://eatingwithpurpose.com/2011/10/chia-seeds

Ryan picked me up a package at Trader Joe's and I decide to give them a try yesterday.  There are different ways of eating them, you can add water and they turn to tapioca like gel with little beads, you can grind them, or just sprinkle in things like yogurt, smoothies, soup, salads, scrambled eggs, anything you want, the possibilities are endless.

It was evening, I was having some low carb ice cream, so I just sprinkled on a tablespoon.  Well, that was different.  They were tiny little seeds, not much flavor, a bit gritty, but they expand and gel in your stomach and make you full.

I ended up with them stuck in my teeth, they gelled in my mouth, and I was just sitting laughing at how stupid I am.  Was I hungry, I don't think so, I got so involved with something else that I don't remember.

Will I try them again?  Oh sure, I will, these little beauties are good for you, and I really don't mind the slightly gritty texture, but then I'm pretty warped.

If you Google "Low Carb Chia Seeds" you will see tons of information about them.  I'm constantly amazed at all the different things I find when eating healthy.  Chia Seeds are inexpensive, you can find them at your local health food store, and if you don't like them, you can always start a Chia Pet.  Well you can!!!!