SuperBowl Low-Carb Recipes (or Super Foods for SuperBowl Sunday)

A fellow Atkiners on an eDiets Support Group of mine follows the Queen of Reveloopsies (see side bar link to Cleochatra's (sp) blog on Low Carb foods thru her real-life column for the Charlotte Examiner as their "Low Carb Examiner." What's this mean?

I got a listing of all these fabulous foods for the SuperBowl - all on a different site than her blog. So, now we have another source of great foods - and one for TODAY if you haven't already set your menu in stone! Here's a good way to make the SuperBowl low-carb for you: with Super Low-Carb recipes for your super super day!!!

Wed Day 3 Week 3 Induction Continues, 28 Jan 09

"To Thine Own Self be True, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man."
Inspiration for Wednsday of Week 3 Induction Continues: Keep Planning Your Work, Working your plan, Having a back-up Plan (it's ALL or NOTHING today, baby!)

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Random Thoughts: Felt a little arthritis in my left foot (toe) this morning - hadn't felt that in maybe a year or so - but everything else was feeling okay. Feel a little bloated like my weight may be up to 188. Altho it's TTOTM, not a lot of spotting going on. Given "that time of life" (would that be TTOL?), maybe I'm doing another crazy thing here. I rescheduled my doctor's appt from this week to next; let's hope that next week is "good to go" and not a time to reschedule again. Last year, I had "abnormal cells" which the follow-up revealed were not a problem, but a "watch" thing. My doctor in Ohio wanted to look again in six months and it's time to look again. Now with a new doctor in North Carolina. Which concerns me, too.



On eDiets, my Boot Camp Support Group is having an ALL-or-Nothing (AON) challenge three days in a row: all food, all water, and 60 min of exercise over Tues, Wed, and Thurs this week. I had already done the 60 min of exercise by the time I read it on Tues, so made sure I stayed OP (code for "on program") with my food.



Doing good on the water, but sometimes it seems to be "chug-a-lug" just before going to bed, which means I get to wake up in the middle of the night. Need to fix that: change my habit. Just want coffee for a while before I start drinking water. The coffee wakes up my systems and helps me adjust to being alert (which takes about 3-4 hours usually).



Sometimes I think I should drink coffee at midnight, go to sleep, then wake up at 5:30 alert! Or just learn to suffer the pains of a morning shower using hot and cold to wake the dead! (I prefer going to bed clean, you know? - and remember that little thing about not wanting to stand up in the morning? give me a bath if I have'ta!)

PERSONAL HAZARD (S)- Discouragement with weight loss reversal, needing to be stronger (then) when faced with tastier choices


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Assignment:

Progress so far:

Doctor Appt (for your numbers): Did it. The follow-up checkup is already scheduled for March.

READ THE BOOK: Did what I needed, still referring to as I "work the system."

ONGOING ASSIGNMENT: Induction continues: Food, Water, Exercise!! Plan the menus, work the plan. Altering cardio and strength daily- I'm getting back to that; finally feeling a schedule starting to build that will be doable, plus building up some back-up alternatives for if the schedule won't work.



NEW ASSIGNMENT: .
Continuing to develop a schedule and alternatives for exercise. Next week, I think I will let eDiets give me menu choices and work with their menus to develop a shopping list - takes some of the guesswork and pressure off for a week - just follow the recommendations to keep me at 25 carbs (yep - gonna come out of Induction "officially" next week and let eDiets figure out where 25 carbs are (versus the 20 or 30 that could easily happen on my own.)

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Vitals:
BP - not today
Weight: 187.0
Cholesterol: Numbers from 30 May 08 (Doctor's office):
Total: 250
Trig: 56
HDL: 93
LDL: 146
Vitals that day: Wt: 171 BP: 126/82 Pulse: 72

Exercise:
Stretching 30 min yoga
Cardio
Strength 30 min "shimmy" bellydance workout on FitTV


Water: 96 oz

Food:
Breakfast: Fried egg over easy on a Low Carb Bread slice (9 carbs) with coffee and S/L and milk (2 mugs) - total 11 carbs.
Lunch: Mushroom Mousakas - ground beef mixture with some mushrooms/onion mixture, topped with cream sauce made with half-n-half, almond flour, parmesan, nutmeg, etc.
Dinner: 2 cups of green leaf lettuce
Snack:
Dessert: 1/2 cup low-carb ice cream from Breyer's (4 net carbs)
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NOTES:

Wt: Actually down 1/2 apound, but when I looked at it, I thought I was up another pound. So, not as bad as I thought. Just feel bloated; you know, that really probably is TTOTM as I got real cranky last night.

BP: Will take again at end of month.
Ketones: Will see later in the week - maybe Friday?

Thurs Day 4 Week 2 Induction

"To Thine Own Self be True, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man."
Inspiration for Thursday of Week 2 Induction: It's my party, and I'll diet if I want to, diet if I want to...you would diet too if you had the guts to(too)!
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Random Thoughts:

It's my birthday - do I have to follow the rules? Well, duh. If I'm in induction, and my weight loss and health supercede an "annual" event (i.e., a once-a-year happening that will occur again), then my priority is to induction and not to indulgement.


However, a friend on one of my ediets support groups (the "Strictly Atkins" group) gave me a great idea: all-you-can-eat crab legs! I love crab (if you haven't figured that out yet, it's because I haven't made the crab/seafood omelet with hollandaise sauce yet this week - maybe this weekend, huh?)

So, the search was on and we went to Joe's Crab Shack, even tho the nearest locations had closed and we had to drive an hour. They have dungeness crab on the menu - this is the sweetest most succulent crabmeat ever - comes from the Pacific northwest (think Seattle!) area. No one else had that on the menu, so we made a "road trip" out of it and I had the triple crab bucket and skipped the potatoes and corn-on-the-cob that came with it. I also had some lobster bisque soup for an appetizer. There may be some carbs in it (to thicken it) but there were definitely carbs in everything else and since I stuck with NO carbs for the main entree (crabs and garlic butter messy-yummy-um-um-good!)

For dessert, I promised myself some low-carb ice cream (Breyer's makes this) ..Breyer's has rocky road (which is so good for Low-Carb that it's dangerous for me to have in the house) and chocolate in addition to the good stand-by of Butter Pecan (the pecans and buttery flavor offset the lack of sugar). I stuck to the portion size (because I was in Induction still) and noted that while net carbs were 4 per 1/2 cup of ice cream, there were some sugar alcohols. This is important to note because sugar alcohols affect different people in different ways. I'm not sure how I react to them, but generally speaking, you don't want to add those in during Induction (which is very likely if you use bars and shakes, so I don't in Induction.)

PERSONAL HAZARD (S)- Birthday - wanting to be good to myself and have something fun for me today.

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Assignment:

Progress so far:

Doctor Appt: Did it. The follow-up checkup is already scheduled for March.

READ THE BOOK: Did what I needed, still referring to as I "work the system."

ONGOING ASSIGNMENT: Induction continues: Food, Water, Exercise!!

NEW ASSIGNMENT: Plan the menus, work the plan. 30 minutes of zumba daily.


Vitals:
BP -
Weight: 184.0
Cholesterol: Numbers from 30 May 08 (Doctor's office):
Total: 250
Trig: 56
HDL: 93
LDL: 146
Vitals that day: Wt: 171 BP: 126/82 Pulse: 72

Exercise: skipped today since we drove so far and back for dinner (out of time)
Stretching
Cardio
Strength

Water: 96 oz

Food:
Breakfast: 1 portions (of 8 in a casserole) of Moussakas (greek eggplant casserole), 3 mugs of coffee w/ S/L and milk
Lunch: another portion of Moussakas
Dinner: crab legs with garlic butter, lobster bisque, diet coke
Snack: 2 cups of romaine leaves at home (they were out of romaine at the restaurant and iceberg is a wasted effort, plus they were going to add in carrots, which are a no-no during induction)
Dessert: 1/2 cup of low-carb Breyer's ice cream (4 net carbs) - there may be other brands that are good in your area, be sure to try them all over time to find your personal favorites

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NOTES:

Wt: going down again - YAY!!!
BP: not taking regularly anymore - will begin to look at it monthly
Ketones: a few more days before I check

TGIF - Day 5 (Jan 9, 2009)

"To Thine Own Self be True, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man."
Inspiration for the Day: TGIF - Enjoy the weekend; remember this is my life!
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Random Thoughts:

PERSONAL HAZARD (S)- Fiance at home today; then he asked me out to lunch, if I wanted. A sabotage? A dare? Dare I say 'no'? (No way, out we go!)
My next hazard is still being tired - I woke up very irritable, cold, hands and shoulder sore, went back to sleep after an hour, then abruptly awoken later by workers in the street doing something. Going out for lunch - the skies are beautifully blue in NC in January, at least this year! - was good for me, which means it was good for fiance who didn't like my being so grumpy.
Also received some of that "stressful" mail that can throw me for a loop. Solution: called the xh to discuss with him, called his housekeeper as well (since I couldn't reach him on his cell), and we ended up leaving VM for each other, but all seems well. In essence, the mail said I had to be back in the state of Ohio next week- in court, and they mailed it on THE DAY that I had to let them know if I couldn't make it. To make it worse, I initiated this because of a typographical/administrative error they made on a document going to the court. The notice I received was vague about what was going on, and I was concerned my xh would think it was something more than that and get his lawyer involved and both of us would waste money when all I wanted was an error to be corrected in the document that was going to be signed by the court. I know that they are working to do the right thing, but they do have to deal with a lot of folks and I am just one of many, so I try not to add to their burden. Going to court for this is just a bit over-the-top, but how the system works sometimes. But it looks like we're going to be able to be reasonable about this, which is good.

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Assignment:

Progress so far:

Doctor Appt: Done. But I think I need to find a Physical Therapist for my shoulder, and make an appt for a massage (gift from fiance for Xmas)

READ THE BOOK: Yeah, yeah, yeah - don't I have all weekend?

ONGOING ASSIGNMENT: Prepare menu for 1 week, using book and lists of foods (induction chapter), then create shopping list. Also, learn how to read labels - both in the book.
Also: NO SUGAR and DRINK ALL MY WATER (can't forget those two). EXERCISE!!!

Vitals:
BP - after waking: 122/69, pulse 50 (2nd take, 1st was 118/66, 51) ;
Weight: 189.0 - up a 1/2 pound - see notes below
Cholesterol: Numbers from 30 May 08 (Doctor's office):
Total: 250
Trig: 56
HDL: 93
LDL: 146
Vitals that day: Wt: 171 BP: 126/82 Pulse: 72

Exercise: PRIORITY for TODAY (slacked yesterday)
Stretching 5 min
Cardio none
Strength 30 min: crunches, weight workout using wine bottles, a lighter one for my shoulder with tendinitis, and using resistance, plus some squats

Water: half a bottle (32 oz) done - so about 16 oz. ; 2 bottles now - up to 32 oz; one more to go! -EOD: Finished it all!!

Food:
Breakfast: Some bacon and coffee - about 5 slices (these are thin, pre-cooked), and 1 cup coffee, milk, S/L.
Lunch: 10 Buffalo chicken wings, a caesar's side salad (pushed the croutons to the side after offering them to my fiance who was having (carbs, we won't say what kind! shhh!) and a diet soda. I asked for splenda-sweetened (Coke Zero and Pepsi One come to mind), but these are the other kind of diets.
Dinner: Probably will have leftover stroganoff with it thrown over carbs for the carbs person in the family and with a side salad for me so I can feel smugly superior despite his attempts to sabotage my efforts by taking me out to lunch earlier ;) Anyway, where I didn't have will-power before, I am having it now. But that's the wrong word. What I really have is determination and commitment. Today, it only took determination. Sometimes it takes commitment - remembering my commitment to myself and how important it is to me to get to my goal.
Snack: 4 oz of cream cheese, bacon bits, splenda, cinnamon
Dessert: 2 Atkins' bars, one after lunch, one after dinner
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NOTES:

Wt: 1/2 pound up from yesterday. Since I am not showing (on the ketone strip test) that I am burning carbs over fat, I am probably also dealing with the low metabolism I got myself into. So, not exercising yesterday probably had a lot to do with my not dropping another pound and with my showing a bit up. So, another reason to make sure I exercise today: to see if that has an effect tomorrow (tho I know metabolism goes up and down sl-o-o-o-w-ly so it's likely just to help me sweat out some bad stuff and not actually be "up" yet).

How to Clean Celery Properly for your Holiday Guests (and Yourself)

The ladies over at eDiets, my fellow Atkins ("Strictly Atkins") ladies, gave me the idea for this post. Turns out, in a discussion about eating more fruits and vegetables, that a couple of them had never peeled celery before.

I mentioned that because I am appalled when I go to a party and see that the celery has not been peeled. Does the host actually like green organic dental floss in their teeth after each meal? (Does this bug anyone besides me?)

Celery strings are thicker and tougher on the toughest stalks of the celery bunch . In addition, I learned that the tenderer stalks are the tastier ones and the tough ones should be pulled off the stalk and discarded or used for soup.

So now I'm going to tell you how to clean a bunch of celery so you can discover this wonderful vegetable which requires more calories to eat it than it actually provides! How cool is that!?!!

Celery is also a good thing to give to kids with cream cheese, peanut butter, or "bugs-on-a-log" -- raisins embedded in peanut butter.

I recommend using a paring knife. I knew someone who actually uses a vegetable peeler to do this, but it takes off more of the celery and is more difficult to do (the strings catch in it) yet that method may be quicker, until you learn how to do it with a paring knife.

A paring knife is that little bitty knife - about a 4" knife blade - that is sold anywhere kitchen stuff is sold. They come cheaply, but try not to get one that is so cheap it bends. Your fingers will thank you.

• So, first remove the outside stalks from the celery bunch and wash the dirt off them. Set them aside for soup or discard (it's kinda fun to watch them spin when inserted whole, and in a standing position, down the garbage disposal, but the strings can cause problems for the garbage disposal -- I've heard-- so try not to have too much fun).

• Then, cut off the bottom hunk of celery (where it all comes together at the root). You can use that for soup too, if you like, or toss it. Clean it a bit better if you keep it because there are more crevices there for dirt to hide in.
• Now all your stalks should be "free" and independent of each other. One option is to cut the ends off (just scant) to clear the ending of dried, dirty stalk. Another is to cut it off just below the "joint" and use the top parts for soup (some will be longer than others).

• The center stalks of the celery are the tenderest, but some of them get to be very leafy. These look pretty in Bloody Mary's but I haven't found a liking for the leafy stalks otherwise, so if you do, enjoy. (My xh, who taught me all this stuff (and came from a fresh foods family), loved that part and ate it. Not me.)
• So, now we have the parts of the celery we might actually want to eat. Let's clean them up and get rid of those nasty strings.

• I use water and my hands to remove dirt - these parts are not that going to be as dirty as the other, so this is easy to do.

• Then I remove strings. The strings can be found easily with your fingernails but they (the strings not the nails) will break off a lot if you do it that way. The fingernails will also get gunky, so now is a good time to get out your paring knife.

• Putting your thumb on the back of the celery, you place the blade in the end of the celery (think how a vegetable peeler's blade needs to get underneath the peel) and cut in gently until you can pull back the celery flesh, squeezing it with your thumb against the blade. Your other finger is holding the blade firmly against whichever strings your blade located. Normally, you will find a lot of strings the first time, then look for stray strings later.

• Pull firmly but gently all the way down the stalk and the strings will be the only part of the celery being removed, not the flesh. Once you've gotten this to work, you'll see how easy it is. Go back and pull the other strings out.

You will find the toughest parts/stalks have the thickest strings. The tenderer pieces sometimes have next-to-nothing in the way of strings. Taste them to see which ones suit you best and now you know which celery you like the most.

The de-stringed celery may look a little odd to you, particularly if you mangle it a bit the first few - or dozens - of times you do it.

I recommend cleaning (de-stringing) the whole bunch of celery, then putting it back in a bag in the fridge so whenever someone wants one - straight-up or with PB or cream cheese (Atkins-friendly for Induction with CC or plain) - it's ready to go.

Put the other saved celery in a different baggy so you can just toss it in whenever you make a homemade soup like Chicken Noodle (which Mo made) or Chicken Soup. (Hmmm maybe we should go ahead and make chicken soup the same day and freeze it.)

Do you have any vegetables that you just don't like? Let me know and I'll publish some recipes or hints of ways that can maybe help you like it a little bit better, or maybe even learn to love it.

Ediets Community DOWN

The community support groups on E*diets have been "down" for a few days now.

Is anyone out there needing to vent about this? Drop your comments here now.

What's been going on with you today? Here's the list of 3 things we should all be doing daily:

1. Drinking water: 1/2 our body weight in ounces of water (up to 100 oz daily).
2. Staying "OP" or "On" program - within our carb level, our calories, sodium, whatever each of us tracks to see how we are doing daily with our energy/food intake.
3. Exercising - 20-30 min a day usually. I like to do about 250-300 min/week and put it into about 3 days a week rather than daily.

Been a bit lax on that myself lately. I did get all my water in yesterday.

Stress has not been my friend this week - coming at me from all directions, and I see it in the food choices I am wanting to make. Forcing the water in yesterday helped me. Taking my supplements helps me. I will get back on track; just knowing that gives me strength.

The "demons" that tempt us to eat badly, neglect our exercise and neglect our homes, family, and friends, and ourselves most of all, do come back to visit from time to time. Know that you do not need to let them stay long. Use the 3-day rule (both company and fish goes bad after three days?) and send them packing after you've had your little visit.

Going into work today this Sunday, planning to take off tomorrow to take in an opening day major league ballgame - I hear they are pretty fun.

What are you doing for yourself today?

I'm eating the elephant, one day at a time.

The Lighter Side of Low-Carb: Better-Than-Ever-Best-Yet Revoloopsie Rolls!

Some ladies on my e*Diets Atkins support group - one of several support groups I had to help me through trials and tribulations in the past year - had found this website, which I want to share with you. With a sense of humor, and a tremendous weight loss just in 2008, this blogger shares with us all her OOPS-I-goofed-the-recipe-but-yum!-aren't-these-better? low-carb rolls.

I'll also add her to the sidebar for easy finding later!

The Lighter Side of Low-Carb: Better-Than-Ever-Best-Yet Revoloopsie Rolls!