Sunday, December 30, 2012

Top 10 Recipes For 2012

Top 10 Low Carb Recipes for 2012

I started my little blog in February 2012, figuring it would be a way to force me to stay on plan since I'd be publicly writing about it.  It has kept me on plan, but it has also turned into something that has made me quite proud of myself and all of you that read it.  You have no idea how much your comments and compliments mean to me and how great it feels to be doing something that might help or (gasp) actually inspire other people.  With that said, I am proud to put together your top 10 favorite recipes from 2012.  I hope you had a great year and I look forward to spending 2013 with all of you.

10) ENCHILADA BAKE
9) HAMBURGER CABBAGE STIR FRY
8) CHICKEN CORDON BLEU CASSEROLE
7) ONE MINUTE BREAD
6) STARBUCKS CARAMEL MACCHIATO COPYCAT
5) HOT WINGS / BUFFALO WINGS
4) HOW TO ORDER LOW CARB AT STARBUCKS
3) JALAPENO POPPER CHICKEN
2) FRIED CABBAGE WITH BACON AND ONIONS
1) SAUSAGE STUFFED JALAPENO POPPERS


Wednesday, December 19, 2012

I'm in Low-Carbing Among Friends volume 3!

Low Carb Layla's Pizza Stuffed Chicken from LCAF vol.3
I would like to announce that not only is a great Low Carb cookbook coming out next month, but I will have two recipes in it!  I consider everyone at Low-Carbing Among Friends (LCAF) to be the "who's who" in the Low Carb world.  For them to ask me to participate under their Among Friends section in their newest edition, volume 3 is an honor for a blogger like me that simply takes photos of the dinner I feed my family with an iPhone.

If you haven't already, please make sure to go pre-order your copy now!  You can order coil-bound or perfect bound.  All pre-orders will ship before January 31st, 2013.  Most information and pre-order form is available at: Low-Carbing Among Friends volume 3.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Fat Fast Meal Planner Day 5

Sugar Free Jello with Whipped Whipping Cream
Oops, I didn't realize that I left you all hanging by not pushing the Publish button before I took a break for the December madness.  Here is the VERY late 5th day of my fat fast.

Day 5!  I did it!  I did it!  Today was actually fairly easy just because I was running in circles all day so I never really had time to think about food.  The scale this morning said I lost 2.0 pounds from yesterday!  That puts me at a total of 5.3 pounds for 5 days of the fat fast!  Well worth eating tons of small portions of odd foods!  I definitely plan on doing the fat fast again on occasion when I need an extra boost.

Day 5 Meal Plan


Fat Fast Day 5: 970 calories 94g fat 4.98 net carbs 2% carbs, 88%fat, 10% protein
o   Coffee with ¼ c whipping cream 108c 93%fat
o   3 slices bacon 130cal 69%fat
o   1 ounce pecan halved, fried in butter 197cal 98%fat
o   1 egg & 1 egg yolk scrambled with 1 TBSP whipping cream and 1 TBSP coconut oil 308c 86%fat
o   2 servings sugar free jello with ½ cup whipped whipping cream 227c 88%fat

**Fat Fast Day 1: Fat Fast Day 1 Meal Planner
**Fat Fast Day 2: Fat Fast Day 2 Meal Planner
**Fat Fast Day 3: Fat Fast Day 3 Meal Planner
**Fat Fast Day 4: Fat Fast Day 4 Meal Planner

Friday, December 7, 2012

Fat Fast Meal Planner Day 4

BACON!
Ahhh day 4.  I got on the scale this morning and lost .7 pounds from yesterday.  That puts me at 3.3 pounds lost so far during the fat fast.  Today went a bit wonky for me.  I stuck with the fat fast but I didn't eat the items I had intended.  Below I posted the menu I intended to eat as well as what I actually ate.  I made the mac and cheese recipe below and thought it was disgusting so I threw it away and grabbed 2 oz of cream cheese out of the fridge.  I then got home much later than I anticipated so instead of frying up the pecan halves, I just grabbed an ounce of macadamia nuts.  Crazy busy day and I had to improvise but I made good choices while improvising!  I didn't realize that I didn't eat enough today until I was revising my fatsecret.com tracker at 11pm so it is too late to grab something else to help with the calorie deficit.  Oops.

Day 4 INTENDED Meal Plan


Fat Fast day 4: 999 calories 98g fat 6.74net carbs – 6% carbs, 88% fat, 6% protein

o   Coffee with ¼ c whipping cream 108c 93%fat
o   3 slices bacon 130cal 69%fat
o   1 ounce pecan halved, fried in butter 197cal 98%fat
o   1 oz macadamia nuts 204c 95%fat
o   Fat Fast Mac-and-Cheese 360cal 85%fat
§  1 packet  tofu shirataki, preferably fettuccine width
§  2 tablespoons  heavy cream
§  1 tablespoon  whipped cream cheese
§  1 /4 c shredded  cheddar cheese
§  ½ tablespoon  coconut oil
·         Drain and rinse 1 packet of tofu shirataki — I like the fettuccine width or the hard-to-find macaroni version.  Put ‘em in a bowl, and nuke them on high for 90 seconds or so.  Drain them again.  Nuke them again.  Drain them again.  This should get the excess water out of them.  Add everything else to the bowl, and stir till the cheese melts and you have a smooth sauce.  That’s all!


Day 4 ACTUAL Meal Plan


Fat Fast day 4: 640 calories 62g fat 4.35 net carbs 4% carbs, 88% fat, 8% protein

o   Coffee with ¼ c whipping cream 108c 93%fat
o   3 slices bacon 130cal 69%fat
o   1 oz macadamia nuts 204c 95%fat
o   2 oz cream cheese 198c 90%fat

**Fat Fast Day 1: Fat Fast Day 1 Meal Planner
**Fat Fast Day 2: Fat Fast Day 2 Meal Planner
**Fat Fast Day 3: Fat Fast Day 3 Meal Planner
**Fat Fast Day 5: Fat Fast Day 5 Meal Planner

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Fat Fast Meal Planner Day 3

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese
Day 3 of the fat fast!  I woke up this morning and had lost 1.7 pounds since yesterday.  That makes my loss so far at 2.6 pounds after 2 days of eating this way.  Woo!  I don't feel hungry but I do feel like I need to stay extra busy as all day long I think "food, food, food".  It's not physical hunger but mentally I want to eat more/different stuff.  It's only for 5 days and I know I can keep my mind right for just 2 more days.  I am enjoying the results though!

Day 3 Fat Fast Meal Plan


Fat Fast day 3: 1101 calories 106g fat 10.59net carbs – 6% carbs, 87%fat, 7% protein

o   Coffee with ¼ cup whipping cream 108c 93%fat
o   3 slices bacon 130cal 69%fat
o   Peanut Butter Cream Cheese: 1 ounce cream cheese, 1 TBSP SF PB, 1 TBSP whipping cream, 1/4tsp Splenda, 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon.  Blend together 245cal 88%fat
o   1 oz macadamia nuts 204c 95%fat
o   4 oz sliced mushrooms, sautéed in 1 TBSP butter with 1 TBSP Boursin melted in.  187 calories 86% fat
o   2 servings sugar free jello with ½ cup whipped whipping cream 227c 88%fat


**Fat Fast Day 1: Fat Fast Meal Planner Day 1
**Fat Fast Day 2: Fat Fast Meal Planner Day 2
**Fat Fast Day 4: Fat Fast Meal Planner Day 4
**Fat Fast Day 5: Fat Fast Day 5 Meal Planner

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Fat Fast Meal Planner Day 2

Boursin Mushrooms
Day 2 of the fat fast!  I've lost .9 pounds so far.  Just shy of 1 pound in 1 day!  Food did consume my thoughts today though.  I was having some difficulties during the afternoon.  I held it together though by having a glass of plain unsweetened tea.  It wasn't like real food but I was able to stall myself enough until it was time to eat again.  The photo above is the mushrooms sauteed in butter then Boursin spread melted in.  This was my favorite meal of the day and I will probably incorporate it into a regular side dish when I'm back to my normal low carb life.

Day 2 Fat Fast Meal Plan


Fat Fast day 2: 1078 calories 105g fat 9.04 net carbs – 5% carbs, 88% fat, 7% protein

o   Coffee with ¼ cup whipping cream 108cal 93%fat
o   1 egg & 1 egg yolk scrambled with 1 TBSP whipping cream and 1 TBSP coconut oil 308cal 86%fat
o   4 oz sliced mushrooms, sautéed in 1 TBSP butter with 1 TBSP Boursin melted in 187 cal 86% fat
o   1 oz macadamia nuts 204cal 95%fat
o   2 oz cream cheese 198cal 90%fat
o   2 servings sugar free jello with ¼ cup whipped whipping cream 124cal 88%fat     

**Day 1 Fat Fast: Day 1 Fat Fast Meal Planner
**Day 3 Fat Fast: Day 3 Fat Fast Meal Planner
**Day 4 Fat Fast: Day 4 Fat Fast Meal Planner
**Fat Fast Day 5: Fat Fast Day 5 Meal Planner

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Fat Fast Meal Planner Day 1

Photo courtesy of macadamianutoil.org
Ahhh the fat fast.  I've heard quite a bit about it throughout the low carb world.  This short 3-5 day meal plan is supposed to jump start weight loss, throw you off of a plateau and put you into deep ketosis.  When I first heard about it, I had heard that you pretty much eat macadamia nuts and plain cream cheese all day for 5 days.  Blech!  Not that I don't like those two items, I just can't imagine eating it all day long for a couple of days straight.  I quickly dismissed the idea of ever wanting to try the fat fast.  However, I recently came across this article on Carb Smart by Dana Carpender along with her subsequent articles on the progression of her Fat Fast linked at the bottom of the Carb Smart page and quickly changed my mind.  Dana has recommended a multitude of foods to help come up with the 90% fat and 1000 calories per day that is optimal for the fat fast.  You are supposed to eat 5 small mini-meals a day to achieve this.  I sort of broke it out into 6 only because I started with coffee every morning, but still maintained my approximately 1000 calories per day.

I will post each day with my meal plan, nutrition information along with fat %, etc.  I use fatsecret.com for my tracking and calculations.

So off we go!

Day 1 Fat Fast Meal Plan:

Fat Fast day 1: 1036 calories 100g fat 7.97 net carbs – 6% carbs, 88% fat, 6% protein
o   Coffee with ¼ c whipping cream 108cal, 93%fat
o   3 slices bacon 114cal, 63%fat
o   Half avocado with 1 tsp olive oil, 1 tsp lime juice, salt and pepper 185cal, 87%fat
o   1 oz macadamia nuts 204cal, 95%fat
o   2 oz cream cheese 198cal, 90%fat
o   2 servings sugar free jello with ½ cup whipped whipping cream 227cal, 88%fat


This plan worked out well for me today.  The worst part was eating the plain cream cheese.  I put some dried chives, salt and pepper on it.  I tried to pretend that it was just a thin bagel with mounds of cream cheese but I didn't fool myself.  The rest of the day was fine.  No issues and no urges to cheat.

**Fat Fast Day 2: Fat Fast Day 2 Meal Planner
**Fat Fast Day 3: Fat Fast Day 3 Meal Planner
**Fat Fast Day 4: Fat Fast Day 4 Meal Planner
**Fat Fast Day 5: Fat Fast Day 5 Meal Planner