One of my favorite main dishes is bunless burgers. These aren't your regular boring burgers with just some cheese on them. Oh no, I dress these suckers up and take them out on the town. Well, the last part isn't true, but I do dress them up. Tonight, I pulled out my old friend, George... Forman that is. He and I go way back. He isn't as good as a gas grill, but he works in a pinch.
I purchased some part beef, part pork burgers from Walmart. They looked interesting and were the cheapest option, so I took a gamble. I stuck those heavenly patties on George for 10 mins (too long). I should have taken them off at 7, but I have a tendency to overcook meat, because I get scared. I'm working on this.
I sauteed some peppers and ham lunch meat while the burgers were cooking. (I didn't have any mushrooms, or I would have done those too). I fried an egg and got out 3 different kinds of cheeses: blue cheese crumbles, Hoffman's super sharp slices, and pimento cheese spread. I might have a slight obsession with cheese.
Once the burgers were done, I took them off George and threw some blue cheese crumbles on so they would melt. I followed those with a slice of ham. Then I placed a slice of super sharp on top and covered it with the fried egg. Peppers went over the egg, and I topped it all off with a dollop of pimento cheese. Sometimes, I put some mayo and ketchup in the mix but wasn't feeling those today.
All that to say, I had some pretty tasty burgers tonight. They were so good, I didn't even miss the bun. In fact, I think they are better bunless, because all of that would be too messy on a bun. I don't like getting my hands dirty. So next time you are craving a burger, skip the bun, load up with protein, cheese, and veggies and ENJOY!
Friday, July 31, 2015
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Cloud Nine (recipe included)
The hardest thing on low carb is the lack of pastas and breads. I love both pastas and breads but especially breads. Bread is such a comfort and goes great with any meal. I mean, come on, almost every sit down restaurant brings you some sort of bread before your meal: loaves of bread, rolls, biscuits, pita, muffins, danishes, etc. Great, now I really want bread.
Sandwiches are one of my favorite foods. I pretty much like every version of a sandwich that you can think of. (Nothing with banana though. Bananas are disgusting). I have found a way to have sandwiches on low carb: Cloud Bread!!
I'm sure you're wondering what Cloud Bread is. I will tell you. It's the low carb eaters' version of heaven. Ok, maybe not heaven, but it does give an opportunity to enjoy a sandwich or two or three or...
Cloud Bread is super easy to make. Unfortunately it is best when eaten fresh but is still ok the next day. It's kind of like manna in the Bible. Not really, but kind of. Anyway, Cloud Bread has allowed me to have sandwiches again, and for that I'm really thankful. I'm posting the recipe below so that you too can enjoy Cloud Bread.
CLOUD BREAD (Zero Carbs)
Ingredients:
3 eggs
3 tbsp of softened full fat cream cheese or full fat cottage cheese (I prefer cream cheese)*
1/2 tsp baking powder
(optional) dash of salt and artificial sweetener for taste
*cream cheese and cottage cheese need to full fat in order for recipe to work
Materials:
2 large cookie sheets
parchment paper
2 medium to large mixing bowls
whisk
spatula
hand mixer
Directions:
-Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
-Line the cookie sheets with parchment paper and place in the oven to heat. (It is important that the cookie sheets are warm when you place the batter on them later. This will help with a more even cooking).
-Separate your 3 eggs. Yolks in one bowl. Egg whites in the other.
-To the bowl with the yolks, add the 3 tbsp of cream cheese and salt/sweetener (if desired. I really think it helps with the taste).
-Whisk these ingredients together until the mixture isn't lumpy. (There will still be some lumps, but mix it until the majority are gone).
-To the bowl with the egg whites, add the 1/2 tsp baking powder.
-Mix together with hand mixer until stiff peaks form
-Using the spatula, gently fold the yolk mixture into the egg white mixture until it's a yellow color.
-Spoon the mixture onto the parchment paper lined cookie sheets, spreading it out to look like little disks. (Don't make them too thin).
-Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until a golden brown color
-To store: Seal in a Ziploc bag. If you don't, they will dry out. They will be a little soft and sticky the next day but still work well.
Sandwiches are one of my favorite foods. I pretty much like every version of a sandwich that you can think of. (Nothing with banana though. Bananas are disgusting). I have found a way to have sandwiches on low carb: Cloud Bread!!
I'm sure you're wondering what Cloud Bread is. I will tell you. It's the low carb eaters' version of heaven. Ok, maybe not heaven, but it does give an opportunity to enjoy a sandwich or two or three or...
Cloud Bread is super easy to make. Unfortunately it is best when eaten fresh but is still ok the next day. It's kind of like manna in the Bible. Not really, but kind of. Anyway, Cloud Bread has allowed me to have sandwiches again, and for that I'm really thankful. I'm posting the recipe below so that you too can enjoy Cloud Bread.
CLOUD BREAD (Zero Carbs)
Ingredients:
3 eggs
3 tbsp of softened full fat cream cheese or full fat cottage cheese (I prefer cream cheese)*
1/2 tsp baking powder
(optional) dash of salt and artificial sweetener for taste
*cream cheese and cottage cheese need to full fat in order for recipe to work
Materials:
2 large cookie sheets
parchment paper
2 medium to large mixing bowls
whisk
spatula
hand mixer
Directions:
-Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
-Line the cookie sheets with parchment paper and place in the oven to heat. (It is important that the cookie sheets are warm when you place the batter on them later. This will help with a more even cooking).
-Separate your 3 eggs. Yolks in one bowl. Egg whites in the other.
-To the bowl with the yolks, add the 3 tbsp of cream cheese and salt/sweetener (if desired. I really think it helps with the taste).
-Whisk these ingredients together until the mixture isn't lumpy. (There will still be some lumps, but mix it until the majority are gone).
-To the bowl with the egg whites, add the 1/2 tsp baking powder.
-Mix together with hand mixer until stiff peaks form
-Using the spatula, gently fold the yolk mixture into the egg white mixture until it's a yellow color.
-Spoon the mixture onto the parchment paper lined cookie sheets, spreading it out to look like little disks. (Don't make them too thin).
-Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until a golden brown color
-To store: Seal in a Ziploc bag. If you don't, they will dry out. They will be a little soft and sticky the next day but still work well.
Sunday, July 26, 2015
My Low Carb GRILLING Life
Grilling is awesome! I had multiple opportunities this week to use a grill for my dinners. I was a little nervous at first, but thanks to Google, I hit it out of the park. I started with steak and grilled zucchini/squash. Ingles had zucchini and squash that were pre-sliced long ways. It worked perfectly on the grill. I wish I could grill zucchini and squash every time. I over grilled the steak a little bit, but I use so much A1 that I don't actually taste the steak anyway. MMMMM A1!!! It should be its own food group. But back to the grilling.
My next attempt at grilling was pork chops. I was nervous, b/c the person I was making them for doesn't really like pork chops b/c they are usually tough. They turned out great! She loved them.
Last meal I made was hamburgers and grilled asparagus. They were so good! Grilled asparagus has to be one of my favorite vegetables. Now that I've had the opportunity to grill several times, I really want to go buy a grill.
Saturday, July 18, 2015
My Not So Low Carb Birthday
Yesterday was my birthday. I spent all week being super good, even though my motto was "carbs don't count on your birthday," b/c I was really excited about splurging on my birthday.
I started out with breakfast with my sister, Sharyn, at Mary Beth's. (It's a yummy restaurant in downtown Greenville). I had the eggs benedict, my favorite breakfast food. It was incredible. I skipped lunch, since I knew I was going to Bacon Bros Public House for dinner. It's my absolute favorite restaurant in Greenville. I did treat myself to a frappuccino, though. I got a free birthday drink reward. I couldn't pass that up.
Dinner was amazing. I started with the bacon jelly pimento cheese jar paired with homemade saltines. Fantastic!! It's the stuff dreams are made of. For my main dish, I enjoyed a BLT and potato salad. They too were excellent. For dessert, I had fried ice cream.
After dinner, I went to a movie with my friends Colleen and Amanda. During the movie, I snacked on gummy lobsters that Amanda had brought me from Rhode Island.
By the time I got home that night, I didn't feel so great. I realized that after eating low carb for 6 weeks, eating a bunch of carbs in one day was not as wonderful as I had thought. The food was really good, but I will definitely be sticking to low carb.
I started out with breakfast with my sister, Sharyn, at Mary Beth's. (It's a yummy restaurant in downtown Greenville). I had the eggs benedict, my favorite breakfast food. It was incredible. I skipped lunch, since I knew I was going to Bacon Bros Public House for dinner. It's my absolute favorite restaurant in Greenville. I did treat myself to a frappuccino, though. I got a free birthday drink reward. I couldn't pass that up.
Dinner was amazing. I started with the bacon jelly pimento cheese jar paired with homemade saltines. Fantastic!! It's the stuff dreams are made of. For my main dish, I enjoyed a BLT and potato salad. They too were excellent. For dessert, I had fried ice cream.
After dinner, I went to a movie with my friends Colleen and Amanda. During the movie, I snacked on gummy lobsters that Amanda had brought me from Rhode Island.
By the time I got home that night, I didn't feel so great. I realized that after eating low carb for 6 weeks, eating a bunch of carbs in one day was not as wonderful as I had thought. The food was really good, but I will definitely be sticking to low carb.
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Chicken Salad Chick
I know I already posted today, but I had to tell you about the place where I had lunch, Chicken Salad Chick. It was amazing! I love chicken salad. It's my favorite of the salads. I mean love, love, love, could eat every day and not get sick of it love, chicken salad.
My friend, Colleen, had told me about this place before I moved down to Greenville, and I just knew I had to try it. Today was my chance. After a trip to the mall (where I got that amazing Moon Cheese!), we went to Chicken Salad Chick. There were a ton of different flavors of chicken salad to choose from. Not actually a ton, but a lot. There are different combo options you can do you too. I opted for the chick trio. Basically, 3 scoops of the chicken salads or sides of your choice. You can get pimento cheese too, but I stuck with chicken salad today. Believe me, I will be trying that pimento cheese. I have a love affair with pimento cheese.
So, I ordered the chick trio with Barbie-Q, Olivia's Old South, and Sassy Scotty. Delicious!!! They serve the salad with Lance wheat crackers (if Lance doesn't take you back then I don't know what does) and a pickle. The Barbie-Q had the most carbs with 9.4, but the others were low in carbs. They even offer chicken salads with less than 3 carbs. You don't have to eat it with crackers if you really want to keep it super low carb (a pack of crackers has 4.5 carbs). The chicken salad is good enough to stand alone.
I'm attaching the website so you can see if you have this amazing restaurant in your area. If you live in the Greenville area, I suggest you check it out. There is one on Augusta Rd. and one on Pelham Rd. Also, the nutrition facts can be found for everything they serve so you can plan your low carb feast.
http://www.chickensaladchick.com/
My friend, Colleen, had told me about this place before I moved down to Greenville, and I just knew I had to try it. Today was my chance. After a trip to the mall (where I got that amazing Moon Cheese!), we went to Chicken Salad Chick. There were a ton of different flavors of chicken salad to choose from. Not actually a ton, but a lot. There are different combo options you can do you too. I opted for the chick trio. Basically, 3 scoops of the chicken salads or sides of your choice. You can get pimento cheese too, but I stuck with chicken salad today. Believe me, I will be trying that pimento cheese. I have a love affair with pimento cheese.
So, I ordered the chick trio with Barbie-Q, Olivia's Old South, and Sassy Scotty. Delicious!!! They serve the salad with Lance wheat crackers (if Lance doesn't take you back then I don't know what does) and a pickle. The Barbie-Q had the most carbs with 9.4, but the others were low in carbs. They even offer chicken salads with less than 3 carbs. You don't have to eat it with crackers if you really want to keep it super low carb (a pack of crackers has 4.5 carbs). The chicken salad is good enough to stand alone.
I'm attaching the website so you can see if you have this amazing restaurant in your area. If you live in the Greenville area, I suggest you check it out. There is one on Augusta Rd. and one on Pelham Rd. Also, the nutrition facts can be found for everything they serve so you can plan your low carb feast.
http://www.chickensaladchick.com/
Moon Cheese
So, today I went to Starbucks. This used to be a daily occurrence when I lived in Columbus and had 3 Starbucks within 2 miles of me. Now I have one that I don't pass on a daily basis. I will when I start working but do not currently. Anyway, I went to the one in the Haywood Mall today. Normally, I'm a Starbucks drive-thru sort of girl, but since I was in the mall, I actually got to look at the products they sell in Starbucks. (I bet by now you're probably wondering how many times I'm going to type Starbucks in this post). Boy am I glad I did (go to Starbucks that is. Not type Starbucks a bunch of times.)! I discovered this low carb cutie called Moon Cheese. Ok, it's not really cute, but I'm really excited about it so it's cute to me.
The one thing I miss the most about low carb is having crunchy snacks. You can only eat so much cheese wrapped in meat before you just want to bite into something that has a satisfying crunch. Sure, you can make zucchini chips, but those take at least 2 hours to bake, and if you're like me, you don't have 2 hours to just sit around waiting for something to bake. (I am going to make those someday though. I will post the recipe in a later blog).
Back to the subject at hand. I found Moon Cheese. It's crunchy cheese that has no carbs. As in zero. Nada. Nothing. And surprise, surprise....it's good!!!!!! I tried the Gouda (b/c it's my favorite. Shout out to She's the Man. If you haven't seen it, you must). Anyway, I also saw that cheddar was an option at Starbucks too, but on their website they offer pepperjack as well. So all that to say, that you can have a low carb crunch that tastes good and doesn't make you feel guilty.
Run to Starbucks now. Well not now since it's 1:25am, but asap to get some of this. It runs about $3.50. I've attached the link to the webpage below if you're interested in learning more about it. Also, if you see this sold other places, post those places in the comments below. Happy Snacking!
http://www.mooncheesesnacks.com/
The one thing I miss the most about low carb is having crunchy snacks. You can only eat so much cheese wrapped in meat before you just want to bite into something that has a satisfying crunch. Sure, you can make zucchini chips, but those take at least 2 hours to bake, and if you're like me, you don't have 2 hours to just sit around waiting for something to bake. (I am going to make those someday though. I will post the recipe in a later blog).
Back to the subject at hand. I found Moon Cheese. It's crunchy cheese that has no carbs. As in zero. Nada. Nothing. And surprise, surprise....it's good!!!!!! I tried the Gouda (b/c it's my favorite. Shout out to She's the Man. If you haven't seen it, you must). Anyway, I also saw that cheddar was an option at Starbucks too, but on their website they offer pepperjack as well. So all that to say, that you can have a low carb crunch that tastes good and doesn't make you feel guilty.
Run to Starbucks now. Well not now since it's 1:25am, but asap to get some of this. It runs about $3.50. I've attached the link to the webpage below if you're interested in learning more about it. Also, if you see this sold other places, post those places in the comments below. Happy Snacking!
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
I'M BACK!
Well, after a hiatus, I am back. I had a tragedy in my life that really turned everything upside down for me. My whole world changed, and I didn't care about anything. I stopped eating low carb. I added more weight to a body that couldn't afford to have more weight added, and I went into depression. I didn't think that there could be any way out of the despair and pain I was feeling, but after a year and a half, I'm back. People say that time heals everything. I don't know if I agree with that statement fully, but I do know that time definitely makes things easier to deal with. With that being said, I'm back and ready once again to share my low carb life with you.
Six weeks ago, my brother-in-law sat down with me and told me he was worried about me and wanted to help (with my weight and health that is). It was a month before my move to SC, and I figured since I was going to start a new life in a new state, I might as well start it as a healthy one. Plus, he had really helped my sister, his wife, get into shape. She looks amazing now. (Shout out to Carol)! I agreed, and he came up with a plan. The plan involves exercise and eating low carb. Pretty simple stuff. Stuff I already knew, but this time I had to be accountable to someone, and that someone is intense.
My first time exercising, he and my sister walked with me. I had to walk in socks b/c my tennis shoes hurt so bad, that it felt better to walk in socks. We did a mile, and I felt good. I thought "this isn't going to be that bad." The next day my sister walked with me. I thought it was just going to stay that easy. Unfortunately, it got harder to force myself to go, but I kept on keeping on (even in the rain).
I was used to eating low carb (obviously since I started this blog over a year ago). So, that part wasn't hard. I do miss some things, but I look in the mirror and decide that it's not worth it to "cheat". I do allow myself a little splurge here and there, but nothing too big and not too often.
I moved to SC on June 27th. Best. Decision. Of. My. Life!!!!! I was a little worried that with the move, I would fall back into old habits. I haven't though! I have been exercising (almost every day), and eating low carb. That is why I decided to start this blog again.
I am living with my brother. We are sharing the costs of groceries so it really helps if I make a meal plan. That way, I have to stick to buying just the groceries I need for the weekly meals. My brother has agreed to eat my low carb dinners even though he doesn't need to lose weight. It helps to have him supporting me. So with that said, I am going to start posting my favorite recipes and random stuff too.
Since I started this journey 6 weeks ago, I have lost weight (not sure how much b/c I didn't weigh myself at the beginning. I did lose 17lbs in a week and a half though). I have fit into clothes I haven't worn in 2 years, and I have a ton more energy. Simple things like cleaning up after myself are no longer a chore. I feel like a whole new person. I'm excited to continue on this journey and see what the future has in store.
Until next time...
Six weeks ago, my brother-in-law sat down with me and told me he was worried about me and wanted to help (with my weight and health that is). It was a month before my move to SC, and I figured since I was going to start a new life in a new state, I might as well start it as a healthy one. Plus, he had really helped my sister, his wife, get into shape. She looks amazing now. (Shout out to Carol)! I agreed, and he came up with a plan. The plan involves exercise and eating low carb. Pretty simple stuff. Stuff I already knew, but this time I had to be accountable to someone, and that someone is intense.
My first time exercising, he and my sister walked with me. I had to walk in socks b/c my tennis shoes hurt so bad, that it felt better to walk in socks. We did a mile, and I felt good. I thought "this isn't going to be that bad." The next day my sister walked with me. I thought it was just going to stay that easy. Unfortunately, it got harder to force myself to go, but I kept on keeping on (even in the rain).
I was used to eating low carb (obviously since I started this blog over a year ago). So, that part wasn't hard. I do miss some things, but I look in the mirror and decide that it's not worth it to "cheat". I do allow myself a little splurge here and there, but nothing too big and not too often.
I moved to SC on June 27th. Best. Decision. Of. My. Life!!!!! I was a little worried that with the move, I would fall back into old habits. I haven't though! I have been exercising (almost every day), and eating low carb. That is why I decided to start this blog again.
I am living with my brother. We are sharing the costs of groceries so it really helps if I make a meal plan. That way, I have to stick to buying just the groceries I need for the weekly meals. My brother has agreed to eat my low carb dinners even though he doesn't need to lose weight. It helps to have him supporting me. So with that said, I am going to start posting my favorite recipes and random stuff too.
Since I started this journey 6 weeks ago, I have lost weight (not sure how much b/c I didn't weigh myself at the beginning. I did lose 17lbs in a week and a half though). I have fit into clothes I haven't worn in 2 years, and I have a ton more energy. Simple things like cleaning up after myself are no longer a chore. I feel like a whole new person. I'm excited to continue on this journey and see what the future has in store.
Until next time...
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