Lower Carb Tuna Noodle Casserole

I know it's been awhile since my last blog post, but don't worry, I've been sticking to low carb. I have added in more good carbs to help with the energy level I need when working out though. I happened upon black bean pasta at Trader Joe's and decided to give it a try. I read some preparation tips online, and people suggested making it more of a Mexican pasta instead of traditional spaghetti sauce since the black beans lent themselves to that. I did and was not a fan. A couple of weeks later, while perusing the shelves of Walmart, I found red lentil pasta and chick pea pasta. I purchased the red lentil pasta, and prepared it the traditional way with meat and pasta sauce. Amazing!!! I'm almost giddy with the thought of being able to eat pasta again. 

Last night, I decided to try the chick pea pasta. I googled chick peas to see if they are a good carb, but the results were mixed. Some believe it is a good carb. Some don't. I am going to believe it is a good carb, because the tuna casserole I made with it last night is oh so good! I was never a fan of tuna casserole growing up, but for some reason, I was craving it. I googled low carb tuna casserole, but it was basically just sauce, tuna, and cheese with not a lot of substance. I decided to make it with the chick pea pasta to see how it would taste. I'm so glad I did. Tuna casserole is now on my list of favorite lower carb meals. (recipe below)

1 10oz box of chick pea pasta, cooked
2 cans of tuna, drained

1/2 block of cream cheese, softened

1 cup parmesan cheese

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 small onion, sautéed

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided (1 cup mixed in. 1 cup on top)

1 cup frozen peas

Preheat oven to 425. Combine all ingredients together in a bowl and put into a greased 9x13 pan. Top with remaining cup of cheese and bake for 15-20 minutes. 

Scrambled Egg Bowls and Gym Blessings

If you grew up in Western PA, you know that Sheetz has the best gas station food hands down. (If you have never experienced Sheetz food, then you haven't really lived). Unfortunately, there are no Sheetz gas stations in South Carolina, but I have found one place where I can get some quick yummy low carb choices: Quick Trip. 

Quick Trip offers 5 different breakfast bowl options: 
Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Bowl
Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Bowl
Protein Bowl (scrambled egg, cheese, pepperoni, bacon, sausage)
Veggie Bowl (scrambled egg cheese, onion, green pepper, mushroom)
Build Your Own Bowl

My personal favorites are the Bacon, Egg and Cheese Bowl and the Protein Bowl. I haven't tried the Veggie Bowl b/c I love meat too much. These bowls make a great breakfast, snack, or lunch, and at less than $3.00, they are a steal. They look little, but they are actually quite filling. Anyone doing low carb, knows it's hard to find quick low carb options when you're out and about. You definitely need to check these out. 

The second part of this blog is about a small blessing I had today, or victory if you will. I was able to do 2 machines at the gym that I haven't been able to do before, because I was too weak. I'm not sure what they are called, but one is for legs and the other is for abs. 

The leg one requires you to stand on one leg, put your opposite foot on a pedal, and push that leg back. I couldn't do this before, b/c my left leg has a damaged nerve and my muscles were too weak to hold me up. Today, I did 3 reps of 20 with no problem! I was so happy. 

The ab machine requires you to be on your knees on a seat with weights underneath and to swing your legs forward and backward. I tried this machine 4 weeks ago, and couldn't do it b/c my knees hurt too bad from the pressure of my weight on them. Today I did 3 reps of 20 with minimal pain! I love that I can feel myself getting stronger. It's definitely small victories that keep me going. Praise the Lord!

Happy National Pie Day!

Today is National Pie Day!!! I absolutely love pie. I'm not a cake fan, but I will never pass up on pie (unless it's something with coconut or meringue or pecans b/c I'm allergic). Ok so usually I won't pass up pie. So when I saw on Twitter that it was National Pie Day, I immediately googled low carb pies. Everything I was seeing looked totally complicated, and since I still had to go to the gym and knew I wouldn't get home until late, I didn't want complicated. Then I saw it: Egg Custard Pie. I had never had egg custard pie but was intrigued. I clicked on the link, looked at the ingredients, realized I had all the ingredients on hand, and read the recipe. It looked super simple. It's crustless, so that takes half the work out of it. Plus, the crust is my least favorite part of the pie, so it worked out perfectly. 

So, I made the pie. It was super easy, and it turned out great! I'm very happy with it. It's only 5 net carbs for the whole pie!!!!!! Which is good since I've had 3 pieces. Here is the recipe if you want to try it for yourself.

Low Carb Egg Custard Pie 

I didn't make any changes except omitted the nutmeg b/c I'm allergic. It's a little liquidy on the bottom, but doesn't affect the taste. One commenter mentioned it was a little like flan, and I agree. It has the same texture. Give it a try if you're a pie lover like me!

Pasta Zero

Tonight, I tried something new for dinner. I am a pasta lover, but unfortunately on low carb you can't really have pasta. Awhile back, I noticed my cousin had some noodles in her fridge called Pasta Zero. Well, while I was at Walmart the other night picking up some brussel sprouts, I came across Pasta Zero. I checked out the information and saw that there is only 1 net carb per 2/3 cup serving. I decided I would give it a try. 

The directions on the bag say to drain and rinse and that it might have an earthy smell when you first open the bag. It definitely has an earthy smell. Once I drained and rinsed though, the smell went away. They are super easy to cook. I threw mine in my Pampered Chef steamer and microwaved them for 3 minutes. I paired them with spaghetti sauce and ground beef. With a side of broccoli, I had a nice dinner.

I would compare the noodles to spaghetti squash. The taste is not as bold as spaghetti squash though. They took on the flavor of the sauce. Definitely going to buy these noodles again.

Also, if anyone knows of a low carb pasta sauce, please share. I haven't found one yet. Mine has 10 net carbs which is way too much for my liking. Thanks!

I'm in Love!

Aldi will always be my first love, but its brother from the same mother, Trader Joe's, has given me a new love: Oven Baked Cheese Bites

They taste very much like Moon Cheese, which I have blogged about before, but they are less expensive. A bag is only $2.49 at Trader Joe's. 

It is so hard to find crunchy low carb snacks that are delicious, so I'm super excited about these. My friend, Amanda, introduced me to them, and for that, I am eternally indebted to her. 

A bag is 2 servings (yeah right, like I'm just going to eat half a bag. Nice try, Trader Joe's), and each serving is less than 1 carb. So essentially if you eat the entire bag (I don't know anyone who would do this. It's not like I ate an entire bag on my way home from the store), it's only 1 carb!!!!! 1 carb!!!!!! 1 carb!!!!! Can you tell i'm excited about this? (The only down side is that the bag does not reseal, which makes it easier to eat the entire bag in one sitting). 

I pretty much want to go back to Trader Joe's and buy out their stock. I'm really trying to have self control right now. I don't have to work tomorrow so it's going to be very hard to not make another trip up there. If you go to Trader Joe's on Woodruff tomorrow, and they are all out of this snack, I have no idea who bought them all ;)

So, if you're looking for yummy low carb snacks with a crunch, go pick up a bag (or 2 or 3) of these. You wont regret it! 

Protein Power Packs

If you're anything like me, you're famished after work. It's usually not a problem, b/c I just go home and have a snack then make dinner after not too much longer. Now that I'm working out, I can't go home after work. If I go home, I will not go to the gym. It's just a fact of life. So to make sure I'm not starving and to give me energy, I have started making what I am calling a "Protein Power Pack." Basically I assemble a snack pack. I put in a cheese stick, meat stick, cashews (one of the few nuts I can have b/c I'm allergic to the rest), and veggies with ranch dressing. Let me tell you, it is a life saver. Low carb definitely takes planing. 

I was having trouble deciding what to make for dinner b/c nothing sounded good. I decided on chicken breakfast burritos. I love the ones at Chick-fil-a and tried to recreate them. I think I did a pretty good job. I scrambled some eggs, added cheddar and mozzarella cheese, and cut up roasted chicken breast (the ones I got at Trader Joes). I mixed it all together and put it on low carb tortillas. Topped them off with some salsa, they were delicious, and only 12 net carbs total. 

Happy low carbing!

Errands and an Error

Today was another snow day for me. I personally think they cancelled b/c Clemson won, and they knew we would be celebrating, but whatever. A snow day is a snow day, and I'll take it. I got up and went to the gym with my friend. It's always nice to have a workout buddy. After the gym, I didn't feel like sitting at home. I went home and showered, did some things I needed to get done, and then ran some errands. I ended up at Target, which is a mistake. I could stay in there all day. Surprisingly, I only got what I needed. I was on the phone as I walked past the dollar section, so that helped. 

After Target, I hit up Aldi (aka my Mecca) to get some low carb snack food and stuff to make ham/egg cups (recipe will come later). After Aldi, I went to Publix. I rarely shop at Publix b/c I feel it's more expensive. I went though, b/c a friend of mine told me they had cauliflower tatertots! Unfortunately the cauliflower tater tots still have 15g of carbs for 6 tots, which to me is not worth it. Not a loss though, I picked up some low carb tortillas. They aren't the tastiest things, but nice to have when you really just need some "bread". They only have 6 net carbs. I like to make scrambled egg burritos with them. 

Publix led to Trader Joes b/c they are the only store that I know that carries Ezekial bread (It tastes like cardboard unless you dress it up, but it is low carb diet approved so that's why I buy it). I'm sure Whole Foods or Fresh Market do too, but I don't shop at those stores. I also picked up some roasted chicken patties. I love these b/c they are already cooked and have 0 carbs. You can dress them up a ton of different ways. Always nice to have some on hand. 

My errands ran later than I had planned, and I was hungry. I thought since I was on Woodruff road at Trader Joes, I would just go to Chicken Salad Chick b/c I know I can easily eat low carb there. Unfortunately the one on Woodruff closes at 5pm. I settled on Zoe's Kitchen. I like it b/c it's Mediterranean and fresh. I also knew I could get a very filling salad there. I made an error though. I forgot that the salad has pasta in it. 

So, forgetting it had pasta, I ordered the Tossed Greek salad. I took a bite and felt something squishy. That's when I remembered. I decided to look up how many carbs it had, hoping the pasta wouldn't make that much of a difference. Well, the salad has 59 carbs. 59!!!!! I ate around the pasta as much as I could. You would be amazed at how much pasta and chicken look alike. I also didn't get the pita bread that comes with it, so I'm hoping that those two things significantly lowered my carb intake. 

Let this be a warning. When you know your going to be out around lunch or dinner time, have a plan for where and what you're going to eat. If you happen to stop by Zoe's Kitchen, get the chicken kabobs (8 carbs) or the shrimp kabobs (7 carbs). I've never tasted them, but next time I go, that's what I'm getting. 

Until next time...

Snow Day Struggles

Captain's Log:

Day 2 of being snowed in and the crew is losing their willpower...

Ok, it's me. I'm losing my willpower. Sitting at home with nothing to do but watch Gilmore Girls (yes, I'm addicted) is hard. Very hard. As I said yesterday, I deep cleaned my whole house already and only had mopping to do which requires shaking out the rugs outside and leaving them on the banister which is currently covered with snow so that was not happening. So I settled in with my blanket and Yeti full of water to watch Gilmore Girls. Then it happened. I got hungry. Of course I hadn't eaten breakfast, so that made sense. Breakfast is easy to eat low carb so didn't think it would be a problem. Wrong. I made scrambled eggs with bacon and cheese. What's wrong with that you say? Nothing except for the fact I knew I had a loaf of bread in the freezer, and toast with scrambled eggs sounded so good. So good that I caved and made toast with my scrambled eggs.

Ok so toast isn't that bad. Plus it was in the morning, and it's better to eat carbs in the morning if you're going to eat them at all, but it didn't stop there. Sitting around doing nothing makes me hungry. I'm definitely a "bored eater." Next thing I know, I'm making myself a PB and J. (I normally don't have jelly on hand, but my sister left it behind when she moved out.) Then some fruit snacks sounded good. I decided that if I continued to sit here, I would make more bad choices. So I went upstairs, showered, and picked out my outfits for the rest of the week. 

I haven't had dinner yet but have leftovers that are all low carb, so that is what I am having. 

Work is cancelled for tomorrow, so instead of sitting around watching more Gilmore Girls, I have made plans to get up, go to the gym and then run errands. My sister already asked if I would make low carb pizza for the game tomorrow night so no fear that I'll blow it at dinner. 

So anyway, that is my snow day struggle. As Marilla Cuthbert from Anne of Green Gables said, "Tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet." (Great, now I want to watch Anne of Green Gables.)

Until next time...Go Clemson!!!!!! Beat Alabama!!! 

Cold Days and Comfort Food

We got snow. 5 whole inches, which seems like nothing to this northern born and raised girl but is a huge deal to southerners. I know so, b/c pictures and posts are all over Facebook. I have a lot of friends with really nice decks. 

Cold weather always makes me want comfort food. Unfortunately, low carb and comfort food usually do not go hand in hand. Until now: Cauliflower "Mac" and Cheese. It is so so so so so good. It's creamy and cheesy and you wont even miss the mac (at least I don't). So after deep cleaning my house today, (isn't that what everyone does when they are recovering from a chest cold and snowed in?) I decided to make cauliflower "mac" and cheese. I never regret that decision, and I didn't regret it tonight. It takes about 35 mins which is also nice. 

So now I am sitting here watching Gilmore Girls (on season 4 now. Lorelai has gotten better, but Rory has gotten worse), eating cauliflower "mac" and cheese, and blogging. Couldn't think of a better way to spend a snow day. 

Give it a try for yourself: Cauliflower "Mac" and Cheese 
(I usually add a little extra dijon mustard to give it a little more kick. Try some hot sauce on it too. It's yummy).

Also, I did not join the gym yet. Tuesday I came down with a chest cold which had me down and out. Going to do it Monday. 

Until next time: Happy low carb eating!

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year, everyone! After a year off, I'm back, and this is my year! I know everyone says that, but this year, I mean it. 2017 is going to be my best. year. ever. 

This year I turn 35 (cringe) and decided I needed to make some major life changes. This decision was made while squished into an airplane seat. (Everyone knows how comfortable those are). I decided I was tired of squeezing myself into the seat, worrying about inconveniencing people next to me, and having back and knee pain from not moving for 6 hours for fear that I would draw attention to myself. Those days are done. I'm taking control!!

This past week, I had been toying with the idea of blogging again. Today, I received a Facebook message from a woman I didn't know, who had found my blog, is living a low carb lifestyle, and enjoyed reading my posts. It was a sign! So here I am blogging away again.

I know yesterday was technically the first day of the new year, but in my defense, I was still on California time and a nap sounded better than cooking. So, since today is the New Year Observed (banks are closed so it's official even though I had to return to work. Boo 😢😢), I decided to make the traditional Pennsylvania New Year's pork and sauerkraut with a low carb twist: mashed sweet potatoes instead of regular mashed potatoes. 

This morning I threw a pork roast and sauerkraut into the crockpot so all I would have to do was make the mashed sweet potatoes when I got home. Can I just take a minute and say what a fan I am of a crockpot?!! I'm on a first name basis with mine. Oh, and if you don't use crockpot liners, you need to run to the store right now and get some. They will change your life forever!! Anyway, this meal is so good. I actually prefer it with the sweet potatoes. The sourness of the sauerkraut balances out the sweetness of the potatoes. I also use heavy cream in my potatoes instead of milk to help keep the carbs lower. 

I know this post was kind of all over the place. Forgive me as I get back into the swing of things. Thanks for joining me on this journey. Tomorrow, I join a gym!