Movie Sunday and Zuchini boats

Spent a very lazy sort of day yesterday. The weather was cold and grey, the morning saw the guys off to church and me home doing coursework, which was fitting for the weather. After lunch I suggested that we go out for a walk , but no one was that ambitious. Including myself. So we wound up watching Fiddler on the Roof- a movie that I used to love and really wanted my son to see. Not a good idea it seems. Perhaps it is because I am older, perhaps it is for other reasons, but now that movie scares the heck out of me.The idea that overnight everything you hold near and dear can change within the blink of an eye is more frightening than any slasher film. As they say, there are so many worse things than death. Perhaps it is a genetic sort of memory involved here. My maternal great grandfather came from that part of the world at that time. The older I get, the more I understand.

Meanwhile, I tried another experiment in low carb cusine- Stuffed Zuchini Boats. This one seems to neded a little adjustment.

Stuffed Zucchini Boats- serves 3

3 zucchini
1 lb ground meat ( I used ground beef)
2 T italian seasoning
1 t garlic powder
1 c shredded mozzarella

Cut the zucchinis lengthwise and remove the seeds and middle with a spoon. Meanwhile , in a bowl combine all remaining ingredients except the cheese and divide evenly between the zuchini. fill the cavity with the meat mixture and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Top with the cheese and return to the oven or 10 minutes.

Next time I think I may swap out the meat for Italian sausage and perhaps add some tomato sauce to flavor the zucchini more

Saturday Night's alright for ....pizza !

Another Saturday night and...time to think something easy and kind of fun for dinner. A lot of times in this house , Saturday Dinner thoughts turn to pizza. With a low carb approach pizza means getting creative , and that is exactly what I did. A few weeks ago I tried a flax crust pizza, and the results were good. Tasty and the proper consistency,but something in me always asks if things could be done better, so I determined to try another alternative. This week was an almond meal crust.

Almond Meal Pizza Crust

2 cups almond flour
2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1/2 c olive oil
1 c egg beaters
1/3 c water
1/3 c Splenda

Mix well and pour onto a large baking sheet with sides. Bake 20 minutes at 350, remove, add toppings and bake 15 minutes.

I topped ours with homemade pizza sauce( tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, dried onion, garlic , salt ) , cooked Italian sausage and mozzarella. The results were very tasty- almost like a famous chain's Chicago style deep dish pizza crust( their secret is using a lot of oil so the crust has a biscuit like consistency), but more important is what it inspired. My husband commented that if i had cooked it a little bit longer it could have been the perfect consistency to be a terrific short bread cookie. This got me to thinking that if I swapped the oil for butter and increased the splenda to a cup , this could make a great low carb cookie ! Bake it on the cookie sheet and cut into diamonds immediately upon removing from the oven. Then you could frost them with a low carb frosting ( softened cream cheese with heavy cream and splenda) and top each with a pecan half. Not an every day thing but something that would be really nice for the holiday- and most people would definitely eat this !

We went out to look at a new light display, but it seems that they are waiting a week to really fire things up. Son was a little dissapointed, and so was I. Our plan was to walk the display , and the weather was perfect for such a thing. We came back home and decided to watch Handsel and Gretel on Encore On Demand. What a great little jewel ! It is a live rendering of the classic tale with new twists. Cast included Howie Mandel, Delta Burke, Gerald McRainy and Glen Close. Its one where you can safely watch with your kids and not worry about moments that might inspire discussions you don't really wish to have. Then we watched Four Christmases, and both hubby and I thought it was a pretty badly written movie that just failed to be funny or endearing. However, while we were all watching Handsel and Gretel we studdend oranges with cloves to add to the decorations and scents of the house. It was a definite good time !

Weigh in and questions

Black Friday was honestly a lot of fun for us ! I think that the reason it was so was that we do not do any gift shopping till the week before Christmas. When you are not looking for the hottest toy or so forth, you can take advantage of the deep discounts at odd places on the day. We were on a quest for pointsettias, strings of lights, whole cloves and oranges, and so it was pretty delightful getting out and about in the energy of the day that kicks off the Christmas season. For us it is the kick off to Advent- the season of waiting in hope. The house will be decorated slowly, activities will be done a few at a time so that the whole affect will be like living one gigantic advent calendar with a new surprise behind each door. A supposedly non traditional approach to the holiday, but it works for me.

It seems non traditional works well for me in other ways. Weight loss is one. The conventional wisdom says use only healthy fats in minimal amounts, eat high fiber, restrict calories and do a lot of weight bearing and aerobic exercise. It also says that in the holiday season the average person will gain 10 lbs. Then it says weight loss is simply a mater of watching the number of calories in , expending more and the scale will move. I tried this approach for 2 years. Our diet journey began 2 years ago this weekend. It was on the Saturday after Thanksgiving that we went shopping, the bench broke and we instantly changed our lives. At first , following the conventional wisdom resulted in the scale moving, but then it stopped. For me it resulted in playing with the same 10 lbs for over a year. Then I stopped listening to the conventional wisdom and things started moving again. The guys still feel best listening to conventional wisdom, so it is a split house. This morning was our weekly weigh in- the results after Thanksgiving, following our own programs.

Me- DOWN 3.4 ( would have been more but I am experiencing a little constipation this morning)
Hubby - UP 3.6 ( followed his calorie intake, but still eats grains)
Son UP 3.4- also followed his program but is still eating grains.

I got no exercise other than moving some furniture and housekeeping. Son got in a lot of dancing and Wii fit plus. Hubby got in a lot of walking. So if it is a matter of calories in /calories out, why these results ? Or is it more a matter of eating a food substance that is naturally resistant to insect infestation and has been so genetically modified that it is now a substance that our very DNA does not know how to deal with without injury ? Is it due to a diet based on a foodstuff that has been altered to not only survive but yield 500 times more than nature ever intended it to ? I am not a scientist, but simply a mom who has listened to conventional wisdom , seen the results and is really searching for the strand of wisdom in that convention. Grains have been linked to digestive disorders, autism, arthritis, insulin resistance and more. Several have also suspected it is a major cause in obesity as well. It's these unconventional folks that my gut tells me to listen to.

Best holiday dishes

I have to say , following a low carb approach is infinitely easier than any other approach when attending my family gatherings ! I was able to stay totally on my eating program with no slip ups, had a wonderful; time catching up with my sibs and their children, and spend some time with my mom.Some of the "best dishes" of the day were the following

watching two cousin buddies strengthen bonds that will last a lifetime ( grand nephews Nick and Eric)

watching little ones find joy in the family that loves them ( my grand neice Jada)

and giving thanks for the healing of new ones ( nephew Elliot who was hospitalized after his birth and his mom Christina)

Now lets burn off those calories at the Black Friday Sales !!

More waiting, new spaces and progress perhaps

It has been a short but crazy sort of week here ! We are taking a week break from school, so the focus has been on house things and back to my own studies- or at least that was the plan. Monday evening we get a notice from the complex management that they will come around on Tuesday to put plastic weatherproofing on all the air conditioner units between 9-5 pm and you must remove everything from the wall underneath. In our case, this is a HUGE tv that is HD, but before plasma. I think it weighs about 100 lbs, and the size of it scares me for some reason. Hubby and son had a choir rehersal on Monday evening, so when they got home we had to begin moving furnature.And of course it never winds up just one thing being moved- you always wind up moving 6 other things to accommodate the new thing. However, we all worked together , and the job got done. Which is more than I can say for the management. They never showed up, and the reasons for that can be as many and varied as you could imagine. So this makes for waiting for them to come tape the AC units, PLUS still waiting for them to do the bathroom remodel. Did I mention I HATE waiting ?

The good news is that I now have a corner totally emptied in our house, and the aspiration to do some more serious parting with books.And that corner seems to be screaming for a treadmill. I mentioned this to hubby, and he said last night when he saw a commercial for Bowflex, he was kind of thinking the same thing in that corner. Only caveat he had is that whatever we get we must be willing to move in the coming year. So perhaps this annoying turn of events will work out for something very good in the long run.

In the meantime, I seem to have developed a case of "Induction flu"- something that sometimes happens to people when they switch to a low carb lifestyle ( and no, I am not doing the meat fast. Yet.) Induction flu is something that happens when your body adjusts from being fueled by carbs and starts being fueled by fat. It can be as mild as annoying nausea, but for others it can show up as more pronounced stomach upset and digestive distress.I am kind of surprised that it has taken 3 weeks for my system to switch, but I think it is simply proof of how insulin resistant my system truly is. It will pass in a day or two . Meanwhile I am noticing my stomach is getting flatter and my fore arms have developed skin that looks like it is a little too big for the arm.My pants are also looser and my bra feels like it keeps shifting whenever I turn. I peeked at the scale and is says I am down, but I am not counting it as an official loss till Saturday. My plan for Thurday is to go, have a good time and simply avoid those foods that are a problem for me. There are going to be babies to meet, family to catch up with, kareoke games to play and a lot more. Hope you all have a great holiday !

PCOS

I don't think I ever shared this on this blog. I have PCOS, and have had it since I was 13. It is the reason for my weight problem, the cause of my infertility and numerous other health conditions. There is no cure, and only management of the symptoms is possible. I came across this video that helps to explain the disease to those whom have never heard of it.

And here is another video that describes many of the problems I have dealt with due to this disease.

Low Carb Stuffing and a question

Thanksgiving is Thursday, and we are going to my mom's for the meal. However, I cannot pass up the great deals on turkey at this time of the year ! I buy several , cook them and use the leftover meat in any recipe that calls for cooked chicken, and it makes for several healthy meals that can be made fast.

In the past I have made many healthy , whole grain stuffings involving things like wild rice, wheat berries, quinoa and so forth. Now that the approach for me is low carb, those will not work for our meal plans. So yesterday while I roasted the first turkey of the season, I invented a low carb stuffing that has a mouth feel similar to the traditional stuffing

Low Carb Suffing

9 almond meal muffins, crumbled
3 portions flax meal bread, crumbled
2 ribs celery, sliced
2 medium onions, sliced
1 lb breakfast sausage( I used turkey)
1 cup turkey pan drippings

In a pan combine the onions, celery and pork sausage, Cook till sausage is brown, add the contents to a bowl with the crumbled breads. Place in an 9x9 pan, roast at 350 for 45 minutes

My son decided , after tasting this, that stuffing is his favorite part of Thanksgiving.

In other news, I keep reading about other low carb people who reach a stall or can't get the program going for them and they try a meat fast for 3-5 days. What you do is eat nothing but meat ( with the exception of up to 2 eggs) , drink nothing but water, and it helps to shatter any insulin resistance that you suffer with. Part of me is strongly considering trying this for myself, but the other part of me is saying that I should just sit tight, be patient and let the hormone roller coaster just run it's course. Have any of you tried this ? What was your experience ?