Simple Low Calorie Snacking Solution.

I notice when I try to improve my eating habits.. I can get incredibly hungry.    Snacking when you are at home all day is a really tough habit to break.   One simple solution I have come up with is when my first snack attack of the day hits I take out an entire bunch of celery and fill the sink with water.  I separate the celery and put it in the water and leave it.   When ever a snack attack hits I grab a stalk or two or three.   This really helps curb those hunger pains.   If I can remember I also try to drink a glass of water with the celery.    Since I am a salt lover I always have some of my favorite flavored salt to add to the celery.

Also I try to put tons of lettuce on my sandwiches and in my tortillas.   This is also filling.   Yes I still miss M&Ms, candy bars and potato chips... but this helps me to feel not quite so deprived.

Getting Back On Track

With Thanksgiving and Christmas season here and gone, some would say this is a bad time to get back on track if you have let your eating plan slide.  I think it is the perfect time.  Cut out desserts, sweets, and chips and add in exercise.  In just 45 minutes on the treadmill you can easily burn 250 plus calories and speed up your metabolism.   I think a treadmill is a great investment to make.  Look at it as liposuction that keeps working.   Start Slow.. maybe 3.6 or 3.7  mph and work up to at least a 4.0 mph walk.  In less than one month you will see results.  For me the muscle that seems to changes the quickest is my heart.  I feel like I can push it so much faster heartwise... but the rest of my muscles are a lot slower.   I have to be careful or my knees start to hurt if I add on too much too quickly.  I try ibuprofen for knee pain.. it really helps.   Fast music makes a big difference too.   There is an ipod nano that is just 50$.  You can come up with some great really fast music to help keep you motivated.

I am really looking forward to running again.  I find the fast walking is easier on a treadmill rather than outside but I love to run outside.   The weather here is perfect running weather.  The holidays are a perfect time to exercise in New Mexico.   Try it and you will have a happier holiday time.

Best Low Calorie Cupcakes

In searching for low calorie treats these are the best that I could find:

Seriously though. I find hobbies to be really helpful in my weight loss plan. They are a way to get rid of stress, they do not involve consuming calories. Who cares if you are any good ? Have fun. There are so many great ways to learn, take a class or YouTube videos. PBS has some informative craft and how to shows.

 

Review - Jimmy Deans Delights-Turkey sausage muffiin.

I felt it was time to review these. They are terrific. They are 260 calories..so not super low calorie. They are very filling. You will not need any snacks before lunch if you have these in the am. SAMs Club sells them. My whole family loves them. During the second half of the cooking I put the muffin in the toaster oven. That way no rubbery bread.

 

Happy Days... I think

Went shopping the other day..  clothes shopping.  This is something I don't do often but it is the end of season sale.  I spent most of my time trying things on and taking them back.   This is a good thing as I kept getting a smaller size.   If I didn't know better I would have thought that I am really thin... but I think the sizes are just getting bigger and bigger.   Although I have done OK on my weight loss plan.. not terrific but OK.   I wish stores would not change the sizes just to make us feel better.    It was fun in any event, lots of sales.

So easy to get off track

During the summer season with picnics and barbecues it is so easy to get off track.   One thing that is helping me is to try to make sure I behave with my breakfast.  Either a flax muffin or another low calorie food.  I try to do the flax muffin 5 times a week.   Other little things I try to do are to keep moving... lots of up and down movement picking up lego's.  They multiply in my house.  

Birthday Cake

I find there is no weight loss solution to birthday cake.. you just need to go with it.
Maybe a single layer cake(less frosting :-)   Have fun and enjoy.

Celery Bowl

When a bowl of nuts or potato chips is set out.. I notoriously take one.   The problem with doing that with vegetables is that they often dry out.   Here is a quick solution.   I cut the bottom off of a bunch of celery, I wash the stocks and cut the tops off.  I stand them in a tall plastic container about half filled with water.   The celery will stay crisp all day.. and if you forget to put it away at night.. It will be OK the next day.    
I notice I eat a lot more celery this way.. and hopefully less chips.

Change up your wrap

Try changing what you put on your wrap. With my veggies burger I use a bunch of toppings...shredded cabbage is a nice way to add crunch without calories. Another filling filler is the broccoli slaw mix... I just use the mix and add this to my wrap. Cucumbers or carrots sliced the long way fit in their nicely. All of these toppings are low cal and high fiber. If you want some flavor sprinkle some low calorie salad dressing (your favorite flavor).

Late night struggles

One of my weak times for snacking is evening. Another time that gets me is when I am up in the wee hours. Drinking water first helps.... But not enough, I am still looking for a solution to this problem.

Carrots

I used to love baby carrots. In the last couple of years the baby carrot that I have bought have had an odd taste. My simple solution has been to go back to the regular carrots that you buy in a large bag. They taste better and they are cheaper.

Slim slaw ..again

I could not find the slim slaw recipe on the web. I had to watch the video clip and write it down. Slim slaw tastes great on a tortilla.

slim slaw recipe - low calorie cole slaw recipe

I got this recipe from the TV show "The Revolution" .  It is a low calorie Cole Slaw Recipe.  33 calories a serving

Slim Slaw

1 bag prepackaged Cole Slaw
3 TBLS low fat mayo(I used low fat miracle whip)
3 TBLS apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons honey mustard ( I used regular mustard)
2 packages sweetener.

In a small bowl mix together mayo, vinegar, and mustard.  I used a whisk and was fast.   Then add in sweetener.  I used spenda.   (I used 2 Tablespoons of spenda since it is what I had in the cupboard) - this is your dressing. Mine was a little thick so I just added some water.
Put Cole Slaw Mix in large bowl, pour dressing over. and mix through.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

The low fat Miracle whip is 20 calories per Tablespoon, Fat Free May is 10 calories a Tablespoon, however in my star it was so much more expensive.   I could use the low fat Miracle whip for other things too.

This tastes great!

burn more calories... walking sandals.

In order to burn more calories.  I try to move more.  I park far from the store and walk a little extra in the parking lot.  I also try to walk more around the house.   Here in NM many of our houses have lots of tile.. tons.. walking in bare feet on tile can be very tiring.   One thing that helps a lot is a comfy set of walking sandals.  Sandals.. because lets face it they are cooler than shoes.

By far Mephisto makes the most comfy sandals... they are incredibly expensive.   So here are other options:

• Romika - makes some incredibly lightweight and comfy walking sandals.  While not the quality of Mephisto.. they also don't have the price tag either.  You can pick these up at Sierra Trading Post for a decent price.. and even less if they have a sale.
• Keen - makes some really comfy walking sandals.  These tend to be more stylish.. You can also pick these up at Sierra Trading Post.  Also a decent price.. under 50$(leather) if you can get a sale.

Vegetarian does not mean low calorie.

I bought a new vegetarian cookbook last night.. It is beautiful and has a lot of great recipes...after reading it I have one Comment.  Wow a lot of the vegetarian food is high calorie.    Be careful with it.. you might think that by giving up meat you will lose weight, but this will depend on what you eat.

Some examples are:
Stir Fried Egg Plant with Lemon.. 640 Calories a serving.
Barbecue Vegetable and Tofu Kebabs .. 795 Calories a serving
Roman Gnocchi -697 calories a serving
Mediterranean Vegetable Hotpot - 710 calories a serving..
Warm Pesto Pasta Salad - 868 Calories a serving

Well you get the picture.. wowser.. I am glad that this vegetarian cookbook has the calorie and nutrition information in it.   I had no idea how fattening this stuff was/is.

If you decide to go this route, make sure you know the calorie information for your recipes.. It makes a huge difference.  

Going vegan or nearly vegan can help the environment..

Which causes more greenhouse gas emissions, rearing cattle or driving cars? 

• According to a report by the UN, the livestock sector generates more CO2 than transportation.Perhaps this is a good reason to have a couple of vegan days a week.
• For more information read this book: http://content.markbittman.com/books/food-matters

Kefir...

Kefir is amazing stuff.    It does what activia claims to do.  You can make your own very easily.
You just need kefir grains.  You add the grains to milk.. let it sit out overnight.. possibly two nights.  Then it is done.  The grains are living things so they need to be fed.   They ferment the milk.. sort of turn it slightly sour.. kind of like buttermilk.   The longer they sit in the milk the more sour it becomes.
To slow this process down.. you put them in the fridge.   After you make kefir for a while you have to do this or you end up with kefir coming out of your ears.

Just a little bit of Kefir is all you need to to keep those intestines clean.   I try to have a juice glass a day.    Folks claim you can Kefir soy milk and rice milk.. I have not tried this..   When I have tried to use my kefir grains to kefir non lactose things.. the end product was not something I was thrilled with..  

I

OLE Mexican Foods, Xtreme Wellness Tortilla wraps

These are my favorite low carb, low calorie tortilla.  The are bigger than the average low carb tortillas.  They have 5g of net cargs, 7g of protein, 12 gram of fiber and 74 calories.( spinach and herb).  These taste terrific and are a great way to fill up for lunch.   I love to fill them with a veggie burger or a bunch of veggies.   Try steaming a bowl of spinach in the microwave for 30 seconds..  slightly wilted and put them on the tortilla and sprinkle with some beans.. maybe a little spicy mustard.  It is a great and filling low calorie lunch!

Also try filling with cucumbers.. yum.

The tomato basil are great too.. those are only 68 calories.

Easy and Inexpensive Veggie Burger

Most of the veggie burger recipes I have seen require a food processor and call for onions.   I don't have a food processor and in the middle of the day I try to stay away from onions..so I have come up with this easy veggie burger recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1 can of black beans(drained and rinsed serveral times)
1/2 to 2/3 can of corn( drained)
1 egg
1/4 cup soy flour
1/4 cup of vital wheat gluten flour
salt and pepper to taste

mash the beans with either a potato masher, fork or whatever.  Add 1/2 cup of corn.
mix in 1 egg.  Add in the flours.  smash this together until it forms a patty.   I try to add as
much corn as I can.. but that is up to you.   If your mixture is too dry add more flour.   If it is
too wet add a little more flour( either will work fine).  Add salt and pepper to taste...or hot peppers..
anything you want.  I get about 5 patties out of this recipe.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment.  Lightly spray with cooking spray.   Place burgers on sprayed parchment.   Bake for 15 minutes on one side, turn then bake 15 more.

These are mild tasting..but I like to add my flavors with condiments... this recipe takes about 5-10 minutes at most to make.  Each burger will have about 165 calories and 14 grams of protein.
Considering that Boca burgers cost about 1$ a piece.. these are a lot cheaper alternative.  They are really filling

The Vegan trend...

It seems that there is a trend now with Celebrity diets to encourage people to go Vegan.   The reasoning for cutting out dairy is that it turns a baby calf into a several thousand pound cow.. and it will do this to you.  It turns out humans have been drinking milk for 7500 years...  I don't buy the fact that consuming dairy will turn you fat.   There are so many low fat and non fat options these days including fat free cottage cheese.. which is a great source of protein.   Probably cutting out or cutting down on butter and cream would be beneficial.   I tried going vegan for a week and found that I missed the protein in cottage cheese incredibly.. plus lets face it there are a ton of fattening vegan foods... when I cut out all dairy I am  more inclined to eat those..and I wake up hungry in the middle of the night.

The trend I prefer is the "Near" or "Almost" trend.  Becoming an almost Vegetarian is more my speed... This allows you to eat a little meat maybe once or twice a week even.. and for me being able to consume some cottage cheese is really helpful.

Try the "Almost" trend.. It is a lot more flexible.. and will encourage you to cut out the things that are bad for you... and keep the ones that are good.

Great Diet Dinner Recipe

With all of the beautiful tomatoes in the stores here in NM lately.   Try making this recipe it turns out incredibly and tastes great.  I use dreamfields pasta to give it a little extra protein.  The fresh tomatoes really take center stage in this recipe.  It is a lot of tomatoes at first but cut the full amount and maybe even more.. they cook down in the oven quite a bit.. and you will wish you had even more.  I also added extra garlic..we tend to like our garlic.

Oven Puttanesca - http://www.wholeliving.com/130839/oven-puttanesca

Your whole family will like this.

The Mediterranean Diet does it work ?

Does the Mediterranean Diet work ?   I imagine it does.   About a year and a half ago I went vegetarian at the urgent request of one of my sons. He does not like the idea that animals die for his food.    Without even trying I lost over 5 pounds.. bad habits and all.    I imagine if you got rid of bad snacking habits and eliminated foods with a lot of added sugar you would do even better.   (We still ate lots of cookies, poptarts, ice cream..etc... stuff you definitely try to cut down on when losing weight ).

According to this book the average woman needs 50 grams of protein a day.   Unless you eat a lot of beans and soy products without the diary or meat, how will you fulfill this ?  I guess nuts have some protein.  The "Eat More Weigh Less"  book by Dr. Ornish, helps to answer this question.. Actually vegetables do contain some protein.. most of the time just a couple of grams though.  Broccoli - 1 stalk has about 5.6 grams,  Brussel Sprouts about 5 grams, 1 Cup of corn - 4.3 grams, 1 cup of  okra 4.1 grams. 1 cup of cauliflower - 3.4 grams. 1 cup of green peas - 8 grams.  Brown Rice 1 cup - 4.9 grams..
Sounds like a lot of vegetables to get your protein.. unless you add beans and dairy which kick it up a lot...

I wonder how Vegans do it ?  Lots of beans I guess.  Here is a link to one answer:

http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/protein.htm

Mariluu Henner, a famous actress, was on a talk show the other day.  She is a Vegan, She is 60.. and looks incredible.   If eating vegan can help a person look like her, then I am all for it.

"The Mediterranean Diet"

I recently got the book, "The Mediterranean Diet" by Marissa Cloutier and Eve Adamson.   I am about half way through it.  It is a decent book about nutrition and the Mediterranean way of eating.   The diet which is quite popular these days is actually not a whole lot different than the Ornish Diet.   Throughout the book the writers refer to it as an almost vegetarian diet.  This it truly is.   You are allowed 1 serving of meat per WEEK, and 1 serving of fish per WEEK.    The main differences between the two diet plans are with Ornish you are supposed to try to eat very low FAT, with the Mediterranean Diet you are allowed to eat some healthy fats, through seeds, nuts, olive oils.. etc.
On the Mediterranean Diet similar to Ornish, you are allowed very small amounts of cheese..

Here is a picture of the food pyramid that is a basic to the diet.

Blue Bell Sugar Free Bullets - Food Review

Blue Bell Sugar Free Bullets are sugar free Popsicles.  They are the lowest carbohydate popsicle that I could find... only 2 net carbs.   They taste terrific.  They taste like a real popsicle.. not a fake one.  They were beautifully frozen.. no ice crystals making them kind of sticky.   I have eaten tons of different sugar free popsicles and these are by far the best.. they are only 14 calories per popsicle.   They cost $3.50 per box of 24 at albertsons.  A little bit pricey.

We give these 4 out of 5 stars.

Special K Cracker Chips - Food Review

This is a review of Special K Cracker Chips - Cheddar - they cost  4-5$ a box at our local Albertsons.  I bought these hoping to get a cracker chip type of taste.  I was very disappointed.  They taste like rice cakes with seasoning added.  They are relatively low in calories - 110 calories per serving.  The entire box has  3.5 servings.    Also there is very little nutrition in these.   For less money and a similar taste you can buy the white cheddar rice cakes by Quaker.   You will get more servings.. and the price is a little over 3$.

We give this Diet food 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Try better Special K.

Morning Flax Muffin.. lower fat version

In honor of reading "Eat more, weigh less", I tried to make a version of the morning flax muffin with egg whites instead of eggs.  This morning I used 2 whites, 1/4 cup of ground flax, and splenda to taste..(couple of  Tablespoons) and 1/2 teas baking powder.  It turned out great.. very puffy.    I could hardly tell the yolks were gone.    It might work fine with one egg white and some water.. I will try that tomorrow.    

Volumetrics or Ornish Diet

I picked up a copy of "Eat more Weight Less" Dr. Dean Ornish.  This is a decent book.  Although I do not totally agree with the super low fat approach.   The book is worth reading.   Basically this is a vegetarian approach to dieting.. he really does not want you to eat even lean chicken.. but only that if you must.    I like veggies but I really enjoy lean chicken.   The book has tons of recipes .. almost 300 pages of them.   I think this is good.. to me it shows he is really trying.

It also talks about the therapeutic issues involved with weight gain.   A whole chapter devoted to the emotional issues of weight gain, eating...etc.    This chapter makes the book worth getting.. especially if you get it at a used book store.

If you love vegetables, fruit, and beans.. and can live without meat.. you will like this diet.

Two days a week

My son was reading a readers digest article to me.. it claims that dieters who dieted only two days a week lost as much weight as someone who dieted 7 days a week.    Since I am frustrated with the lack of flexibility on Atkins, I have decided to give this a try.   The article suggested Monday and Friday.   My question is/was how to do those two days and what to do the rest of the week.    I have decided I will do a low calorie, high protein diet on those two days.   I am researching other more flexible diets for the rest of the week.

2 things I will keep up:

- morning flax muffin
- dinner spinach salad.

Some of the diets I am looking at are:

Weight Watchers - can I do this without joining and paying the expensive monthly web site fee ? I can
only eat about 12 points a day with this.    My morning flax muffin comes in at 4 points.. which seems
like a lot for a 200 calorie item.  Spinach comes in a 0 points.  It seems like most low carb tortilla's are about 1 point. This is good.

Mediterranean Diet - Still need to learn more.

Volumetrics Diet -Eating foods that have a large water content.

Why I am keeping my flax muffin:

I would like a diet that includes healthy oils.  I know the Flax seed oil is a healthy oil.  Flax seed lowers cholesterol, it helps fight cancer( lignans).  It has more omega-3 oils than my fish oil vitamins and it tastes a lot better.  And supposedly flax helps with menopausal symptoms.  Flax is the richest known plant source of phytoestrogens.   I have not felt these yet.. but a bit of preventive measure can't hurt.

I find I feel better when I eat some lean protein in almost all of my meals.  So I think a true vegan diet is out for me.. plus I really like chicken.

Easy Breezy Easter

Made through Easter without too much hassle.  Did some high carbohydrate baking for family and a little low  carbohydrate baking for me.  This helps a lot.   I have come up with a morning muffin recipe.  I find making it in a coffee mug works the best.  It is a variation on the low carb bread.  It tastes great and is filling and full of fiber.. and not too high calorie.

In the mug, - I mix 1 egg( 75 calories)
                           1/4 cup flax meal ( 120 calories.. no net carbs.. about 8 grams of fiber)
                           1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
                           spenda to taste.(more if you like it really sweet)  2 Tablespoons
                           mix well.. if it is a little dry add some water.

I microwave it on high for 1 minute.  I put a paper towel underneath just in case it overflows.
I let it sit a minute then I run a knife around the edge and plop it into a bowl.  

Sometimes I add a tablespoon of cocoa.  This adds 2gs of carbs but gives it a nice chocolate taste.

For about 200 or so calories you have a great healthy breakfast food. It goes great with coffee or tea.

You can try using soy flour instead of flax meal, it has more carbs but less calories.  In this case you might want to increase your cocoa a bit, to get rid of the overwhelming soy taste.   You get a much cakier muffin.. more filling(at least to me), definitely you will need more water, I think the soy absorbs the liquid more.


Its fun to make and really helps with cravings.

Exercise... oh bother

Exercise makes me feel great.. it is get started that is hard.   Finding the time to do it and then just doing it.    I have found a couple of decent routines from Prevention Magazine.   This is a magazine that my mom got years ago.. then if I remember correctly it had mostly nutrition.. now it has a lot of exercise information.   The routine I am trying is "Blast off your belly in record time" - http://www.prevention.com/weight-loss/weight-loss-tips/lose-weight-fast-fat-blasting-workout
  The exercises use resistance bands and weights.  The most interesting one is a take on the old fashioned curtsy.   Who knew doing a bunch of good old curtsies could give you a work out.   At least the first couple sets were great.   I find holding the curtsy a bit helps the burn, and it is easy to remember.    The other one I like is the side leg lift cruch.. adding the resistance bands really helps to boos this simple exercise.  Try this routine.. it is relatively simple and kind of fun.

awesome brownies and pizza crust.

I made some incredible low carb brownies yesterday.  They are terrific. I like them best either chilled or heated in the microwave.   They are a bit crumbly.. even my dad liked them.  Here is the recipe
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/desserts/r/miraclebrownies.htm    The erythritol is expensive but worth it.  You will get a big batch.  With treats like these it makes the ongoing weight loss phase of Atkins a lot easier.  I have also been experimenting with low carb pizza crusts.  I have found that the ones made with flax meal, eggs, oil, baking powder, and a little bit of low carb coconut flour(optional) to be the lowest carb.  They are not terrific but definitely eatable and if you have great toppings you don't notice much that you do not have a white flour crust.  This pizza is extremely filling ..all the fiber from the flax.. You will have a tough time eating more than 2 slices.

I find that when I mix this stuff with the regular salads and protein and vegetable meals.. the situation is a lot nicer.  Remember to use the brownies as a treat.. not a meal.  I cut mine and put them away in pieces. that way I am less likely to eat extra big pieces.

Progress..slow but steady

Well my progress has been slow but steady.  So far I have lost about 5 lbs.   2 inches off of my waist.  Yeah.  1.5 inches off of hips.  not too shabby.   I have found some great low carbohydrate recipes.  
This one rises beautifully http://www.food.com/recipe/best-low-carb-bread-bread-machine-102631   While it is not the same as good old white bread, it is OK tasting.   I have also come up with a great chocolate cookie recipe

Cravings still there

Its been over 2 weeks and I must confess I still miss potato chips, french fries and bread.  In the evenings when these are the strongest I have come up with a couple of things that help.   Keeping my hands busy helps a lot.  I do this by knitting and or doing crossword puzzles.   I prefer the knitting because it actually produces something.  Put crossword puzzles exercise the mind a little.   My favorite way to do crosswords is on my sons nintendo ds that he does not play with as much.  I imagine all of the smart phones have apps for this.. but since I don't have a smart phone and this was free..  I also use the newspaper.  I find with my hands and mind busy I don't miss the snacks so much.  Watching TV without keeping my hands busy is a recipe for disaster for me.. just too easy to munch.    So other things to do would be crochet, macrame, carving with a knife.. if you are into that sort of thing.

Baking withdrawal blues

Lately I have really missed baking.  Pre low carb, I would bake at least two or three times a week.  Most of the times sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies and homemade bread for my gang.  They can go through more than 6 dozen of cookies in less than a week.    It had been a while( ok maybe just a week and a half) since I had made them cookies.    I gave it a shot the other day.  First I started out by making some low carb cookies that I could eat.   They turned out beautifully.  I got the recipe from http://www.ticklemysweettooth.com/blog/?s=pumpkin+cookies&x=0&y=0   They are terrific.    The batter is a little strange but  for low carb the cookies are terrific.  Doing this first gave me the willpower to make the 6 dozen of cookies for my gang.    If you want cookie give these a try.. you can order the coconut flour from Amazon.com if you don't have any in your local stores.

Week One Status Report

Well it has been a week and things are going OK.  I miss potato chips and bread incredibly but I can deal with it.   Every time I get tempted I try on my skinny pants -- still too tight.    Weight loss so far has been 2lbs.   According to Atkins you should lose 10% of the weight you need to during the first two week induction period.    My clothing fits better.    I plan on staying on induction a little longer than this, they say that it is not a problem.. just don't over do it.

Pizza yearnings and tea

It has been a rough couple of days.  Starting this the first week of lent was not the best idea.   Yesterday was another meatless day, no chicken, no beef, no pork... not too easy while on atkins.    Fish again.  I made cheese pizza for the rest of the gang.   It was tougher than expected being surrounded by that wonderful crusty perfectly cooked pizza.(just got some baking stones for the oven -- they really do the trick)   I survived.. without cheating.  Yeah.    I have been drinking a lot of lemon tea.  It is not caffeinated, I use the coffee pot and  make it kind of weak.   I think had 2 pots of it yesterday.   I think it might help me eat less.. and it probably has a few health benefits.    The tea I used is Lemon Zinger - from the grocery store.  I use very little sweetening.. two packets per 12 cup pot.   I find that this is enough.     Try it, it might help you.   It is certainly comforting and soothing.. the lemon flavor is great.   I was never much of a tea drinker before.. but using the coffee maker makes it a lot easier.   There are so many flavors there is bound to be one you like.

Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes - yuck or yum

In the past I have been very skeptical of cauliflower mashed potatoes, so much so that I thought they sounded very unappetizing and have never tried them.  My dh bought a head of cauliflower and was planning on steaming it, I am not very fond of steamed cauliflower so I thought maybe it was time to give this a try.   We simply used a potato masher, in reality you are supposed to puree it in a blender but I did not want to deal with the extra dishes.    Using a potato masher turned out OK, I added a little cream and a little butter.   The consistency was more like creamed rice.. the taste was terrific.   We loved it.    It may all be psychological but somehow it gave me the comfort feeling of eating mashed potatoes.  Lesson learned, definitely a yum.   Try this and you might be surprised too.

Another great low carb food

Lent began yesterday, and one can get a little tired of fish.  Boca burgers are a great alternative for low carb folks.   Albertsens sells them and probably other grocery stores, they are in the freezer section where they have the vegetarian type of foods.   A boca burger on a low carb tortilla - in NM most of the grocery stores that I have been in sell low carb torilla's, add a little mustard and you will hardly know you are losing weight.

ketosis?

Part of the Atkins diet is to go into what they call ketosis.  You are supposed to be able to go into ketosis after 48 hours.   You use these little strips to tell.   Mine show small amounts.   Perhaps it was the jelly beans.   At least it is a little better than trace(light pink)    I feel fine, lets see how tomorrow goes.

NM weight loss resources

Since this is an NM blog, I thought I would tell you some of my resources for weight loss products.   We are not a densely populated state and often places to buy weight loss foods are hard to find.   For the best cream in the state, Nature's Diary in Roswell, NM has incredible cream. 5$ for a half gallon of their yummy delicious cream.  There is a bit of a seasonal variation in it, but it is all good stuff.   I used some of it in making my egg tortilla's yesterday..  I am still working on my recipe, but for now it is beaten eggs, cream, and little bit of water.   I need to find something to give it a bit more heft.. a flour replacement.. protein powder???  
Sams Club is a great place for Atkins Advantage Power Bars.   This is important to know during the summer months,  shipping chocolate then can be a problem.  As for exercise, Roswell is pretty flat so you can probably walk, run, bike easily there.  Las Cruces and Albuquerque are not as flat.. so biking might be harder there. But walking is even better because the hills will give you a better work out.

Carbohydrate withdrawl

I never really thought I was so addicted to carbohydrates.. I tend to eat a lot of protein.  My first day I had headaches and was dying for a potato chip.     My second day has not been as bad.   I have done better.   I put in an order to Netrition -- they have a great supply of low carbohydrate stuff.   I figure if I have some of this nearby it will help keep the cravings down.    Managed to squeeze in some exercise... easy on a beautiful day.  Sunny, bright, and warm was the forecast here.

Weight Loss Start

I am trying to lose weight my husband is helping me.  I am going to use the Atkins diet.   In the past I have used this and it has served us well.  I also find that the high protein helps to keep my sugar in check.  Pre-diet if I eat all carbohydrates and no sugar in the morning, I get a real sugar low in the afternoon.. shakes..etc.   So this a big part of my reason for Atkins.   The first day went OK.. with the exception of one of my guys shoving jelly beans in my mouth.. I only ate two before I begged him to stop.    Ughhh.  Oh well.   I need to remember you aren't supposed to eat nuts during the induction phase.

Together we are doing weight training, yoga, and as much cardio as time and circumstances will allow.  The weight training and yoga will be light at first.. but more later on.   I have some yoga cards.. 15 minute yoga in a box.  I really like this set, I can put the card on the shelf and practice the poses easily.