Week Four - Day Five: Birthdays!

Today is my son's 34th birthday. Yes, I am way too young to have a son that old, but I do! 

This is Jon! Isn't he handsome?

Don't tell anyone, but I also have a son who will be 40 in September and a daughter who will be 28 in March. If you do the math you will see I was on the 6-year plan. It worked for me because the oldest started school before I had the next baby; so I got to enjoy each one of them individually. And I wouldn't have it any other way!

Cheryl planned the party today with just family. She let me know Wednesday night that she would be doing this and I asked her what she wanted me to bring. "You always come up with good stuff!" So I set about checking my Snacks Pinterest board. 

I came across two recipes that I wanted to make. The first was Bacon Wrapped Smokies with Brown Sugar and Butter. Don't they look amazing? And they tasted just as good!

Bacon wrapped smokies. pickles, chips, guacamole, salsa, cheese n crackers, nut snacks, and...

The other recipe I made was Trisha Yearwood's Hot Corn Dip. It was really yummy, too! I doubled the recipe and shouldn't have. 

Corn dip, fruit, cheeses, burgers and toppings, coleslaw, baked beans, and...

Cheryl made a root beer cake. It was tasty and different. But serving it with vanilla ice cream really gave you the feeling of having a root beer float!

One of the dogs (we think it was Sophia) got on the coffee table and licked the frosting off that corner! 

Anyhow, I did waiver today. Not as badly as I could have, or have done in the past. I really didn't eat hardly anything today until I got over to their house around 3:30 this afternoon. Partially because I was cooking, and partly because I just was not hungry.

What I ate was a few chips with guacamole, those evil bacon wrapped smokies, a little bit of my corn dip with a few fritos; and then dinner consisted of a burger with cheese (no bread), a serving of baked beans, and a small serving of coleslaw. 

We visited, played games...

We love Catch Phrase!

...and then brought out the cake. After singing "Happy Birthday" and blowing out candles, the cake was cut. Everyone ate theirs with Breyer's Natural Vanilla Ice Cream. I ate almost 1/2 of my piece and a couple bites of the ice cream. 

All in all I feel it was a successful day because I am not eating as much when I do waiver, and I have not felt deprived in the least on my modified Atkins plan. 

Now all I have to do is get thru the next two birthdays (Cheryl on the 23rd and Captain's on the 24th). Fortunately the other birthday on the 25th is out of town so we probably won't celebrate with them.

I'm surrounded by fish!

That is my day. I will be cautious tomorrow. Hmmmmm... Maybe February was not a good month to make lifestyle changes. but it has to begin somewhere.

'Night, all!

Week Four - Day Four: The cravings are easing!

It's nice that the cravings have calmed down. Usually when I babysit Jalen I have a terrible case of the munchies and want to eat an entire box of goldfish crackers! I mean, what's not to love about these yummy little guys?

But last night the cravings were not there. It feels wonderful! 

As Captain and I didn't get together yesterday, he wanted to meet for breakfast on my way home this morning. There is a great little place called Uptown Cafe, and it's just a hole in the wall with amazing gourmet food! He ordered steak and eggs; I had the breakfast burrito. Whoa! Carbs? you ask? Not really. Eggs, cheese, sausage and bacon wrapped in a tortilla. I ate the filling and left the tortilla. And I really only ate half of it; Captain took the rest of it home with him.

Today I tried making Paleo Cauliflower and Spinach Breakfast Bread. I even used fresh rosemary off my rosemary bush and chopped my own organic baby spinach. Nothing but the best for me! :D It tasted good, but mine didn't look anything like theirs. I followed the instructions, but they were very runny (because of the eggs) and didn't want to hold together. To help it bind I added about 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese. A little bit better, but not much. On the last ones I added about 2 tablespoons of golden flaxseed flour. It was much better, but it changed the flavor, which I didn't really care for. Not that it was bad, it just wasn't my preference. Now, let's compare them, shall we?

THEIRS...
How beautiful they are... :)

MINE..
How pathetic they are... :(

I was hoping to use them in place of hamburger buns tomorrow, but I don't think that's going to happen, unless they REALLY firm up when they cool down. However, they do taste good! 

I did come up with a couple of options that might work the next time I make them. The first is to spread it on a cookie sheet and bake it; then after it's cooled down cut it in squares, like a loaf of cheap white sandwich bread. (Don't you just love cheap white sandwich bread? Me, too!) The second option is to scoop them into muffin cups, only about 3/4 inch deep, and make them English muffin size. Any other ideas? I'm open to suggestions! 

And now, after having said all that...

I am so embarrassed, because obviously I didn't follow the instructions after all! Apparently I was supposed to saute the veggies, mix them with the rest of the ingredients, spoon them into rounds on a cookie sheet, and bake them. Oh well, next time...

Jon's 34th birthday is tomorrow and Cheryl called last night to say we were celebrating, she was making burgers and a salad, and she was looking for an easy cake recipe. I asked her what she wanted me to make. She said she didn't care because I always make good stuff. So I will be making these bacon wrapped mini smoked sausages.  Yes, I know they have brown sugar on them, but I will try to be diligent and knock most of it off before noshing. 

Pioneer Woman is evil.  >:O

Now I'm torn as to whether I'm going to make Trisha Yearwood's Hot Corn Dip or her Charleston Cheese Dip. Decisions, decisions...

Anyhow, my day is over. Really the only thing I ate for dinner was the "paleo bread" that I boo-boo'd on, but it was good and satisfying. So this day has been a success for me.  Wish me luck tomorrow!

Loving y'all!

Lin…

Week Four - Day Three: Struggling to get back on track!

Although I have not strayed a LOT from my plan, I have strayed, and it is so difficult to get back on track.

Captain invited me to breakfast this morning for Crazy Alex, a fellow firefighter that has retired. They are having their get-together at Fox & Goose, a traditional English pub that has amazing food. (Here is their breakfast menu!) Last night I thought I would go, but this morning I woke up and I was still so full from the night before that I had to decline the invite. No surprise, he was just as full too, and he was just going to eat something light.

I so wanted to try their Welsh Rarebit. It will have to wait for another day.

Nine o'clock rolls around and because I have to eat something before taking my morning meds, I ate part of my leftover chateaubriand from last night. OMG, I forgot how tasty and tender it was.

Ironically that was the only thing I had to eat today until about 4:30 this afternoon. I drove thru KFC and bought a combo with breast, wing, and coleslaw. 

I ate half the coleslaw and the wing. That was it. I am just not hungry today. It has really shown how when you get used to NOT eating sugars and such that it can really get to you when you partake thereof. 

I am spending the evening with Jalen so Mommy and Daddy can have a date night. He entertains himself and that makes it very easy. And when he's ready for bed, he is ready. I love spending time with him.

In looking ahead for the next month, I have 4 birthdays to celebrate over the next week, and an additional 4 more in March. Getting thru those will be a challenge!!! I have son Jon on the 21st, daughter-in-law Cheryl on the 23rd, Captain's sister-in-law on the 24th, and Captain on the 25th. Then my mom on March 1st, grandson Elliott on the 3rd, daughter Megan on the 16th and grandson Jalen on the 27th. Aghhh!!!

In the meantime, that has been my uneventful day. I survived and did not waiver. Wishing you a lovely night! 

Love,
Lin...

Week Four - Day Two: Recipes and a Reveal!

This morning while perusing thru my emails I came across a couple of recipes I added to my low carb Pinterest board. If carbs are not an issue, please feel free to try them as written, but I will share how I'm going to make them low carb.

The first is called Lighter Lasagna Soup, featured on Makin' it Mo' Betta! Everything in it is low carb except the noodles.  Kim uses broken lasagna noodles; I'm thinking of using eggs, like they do in egg flower soup. I'm sure it will be just as good!

Doesn't it look yummy?

The other one is Four Cheese Lasagna Dip from Center Cut Cook.  Everything in this is low carb, I will just eat it with veggies for dipping, like endive lettuce or celery. Or any veggie you choose to dip into this bowl of yumminess.

Hot out of the oven and full of deliciousness!

Hum... I guess I'm on an Italian kick this morning. Sorry, they just jumped out at me and called my name. :)

Well, since I missed my nail appointment last week I made a new one for today. I requested red with the gold pulled from the tips back over the red.  Didn't she do a great job?

Please disregard the ugly background. I was being lazy sitting on my couch. At least my ring wasn't lopsided!

When she was done it left me 20 minutes to get to my doctor's appointment. I don't know what my rush was. Appointment at 1:00 and she doesn't walk into the room until 1:40.  Owell, she refills my meds with a minimum of hassle, and they are cheap. Whew! But that wasn't really what you wanted to hear. You want to know how much I've lost in the past 3 weeks and 2 days.  The answer is 10 pounds!!! Woot! Woot!

When I got home I had a bit of lunch, the ham and pickle roll-ups. Just needed something because we are not having dinner until 7 o'clock tonight and I didn't want to be so hungry that I would want to eat everything in sight.

Dinner tonight was at The Firehouse in Old Sacramento. This is a make-up date from the one we were supposed to have last Thursday. Winetasting at 5:30 and dinner at 6:45.

What did I have and how did I do? I will tell you...

We went with the Table for Two, a 3 course dinner, and a half bottle of cabernet sauvignon. Before they started serving dinner they brought us a taste of asparagus soup with crisp pancetta. It tasted nothing like asparagus and was creamy with that salty bite. First course: Lobster-Roasted Parsnip Bisque.  Just amazing. Who knew parsnips would taste so yummy? Certainly not me. As a palate cleanser they brought cucumber-lemon sorbet. Incredibly refreshing. Second course: Chateaubriand (a 16 oz marinated filet mignon) served with demi-glacé and a bérnaise sauce, roasted and mashed potatoes, and roasted beets, carrots and broccoli rabe. (I brought about 2/3 of mine home!) This was followed by an espresso. Third and final course was Vanilla Crème Brûlée. When they brought the bill they also brought 2 bites of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. OMG we were stuffed! We felt like Tweedledee and Tweedledum!

Overall my day, food-wise, was not too bad. Most of it was on program. And now that the Valentine plans are finished I will be diligent with what I am eating. It has been a tough week; and I wouldn't change a thing. In an effort to get back and stay on track I put my chocolates away in my dresser drawer.

Out of sight, out of mind! At least that's what they tell me.

My goal now is to lose 10-15 lbs a month. I can live with that. I will keep checking in with you daily to let you know how I am doing. Thank you for all your support. It means a lot to me and is appreciated more than you know.

Love,
Lin…

Week Four - Day One: It's Almost One Month!

Damn you, Mr. Peanut! I could not resist you!

Yes, it's true, I broke down last night and had a little snack. It was a very little snack - less than 1/4 cup. All protein, very low in carbs. It's all good. Why I felt the need to snack, IDK. But getting back on track is tough once you have wavered.

Captain and I had plans today for lunch, then up to the Sierra foothills to pick up some wine. And because I knew we were going to have an early lunch I did not eat any breakfast.

Well, we got to The Giant Orange, a burger joint where I was hoping to get an awesome chef's salad, but they were closed. Really? It's Monday, for cryin' out loud! Plan B - we went to Sam's Kosher Deli instead. Can I just tell you, they have the most amazing reuben sandwiches ever! I order one every time we go there. But wait, I'm trying to stick to my plan. Now what do I do?

Do I have to share? Fine, if I must.

Well, I took half the sandwich and ate all the filling and maybe half a slice of the bread with it. Then I asked the waitress for a take-home box and sent the rest of the sandwich and potato salad home with Captain. He had a Monte Cristo sandwich; he took half of his home with a lot of his fries. That was his dinner tonight!

We left the deli and headed towards Sutter Creek. It is a beautiful day, I can tell you that! Even with just the little bit of rain we have had, the foothills are turning green. 

Isn't it a lovely town? 

We love coming up here. The people are wonderful; fabulous little restaurants, delis, and cafes; bed & breakfasts; and wine tasting!  The above picture is going south out of town. It's taken right outside the tasting room.  

Scott Harvey Tasting Room

This is one of our hangouts,  To the left is part of the front yard at The Foxes Inn, a bed and breakfast in the heart of Sutter Creek.  To the right is another tasting room, Sera Fina Sellers. We like them, too!

On the way back we stopped to see my grandson, Jalen. 

Isn't he a cheeser?

Of course Mommy Megan and Daddy Ryan were there, too. It was a nice visit, but a bit too short for my liking. 

So thank you for humoring me and letting me share a bit of my day. And now the question remains...How did I do?

I think I did just fine. Only 1/2 piece of rye bread with the sandwich makings; 1 glass of wine; and then when I got home I made myself a salad with lettuce, radishes, pea pods, carrots, broccoli, Italian salami, and topped off with ranch dressing. As that piece of rye bread only had 3.4 grams of carbs, all in all I did pretty good! Everything else I ate today is on my list. :)

Tomorrow I go to the doctor (I'm sure I've mentioned that about a bazillon times already) and I will let you know how I did. 

I am expecting nothing but good news. 

Now this day has come to an end. I bid you good night and sweet dreams. 

Love,
~Lin…

Week Three - Day Seven: Back on Track!

Today is the 21st day, and after a couple of days of being off plan (partially due to being sick and partially Valentine's Day) I am getting back on track.

My morning started off with hot dogs for breakfast.  Yes, they are not that good for me, but they satisfy me. Bacon isn't good either, but it's all no/low carb and that is my focus. I do take all my vitamins and minerals, so I am not lacking in those.

I found a new recipe that I want to try today.  It's called Layered Mexican Casserole with Chicken, Green Chiles, Pinto Beans, and Cheese, one that is apparently good on phase one of the South Beach diet.  I have not looked very closely into the SBD, other than it is low carb too, so I can't speak to it. Again, my concern is no/low carb.  Here is a picture and the recipe.

The chicken is simmering on the stove and most of the ingredients are gathered to make it. I will let you know how it turns out. 

Lunchtime rolled around and I was just craving a bowl of crispy, crunchy lettuce and whatever toppings I could find to put on top.  I took my lettuce out of the fridge and made a near disastrous discovery. My lettuce was rusting. {unhappy_girl} I think what may have happened is, I took the core out of the lettuce by hitting it on the counter top and bruised it. I won't do that again. I will just cut the core out and then prep all the lettuce at once so it will be ready to eat.  

I put ham and cheese on top with ranch dressing. I also had olives, broccoli, pea pods and carrots on the side.  I am stuffed! It was really, really good and so refreshing!

Dinner was going to be the aforementioned casserole, but I was still missing a couple of ingredients, which I will pick up when I go to the grocery store tomorrow.  Dinner was my leftover spaghetti squash topped with my fabulous slow cooker bolognese (made previously and frozen).  This recipe is just fabulous! My twist on it is I add shredded carrots (one medium) instead of the sugar and use half ground beef and half hot Italian sausage. The wine I used was a late harvest Zinfandel from Merlo Vineyards. Such a wonderful wine, and I always serve it when making this dinner. But for tonight I won't be sipping any as I am out. :( Just remember when you try this recipe to use a really good, bold, red wine so the flavor comes thru.

I have to say it was a really satisfying meal and very filling.  Sprinkled a little (well, maybe a lot) of parmesan on top (and mixed in, as well) and just went for it. I'm hungry!!!

I know, it doesn't really look that appetizing, but it was! :)

I am having the munchies today and want to eat everything in sight, so I have eaten more than I normally do. But at least it's all been what I'm supposed to. And if I really need to snack, at least I've got good veggies at hand. But... I... am... resisting... the... urge... to... snack... 

That has been my day. I will not eat anything else now that dinner is over. Thanks for hanging with me. I really do appreciate the support! 

Have a lovely, restful night.

Week Three - Day Six: My last day for waivering...

Today is day two of our Valentine's Day adventure. We started the morning by having a homemade country breakfast - sausage gravy, biscuits and eggs.  You should never go winetasting on an empty stomach. Not a good thing! He had his usual big breakfast; I had one egg, 1/2 biscuit, and 1/2 cup sausage gravy. I was very restrained. 

Remember, I am trying to be cautious while still enjoying myself on these couple of days of being off plan.

Grabbing our coats, we headed out the door and on to Concannon Vineyards in Livermore. It is their Valentine's Wine & Chocolate Pairings weekend. In Club 1883, their tasting room for Gatekeeper Guild Members (that would be Captain), they have their heritage wines. Excellent! They had acai berries covered in chocolate readily available to nibble while sipping the wine. I had two of them (the acai berries, that is) and one pretzel. On their last two vintage wines, a petite syrah and a cabernet sauvignon, they brought out two truffles. We shared them and they were yummy.

Before heading home we decided to stop in at Charles R Vineyard. We sampled wines there too, and they had cookie and biscotti bites to dip in the chocolate fountain.

I did not partake...

I wanted to...

{{wistful_sigh}}

After spending a lovely afternoon it truly was time to head home. This Valentine adventure has come to an end. I'm not sure if we are still going out tomorrow.  At this point it's wait and see.

I am now sitting here with my dog, enjoying a quiet night at home, and sharing with you. As I was not really hungry for dinner I just had some cheese so I could have a bit of protein in my system. I can definitely feel that I have not been eating right. It is not a pleasant feeling. 

I have my quarterly check-up on Tuesday. I'm anxious to see how I've done and I am expecting good things!

And now Saturday has come to an end, Sunday is in sight. Wishing you peaceful sleep.

Love,
Lin…