Super Bowl Fun!!!

Today has been a fun day.  It's almost like a holiday.  I love football; I love a great get together with friends.  Combining my two loves...awesome!!! 

I was the host of this year's Super Bowl party...by my own choice.  Why?  I wanted to make sure that I made some delicious foods that I could eat.  I never want to force anyone to eat this new way nor to cater to me because it's my choice.  But if I'm hosting then I get to choose!  Win for me!!!  So I've spent the last week or so perusing all the blogs I follow looking for great Super Bowl recipes.  Here's the ones I chose:

Crispy Nut Crackers

I decided to make these Crispy Nut Crackers by Jennifer at Splendid Low Carbing.  They were easy to make, but I'd like to do some tweaking with the flavor.  It was a bit dry and bland, but the cracker tends to be just a vessel to get dip from a bowl to my mouth so I can handle that!

 

 

Pepperoni Chips

Next on my list were these Pepperoni Chips by George Stella.  He posts his recipes to Facebook via Low Carbing Among Friends page.  If you haven't liked that page and you want to try this new way of life out then I suggest you hit that LIKE button.  I made these almost exactly as George says except I omitted the final baking.  When I opened the door to check them after about 9 minutes smoke came rolling out.  I don't know if it was the pepperoni or the parchment paper, but something was smokin'!  And yes...it did set off the smoke detector.  But they're very good!  I love crispy pepperonis!!!

 

Black Bean Flourless Cake

Now, I've heard that beans aren't the best for a low carb way of life.  I guess they turn to sugar somewhere deep inside...LOVELY!!!  But one of my friends let me know it was better than the alternative and it's not that high in carbs so I thought I'd try it out.  I really wanted a sheet cake like my mom used to make when I was a little girl so I found this recipe and just used a sheet cake pan vs. the 9" one recommended.  This site is a share sight for recipes so I don't know who to give credit to...but it was GOOD and no one even knew it was black beans!  SCORE...hee hee hee love the pun!!!

 



Chocolate Ganache



What chocolate cake isn't complete without a yummy frosting.  And you cannot go wrong with a Chocolate Ganache.  For that I went to my trusted source Maria from Maria Mind Body Health blog.  I have had so much success following her recipes that I turn to her most often than not.  I added a 1/2 cup of Xylitol for the sugar and no Stevia.  I don't have a love for Stevia...although I'm trying to add it a bit at a time as recipes call for it.  Perhaps one day my taste buds will get used to it. 

 

 

Here's the final marriage of the Black Bean Cake and Chocolate Ganache...yes it is as good as it looks.  If you want to make this lovely confection follow the directions to a T, add in your favorite sugar substitute in place of all that sugar, pour in a greased sheet cake pan and bake for approx. 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool for about 30 minutes (you're ganache needs to cool that long too so that it's not too runny).  Pour the ganache over the cake and spread out evenly.  Cool in the fridge for a couple of hours to set the ganache.  Take the cake out and slice it and serve at room temperature.  The cake is SUPER moist (yet another pun/plug for the Super Bowl)!!!

 

Chicken Enchilada Dip

I went back to Jennifer at Splendid Low Carbing for this Chicken Enchilada Dip!  Man, it was good!  Unfortunately I didn't taste it warm since I had so much going on, but it was delish cold...so I assume it was awesome-er hot!!!  I made no changes except that I had Colby Jack vs. Cheddar cheese.  It went pretty darn good with my Nut Crackers.  Half the pan was gone by the end of the night!

 

Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana

The star of the evening was our entrée Zuppa Toscana.  This is a HUGE favorite with my friends and a recipe that one husband has duplicated himself.  Everyone loves it whenever he makes it so I had to give it a go...and it worked!!!  I doubled the recipe using one pound of sweet Italian sausage and one pound of hot Italian sausage.  I did NOT double the red pepper flakes since I used the hot sausage and not everyone likes it hot and BOY we didn't need the extra heat.  It was enough to melt the snow outside that's for sure.  But everyone loved it and this dutch over that was practically full is now nearly empty! 





 



So who did I do all this for???  Here's just a few of the friends who joined us tonight...

 

 

There were kids all over the house...as well as a photo bomber...but there were no injuries and nothing broke so all is well. 

 

I hope you had an equally fun evening enjoying the commercials Super Bowl!!! 

 

Till next time,

 

Jennifer

Happy Birthday to my Sister!!!

I'm going to love on my sister, Jeannine, today.  It's her birthday and she turns...wait, I'm loving on her I guess I should leave that part out.  Not that she's old or anything.  She is my YOUNGER sister. 

Here she is!  Isn't she beautiful?!?  You might know her as Jeannine from The Concrete Cottage.  Yeah, she's an amazing decorator and crafter.  She is my inspiration for so many things.  She has such an amazing eye for detail...it can make an older sister a little green with envy...if I didn't love her so much.  Here's just a little taste of who she is...

Little Sis!!!

She's the youngest of three, the most brave and daring and full of mischief!  Oh, that's our brother Charles in the middle there.  What a bunch of cuties we were!!!

Lifetime Friend!!!

We were the Maids/Matrons of Honor in each other's weddings.  I have best friends, but she has been my lifelong friend.  We've spent many nights laughing together, fighting with each other, crying together...just living life together.

Wife!!!

Hey, she can keep this guy in line...what more can I say...LOL!!!

Mom!!!

These beautiful and handsome rascals are hers.  They're every bit their mother's children...and I love them immensely!!!

Baby Lover...or in other words NURSE!!!

She always loved hospitals.  Why I never knew, but she always did.  We always fought over who got to hold the baby...whatever baby might be around.  And now she gets to spend time in the hospital holding babies!!!  Yeah, I guess she ultimately won that fight huh???

My Inspiration!!!

She wrote a blog post the other day revealing her newly decorated craft room.  In the post she had a picture that caught my eye.  I have a chalk board (a copied idea from her) that I love to decorate (also because of her), but I have difficulties getting the chalk to cooperate.  I've been looking for chalk pencils (do they even make such a thing...I haven't found any yet), and in this one picture my sis had a bowl with a piece of chalk and a pencil sharpener.  BRILLIANT!!!  I tried to copy her...yet again...today and failed!  Why?  My sharpener didn't have a large enough opening, and I couldn't find one of those cheap ones that all students have with the smaller and larger openings.  I needed it for this project.

See, if you ever go into my sister's kitchen you'll find all kinds of cool jars and such with chalk board labels that you can write the contents on.  In this new way of life I have to make all sorts of things you'd normally just buy in the store.  Things like salad dressing, mayonnaise, caramel and chocolate sauce...and you need something to put them in.  That's where Hobby Lobby comes in especially when glass is 50% off.  And since I have that lovely machine called a Silhouette Cameo (thanks to my sister who taught me what it was) and access to chalkboard vinyl, I could make labels on the lids to mark what's in the jar.  But, since I didn't have sharpened chalk to help me write neatly this is what I ended up with...

At least it works to identify the contents...and that is the whole purpose isn't it!

So, Sister, thank you for inspiring me, for broadening my crafting horizon, for being my friend, for being YOU!!! 

I love you...Happy Birthday!!!

Jennifer

Spicing Up Our Lives!!!

One of the best meals in our house...one that's guaranteed to get devoured...is Tacos.  We usually have little to no leftovers, and it is one of the few leftovers that my kids will eat.  But when I started this change in my life I became an avid label reader.  Unfortunately, there was a bunch of junk I knew was "not so good" in it, but when kids will eat something...  Anyway, I kept buying it because I couldn't find anything better.  But then...

I discovered Maria's blog.  By chance, and a Google search, I stumbled onto Maria's blog named Maria Mind Body Health.  I read, and read...then I read some more.  I couldn't believe how much information she had.  I couldn't believe how much sense it made.  And I couldn't believe how many awesome looking recipes there were.  She has a ton of options for replacements of crucial ingredients that are harming our bodies.  I was blown away.  Then I read that she'd asked people to challenge her to make something they miss because of changing our eating habits.  So now when I'm looking to replace something I normally buy I check her blog first.

That's kind of how I stumbled across this recipe for taco seasoning.  Low and behold I had all the ingredients, and I just happened to have a little container to mix and store it all in...what a deal!

The ingredients are basic staples for most of us.  I bet you have them in your cupboard right now...well maybe not the pepper flakes, but I bet you have most of them.  It's just a matter of putting them all together. 

And it makes such pretty sand art...LOL!!!  Well, that is until you shake that puppy up!   As soon as it was all mixed up it was time to use it. 

Now I'm going to introduce you to something you really, REALLY need in your kitchen.  If you're a mom, if you have a busy life, if you're single and just don't have a ton of time...if you have a kitchen...then you need this!  This is a Bean Pot from Celebrating Home...and I'm linking you to my friend Stephanie's site!  She is an amazing consultant who gives her hostesses the absolute most she can.  Anyway, this bean post is the best way to make anything with ground beef quickly. 

I had gotten the ground beef out of the freezer, but not early enough for it to be defrosted.  So I just threw it in the pot and started to nuke it.  I started at 3 minutes then got it back out to begin breaking it up.  Oh, you'll love one of these tools too...

It's Pampered Chef's Mix 'N Chop.   It really breaks the meat up quickly.  I love it.  Anyway, back to the meal...I cooked the meat in 5 minute increments, breaking it up each time, till it was cooked through.  Then I drained the meat just like I would if I'd cooked it on the stove top.  It took about 10 minutes from start to finish, it's less messy and certainly less heat than the stove top version.  Then I added 2 tablespoons of the healthy taco seasoning and about 1 1/2 cups of water.  Mixed it all up and put it back in the microwave for about 8 minutes, stirring half way.

To serve it up healthy I layered lettuce shreds, the taco meat, cheese, cream cheese mixed with salsa, and a few dices of Roma tomatoes.

Oh man, it was SO good...but boy was it spicy.  I'm sure adjusting the red pepper flakes would help reduce the heat if you're not a heat person, but I actually liked it.  I probably will add more cream cheese/salsa next time to tame it down for my mouth, but I won't change the recipe...

 

 

...see, it was a home run!!!  Oh, and just so you know I've always had issues with taco seasoning because it never seemed to settle well in my stomach.  I always ended up with indigestion....but not this time!!!  Even with the heat I had absolutely NO reaction with this seasoning, and I no longer take my acid reducer at night (which I've done for the past 12 years).  If that's not testimony to this way of life I don't know what is!!!

 

Seriously, check out Maria's blog.  You will not be sorry!!!  Thanks Maria!

 

Till next time,

 

Jennifer



Oh, just an FYI...I'm not getting paid for any of these things I'm saying.  This is my personal opinion and experiences.  I'm just an open book!!!

Changes Aren't Always Easy!!!

I have days!!!  You know "those" days?  The ones when you just want to chuck the whole thing...Yeah, those days!!!  Yesterday was one of those days, or maybe I should say last night was one of "THOSE" nights.  Here's the scoop.

My husband has been out of town this week.  It's made for a crazy schedule for this taxi mom.  Yesterday was supposed to be the craziest of all.  Initially I was to take my oldest to his school (10 miles or so round trip), come home quickly to grab the youngest two kids and stop at the elementary for my daughter and then take my middle son back to the same school I'd dropped my oldest at earlier.  BUT...as things often do it didn't quite go that way.  My daughter woke with a sore throat, and since we've had strep throat in our family in the last month I had to keep her home to get it checked (it was not by the way).  So, I ended up taking both boys to school early and saved some steps.  Add to that my oldest had more Jazz practice last night downtown, and a trip to the doctor for my daughter.  It was a lot of miles logged.  On top of spending quite a bit of time in the car I ended up spending a bunch of time in the kitchen deep cleaning it and prepping for our dinner.  I roasted and peeled garlic, cooked chicken and did a TON of dishes all in preparation for this Roasted Garlic Chicken Soup.  Everything was prepped and ready to throw it all together once the kids were home from school.  It all had to be done and eaten by 5:30 so I could get my son downtown.

I decided to try my hand at mashed "potatoes" which in low carb world means mashed cauliflower.  Here's the thing, I've NEVER liked cauliflower.  Of course that was a childhood thing, but I've not given it a "real go" in my adulthood.  So since I kept reading that cauliflower was bland and just takes on the ingredients you add to it then I thought "Why Not?!?"  I found this recipe.  I added butter, but didn't have any green onion.  I don't know that I cooked it completely because it was a bit watery...

 

Let's face it...it doesn't matter, I DO NOT LIKE CAULIFLOWER!!!  It is NOT as bland as people say.  It truly has that cauliflower flavor.  GAG!!! 

 

 

I tried putting it under my soup and it did cover up the taste, but then I had a texture issue.  Needless to say it wasn't a pleasant experience!  The cauliflower ended up down the disposal, but the leftover soup is in the fridge.  Hopefully today I can eat that and see how I like it without the other...maybe that will be a success. 

 

To finish off the rest of the story...after the unsuccessful meal last night I got really discouraged.  I was really hoping for success with the cauliflower since it looked like a great replacement for the potatoes I LOVE!!!  I needed to find some more recipes for this weekend's Super Bowl party and I second guessed every recipe I saw.  I was just ready to throw in the towel so to speak, but I was tired, I was influenced by a bad experience and frankly needed to just finish out the day with a good night's sleep. 

 

This morning things are much better.  I've found the recipes I need for this weekend, the kids are at school successfully without too many miles, and I'm off to the gym as soon as I'm done with this post.  Some days are rough, but often it's just a matter of perception...and a good night's sleep!!!

 

Till later,

 

Jennifer

 

Chocolate!!! It makes me Happy, Happy, Happy!

Raise your hand if you like chocolate!!!

 

 

I love it...but I'm a female, of course I do.  Do you know what else I love...COFFEE!  I love Starbuck's Caffé Mocha...but do you know how much sugar is in it???  Actually, I don't either, but I'm sure it's a TON more than I'm supposed to have.  Sooo...I needed to come up with something to replace my sugary addiction.

 

I had to think..."How does Starbucks do it?"  Pumps of chocolate syrup plus espresso with some steamed milk...that sounds about right.  The first thing I had to find was a sugar free chocolate syrup so off I went on an internet search (what did we do before the world wide web???)  I found this recipe from kitchen TREATY for Homemade Chocolate Syrup.  Her recipe is not sugar free, but I have sugar substitute right...why not.  And the rest of the ingredients are kitchen staples. 

 

 

So after a stop at Hobby Lobby for this 11" square bottle...at half off (gotta love Hobby Lobby)...I came home to try my hand at chocolate syrup. 

 

 

I started with two different sugar substitutes: xylitol and Just Like Sugar table top version.  I decided to mix it half and half then add the other ingredients just like the recipe calls for.

 

 

I didn't bring it to a boil because I've learned from past experience that xylitol doesn't boil...it burns!  Let's not make that mistake again!!!  I gave it a taste and it wasn't sweet enough...too bitter.  So I added about 1/4 cup more of xylitol.  It's still a bit bitter, kind of like really dark chocolate, but not so much as to turn me off of it completely.  It still has that chocolaty flavor that we all love!!!

 

The syrup started to thicken up fairly quickly so I didn't have to cook it near as long as the recipe states, so I had my trusty helper (my daughter) grab the camera and help me document my new adventure...thank you Sweet Pea!!!

 

 

 

I poured all that lovely chocolate goodness into my new bottle.  It filled it about 2/3rds of the way.  Then I had to try it out!!!  So on went the Keurig since we had to see if I could get close to that Caffé Mocha I love so much.  I chose a Kahlua coffee and got out my heavy cream (I have no way to steam it so I have to forgo that step) in anticipation of mocha yumminess!!!  It wasn't quite as sweet as my Caffé Mocha, but I can handle that...plus it costs a heck of a lot less!!!  It was pretty good...not perfect, but good enough for me!

 

 

Now I can have my addiction without the guilt.  Maybe next time I can add a bit of sugar free whipped cream.  Who knows...but its sure to be good!!!

 

Till next time...

 

Jennifer

 

Another day, another recipe! And it's very good...in so many ways!!!

Another day to find something new to eat.  It's amazing to me how delicious many of these meals are that I'm finding.  This morning's breakfast comes from an adaptation from Thrive-Style and Maria Mind Body & Health.  I took a bread recipe from Thrive-Style's Fancy Grilled Cheese and paired it with Maria's Gravy recipe with just a small tweak of my own.  Maria's recipe calls for chicken or beef broth and I used heavy cream instead.  The break was like a light, fluffy pancake and the sausage gravy was SO awesome!!!

It's just a beat off of biscuits and gravy and I don't even miss them!  That's the best thing about this whole thing...finding recipes to replace things I miss to curb all the cravings.  And they're all good...and GOOD for you!!!  It's so worth it.  Here's how it's paying off:

Each day things improve.  I feel so much better.  It's such an awesome journey!  Thank you Lord for such success!!!

Jennifer

Chocolate Muffins and a New Way of Life!!!

It has been a LONG time since I posted and my a lot has happened.  We've gone through a complete marching season with my oldest son and his first year of high school.  My, but that is a TON of fun.  We enjoyed a great holiday season with my family up north.  We've had a snow storm, an ice storm, and enjoyed some time at home with all the kids.  But the biggest change has been my way of life.

I've spent my whole life believing that I'm overweight.  Clear back to high school I thought I was fat.
 

 

So, really I wasn't that fat, but in my mind I was.  I've struggled for years.  I've always thought "I can never change this so I might as well just accept it and deal with it".  This past summer I found myself at my highest weight ever.  I was happy, but I wasn't healthy.  I could feel the impact of all that weight on my body and I knew I had to do something. 

 



In August I saw one of my husband's friends who'd lost a bunch of weight that year.  I asked him what he'd been doing and it was a program that removed sugar from his diet to kick start his liver.  I knew we couldn't afford the program, but I also had to do something.  I began praying about it and started to do some research on sugar free dieting.  I came across the Beyond Diet plan and loved the testimonials.  I watched one of her videos and began to see what the sugars were doing to my body.  I was an addict that was for sure, and here was a step to break that addiction.  I still knew I couldn't do this alone, so I kept praying that God would just step in and do what I couldn't...and that would be self control. 

 

I got started and it was HARD!!!  It hurt, I was hungry, I wanted to give up...but I started to see changes.  It wasn't in my body yet, but I noticed if I ate something with high sugars in it I would feel dizzy and light headed.  It was my blood sugar raising.  I didn't like the feeling, so avoiding sugar became easier.  Then I joined the gym.  I started feeling better and saw more changes...slowly but surely.  I kept praying right through it all.  I wanted to give up MANY times, but I just kept hearing "This isn't a sprint; it's a marathon".  God just kept giving me the strength to push through. 

 

I started searching for recipes to help me make the right choices each time.  I found Maria's blog Maria Mind Body Health.  She has a ton of recipes, but with each post she explains why our bodies react in certain ways and what causes it.  She recommends the Keto diet...or I prefer to say "way of life" vs. diet...and so I started adapting what she was saying into my foods.  What I found is that there are tons of delicious alternatives out there that are really good for you.  If you are willing to put in the work and research you can do this too.  Here's proof:

 

This is January of 2014.  I've lost 36 pounds since starting this in September.  I haven't followed everything 100% all the time, but the majority of the time I am eating right.  I have a ways to go still, but the pathway I'm on is getting me there.  I PRAISE GOD!!!  He is the creator and designer of my new way of life.  Without Him I could NOT do this.  He's given me wisdom, strength and encouragement.  He's put amazing people in my life that are so uplifting.  Without that I couldn't succeed...and I will succeed!!!  My goal is shopping in the Ladies department, not the plus size!!!  And I will get there...with the Lord's help!

But that's not my only reason for posting today.  Here's one of the YUMMY recipes I've found to promote my new way of life.  It comes from Living Low Carb...one day at a time (sounds like the right way to go to me).  It's a chocolate muffin, and it tastes very much like Sam's Club's big chocolate muffins.  Check out her recipe for Chocolate Muffins and my pictures below. 

For a sugar substitute I'm using Xylitol right now.  I find it's the closest tasting to sugar.  It has a bit of a cooling effect as an aftertaste, but it's not bitter or weird tasting like so many other sugar substitutes.  It can effect your digestive system, which I have experienced a bit, so I may check into other substitutes.  But for now that's what I'm using.  I also used natural peanut butter vs. almond butter.  I would love to get some almond butter, but these alternatives can be expensive, so for now I'm using what I have.  These are surprisingly easy, quick and delicious!!!  I do recommend chopping the unsweetened chocolate into pretty small pieces.  I happened to get one piece that was a bit too big this morning and it was rather bitter in my mouth, but that was only one small piece so I will make sure there are no larger pieces next time. 

If you're interested in a new way of life check out the three blogs I posted above.  For more great recipes try the following blogs as well, or follow me on Pinterest.  I pin every delicious recipe I find.

The Low Carb Review
DJ Foodie
All Day I Dream About Food
Splendid Low Carbing
And then there's one of my great friend's blog...
24/7 Low Carb Diner

If you feel like you just can't do it...take it from another Just Can't Do It ladies...YES YOU CAN!!!

Pray, Persevere, Start, Learn, Choose right...and take it ONE DAY AT A TIME!!!  It's your time!

In Christ's Love,

Jennifer