Where's the Atkins crunch

I was talking to a friend yesterday who struggles to stay on the Atkins diet. He said what he misses most is crunchy foods. If you've followed my posts you know I am a big low-carb proponent. So James, here us the crunch without the carbs.

Pork skins - use them ground up as a breaking for vegetables or cheese

Ground almonds are great as a cheesecake crust

Fried bacon in salads beats croutons any day

Brown coconut as a topping

Coat Kale with olive oil and make a big bowl of Kale chips instead of potato chips

Shrimp salad with real mayo and crunchy celery

Grate zucchini add egg and fry as a crispy hash brown substitute

Add walnuts to salads

I am sure I can think of some more .., stay tuned

Please chime in in the comments if you can think of more crunchy Atkins options

The Battle of Information

Are you a good 'filer'  or are you more like  Einstein and myself... do you walk out of someones office with business card in hand and immediately add it to your contacts?  Yeah, me neither.  Let me tell you about a couple of iPhone apps I found that are making organization a little easier. The first one (currently only available for iPhone but coming soon for Android) is  "Card Munch".  It works with LinkedIn and if you don't have a LinkedIn account then you probably need one anyway.  Here is how it works.  You install the program and the next time someone hands you a business card you use Card Munch to take a picture of the card.  It allows you a place to take notes if you want to add them to the contact.  It then adds all of the information into your Card Munch view and you can email or add it to your iPhone contacts.  It is a brilliant program that seems to work flawlessly.  It is easy to identify the records later as it adds the date it was scanned into the notes of the contact.

The other app 'World Scan' is very nifty for snapping a picture of a document or image - receipt from your HVAC guy, notes from your boss - whatever you want - it crops and converts to a PDF which you can then store or send. It is loaded with a ton of features such as image enhancement - sizing the PDF to a specific print format - etc.

Hope these tools help you reduce your clutter and maybe give you more time to be your brilliant self!

The Battle of Clean Floors!

Picture of the 560 model that I have.

In the "things we don't really need" category - but don't want to live without, I put my Roomba at the very top of the list. I can honestly say that my Roomba has changed my life.  I have two dogs and a cat.  They all shed terribly.  I have a lot of tile and wood floors and if I don't sweep every single day it is very obvious.  I got my Roomba about two years ago and recently a part broke on it and I went several days without it - it was then that I realized how much my life had been changed by this efficient little robot.  I have my Roomba on a schedule (if you get one spend a little extra for scheduling) and it goes off every day after I leave the house for work. It spends 1-3 hours going through my house - under the beds, under the couch, along the baseboards - picking up hair, dog food, crumbs, dust - in the evenings I empty the bin, clean the brushes and it is ready to go the next day!  The point is that I come home every evening to a freshly swept house.  The iRobot company is awesome too in terms of support.  They are a bit pricey but thoroughly sweeping my house every day is worth it and if something happened to my Roomba you can bet I would spend the money again. If anyone would like for me to test and review the Scooba  (hint hint)  I am more than willing - the other thing I hate is mopping!

Who are these Walmart Stalkers?

So we have all received the emails with the pics of 300 lb women in shorts we wouldn't let our daughters be seen in. The endless barrage of tattoo's, funky hair, mini skirts, house shoes and other oddities, which seem to be attracted to Walmart like a magnet, have flooded our mailboxes. They all flashed through my mind last Sunday morning as I made a 7:00 am run to Walmart for dog treats (why I am purchasing dog treats at Walmart should be another blog but we won't go there now). I was getting out of the car and lo and behold I saw it - a genuine Walmart viral email candidate.

She was mid thirties, way over weight with spiky, dirty platinum blond hair with at least an inch of black roots - not sure if that was what she was going for or not. She had on ill-fitted shorts and .99 cent hot purple flip flops and a tight black T-shirt emblazoned with an invitation to ask her out - honestly I don't recall exactly what it said, it made me laugh inwardly but it was something along the lines 'single and available'. Well my immediate reaction was YES - I have the opportunity to take a picture and add to the growing annoying emails of Walmart shoppers. I couldn't do it. I wouldn't even know how someone could possibly do it. Exactly how do you whip out your camera phone and point it at a total stranger and take a picture of them? I thought about getting in front of her and being coy and pretending I was on the phone - but that was out of the question. It was not possible because I would be too embarrassed if I got busted AND my phone makes a camera clicking sound when it goes off and God forbid the flash decided to work! And beyond that it dawned on me that "there but for the grace of God..." So my question is not who are these novelty people at Walmart but who is it that is taking pictures of them?

Miracle Noodles

Well I got my "Miracle Noodles" tonight. The package says NO SUGAR, NO GLUTEN, NO CARBS ... and that is pretty exciting. To beat that >> 36% Fiber (9 grams). I was reluctant when I first saw the package, they looked frail, clear and see through and frankly they looked a little mushy. But they were good! I sauteed some celery, onion and a mushroom in a little butter, added the noodles and some baby shrimp. Seasoned with some cajun spice and WOW! I ate the whole thing which should have legitimately been at least two servings. I have missed pasta and this is truly a great substitute. Bon Appetit!

Pasta.... long, lost pasta

Most of you low-carbers are probably getting pretty used to living without Pasta.  Today I ordered some carb free, gluten free, wheat free pasta.... Yeah  - I am anxious to see what it tastes like too!  The reviews look pretty good.  I found a recipe but thought I would try them first to see if it is something wonderful or not.  I found this one with 4 separate bags of the Angel Hair Pasta for $10 - and free shipping.  I will post back and let you know what I thought.

I picked up this tidbit from wikipedia (not so much about the weight loss as it is for the love of pasta):

" Glucomannan is also the main ingredient in shirataki noodles and konnyaku which are traditional Japanese foods. These products are made from the ground corm of the konjac plant. These natural products have been eaten in Japan for centuries. Because of the fiber content and health benefits, they are known as the "broom of the intestine" in Japan. They are now being marketed for weight loss and other health benefits in the United States and worldwide due to the low calorie count."

The Battle of the Bulge

 I just started reading this book a couple of days ago but it is riveting.  William Davis, Cardiologist discusses the history of wheat and why the wheat we are consuming in mass quantities today is not the same as the wheat our parents grew up on.  The myriad of issues is astounding and I suggest everyone pick up a copy at your library or from your favorite book store.

It's all about the Water

No matter what your 'battle' is you need to fuel it with lots of water. Being green minded I started the quest for the perfect water bottle.  It has to be fairly large but not so large that it didn't fit in my cup holder in the car.  It needed to be easy to carry and sanitary.  I believe I have found the perfect water bottle.  It is made of the hard plastic (BPA Free), it has a flip top to keep the mouthpiece clean - and when you flip it open it stays open so as to not flop back at you when you turn it up to drink.   But the most important thing to me is that it has a mouth piece that is big - not so big that it pours on you but not like a sippy straw. Another feature - I don't use it every day but it is a nice feature to have is that it has this little ring with numbers so you can progress it around as the day goes on and know how many of these 24 ounce bottles of water you finished for the day! And if you don't carry a water bottle - you might consider it - I find that I drink much more water now that I have formed a habit of always having it with me.

Amazon has these right now at almost half the price I paid for the first one I found and it is offered in lots of colors (Blue, Green, Pink, Red and Smoke) (Make note that some of the colors cost less than others)

• Holds 24-Ounce and monitors liquid intake with rotating meter 
• Constructed of BPA free, impact resistant 
• Eastman Tritan co-polyester Flip up carrying loop, leak-proof lid, and one hand push button operation
• Light and compact design allows for effortless transport and storage 2.9-Inch wide by three inches deep by 9.9-Inch high

Eat your Greens

Life is better with Broccoli Soup

I love cream soups but don't usually get to enjoy them .... unless of course I am on Atkins.  I found one today (from Paula Deen - so you know it will taste like fried butter) and thought I would share it with you because it looks too darn simple to taste that good.  I will let you know after I try it!

Servings: 4 servings
Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 15 min

Ingredients Add to grocery list

2 cup chicken broth, or more for thinning

1 head broccoli, cut into florets and steamed

1/2 cup heavy cream

Salt and pepper

Directions

Place steamed broccoli in a blender and blend until pureed. Transfer puree to a pot and add chicken broth and heavy cream. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Paranormal Activity?

Ghosts?

Okay so I am a bit of a security freak, thus I have cameras everywhere and last night, pretty much all night I caught this very weird light activity.  I don't really believe in ghosts, although my family does and I suppose in the back of my mind I would not deny their existence.  Then again how do you explain this odd energy source bouncing around my den last night.  The room was dark but the camera (a little Foscam camera from foscam.us) has infrared.                                                                      

 I would love your comments on this.  I had the motion detector set off most of the night .  I left the room around 10:40 pm and as you can see from the timestamps of the emails it sent me there was some type of activity fairly often. 

Suffering with Atkins - NOT

Take a couple portabella mushrooms, chop some fresh basil (yeah it is in my garden), add some minced onion, drizzle with olive oil and bake for 20 minutes then chop fresh tomato on top and season with salt and pepper! Scrumptious and filling!

Fun with Loofahs

Loofah growing Structure

This is the second year I have grown Loofahs.  This year I built a 'bean house' out of saplings.  Loofahs generally like to climb and hang.  Last year I had them next to my chicken coop with landscape timbers leaning up.  It worked but it was not the ideal situation.  I think they will really like this new bean house but as you can see I unfortunately crowded them.  I planted about 2 foot apart but they need 3-5 ft between plants.  This is not a great picture but I will post a better one later.  They grow crazy fast once the blooms come out.  You can see this one at just a couple of days old.  Once they are grown I will peel them, wash them and then have great loofah sponges for friends and family.  

Baby Loofah on the Vine

Garden Bounty

Fresh Tomatoes

Fresh Tomatoes on the window sill makes me happy!  They smell heavenly and my plants are loaded but this is the first good group to turn color all at once.  I think a nice salsa tonight is in order with Jalapenos from my garden (very hot) and tomatoes and sadly I will need to purchase onion and cilantro.

Multi-Purpose Fresh Salsa!

• Tomatoes - 2 Large - Diced
• Jalapenos - 2 Chopped Finely
• Cilantro - Chopped finely - 2 Tb
• Onions - Chopped - 1/2 Small
• Garlic - Minced - 1-2 cloves
• Olive Oil - 1Tsp
• Lime Juice - Freshly Squeezed - A couple of tablespoons>
• Black Pepper - Shake
• Salt -  - Tsp

Chill for a couple of hours before serving!

Atkins and the Battle of the Bulge

June 16th 

I have been doing the Atkins plan for about 8 weeks now.  I have lost 17 lbs and it is actually working for me.  Weight has been a battle for the last 20 years and it is a battle I plan on conquering this year.  It was troubling to give up pasta but as they say “nothing tastes as good as thin feels” so I have found other things to substitute.  And I can have green olives with no guilt!  Olives!  They are just so brilliant.  I love shopping on Saturdays when they have all of the samples and the veggies look so fresh and inviting.  I really enjoy shopping where they have a good olive bar.  

So yeah, dieting.  I hate dieting, probably because I am so very bad at it and every time that I make small progress I always like to reward with food - vicious vicious circle!  I have done weight watchers, richard simmons deal a meal, hcg diet (that was how I destroyed my thyroid), the zone, the cabbage diet, cooked with Suzanne Somers and almost every diet that Womans World has published.  But this is really it.  I think there is something to the low carb lifestyle and I am determined that this the the path I am staying on from here on out.  And like I said - 17 lbs in 8 weeks.  Slow loss but it has not been terribly difficult and it is consistent.  

So today I hav  e been gathering squash from the garden and plan on making a squash casserole later.  I went ahead and scooped up some cucumbers and a bell pepper too.  Squash is technically to be limited to a cup a day on the Atkins diet but I take some license with anything from my garden.  The casserole I make is pretty easy and would be a nice side although I treat a serving with a side salad as a meal.  

There are so many lovely recipes for squash.  I have tried several.  This is my current favorite (Atkins friendly).

Dice your squash (I use zuchini and crookneck) into bite sized pieces - you will need about 6 cups
Cook 3 slices of bacon (I do that in the microwave) 

Take about half a stick of butter and saute the squash along with about half a cup of celery and 1/4 cup of onion.  Just saute for a couple of minutes.  In a casserole dish add the squash mixture along with 1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese (this is getting better all the time isn't it) and half a cup of sour cream and the crumbled bacon.  Cover with about a half cup of parmesan then bake at 350 for about half an hour.

Here is the list of ingredients:

3 thin slices bacon
1/2 cup parmesan
1/2 cup sour cream
6 cups sliced squash
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese grated
4 tbsps butter
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped onion

The Battle of Life - to blog or just exist

I have been reading blogs for a long time; Techy blogs, sappy blogs, blogs about gardening, cooking and generally living life.    Peeking your head into someone else’s head can be rewarding because it makes you think about something remote from your life and offers you a brief departure from the very familiar.  The blogs I enjoy the most are well written with great pictures and are published regularly. 

This is the type of blog I shall write. 

That is right, a 'well written blog'.  Well I suppose that ‘well written’ while technically is not an ambiguous term still possesses an element of opinion that affects the definition.  “Poorly written” is never a vague descriptor.  We have all seen ‘poorly written’ and can easily recognize the type of writing described by this term immediately, but ‘well written’ is most definitely subject to opinion.    Actually it is this type of logic that has prevented my foray into the ‘blog world’.  I get tied up on a single sentence or term and then weave myself completely away from my original thought.  Let us suffice it to say that I will write what I enjoy reading, well written or not.