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19 January 2010

Very Versatile Flax Seed Buns!

Ok, so I FINALLY figured out how to make the PERFECT flax seed bun. :D

Last year I kept using the brown flax seed meal - which works fine - but is just a bit too grainy for my tastebuds...

So I bought some Bob's Red Mill Organic GOLDEN flaxseed meal.

And with a FABULOUS recipe I found on recipezaar - Low Carb Basic Flax Meal Bread - I have been happily experimenting with using it for other recipes.

First off THE recipe for the bread:
Makes 10 servings - 1/4 cup each

2 cups organic golden flaxseed meal
1 tbsp baking powder
1 pinch of salt
1 packet truvia (or erythritol / other artificial sweetener)

5 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup oil



Preheat oven to 350°F.
Spray baking pan with oil - I used the muffin top pan.
Combine dry ingredients. Combine wet ingredients.
Add wet to dry and combine well.
Let batter sit for a few minutes - but not too long - to thicken up.
Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, pour 1/4 cup mounds onto pan.
Bake for about 20 minutes.

The carb count depends on how you count your carbs. 2 tbsp of flax contains 4 g carbs and 4 g fiber - meaning it comes out to 0 net carbs...

Some people however just count exactly 1 carb per 2 tbsp serving and in that case these would come out to about 4g carbs per mound/slice.
(flax=32 servings/64 tbsp = 32g carbs)
(1 tbsp baking powder = 2g carbs)
(1 packet truvia, per atkin's art. sweetener rule = 1g carbs - however truvia should not have any affect on blood sugar)
(5 beaten eggs = 3g carbs)
And that's where I get - rounded up - about 4 g carbs per slice. 32+2+1+3= 38g carbs / 10 servings = 3.8 rounded = 4

Or, if you don't count net carbs and count ever carb as it is... - 64 tbsp of flax / 32 servings of 2 tbsp (which is the 2 cups) has 128 g carbs and 128 g fiber (per the label). Add the other carbs from the eggs, sweetener and baking powder and you're looking at 134 g carbs. Divide that by 10 and you're looking at 13.4 g carbs per slice. Just remember though, that flax is pretty much 100% fiber and that fiber does NOT affect blood sugar - thus the counting of the net carbs. :)




Flax Seed Bun/Bread French Toast

Take 1 flax seed bun:


Slice bun in half to make 2 slices:


Mix together the following:
2 eggs
2 tbsp heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp vanilla OR almond extract
1 packet truvia
few shakes of cinnamon

Dip each slice of bun in the mixture then fry in butter on stovetop like you would french toast:



Once done, place on plate and mix together:
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp da vinci syrup

this "syrup" is a bit thin - but it works! you won't need all of it...
Here's the finished product:



Next I will post my cinnamon buns!!!

16 January 2010

Using the right tools...

Ok - so this year I am slowly trying to build up my kitchen tools. :)
There have been a few items I learned about last year that I REALLY wanted and I got two of them this month! :D

One of them is called a "Muffin Top Pan" - it is absolutely PERFECT for making hamburger buns / bread out of flax!!!



I found this at the HomeGoods store - but you can also get them off of Amazon (i love amazon! lol).

I will post about the flax seed buns I made with these muffin top pans - as well as the french toast - yup Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free, Low-Carb French Toast!

Next up is the AWESOME vegetable spiral slicer. This tool is FABULOUS and I will be posting a thread here soon on the zucchini noodles I made with it and made shrimp scampi. :D



Some other items I would love to buy this year are:
1. A Baguette Pan - which would be PERFECT to make my own home-made hot dog buns or "french loafs" for my beloved french dip sandwiches.

2. Ice Cream Maker - so that I can make my own ice cream (duh) with pure non-homogenized 100% grass fed whole milk from Traders Point Creamery

And for now that's all I have on my list...I'm also very excited, though - because I should be receiving soon from my INCREDIBLE best friend and matron of honor...she and her husband bought me a "Euro Cuisine Automatic Yogurt Maker". I found a link here as apparently Target Sells it: Yogurt Maker.

I am excited to use this - as I LOVE yogurt but am seriously trying to stay away from anything artificial and ESPECIALLY stay away from SOY!

So yeah - very excited this year. :)
I love being able to make all my own stuff from scratch - and ESPECIALLY making it from whole fresh REAL foods!

I know I won't be perfect all the time - such as we do eat out quite often...but, such as last night when we went to Red Robin - instead of asking for salad dressing I got oil and vinegar...now of course though I'm sure the oil is vegetable oil - but I guess it's the lesser of the evils, since almost ALL dressings are made with soybean oil. I'm also making my own mayo and dressings at home now. :D

Allright my lunch is ready so I'll post more later!

14 January 2010

165.0!!

Woohoo! So I got on the scale this morning and it said 165.0!! That is the lowest I've been in YEARS!!

I've been maintaining 168/169 now for a few months - and on new year's day I weighed in at 170...and I vowed to get back into ketosis - so I went back to Induction and 165 baby!! :)

Just had to share! :P
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

13 January 2010

166.5 lbs...

Ok so for the past week now I have weighed in every morning at 166.5 lbs. Now don't get me wrong, I <I>like</i> seeing that number SO much more than the 197 that it was this time last year and am SO proud of my accomplishments...but it's a bit frustrating.

I've gone back to Induction levels for my carbs AND I've been working out and yet my body is apparantly trying to tell me "nope, sorry - this is where u are going to stay".

Now again, granted - I've been at 168 / 169 for about 3 months AND on new years I weighed in at 170. So the fact that I've gotten rid of those 3.5 pounds really makes me happy - but it's like, "c'mon - just 6.5 more! Ugh"...

Oh well though - I guess chalk it up to "beggers can't be choosers..." I LOVE that I'm in the 160's at all and that my lifestyle IS so healthy now :)

So I will just continue to do what I do and if/when my body decides to lose more well then I'll take it as a gift :)
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

06 January 2010

Wednesday 06/January/2010

So I was unable to weigh in this morning - but as of yesterday, I weighed back down at 165.5!!! :)

One thing I am really concentrating on this year is staying away from soy products. I've just hear too many reasons why soy is NOT good for you plus it's absolutely awful for a newborn baby and my fiance and I will be TTC immediately after the wedding in June...so I will be making my own mayo and my own salad dressings.

I already made an avocado dressing at home which is very good for my first attempt but obviously not perfect. Since this is being sent from my blackberry I can not post the links to the recipes I used - but will soon :)

I also decided this year to get RID of my gym membership...last year - pretty much after my ear surgery, I stopped going to the gym and "killing myself on the machines"...for what pretty much seemed like no reason. Thing is - I've come to the conclusion that while exercise is VERY important - I can either A. Do it at home for free - an/or B. Find a free exercise class through Indy Parks, instead of paying $40/month to feel guilty over not using the darned membership! :P

So yeah. Lots of exciting things I have planned for me in 2010. Here are the promises I've made to commit to in 2010 (yeah, "resolutions"...lol)

1. I will do my best to remove soy from my diet when possible.
2. I will (and have) start taking pre-natal vitamins and keep myself as healthy as possible to be at an awesome "wedding weight" plus be healthy to start "Trying to Conceive".
3. I am going to try my best to limit the amount of time going online at work on my work computer (thank god for my crackberry!!)
4. I will also limit my time on my laptop at home at night (pet peeve of my fiances's)...
5. I am currently back on "induction" for Atkins and will stay on induction for the next two weeks and slowly make my way back up the rungs of OWL.
6. I will do my best to start saving $$$ and pay off our(my) credit card as much as possible.
8. I will add to this list as I see fit - well because I can! :P

I think that's all for now - that's a lot of typing on my blackberry and my thumbs are tired!! (See, already committing to number 3 on the list!) :)
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

03 January 2010

January 03, 2010

Ok - so I'm not sure exactly how I will be keeping track of my exercise - but today I did 30 minutes of 2 mile WATP (walk away the pounds). plus 15 minutes of stretching/yoga (crunch dvd).

yesterday (Sat 02/Jan/10) = 30 minutes WATP.

02 January 2010

Saturday 02/January/2010

Ok...so today is the first day of INDUCTION 2010. It has been literally 1 year since I first did induction and with all the foods I added back in over the year - through OWL (ongoing weight loss) and Maintenance, I forgot how hard induction can be! lol.

I'm not doing bad, carb-wise - and as of 3 p.m. I've had about 1227 calories, 5 g carbs, 68 g protein and 97 g fat.
For breakfast I made an "Egg Creme" which I like - but I think I'll just make these without the raw eggs as I do prefer to actually have something to eat for breakfast and not just drink...however the rest of the "smoothie" will work great for induction!

Coffee Egg Creme sans Egg...
1 cup coffee
1 tbsp coconut oil (melt & then put in hot coffee)
2 tbsp heavy whipping cream (be careful with HWC on induction only allowed so much...)
1 tbsp Da Vinci Syrup (used hazelnut - also beware only "3 g" of carbs from sweeteners allowed per day on induction)

put everything in blender and blend! Originally this called for 2 tbsp coconut oil and 2 raw eggs - but that just adds up to way too much fat and calories for breakfast - and I'd honestly rather spread everything out throughout the day...so this comes out to:
coffee = 0 cals/0 carbs/ 0 fat
1 tbsp c.o. = 120 cals / 0 carbs / 12 fat
2 tbsp hwc = 100 cals / 1 carb / 10 fat
1 tbsp da vinci = 4 cals / 1 carb / 0 fat (i know it's listed as 0 but i count 1 carb since it's splenda)

= 224 cals, 2 carbs, 22 g fat (good fat!)

the unfortunate thing is that this morning I made it with TWO tbsp coconut oil and the 2 raw eggs and it came out to 484 cals, 3 carbs & 43 g fat...and while I know fat is GOOD for you - I still don't like going too crazy...and my fiance made me an omelet with cheese and spinach and so total for breakfast I think was a bit high: 717 cals, 5 g carbs, 36 g protein & 49 g fat. so that's why I'll cut it down just a bit. :P

Tonight I am making Salmon with Lemon Dill Butter but not before I do one of the new DVD's I have of Leslie Sansone's WATP (walk away the pounds)!

Will post more later! :P

01 January 2010

A red light just means a green light in a different direction :)
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January 01, 2010!!!!

HAPPPPPPPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!!!!

Wow 2009 is behind us and a new year is before us! I LOVE new years - I do! I'm all for making "new year resolutions" as the new year is a new beginning. I know some people may think new years resolutions are stupid or pointless...but for me and MILLIONS of other people - I believe they help you start a brand new year off right - and for those who stick to them and accomplish those goals - good for them!

Of course - I accomplished my new years resolution for 2009 DURING 2009...I finally lost (most) of the weight I'd gained back and gained a WHOLE new outlook on life and how to TRULY eat for MY body. Now - admittedly, I haven't been perfect but I've also come to realize it's more about learning how to LIVE and eat right - and that INCLUDES "indulging" every once in a while - while still living my new low-carb lifestyle day to day.

Now - the unfortunate thing is that my indulging last night on December 31, 2009 has made me wake up to a new number on the scale...as I woke up and the scale said 170...ACK! I've been maintaining my 167-169 weight loss since June now and I LIKE those numbers! lol...and since my fiance and I didn't wake up until 1 p.m. this afternoon...ok scratch that - I woke up at 1 p.m. - he's still IN bed! lol...but that's ok - anyways I woke up and will admit I just had three pieces of pizza for "breakfast"...yes - I know. bad me.

HOWEVER. I have always liked to also start "anew" on the first day of the week - as well as the first month of the year...so while I plan on eating low-carb tomorrow (Saturday, January 02nd) - my plan of attack to start off the new year right is to re-start atkins induction this Sunday, January 03rd.

I will stay on induction for the 2 weeks that it always asks for and then go up the rungs of OWL (ongoing weight loss) every new week. Last year I waited for every 3-5 pounds I dropped - but since I only honestly have 10 pounds to drop total - I figure I will do it weekly instead.

I ordered some new books and still have one more I need to order - and those are:
1. Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.
2. Life Without Bread by Wolfgang Lutz

and the last one I really want to (need? lol) is: Eat Fat Lose Fat by Dr. Mary Enig and Sally Fallon.


What I LOVE about living the low-carb life is that it's SO easy and SO yummy...while I have gained back 4 pounds from "indulging" a little too much during the holidays - I HAVE to say that 4 pounds during the holidays is NOTHING compared to what I've done in the past and to what I know some people have done...But I will get it off and move on with my life.




NOW in other news...I am SO excited for 2010!! My wedding is in June - June 26, 2010 to be exact and then as soon as the wedding is over - my husband and I will start TTC (trying to conceive)!!!!!

And - THAT is why I need to (among many other reasons) - but why I need to keep up with my healthy new lifestyle - so I can learn how to eat right for my future children and make sure they live and are born healthy too!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! HERE'S TO 2010!!!