May (Low-Carb, Gluten and Nut-Free) Menu

How is it even May?  This year is just flying by, but I am glad that summer is almost here.  My

Not a short list of allergens.  

family and I have several fun weekend trips and special events planned.  Now that I am aware of what all of my allergies are, I'm going to have to really plan on what I eat (or when I don't eat) on the road.  Staying low carb, gluten free and high fat while I traveled has always been tricky, but doable, but with so many allergies to fruits and vegetables, my options are even more limited.  Luckily, I always have intermittent fasting to fall back so if I need to fast longer than normal (16 hours a day), I can.  You can bet I'll be putting together a list (in blog form too) of what to pack so I don't cheat (too much).

May is shaping up to be an extremely busy, but fun, month for us.  I have 3 races (Cinco de Miles, Gate City Half Marathon and Boston's Run to Remember).   There is also Mother's Day and my daughter's first ever dance recital.  Not that this is any different from usual, but I am going to try to keep my recipes as easy and quick to cook as possible.

Since I do have so many races this month and the weather should be better, we'll most likely pick up some pre-marinated meats from our local butcher shop, Mr. Steer, to grill so I didn't include recipes for those nights.





Are you ready for this month's list?

• Pork Egg Roll in a Bowl
• Taco Bake
• Sloppy Joe's
• Buffalo Chicken Jalapeno Popper Casserole
• Mongolian Beef
• General Tso's Meatballs
• Beefed up Meatloaf
• Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken with Vegetables
• Grilled Ginger Soy Pork Chops 

And, just to make my nutritionist happy, I'll be adding lots of vegetables to my diet as well.  Veggies, veggies and more veggies!

Here is a new one I'd like to try:  Roasted Spiced Radishes.  

Why I Won't Cuddle My Daughter Anymore

For this week, I naively rearranged my half marathon training schedule so I could capitalize on the predicted sunny and warm spring weather. That meant Monday and Tuesday were rest days with a few rounds of strength training.  I enjoyed the downtime and was even able to perform the Food Intolerance Test my nutritionist gave me. Life was good and everything was going smoothly.

Then I had to put my 3 year old daughter to bed.

Over the last several weeks I've grown to dread our once private and pleasant Mommy - daughter cuddle fests in her big girl bed. She would tell me all about who hit and pushed who in her Nursery Class and I would listen with rapt attention. Then something changed. She became wild at bedtime and our cuddles turned into kicks and headbutts. It was painful. I barely endured it. I secretly didn't want to cuddle with her anymore.

Ahoy, mateys!  It's a pirate's life for me.

This particular Tuesday night was no different from the rest. She went bonkers at bedtime.  All of my questions to find out the events of her day were answered with silly noises and nonsense. I finally sang her the bedtime song she's had since she was a baby: "Soft Kitty" from the TV show The Big Bang Theory. At the end I leaned in for one last kiss and it was met with the most horrific pain I've ever felt. It took everything I had to not scream and fling obscenities at her. I managed an, "I'm all done with this!" before I stormed out the door and slammed it behind me.

I ran into the bathroom to quickly wash my face in the hopes of alleviating some pain. It almost helped.

I jumped into the shower and tried to forgot that my 3 year old just punched me in the eye.

Only, she didn't punch me in the eye, but I didn't know that yet. Even when I woke up at 3 am with a swollen eye that dripped tears like a leaky faucet I didn't think anything different, just, "Wow, she got me good!"  At 5:30 am when my alarm went off and I quite literally stumbled out of bed and couldn't open my right eye because of the blinding pain, I started to get concerned.

I told myself and my husband that I just needed some ice and ibuprofen and I'd be fine. Don't worry about me. I've got this. I even straightened my hair with a burning hot flat iron with my eyes closed thinking I'd still be going to work.

I'm in total control. I've got this.

2 hours of icing my eye and 800 MG of ibuprofen later and I was ready to relinquish control and give up. Somewhere around the 1 hour mark I had called work to let them know I'd be a little late, "Oh no big deal, my daughter punched me in the eye and I'm blind now."

 It was now time to wave the white flag and call the doctor's office.

After explaining my situation and admitting that just maybe, maybe my daughter didn't just punch me in the eye but she actually scratched it, the nurse told me that I had better come in to get checked out and not to drive.

1 mile walk from hell, but we met a cat.

Luckily, my father lives only a half hour away so he was able to drive me to my appointment which was a good thing because by that point the only way I felt good was to lay down with my eyes closed. The dangerous part about that was my 3 year old, who was home with me, knows how to open doors. She kept begging me to go out and play. As tempted as I was to kick her out of

the house for beating me up, I silently thanked our landlord for installing a deadbolt and crawled back to the couch.

The doctor confirmed my suspicion - I had a scratched cornea.   When putting Scarlett to bed she hadn't punched me, she scratched the outer protective layer of my eye and left a good sized abrasion.

The remedy was an eye patch, eye drops and a follow-up appointment in 2 days. Oh, and no work or driving for the rest of the day. Sounds great, right?

Needless to say, the rest of my day was spent watching kids' TV shows and "relaxing" while watching my 3 year old with my eyes closed. Because I'm stubborn as hell, we managed to take a 1 mile walk around the neighborhood which I almost instantly regretted.

 And I thought I was going to run 7 miles that day!

"Mommy, I'm a pirate!"  Glad you think it's funny, kid.

A very sweaty 5K 3 days "after."

In the end, (a lot of) wine was consumed, a candy bar was eaten and I resumed normal activities the next day. By Friday, I was running again and that same day I found out the abrasion was completely gone. Who knew the eyes heal so quickly? 

I know you are all wondering if I still snuggle with Scarlett at bedtime anymore and the answer is I do not. She knows she poked mommy in the eye and it made her a pirate for the day, which was not as fun as it may seem.  She's not happy I won't cuddle in her big girl bed anymore but she knows that when she learns to settle down we will try again. Until then I simply sing her our bedtime song, give her a kiss while I hold her hands down to her sides and then quickly flee the room because this Momma is no dummy.

Stuffed Bell Peppers (Low Carb)

The basic ingredients.

About a year ago when I was re-dedicating myself to the low-carb lifestyle, I stumbled upon a multitude of recipes for stuffed bell peppers.  The recipes seemed easy enough, which as a working mom is super important to me, and none of the ingredients were exotic, another plus.  I found them great for lunches as they were easy to reheat.  Also, I played around with what I stuffed them with.  Sometimes I used cream cheese and mayo.  Other times I used cream cheese and sour cream.  I'd switch up the crumbled bacon with pepperoni if I didn't have any on hand.  Point is, once you start making these you can switch up the ingredients as much as you want and really make them your own to fit your taste.

Ingredients

• 8 Ounces of cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese 
• 2 Tablespoons of full fat mayonnaise
• 2 Green (or really, any color) bell pepper
• 2 slices of bacon, turkey or pig, your choice
• 2 teaspoons of garlic powder (optional)
• Any additional low carb toppings that you would like!

Directions

The finished product!  Yum. 

• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
• Soften the cream cheese and then mix it with the Parmesan cheese, mayonnaise and garlic powder.
• Slice open and clean out the peppers of all seeds.  
• Spoon in the mixture into the open-faced peppers and add any additional toppings you might want.
• Place the peppers onto a greased cookie sheet and put into pre-heated oven for at least 25 minutes.  I like mine a little crispier so if you do too you might want to put them in for longer.  
• Let them cool down for a bit before enjoying.
• These re-heat wonderfully for lunch the next day.  

Let the Half Marathon Training Begin!

 I START HALF MARATHON TRAINING THIS MONTH! 

This means that now my family time will be even more limited although I did use some of my Fantasy Football winnings to purchase a training plan from Another Mother Runner which will help me stay on track but allow for some downtime too, if you count being a wife and mommy as "downtime".  If you haven't heard of them, you should really check them out.  They understand the challenges of being an athlete and a mother.  I recently ordered their book Tales from Another Mother Runner:  Triumphs, Trials, Tips and Tricks from the Road.  I can't wait to delve into it!

Week 1, Day 1

Monday, February 1 was Week 1 Day 1.  My first run was a circuit run which means I did a 5-10 minute warm-up, then alternated performing 4 different moves for at least a minute before jumping back on the treadmill for 5 minutes in between each one.  The moves were squats, planks, arm circles (forwards and backwards) and push ups.  I didn't think I would like this kind of run but I really did and I'm looking forward to the next one.

Week 1, Day 2

For day 2 I had to put in 4-5 easy miles.  I decided to run on my lunch break rather than wake up at 4:30am when my alarm went off.  I'm so glad I did!  It was a beautiful, warm and sunny day out!  If you look at my splits you can see that I have no idea how to pace myself. Granted, it didn't help that I was dodging beer bottles, sticks, ice, patches of snow, puddles and just random pieces of garbage floating around Manchester, but still I think those times are horrible even for me.

Day 3, today, was a rest day except for performing a Super Short Strength Training Circuit.   The circuit consisted of performing each of 4 moves for 1 minute.  The moves were:  Push ups, leg lifts, spider man walks and of course, squats!

Tomorrow I need to run some intervals so I'll be "runching" (running lunch) it again!

For the record I am running the Gate City Half Marathon in Nashua, NH on Sunday, May 15! 

February Low Carb, High Fat, Gluten Free Dinner Menu

Happy February!

Smoked Sausage Cheddar Beer Soup .

February is a very special, very busy and very expensive month for us.  Both the Mister and I have our birthdays, there is Valentine's Day and my brother and mother-in-law have birthdays as well.  And there is the Super Bowl too which we actually get to relax and watch this year since our beloved Patriots won't be in it.  Crazy.

February also brings with it a new dinner menu.  During the last week of the month prior I sit down with my pen, paper and log into Pinterest to start planning out the next month's menu.

I started menu planning a year ago and it really has been a game changer for me.  I don't grocery shop nearly as much because I have everything I need to make dinner already.  We also don't eat out as much because frankly, if I can make it at home why would I pay someone 3 times as much to eat it at their restaurant?  Menu planning has definitely made me picky about eating out.

Now, I don't cook every night and most of our lunches tend to be leftovers from the night before.  The reason I don't cook every night is because I get such little time to spend with my family that I really can't bear to stand at the stove for an hour, hour and a half every night.  Plus, I start Half Marathon training this month!

February Dinner Menu

Super Bowl/Husband's Birthday Meal  

• Bacon Cheeseburger Crock Pot Dip:  I buy GF chips, but they are NOT low-carb so be careful here if you want to stay in Ketosis.
• Smoked Sausage Cheddar Beer Soup  

Cuban Pot Roast from I Breathe I'm Hungry.

Rest of the Month

• Tuscano Soup
• Smoked and Pulled Pork Butt
• Low Carb Chili
• Taco Soup
• Beef Stew
• Smothered Pork Chops
• Cuban Pot Rost

The Ketogenic Cookbook Recipes

The Following recipes can be found in the book The Ketogenic Cookbook.  

• Zucchini Tot Hot Dish
• Swedish Meatballs
• Easy Mortadella Ravioli
• Kielbasa and Braised Cabbage
• Herb and Ricotta Rotolo 
• Asian Lettuce Wraps 

I'd love to hear about which recipes you've tried and which ones were hits or misses!

Until next time!

Sabrina

Easy Chocolate Fat Bomb!

It's been a hell of a week and all I want to do is relax on the couch with a beer and pizza, but I know if I do I'll end up with a nasty stomach that will ruin my weekend.  

So instead, I'll pop a gluten-free pizza in the oven (not low on carbs), sip on some wine and whip up a fat bomb or as this nerd likes to call it a Fat Bob-omb!

Tonight I'll be making a Keto Chocolate Mousse.  It is super easy and equally as delicious.

Ingredients  

• Unsalted butter – 60g (2oz)
• Philadelphia cream cheese – 60g (2oz)
• Fresh double cream (heavy cream in the US), whipped – 90ml (3oz)
• sugar-free cocoa powder – 1 tbsp, I honestly just use the Hershey's unsweetened.  It is pretty low in carbs (1 net carb per serving I think).
• Stevia or another sweetener to taste – 1 tbsp

Instructions

• Leave butter at room temperature until softened (or blast in the microwave for 10-15 seconds if you haven’t got the time)
• Mix butter with sweetener, keep mixing until completely blended
• Add cream cheese, blend completely into a smooth mass
• Add cocoa powder, blend completely
• Whip double cream and gradually add to the rest of the mixture, mixing well
• Spoon into small glasses (I like to put it in wine glasses to make me feel fancy) and decorate with shavings of dark chocolate
• If you have the time, refrigerate for 30 mins or so – it will taste even nicer.

Now you might be asking yourself why I am eating a FAT BOMB if I want to lose weight?  Well, simple, fat keeps you feeling fuller longer and yes, your body needs fat.  Fat bombs are a quick snack that let you keep up your energy.  They also provide lots of healthy fat that your body needs to reduce your cholesterol and your risk of heat disease.  

As a runner, a fat bomb is a great way for me to fill up before a race but not to the point where I get sick from eating too much.  Remember, I have a sensitive stomach and I am still trying to figure out what works before a run and what doesn't in terms of energy.  For my first 10K (6.2 miles) I fasted for 17 hours beforehand.  My stomach felt great but I was EXHAUSTED by the end.  Had I indulged in a fat bomb beforehand I could have been in better shape.  

For more information on why fat is healthy check out Butter Bob and his website Butter Makes Your Pants Fall Off.  He also shares information on Intermittent Fasting which I practice and will talk about in a later post.  

Sample Low Carb, High Fat and Gluten Free Dinner Menu

A few of you have asked me to post about what kinds of dinners I make for my family of three as someone who is low carb, high fat and gluten free and I am more than happy to do so.

Most of my recipes come from the almighty Pinterest or from low-carb Facebook pages that I follow, but I just ordered the book, The Ketogenic Cookbook by Jimmy Moore and Maria Emmerich.  I've added a few of their recipes to my monthly menu plan for February.  I love the fact that this book is big and has huge, colorful pictures of the final product.  

Mind you, I haven't tried any of the recipes from this book, but they all seem to be pretty doable and you don't need too many crazy ingredients, but if you are going low-carb you will most likely need things like Stevia, MCT Oil and Xanthum Gum among others.

OK, time for what I cook for dinner!

Our January Menu included the following recipes (all pinned from Pinterest):

Enchilada Bake

Hearty Hamburger Soup - for this one I substituted the can of pumpkin with good old tomato             sauce because pumpkin sounded blech.

Italian Sausage Soup

Caramelized Onion and Bacon Smothered Pork Chops

Crock Pot Asian Pork Chops - I would substitute Stevia for Splenda and Liquid Aminos for Soy Sauce (yes, even Market Basket sells something as random as Liquid Aminos!)

Bacon Ranch Chicken - be careful of how many carbs are in each serving of the brand of Ranch you buy.  

Meatball Parmigiana

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

Chicken Egg Foo Young

Honey Garlic Pork Chops

Lemony Chicken Stir Fry with Asparagus

Tuscano Soup - an absolute favorite of the Mister's!  

And there it is!  12 recipes from our latest month of dinner menu planning.  

Always be aware of the carb count of any ingredient you use especially pasta/tomato sauces and dressings.  And yes, there are some dressings with wheat listed as an ingredient which you will want to watch if you are trying to be gluten-free.

For breakfast, this is my favorite recipe as of late after my week long egg fast (Week long egg fast!?  Also, another blog post):

Delicate Cream Cheese Pancakes

I practice intermittent fasting which means I fast for 16 hours a day and only eat for 8.  If I say I am eating breakfast that is usually when everyone else is eating lunch around 11:30am.  I stop eating by 7:30pm the night before but that is a whole other post!

As always, please let me know if you have any questions about what I've shared.  

Transformation Tuesday!

This post is hard for me to write mostly because I have a hard time looking at myself in the "before" photo.  When I look at it I see a monster.  I see lies.  I see all the lies I told myself about not looking "that bad."  What was I thinking?  I hate liars and I lied to myself every day looking like that.

Then I see my "after" photo and I take solace in the fact that all of my hard work has paid off and has not been for naught.  It inspires me to keep going and to not go back to "before."

There is a 46 pound difference between these two pictures.  With the weight loss I've gained a ton of self confidence.  The goals I've set for myself both with weight management and running inspires me to eat to fuel my body and to workout to keep it healthy and in optimal shape.

I am worth the work.