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.  

Low Carb, Gluten Free Pancakes!

Photo courtesy of "I Breathe I'm Hungry"

Yes!  You can have your pancakes and eat them too when you are low carb and gluten free.
I discovered this pancake recipe when I did an egg fast to clean out my liver and jump start ketosis about 6 weeks ago.  You can find the instructions for the egg fast HERE. For the record I plan on doing it again after my birthday (February 25) so I can get back into ketosis and, well, clean house from all the birthday and holiday treats this month.

The recipe for those yummy low carb pancakes are below.

Low Carb, Gluten Free Pancakes

Ingredients

2 oz. cream cheese (full fat, please!)

2 eggs

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

Mix all of the above ingredients in a blender for at least 30 seconds.  Let the mixture settle for 2 minutes.  Coat a small frying pan in butter and pour in about 1/4 cup of the mixture at a time.  I have noticed that on medium low heat this does take awhile to cook, but you'll want to watch it so it doesn't burn.  The thicker the pancake the longer it takes to cook.  Once the pancake has firmed up it is usually safe enough to flip and cook the other side.

By my calculations you should get 2 pancakes out of this mixture.  If you want more just increase the eggs and cream cheese, but keep a 1:1 ratio in mind meaning for each egg you add in an equal amount of cream cheese.  

Half Marathon Training Week 3 Recap!

Week 3 has come and gone and I happily stuck with the plan even though I had to make some modifications.

Day 1 - Monday

Today I had to complete Circuit Run 2 and Super Short Strength Circuit 2.  If you remember from Week 1, I surprised myself by LOVING the circuit run.  It broke up the monotony of a regular run.  For this circuit run I had to warm up for 10 minutes at an easy pace.  Then stop and do one exercise for 1 minute before jumping back on the treadmill for 5 minutes.  I had to repeat this pattern until all 4 exercises were done.  Those exercises were:  Push-ups, walking lunges, jump rope and plank.  It was a great workout and I got 2 miles in.

Day 2 - Tuesday

The plan called for an EASY 6 mile run, but I didn't sleep well the night before so there was no way I was getting up early to get it in.  I decided to swap it out with Wednesday's Rest plus SSSC 2 instead.  

6 miles at 4 am?  No problem.

Day 3- Wednesday

Since I swapped days, today was the day that I had to plan on that EASY 6 mile run.  Since when did 6 miles become easy?  So, like any crazy person I set my alarm for 4 am and actually GOT UP!  What is even crazier is I got it done and still got to work on time.  I kept my pace between a 10-11mm.  I had to stop often to do quite a bit of stretching of my calves, arms and lower back and it actually wasn't until mile 4 or so that I started to feel like I was in the groove.

Day 4 - Thursday

Sigh, I wasn't looking forward to today's schedule of hill repeats mostly because it is too dark for me to run before or after work and my husband told me to NEVER EVER use the incline on my ancient treadmill.  Today I needed to improvise.  After warming up for 10 minutes on the treadmill, I worked in my hill repeats by climbing the stairs in my home for 15 minutes.  Talk about boring.  But I had to get it done and I really need work on maintaining my pace on hills.  Never was I so glad to hear an alarm go off before!  After my 15 minutes of stairs, I headed back downstairs to the treadmill to cool down for 10 minutes.

Day 5 - Friday

Yay for cross-training day!  Since it had been awhile I decided to do a morning yoga video for my cross-training.  If you haven't checked out Yoga with Adrienne on Youtube you really should.  They are really well made videos with lots of different levels.  I was so happy to only have to set my alarm for 15 minutes earlier today to get up and get it done (Yay for 5:15 instead of 4am).  The stretch felt good and I set my intention for the day to stay away from veggie chips and sticks since I don't need the extra carbs, but I've been addicted lately to them both.

I also had to do SSSC 2 again which I fit in later in the day.  I was so happy to enjoy a glass of wine (or 2) after work.

Day 6 - Saturday 

Hello, long run day!  8 miles you say?  Sounds good although 7 was my longest and now I had to push it 1 mile longer.  I took this outside in the beautiful 50 degree, sunny New Hampshire weather.  I way overdressed:  Fleece running tights, long sleeved shirt with fleece jacket and a fleece headband.  The "what to wear" guide for running in the temperature it was even suggested mittens!  No way.  I ended up going home after mile 1.5 to ditch the fleece jacket and headband.  I almost went home later on to change into a short-sleeved shirt, but I toughed it out.  At mile 4 I stopped for water at home and at mile 6 I ate raisins so I slowed down considerably.

8 miles, done and done.

Overall, I'm happy with my pace and the fact that I was able to do it.  I kept my pace consistent and I figure I'll be running my half marathon at an 11mm although I'd like a 10 mm pace.  My calves were tight and it took until the end for them to really feel good.

I did come home to ice my ankles because I felt some tendinitis coming on.  My knees hurt pretty bad too and I don't know if it was runner's knee or my arthritis flaring up.

How thankful am I though that next Saturday's long run is "only" 7 miles?

And yes, I did maintain my pace up a bunch of hills on the neighborhood course I created for myself so all those stairs earlier in the week worked out great for me.  

A List of Zero Carb Foods to Help Get You Into Ketosis

If you are just starting out on your low carb journey, there are many resources on the internet to help you get started.

When I first got started many years ago I printed out a handy list of foods that were allowed in the first step of any low carb diet- this step helps you get into and remain in ketosis (burning fat instead of sugar).

While the list below isn't the same, I find it to be very comparable to the one I had and a quick check of the website it is linked to, StartLowCarb, is very helpful too.

The only modification I would make on this list is to stay away from margarine, it is man-made and not nearly as good for you as butter.  As for alcohol, I would limit it to 2 drinks per day if you are trying to lose weight.

Yes, butter is good for you.  Just because a food is high in dietary cholesterol does not mean that it is going to raise your cholesterol.