Many people will try to “fancy” the recipe up.  That’s OK – that’s their choice.  But I think that a chuck roast combined with water and some root vegetables is really all you need.

Don’t bother buying a better, more expensive grade of beef.  The cheapest chuck roast will taste better cooked this way than a more expensive roast ever will.  So don’t waste your money on quality for this recipe – spend that money on quantity instead (especially if you try to eat locally raised beef).

If you are trying to eat low-carb, it’s also the safest recipe while on induction.

Sunday Pot Roast

1 chuck roast (buy a larger roast if you like left-overs)
3-4 rutabagas
5-6 Turnips
1 head celery
1-2 small carrots
3-4 potatoes (not for low-carb)

Rub salt on roast and place in a large crock pot.  Peel rutabagas & turnips and add chunks to crockpot.  Add slices/chunks of cleaned celery & carrot.  If you are not doing low-carb, add potatoes.  Don’t add potatoes if you or anyone in your house is doing low-carb.  The starch will not only stall you, but will make you crave more high-carb foods.  It’s not worth it for a few potatoes.   If you think you’ll be able to tell the difference after cooking – good luck with that.  Once the crock pot is finished cooking the vegetables, they will all look alike and taste pretty much just like a potato.

Add water to just the top of the roast.  Turn crock pot on low and walk away for 6-8 hours.

If you decide to make gravy, use a product called ThickNTHIN instead of flour or corn starch if you are eating low-carb.

Serve with steamed asparagus or a salad.

Enjoy!

I think it’s because it’s such a tedious process.  Boil the eggs – cool them off … shell the eggs.  Sigh … I always manage to mess up a few that now look pitted and diseased with big chunks out of them.  Then I can’t stand it when the inside of the egg whites are wet, so I have to dry them out and I must pipe the yoke filling back in once it’s made – so there’s more mess that has to be cleaned up.

But they taste so darned good ………

You know, it never occurred to me that I could just make a dip with the same ingredients and it  would taste just as good with much less effort.  DOH!

I  found the recipe in a magazine I bought for myself recently, the Food Network Magazine – Jan/Feb issue.  It was in a pull-out section that I almost threw out thinking it was an advertisement.  Here’s the dip with my modifications.  Enjoy!

Deviled Egg Dip

• 8 eggs, hard boiled
• 1/4 cup heavy mayonnaise
• 1-2 slices bacon, fried crispy & crumbled
• Paprika, Salt & Pepper, to taste
• Fresh chives

Puree eggs with mayo and add paprika, salt and pepper.  Garnish with more paprika, chives & sprinkle with crispy bacon bits.

For those doing low-carb:  Serve with celery sticks and cucumber slices
For those doing mainstream:  Serve with veggie / roasted garlic crackers or pretzel chips

Enjoy!

Well, doing low-carb meant no more visits to the bakery for me!  I was missing coconut macaroons, so I tried this recipe and it’s really good.

The trick is to find unsweetened coconut – you can’t use the regular coconut from the grocery store.  That stuff is loaded with sugar.

I found unsweetened coconut at one of our local health food stores – so start your search there and you can always buy it online if your local search comes up empty.

Coconut Macaroons – Low Carb Style

• 2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
• 4 egg whites from large eggs (should be about ½ cup)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 to 1 cup pourable splenda
• about 2 Tablespoons water

1) Heat oven to 375 F. Line baking sheet with either parchment paper on a silicone mat.

2) Measure egg whites. If they aren’t quite ½ cup, add a little water to reach that level. Then add the vanilla.

3) Mix pourable Splenda in with unsweetened coconut.

4) Mix dry and wet ingredients together. The mixture should just hold together. Let set a minute or two and you’ll be able to mold the macaroons better.

5) Roll into balls a little bigger than an inch in diameter. Slightly flatten and put on baking sheet (whatever shape you put them in is how they will stay, so this is your chance). Put at least half an inch apart.

6) Turn down the oven to 325 F, and bake for about 15 minutes, but start checking them a couple of minutes before. You want them golden brown on the bottom, and just barely starting to brown on top (though if you like them a little crispier, bake a couple of minutes longer).

Makes about 14 cookies, but yield will vary based on size of the cookies.

When I’m craving a BLT, I discovered that if I use lettuce leaves to roll up the other ingredients, the sliced tomato combined with the washed lettuce made everything too wet and drippy.  Tasted good – but I felt like I needed a bib!

So, instead, I decided to make it into a salad instead.  I’ve left the amounts of each ingredient very vague.  Hey, I have no idea how hungry you are – or how many people you plan to feed.  You want the bacon & tomato mixture to resemble a chicken or tuna salad – so make it as wet or dry as you prefer.

BLT Salad

bacon slices – cooked and diced
tomato – diced
romaine lettuce, cut for salad
mayo (I recommend Dukes because they don’t use any sugar in theirs)

Combine bacon & tomato with mayo and mix thoroughly.  Spoon mixture on lettuce and serve!

Why is it then – that almost the minute I know I can’t have sweets, I start wanting them?

Here’s a trick I learned and it’s saved my bacon on many an occasion.  I go to a Sam’s Club or BJ’s and buy the 1-oz. packets of Philly Creme Cheese.  I’ve never found them in a grocery store.  I carry them to work & if I am going to a party.  When a sweet craving hits – I’m prepared.  Mix the creme cheese with a bit of Splenda and it’s like having a bite or two of a no-bake cheesecake.  Ok, ok – so not EXACTLY like cheesecake.  But it’s better than scarfing down carb-loaded chocolate cake or that donut that’s calling my name.

If I’m smart – I’ll make Cream Cheese Muffins.  I found the recipe over on http://www.LowCarbFriends.com.  It’s a great place to find lots of great recipes!

Cream Cheese Muffins

16-oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup Pourable Splenda
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Soften cream cheese about 40 seconds in microwave (or for 1 hour at room temperature). Add other ingredients. Beat with mixer till smooth. Pour into 12 muffin pans lined with the papers. Bake at 350 for 20 min.  Muffins are better after they’ve cooled in the refrigerator (if you can wait that long).

I’ve also made this recipe and then discovered that I have no paper liners.  So I used a silicone loaf pan instead.  It doesn’t seem to matter what type of pan you use – the recipe is practically no-fail!

Induction friendly too!

Enjoy!

So, I step on and I am down a total of 3.2 pounds from when I woke up on New Years Day and got on the scale to start!  Yippie!

That’s a weight (no pun intended) off my mind!  Imagine my chagrine if I’d stepped on and I’d gained weight!  Especially after starting a blog about how great low-carb is and what it’s done/doing for me!  Talk about embarrassing … but no worries.  I’m sure those posts will come – but at least not today.

I admit that I step on the scales just about every morning at the same time.  I keep track of what the scale tells me – whether I like it or not – in a small notebook I keep right by the scale.

Now that I think about it – I really should take a photo of myself now and keep it somewhere so I can show before and after.  I’ll think about it … I’m not too crazy about that idea, but I’ve always looked back after I’ve taken off the weight and wished that I had.

I’ve done low carb since 1998 – off and on. I have to admit that it’s the best food plan for me – even if I do stray every once in awhile.

Here’s a few things about low carb that I’ve discovered over the last 11 years.

• It’s NOT a meat diet. I eat more vegetables while doing low carb than I ever eat when I’ve strayed.
• Low carb is based on “real” food and not packaged convenience foods. If it comes in a box or has an ingredient I can’t pronounce or spell – I don’t buy it. Real meat – real vegetables – real dairy.
• If you are like me (female and over 40), it’s the best way to lose weight since I don’t want to starve myself and exercise every day.
• I can find something to eat in any restaurant – anywhere. You can’t tell me you don’t get to eat out while low-carb’ing … unless the reason is your will power and not the menu.
• While it’s difficult to be frugal while on low carb, it can be done. It just takes more work.
• It’s the only food plan I know of that expects you to continue using it after you reach your goal weight. Meaning … IT’S NOT A DIET that you quit when you get where you are going.
• Don’t try to force your low carb food plan into becoming a packaged food substitute of your old way of eating.
• Finding a group of people who believe the way I do helps when the going gets tough or I need help with meal planning, etc.

I’m hoping that we can have some fun with this blog! It’s intended to be a place where those that low carb as well as those who are thinking about it can read about someone who’s doing it from Day 1 of Induction and see what types of roadblocks there are out there. They exist and I’ve probably hit all of them before.

I look forward to my journey – you are welcome to tag along!