August 2018 KetoKrate Review

Well here it is September 2018 and I am just getting to post about my August Keto Krate. This summer seriously flew by in a FLASH! Flash Gordon???? Maybe not!

I mentioned to Chuck just yesterday that the September Keto Krates were on their way. He says "OOOHH, I love those krates! I really was skeptical but they are so good!" You can't go wrong when the hubby says that something like this is good. I replied with "It's really worth our $35 a month!"

Guess what folks? It really is worth it! When you have a family of 5 and everyone enjoys this monthly orange box of yumminess! You just can't go wrong!

I may be using A LOT of exclamation points today!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BTW, my pictures aren't the greatest this month. I' had to get a replacement phone and lets just say that I lost some pictures, found some pictures, got some blurry pictures, and eventually I think what was left was just some uncropped pictures. Such is life....

Without further adieu let's talk the August Keto Krate....

Look at all those fun treats in this bag! I jumped right in for the "Parm Crisps" and before I knew it Mary, Jesse, and Zoey were all leaning over my shoulder wanting to try them as well. YUMMY!

We've had the SmartCakes" before, I wasn't a huge fan as they tend to mess with my blood sugar levels. With that being said Mary enjoys them and was quite excited to see that another one made it into the box!

At the top of the Keto Krate pamphlet, handout, flyer, whatever you want to call it, was a wonderful treat! Curt's Classic Flax Crackers from Rad Food central were delicious! Mary and I really enjoyed these and it was hard to figure out who was going to finish the bag first. I ate these with chicken salad! YUMMY!

Next was the Sea Salt Pecans from Front Porch Pecans. These were very good however my family would have loved to have received the Habenero BBQ Pecans as was it pictured.

I already mentioned the Parm Crisps and had to fight off three smaller Bown vultures in order to enjoy these.....Yes, Mary is included in the "three smaller Bown vultures!" Tee hee!!!!!!!!

You all know how I feel about meat snacks of any kind. I'm a carnivore, there is no denying that, but don't dry my meat! I don't want jerky of any kind. HOWEVER, Chuck and Mary go BANANAS for pretty much any type of jerky. So Keto Krate, please keep sending these.

Zoey has been enjoying the Chocolate Hazelnut Syrup from Nekstella. matter of fact she asked just yesterday for the Nekstella on her peanut butter sandwich.

The Nekstella Waffle Mix wasn't in my krate; however, Keto Krate had sent out an email stating that there was an issue with production and that each person was only getting one or the other Nekstella items. Things happen, at least they told us what had happened.

The RECIPE!

I love getting a new recipe each month with my Keto Krate. There is typically something fun for the recipe and who doesn't love Chicken Fingers! I know I love them! And let's face it folks, there wasn't a typo, that I found, in this month's recipe! WHOO HOOO! 

I used a mixture of the pecans, and some almond flour as I don't like to use coconut flour that much. The hubby isn't a coconut fan and he can pick it out of the thin air when it is in a recipe.

I used the BBQ sauce we got a month or so ago from an earlier Keto Krate and these were delicious! BTW, We used the rest of the BBQ sauce and some of the ketchup from earlier Keto Krates to make meatloaf. That was really tasty too.....That may have been in July. I did say the summer went by in a flash didn't I? 

All in all the Bown family was quite pleased with August's Keto Krate and are waiting on bated breath for our September Keto Krate to arrive!!!!!!!!!!

July 2018 KetoKrate Review

WHOOPSIES! I completely forgot to blog about my July Keto Krate! What was I thinking!

UMMM, I wasn't thinking, that's the problem!

As usual the Keto Krate did not disappoint and the whole family is loving the items in these boxes! I'm super excited too because September's Krate (yep, I said September) will be here in about two weeks! I am so far behind it's the end of August and I am doing a review on the July Keto Krate. I know I know I know! STOP  shaking your head at me! 😜

SOOOOO, back to the review!

As with every krate we receive the vultures start circling....and by vultures I mean Chuck and Mary. Seriously, they go bananas for this krate! And bananas is good! (Little Guy Fieri  for ya!)

Each on of these items was truly delicious! The "Birthday Cake Cookie" was quite good. Mary, Zoey, and I shared this pack. I was going to make the dessert that was offered on the recipe card but we just never got around to it, so the cookie was gobbled up! I was the only one in the house that did not like the meringques. EVERYONE loved these, except for me. They were just weird to me, but hey to each there own! As always Chuck and Mary fought over the "Three Jerks" filet mingon beef jerky. NOW, I absolutely LOVE Filete Mignon but I absolutely can't stand jerky. I was so torn on whether to try these or not. I bit the bullet or the "Jerky" as it was and well I didn't like it. But at least I tried. My daughter enjoyed the "Fat Fit Go" packet. The Peanut Butter Bar from KETOWATT was quite tasty! I'm thinking of picking up some of these! Once again Mary and Chuck fought over who got to try the Garlic Jalepeno Kippered Beef from Paleo Ranch. I wonder if they thought about sharing! hmmmm, might have to talk to them about that!

The Air Cheese by I love Snacking was very nice. Mary and I really liked that. Here's my problem with having snacks like this in the house! I EAT THEM! I don't just have one little bag. I have 10 little bags! Hence it does not do my weight loss any good! So as much as I enjoy these little pieces of lovely scrumptious air cheese I can't buy them. I will be as big as a house. Right now, i feel as big as a shed, so we must not purchase these!

Zoey enjoyed the Ultima Replenisher drinks. These types of drinks are not my thing. It doesn't matter what brand, they do something weird to my throat. Now, my kids LOVE them and enjoy them a great deal. Zoey and I shared the KetoManna by Synchro. It was OK. Last was the Nick's Sticks. My hubby enjoyed it but said he liked others better as these were too dry.

Last but not least was the recipe! I have to say that I truly do love the recipes that Keto Krate puts in their boxes. This is a great way to get to use several items at once. I can truly see why they are doing, I only wish they would proof read and actually run through the recipe before they print and ship everything out. A couple times ow (just this year) there has been an email come out immediately after the box is shipped stating that there was a misprint in the recipe. 

I know we all make mistakes but when it happens more than once, even twice, it's time to take a look at the problem. 

All in all it was once again a great Keto Krate; my family loves sharing the box (ehmmmm, Chuck and Mary) and we will continue to get these for quite some time!

A 500 Calorie Day - It's tough! 1000 Calories....still tough!

What's your Calorie Intake number?

Can you eat just 500 calories a day? What about 1000? Some swear by 1300....others say "who cares"! I've been trying to figure out the best number for me for years. It's not an easy number to figure out and to be honest it's not an easy number to stick to. 

Off and on for 6 years, has it really been that long, I've been using My Fitness Pal (MFP) to help track my calorie intake. After about a month I get so frustrated that I stop for a while and the cycle repeats. I actually just had to check when I started using MFP. It was the day after my mom's birthday, February 26, 2012. I'm sure, I was on a serious eating bender the day, probably the week before, as I have done almost every year since she passed away in 2003. As the years go on the eating benders have pretty much stopped around her birthday which I call a success. I've been celebrating her life and accomplishments more than I have been mourning her loss. I truly believe that is all part of the grieving process. BTW, don't comment on my grieving process; because it's MINE! We all grieve in different ways; no one person's is better than the other! =)

If you've read my blog over the years you know that I occasionally do the hCG diet, low carb and keto way of eating. For those that don't know, the hCG diet has the person injecting the hCG hormone once daily and then eating just 500 calories a day for 26 or 46 days depending on the amount of weight you need to lose. After the 26 or 46 days you are allowed to increase your calorie intake, up to 1000 calories per day, for the next six weeks. In that time you determine if you are going to do another round of the hCG hormone injections or if you are going to move on to maintenance. The one thing you are NOT supposed to do is go back to your old eating habits. Not an easy task! Unless of course you go right back to your bad habits...then it's easy peasy lemon squeezy! OK, WHO CAME UP WITH THAT SAYING?

Let's not kid each other, THIS IS TOUGH! It is! There's no denying it! However, the results are amazing. But, in my case, I can fall off the proverbial wagon WAY TOO EASY! Can anyone say Emotional and Stress eater? Yep, you can point my way!

My OB/GYN had been offering me the hCG diet for several years. I finally decided to do it when I saw a picture of myself dancing with Zoey in the Magic Kingdom in February 2014.  I was so disappointed in myself. Here I was about to be 40 years old and I didn't like what I saw in that picture. So about a week after I got back from Disney, I talked to my OB/GYN about the hCG diet; and I started the following week. Over the next several months I lost 53 lbs! I felt amazing, I looked amazing, and I was well on my way to a better me. That year I did what I thought was impossible, something I didn't think I would ever be able to accomplish. I ran the Atlantic City Marathon!

Ladies and Gentlemen that is 26.2 miles of running!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This was my 40th birthday present to myself; Yep I'm crazy! But it was a feat I am so happy I did. I don't think I would have been able to do it without first losing that much weight and I thank Dr. C for suggesting it to me.

So fast forward four years to February 2018 and unfortunately I am right back where I was in February 2014! Over weight and on several maintenance medications; DAMMIT this is not where I want to be!  So I talked with a friend who has done hCG several times herself and she recommended an online pharmacy for the injections. It's a lot cheaper and I don't have to go to the Dr's office every week. Well that made me very happy and after the first half of the summer being a crazy merry-go-round this is exactly what I needed. I was hoping, seriously hoping, that I would have the exact same results this time around that I did back in 2014.

Well the first week was a huge success! I lost 10.6 lbs and 17.5 inches. HELLS TO THE YEAH! I was so dam happy and said "This is it; I'm going to make it!" And then the next week only 5.2 lbs and only 7 inches lost. Not too shabby! and then Nadia Food came into the house!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let's talk my typical day of eating for a moment. 

A typical day for me is doing intermittent fasting where I don't eat anything until between 11 AM and Noon. In which I have about 200 calories, give or take for lunch.

Iceburg lettuce, sauteed chicken (in water) with spices, one mini cucumber, Walden Farms Salad Dressing and one melba toast. Believe it or not this fills me up. 

My lunch varies, but it's typically always a salad with a mini cucumber, some type of fruit (strawberries, mandarin oranges, apple, or grapefruit), walden farms dressing, and one melba toast. FYI, I do not put the grapefruit on the salad; let's face it that would be NASTY! But I do eat it on the side.

I eat a snack between 2 and 3 PM that consists of a granny smith apple or natural applesauce. If I have apples on my salad I do not have apples for snack. I will eat one of the other fruits instead.

Followed by dinner between 5 and 6 PM of again around 200 calories give or take.

I could not finish this meal! I was so full! I only ate about half of the asparagus and about half of the onions with all of the fish and salad. 

Here we have a salad with one mini cucumber and Walden Farms dressing; 3.5 ounces of Cod Fish with a light coating of cajun fish fry (definitely not part of the diet but oh so tasty and added 30 calories), sauteed asparagus (in water with spices), and some sauteed onions (in chicken broth). 

Dinners vary as well. I have fish once a week as I'm not a fish person and I have veal once a week. The rest of the week I have beef in some form or another.

Then the intermittent fasting starts again and follows through to lunch the next day.

Eating this way takes a lot of preparation and discipline. Being a stress and emotional eater doesn't always work with this way of eating. Let me say that again!

Being a stress and emotional eater doesn't always work with this way of eating.

Too many times during this round of the hCG diet I have found myself CHEATING!!!!!!!!! I was actually doing REALLY well, REALLY WELL, until my hubby needed a Nadia order! You all know, or at least have heard of our friend Nadia, Moroccan Chef.

And here we are back to Nadia and her wonderful food!

You all know, or may have guessed, that I ❤ Nadia's cooking! She's been talking about all this bread pudding that she's been making for the Hard Rock Casino and Chuck fell in love. So what does he order......well I have to order because he has a thing about talking to people, even those he knows! ;)

Bread pudding
Corn Bread
Hasha (OK so I put this on the list for the kids)
Pasta Sauce (And yes I put this on the list because Jesse and I LOVE IT)
Corn dogs (Mary wanted these)
Nadia includes homemade ice cream....I think it was banana and it was delicious!

The food smelled so good I seriously think I was put into a trance.  I am picturing one of the old Scooby Doo cartoons where Scooby and Shaggy are in a trance walking around while a Zombie (AKA some weirdo) is terrorizing innocent people). 

By the time Chuck and I got the food home I don't know how I was functioning. Guess what? I wasn't! I could not stop myself from eating, and eating, and eating, and eating. This food was in the house for several days and I just could not control myself.

WORD TO THE WISE FOLKS.....do not get Nadia food (or whatever food you love) when you are trying to diet and behave yourself. IT DOES NOT WORK! That is your PSA for the day!

It's been almost 2 weeks and I have seriously struggled to get back on track. No matter what I seem to do I can't get myself to get back tot he 500 calories a day. Well, I managed two days to do it but they weren't in a row. I am scheduled to finish my injections on August 30th and I am in fear that I will have no weight loss to show for this at all. And to be fair "Why should I"; I haven't follwed the program the way that I'm supposed to.

Here's one of the biggest downfalls for the hCG Diet and ME! I love to exercise! People look at me and they see a large woman. Their immediate thought, I know because some folks are so sweet to actually say that thought outloud, is that "wow, you don't exercise at all!" On the contrary you wonderful people! I love to exercise. I run, swim, bike, do workout videos, etc. However, when you are on the hCG Diet and only 500 calories a day you are NOT SUPPOSED TO EXERCISE but a casual walk no more than 20 minutes. Let me tell you that is very difficult for me.

My stress level and basic mental needs required me to exercise. SOOOO, since I can't seem to stick to the 500 calories a day anyway, I'm going to do an experiment with hCG.

Starting yesterday I upped my calories to 1000 per day, continued my injections, and started exercising again where I burn a minimum of 500 calories but would prefer more than that. I'm not eating those extra calories.

Now I do weigh myself every morning and I was happy to see that the scale did move in my favor this morning, albeit, not as much as I would have liked but I'll take it! Tonight I'm going back to Body Combat and can't wait to do that workout.

As for what a 1000 Calorie day looks like for me; here you go...

Intermittent Fasting until Lunch where I have a salad just like before but more of it. I could not finish this salad yesterday. I ate all the good stuff and left about 3/4 cup of the lettuce. I was just stuffed!

What's in there? 

Craisins, Shredded Carrots, Chicken, Pecans, Mandarin oranges, Walden Farms dressing

Snack was an applesauce and yogurt. I got the yogurt from the cafeteria and it was more calories than I had hoped for so I will be searching the grocery store for my own yogurt this weekend.

Dinner last night was homemade chili! Now that I am upping my calories I can go back to several of my keto friendly dishes that I love. I'm looking forward to that!

This chili is YUMMY and so EASY to make. I gave it to Mary and the kids too. 

Mary, Jesse, and I all enjoyed it. Zoey wasn't thrilled but she really doesn't like anything that isn't PBnJ or Pancakes! 

3.5 ounces of 96% lean ground beef, 1 cup crushed tomatoes, cayenne pepper, black pepper, chili powder, minced garlic, onion powder, cannelloni beans (I didn't have any kidney beans), fat free cheddar cheese and light sour cream. SO GOOD!

Don't get me wrong eating just 1000 calories a day is still seriously tough. It takes a lot of discipline to eat that little. Most folks don't realize that when you snack on cheese, nuts, and anything else you find while you are making dinner that you are putting several hundred extra calories into your system. This is an issue I have all the time!

All in all my experiment is under full swing. It's DAY TWO and we'll see how it goes from here!

June Keto Krate Review...YUMMY!

June is half over and my Keto Krate box is almost empty! 

WHAAA HAAA HAAAAA! 

Yup I'm crying! 

This month's krate had tons of GOODIES in it and GOOD THEY WERE! 

Just look at all those fun things...ready to be eaten!

Once again, I shared these items with the family and a couple of friends. There was something in here for all of us and nothing went to waste! That's what you call a WIN ladies and gentlemen!

Keto krate, I've had several friends love your items so hopefully you get some new customers soon!

These tangy almonds were a hit with the kids and I'm going to eat the rest on my salad for dinner! It's a nice change from the plain jane almonds we eat. Nice going Legendary Foods!

Now, who doesn't love a Fat Snax for dessert. I'm always a bit skeptical when it comes to my baked goods. Even though I shouldn't I LOVE full sugared treats. But having recently dropped 25 lbs and coming off all diabetic medication, I'm trying (I said TRYING) to keep away from full sugared anything. The chocolate chips cookies from Fat Snax in this month's krate were DELISH! There are two in the package and I separated them for dessert on different days. My blood sugars thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But, I have to say seeing the pickle scared me. I'm quite particular about my pickles and just couldn't bring myself to eat it. For my husband to pass this up as well, I knew I made the right choice. HOWEVER, Before you go yelling at me I shared this with a co-worker who said it was delicious! This is one of the best parts of getting a Keto Krate...you can share!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In the words of my son,

"You had me at Cheese!"

Just the Cheese and the Protes were fantastic! Just the Cheese were my favorite and reminded me of a snack I use to buy way back in the early 2000s when I tried Low Carb eating for the first time. I really missed these and know that I will be purchasing them ASAP.

As for the Protes, they had a good flavor but the texture was a bit odd for me. With that being said they were a decent substitute for a dorito.

For those of you who have seen me eat tuna fish you know that I love to eat it with doritos! Mash those doritos right into my tuna sandwich. WELL, guess what I did......I made tuna on low carb bread and mashed the protes right in there. I was dancing!

FYI, I like putting doritos on my liverwurst too, so more Zesty Nacho Protes may be in my future!

My hubby took one look at Mission Meats Original Graze Sticks and snatched them bad boys up before anyone could say BOO! He loves these treats and said "WHY HAVEN"T YOU BOUGHT THESE FOR ME YET?!?!?" Guess what Mission Meats, you have an order coming soon!

Give me a B

Give me an A

Give me a C

Give me an O

Give me a N

What's that spell?

BACON!!!!!!!!!

OMG, I love bacon and truly feel that everything could taste like bacon and the world would be a better place. Well almost everything....maybe not tuna...that would be gross! But still this Hickory Smoke Back Snack pack from Pederson's was a great snack. I had to hide this from my husband as he tried to snatch it several times. I had to hide it from my mother in law and my 10 y/o son! LOVE IT! Super good!

While at work yesterday, I tried the Apple Cider Vinegar drink stick from Squeeze Dried. I drink ACV all the time and actually prefer my hot tea now with it rather than without....however, I just couldn't get past the Cayenne Pepper in this drink stick. I went into a serious coughing fit here at my desk to the point that a couple folks walked by a few times to make sure I was ok. You know the drill, someone coughs in the cube farm, only they don't stop and they sound like their choking. Someone comes running to find tears running down your face, your face is completely red, and you can't get enough water down fast enough. When it was all said and done, I was laughing, the folks sitting around me were relieved and I got in extra water that day! Obviously, I don't do well with cayenne pepper. However, good news Squeeze Dried...My hubby, who loves everything pepper, loved your drink and said he would try it again! 

I have not had the opportunity to try the Boh Tea yet, but it's on my list! Honestly, I was freezing at work this morning....AC was finally working in my wing....and I really could have used some hot tea. 

I'm really looking forward to trying the hamburger rolls from California Country Gal but it is going to have to wait until the weekend. I plan on follower the BBQ Sliders recipe provided in the krate with Alterna Sweets Original BBQ Sauce! If you notice, there's a typo in the recipe.....ummm coconut....ummm no...Keto Krate sent an email out right away letting everyone know of the OOPS! No worries Keto Krate, I definitely would not have used that ingredient for these but I'm so happy to sent an email out right away. 

Once again, my Keto Krate rocked and the whole family is looking forward to July's krate. Is it in the  mail yet? ;)

May Keto Krate Review ...Just a bit late

I've been trying to post reviews each month after I've had an opportunity to use a couple of items that I received in the Keto Krate. When a friend commented on a post not too long ago about my June Keto Krate I realized that I not only missed posting my review on May's krate but I completely forgot to do one on April's krate as well.

There is NO WAY I can go back to even remember what was in the April Keto Krate.  I got it a couple of days before we were leaving for Disney and I was way too focused on visiting Mickey Mouse!

May's krate was so so.....we had much better ones in February, March, and April. You can't please everyone and although some of these items were weird, there were several items that we truly enjoyed!

May's Keto Krate after we unpacked everything. I love taking pictures like this and just realized that the insert isn't in my photo! OOOPPPPSSS!!!

The number one item is this krate were Hinton's Pig Chips! OMG, OMG, OMG, these were DELICIOUS! I really enjoyed these! I bought them right away. With the overwhelming demand of these chips, they are on back order. Hopefully I get them sometime soon!

Unfortunately, I was not a fan of the Keto Geek energy Pod, or the Cave Fat Pack. Both were extremely weird to me. 

The Sunbiotics Lemon Teriyaki Pumpkin Seeds were also pretty good. I had some of these as a snack and then the rest I put on a salad.

Ella's Flats were so yummy! I was a bit skeptical at first, but thought....this would be nice to use instead of crackers with my chicken salad. I was right! They were perfect. When I got down to the bottom of the bag, I sprinkled the crumbs onto the rest of my chicken salad. Quite tasty!

I'm not at all a jerky fan of any kind, but my hubby LOVES it! He said the Free Range Chicken DNX Bars was outstanding and he wants me to buy more for him. Guess I'll be placing an order soon!

The Raw Rev Glo Creamy Peanut Butter and Sea Salt Bar wasn't bad. I took it to a swim meet and had it as a snack to hold me over til dinner. It certainly did the trick!

The Palmini is still on the shelf as my hubby and I want to share this and we just haven't had the time. He's not a coconut fan so I'm going to have to modify the recipe or come up with one of my own. However, let's talk about this recipe! 

I LOVE that KETO KRATE puts a recipe in each month's krate that uses at least 2 of the ingredients in the box. I LOVE IT! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! Did I say Thank you! I'll have to post again after I try the Palmini. 

The Pique Tea was quite interesting but I did enjoy it. I doubt I'll buy it but it wasn't gross. LOL!

The Adapt Salted Caramel Collagen Nut butter was OK. Unless I didn't mix it up enough I would say that I tasted absolutely no caramel flavoring in this. But, my 7 y/o thought it tasted great, so she finished it!

The Gaea Lemon Oregano Olives are a definite no go for my gang. There seems to be, or maybe is just feels like it, olives in every month's krate. My husband and MIL, who both love olives, don't like any that have come in the krate. Maybe someone will like them.

My MIL used the BurnButter in her morning coffee and enjoyed it. I dunno!

Now for those of you who don't know the purpose of the Keto Krate or why someone would get it...here's why I get it each month.

My family tried, I said tries, to follow a healthy lifestyle. Lower calories (hubby), low carb (me and MIL), everything in sight (son), and all carbs (daughter)....the Keto Krate allows us all to have fun and enjoy new things. For us low carbers in the house it is hard to find treats and fun ways to eat things so the Keto Krate has been a blessing. Yep, a blessing.

June's krate has been fantastic and I can't wait to share it with you!

Memorial Day Weekend New Recipe Fun!

When I'm trying to eat healthy there is nothing better than finding a new recipe. Any of you that follow me on Facebook know that I am "sharing" recipes all the time and then blog about them....when I make them.

The recipes rarely look like they are supposed to and my pictures are not the best. HOWEVER, I'm having a FABULOUS (sing songy voice) time making the new dishes and sharing them with everyone.

This past holiday weekend was EXTREMELY, extremely busy. I don't know where to begin or how I got through it. BUT, here we are on Wednesday, I'm exhausted, but feeling good.

What was on the agenda this past weekend you ask????? DON'T ASK! You should never ask! ;)

• Mary moving in
• Took Mary to the doctors for the day
• Swim Camp packing when we got home
• Mary packing after that; loading up and hauling numerous boxes
• Driving 2 hours for Swim Camp drop off
• Driving 2 hours home
• Cooking
• Cleaning
• More packing
• Running
• Cooking
• Answering the phone every 2 hours
• Repeat for Sunday!
• Driving back to swim camp; driving home.....4 hours total....ANYONE TIRED!

OK Seriously, I said "Don't Ask!" Let's just say that my four day weekend went by in a flash! 

I did make several new recipes that were posted on the I Breathe I'm Hungry Facebook page. Again, everyone knows how much I love Mellissa's recipes. Well she also re-posts some wonderful recipes from other blogs. 

Now, I don't know Mellissa personally but I'm fairly certain that with the wit, sarcasm and overall bluntness that comes across on her blog posts she and I are kindred spirits! I LOVE READING her blog. It's a breath of fresh air...and the recipes are superb!

OK, OK, OK....on to the recipes!

First up was the "Keto Crispy Pork & Noodle Stirfry". I have to say it, listen up, this was better than Chinese take out. YEP! I said it and it's true! This dish was one of the best Chinese dishes I've ever had. I made it, with the help of Mellissa's recipe and it was DEEEEEELISH!!!

Again, my pics are not the best but I love showing what I created on my own plates. I don't know....it makes it more real for me. Yes, Yes I'm a weirdo!

So, noone in the family but Mary and I like pork and when I saw this dish I knew Mary and I would love it. I'm not one to typically follow all the steps in a recipe and this one was no different. I go with what I have on hand. 

Coconut flour.....I love it, however, I get afraid of it. I don't want everything to taste like coconut. Let's face it, a lot of low carb/keto recipes call for coconut flour or oil. I've pretty much given up on coconut oil. It turns everything the flavor of coconut. And I love coconut, but a girl has to have variety. Did I say "Coconut" enough?

I persevered and used the Coconut Flour....apparently I didn't say it enough yet. The "breading" for the pork was outstanding! The pork didn't taste like you guessed it, COCONUT! It was really good! I also didn't need all the breading. I ending up only using about 2/3 of it. 

As with most recipes, I try to have everything pre-measured and ready. Why do I do this? Because I find that most recipes go super fast and I overcook things if I don't have all the ingredients 100% ready to go. With this recipe I think it is a must. 

I didn't have cabbage, nor do I like cooked cabbage, so I chose to use a broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, stirfry bag. Now there was nothing in the frozen veggies other than the three veggies shredded. 

I also didn't have avocado or sesame oil so I used Moroccan Olive Oil. My friend Nadia gets it for me, yes she's from Morocco, and it is the best tasting Olive Oil I've ever had. Sometimes I feel like I could bathe in this oil. It smells great, tastes fantastic, and feels quite light in my cooking. So if you smell Olive Oil and you're near me....I may have....OK, seriously I would not bathe in oil. MAYBE!

The dish turned out fantastic and we had leftovers. Mary is having them for lunch today.

Well it was a TWO dessert night! OMG, you said that! Yep, I said it.....Mary, Zoey, and I had two desserts on Sunday night. THIS IS HOW WE ROLL SOMETIMES FOLKS! You have to enjoy life, live it to the fullest, and this was one of those nights. 

DISCLAIMER......I do not recommend having multiple desserts or even making two brand new recipes in one night, let alone three! BUUUUUTTT, what the hell! It was a girl's night and we were living it up! HA HA HA....making three low carb recipes in my own home after having exhausted myself for the past few days was living it up? YOU CAN BET YOUR SWEET ASS IT WAS! I was with my girls, laughing, singing, and having a great time. Couldn't be any better!

OK, on to Dessert #1's Recipe...No Bake Keto Cheesecake - Quick, No Crust...This one came from Broke Foodies via I Breathe I'm Hungry. Now I'm not a huge cheesecake person, but this looked so dam good I couldn't resist. 

Again, my pic isn't the best, but it's my blog....my sandbox....so I'll keep it! 

I didn't have any lids for my small ramekins so I opted to use two of the larger ones. I don't know about most of you but my stomach cannot take all the artificial sweetener that a lot of folks use. But with anything, make it your own, so that's exactly what I did! I used about 1/3 of the sweetener called for in the cheesecake itself and no artificial sweetener in the raspberries....oh yeah I used raspberries instead of strawberries. This came out really good....very tart....but very good. Zoey was not a fan as she loves everything to be over the top sweet. Mary and I however, LOVED IT! We only ate a little bit as this took a while to set up. Matter of fact I finished mine last night after my late night, for me, run. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch....."ranch dressing" Zoey would say.....it was off to another recipe. Who doesn't love lava cake! There must be something wrong with you if you don't love lava cake! It's chocolate and it's cake! WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE! Oh yeah, and you put ice cream on it!

I really need to get a few kitchen items, like mini bundt pans. Don't tell Chuck! He'll freak if I come home with anything else for the kitchen. He thinks I have way too many kitchen gadgets. BUUUUT, if I sneak it in the house when he's not home and then blame it on Mary if he sees it....hmmmm, this might work! I'm going to try it! SSSSSHHHHHH, let's keep it between us! And for godsakes don't tell Zoey because Daddy does no wrong and Mommy does everything wrong in her eyes....so she'll tell on me. 

This low carb lava cake from Tasteaholics was DELICIOUS! I mixed up three separate batches and used a large muffin pan because I didn't have those cute little bundt pans. I'm dreaming of them right now...maybe I'll check Amazon! No wait, Chuck can see what I order.....I guess I'm going shopping without him!

10 minutes was not enough time to cook these, however, 15 was too long. So my lava was too thick and thus did not spill out onto the plate. DON'T fret my sweeties because it still tasted, OMG, so good! Add a little ice cream and it was the perfect second dessert of the evening! 

I don't know about you but I'm tired and could use one of these wonderful desserts and a NAP!

Low Calorie & Low Carb: Are you insane woman?

Talking with my good buddy Jack today at the office, and I'm fairly certain he said "Are you insane woman", or maybe he was saying that with the look he gave me...it was hard to tell, when I said that I was eating extremely low calories in addition to low carbs this week to jump start my body after a week of poor eating due to a tooth ache/root canal. I put back on several pounds, which I'm not happy about!

Now some may think that if you have a toothache you really don't eat...and sometimes that happens. I know I barely ate anything one particular day BUT a girl has to eat, and so eat I did...it was just all mushy! Not a dam bit of it was good for me either.

By the time I had my root canal on Wednesday, I wanted to gnaw someone's arm off for real food that I could chew! I stopped at Popeye's on the way home and got chicken tenders, rice & beans, mashed potatoes with that awesome spicy gravy and a biscuit. Yes, I had to chew a little bit but not too much. Most of this was super easy to eat after that root canal. I was feeling no pain!

I started this morning back on track and am doing fairly well. It's after 3:30 PM and I've only had 200 calories and 4 net carbs so far today. I honestly feel pretty good and am not really that hungry. I've drank a lot, A LOT, of water today. Which I know I should be drinking any way.

There are all these little birdies chirping in my ear right now saying "you need to eat more than that", "what you are doing isn't healthy", etc etc etc, blah blah blah. 

I KNOW! BUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTT, I need to reset myself and this is the one way that I know to do it. SOOOO, I'm going to eat 20 carbs or less a day and 500 calories per day for a week, then increase my calorie intake to 600 calories per day for a week sticking with the 20 carbs or less per day, until I reach 1000 calories per day. I feel like that was WAAAAYYY to long of a sentence...anyone tired?

It will take about five weeks to complete this, but by that time I should be fully acclimated into the program and should be done all the crankiness. So I think everyone should think positively, stay out of my way, and look forward to June 22nd when I will be at 1000 calories each day. Just a forewarning that Kranky Karen may be upon us very very soon!

The thought process behind this crazy woman's madness....I don't really know that there is a true thought process. HA HA HA HA! See, I can laugh with everyone!

Seriously, I've done the 500 calories a day for several months before when I was on the hCG diet. Now, I was on hCG injections during that time, which were supposed to curb my appetite. I think they helped, but there were definitely days where I was S T A R V I N G!!!!!!!!!! So I figured if I can do that for months with injections, why can't I do it for a week without injections.

The key here is making sure that my blood sugars stay in check and that I don't fall off the wagon again. I need to get off this roller coaster. It's hard!

Of course, I went to my trusty, and oh so fun, Excel skills! I combined my "Weight and BMI Tracking" spreadsheet, with my "hCG Diet" spreadsheet to create something new and improved!

I have graphs, a menu that keeps track of calories and carbs, checks off when I ate what I had planned, tells me if I'm under, over or right on track with my calories/carbs.

It's super duber cool if I do say so myself! I'll definitely be tweaking it as the days go on to ensure I have everything correct and to my liking. I actually enjoy this far more than I do MFP or any other app. I'm thinking that has something to do with me being a spreadsheet junkie.

I also think that since it is going to be extremely crazy for the Bown Family over the next few weeks it was a good time to not think about eating too much. AGAIN, I can laugh with everyone!

It will be difficult to find foods that are low in calories and carbs. It's going to be very very interesting but I'm going to put forth the effort! Is it wrong that I just had the image of an uncrustable float into my head?

Mother's Day Breakfast: A low carb labor of love!

A few days, maybe a week, before Mother's Day this year I came across a low carb recipe for Cinnamon Rolls that had strawberry filling and a cream cheese icing.

You had me at roll, but the strawberry filling and icing had me drooling!

Of course, I immediately shared this recipe to my facebook page and went about my day. I couldn't wait to make this but apparently didn't think it was wise to check to make sure I had all of the ingredients to make it. 

Shaking my head, thinking back, wondering why I decided not to check if I had everything and why I only made sure I had strawberries! HMMMMMM

But, none the less Mother's Day morning arrived and I was determined to make this scrumptious treat!

Ignore the "My Little Pony plate". LOL!

I think Chuck was curious about the process and if this little ditty of a dish would turn out because before I knew it, I had a kitchen helper. 

I'm so glad Chuck wanted to help because every time I try to make any type of fathead dough and roll it up I have nothing but trouble. He, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have any problems at all. And well, let's face it. Chuck is a far better baker than I am. I'm a good cook and a fair baker, but he's a much better baker. 

Jesse and Zoey were interested when they heard "Cinnamon Rolls" but when they saw the strawberries, they turned their noses up. Guess what? This is breakfast, so man up!

I ran out of Swerve when making the strawberry compote. UHHHHH, Oh well! I use Swerve, but always use less anyway. So I'm thinking this isn't a big deal. 

When lining up these strawberry cinnamon rolls into the pie dish, they just didn't look appetizing. I was like, well...so what if they aren't pretty, at least they'll taste good! I'm hoping they taste good!

Chuck's set up

My setup, I had to move these around because 

I knew they would spread out while they cooked. 

While the cinnamon rolls were cooking I realized that I didn't have heavy cream, mine was a month out of date, and I had already run out of swerve, so it looks like there won't be any icing! RUT RO RORGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm not a huge icing fan so I figured "what the hell". I think others in the house were slightly disappointed that there was no icing. With that being said I think these bad boys turned about pretty dam good considering we didn't have all of the ingredients. As a matter of fact I would have preferred no swerve in the strawberries.

So the next time I make these, or something like them....and I'm sure there will be a next time. I will 1 - make sure I have all the ingredients and 2 - cut down on the swerve. If you are are like me Swerve makes you feel funny. It also affects my blood sugar levels. I know many others don't have any issues with it but for me....I'd rather have a less sweet treat and not have the funny feeling. 

Chicken~Chorizo Spaghetti Squash

On my search for low carb/keto recipes, to stay on track, I came across this beauty from one of my favorite food blogs...I Breathe I'm Hungry! I can't say enough about the recipes that Mellissa posts.

I don't know that I have made anything that I didn't like from her blog. Definitely a blog you want to check out, bookmark, and read regularly even if you aren't a Keto/Low Carb eater! Maybe you are a vegetarian? She's got your covered. Maybe you are gluten free, she's got options for that too. I feel like whatever your way of eating is, she's got a recipe for you!

Trying to find a dish that the whole family likes is REALLY DIFFICULT! My family is really picky! You've all heard it before ... Zoey is a Carbitarian, Jesse has texture issues, Chuck is a garbage disposal, and Mary is low carb like me. You know I love you honey, but you will eat just about anything!

I truly think I hit the jackpot when I found this recipe. It was posted to use shrimp but Mary is allergic and the kids and I don't eat seafood, so chicken it is!!!! I find almost any dish that uses seafood can use chicken as a replacement.

The hardest part about the whole recipe was finding chorizo. Three stores later I found it! 

For those of you that live in the the Southern NJ area, the Absecon Shop Rite had chorizo in the sausage section and the dried meats section near the produce. I used the stuff from the sausage section.

This was my first time cooking a spaghetti squash. I've always been afraid of making spaghetti squash because everything I read said you had to roast it in the oven. I don't like using the oven in the hotter months and last weekend it was quite warm here....had to turn on the AC. But this recipe suggested cooking the spaghetti squash in the microwave. I love microwave ease!

Chuck had to help with putting the "deep holes" into the spaghetti squash. This was not an easy task for me and well I think I was making him extremely nervous with my knife wielding skills. Just imagine me channeling my inner Psycho and you'll understand his need to remove the knife from my hands! I could actually see the tension lift off his shoulders when I set the knife down. 

When taking the spaghetti squash out of the microwave, it basically fell apart. I would recommend having this on a plate when you microwave it, and be prepared for it to fall apart. To me, it just made the process even easier. 

Once that was done, putting this recipe together was super easy. If you have a busy week night coming up, I would recommend cooking the chorizo and chicken ahead of time. Even the spaghetti squash ahead of time. This dish can easily be thrown together on a week night with early prep or without. Other than using chicken instead of shrimp the only change I made was using 11 oz of chorizo instead of 8. The reason for this was because that's how much was in the package and I didn't want to store it. 

The family reviews were:

• Chuck - I can't believe how good this is; I wasn't expecting it to be this good! You can definitely make this again and again. 
• Me - I really like this; definitely going to add red pepper flakes next time. I felt that the only thing missing was some heat.
• Mary - When can I come back over for dinner so you can make this again? Yes, the red pepper flakes....Chuck was nodding saying "Hmmm mmmm". 
• Jesse - This is good! Can I have more with extra chorizo?
• Zoey (who only had a little bit) - Can I have more sausage?

Just for the record, my kids rarely...RARELY...ask for seconds unless it is tortellini. So this was a SUPER DUPER HUGE HIT in my house!

Thank you I Breathe I'm Hungry! We'll be back for more recipes!

My Weight Loss Spreadsheet

From my Whoomp there it is 25 lbs GONNEEEE!!!!!!!!  post yesterday morning I've had several folks asking if they could have the spreadsheet I created. You most certainly can! I'm a spreadsheet junkie and LOVE to play around in Excel. It's not perfect but it's perfect for me!

Feel free to grab the spreadsheet and save it for yourself. Modify it any way you want and make it your own. Please note, that if you make changes to the formulas the spreadsheet is now yours as I won't be able to help you with any issues.

With that being said, if you don't make any changes to the formulas, you are welcome to post questions and I'll help when I can.

My original "Can you say Sreadsheet Junkie" post back in March gave some insight into this spreadsheet and how I am using it. So I won't go into that much detail here but I'll give some highlights of what you can modify, what you should modify, and what you shouldn't.

The "Intro" page gives the overall view of how you are doing. All of this information can be modified, but shouldn't. Anything in the light yellow fields are fair game and should be modified for your use. Anything in a colored or gray field should not be modified as these are formulas or values used in calculations. Definitely read all the notes I have on this page. It will help!

Definitely change your Start Date, Start Weight, and Height. Also, set all of your Weight Goals. Feel free to change your months (yes they are in gray). Keep in mind that the tab names are set in the order of the months under the weight goals, so you'll need to do some tweaking (not twerking....can you believe autocorrect tried to change that).

On the first day of each month you'll need to modify the formula in the "Current Weight", Total Lost,  and "Current BMI" fields. I haven't figured out how to get them to do it automatically so it's the one manual thing I do on the 1st of each month.  Right now the formula is "=INDEX(MAY!B3:B33,MATCH(TODAY(),MAY!A3:A33,0))". On June 1st I will change it to "=INDEX(JUN!B3:B33,MATCH(TODAY(),JUN!A3:A33,0))". Until I have some time to figure out how to have this change automatically, this is a simple change once a month.

If you look at any of the Month tabs there is one hidden columns, Column F. This column is used to help calculate the BMI and should not be changed, modified, or deleted.

In the "Weigh-In" column, I have put in projections for myself of how much weight I'm hoping to lose each day. This allows me to see just how much weight I can lose, if I work hard enough, that month. My ultimate goal is to lose 10 lbs a month. But sometimes, like this month, I'm ahead of my goal, so I set a new goal to see if I can reach it. This is all done with my projection.

To do this, all you do is go into the "Weigh-In" field and subtract a certain amount of weight within the formula. I know I said not to change any formulas! But these formulas you can change.

So for example....The B12 cell, which is the Weigh-In for tomorrow, 5/10, says that I want to lose 0.75 lbs from today's weigh-in; "=B11-0.75". If you don't care about that and just want this to be zero each day before entering your weight, you can remove the formula and it will be zero. I personally like to see the projection. You can also remove the "-0.75" and just have it equal today's weigh-in. You will be manually entering your weight in this column each day, so the formula will be overwritten anyway.

Leave everything else alone on this and all other tabs, with the exception of the initial date. The first day in the first month should be modified to the date you are using. I would recommend using full months. Everything else should auto populate.

The yellow borders, every 2 weeks is my day off! LOL! So you can get rid of that if you want. ;)

I haven't made any changes to this spreadsheet in a while and February was my trial month with it where I was working out all the kinks, so if there are errors, and I'm sure there will be, let me know and I'll take a look at it.

Again, the file can be saved from here. Have fun and enjoy!

Whoomp there it is! 25 lbs GONNEEEE!!!!!!

WHOOMP There it is

or should I say 

WHOOMP THERE IT GOES!!!!!!!!!!

I have officially lost 25 lbs in just over 3 months!

I started my current journey on February 5th weighing in at 240.4 lbs. UGH! I really never wanted to get to that point again, but it happened. Life happens, it gets in the way, and it is our job to work back and improve things for ourselves. If we want it!

Well, improve I have! 

I'm down 25 lbs (I know, I already said that....probably gonna say it again) and am now in the "Obese" BMI range. Considering I was in the morbidly obese range, or in the "REALLY OBESE" range as I like to call it, this is a huge accomplishment. And one that I have no problems shouting from the roof tops!

I'm in the OBESE BMI range! WHOO HOO!

Yes, yes I am a bit odd! You can think I'm crazy being happy to be obese, but I'm moving in the right direction. So why not sing the praises as I reach them?

I'm completely on track to meet my weight goal this month of 210 lbs. As you can see in my "Weight Goals" picture above 210 is listed twice. I was in Disney World for two weeks last month so I was really just trying to not gain any weight. I did really well and was still able to treat myself from time to time. If you are looking for something to eat at Disney World while doing a low carb, Keto way of eating, check out my "Low Carb/Keto WOE at Disney World" post. Another post will be coming soon about all the things I actually ate while there. At least the items that were low carb! ;)

When I got home, I feel as when I went off the deep end. I wanted SUGAR! I kept going for the chocolate chip cookies, needless to say I've told myself that these are POISON, and should not be eaten. It might work?!?!?!?!?! Maybe!

Now, of course, there are some nay sayers out there that keep telling me "we don't care about your weight loss", "you're going about it all wrong", "you need to eat this or eat that", "stop telling everyone".

Guess what? 

I don't care what you have to say if you are going to be a Negative Nelly! Listen, noone liked Nelly on Little House on the Prairie, so be nice! Encourage, be happy for someone, don't be a downer! If you are saying these hurtful things, maybe take a look in the mirror, and realize that those words were probably for yourself. Not saying you need to lose weight, or even change anything about yourself, just saying maybe there is something about yourself that you don't like and you are reflecting it on me.

I'm not listening (fingers in my ears)!!!!! Want to know why? I lost 25 lbs channeling Frank Sinatra because "I did it my way!" Maybe I was channeling Michael Jackson, since I'm starting with the woman in the mirror, I'm asking her to change her ways. 

Seriously, I stopped worrying about mainstream diets, and what the doctors are telling me to eat. If it was up to my doctors I would be on the Chicken, Lettuce, and Dirt diet. What is that you ask? Well, it's those three things and nothing else. Nothing fun, nothing appetizing, just nothing! YUCK YUCK YUCK! I have tried this and I was absolutely miserable! No one, I repeat, no one likes a Kranky Karen! Just ask my hubby, he'll tell you that Kranky Karen is hell on wheels.

Forget the nutritionists, who've been giving me bad advice, in my opinion. Everyone doesn't respond the same way to everything. We are all living proof of that! I've never been to a nutritionist who didn't know I was a diabetic, that's why I was there, and who didn't give me a huge list of foods that were full of carbs that they wanted me to eat. I just could never understand that!

So I've been eating low carb/keto, for the most part, over the last 3 months and have been exercising most days. I've been trying tons of new recipes....gotta give a shout of to Mellissa over at I Breathe I'm Hungry. I absolutely LOVE her recipes and make them all the time. My family is enjoying most of them as well. I visit several facebook pages that have to die for recipes, such as Yum Yum Delish LCHF Recipes and Keto Low Carb Support & Recipes Group. Also to the Keto at Disney facebook group.  On all of these pages you'll find blog posts for recipes and plenty of support.

People ask, how many carbs a day do you eat, what are your macros? You know, my counts and numbers aren't going to be the same as yours. This is trial and error. Each person has to figure out what works best for them and then go for it. But since you asked.....I try to stick to 20 carbs a day. Now I can tell you that some days I'm at 10 and other days I'm probably at 50 maybe even 75. It depends on the day, how I'm feeling, what my blood sugar count is. All I know is that I'm eating what I want, when I want, in decent proportions, I'm exercising, and I'm Feeling Good, channeling some Nina Simone.

Live your life the best way you know how! Don't worry about what the next person is doing. Don't worry about the small set backs. Think positively and move forward! Take each failure with a grain of salt and learn from it.

Here's to the next 25 lbs to lose and a better, healthier, Karen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey there race fans!!!!!!!!!!

Race? What race?

WHO KNOWS!!!! 

But it was fun to say "Hey there race fans!". 

As I'm sure many of you know I was away on vacation for the past two weeks in the wonderful and oh so magical Disney World. I have posted tons of pictures to Facebook and we just had an amazing time. To be honest I think the whole family wishes they were still there! We go back in October! WHOO HOO!

We walked 115 miles in 14 days, 13 of those days were park days. On our rest day while Chuck and the kids played in the resort pool and lazy river, I ran 5 miles on the treadmill.

I have tons to post about our trip and that will have to come later this week, probably not until the weekend. But the cool news is I'm super duper close to having a BMI that is in the "Obese" range instead of the "Really Obese" range, or what my doctor calls the "Morbidly Obese" range. I'm not fond of the "Morbidly" term so let's just say "Really". MMMM K!

Now some folks might say, "Really"....ha ha ha.....you are excited to be "obese". Well, dam skippy I am excited because I have 1.5 lbs to go and I will have reached 25lbs lost. Let me say that again....

I have 1.5 lbs to go and 

I will have reached 25 lbs lost!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a huge undertaking and well a seriously fantastic, over the moon, achievement! Waking up each morning and noticing that I feel lighter is so euphoric. I can feel the days where I didn't lose anything and the days where I did.

Since we've been back home from vacation, I've added some carbs back into my diet. Specifically my Granny Smith Apples. Now, of all the carb choices to add back to one's low carb diet, apples was not the best choice. HOWEVER (sing songy voice there....did ya hear it?), apples are my friend and I absolutely love them. I was so unhappy without them. 😭

So my carbs have gone from 20 or less per day to between 50 and 60 per day. What I've noticed since doing this:

• I'm happier! I sometimes dance when I'm enjoying an apple slice. 
• I've been able to have a BM much easier. TMI for some but, whatevs! A girl has got to poop! 😌
• I've been losing roughly a pound a day. This is not normal, but YEAH ME!
• Did I say I was happier?

Weight loss and the Low Carb way of life is not an easy one and I don't take any of it for granite. With that being said, I know myself very well and know that I cannot sustain a 20 carbs or less way of eating for long periods of time. I know that if I have a craving, it's best just to fulfill said craving and move on. 

I don't know how others are but when I crave something bad enough I will eat everything in sight until I have what I was craving. SOOOO, I say eat that Boston Creme Donut and get it out of your system. Or better yet, eat 2 bites of that donut, give the rest to the kids, your spouse, or throw it in the trash. But cover it with yucky stuff! Then move on about your business, don't sweat it, or better yet. Go sweat it off!

Get out there and take a walk, go for a run, bike ride, anything. Just go move!

Speaking of moving......yesterday I walked over 10 miles between 3 different walks. OK, wow, even I'm a bit confused by that statement. I walked 1 mile at work two different times, a friend and I walked 2 miles during our lunch break, that's 4 miles for those just waking up....and then I walked over 6 miles while the kids were at swim practice. I have Disney legs right now and my body needs the activity. I wanted to go for a run yesterday afternoon but apparently I got a blister during my lunch time walk. Very surprising.....so the 6 miles was slower than I would have liked.

Can you believe that my watch actually told me to "MOVE!" about an hour after I finished the 10 miles! 

I'm not kidding, it did, and I scolded my watch! I seriously think that it should know that I already did 10 miles today and therefore did not need to move at all for the remainder of the day! My husband laughed at me for talking to my watch. However, even your watch needs a good talking to every once in a while. If I had a newspaper, I may have swatted it's nose! 😏

A lot of folks ask me what I eat. I typically eat something different every single day. However, there wasn't a lot of food in the house after vacation and I seriously did not have the energy to be creative. SO, my hubby made me chicken salad from a rotisserie chicken and I picked up some cheese and pepperoni. For the most part, my eating has been the following this week:

• Breakfast: EAS AdvantEdge Carb Control Chocolate Fudge shake 
• AM Snack: 3.5 oz of granny smith apple
• Lunch: 3/4 cup homemade chicken salad (nothing fancy here, chicken, mayo, spices), 4 slices of Cracker Barrel cracker cuts, and 1/2 oz of slices deli pepperoni (about 5 slices). 
• PM Snack: 3.5 oz of granny smith apple
• Dinner: This varies but trying to stick with grilled chicken or something small, low carb and around 500 calories. 
• Bedtime Snack: Only if I need it, I'm a diabetic, so I'll have about 3 oz of granny smith apple slices. 

All of that roughly comes to about 1100 calories per day. Now, there are days, like yesterday when I ate a little more, but so far this has been the gist (do you ever have to look of that spelling....i have to all the time) of my diet this week. I keep track of everything in My Fitness Pal. 

Have a fantastic day every body!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!