Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Low Carbing It Up

I think for me, maybe more than anyone I know, food is what I do.  I mean that in a very sincere, non-sarcastic manner.  As the oldest of four children, growing up on a large working ranch in the Sandhills of Nebraska, I started cooking at an early age to help lighten my mother's pretty large load.  Man did she do it all.  Haying, raising sheep, helping take care of the cattle, cook for all of us and any hired help, canning, etc.  She was and still is an amazing lady.  I took an interest in cooking and it didn't take her long to capitalize on that and  have me help with that chore.  Since I liked it, and since I had kind of an aptitude for it, she pretty  much let me make whatever my heart desired (as long as it wasn't too out there and as long as we had the ingredients).

Some of my favorite recipes come from those days, like Chicken Asparagus Stacks or Sweet and Sour Beef Stew Served over Noodles. And since those days, my recipe collection of favorites has expanded into an online cookbook of my own creation called "Every Day Favorites".  One of these days it will go to print, but I am never quite ready it seems.

I learned early on that the way to my husband's heart was through his stomach.  It wasn't a cliche in this case, just the plain truth.  Fortunately for me, he is willing to try almost anything...and be honest about the result.  That of course, encouraged me to cook more, try more, and expand my every day options.  The beauty of it all is we also own a grocery store, so I have access to a pretty large pantry!

When my children came along, I was blessed with not so picky eaters.  That is probably more the result of not catering to their pickiness, because over time, they developed a taste for almost anything I make.  And some things I don't/won't:  like liver and onions.  My daughter's favorite food at age 10 was sushi.  That was and continues to be pretty unbelievable in a land locked central United States state like Nebraska.

So why the title, Low Carbing it Up?  The thing is, I like to cook, but I also like to eat.  Sort of a hazard of the hobby I guess.  I cook pretty healthy as well, most of the time, but you know, after awhile, and with a little age, it sort of catches up to you.  I started low carbing last year and lost about 15 pounds, which was just denting my goal.  Family crisis, in particular my dad's nearly fatal motorcycle accident in July of last summer, derailed me.  He is still recovering, but I have let that circumstance be my excuse to not eat better and stay focused.

So as of this week folks, I am back on the wagon.  I started my week well, and as of today, am going strong.  Have lost 1/2 pound, and hope to loose a lot more by the weekend.  My goals to keep me line:  To continue to cook foods I love and that my family loves, but just low carb it up;  to make sure I use My Fitness Pal to log those foods I eat daily for keeping me honest, to do some loose meal planning weekly so I stay focused,  to make up healthy salads and ahead of time so I have them on hand when I get hungry, to pack my lunches daily for work, to freeze some low carb soups ahead for easy meals when I am in a hurry, and lastly, to figure out an exercise plan, a minimum of three times per week.

Would you like a sneak peak of one of the meals I plan to make this weekend?  Hop on over to the blog Can You Stay for Dinner and check out the cheeseburger salad with big mac dressing.  It is a little high in carbs for one meal, but if you plan to stay around 20 carbs, this would be the big carb meal for the day.  Stick with soup for your other meal, eggs for breakfast, and cheese or pickles or sugar free jello for snacks and you should be good.   http://www.canyoustayfordinner.com/2013/02/20/cheeseburger-salad-with-big-mac-dressing/

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