In The Kitchen With Debbie - New Year's Eve Baking

Happy New Year!  Yesterday I did some baking. It was the first time I have had time to do a little recreational cooking in a while. Over the Christmas Holiday I made food for several celebrations, but there was no time to try anything new. I was doing good to get my "tried and true" recipes together and on the table.

I am happy to say that these two new recipes will be on my Christmas table next year and at other times as well!  They are low carb and sugar free since they are made with almond flour, coconut flour and stevia sweetener.   I use Pyure sweetener and love it.

This is how my kitchen looks when I am doing what my husband affectionately calls, "computer cooking".  I don't have a printer at home, so I read the laptop screen while I am cooking.

This one is called Low Carb Jam Thumb Print Cookies and the link for the recipe is HERE.

The recipe makes 28 cookies, but I only ended up with 24, so I probably need to make them a little smaller next time.  Also the recipe called for finely shredded sugar free coconut and I didn't have that available to me at the store where I shop.  They were delicious anyway!  I ate way too many.....

The plaid plates are from Walmart.

The cake is called Gluten Free Cranberry Bliss Pound Cake and the link for the recipe is HERE.

I have never used fresh cranberries, having only ever used canned cranberry sauce.  I love cranberry sauce, but it has a lot of sugar in it.  This cake turned out great!!!  Its delicious and has a very "Christmasy", or fall taste to me.  I'll be cooking it more often than that however.  Cranberries are easy to find at the grocery store this time of year and according to the bag, you just put the bag in the freezer for use later.  I bought 2 bags and put what I didn't use in the recipe in the freezer.

A friend of mine made this cake using blueberries and it was delicious as well.  So, this summer when there are soooo many blueberries around my neck of the woods, I'll be trying that option.

I have discovered that my tummy feels much better when I eat gluten free.  Who knew?  I have always, always eaten a lot of bread.  But now when I eat bread my tummy bloats.  I will still eat bread occasionally, but limiting it seems like something I need to do as much as possible.

In 2018 I plan to eat real food as much as possible and focus more on healthy eating than the number on the scale.  I ate anything and everything I wanted for about a week at Christmas and was feeling very bad by the end of that binge!  Now, after about a week of eating right, I feel so much better.

The 2 recipes I made fit well with the Trim Healthy Mama diet plan, as well.

Here are a couple of affiliate Amazon links for products I love:

Trim Healthy Table and an Amazon $5.00 off $15.00 Coupon on Books

I've been wanting the new Trim Healthy Table cookbook and was getting ready to order it for myself on Amazon for Christmas.  I was happy to see that there is a $5.00 off $15.00 book promotion going on right now.  The code is:  BOOKGIFT17.


You can use the code on most any book or combination of books totaling at least $15.00 though.  Just make sure the code works on your particular book order before pressing "Order".  This would be good to use for buying children's books for Christmas gifts.

Delicious Low Carb Hot Chocolate

Here's my best attempt at a low carb hot chocolate! Its delicious and almost tastes like McDonald's. Just a little over 10 carbs and is on plan for Trim Healthy Mama

1 1/2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk, about 3/4 tablespoon cocoa powder, 2 teaspoons stevia (3 is better but was trying to hold down the carb count) (I use Pyure), 2 tablespoons heavy cream or half & half, whipped topping on the top. I only used a very tiny amount of sprinkles. Heat the milk and cream or half & half in the microwave for 2 minutes (adjust to your microwave). This amount fits in one of these tall coffee cups. Then add the other ingredients and stir well. When you get done there will be some cocoa powder in the bottom of the cup, but I just pour that out. You can also adjust the sweetness and amount of chocolate to your taste.

The weather is really dreary and cold today.  It was almost 80 yesterday and only got into the 30s Friday! 

Happy Monday!

Low Carb Cheese Biscuits

I've really been trying to eat low carb when ever possible, so when I saw this low carb baking mix on Amazon, I thought I'd give it a try.   As a side note, I have always been a big carb eater and even though I've cut down on them a lot, I'm still eating too many! I'm looking to the future for my health, since diabetes runs in my family.  Also, I know that carbs play a big part in weight gain for me.

A box of this baking mix isn't cheap, at about $14.00 a box, but I figure if I'm only going to make something using it a couple of times a week, the box would last a while.

The first thing I made was these cheese biscuits.  To be honest, I didn't have very high expectations!  But, I was pleasantly surprised.  They were pretty good!  You do need to keep an open mind and realize up front that they are not going to taste exactly like the ones from Red Lobster!  But sometimes different can be good.

Browned to perfection:

A bowl of  healthy homemade vegetable soup rounded out this delicious meal.

I also recently made chicken pot pie using this mix.  Again, it was pretty good, but you have to remember its going to be different than the full carb version.  I will definitely be keeping a box of this mix on hand to make an occasional recipe.  The next recipe that I want to try is the pizza crust!

If you want to try this you can click HERE to order a box on Amazon. 

Cauliflower Souffle and Sun Bonnet Sue

Here's a very rich and delicious low carb food! Its a kind of like the Loaded Cauliflower Casserole found HERE, but I didn't have any bacon or sausage so I just used a bag of frozen cauliflower, 1/2 a cream cheese block, some grated cheese and a little butter.   This is great for a Trim Healthy Mama side dish.

This week I've been working on finishing this Sun Bonnet Sue Quilt.  In this picture I am sewing on the binding.

What have you been up to lately?

Have a great Thursday!

Trim Healthy Mama Thursday - Hamburger or Hotdog in a Bowl

Here's an easy way to eat hotdogs or hamburgers that would cut out the carbs from the bread.  Just put your hamburger or hotdog in a bowl and add all the fixins that you  love on top.  Then eat it with a fork.

I rarely eat hotdogs, but every once in a while I really crave one.  The one up above has lots of my favorite toppings:  Mayo, mustard, chili, cheese, slaw, and onions.

This also works well for hamburgers and would be better for you.  Especially if the ground beef used is lean.  You could add tomato, lettuce, cheese, or what ever you love on a burger.
 

If you are interested in the Trim Healthy Mama lifestyle,  HERE is a link to the original Trim Healthy Mama book and the two new books are HERE and HERE. 

Thursday's Trim Healthy Mama Tidbit

I'm always on the look out for easy and healthy side dishes that aren't too fattening!  I really need to limit many of the normal "easy" ones, like baked potatoes, macaroni and cheese, other pastas and bread.

I've already done a post about one that we like and eat often: Cheesy California Blend Vegetables HERE.

Another one we like is Three Bean Salad.  I remember this as being really popular in the past and really the only change to make it Trim Healthy Mama approved is to substitute Stevia sweetener for the sugar.

Here's how I make it.:

Drain a can of green beans and a can of wax beans. 

Drain a can of Great Northern Beans and rinse in a colander.  I like white beans, but kidney beans would work great if you like them better.

Combine in a bowl that has a lid the following:  All three of the cans of beans, about 1/2 cup of red wine vinegar, about three tablespoons of Stevia sweetener, about a tablespoon of finely diced onion, and a shake or two of celery seed.

Don't you love how all my ingredients are in estimates of "about" this or that?  The reason for that is that you can put the amount that suits your taste.  Also, look up other Three Bean Salad recipes and make it the way you like it.  Just use Stevia instead of sugar and you are good to go!

 
Stir the ingredients up and then cover and refrigerate. I like to put mine in this Tupperware bowl that has a tightly fitting seal, so I can turn it upside down and shake it to make sure everything is mixed up well.

The great thing about this dish, besides it being good for weight loss and being healthy, is that it keeps in the refrigerator all week and anyone who wants a little side dish can take out what they want.

As I've said in the past, the Walmart brand Stevia isn't strictly on the plan because it contains a couple of extra ingredients.  I didn't realize this until I'd been buying them for several months and since I successfully lost weight white using it, I'm not too worried about it!  We are currently well stocked up with it, but when this is gone, I will investigate other options.

The lasagna noodles behind the Stevia have been there for months!  I haven't eaten any lasagna for quite a while!

If you are interested in the Trim Healthy Mama lifestyle,  HERE is a link to the original Trim Healthy Mama book and the two new books are HERE and HERE.

Thursday's Trim Healthy Mama Tidbit

One of the recipes that we have enjoyed from the original Trim Healthy Mama Book is the Pizza Casserole.  

Basically this recipe includes all the usual pizza ingredients, except the crust.  Not shown in the picture is the browned hamburger that I used.  Just layer what ever ingredients you like and bake!  I usually start with the hamburger, then the pizza sauce, mushrooms/onion/bell pepper/whatever you like, followed by the cheese and last would be the pepperoni.  There are usually two layers.

For those family members who want their crust, I would suggest serving some garlic bread or french bread with it.  A nice green salad would also be great with it.

Starting to do the layers in this picture.

I think I baked mine for about 30 minutes on 350 and then turned the oven up to 400 for the last 10 minutes to brown the top better.

Ready to go in the oven.

Brown and yummy!

Moments away from my mouth!

If you are interested in the Trim Healthy Mama lifestyle,  HERE is a link to the original Trim Healthy Mama book and the two new books are HERE and HERE.

True Confession!

I'll be sharing more Trim Healthy Mama tips and recipes soon..... but I must confess that I ate this over the weekend.  I VERY rarely eat this kind of food, but sometimes you just need a burger and fries!  I only ate about a third of those fries and not all of the burger either.  Those first few bites were so good.

And we mustn't forget Thanksgiving at Cracker Barrel....

Seated by the fire.

Even though I'm at goal weight, I won't let this become a regular part of my diet.  Today its back to work after a wonderful long weekend.  I'm ready to eat my Trim Healthy Mama Muffin in a Mug this morning!

I already have ideas and pictures of plan approved foods waiting to be shared with you soon!

( HERE is a link to the original Trim Healthy Mama book and the two new books are HERE and HERE)

Thursday's Trim Healthy Mama Tidbits

Here is an easy meal that I like to eat and which helped me to lose weight on the Trim Healthy Mama plan as described in the books.   HERE is a link to the original Trim Healthy Mama book and the two new books are HERE and HERE.

The main dish is Crispy Onion Pork Chops with a side dish of Veggies and Cheese.  This is an "S" Meal.   If I switched over to boneless chicken breasts, I could add some brown rice to the meal and it would become an "E" meal.

These pork chops turn out so tender and delicious!

I do have to mention that the authors of the book do not include pork or shrimp in the their recipes because of Biblical prohibitions in the Old Testament.  So use your own judgment as to whether or not you want to include them.

The French Fried Onions would qualify as a "Franken Food" in the book!

This recipe is similar to the chicken recipe that's on the back of the French's French Fried Onions box, but much simpler and lower carb.  Just don't add the flour.  There are only three ingredients.  Put about a cup of the onions in a small zip lock bag and crush them.  I use an inexpensive sandwich bag.

Then spread the crushed onions on top of the pork chops.  Pour 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water or chicken broth around the edges.  Bake uncovered on 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until done.

There are 3 grams of carbs in a serving of the french fried onions.  In an S meal, the carbs should stay under 10 grams.  You don't have to include the carbs in non starchy vegetables.  This meal should be well under the limit.

These veggies couldn't be easier!  I buy the Food Lion store brand of the microwave steam in the bag California Blend vegetables.  Cook them according to the instructions and then pour into a dish.  Then sprinkle grated cheese on top. 

I am in no way an expert on the Trim Healthy Mama Plan, and as I've said before, I follow it very loosely and am not strict with myself at all.  But, you will notice that in this meal there are no high carb foods, such as rice, potatoes, bread or pasta.  That's a hard habit to break, after all these years of eating them as a side dish for EVERY SINGLE MEAL.

Luckily, there are ways around this, which are described in detail in the books,  HERE (original Trim Healthy Mama book),  HERE and HERE. (new books).

(This post contains affiliate links . If you click on a link and order an item, I may receive a small fee. Thanks!)

Follow Up on How I Lost Twenty Pounds

Here are a few more tips and some links to help any of those who are interested in learning more about the Trim Healthy Mama plan that I posted about on Monday.

This Mexican omelet is the breakfast I made myself recently, when I was wanting something a little different than my usual chocolate muffin in a mug.  This is an S meal, which stands for Satisfying.  Its low carb, easy and fast to make.

Just mix up two eggs in a small bowl with a fork and add a little salt and pepper.  Heat about a tablespoon of coconut oil in a non stick small frying pan.  Pour the eggs into the pan and then add 3 or 4 tablespoons of jarred salsa on one half.  You might want more or less than that, depending on the spiciness of your salsa!  Its best to use salsa with no sugar added, but if you don't have it, I don't think there's enough to worry about.

Then add what ever other things you like in an omelet, such as deli meat ham, precooked sausage or bacon, cheese, chopped onions, bell peppers and mushrooms.  After it has cooked a little, flip the empty half over onto the other half and let it cook just a little longer.

Here are some of my favorite links that have inspired and helped me to learn about Trim Healthy Mama.

Jamerill Stewart's video with tips for getting started HERE.

Gwen's Nest:  A quick start guide HERE.

A Home With a Purpose:  A blog with great recipes and tips HERE

HERE is a link to the original Trim Healthy Mama book and the two new books are HERE and HERE.

One thing I really want to stress is that  to succeed on this plan, or any plan, is that you shouldn't give up.  Just keep plugging away on it.  If you eat an off plan meal, its ok.  Just go back to the plan at your next meal.  Losing weight slowly over time is so much better than quick weight loss that you gain right back.  Sometimes when the scale didn't seem to budge for me, I thought about giving up, but I stuck to it and slowly, but surely, it worked.  This would be true of any weight loss plan.

(This post contains affiliate links.  If you click on a link and order an item, I may receive a small fee. Thanks!)

How I lost over 20 pounds and kept it off (so far)

The one thing that really helped me lose weight?  THIS!!!

That is a chocolate muffin in a mug with strawberries and whipped topping.  That's my appetite depressant.  Yes, really!  But most mornings I eat it plain without the berries and cream because I'm in a hurry on work day mornings.  The berries and cream are usually reserved for weekends.  This muffin is healthy, low carb and sugar free.  Its sweetened with Stevia.

I can't promise that this will have the same effect on everybody though!  

I've been struggling with some extra weight for a while and I seemed to be gaining and losing the same 15 or 20 pounds regularly.  As January 1, 2015 dawned, I was at my heaviest and was barely fitting into my clothes.  I was really needing to go to a bigger size, a size I've never worn!

I knew that with diabetes and high blood pressure running in my family, it was very important that I get this under control.  My blood pressure was elevated and most of the weight I was gaining was accumulating in my abdomen area.

So in January I started counting calories and pretty much stayed hungry all the time.  I mean really hungry.  Nonetheless I stuck with it for about 4 months and did manage to lose 13 pounds.  At that point, I began to eat what I wanted again and quickly gained back 4 or 5 pounds and I knew I was going around that weight gain mountain once again.

I had heard a little about a diet plan called Trim Healthy Mama, but didn't really pay too much attention.  I decided to check into it further and to try it. The original book is a big, thick book and costs $32.00 and I didn't want to spend that much money for something I knew nothing about, so I found it at my local public library and renewed it up to the limited number of times.

By that time I was ready to invest in my own copy and bought it from Amazon. I used Amazon gift cards I earned with Swagbucks!   That may seem like a lot of money, but the book is full of all kinds of information, including lots of recipes and health information that included things besides diet including sex (for the married woman).  Yes I said it.  I don't think I've ever used that word on my blog before!  

HERE is a link to the original Trim Healthy Mama book and the two new books are HERE and HERE.

Links to these books can also be found on my side bar, if you are interested.  But, you may be able to find them at the library.

The authors of the book have recently released a new Trim Healthy Mama book and a new cookbook.  But, I haven't even scratched the surface of the original book, so I'm sticking to that.  I did order the cookbook, but still prefer my original big, thick book.

A simple description of Trim Healthy Mama is that it is a carb conscious plan.  Its not low carb but I really have cut down on them.  Also a big part of the diet is to separate fuels.  A meal is typically either mostly carbs or mostly fats.  The foods are very healthy.

I started following the plan in May, very loosely.   I've never been very strict about it.   But, I pretty much changed the way I eat, I hope forever.  I lost weight very slowly, but steadily.  I got down to my goal weight and not only fit into the too tight clothes from January, but I dropped a size.

Since I only follow the plan loosely, I have to tell you the things I do that have resulted in my weight loss:

1.  As I said up above, the thing that was the very most help to me in losing weight was the chocolate muffin in a mug.  I can't post the recipe because of copyright laws, but some of the ingredients are coconut oil, golden flax seed meal, an egg, cocoa powder, and stevia for the sweetener.  It only takes a minute in the microwave. I make one of these every single work day and lots of weekend mornings for breakfast.

There are also brownies in a mug and many other variations.  Here is a Pinterest link with lots of them!!!! HERE

This is the plain chocolate muffin in a mug that I bring to work every day.  I cook it for a minute and 5 seconds right before I go out the door and when I get to work its still warm.  Its easy to eat at my desk while I'm getting the computer going and getting my day started.

The thing about this muffin, and pretty much anything that contains coconut oil, is that it satisfies my appetite for quite a while!  I DO NOT get hungry until lunch time, whereas before I'd be hungry within 1 to 2 hours of eating breakfast, and then I would eat constantly the rest of the day.

So I don't know if coconut oil is an appetite suppressant for other people like it is for me.  But as opposed to diet pills, coconut oil is healthy and good for you. This has been a life changer for me.

I was able to find all the ingredients locally except for the golden flax seed meal, which I found on Amazon through the Subscribe and Save program found HERE.

I keep a little muffin in a mug supply area on the kitchen counter with the different size measuring spoons that I need and the ingredients.  I have planned to make little baggies with the dry ingredients already measured out, but I never seem to get around to it.

2.  Skinny Chocolate and other treats that are on the plan.  Skinny chocolate has coconut oil in it so it helps with my appetite.  The peanut butter fudge is so good too.  There are many, many dessert recipes that are on the plan.

3.  I stopped using store bought flavored coffee creamers altogether.   I slowly switched over to half and half and the Walmart brand stevia that is their brand of Truvia.  The Walmart brand is not strictly on plan, but it has worked well for me.  I have used it in the chocolate muffin in a mug and the skinny chocolate with no problems as well.

4.  I eat little to no bread. That's a miracle for me, but I really do not miss it that much.  I take the bun off any fast food sandwiches and avoid it in other situations.  I will occasionally have some, but its not on my daily menu any more.

This is a typical fast food lunch that I enjoy on work days and have lost weight eating.  A large chili from Wendy's and a Cheeseburger Deluxe from the value menu.  When I throw away the bread and cut up the contents of the burger, its like eating a mini hamburger salad.  This meal also is a good one for keeping my appetite under control.

5.  The Trim Healthy Mama Facebook Group.  This gives me so much motivation seeing before and after pictures, recipes and other information.  There are the NSVs (non scale victories) and Trimaversaries (1 year, 2 year or 6 month anniversary of starting the diet with before and after pictures).  You can join the group HERE.  You could lurk on there for a while to learn more about the plan.

6.  Good Girl Moonshine!  I make my own version of this with a True Lemon Peach Lemonade powder stick on crushed ice with a teaspoon of vinegar in it.  The real recipe is ok, but mine works for me and is easy to throw together to take to work.  HERE is a link to the original recipe. 

7.  I rarely eat potatoes, pasta or white rice.  I do eat more brown rice and beans. I also like California Blend frozen vegetables in the microwave steam bag.  Just cook them, pour in a bowl and sprinkle some cheese on top.

8.  I carry packets of stevia sweetener in my purse to use for sweetening tea in restaurants or from the drive through.  I really love my southern sweet tea and with the stevia packets, I can still partake.  I just order it unsweetened and then put a packet or two of the sweetener in it.

For anyone who wants to go on the Trim Healthy Mama eating plan, please know that you can do it without spending money on strange ingredients.  On the other hand, you can spend a lot of money buying some of them.  I think for someone who needs to lose weight, it might be worth it to them to buy some of the more unusual and expensive ingredients, especially if their health is on the line.

The ingredients I buy that I've never bought before are coconut oil, golden flax seed meal and stevia.  You can buy all kinds of other things that the Trim Healthy Mama authors sell on their website, like their baking blend, sweet blend and more.  I haven't done that, but I may in the future.

Finally, in closing, I'd like to report that all of my lab work and my blood pressure were great at my last check up about a month ago.  My blood pressure went from being on the verge of my needing to go on medication to being perfect.   AND when I weighed this morning I had lost another pound and have now lost a total of 23 pounds.  I love wearing my clothes now because they are not tight any more.

(This post contains affiliate links and if you click on a link and order something, I may receive a small fee. Thanks!)