The End of Week Three

These are just a few of the good carb choices available!

As long as they are nutrient-dense (especially when high in antioxidants), enjoy them!

Options include artichoke, asparagus, avocado, bell pepper, broccoli, Brussels sprouts,

cabbage, cauliflower, celery, chilies, cucumber, green beans, jicama, leafy greens, 

mushrooms, olives, onion, radish, spinach, water chestnut, zucchini and other types of squash, 

and tomato and carrots (both in moderation). And that's just to name a few!

People who think Atkins is all about meat, cheese, and butter need to get a clue!

*However, avoid foods like beans, peas, potatoes, corn, and yams if weight loss is your goal.

It's only been 4 days since my last post, but in that time I've lost 2.4 lbs more for a total loss of 14.4 lbs in 22 days. Score! Soon I'll be able to say I've lost 20 lbs. And then 30. And then 50. And then 90! I'm in it to win it! I figure I owe myself at least one year to reclaim my health. And, by then, I hope I'll be feeling so well and so confident that I won't even consider returning to my old habits.

And it's working. My blood pressure readings for the first three days of 2016 looked like this: 168/99. 156/98. 155/99. Pretty scary stuff. Stroke risk. However, it's been coming down steadily over the past three weeks, and this morning my blood pressure was 125/86. Still a bit high, but a huge improvement. By the time I'm down 30 or 40 lbs, it should be in the normal range again.

I just have to keep hanging in there!

TUESDAY 1/19

BREAKFAST

There was school on this day, but I took the day off to continue my recovery from knee surgery.

For breakfast I had three fresh, brown eggs fried in butter. Only two fresh eggs left!

LUNCH

Lunch is hard for me to figure out. On Tuesday it was a 1.5 oz slice of Monterey Jack cheese 

and a quarter-cup (2 oz) of Heavy Cream with sugar-free Torani "S'mores" Syrup 

thinned with about 1-2 oz of purified water.

DINNER

Taco Salad at El Rancho while on a girls' night out with my friend Wyndie. 

I always order the salad without the fried taco shell or the beans.

Sometimes I also request extra shredded beef on top, as I did on this night.

It comes with guacamole and sour cream on the side, so I mix those in as my "dressing."

NO DESSERT on TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY
 WEDNESDAY BREAKFAST

I'd boiled eggs to make deviled eggs on Tuesday, but ran out of time and energy.

So before work I peeled two eggs and coarsely chopped them to make Egg Salad.

All I added was a dash of garlic salt and a Tbsp of mayonnaise.

THURSDAY, FRIDAY BREAKFASTS

Both days I just peeled and ate two Hard-Boiled Eggs with salt.

I don't care for garlic salt on plain boiled eggs for some reason. Just salt.

On Thursday I ate them before leaving the house. On Friday I put them in a

zip-lock bag with some salt and ate them when I got to my classroom.

WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY SNACKS

All three days I took my usual 1.5 oz slice of Monterey Jack cheese 

to eat around 10:00, between breakfast and lunch.

WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY LUNCHES

These are the three Atkins Meals I had for lunch on the three days 

that I worked, since Monday was a holiday and I had taken Tuesday off.

AFTER-SCHOOL SNACKS

Wednesday: My knee was aching by the time I got home from my first day back at work, so I just sat in the recliner and snoozed after I got home. No snack.

Thursday, Friday: I ate two squares of Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate, this time their "Intense Dark Twilight Delight" with 72% cocoa, which actually held me over until dinner time. I didn't have the option of leftovers on these days because there just weren't any. With me mostly out of commission, all of our meals had been small, simple meals that we'd finished off at dinner.

WEDNESDAY DINNER

I had plans for dinner, but I was just hurting too much to stand in the kitchen and cook.

So, instead, Mark scrambled us up a batch of Chorizo and Eggs.

For the recipe, see my post on 01/19/16.

THURSDAY DINNER

Since he was off on Thursday, I asked Mark to put on a roast when he woke up.

He called me at work and asked if the crock pot should be set on low or high.

I told him that low would be best since it would be cooking for 8-9 hours.

When I got home, he said he didn't think the crock pot was working.

 He couldn't smell the roast cooking as we usually do as it nears meal time.

Remembering the pot's broken knob, I suspected the worst and went to check.

Sure enough, rather than turning it down to low at 9:30, Mark had turned it off!

So I turned it back on and we let it cook all evening. Meanwhile,we went to Walmart and

bought a rotisserie chicken. Mark made a green salad and we topped it with shredded chicken.

We enjoyed our Chicken Salad with Bleu Cheese Dressing (me) and ranch (him).

FRIDAY DINNER

There was a bit of leftover Salad and the uneaten Beef Roast from the previous night, 

so that was our dinner. It was a bit overcooked, but still fairly tender rather than tough.

(That's the whole roast in the picture. I ate maybe 1/6 of it.)

I went with vinegar and olive oil dressing on the salad this time. 

Mark chopped his roast beef and put it in a tortilla with cheese and barbecue sauce. 

The tortilla and barbecue sauce are both high-carb no-nos, so I ate mine plain.

Well, I actually dipped it in the leftover olive oil in my salad bowl.

WEDNESDAY DESSERT

Two squares of Ghirardelli's "Intense Dark Twilight Delight" Dark Chocolate.

THURSDAY, FRIDAY DESSERTS

When we bought the rotisserie chicken on Thursday, I also bought a bag of

Russell Stover sugar-free Dark Chocolate Pecan Delights.

Then I ate two of them on Thursday night for dessert, and two more on Friday night.

They are delicious!

Week Two...Plus

These past ten days, since my last post, have been very different. Between the stress of unexpected health issues prior to my knee surgery and, of course, the surgery itself, temptations to cheat for the sake of convenience have abounded. I'm pleased to report that I did not succumb. Thus, in the eighteen days since I changed my eating habits (on New Year's Day), I have lost a total of 12.0 lbs.

Outwardly, I don't see a great deal of change yet. I think my face is slightly less puffy and my belly is less bloated. However, both my blood pressure and my fasting blood sugar levels are coming down nicely in just a little over two weeks. 

Because I've basically been out of commission since my surgery on Friday morning (January 15), I actually have ten days to share in today's post rather than a week. But that just means it will be a shorter post this coming weekend!

SATURDAY 1/9

BREAKFAST

I had 2 oz (1/4 cup) Heavy Cream with Torani sugar-free "S'mores" flavored syrup,

topped off with purified water, around 10:30 a.m. I always have breakfast on school days,

but I'm not really a morning person, so I tend to put off breakfast on the weekends.

LUNCH

Breakfast-for-lunch around 2:30: Three-egg ham-and-cheese omelet.

I always fry my eggs in butter, whether scrambled, fried, or omelet.

I simply love the buttery flavor. Tried olive oil once... Yuck!

Whenever I have a bit of my homemade guacamole left over, I use it to top my omelet.

It's chock full of tomato, green onion, and chilies. And avocado, of course, with its healthy fats.

On this particular day, I happened to have some still in the refrigerator.

DINNER

We still had two leftover Chicken Parmesan breasts, so I had one for dinner about 7:30.

For the recipe, see my post on 01/09/16.

Since there weren't enough leftovers for the guys, I made them some spaghetti instead.

I was only the teeniest bit tempted, so it was easy to pass up.

SUNDAY 1/10
BREAKFAST

Same turnaround as yesterday. About 2 oz of Mixed Nuts (Planters, lightly salted)

for my quick breakfast.

LUNCH

All three of the guys were working on Sunday, so I had the house to myself.

Around 2:00 I fried up 10 oz of Chorizo (Mexican sausage) and then added

a dozen eggs, beaten, and scrambled them together. It's one of our favorite breakfasts.

In fact, it's the only way I can get Dylan to eat eggs at all.

Then I divided the pan of Scrambled Eggs and Chorizo into four parts, ate one portion,

and put the rest into containers for a quick school-morning breakfast. 

Okay, Dylan ate one of them, but it still left me with two mornings of ready-made breakfast.

A word on chorizo: read the labels. The cheaper brands contain mostly pigs' salivary glands.

You'll pay 2-3 times more for the ones that are simply "pork," meaning less nasty stuff.

Both taste delicious, but I prefer not to be thinking of pig snot while I'm eating breakfast!

DINNER

Mark grilled Burgers for our Sunday family dinner.

The others had their burgers on buns, but I ate mine with a knife and fork,

topped with cheddar cheese, onion rings, tomato slices, and a dollop of sour cream.

MONDAY To FRIDAY
BREAKFASTS for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

I started the work week off by finishing my Deviled Eggs, two per day, over three days.

For the recipe, see my post on 01/03/16.

BREAKFASTS for Thursday, Friday

I finished the work week by eating the leftover portions of Scramble Eggs and Chorizo.

Actually, on Friday I didn't go to work since I was having knee surgery at 7:00 a.m.

 And, of course, I wasn't allowed to eat anything after midnight the previous night.

However, I got home around 9:15 and by about 10:30 I'd eaten my chorizo!

SNACKS for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday

Each morning before work I grab a baggy containing a 1.5-oz slice

of Monterey Jack cheese to eat at work, between breakfast and lunch.

On Wednesday, for reasons described below, I didn't get to eat my snack until after school.

LUNCHES for Monday, Tuesday, Thursday

As usual, my school lunches were frozen dinners by Atkins:

Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo; Crustless Chicken Pot Pie (my total favorite); 

and Mac & Cheese (a bit high-carb at 14 grams, but very yummy).

LUNCH for Wednesday

I'd planned to eat an Atkins frozen meal for lunch on Wednesday, but life intervened.

Instead, I ended up at the McDonalds inside Walmart. I ordered a Double Quarter Pounder

with no bun (as you can see on the receipt in the photo), but they gave me the bun anyway.

So I took off the sesame-seed bun and enjoyed the rest with a fork. Ketchup does contain sugar, 

but I'm sure the amount in that tiny squirt was minuscule. Water on the side. I was good!

Here's the reason I was not at school at lunchtime to eat my Atkins meal on Wednesday:

Everything was fine when I left for work on Wednesday. An hour later, 

reading aloud to my 1st period class, I suddenly felt the need to use the restroom, 

but the sensation was so uncomfortable I knew it meant a urinary tract infection. 

By the time I was able to take a break at 9:00, I was already peeing blood! 

I worried that my surgery would be postponed if I had a fever on the day of the procedure. 

So I arranged to have my 3rd period class and homeroom covered while I raced to the clinic, 

where they confirmed the infection and prescribed an antibiotic.

Thus I was stuck at Walmart during my lunch break, waiting 45 minutes for my prescription.

McDonalds seemed like the most convenient place to grab lunch, so I got creative!

Luckily, the antibiotics did their job and I had no fever by Thursday night.

AFTER-SCHOOL SNACKS

Leftovers make good after-school snacks, when there are any available.

Monday: Leftover green salad with vinegar and olive oil dressing, from Sunday dinner.

Tuesday: Leftover burger patty with cheese and sour cream, from Sunday dinner.

Wednesday: the 1.5 oz slice of Monterey Jack cheese I hadn't had time to eat earlier at school.

Thursday: Leftover chicken stir-fry from Wednesday's dinner.

Friday: My knee surgery was early on Friday morning, so I didn't go to work that day.

MONDAY DINNER 1/11

There was still one piece of Chicken Parmesan left, so that was my dinner at 6:45.

I still had half a loaf of French bread left from the sub Mark and I had shared the previous week,

so I used it to make Mark a new sub sandwich using deli meats and cheeses and veggies 

from our own refrigerator. (Sorry about using the same photo twice...)

DESSERT

We ate slightly earlier than usual because we went to my brother Jeff's house at 7:30

for Family Home Evening with my sister-in-law Dana, my nieces and nephews, 

Dana's mom and stepdad (Cheri and Dee), and Dana's sister Jona and Jona's husband Kim.

When we arrived, I could smell pumpkin bread in the oven. A Heavenly scent!

 And there was hot cocoa served after Family Home Evening ended. But I stayed strong! 

I waited until I got home and had a cup of my own sugar-free hot chocolate with heavy cream.

TUESDAY DINNER 1/12

I had bigger plans than this, but plans sometimes go awry. I'd wanted to go shopping

after school, but with my bad knee I needed someone to accompany me.

The younger guys were gone. Mark fell asleep and I couldn't wake him. 

So, about 7:30, I threw this meal together instead.

I just call it Green Beans and Ham. 

Saute some chopped white or yellow onion in butter, then add a can of drained green beans.

Dice up some ham, toss it in the pan, and stir occasionally until well heated. Quick and easy!

We managed to get the shopping done the following night so it would all be finished prior to surgery.

DESSERT: I haven't had desserts too often this week, but on this night I did eat two squares of Godiva 72%-cocoa Dark Chocolate.

WEDNESDAY DINNER 1/13

I made this Chicken Stir-Fry for Mark and me. Dylan and Jake were at work.

You can put just about anything you like in a stir-fry. My choice of fats is always a

mixture of olive oil and melted butter, heated, and then I start throwing things in,

starting with those that need the longest to cook. For this one, I used 1.5 lbs cubed chicken;

a bag of frozen broccoli and cauliflower; a bag of frozen stir-fry vegetables a la Walmart;

about a quarter of a head of cabbage, shredded; and a can of green beans, drained.

It's not my favorite combination, but close. What I missed most was a bag of mung bean sprouts,

but they are hard to find in stock right now. I don't know why. It's just not stir-fry without sprouts!

THURSDAY DINNER 1/14

I didn't feel much like cooking on the night before the procedure on my knee.

I was a bit stressed, plus I was still fighting the effects of a urinary tract infection.

But I was hungry, so when Jake brought this pizza home after work and two slices were left,

I stripped the toppings off the smaller piece. Cheese and pepperoni are okay; the bread is not.

And I don't even like pizza, which is a good thing since the guys bring pizza home so often.

That gave me the strength to whip up a small bowl of Homemade Coleslaw,

which I ate with the last leftover Burger Patty from Sunday's dinner.

My coleslaw is usually just shredded cabbage mixed with this dressing:

1/2 cup mayonnaise; 1 Tbsp heavy cream; 1 packet Splenda; 1/4 tsp pepper;

and 1 Tbsp lemon juice. (For one small head of cabbage, shredded.)

Sometimes I add a shredded apple and/or small can of crushed, drained pineapple.

It adds some color and sweetness, especially if I'm bringing it to a holiday gathering.

You can also add shredded carrots or any other goodies you may like.

FRIDAY DINNER 1/15

On the day of my knee surgery, I mostly slept afterward. I got up long enough

to eat some leftover chorizo (10:30ish) and then leftover coleslaw (2:00ish).

For dinner, I sent Jake to Walmart for a rotisserie chicken, but they were sold out.

So, instead, he brought home a sub sandwich. Not as nice as the ones from Safeway, but doable.

And so I had my usual Sub Platter, removing the meats, cheeses, and veggies

from the bread, adding mayo and more tomato, to eat with a fork and knife at 5:15.

My knee was sore but not terribly so, and I was thinking this was a piece of cake.

Then the surgical painkillers wore off late Saturday morning. OH. MY. GOSH.

I could barely walk for the next three days. From then on, I let the guys wait on me!

I also enjoyed three sugar-free Russell Stover chocolates for dessert at bedtime.

SATURDAY 1/16
BREAKFAST

While at Family Home Evening on Monday, my sister-in-law Dana gave me

a carton of fresh, range-free eggs from her friend who keeps chickens.

It made me miss our chickens and daily fresh eggs (but not the ex-husband who kept them).

So I enjoyed three very fresh eggs fried in butter for breakfast at 12:45.

DINNER

By this time, all I could do was sit in the recliner with my swollen right knee 

elevated on throw pillows, so I put Mark in charge of dinner. We ate around 7:00. 

He grilled some beautiful London Broil Steaks and made a Green Salad,

which I enjoyed with some Bob's Bleu Cheese Dressing. Bob's is the only brand

of blue cheese dressing I like because its base is mayonnaise rather than buttermilk.

DESSERT: A delicious cup of sugar-free hot chocolate with heavy cream.

SUNDAY 1/17
BREAKFAST

I enjoyed more fresh eggs around 11:00, using three to make Scrambled Eggs.
(To see how I make them moist and fluffy, see my post on 01/03/16)

LUNCH

At 2:00 I added red wine vinegar and olive oil to leftover Green Salad 

from Saturday's dinner and had that for my lunch.

SNACK: Sometime before dinner, I ate another three sugar-free Russell Stover candies, the same ones I had on Friday night. I had munchies, probably from my narcotic painkiller drugs!

DINNER

Since I was laid up, my kids all stepped up to prepare our Sunday Family Dinner.
We had Navapache Chicken Salad, another family favorite.
Finely chop a large head of cabbage and then add:
1.5 lbs cooked chicken, shredded or cubed; a dozen green onions, diced;
2-3 oz slivered almonds; 1/4 cup sunflower seeds; 1/2 cup olive oil; 1/4 cup vinegar
(we favor red wine vinegar); and salt and pepper to taste. It is yummy!
And there are never any leftovers, dang it!

MONDAY 1/18 (No School: MLK DAY)
Luckily, since I was still in pretty extreme pain, there was no school on this date.
My menu was all repeater meals, so no new pictures.

BREAKFAST: 3 fresh eggs, fried in butter
LUNCH: 2 oz mixed nuts and 1.5 oz Monterey Jack Cheese
DINNER: Leftover grilled steak and buttered green beans (and frozen pizza for Mark)
DESSERT: Hot chocolate (sugar-free) with 1/4 cup heavy cream

Today I took the day off, and the pain is a bit better if I walk carefully. I'm back at work tomorrow, so here we go, back into real life. And I will continue the good fight!

Week One 2016

In the first eight days of 2016, eight days of strictly sticking to my low-carb menu, I managed to lose 6.8 lbs. Not too shabby. If I were only twenty pounds overweight, that would really show (and it would have taken longer to lose). Unfortunately, it's been my experience that when you start out 90 lbs overweight, as I did, no one will start noticing the change in you until you've lost close to 30 lbs. Sad, but true. Nonetheless, I am now 6.8 lbs closer to a thirty-pound weight loss than I was eight days ago!

More positives to report: my blood pressure and fasting blood sugar levels are gradually decreasing. And I still feel more alert than I have since I started bingeing at Thanksgiving.

So here's a look at how I ate this week:

BREAKFAST
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

Every morning prior to leaving for school, I ate two deviled eggs (that's four halves).

I have to be at school by 7:30, so I usually grab these around 7:10.

Thursday

Since it was Mark's day off and school was cancelled due to snow, we were both home.

So Mark made scrambled eggs and bacon for us: 3 eggs each and 5 slices of bacon.

He obviously does not use my method for scrambling eggs, but they were still good.

Mark always has to start off his non-work days by watching The Price Is Right,

so breakfast on this particular morning wasn't until 10:45.

Friday

I had another snow day and Mark was back at work, so I made myself an Egg McNuthin'

a little after noon. I call it that because it's like an Egg McMuffin without the muffin.

Just cook the sausage patty and top it with a slice of cheese (I prefer Monterey Jack).

Then fry an egg or two to place on top of the sausage and cheese (I had two eggs).

It's a pretty hearty breakfast for less than 4 net carbs.

SNACK
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

Around 10:10, between 2nd and 3rd periods, I had a slice of Monterey Jack cheese.

I love mild cheeses, especially cream cheese, ricotta, provolone, and Monterey Jack.

Usually I pre-cut 1.5-oz slices to put in snack bags so they're quick to grab in the morning.

Thursday

At 4:30 it was too late for lunch and too soon for dinner.

So I just had a snack: 2 squares (0.7 oz or 19.85 grams) of dark chocolate.

I've tried all four brands of dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa) available from Walmart.

I think Godiva is the smoothest and creamiest of the four.

Friday
No snack today!

LUNCH
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

At school, I have lunch around 11:45. This week I had an Atkins frozen meal each day.

This is an old photo (notice there's no snow on the ground), but you get the idea.

This week I had Swedish Meatballs, Orange Chicken, and Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo.

They are quite tasty, and just enough to leave you feeling satisfied but not stuffed.

Thursday

I skipped lunch today. Since we had a late breakfast and ate dinner earlier than usual (5:00), I just made do with my dark chocolate snack.

Friday

For me, lunch is the hardest meal to plan when I do low-carb.

Breakfast is easy because I love eggs, which can be prepared 101 ways.

And there are thousands of low-carb dinner menus, dessert recipes, and snack ideas. 

As a working woman, I mostly need something quick and easy to prepare and pack.

That's why I do the Atkins meals and sometimes--when there are any--leftovers. Luckily, for today,

I found this container of leftover green salad from Tuesday dinner. It was still fairly crisp.

So at 4:00 I diced up three thin deli slices of ham to add a bit of protein and enjoyed

this green-lettuce-and-ham salad for dinner...with olive oil and red wine vinegar, of course!

AFTER-SCHOOL SNACK
Monday: 

Having eaten lunch before noon at school, I'm always starved by the time I get home around 4:00 or later. Yet, with dinner only 2-3 hours away, it's tricky to find something that soothes the rumbly in the tumbly (as Pooh Bear says), without losing your appetite for dinner in two hours or so. On Monday, there just happened to be some leftover green salad from Sunday night's family dinner, so that became my after-school snack. And it held me over till dinner very nicely.

Tuesday:

More leftovers saved the day. I had put aside two tuna cakes from Monday night's dinner. With a bit of homemade tartar sauce, they did the job of keeping me satisfied until dinner time.

Wednesday:

No afternoon snack today. You see, I'd had an MRI done on my knee on Monday, Dec. 28. I had made an after-school appointment with an orthopedic surgeon for Wednesday, Jan. 13, but two days after the MRI his office called and told me he'd read the report and wanted to see me sooner. So we rescheduled for this Wednesday, but of course there were no openings after school. I might have taken the whole day off, except we were starting our first day of online Galileo testing, about which my students were very nervous, and I simply couldn't desert them. Since my appointment was at 2:15, and since my 5th and 6th period classes weren't involved in Galileo, I just requested a substitute for those two hours and left school at 1:15. As it happened, Mark had a physical therapy appointment for his back at 2:30, and it so happens that the PT office is exactly next-door to my orthopedic surgeon's office. It was only 2:10 when we left the house together, and thus I felt no need for a snack yet. By the time we were done with our appointments it was 3:45, though, so we went out to an early dinner at Denny's! But more on that below.

Thursday, Friday:
No school (snow days) means no need for after-school snacks!

DINNER
Monday

Another 8:00 dinner: Tuna Cakes, which are roughly similar to Crab Cakes.

Mix 25 oz. albacore tuna (drained well) with salt to taste, 1 Tbsp lemon juice,

1 cup shredded Parmesan, and 3 eggs. Blend well, but don't break down tuna chunks too much.

Heat oil while forming tuna into patties. I usually get about a dozen from this recipe.

Frying for 8 minutes per side will give you crunchy patties like these, the way I like them.

If you prefer them less done, go about 6 minutes per side. Optional: sprinkle with paprika.

I ate four or five of these, topped with the sauce below. No side dishes tonight.

I hate Tartar Sauce. Hate it! Unless it's this homemade version, which I adore.

Simply whisk together these ingredients: 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1 Tbsp lemon juice,

2 Tbsp Splenda, 2 Tbsp dill relish, and 1 tsp dill weed.

From Cooking TLC (Truly Low Carb) Volume II.

[Note: any leftover tartar sauce is great mixed in tuna for sandwiches or tuna salad.]

Tuesday

Dinner at 7:30: Green Salad topped with Rotisserie Chicken.

After I got home from work, Mark and I headed over to Walmart to stock up on supplies.

 Since we had three storms rolling in this week, complete with winter storm warnings,

I wanted to be stocked up so we wouldn't have to shop at all until next week.

To simplify things, I picked up a rotisserie chicken at the Walmart deli for dinner. 

After we got home, Mark put together a lettuce, tomato, and cucumber salad for us

while I pulled the meat off the chicken. My dressing was olive oil and red wine vinegar.

Wednesday

Early dinner at 4:15: Sirloin Steak Dinner at Denny's.

Mark had received a $25.00 gift card from Denny's as an after-Christmas bonus,

so he'd invited me to dinner for Wednesday night. We went right after our doctor visits.

It was fun to see the special treatment Mark received. His co-workers clearly like him.

Mark ordered the big T-bone steak meal, while I ordered the sirloin steak dinner, 

but ordering is never a simple matter for me. I negotiate to get my money's worth.

I told the waitress, "It comes with two sides and bread, but I can't have the bread.

Is it possible for me to have just one side and then also get a side salad instead of bread?"

(The side salads are not included in the list of optional sides from which to choose your two.)

The waitress grinned. "Honey, you order two sides and I'll bring you a salad." So I had

steamed broccoli, "dippable" veggies with ranch dressing, and a green salad with ranch.

And I ate them all and was halfway through the steak before I remembered to take a picture!

It's not a very appetizing photo, but the steak was actually quite tender and juicy.

Thursday

This was unplanned, but we ended up with subs for dinner on Thursday.

Usually you can eat everything on a sub except the bread, so I turn mine into a Sub Platter!

Eating low-carb usually requires a lot of menu planning, but there are some shortcuts available.

This is one I use sometimes on rushed days. Pick up a sub that looks good and eat all but the bread.

Just lift everything off the bread and plop it right on the plate! Occasionally, 

I also make my own breadless sub using sliced meats and cheeses from my own fridge.

It's cheaper and just as tasty, but not quite as quick and convenient.

After a night of heavy snow, Jake had tried to drive to work in Dylan's car at 6:30 Thursday morning. After fishtailing and spinning across the median facing oncoming traffic, he returned here, pretty shaken up. Remember, he had NO driving experience before five months ago, and driving in snow is nerve-wracking. So I drove him to work and returned at 3:15 to pick him up. I'd planned to make Chicken Parmesan for dinner but I needed mozzarella cheese, so we stopped at Safeway on the way home. That's when I saw these meat-packed subs that Safeway makes, and I thought, "Hmmm...I can make Chicken Parmesan tomorrow." So that became the new plan.

There are usually a couple of thin, anemic tomato slices flattened under the meats

with a couple of limp pieces of lettuce (barely visible in this pic), but I need more.

I always add some fat tomato slices and some mayonnaise. Then it is edible!

If I'd had some, I would also have piled some alfalfa sprouts on top! 

Friday

Finally, on Friday night we had the Chicken Parmesan.

Pour a jar of pasta sauce into the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Tomato-based sauces can be very high-carb,

so read the labels. This Classico Florentine Spinach & Cheese is only 5 carbs per half-cup.

I've seen pasta sauce with as little as 4 carbs per half-cup, but nothing less than that (except alfredo).

Next, stir in one-fourth cup (or more) of shredded Parmesan cheese. And not the canned kind!

My siblings used to dump that stuff on their spaghetti, but to me it always smelled like baby puke.

Then place 5 or 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts in the sauce, rolling them to coat well.

Cover the pan with foil and put in a preheated 375-degree oven for 45 minutes.

Note: if the breasts are very thick, you might increase the initial cooking time to 1 hour.

After 45 minutes, remove the foil and cover with grated mozzarella cheese.

I use a whole 16-oz round because my family loves it cheesy, but you could use half that.

Replace in oven, uncovered, for 15 minutes longer.

That's all there it to it! This is one of my family's absolute favorite dishes. 

They pour the pan sauce over their chicken, but I just eat the breast with the cheese 

and whatever sauce is stuck to it. That keeps the carb count lower.

DESSERT
Wednesday

With our late dinners on Monday and Tuesday, it was easy to retire without a dessert. 

On Wednesday, however, having eaten so early at Denny's, I had the munchies by 9:30.

 I ate two squares of dark chocolate. Then I wound up staying up until almost midnight

since we'd been notified school would be on a two-hour delay the next morning.

(The next morning school was cancelled altogether because the snow was so heavy all day.)

By 11:30 I wanted something else, so I enjoyed a tall cup of sugar-free hot cocoa.

Thursday

Since we'd had such an early dinner at Denny's, I did want something later that evening.

Something salty sounded good, so I enjoyed about a quarter-cup of mixed nuts.

Then, before bedtime, I wanted something creamy.

I had 1/4 cup of heavy cream (about half of a 5-oz Dixie cup) mixed with water,

with one spoonful of Torani sugar-free "S'mores"-flavored coffee flavoring stirred in.

It really does kind of smell and taste like graham-crackery s'mores.

My favorite flavor is plain old chocolate, but I haven't been able to find it for months.

Friday

No dessert tonight! I find I'm already not hungry after dinner, unless I stay up until midnight or later (which I sometimes do on non-school nights). However, when I occasionally curl up to watch a Netflix movie on some evenings, I find myself wanting a snack. Not because I'm hungry, but because a snack and a movie seem to go together. Tonight I started watching Pan, but I was able to resist a bedtime treat.

I hope these meal ideas and recipes will be helpful if you are a low-carber. As the weeks pass, these blog posts will grow shorter, because I won't repeat recipes and pictures. I'll simply reference them (as in, "see post on 1/9/16") and only do the pictures and recipes for meals I haven't featured on this blog before. Be happy and be healthy! See you next week!