Health & Diet - My pantry MUST HAVE list

1) Bread & Tortillas
I know, these sound counter productive when it comes to bringing down your blood sugars. Here's the thing, I love carbs. I have tried removing bread, tortillas, and even cookies from my diet before. It works for a while, but then I find myself binge eating ALL THE CARBS. I have found that replacing these items with healthier alternatives serves me better in the long-run. I get bread and bagels from ThinSlim foods. This is not the cheapest option, but for me it has been worthwhile. I keep their cinnamon bagels, everything bagels, and their Love-the-Taste plain bread in my freezer. When I am craving a sandwich, a breakfast bagel, or a burger (I use the everything bagels as a tasty bun alternative) I can retrieve them from the freezer without being tempted to munch on 40+ bread carbs that will do nothing but make me want more while spiking my blood sugar. these are MUST HAVES for me. Likewise, I cannot live without tortillas - nope, not exaggerating. I use Mission Carb Balance tortillas. I use them to make breakfast tacos, lunch wraps, pizzas (recipe coming soon!), regular tacos, and more. I'm not a huge fan of the whole wheat ones, but that doesn't mean you won't like them. Again, I am all about substituting alternatives that are close options to my comfort foods so that I don't feel like I am depriving myself of what I love.

I also make homemade breads, but those will be added to the recipes and my focus here is on the items I purchase and keep on hand. :)

2) Pasta
I tend to prefer Italian and Mexican food, though I like lots of different types of foods. These two tend to be my go-to for cooking. I'm not going to lie, my spaghetti alternative is not everyone's cup of tea and may even be seen as controversial. I buy Edamame spaghetti pasta. The same brand also has a black bean pasta that also has an amazing protein to carb ratio.

ThinSlim also has pasta, but I tend to use their elbow noodles for making macaroni and cheese instead of making spaghetti.

3) Flour
I keep almond flour, GF general purpose flour, and coconut flour available. These are my go-to for many of my homemade low-carb bread recipes.

4) Protein Powders
I have a mix of these. I have a plant based chocolate and an egg based chocolate protein powder. I tend to use 1/2 a scoop of each together when making my coffee fraps. I also keep Vanilla Jay Robb egg protein and unflavored Jay Robb egg protein. I use these two specifically in my baking. Not all protein powders are equal when it comes to baking, but I have found that if you like the flavor before baking and it is an EGG PROTEIN, they all tend to bake pretty consistently.

5) Sugar Replacements
This is tricky. Everyone has their own way of removing sugar from their diet. I tend to use sugar alcohols and coconut sugar. Both can still impact your sugars, but they have a much lower impact (for me anyway) then cooking with regular sugar. So, my current go-to's are Honey Tree Sugar Free Honey and coconut sugar.

I also have some refrigerated items that I like to keep for quick snacks. Some are processed, and while I agree that whole foods are the best way to go, I have found a way that works for me, my abilities, and my health. P3 snacks work really well for me as a quick snack that I can grab on the go. I'm sure there are other things, but these are at the top of my list. :)

Health & Diet: Shredded Chicken

It dawned on me when reading back over some of my past blogs that I never gave the shredded chicken recipe that I use as the base to SO MANY quick and easy meals. I make 2 large chicken breasts (approximately 1.75-2 pounds) at one time. Since it is just my son and I, the 2 pounds lasts nearly a week!

This is SUPER EASY and here are some of the meal ideas:

Taco Salad
Enchiladas
Tacos / Lettuce Wraps
Pizza
Spanish Chicken & Rice
The possibilities are practically endless.

Here is all you need:
2 large chicken breasts (1.75-2.25 pounds of chicken)
Favorite taco seasoning (I use a GF Taco Seasoning by McCormick)
1/2 cup of water

The secret is in HOW you cook the meat. Using a saute pan, I sprinkle a little bit of the spices down into the bottom first, and then place the chicken down into the pan. I sprinkle more of the packet on the meat and add 1/2 a cup (NOT the full cup that the spaces call for) of water to the pan. I bring the water up to a boil and then lower the temp to a simmer. Cover the chicken and let is cook slowly. If the water cooks off, you have the temperature TOO HIGH (Don't worry, just add more water and lower the temperature!). After the bottom of the chicken starts to look lightly golden and the chicken looks about half cooked, flip the chicken, recover, and continue cooking.

I typically cook my chicken for about 15-20 minutes (longer if it was frozen).

The nice thing about making shredded chicken, if you notice that it hasn't cooked all the way through, just put it back in the pan to continue cooking. Once it is done, you will need 2 forks. The chicken should be tender enough that you can pull it apart using the two forks. I typically hold the chicken in place with one fork and use the other fork to scrape the chicken WITH THE GRAIN to pull it apart. Once the chicken has been shredded, add it back into the pan with the spiced water.

The only thing left for you to do is ENJOY! :)

Health & Diet - Goal Update 2

I'm annoyed and excited all at the same time! I have discovered that I need to adjust my goals just a bit. 

Let's start with the annoyances so that I can end on a good note. Ha! I wanted to lose 30 pounds before we go to Disney, but this whole losing weight after 35 is NOT for the faint at heart. Especially when you compound the age with multiple medical conditions. That is to say, though I am almost 6 weeks into this process with only 3 and a half weeks left before we go... I have not hit the half-way point to my 30 pound goal.

Staying positive and motivated - I have continued to lose weight. It took me the first month just to lose the first 5 pounds. I was a bit frustrated and discouraged, but I remained motivated and have stayed active despite the rain. LOVE ReFitRev on Youtube videos, and they definitely keep me on my toes! So, where am I in this process? I am 1/3 of the way through to my first goal. I have lost a total of 10 pounds; no small feat, but not where I had hoped to be. 

I am excited that the weight is starting to come off more quickly now that I have conquered the first plateau. I am also excited that my blood sugars are looking AMAZING. Though I am not at my final goal, I have brought my sugars down TREMENDOUSLY. My 30 day average is now 144 and my 14 day average is at 141. This is not only WAY down from the 220 where I started, but I have also moved into the trial phase of no meds!!! My sugars has dropped down to 120 while on the lingering 2.5mg of glipizide. Today marked the first day of trying to maintain with only the support of my supplements. Praying that I continue to keep it in range while watching the averages continue to come down.

Overall, much more to celebrate than complain about. I am more mobile, I am working out or walking 1 to 2 times a day, I am eating healthier and experimenting with what recipes work for my blood sugars and what don't. It is a process that God has had His hand in every step of the way.

What are your goals? How have you conquered your plateaus? 

Health & Diet: Strawberry-Banana Bread

I am really excited to be sharing this recipe. I absolutely LOVE banana bread. I took my mom's old recipe and decided to give it some adjustments as my DS is gluten free... Then I realized how many carbohydrates are in banana bread - even when gluten free - and I needed to add protein while cutting down the carbs. I was pleased with the results, but my best friend said "can you make it strawberry?" I, of course, said sure! I made the strawberry bread; we all enjoyed it, but it wasn't enough for this dear friend of mine... "What about a strawberry-banana bread? I bet that would be really good!" She was right; the recipe turned out AMAZING! Let us know what you think in the comments!

**This recipe contains 2 special ingredients: Honey Tree Sugar Free Honey & Jay Robb Unflavored Egg Protein Powder**

DRY Ingredients

1 cup all purpose gluten free flour

2 cups gluten free almond flour

1/2 cup Jay Robb Unflavored Egg Protein Powder

1 tsp baking soda

WET Ingredients
1 cup thawed, drained, & mashed previously frozen strawberries

1 cup mashed bananas

1 & 1/4 cup Honey Tree Sugar Free Honey

2 sticks of softened butter (can exchange for apple sauce, decreases fat but increases carbs)

3 large eggs

3 egg whites

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl, sift the ingredients, and then set the bowl aside. In a new bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Slowly add the dry ingredients in with the wet until everything has been combined. Recipe makes either 2 loaves, 24 muffins, OR 1 loaf and 12 muffins.

Prepare your pans, oil or grease them as needed. Evenly distribute into your pans of choice. The muffins typically cook for 20-30 minutes and the loaves typically cook for 45-60 minutes.

ADDED TIPS:

1. I have found that the bread turns out lighter/fluffier if I separate the egg whites and whisk them until they form peaks and THEN fold them into the other wet ingredients.

2. For an added boost in strawberry flavor, add a 1/2 teaspoon of dry sugar free strawberry flavored gelatin mix.

NUTRITION INFO:
(per muffin / slice when bread is sliced into 12 pieces) *amounts are approximate*

Carbohydrates: 16.6
Sugar: 1.6

Fiber: 1.8
Protein: 5.9

NOTE:

It is not unusual for a typical strawberry-banana bread recipe to have 20+ carbohydrates, 10+ sugar, & only ONE gram or less of fiber and protein! There may not be a huge drop in carbohydrates, but there is a HUGE drop on sugar and a boost in protein. These, mixed with the lower carbohydrates, mean that the bread in this recipe is much less likely - when eaten in moderation based on recommended serving sizes - to cause drastic spikes in blood sugar.