Broccoli Salad

I love finding new and easy ways to make up sides the night before so the husband can take it to work. This is another recipe and picture that I have found from www.genaw.com. I have changed a few things I just sprinkle a few bacon pieces and I omit the sunflower kernels to make it a little healthier. The people doing special diets will have to tweak it a little more. I loved the cauliflower salad recipe so much I wanted to also share this one with you also. Enjoy!!!
 
BROCCOLI SALAD
1 bunch fresh broccoli, finely chopped, raw, about 1 pound
1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped, 2 1/2 ounces
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons Splenda or equivalent liquid Splenda
12 ounces bacon, chopped and fried until crisp
1/4 cup sunflower kernels
Put the broccoli and onion in a large bowl. Mix the mayonnaise, vinegar and Splenda; pour over broccoli and mix well. Just before serving, stir in the bacon and sunflower kernels.
Makes 6-12 servings
Do not freeze
Per 1/6 recipe: 590 Calories; 53g Fat; 21g Protein; 8g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 5g Net Carbs
Per 1/8 recipe: 442 Calories; 40g Fat; 16g Protein; 6g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 4g Net Carbs
Per 1/10 recipe: 354 Calories; 32g Fat; 13g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 3g Net Carbs
Per 1/12 recipe: 295 Calories; 27g Fat; 11g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 3g Net Carbs

Cauliflower Salad

This picture and recipe is another from www.genaw.com. I love cauliflower raw...but the husband not so much. I make this up in one bowl and let it sit over night for the best taste. I have made some changes to the recipe though. I love more bite to my salad so I add about 4 teaspoons of dijon mustard. I omit the green onions and add a small amount of red onion. Lastly, I am lazy I don't cook bacon up to put in this I go and purchase the bacon pieces that go on salad and just sprinkle a little in to add a little bacon flavor. I am not supposed to have that much bacon sooo....that is why I love the convenience of the prepackaged kind.  I don't know if everyone will love this one but it is worth a try. The husband will actually raw cauliflower but only if I fix it like this. Enjoy!!!



COUNTRY CAULIFLOWER SALAD
4-5 slices bacon, chopped
1 pound fresh cauliflower, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
1 hard boiled egg, chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper, to taste
Fry the bacon until crisp; drain the fat. Combine all of the ingredients and chill well before serving.
Makes 6-8 servings
Do not freeze
Per 1/6 Recipe: 190 Calories; 18g Fat; 4g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 3g Net Carbs
Per 1/8 Recipe: 142 Calories; 13g Fat; 3g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 3g Net Carbs

Mexican Chicken

I love Mexican food and I have been on a little bit of a Mexican kick here lately. I have found this low carb website that I have just fell in love with. I found this Mexican Chicken recipe on there. This site is called www.genaw.com. It definitely is a site worth checking out if you are on a low carb diet. There are many recipes from appetizers to dessert. I love that the main dishes are busted down into pork, beef, veggie, etc... Makes it really easy to select the protein for the evening and do a quick search in just that category.


OK.... So tonight for dinner we are having Mexican Chicken with green beans. It also pairs well with just a salad too. I like my food a little on the spicy side so I used the Hot Enchilada sauce, but you can use mild or medium. It all depends on  how hot you want it. The chicken comes out really juicy and full of flavor from baking in the Enchilada sauce. I hope all of you enjoyed the other recipes and I hope you enjoy this one too. 

MEXICAN CHICKEN
1 pound boneless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon Seasoning for Tacos
Salt, to taste
1/2 cup enchilada sauce
4 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
3 green onions, chopped

Sprinkle the chicken on both sides with taco seasoning; grill or sauté. Cut the chicken into cubes and place in a greased 8x8" baking dish; season with salt to taste. Add the enchilada sauce and toss to coat the chicken. Sprinkle the cheese over the chicken and bake at 350º for 10-20 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Scatter the green onions over the top.

Makes 4 servings
Can be frozen

Per Serving: 266 Calories; 12g Fat; 33g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 3g Net Carbs

Less of Me

I am a long way away from my goal of 145 lbs but I am on my way the photo below was taken at a winery about 2 years ago at my heaviest. My heaviest was 306 lbs! I couldn't believe that I had let myself get this out of shape. I was doing all the wrong things...fast food everyday and no exercise. I had to do something. I tried p90x for about a year and reduced portion sizes in my food and I lost about 40 lbs. I started putting the weight back on though so...I started Medifast at the end of January of this year. I have managed to get my weight down to 216 lbs. I have had some medical issues that have derailed my weight loss...but I have been watching what I have been eating and havent gained any of the weight back. Me and the husband have recently decided to take the nutritional information from medifast and do it ourselves with Special K bars and such. The medifast worked it was just about $300 a person before our lean and green meals that we had to buy and cook. Way too expensive. So far so good on our own. My next task....the elliptical machine. I need to get my mind set that I have to exercise no matter what even if its a little every day. I just wanted to post this picture to let everyone know the hard work is worth it and that I can make it to my goal..I just can't give up no matter what. I might get side lined but I have to get back in the game time after time. I hope everyone enjoys the updated picture.....I know I feel better and look better than I have in years and that means the world to me!!!!! :)

Carne Guisada

So...This was wonderful. I have a favorite local Mexican restaurant that serves chunked beef that tastes just like this in their chimichangas. I haven't been able to have my favorite meal because of the the carb and calorie count, because I cant just eat the meat. They serve rice and beans with the meal which i gotta have if i go...I dont have to have it but I will...LOL I was starting to be so sad i was missing my yummy spicy food . LOL But I found this...Wonderful Recipe. Now I can have the taste of my Mexican restaurant but in a healthier capacity. My husband just throws all this in a crock pot and adds a little extra water to cover the meat. It turned out so tender and juicy.I do not put anything on top of it but a little reduced fat Mexican cheese. If you want to use low carb tortillas to make a wrap or make into a taco salad...there are many options to change this up.  I have paired this up with garlic green beans, broccoli, mashed cauliflower and just a simple salad. I hope everyone loves this as much as I did. The original recipe follows below try either the crockpot or the way they did it below I am sure that this recipe will not disappoint. Enjoy!

DOTTIE'S CARNE GUISADA 

2 pound chuck roast, trimmed and cubed
2 tablespoons oil
1 small onion, diced, 2 1/2 ounces
4 ounces canned chopped green chiles
14 ounces beef broth
14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 jalapeño peppers, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. I used my 8-quart Dutch oven which was much larger than necessary to hold all of the ingredients. Using a larger pot gave me more surface area so I was able to brown the meat in a single layer. Brown the beef on all sides. Add all of the remaining ingredients; bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer 2 hours or until the beef is very tender. Remove the lid and raise the heat.* Simmer until the liquid has thickened, about 10 minutes. Serve in low carb tortillas or over chopped lettuce, if desired. Top with whatever you like from cheese and sour cream to guacamole, etc. The counts below do not include the tortillas, lettuce or toppings.

Makes 4-6 servings
Can be frozen

* I skipped this last step and drained the meat in a large colander, saving the liquid. I put the meat back in the pot and shredded it with two forks. Then, I sprinkled 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum over the meat and stirred it in well. I poured in 1/2 to 1 cup of the reserved liquid and simmered it just until the sauce thickened. If you want to serve this like chili in a bowl, do not drain the liquid like I did. If you want to serve it in tortillas, it would be too soupy without draining off most of it. I used just enough to make the meat moist but not soupy. There is enough sauce that it could easily accomodate a 3 or 4 pound roast to stretch the servings and the carbs. By draining off most of the liquid, you'll save a few carbs as well but it was too hard to calculate the carb savings so I didn't.

Grilled Smothered Chicken

GRILLED "SMOTHERED" CHICKEN 

6 boneless chicken breasts
Salt, pepper, and desired seasonings to taste
Butter 

8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 green pepper, chopped, about 6 ounces
1/2 cup onion, chopped, 2 1/2 ounces
1 clove garlic, minced
8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded

Flatten the chicken, if desired; sprinkle with desired seasonings. Grill until done to your taste. Meanwhile, sauté the mushrooms, green pepper, onion and garlic in butter until tender. Place the grilled chicken on a baking sheet, cover with the vegetables, then smother with cheese. Bake at 350º about 5 minutes, until the cheese is melted.

Makes 6 servings
Do not freeze

Per Serving: 332 Calories; 18g Fat; 38g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 4g Net Carbs

I got the original recipe from this website: 

http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/smothered_chicken.html

Love....Love....Love this recipe. We mostly grill the chicken but we have also baked the chicken in a glass casserole dish the oven until fully cooked then added all the sauteed veggies and a little cheddar cheese and bake until cheese melts and is ooey and gooey. We are having this tonight for dinner we are paring this with a small salad. I hope everyone enjoys this recipe. 

PCOS

I have had some issues in the last couple months with my Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome. I have been away from my blog because of depression and doctor appointments. I have stalled out with my weight loss. I started at  306 and I am down to about 222. I have remained at that weight for the last couple of months. I have to get back into eating better even on the weekends and commit to exercising on a regular basis. I have had severe migraines, my hair has starting falling out. I have to really get back into being my own doctor at times and find information on my own. Sometimes when I say PCOS...I get a blank stare. Then I think here I go again. I am going to start posting not only healthy recipes but my vent and informational progress with my PCOS. I need an outlet other than my poor husband lol. I hope everyone out there is doing good and keep checking back for new posts.  :)