Low Carb Recipes

I know there are a few other low carb followers out there so I thought I would post some of my meal ideas and recipes. I would love to know if anyone else has any low carb recipes that they recommend!

LOW CARB MEAL IDEAS

• Chicken breast stuffed with spinach dip, cheese and salami and baked in the oven
• Rissoles filled with pesto and cheese
• Chicken breast cooked in a sauce made up of cream and pesto
• Asparagus spears wrapped in prosciutto and grilled
• Omlette filled with onion, capsicum, ham and cheese
• Antipesto platter- olives, a selection of cheeses, salami, dips with celery sticks
• Salad with Spanish chorizo, your favourite cheese (I use Mersey Valley), olives and lettuce and a good olive oil dressing
• Caesar salad with cos lettuce, eggs, bacon, parmesan cheese and a creamy dressing
• Chicken cordon bleu (chicken breast bake with ham and cheese)


RECIPES

Cream Cheese Muffins
2 pks. philadelphia cream cheese
1/2 cup splenda
½ cup of cream
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
Cinnamon

1. Soften cream cheese about 40 seconds in microwave
2. Add other ingredients and beat with mixer till smooth
3. Pour into 12 muffin pans lined with the papers
4. Sprinkle each muffin with cinnamon
5. Bake at 180 for 20 min.

Cauliflower Bake
Cauliflower
Cream
Cheese

1. Steam cauliflower and layout in a baking dish
2. Mix together cream and grated cheese in a bowl
3. Pour mixture over cauliflower
4. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes at 180.
You can also use zucchini or broccoli or a mixture of all three vegetables.

Zucchini Quiche
12 eggs
½ cup of cream
2 zucchini’s
Grated cheese

1. Beat eggs in a bowl with a fork until mixed
2. Grate zucchini’s and squeeze out all excess water
3. Add all over ingredients and mix together
4. Pour into a greased pie dish.
5. Sprinkle the top of the quiche with season all
6. Bake for 25 minutes at 180


Beef and Red Wine Casserole (slow cooker)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons oil
1 onion, peeled and quartered
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
3 rashers bacon, rind removed and chopped
3/4 kg steak, cut into 2cm cubes
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup beef stock
1 cup red wine

1. Heat butter or margarine and oil in a frypan.
Add onions, garlic, bacon and saute until
onions are tender. Lightly dust meat in flour
before browning.
2. Add meat and cook until brown.
3. Transfer to the Slow Cooker and add
remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on Low
for 8-10 hours or on High for 4-5 hours. Add
seasonings to taste.

Chilli Con Carne
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
350g minced beef
1 x 400g can tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder (add more or less if
desired)/1 tablespoon fresh chilli, chopped

1. Heat a little oil in a frypan. Saute onions and
garlic until tender
2. Add meat and cook until just brown
3. Add remaining ingredients
5. Serve with grated cheese and sour cream

Savoury Muffins
250g philadelphia cream cheese
1 small red onion
80g baby spinach leaves
60g salami finely chopped
salt and pepper
2 eggs lightly beaten

1. Soften philly in the microwave for 20 seconds
2. Combine softened philly, onion, spinach and salt and pepper and mix well.
3. Stir in beaten egg and spoon into pans
3. Top each muffin with cheese
4. Bake at 180 for 15min or until set and golden

Sausage and onion frittata
1 tsp oil
2 thick 100% beef sausages
1 red onion, cut into wedges
1 tsp oregano leaves
4 eggs
1 1/2 tspns djorn mustard
sea salt and cracked pepper
baby rocket, to serve

1. Preheat a small frying pan over high heat
2. Add the oil and sausages and cook for 5 minutes
3. Add the onion and cook for a further 5 minutes or until golden and the sausages are cooked through
4. Remove the sausages and cool slightly and slice
5. Return to the pan with onions and sprinkle with oregano leaves
6. Lightly beat the eggs, mustard, salt and pepper and pour over the sausage and onion
7. Reduce heat to low, cover with a lid and cook for 10minutes or until set
8. Top with rocket to serve

Creamy Cheesy Chicken
Oil to coat pan
1 clove garlic
200g chicken breast, diced
½ cup broccoli, cut up
½ cup cauliflower, cut up
¼ cup cream, could maybe adjust that amount
1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese
Pepper & salt

1. Sauté garlic in oil add chicken and stir fry over heat until nearly cooked add salt and pepper, remove chicken
2. Add veggies to pan stir-fry for a few minutes
3. Add about 2 tablespoons of water, lower heat and steam till tender
4. Return cooked chicken to pan. Add cream and bring to boil stirring frequently until sauce cooks down and thickens
5. Add cheese stir until melted

Thai Chicken Patties
1 kg chicken mince
1 big handful coriander, chopped finely
1 big handful thai mint, chopped finely
2 cm cube ginger, chopped finely
Chives, chopped
1 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1 small chilli, seeds removed and chopped finely
Juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon fish sauce (optional)
Salt & pepper

1. Put all ingredients into bowl and mix thoroughly with hands until they're all even mixed through.
2. Roll into patties and fry until golden brown in 1 tablespoon olive oil on high heat.

Chicken and Zucchini Pasta
1 large zucchini
1 garlic clove, crushed
double cream
leftover cooked chicken, shredded
Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground salt and black pepper
butter/olive oil

1. Slice the zucchini up into spaghetti like strips then saute with some butter and/or olive oil and garlic
2. Add chicken and saute until chicken is warmed through
3. Add a few spoonfuls of cream, a sprinkle of parmesan and season with salt and pepper to taste

CHEESECAKE
1pkt diet jelly
1 tub marscapone cheese
1 tub of philly cream cheese

1. Microwave cream cheese for 20 secs
2. Beat with marscapone
3. Prepare jelly but only use half the required water than what it says to on the packet
4. Beat into cheese mixture
4. Put in pan and set in fridge

Ups and Downs

Thanks for all your cool comments on my last post about the hens night. You spurred me on to cancel the hotel and the topless bar guy and organise something where everyone can pay for themselves as they go. I got a bit panicked trying to find a venue that would host 10 drunk girls at incredibly late notice and have just now found the perfect solution. I booked us a private room at a karaoke bar. There is a new place in the city that is apparently a 'luxurious' karaoke venue where you get your own room until 3.00am and a waiter comes in and brings food and drinks as you order them. I think karaoke will be a good icebreaker too because none of us know each other- embarrassing yourself in front of people you don't know is the ultimate way to bond!

So what else has been happening... My brother moved to Canada last Sunday which was very sad. His fiance lives there so he is going over for a couple of years. Ultimately they both want to move back to Australia (for weather reasons!) but because of visa problems they have to stay in Canada. I would love to go and visit some time next year and travel across the US and Mexico as well. If only I could win the lottery...

I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed by everything lately, I just have so much to do and not enough time- I guess everyone feels like this. I am suffering from sleep deprivation that led to me dissolving in tears on my lunch break on Tuesday. Lucky I was sitting in the car so no one saw me as I am not usually one to cry about this stuff, but I just felt like everything was too much and I couldn't cope. My main stresses are work (as usual), money (my crazy debt is making me feel like I can't breathe), weight (none of my clothes fit and I can't find anything to wear to work) and about a billion little things that make me feel inadequate and like I am failing- like the fact I need to do my ironing, grocery shopping, change my sheets, call family, clean my shower, visit my gran in the nursing home, pluck my eyebrows, email friends, paint my toe nails, plan my up-coming holiday, do some exercise, wax my legs and pay my bills. None of those things are a big deal, but combined with the big things, my life feels out of control. I think I just need some sleep!

I don't want to be a huge downer, so in happier news:

~ It is 3 weeks and 1 day until I go to Hawaii
~ Geelong are playing in the pre-liminary finals tomorrow night- Go Cats!
~ My hair looks awesome today
~ There are only 10 working hours until the weekend
~ I am rocking low carb eating this week
~ I am starting to feel better from my op
~ My brother is having a great time in Canada and seems happy for the first time in years
~ A friend of a friend loaned me the first series of Gossip Girl

Life isn't that bad after all! :-)

Thanks again for all your comments, as usual, they really made a difference.

Party Ideas???

I offered a while back to organise a hens night (or bachelorette party for you Americans) for a friend a while back. She isn't having bridesmaids, but I am one of her closest friends in Australia (she moved here from the US two years ago). So, because we have both been busy at work, nothing really came of it until last week when she emailed me and asked me to put it together for this Saturday. Shit!!!

She gave me a list of friends (7 girls) and her only two instructions were that she wants it at a hotel suite in the city and she wants a stripper. So (at great expense) I found a hotel suite that is available during the prelim finals here in footy crazy Melbourne. I kind of stepped in and vetoed the stripper idea. The strippers I looked up were revolting, if we saw a guy like that out at a bar we would both think he looked like a sleaze. I think she also didn't think about how awkward it would be. I went to a hens night with a stripper and it was really embarrassing and I am not a prude at all. Instead I found a topless waiter who is HOT HOT HOT, but in a tasteful and sophisticated way- if you can use those words about topless waiters. Anyway, this guy will help with food and drinks and party games so I will be paying him to do something useful as well as look good.


This is him, I am not sure if I am allowed to post pics of people, but I got it from the website so I hope it is ok!

Now, this is where I need help. I really want it to be an awesome night for her but I am a bit lost. Does anyone have any good ideas for games?

Are there any rules I should follow? I saw on a website before that I am supposed to buy her a hens present. I didn't even think of this! Is there anything else I am missing?

What is your opinion on sex toys? To dildo or not to dildo, that is the question...

Please help! Thrifty ideas are especially appreciated because this is costing me an absolute fortune.

*** Update- awkward situation. Two of the girls I invited just emailed me to say that they think the $50 contribution to festivities I asked for was too high. The hen said to ask for $50 from everyone to cover the hotel suite and she thought everyone would be fine with that (ie. all young, single girls with jobs). Even if everyone who comes gives me $50 I will still be out of pocket by hundreds of dollars! They also said they were bringing a friend each and that the friends shouldn't have to pay because they are guests. But they will still be getting free food and alcohol that I am buying! I don't know what to say, I hate these situations.

Wake Up Call

Oh dear. I just decided to get up and wanted to put on something loose and comfortable. So I got a skirt that was falling off me last summer and guess what? That's right, I can barely get it on.



Wake up call well and truly received. There is still time before summer. Time to get serious because I want that skirt falling off me again by summer. I am back on the low carb as of this second. No more eating chocolates from bed.

Does anyone else get sick of hearing me say the some shit over and over again? I know I am sick of myself.

My Week In Pictures

I am still sick in bed because my 'small op' was a little more complicated then expected. I can get out of bed all by myself now and have even been working from bed. I have committed to go back to work tomorrow, but it's Friday so it shouldn't be too bad I guess. I don't have much to say except "ouch" so instead I will leave you with some pictures that have summed up my last couple of weeks. As you can see it really hasn't been too bad!



BED
I think I have finally caught up with all my sleep from the last 12 months.




LOVE MY WAY
A friend bought me the first 3 series of this show to watch while I have been sick and it is awesome- I am addicted.




CHOCOLATES
What better excuse to eat chocolates?




PAIN KILLERS
Let me just say that I love pain killers.




FLOWERS
I have been such a lucky girl to receive flowers from my family and colleagues. It really does brighten my day.

God Help Us

I am exceptionally nosey and I like to know everything about my friends, family and colleagues as well as the people they know and their friends and so forth. This is probably why I love reading blogs so much. So I was asking a girl I work with about her flatmate who is a dietitian. The girl I work with mentioned that her flatmate hates her job because she works at a clinic for women with metabolic disorders and 'all her fat clients constantly lie to her about what they eat'.

Sorry, what the fuck did you just say?

My lovely colleague was just repeating what her flatmate had said so I don't have a problem with her. What I can't believe is that her friend is a trained professional who works in a clinic for women who are struggling with weight issues and she thinks her clients are fat, dishonest, morons. I feel sorry for the women who go to this clinic for help with their weight and have to deal with this small minded idiot. She is quite young and clearly has a lot to learn so I think that the clinic should have been a bit more thorough in their selection process. Women going to this clinic all have weight problems and most of them are trying to have children so they really should be taking care to hire more compassionate and intelligent staff.

Years ago, when I was diagnosed with PCOS, the hospital sent me to see their dietitian to help with my insulin resistance and to lose weight and she was a real sweetheart. She taught me a few big lessons that have stayed with me. I still remember when she asked me what snacks I would eat if I got hungry and I said that I would maybe have a cup of tea. She looked at me like I was crazy and said, "if you're hungry why don't you eat?". She also asked me what I had for breakfast and I said that I just ate dry muesli because I don't drink milk. She asked me if I enjoyed it and I said that I don't really like muesli either but I just ate it because I thought I should. Once again, she looked at me like I was crazy and said "why do you eat food you don't like?". I have never forgotten those two questions, as simple as they must seem for some people, they were what Oprah would call a light bulb moment for me.

Over the months that I saw this dietitian she was my biggest cheerleader as I lost weight and I really enjoyed her company and support. So I was very lucky in that instance but I am sick and tired of the health system letting down overweight people.

Hello From Bed

Just quickly checking in to say that my operation went fine, but it has been a bit more painful then I expected. I had a laparoscopy years ago and had barely any pain or side effects but this time I am bed ridden. They said they did 'the works' while they were in there on my uterus, bladder, ovaries and cervix and also removed endometriosis so I am guessing that is why this is so painful.

Strangely enough, the side of my stomach they took the endometriosis from is now really lopsided, it actually looks like they sucked a heap of fat from the right side of my stomach because it is now much smaller on that side. I am not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing yet...

I have spent the last couple of days in bed and I still can't move without help. A friend stayed with me yesterday, but I am home alone today and a bit bored. I wish I had organised some food and a dvd player for my room. Lucky I have some great pain killers and sleeping tablets. I absolutely love pain killers, I barely ever take them, so they really hit me when I do. I think I could quite easily become addicted.

I did have one embarrassing fat person moment. Before you go into surgery you have to speak with about 20 different nurses and doctors who ask the same questions over and over again. One of the nurses asked me to get on the scales and it read 107 kilos, which was 8 kilos heavier then my paperwork from back in April showed. She just looked at me with a disapproving look and said "Have you gained weight?". Then she got a big piece of orange paper with the word "Issues" on it and and in big writing wrote "107 kilos!" and put it in my file to give to the surgeon. How bloody embarrassing.

Sick Leave- yay!

I am going in to hospital to have a laparoscopy tomorrow because they suspect that, on top of PCOS, I have Endometriosis. I am not too fussed about it, I have had a couple of laps before and they aren't a deal. Hopefully they can remove it and I will be free of some of the pain I have had lately. The only problem is that they have mentioned before that I may be too fat for the surgery. So that is going to be humiliating/worrying if they try to slice me open and then realise my fat is in the way and they can't do it. Sometimes I just wonder how in the world I became this person that is possibly too fat for surgery.

Aside from that, I am excited about the week of sick leave I get along with this surgery. I do think it is a sad state of affairs when you are almost looking forward to surgery because it means you won't have to go to work. I have been feeling like I am about to have a nervous breakdown at work lately, so I think the timing of this is quite good. This surgery could quite possibly be saving my career (and the lives of some of my co-workers)before I go postal.

The other exciting part about this surgery is my surgeon. I met him last week at a pre-op appointment and he is just my type. I swear to god that he was flirting with me too. OK, so complementing me on my teeth isn't exactly pillow talk, but it was the way he said it... I never think guys are flirting with me, but I walked away from this appointment feeling like a giggly school girl for the first time in ages. I guess I better shave my snail trail before surgery, must impress the surgeon! ;-)

Sunshine!

If you are in Melbourne today you would be enjoying a beautiful (almost) spring day. I actually love cold and wintry days, but I also get excited when the first signs of summer start. I am sure that come the middle of January when I am sweltering in 40 degree heat I won't be quite as excited, but right now it is enough to put an extra spring (pun intended) in my step. This sunshine is very inspiring, it makes me feel like getting active and eating fresh and healthy foods. I even broke out the fake tan and wax strips last night to get me right in the mood.

What is off putting is the pesky weight gain I have had lately. It is almost like my brain didn't connect with the fact I had gained weight until I went shopping yesterday and nothing fit me. I mean I knew I had gained weight, but I sort of dismissed it because I had other things going on to worry about. I am hitting the town with some girlfriends in Geelong on the weekend and not only do none of my clothes fit but none of the clothes I tried on in the shops looked any good. Way to put a dampener on a fun night out. Oh well, I will just have to rely on the vodka for confidence...

I have been back in the swing of things with my low carb eating this week and feeling good again so I know I'll get there in time. I just get a bit excited and feel like after a day of eating on plan I should miraculously lose 15 kilos and fit into all my clothes again. I then torture myself and try on clothes I know won't fit and then stand in front of the mirror and try to talk myself into thinking I can get away with it. I mean if I suck my stomach in and stand on this angle with my shoulders back in dark lighting you almost can't tell... Luckily reason won and I put away the skin tight jeans for now. I am going to go on one last shopping trip tomorrow morning- because we all know that those last minute desperate shopping trips are so successful and not stressful at all... Oh well, I am not going to let it get me down, this sunny day just makes me too happy!

Pregnant Women

I have about had it with pregnant women making insulting weight related remarks. I work in a youngish, female dominated industry and they seem to be getting preggers left right and centre. So every social work conversation invariably leads to them talking about pregnancy/baby issues. Yes, fascinating I know. That is fine though, I understand it must be a shock to a tiny size 8 frame to all of a sudden be carrying a weight the size of a basketball. What annoys me is when they start talking about how disgusting it is to be so fat.

Not only do they talk about how disgusting being fat is but they constantly make a big deal about all the things they can't do now that they are pregnant- and I don't mean each blue cheese. This is embarrassing because they are often things I can't do because of my weight and hearing a group of women exclaim over it makes me feel uncomfortable. Surely everyone must realise that if this pregnant woman can't do X or Y because of her girth, then fatty over there (me) can't do it either because even though I am not pregnant, I am actually wider then the pregnant woman.

I just think that these people are adults and should be more sensitive to other people. If I suddenly decided to dye my hair orange* I wouldn't come to work and complain about how revolting I am now that I have orange hair and that having orange hair is ugly and I especially wouldn't say it to someone with orange hair!!!

Rant over.

*No offence to anyone with orange hair, that is just a dumb example. I actually wish I could pull off being a red head, I think it is very hot.