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I get a lot of great ideas from Facebook when it comes to low-carbing. One of my favorite groups is called "The Low Carb Dish". This is a recipe from that group.

Low Carb Bacon, Artichoke, Spinach Pizza with Low Carb Garlic Cream Sauce

By Nan Karadas on Sunday, May 18, 2014 at 11:55am

Crust:
1 cup finely ground pork rinds ( in food processor)

1 cup finely grated Parmesan Cheese 

3 eggs, well beaten

1 T Italian seasoning

1 tsp granulated garlic

 
Preheat Oven to 350 degrees. 

Combine all ingredients.

Allow dry mixture to absorb eggs. Mixture will appear to be like cornbread batter.

Spread onto parchment lined (MUST) cookie sheet with your hands.

Bake 15 minutes until edges start to turn color.

Remove from oven and allow to cool 10 minutes. 

 Prepare toppings. Add to crust, put back into oven at 425 degrees for 10 minutes or longer util cheese melts and looks done! 

• I used a garlic cream sauce made of  4 oz cream cheese, softened, 1 T butter softened 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/4 tsp oregano 1/4 tsp black pepper Mix all together, spread on cooled crust. Topped with: chopped artichoke hearts Fresh chopped mushrooms fresh spinach Bacon chopped Parmesan cheese Mozzarella Cheese You could add chicken as well but I didn't have any.

Cauliflower Fried Rice

I've heard of using Cauliflower to make rice but still haven't tried it.  This looks like a very easy recipe to get started with.  Enjoy!

Cauliflower Fried Rice
Ingredients
1 Head of Cauliflower (chopped using food processor)
2 eggs (beaten)
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1 stalk of celery (chopped)
1/2 of a carrot (chopped)
1/2 red pepper (chopped)
1/2 onion (chopped)
4 green onions (chopped)
1/2 cup green beans (I used frozen)
2 tbsp oil
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Add oil to the pan and add the onions and saute for 2 minutes.
2. Add the cauliflower and fry for about 3 minutes.
3. Add the red pepper and the carrots and cook for 1 minute longer.
4. Move the cauliflower rice to one side and add 1 table spoon of oil.
5. Add the egg and scramble.
6. Mix into the rice
7. Add the green onions and mix into the cauliflower rice.

Great Tips!

Came across this great article this morning that gives 5 ways to stay strong while you wean off of carbs.
Take a look through this link http://www.drperlmutter.com/five-ways-thrive-wean-carbohydrates/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=facebookpost&utm_content=blogweancarbs&utm_campaign=Facebook+Posts

Curious about counting carbs when you're eating fruit?  Here's a great list of fruits that are on the lower end when counting carbs.

Avocado, ½ cup                              9.9  g Carb,  7.8 g Fibre

Blackberries, 1/2 cup 7.5 g Carb, 4 g Fibre

Blueberries, ½ cup                              9.4 g Carb, 2.1 g Fibre

Boysenberry, ½ cup                           8 g Carb, 3.5 g Fibre

Cantaloupe Balls, ½ cup                    7.4 g Carb, 0.7 g Fibre    

Chayote, ½ cup                                  4.1 g Carb, 2.4 g Fibre

Crenshaw Melon Balls, ½ cup        5.3 g Carb, 0.7 g Fibre

Clementine, 1 small                           8.9 g Carb, 1.3 g Fibre

Coconut, 1 oz                                        6.6 g Carb, 4.61 g Fibre

Cranberries, ½ cup                           6 g Carb, 2 g Fibre

Durian, 1 oz                                         7.7 g Carb, 1.1 g Fibre

Elderberry, 1 oz                                    5.2 g Carb, 2 g Fibre

Gooseberry, 1 oz                              2.9 g Carb, 1.2 g Fibre

Grapefruit, ½                                     9.5 g Carb, 0.7 g Fibre

Huckleberry, 1 oz                             2.5 g Carb, 0.1 g Fibre

Lemon, ½ (without skin)                         2.7 g Carb, 0.7 g Fibre

Lime, ½ (without skin)                    3.5 g Carb, 0.7 g Fibre

Loganberry, 1 oz                                3.7 g Carb, 1.4 g Fibre

Mulberry, 10 berries                        1.5 g Carb, 0.3 g Fibre

Olives, Black, 5 pieces                     1.4 g Carb, 0.7 g Fibre

Olives, Green, 5 pieces                   0.3 g Carb, 0.6 g Fibre

Peach, 1 medium                              9.7 g Carb, 1.4 g Fibre

Prickly Pear, 1 medium                   9.9 g Carb, 3.7 g Fibre

Pomegranate, ¼ whole                  6.6 g Carb, 0.2 g Fibre

Raspberries, 1 cup                            14.2 g Carb, 6 g Fibre

Rhubarb, 1 oz                                     1.3 g Carb, 0.5 g Fibre

Star Fruit, 1 small                               4.7 g Carb, 2 g Fibre

Strawberries, 1 cup                          10.5 g Carb, 3.9 g Fibre

Tamarillo, 1 medium                        3.6 g Carb, 2.8 g Fibre

Tamarind, 1 cup                                 7.5 g Carb, 6.1 g Fibre

Tangerine, 1                                        9.4 g Carb, 1.3 g Fibre

Ugli Fruit, 1                                          8 g Carb, 1 g Fibre

More Recipes Coming Up! 

Happy Eating!

Christine 

Inexpensive Low Carb Snacking Ideas

This is where I struggle the most.  I have no problem planning out my meals for the week, it's just the snacks that I get hung up on.  Here are some suggestions for snacking, while staying low carb.

*Sugar-Free Jello or Pudding Cups

*Dannon Light and Fit Carb and Sugar Control Yogurt or Yoplait Light with Fiber
----If you live near a Kroger, they have their own brand call Carbmaster. Usually cheaper and tastes great!

*Sugar Free Jam or Jelly (Smuckers has one) along with Crispbreads.
----WASA BRAND Fiber Crispbread , dark green packaging is great.

*Any kind of Natural Peanut Butter. Skippy has a great one or you could easily do the store brand.
----You could do the peanut butter with celery sticks or a small apple.

*Ice Cream--Breyers has a really good CarbSmart Line.
----The ice cream is yummy, although I've only seen it offered in Vanilla or Chocolate. They also have ice cream bars if you come across them. But be sure to double-check the carb content on your store brand ice cream. I've come across some that were way cheaper than Breyers and the carb content was not bad.

*Salad is also a low carb option. Just be sure to check the carb content on any dressing you may use.

*Mozzarella Cheese Sticks (low fat)

*Deli Meat roll ups. You can roll these with the mozzarella cheese sticks. Sometimes I just roll the deli meat and put some mustard on it. Very quick snack!

*Hard boiled egg. You could also mix this with some mayonnaise. Just check the carbs!

Happy Snacking!!!

-Christine

How to Low Carb your diet for maximum Weight Loss!

I recently joined a few low carb groups on Facebook. 

I've picked up some recommendations for maximizing weight loss that I'm sharing with you. These are intended to be used for 4 weeks to jumpstart your weightloss. Then you can progressively add more healthy food options to it.

1-No carbs after 1pm ( Excluding of course any afternoon snack you may have)
2-No eating after 9pm
3-Avoid the following-Rice, Pasta, Corn, Carrots, Grits, Oatmeal, Crackers, Chips, Bananas, Melons, and Any Root Vegetables.
4-Remember Portion Size at all times
5-Eat every 3-4 hours
6-Do not consume any carbs at dinner.
7-Limit Carbs to 21g per day

I'm going to start my 4 week jumpstart this week. I'll give you all a progress report along the way. I'm excited to see how much I can lose within the 4 weeks!  Good luck to anyone who's also trying this out!